UK Monthly Charts: December

December 2009 wasn’t all about Modern Warfare 2, with Nintendo, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts also enjoying huge sales during the festive period. MCV takes a closer look…

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY COMPANY – units (last month in brackets)

1 (2) NINTENDO – 18.7%
2 (3) EA – 14.0%
3 (4) UBISOFT – 12.4%
4 (1) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD – 10.4%
5 (5) SEGA – 5.5%
6 (6) SONY – 4.7%
7 (9) THQ – 3.9%
8 (10) DISNEY – 3.7%
9 (8) MICROSOFT – 3.4%
10 (7) TAKE 2 – 3.3%

Modern Warfare 2 may have been the biggest game of December, but publisher Activision still slipped behind Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft in terms of software units sold. The likes of Assassin’s Creed II and Just Dance did the business for Ubisoft.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT – units (last month in brackets)

1 (2) NINTENDO WII – 32.2%
2 (1) XBOX 360 – 22.1%
3 (4) NINTENDO DS – 20.3%
4 (3) PS3 – 15.5%
5 (5) PC – 4.6%
6 (6) PSP – 4.1%
7 (7) PS2 – 1.3%
8 (8) XBOX – 0.0%

Wii titles controlled almost a third of the market in terms of unit sales in December, with six games for the format in the Top Ten. Nintendo’s console dislodged 360 from the top position after Microsoft’s machine enjoyed huge sales in November courtesy of Modern Warfare 2.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY COMPANY – value (last month in brackets)

1 (2) NINTENDO – 19.2%
2 (3) EA – 14.6%
3 (1) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD – 14.0%
4 (4) UBISOFT – 13.4%
5 (5) SEGA – 5.6%
6 (8) SONY – 4.1%
7 (6) MICROSOFT – 3.9%
8 (9) THQ – 3.1%
9 (7) TAKE 2 – 2.8%
10 (12) DISNEY – 2.6%

It was a great month for Nintendo. The firm had four games in the Top Ten, including Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus, New Super Mario Bros Wii and Mario Kart Wii. EA took second place in the software value by company charts, driven by sales of FIFA and Left 4 Dead 2.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT – value (last month in brackets)

1 (2) NINTENDO WII – 30.9%
2 (1) XBOX 360 – 26.8%
3 (4) PS3 – 18.7%
4 (3) NINTENDO DS –16.6%
5 (5) PC – 3.2%
6 (6) PSP – 3.1%
7 (7) PS2 – 0.9%
8 (8) XBOX – 0.0%

PSP and PC game sales struggled last month, although many PC titles are sold digitally – something that’ll hopefully be reflected in future charts. Meanwhile, the higher cost of PS3 games has seen the format command a bigger market share in terms of value than it did units.

INDIVIDUAL FORMAT CHARTS

PS2
1. FIFA 10 – EA
2. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 – KONAMI
3. COD: WORLD AT WAR – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
4. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 – THQ
5. SINGSTAR MOTOWN – SONY
6. TRANSFORMERS: FALLEN – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
7. BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE – D3P
8. DISNEY SING IT: POP HITS – DISNEY
9. GUITAR HERO 5 – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
10. HARRY POTTER: HALF-BLOOD PRINCE – EA

PS3
1. COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2. ASSASSIN’S CREED II – UBISOFT
3. FIFA 10 – EA
4. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES – SONY
5. NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT – EA
6. JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR – UBISOFT
7. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 – THQ
8. TEKKEN 6 – NAMCO BANDAI
9. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM – EIDOS
10. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 – KONAMI

PSP
1. LITTLEBIGPLANET – SONY
2. FIFA 10 – EA
3. GRAN TURISMO – SONY
4. ASSASSIN’S CREED: BLOODLINES – UBISOFT
5. FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 – SEGA
6. GTA: CHINATOWN WARS – ROCKSTAR
7. F1 2009 – CODEMASTERS
8. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 – KONAMI
9. STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT: ELITE – LUCASARTS
10. LEGO INDIANA JONES 2 – LUCASARTS

XBOX 360
1. COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2. ASSASSIN’S CREED II – UBISOFT
3. FIFA 10 – EA
4. FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 – MICROSOFT
5. LEFT 4 DEAD 2 – EA
6. GTA EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY – ROCKSTAR
7. HALO 3: ODST – MICROSOFT
8. JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR – UBISOFT
9. NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT – EA
10. LIPS NUMBER ONE HITS – MICROSOFT

WII
1. WII SPORTS RESORT – NINTENDO
2. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WII – NINTENDO
3. MARIO & SONIC OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES – SEGA
4. MARIO KART WII – NINTENDO
5. F1 2009 – CODEMASTERS
6. RABBIDS GO HOME – NINTENDO
7. HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT: VOL 2 – EA
8. FIFA 10 – EA
9. CALL OF DUTY 4 – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
10. TOY STORY MANIA! – DISNEY

DS
1. PROFESSOR LAYTON: PANDORA – NINTENDO
2. MARIO & SONIC OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES – SEGA
3. DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING – NINTENDO
4. LEGEND OF ZELDA: SPIRIT TRACKS – NINTENDO
5. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS – NINTENDO
6. PROFESSOR LAYTON: CURIOUS – NINTENDO
7. COOKING MAMA 3 – 505 GAMES
8. MARIO KART DS – NINTENDO
9. CLUB PENGUIN: ELITE PENGUIN FORCE – DISNEY
10. MORE BRAIN TRAINING – NINTENDO

PC – FULL PRICE
1. FOOTBALL MANAGER 2009 – SEGA
2. THE SIMS 3. – EA GAMES
3. COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
4. THE SIMS 3: WORLD ADVENTURES – EA
5. LEFT 4 DEAD 2 – SEGA
6. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS – EA
7. EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR – SEGA
8. CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2010 – EIDOS
9. WOW: LICH KING – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
10. FALLOUT 3: GAME OF YEAR EDITION – BETHESDA

ALL FORMATS TOP 50

1. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2. ASSASSIN’S CREED II – UBISOFT
3. FIFA 10 – EA
4. WII SPORTS RESORT – NINTENDO
5. WII FIT PLUS – NINTENDO
6. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WII – NINTENDO
7. MARIO & SONIC AT THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES – SEGA
8. FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 – MICROSOFT
9. MARIO KART WII – NINTENDO
10. JUST DANCE – UBISOFT
11. LEFT 4 DEAD 2 – EA
12. LEGO BATMAN – WARNER
13. NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT – EA
14. PROFESSOR LAYTON AND PANDORA’S BOX – NINTENDO
15. JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR – UBISOFT
16. LEGO INDIANA JONES 2 – LUCASARTS
17. F1 2009 – CODEMASTERS
18. PURE – DISNEY
19. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 – KONAMI
20. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 – THQ
21. DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING – NINTENDO
22. CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
23. GTA EPISODES: LIBERTY CITY – ROCKSTAR
24. WII PLAY – NINTENDO
25. RABBIDS GO HOME – UBISOFT
26. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES – SONY
27. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS – EA
28. TEKKEN 6 – NAMCO BANDAI
29. DJ HERO – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
30. FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 – SEGA
31. LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA – LUCASARTS
32. BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM – EIDOS
33. PEPPA PIG: THE GAME – UBISOFT
34. THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SPIRIT TRACKS – NINTENDO
35. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS – NINTENDO
36. BORDERLANDS – 2K GAMES
37. LEGO INDIANA JONES: ORIGINAL ADVENTURES – LUCASARTS
38. PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE – NINTENDO
39. COOKING MAMA 3 – 505 GAMES
40. SINGSTAR TAKE THAT – SONY
41. HALO 3: ODST – MICROSOFT
42. THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND – EA
43. GUITAR HERO 5 – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
44. MARIO KART DS – NINTENDO
45. GRAND THEFT AUTO IV – ROCKSTAR
46. THE SABOTEUR – EA
47. COLIN MCRAE: DIRT 2 – CODEMASTERS
48. CARNIVAL: FUNFAIR GAMES – 2K PLAY
49. BAND HERO – ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
50. LIPS: NUMBER ONE HITS – MICROSOFT