UK CHARTS: July 2010

Summer is traditionally the most quiet trading period in the games industry, and last month was no different, with sales down 13 per cent compared to July 2009.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom – Harry Potter: Years 1-4 enjoyed a place at the top and gave Warner Bros a boost, while Red Dead Redemption continued to provide strong sales for Take-Two.

EA was the big winner in July, however, as it topped the publisher charts. Nine titles from the firm made it into the All Formats Top 50, including the latest instalments from its popular franchises, such as 2010 FIFA World Cup, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, FIFA 10 and The Sims 3: Ambitions.

Microsoft also saw success last month, with the Xbox 360 maintaining its lead as the most popular format in terms of the amount of games sold and money generated.

The DS enjoyed an increase in market share boosted by exclusives such as Dragon Quest IX and Club Penguin, while Ubisoft boasted high sales of new casual Wii title Dance on Broadway.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE – by company (UNITS)
(last month in brackets)

1. (2) EA – 15.0%
2. (4) UBISOFT – 13.3%
3. (1) NINTENDO – 10.9%
4. (5) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD – 8.4%
5. (11) MICROSOFT – 6.2%
6. (3) TAKE 2 – 6.2%
7. (10) DISNEY – 5.9%
8. (6) WARNER BROS – 4.4%
9. (7) SEGA – 4.1%
10. (9) SONY – 3.5%

EA and Ubisoft enjoyed strong sales throughout July with a large number of titles selling strongly, including sports games from EA – 2010 FIFA World Cup and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11. Ubisoft saw consistent sales of Dance on Broadway and Just Dance, while Nintendo drops to third place following its Galaxy 2 sales boom.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE – by company (VALUE)
(last month in brackets)

1. (3) EA – 14.8%
2. (2) NINTENDO – 13.5%
3. (5) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD – 10.9%
4. (4) UBISOFT – 10.7%
5. (1) TAKE 2 – 7.7%
6. (13) MICROSOFT – 7.2%
7. (10) DISNEY – 6.8%
8. (6) WARNER BROS – 5.5%
9. (8) SEGA – 3.1%
10. (9) SONY – 2.8%

The biggest mover in July was Microsoft which climbed from 13th to sixth place following strong sales of Crackdown 2 and Alan Wake on Xbox 360, the latter retaining its full RRP months after release. Nintendo, EA and Activision Blizzard took the top spots thanks to sales of World Cup, Galaxy 2 and StarCraft II.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE – by format (UNITS)
(last month in brackets)

1. (1) XBOX 360 – 25.9%
2. (3) NINTENDO WII – 20.2%
3. (4) NINTENDO DS – 18.4%
4. (2) PS3 – 17.9%
5. (5) PC – 12.9%
6. (6) PSP – 4.2%
7. (7) PS2 – 0.4%

The Xbox 360 continued its tight grip at the top as the console which sold the most games in July, with a drop of just 0.3 per cent month-on-month. Wii titles also rose one place last month following the 4.2 per cent drop in PS3 game sales month-on-month. Meanwhile, PC, DS and PSP game sales climbed by at least one per cent each. These platforms were supported by the release of StarCraft II on PC and multiformat children’s games LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Toy Story 3.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE – by format (VALUE)
(last month in brackets)

1. (1) XBOX 360 – 29.7%
2. (2) PS3 – 21.2%
3. (3) NINTENDO WII – 20.6%
4. (4) NINTENDO DS – 16.1%
5. (5) PC – 9.4%
6. (6) PSP – 2.8%
7. (7) PS2 – 0.2%

In terms of money generated by games, the top seven remained the same but the gap between leading consoles Xbox 360 and PS3 widened. The latter’s share of the market dropped six per cent in July while revenue generated by DS, PC and PSP games rose four per cent, three per cent and just under one per cent respectively.

Strong sales of games on the DS can be attributed to several exclusives including Dragon Quest IX and Club Penguin: Herbert’s Revenge. The Wii and Xbox 360 also held firm, bolstered by a range of new releases and exclusives including Crackdown 2 on Xbox 360 and Dance on Broadway for Wii.

ALL FORMATS TOP 50: JULY (July 4th to July 31st)

1. LEGO HARRY POTTER: YEARS 1-4 (WARNER BROS)
2. RED DEAD REDEMPTION (TAKE-TWO)
3. DANCE ON BROADWAY (UBISOFT)
4. TOY STORY 3 (DISNEY)
5. CRACKDOWN 2 (MICROSOFT)
6. 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP (EA)
7. SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 (NINTENDO)
8. TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 11 (EA)
9. STARCRAFT II: WINGS OF LIBERTY (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)
10. JUST DANCE (UBISOFT)
11. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)
12. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 (EA)
13. PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE FORGOTTEN SANDS (UBISOFT)
14. WII SPORTS RESORT (NINTENDO)
15. WII FIT PLUS (NINTENDO)
16. BIOSHOCK 2 (TAKE-TWO)
17. DRAGON QUEST IX: SENTINELS OF THE STARRY SKIES (SQUARE ENIX)
18. SNIPER: GHOST WARRIOR (CITY INTERACTIVE)
19. TOM CLANCY’S APLINTER CELL CONVICTION (UBISOFT)
20. FIFA 10 (EA)
21. ALAN WAKE (MICROSOFT)
22. NAUGHTY BEAR (505 GAMES)
23. UFC 2010: UNDISPUTED (THQ)
24. FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 (SEGA)
25. POKEPARK WII: PIKACHU’S ADVENTURE (NINTENDO)
26. BLUR (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)
27. SPLIT/SECOND: VELOCITY (DISNEY)
28. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WII (NINTENDO)
29. TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)
30. CLUB PENGUIN: HERBERT’S REVENGE (DISNEY)
31. JUST CAUSE 2 (SQUARE ENIX)
32. ARMY OF TWO: THE 40TH DAY (EA)
33. LEGO BATMAN: THE VIDEOGAME (WARNER BROS)
34. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)
35. INTERNATIONAL CRICKET 2010 (CODEMASTERS)
36. NEED FOR SPEED SHIFT (EA)
37. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS (NINTENDO)
38. THE SIMS 3: AMBITIONS (EA)
39. POKEMON SOULSILVER (NINTENDO)
40. SEGA MEGA DRIVE ULTIMATE COLLECTION (SEGA)
41. PURE FOOTBALL (UBISOFT)
42. JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR: THE GAME (UBISOFT)
43. GRAND THEFT AUTO IV (Take-Two)
44. THE SIMS 3 (EA)
45. GRAND THEFT AUTO: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY (TAKE-TWO)
46. DANTE’S INFERNO (EA)
47. POKEMON HEARTGOLD (NINTENDO)
48. ASSASSIN’S CREED 2 (UBISOFT)
49. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES (SONY)
50. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)