UK Game Sales to Experience 'Massive Growth' In Next 5 Years

United Kingdom - Market research firm Verdict Research Limited has released their latest UK Video Games and Consoles Retailing 2008 forecast.


From the press release:

In 2008 we believe video games sales will overtake music & video sales for the first time. Video games are proving themselves the stand-out performer in a sluggish retail environment, enjoying explosive growth at odds with other sectors. When this upsurge is over, video games will find itself a more significant contributor to the retail market.

The reason for this is growth in the demographic, driven by technological innovation. Although leading specialist Game and a number of well-run independents are well-placed to profit on the buoyant market, other retailers are also keen to benefit with grocers, online retailers and non-specialists all ramping up their participation in the sector.

The medium term prospects of the market are strong with the current generation of consoles set to see a peak in hardware sales in early 2009 and then enjoying strong software sales - driven by a widely installed console base, into the next decade. The accessories market will also continue growing rapidly, driven by innovation and new technology.

What do you guys think? Will the strength of the gaming market while everything else crashes vault it to an even more prominent location in the marketplace even after the market recovers? Can games really pass movies and music?


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Handheld Market Explodes: DS Sells 500k In 4 Weeks; PSP Sales Up 245%

Media Create Sales: 11/17 - 11/24 (Handhelds)

Japan - Nintendo's newest take on the DS formula is a big hit so far, propelling the platform to nearly half a million in sales in the past 4 weeks, making this the best month for the DS in the past year. The DSi, a DS Lite with a camera, an SD card slot, and several hardware upgrades, launched at 188 thousand its first week, and has been selling another 100 thousand each week since.

The PSP also enjoys a renewed interest since its latest hardware revision, the PSP3000. In the past six weeks the PSP has sold 413 thousand units, a 245% increase from the previous six weeks (169k).

What to watch for
In terms of sales, 2008 has been the closest year so far between the two systems, with little more than 250 thousand separating them with barely more than a month to go in the year.

Observe the YOY chart (last chart in this post) and how the DS has outsold the PSP by more than 10 million units in the past two years, but is just behind this year. Also notice the settling-in of the 70/30 market share relationship, a surprising contrast to the 75/25 spread from the previous year.

Will this shift continue or has the DSi put a plug in the market share drain?

(click to enlarge)

October 2008 NPD Analysis (Gamasutra)

Read the entire article @ Gamasutra

October 2008 NPD Results - LBP Outsold by Mario Kart

NPD results are as follows. Stay right here for the latest in NPD Charts and graphs. That PS3 number looks BAD.

Hardware
Hardware Unit Sales
Oct-08
PlayStation 2 136K
PlayStation 3 190K
PSP 193K
Xbox 360 371K
Wii 803K
Nintendo DS 491K



Platform Charts
(click to enlarge for all charts)



Overall Charts


Top 10 Software
Publisher Release Date Rank # Units
360 FABLE II MICROSOFT (CORP) Oct-08 1 790K
WII FIT W/ BALANCE BOARD NINTENDO OF AMERICA May-08 2 487K
360 FALLOUT 3 BETHESDA SOFTWORKS Oct-08 3 375K
WII MARIO KART W/ WHEEL NINTENDO OF AMERICA Apr-08 4 290K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA Feb-07 5 282K
360 SAINTS ROW 2 THQ (CORP) Oct-08 6 270K
PS3 SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALS CONFRONTATION SONY (CORP) Oct-08 7 231K
PS3 LITTLE BIG PLANET SONY (CORP) Oct-08 8 215K
360 NBA 2K9 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE (CORP) Oct-08 9 202K
360 DEAD SPACE ELECTRONIC ARTS Oct-08 10 193K


Industry Sales
Dollar Sales Oct-07 Oct-08 CHG YTD Oct 07 YTD Oct 08 CHG
Video Games $1.12B $1.31B 18% $10.50B $13.13B 25%
Video Games Hardware $470.47M $494.74M 5% $4.13B $4.72B 14%
Video Games Software $514.60M $696.79M 35% $4.98B $6.76B 36%
Video Game Accessories $130.81M $120.19 -8% $1.40B $1.65B 18%

Capcom All-Time Sales Data

Capcom updated their all-time sales data at their investor relations site. Notably, two PSP games are in the top 10 (both Monster Hunter) and Devil May Cry 4 weighs in at 8th.

(click to enlarge)

	Title	Platform	Units
1.	Street Fighter II	SFC	6,300,000
2.	Resident Evil 2	PS	4,960,000
3.	Street Fighter II Turbo	SFC	4,100,000
4.	Resident Evil 3 Nemesis	PS	3,500,000
5.	Resident Evil	PS	2,750,000
6.	Monster Hunter Freedom 2 G	PSP	2,550,000
7.	Dino Crisis	PS	2,400,000
8.	Devil May Cry 4	PS3,Xbox360	2,350,000
9.	Monster Hunter Freedom 2	PSP	2,250,000
10.	Devil May Cry	PS2	2,160,000
11.	Onimusha : Warlords	PS2	2,020,000
12.	Resident Evil 4	PS2	2,050,000
13.	Super Street Fighter II	SFC	2,000,000
14.	Onimusha 2 : Samurai's Destiny	PS2	1,990,000
15.	Devil May Cry 2	PS2	1,700,000
16.	Street Fighter II' Plus	MD	1,650,000
17.	Ghosts'n Goblins	FC	1,640,000
18.	Resident Evil 4	GC	1,600,000
19.	Onimusha 3 : Demon siege	PS2	1,520,000
20.	Mega Man 2	FC	1,510,000
21.	Lost Planet Extream Condition	Xbox360	1,500,000
22.	Final Fight	SFC	1,480,000
23.	Resident Evil Outbreak	PS2	1,450,000
24.	Resident Evil 4 Wii edition	Wii	1,400,000
25.	Resident Evil Code Veronica X	PS2	1,400,000
26.	Dead Rising	Xbox360	1,400,000
27.	Resident Evil	GC	1,350,000
28.	Mega man Battle Network 4	GBA	1,350,000
29.	Devil May Cry 3	PS2	1,300,000
30.	Resident Evil 0	GC	1,250,000
31.	Resident Evil DC Dual Shock	PS	1,200,000
32.	Monster Hunter Freedom	PSP	1,200,000
33.	Dino Crisis 2	PS	1,190,000
34.	Mega Man X	SFC	1,160,000
35.	Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles	Wii	1,150,000
36.	Resident Evil Code Veronica	DC	1,140,000
37.	Commando	FC	1,140,000
38.	Resident Evil Director's Cut	PS	1,130,000
39.	Super Ghouls'n Ghosts	SFC	1,090,000
40.	Mega Man 3	FC	1,080,000
41.	Final Fight 2	SFC	1,030,000
42.	Street Fighter Alpha 3	PS	1,000,000

source:
http://ir.capcom.co.jp/english/data/million.html

World Markets Comparison (NPD, GfK, Enterbrain)

An international market report has revealed that the world’s three largest game markets – Japan, the US and the UK – have experienced markedly contrasting rates of growth and decline for the third calendar-quarter.

The Top Global Markets Report – which aggregates data from the NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track as well as Enterbrain – reveals that the UK videogame market rose 15 percent over the same period last year. For the same July-September period, the US held a steady 8 percent growth over last year’s results while Japan saw its market tumble 21 percent.

The report has provided point-of-sale data for video game software sales in all three markets.

Read the entire report @ EDGE.

We will be using this data to produce the best comparisons for every market and every console. Stay right here for the latest in worldwide sales charts. Expect updates to this throughout the week.

Konami 2Q Financial Report: Metal Gear Kinda Popular

Provided by Konami:

Konami announced Friday that Metal Gear Solid 4 has now shipped over 4 million units. Other data:

Click to enlarge:




Get the down & dirty HERE (Konami's Official Release .pdf)