UK Shows Record Game Sales, Xmas Hardware Decline

Thanks to Reuters for their story indicating that the UK videogame software market swelled to a new high of 1.26 billion UKP (2.29 billion USD) in 2003. The piece points out the increasing success of publisher Electronic Arts, "which notched up five of the top 10 selling titles, and the top four overall", and the original ELSPA press release notes that soccer title "FIFA 2004 was the overall [sales] winner." However, Gamesindustry.biz weighs in by revealing that "total [console hardware] units sold over the crucial Christmas period were down by over 10 per cent year on year", and pointing out that "the overall picture clearly indicates that hardware sales have peaked a year earlier than some analysts predicted - meaning the next two Christmases will be even more challenging for retailers, with discounted software likely to be rife as they battle for market share." The dominance of the PlayStation 2 at UK retail is supreme, though, as: "Over the crucial last four weeks, the PS2 outsold the Xbox by 2.69 to one, and the sixty-pounds-cheaper Cube by 4.81 to one."

Comments

60 pounds?

[Anonymous Coward]

A Game Cube is 60 pounds less than a PS2?

And here I thought the Xbox was massive.

Re:suprising the ps2 outsold the cube by so much.

[unclethursday]

Still, even though the GC sold the least of the three consoles, it was the only one in the UK to actually see an increase in sales over the previous year.

Xbox sales were -5% over last year, according to the article, and PS2 sales were nearly -33.3% over the same period last year, according ot the article. The GC sales were up almost 33.3% over last year.

Well we all know why the PS2 outsold

[xQuarkDS9x]

It's simple folks. It means those UK people must be even MORE unlucky then Americans with PS2's that break down every 6-12 months and need to be replaced.

Hardware sales were weaker, no doubt

[GreatDrok]

Odd that the GCN was so low, it is a bit of a self fullfilling prophecy though. When people came into the shop I work at without any idea what they wanted there was no problem guiding them to the system best suited to their needs - young kids would always be better off with the GCN; where the family all wanted to use it then the PS2 would be better and if a mature person wanted a machine then the Xbox would be ideal. However, the name recognition of Playstation also plays a big part in it, we would frequently get people in who had no idea what they wanted but it had to be a playstation. Its getting like people buying a hoover instead of a vacuum cleaner. I'm sure Sony loves that,