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Wii Fit dominates UK charts, Skate 2 makes strong debut
Wii Fit remains at the top of the UK charts for the week ending January 24th, closely followed by its buddy Call of Duty World At War at number 2. These two games are trying their best not to let anyone into their special "Top Two" club, despite EA's numerous attempts so far this year. Lord of the Rings: Conquest, which showed strong sales when it debuted at number 3 in the charts, has now dropped to number 4.This makes way for EA's newest contender, Skate 2, which has also managed to reach number 3 in the charts during its debuting week. Strong sales, but not strong enough to beat Call of Duty: World At War, which has been hovering up there for over two months now. The strangest story is Wii Fit's, however, as it has jumped up from 33rd to 1st in the last three weeks. We're not sure what sparked this Wii Fit resurgence ... perhaps being constantly told they're overweight by their government has finally had an impact on UK citizens.
UK console sales doubled in 2008
A report from UK retailer GAME, citing Gfk-ChartTrack data, reveals that console sales doubled on the islands during 2008. Home console sales hit 10 million units last year, up from 4.7 million the prior year. The current next-gen install base is around 22 million units.Of course, the Wii accounted for nearly half the sales during 2008, with a solid lead at 4.9 million units. The Xbox 360 and PS3 sold 3.2 and 1.9 million units, respectively. Although the Xbox 360 and PS3 should continue growing their install bases in the coming year, a recent report speculates that nearly half of Brits will have a Wii by the end of this year. We'd tell you what that number is, but we (including our very own Brit) always get confused by the differences between Britain, Great Britain, UK and Little Britain.
Strange, innit? Top selling games in UK during 2008
ELSPA/Gfk-ChartTrack reveals that Mario Kart Wii was the top-selling game across the UK during 2008 in the "individual SKUs" category. EA's FIFA 09 (it's a soccer game) took the top spot in "all formats." MCV notes that Nintendo hardware holds six of the ten spots on the individual list and several slots on the all format list. Not exactly surprising, given how the region has embraced the Wii.NPD will release its year-end report covering the US this Thursday. For now, check out the most popular titles among the masters of Marmite after the break.
CoD: World at War gives FIFA 09 the boot, tops UK charts
Just when we'd gotten used to writing a different sort of headline, Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War once again climbs to the top of the UK all-format software sales charts. After being punted (that's another football joke, you see) from the top spot by FIFA 09 last week, the umpteenth shooter set during the second world war now hopes to restart its stint in first position. It previously held the spot for five consecutive weeks.In other chart news, Need For Speed: Undercover moved back up to third position, with Tomb Raider: Underworld clambering from ninth position to sixth. And who managed to leap up ten to ten? Sonic Unleashed. This thing has more plot twists than a Phoenix Wright trial.
Call of Duty: World at War outsells CoD4's debut in UK 2:1
Looks like the Call of Duty franchise still has plenty of World War II to exploit as World at War outsold Call of Duty 4's debut week in the UK two to one. GI.biz reports that CoD:WaW stands atop the "All Formats" charts, but no actual sales numbers are given, merely chart position. The top ten can be found after the break.Interesting to note is that Activision Blizzard accounted for 25% of all game sales for the week ending Nov. 15, with the one-two punch of CoD:WaW and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, followed by several other top performers like the Guitar Hero franchise. Not surprisingly, Lich King is apparently the fastest-selling PC title in UK. People needs their fix!
Nintendo shows off Euro hardware sales figures
The ever-elusive European hardware sales figures were on display during Nintendo's financial results briefing this week. Rare glimpses at Chart-Track and GfK data revealed Nintendo's unsurprising dominance on the home console and portable fronts. In April, Wii sales roughly matched PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360's combined sales with 180,000 units sold. And what's this -- 360 lagging behind PS3, too, despite numbers suggesting the recent price cut (you know, the kind Iwata so dislikes) gave Microsoft's console a 60,000-unit boost over Sony's in October? Numbers don't lie.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Fable 2 slays Far Cry 2 in UK sales charts
More appropriately, we should probably say, "Fable 2 slayed Far Cry 2, then farted on it, did a heroic pose for the crowd, brought it a shoddy necklace, bought it a house to live in and invited it to unprotected group sex with three random villagers." Peter Molyneux's farcical epic debuted at the top of Chart-Track's UK sales chart, followed by Ubisoft's African-based shooter at number two. Can somebody get Pete a tissue?Other fun facts about Fable 2's launch: It was Microsoft's first All Formats #1 since Halo 3. It outsold the first Fable's launch by a margin of 3.8 to 1 It was the 5th fastest selling Xbox 360 game in the UK, behind Grand Theft Auto IV, Halo 3, FIFA 09 and Call of Duty 4. European's virtual football sensation FIFA09 dropped down to number three, followed by Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 and Saints Row 2. Full top ten list after the break.
NPD, Chart-Track and Enterbrain combine forces for global sales report
NPD, Chart-Track and Enterbrain have announced the joint monthly Top Global Markets Report, an account integrating the point-of-sale data from the US, UK and Japan. We don't know what information will be released publicly from the report on a monthly basis yet, but for the clients of these groups it will provide global data from the leading markets.After the break we've placed a small taste of what the report has to offer, with a chart showing the top five selling games year-to-date across the tracked countries. We're also following up with NPD regarding what impact this new report will have on the standard monthly US report and what information from the global report will be made public. We'll update as soon as we hear back.Update: A NPD representative tells us: "The monthly report from NPD US will still be a standard deliverable. We're not sure if a regular media deliverable based on this new tracking product is something we're going to be providing. It all depends on partner reactions, client acceptance and things like that." Translation: Monthly NPD data goes on as normal, a public version of the combined global data is still up in the air.
Chart-Track UK: 360 outselling PS3 following GTA IV launch
Proficient purveyor of sales data, Chart-Track, has informed Eurogamer that the Xbox 360 has established an 18% UK sales lead over the PlayStation 3, following the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV. Rockstar's open-world crime romp is said to have sold over 1.3 million copies in the UK, with 57% of sales in the first four weeks going to the Xbox 360. That obviously leaves 72% 12% 43% on the PlayStation 3. While the sales traction gained in GTA IV's wake has been more dramatic for the Xbox 360, year-to-date sales still place the PlayStation 3 ahead in the UK. According to Chart-Track's 2008 figures, there still remains a 10% gap between the two rivals.
GTA IV sells 926,000 units first week in UK
Although we're going to have to wait until next month's NPD report for the US info, Chart-Track revealed that GTA IV sold 926,000 copies during its first week on sale in the UK. Gi.biz reports this means GTA IV has broken the "all format" record, while the "individual format" record still belongs to GTA: San Andreas with 677,000 units sold its first week on the PS2.We previously had Chart-Track's estimates on GTA IV's first-day sales, but the official tally was 631,000 units. During the first week, 514,000 copies were sold for Xbox 360, while 413,000 sold for PS3 -- a 55/45 split. We really wish Take-Two would just give the global figure already.Update: Yes, we know the math doesn't work (514k + 413k ≠ 926k), so we're guessing Chart-Track rounded up somewhere and rounded down somewhere else.
Chart-Track estimates GTA IV broke UK sales record
Chart-Track estimates Grand Theft Auto IV sold 609,000 units on its launch day in the UK, which eclipses GTA: San Andreas' 2004 first-day record of 501,000 units. GI.biz reports the game also broke records among the two consoles it's available on, with the Xbox 360 and PS3 selling 335,000 and 274,000 units respectively. The former records belonged to Halo 3 with 266,000 and GT5: Prologue with 80,000 units sold on day one.The "official" Chart-Track sales data will release on May 6, with the current data being based on electronic point of sale and retailer estimates. We're still waiting for Take-Two to send out a press release trumpeting its global success.
Don't sweat Nintendo, Wii Fit rules UK sales charts
The UK's Chart-Track has told GI.biz that Wii Fit debuted atop the sales charts with 16.3 million in sales. Some basic mathimicating tells us that means some 232,890 units were sold and Chart-Track estimates that 1 in 10 UK Wii console owners purchased the board.The sales eclipsed the record-breaking launch of Mario Kart Wii, which saw a 62% drop in sales but still managed to stay in second place on the sales chart. In terms of money, the Wii Fit launch is the third biggest in UK history, behind GTA: San Andreas and Halo 3 (in fairness, it is £70, instead of £45 or less like many games). We can only imagine how the exercise system did in the rest of Europe ... or how it'll do next month in the glorious land of fat: America.
Xbox 360 nearing two million sold in UK
UK sales monitor Chart-Track says that by next week the Xbox 360, is likely to have sold two million units in the UK since launching in December of 2005. GI.biz reports the recent price drop boosted sales for the console, with Chart-Track noting another boost over the Easter weekend. This was followed by a drop with the launch of the PS3's Gran Turismo 5: Prologue bundle.According to Dorian Bloch, director of Chart-Track, Sony still has a way to go before overtaking Microsoft's console in the UK. Now, before the fanboys panic and call Panoramix for some potion, the PS3 hit the million unit sold mark this February (despite its high cost) after being available for a little under a year -- it took 60 weeks for the Xbox 360 to hit the same milestone.
They are amused, UK breaks game sales records
The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (or ELSPA to us plebs) and Chart-Track announced today that the UK saw record-breaking "interactive entertainment software" sales in 2007 of £1.72 billion ($3.37 billion), a 26% increase over the record previously broken in 2006.The DS topped devices in number of software units sold and nearly one-third of software sales were on handhelds, a 45% increase showing how much the UK loves their DS and sees the value in the PSP. The top three games sold across the board were FIFA '08, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training and Call of Duty 4. Director General of ELSPA, Paul Jackson, took the opportunity of the strong sales to remind anyone who would listen that despite the UK's obvious game-lust, there are still problems for UK developers in terms of tax incentives and the threat of international competition.
UK sales charts, April 9-15: Croft unchallenged
The UK sales charts for last week are in, with Tomb Raider: Legend remaining calmly at the top. Movie tie-in Ice Age 2 has been boosted up to number two, but anyone avidly following the chart battle between Guitar Hero and Crazy Frog Racer will be disappointed to know that Guitar Hero has fallen to 35th while the Crazy Frog is ding-ding-dinging along at number 28, thanks to its budget price and better placement on the shelves. The ten bestselling games in the UK for the week ending April 15: 1. Tomb Raider Legend 2. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown 3. Fifa Street 2 4. The Godfather 5. Football Manager 2006 6. Animal Crossing: Wild World 7. Buzz! The Big Quiz 8. King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie 9. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 10. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
UK sales charts, April 3-8: Lara on top
Tomb Raider: Legend marks its UK release by soaring straight to the top of the charts; the other much-touted arrival on European shores, Guitar Hero, has a slightly less impressive debut at 28, just one place ahead of Crazy Frog Racer. The video game adaptation of Narnia is also a new member of the top ten, going straight in at number nine.The ten bestselling games in the UK for the week ending April 8:1. Tomb Raider: Legend2. The Godfather3. Fifa Street 24. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown5. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter6. Animal Crossing: Wild World7. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion8. Buzz! The Big Quiz9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe10. Championship Manager 2006
