News

Analyst: UK game sales "half of what they should be" at retail
Posted: 23.02.2012 13:17 by Simon Priest Comments: 1
Major 'AAA' titles are finding it hard to entice consumer wallets to open up as the retail market is down 25 percent in performance from last year, and publishers are feeling it.

Big time IPs are clearing 10k to 48k copies in their first week at retail, compared to 35k and 80k in 2011. One publisher said they're "trying to understand it," and called it an "absolute nightmare."

The sales numbers in the UK high street for games isn't great. UFC Undisputed 3 was the most recent UK number one but it hasn't reached figures of its predecessors.

"We are trying to understand it, but everything is selling well below what it should. It is an absolute nightmare. I’m not making half the money back I’m spending on marketing," said one publisher.

“Nobody is looking at Chart-Track’s numbers so far this year and thinking ‘cool’," added another.

“There are some stock shortages at retail, but I don’t think that’s what’s causing these figures,” chipped in a UK boss of a Japanese publisher. “The big games of last year are available cheaply. But also consumers don’t want to spend money, and we as an industry are not giving them any reason to change their minds."

"I will be watching Mass Effect 3 and Syndicate very closely.” Now more than ever the digital distribution system is looking the hip place to be. It's no wonder EA are so focused on pushing Origin to compete with Steam.
Source: MCV

Comments

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 23, 2012
herodotus
We are simply watching the gradual and slow death of the videogame retail store asi it traditionally has been. With Microsoft adding the inability to play rented games for the 720 the industry really is in it's death throws. Online stores are the current trend, and the forseeable future... until somthing better comes along.