Global Sales: UK, U.S. Game Sales Jump As Japan Slumps

The U.S., UK and Japan together saw about 1 percent growth in 2008's third quarter from July to September, according to the latest Top Global Markets integrated report. Using data from The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track, and Enterbrain, the report shows that the UK experienced the largest aggregate growth at 15 percent, with console software sales up 26 percent, and portable software down 1 percent. (However, the 2008 aggregate growth figure is lower than at the same time in 2007, when growth stood at 34 percent.) The U.S. saw 8 percent growth overall, with console software up 6 percent and portable software up 10 percent. The U.S. market was also the only one of the three to see an increase on the previous year, when third quarter 2007 growth was only 5 percent. The Japanese market saw a 21 percent fall on the previous year, as the country’s software market continued to weaken. Home console software sales were down 33 percent and portable software sales fell by 13 percent. The Japanese market had been improving in 2007, with a 27 percent aggregate increase. "Japan did experience sales declines in both software categories, but it is important to keep in mind that not only is Japan a more mature market than the U.S. and UK, but 2007 was a banner year for the Japanese software market, with the titles released in the third quarter of 2008 not being as highly anticipated as those released during the same time period in 2007," said Ricky Tanimoto, Global Marketing Analyst at Enterbrain. According to the report, Madden NFL 09 was the best selling game overall in the three territories, despite negligible sales in the UK and Japan. The software sales figures are especially interesting as figures are not generally given for the UK. The top five global game titles for July to September 2008 are as follows: - Madden NFL 2009: 2,994,000 units (U.S.: 2,958,000, UK: 35,000, Japan: 1,000) - Wii Fit: 2,089,000 units (U.S.: 1,283,000, UK: 460,000, Japan: 346,000) - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: 1,738,000 units (U.S.: 1,417,000, UK: 320,000) - Pokemon Platinum: 1,482,000 units (Japan only) - Mario Kart Wii on 1,468,000 units (U.S.: 856,000, UK: 394,000, Japan: 218,000).