Report: UK Games Market Declines 7.8 Percent In Q1

A first quarter that included top-tier video game releases such as God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Mass Effect 2, BioShock 2 and others was still not able to beat year-on-year revenue comparisons in the UK, according to MCV. For the 13 weeks ended April 4, the UK games market generated £303 million ($465.87 million), a 7.8 percent year-on-year decline. Calendar Q1 2009 saw sales of £329 million ($505.84 million). Video game unit sales dropped 10.8 percent to 13.79 million from 15.38 million, said the report, which cited Chart-Track data. UK retailers such as HMV blamed the economic downturn. "It’s frustrating when you consider the quality of product that’s out there," said HMV’s head of games Tim Ellis. Other major releases during Q1 2010 that hit the top of the charts in the UK include Heavy Rain, Alien vs. Predator and Just Cause 2, as well as Modern Warfare 2 and Just Dance, which released last year. Top UK performers during Q1 a year ago included FIFA 09, Wii Fit, Call of Duty: World at War, Street Fighter IV, Killzone 2, Empire: Total War and Resident Evil 5.