UK retail suffers March fall

Almost one million fewer games were sold at UK retail last month compared to the same period in 2010.

The latest figures from GfK Chart-Track paints a bleak picture of the UK games market.

In total, 19.3 per cent fewer games were sold last month compared to March 2010, with the value of the games market down 14 per cent.

That’s despite a string of blockbuster releases and the hardware launch of Nintendo 3DS.

It follows news from the British Retail Consortium that the total sales of the entire retail sector in March were down 1.9 per cent year-on-year – the worst fall in sales since records began in 1996.

However, the BRC pointed out that the early Easter last year will have had an impact on figures.

So far this year, the UK games market is down 18.5 per cent in units and 15 per cent in value compared to Q1 2010.

The biggest selling video game in March was THQ’s Homefront, followed by Nintendo’s Pokmon White in second place and EA’s Crysis 2 in third position.