EA takes March crown monthly charts in full

The value of the UK games software market fell in March by seven per cent year-on-year. But it was still a great month of major releases, while EA and Square Enix both saw big gains.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was the runaway success story of the month with most copies sold. Meanwhile, Square Enix leapt up the publisher rankings thanks to Final Fantasy XIII and Just Cause 2.

Sony also had a great month. The PS3’s share of the software market is increasing, and God of War III and Heavy Rain both enjoyed big sales during March.

However, not everyone could be a winner. Nintendo had three games in the Top 10 in February, but in March the firm only had Wii Sports Resort (in at No.9). The platform holder’s high profile DS releases – Pokmon SoulSilver and HeartGold – just missed out on the Top 10 managing No.11 and No.13 respectively.

Sega, which released a series of big titles in February, also lost ground last month. However, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is showing long-tail potential. The game, which debuted at No.30 in the February charts, has jumped 20 places to No.10 in the March Top 50.

Take-Two also fell down the publishing rankings as BioShock 2 tumbles from No.3 in February to No.20.

To see all the official numbers, click here to read the full feature.