UK games market holds steady in Feb

The value of the UK games software market in February fell two per cent year-on-year, according to ELSPA/GfK Chart-Track.

The monthly charts show that Sega’s sci-fi FPS Aliens vs Predator was the biggest selling title of last month.

Sega’s action shooter Aliens vs Predator saw off stiff competition from 2K’s highly anticipated BioShock 2 and Ubisoft’s continual seller Just Dance to top the monthly charts. EA’s new IP Dante’s Inferno didn’t quite manage the Top Ten though, having to settle for 11th place.

1. Aliens vs Predator (Sega
2. Just Dance (Ubisoft
3. BioShock 2 (2K Games
4. Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Blizzard)
5. Heavy Rain (Sony)
6. FIFA 10 (EA)
7. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
8. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Nintendo)
9. Mass Effect 2 (EA)
10. Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)

A stellar line-up of major new releases couldn’t reverse a general downward trend the industry is seeing in the sales of boxed games.

Blockbuster games released during February included Aliens vs Predator, BioShock 2, Heavy Rain and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

When compared to February 2008 the overall value of the UK games market is down even further, falling by 11 per cent, despite those major releases.

In terms of value for February, Microsoft Xbox 360 was the most successful format followed swiftly by Sony’s PlayStation 3.

However, in terms of units of games sold, Nintendo’s Wii was the highest performing console during the course of the month.