Square Enix and Microsoft toast chart triumphs

Square Enix and Microsoft are delighted by their success at UK retail last year.

Square Enix told MCV last year that Hitman Absolution would be a Top Five game of 2012 and the firm delivered on that, with its stealth shooter reaching No.5. The firm also had the top selling new IP in Sleeping Dogs at No.20.

Back inMay 2012 we said that Hitman had Top Five credentials. Seven months later and after a lot of hard work and with the help of all our retail partners, it feels great to say we landed it," said Square Enix’s UK marketing directorJon Brooke.

The firm’s UK sales manager Andrew Larcombe added: It capped off a great year for Square Enix, having also made Sleeping Dogs the biggest selling new IP of 2012.”

Meanwhile, Xbox’s Halo 4 was the fourth best seller of the year, and is the highest charting single-format game.

Platform exclusives don’t come any bigger than Halo, so we’re thrilled that Halo 4 has been so positively received,” said Xbox product manager Andy Irving.

Last year marked the return of Master Chief, but with new Spartan Ops episodes arriving on Xbox Live later this month, we’re looking forward to seeing fans enjoy Halo 4 into 2013.”