Games market steps up a Gear

Christmas came early for UK retail last week: physical game sales rose to its highest point since the first week of the year.

UK stores generated 27.7m from game sales for the seven days ending September 24th, 136 per cent up over the week before.

Renewed market momentum came thanks to the concluding part in Microsoft’s smash hit Gears of War series. Gears of War 3 enjoyed the biggest launch sales of any game this year. It’s the seventh largest launch for an Xbox 360 game.

Gears of War 3, the biggest console exclusive of the year, has got off to a flying start,” Xbox director Stephen McGill told MCV.

Xbox 360, without doubt, continues to be home for the best triple-A games.”

The market’s recovery wasn’t all down to Gears of War, Codemasters F1 2011 also contributed a chunk of revenue to the sector.