UK games market plummets in July

The value of the UK games software market plunged 18.2 per cent in July, compared to the same period the year before.

According to Gfk Chart-Track, the number of games sold fell by 13.3 per cent.

It’s a sharp fall compared to last year, although July 2009 did see the release of Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort.

The biggest selling title of the month belonged to Warner Brothers. LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 ended Rockstar’s two month stay at the top of the charts, although Red Dead Redemption still managed second place.

Ubisoft’s latest dancing game – Dance on Broadway – managed third place and the firm was the second biggest publisher of the month in terms of number of titles sold.

No.1 position was reclaimed by EA. The firm released Tiger Woods PGA Tour II last month, which managed eighth spot.

In terms of formats, most games were sold on Xbox 360 – Microsoft’s machine secured a 25.4 per cent share of the software market. Wii leads the chasing pack, with a 20.2 per cent share, followed by DS with 18.4 per cent and PS3 with 17.9 per cent.

JULY’S BIGGEST SELLERS

1. LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 (Warner Bros)
2. Red Dead Redemption (Take-Two)
3. Dance on Broadway (Ubisoft)
4. Toy Story 3 (Disney Interactive)
5. Crackdown 2 (Microsoft)
6. 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (EA Sports)
7. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo)
8. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 (EA
9. StarCraft II (Blizzard)
10. Just Dance (Ubisoft)