MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
As if things weren’t bad enough for in-administration Blockbuster UK, a newspaper investigation has landed the company in even hotter water. The Guardian reports that over a 15-year period the company has paid less than 250k in corporation tax despite sales of over 3.5bn and profits of 37m in the …
Read More »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 …
Read More »Hilco linked to HMV store acquisition
The owner of HMV Canada is reportedly interested in acquiring some of the troubled chain’s UK stores. The Financial Times reports, however, that Hilco has not yet been approached by administrators Deloitte. The paper adds that as well as asking suppliers for a 300m bailout prior to falling into administration, …
Read More »Revealed: 2012’s UK Top 100 Video Games
Just two physical games sold over 1m units in the UK last year, according toUKIE and GfK Chart-Track data. Call of Duty: Black Ops II and FIFA 13 were comfortably the No.1 and No.2 sellers last year. In contrast, there were five million sellers in the UK in 2011 – …
Read More »Yet another UK No.1 for FIFA 13
EA’s FIFA 13 has claimed its sixth No.1 in the UKIE GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40 this week. It does so despite a 47 per cent week-on-week drop in sales. Ubisoft’s Far Cry 2 retains second spot with sales falling 36 per cent. Much of the Top Ten remains …
Read More »Logistics problem delays Ni no Kuni in Europe and UK
Namco Bandai’s colourful RPG Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch has been delayed in the UK and Europe. The Studio Ghibli and Level 5 developed outing was supposed to arrive in the UK on January 25th. However, a logistics delay” has seen the launch pushed back to February …
Read More »Retail narrowly avoids Christmas drop, grows 0.3% YOY
UK retail sales values were up ever so slightly by 0.3 per cent year-on-year fro December. It’s a severe drop from the 2.2 per cent gain made in 2011, but better than some had feared. The BRC reports that total sales were up 1.5 per cent. This is down from …
Read More »FIFA 13 grabs its fifth UK No.1
Having dropped off the top of the listings back in October, EA’s FIFA 13 is back at the top of the Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 40. It’s the game’s fifth No.1 since it was released last September. It has yet to drop below 4th place. Last week’s No.1, Ubisoft’s …
Read More »EA conquers 2012 as UK’s No.1 publisher
Electronic Arts was comfortably the UK’s top physical games publisher of 2012. The firm enjoyed a successful year thanks to record-breaking sales of FIFA 13, which sold through 2m units two weeks faster than its predecessor. Other games that helped propel the publisher to the top of the rankings included …
Read More »Console sales down by a third in 2012
Sales of video games consoles in 2012 fell 33.1 per cent year-on-year. Handheld sales dropped 31.3 per cent, despite the arrival of PlayStation Vita and 3DS XL. The portable sector is a market potentially hit by the booming sales of tablets and smartphones. Home console sales were down by 34.1 …
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