According to ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) and Chart-Track, which officially released the annual video game data for the U.K. today, the industry across the pond hit an all-time high in 2007.

ELSPA said it was an “unprecedented” year as there was a 16 percent increase in units sold for a total of 75.9 million units, and record sales of interactive entertainment software across all formats totaled £1.72 billion ($3.37 billion), representing an increase of more than 26 percent over the record numbers of 2006.

The portable market played a big part in the growth of the U.K. industry, as 2007 was the biggest year ever for handheld systems. The Nintendo DS in particular was number one in terms of software units sold, while Sony’s PSP ranked fifth and sixth in units and value, respectively. “The entire console hand-held sector broke previous records and claimed nearly a third of the entire software units market, up 45% and just over one-quarter of the entire software market by value, up by 28%,” ELSPA noted.

In terms of value, the Xbox 360 was tops, followed by PS2 (down from top spot in 2006), then Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PS3. Looking at the systems in terms of units sold, however, the order changes to PS2 (but #2 overall behind DS, the first time it has not been the biggest format since 2003), followed by Xbox 360, Wii and PS3.

The top 10 games in the U.K. were as follows:

1. FIFA 08 (EA Sports)
2. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)
5. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima (Nintendo)
6. Halo 3 (Microsoft)
7. The Simpsons Game (EA Games)
8. Wii Play (Nintendo)
9. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
10. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 (THQ)

Paul Jackson, Director General of ELSPA, commented, “We are thrilled to see the industry growing and software sales continuing to rise. This is a real testament to the industry, the creativity and the talent we have in the U.K. There is, however, a chance to forget many of the problems the U.K. development sector faces with the pressure from the threat of international competition. We need to ensure that the U.K. creativity is able to continue to flourish and feed this demand, these figures should act as a reminder to us of the scale of our amazing industry and how we need to continue to work towards a healthier situation for one of the U.K. most lucrative creative industries.”

Written by James Brightman from GameDaily
© 2008 GameDaily

Valve Corporation today announced that it has acquired Turtle Rock Studios. The Orange County-based development studio is currently developing Left 4 Dead. Turtle Rock Studios has had a long history of working with Valve, including on the Xbox version of Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero for PC and several maps for Counter-Strike: Source.

“We have been seeing very strong growth with Steam and Source, our content distribution and development platforms, up over 150% over the last 12 months,” said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. “Given our expectations for Left 4 Dead and our long-standing relationships with members of the Turtle Rock team, this was an easy decision. It also gives us a base from which to expand our development activities in the Los Angeles area.”

“Valve has had great success bringing in projects and teams such as Team Fortress and Portal. As I spent time working and talking with the creators of those products over the past several years, it became clear that this was the right next step for myself, my colleagues at Turtle Rock, our customers, and our products,” said Michael Booth, founder and CEO of Turtle Rock Studios. “We are excited to be a part of such a visionary and forward-thinking company.”

Written by David Radd from GameDaily
© 2008 GameDaily

Nvidia announced today that they have signed up Metropolis Software and IMC for their “The Way It’s Meant to be Played” program. This puts the upcoming title THEY into the program after roughly ten months of development. The “mystery first person shooter” is due to release in 2009.

“Our content development team constantly research the development community for new and innovative titles and THEY has been on our radar for some time,” said Phil Wright, Head of Content Business Development EMEAI of Nvidia. “This is one of the earliest points in the development cycle that a game has joined Nvidia’s ‘The Way It’s Meant to be Played’ program, which gives you an idea of how excited we are about its potential. Even in this short time IMC and Metropolis have demonstrated proof of a professional approach and a trendsetting concept for the future. We are happy to have signed this title, which is already promising great things at such an early stage. THEY will be a real highlight for our new and upcoming graphics boards.”

“We are happy to join the exclusive circle of TWIMTBP developers,” added IMC’s Head of Communication Ingo Horn. “Nvidia’s trust in a European product paid off our efforts and long hours during the development of a top title in the overcrowded market of FPS games. NVIDIA’s tech support will further enhance the technical aspects of THEY, so we are able to release a triple A mystery FPS in 2009, which will present future gamers with the best graphics boards of tomorrow!”

Written by David Radd from GameDaily
© 2008 GameDaily

The annual Tokyo Game Show typically takes place in September, but this year the event will take place from October 9 – 13 at the Makuhari Messe, show organizers Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA) announced today.

The last Tokyo Game Show took place from September 20 – 23 and marked the first time the event spanned four days. Two of the days were devoted to business while the other two were for consumers to check out the games on the show floor. TGS 2007 also set a new attendance record for the event with 193,040 visitors.

2008 seems to be full of changes for industry events. In addition to TGS being moved back, the Game Developers Conference was moved up into February (Feb. 18-22), putting it too close for comfort with D.I.C.E. this year, which takes places Feb. 6 – 8. In addition, the E3 business summit has left its Santa Monica venue from last year to return to the familiar Los Angeles Convention Center of years past.

Written by James Brightman from GameDaily
© 2008 GameDaily

Today, Sega announced that they have signed an exclusive partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM). They will work together to produce Beijing 2008 - the Official Video Game of the Olympic Games. The game will be created by Eurocom Entertainment Software for PS3, PC, and Xbox 360 and will feature online play for the first time in an official Olympic title.

“Beijing 2008 will set a new standard for sports games in this genre,” commented Hugh Binns, Director of Eurocom. “With a huge number of events, innovative control schemes to benefit new and experienced gamers, online multiplayer modes providing hours of entertainment and stunning high definition graphics, Beijing 2008 will be a fantastic experience.”

“Sega has truly embraced the spirit of the Olympic Games first with the launch of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and now with the official video game for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games,” said Don Mesa, Marketing Director of Sega of America. “The addition of online play in an Olympic title revolutionizes the franchise and has brought the scope of international competition to the gamer at home for the first time.”

“Extending our relationship with Sega to include the Official Video Game of Beijing 2008 strengthens the opportunity to build upon the success of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games,” stated Raymond Goldsmith, Chairman and CEO of ISM. “We feel certain that Sega will further the success of Athens 2004, thereby delivering what will be an outstanding, quality gaming experience.”

Written by David Radd from GameDaily.
© 2008 GameDaily.

Microsoft’s Halo 3 is a monster. When it launched back in September, the game sold a whopping 3.3 million units in the U.S. More recently, Microsoft Corporate VP of Global Marketing Jeff Bell, revealed that Bungie’s masterpiece had surpassed five million units sold worldwide.

A closer look at the data from The NPD Group through November shows that 4.1 million copies have been sold in the U.S. With 7.9 million Xbox 360s purchased in the U.S. to date, some simple math indicates that an impressive 52 percent of all Xbox 360 owners in America have picked up Halo 3.

That’s an incredible attach rate and proof positive of the importance of the Halo brand to Microsoft and its Xbox business. Halo 3 has given Xbox 360 a huge lift in terms of console adoption. The Xbox 360 was the top selling console in September with over 527K units sold.

“The power of Halo 3 is quite evident,” NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier commented to GameDaily BIZ. “Even more than the attach rate of the game, which is significant, the fact that when it released it drove hardware sales substantially is evidence of the power of the franchise. That is why content is so important - a really killer game drives hardware adoption more than any other factor (including price cuts).”

For comparison’s sake (although it’s not entirely fair since Halo 3’s been on the market three months), Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy has sold 1.12 million units in the U.S., and thus far six million Wiis have been sold, resulting in an attach rate of 18.7 percent.

Written by James Brightman from GameDaily.
© 2007 GameDaily.

U.K.-based trade publication MCV recently posted a story speculating that Sega could be the next video game publisher to make a big acquisition in the wake of the Activision Blizzard merger.

We recently postulated that the Activision/Vivendi deal could set off a wave of consolidation in the video game industry. While Sega’s next big move might not be a direct consequence of the Activision Blizzard deal, there’s only so much talent to go around, and Sega’s interest in a particular studio could potentially increase if it gets the feeling that EA or Activision is in the hunt too.

“We’re always on the lookout for growing and expanding the business in the right, appropriate manner. We made some studio acquisitions last year and we’ll continue to look for anything that makes sense for us,” Simon Jeffery
President and COO, Sega of America, told GameDaily BIZ in a brief phone conversation today.

“We believe that the industry is ever changing, ever shifting, and to be competitive you’ve got to look at what’s going on around you and make adjustments. Absolutely, we’re always going to be on the lookout for new talent to bring into the Sega family,” he said.

We asked Jeffery if Sega might feel any additional pressure due to the Activision Blizzard deal, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. “While we were surprised by the deal [when it was announced], I don’t think it puts any pressure on a company our size. I don’t think it changes the way we’re thinking of doing business in the short- to mid-term. It makes thing more interesting at the very top of the tree, but it’s business as usual for us pretty much,” he said.

Written by James Brightman from GameDaily.
© 2007 GameDaily.

Following the monumental video game sales for November, Jesse Divnich, analyst for prediction market the simExchange has weighed in with some interesting insights.

Although the Wii did sell an impressive 981K units for the month, the total fell short of the prediction market’s 1,060,000, which is probably a direct result of the continued shortage. “Nintendo’s claims of supply constraints likely played a bigger role in hindering sales than originally expected,” noted Divnich.

As for the PS3, Sony’s console is seemingly taking baby steps, and slowly but surely gaining on the Xbox 360. “The PS3 sold better than expected against its closest rival, the Xbox 360, which only outsold it by 1.6-to-1 from an expected 1.8-to-1. Sony’s recent price cut and introduction of a cheaper 40GB model played a significant role in closing the gap between its console and the Xbox 360,” Divnich said.

On the software side, Rock Band, which sold 382K across Xbox 360 and PS3, was well above the prediction market’s expectations of just 152K. This certainly bodes well for its future. “We consider this a significant achievement for Harmonix, which despite large barriers managed to break into the music peripheral genre under a new intellectual property, which clearly could have been marketed better to consumers,” said Divnich.

Assassin’s Creed, which has already sold 2.5 million worldwide, was another focal point. “Despite mixed reviews and some early controversy, Ubisoft was able to overcome these barriers by executing a fantastic marketing campaign that drove unit sales well above market expectations at 980,000 and 376,483 units for the Xbox 360 and the PS3, respectively. This proves once again that marketing, advertising, and public relations play the biggest factor to any new intellectual property,” Divnich commented.

Divnich also had an interesting observation regarding the poor performance of Rockstar’s Manhunt 2: “Manhunt 2 was released to the market with great concerns over its content as activist groups and parents claimed the Wii remote control added too much realism to an already violent game. These concerns with Take-Two, the ESRB, and retailers have proven to be unnecessary as sales were a depressing 18,494 units sold in November—making little impact on the industry. This should not be considered a victory for those groups who protested its release, but rather a victory for industry and gamers who did not fall for the market hype of what can only be described as a poorly executed title.”

Written by James Brightman from GameDaily.
© 2007 GameDaily.