Record year for game sales...in UK

Britain continues growth in gaming sector with $2.38 billion in sales for 2005; numbers up from 2004.

Even the most optimistic analysts believed that 2005 would be a difficult year for the gaming industry. Taking into consideration the monster year that was 2004 and the predicted calm during the transition period between generations of consoles, most analysts were thinking a successful year would mean coming anywhere close to last year's numbers. In fact, ever since industry group NPD released some very lackluster November sales numbers, clouds of gloom have hung over the industry.

That wasn't the case in the United Kingdom, however. The ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association), a unified collection of companies involved in entertainment software sales in Britain, released their estimate for 2005's sales figures in the region today, and the results were positive.

Unlike the projected dip for the United States, the UK's numbers for software sales across all platforms in 2005 actually went up. When compared to 2004's record-setting numbers, last year's sales went up .7 percent to 1.35 billion British pounds ($2.38 billion).

Roger Bennett, director general of ELSPA, said, "We are now starting to see a trend in the market where software sales continue to rise even during the cycle before the introduction of exciting new technologies, with software publishers fully exploiting the tried and tested current hardware platforms. It is a testament to the strategic marketing initiatives of the entire industry that, despite being a transition year between current and next-generation hardware, our industry has still continued to gain momentum."

Official numbers from US sales in 2005 have not yet been released.

42 Comments

  • canand

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 3:37 pm PT

    Thanks everybodey I am from the UK and I got a lot of games ever year and come on next gen consoles and games I well get a PS3 and a Revolution

  • ufopuller

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 2:05 pm PT

    I'm over weight with all the pounds

  • SuCuBuS_04

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 10:56 am PT

    wooo Britain rocks!!

  • Renegade47

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 10:27 am PT

    It's both a good sign and a bad one. Good, because more are playing games. Bad because the charts were dominated by utter crud. So it's a win/lose situation.

  • e10mgs

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 10:20 am PT

    Everyone seems very surprised at this? Britain has always been into video games. You will be surprised at the big games that are made in britain. Rockstar is a British company and Rare.

  • jaefrmbk2k

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 9:46 am PT

    blymee .7 percent! wew jus tickle mah bits an' pieces

  • Viquist

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 9:36 am PT

    Congrats to UK and Europe - Keep worldwide gaming alive!

  • RobertBowen

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 8:30 am PT

    That's a lot of dosh. It would be good to see more startup devs in the UK, and I agree it would be nice to see some of them focus on games with British settings and culture.

  • mufc_mike

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 7:56 am PT

    Our top selling game for 2005 was Fifa 06, followed by Pro Evolution Soccer 5, then need for speed most wanted, gran turismo 4, star wars episode 3, fifa street, star wars battlefront 2, gran thedt auto san andreas, king kong and finally the sims 2

  • DS-man

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 6:59 am PT

    Or rearly some games are 99p

  • DS-man

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 6:59 am PT

    My guess is with the Mario Kart DS, UK alone sold millions od copies (or was it EU as well? Oo) Anyways my best reson is that games in the UK are very very cheep now, i can buy games at the maximun of £30 Minimin of £10

  • diablo89

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 6:20 am PT

    sweet. hopefully this will influence sales and marketing elsewhere

  • cikame

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:55 am PT

    Glad to know i contributed , last year i bought a hell of aload of games from 2004 cus they were cheaper, plus all the new ones etc quake 4, call of duty 2, fear...jesus i buy a hell of alot of games i couldn't name em all here they stack to the ceiling.....i need therepy. maybe thats what we brits do, buy games from late last year because they are cheaper, lol

  • Ravenmyst

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:24 am PT

    sorry double post, but that was random =P

  • Ravenmyst

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:24 am PT

    psst..come on australia..catch on..PLZ OH GOD PLZ..spaz attack there..JUST SO P$$D..sorry.. GO AUS GO AUS GO AUS =)

  • TheTuff

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 5:00 am PT

    Hurrah for the UK.

  • Sabooya

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 3:46 am PT

    See the Games got Japan, then US, Now the UK! Whats next the PSP's being record sold in Africa?

  • nemes1s3000

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 2:48 am PT

    360 gave it a boost.

  • alk3_fan

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 2:32 am PT

    The top selling games were:

    1. FIFA 06,
    2. Pro Evolution Soccer 5,
    3. Need for Speed: Most Wanted,
    4. Gran Turismo 4,
    5. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,
    6. FIFA Street,
    7. Star Wars: Battlefront II,
    8. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,
    9. King Kong,
    10. The Sims 2

    http://www.gamesradar.com/news/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=38580&subsectionid=1584

  • Silasraven

    Posted Jan 10, 2006 12:16 am PT

    I am a Brit and I know why we are gaming more....cus we are turning Japanese so MS will send us more consoles. Hopefully. I have one but feel sorry for those who are still waiting and can understand thier frustration. So come MS, we are a gaming nation, give us a break. By the way we dont just play Football games (Soccer...whats that?) but we are a football nation just as Americans are American football and Baseball fans. We all have our own national game. We do have Rugby which is played with the same shaped ball as used in American football but we dont need all that padding.

  • wytefang

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 11:00 pm PT

    From what I saw when I was stationed there for two years, it's mainly due to PC games...though that might have changed some since I was there..(but it wasn't that long ago)...

  • tatu2004

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 9:41 pm PT

    this is good news for the UK

  • forever_blank

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 8:49 pm PT

    YaWn. Not that interesting, but I suppose it is good news non-the-less... Australia, probably lost went down 3%, mean like 2 dollars...

  • rock790

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 8:22 pm PT

    Probalt cause of dat Winning Eleven game from Konami.

  • skakidinabox

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 8:00 pm PT

    "Nevertheless, I'm sure 2006 will be a big sales year EVERYWHERE." --->INDEED. What with the 360's unstoppable return to the market with more consoles on shelves to sell, and the banner year for video games that seems to be coming up, it's definitely going to be a good year. Halo 3, Gears of War, the launch of the PS3, Info on the Revolution (possibly a release date), things seem to just be adding up for the gaming industry this year.

  • alive5uk_basic

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 7:09 pm PT

    According to chart track which is displayed here on GS the rankings were:
    1 - Need for Speed Most Wanted
    2 - King Kong
    3 - Fifa 06
    4 - Prince of Persia:Two Thrones
    5 - Pro Evo 5
    6 - GTA: Liberty City Stories
    7 - Shadow the Hedgehog
    8 - Sims 2
    9 - Gun
    10 - HP & the Goblet of Fire

  • quocthai

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 7:06 pm PT

    I thought all the soccer games would be best seller in UK

  • matttrd

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 6:43 pm PT

    And still we get the worst software and release dates.

    Thank God I Import 90% of my games and hardware.

  • PringerOtaku

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 6:39 pm PT

    Fantabulous, if only it'd rub off elsewhere. -_-

  • DrCFLY

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 6:20 pm PT

    The psp is very successful in the UK, im sure gta lcs is one of the best sellers

  • stfcrz

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 6:11 pm PT

    Hopefully, this will lead to more FPS games that are not based soley on the American military. If the British market is growing, developers are more likely to target the Brits specifically.

  • helluvagood

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 6:08 pm PT

    i dun live in Uk, i wouldnt know

  • Smartiepants

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:44 pm PT

    Yes, the PSP launch was particularly successful here in the UK, more than twice as many sold in the first weekend as any console (home or handheld) before. The DS did pretty good too, and the X360 set a new record for most successful home console sales over the launch weekend - despite the shortages. I don't know why we haven't experienced the same downturn as the USA, because we usually follow your trends in these things. Nevertheless, I'm sure 2006 will be a big sales year EVERYWHERE.

  • NeonNinja

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:40 pm PT

    I wonder what was the highest selling game? I wouldn't be surprised if it was some soccer game.

  • Donkeljohn Site moderator

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:36 pm PT

    Games are big in Europe

  • mis3ry

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:26 pm PT

    Lots of this is probably thanks to huge titles for the DS, and the launch of the PSP. Anyways, good for Europe, and good for gaming period.

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:24 pm PT

    That's great news for the Brits, they are gaming more now which means games are widely popular across the world.

  • dafireskull

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:12 pm PT

    Royal Britannia, atleast we done sommet gud.

  • klix108

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:12 pm PT

    yay

  • doomed51

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:07 pm PT

    nice! gaming to take over the world!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!

  • Shtinky

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:01 pm PT

    w00t

  • TranMan409

    Posted Jan 9, 2006 5:00 pm PT

    grats to them. I wonder what were the top selling games

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