United Kingdom: more video games sales data for 2016
United Kingdom – Global data for 2016
A few days ago, GamesIndustry shared some sales data for the video game market in the UK in 2016, and today, they share a lot more juicy data (courtesy of GFK Chart-Track). Throughout the year, sales of physical games generated £1.78 billion, which is 15.8% less than in 2015.
If you’re wondering who’s to blame for this drop, then look no further than Hardware sales: they dropped by 27% compared to 2015, with £503 million in 2016 (as opposed to 689.5 million in 2015). Despite the launch of new models for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, only the Nintendo 3DS saw an increase last year (thanks to Pokémon GO and Pokémon Sun and Moon, obviously).
The drop is slightly smaller for Software: -16.4%, with £776 million (including the starter packs for Toys-to-Life franchises), as opposed to £927.6 million units in 2015.
In fact, only the accessory segment (including Toys-to-Life) was up, with £501 million (+1%).
United Kingdom – Software share by platform for 2016
In 2016, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One dominated sales: they account for 80% of total Software sales (66% in 2015). Naturally, the Wii U’s market share dropped to 2.5%, due to a critical lack of games. Only the Nintendo 3DS increased its market share, primarily thanks to Pokémon.
Here’s the Software share by platform (units):
| Last Year | This Year | Platform | Software Market Share (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | PS4 | 45% |
| 2 | 2 | Xbox One | 34.1% |
| 5 | 3 | Nintendo 3DS | 7% |
| 3 | 4 | Xbox 360 | 5.2% |
| 4 | 5 | PS3 | 2.9% |
| 7 | 6 | Wii U | 2.5% |
| 6 | 7 | PC | 2.3% |
| 8 | 8 | Wii | 0.5% |
| 10 | 9 | PlayStation Vita | 0.4% |
| 9 | 10 | Nintendo DS | 0.1% |
Here’s the Software share by platform (revenue):
| Last Year | This Year | Platform | Software Market Share (Revenue) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | PS4 | 48.2% |
| 2 | 2 | Xbox One | 36.3% |
| 5 | 3 | Nintendo 3DS | 6% |
| 3 | 4 | Xbox 360 | 3.3% |
| 6 | 5 | Wii U | 2.1% |
| 4 | 6 | PS3 | 1.8% |
| 7 | 7 | PC | 1.7% |
| 8 | 8 | Wii | 0.2% |
| 9 | 9 | PlayStation Vita | 0.2% |
NB: the Nintendo 3DS’s market share is lower by revenue, due to Nintendo 3DS games being cheaper than home console games.
United Kingdom – Top 20 publishers for 2016
As for publishers, Electronic Arts dominated sales with a 22.1% market share in 2016 (+3% compared to 2015).
Thanks to Pokémon Sun and Moon, Nintendo’s market share rose by 1.5%, allowing the company to get back in the Top 5 of the most successful publishers in the UK.
| Last Year | This Year | Company Name | Software Market share (Units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Electronic Arts | 22.1% |
| 2 | 2 | Activision Blizzard | 12.1% |
| 4 | 3 | Ubisoft | 9.5% |
| 6 | 4 | Nintendo | 8.2% |
| 5 | 5 | Take-Two | 7.4% |
| 9 | 6 | Sony | 7.1% |
| 3 | 7 | Warner Bros | 6.4% |
| 8 | 8 | Microsoft | 6.2% |
| 7 | 9 | Bethesda | 5.4% |
| 11 | 10 | Square Enix Europe | 3.3% |
| 10 | 11 | Bandai Namco | 1.7% |
| 17 | 12 | 505 Games | 1.5% |
| 15 | 13 | Koch Media | 1.2% |
| 14 | 14 | TellTale Games | 1.1% |
| 13 | 15 | Konami | 1% |
| 20 | 16 | Codemasters | 0.8% |
| 16 | 17 | Sega | 0.7% |
| 12 | 18 | Disney | 0.7% |
| 18 | 19 | Capcom | 0.7% |
| 21 | 20 | Little Orbit | 0.3% |
United Kingdom – Top 50 Software for 2016
For 2016, there’s only 5 new IP in the Top 50 Software, and none of them are on Nintendo platforms.
As for Pokémon Sun and Moon, it would have been the 10th best-selling game if GFK Chart-Track combined both versions. Speaking of Pokémon, there’s 6 different Pokémon games in the Top 50. Pokkén Tournament was the most successful new Wii U game.
| Position | Title | Publisher/Developer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FIFA 17 | EA/EA Canada |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | Activision/Infinity Ward |
| 3 | Battlefield 1 | EA/EA DICE |
| 4 | Tom Clancy’s The Division | Ubisoft/Massive |
| 5 | Grand Theft Auto V | Rockstar/Rockstar North |
| 6 | Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End | Sony/Naughty Dog |
| 7 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Activision/Treyarch |
| 8 | Watch Dogs 2 | Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal |
| 9 | Overwatch | Blizzard |
| 10 | Forza Horizon 3 | Microsoft/Playground Games |
| 11 | Mafia III | 2K Games/Hangar 13 |
| 12 | Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition | Bethesda |
| 13 | FIFA 16 | EA/EA Canada |
| 14 | LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Warner Bros/TT Games |
| 15 | Doom | Bethesda/id Software |
| 16 | LEGO Marvel Avengers | Warner Bros/TT Games |
| 17 | Star Wars Battlefront | EA/EA DICE |
| 18 | Minecraft: Xbox Edition | Microsoft/4J Studios |
| 19 | Far Cry Primal | Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal |
| 20 | Gears of War 4 | Microsoft/The Coalition |
| 21 | Pokemon Sun | Nintendo/Game Freak |
| 22 | Fallout 4 | Bethesda |
| 23 | Pokemon Moon | Nintendo/Game Freak |
| 24 | Final Fantasy XV | Square Enix |
| 25 | Rocket League | 505 Games/Psyonix |
| 26 | WWE 2K17 | 2K Games/Yuke’s and Visual Concepts |
| 27 | Titanfall 2 | EA/Respawn |
| 28 | EA Sports UFC 2 | EA/EA Canada |
| 29 | No Man’s Sky | Sony/Hello Games |
| 30 | Dishonored 2 | Bethesda/Arkane |
| 31 | Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege | Ubisoft/Ubisoft Montreal |
| 32 | Ratchet and Clank | Sony/Insomniac |
| 33 | LEGO Jurassic World | Warner Bros/TT Games |
| 34 | Minecraft: PlayStation Edition | Sony/4J Studios |
| 35 | Dark Souls III | Bandai Namco/From Software |
| 36 | Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 | EA/Popcap Games |
| 37 | Rise of The Tomb Raider: 20th Anniversary Edition | Square Enix/Crystal Dynamics |
| 38 | LEGO Dimensions | Warner Bros/TT Games |
| 39 | Minecraft: Story Mode | TellTale Games |
| 40 | Just Cause 3 | Square Enix/Avalanche Studios |
| 41 | F1 2016 | Codemasters/Codemasters Birmingham |
| 42 | WWE 2K16 | 2K Games/Yuke’s and Visual Concepts |
| 43 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Disney/Avalanche Software |
| 44 | Assassin’s Creed Syndicate | Ubisoft/Ubisoft Quebec |
| 45 | Steep | Ubisoft/Ubisoft France |
| 46 | Halo 5: Guardians | Microsoft/343 Studios |
| 47 | Guitar Hero Live | Activision/FreeStyleGames |
| 48 | Just Dance 2017 | Ubisoft/Ubisoft France |
| 49 | Skylanders Imaginators | Activision/Toys For Bob |
| 50 | Deus Ex: Mankind Divided | Square Enix/Eidos Montreal |
Source: GamesIndustry
