http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4691&Itemid=2 Our analysis shows that game consumers are broadly predictable in their choices of games; sports games and licenses make up 43% of the games on this list, heavily skewed towards the top end of the chart. New IP is not abundant, mostly to be found in the lower reaches. It also shows that consumers know quality when they see it. Only three games in the top 20 scored an average of less than 75%. However, license-based games that are of a poor quality tend to pick up plenty of sales regardless. Seven of the lowest scoring ten games are licenses; given that licenses (non-sports) make up one in four top 100 selling game releases, this is a problem. Mostly, these games sell to non-hardcore gamers – the type of people who we’re supposed to be working hardest to impress. In the last 12 months, the exclusive platform release was still alive and well, with 35% of the top-sellers released on just one platform. This probably does not tell the entire story – many Xbox 360 exclusive games did not make the top 100 (a base sale of 200,000 units was required). Many Xbox 360 games sold between 100K and 150K; respectable performance on one platform, but no cigar for this list. Any would-be game publishers looking at these stats would come away with one of two strategies. Either, to create an absolutely amazing game on few platforms (Gears; Zelda; Oblivion; New Super Mario; Guitar Hero) or to sign up an animated movie and release it on every platform conceivable. The top 100 list is a useful look at the game industry in transition. Many of the games on this list are there because they sold a lot of copies on PlayStation 2 and did well on Xbox 360. Or they were released on DS. Wii and PS3 have not been a factor; they released too late in the year. Apart from a few exceptions, Xbox and GameCube barely register. Gameboy and PSP made up the numbers. The PC market has been included here as an illustration of its comparative size to the console market. Apart from PC megahits of WoW or Sims proportions (neither of which were released last year), PC games were not a major factor.
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