As per the Research & Analysis division of analyst firm Forecasting & Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE), Playstation Network (PSN) Games, (excluding PSOne Classics) grossed an estimated $49.4 million USD during the 2nd half of 2010.
After a rough start in the digital market, with most major titles debuting on Xbox Live Arcade first, Sony's digital platform has seen significant growth, especially among multi-platform titles. FADE estimates that year-over-year growth during the 2nd half of the year was 40%, greatly outpacing Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade 18% increase. PSN finished the year on a high note, with an estimated $9.3 million USD in revenues in December alone.
Securing a time-exclusive launch, Ubisoft's 'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World' was the best selling title for the 2nd half of 2010 with 190,000 units sold. Familiar XBLA title, The Behemoth's 'Castle Crashers' was the top-grossing game for the 2nd half of 2010, earning $2.1 million USD from an estimated 143,000 units sold.
Multiplatform Releases Closing in on Parity With Xbox Live
Multi-platform sales have had a rocky history on PSN, as digital blockbuster 'Battlefield 1943' sold over 1.1 million copies on Xbox Live Arcade, while the PSN version has just crossed the 500,000 unit mark. "In 2009, Microsoft enjoyed a 2:1 sales advantage for multi-platform titles launching simultaneously. Today, that advantage is nearly even with first-month typical sales being 55/45 among new titles like 'Costume Quest', 'Pac-Man CE DX', and 'X-Men Arcade' " said Benjamin Schlichter, Director of Research & Analysis at FADE LLC.
PSN Plus Hits 100,000+ Estimated Monthly Users
As per the Top-10 and FADE's regular monthly reports, free titles offered by Sony as part of the PSN Plus subscription are seeing numbers of downloads that suggest a growing number of users are participating in the service. Time-exclusive title 'Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves', a prelude to LittleBigPlanet 2 saw an estimated 72,000 downloads in December, with many coming from Plus members.
Top Selling Titles, by Units Sold, July-December 2010
- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Ubisoft) - 190,000 Units
- Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) - 143,000 Units
- ZEN Pinball (Zen Studios) - 127,000 Units
- Dead Nation (Housemarque) - 122,000 Units
- Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (SEGA) - 113,000 Units
- Critter Crunch (Capybara Games) - 100,000 Units
- Blacklight: Tango Down (Ignition Entertainment) - 97,000 Units
- DeathSpank (Hothead Games) - 97,000 Units
- Pac-Man CE DX (Namco Bandai) - 96,000 Units
- Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse (Telltale Games) - 80,000 Units
Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment
FADE is a strategic market research and consulting firm focused on electronic entertainment and the emerging download and mobile game markets. With very little information currently available in these markets, FADE allows smaller developers to investigate these new potential sources of revenue and make informed business decisions moving forward. Currently, FADE produces monthly and annual reports for Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, WiiWare & Virtual Console, and mobile markets including iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry. For more information, please visit http://www.fadellc.com.
