PSN market
DeathSpank is July's top title, reckons analysis firm, though total market smaller than XBLA.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2010 - Analysis firm Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE) announced today the release of their inaugural report tracking sales of downloadable games on the Playstation Network (PSN), specifically covering over 100 PS3 titles with trophy support. The initial report shows a market worth over $100 million USD lifetime.
With reports available for all three console downloadable services, direct comparisons can be made between PSN and its main competitors. Both indie games such as Flower and Fat Princess have found great success on PSN, while multi-platform titles such as Battlefield 1943 and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 have recorded decent numbers as well. The top PSN seller should come as no surprise, as 'Battlefield 1943' maintains a commanding lead as the best-seller on the platform in terms of revenue, at $6.6 million USD. Comparatively, the Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) version of Battlefield 1943, launched the same week as its PSN counterpart, has taken in approximately $15.2 million.
The top sellers on PSN haven't quite reached the heights of XBLA. No title has reached the 500,000 units sold mark on PSN, whereas XBLA has nearly recorded its 4th million-seller in Trials HD. However, the PSN market has seen a number of successes - the average PSN title has grossed $730,000 USD in revenue over its lifetime, compared with $1.1 million on XBLA. 'Although PSN lacks the massive sellers of Xbox Live Arcade, many developers have found great success with PSN. In our initial report, we find that 22% of all titles have recorded over $1 million USD in revenue, a figure that should be encouraging to developers that are interested in the platform.' said Benjamin Schlichter, Director of Research & Analysis at FADE.
DeathSpank Leads July Sales
PSN sales during the July period reached more than $4 million USD, led by Hothead Games' Comedy RPG 'DeathSpank' with 50,000 units sold during the month. Comparatively, DeathSpank sold just over 70,000 units on XBLA, bringing the title to over 130,000 units sold between both console platforms. Hello Games' title 'Joe Danger' raced to 2nd place $230,000 in gross revenue, nearly eclipsing the 100,000 units sold mark over its lifetime. Another new release, 'Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge', was 4th for July, with over $160,000 taken in for the month.
FADE Top 5 Estimates for PSN Lifetime Sales, by Revenue
Battlefield 1943 (EA Dice) - $6.6 million ($14.99) Fat Princess (Titan Studios) - $5.6 million ($14.99) PAIN (Idol Minds) - $4.3 million ($9.99) Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Capcom) - $3.9 million ($7.49 - $14.99) Flower (ThatGameCompany) - $3.4 million ($9.99)FADE Top 5 Estimates for PSN July 2010 Sales, by Revenue
DeathSpank (Hothead Games) - $750,000 ($14.99) Joe Danger (Hello Games) - $230,000 ($14.99) Battlefield 1943 (EA Dice) - $194,000 ($14.99) Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (LucasArts) - $162,000 ($9.99) Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Capcom) - $139,000 ($7.49)About Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC
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 iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry. For more information, please visit http://www.fadellc.com.