UK DEVELOPERS CRUSH JAPANESE IN UNIQUE REPORT ON GLOBAL GAME STUDIO WEALTH

Wednesday 4th April/...Tomorrow sees the release of the third annual Develop 100 which ranks the world's games development studios according to the sales of their games at UK retail. The book is published, in association with Autodesk, by the editorial team behind Develop magazine ( www.developmag.com) - the leading international publication for games developers.

In this year's listing, UK studios generated £231.5m in total, a significant amount higher than the value made by Japanese teams (including Nintendo, Konami, Capcom and Namco), which chipped in £172.9m - but less than the US, which scored a total of £313m. Canadian development studios, meanwhile, account for £185.5m of the revenues in the Develop 100.

EA Canada makes it to the top of the list for the third year running, the hat trick coming off the back of continued and growing success of its two teams' multi-format franchises - FIFA and Need For Speed. While EA, which has eight other studios in the listing as well, is marked as the dominant creative and commercial force in the games sector the Develop 100 also acknowledges plenty of British success stories and other key emerging industry trends.

Nintendo's development teams at its Kyoto HQ help the format-holder claim second place, its newest critically-acclaimed Mario and Zelda games and the continued success of the DS and Wii helping it more than double software revenues at UK retail in 2006 to £70.9m.

While a great number of the leading developers listed are publisher-owned there are also a number of independents in the top 20 of the Develop 100, many of them British. Once again Traveller's Tales is the highest placed UK studio, and this year is the highest placed independent overall, its 2006 software sales having increased some £6m (up to £26.3m) due to sales of Lego Star Wars II.

Other independents with great sales strength include Japanese team Yuke's, American outfits Amaze and Gears of War creator Epic Games, plus Brighton, UK-based Relentless, co-creator of the Buzz! Series of quiz games.

The Develop 100 is an invaluable guide that throws light on the real winners in one of the world's fastest-growing creative industries, tracking the sales of every game released and sold in 2006 at UK retail, the world's third-largest software market. It is distributed with this month's issue of Develop magazine and also with its sister publication MCV, the weekly magazine for retailers and publishers.

"The Develop 100 is now established as an essential read amongst developers and publishers the world over, and is a great way to get a feel for the market's trends," commented Develop editor Michael French.

"Whilst the big players retain a massive presence, it's good news to see that new hardware formats and new IP and ideas continue to drive the business commercially and creatively."

The listing, from 1 to 100, can be found at www.develop100.com. The print version, which includes statistics and analysis from the editorial brains behind Develop, is available from publisher Intent Media. To obtain a copy, please email Hannah Short ( Hannah.short@intentmedia.co.uk) or call 01992 535646.

Develop 100 is sponsored exclusively by Autodesk and utilises data from ChartTrack, which is the strict copyright of ELSPA.

For further information, please contact Michael French ( Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk)