Data Filter: The News You Need in Easy-to-Swallow Gel Cap Form

Electronic Gaming Business, August 27, 2003

The arrival of Madden 2004 signals one of the most substantial shake-ups of the rental charts we have seen. Combined revenues for PS2 and Xbox versions ($.58 million) is more than double those of Enter the Matrix. While Matrix stood fast at #2, Madden pushed NCAA Football and Midnight Club II down the charts. Perhaps goosed by initial good reviews, both Ghost Recon and Silent Hill climbed onto the top 10 two weeks after release. Most notably, Both The Hulk and GTA: City drop off the charts entirely. This is the first time since its release that Vice City has not had a prominent place on the list since its release last year and after netting $17.10 million in rental revenues.

Top 20 U.K. PS2 Titles (full price titles for week ending Aug. 16)
This Week  Last Week  Title\Publisher                  Weeks on List
1          1          Eye Toy\Sony                             7
2          2          Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness\Eidos     7
3          4          SOCOM\Sony                               10
4          6          GTA: Vice City\Take2                     41
5          5          Enter the Matrix\Atari                   14
6          8          Aliens vs Predator\EA                    2
7          3          Formula One 2003\Sony                    6
8          7          Hulk\Vivendi                             10
9          11         Splinter Cell\UbiSoft                    21
10         9          Futurama\SCI                             3
11         12         The Sims\EA                              29
12         14         Starsky & Hutch\Empire                   9
13         10         Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003\EA             32
14         13         Dancing Stage Megamix\Konami             12
15         16         Dynasty Warriors 4\KOEI                  8
16         15         Midnight Club II\Take2                   16
17         17         WC Snooker 2003\CodeMasters              8
18         -          Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4\Activision       18
19         19         Return to Castle Wolfenstein\Activision  9
20         18         Def Jam Vendetta\EA                      13
Source: ELSPA

The eye has legs. The novelty has not worn off the Sony Eye Toy cam for the PS2, suggesting that it may become a must-have gadget in the U.S. in Q4. The UK list is remarkable in demonstrating the strong staying power of some marquee franchise titles and licensed IPs. Despite reams of negative press, and a snub from Hollywood (see Whassup), Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness is selling according to original targets and is among the best-selling iterations of the series, Eidos has been claiming. That and the continued sell-through of Matrix and Hulk titles, which were poor and mediocre, respectively, are being explained increasingly as signs of a big disconnect developing in the games hobby. With no specific data to back it up, the line this summer from several of these publishers is that the mass market relates to games differently from the gaming core (including reviewers), which is why massive sales continue to surround games like Matrix and TR, which many magazines pounded with terrible scores.