From Dust Highest Grossing Game of 2011, as Xbox Live Arcade Market Sees Growth in 2011

January 26th, 2012 - As per the Research & Analysis division of analyst firm Forecasting & Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE), Microsoft set a new record in 2011, as Xbox Live Arcade grew to an estimated $144 million USD in revenues through the year.

As Microsoft set new records for hardware sales during the year, they also saw an 18% increase in growth among Xbox Live Arcade titles. Revenues were led by Eric Chahi's "From Dust", published by Ubisoft and released during Microsoft's "Summer of Arcade" promotion in July. The title saw approximately 308,000 units sold with gross revenues totaling an estimated $4.6 million USD in revenue. Not to be outdone, Microsoft's in-house offering "Full House Poker" was the most-downloaded paid title with an estimated 375,000 units sold or $3.6 million USD in revenues, placing it 4th overall in order of annual gross revenues.

Reliving the Days of Summer

Much success of the Xbox Live Arcade market place can be owed to the "Summer of Arcade" catalog, as seven of the top ten highest-grossing titles were released during the promotion, which is in its 4th year, Titles included one of the first "Summer" releases in "Castle Crashers" which sold an estimated 335,000 units during its 4th year on market, landing it in second place at $4.6 million USD. FADE estimates that over 2 million copies of "Castle Crashers" have been sold through to consumers between XBLA and PSN, placing it as the  best selling and highest grossing title in downloadable console gaming history.

Arcade "Kinecting" With Users, RPG Players

The initial offering for "Fruit Ninja Kinect" was very well received, as per FADE's report, with 323,000 estimated downloads during the year, with approximately 110,000 units being downloaded during the holidays. RPG enthusiasts were equipped with major titles during the year, including "Torchlight", "Bastion", and "Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale" which ranked at #7, #9 and #10 respectively in order of units sold among all titles. "Downloadable formats have proven that every genre can succeed, when users are met with quality content at a favorable price point" said Benjamin Schlichter, Director of Research & Analysis at FADE.

Estimated Top Selling Titles, by Units Sold (Annual, 2011)

1. Full House Poker (Microsoft Game Studios) - 375,000 Units / $3.6 Million USD ($9.66 ASP)
2. Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) - 335,000 Units / $4.6 Million USD ($13.69 ASP)
3. Fruit Ninja Kinect (Halfbrick Studios) - 324,000 Units / $3.2 Million USD
4. From Dust (Ubisoft) - 308,000 Units / $4.6 Million USD ($15.00 ASP)
5. Trials HD (RedLynx, LTD) - 286,000 Units / $4.0 Million USD ($13.80 ASP)
   
6. Magic: The Gathering (Stainless Games) - 278,000 Units / $2.7 Million USD ($9.71 ASP)
7. Torchlight (Runic Games) - 272,000 Units / $4.0 Million USD ($14.64 ASP)
8. Toy Soldiers: Cold War (Signal Studios) - 241,000 Units / $3.6 Million USD ($15.00 ASP)
9. Bastion (Supergiant Games) - 241,000 Units / $3.6 Million USD ($15.00 ASP)
10. Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale (Bedlam Games) - 210,000 Units / $2.8 Million USD ($13.38 ASP)

 

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, 3DS, WiiWare & Virtual Console, mobile markets including iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry and downloadable content for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. For more information, please visit https://fadellc.com.