Castle Crashers Leads Playstation Network in September

October 22nd, 2010 - As per the Research & Analysis division of analyst firm Forecasting & Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE) tracked gaming titles on Playstation Network (PSN) continue to grow in revenues during the month of September. Tracked revenues were estimated at $5.7 million USD - a 14% increase from August. No year-over-year information is currently available.

After a two year waiting period, The Behemoth's smash hit 'Castle Crashers' launched on PSN in late August, finally reaching first place during the month of September. 56,000 units at $14.99 were estimated sold during the month, with life-to-date sales at 82,000 units. Between both Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, unit sales are estimated at over 1.4 million units through September 2010. New titles were also well-represented, as Sega's Dreamcast port 'Sonic Adventures' secured a strong 2nd place finish, with an estimated 35,000 units sold at $9.99 USD. Crystal Dynamix's first downloadable entry 'Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light debuted on PSN a month after it was featured as a 'Summer of Arcade' title on XBLA, and sold a respectable 20,000 units through the end of September. The last new entry in the top 10 was Hothead Game's 'Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue' which sold an estimated 19,000 units at $14.99 per unit.

Playstation Network Growing Monthly

Since the PSN project was started in June, the market has seen consecutive growth each month, rising 45% in terms of gross revenue since June. "Although it is unlikely that this pace of growth can be sustained indefinitely, we are very excited about sales estimates published by our company. We are learning that, depending on genre, some titles are reaching parity with PSN's competitor, Xbox Live Arcade. This is very good news for developers seeking to maximize revenues from their product portfolio." said Benjamin Schlichter, Director of Research & Analysis at FADE.

Top 10 Titles for September 2010, Ordered by Gross Revenue:

• Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) - 56,000 units ($14.99)
• Sonic Adventure (Sega) - 35,000 units ($9.99)
• ZEN Pinball (Zen Studios) - 32,000 ($9.99)
• Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light (Crystal Dynamix) - 20,000 units ($14.99)
• DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue (Hothead Games) - 19,000 units ($9.99)
• Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Ep 1 (Telltale Games) - 22,000 units ($8.99)
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Ubisoft) - 17,000 units ($9.99)
• Mushroom Wars (Creat Studios) - 16,000 units ($9.99)
• Battlefield 1943 (EA Dice) - 9,000 units ($14.99)
• DeathSpank (Hothead Games) - 9,000 units ($14.99)

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 https://fadellc.com.