Xbox Live Arcade Sees Best Month Ever in August

September 20th, 2010 - As per the Research & Analysis division of analyst firm Forecasting & Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (FADE), gaming on Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) saw record-breaking receipts during the August period. On the heels of Microsoft's 'Summer of Arcade' promotion, estimated revenues were reported at $17.5 million USD - up 6% from last year's then record-breaking $16.5 million USD.

August saw a number of strong-selling titles, as 9 of the top 10 titles grossed over $500,000 in revenue. Uber Entertainment's shooter 'Monday Night Combat' topped the month with 187,000 units sold, or $2.8 million USD in revenue. Konami's 'Castlevania: Harmony of Despair' was in second place with 131,000 units sold, or $2.0 million USD in revenue. Playdead's 'LIMBO' , the first Summer of Arcade title (and July winner by huge margins) was #3 with 128,000 units sold, or $1.9 million USD. It stands as the best-selling Summer of Arcade title with 334,000 units sold on the year so far.

"Summer of Arcade was, for the third year in a row, a massive success for Microsoft and its publishers," said Benjamin Schlichter, Director of Research & Analysis at FADE. He also noted in the August report that titles outside of Summer of Arcade saw major successes including Ubisoft's 'Scott Pilgrim' which sold 79,000 units. Capcom's 'Dead Rising 2: Case Zero' was also a major success on the market, as it sold an estimated 87,000 copies in just two days.


Trials HD Joins Exclusive Club

As noted in the August report, Trials HD broke 1 million units sold, with its life-to-date total now standing at 1,005,000 units through August 2010. The game achieved this feat in only 12 months, making it the 2nd fastest selling million-seller of all time, behind only Battlefield 1943. Only four titles - Uno, Castle Crashers, Battlefield 1943 and now Trials HD - have reached this milestone, and at current rates no other titles currently available will reach the milestone by end of year.


Top 10 Titles for August 2010, by Revenue:

1. Monday Night Combat (Uber Entertainment) - 187,000 units (1200 Microsoft Points)
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (Konami) - 131,000 units (1200 Microsoft Points)
3. LIMBO (Playdead) - 128,000 units (1200 Microsoft Points)
4. Lara Croft & The Guardian of Light (Crystal Dynamics) - 107,000 units (1200 Microsoft Points)
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Ubisoft) - 79,000 units (800 Microsoft Points)
6. Hydro Thunder Hurricane (WB Games) - 50,000 units (1200 Microsoft Points)
7. Trials HD (RedLynx, LTD) - 47,000 units (1200 Microsoft Points)
8. Shank (Klei Entertainment Inc) - 41,000 units (1200 Microsoft Points)
9. Deadliest Warrior (Pipeworks Software) - 55,000 units (800 Microsoft Points)
10. Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) - 31,000 units (1200 Microsoft Points)
    
    

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.