Top-Selling Videogame Publishers Ranked

Thanks to GameSpot for their piece revealing the highest-grossing videogame publishers for 2003 so far, as taken from the U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray report previously excerpted on Slashdot. Although numbers "don't include the always-crucial Q4", the article notes: "Unsurprisingly, Electronic Arts is on top with nearly $600 million in sales - some 20 percent of the entire market", and Nintendo and Sony are second and third-placed, with Microsoft's game software sales currently down in fourteenth position. The report also pointed out that "...2003 has been a rough year for Activision so far. Its earnings dipped nearly $80 million compared to the same period in 2002. Take Two's numbers took a similar nose dive, sliding from $213 to $134 million."

Most Interesting Part?

[Babbster]

I think it's the fact that the fourth quarter seemed to account in 2002 for just about half of total sales for everyone. Concurrent with that is that in 2002, EA's share from Q1-Q3 dropped just about right in half from 17.3% to 8.6% with Sony beating them in the fourth quarter to finish out with 8.8%. That tells me that the Q1-Q3 numbers, while interesting, mean very little about how the total year's numbers will shake out (and also that Madden is always released in Q3).

Let me do some math

[imperator_mundi]

The total 2002 share of EA is wrong, otherwise how could it be that a more than a billion $ sales (1'021'832'000$) correspond to 8.6%, or 0.2% less than what the 483 millions of Nintendo do... I suppose that someone made some copy/past mistakes... the right figure should be 18.6% (=483/1000*8.8%)

Re:Let me do some math

[Babbster]

You got me (and whomever is proofreading at Gamespot) there. I shouldn't have to do math when reading a video game news blurb, damn it! :D

Of course, what I should be able to do is write a post without typing "Sony" where I should be typing "Nintendo."

So, if someone could knock my post down a couple points for stupidity, that would be great.

Top-Selling Videogame Publishers?

[Anonymous Coward]

How much do videogame publishers go for these days?

Glad to see the drops

[Anonymous Coward]

EA maintains their market share by releasing expansion packs disguised as full games for each of their franchises once a year, that's how they maintain market share. It's beginning to look like this is the new paradigm in game development, and it sucks. It this happened in Hollywood we'd still have dozens of Matrixes and Star Wars to sit through.

Hollywood Expansions

[angelspit]

It this happened in Hollywood we'd still have dozens of Matrixes and Star Wars to sit through.

Wasn't Scary Movie 3 an expansion pack? Maybe the fact that it was a standalone allowed them to charge full price for that...

BIg Surprise

[M3wThr33]

This is nearly the same as last year, EA, Nintendo and Sony ranked in that order. Is this supposed to illustrate some major change?

Re:BIg Surprise

[Snowmit]

This is nearly the same as last year, EA, Nintendo and Sony ranked in that order. Is this supposed to illustrate some major change?

No, but it's still news to point out that things have stayed the same. In fact, in a world where people keep going on and on about "Nintendo 3rd Party by 2004" or whenever, it's a piece of information that's pretty valuable. Despite perception on message boards and everywhere else, Nintendo is doing fine. In fact, they're doing very well indeed.

Re:BIg Surprise

[SleazyC]

The truth to this article is that EA will probably always be in the top 5 just because of the sales it makes on its sports titles. Then you tack on that they also make other games such as Medal of Honor and you got them raking in major cash every year

The thing that surprised me was that Nintendo landed second place. I guess you could say it was their SP sales because until just a couple months ago, the Gamecube wasn't selling so hot. Square didn't make it in either but thats not a huge surprise consid