UK Hardware: Console demand static in February

PlayStation power

The PlayStation 2 once again grabbed the lion's share of the static console market, grabbing an impressive 62 per cent (no change month on month) of the unit sales of the big three, but this was almost ten percentage points lower than the machine registered this time last year, and consequently its unit sales have dropped by 12.8 per cent year on year - and the acceleration of the PS2's decline appears to be increasing, with January's sales down just three per cent year on year.

From a retailer's perspective, the true revenue loss as a result of this will have been felt keenly, with actual money through the tills from PS2 console sales down by around 28 per cent year on year - more if you take into account peripheral sales, such as extra pads and memory cards almost always part of an initial purchase. Extra software sales, however, will have helped to make up the shortfall.

Nevertheless, during the month, the PS2's dominance showed little sign of being seriously threatened, having outsold the Xbox by 2.5 to one, while its margin over the Cube was a massive 4.88 to one, despite still being £60 more expensive than Nintendo's cheap and cheerful machine. Even with sales of the two machines combined, the ageing PS2 still managed to outsell the pair of them by 1.63 to one.

Once again, for any game store, the PS2 is by far the major revenue generator - consider the fact that the machine brings in greater than 12 times the cash than the GameCube for the average gaming outlet, and you can see why the space devoted to the format is so large.

X-Factor

But while the PS2's nearest competitor - the Xbox - lags behind with 24.8 per cent of the unit market share (down on last month's 26.1 per cent), it has improved its sales year on year by around a quarter - although in real terms actual value terms remained static thanks to the £30 price cut since last year. Despite being so far behind the PS2, Microsoft has at least cemented its place in the No.2 slot, with its debut console outgrossing the Cube in the UK by over three to one.

The Cube, meanwhile, despite being firmly in third place in February once again, with just 12.7 per cent of the static console market, Nintendo can at least boast that its market share is well up from the 7.9 per cent it held this time last year, and that sales are over 60 per cent higher than the same period in 03 - by far the fastest growing console in the UK, and a month on month improvement from the 11.4 per cent it held in January, when sales shot up 78 per cent year on year.

But, again, these results merely serve to underline just how poorly the Cube fared in the UK post-Christmas last year, and the stark contrast between its performance in the US and here. This month's release of the first Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid titles on the Cube certainly won't do the console any harm, but exclusive titles of this stature are becoming increasingly scarce as the company turns its attentions to the DS and its Cube successor.