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2008 RETAIL SURVEY
DO YOU FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS IN 2009? YES .........................................................86%
NO..............................................................4%
NOT SURE ..............................................10%
DO YOU SEE YOUR CHRISTMAS TAKINGS TO BE… Despite growing concerns for the economy, games retailers remain optimistic that Christmas 2008 can top the sales achieved in 2007. Nearly 60 per cent of those surveyed were confident of a better performance,
with just 16 per cent expecting lower results from the quarter. Retailers were confident the games industry can continue to buck the economic trend, citing the huge amount of big Q4 releases as the reason why.
GREATER THAN LAST YEAR?.............................58% SAME AS LAST YEAR? ............................................21% LOWER THAN LAST YEAR?...................................16% DON’T KNOW? ...............................................................4%
WHICH THIRD PARTY PERIPHERAL OR BRAND HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH THE BEST SALES AND PROFIT OPPORTUNITY?
Setting aside GAME own brand (which many GAME store managers voted for), A4T and MadCatz proved to be the most popular peripherals brands, taking 18 per cent of the votes from the stores surveyed each.
However, it was a close race with many of the retailers surveyed saying that they were impressed by the quality of this year’s accessory line-up. Although one spoilsport insisted that ‘none of them’ were any good.
A4T ...................................................................................18% MADCATZ .......................................................................18% PDP.....................................................................................9% LOGIC 3 ............................................................................6% VENOM ..............................................................................6%
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Nyko, Competition Pro, Nintendo, Blue Ocean, Datel, VGA
EXSPECT ......................................................................4.5%
WHO WOULD YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE BEST OVERALL COMPANY OF THE YEAR?
In the battle for overall company of the year, Nintendo scraped it with 38 per cent of the vote to Microsoft’s respectable 32 per cent. Nintendo’s consistent sellers and hardware popularity was the driving force behind their victory here – especially after the launch of Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit. Microsoft was praised for their overall quality and aggressive pricing. One retailer commented: “Microsoft has really done a good job this year by helping people afford Xbox 360 consoles
thanks to their price cuts. It is obviously a tough time at the moment and a lot of people are worried about the economy, so their prices have helped keep things going for us.” However, It wasn’t all publishers and platform holders, with retailers GAME and Gamestation making the list following a successful year for the High Street chains. Centresoft also grabbed four per cent of the vote, following a series of competitions, impressive deals and great customer service. Activision Blizzard and EA also make the list.
NINTENDO.................................................................................38% MICROSOFT...............................................................................32% GAME............................................................................................10% CENTRESOFT..............................................................................4% SONY..............................................................................................4% GAMESTATION ...........................................................................4% ACTIVISION.................................................................................3% EA .....................................................................................................1%