Grand Theft Auto V accelerates games market back into growth
THE RELEASE of Grand Theft Auto V helped push the video games market back into growth for the first time in five years last month, according to data out today.
Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 29 September show that the games market grew by 29 per cent compared with the same period last year thanks to demand for the latest version of the adult-themed crime game.
Tesco was the biggest winner, collecting over a third of all the money spent on the title during the two weeks following its release on 17 September.
Britain’s largest supermarket was the fastest growing retailer in the entertainment sector in the 12 week period, increasing its market share by 5.2 percentage points to 17.1 per cent year-on-year.
Asda was the second-fastest growing retailer and increased its market share by 9.8 to 12.1 per cent. However Amazon kept the top spot with a fifth of the music, videos and games market.
HMV continued to lose out to rivals – its market share down 7.4 percentage points to 10.6 per cent.