Latest Announcement of ELSPA Sales Award
Posted by jtldemonseed on Thursday, December 12 2002

GAMES RECEIVE MULTI AWARDS AS THEY SELL AT RECORD PACE IN THE RUN-UP TO CHRISTMAS

Grand Theft Auto Vice City for PS2 format continues to break all records, receiving a staggering three awards in its first two weeks of release. Publishers Take 2 were awarded the ELSPA Silver, Gold and Platinum Awards for sales of more than 100K, 200K and 300k respectively.

Gran Turismo 2 and 3, both for PS2 format, published by Sony, were recognised as top sellers this month in the run-up to Christmas. Both games were awarded the ELSPA Double Platinum Award for sales of more than 600k.

Meanwhile, Fifa 2003 for PS2 format, published by EA Sports, was recognised for selling more than 200,000 units in just four weeks by picking up both an ELSPA Silver and Gold Award

For sales of more than 100,000, ELSPA has awarded Silver status to:


Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (PS2 format). Published by Konami and released in week 43 of 2002


Shogun: Total War (CD Rom). Published by EA Classics and released in week 25 of 2000


Dancing Stage Euro Mix (PSX format). Published by Konami and released in week 7 of 2001


Scooby Doo & The Cyber Chase (PSX format). Published by THQ in week 49 of 2001.


Super Mario Sunshine (Game Cube format). Published by Nintendo in week 40 of 2002.

ELSPA's Director General, Roger Bennett, commented on these latest achievements:

"Vice City is yet again hitting the headlines for record sales. But other games, such as Fifa 2003, are proving to be huge hits in the run-up to the festive season. It is great to see so many titles doing so well."

[ENDS]

Editors Notes

About the ELSPA Sales Awards
The ELSPA Sales Awards, (initially launched in 1999 as the [VSAs] Volume Sales Awards) have become a benchmark for measuring the sales success of each game title. Games with sales of 100k+ units achieve the Silver Award, sales of 200k+ units achieve the Gold Award, sales of 300k+ achieve the Platinum Award Level and sales of 600k+ achieve the Double Platinum Award. A Diamond Award Level has now been introduced for unit sales in excess of 1m.

Should you wish to receive information on previous award winners, then please contact the ELSPA press office on 01943 604027.

About ELSPA
ELSPA (The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) was founded in 1989 to establish a specific and collective identity for the computer and video games industry. Membership includes almost all companies concerned with the publishing and distribution of interactive leisure software in the UK.

ELSPA's activities include:

Chart and Industry Reports – ELSPA, through its contract with ChartTrack, collects, collates and disseminates information on retail sales of leisure software products, providing the official leisure software charts.

The annual Interactive Leisure Software Market Assessment and Forecast commissioned from Screen Digest, provides an independent survey of the industry, which has enabled ELSPA to benchmark the leisure software industry and demonstrate its economic value to the Government and other influential institutions.

Voluntary Age Ratings System – The ELSPA voluntary age ratings system has been in existence since 1994 and continues to provide an efficient and effective means of ensuring that all games are correctly categorised for their content suitability. The system is administered by the Video Standards Council. For more information on how games are rated, visit www.videostandards.org.uk

Anti-Piracy – ELSPA has a dedicated anti-piracy unit, which investigates infringements of our members' copyright and trademarks. The team works closely with the police, Trading Standards and HM Customs to investigate and prosecute offenders.

UK and EU Lobbying – ELSPA is heavily involved in the lobbying process behind the creation and development of UK and EU legislative frameworks that effect the industry. Close contacts have been developed with the Department of Trade and Industry, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Education and Skills, the Patent Office and the Home Office.

PR and Communication – As the official mouthpiece of the leisure software industry, ELSPA is frequently approached by the media for comment on a wide range of industry issues.

Events – ELSPA supports a range of industry conferences and assists members in attending these events. It also develops workshops on a range of industry issues.

Education – ELSPA works closely with research bodies and educational institutions to facilitate studies into the use of leisure software as learning aids in the classroom. It also liaises with schools, colleges and universities to ensure the industry's skills requirements are being met.

About ChartTrack
Chart-Track is the UK's leading Multimedia, Hardware and Peripherals retail tracking research company, specialising in the electronic data capture of sales information on a daily basis from EPoS systems in over 5,000 retailers in the UK and Ireland. The UK software reports are compiled for and copyright of ELSPA. For more information on Chart-Track, visit www.chart-track.co.uk