TONY HAWK’S SKATEBOARDING PICKS UP AN ‘ELSPA PLATINUM’TONY HAWK’S SKATEBOARDING PICKS UP AN ‘ELSPA PLATINUM’
Posted by Ben on Friday, August 23 2002

Yet more success for the UK’s leisure software industry as eight more games achieve ELSPA Silver, Gold or Platinum Awards.

ELSPA Platinum Award (for sales of 300,000+ units) achieved by:

Tony Hawk’s Skateboarding (PlayStation format). Published by Activision, released in week 39 of 1999
"Nearly three years after its launch, this game is still popular. Its well deserved ELSPA Platinum Award demonstrates that good games just keep on selling" said Roger Bennett, Director General of ELSPA.

ELSPA Gold Awards (for sales of 200,000+ units) achieved by:

Medal of Honour Frontline (PS2 format). Published by Electronic Arts and released in week 23 of 2002.
Super Mario Advance (GameBoy Advance format). Published by Nintendo, released in week 26 of 2002.
These ELSPA Gold award winners are among the fastest sellers of all time, reaching this phenomenal number of sales within one month of original release date.

ELSPA Silver Awards (for sales of 100,000+ units) achieved by:

SSX: Tricky (PS2 format). Published by Electronic Arts, released in week 48 of 2001.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (GameBoy Advance Format). Published by Activision, released in week 25 of 2001.

State of Emergency (PS2 format). Published by Take 2 Interactive, released in week 8 of 2002.

The Sims/The Sims: Livin It Up (CD ROM format). Published by Electronic Arts, released in week 36 of 2000.

Tarzan Action Game (PlayStation format). Published by Disney, released in week 41 of 1999.

Roger Bennett, commented on these latest achievements:

"It was just one month ago when we were able to announce another boost to the leisure software market, with sales figures up, in the second quarter of 2002, by 13% on the previous year, reaching an all time high of £GBP 229 million.

"These latest success stories are undoubtedly due to our UK based publishers’ ability to produce the variety and creativity that our gamers crave. The recent launch of new consoles has also fulfilled the public’s hunger for new, faster and more exciting products.

"Congratulations to Activision, Electronic Arts, Take 2 Interactive, Nintendo and Disney on these achievements and good luck with future titles."

[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 and sales of 300k+ achieve the Platinum Award Level. A Double Platinum Award Level has now been introduced for unit sales in excess of 600k.

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

About ELSPA
ELSPA (The European 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