iPad-only publication charts world's most successful games studios; EA Canada comes out on top again
Develop's ranking of the world's most successful game developers is back.
Now live in the App Store, the 2012 edition of the Develop 100 features a list of the top 100 developers in the world based on UK revenues generated by their games.
It is available only for iPad, and costs just £4.99. That includes profiles on each of the 100 studios, sales data and statistics, plus background facts and analysis.
GfK Chart-Track data has been used to formulate the list. Chart-Track has the most accurate chart reporting tools on the planet, monitoring the sale of almost every game and peripheral sold in the UK.
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This year, EA Canada comes out on top, beating the likes of Nintendo, Ubisoft Montreal, Infinity Ward and Traveller's Tales to the top spot. The studio has topped the charts three times previously.
Some of the most famous studios in the world have also secured a place in the listing - including the likes of Epic Games, Bethesda, Valve, and Naughty Dog.
But also featured are independents otherwise left out of the limelight, including the likes of Black Lantern, Pipeworks, Slightly Mad, and Land Ho.
Is your team amongst them? Download the book to find out. The Develop 100 is available within the Develop magazine app for iPad.
Click here to download the app now, if you haven't already got it.
Plus, buying the Develop 100 will guarantee you access to the other top 100s we'll be launching in the coming months. Vol 1 is for retail sales, but we'll be adding lists for online, social and mobile standings in future.
Wait, so you guys tracked world stats or just focused on the UK?
Hi Isshak. The data is based on UK statistics, and comes from GfK Chart-Track's precise data gathering. This is clarified in the fourth paragraph of the main content of the news story above.
I have absolutely no idea why you'd make this iPad-only.
only for iPad...
this must be some kind of marketing strategy...
Intent Media works across multiple platforms for distribution of our digital content. And it is also a digital edition you can read in your browser.
In the case of the Develop 100 we wanted to take specific advantage of the well built iTunes Newsstand which offers a unique reach, neat user experience and a good billing mechanic. We think the iPad edition is a really good way to enjoy the content... and like our readers we should always be experimenting.
And to make sure no one is left out we will also be sharing highlights and details from the list via our website over the coming days and weeks.
Poor excuse. iPad only so you can charge. Well, let's face it, that's what it is. And if you're not willing to pay up, then you can have the data trickled selectively (and no doubt disguised as 'news') over the coming days/weeks. Of course, we all know content has to be paid for in this day and age of 'free' news, so if that's the case, just be upfront about it. Ok it's iPad only and i'm afraid we are going to charge for this one...
Yep, when I said "a good billing mechanic" and the story itself says it costs £4.99, I think we've been pretty transparent that we're asking people to pay!
What was the rational behind basing the chat only on UK sales? Does the chart include retail packaged goods, digital distribution, DLC and micro-transactions? or only a subset of that?
I'd have thought a combined North America (US/Canada) and Europe list would be a more useful option.
It's just retail sales.
It is UK only as the UK actually has the best and most accurate chart data of any country, when it boils down to it. GfK collates data to the minute, works closely with retail and has almost blanket coverage. Plus it is willing to share that data with us.
Data in other territories is either a) locked away, b) not as comprehensive, c) slower to obtain.
The same goes for digital data, which has an added option d) The data is not centrally collated by anyone yet, and the solutions out there - for instance UKIE's digital download chart - is very sketchy and spurious at this nascent stage.
I would dearly love a combined list, but it's likely to remain an impossibility, unless you start estimating... and when you go down that road you go from having to answer questions about 'why just UK?' to 'why isn't this accurate enough?'
No list is perfect, and we never claim this list to be the one-and-only ranking - but it is as ultimate as you can get. (Plus, the UK market is not only the second largest in the world, making it valid to cover in isolation anyway - but its audiences tastes are quite varied. A US-only list would push more core games to the front, etc)
And by adding different top 100 lists over the coming months, we can refer to different metrics of all types to put a spotlight on teams that deserve credit in numerous ways.
Hi Michael, will there be a way to read this year D100 for non ipad-owners?
I'm not totally against paying for good content, but having to shell £400 for an iPad it's a different matter completely.
I mean, will you *eventually* produce a printed or digital edition for those left out? Maybe in a few months? hint, hint
