Ubisoft 2002 Annual Report Download - page 14

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In 2002, the video game market experienced another year of sustained growth
in North America and Europe thanks to the success of 128-bit consoles.The installed
base for these consoles jumped from 15 million units in 2001 to 38 million units
in 2002 – and is likely to expand to over 67 million units in 2003.
Expansion of the 128-bit installed base was the main
catalyst for growth in 2002. The overall video game
market grew by 14% in the United States and 12%
in Europe in 2002.
Ubisoft in the limelight in 2002
The Group confirmed its position as a major industry player
thanks to numerous successes, including Tom Clancy’s
Splinter Cell™, Rayman®3: Hoodlum Havoc and Tom
Clancy’s Ghost Recon™ – each of which dominated their
respective segments.
For the fiscal year 2003/04, Ubisoft continues to reinforce
its presence in the segments it has already penetrated,
and is moving into two new areas of the market:
•Action/adventure games (24%* of the total market),
with the launch of Beyond Good & Evil™ and Prince of
Persia The Sands of Time™
•First-person shooter games (7%* of the total market),
with Far Cry™ and XIII
*Source:NPD
Ubisoft forecasts a 15% increase in the game software
market for the European and North American zones
combined in 2003 (barring exchange rate fluctuations).
This solid growth will be driven by video game sales on
128-bit consoles and handhelds.
Game software market
US Europe
million $ million
2001 2002 2001 2002
Sony PlayStation®2 1 435 2 607 1 000 2 153
Nintendo GameCube™ 168 600 - 291
Microsoft Xbox™ 231 773 - 302
Total 128 bits 1 834 3 980 1 000 2 746
GameBoy®Advance™ 354 682 218 436
installed base
US Europe
million units million units
2001 2002 2001 2002
Sony PlayStation®2 7.4 15.9 5.3 11.6
Nintendo GameCube™ 1.2 3.6 - 1.3
Microsoft Xbox™ 1.4 4.6 - 1.4
Total 128 bits 10.0 24.1 5.3 14.3
GameBoy®Advance™ 4.8 11.8 2.9 5.9
market
UBISOFT
in a dynamic