Game plays to win with grand releases

Entertainment retailer Game is confident of continued strong performance in the first quarter this year, because a raft of big software titles will hit the shelves.

The store group celebrated a good performance over Christmas - like-for-like sales rose 5.6 per cent for the five weeks to January 3.

A spokesman said that releases in the first quarter of this year such as James Bond: Everything or Nothing for all formats, Gran Turismo 4 for PlayStation 2 and Halo 2 for XBox should help sustain sales.

'There's a very strong line-up of blockbuster titles. We have increased our market share over the past year and are in a strong position to serve our new customers,' he said.

He would not reveal Game's exact market share, but it is understood to have increased from 24 to 25 per cent.