Thursday 10th April/... Today sees the release of the fourth annual Develop 100, which ranks the world’s games development studios according to the sales of their games at UK retail.

The book is published, in association with Sheridans and amBX, by the editorial team behind Develop magazine (www.developmag.com) – the leading international publication for games developers.

Nintendo takes the number one spot in the 2008 edition of the Develop 100, knocking down EA Canada, which held the top place in the previous three editions of the list. Games made by the firm’s Kyoto and Tokyo-based development teams, which include Brain Training and Super Mario Galaxy, generated £129.83m in revenue – up almost 200 per cent year-on-year.

But despite the increased success of Nintendo and other Japanese studios – and the widely reported pressures from low-cost development centres in Canada – the Develop 100 shows European studios in good health. Development teams in the UK and mainland Europe claim 36 places in the list between them, having generated £284m at UK retail in 2007 – higher than Canada’s 12 studios and £221m revenues.

The Develop 100 is an invaluable guide that throws light on the real winners in one of the world’s fastest-growing creative industries, tracking the sales of every game released and sold in 2007 at UK retail, the world’s third-largest software market.

"A must-read book for everyone in the games industry, whether studio manager or contract worker, the Develop 100 provides an invaluable barometer of trends and data backed by our incisive analysis," commented Develop editor Michael French.

"While the success of the Wii and DS has helped a number of Japanese firms triumph, it’s good to also see developers in the UK and mainland Europe punching above their weight to claim a huge chunk of the credit for some of last year’s best-selling games."