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ONLY DVD COMPATIBLE

Also includes Digital Game Soundtrack and more!

AVAILABLE FOR EXCLUSIVE PRE-ORDER AT

SACKBOY RETURNS TO RETAIL. DEVELOPER SUMO DIGITAL SPEAKS EXCLUSIVELY TO MCV

THE NEXT GENERATION THE SCI-FI SIMULATION IS BACK. THE GENRE’S FOUNDING FATHERS CHRIS ROBERTS AND DAVID BRABEN REVEAL ALL

GAME’S PLAN

WITH THE HELP OF BOSS MARTYN GIBBS, MCV ANALYSES GAME’S NEW BUSINESS STRATEGY

PAGE 18 PAGE 06

PAGE 20

PAGE 35

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES

ISSUE 810 FRIDAY OCTOBER 24TH 2014

CREATIVE THINKING

IN PICTURES: THE GAMES MEDIA AWARDS

PAGE 35

WE REVISIT THE BIGGEST NIGHT FOR THE UK GAMES PRESS

CHEAT SHEET

04October 24th 2014 www.mcvuk.com

THE WEEK IN VIDEO GAM‘WE SHOULD BRING GAMESCOM TO LONDON’

I quite like a good horror game, and this month I’ve been spoilt for choice.There’s been Sega’s terrifying

Alien Isolation and Bethesda’s The Evil Within, which marked the return of survival horror pioneer and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami.

Unfortunately, Sega and Bethesda launched these games within a week of each other. And at £100 for both, that’s no pocket change.

Though it’s not unusual for two big movies to arrive side-by-side, the investment you make in games is signifi cantly more.

Without knowing internal expectations, it’s diffi cult to say whether Alien Isolation or The Evil Within were successful for their publishers. But it’s a niche genre and its cult audience would have had to choose which game to buy.

If you look at the history of games, you’ll see many titles that launched next to each other to ill eff ect. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve asked publishers about competition, to receive the same stock response of ‘diff erent audiences’. If it’s Pokémon versus Far Cry 4, then yes, those are non-competing markets. But if you’re launching a game aimed at 18 to 34 year-old men you are competing, and risking sales.

I recall the battle of the racers in May 2010 – Disney’s Split/Second versus Activision’s Blur. Both were meant to be new franchises. Critics loved them equally, according to Metacritic.

But they failed. The studios behind both games were closed within a year. You may assume that they cancelled each other

out, but it wasn’t just that. Red Dead Redemption launched that month, and was another rival to the two games.

It baffl ed me that so many publishers were launching new racing games this Q4. Perhaps it was just coincidence, or a result of EA not launching a Need for Speed game, but there were fi ve releases due in the space of two months. F1 2014 and Forza Horizon 2 were joined by new IP, Ubisoft’s The Crew, Sony’s DriveClub and Bandai Namco’s Project CARS.

So well done Bandai Namco. I feared for Project CARS. Not for its quality – the developer is capable and previews have been positive – but it was going up against big games with huge marketing budgets. Just how large is the racing genre on next-gen this Christmas? Half a million if we’re lucky? How much of that would be Project CARS?

There’s no shame to walking (or driving) away and living to fi ght another time. There are many other days in the year, and if Watch Dogs and the sparse release schedule of 2014 is anything to go by, it doesn’t have to be all about Q4 window. [email protected]

THE EDITORWELL DONE PROJECT CARS

If Watch Dogs is anything to go by, games don’t need to be all about the Q4 release window.

Market DataThe market continues to slide despite the launch of a handful of new titles. Don’t expect any big rises until Call of Duty in November

Week EndingOctober 4th



£30m

£15m

£0m

£19.3m449,668 units £16.6m

493,041 units

£28.5m761,269 units

CHEAT SHEET

05www.mcvuk.com October 24th 2014

MICROSOFT and Sony continue to cut the price of their hardware and bundle in more games as round two of Xbox One vs PS4 begins.

Xbox One’s sales performance has improved since the machine’s price has dropped to £330, with most consoles including a free game such as FIFA 15 and Forza Horizon 2.

But the favourite remains PS4, which continues to stretch its lead over Microsoft’s home machine in the UK. Sony has matched Microsoft’s off ers by including free games with the hardware (initially Destiny and currently DriveClub). Sony has also announced another new

bundle, which includes two free games - FIFA 15 and Minecraft.

Meanwhile, retailers have been promoting their own off ers as stores compete over what is proving a lucrative business. Xbox One and PS4 are selling upwards of 50,000 units a week in the UK at the moment.

GAME announced in its fi nancials last week that 31 per cent of its revenue for the last fi nancial year came from hard are sales, generating £265.9m for the retailer.

XBOX ONE VS PS4 PRICE WARERUPTS ON THE HIGH STREET

DOWNHorror games. Alien Isolation

sales plunge 70 per cent

TOP ONLINE STORIES THIS WEEKOur biggest stories for the week ending Oct 21st

MES

UKIE CEO Jo Twist and culture minister Ed Vaizey say now is the right time for a UK games

industry trade show.Every August the UK games industry

fl ies to Cologne for Gamescom. UKIE takes fi rms to the event, and said that it had a waiting list of disappointing businesses that it was unable to take.

“There needs to be a B2B market place for interactive entertainment in the UK,” Twist tells MCV.

“We’re working with diff erent agencies to see about making that happen. We’ve seen the success of Gamescom, where we go out and run the UK industry stand. We took 53 companies and have a waiting list of others. Why do we have to go to Cologne for that? We should bring it here and are looking at that. There are a lot of investors and people with deep pockets who understand very little about games, how its transitioned and the opportunity culturally and economically.”

Vaizey adds: “The market place has to make it happen. When I go abroad I see organisation that want to have conferences in London. A lot of people want a presence here. In terms of gaming, the sky is the limit for a games event in the UK.”

UPHorror games.

Bethesda’s The Evil Within debuts at No.2

UK RETAIL TOP 10

FIFA 15 EA12 Alien Isolation Sega

3 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Warner Bros

4 Forza Horizon 2 Microsoft

5 DriveClub Sony

6 Destiny Activision Blizzard

7 Skylanders Trap Team Activision Blizzard

8 NBA 2K15 2K Games

9 Super Smash Bros for 3DS Nintendo

10 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Sony

BAYONETTA 2 INC BAYONETTA (WII U) NINTENDO

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

12 Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Xbox One) Microsoft

3 Dragon Age Inquisition (PS4) EA

4 Sunset Overdrive Day One (Xbox One) Microsoft

5 Grand Theft Auto V (PS4) Rockstar

6 XO+ Sunset Overdrive + COD: Advanced Warfare Microsoft

7 Captain Toad Treasure Trackers (Wii U) Nintendo

8 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – Day Zero (PS4) Activision

9 Pokemon Omega Ruby + Keyring (3DS) Nintendo

10 COD: Advanced Warfare – Day Zero (Xbox One) Activision

SPONSORED BY

1 GTA V sales on PS4 and Xbox One should pale in comparison to last gen

2 Time to Kill Metacritic

3 Has Nintendo’s Wii U turned a corner

4 Games Media Awards 2014 – The Winners In Full

5 Limited Edition PS4 bundle includes FIFA 15 and Minecraft for free

GAME emerged from its first financial year press briefing in a positive mood.

The firm, driven by PS4, Xbox One and GTA V sales, reported a revenue spike of 31 per cent to £861.8m, while profit hit £209.7m. A massive improvement on the losses suffered the year before.

Things are looking good for the future, too. Spurred on by the performance of the new consoles, the company floated on the stock exchange and its share price continues to rise. Best of all, it’s

managed to secure decent credit insurance, which has allowed it to focus more on launching big games.

“Credit insurance is something suppliers enjoy rather directly ourselves,” CEO Martyn Gibbs acknowledges. “But what it means is that we can concentrate on selling stuff. Over the last two years, it has been a period where the suppliers weren’t enjoying that insurance, so we were engaged in a finance-team-to-finance-team perspective an awful lot. But that has moved over the last two

THE GAME PLANRetailer GAME posted impressive financial results last week, but the firm’s sights

are firmly set on ensuring its continued success in a constantly transforming games market. Christopher Dring takes a look at the strategy with CEO Martyn Gibbs

What’s the plan?Not a new plan, but rather a continuation and evolution of the old one. GAME has secured 83 exclusive versions of games in 2014, up from 75 in 2013. Over 1.5m of these exclusive SKUs have been shifted over the last year.

“Exclusives are very important for us, we never take it for granted that our suppliers work with us on those,” says Gibbs.

“The gamers buying these are our most valuable customers; they are buying mainly from a store, with trade-in, reward points and GAME Wallet.

“And we can combine that and say to our suppliers that we can bring this population of

gamers to your great content – that is why we need exclusives.”

What are the challenges?The obvious issue regarding multiple retail SKUs is gamer confusion. Some rival stores have been eager to secure their own exclusive versions of games in an effort to compete with GAME, which has seen multiple versions of the same game spread out across different stores. It forces an extra layer of choice onto the consumer, and requires additional effort from them in researching the options available. Already gamers are having to pick which platform to own, then whether to buy a Limited Edition, Super Special Edition or a Standard Edition – and now they’re even having to pick which retailer to buy from.

What does MCV think?GAME’s ability to secure exclusive versions of their titles will prove crucial to their mint game business. As Tesco and Amazon have the capability to go low on price, GAME has to find new measures to compete – and pre-owned combined with exclusive DLC is a good way of doing so.

What’s more, this exclusive content is getting better and deeper. Recently, GAME customers who pre-ordered Alien: Isolation received an entire side-game that

featured the voices and likenesses of the cast from the first Alien movie.

“Now we are getting involved very early in the cycle of the game being developed,” explains Gibbs. “We are interacting at the right point in the process, so we are able to do a lot more. If you try and do something two weeks before a game comes out, there is little you can do. If you do that two years ahead, there’s a lot you can do. Alien: Isolation is a very good example of a very well executed campaign between ourselves and Sega.”

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

months onto putting all of our efforts into the commercial delivery.”

Now that’s in place, the business is fully focused on developing new technologies, expanding its pre-owned offer, creating a mobile store and new sub-brands, and quite a bit more. It’s a combination of developing old concepts and launching new ones, designed to secure the company’s future.

But what are these plans and will they actually work? We take a closer look and offer our thoughts.

We view the way you access mobile gaming experiences as quite cumbersome, and that we can aggregate those games better.

Martyn Gibbs, GAME


WHAT’S NEXT FOR GAME?

What’s the plan?At GAME’s financial briefing last week, the company announced plans for GAME Droid (working title), an app store for Android phones that incorporates GAME Wallet and provides direct access to Android games.

It will launch this year. (Gibbs originally said ‘within weeks’, but judging by the scared look of the GAME rep we mentioned that to, let’s just say ‘before Christmas’.)

“We view the way you access mobile gaming experiences as quite cumbersome, and that we can aggregate those games better,” Gibbs says. “So we will be launching a way for gamers to access games and download them direct.”

What are the challenges?It’s not the first time we’ve seen a big games company try and improve the discoverability of games on Android by launching their own curated store. The last one was PlayStation Mobile, and it failed. As it turned out, Android users were happy with the store they have.

It’s important GAME promotes its GAME Wallet integration (plus the ability to trade-in games against Android titles) in an effort to show the advantages of using its portal.

What does MCV think?Consumers likely to use this service will be those that both utilise GAME’s Wallet system and regularly buy Android games. We are not convinced that will be a significant number of people. However, the possibility of selling Android games in-store is interesting.

What’s more, developing an Android store to sit alongside its pre-existing PC download store could even give GAME the opportunity to sign and publish games itself, just like Green Man Gaming has recently done. Gibbs says: “That’s not something we would rule out, but it’s also not something we will bring to market very quickly.”

What’s the plan?A fifth of GAME’s entire business was pre-owned last year. That’s down compared with 2013, but that’s more to do with the huge increase in mint console hardware sales.

The company has expanded its pre-owned range via GAMEtronics. Two of the stores were opened this year, which specialise in selling pre-owned technology.

Across all of GAME stores, the firm now has over 1,200 technology SKUs, and these accounted for 38 per cent of the firm’s pre-owned hardware sales last year. The firm will roll GAMEtronics bays into all its stores.

What are the challenges?Digital games cannot be traded-in, and the increase in digital sales and decline in physical suggests that the number of trade-ins will decline in years to come

But Gibbs remains unconcerned: “If you look at our digital business at the moment, there’s nothing to say that is having an impact on our pre-owned business.”

However, GAME’s pre-owned revenue fell 1.5 per cent in 2014 versus 2013.

What does MCV think?GAMEtronics is important, as it will safeguard against a possible drop in pre-owned games sales. GAME will need to be careful not to get too carried away, however – it doesn’t want to become just another CEX on the High Street.

What’s the plan?GAME Wallet is the company’s smartphone app that can be used to buy games. It combines users’ trade-in cash, gift vouchers and reward points currency into one piece of monetary value.

The firm has also just launched Scan It. Gamers can scan a box of a game in order to watch a trailer for the title.

“The amount of people using Scan It is really pleasing,” says Gibbs. “People that use it once are becoming hooked. And publishers love it.”

He adds: ”Scan It is the third drop of code we have had on our app, and we still have one more to come before Christmas.”

What are its challenges?Getting people using it. GAME says over 1m people have downloaded its app. But clearly explaining what it does, why it is interesting and why gamers should use it will be a challenge.

What does MCV think?If GAME can make Wallet a popular way for paying for games, it opens up a huge market for them. In theory, any game could use Wallet for in-game microtransactions (think Candy Crush or League of Legends). And that next piece of code Gibbs mentions... could it be the ability to buy games using the app and have them automatically downloaded to a console at home?

What’s the plan?GAME Marketplace will launch in Q1 2015. The concept is to allow third-party sellers to offer products GAME currently does not sell to users. The firm hopes it will help increase its range of merchandise and licensed products, and gamers can access Marketplace content via the website and in-store tablets.

“There are so many products aimed at gamers that we are not stocking at the moment,” explains Gibbs. “These are mostly licensed products. The thinking is that we will be able to access tens of thousands of products, both online and in-store, that we’ve previously not been able to sell.

“The premise is not to start selling fridges. Unless it’s a fridge with a Nintendo logo on it.”

What are the challenges?GAME Marketplace faces some stiff competition, namely from Amazon and Play.com – and that’s not to mention eBay.

What does MCV think?It’s important if GAME wants to maintain its position as the UK’s leading games specialist that it stocks as many games-related products as it can. Marketplace will help it do that. The fact that it will be accessible in the firm’s High Street stores gives Marketplace a unique selling point over rival services, such as eBay.

GAME DROID PRE-OWNED

GAME WALLET

GAME MARKETPLACE

GAME Wallet combines customer’s trade-ins, gift vouchers and reward points into one total

www.mcvuk.com October 24th 2014


07

What’s the plan?The sub-brand brings together the likes of Skylanders, Disney Infinity, Minecraft and LEGO. Aimed at GAME’s younger customers and their parents, GAME Junior grew by 74 per cent this year, driven primarily by Infinity and the LEGO franchise.

“We are allocating more space in-store and resource centrally to manage this,” Gibbs announces. “More PR, more social activity, community events and marketing campaigns will increase awareness. For example, this month we opened 170 stores for the Minecraft Build Challenge.“

What are the challenges?The kids market – especially in the console space – is under threat. The decline in Skylanders points to that. The strong performance of LEGO, Minecraft and Infinity is promising; however, there is currently a lack of kids titles on the release schedule.

What does MCV think?Children are the future for the games industry, and that future is increasingly spending its time on smartphones, tablets and online. GAME’s promotion of software aimed at kids will be a boost for the console industry trying to win over a new generation of fans.

What’s the plan?GAME now boasts over 4,400 digital SKUs, a rise of 2,100 over the last year. What’s more, the firm has its own PC download store. But Gibbs says there’s a lot more content to source and sell.

“We want everything,” he states. “We are very focused on other gaming formats, PC downloads and mobile gaming, but we are as focused on unlocking the full catalogue on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo.”

GAME argues that it’s vital retailers get involved in this space because many consumers do not have access to credit cards.

Gibbs revealed that 75 per cent of all digital sales at GAME were made using cash, trade-in credit or reward points. 1.3m customers brought digital content from GAME last year – up 10 per cent.

What are the challenges?The fear is that selling digital codes for Steam, Xbox Live,

PSN or Nintendo eShop is effectively ‘giving away’ your customer to a different retailer.

Digital games also cannot be traded-in, and margins on digital games are believed to be smaller than on physical titles.

What does MCV think?If GAME wants to become the world’s biggest games specialist it needs to stock all the games it can. Selling digital content may indeed be the future of GAME.The firm can help promote digital content via its stores and special events, and gamers can buy titles from the store in multiple ways. Effectively turning GAME stores into a giant marketing vehicle.

“We want to give our suppliers the opportunity to put their digital content in front of a population that is not purchasing their games,” says Gibbs. “That gives us the opportunity to allow a model that is right for a supplier and right for ourselves.”

What’s the plan?GAME wants consumers to read their website, watch their videos, follow their local store on Twitter and download the GAME Wallet app. They want gamers coming to their ‘lock-in’ events to play games, attend their various other events and then, if they want to, buy from them. GAME is not just a games retailer, but a discovery and education channel for this increasingly complex industry.

That’s the vision, and the company currently has 4.7m reward card holders (1m new holders from the last year). And it hopes to boost its loyalty scheme for its most loyal customers, too.

Judging by a video shown last week, that could include Reward Points for tweeting about games and being a GAME advocate.

“Now we are at an even more granular level of understanding our customers, we want to put into place a scheme that will reward them even more for being key participants in our community,” says Gibbs. “We are working on that programme at the moment.”

What are the challenges?GAME may have 4.7m active loyalty card holders, but it has 11.3m inactive loyalty card users. The pressure will be on GAME to try and increase its active loyalty

users, and attract back that huge number of gamers.

Gibbs says the reason there’s so many inactive users is partially down to the millions who rushed to buy Wii and DS in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and then never brought another product: “Us being able to aid customers’ movement from playing Wii five years ago to buying an Xbox One or PS4 is a key determinant with [our ability to win back customers].”

What does MCV think?This is GAME’s main vision and it will be crucial to its continued survival in an industry moving beyond physical goods.

GAME JUNIOR

DIGITAL CONTENT

BECOMING THE ‘NO.1 COMMUNITY FOR GAMERS’

GAME has started selling digital Xbox games in its stores

GAME Junior focuses on promoting kid-friendly titles

October 24th 2014 www.mcvuk.com08


CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEKTHIS WEEK: MX VS ATV SUPERCROSS [INFO]

Released: October 28th

Publisher: Nordic Games

Developer: Rainbow Studios

Distributor: Open

Contact01256 391 209

THE CAMPAIGN IN THEIR OWN WORDS NORDIC is going all-out to support the launch of the latest entry in the MX vs ATV off -road racing franchise, Supercross.

The new racer is the ‘offi cial game’ of the Monster Energy Cup in Las Vegas, and will also feature heavily at the French Bercy Moto X Championship.

Meanwhile, in the UK, MX vs ATV Supercross is going to be appearing on-stage at the Dirt Bike Show and Motorcycle Live. The title will be playable at both of the events.

Ads designed by creative agency Factory Media will be appearing on leading motocross and extreme sports websites,

alongside media channels in the European region.

Nordic is also partnering up with Transworld Media to promote the title in the US.

Furthermore, the publisher is targeting fans of motocross over social media, and says it has a reach of one million fans. The IP’s offi cial Facebook page currently has in excess of 107,200 likes.

Nordic has also involved two of the biggest names in motocross – James Stewart Jr and Fredrik Noren – in a Europe versus America ‘ride-off ’. A video of the event was released a week before the game’s launch.

NIK BLOWERMarketing, PR and Franchise Director, Nordic Games

MX vs ATV has long been regarded as the ‘daddy’ of

the motorcross and ATV genre and in being so has a large, loyal and extremely vocal fanbase.

Without trying to be a simulation-type racing experience, through careful attention to the key components of a believable physics engine, offi cial riders and authentic in-game sponsors, MX vs ATV has garnered a reputation of being the best balance of reality and fun.

Not only this – former motocross championship winners within the development team itself ensure that MX vs ATV remains the undisputed king of motocross games.

MARKETING NEWS Nintendo is hoping to attract new players to its handhelds ahead of two new Pokémon games

NINTENDO | Two new Pokémon games are on the way for Nintendo 3DS – Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Pokémon Omega Ruby – and Nintendo says the games’ early demand is outstripping last year’s smash hits Pokémon X and Y.

“Pre-orders for Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are doing really well at the moment,” Shelly Pearce, UK marketing boss at Nintendo, told MCV.

“In terms of marketing support, this is getting a similar sized campaign to what we did on X and Y.

“And in terms of pre-orders it is tracking better. So from that perspective, it is at least at the level of X and Y.”

As well as the usual TV and online marketing campaign run, Nintendo has also developed a special demo for the games, which will be offered to consumers through media outlets and retailers.

Gamers that buy a 3DS or 2DS and register the handheld alongside either Super Smash Bros or Pokémon will also receive one of seven games free.


MARKETING

EA kicked off its TV advertising eff orts for FIFA 15 less than a week before the EU launch date. Fast-forward three weeks and 60 per cent of the UK population has seen the ad.

In terms of timing, EA’s media strategy surrounding the FIFA franchise has generally focused on

building a TV presence around three weeks prior to the launch date.

When looking at last year’s TV ad campaign for FIFA 14, 150 individual TV viewer ratings (TVRs) were accumulated in advance of the September 27th launch date, compared to this year’s 81. In the

same three-week duration, however, the FIFA 15 campaign has amassed 20 per cent more individual TVRs than last year’s predecessor.

This could suggest tactics more focused on driving sales post-launch. The presence of the Tesco retailer-tagged campaign in the Top Ten

Games and Consoles campaigns (last four weeks of consolidated data) could further suggest a retail-focused strategy this time around.

This mass awareness TV advertising strategy has propelled FIFA 15 to the top of the UK charts, where it has stayed since launch.

FIFA 15 ENTERS GAMES AND CONSOLES TOP 5 TV AD CAMPAIGNS Despite a later kick-off date for EA’s TV marketing campaign, FIFA continues to score with viewers

MCV GameTime is provided by Generation Media0207 255 4650 | www.generationmedia.co.uk

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RANK CAMPAIGN INDIVIDUAL TVRS

1 KING.COM – DIAMOND DIGGER SAGA 324

2 SUPERCELL – CLASH OF CLANS 298

3 ACTIVISION – DESTINY 293

4 DISNEY – DISNEY INFINITY 2 215

5 EA – FIFA 15 186

6 MICROSOFT – FORZA HORIZON 2 185

7 KING.COM – CANDY CRUSH SAGA 105

8 MICROSOFT – XBOX ONE CONSOLE 98

9 NINTENDO – TOMODACHI LIFE 91

10 TESCO – FIFA 15 85


MARKETING


MARKET MOVES

XBOX | Former Sony developer relations exec AGOSTINO SIMONETTA has

joined Microsoft’s ID @ Xbox indie programme.

Simonetta will be working as a third-party account manager for the Xbox indie scheme.

He spent five years at SCEE as senior account manager for development, working with PlayStation’s dev relations team in the UK. In his career he has also held roles at Sega and THQ.

Simonetta announced his move over Twitter, saying: “Very happy to announce I’ve joined the ID @ Xbox team in Europe. Looking forward to

carry on working with the indie dev community.”

EGDF | The European Game Developer Federation has announced the result of its Board elections for the 2014/15 year.

Quantic Dream’s GUILLAUME

DE FONDAUMIERE (top left) retains his position as president, while HENDRIK LESSER (above left) of German game trade body GAME was voted vice president.

Other board members include TIGA’s DR RICHARD WILSON, Finland’s KOOPEE

HILTUNEN and Denmark’s KLAUS HANSEN.

STORM 8 | Two industry veterans have moved to the mobile social gaming firm.

TIM TOURNEAU (above left) joins Storm 8 as chief creative officer. He joins with nearly

20 years of experience at EA having worked with Maxis leading The Sims IP.

Meanwhile STEVE PARKIS (above) becomes president of games and network. Parkis is a veteran of Disney, having worked on Toontown Online and Club Penguin.

Most recently the duo worked at rival social gaming firm Zynga, leading the publisher’s FarmVille IP.

“Since our founding nearly six years ago, our goal has been to build the largest mobile games network by delivering the highest-quality mobile gaming experiences to players around the world,” said Storm 8 CEO and co-founder PERRY TAM.

“The expansion of our executive team underscores our commitment to this mission and further accelerating Storm 8’s trajectory. Tim and Steve’s combined creative and operational leadership bring us the tandem skill set required to take Storm 8 to our next stage of growth.”

SONY DEV RELATIONS VET MOVES TO XBOX Simonetta joins ID @ Xbox EGDF Board election results revealed Zynga vets join Storm 8

APPOINTMENTS

KEYWORDS | The QA and localisation firm has acquired India-based outsourcing company Lakshya Digital.

The art services outsourcing firm is based in New Delhi and Pune, India, and was bought by Keywords for $4m.

“By providing us with an entry point into the large, growing yet fragmented art outsourcing market, the acquisition of Lakshya provides Keywords with additional growth opportunities as well as cost and revenue synergies,” said Keywords’ chief executive Andrew Day.

“We look forward to welcoming Lakshya’s highly talented employees to the fast growing Keywords group and to continuing to build upon its strong brand, leveraging Keywords’ unparalleled geographic footprint,

client relationship and financial strength.”

BANDAI NAMCO | The publisher has opened an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This is to be headed up by Nicholas Ng, who is to report to the Singapore office’s general manager of sales and marketing Rainel Tan.

“Malaysia has always been one of our key markets within Southeast Asia, and with the establishment of the new office we will increase our support to the local market, deliver more content and bring the best gaming experiences to Malaysian gamers,” said Bandai Namco Games Asia’s MD Gerard Noonan. “Our on ground marketing activities will strengthen the Bandai Namco’s brand and assist our growth plans for the Southeast Asian market.”

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

EDITORIAL CONTACTS

Publisher: Michael [email protected]

Group Sales Manager: [email protected]

Account Manager: Conor [email protected]

Production Manager: Alice [email protected]

Designer: Sam [email protected]

Special Projects: Lisa [email protected]

Head of Operations: Stuart Moody [email protected]

Circulation: Lianne [email protected]

Finance Manager: Michael Canham [email protected]

Head of Design and Production:Kelly [email protected]

US CorrespondentErik [email protected]

THE RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

www.mcvuk.com October 24th 2014 13

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WE ARE PLAYING...I’ve been playing The Evil Within. It’s exactly like Resident Evil 4. In other words, it’s terrifying, gruesome and brilliant.Christopher Dring, [email protected]

A bit of Driveclub, and having just splashed out on an Xbox One also some Forza Horizon 2 (in between decorating and building furniture).Ben Parfi tt, Associate Editorbparfi [email protected]

I’ve moved away from making nemeses in Shadow of Mordor in order to return to pissing off half of Europe in Crusader Kings II. Is it me?Matt Jarvis, Staff [email protected]

MCV takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues in the industry. The current members are...

Charlotte Knight GAME

Steve Moore Simply Games

Jon Hayes Tesco

Ketu Patel Amazon

Sarah Jasper The Hut

Phil Moore Grainger Games

Igor Cipolletta ShopTo

Dermot Stapleton Get Games

Niall Lawlor GameStop

Phil Browes HMV

Craig Watson Dixons Retail

David Firth Shop Direct

Don McCabe CHIPS

Gurdeep Hunjan Sainsbury’s

Steve Thomas Xbite

Simon Urquhart Microsoft

Robert Lindsay Games Centre

Stephen Staley Gameseek

Robert Hennessy John Lewis

Paul Sulyok Green Man

James Cooke Argos

I’ve been working on my social link with the Xenomorph in Alien Isolation and hiding from my friends in Persona 4 Golden. That sounds right, yeah? Alex Calvin, Staff [email protected]

Full-day conference and networking event featuring expert advice from

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or contact [email protected] or call 020 7354 6001

Wednesday, November 19th One Wimpole Street, London

2014

BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW

Tickets £199 at early bird rate (£349 from October 22nd)

DATA ANALYSIS


A number of big new games launch but nothing can depose FIFA in its fourth week

THE latest FIFA title has now been on top of the charts for four weeks, matching FIFA 13’s debut.

In second place is new survival horror title The Evil Within from the master of the genre Shinji Mikami. Though the game was unable to depose FIFA, the PlayStation 4 version of The Evil Within was the single best selling SKU of the week.

BETHESDA’s The Evil Within replaces fellow scary game Alien Isolation, which drops to sixth place with a 70 per cent dip in sales.

A new entry in the Borderlands series takes third place. The Pre-Sequel released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, and its high

placement in the charts is an indication of how active the user base on the older hardware still is.

Four per cent of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’s boxed sales were on PC. But as is common for the platform, digital sales are far higher. This week 2K’s shooter topped the Steam charts, while its Season Pass landed in sixth place.

The Pre-Sequel knocks last week’s Steam No.1, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, down to second position.

And in the weeks building up to Civilization: Beyond Earth, it’s pre-orders are rising up the charts, this week coming in third place.

TW LW TITLE FORMAT PUBLISHER 02 NEW THE EVIL WITHIN PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Bethesda03 NEW BORDERLANDS: THE PRE-SEQUEL PS3, 360, PC 2K Games04 03 MIDDLE -EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR PS4, XO, PC Warner Bros05 04 FORZA HORIZON 2 XO Microsoft06 02 ALIEN ISOLATION PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Sega07 06 DESTINY PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard08 05 DRIVECLUB PS4 Sony09 10 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION PS4, PS3 Sony10 NEW F1 2014 PS3, 360, PC Bandai Namco/Codemasters11 07 SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Activision Blizzard12 09 SUPER SMASH BROS 3DS Nintendo13 11 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION 360 Microsoft14 08 NBA 2K15 PS4, XO 2K Games15 12 DISNEY INFINITY 2.0 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney16 16 THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEOGAME PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros17 14 PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA18 13 SLEEPING DOGS: DEFINITIVE EDITION PS4, XO, PC Square Enix19 18 GRAND THEFT AUTO V PS3, 360 Rockstar20 17 THE SIMS 4 PC EA21 15 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard22 26 WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda23 20 FROZEN: OLAF’S QUEST 3DS, DS GSP/Avanquest 24 21 WATCH DOGS PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft25 NEW THE BORDERLANDS COLLECTION PS3, 360 2K Games26 25 LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros27 18 TERRARIA PS3, 360, PC 505 Games/Merge28 24 TOMODACHI LIFE 3DS Nintendo29 22 THE LAST OF US: REMASTERED PS4 Sony30 28 MARIO KART 8 Wii U Nintendo31 23 BATTLEFIELD 4 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA32 27 ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft33 RE DISNEY INFINITY PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney34 RE NEW SUPER MARIO BROS U Wii U Nintendo35 32 SKATE 3 PS3, 360 EA36 29 DIABLO III ULTIMATE EVIL PS4. XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard37 37 TITANFALL XO, 360, PC EA38 RE COMMAND & CONQUER ULTIMATE PC EA39 30 SNIPER ELITE 3 PS4, XO, PS3, 360 505 Games40 39 JUST DANCE 2014 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Ubisoft

TOP 40 UK RETAIL01 FIFA 15 EA

FORMATS: PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PC DEVELOPER: EA CANADA

TW LW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 01 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Warner Bros 03 05 Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth (P) 2K Games 04 RE Payday 2 505 Games 05 04 Counter-Strike: Global Off ensive Valve 06 NEW Borderlands: Pre-Sequel Season Pass 2K Games 07 03 Alien Isolation Sega 08 NEW The Evil Within Bethesda 09 RE Tomb Raider Square Enix 10 NEW Crusader Kings II: Charlemagne Paradox

01 BORDERLANDS: THE PRE-SEQUEL PUBLISHER: 2K GAMES DEVELOPER: 2K AUSTRALIA

Week ending October 18th Week ending October 18th

TOP 10 STEAM CHARTS

DATA & RESEARCHSource

Games and Charts compiled by GfK Chart-Track

PRESENTS5 SECOND FACTS

PDP design & manufacture the Official Microsoft licensed Xbox ONE

TV Kinect Sensor Clip

[email protected]

Read and remember these stats so you can sound clever at the next Monday morning meeting...

710PC component firm AMD is shedding 710 employees. This news comes as the

firm says its Q3 revenue is likely to decline 16 per cent

230,000New 3DS and 3DS XL sold 233,438 units in their first two days on sale in Japan. Of this figure, 172,332 were

the New 3DS XL

600,000World of Warcraft

subscriptions rose by over 600,000 in the last quarter prior to the launch of new

release Warlords of Draenor

24.99Archos has revealed a

budget VR headset priced at a mere £24.99. The gizmo

will work with any phone with a screen size of 6” or less

TW LW TITLE FORMAT PUBLISHER 02 01 FIFA 15 360 EA03 NEW BORDERLANDS: THE PRE-SEQUEL 360 2K Games04 02 FIFA 15 PS4 EA05 04 FIFA 15 PS3 EA06 NEW THE EVIL WITHIN XO Bethesda07 03 DRIVECLUB PS4 Sony08 07 FIFA 15 XO EA09 06 MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR PS4 Warner Bros10 08 FORZA HORIZON 2 XO Microsoft11 NEW BORDERLANDS: THE PRE-SEQUEL PS3 2K Games12 10 MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR XO Warner Bros13 19 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION PS4 Sony14 11 SUPER SMASH BROS 3DS Nintendo15 17 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION 360 Microsoft16 NEW THE EVIL WITHIN 360 Bethesda17 NEW THE EVIL WITHIN PS3 Bethesda18 NEW F1 2014 360 Bandai Namco/Codemasters19 05 ALIEN ISOLATION PS4 Sega20 12 FORZA HORIZON 2 XO Microsoft

TOP 20 INDIVIDUAL FORMAT

01 THE EVIL WITHIN BETHESDA

FORMAT: PS4 DEVELOPER: TANGO GAMEWORKS

TW LW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 05 APOCZ Sick Kreations03 06 TERRARIA – XBOX 360 EDITION 505 Games04 08 CASTLEMINER Z DigitalDNA05 07 SLENDER: THE ARRIVAL Midnight City06 03 BATTLEFIELD 1943 EA07 09 WHITE NOISE ONLINE DigitalDNA08 10 AVATAR WARFARE DigitalDNA09 RE MOUNT YOUR FRIENDS Stegersaurus Software 10 RE THE IMPOSSIBLE GAME FlukeDude

TOP 10 XBOX LIVE (UK)01 MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT

FORMATS: XO, 360, PC DEVELOPER: RESPAWN ENTERTAINMENT

TW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 The Dark Knight Rises Gameloft 03 Theory Test UK 2014 Focus Multimedia 04 Flightradar24 Pro Flightradar24 AB 05 The Chase Barnstorm Games 06 The Room Fireproof Games 07 Gangstar Vegas Gameloft 08 Poweramp Full Version Max MP 09 Nova Launcher Pro TeslaCoil Software 10 AllCast Premium Clockwork Mod

TOP 10 GOOGLE PLAY CHARTS

TW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 Five Nights at Freddy’s Scott Cawthon 03 The Chase Barnstorm 04 Flightradar24 – Flight Tracker Flightradar24 AB 05 The Room Two Fireproof Games 06 Terraria 505 Games 07 Goat Simulator Coffee Stain Studios 08 Notability Ginger Labs 09 Photon Flash Player Appsverse 10 Football Manager Handheld 2014 Sega

TOP 10 IPAD PAID CHARTS

01

01

01

MINECRAFT – POCKET EDITIONDEVELOPER: MOJANG

SLEEP CYCLE ALARM CLOCK DEVELOPER: NORTHCUBE AB

MINECRAFT – POCKET EDITIONDEVELOPER: MOJANG

TW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 Minecraft– Pocket Edition Mojang 03 Hypnotic Gastric Band Once Byten 04 Heads Up! Warner Bros 05 Afterlight Simon Filip 06 The Official DSA Theory Test TSO 07 Plague Inc Ndemic Creations 08 The Chase Barnstorm 09 Pumped BMX 2 Yeah Us 10 Construction Simulator 2014 Astragon Software

TOP 10 IPHONE PAID CHARTS

Week ending: October 12th

Week ending October 18th

Week ending: October 12th

Week ending October 20th Correct as of October 20th


DATA ANALYSISSource

The space race has returned.More than 20 years after

seminal franchises like Elite, Wing Commander and Star Wars: TIE Fighter set the bar for space simulation gaming, those that helped the genre first blast off are returning to making out-of-this-world games.

Chief among them are David Braben, creator of 1984 title Elite, who has returned with the fourth sequel Elite: Dangerous after an 18-year gap, and Chris Roberts, creator of 1990s space-action series Wing Commander and the original director of Freelancer, who is developing ambitious simulation title Star Citizen.

FAILURE TO LAUNCHThat’s not to say titles in the last decade or so have abandoned the outer reaches completely – but space games of a certain breed have been in short supply as of late.

“Games set in space have continued to be successful,” explains Braben. “The Halo, Dead Space and Mass Effect series, as well as many others, have done pretty well.

“Publishers have largely shunned open-world space games, though, because of an understandable level of caution. Since Freelancer in 2003, there has been a perception among publishers that such games are expensive, hard to make and don’t sell too well when compared to big franchises like Call of Duty.”

However, Braben adds, fatigue among consumers is now leading to somewhat of a resurgence for expansive star-gazing games.

“A largely unsatisfied player demand has built up as gamers have begun to tire of a sequence of very similar first-person shooters,”

he states. “There is a lot of appetite for something new.”

Roberts adds that while a minority of more complex sci-fi games like EVE Online have managed to thrive over the last decade among a niche audience, the sub-genre as a whole has struggled to hit warp speed – until now.

“I don’t know why particularly sci-fi fell out of favour for a while, especially the kind of game that I’m making, but I think you’re seeing a lot of it now,” he comments. “I don’t think it’s anything that’s suddenly just happened, maybe there’s been some interesting space games that are now on offer and perhaps the positive response to a few of them has emboldened other people to make the move.”

SPACE RACESo how is it that resurrected franchises from two decades ago, that deal with topics and gameplay seemingly condemned

OPEN SPACEIndustry legends David Braben and Chris Roberts have returned to making open-world

sci-fi games, over two decades after they helped to define the genre. Matthew Jarvis asks them why they’re back and sees what future frontiers are in store

Publishers aren’t very good at knowing what people really want.

Chris Roberts, Cloud Imperium Games Corporation

to obscurity by publishers, have managed to explode back onto the scene with such aplomb?

“There is a perfect storm brewing,” suggests Braben. “We’ve seen a decade of a lack of such games, which has meant a pent-up demand for them. We’ve seen people getting tired of first-person shooters, we’ve seen the arrival of crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter; this has been great for open-world sci-fi games like Elite: Dangerous. I have wanted to come back to this genre for a long time and this proverbial ‘alignment of the stars’ has enabled it.”

Roberts, whose $59m Star Citizen drive has been confirmed as the most successful crowdfunding campaign to date, agrees that new services like Kickstarter and a move away from traditional publishing methods have enabled creators like himself and Braben to return.

“Publishers aren’t very good at knowing what people really want,” he says defiantly. “They know what people wanted yesterday. So they tend to always focus on giving people another version of what they were keen on yesterday. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. What it does mean is that when you’re in a position where you want to do something that hasn’t been a big thing for a while – something like Star Citizen – they’re pretty myopic about it. But crowdfunding allowed

the people themselves to have a voice, and that success has

spurred on other people to go: ‘I’ll do a space game as

well’. When people start to see there’s demand,

they jump back on the bandwagon.”

Chris Roberts sees Star Citizen as a ‘living entity’, due to its continuous evolution


INTERVIEW DAVID BRABEN AND CHRIS ROBERTS

Elite: Dangerous is the first game in the 30- year-old series since 1995

From a technology perspective at least, it is PC that is driving things.

David Braben, Frontier Developments

because on PC it’s fun – it’s like a great playground – and we’re not limited by working on a particular platform. We can just push it.

“When I worked on Freelancer the technology wasn’t really doing what I wanted, and the level of detail and immersion I wanted wasn’t really there. It was only a few years ago, looking at what you could do on a PC, that I felt: ‘Okay, I can really start to build’.

“What was happening was that people were still building stuff based on what you could do on a PS3 or Xbox 360. They were really stuck in time in 2006, but in 2011 things had moved on. But no one was really doing anything, because they were worried that they wouldn’t be able to put it on a console.”

One bit of tech pushing game boundaries, especially for space simulation titles, is virtual reality. Both Star Citizen and Elite support the Oculus Rift, as does CCP’s space dogfighting spin-off EVE: Valkyrie.

“The change in hardware and what it can do allows people like myself and David to do new stuff, but also stuff that follows the gameplay mechanics in our old games.,” conludes Roberts. “You can do it with much more fidelity, so you feel a lot less limited than you did in the past.”

Although both advocating for the rebirth of the genre, Roberts and Braben also find themselves facing off against each other with rival products. But Braben says that Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen – as well as other games joining the growing fray – can happily co-exist, much like two other legendary sci-fi franchises.

“As a kid I would watch Star Trek on TV and was also a huge fan of Star Wars, he explains.

“All these games are on different timescales, and, as such, fans of such games will doubtless play all of them as they come out. Competition is a good thing for players, as it drives the quality of all of the products.”

SPACE AGE TECHNOLOGYDespite future console ports, both Wing Commander and Elite were initally computer-exclusive games, debuting on the PC DOS and BBC Micro/Acorn Electron respectively.

That was in a gaming landscape alien to the one we now occupy, where consoles hold far more weight, but Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen are similarly PC-only – a move both creators say will allow them to go where very few games have gone before.

“The Xbox One and PS4 specs are below those of a current top-end PC, so from a technology perspective at least, it is PC that is driving things,” explains Braben.

“The PC is great both because of its performance and because it is open. Not only is it straightforward for us to publish ourselves on the PC, but the PC is also open to all sorts of other elements; great devices like HOTAS sticks, Oculus Rift and other VR headsets, 3D displays and higher resolutions like 4K all make the PC very versatile. And, of course, the PC is continuing to improve with time.

“The biggest change is that we will, and are already, seeing the resurgence of science fiction as a genre. We will see more cross-device play – from tablets to phones to consoles to PCs – they will all begin to blur into one great gaming space. The future is an exciting place.”

Roberts agrees: “The PS4 and Xbox One are essentially like stripped-down, mid-level gaming PCs, so there would be a potential for some form of the work that we’re doing to be on them. But it’s not our focus,


DAVID BRABEN AND CHRIS ROBERTS INTERVIEW

19

BRAVE NEW LITTLEBIG WORLD

Sony’s creation game franchise is back, this time with a new developer at the helm. Alex Calvin speaks to the studio in charge, Sumo Digital, about working with franchise

creator Media Molecule and the next wave of PS4 gamers

LITTLEBIGPLANET 3

Release Date: November 26th Formats: PS4/PS3 Publisher: Sony Developer: Sumo Digital

LittleBigPlanet is quite unique. A lot of the games still have a hardcore, aesthetic. LittleBigPlanet is so diff erent.

Damian Hosen, Sumo Digital

THE announcement of LittleBigPlanet 3 at E3 2014 came as a surprise.

Prior to the show, franchise creator Media Molecule announced it wouldn’t be present, yet at Sony’s Press Briefing a new LittleBigPlanet title was revealed.

As it turned out, the developer wasn’t lying. Development duties on LittleBigPlanet 3 are being handled by Sumo Digital

“It was a mix of Sony wanting to do a LittleBigPlanet game and us wanting to make one to be honest,” says the studio’s design director Damian Hosen.

“I was living in London and joined Sumo just after the project

started and heard I could go work on a LittleBigPlanet game. I dragged my three children and wife half way across the country just to do that. I was so in love with the game and the franchise.

“I was really excited. but at the same time, Sumo had some ideas before I started about how the franchise can be shaped and how it can be enhanced over time. The team had conversations with Sony and those two visions really aligned. And from there we had a very small team of ten to 15 people working on prototypes. It’s all grown from that really.”

LittleBigPlanet 3 continues the series formula of being both a

platform game, but also a title in which consumers can create their own levels. And Sumo was eager to get support from the series creator Media Molecule in making the game.

“In the early stages we were in regular contact with Media Molecule,” Hosen says.

“That was really valuable for us. It’s a series that’s been built from an entirely fresh perspective. That’s true of all Media Molecule games. The studio’s never going to make anything like anyone else. And part of that is that they set themselves very clear targets and goals when they start making something and have a very clear unique vision.

THE BIG GAME LITTLEBIGPLANET 3


WHEN LittleBigPlanet first launched in 2008 it was largely on its own in the console creation genre. But now LittleBigPlanet isn’t alone. It’s going up against Minecraft, as well as Microsoft’s Project Spark. Yet Sumo Digital creative director Damian Hosen says that Project Spark doesn’t compare to LittleBigPlanet.

“LittleBigPlanet has nothing in common with Project Spark,” he says.

“I imagine Project Spark was developed as a reaction to LittleBigPlanet as some strategic move to tick some spreadsheet box.

“Really they have nothing in common apart from a very high

use of the word create. If you think about it LittleBigPlanet is entirely unique. It’s got a really charming high-quality and fun story mode which has been built with the same creation tools that’s given away with the game. That’s a phenomenal achievement because the tools have to be so good for that to be possible.

“If the tools weren’t as powerful then it wouldn’t be as much fun. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything with that element of uniqueness to it. The part of LittleBigPlanet that knocks it beyond the park is the incredible charm and sense of identity that comes in the game.”

CREATIVE JUICES

We’re making a charming platformer that anyone can enjoy. But it’s made with a tool set that you ship with the game.


“So when we went to talk to Mark Healey [Media Molecule creative director] and Kareem Ettouney [Media Molecule art director] it was really cool to get a sense of what they were thinking, how the game came out like it did, what was their vision for it, what limitations did they put on themselves. Kareem said to me that the Story Mode that you release is an example of what you make in Create Mode. That made everything make sense. It all just clipped into place. I can completely understand why the game was like what it was. Those personal insights we got from them early on were invaluable in

shaping how we made the rest of the game.”

BOLD MOVES Even though the team had some pointers from the IP’s creators, Sumo Digital has worked to make its mark on the latest LittleBigPlanet game

“We’ve been working on the game for three years now, we’ve spent a lot of time to add in a lot of stuff. We’re making really a fun charming platform game that anyone can enjoy. But it’s made with the tool set that you ship with the game,” Hosen explains.

“In order to make a really fun platform game that everyone can

enjoy, we wanted to inject a huge amount of life in terms of the kind of things you’ll be playing. in order to do that we had to add in a number of create tools. All in all we around 100 tools, which allowed us to make a game where every level is completely different. That’s something I’m really proud of. 100 is a big number, but each one of those is a pretty massive addition in its own right.

“For example, adding something like new playable characters, not only do you get to play them with their fun gameplay mechanics, which is great, you can also take them into Create


LITTLEBIGPLANET 3 THE BIG GAME

21

Mode and start giving them unique special powers and abilities so you can make them turn invisible or walk through walls at the touch of button. There’s load of stuff that people are going to do.”

COMMUNITY SERVICEAs well as being the first home console LittleBigPlanet game to not be developed by Media Molecule, it is also the franchise’s debut on the PlayStation 4. And according to Hosen, this has allowed them to build on the level-sharing community aspects of the original games.

“A key thing for us straight away was the Share button. The first thing we did was look into incorporating the video capture into sharing mode in the game,” he says.

“Now you can capture creations, you can edit them into a really slick trailer and publish that alongside your levels. Only PS4 users can use that, but PS3 players can watch the videos. It’s a really nice powerful new feature.

“LittleBigPlanet 3 and the Share button is a perfect match.”

Hosen goes as far as to suggest that the Share button was inspired by LittleBigPlanet games.

“I don’t know where the share button came from in Sony, but I imagine it was inspired by LittleBigPlanet and the concept of ‘Play, Create, Share’.”

Sumo also had been able to upgrade the visuals of older levels using the power of the PS4.

“Upgrading the graphics doesn’t just include the new content that we’re making, that includes old levels, too. LittleBigPlanet 3 is backwards compatible with the previous games, and those levels are upscaled to the quality of LittleBigPlanet 3. That’s a great source of pride for us. There are already 3m levels in existence and they are coming to PS4.”

THE NEXT WAVEOver the last few months both PlayStation and Xbox have talked to MCV about the second wave of

consumers – the gamers that were happy to wait a little longer for their new console. The gamers that didn’t have to buy it on day one. “LittleBigPlanet will speak to that second wave of gamers. It’s a really exciting time,” Hosen says.

“It was interesting being launched at E3 and nervously watching back in Sheffield. LittleBigPlanet is quite unique. A lot of the games coming out of E3 still have the hardcore, violent aesthetic to it. Those genres are still really popular. But LittleBigPlanet is such a fresh, unique game. I feel really good about it. I have three little children, and it’s great to be making stuff that is positive and can be played by kids. It shows what games can do, it’s not just a passive experience, it’s not about sitting on the sofa playing it, this game invites you join in.

He concludes: “It’s a beacon, it’s a real shining light to me and that’s one of the reasons I’m so keen to work on it.”

I imagine the PlayStation 4’s Share button was inspired by LittleBigPlanet’s concept of ‘Play, Create, Share’.


New characters in LittleBigPlanet 3 include the larger Toggle

LITTLEBIGPLANET 3 is coming to both PS4 and PlayStation 3. Most first-party titles have focused on the newer machines this year. But Sumo Digital says being exclusive to PlayStation 4 wasn’t an option as it didn’t want to divide the LittleBigPlanet fanbase.

“We have a massive live community that’s been running for many years on PS3. People that really, really love the games and have been making stuff but don’t have a PS4 yet,” Sumo Digital creative director Damian Hosen says.

“The community is so positive and large. We didn’t want to divide it. Over time people will move over to PS4, but at this point it feels like there’s a large base of players on PS3. I’d hate to think that we’d ignored them.”

BOTH GENERATIONS

October 24th 2014 www.mcvuk.comJ22

THE BIG GAME LITTLEBIGPLANET 3

28.10.2014LO T S O F S T U F F H A P P E N I N G H E R E

Simply pass a storefront stocked with N64, PlayStation and Dreamcast

games with older gamers in tow and you’ll be able to see that retro is very much still in fashion.

The accompanying chorus of phrases like ‘I remember playing this as a kid’ and ‘I put so many hours into Goldeneye’ highlights the nostalgia-driven opportunity retailers should be harnessing – with many already taking the chance.

“Retro gaming remains big news for us,” GAME category director Charlotte Knight tells MCV. “A number of our customers are still getting considerable use out of their older consoles. The PS2 and original Xbox are still great pieces of kit as well as an affordable entry point to gaming.

“Our aim is to make the widest possible range of software, hardware, digital content and accessories available to our customers, and as long as there is demand for these games, we will continue to sell them.”

David James-Turvey of Welsh specialist Retrobution echoes the sentiment that PlayStation 2 titles are particularly popular.

“PS2 always sells well – what a library of games,” he states. “At the right offer PS2 software is a brilliant daily seller.”

James-Turvey adds his belief that Xbox 360 games will eventually inherit the retro gaming crown.

“In five to ten years or so, Xbox 360 games will be very cheap to buy, like PS2 games, but they will still sell,” he says. “They are the retro of tomorrow.”

DIGITAL AFTERLIFEMany have seen the rise of digital as a death knell for retro gaming,

as original cartridges and discs are replaced with code on online stores. For example, Sony offers PlayStation games digitally as ‘PSone Classics’.

“I’m trying to help prevent a digital takeover by offering retro stuff at reasonable prices and allowing customers to trade new for old or old for new to keep the cycle going,” says James-Turvey.

He adds: “Retro for the average customer is still very much an impulse buy.

“Some may want to play Crash Bandicoot for the weekend with mates, and if they buy it digitally they won’t be able to sell it again.

“As long as you can keep the trade cycle going there’s still life in those old yet very playable games.”

But GAME conversely sees digital as a new lease of life for some titles.

“There is no reason why retro and digital can’t go hand-in-hand,” says Knight. “The ever-increasing number of platforms and ways to game provide a huge opportunity for publishers and retailers to help unlock the wealth of digital content that is available.

“A few months ago we launched a range of Sega digital download codes, opening up arcade games to a whole new audience.

“It’s fun to be able to offer a new way for parents to play alongside their kids and to see a revival of some iconic games and characters. In fact, we’ve seen such a great response that we recently extended the range.

“That said, we’re sure that well looked after physical memorabilia and collectibles will continue to hold their value.”

RIPE OLD AGEWhichever way retro is being kept alive, it’s clear to see that, for both smaller and bigger retailers, the cliché stands – there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet.

“You only need to walk into one of our stores to see that previous-generation consoles still provide viable retail opportunities,” confirms Knight. “We’d expect to see content for these platforms become increasingly digital and whilst there is demand we’ll be there to meet it.”

James-Turvey concludes: “There will always be an audience for more traditional gaming.

“The more people preserve physical games and offer trade-ins, the longer you will see them in shops. If stores gradually write them off, then it’ll be a sad day when all your physical games will be on eBay at mad prices.”

BACK FROM THE DEAD

Everyone might be in a tizzy over the latest generation of hardware at the moment, but many gamers remain fiercely fond of gaming on outdated products. Matthew Jarvis chats to GAME

category director Charlotte Knight and David James-Turvey of specialist Retrobution

In five to ten years or so, Xbox 360 games will be very cheap to buy, like PS2 games, but they will still sell.They are the retro of tomorrow.

David James-Turvey, Retrobution

Many retro purchases are driven by nostalgia for older games


RETRO GAMING

25

There’s a new craze in the games publishing scene. A number of companies, from

505 Games and Mastertronic to Team 17 and Green Man Gaming, have been wooing indie developers with a desire to find the next big independent hit.

But Curve Digital, a sister business to developer Curve Studios, is eager to point out that they’ve been offering this service “for years.”

”We recognised the opportunity to create a small, agile, indie publisher to provide a much-needed service to emerging micro studios and developers,” says MD Jason Perkins.

Curve Digital has since been behind some of the bigger indie hits in recent memory, such as Thomas Was Alone and Stealth Inc.

Perkins acknowledges that these games and their makers don’t need publishers. But they can make a real difference.

“We’re in a situation now where publishers are at once both less useful than they were and more useful than ever because of the way that games work now,” he explains. “You don’t need one but it’s a good way of getting your games noticed.

“There’s been a lot of talk about self-publishing, which is developers just pushing a game out through a digital portal.”

Curve may have been in this space for a while but there are now multiple businesses offering publishing services. Perkins says Curve’s development heritage gives them an edge.

“What we found was there’s a new wave of publishers that essentially aren’t that different from a PR agency, in that they will offer marketing support. There is still a

lot that a true publisher like Curve can offer, like an in-house QA team – we don’t outsource any of that.”

FULL-CIRCLE CURVEAs well as offering PR, marketing, QA and localisation services, Curve has a large focus on supporting games post-launch.

“Our biggest learning as an indie publisher is the life cycle management of titles,” Perkins explains. “Some publishers just help you with the game’s initial launch.

“That’s really important to get right, but there’s much more to a game. They aren’t quite the same as they were three years ago. There’s so much going on, so much vying for consumer attention.

“We counteract that by making sure we are doing really intelligent things, for example vouchers that apply to certain other games if they’re similar to the title we are selling. We keep our eye on the game years after launch.”

Right now Curve only has a handful of games, so it’s easy to talk about maintaining a game long after its launch. But

how is the firm going to ensure it maintains this focus as it grows?

“Our plan is to grow the business appropriately,” says Perkins. “We’ve got four people on the publishing side of things, with two guys focused on PR and marketing.”

As well as expanding its catalogue, Curve has plans to expand overseas, too.

“Where we will grow the business is by looking to open a US office to work closely with our partners there,” Perkins says. “We have strong partners in the US, like Valve and Sony America, but hopefully in the future it’ll be Microsoft and Nintendo too.”

It isn’t just planning to move to America – the firm has also started to release games in Japan. To launch Stealth Inc in the region, Curve teamed up with Square Enix.

“To survive as a smaller company we need to pick and choose your partners well,” admits Perkins. “We made the decision that we’d speak to established groups in Japan to partner with them.”

CURVE CONNECTIONSIt’s not just other territories, either. Curve is also expanding from digital stores to physical ones.

“We wanted to have an impact at retail, which is difficult to do as a digital publisher,” admits Perkins. “We partnered with GAME and launched The Swapper into their stores, we did a launch promotion with them, and it’s selling well.”

He concludes: “We can take those games across to console

and release them worldwide with support on the ground at retail.

“All to maximise the revenue on the games the guys are working on.”

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

It might have its roots in game development but Curve is also a publisher. In fact, it has been for nearly two years now. Alex Calvin speaks to its MD Jason Perkins

We’re in a situation where publishers are both less useful than they were and more useful than ever.

Jason Perkins, Curve Digital

Stealth Inc was the first game published by Curve


INDIE INTERVIEW CURVE DIGITAL

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Distributed by Contact Sales Ltd.Tel: +44 (0)1869 [email protected]

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SIMULATOR


XBOX 360 AT RETAIL

29

In June last year, GfK Chart-Track announced that the Xbox 360 had overtaken Nintendo’s Wii

to become the UK’s best-selling home console for that generation.

With almost nine million units sold, the machine is second only to the monolithic PS2 in terms of home console sales in the UK.

Launched back in December 2005, the 360 enjoyed eight years launching blockbuster franchises such as Gears of War, Forza and Crackdown before its successor, the Xbox One, hit UK shelves in November 2013.

But with the new machine selling rapidly, is there any life left in the Xbox 360?

Lee Williams, Xbox 360 product manager at Microsoft, tells MCV that, while the One may be fresh hardware, the 360’s established catalogue of games and lower price still makes it an ideal purchase for many first-time console buyers.

“With exciting new bundles and the largest library of games, the Xbox 360 offers consumers a great value entry into gaming,” he says. “We’re still seeing strong demand for the UK’s best-ever-selling home console, and with further investment including the introduction of a 500GB SKU, we are committed to supporting Xbox 360 for the foreseeable future.”

THINK OF THE CHILDRENWilliams adds that the Xbox 360 is particularly growing in popularity among families and younger children, thanks to the wide selection of kid-friendly games that have built up over the last near-

decade – and continue to launch on the console.

“Since Xbox One’s launch in November 2013, we’ve seen demand for Xbox 360 amongst parents of younger children grow,” he reveals. “This has been supported by sales of software titles such as Minecraft and FIFA, whose low PEGI rating makes them ideal for ‘new-to-console’ buyers and younger audiences. Plus, with the huge library of Arcade games in the Xbox Store, there’s a game to suit every age and taste.”

While the Xbox One may be understandably occupying the bulk of Microsoft’s advertising efforts at the moment, the firm is also making the most of this new opportunity among families, releasing a range of offers and new SKUs tilted towards children who may not be ready for the step up to next-gen.

“Where it makes sense, we tailor our bundles and marketing to ensure we offer the best value and relevant content for our customers,” says Williams. “An example of this is our upcoming Xbox 360 Blue Special Edition – the console comes with two free games, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Toy Soldiers. This PEGI 12-rated bundle makes it perfect for parents looking to gift an Xbox 360 to their teenagers this Christmas, where PEGI 18-rated titles wouldn’t be suitable.

“Likewise, our FIFA 15 Xbox 360 Value Bundle is rated PEGI 3, making it ideal for those keen to enter gaming from a young age with a great value price tag.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE XBOX 360 AT UK RETAIL?

As the Xbox One approaches its first birthday, Matthew Jarvis asks Xbox 360 product manager Lee Williams what the future now looks like for Microsoft’s older machine

Since Xbox One’s launch in November 2013, we’ve seen demand for Xbox 360 amongst

parents of younger children grow.Lee Williams, Microsoft

A number of limited edition Xbox 360 SKUs made their way into retail during the console’s lifecycle, based on a number of the console’s biggest titles.

From Gears of War 3 to Modern Warfare 3, and even the R2-D2-styled machine that came accompanied by a gold C-3P0 controller, stores weren’t short of eye-catching designs to stock.

These special models were bolstered by the many viral marketing campaigns engineered by Microsoft to boost the console’s presence, including the ‘You are the controller’ Kinect advertising run and the 2008 ‘Live your Moment’ marketing, which hoped to capture the social

and casual audience segments by positioning the 360 as an entertainment platform.

Asked which campaigns had seen the most success during the 360’s lifetime, Williams recalls the record-smashing launch of Microsoft Studios’ biggest-ever game, 2012’s Halo 4.

“Our Halo 4 Limited Edition console stands out,” he says. “Not only did we have a beautifully designed console, with special sound effects and custom controllers, but it was coupled with an incredible game. We hosted midnight openings at GAME throughout the country and stoked excitement by flying the Halo Glyph down the river Thames on launch night.”

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL


XBOX 360 AT RETAIL

At the time, Halo 4 was the biggest Xbox 360 to date, bolstered by a limited edition console

RETAIL REVOLUTIONIt’s not just the audience for the 360 that has evolved over the years. The way retailers sell the machine – as well as the face of those retailers themselves – has drastically altered since 2005. Williams outlines some of the new ways Microsoft is working with stores.

“Back when the Xbox 360 launched, bricks and mortar stores were the key focus,” he states. “But we’ve seen advances in online experience, mobile transactions and the growing importance of eCRM (Electronic Customer Relationship Management) and loyalty programmes to retail since that time.

“The modern retail landscape means we can be a lot more targeted in our efforts, due to the greater availability of data and insights – tailoring offers and communications to specific audiences, and even individual customers.

“We’ve recently launched our code-to-content delivery programme, allowing digital software to be sold directly in-store at GAME, and we’re rolling out ESD (Electronic Software Download) and POSA (Point of Sale Activation) cards to a growing number of retail partners, making it even easier for customers to buy content digitally.”

THERE’S LIFE IN THE OLD BOX YETWhile the Xbox One may be making headlines as Microsoft’ next-generation of gaming, the 360 continues to shift units, attracting new demographics as its core audience moves onto the new hardware.

“Xbox 360 hardware is available marketwide at retail and via our exclusive Xbox distributor Exertis, alongside its accessory portfolio, which continues to perform incredibly strongly,” Williams says of the machine’s availability to retailers.

He concludes by saying more is on the way to keep the aging box fresh in the minds of consumers – and the 360 isn’t out for the count yet: “We have more great value bundles, a stunning Blue Special Edition console launching this October, plus a growing Arcade and software portfolio for gamers to look forward to.”

Lee Williams, Xbox 360 product manager, Microsoft

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THE WINNERS GAMES MEDIA AWARDS

35

Hundreds of journalists and writers from all around the industry came together

celebrate the best journalism from the last twelve months at this year’s Games Media Awards.

The evening was hosted by comedian Holly Walsh of Mock the `Week and 8 Out of Ten Cats fame.

Former Official Nintendo Magazine editor Matt Castle – now leading OXM – took away two awards over the course of the evening. Early in the proceedings

he was on stage to pick up the Game Critic prize, and returned at the end of the night to pick up the Journalists’ Journalist award, as voted for by the media in the the room that evening.

The first two awards of the evening went to Eurogamer. Wesley Yin-Poole took away the News Writer prize, while Christian Donlan won the Features Writer award.

Scottish freelancer Kirk McKeand won the Rising Star prize, sponsored by Sega, while

Videogamer’s Jim Trinca was awarded the Video prize. And threatened to drone strike the attendees’ homes.

Matt Lees took to the stage as Daft Souls won the Podcast prize. That’s before Edge and Kotaku UK won the awards for best editorial team for print and online respectively.

IGN UK took away new prize Gamers’ Choice, as voted for by the public, just as the team is about to record its 250th episode.

Hundreds of journalists came together to celebrate the best journalism from the last twelve months.

SPONSORS

GAMER’S CHOICE PARTNER

RISING STARPARTNER

MEDIA PARTNER EVENT PARTNERS AFTER PARTY SPONSOR

BEST OF THE PRESSThe UK’s games media gathered to celebrate the best journalists in the industry.

MCV takes a look back at the night, and who picked up prizes

A new judging system was put in place for this year’s Games Media Awards, ensuring a bigger focus on the actual work of games journalists - and votes from a wider pool of media insiders, commentators and experts.

We selected an array of voices, from specialist writers through to mainstream contributors, developers, industry execs including PR and marketing staff (including former journalists). We then split them into panels responsible for specific awards.

Each panel was given a long list of up to 15 entrants per award, and were instructed to read submissions provided by each entrant and then vote for first and second choice winners. The votes in each instance gave us clear indication who should win.

Everyone who voted was allowed to put forward suggestions for Gamers’ Choice, while all the media judges were eligible to suggest Journalists’ Journalist nominees.

We’d like to thank the judges for taking part in this process for their time spent reading/listening/watching the long lists and offering feedback and commentary on the entries.

Our 50-plus judges included: Adam Cook, Adam Rosser, Alex Simmons, Alison Beasley, Andrew Smith, Andy Robinson, Ben Parfitt, Caroline Miller, Chris Schilling, Craig Stephens, Dan Griliopoulous, Dan Maher, Daniel Nye Griffiths, Debbie Timmins, Emily Britt, Emily Gera, Georg Backer, Guy Cocker, Ian Morris, James Jarvis, Jo Bartlett, Joel Snape, Jon Hicks, Jonathan Beales, Lee Bradley, Leon Hurley, Mark Brown, Martin Mathers, Matt Lees, Matthew Pellett, Neil Gorton, Paul Presley, Peter Willington, Rob Crossley, Sean Murray, Simon Byron, Simon Miller, Stefano Petrullo, Steve Hogarty, Stuart Dredge, Stuart Saw, Tim Edwards, Tony Mott, Tracey McGarrigan and Will Freeman.

THE JUDGES


GAMES MEDIA AWARDS THE WINNERS

FEATURES WRITER CHRISTIAN DONLAN, EUROGAMER

Thank you. Chris is very sorry he can’t make it tonight. For my part, thank you very much and well done because Chris is a great writer and a great human being.

Christian was unable to make it to this year’s Games Media Awards. Eurogamer’s Oli Welsh collected his prize in his absence

NEWS WRITER WESLEY YIN-POOLE, EUROGAMER

Thank you very much. This is lovely. This is truly a team effort. I wouldn’t be here without the Eurogamer news team, which is best in class. Thank you all very much.

Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer



37

This is such a surprise. I feel a bit cheeky as I don’t write as many reviews as I used to. I’m chuffed that people are reading our stuff - sometimes you can feel a bit sidelined in print, so this is really appreciated.

Matthew Castle, Official Xbox Magazine

RISING STARKIRK MCKEAND

Holy shit. Thank you. I though Jim Trinca was going to win to be honest. Thank you to all the editors who have given me a chance and tidied up my copy.

Kirk McKeand, freelance writer

GAMES CRITICMATTHEW CASTLE, OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE



PODCAST MATT LEES, DAFT SOULS

I started this for fun, then people said I should get women on the show, so I did. It’s cool that I can provide a platform for diversity at a time when it’s difficult. Thanks to all the other people on the podcast, I couldn’t do it without them.

Matt Lees, Daft Souls

VIDEOJIM TRINCA, VIDEOGAMER.COM

This is fantastic. I’d like to thank Tom and James Orry, Adam McCann, Simon Miller, Steve Burns – who is going to drone strike a lot of your homes tonight – and Chris Bratt. And lastly my sister from another mister, Krystal Sim.

Jim Trinca, Videogamer.com



EDITORIAL TEAM – ONLINE KEZA MACDONALD, KOTAKU UK

What an honour it is to win the ‘Eurogamer Award’. We do all we can with not an enormous amount. It’s a difficult time to be a games journalist now, so it means a lot to have the support of our peers. Thank you.

Keza MacDonald, Kotaku Uk

Magazines get harder to make every year but they let us keep doing it. Thanks to all who have helped make Edge what it is - Ben Maxwell, Matthew Clapham, our wonderful art team and especially Michael Gapper.

Nathan Brown, Edge

EDITORIAL TEAM – PRINTNATHAN BROWN, EDGE

Congratulations to all the winners at the

© SEGA.



We’re about to record episode 250 so it’s extra special to receive this award now. If it wasn’t for everyone who have appeared on the podcast, and the 300,000 people who listen each month, it would be nothing.

This is what happens when you bus in 50 Future employees to vote. The thing about print is there are so many people who don’t get recognised. It’s a communal spirit, so I’m so so chuffed to be given this. Thank you.

Alex Simmons, IGN UK Matthew Castle, Official Xbox Magazine

GAMERS’ CHOICEIGN UK PODCAST

JOURNALISTS’ JOURNALISTMATTHEW CASTLE, OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE

THERE are millions upon millions of gamers that never left the Wii.

This isn’t news to most MCV readers. The disappointing sales of Wii U is testament to this. And these gamers have never bought another console. Many are playing tablets, smartphones and PCs.

It’s a notion backed up by Nintendo. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto told Edge last month: “Because of the spread of smart devices, people take games for granted now. We do not have to worry about making games relevant to general people’s daily lives”.

So where does that leave the big casual titles that found a lucrative home on Wii? Is it just about managing the decline?

ENTER MOBILEJust Dance is one such IP having to face life after the Wii. So Ubisoft has been eyeing new platforms.

“We’ve been looking at mobile,” says brand manager Jason Altman.

“There has been a decline since the old gen, and an explosion in the casual market on mobile.”

Just Dance Now is that mobile title, a free app that can be downloaded for iPhone or Anrdoid. It effectively turns your smartphone into a Wii Remote, and by visiting Justdancenow.com, gamers can play Just Dance using their smartphone. The firm says the game is ‘latency-free’, irrespective of your connection.

And it allows for up to 20,000 gamers to play together. The site can of course be accessed via tablets, laptops and smart TVs.

“The opportunity to have massive parties, lots of people dancing

is something that can bring it from being a game IP to being an entertainment brand,” says Altman.

“We also don’t have to just release a tracklist once a year. It’s live so we can update it at any time. We can be much more agile and, if things go well, bring new content.”

CONSOLE WARSCreating mobile versions of hit games has been something other major casual and family titles have been doing. Activision has just brought a full Skylanders game to tablets this year, while shortly Sony is releasing a new SingStar that uses a phone as the microphone.

But in many ways Just Dance goes even further. Fans will need nothing more than products that they almost certainly already own, namely a smartphone and a screen with internet access.

consoles, and 130m smartphones. Our audiences goes from being small to something massive.”

Just Dance 2015’s new features include Community Remix. which lets gamers record themselves with the camera and share it. The community can vote for their favourites and the dev team will create playable remixed gameplay.

Yet the console sector for Just Dance does face challenges. Particularly following the decision by Microsoft to remove Kinect as an automatic pack-in with Xbox One.

But Altman is confident.“Dancing is universal,” he says.

“One of our core values is to be on the pulse of tech and popular culture and music. If we can have a great songs, choreography and costumes every year it keeps us alive. There’s not a point in the future where we think it will fail.”

LIFE AFTER WII: THE FUTURE OF JUST DANCE

Ubisoft hopes to keep its dancing franchise alive with two new games, including one for mobile. Christopher Dring meets brand manager Jason Altman

In Brazil there are 10m consoles and 130m smartphones. Our audience goes from being tiny to massive.

Jason Altman, Ubisoft

Players use their smartphones as a controller in Just Dance Now

But won’t this hurt the upcoming console game Just Dance 2015?

“Just Dance Now is the greatest hits of Just Dance,” says Altman. “If you’re someone who wants all the features and the new track list, then console is right for you.”

“Mobile really is for people who don’t own consoles and markets where consoles aren’t that big. In Brazil there are around 10m

JUST DANCE’S MOBILE MOVE



MARKETPLACE

How has business been?Up and down. Some of the new releases have done quite well; The Evil Within and Shadow of Mordor surprised us by selling fantastically. But overall it hasn’t been brilliant.

Have sales picked up since the rather quiet summer period?They have since summer, but that was one of the worst periods on record for the store. It was really slow. But the new releases have injected some life in the market.

Have you held any midnight launches or events for some of the bigger titles?We haven’t. It’s due to insurance or something, but it’s easier for us to let people wait. It’s not the best.

Have hardware sales increased alongside software sales?Console sales have been pretty steady since launch. Xbox One is selling much, much better than it had been before, but PS4 is still winning in terms of hardware. That

is defi nitely going to be the better selling machine as we go into the Q4 period. There is a far higher demand than for Xbox One. They are a very similar price now. Originally the PS4 was selling better due to having a lower price point. A lot of people don’t seem to trust Microsoft, so aren’t buying the Xbox One.

How have you been coping during the quiet periods? We started selling content online, over Amazon and eBay, getting

Adam Cashmore of Ashby-based Extreme Gamez talks to MCV about the steps it has taken to diversify what it sells and which console he feels is going to sell the best this Q4

SHELF LIFE

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

1. BAYONETTA 2 + BAYONETTANintendo, Wii U

2. Halo: The Master Chief CollectionMicrosoft ..................................................................XO

3. Super Smash Bros + GameCube Controller AdaptorNintendo ............................................................. Wii U

4. Sunset Overdrive – Day One EditionMicrosoft ..................................................................XO

5. Grand Theft Auto VRockstar ................................................................PS4 6. Captain Toad Treasure TrackerNintendo ............................................................. Wii U 7. Pokémon Omega RubyNintendo ............................................................... 3DS

8. Grand Theft Auto VRockstar ...................................................................XO

9. Pokémon Alpha SapphireNintendo ............................................................... 3DS

10. Wii U GameCube Controller AdaptorNintendo ............................................................. Wii U

PRICE CHECK: CANTERBURY

ONLINEIN

N STO

RE

BAYONETTASega, PS3

DMC: DEVIL MAY CRYCapcom, Xbox 360

METAL GEAR RISING REVENGEANCEKonami, Xbox 360THE WONDERFUL 101

Nintendo, Wii U

N/A £11.99 £34.99 £12.99

£13.49 £12.49 N/A £14.99

£11.04 £9.99 £28.58 £10.50

£14.85 £11.85 £29.85 £11.85

N/A £15.97 £39.97 £15.97

UPLOADINGThe latest digital releases coming

to market

MINECRAFT: VITA EDITION

PlayStation fans can fi nally play the blockbuster game on the go

The PC fi rst-person combat title is coming to PS3 and Xbox 360

The puzzle classic lands on 3DS in November, thanks to Ubisoft

CHIVALRY: MEDIEVAL WARFARE TETRIS ULTIMATE

OUT: OCTOBER 29TH OUT: NOW OUT: NOVEMBER


MARKETPLACE

some of the rarer items we get in out there. We’ve also been trying to stock other things, like fi gures and other merchandise. They’ve been selling really well for us.

How much of your revenue comes from online retail?Not much. I’d say around ten per cent, if that.

Have you had to mix up what you sell to get people in-store?A few years ago we started

stocking skating stuff . That sells really well. The other thing we have starting getting in is merchandise. The profi t is much higher in merchandise than it is in games – defi nitely worth stocking.

Have you started selling digital codes?We do the DLCSoft codes, which is a big part of the digital push. Profi t is quite low but the turnover is high. That helps a lot. We only do the Microsoft physical cards.

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR OUTLET IN MCV?Contact [email protected] or call 01992 515 303

Extreme Gamez3 Mill Lane Mews,Ashby de la Zouch,Leicestershire,LE65 1HP

Phone: 01530 412 983Website: extreme-gamez.co.ukTwitter: @Extreme_Gamez Facebook: /ExtremeGamezAshby

INCOMING The new Call of Duty will fi nally hit shelves in November, but before then there’s Bayonetta, Civilization and Sunset Overdrive to keep players busy

TITLE FORMAT GENRE PUBLISHER TELEPHONE DISTRIBUTOR

October 24th

Bayonetta 2 Wii U Action Nintendo 01753 483 700 Open

Civilization: Beyond Earth PC Strategy 2K Games 01279 822 822 Exertis

Disney Magical World 3DS Life-simulation Nintendo 01753 483 700 Open

Fantasia: Music Evolved XO/360 Rhythm Disney 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Just Dance 2015 PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360/Wii Rhythm Ubisoft 01279 822 822 Exertis

Need for Speed Rivals Complete Edition PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC Racing EA 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Power Rangers Super Mega Force 3DS Kids Bandai Namco 01215 069 590 Advantage

Samurai Warriors 4 PS4/PS3/Vita Action Tecmo Koei 01462 476 130 Open

Shadow Warrior PS4/XO Action Bandai Namco 01215 069 590 Advantage

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MX vs ATV Supercross PS3/360 Racing Nordic Games 01256 391 209 Open

October 31st

The Walking Dead – GOTY Edition PS4/XO Adventure Avanquest 01480 359 403 Open

The Walking Dead – Season Two PS4/XO/PS3/360 Adventure Avanquest 01480 359 403 Open

NBA Live 15 PS4/XO Sports EA 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Lords of the Fallen PS4/XO/PC Action Square Enix 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Sunset Overdrive XO Action Microsoft 01279 822 822 Exertis

Invizimals: The Resistance Vita Kids Sony 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Danger of the Ooze PS3/360/3DS Kids Activision 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

WWE 2K15 PS4/XO/PS3/360 Sports 2K Games 01279 822 822 Exertis

Invizimals: The Resistance Vita Kids Sony 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

November 4th

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC Shooter Activision 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft


FITNESS AND MUSIC

Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus are the 22nd and 23rd best-selling games of all time, respectively.

THE fitness games market is fittingly in good shape.

Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus are the 22nd and 23rd best-selling games of all time respectively, with almost 44 million combined units sold, according to Nintendo. This places them ahead of juggernauts including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Chris Poole, senior account manager for GfK Chart-Track at GfK, observes that the popularity

of fitness games such as these on the original Wii led to a surge in accessory popularity for the system.

“In 2009, the Top Five best-selling gaming accessories were all Wii accessories – MotionPlus, the Wii Fit Balance Board, Wii Remote, Wheel and Nunchuk,” he states. “From 2006 to date, these five accessories have been the top selling ‘traditional’ console gaming accessories, accounting for 17.1 per cent of all units and 19 per cent of all revenue.”

WII FIT U FIT METER

Players keeping track of their activity level with the help of Wii Fit U can continue to keep a tab on their progress outside of the house with this device. The accessory notes steps taken, as well as changes in activity level, altitude and atmospheric pressure to estimate the kind of exercise being conducted. The Meter then connects back into the game via the Wii U GamePad.

SRP: £10Manufacturer: NintendoDistributor: OpenContact: 01753 483 700

Rhythm and fi tness games continue to be great crowd-pleasers, with a variety of accessible titles on off er to those looking to keep moving. Matthew Jarvis gets down to the beat

OFFICIAL ZUMBA FITNESS BELT ACCESSORY

Those boogying the calories away on the Wii or PS3 can use this belt to hold their motion controller.

SRP: £11.99Manufacturer: 505 GamesDistributor: Advantage DistributionContact: 01215 069 590

NYKO ZOOM RANGE REDUCTION LENS

Xbox 360 players can reduce the space needed to play Kinect-utilising fi tness and dance games by up to 40 per cent with this add-on.

SRP: £19.99Manufacturer: NykoDistributor: NykoContact: [email protected]

FITBIT FLEX

FitBit’s wearable activity tracker connects wirelessly to iOS and Android to help wearers keep active.

SRP: £19.99Manufacturer: FitBitDistributor: WidgetContact: 01438 842 350

FITNESS


FITNESS AND MUSICSponsored by

gamingmerchandise uk

Poole adds that this success continued with the motion-driven PlayStation Move and Microsoft Kinect, which similarly inspired a wave of fitness titles to hit the market.

Mobile has also seen a growing consumer interest in fitness. Apps such as 7 Minute Workout Challenge have continually topped the charts, while other apps connect with tracking devices like the FitBit.

Many of the best-selling fitness games are centred on dancing,

with plenty of crossover into rhythm and music games.

90s’ hit Dance Dance Revolution has been adopted as part of some schools’ education curriculum in the US and UK, with students encouraged to play the active title.

Health boons like these should be a focal point for retailers stocking fitness and music products, with plenty of supplementary products on offer for those looking to continue their health regime outside of the living room.

NIKE+ IPOD SENSOR

Fitness fans can use this iOS-compatible sensor to complement the range of health-boosting games on the platform.

SRP: £15Manufacturer: NikeDistributor: WestcoastContact: 0118 912 6000

WII FIT YOGA MAT

Players can keep their balance board steady with this mat, which can be used for grip with other games too.

SRP: £19.99Manufacturer: HoriDistributor: HoriContact: [email protected]

KINECT FOR XBOX ONE

Microsoft’s motion-tracking camera is now available standalone for those who buy a Kinect-less bundle. It can be used with fi tness games including Xbox Fitness for Xbox One.

SRP: £129.99Manufacturer: MicrosoftDistributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

WII BALANCE BOARD

The Wii Balance Board is compatible with both the Wii and the Wii U, making it suitable for use with any of Nintendo’s Wii Fit software products – Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus and Wii Fit U. Players can track their weight, BMI, bodily balance and how many calories they burn while playing any of the titles. The Balance Board is available in a bundle with Wii Fit U and the Fit Meter.

SRP: £85 (With Wii Fit U and Fit Meter)Manufacturer: NintendoDistributor: OpenContact: 01753 483 700

Rhythm games like Dance Central bridge the gap between fi tness and fun

48

HOT PRODUCTS

October 24th 2014 www.mcvuk.com

Sponsored by

HOT PRODUCTS

XBOX ONE CAMOUFLAGE HEADSET AND CONTROLLER

Microsoft has released a set of products patterned with military-style camoufl age.

The fi rst product to hide in the bushes is the Xbox One Special Edition Camoufl age Stereo Headset.

The headset features quick access controls, which allow users to adjust audio levels without taking their hands off the controller.

As well as standard volume adjustment, players can control the balance of game sounds and chat audio to focus on what they want to hear while playing.

The headset includes a unidirectional microphone, which aims to capture voice clearly through a full range audio spectrum

– making the peripheral suitable for those looking to communicate during fast-paced online games, for example.

The Xbox One Special Edition Camoufl age Wireless Controller similarly features a modern camoufl age pattern and military look.

Like the standard Xbox One wireless controller, the special version of the pad boasts Impulse Triggers, which deliver fi ngertip vibration feedback. This allows players to feel in-game jolts and crashes in real life, for greater immersion in their games.

The controller also includes redesigned thumbsticks and D-Pad enhancements for improved precision and comfort.

PDP WIRED FIGHT PAD FOR WII U

The Wired Fight Pad from PDP is a Classic Controller Pro for the Nintendo Wii U inspired by the shape and design of the original GameCube controller.

The Wired Fight Pad features a distinctive button layout identical to that of the original GameCube controller, with additional Wii U-specifi c buttons and two matching analog sticks, replacing the GameCube’s smaller C-stick.

The Wired Fight Pad is available in a variety of colours, inspired by the dress sense and iconic logos of Nintendo staple characters Mario, Princess Peach and Yoshi – predominantly red, pink and green respectively.

The Wired Fight Pad plugs directly into the Wii Remote connector port, with a wired connection providing greater

responsiveness than some wireless products. This responsiveness is likely to be particularly of interest to players competing in fast-paced titles like fi ghting games, such as the upcoming Super Smash Bros for Wii U.

Players can use the Wired Fight Pad with Wii and Wii U games that support the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro, as well as with Nintendo Virtual Console games.

[INFO]

RRP: £49.99 (Controller), £69.99 (Headset)Release Date: Out NowDistributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

[INFO]

RRP: £24.99Release Date: November 7thDistributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

MCV looks at the best new products heading to UK retail. This week, we blend in with a camoufl age Xbox One headset and controller, before starting a fi ght on the Wii U

Full-day conference and networking event featuring expert advice from

Event Partner Event Partner Event Partner

Event Partner Livestreaming Partner

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES STILL AVAILABLEContact [email protected]

or [email protected] or call 01992 535 646

www.londongamesconference.com/buy-tickets

or contact [email protected] or call 020 7354 6001

Wednesday, November 19th One Wimpole Street, London

THE CHANGING FACE OF VIDEO GAMES MARKETINGBUILDING ENGAGEMENT & REACH

2014

BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW

Tickets £199 at early bird rate (£349 from October 22nd)

THE CHANGING FACE OF VIDEO GAMES MARKETING

TO LIST YOUR COMPANY HERE AND ONLINE EVERY WEEK PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] OR CALL 01992 535647

DIEGO MANCA MURATel: +44 (0) 2032909246 (UK) +39 328 2730697 (Italy)www.diegomancamura.com

........................................................................................................

PRESSXTRA.NET(Part of the Indigo Pearl Group)Tel: 0208 964 4545http://PressXtra.net

........................................................................................................

PERFORMANCE DESIGNED PRODUCTS LTDTel: 01628 509047www.pdp.com

........................................................................................................

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

GAMING ACCESSORIES & MERCHANDISE

CREATIVE & PROMOTIONAL STUDIO DIVATel: 0117 214 0404www.studiodiva.co.uk........................................................................................................

BRIDGE MEDIA GROUPTel: 020 3283 8466www.bridgemediagroup.com........................................................................................................

FLUIDTel: +44 (0)121 212 0121www.fl uidesign.co.uk........................................................................................................

GAME ROOMTel: +44 (0) 20 7729 3033www.gameroom-agency.com........................................................................................................

BY FRONTROOM

CLD DISTRIBUTIONTel: +32 81 83 02 02www.cld.be........................................................................................................

GAMING MERCHANDISE UK LIMITEDTel: 0207 167 6997www.gamingmechandiseuk.com

........................................................................................................

SOUNDING SWEET LTDTel: +44 (0) 1789 297453www.soundingsweet.com........................................................................................................

STUDIO CO2Tel: +44 (0)1483 414 415www.studioco2.com........................................................................................................

SUPERHEROTel: +4020 3031 6180www.superheroscreen.com........................................................................................................

THE AUDIO GUYS LIMITEDTel: +44 (0) 1934 710024www.theaudioguys.co.uk

........................................................................................................

ÜBERTel: +44 (0)114 278 7100www.uberagency.com

........................................................................................................

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT LIMITEDTel: +44 203 137 3781www.click-entertainment.com

........................................................................................................

Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories

DEAD GOOD MEDIATel: +44 (0)7780 600 728www.deadgoodmedia.com........................................................................................................

KENNEDY MONKTel: 020 7636 9142www.kennedymonk.com........................................................................................................ MANUFACTURING

OK MEDIA LTDTel: 02076886789www.okmedia.biz........................................................................................................

KEYWORDS STUDIOS GROUPTel: +353 1 902 2730www.keywordsstudios.com

........................................................................................................

U

LOCALISATION, QA & TESTING

LOCALSOFTTel: +34 952 028 080www.localsoftgames.com........................................................................................................

POLE TO WIN EUROPE LTDTel: +44 (0) 20 8607 7900www.poletowineurope.com

........................................................................................................

Localization Services

UNIVERSALLY SPEAKINGTel: +44 (0) 1480210621www.usspeaking.com

........................................................................................................

VMCTel: +44 (0)1753 849 700 (UK)www.vmc.com........................................................................................................

MONETISATION & PAYMENT

MILLENNIAL MEDIATel: +44 (0) 207 151 3320www.millennialmedia.com........................................................................................................

KEY CONTACTS:

Lau Glendinning, Managing [email protected]

Jackie Davis, Creative Director and [email protected]

ADDRESS:31 Charlotte RoadShoreditchLondonEC2A 3PB

GAME ROOM is an integrated agency that combines awardwinning marketing skills with in-depth gaming knowledge.

We are experts in targeting gaming audiences and work with some of the world’s biggest game and entertainment companies on award-winning global campaigns.

Our strategies think beyond media and technology to gain insight into what gamers really want. We believe in ideas that demand attention, capture imaginations and ignite across social media.

At Game Room, behind every piece of great content is a great idea – and behind every great idea is insightful strategy. It’s the way we think big that gives our content the edge.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS COMPANY AND MANY MORE ONLINE NOW AT:

COMPANY PROFILE / GAME ROOM

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDETO INTERACTIVEENTERTAINMENTAGENCIES AND SERVICE COMPANIES

AMIQUSTel: 01925 839700www.amiqus.com........................................................................................................

RECRUITMENT

MEDIA & MARKETING

LIS WELSH SEARCH & SELECTION LTDTel: +44 (0) 7968 114812www.liswelsh.com

........................................................................................................

SPECIALMOVE CONSULTANCY LTDTel: +44 (0) 141 530 4555www.specialmove.com

........................................................................................................

WAYFORWARD RECRUITMENT LIMITEDTel: 020 7734 4664 (London) 0117 966 6038 (Bristol)www.way-forward.com ........................................................................................................

CURSE, INC.Tel: +1 415 856 0056www.curseinc.com........................................................................................................

IGNTel: 0203 701 5682www.ign.com........................................................................................................

DIRECTORY


CREATIVE Fink ................................................................. info@fi nkcreative.com

DISC REPAIR Total Disc Repair ..................................+44 (0) 1202 489500

DISTRIBUTION Click Entertainment ............................ +44 (0) 203 137 3781

Creative Distribution ......................+44 (0) 20 8664 3456

Curveball Leisure ................................... +44 (0) 1792 652521

Enarxis Dynamic Media ............................. +302 1090 11900

Sony DADC ............................................ +44 (0) 207 462 6200

GAMING ACCESSORIES L3I............................................................................+ (0)1923 471 020

Venom ............................................................... +44 (0)1763 284181

MCV DIRECTORY KEY CONTACTS

RATES £70 per two column box (100mm x 75mm). To run weekly for a minimum of 1 year. Please phone for other size and/or position requirements.

TOTAL DISC REPAIR DISC REPAIR

Tel: +44 (0) 1202 489500 Web: www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk

DIRECTORY


ENQUIRIES

CONOR TALLONTel: 01992 [email protected]

SONY DADC DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 207 462 [email protected]

www.sonydadc.com

Empowering your creative business

Tel: +44 (0) 207 462 6200 Web: www.sonydadc.com

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0)203 137 3781 email: [email protected]

FINK CREATIVE

Artworking Mastertronic Brand Identity Ukie Localisation Rising Star Games Advertising BBFC Website Design Deep Silver Exhibition Bethesda Illustration Appynation Digital Media IntentMedia Charity GamesAid Banners & Takeovers Konami Packaging Design Just Flight

Email: info@fi nkcreative.com Web: www.fi nkcreative.com

CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 208 6643456 Web: www.creativedistribution.co.uk

CURVEBALL LEISURE DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 1792 652521 Web: www.curveball-leisure.com

ENARXIS DYNAMIC MEDIA DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +302 1090 11900 Web: www.enarxis.eu

DIRECTORY


L3I GAMING ACCESSORIES

Tel: + (0)1923 471 020 Web: www.logic3.com

VENOM GAMING ACCESSORIES

Web:www.venomuk.com

Phone:+44 (0)1763 284181

Email:[email protected]@[email protected]

Twin Docking Station

Venom UK Gaming

@VenomGamingUK

w w w. v e n o m u k. c o m

Twin Battery Packs

Accessories for use with Xbox One®

Includes 2Rechargeable Battery Packs

Tel: +44 (0)1763 284181 Web: www.venomuk.com

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY?

ADVERTISE WITH US

CALL CONOR TALLON ON 01992 535647 OR EMAIL HIM AT [email protected]

55www.mcvuk.com October 24th 2014

INSIDER’S GUIDE

Tell us about your company for those who are unfamiliar with your work.We’re a PR, brand and communications agency based in Soho, London.

We work with some of the biggest entertainment and technology brands in the world, including PlayStation, Sky, Warner Bros, EE and Universal. What is your biggest success to date?Launching the PlayStation 4 with the in-house team – from the OXO tower takeover, which replaced the iconic OXO letters with the equally iconic DualShock face button symbols, to the midnight queue that stretched through Covent Garden, we owned the console launch window by being more creative than the competition. What projects do you currently have in the works?We’re currently working on some very exciting projects, including the launch of some new – and some not so new – PlayStation franchises on the PS4. What are the biggest challenges you face?It’s harder than ever to get consumers to listen to you, so continually coming up with bigger and better ideas is the biggest challenge.

Tell us something about your company no one knows.Our PlayStation account lead is absolutely terrible at Destiny and players often prefer to quit games rather than have to keep reviving him. How did you choose your company name?Over the course of about fifteen very heated meetings.

Joint MD of Fever PR Bruce McLachlan tells MCV about its iconic PS4 OXO Tower takeover

Specialism: PR and marketingLocation: 10 Great Pulteney Street,London,W1F 9NB

Contact: P: 020 3747 3030E: [email protected]: @feverpr

INSIDER’S GUIDE

THIS MONTH’S DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT:

FEVER PR

Epic Games .................................................. www.epicgames.com/careers

To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact [email protected]

WWW.DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET

Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 8,500 subscribers every month.

DIRECTORY WHO?

FOR GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT ALEX [email protected]

PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] OR CALL 01992 515 303

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR COMPANY IN INSIDER’S GUIDE?

It’s harder than ever to get consumers to listen to you, so continually coming up with bigger and better ideas is the biggest challenge.

Bruce McLachlan, Fever PR

Sponsored by



SLOVENIA continues to maintain a strong games market – despite its relatively small size and the lack of games retail variety in the region.

Newzoo predicts the Slovenian games market revenue will exceed $21.2 million (£13.3m) by the end of 2014.

The research firm also reports that roughly 1.5 million of Slovenia’s 2.1 million inhabitants – 71 per cent – regularly browse the internet. This proportion is close to the UK’s 73 per cent, making the territory ripe for digital retail.

Despite this, one retailer dominates the marketplace. Big Bang is the only major player in the Slovenian electronics battlefield, holding a market share of around 60 per cent. Games that are not stocked by Big Bang tend to struggle, relying on independent stores to gather pace among consumers.

The difficulty faced by developers and publishers in

the region is exacerbated by the rampant piracy in Slovenia – nearly half of all software is pirated. However, this rate is slowly falling, having dropped from 48 per cent in 2007 to 45 per cent last year, according to the latest BSA Global Software Survey.

This may explain the lack of local publishers. From 2008 to 2010, the number of Slovenian

games publishers doubled – but only totaled four firms in the latter year, according to business analyst SeeNews.

However, at least one of the companies has seen success.ZootFly published

the majority of Slovenian games successful enough to be distributed to mainland Europe, before its acquisition in 2013 by a casino equipment vendor.

As recently as 2008, Slovenia had no age or content rating system in place and no related legislation. However, since then the PEGI age rating system has been introduced, with official support and legal enforcement.

Nearly half of all software in

Slovenia is pirated, but this number is slowly dropping.

FACTFILE SLOVENIA

FACTFILE: SLOVENIAPopulation: 2,061,085Capital City: LjubljanaGDP (Per Capita): $24,211Currency: Euro

KEY RETAILERSBig Bang, Comshop, E.Leclerc, Harvey Norman, Müller TOP DISTRIBUTORSColby, Videotop

TOP DEVELOPERSZootFly, ActaLogic, Dawn of Play, Cocoasoft, Croteam

INTERNATIONAL

MEANWHILE IN... FINLAND

IT seems that Finland may have tasted the poison Apple.

The Prime Minister of Finland Alexander Stubb blamed the American technology giant after the country’s sovereign debt rating was downgraded from AAA to AA+ by ratings agency Standard & Poor.

“We have two champions which went down,” said Stubb.

“A little bit paradoxically I guess one could say that the iPhone killed Nokia and the iPad killed the Finnish paper industry, but we’ll make a comeback.”

Nokia was acquired by Apple rival Microsoft in April following the former

company’s constant struggle against the growing popularity of the iPhone.

Nokia was previously Finland’s largest employer, while the other Finnish fi rms ‘killed’ by Apple – UPM-

Kymmene and Stora Enso – were Europe’s largest paper employers.

Stubb added optimistically: “We just have to keep at it.”

The Prime Minister of the Nordic country has accused iPhone maker Apple of contributing to its apparent economic decline


SLOVENIA FACTFILE

57

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

POLAND

TECHLAND SP. Z O.O.ul. Jana Szczyrki 12, 54-426 Wroclaw, PolandEmail: [email protected]: www.techland.pl Phone: +48 71 354 46 10Fax: +48 71 354 46 10

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT [email protected]

MCV WORLDWIDE

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORSIF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OVERSEAS,

THEN LOOK NO FURTHER

SWEDEN

GAME OUTLET EUROPE ABPO Box 5083, S-650 05 Karlstad, SwedenSales dept: [email protected] dept: [email protected] dept: [email protected] dept: [email protected]: www.gameoutlet.se

AUSTRALIAAFA Interactive, Bluemouth Interactive, Five Star Games, Mindscape, Namco Bandai Partners, Turn Left DistributionBENELUXCLD Distribution, Koch Media, Gameworld Distribution B.V.CANADAE One, Importel, Just4Games, Solutions 2 Go, VidéoglobeCYPRUSAccess, Gibareio, Zilos, Nortec MultimediaCZECH REPUBLICCenega, Conquest, Comgad, Playman, ABC DataDENMARKBergsala, Elpa, Impulse, Koch Media, Nordisk Film Interactive, Nordic Game Supply, PAN VisionFRANCEBig Ben, Innelec, Koch Media, SDO, SodifaGREECEZegatron, CD Media, Namco Bandai Partners, IGE, Nortec, Enarxis, BeaconHUNGARYCNG.hu/Cenega Hungary, CTC Trading, Magnew, PlayON, StadlbauerICELANDSena, Myndform, Samfilm, OrmssonINDONESIAMaxsoft, Uptron, Technosolution IRELANDMSE Group, BaumexJAPANAjioka, Happinet, JesnetNORWAYBergsala, Game Outlet, Koch Media, Nordic Game Supply, Nordisk Film, Pan VisionPOLANDCD Projekt, Cenega, Galapagos, LEMPORTUGALEcoplay, Infocapital, Koch Media, Namco BandaiROMANIABest DistributionSERBIAComTrade, Computerland/Iris Mega, Extreme CCSPAINDigital Bros, Koch Media, Namco Bandai Partners, NobilisSWEDENBergsala, Koch Media, Namco Bandai, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision, Wendros, Ztorm (digital)UAERed Entertainment Distribution, Pluto Games (LS2 Pluto), Viva Entertainment, Gameplay Entertainment, Geekay Distribution

UAE

ALESAYI UNITED COMPANYVideo Games Distributor in the Middle East, P.O BOX 16999 Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai U.A.E.Tel: 00971 4 883 5960Fax: 00971 4 883 5175Email: [email protected] U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com

NORDIC

WENDROS AB SWEDEN, NORWAY, DENMARK & FINLANDJakobsdalsvägen 1712653 HägerstenSwedenPhone: +46 8 51942500Fax: +46 8 7466790Email:[email protected]@wendros.seWeb: www.wendros.se

CYPRUS

G3 GREAT GAMES LTD4 Gregoriou Papafl essa Street, Offi ce 101, Engomi, Nicosia 2414, Cyprus.Tel: +357 22 666612 Web: www.greatgames.com.cy

BELGIUM

CLD DISTRIBUTIONRue du Grand Champs 14 , B 5380 Fernelmont BelgiumTel: +32 81 83 02 02Fax: +32 81 83 02 09Email: [email protected]: www.cld.be home of www.dragonwar.eu & www.mawashi.eu

NETHERLANDS

SOEDESCO B.V.Koddeweg 13, 3194 DH RotterdamThe NetherlandsTel: +31 104722462Fax: +31 104722893Email: [email protected]: www.soedesco.com

IRAN

DC GAMES GROUPNo.9, Hemmatian St.,Takestan St., SattarkhanTehran, IranTel: +98-912-1014090 +98-21-44228670Email: [email protected]: www.Doostan-Co.com

WWW.MCVPACIFIC.COM

Editorial: + 61 (0)424 967 263Leigh.Harris@mcvpacifi c.com

Advertising: + 61 (0)417 084821Joel.Vandaal@mcvpacifi c.com


Sponsored by


MORE DISTRIBUTORS


DIARY DATES

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT [email protected] ADVERTISE CONTACT [email protected]

EDITORIAL PLANNER

OCTOBER..................................................OCTOBER 31STQA AND LOCALISATION SECTOR OVERVIEW: We speak to the biggest fi rms in the industry

MCV EXTRA: The latest PC hardware available for UK retail

NOVEMBER..................................................NOVEMBER 7THPC HARDWARE SECTOR GUIDE: MCV checks out the hardware that gamers will be looking to include as part of their rig

GAME FUNDING AND SMALL BUSINESS GUIDE: How to get a smaller company started and fi nance your titles

IN-STORE EVENTS: We look at how retailers can host top-notch events and boost launch engagement NOVEMBER 14THLONDON GAMES CONFERENCE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the annual summit

IN-DEPTH TERRITORY REPORT: INDIA: We examine the games market in the fast-growing region

DISTRIBUTOR OPENING TIMES: Know when’s best to get in touch with the UK’s biggest disties in the run-up to the Christmas rush

NOVEMBER 21STANDROID CONSOLES: Is it game over or game on for Android-powered micro-consoles?

DISTRIBUTOR OPENING TIMES

NOVEMBER 28THSTEAM MACHINES: What could Valve’s new boxes mean for the PC market?


MCV EXTRA: The 12 Games of Christmas

DECEMBER..................................................DECEMBER 5THBLACK FRIDAY AND RETAIL PROMOTIONS: We analyse the

use of sales and promotions over this crucial period for UK stores


GAMES MEDIA CHARTS: The latest fi gures and statistics

DECEMBER 12THANNUAL RETAIL SURVEY: The latest from the frontline of UK retail


IN-DEPTH TERRITORY REPORT: AFRICA: What’s the games market like on the Earth’s second-largest continent? We fi nd out.

DECEMBER 17THAROUND THE WORLD WITH MCV: We collate a year’s worth of emerging market data and terrritory analysis to give you the latest from the international markets

DECEMBER 19THREVIEW OF THE YEAR: MCV casts its gaze back over the last 12 months, examining the biggest trends, titles and news of 2014

YOUR GUIDE T0 THE SPECIAL FEATURES COMING UP IN MCV

PARIS GAMES WEEK..................................................WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29TH - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2NDPARIS, FRANCEFour halls of the Porte de Versailles will host some of the biggest names in games during the fi fth edition of the trade games festival.

PARISGAMESWEEK.COM

ME AWARDS 2014..................................................THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13THLONDON, UKNow in its ninth year, the celebration of the mobile industry returns with this year’s categories including Apps, Games, Marketing, Payment and Tech, and two Special Recognition Awards.

ME-AWARDS.COM

LONDON GAMES CONFERENCE 2014..................................................WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19THLONDON, UKThe summit for publishers, marketers, developers and retailers returns with a new daytime format.

Buzzfeed, Twitch, Gamer Network and Ubisoft are among those hosting sessions at the event.

LONDONGAMESCONFERENCE.COM

SAVE THE DATE


OFF THE RECORD

OFF THE RECORD This week we look back at this year’s Games Media Awards, while things are heating up in indie retail as the North and South face off once again

PRESS RELEASED

It’s been a rough couple of months for the games media, so it’s unsurprising that given the chance, they took to a party like fi sh to water. Any excuse to escape Twitter for a few hours, we suppose.

Folks from IGN, Future and Eurogamer, as well as a host of freelancers and YouTubers shared laughs and celebrations after the Games Media Awards. We’re pretty sure they were united by their headaches in the morning, too.

Once again, bandeoke stretched the vocal chords of the already-pretty-vocal, while EA granted attendees the chance to snap a custom FIFA 15 cover.

All in all, we’d say it was the best Games Media Awards yet – take a look at some of the pictures from the night and tell us if you agree.


OFF THE RECORD

@michaelgapper We all know the Games Media Awards is daft, but it’s nice to see deserving people recognised.

Michael Gapper, Frontier Development, Wednesday October 15th

@onm_uk THE GHOST OF ONM CONGRATULATES @MRBASIL_PESTO ON HIS GMAs. I WILL HAUNT HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS DAYS.

Offi cial Nintendo Magazine, Thursday October 16th

@jam_Sponge Lovely night with good people. Needed that. @daftsouls won an award too - welcome bonus. Good night.

Matt Lees, Daft Souls, Thursday October 16th

@ianinthefuture For all the EVIL, the GMAs were just what people needed tonight. After two months of pricks, it was nice to have a room of people who get on.

Ian Bransfi eld, freelance journalist, Thursday October 16th

@svendjoscelyn The GMAs were fun! Best part was catching up with all my industry peeps, working the crowd before it started...

Svend Joscelyn, IGN,Thursday October 16th

@misterbrilliant Final issue of the Offi cial Nintendo Magazine is on sale now. Honoured to have been its deputy editor. Got to touch a real life Pikachu.

Steve Hogarty, freelance games journalist, Wednesday October 15th

@cymrogav If GamerGate were smart, they’d fi nd a way to get the games media all in one place and kill them off . Maybe at like an awards event or something...

Gav Murphy, IGN, Wednesday October 15th

@baysphinx Public service announcement: @mrbasil_pesto is the raddest dude and I’m so chuff ed that he’s been recognised as such at the GMAs.

Will Porter, freelance journalist, Wednesday October 15th

@mrbasil_pesto Thanks for the lovely tweets everyone. Couldn’t be more chuff ed or surprised with the result.

Matthew Castle, Offi cial Xbox Magazine, Wednesday October 15th

@edfear The food at the #GamesMediaAwards is really good. #corruption

Ed Fear, Mediatonic, Wednesday October 15th

THE WEEK IN 140 CHARACTERSThe Tweets you might have missed in the last seven days

AFTER PARTY SPONSOR

OFF THE RECORD


REGIONAL RETAIL RACING RIVALRY

It might seem indie retail is largely about battling against Tesco and Amazon, but two stores have taken their competition to another level.

Ashby’s Extreme Gamez (representing ‘The Southerners’) and Truro’s Console Connections (designated driver for ‘The Northerners’) have been pitching North against South in a series of online races in Sony’s DriveClub to promote the new title.

Indies can often be the most innovative retailers.

Brian Demodulated @demodulated

The refreshing KitKat beverages sold in Theme Hospital.

Volition@volition_vx

I was always a Sweetroll kinda guy, myself.

THE VENDING MACHINE HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM GMG HQ AND WE NEED SNACKS! WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE

IN-GAME SNACKS? #GMGASKS

Able Baker @able_baker

Tourist’s Delight from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.

Hasan Ataman @argbrontsterop

Nuka Cola, of course.

Pixel_Virus.exe @spike_mccloud

The robo-skeletons of my enemies.

Skooma from Skyrim.

Brian Chin @wordswithchin

Nuka Nuka Cola!

Joonas@Frsthr

I don’t do snacks, but Nuka-Cola instead! :)

Tracey McGarrigan @tamcgarrigan

Green ‘erbs Resi style. “Wotcha buyin’ strangurrrrrr?”

Vlad@TheVladinator

The ‘pickles’ from Deadly Premonition.

© 2014 Electronic Arts Inc. EA and the EA logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. BioWare, the BioWare logo and Dragon Age are trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. All rights reserved.

NOVEMBER 21ST 2014

BECOME THE INQUISITOR

CHANGE THE WORLD PLAY YOUR WAY

DISCOVER THE DRAGON AGE™BOND WITH LEGENDS

Wield the power of the Inquisition over the course of an epic character-driven

story, and lead a perilous journey of discovery through the Dragon Age.

Your actions and choices will shape a multitude of story outcomes

along with the tangible, physical aspects of the world itself.

Completely control the appearance and abilities of your Inquisitor, party of followers, outposts, and strongholds. Decide the makeup of your Inquisition forces and your own style of combat.

Freely explore a diverse, visually stunning, and

immersive living world.

A cast of unique, memorable characters will develop

dynamic relationships with you and with each other.

© 2014 Electronic Arts Inc. EA and the EA logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. BioWare, the BioWare logo and Dragon Age are trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. All rights reserved.

mcv810 october 24th

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