MCV 804 September 12th 2014 by Biz Media Ltd

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 804 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12TH 2014

ONE MILLION AND COUNTING SONY’S ANDREW HOUSE AND FERGAL GARA ON THE PLAYSTATION 4’S EXPLOSIVE FIRST NINE MONTH PAGE 06

IS WORLD OF WARCRAFT OVER?

THE BIG GAME

THE MMO TITLE APPEARS TO BE IN PERPETUAL DECLINE, BUT BLIZZARD’S TOM CHILTON SAYS IT IS FAR FROM FINISHED

CAN ALIEN ISOLATION BANISH THE MEMORY OF LAST YEAR’S COLONIAL MARINES? WE SPEAK TO CREATIVE ASSEMBLY

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CHEAT SHEET

THE WEEK IN VIDEO GAM

THE EDITOR PS4 IS OFF TO A FLYING START. BUT THERE’S A LOT TO PLAY FOR

he team at PlayStation has every right to punch the air, sip some champagne and celebrate 1m consoles sold in the UK. Let’s not forget this is a console manufacturer that was in third place over the last generation. It’s now comfortably in pole position and its stretching that lead week-in week-out. Of course there’s no room for complacency. Across PS4, Xbox One and Wii U, just under 2m consoles have been sold in the UK so far. Across Wii, PS3 and 360, that number sits at just over 23m. Of course those 23m sales won’t be individual people - some of that will be from folk that own multiple consoles, or were replacing an older or broken console. But it gives you an idea of the scale that is left to ﬁght over. PlayStation is certainly not talking like a company preparing its victory lap, either. Over on page 9, CEO Andrew House points out that when PS3 launched there was no iPhone, and tablets were a good few years away. New technology has a habit of disrupting plans, so he’s wary of predicting any further than a few years out. Who knows what the future holds? Yet what will give Sony some conﬁdence is that it has achieved this market leadership position without really getting started yet. A lot of the functionality announced at the original PS4 announcement, such as SharePlay where gamers can share their games with

September 12th 2014

Across PS4, Xbox One and Wii U, just under 2m consoles have been sold in the UK so far. Across Wii, PS3 and 360, that number sits at just over 23m. their friends for a limited time over the internet, is only just coming in now. The games streaming service PlayStation Now (or Gaikai as it was back in 2013) isn’t even due out over here until 2015. Then there’s Project Morpheus, the virtual reality headset that links with PS4, which might actually not launch until 2016. And you can’t forget the games, either. Sony’s biggest hitters, including Uncharted 4 and the inevitable Gran Turismo 7, are still a long way oﬀ. So the team at PlayStation will feel it can maintain this early momentum for a good few years yet. It’s not going to be easy for Xbox to try and reclaim its throne as the UK’s No.1, that’s for certain. But a fact that won’t have escaped either competitor, is that the last home games console to sell 1m units this quickly - in fact even quicker - was the Nintendo Wii. A machine that, come the end of the cycle, crossed the line in second position behind the more consistent Xbox 360. Chris.Dring@intentmedia.co.uk

Market Data EA’s The Sims 4 launched at No.1 this week, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a week of decline in software sales £10m

£5m

£0m

£7.56m 279,541

£7.26m 279,197

Week Ending August 23rd

Week Ending August 30th

£7.6m 260,998

Week Ending September 7th

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CHEAT SHEET

MES PC CODE STRIPPING CRISIS: ‘ASIAN MARKET IS ROTTEN TO THE CORE’ contacts of businesses that supply cheap codes. Under the guise of a retail startup, MCV contacted these distributors to obtain price lists of games. Prices oﬀered to us via the likes of Epic Games Limited in Taiwan (no relation to the developer) included The Sims 4 Limited Edition for £23.31 and over 300 copies of Dead Rising 3 on PC for £18.40 each. Meanwhile, French wholesaler Moeroshop produced a huge price list for back catalogue games (pictured), which included Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox One and Xbox 360 for under £20. “Europe has been under siege since day one, and truly I cannot understand how they have resisted the onslaught,” said our source. “No one in Asia has clean hands.”

ASIA is another major territory selling cheap PC codes to games retailers in Europe, an MCV investigation can reveal. The news follows MCV’s study last month, which found that widespread PC code stripping is hurting retail margins and misleading publishers. PC codes are being taken out of boxed PC games intended for markets where games are cheaper (such as Eastern Europe) and sold to unofficial UK retailers for cheap. The boxes are then dumped. Last month, MCV was contacted by a whistleblower in Asia who sent us pictures showing miles of shelving filled with boxes, warehouse staff taking apart PC boxes and reams of cellophane strewn across the floor. He told MCV that the Asian market ‘is rotten to the core’ and handed us multiple

UK RETAIL TOP 10

TOP ONLINE STORIES THIS WEEK Our biggest stories for the week ending Sept 7th

1 Microsoft digs at Sony in unoﬃcial Destiny marketing campaign 2 Assassin’s Creed Pirates goes free-to-play on smartphones 3 Digital games are more environmentally damaging than physical games 4 Hundreds of developers sign letter asking gaming community to stop abuse 5 Minecraft arriving on PS4 and Xbox One this week

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

SPOSORED BY

DOWN Blizzard’s Diablo III stumbles three places to No.5

1 UP Watch Dogs leaps up the charts after a price cut

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THE SIMS 4

BAYONETTA 2 INC BAYONETTA (WII U)

NINTENDO

Watch Dogs

Ubisoft

FIFA 15 (PS4)

Metro Redux

Deep Silver

FIFA 15 Ultimate Team (Xbox One)

The Last of Us: Remastered

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edn

6 7 8

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare

Minecraft: PS3 Edition

Grand Theft Auto V

Sony

FIFA 15 Ultimate Team (PS4)

Blizzard

FIFA 15 (Xbox One)

Call of Duty: Ghosts

Activision

Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)

Nintendo

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

Microsoft

Super Smash Bros (3DS)

Nintendo

Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Xbox One)

Microsoft

Sony

Amiibo Link Character (Wii U)

Nintendo

Forza Horizon 2 Day One Edition (Xbox One)

Microsoft

Rockstar

September 12th 2014

INTERVIEW PLAYSTATION

HOW PLAYSTATION RECAPTURED THE UK As the last generation drew to a close, PlayStation limped over the line in third place, soundly beaten by Nintendo and Xbox. Now it is king of the consoles again with 1m PS4s sold in 42 weeks. Christopher Dring discusses the comeback with UK MD Fergal Gara

here was a moment last year when UK boss Fergal Gara believed PlayStation could be No.1 in the UK again. It came before PS4 was named the ‘fastest-selling’ games platform ever, and even before that iconic E3 conference. It actually took place before the PS4 was even announced. “Back on February 22nd the whole #PlayStationMemories trend kicked off,” recalls Gara. “That showed us that there was really strong PlayStation love in the UK. It had just fallen a little soft in recent years. The brand was still in the hearts and minds of lots of people. Then in October we did the ‘Since ’95’ video, which captured millions and millions of views. We were very clear at that point that the love for our brand was there, we just needed to give consumers the right device and position it in the right way. And that is what we did with PS4. “We might look back in the fullness of time and say PS3 was a hiccup. It was good, but it wasn’t as excellent or timely as it could have been, and it had its problems. That may be our perspective when we look back in years to come. But it is great to see that the love for PlayStation remains alive.” BACK ON TOP A now famous quote from Sony Worldwide Studio’s Shuhei Yoshida last month had him shrug his shoulders as to why PS4 has managed to sell so well. “We don’t

September 12th 2014

about the sheer acceleration and bias in the pre-orders they witnessed in the hours following that press conference... it was proof, if you ever needed it, that E3 matters.” And a lot of those pre-orders were people coming over from PlayStation’s rivals. “We have certainly seen PS3 consumers come across quite fast,” says Gara. “But a very significant proportion are people we have never seen on our network before. And from their behavior it’s fairly clear that a big chunk of those have come across from Xbox. There’s also a group that look like they’re brand new to gaming. And they’ve picked PS4 as their first serious gaming device.”

completely understand what’s happening,” he told Eurogamer. You can appreciate his bafflement, and it’s one probably shared by the folks over at Xbox, too. Xbox One has had two price cuts and at some retailers it’s actually the cheaper console. It comes with a free game. It’s arguably had a better line-up of exclusives. Yet almost every single week PS4 sells more. Sony may not know exactly how it’s managed it, but it certainly has its educated theories. “We created a great machine and positioned it very well upfront,” says Gara simply. “That all went fantastically, and the gaming community remembers that. It wasn’t quite the same for others. But even more importantly, when people have got that machine into their hands, it’s been great.” And of course there was that incredible moment at E3 when Sony announced the console’s price and business model. “I will never forget it,” says Gara. “The emotion in the arena was way beyond our expectations. We hoped for positivity and we got it in spades. The next morning, we had retailers who take pre-orders coming into us and talking

STEP INTO THE FUTURE Gara is understandably confident about PS4’s future prospects. The firm has achieved this 1m sales without the aid of its biggest brands – Uncharted and Gran Turismo are still some way off. In fact, Sony’s broader focus appears to be on a more diverse range of indie games. So do the triple-A blockbusters not hold as much importance anymore? “Big blockbusters continue to matter and matter hugely,” insists Gara. “Indeed, this week was poignant because there was another brand new blockbuster on the shelves [Destiny].

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PLAYSTATION INTERVIEW

FOR THE GAMERS

Many PS4 users are brand new to gaming – or former Xbox fans

“But there is definitely a new pattern. What we saw through the PS3 cycle was some mega franchises gradually getting bigger and bigger, but we also had a rich middle ground of medium-sized publishers. That has thinned out quite substantially, so the advent of the smaller, or independent, publisher ¬ if you want to use that word – is a key phenomenon that we are seeing in the PS4 world. “Then I would point to PlayStation Plus. PS Plus has been a big step-change business for us over the last year. So really we’ve seen a broad spread of games being played.” THE NEXT WAVE PS4 flew off shelves over Christmas and at the start of the year. And although hardware sales remained healthy, demand has dropped off slightly since Easter. “Our research tells us that the next wave of consumers are slightly more ‘Well, prove it to me’ in their mentality,” says Gara. “They are waiting for the portfolio of games to be that bit deeper. And the great news is that those games are coming, starting with Destiny. That

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kind of title. But with PS4 the slate has been wiped clean, hasn’t it? You start all over again. So there is absolutely no reason not to have a focus on those gamers. So we will have a structured focus on more than one audience.” Sony is cautious about the future of PS4. Now that the company has smashed through 1m sales in the UK, 10m worldwide, commenters are suggesting that perhaps the firm could repeat the astonishing performance of PlayStation 2 (155m worldwide), but Gara and his team have a different target in mind. “I don’t think we will be hiding anything by saying that we want to do better than we did in the PS3 era,” concludes Gara. “PS2 set the gold standard for any console performance. We should review in a steady-as-she-goes manner. But we will continue to iterate our expectations, and maybe we can be looking at PS2 numbers. But it’s too early to say that, because I think the shape of this cycle might be quite different. It already is. There has been an incredible rush in at the start... so what does the middle and the longdistance look at? That won’t mirror PS2. It will be somewhat different.”

will drive another wave of install base for us and it will create a whole new wave believing in next-gen.” Gara points to the likes of DriveClub, Call of Duty, FIFA and Assassin’s Creed as key milestones this Christmas, but also highlights SingStar and LittleBigPlanet 3.

The next wave of consumers are slightly more ‘Well, prove it to me’ in their mentality. Fergal Gara, PlayStation

“You can see it’s not just for the core gamer, and as we come into the second Christmas, we have every reason to expect the PS4 to broaden a bit,” he says, adding: “When I joined the business I was quite downhearted that when a multiformat title came out that had a younger bias in it... we didn’t do well at all. Take a franchise like Skylanders: we would definitely be third in the three-horse race on that

ONE thing that UK MD Fergal Gara kept repeating during our interview is that PS4’s success has come down to its ‘gamerfocused’ effort. It sounds a bit trite. Of course Sony has a gamerfocused strategy. It just launched a games console. But what he actually means is that the firm is doing things to please its fans that don’t necessarily have a commercial value. Things like free games on PS Plus or the ability to share content. These things have won over the hearts of gamers. And that continues with the upcoming Firmware update and the arrival of SharePlay. “The whole SharePlay piece is going to be rather powerful, innovative and very next-gen in its nature,” says Gara. “The idea of passing your controller over the virtual sofa that is now the internet, to some friend who could be anywhere, is a really powerful concept. “It is a very gamerfocused strategy to be able to say: ‘You don’t need to own that game to participate in it.’ This is again building upon the social aspect, the membership ethos, that we are trying to build around PS4 and PlayStation Plus. “I love those kind of policies, strategies and technology. It is everything we should be: pushing boundaries, creating community and showing gamers we are listening to them and doing things for them.” And SharePlay can help gamers discover content on their own terms. It’s better than a pre-determined demo that highlights the best level. “It is peer-to-peer marketing in a sense,” says Gara. “And it is not stingy or cynical; it is giving gamers value.”

September 12th 2014

INTERVIEW ANDREW HOUSE

PLAYSTATION 4 – THE NEXT 10M 1m sales in the UK. 10m units worldwide. PS4 has had the best possible start to life. But what now? And does a rapid rise mean a steep decline? Christopher Dring asks the man in the know, PlayStation CEO Andrew House So you’ve hit 10m worldwide at a record pace. Does that mean that we might see a steeper decline at the other end? I don’t necessarily think that that’s the case. The critical thing is the ability to sustain the offering in a couple of ways. One is to continue delivering great games that have the most engaged consumers continuing to enjoy the platform. But there is also, for me, almost a burden on the console industry - if we are to repeat the success of the PS2 – to be able to make that transition into a more casual and family audience. Our emphasis is going to be looking for accessible but fulfilling games that reach the broader audience. And also we’ll have a sustained effort in having a full range of non-game, particularly digital and networked services, which attract another user within the family to engage with the platform. An initiative that I am very keen on in this context is our push towards delivering a cloud-based TV service in the US. There is nothing more mass market than the TV viewing experience. That is one example of how we can prevent the really steep fall that you alluded to.

the same platform. That for me was our biggest core strength on PS2. I once regaled [PS4 architect] Mark Cerny with a story about how I had to convince our ad agency on PS2 that it was okay to put Barbie on the platform. Their brand purist view is that we could only talk about the dark and the edgy. It was something I took issue with and we had to pull a core gamer focus group so that they could say: “I couldn’t care less if you had Barbie on the platform. As long as you keep delivering what I want to play.” So I could then turn around and say: “See. The platform can be more than just about one thing.” You smashed your initial target of 5m PS4s sold into retail by the end of March 2014. Have you raised your lifetime projections? We have to plan the business out two or three years ahead, and you have to be very conscious of the changing market. Smartphones and tablets largely didn’t exist in the PS3 generation. So there will

You showed a lot of family friendly content at Gamescom. Do you feel you’ve already reached a level where you’re going beyond the core gamer? Yes, and the important thing is that it is not an either/or. The platform and, to a degree, the industry will be successful being able to sustain interest among multiple audiences at the same time for

September 12th 2014

House says that to be successful PlayStation needs to target the family

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ANDREW HOUSE INTERVIEW

be these big trends that are going to impinge on our ability to predict the market. But we have definitely revised upward our overall plan that is for sure. You’ve hit these numbers without the help of an Uncharted or Gran Turismo. Do we perhaps place a bit too much emphasis on those super titles to sell hardware? Killer apps are important, but people have been looking for a range of content. There was also a sense of pent-up demand that surprised us. It was a very long lifecycle gap. And the other shift has been the Wii U’s performance. When I look at Europe, the family audience has gravitated towards PlayStation. Whereas, when you think about the previous generation, they found a different destination. We spoke to EA last week, and it views EA Access [the subscription service that gives consumers access to multiple EA titles for a monthly or annual fee] as a good way to discover games. Sony has rejected Access for not offering good value. But surely a Netflix/Spotify-style service would be a good way to introduce games to new players? PlayStation Now is a great example of that sort of service. The goal with our open beta for PS Now is working out what resonates with consumers. Is it

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said it’d be 2015 at the earliest, with a heavy emphasis on the ‘at the earliest’. It is such a brand new space, but we are garnering excitement. We have to strike a balance – we want to give people enough opportunities to try it and build enthusiasm for the product. But at the same time you don’t want to oversell it when it is still very much at a nascent stage.

individual rentals? Is it a rental-topurchase model? Is it an all-youcan-eat subscription package? If so, how much should it cost? I think EA is trying to figure that out with Access. What we are all doing is looking at other industries, most notably the music industry, and the shifts that have happened there. Last year was the first time that music downloads decreased year-on-year – by about six per cent. Streaming was up 32 per cent [in the US]. Clearly, consumers value the convenience of streaming. What we need to do is figure out a model that is fair to the customer but also sensible from a business perspective. Last time I checked, no-one is making money from streamed music services. Something’s broken there. Labels are garnering their share, but the service provider is not gaining a viable business. That led us to say: “We need to be responsible about how we develop that model.” If the consumer doesn’t think they’re getting good value, they’re not going to subscribe or download or rent. But on the other hand, we have to make sure our content partners are paid.

If we are to repeat the success of the PlayStation 2 we need to make the transition into the casual and family market. Andrew House, PlayStation

Morpheus was available at its first consumer event last month [Gamescom]. Is virtual reality almost ready for gamers? That isn’t a sign that we’re rushing to commercialise Morpheus. We

Why announce things like VR and streaming when they’re not ready yet? It’s because of the huge benefits we garnered on PS4 by being more open. We road tested PS4 with developers and it proved to be really successful. With Morpheus specifically, yes we announced it very early, but the degree of interest that we have received in the intervening time has just opened up whole different areas that we would not have thought about. We now have Hollywood studios that are really keen on VR. We are focused on games and we wouldn’t have thought of that. When we talked about announcing the Morpheus, my conclusion was: It’s so much easier to start to build that VR movement in the open. You don’t want to over-promise, but that risk is offset by the fact that we can engage with a vast number of creators in the open, and let them shape the product, as opposed to doing all that behind closed doors.

September 12th 2014

BOOK NOW TAKES

A day-long conference and expo, curated by the team behind MCV, examining the future of games – what we’re selling and how we’ll be selling it

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To view full programme or to register, visit www.gamesretail2020.com

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PLACE NEXT WEEK THE SPEAKERS WHERE KIDS BUY GAMES

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MOBILE TECH

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SOCIAL MEDIA

PC GAMES

VIRTUAL REALITY

MARKET DATA

Darren Cairns Green Man Gaming

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Tony Pearce gamesGRABR

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GAMES MERCHANDISE

Retailers can claim a

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16th 2014 BAFTA, LONDON, UK Contact Conor.Tallon@intentmedia.co.uk or call +44 (0)1992 535 647 to discuss sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities

MARKETING

[INFO] Released: September 19th Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Omega Force/ Team Ninja

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Distributor: Open

THIS WEEK: HYRULE WARRIORS

ONLINE Nintendo is primarily focusing its marketing eﬀorts for Hyrule Warriors online as the platform holder feels this is where fans of both its own The Legend of Zelda series and Koei Tecmo’s Warriors IP can be reached. Ads are appearing across specialist gaming sites as well user-generated content sites such as forums. These will take the form of takeover ads. This is in addition to ads appearing on the platformer holder’s online outlets, incuding Nintendo Store and Club Nintendo, which are targeting the ﬁrm’s digital customer base.

VIDEO The other focus of Nintendo’s marketing campaign for Hyrule Warriors has been video. The

platform holder says that this is the strongest way of promoting the game. Pre-roll trailers have been appearing ahead of videos on YouTube. And Nintendo has been pushing Hyrule Warriors with its own videos. These talk about the game as a whole, as well as focusing in on individual characters and gameplay aspects. Hyrule Warriors will also be included in hardware trailers for the Wii U.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

SOCIAL MEDIA CHANDRA NAIR Marketing Manager, Nintendo UK

Hyrule Warrior is also being promoted across Twitter and Facebook. Nintendo is talking to both Zelda and Warriors fans. The game is also part of Nintendo’s #TheTimeIsNow campaign that is promoting the Wii U.

MARKETING NEWS DOVETAIL GAMES | The simulation company has hired Game of Thrones star Sean Bean to do a voiceover for the launch trailer for its upcoming Train Simulator 2015. This is part of a fully digital marketing campaign for the game. “Driving a train is easy, anyone could do it, right?” said Dovetail director of brand Doug McConkey. “Actually it turns out that there is a lot to it, and we want to teach you how to do it. Train Simulator

September 12th 2014

Contact 01753 483700

Hyrule Warriors brings together heroes, villains and environments from Skyward Sword, Ocarina Of Time and Twilight Princess and chucks them into an action-packed, hack and slash adventure. Combining The Legend Of Zelda universe with Warriors gameplay, it’s Zelda as you’ve never seen it. The legacy and gravitas that comes with those names is being reﬂected at retail with really strong pre-orders being enjoyed by those who are embracing it in-store and online. The logo and artwork are so iconic; if retail embraces it and use it everywhere they can be sure it’ll excite their customers, even if they don’t own a Wii U. We see Hyrule Warriors as a game that every Zelda fan can get a ton of enjoyment from.

Dovetail Games has brought in Sean Bean to voice the launch trailer of its upcoming Train Simulator 2015

2015’s tagline of ‘master your machines’ is all about getting your hands on some of the world’s fastest, sleekest trains and learning how to drive them like a pro using our newest feature, TS Academy. “As well as a global PR campaign, the launch will be supported by the continuation of the #WeAreRailFans campaign focused on taking our message to both rail fans and simulation gamers via the launch trailer, which will once again be voiced by Sean Bean.”

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MARKETING

BRAND PROFILE DEAD OR ALIVE Koei Tecmo PR and marketing manager Marilena Papacosta on the beat ‘em up series DEAD OR ALIVE is a long-running 3D ﬁghting game series developed by Team Ninja and currently published by Koei Tecmo. It was ﬁrst released in 1996 to high acclaim, introducing a unique countering system and emphasising primarily on speed, skill and smooth enhanced graphics. Dead or Alive games

DOA5’s deﬁnitive stages featured interactive danger zones, opening up strategic choices for players, while it heavily focused on the always beautiful characters that continue to push a sensual yet realistic style. In 2013 Dead or Alive went a step further to deliver the best in ﬁghting entertainment to a much wider fan base with the release of a free-to-download version of Dead or Alive 5, entitled ‘Core Fighters’ for the PlayStation 3. Core Fighters has more than

have since been developed for a wide array of platforms, from the Saturn and Dreamcast all the way to the Xbox 360, PS3 and Vita. The last instalment, Dead or Alive 5, was released in 2012 after a six-year hiatus and quickly became a favourite amongst fighting game fans. Its new features heightened the signature DOA fighting style and included dynamic new stages set in visually striking locations from around the world, as well as deadly new fighters.

1.5m downloads globally and has helped to exponentially increase the DOA audience. Keeping up with the latest platforms, Team Ninja recently announced that they are getting ready to take the signature DOA ﬁghting style to a new ring with the release of Dead or Alive 5 Last Round on PS4 and Xbox One in early 2015. Last Round represents the zenith of the series, including the best and brightest content from those games, along with all-new content and polished HD graphics.

SHIFTING FOCUS ON NEW AUDIENCES Conversion to Target Audience From All Individuals Viewing

This week GameTime examines how diﬀerent audiences are being targeted this year

250 2013

2014

200 150

204

100 109

128

109

50 00

Children

WE can see how targeted ads are by tracking its conversion factor across different audiences. The higher the index, the more targeted and cost efficient it is. Comparing 2014’s conversion factor to 2013’s provides an indication of how different

Housewives & Children

Men 16-34

Men 35+

106

Women 16-34

in the year, and it’s also important to note that this audience is one of the most expensive to reach on TV. The largest growth has been the targeting of women over 35, previously the least targeted group. This can be attributed to online games such as Candy Crush. These

audiences have gained prominence in the last 12 months. For a market traditionally targeting young males, it may be a surprise to see that the games market’s overall conversion to men aged 16 to 34 falls below 100. There have been fewer triple-A titles released so far

106

103

Women 35+

titles focuses on low cost airtime, with a greater proportion of budget spent in non-peak timings. 76 per cent of views on candy to the Candy Crush campaign occurred outside of peak timings. The average viewing for this audience occurring outside of peak times is 43 per cent.

MCV GameTime is provided by Generation Media 0207 255 4650 | www.generationmedia.co.uk

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September 12th 2014

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

TWO NEW HIRES FOR HMV’S GAMES TEAM HMV promotes Shafeie and Elsey O Yarnton joins Gﬁnity O Sega’s Clark promoted O Gapper leaves Future HMV | There have been two new hires to the retailer’s games team. Games buyer HEMEN SHAFEIE joins from the firm’s film team, while games coordinator JAMIE ELSEY joins from HMV’s Westfield branch. “Our games business has been re-established over the last year and we are now well positioned to capitalise on the peak season trading opportunities,” said HMV head of technology and games PHIL BROWES. “We’ve strengthened the games buying team with the additions of Shafeie and Elsey, supporting senior buyer Gavin Howes.”

SEGA | JOHN CLARK has been promoted to senior vice president of commercial publishing. This is a new part of Sega combining boxed and digital games. Clark has worked at the publisher for eight years. “Following a term managing the UK territory and most recently our incredibly successful ESD function, this is a fantastic opportunity for Clark to lead our commercial teams.” said Sega Europe COO JURGEN POST.

GFINITY | Former Nintendo UK boss DAVID YARNTON has joined the Board of eSports firm Gfinity. For nine years Yarnton was general manager of Nintendo UK, but left in 2012. “Having spent many years in the electronic entertainment industry and coupled with my love for sport, Gfinity gives me the opportunity to combine two passions in the one business,” Yarnton said. “eSports has seen tremendous growth over the last few years and I am excited about the opportunities and prospects for further development that Gfinity will have.”

FUTURE | Edge news and features editor MICHAEL GAPPER has

departed the magazine. He has moved to Elite: Dangerous studio Frontier Developments to be PR and community manager. Gapper has worked at Future for seven years, starting in April 2007 at Xbox World. Since he has written for the likes of Edge, PC Gamer, CVG and Official Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo magazines. “As a journo I’ve visited the world’s best studios, met fascinating people, got paid very little and had a fantastic time doing it,” Gapper told MCV. “It’s been a brilliant ride and Edge is a hard magazine to leave, but the chance to work with Frontier and on Elite was too good to turn down, and I can’t wait to get started.”

AROUND THE INDUSTRY NINTENDO | The platform holder has cut 320 jobs at its European offices. The firm said in June that 130 members of staff were to be cut, but it has been announced that a further 190 temporary QA staff are also having their contracts terminated. ROVIO | The mobile firm will have a new CEO next year. Mikael Hed is stepping down as Rovio’s boss and will be succeeded by Pekka Rantala. This changeover will take place on January 1st 2015. “It has been an amazing ride and in the coming months I will be very happy to pass the hoodie to Pekka Rantala, who will take Rovio to the next level,” Hed said. HELSINKI GAMEWORKS | A new Finland-based studio has been set up

September 12th 2014

by former Rovio and Remedy employees. Helsinki Gameworks houses 11 members of staff and will focus on making free-to-play and mid-core mobile games. “Our team has worked the breadth of the industry and has come together to realise a shared vision of modern mobile games,” said Helsinki GameWorks CEO Kalle Kaivola. KONAMI | Studio head and producer Dave Cox has departed the publisher to ‘explore new opportunities’. Cox has worked at Konami for 17 years. He started out as a UK product manager back in 1997 on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. During this time he handled the likes of Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill. Most recently he served as producer on the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series.

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EDITORIAL CONTACTS

EDITORIAL CONTACTS WE ARE PLAYING... Doctor Who: Legacy remains a good way to drain my dying iPhone battery. Christopher Dring, Editor

My Vita has been seeing some serious use this week thanks to Danganronpa and Velocity 2X. Great stuﬀ. Alex Calvin, Staﬀ Writer

Chris.Dring@intentmedia.co.uk

Alex.Calvin@intentmedia.co.uk

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September 12th 2014

DATA ANALYSIS Source Games and Charts compiled by GfK Chart-Track

DATA & RESEARCH It’s a big week for PC games as we have the ﬁrst PC-only No.1 in two years THIS WEEK the bestselling game was EA’s latest The Sims title. So far the game is only available on PC, and it is the ﬁrst PC-only title to make it to No.1 since 2012’s Guild Wars 2. The Sims games have always been popular as physical products, and they regularly dominate the boxed PC charts. The Sims 4 shooting to No.1 isn’t hugely surprising given that little else came out. But it is a healthy reminder of just how popular the series is as a boxed product. It is also the fourth No.1 for EA this year, following in the footsteps of Titanfall, FIFA 14 and EA Sports UFC Watch Dogs returns to No.2 from last week’s

ninth place. This was due to promotions on the PS3 and Xbox 360 SKUs of the tech-tinged title, resulting in a 19 per cent sales boost. Meanwhile in the Steam charts, Dead Rising 3 debuts at No.1. This title was previously an Xbox One-exclusive when the console launched last November. This might mean good things for fellow previously Xbox-exclusive game Ryse: Son of Rome when that comes to PC next month. And in the Xbox Live Top Ten, Tony Hawks Pro Skater HD is at No.1 thanks to a promotion on ACTIVISION titles as a part of Xbox’s Deals with Gold sale.

TOP 10 STEAM CHARTS

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 03 04 07 NEW RE NEW NEW RE 05

DEAD RISING 3 APOCALYPSE EDN PUBLISHER: CAPCOM DEVELOPER: CAPCOM VANCOUVER

TITLE PUBLISHER Counter-Strike: Global Oﬀensive Valve DayZ Bohemia Interactive Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth (P) 2k Games The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (P) Nicalis 7 Ways to Die The Fun Pimps Wargame Franchise Pack Focus Home Interactive Train Fever Gambitious Divinity: Original Sin Larian Studios Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (P) 2K Games

TOP 40 UK RETAIL 01

THE SIMS 4 EA FORMATS: PC DEVELOPER: THE SIMS STUDIO

TW LW 02 09 03 01

TITLE WATCH DOGS METRO REDUX

FORMAT PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC PS4, XO, PC

04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

THE LAST OF US REMASTERED DIABLO III ROS ULTIMATE EVIL EDN CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION 3 EDITION GRAND THEFT AUTO V MADDEN NFL 15 THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEOGAME TITANFALL WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER TOMODACHI LIFE LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES TERRARIA ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG SNIPER ELITE 3 BATTLEFIELD 4 FORZA MOTORSPORT 5 FIFA 14 FROZEN: OLAF’S QUEST MARIO KART 8 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 SKATE 3 LEGO THE HOBBIT RAYMAN LEGENDS DANGANRONPA 2: GOODBYE DESPAIR DISNEY INFINITY WWE 2K14 NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS SKYLANDERS: SWAP FORCE WARRIORS OROCHI 3: ULTIMATE METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES EA SPORTS UFC MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT JUST DANCE 2014 RESIDENT EVIL 6 LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA

PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360 EA PS3 Sony PS3, 360 Rockstar PS4, XO, PS3, 360 EA PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros XO, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Rockstar PS3, 360, PC 505 Games/Merge PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 505 Games PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA XO Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PSP, PC, PS2 EA 3DS, DS GSP/Avanquest Wii U Nintendo PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS3, 360 EA PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Vita, PC Ubisoft Vita NIS America Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS Disney PS3, 360 Take-Two PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Activision Blizzard PS4, XO Koei Tecmo PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Konami PS4, XO EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Square Enix PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii Ubisoft PS3, 360, PC Capcom PS3, 360, Wii, DS Disney

03 02 05 08 04 11 07 06 12 10 21 14 20 16 19 15 17 13 18 34 23 37 22 25 24 NEW 28 27 32 RE NEW 40 29 RE RE 30 31

Week ending September 7th

September 12th 2014

PUBLISHER Ubisoft Deep Silver

Week ending September 6th

www.mcvuk.com

DATA ANALYSIS Source

TOP 10 IPAD PAID CHARTS

TOP 20 INDIVIDUAL FORMAT

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

THE SIMS 4 EA FORMATS: PC DEVELOPER: THE SIMS STUDIO

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

LW 01 03 05 02 12 13 07 04 06 08 15 18 19 11

TITLE THE LAST OF US REMASTERED MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION 3 EDITION METRO REDUX WATCH DOGS TOMODACHI LIFE GRAND THEFT AUTO V METRO REDUX DIABLO III ROS ULTIMATE EVIL EDN TITANFALL TERRARIA CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEOGAME FORZA MOTORSPORT 5

FORMAT PS4 360 PS3 PS4 PS4 3DS 360 XO PS4 XO 360 PS4 360 XO

16 17 18 19 20

22 10 17 35 14

PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE MADDEN NFL 15 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS WATCH DOGS GRAND THEFT AUTO V

360 PS4 XO 360 PS3

PUBLISHER Sony Microsoft Sony Deep Silver Ubisoft Nintendo Rockstar Deep Silver Activision Blizzard EA 505 Games/Merge Activision Blizzard Warner Bros Microsoft

MINECRAFT – POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

TITLE Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse Tipping Point LEGO The Lord of the Rings Terraria Motorsport Manager Flightradar24 Pro Fantasy Premier League 2014/15 The Chase Table Tennis Touch

Week ending August 31st

TOP 10 IPHONE PAID CHARTS

EA EA Activision Blizzard Ubisoft Rockstar Week ending September 6th

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE 14/15 DEVELOPER: PREMIER LEAGUE

TITLE Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse Minecraft – Pocket Edition Motorsport Manager Heads Up! 7 Minute Workout Challenge Afterlight Tipping Point Constrution Simulator 2014 Flightradar24 Pro

TOP 10 XBOX LIVE (UK)

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 01 RE 04 05 NEW 06 NEW 08 10

TOP 10 GOOGLE PLAY CHARTS

DEVELOPER: ROBOMODO TITLE MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION APOCZ TERRARIA: XBOX 360 EDITION VIGILANTE 8: ARCADE CASTLEMINER Z THE WALKING DEAD: SEASON TWO WHITE NOISE ONLINE MOUNT YOUR FRIENDS AVATAR WARFARE

PUBLISHER Microsoft Sick Kreations 505 Games Activisions DigitalDNA Telltale Milkstone Studios Stegersaurus Games Raoghard

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

MINECRAFT – POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

TITLE Football Manager Handheld Edition Flightradar24 Pro Theory Test UK 2014 Fantasy Premier League 2014/15 Tipping Point The Chase Terraria Facetune AllCast Premium

PUBLISHER Sega Flightradar24 AB Focus Multimedia Premier League Barnstorm Games Barnstorm Games 505 Games Lightricks ClockworkMod

Week ending September 8th

£19M

5 SECOND FACTS £79

The Federal Trade Amazon Fire has been Commission has demanded priced at £79 in the UK. Not Google pay back $19m only this – the microconsole of unwittingly-paid will be available from in-app purchases going October 23rd back to 2011 www.mcvuk.com

PUBLISHER Disney Mojang Christian West Warner Bros Fitness Guide Inc Afterlight Collective Barnstorm Games Astragon Software Flightradar24 AB

Week ending August 31st

TONY HAWKS PRO SKATER HD ACTIVISION

PRESENTS

PUBLISHER Disney Barnstorm Games Warner Bros 505 Games Christian West Flightradar24 AB Premier League Barnstorm Games Yakuto

Correct as of September 8th

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

$300

600

Oculus has said it is targeting a price range of $200-$400 for its VR headset the Rift when it launches to consumers

A large number of developers have signed a letter asking people to stop harrassment within the games industry

PDP design & manufacture the Oﬃcial Microsoft licensed Xbox ONE TV Kinect Sensor Clip europesales@pdp.com

www.pdp.com 17

September 12th 2014

EA SPORTS FIFA 15

NHL 15

OUT NOW

INFAMOUS FIRST LIGHT

SEPT SEPT

OUT NOW

OU T NOW © 2014 Bungie, Inc. All rights reserved. Destiny, the Destiny Logo, Bungie and the Bungie Logo are among the trademarks of Bungie, Inc. Published and distributed by Activision. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc.

DISNEY INFINITY 2.0

NATURAL DOCTRINE

26 26

OUT NOW

SEPT SEPT SEPT

PLAYSTATION® 4 GAMES

CALENDAR 2014 YOUR GUIDE TO WHAT’S ON

SEPTEMBER

SEPT

NOVEMBER

OCTOBER OCT

NOV

OCT OCT OCT OCT OCT OCT

MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR ALIEN: ISOLATION DRIVECLUB SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM

NBA 2K15 THE EVIL WITHIN

JUST DANCE 2015 SAMURAI WARRIORS 4

NOV NOV NOV NOV NOV NOV NOV NOV

OCT OCT

TBC MINECRAFT PS4 EDITION

OCT

7 10 10 10 17 24 24 28 31 31

OCT

” is a trademark of the same company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

OCT

“2”and “PlayStation” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Also, “

OCT

4 11 13 14 18 21 21 21

ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY

CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE THE CREW PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2015 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM FAR CRY 4 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION LITTLEBIGPLANET 3 PROJECT CARS

COMING LATER THIS YEAR

WWE 2K15

SINGSTAR: ULTIMATE PARTY GRAND THEFT AUTO V

LORDS OF THE FALLEN

MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

#4ThePlayers VISIT UK.PLAYSTATION.COM/PS4/GAMES TO FIND OUT MORE AND VIEW FUTURE RELEASES

DATA AUGUST

MONTHLY CHARTS The slow release period continues, but the market is up month-on-month thanks to the launch of The Last of Us Remastered. Alex Calvin examines the charts for August

THIS MONTHS UPS AND DOWNS THE NUMBER of games sold in August fell by 12.8 per cent year-on-year

That’s because the games that did launch made quite the splash. The Last of Us Remastered arrived at the start of August and was the best-selling game of the month, selling 35 times more copies than second place Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition. Not only this, but it contributed greatly to sales of PS4 games. 33.6 per cent of all software revenue this month was generated by PS4 titles. And Sony topped both of the publishing rankings.

INDIVIDUAL FORMATS TOP 40: JULY (JULY 27TH - AUGUST 23RD)

SONY TOPS the publishing rankings thanks to the Last of Us Remastered

505 GAMES’ market share dips this month as sales of Sniper Elite 3 tail oﬀ

ONE THIRD of game revenue in August were for PlayStation 4

September 12th 2014

THE summer quiet period has continued into August with just a handful of new releases coming to shelves. 12.8 per cent fewer games were sold this month when compared to August 2013, but 5.1 per cent more revenue was generated by software sales. The market was healthier in August than July - 4.5 per cent more games were sold this month, while revenue was up 10.8 per cent month-on-month.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

TITLE The Last of Us Remastered Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition Tomodachi Life Diablo III Reaper of Souls: Ultimate Evil Edn Watch Dogs Grand Theft Auto V The LEGO Movie Videogame Titanfall Diablo III Reaper of Souls: Ultimate Evil Edn Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Grand Theft Auto V Mario Kart 8 FIFA 14 Watch Dogs Terraria Forza Motorsport 5 Call of Duty: Ghosts Call of Duty: Ghosts Sniper Elite 3 Watch Dogs Battleﬁeld 4 Skate 3 FIFA 14 The LEGO Movie Videogame Call of Duty: Ghosts Command and Conquer: Ultimate Collection LEGO Marvel Super Heroes FIFA 14 FIFA 14 Titanfall Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Pokémon Y Battleﬁeld 4 The Last of Us Tales of Xillia 2 Pokémon X EA Sports UFC Diablo III Reaper of Souls: Ultimate Evil Edn Frozen: Olaf’s Quest

FORMAT PS4 360 PS3 3DS PS4 PS4 360 360 XO XO 360 360 Wii U 360 360 360 XO XO PS4 360 PS3 PS4 360 PS3 PS3 360 PC 360 PS4 XO 360 360 3DS 360 PS3 PS3 3DS PS4 360 DS

PUBLISHER Sony Microsoft Sony Nintendo Activision Blizzard Ubisoft Rockstar Warner Bros EA Activision Blizzard EA Rockstar Nintendo EA Ubisoft 505 Games Microsoft Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard 505 Games Ubisoft EA EA EA Warner Bros Activision Blizzard EA Warner Bros EA EA EA Ubisoft Nintendo EA Sony Bandai Namco Nintendo EA Activision Blizzard GSP/Avanquest

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AUGUST DATA

ALL FORMATS TOP 50: AUGUST (JULY 27TH - AUGUST 23RD)

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY PUBLISHER [UNITS] LM 06 01 04 02 03 05 08 09 07 12

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TITLE Sony EA Activision Blizzard Nintendo Ubisoft Warner Bros Microsoft Take-Two 505 Games Disney Interactive

MARKET SHARE 17.7% 14.1% 9.4% 8.4% 8.1% 6.8% 5.2% 4.4% 3.2% 3.0%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY PUBLISHER [VALUE] LM 07 01 04 03 02 06 09 10 05 11

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TITLE Sony EA Activision Blizzard Nintendo Ubisoft Warner Bros Microsoft Take-Two 505 Games Square Enix

MARKET SHARE 22.1% 14.2% 12.0% 9.6% 9.0% 6.2% 4.7% 4.6% 3.1% 2.0%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT [UNITS] LM 01 03 02 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TITLE Xbox 360 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 3 Xbox One Nintendo 3DS PC Wii U Nintendo DS Wii PlayStation Vita

MARKET SHARE 26.2% 21.9% 19.4% 8.9% 7.8% 6.6% 2.8% 2.3% 2.1% 1.5%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT [VALUE] LM 02 01 04 03 05 06 07 08 10 09

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

www.mcvuk.com

TITLE PlayStation 4 Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Xbox One Nintendo 3DS Wii U PC PlayStation Vita Wii Nintendo DS

MARKET SHARE 33.6% 20.4% 14.7% 13.8% 8.0% 3.3% 2.9% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1%

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

TITLE The Last of Us Remastered Diablo III Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edn Watch Dogs Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition FIFA 14 Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition Call of Duty: Ghosts The LEGO Movie Video Game Grand Theft Auto V Battlefield 4 Sniper Elite III Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Titanfall Tomodachi Life Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Terraria Wolfenstein: The New Order Mario Kart 8 Forza Motorsport 5 Skate 3 EA Sports UFC WWE 2K14 Need for Speed: Rivals Disney Infinity Skylanders Swap Force Frozen: Olaf’s Quest Ultra Street Fighter IV LEGO The Hobbit Grid Autosport Command and Conquer: Ultimate Collection Rayman Legends Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed Pokémon Y The Last of Us Tales of Xillia 2 LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga How to Train Your Dragon 2 Pokémon X Aliens: Colonial Marines LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark Thief Murdered: Soul Suspect Resident Evil 6 Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Football Manager 2014 Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Sonic Generations

FORMAT PUBLISHER PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PSP, PC, PS2 EA PS3 Sony PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS3, 360 Rockstar PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360 505 Games PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA XO, 360, PC EA 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS3, 360, PC 505 Games PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda Wii U Nintendo XO Microsoft PS3, 360 EA PS4, XO EA PS3, 360 Take-Two PS4, XO, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC EA Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS Disney PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS Activision Blizzard 3DS, DS GSP Avanquest PS3, 360, PC Capcom PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS3, 360, PC Bandai Namco/Codemasters PC EA PS4, XO, Wii U PS3, 360, Vita PC Ubisoft Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Sega 3DS Nintendo PS3 Sony PS3 Bandai Namco PS3, 360, Wii, DS Disney Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS Little Orbit/Bandai Namco 3DS Nintendo PS3, 360, PC Sega Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Square Enix PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Square Enix PS3, 360, PC Capcom PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Konami Vita, PC Sega PS4, XO Square Enix PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Activision Blizzard PS3, 360, 3DS Sega

September 12th 2014

DATA ANALYSIS

POKÉMON SHOWS UP ON IPAD. IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE. The Pokémon Company is bringing its PC trading card game to iPad. SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen tells MCV why it’s a positive move

ollowing the confirmation that Pokémon: The Trading Card Game (TCG) would be released on the iPad, Nintendo’s share price rose four per cent. After a period of disappointments, this seems to be a ray of hope for the gaming giant. SuperData has speculated Nintendo could port some of its major IP to mobile. Central to the announcement is the observation that The Pokémon Company operates relatively independently from Nintendo, and that this decision to launch on iPad does not mean the platform holder is mounting a broader strategy for this platform. But there is a large upside to this release.

CARD MARKET GOING STRONG Collectible card games, both physical and digital, are hugely popular worldwide. Forecasted to total an estimated $4.7bn (£2.9bn) in global sales this year, publishers like Wizards of the Coast and Blizzard have managed to adapt to digital quite effectively. The US market is made up of $1.1bn (£673m) in physical card sales, compared to $479m (£293m) in digital. In an important market like the US, the addressable audience for collectible card games stands at almost 19m people this year,

with 11m on digital platforms. We’ve also observed remarkable success from both existing titles like Magic 2015 and new releases like Hearthstone. By comparison, the PC version of Pokémon: TGC generates roughly the same average per paying player (see table below), but has a substantially smaller audience base. Granted, its release suffered from a bunch of snags and still manages to generate well over a half a million every month. But the clear opportunity for Pikachu and friends is on tablets. Pokémon is a really strong brand. 17 theatrical films have been released, in addition to well over 800 TV episodes. But here’s what will make it a success on the iPad: high-schoolers, its core audience, generally offset a lack of spending power by being able to quickly disseminate games among a very large group. We’ve already seen what this crowd can do for titles like Flappy Bird.

Will Pokémon on iPad have a premium price, or rely on in-app purchases?

£4.7bn The value of the global collectible card game market – both physical and digital

MAKING OR BREAKING Pokémon’s success relies on collectibility. Players compile a collection with their favorite characters. The question arises if, like Magic, the digital version will adhere to the retail releases. Updates can only be released

digitally when they are in stores. This is a long-term strategy, preventing the franchise from fragmenting and losing cohesion. As kids generally have limited access to credit cards, a carefully planned monetisation strategy will be key. In a recent study we found that younger gamers will spend 51 per cent more on a premium purchase, compared to in-game spending. The game will likely launch with a hybrid strategy, allowing people to upgrade and buy booster packs to beef up their deck. Considering the three to four month delay between theatrical releases in Japan and the US, it’s likely Pokémon on iPad will launch with the new film this Christmas. We’ll be sure to catch this one.

TITLE-LEVEL COMPARISON: HEARTHSTONE AND POKEMON MAU

Revenue

(millions)

($ Million)

iPad

1.978

$5.0

$2.53

0.236

$0.58

$2.46

Title

Owner

platform

Hearthstone

Activision/Blizzard

Pokemon Trading Card Game

Nintendo of America, Inc.

ARPPU

Trending

Source: SuperData Research, title-level estimates. All data for June 2014. SuperData’s analyses are based on the monthly spending of 37 million online gamers, in combination with qualitative consumer insight. Check it. September 12th 2014

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OPINION

INSIGHT

OPINION AND ANALYSIS FROM THE BRIGHTEST MINDS IN GAMES. THIS WEEK KANTAR’S JAMES BROWN EXAMINES THE RAPIDLY RISING USE OF THE LATEST GAMES CONSOLES AS MEDIA HUBS

ANALYSIS

BEYOND GAMING: THE RISE OF CONSOLES AS MEDIA HUBS active, with one in three shoppers who have bought a video game for themselves having paid to view a digital video in the past six months.

JAMES BROWN, consumer retail analyst at Kantar Worldpanel, examines the rising importance of consoles as media hubs and casts an eye toward the role they may one day play in the entertainment sector

hen the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, admitted just ahead of this year’s E3 that the company had made ‘wrong decisions’ in the build-up to the release of the Xbox One, many people assumed that he was speaking about the positioning of the console as a media hub rather than as a gaming device. Several commentators prior to launch of the next-generation consoles had criticised Microsoft for its focus on media rather than gaming, and saw this as one reason for it being outsold by its rival in the UK. Conversely, PlayStation’s marketing campaign made its position abundantly clear – ‘This is for the players’. While consoles are still primarily viewed as platforms for gaming, they are increasingly being used to play other forms of media. This is a trend which is only set to continue as media switches from physical CDs and DVDs to digital content. Since Christmas, one in six people in Britain have paid to view a video digitally, doubling from one in twelve people just one year before. Gamers are even more digitally

September 12th 2014

DIGITAL DOMINATION Over the past six months there has been a rapid rise in the use of consoles as media hubs. There has been a 61 per cent increase in the number of gamers buying digital video via their games consoles and the number of digital video occasions on an Xbox or PlayStation has doubled from 4.7 million to 9.5 million. The subscription services of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV are the main drivers of growth with one in four video subscription viewers watching content via their console since Christmas. It is worth noting, however, that while the number of people streaming

There has been a 61 per cent increase in the number of gamers buying digital video via their consoles. James Brown, Kantar Worldpanel

subscription content on their consoles has increased over the past six months, the number using tablets and smart TVs has increased at a faster rate, which means that consoles’ share of the market has dropped from 30 per cent to 22 per cent. This compares with the 12 per cent of content viewed on tablets (previously nine per cent). Aside from streaming, the strength of consoles over the past year has been in the transactional digital video sectors of ‘buy to keep’ and one-off rentals. Consoles’ share of occasions – the number of transactions made over the past six months – has more than doubled. Almost all of this gain (90 per cent) has been driven by one off rentals rather than buy to keep – with titles such as Frozen and Gravity performing

Sony has invested in original content for PlayStation 4

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OPINION

Both Xbox One and PS4 feature video on demand content and streaming service support

particularly well in the first half of this year. Here, consoles have an advantage over their rivals, as content hosted on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace is extremely competitive – with prices 11 per cent lower than the industry average. CONSOLE COMPETITION Which console is best placed to benefit from this upward trend of digital content? Your first assumption may be Xbox considering its focus on media capabilities during its launch. However, because PlayStation has outsold Xbox in Britain throughout 2014, it consequently has more direct sales through its store. The PlayStation Store accounts for 29 per cent of all one-off rentals made on consoles, compared with Xbox Live Marketplace’s 18 per cent. PlayStation benefits from having more consoles on the market, but also has an advantage in the profile of its owners. PS4 users tend to be older than those who own an Xbox One and these older shoppers generally have

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more disposable income to spend on digital video content. The fact remains that the majority of one-off rentals made on consoles – worth some £5.5 million since Christmas – are through third-party services such as Amazon (14 per cent) and Blinkbox (28 per cent). These established players have a number of advantages over the consoles’ own stores. One of these is cross-platform accessibility. Content rented from third parties can generally be accessed on computer, tablet or mobile. Those purchased through the PlayStation Store, by contrast, can only be viewed on a PlayStation. Sony and Microsoft will have to address this if they want their store platforms to gain broader appeal.

The PlayStation Store accounts for 29 per cent of all one-oﬀ rentals made on consoles, compared with Xbox Live Marketplace’s 18 per cent. James Brown, Kantar Worldpanel

THE NEXT STEP Consoles are being used more and more as general media hubs rather than simply as gaming devices. This trend is set to continue as faster internet connections and more mainstream digital video services increase in popularity.

There are two ways in which consoles are set to benefit. The first is that more people who aren’t traditional gamers may choose to buy a console to use as a media hub. This trend could naturally benefit Xbox more due to its initial positioning as a hub – but either provider could use marketing to make these capabilities better known. Sony’s PlayStation TV – hitting UK shelves in late 2014 – could be seen as a move in this direction. Both will benefit relative to Nintendo, which has been slower in adding media elements to its consoles. The second is in selling content directly through their own stores. Both providers have quite a modest share of the transactional digital video market, PlayStation with 2.3 per cent and Xbox with 1.8 per cent, but they may look to expand these over time. This will provide another stream of revenue outside of hardware and new games sales, which can be seasonal and unpredictable. Ultimately, media capabilities give consoles a broader appeal, another source of revenue and a bright future.

September 12th 2014

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WORLD OF WARCRAFT INTERVIEW

IS THE END NIGH FOR WORLD OF WARCRAFT? Blizzard admits it does not expect its smash hit MMO to grow again. But that doesn’t mean it’s over, says lead game designer Tom Chilton. Christopher Dring reports

t’s taken almost ten years but it appears that World of Warcraft’s story is drawing to a close. Over the last four years the game’s subscriber base has shrunk from 12m to 6.8m. And even the game’s developer Blizzard isn’t convinced the game will grow again. “It is possible, although I wouldn’t say it is something that we expect,” lead game designer Tom Chilton tells MCV. “It is difficult to see though, because of the types of players we are getting now. All throughout Warcraft’s history we have had churn. People have said throughout the game’s lifespan: ‘I played that. It was fun. But now I’m moving on.’ And that has not changed as meaningfully as the funnel of people coming in has. The players that are coming into the game now are just not as apt to stick with it as the players that came in ten years ago were. So that may create an environment where it is just not realistic for WoW to grow again.” But it’s not that Blizzard is giving up on its lucrative MMO. Far from it – this Christmas it will release its fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor, which Chilton calls “definitely our most ambitious expansion”. And the firm is giving away a Level 90 character with every purchase of the add-on, in an effort to win back fans who have left the game. “We are at the point now where there have been people that have dropped off all through Warcraft’s history,” says Chilton. “Increasingly, by releasing expansions you are almost building up barriers to these players coming back. So by including the Level 90 character with this expansion, it gives these people the opportunity to,

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Warlords of Draenor is the ﬁfth expansion pack for World of Warcraft

wherever they were, jump right back in. “This also has secondary benefits to our existing players, because often our existing players want to have another high level character.”

In the long-term we are now positioned to release expansions more frequently.

FOR THE FANS It’s clearly a popular offer. Gamers can obtain that Level 90 character right away by pre-ordering Warlords of Draenor, which has made it the most pre-ordered Warcraft expansion in its history. But what about new fans? Can Draenor win those over too? “That is not really a focus for us with this expansion,” says Chilton. “We do get a substantial number of new players throughout the year. We are making a significant effort to convert a higher percentage of them, because what we are finding is that people who are coming into the game today are very different to those that started playing eight years ago – just in terms of their general experience of playing PC games. We focus test new groups of players trying it out and it is

Tom Chilton, Blizzard

painful to watch because they have the camera stuck to the ground, they don’t know where they’re going or how to move. These are a lot of things that we really took for granted when we first created the game. So we have a tutorial for players who are totally new, and that should help.” Indeed, Chilton admits WoW can be a bit too much for new players. “The game can only get so complicated before it starts to collapse under its own weight, and becomes very cumbersome to do anything new with,” he comments. “So we are always trying to simplify the game, while at the same time add new things so that the total complexity does not get completely out of control. And you could already argue that the complexity of WoW is already huge. That can be overwhelming to new people coming in.” But Warlords of Draenor is not intended to win new fans; it’s more a way to keep the firm’s existing 6.8m players engaged. Draenor has taken over two years to arrive – longer than expected – but this was because the firm has actually grown its WoW team from 150 to 220. The plan, says Chilton, is to release more expansions faster. “By growing by 50 per cent, you don’t get people in off the street who can make content exactly in the way that we would want. There’s an acclimatisation process. That has resulted in slowing us down. “But in the long-term we are now positioned to release expansions more frequently.” The World of Warcraft story clearly has a few more years in it yet.

September 12th 2014

INDIE INTERVIEW JAMES MARSDEN

PROMOTING THE ‘GAME OF THE YEAR’ Indie releases might be in vogue right now, but FuturLab’s James Marsden says that getting games out there isn’t at all easy. Alex Calvin speaks to him about the studio’s guerilla marketing tactics to push its latest title, Velocity 2X

t’s not easy being indie. Many of us in the industry may see the indie development sector as a source of interesting and new games, but according to James Mardsen, director of Brightonbased indie FuturLab, this isn’t true for the wider gaming audience. “There’s an indie stigma. Indie games aren’t worth your time, apparently,” he tells MCV. “It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If gamers don’t want to play it then journalists don’t want to write about it because it’s not going to drive traffic to their sites. It’s not in their interest to cover indie games apart from the ones that gather traffic – such as the successful Kickstarter campaigns. “You can’t rely on making a good game and having people write about it. There are tonnes of new releases coming out every day that are really good, and which teams have spent ages working on. “Indie is a buzz word if you are on the business side of the industry. If you’re a journalist or a developer you’ll know about these games, but if you look outside of the bubble you’ll see that the majority of comments are just flame about the fact that Sony is just promoting indie releases.”

GETTING ATTENTION The solution? Be as controversial as possible. Earlier this year Marsden wrote a post for the PlayStation Blog in which he declared Velocity 2X as ‘the Game of the year’. And it got people talking. “We are very confident with the game – whether it wins Game of the Year I have no idea. Unless

September 12th 2014

You need to make bold statements to sell games, says Marsden

you come out and say something controversial people don’t notice you. But it created a lot of buzz on forums and got gamers talking,” Marsden says. “We needed to come out and say something brave just to pique people’s interest and to make a challenging statement and get people playing it to see if we’re right or wrong. Even if it gets panned in reviews the job will have been done by making that statement.“

Unless you come out and say something controversial, people don’t notice you. James Marsden, FuturLab

WHAT LITTLE YOU HAVE It’s these kinds of guerrilla marketing tactics that FuturLab has been using to push the game. Another was drawing Twitter avatars of some industry members. “We have three artists working on Velocity 2X – a character artist, a background artist and one for visual effects,” Marsden explains. “When you look at what we can possibly do on the cheap in terms of marketing, we saw the quality of the character art of this one chap and thought we should draw some people on Twitter

– most people have a picture of their face on profile. So we decided to draw [president of Sony’s worldwide studios] Shuhei Yoshida. “We’ve built a relationship with him and he really appreciates what we do. That gives us a platform to reach out. We thought if we’d draw Shuhei that might go down well and it did. So we drew a bunch of other people. Then we decided that we’d try and get some YouTube Let’s Plays out, so we approached PewDiePie. Unsurprisingly he’s very busy and really hard to get hold of so we decided to draw him. That single retweet continues to bring us followers today and that was a few weeks ago. That man has an phenomenal amount of influence on Twitter. “And then there was the interview with Yoshida where he said he didn’t know why the PS4 was selling so well. By that point we had [SCEE boss] Jim Ryan drawn and [SCE CEO] Andrew House, as well as Shuhei and [strategic content for SCEE] Shahid Ahmad, too. So we thought let’s get those four avatars on an image and have Velocity 2X’s Kai asking why PS4 was selling so well (pictured above left). That got retweeted by Shuhei and everyone enjoyed that because we’re using our Scrappy Doo overconfidence to raise awareness using a bit of humour.” He concludes: “There’s not a lot you can do as an indie dev. The Holy Grail is making something that goes viral. We just focus on the strength of what we’ve got, which is the quality of the art style.”

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THE BIG GAME ALIEN ISOLATION

ALIEN ISOLATION

EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM Sega wants to banish the memory of past Alien games and terrify fans with its ﬁrst next-gen release. Alex Calvin meets developer Creative Assembly Release Date: October 7th Formats: PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Publisher: Sega Developer: Creative Assembly

ou might be forgiven for thinking that Alien Isolation is a reaction to last year’s action-packed but ultimately disappointing Colonial Marines. Isolation is a survival horror experience. Players are put one-on-one with a Xenomorph, and are decidely vunerable and outgunned. It’s a million miles away from the big action gunplay of Colonial Marines. A game that left fans wanting. But actually Isolation has been in development for many years now, and the team at Creative Assembly had to bite their tongues post-Colonial Marines because they were in fact making the game that everyone was asking for. “We started making Isolation four years ago and from the outset we had a really clear vision of what we wanted to achieve,” creative lead Alistair Hope tells MCV.

September 12th 2014

“We’ve stayed really focused on our goals so in many ways we’ve not been influenced or affected creatively. We were aware of the commentary around Colonial Marines and we saw a lot of people asking for an Alien game which was about surviving against one Alien, a scary game with meaningful encounters. A game that was focused more on surviving than killing. It’s was reassuring to see that response because that is exactly the game we are making.” Lead game designer Gary Napper adds: “The whole time we’ve been thinking ‘is someone going to make this game?’ and it turns out that no-one has yet.” Isolation is survival horror through and through. Players are under-equipped and certainly outclassed by a solitary Alien. “It’s a very different experience to Colonial Marines when you look at it,” Napper says. “It is

We’ve spent so much time on the Alien. It’s the star of the show. We can drop it into an area and have no idea what it’s going to do.

a pure survival horror game where it’s about a single Alien. You’re not facing hordes of them, you’re not picking up ammo and armour at every corner. You’re just figuring out what you can do in each situation and making choices based on the environment. It’s a very different experience.” Hope adds: ” We wanted to try a new approach, to take a game within the franchise in a new direction. To go back to the roots of the series, to revisit Ridley Scott’s haunted house in space.”

CREATURE UNCOMFORTS At the centre of this horror Gary Napper, Creative Assembly experience is an Alien that is intelligent, efficient and utterly effective. “For the first time players can experience what it’s like to encounter the original Alien,” says Hope. “A creature that is huge, terrifying and intelligent.

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ALIEN ISOLATION THE BIG GAME

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September 12th 2014

THE BIG GAME ALIEN: ISOLATION

One not running under script but using its senses to track the player down. An experience that feels like a live encounter which plays out differently every time.” Napper adds: “We’ve put so much care and attention into the Alien. It’s the star of the show; it’s what we’ve built the game around really. We can drop him into an area and even as developers we don’t know what he’s going to do. Our time playing it is very much like your first time with the game. We know rough things about him, the behaviour cycles he might choose to act out, but putting him in a new area and experiencing that for the first time is absolutely incredible. “The more you play the game, the more you learn about the Alien through interactions. You really see a lot more depth. It can be frustrating for game designers sometimes because you create all of these systems but then some players just hide in the corner and try and avoid it and never see the Alien. The depth is there for those who want to find it, but the core loop of evading the Alien is amazing.“ WAYS TO PLAY Given the Alien is ferociously intelligent, it’s only fair that players have options as to how to proceed. “There are people in the studio who love Call of Duty and the big shooter games where you run around and use the weapons and explosives,” Napper explains. “They make loads of noise and do a run and gun playthrough. Then we have the stealth fanatics who sneak about and do it like a true survival horror game. And of course there’s everything in between – the people who want to explore and find diferent ways through levels, and the efficient gamer, who wants to find the fastest route through. The game copes with all that. The Alien adapts to your playstyle and the things you do.” One of the aims of the game was to replicate the oppressive atmosphere of the first Alien film. And Napper says that working

September 12th 2014

In Isolation players are up against a lone and very deadly Alien

with 20th Century Fox to aid this endeavour was vital to the game. “The art team has done an incredible job of focusing in on that 1979 asthetic and building as much detail into the environment as possible,” he says. “There are some areas where you feel you have taken a wrong turn on the set of the original film. The focus that went into the atmosphere has been outstanding. They have all these rules like they won’t put anything into the game that they couldn’t have built on the set in 1979. It’s a really nice constriction to work with. “As a team we’re really passionate about the film – we have it on loop in the studio and have seen it hundreds of times. We know lines backwards and little details inside and out. On that side of things we have the wealth of knowledge. But it’s vital to work with the people that made it though, as they can provide you with things like blueprints of the original set, details of the materials things were made out of, how big and heavy things were. 20th Century sent us a three terabyte hard drive. We spent hours combing through, finding things like music that was never used in the film, parts of the set you never saw.” Hope adds: “Alien Isolation is a hugely immersive experience

(Top to bottom) Alien Isolation’s creative lead Hope and lead game designer Napper

with a highly detailed, atmospheric world and 20th Century Fox have been massively supportive from day one. Having access to the Alien production archive was a gold mine of behind the scenes material – much of which I don’t believe had been in the public domain. From detailed set design drawings to props and continuity polaroids. Even 35 year-old sound archives. This treasure trove of reference material allowed us to create new environments, which although don’t feature in the original movie feel true in spirit to its inspiration.” But in being so determined with replicating what is seen in the original film, how does the team ensure Isolation has its own identity? “We really wanted to recreate the feeling of the first film, not moment to moment bits of the movie or the characters or setting but the feel of being in a situation where you haven’t got everything you need and you are up against the wall,” Napper explains. “There’s this creature hunting you and you have to deal with it as you see fit and craft things to survive from what is around you.” He concludes: “Taking that as the core experience allows us to create our own identity of the game. It’s the feeling of the first film, but it is its own game.”

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ALIEN: ISOLATION THE BIG GAME

ASSEMBLING CREATIVE CREATIVE ASSEMBLY is the studio best known for the Total War series of historic real time strategy games – so Alien Isolation is something of a new direction for the developer. “This team was created specifically to make this game. So we’ve brought in people from across the studios, hired a load of new people and people from across the games industry, as well as the film industry which has been great,” lead game designer Gary Napper tells MCV. “It’s almost a purpose built team. There’s no real influence from Total War as a team, but we have been influenced by the culture at Creative Assembly which is one of support and allowing you to explore what you need to do to get the game done.”

Creative Assembly has recreated scenes from the original Alien ﬁlm for the DLC www.mcvuk.com

September 12th 2014

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE MCV speaks to Steve Cullen, manager of GAME’s Liverpool Lord Street branch, about the importance of a store team with diverse interests and putting an original spin on midnight launches we do and are always looking for ways to engage with our community. We love hosting game lock-ins and in-store events, and always aim to add some kind of twist to these. We recently had a great Far Cry 4 lock-in with a ‘Festival of Colour’ twist where customers could create unique artworks to remember the night by. We’ve also been privileged enough to have Liverpool and Everton football player signings, and

Tell us about your store team. We currently have 11 gamers working in-store with a wide spectrum of tastes. We’ve got Pokémon fans, FIFA fans, WWE fans, FPS fans and everything in-between. This makes for a great mix when it comes to product knowledge, and also for some very interesting conversation pieces around gaming crossovers and more. The team is made up of a mixture of veterans and guys

who joined us last Christmas. Everyone gets along like a house on ﬁre and it’s kind of like one giant gaming family. We are always on the lookout for new signings to the team and are currently looking to recruit seasonal team members.

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

PRICE CHECK: LEEDS

What’s your store speciality? We pride ourselves on being the place that gamers can come and talk to each other. We are all extremely passionate about what

Particular midnight launch highlights include getting a tank for the release of Battlefield 4. Steve Cullen, GAME Liverpool Lord St

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Activision Blizzard, XO

Deep Silver, PS4

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Sony, PS4

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N/A

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IN STORE

5. FIFA 15 Ultimate Team Edition EA .............................................................................PS4

THE LAST OF US REMASTERED

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UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market

PEGGLE 2

MURASAKI BABY

GAUNTLET

PopCap’s previously Xbox-only puzzle game is headed to PS4

This dark, stylish title from studio Ovosonico is coming to Vita

The classic dungeon crawler is being rebooted on PC

OUT: OCTOBER 15TH

September 12th 2014

ONLINE

8. Super Smash Bros Nintendo............................................................... 3DS

OUT: SEPTEMBER

OUT: SEPTEMBER 25TH

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MARKETPLACE

GAME Liverpool Lord Street 72 Lord Street, Liverpool, L2 1TL

even UFC fighters doing signings in-store. That being said, we recognise that gamers come in many different forms and we think our team diversity really helps us cater to all types. What’s been your favourite midnight release so far? Particular highlights include getting a tank for the launch of Battlefield 4 and the FIFA 14 blowout we had last year with the keepy-up experts.

Twitter: @GAME_Liverpool Facebook: http://bit.ly/GAMELiverpool

However, one launch stands out in terms of epic scale: GTA V. We did a special 24-hour opening; the store opened at 21:00 for the start of the midnight launch and stayed open right the way through till 21:00 the following evening. It was amazing and we saw hundreds of customers right the way through the night, and got some great feedback and thanks from customers who would usually have to wait till the morning to get their game.

INCOMING TITLE

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR OUTLET IN MCV? Contact Alex.Calvin@intentmedia.co.uk or call 01992 515 303

Now that Destiny is on shelves the Q4 rush kicks oﬀ, with sports behemoth FIFA 15 and toys-to-life sequel Disney Inﬁnity 2.0 due later in September FORMAT

GENRE

PUBLISHER

TELEPHONE

DISTRIBUTOR

inFamous: First Light

PS4

Action

SCEE

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CentreSoft

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution

PS3/360/PC

Action

Bandai Namco

01215 069 590

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PS4/XO/PS3/360

Sports

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

September 12th

Phonics Fun with Biﬀ, Chip & Kipper

3DS

Educational

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

The Battles of King Arthur

Simulation

Excalibur

01869 338 833

Contact Sales

September 19th Construction Simulator

Simulation

Excalibur

01869 338 833

Contact Sales

Hyrule Warriors

Wii U

Action

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

Meridian – New World

Strategy

Merge Games

01215 069 590

Advantage

Wasteland 2

Strategy

Deep Silver

01256 385 200

Koch Media

Disney Inﬁnity: Marvel Super Heroes

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360/PC Kids

Disney Interactive

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call

3DS

Rhythm

Square Enix

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

Train Simulator 2015

Simulation

Dovetail Games

01869 338 833

Contact Sales

PS3

RPG

Koei Tecmo

01462 476 130

Open

September 26th Ar Nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star Fairy Fencer F

PS3

RPG

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

Fantasy Life

3DS

RPG

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

FIFA 15

PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC

Sports

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

Violetta: Rhythm & Music

Wii/3DS/DS

Strategy

Bandai Namco

01215 069 590

Advantage

October 3rd European Ship Simulator

Simulation

Excalibur

01869 338 833

Contact Sales

Forza Horizon 2

Racing

Microsoft

01279 822 800

Exertis Gem

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC

Action

Warner Bros

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

Natural Doctrine

PS4/PS3/Vita

JRPG

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

RELEASE SCHEDULE CONTINUES OVER THE PAGE www.mcvuk.com

September 12th 2014

MARKETPLACE RELEASE SCHEDULE CONTINUED TITLE

FORMAT

GENRE

PUBLISHER

TELEPHONE

DISTRIBUTOR

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2

Wii U/PS3/360/3DS

Action

Bandai Namco

01215 069 590

Advantage

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC

Adventure

Focus Home

01889 570 156

Open

Super Smash Bros

3DS

Fighting

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

October 7th Alien Isolation

PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC

Horror

Sega

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

NBA Live 15

PS4/XO

Sports

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

MX vs ATV Supercross

PS3/360

Racing

Nordic Games

01256 391 209

Open

Akiba’s Trip: Undead and Undressed

PS3/Vita

JRPG

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

DriveClub

PS4

Racing

Sony

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

NBA 2K15

PS4/XO

Sports

2K Games

01279 822 800

Exertis Gem

Project Spark

Construction

Microsoft

01279 822 800

Exertis Gem

Skylanders: Trap Team

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360/3DS Toys-to-life

Activision

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC

Horror

Bethesda

01215 069 590

Advantage

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

PS3/360/PC

Shooter

2K Games

01279 822 800

Exertis Gem

F1 2014

PS3/360/PC

Racing

Codemasters

01215 069 590

Advantage

Bayonetta 2

Wii U

Action

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

Civilization: Beyond Earth

Strategy

2K Games

01279 822 800

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Disney Magical World

3DS

Kids

Nintendo

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Open

Fantasia: Music Evolved

XO/360

Music

Disney Interactive

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Just Dance 2015

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360/Wii Music

Ubisoft

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October 10th

October 14th The Evil Within

October 17th

October 24th

MUST STOCK

The 3DS receives another life-sim game in the form of Fantasy Life, while Forza Horizon 2 revs its engines for Xbox One

FANTASY LIFE

FORZA HORIZON 2

Released: September 26th Format: 3DS Publisher: Nintendo Distributor: Open Contact: 01753 438 700

Released: October 3rd Format: XO Publisher: Microsoft Distributor: Exertis Gem Contact: 01279 822 800

COMBINING the life-sim success of Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Tomodachi Life with RPG elements, Level-5’s Fantasy Life lets players loose in September 12th 2014

WE are but weeks away from Playground Games’ latest racing title hitting shelves. Forza Horizon 2 comes with an open world ﬁlled with

an open world. The title features character customisation and a slew of online capabilities that allow gamers to play with their friends. 38

challenges and races, which fans can explore in over 200 cars. Seamless multiplayer is also a big plus for social racers. www.mcvuk.com

Full range can be found at www.orbaccessories.com

Scan Me! Explore the world of ORB www.orbaccessories.com

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@ORB_Accs Facebook.com/orbaccessories sales@orbaccessories.com 07850 107110

CASES AND COVERS

CASES AND COVERS Gamers on the move can put their valuable consoles and peripherals at risk, but a suitable carry case or cover can avoid the danger. Matthew Jarvis gets carried away

CASES are the ideal thing to accompany brand new shiny consoles – nobody wants their expensive new hardware and peripherals to pick up dinks and scratches mere months after release. With this in mind, it’s unsurprising that the rise in hardware sales last year, primarily driven by the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One consoles, had a positive impact on the accessories market, including

The rise in hardware sales last year had a positive impact on the accessories market.

cases, covers and bags – a necessity for those looking to protect their investment. The recently released redesigned PlayStation Vita and the upcoming New Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL models have also provided an ideal opportunity for outlets to offer cases to handheld fans – the devices most at risk of scrapes. However, it’s not just consoles that can benefit from protection. With first and third-party

THERMALTAKE BATTLE DRAGON BAG Ideal for PC enthusiasts heading to LAN parties and eSports competitions, this large padded bag can hold a variety of PC accessories and games, as well as a gaming laptop. Owners can switch between three diﬀerent carry modes for comfort and safety. SRP: £40.94 Distributor: Beyond Technologies Contact: 01952 916 600

HORI 3DS XL DURAFLEXI TPU PROTECTOR

THE TGC XBOX ONE DELUXE CONSOLE CARRY BAG

NINTENDO 2DS CARRY CASE

This protector will keep the 3DS’ bigger brother safe from dust and scratches.

The Xbox One never needs to leave this case, thanks to an integrated side access panel.

2DS lacks the clamshell protection of its 3DS cousin, making a protective case essential.

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SRP: £16.69 Distributor: The Gamers Choice Contact: 0116 288 8085

SRP: £7.99 Distributor: Nintendo Contact: 01753 483 700

September 12th 2014

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CASES AND COVERS

DIRECTORY

MCV DIRECTORY KEY CONTACTS Sony DADC ............................................ +44 (0) 207 462 6200

CREATIVE Fink ................................................................. info@ﬁnkcreative.com

GAMING ACCESSORIES DISC REPAIR

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

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

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

DISTRIBUTION Click Entertainment ............................ +44 (0) 203 137 3781 Creative Distribution ......................+44 (0) 20 8664 3456 RATES

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

£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.

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

DISC REPAIR

TOTAL DISC REPAIR

Tel: +44 (0) 1202 489500

September 12th 2014

Web: www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk

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DIRECTORY

ENQUIRIES CONOR TALLON Tel: 01992 535647 Conor.Tallon@intentmedia.co.uk

FINK

CREATIVE

DISTRIBUTION

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT

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@ﬁnkcreative.com CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 208 6643456 ENARXIS DYNAMIC MEDIA

Tel: +44 (0)203 137 3781

Web: www.ﬁnkcreative.com DISTRIBUTION

email: sales@click-entertainment.com

CURVEBALL LEISURE

Web: www.creativedistribution.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1792 652521

DISTRIBUTION

SONY DADC

DISTRIBUTION

Web: www.curveball-leisure.com DISTRIBUTION

Empowering your creative business

Tel: +44 207 462 6200 games@sonydadc.com

www.sonydadc.com Tel: +302 1090 11900

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Web: www.enarxis.eu

Tel: +44 (0) 207 462 6200

Web: www.sonydadc.com

September 12th 2014

DIRECTORY

GAMING ACCESSORIES

L3I

GAMING ACCESSORIES

VENOM

New officially licensed product coming soon Rechargeable Battery Pack

SERIOUS ABOUT GAMING SERIOUS ABOUT ACCESSORIES

Tel: + (0)1923 471 020

Web: www.logic3.com

Fully recharges the DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller for up to 20 hours of gameplay. Sleek, contemporary design fits securely to the DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller.

ADVERTISE WITH US

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY?

Web: www.venomuk.com Phone: +44 (0)1763 284181 Email: darren.scott@venomuk.com sam.phipps@venomuk.com tom.hodge@venomuk.com

CALL CONOR TALLON ON 01992 535647 OR EMAIL HIM AT CONOR.TALLON@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK

Tel: +44 (0)1763 284181 September 12th 2014

Venom UK Gaming @VenomGamingUK

w w w. ve n o m u k . co m

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INSIDER’S GUIDE

INSIDER’S GUIDE UTOPIAN WORLD OF SANDWICHES

DIRECTORY

WHO? Specialism: Development Location: 14 Byron Square, Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 9JJ

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

MCV chats to husband and wife team Sarah and Woody Woodrow about their development studio

FOR GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT ALEX BOUCHER ALEX.BOUCHER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK

Tell us about your company. We are a husband and wife team. We work in the shed at the bottom of our garden and want to make games with a purpose. Our vision for the company is based on a dream that we have of what a good business can be; we believe that a good business gives to the world, so we often think of our games as gifts for people. We picture someone who we love, and we build a game with them in mind. We have a strong design philosophy, which we use as a basis for all of our decisions.

THIS MONTH’S DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT: Epic Games .................................................. www.epicgames.com/careers

What is your biggest success to date? We made and released our ﬁrst game Chompy Chomp Chomp on Xbox 360 in 2012 and on Steam in 2013. It got good reviews, and has been a fantastic launch game for us. The biggest celebration we had was when we became registered Nintendo developers, fulﬁlling a life-long dream. What projects do you currently have in the works? We are currently working on Chompy Chomp Chomp Party for Wii U. Using Wii controllers and nunchucks/controller accessories we’ve got it running with nine players. What are the biggest challenges you face? Our biggest challenge comes out of time/money/resources.

It’s an epic feat of time and money management to get a game out and still ‘have a life’ together Sarah and Woody Woodrow, Utopian World of Sandwiches

We are a couple who work from the shed at the bottom of our garden. We are fully selffunded; we have chosen to take this route in order to get the freedom that we need in order to create what we want, how we want and when we want. This means that Sarah has to work full time, while Woody works in the shed. It’s an epic feat of time and money management to get a game out and still ‘have a life’ together.

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR COMPANY IN INSIDER’S GUIDE?

To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact alex.boucher@intentmedia.co.uk

PLEASE CONTACT

WWW.DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET www.mcvuk.com

Contact: W: www.utopianworldofsandwiches.com E: info@utopianworldofsandwiches.com T: www.twitter.com/UtopianSandwich F: www.facebook.com/UtopianSandwich

MATTHEW@JARVIS.INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK OR CALL 01992 515 303

September 12th 2014

FACTFILE SOUTH KOREA Sponsored by

Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories

INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE: SOUTH KOREA Population: 50,219,669 Capital City: Seoul Currency: Won GDP (Per Capita): $25,931 KEY RETAILERS Homeplus, Sonokong, Lotte, E-Mart KEY DISTRIBUTORS HanbitSoft, Nexon, Daewon Game Company

SOUTH KOREA remains one of the biggest territories for PC gaming, driven by the popularity of eSports and internet cafes. There are approximately 12,000 internet cafes, known locally as ‘PC bangs’, in the region, which attract a huge number of gamers every day. The success of PC bangs is built on a cultural love of online gaming. The Korea Internet and Digital Entertainment Association believes that the online gaming industry accounts for about 60 per cent of the country’s content exports revenue. Overall, the entire South Korean game market is worth an estimated $5 billion (£3bn) annually. This means that residents spend around $100 each on video games every year – more than triple that spent by Americans. The burgeoning online gaming segment is boosted by the success of eSports in South Korea; the Federal Game Institute

TOP DEVELOPERS NCSoft, Nexon, Gala Lab, Axis Entertainment, Blueside, DeNA Seoul, Gamevil, Gravity PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION NCSoft, Nexon, EA, Gamevil, Gameloft, Konami, Sega, Riot Games, Sony, Ubisoft, Square Enix

estimates that 10 million South Koreans regularly follow eSports. In recognition of the national pastime’s popularity, the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Ministry of Information and Communications also established the international World Cyber Games (WCG) competitive gaming event in 2000. In addition to this, the League of Legends 2014 World Championship, to be held in Seoul on October 19th, was recently revealed to be the biggest global eSports event to date, with over 45,000 expected to attend. South Korea’s love of gaming has also earned some infamy. Addiction to gaming is a longdiscussed issue in the region; 3.3 million South Koreans require medical treatment due to addiction to video games, according to claims made by Shin Eui-jin, a member of the ruling New Frontier Party.

The online gaming industry accounts for about 60 per cent of South Korea’s content exports revenue.

September 12th 2014

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SOUTH KOREA FACTFILE

MEANWHILE IN... AUSTRALIA Digital service Steam is being challenged by a regional trade body over its ‘false representations’ and refusal to issue refunds STEAM parent Valve is being accosted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over its long-held ‘no refunds’ policy. Like many sellers of digital content, the company doesn’t oﬀer customers the chance to get their money back on unwanted games. However, the ACCC argues that Steam’s global presence means that it should be held to account by regional law, which down under means refunds should be available to unsatisﬁed PC gamers. “Valve may be an American company with no physical presence

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in Australia, but it is carrying on business in Australia by selling to Australian consumers, who are protected by the Australian Consumer Law,” commented Rod Sims, chairman of the ACCC.

Among the ‘false representations’ made by Valve, and criticised by the ACCC, is the company’s lack of obligation to repair, replace or refund titles.

September 12th 2014

BENELUX TERRITORY REPORT Sponsored by

Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories

TERRITORY REPORT: BENELUX Digital, mobile and streaming rule the video games market in Benelux, with the region attracting many developers and service providers. Matthew Jarvis takes a look at the burgeoning territorial triad

enelux is arguably one of the most forward-thinking territories for video games in Europe, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg seeing rapid growth in cuttingedge technologies and services. SMALL BUT MIGHTY Despite being one of the smallest nations in Europe, Luxembourg has particularly begun to attract games firms in the last few years. This growth is thanks to increased investment in the online segment by the Government. Innovative companies to have established new bases in the tiny country recently include cloud gaming firm OnLive, digital distribution giant Valve, South Korean freeto-play specialist Nexon and social games business Kabam. The investment is paying off: Luxembourg was recently placed ninth in the seventh edition of the Global Innovation Index, published by the American University of Cornell, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The list ranks countries according to their investment and success in pushing new inventions and innovation. The Netherlands were also shown to be highly pioneering, coming in at number five, while fellow Benelux member Belgium didn’t fare as well, ranking 23rd. However, Belgium does hold some power concerning the evolution of the wider games industry. The nation’s capital, and the administrative centre of Benelux, Brussels, is home to trade body Interactive Software

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one in the Western world for gaming on a regular phone, with a third (30 per cent) of gamers using non-smartphones for gaming. The appetite for modern smartphones and 3G/4G connectivity is tempered by the high cost of mobile internet in the region.

Federation of Europe, which established the Europe-wide PEGI age rating system. STAYING STABLE While Belgium may not be as innovative as Luxembourg, the region is still embracing aspects of modern games retail, supplemented by a stable market. GFK Retail and Technology, in collaboration with the Belgian Entertainment Association, reports that the Belgian games market generated a revenue of €211 million (£167m) in 2013, a figure which has remained largely consistent since

BIG SPENDERS While mobile may not be worth punters’ cash, Belgian gamers are happy to splash out on titles. Half of the region’s 4.6

million gamers pay for games, spending $13.10 (£8.03) per month on average. This total makes Belgian consumers the third highest spending gamers in Europe, behind the UK and France. Social and casual games are among the most popular genres in the country, played by 3.8 million gamers – over a third of Belgium’s 11.14 million inhabitants

$13.10 On average, Belgian gamers spend $13.10 (£8.03) a month on games 2008, when it peaked at €246 million (£195m). The market has transitioned to adapt to an increasingly digital landscape, too. While the revenue generated in 2008 by online titles was negligible, last year online games revenue totalled €44 million (£35m). This is an increase of €15 million (£12m) on the previous year. Despite growing digital adoption, Belgium appears to be lagging behind in the mobile market. Research firm Newzoo states that the country is number

September 12th 2014

TERRITORY REPORT BENELUX

– followed by console titles, which attract around 2.6 million players. Contrary to this, however, only just over half (55 per cent) of Belgian gamers play on console, with a clear majority (92 per cent) preferring PC. 15 per cent aren’t picky with their platform, playing across PC, mobile devices, handhelds and consoles.

LANDS OF THE FREE The Netherlands is proportionally the biggest country in the world when it comes to playing games for free. Newzoo estimates that over half (55 per cent) of the eight million gamers in the region pay absolutely nothing to play. However, while the majority of gamers don’t spend a cent, the remaining minority are enthusiastic investors in the market – the country ranks 15th in the world in terms of overall gaming revenue. This lucrative environment is driven by the success of digital; market tracker PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) highlighted the nation’s ability to transition to digital retail as key to the growth of its local games market, generating sales of roughly €600 million (£476m) in 2012. DLC DELIGHTS Some of the biggest-selling digital content in the Netherlands is delivered via micro-transactions. According to PwC, one in three Dutch gamers have purchased additional virtual content in games, while one in five regularly do so. This outpaces countries such as Germany, where only 15 per cent of players similarly invest in virtual goods. However, growth in the sector is minimal; only six per cent of gamers said that they had spent more money on virtual content in video games in 2013 than in 2012. The interest in microtransactions is increasingly driven

September 12th 2014

by browser titles, rather than mobile. Just nine per cent of gamers stated that they play more frequently on their smartphone or tablet now than they had in the last six months before. In the Netherlands, gaming is a popular pastime for most people.

THE FACTS INFO Members: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg Population: 28.5 million Currency: Euro GDP (Per Capita): $48,359 Administrative Centre: Brussels (Belgium) Languages: Dutch, French

One in three Dutch gamers have purchased additional virtual content in games.

KEY RETAILERS Game Mania, Bart Smit, Electro Viaduc, Saturn, Bol.com, Gameshop, Intertoys, Media Markt, Nedgame, Carrefour

54 per cent of consumers play games every day, claims PwC. Unlike many countries, this popularity also spans different age groups; 80 per cent of online users aged under 30 play every day, but even half of those aged between 46 and 65 access games several times a week.

TOP DISTRIBUTORS CLD Distribution, Koch Media, Big Ben Interactive Benelux, Level03 Distribution, Micromedia, Game World TOP DEVELOPERS Larian Studios, Vlambeer, Tale of Tales, LuGus Studios, Lionade Games, Engine Software, Triumph Studios, Guerilla Games, Kabam, VSTEP LOCAL PUBLISHERS EA, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft, Two Tribes Publishing, 2K

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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION