MCV 850 October 2nd 2015

#20YearsofPlay

This is for the PlayStation generation.

The original X button bashers. The first Ridge Racers and Raccoon City survivors.

The Tekken champions and GT front-runners. This is for those who’ll never forget that spine-tingling start-up sound or the thrill of the first DualShock rumble. This is for anyone with a Crash Bandicoot tattoo or a memory card they’ll cherish forever. The PES q + k pros and paper dog rappers.

The port-switching Solid Snakes, the multitap huddlers and the dance-mat partiers.

This is for those who’ve led a thousand double lives, loving every second.

20 TH ANNIVERSARY DUALSHOCK ® 4

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 850 FRIDAY OCTOBER 2ND 2015

20 YEARS OF PLAYSTATION MEET THE MASTERS WHO MADE SONY’S CONSOLE FLY IN EUROPE P12

Meet the brightest young stars in the UK games industry

PLUS GUITAR HERO VS ROCK BAND CULT GAMES: TITLES THAT DEFY METACRITIC

30 UNDER THIRTY

AMI LANGTON PR and Marketing Manager, All 4 Games Age: 28 Langton’s career started back in 2006 when she joined Bizarre Creations as a PR assistant and helped lead the studio’s PR department after it was acquired by Activison Blizzard in 2007. Following the developer’s closure in 2011, she moved to indie publisher Ripstone, where she supported developers and helped build the firm’s PR department from scratch.

Developers have praised her for delivering campaigns that integrate a wide mix of PR, social media and community. She is now heading up PR for Channel 4’s new Glasgowbased publishing arm All 4 Games.

MCV reveals the 30 brightest and most talented people under the age of 30 currently working in games retail, community management, publishing, events, marketing, PR and journalism BEAR PARKER

CHRIS SLIGHT

Community Manager, Xbox/Edelman Age: 27

Freelance TV presenter Age: 29

As Xbox’s community manager at PR agency Edelman, Parker’s co-workers praise him for being ‘in tune with the needs and desires of Xbox fans’. Before his time at Edelman, Parker worked at Sony Computer Entertainment UK as community manager, where he was the man responsible for the #PlayStationMemories hashtag prior to the announcement of the PlayStation 4 in 2013.

Chris has quickly racked up an impressive CV within the games industry, having already worked for the likes of Explosive Alan Productions and The GameJar, before taking on a role at game-focused TV channel Ginx TV. He has also contributed video games content to TV giant Sky as a correspondent and CNBC as a talking head.

In addition to all that, he helps run Dalstonbased game bar Loading’s streaming output on Twitch. Alongside Julia Hardy, he hosted MCM London Comic Con’s League of Legend championships.

DAVID SCARBOROUGH

GEM WOOLNOUGH

PR and Marketing Assistant, Deep Silver Age: 29

UK PR Manager, 2K Games Age: 28

Scarborough started out in the media as a staff writer on Imagine’s GamesTM brand in 2011, before taking on the role of features editor and then acting editor of that brand and the Xbox-focused X-One. Since then, he has departed games journalism and joined Deep Silver as a PR and marketing assistant. He is credited for his ‘professionalism, creativity and passion’, and for constantly going above and beyond what is needed. Recently he dressed up as a cow to promote Farming Simulator at consumer events.

After joining the games market in 2010 from iTunes, Woolnough has made a name for herself; she is well-known amongst the games media and described as one of the best PRs in the business. As international PR coordinator, and later UK integrated comms exec, for EA, she worked on some of the publisher’s biggest titles, including last year’s Dragon Age: Inquisition, ensuring a large amount of coverage for BioWare’s game.

She also looked after The Sims and Plants vs Zombies. She has since moved to 2K Games where she is now UK PR manager.

GEORGE MORGAN

HANNAH WHITTAKER

Product Manager, Sold Out Age: 26

Events Coordinator, SpecialEffect Age: 26

Morgan has already worked in a wide array of sectors within the games industry.

Starting out in retail at his local GAME, he spent several years working as an ’excellent’ QA tester for Sega and Feral Interactive. That was before he took the huge step up to becoming a product manager at publisher and distributor Sold Out.

October 2nd 2015

Whittaker has been working for video games charity SpecialEffect since 2011. Her largest contribution to date has been the many brief yet powerful video showcases that show the good work the firm is doing for severely disabled people across Britain. Her videos now have hundreds of thousands of views and, according to the charity, her work has had a ‘significant’ global impact in raising awareness about the positive impact of video games on the lives of the severely disabled.

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www.mcvuk.com

30 UNDER THIRTY

HOLLY QUINN

JAKE MACKEY

Creative Director, PQube Age: 29

Community Manager, Capcom Europe Age: 29

Starting her career at UK-based Japanese publisher Zen United, Quinn has gone on to work at PQube where she handles the firm’s niche Japanese releases. During her time as creative director at the company, she has been responsible for the releases of BlazBlue titles, as well as visual novel Steins;Gate. She co-founded Japanese game-focused editorial outlet Rice Digital with PQube’s Geraint Evans, which has been hugely successful with that audience.

Mackey is described as a vital member of the Capcom team and has been instrumental in the growth of the Monster Hunter franchise in Europe. A fan first, Capcom hired him for his passion for the series. He is very active within the industry, attending Monster Hunter events and lending assistance to those who want to launch their own fan gatherings. He has taken great strides to acclimatise new players to the series, and recently commissioned a ‘how to’ series for the Nintendo eShop.

JAKE TUCKER

JAMES DUFFIELD

VR Editor and Events Content Lead, Pocket Gamer Age: 26

Commercial Solutions Manager, Twitch Age: 26

Tucker has been one of the hardest working freelance journalists working in the games media in the last few years, and has had bylines at the likes of Vice, Pocket Gamer and Bit Tech. Now he has left the world of freelance journalism to work as Pocket Gamer’s VR editor and events content lead.

And if that wasn’t enough, last year he launched VideoBrains, a monthly collection of talks to do with video games featuring developers, journalists and players.

Duffield’s work at Twitch has been instrumental in the success of the streaming giant’s UK arm. He is described as ‘a true renaissance man of the UK games scene’. Since being hired in November 2014, he has orchestrated influencer streams and worked on over 30 different campaigns. He has no problem staying late until the job is done, and has been known to pull several all-nighters to ensure his tasks are completed to the best possible quality.

He also hosts several eSports events, such as Counter-Strike tournaments for the ESL.

JAMES SALMON

JASPREET MARWAHA

Product Marketing Manager, EA Age: 26

Product Executive, Reef Entertainment Age: 27

Since he joined EA, Salmon has been put in charge of the marketing campaigns for the blockbuster FIFA franchise in the UK and Ireland. Previously, he worked as digital coordinator for the FA. His superb football knowledge has helped him deliver high-quality integrated marketing pushes, while his knowledge of digital marketing has helped EA reach players in a more sophisticated manner. He is credited by EA as driving the success of FIFA Ultimate Team in the UK.

UK fans of niche Japanese games have a lot to thank Jaspreet Marwaha for. He has been instrumental in Reef Entertainment’s partnership with Japanese publisher NIS America, which has yielded such fruit as Persona 4 Golden and Danganronpa coming to the UK. Since he joined Reef in 2012, he has worked with the firm’s PR and marketing teams, as well as assisting with its community management. He has also helped out with various expo shows, such as MCM Comic Con.

KATE GRAY

TIM BREACH

Video Producer, GameSpot UK Age: 23

Senior Product Manager, Sega Europe Age: 28

Within just 18 months of working in the games industry, Kate Gray has already built up a healthy CV. She has held roles at Future, working on its Official Nintendo Magazine and Official Xbox Magazine titles as a staff writer, and creative firm Attention Seekers, where she helped launch its Xbox On YouTube channel. She recently joined GameSpot UK as a video producer, and in her spare time works on a number of podcasts, including her own, Toku Podcast, which she presents with freelance journalist Holly Nielsen.

www.mcvuk.com

Breach joined the games industry having worked for three years as international product manager for Universal Music. Now, he has swapped concerts for EGX and platinum-selling records for one of the biggest PC games on the market. His first role in the games sector was at Sega, where he took on the role of senior product manager for the Football Manager series.

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October 2nd 2015

30 UNDER THIRTY

JENNY BRAMMALL

JONATHAN EDWARDS

Commercial Services Coordinator, UKIE Age: 22

Senior Brand and Communications Executive, Konami Age: 26

Working at trade body UKIE, first as community and engagement assistant and then as commercial services coordinator, Jenny Brammall is already a well-known and well-loved member of the industry.

She helped manage UKIE’s largest-ever stand at Gamescom 2015, and assisted at GDC San Francisco and Game Connection Paris. That’s on top of her work with UKIE’s Video Game Ambassadors programme, as well as running UKIE’s student membership schemes.

Edwards joined the games industry from food and drink. He originally joined Konami to work on marketing strategies for Northern Europe. Since then, he has helped launch some of the publisher’s biggest titles, including Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. He is credited with putting PES back in front of a mainstream audience by collaborating with some of YouTube’s biggest games personalities.

KELSEY CHRISTOU

LAURA HENWOOD

Publicist, Premier PR Age: 25

London Team Manager, Event Prop Hire Age: 28

Kelsey joined Premier PR in 2012 and has already worked on the accounts of some of the biggest names in games, including The Pokémon Company, Multiplay, Warner Bros and King. She has more than proven her worth to the market, and is referred to as ‘the most dedicated and hard-working individual’ her nominee has ever met. If that wasn’t enough, she is learning to speak Japanese in her spare time.

Henwood is said to be one of the games industry’s unsung heroes. She manages Event Prop Hire’s London team, which works for the likes of Multiplay and GAME. She has been one of the biggest creative driving forces behind some of the industry’s best events this year, including Multiplay’s Minecraft event Minecon in July, as well as GAME’s new Galleon exhibition stand at Insomnia. Her creativity and passion are highlighted as bringing life to some of the most exciting events in the games industry.

LAURA KATE DALE

LAURA MCGREARY

UK Editor, Destructoid Age: 23

Senior Marketing Manager, Jagex Age: 29

Despite her hard work and excellent output, journalist Laura Kate Dale has faced sexism, homophobia and transphobia. But these challenges weren’t enough to phase her, and she has risen to be the UK editor of Destructoid.

She started her career working for MCM Comic Con website MCMBuzz.com for free, and helped found indie-focused website Indie Haven. She has written for a wide array of media outlets including Kotaku UK, The Guardian and Rock Paper Shotgun. She also works on six different podcasts, including Destructoid UK’s, The Jimquisition and Laura’s Gaming Butts.

McGreary joined Jagex – and the games industry – just two years ago as a marketing communications manager.

Now a senior marketing manager, she spearheads the comms strategy for the firm’s RuneScape MMO, as well as handling the relationship between the brand and the publisher’s PR teams. In addition, earlier this year, Laura orchestrated a charity campaign between RuneScape and the WWF, raising more than $150,000 in the process.

LUCY PULLINGER

MIKE ADEBAJO

Co-Owner, Loading Bar Age: 25

Marketing Executive, Square Enix Age: 27

Dalston’s Loading Bar has fast become one of the coolest games hangouts in London, and Lucy Pullinger is one of the main reasons why. She has helped with the organisation of games industry and community events, as well as the management of the bar and its patrons.

That’s on top of the Wednesday live streams, which she hosts alongside a number of other games industry personalities. If that wasn’t enough, she has developed a number of smaller games herself.

October 2nd 2015

According to his nominations, Adebajo has ‘always shown a passion for the marketing side of the games business’. He started out in the industry as an operations assistant in PlayStation’s Store team, where he helped to launch a number of games. He then moved to Square Enix, where he currently works as a marketing executive. He is also one of the hosts on the We See In Pixels podcast.

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www.mcvuk.com

30 UNDER THIRTY

NIALL MCGUINNESS

NICK MARSHALL

National Account Manager, Nintendo UK Age: 28

Social Media and Content Manager, Get Games Age: 25

A relatively new addition to the games industry, McGuinness joined Konami in 2014 as its national account manager.

There he was responsible for the firm’s day-to-day releationships with its UK and Irish accounts, including the likes of Amazon, The Hut and HMV, as well as some of the market’s biggest distributors. He was incredibly passionate about his work, and helped to launch record-breaking title Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Following this, he moved to Nintendo UK to serve as its national account manager.

Nick Marshall wears a number of different hats within the games industry. By day he works as both social media and content manager for Get Games and assistant producer for publisher Mastertronic, and is described as a ‘digital publishing and retail maestro’. By night, he has been known to moonlight for Hotline Miami publisher Devolver Digital, and is active within BAFTA, as well as the London indie community.

PATRICIA RYNIAK

PAUL WATSON

Associate Community Manager, Blizzard Entertainment Age: 24

Senior Account Manager, Gamer Network Age: 25

Ryniak joined the games industry in 2011, starting off as a marketing coordinator for Toronto-based developer TransGaming.

Since, she has held community roles at a number of high-profile UK-based studios including The Creative Assembly, NCSoft and SkySaga studio Radiant Worlds.

She is credited with having been the single-biggest influence on the growth of SkySaga’s community. Last month, she moved to Blizzard, where she will now be managing the World of Warcraft studio’s fandom.

Gamer Network’s Watson has fast become a force to be reckoned with in games marketing. He started his career as an intern at Green Man Gaming, where he was hired for his work aptitude and contributed to the retailer’s marketing and trade teams. He moved to Gamer Network as an advertising manager, before being hired by developer Curve Digital where he helped lead the company’s rebrand as an indie publisher. He returned to Gamer Network earlier this year, and he is working on a number of commercial projects.

PETER WILLINGTON

SARAH MOFFATT

Producer, Auroch Digital Age: 29

Specialist PR Manager, SCEE Age: 26

Willington will soon be leaving the world of journalism, but he departs with his head held high. As both the deputy editor of Pocket Gamer and the boss of its videofocused sibling AppSpy, in the last year he has turned the channel into a prominent mobile games outlet and set up Twitch’s most successful mobile stream to date with five million views. He has been described to MCV as a standout employee. Now, he joins Auroch Digital as a producer.

Aged just 26, Moffatt is credited as the glue that holds PlayStation’s UK PR team together and is not only popular within the industry, but incredibly talented, too.

She has overseen the Sony developer sessions at EGX for two years in a row, and has delivered a great line-up for those in attendance including An Uncharted Retrospective with Naughty Dog and The Journey of PlayStation VR, as well as development boss Shuhei Yoshida’s recent look back at PlayStation’s 20 years.

SEAN TOOLE

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Content Manager, Green Man Gaming Age: 27 Since he joined the digital retailer in 2012, Sean Toole has been invaluable for his expertise in managing Green Man Gaming and Green Man Loaded’s digital stock and providing support for its commercial and marketing activities. He is praised for his utter dedication to the cause, and for being able to quickly create pages and content for new products to ensure the smoothest releases possible across the globe.

www.mcvuk.com

Dave Jewitt (GameSpot UK), Gareth Bagg (Bandai Namco), Graham Day (Konami), George Osborn (freelance journalist), Holly Nielsen (freelance journalist), Lydia Ellery (Edelman), Jon Blayney (Xtreme Gaming), Natalie Johnson (Green Man Gaming), Daniela Pietrosanu (Premier PR), Ben Perkin (Attention Seekers), Omar Khan (Titan Books).

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October 2nd 2015

NEWS

More publishers back Digital Counts

GamesAid raises an astonishing £564,000

by Christopher Dring

by Christopher Dring

NCSOFT, 505 and Slitherine have added their support for MCV’s Digital Counts campaign.

The push is designed to encourage publishers to be more open with their digital data so that we as an industry can learn about the massive digital marketplace, as well as make a more accurate games chart.

Supporters for the campaign currently include the entire games media - such as IGN, Eurogamer, GameSpot, Kotaku and GI.biz. That’s on top of publishers Sega, Ripstone and Curve and emerging studios, like Rocket League creators Psyonix.

Now NCSoft, Slitherine and 505 Games have voiced their support.

“NCSoft fully supports Digital Counts,” said John Davis, NCSoft Europe boss. “As a leading MMO firm, this level of transparency will help support a healthy industry by providing an important view of product performance regardless of the platform or distribution mechanism used.”

Slitherine’s marketing director Marco Minoli added: “It’s great to finally see an initiative that sets the tone for the industry’s future and proactively campaigns for a different approach in researching market trends.

“Digital Counts may be the start of a new, data-driven, market research system that truly reflects purchase behaviours. We look forward to giving our contribution in the implementation of a new reliable system that tracks digital sales across all channels.”

GAMESAID has once again smashed its funding record and is giving away more money to more charities.

The UK industry charity, which raises money for disadvantaged young people, raised £564,000 over the last year - up 29 per cent compared with the year previously. Since GamesAid’s inception, the charity has raised £1.7m in its eight-year history.

After a nominations and voting process amongst GamesAid members, the charity has split that £564,000 between eight charities - the biggest number of recipients yet.

Accuro, Action for Kids, Clock Tower Sanctuary, Lifelites, MAPS, Safe At Last, SpecialEffect

October 2nd 2015

Eight organisations to receive £70,500 each in funding from UK industry charity

Stand Up For GamesAid was one of the charity’s biggest events this year

and Jigsaw 4 U have all received £70,500 each.

The cheques were handed to the charities at an emotional ceremony at Warner House on Wednesday.

GamesAid events this year have included the Stand Up For

GamesAid comedy night, the GamesAid Golf day, the Brighton Poker Night and a variety of Humble Bundle initiatives.

Anyone who is part of the UK games industry can become a member of GamesAid for free, simply visit gamesaid.org.

Industry veterans set up new accessories firm INDUSTRY veterans Alan Jones and Matthew Allen have founded a new peripheral firm called Prif.

Jones is the former general manager of Goodbetterbest, while Allen’s career includes stints at Nintendo UK, Sega Europe as well as heading up distributor Trilogy.

The company is working with SCEE and will be producing the officially-licensed Freedom 1 wireless headset for PS4 and PS3.

Prif hopes to expand its portfolio of licences in the coming year.

“Our aim is to build an accessories brand with global reach and a strong focus on technology and innovation,” Jones told MCV. “There are a lot of companies selling accessories, but not many brands. Prif has great respect for some of the leaders in the sector, but we feel that the time is right for a fresh, new major player in the accessories market. We believe that our focus on quality,

Prif is headed up by Jones (far left) and Allen (left), and is producing SCEElicensed headsets

We feel that the time is right for a fresh, new major player in the accessories market.

Alan Jones, Prif

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the right technical solution and unique IP will allow us to compete – several of our products have design registration and one has a potential patent pending.

“Our focus on engaging with the end user and creating demand for our range will create a brand that differentiates us from some of the players focused only on price.”

www.mcvuk.com

NEWS

THE EDITOR

Channel 4 wants an Inbetweeners game Publishing arm All 4 Games open to licensed pitches

by James Batchelor CHANNEL 4 wants devs to make games based on its hit franchises.

The newly-announced publishing arm All 4 Games is focusing on mobile titles to begin with, but the firm’s head, Colin MacDonald, says it is hoping to explore other platforms.

While the team is looking for original games, it will also consider pitches for titles based on the broadcaster’s popular shows – and Inbetweeners is top of MacDonald’s wishlist.

“The Inbetweeners is one we’ve wanted to do but not found the right way to do it yet,” he said. “We’re always open to ideas.

“I’m keen to not always have games made based on TV IP. “The dream is to get titles coming through All 4 Games that are successful and prove they can get a big audience.

Then I can go to my TV and film commissioning counterparts and say ‘look at these amazing worlds, characters and stories that have a great community – can we talk about a TV show’?”

All 4 Games will also use Channel 4 to promote its titles.

“If it’s a driving or shooting game that appeals to young males, we can promote it in between Inbetweeners or Misfits,” MacDonald explained. “If it’s a female-skewing game we can promote it between Hollyoaks.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PLAYSTATION

I

t was fascinating speaking with the PlayStation UK team of 20-years ago (see page 12). Only because it reinforces the old sentiment that the more things change, the more things stay the same.

A desire to do things differently, to win over small firms, recognising indie retailers as ‘the biggest multiple retailer’, its approach to local, inventive marketing... you’d be forgiven for thinking I had been speaking to the current PlayStation team.

It is reassuring that after 20 years, the culture and philosophy that makes a company a success can still endure. ..............

Speaking of success, last week was another excellent EGX. Some moaned about travelling to Birmingham, but I quite liked heading out of the capital.

Of course, if you’d rather your expos took place closer to head office, the good news is that MCM Expo is finally stepping up with GamerMania.

MCM has always had a strong presence in games, and the July date seems right: slap bang in the middle of the summer holidays and between E3 and Gamescom. If it gets this right, the UK could again be the first place European fans will be able to play those newly-announced E3 titles.

It’s not a done deal. The recent Legends of Gaming debacle proves that launching a games event is not a sure thing.

But it’s definitely a move worth paying attention to.

A game based on The Inbetweeners is top of All 4 Games boss Macdonald’s wish list

SPONSORED BY

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

1

UNCHARTED: THE NATHAN DRAKE COLLECTION (PS4)

2

Halo 5: Guardians +Pre-order DLC (XO)

Microsoft

3

Fallout 4 (PS4)

Bethesda

4

Rise of the Tomb Raider + Pre-order DLC (XO)

Microsoft

5

Disgaea 5 Alliance of Vengeance Launch Day Edition (PS4)

6

Master Chief Xbox One Special Edition Controller (XO)

Microsoft

7

Fallout 4 + Fallout 3 (XO)

Bethesda

8

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer + Pre-order DLC (3DS)

Nintendo

9

WWE 2K16 + Pre-order DLC (PS4)

10

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate + Pre-order DLC (PS4)

www.mcvuk.com

SONY

NIS America

2K Games Ubisoft

09

It’s reassuring that after 20 years, the culture that makes a company a success can still endure. ..............

One of MCV’s friends this week asked us when we were going to give up on our Digital Counts ‘PR stunt’ and re-print the charts.

Apparently, by continuing to report boxed game sales (see over the page) we are somehow being disingenuous.

We still print that data because the boxed market remains critical – around 80 per cent of the big games are sold physically.

But the charts are harder to justify. The Top 40 appears on our website on Monday, so what can we do in print on Friday to make them different? Historically we’ve offered extra insight and analysis, but that’s becoming increasingly challenging.

Take FIFA 16. Sales of that game are seven per cent down.

Are players losing interest? Is it due to the drop off in 360 and PS3? Did EA get its marketing wrong?

Or... was the game not actually down at all, and those ‘lost sales’ were actually made digitally.

Without knowing the latter, it’s disingenuous to speculate on the former. Our ability to analyse the market with the data we have just isn’t good enough.

For now. cdring@nbmedia.com

October 2nd 2015

CHEAT SHEET

UP & DOWN

Market Data The FIFA effect sees games market revenue more than quadruple to hit £54.3m

£60m £15m

DESTINY add-on The Taken King sees sales drop 70 per cent, but holds on to second place

£54.3m 1,278,359 units

£30m £30m

£7.5m 252,710 units

£11.7m 333,279 units

Week Ending September 12th

Week Ending September 19th

Week Ending September 26th

FIFA 16 debuts at the top of the charts, to noone’s surprise

IS VR THE FUTURE THIS WEEK?

EVENT CALENDAR OCTOBER 2015 ..................................................................................

GAMES MEDIA AWARDS 2015 Bloomsbury Ballroom, London Wednesday, October 14th Q Celebrates the achievements and stars of the UK games media Q Three new awards added in this year GAMES FUNDING FORUM 2015 Rich Mix, London, UK Thursday, October 14th Q Half-day conference and networking event for developers looking for funding advice Q Speakers include Green Man Gaming’s Paul Sulyok, Mercia Technologies’ Mike Hayes, Ella Romanos of Strike Gamelabs and Jaspal Sohal from Creative England

YES

MCM COMIC CON LONDON ExCel London, London, UK Friday, October 23rd – Sunday, October 25th Q The UK’s biggest pop culture event

Whether it’s VR, augmented reality or participatory theatre, the idea that stories can be told in a frameless environment is what’s exciting.

NOVEMBER 2015 ..................................................................................

INTERFACE St Mary’s Church, near Baker Street, London, UK Thursday, November 12th Q B2B content marketplace for games pitching Q Visit www.interface.events for more details

October 2nd 2015

James Milward, Secret Locations

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www.mcvuk.com

CHEAT SHEET

PRESENTS

5 SECOND FACTS

THE NEWS IN 140 CHARACTERS The Tweets you might have missed in the last seven days

Your shortcut to sounding clever in the pub, we take you around the industry in under 30 seconds

SAMSUNG’S GEAR VR VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSET WILL COST $99

2/5

Samsung unveiled the price and launch date for its virtual reality headset, the Gear VR, at the Oculus Connect 2 conference. Powered by the Galaxy line of smartphones and co-developed with Oculus, the Gear VR will cost $99 (£65) upon release this November.

Bookie Betway expects FIFA 16 to be the best-selling game of 2015, at odds of 2/5

29th Comic Con host MCM has announced its GamerMania event.

It will be held at ExCel London from July 29th to 31st, 2016

@RealBenGilbert It’s super interesting that Samsung and Oculus basically had a multi-model evolving beta as a consumer product in the Gear VR.

@Toadsanime With Samsung Gear VR costing $99, Sony may have difficulty selling PlayStation VR for $400 as planned. #Oculus

Ryan Brown, Coin Arcade Thursday, September 24th

130m

Ben Gilbert, Tech Insider Thursday, September 24th

FIFA CLAIMS UK NO.1

LEGO DIMENSIONS JOINS THE TOYS-TO-LIFE WAR

FIFA 16 has claimed its traditional UK charts top spot, despite physical sales dropping seven per cent. Rival footie instalment PES 16 fell to sixth, as discussions over which title is superior raged on.

With returning franchises Skylanders Superchargers and Disney Infinity 3.0 already on shelves, toys-to-life newcomer LEGO Dimensions landed in stores last Tuesday, September 29th.

@LukePlunkett I’ve spent years defending sports games from the need to constantly update, but FIFA 16 needs work.

Luke Plunkett, Kotaku Wednesday, September 23rd

@scully1888 Tomorrow’s Lego Dimensions day and I’m pumped.

Screw the haters. Every level pack pre-ordered.

Chris Scullion, freelance journalist Monday, September 28th

@TheSteveBurnio Not played too much of FIFA, but the players still move and turn like boats so no deal.

PS4 will be the top console of this generation, with 120-130m lifetime sales, according to analyst Michael Pachter

£197 The consumer version of the Oculus Rift VR headset will cost ‘at least’ $300 (£197), according to VP of product Nate Mitchell

@RayWillmott LEGO Dimensions is pure joy. Clever writing & fun moments, built on a solid premise & quality foundations. Batman v Wicked Witch of the West FTW. Ray Willmott, Big Cake Games Monday, September 28th

Steve Burns, VideoGamer Tuesday, September 22nd

1 Activision has revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops III on PS3 and Xbox 360 will not include the game’s single-player mode Xbox ONE Rock Candy Wired Controller - PDP Design and manufacture the Officially Licenced Microsoft Rock Candy Wired Controller for Xbox ONE europesales@pdp.com

www.pdp.com

GAMESAID THIS WEEK ....................................................

PLAY YOUR PART BECOME A MEMBER AMBASSADOR TRUSTEE WWW.GAMESAID.ORG

www.mcvuk.com

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

GLOWBEAR’S 8BIT HIKE

GAMES ON SONG 2015

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Developer HotGen is going the extra mile for GamesAid by taking part in the Mens Health Survival of the Fittest on November 21st. If you think completing a 5km run through a 20-obstacle course is worth donating to, visit www. justgiving.com/HotGen-Ltd

Claire Sh, also known as Glowbear, is walking and climbing Mt Muckish in Ireland this December. It’s Claire’s second ‘8bit Hike’, although this one will be a bit chillier due to its Winter timing. Vist www.justgiving. com/glowbear to donate.

Hark, the herald angels sing: Games on Song is back.

The games industry Christmas choir will perform at St Stephen’s Church in London on December 16th.

Stay up-to-date and get involved at www.facebook .com/GamesOnSong

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October 2nd 2015

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

Carmody new UKIE Chair as Payne ends 10-year reign Sega takes on EA vet Sheridan O Attention Seekers bolsters Xbox On brand O Phipps departs Videogamer UKIE | Revolution Software COO and co-founder NOIRIN CARMODY has been named UKIE Chair.

She replaces ANDY PAYNE, who steps down after more than ten years in the role. Payne will remain with UKIE on the Board and take up the role of treasurer, replacing Sega’s JOHN CLARK. Clark joins the Board alongside SIMON BARRATT (Barog Game Labs), TIM WOODLEY (505 Games), KIRSTY RIGDEN (Futurlab) and KATHERINE BIDWELL (State of Play Games).

IAN LIVINGSTONE remains vice Chair of UKIE. UKIE CEO Dr JO TWIST said: “It’s wonderful to have 25 per cent female representation on

October 2nd 2015

JON ROOKE, European marketing director, said: “I’m delighted to have someone of Dan’s calibre and industry standing on board to help move Sega forward in this space. His appointment will continue to drive us forward with building highly engaged communities around our diverse portfolio of Sega titles.”

the Board. We have an exciting 12 months ahead and I look forward to working with the new Board on continuing our hard work towards making the UK the best place in the world to make and sell games.”

SEGA | Former EA UK social and community manager DAN SHERIDAN has joined Sega.

He has been hired by the publisher as community and social marketing manager. He spent nine years at EA, working on brands including Battlefield, Need for Speed and Titanfall.

He left EA in April 2015, and moved to Maker Studios, where he worked as head of its gaming partnerships until July.

ATTENTION SEEKERS | The creative agency has announced that ELLEN ROSE is joining its Xbox On team.

Rose has come on board as a video producer and presenter. She has her

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own YouTube channel called IckleNellieRose, which has over 20,000 subscribers.

Also joining Xbox On as a contributor is freelance journalist JULIA HARDY, who will be writing and presenting games content for the channel.

This follow the departure of Xbox On’s KATE GRAY, who moved to GameSpot UK in September.

VIDEOGAMER | Guides editor BRETT PHIPPS is leaving.

He is moving to The Indepedent to work as the paper’s SEO assistant.

Phipps joined Videogamer in 2013 as a staff writer before being promoted to guides editor in February 2014.

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OPINION

ANALYSIS

How to beat the ad blockers this Christmas buying for family may want to know more about a game’s target age group or necessary hardware.

When working with Shop Direct we found that insights from infrequent customers can be pooled, so you can still derive insights even from occasional shoppers.

LUKE GRIFFITHS, head of Marketing Solutions EMEA at eBay Enterprise, reveals how games firms can bypass troublesome ad blockers and get their message to consumers this Christmas

W

hile the nation soaked up the summer, games retailers were already planning their Christmas marketing campaigns. We hear the usual challenges around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but one that is causing real concern in the games industry this year is the uptake of ad blocking software.

Ad blocking software is particularly prolific amongst techsavvy gamers, who use it more than other groups according to publishers like IGN, Videogamer and Eurogamer. Research from Page Fair showed ad blocker usage increased 82 per cent during the past year to 12 million active monthly users in the UK – and Apple’s decision to include it in its iOS 9 update could bring the practice further into the mainstream.

But ad blocking should be seen as an opportunity to excel: brands that make ads relevant avoid getting blocked. Here are our top four tips for how to make your marketing campaigns most effective this Christmas and avoid being blocked by festive shoppers.

2. USE ADVANCED ATTRIBUTION Advanced attribution tools allow brands to track the consumer journey across every device, platform or channel used in a purchase, in order to provide a comprehensive view of customer behaviour. This helps brands to identify any bottlenecks that are preventing sales and move fast to fix them. It also helps indicate which channels are leading to sales and where investment is less effective, such as those channels

Ad blocker usage increased 82 per cent during the past year to 12 million active monthly users in the UK. Luke Griffiths, eBay Enterprise

3. DON’T FORGET EMAIL Email marketing offers a way to reach customers using a medium that has never gone out of fashion and is unaffected by ad blockers.

One way to add value through email is to follow up on abandoned baskets and incomplete purchases by offering discounts or other perks to entice shoppers back to their basket on your site: some of the email campaigns that we run show that one to two days after viewing is generally the best time to retarget via email. Closer to Christmas, you should consider shortening this timeline, as many shoppers will be making lastminute purchases and may be weighing up what is on offer from other brands at the same time.

4. CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH AFFILIATES Affiliate marketing allows retailers to outsource their marketing by getting influential third parties, like shopping websites, to promote their products and pay them based on the sales they generate. This is particularly important at Christmas when competition for space is fierce.

The uptake in ad blockers does not mean the end of browser advertising: rather, it is an opportunity for the industry to up its game. Deploying well-targeted ads based on observed insights can convince users not to enable their ad blockers without brands having to pay any more for the privilege. Modern shoppers expect a two-way dialogue with brands, and marketers should keep that front of mind in their approach to display this festive season.

1. SEGMENT YOUR AUDIENCE Data is king: the more you know about the shopper and their needs, the better you can target them.

Gathering this data allows you to distinguish regular shoppers from those buying for a friend or family member and, in turn, target them in a different way based on their needs. For example, gamers that make frequent purchases will look for technical information around gameplay and reviews, while those

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where ad blocking is preventing sales. Brands should remain flexible and be prepared to divert resources on the fly in order to get the most return for their marketing spend in the run up to Christmas.

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October 2nd 2015

20 YEARS OF PLAYSTATION

How PlayStation conquered Europe 20 years ago, the vast underdogs at PlayStation upset the natural order and unseated Sega and Nintendo at the top of the video games industry. Christopher Dring speaks to former Sony execs Ian Hetherington, Chris Deering, Phil Harrison, Ray Maguire, Doug Goodwin, Simon Jobling and Alan Welsman to find out how they did it

“T

hree weeks after they bought my company, Sony introduced me to a busted photocopier with chips hanging out of it, and said: ‘This is the PlayStation’” Ian Hetherington was the boss of Psygnosis – the developer/ publisher that Sony acquired in 1993. And his first impression of Sony’s new console was not good.

“Quite frankly, it was not fit for purpose when we got involved with it,” he tells MCV. “The Japanese view of it was you put the CD in, you load the software, you take the CD out. They still thought of it as a cartridge. We looked at the specs andupgraded the CD drive and the memory so that we had enough memory to stream.”

Sony did not have a good reputation in the games business before the launch of PlayStation.

It operated a publishing and distribution division under the name of Sony Electronic Publishing, and its games were hardly setting the industry alight.

“We were almost a laughing stock,” recalls Alan Welsman, who began at Sony Electronic Publishing before leading the PR for PlayStation’s UK launch.

“We were distributing Sega and Nintendo products for a few years, and I was going out and seeing all the journalists across Europe with all these games. One game was Last Action Hero, and that got reviewed as a minus-six by one French journalist who said its only use was as a doorstop.

“Everyone said we’d be like Philips [which launched the failed

October 2nd 2015

Phil Harrison was Sony’s first ever games employee in Europe

“By December 1993, we did our first European developer event.

That’s when we really started, showing these studios what was coming, what the specs were and what our plan was. What we were proposing technologically was such a leap forward that people were convinced that we were delusional. I remember [Argonaut Software founder] Jez San in particular challenging us and wanting to see the dev kits, because he was convinced they were running on a $100,000 Silicon Graphics workstation.”

Hetherington adds: “I did the keynote at that event, and we internally built the launch catalogue effectively. That involved recruiting people like DMA Design who did Lemmings, recruiting the Reflections boys who did Shadow of the Beast and then Destruction Derby, there was Martin Chudley at Bizarre Creations who did an F1 game, Traveller’s Tales who did a Pixar product. It was a purple period.

CDi console] and that we would turn and run, because we were a hardware company, not a games company. But the purchase of Psygnosis meant that we were able to cement the software side with the hardware side, which shouldn’t be underestimated.”

ALL ABOUT THE GAMES The Japanese launch of PlayStation had gone down a storm in December 1994, buoyed by support from leading Japanese developers such as Namco.

Yet the US and Europe needed an entirely different line-up. To begin with, the man tasked with finding those games was a young Phil Harrison – who joined Sony Electronic Publishing back in September 1992.

“I was the first employee in Europe at the office, which was a spare room in my house in Sussex for quite a few months,” says Harrison. “And then we acquired Psygnosis in early 1993 and we just went from there.

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These were all homegrown Psygnosis developers.

And I think at the first Christmas we had 80 per cent market share in software sales.”

Of course, the game that would go on to define the launch of PlayStation was a certain futuristic racer.

“The thing that made PlayStation cool, beyond any shadow of a doubt, was Wipeout,” continues Hetherington. “The music we put in was Chemical Brothers and Leftfield. It was a statement piece, it said this console is cool, it’s 3D and for the 18 to 25 age group.”

Ray Maguire, who was leading PlayStation UK at the time, remembers: “We weren’t producing the same kind of games as Sega and Nintendo.

Our titles were just awesome and absolutely showed off the power of the PlayStation. Psygnosis and Phil were fundamental to that. CD music sales were roaring at the time, and having the ability to use the likes of The Chemical Brothers as part of the music allowed us to go to a 20-something audience.”

What’s more, the European team wanted as many games as possible on the format. And, despite objections from the US, made it easy for developers to build games for the system.

“We simplified the approval process to a one-step system,” says Chris Deering, the first European president of PlayStation.

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20 YEARS OF PLAYSTATION

PlayStation changed how the games were sold overnight

“We had disagreements with the US. They thought we were too loose, they thought we should be more guarded with our approval process. But the Japanese were more on our side. They were saying: ‘Why not let the consumer decide what games to buy?’”

RETAIL CHARM OFFENSIVE Sony’s famous 1990s tagline was Do Not Underestimate The Power Of The PlayStation, and that was probably because at the beginning, pretty much everyone did. Including Sony.

“I remember the very first business plan for PlayStation that we did in June 1995,” says Deering.

“We said that over the course of the first four years, the whole of PlayStation Europe would do 4m consoles and 13m game discs [laughs]. Do you believe that? By the fourth year, we probably did 8m in just that year. We had no idea that it was going to be this successful. We were up against these mighty, mighty end-of-level bosses in the form of Sega and Nintendo. You had 3DO and CDi and things like that go nowhere.

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The path was strewn with the carcasses of those that attempted to go after Nintendo and Sega and failed. It was not a pleasant sight.

We were scared to go to battle with these guys.”

The existence of Sony Electronic Publishing in the years before PlayStation’s launch proved crucial. By distributing and publishing games on Nintendo and Sega consoles, Sony was building a relationship with the market, and learning a thing or two about the power of independent retailers.

“We learnt a lot about pricing, distribution, forecasting and basically creating the trade contacts that we would inevitably work with,” says Doug Goodwin, who was commercial director for PlayStation UK back in 1995.

“That work was done 18 months before the PlayStation launched, and it taught us how important the independent retail sector was.

“While it was important for us to secure listings with the more dominant High Street brands, such as Comet and Argos, the opinion formers were – without

The path was strewn with carcasses of those that attempted to go after Nintendo and Sega and failed.

We were scared.

Chris Deering, former PlayStation Europe president

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doubt – the independent trade. Gamers went into that environment and engaged with the store owners. They sparred with them in terms of gaming knowledge. And in that environment the endorsement, or a recommendation for our platform, was gold dust.”

Goodwin went out of his way to win over the indies. He treated them like a multiple. He took PlayStation on a regional tour to do product demonstrations, and even launched an intranet system where indies could plug in their data, and in return would receive point-of-sale materials – the sort of posters and standees usually reserved for the likes of Dixons.

“We were looking to engender hearts and minds, and we saw the indies as the biggest opinion formers in influencing the consumer,” says Goodwin.

Goodwin did several other different things in trying to support the trade back in 1995, including taking PlayStation games into

October 2nd 2015

20 YEARS OF PLAYSTATION

TEAM PLAYSTATION: (From left to right) Ian Hetherington, Ray Maguire, Simon Jobling and Alan Welsman

Blockbuster. But the biggest thing that won over the retailers and the publishers back in the mid-1990s, was the strength of the disc.

“People don’t realise just how awful that cartridge business was,” says Harrison.

“You had to pre-pay for your cartridges and they took about eight weeks to arrive. The amount of cash you had tied up as a publisher was just extraordinary.

You had to have all of your inventory locked up ahead of time. You’d either ordered too few because you were being conservative and the market would dry up or, more likely, you’d order too many and you’d have to cut the price to shift them. Just to own it in your warehouse costs as much as $14 a cartridge. It was a horrific business.

“With CDs, we could turn around re-orders within a matter of days.”

Cartridges had a minimum order of around 5,000. It was a very risky model, and the result was that publishers viewed PlayStation and its CD-based system as a more viable platform.

Sony also helped publishers in destroying any unsold stock.

“We wanted publishers to want to put their games out on

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“The Saturn was supposed to launch after us, and they suddenly got panicky when they saw the software that we were going to launch with, and they decided to get it out first and they cocked it up,” says Simon Jobling, former PlayStation UK marketing director.

“They may have gone first. But they didn’t have the games.”

PlayStation first, because it was the more profitable console,” Goodwin adds.

MARKETING MATTERS The publishers and the retailers were on side ahead of PlayStation’s September 29th, 1995 European launch. But the single most important group to win over were the consumers.

PlayStation was already making a name for itself before its arrival.

The Japanese launch had gone down well, while the first ever E3 in May was a huge success. It was here that US chief Steve Race delivered his famous one-word ‘$299’ speech – undercutting the price of Sega Saturn.

“There was a miscommunication the night before and the actual price hadn’t been approved by Japan when Steve Race said: ‘299’,” recalls Deering. “It wasn’t his fault, he was told to go ahead. But there were some really anxious moments after that speech. It turned out to be very fortuitous.”

Sega Saturn was having its own issues. Sega, panicked by the momentum of PlayStation, decided to bring the launch of its console forward by months. A move that backfired.

The endorsement or recommendation for our platform from an indie retailer was like gold dust.

Doug Goodwin, ex-PlayStation UK commercial boss

Having been gifted a golden opportunity to succeed where others had failed, PlayStation set out its plans to do an altogether different advertising campaign.

“I remember looking out of my offices on Sonic 2sday [launch of Sonic 2 in 1992],” says Goodwin.

“They had a launch party at The Ark in Hammersmith. The strength of the brand and its punch

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PlayStation targeted an adult audience with its ads, such as this one for Wipeout

capability was very impressive.

We had to do something different.”

GOING UNDERGROUND The TV campaign centred around ‘The Society Against PlayStation’, which were a series of ads featuring an activist group warning against the ‘power of the PlayStation’. This was used throughout Europe, but all other PR and marketing was handled by the individual territories. And the UK team had some unique ideas on how to sell PlayStation.

“We went out to every kind of influential place that we could get into, we did parties, we went to celebs, and we just put them in front of the PlayStation and said ‘have a go on that’,” says Maguire.

Jobling adds: “We tried to focus on what we saw as the core proposition – which was the power of the machine. We sponsored speed boats and boxer Prince Naseem, it was all to build up in people’s minds that the PlayStation was powerful.

“We had this endorsement campaign where we sent machines to around 100 to 200 people from different walks of life, from fashion, music, sport and entertainment, amongst others.

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20 YEARS OF PLAYSTATION

“When it was announced that Sony was going into video games hardware, the general feeling in the industry wasn’t: ‘This is going to be a slam dunk.’ It was: ‘What the hell does Sony know about games?’ So the early marketing was all about establishing the credibility of Sony. The games helped, but we had to do a serious long-term branding job.”

The campaign would also get a bit edgy in places as it skewed to an older demographic. They gave away ‘postcards’ at Glastonbury, which would inevitably be used for rolling joints. They covered Westminster in graffiti (see Graffiti Wars). They even installed ‘chill out rooms’ in clubs such as the Ministry of Sound, which were refrigerated rooms that featured some cushions, a TV and a PlayStation so that clubbers could cool down during nights out.

“It wasn’t as in-your-face as the Sega advertising,” says Deering.

“This was more music-orientated.

It was on the money for the times.

It really made a huge difference to the success of the brand, not just in the UK, but across Europe.”

Joining Jobling in creating a lot of these initiatives was influential marketer Geoff Glendenning.

“He was an unsung hero of the PlayStation launch,” insists Deering. “He was the one that took note of the Triangle, Square, Circle, X buttons, and he started using that as a sort-of underground code for the brand. To this day now those four symbols have become used universally by PlayStation. It became the Nike swoosh of PlayStation. He came up with that.”

A classic CTW cover on Sony’s plans to win over games publishers

GRAFFITI WARS PLAYSTATION’S ‘edgy’ marketing activity always flirted with going too far, and one day it did.

“We hired a street marketing agency to go around and graffiti lampposts and things like that, all around the City of London,” says former UK marketing director Simon Jobling.

“That sparked off one of those establishment issues. We received a letter on the second morning after this graffiti campaign had hit the streets from the City of Westminster Council, where they gave us four days to get this graffiti off or all hell would break lose.

We got worried that Sony Corporation would hear about this, because this really wasn’t something they would approve of at all. So there was this panic where we were like: ‘Can we get this stuff off?’ So we had these people scurrying around Westminster trying to clean this

up, before Sony Japan could get wind of it.

Former UK commercial director Doug Goodwin laughs: “We had a clean-up team that removed that graffiti instantly.

We stretched the envelope, we stretched the legalities as far as we could, but we had to be very careful. Sony was really worried about PlayStation. It was a big step for them. Sony at the time was something your dad had. He had the Sony sound system. The Walkman had been a success, but consumers didn’t even really relate that with Sony at the time. Sony was not seen as a brand for the youth.

“But we had to be careful, because this was a global brand with significant presence. And even with what we did, we had to keep the integrity of what the Sony brand stood for, so we didn’t make any major mistakes that warranted Japan coming in and giving us a hard time.”

FOR THE LOVE OF EUROPE A decent price, strong games, a controversial advertising campaign, support from retail and love from the media – including Edge and The Face – helped PlayStation fly. It reached an older audience than Nintendo or Sega had managed and the machine was almost constantly sold-out in the lead up to Christmas.

That sell-out was partly driven by the fact Sony decided to launch PlayStation in ten

PR stunts included these ‘lemmings’ on the London Underground

October 2nd 2015

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European countries – which was more than its rivals ever did. A move that Deering insisted upon.

“The Japanese arm of Sony were looking at Europe through the eyes of their mates at Sega and Nintendo, who said that if you get France, Germany and UK, you basically have Europe and Europe is roughly half the US,” he says.

“Before I joined PlayStation, I had 20 years experience in international markets. I knew that Europe had the same population as the US and the same per-capita income as the US. “I thought Nintendo and Sega were being lazy on producing translated versions. And they were dealing with distributors that were taking the mick with the video games industry. I remember saying to Ken Kutaragi [PlayStation CEO at the time] that Europe can have the same install base as the US. He laughed and said: ‘In your dreams, go for it.’

And it did happen. We localised in multiple languages, we worked hard and made it happen.”

PlayStation rolled into the market in 1995 and transformed the games industry. The business model, the target audience, the advertising – the industry changed overnight. Sony took on Nintendo and Sega’s duopoly and won, and its loyalty and support for Europe continues to pay dividends to this day.

“We knew that if we cocked this up, it wasn’t just a case of moving company, but moving industry,” says Goodwin. “Who is going to take on a failed format employee?

We had to make this work. But it wasn’t pressure. This was pride.”

Jobling adds: “We were all committed to it and we all loved it. We worked hard, we went out, we had a good time, and we did a lot in a short amount of time. Yes we were tense about if we would pull it off, but from the day it hit the market it just went. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in a job.”

Hetherington concludes: “I still do a lot in video games today. But the best period of my career, by a country mile, was going from that busted photocopier to the launch of PlayStation.”

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33

rd

WE’RE BACK AT INDIGO2!

The Golden Joystick Awards are BACK, will be broadcast live online, and this year presented by author and comedian DANNY WALLACE.

LIMITED NUMBER OF TABLES DON’T MISS OUT!

The Golden Joystick Awards celebrate the very best in the gaming industry and are the only annual awards voted for by gamers, garnering over nine million votes last year.

The Venue Now in its 33rd year, the awards ceremony will return to London’s IndigO2 with a three-course meal provided by the award-winning Gaucho restaurant.

Industry Afterparty The exclusive afterparty complete with live entertainment will be held at one of London’s hottest and most sought after party locations, the Brooklyn Bowl in the O2 Arena.

When

Friday 30th October 2015

To book tables or explore sponsorship opportunities please contact Andrew Church on andrew.church@futurenet.com

Media partners:

Sponsored by:

Table sales are now open for the greatest gaming event on the planet!

A table for 12 people is just £4,320 which includes: – Champagne reception – Three-course meal provided by the award-winning Gaucho restaurant – Golden Joysticks Awards ceremony – Entry to awards afterparty

THE BIG GAME ASSASSIN’S CREED SYNDICATE

ASSASSIN’S CREED SYNDICATE

Capital gains Last year’s Assassin’s Creed Unity was a misstep for Ubisoft’s blockbuster historical action series. It was clear that whatever followed would have to be something special. With a new studio leading development, can Assassin’s Creed Syndicate turn it around? Matthew Jarvis asks game director Scott Phillips Release Date: October 23rd Formats: PS4, Xbox One, PC Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Quebec

F

or all its sunwashed Parisian streets, gleaming guillotine blades and sharply-dressed citizens, Ubisoft probably didn’t expect the enduring image of Assassin’s Creed Unity to be the startling sight of two eyes and a mouth grinning in mid-air.

Yet, for some, this was the symbol of the game’s troubled launch last year. Unity’s headline features – including dense, life-like crowds, refined core gameplay mechanics and the photorealistic recreation of French Revolution-era Paris – were overlooked in favour of graphical bugs and connectivity struggles.

There were passionate defenders of the title, who pointed out the title’s engaging lead characters, enjoyable co-op modes and gorgeous visuals, and a series of post-release patches corrected the gripes of critics, but, in many ways, the damage was done.

October 2nd 2015

from series creator and longterm lead development studio Ubisoft Montreal.

Phillips says that the team is ready to make its distinct impression on Ubisoft’s bestselling series.

“The reason I joined Ubisoft Quebec was, in talking to the team, I was able to see their excitement and how engaged and ready they were to take the reins of Assassin’s Creed and really deliver something awesome,” he recounts. “For them, they finally have a chance to prove themselves.

“Working on a collaboration is great and they’ve learned a lot, but being able to take the reins, Scott Phillips, Ubisoft Quebec really do something that’s their own and prove themselves has been very, very important.”

Quebec won’t be going it completely alone; other Ubisoft studios will be helping out on the project, just as Quebec

Unity set a challenge for the next game in the annual series: continue to build on the franchise’s near-decade-long legacy, while simultaneously proving to long-term fans that Assassin’s Creed is only on the up-and-up. The title to step up to the mark is this year’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.

Being able to take the reins, really do something our own and prove ourselves has been very, very important.

QUEBEC AND CALL Scott Phillips, game director for Syndicate, is reticent to discuss Unity’s much-discussed tribulations. It’s little surprise: he didn’t actually work on the game.

His team at studio Ubisoft Quebec did, but only in a support capacity, as they had done on every core console Assassin’s Creed entry since 2010’s Brotherhood.

Syndicate will mark the first time Quebec takes the leading role in the creation of a new Assassin’s Creed, taking over

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ASSASSIN’S CREED SYNDICATE THE BIG GAME

SYNDICATE SPECS 2014’S Assassin’s Creed Unity marked the first instalment in the franchise to come to PS4 and Xbox One. But last year didn’t mark the series’ complete departure from the older machines, thanks to the simultaneous launch of Assassin’s Creed Rogue on PS3 and Xbox 360.

New entry Assassin’s Creed Syndicate heralds the full transition of the IP over to PS4 and Xbox One, with the game also coming to PC. “I can only speak for us and, because of the power of the consoles and the engine that was built for Unity as the first next-gen only Assassin’s Creed, Syndicate was always planned for Xbox One, PS4 and PC,” explains Scott Phillips, director for the title at Ubisoft Quebec.

“For us, that was always the plan. There were never any past-gen considerations. Syndicate is the only project I can speak to – I can’t speak for what else might’ve been planned.”

Phillips continued by explaining the benefits that coming across to PS4 and Xbox One had provided to Syndicate.

“It’s mainly about delivering the quality experience: the visual quality, the accuracy, the speed of streaming, the size of the disc and so on,” he detailed.

“Our games tend to fill up the Blu-ray and we always have to be a little bit concerned about whether we’re a little bit over budget: generally, for most of the project, we are over disc size. Then we need to find some optimisations or trim some things or figure out how we’re going to fit on the disc.

“Next-gen always brings your fidelity much higher.”

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October 2nd 2015

THE BIG GAME ASSASSIN’S CREED SYNDICATE

itself did on past Assassin’s Creed titles. Phillips highlights the collaborative effort as key to balancing the need to innovate with the necessity to tweak existing elements to perfection.

“It’s been great to be able to work with and talk to Montreal, Singapore and all the other collaboration studios we have, because they have a different perspective and they have that experience,” he enthuses. “We also have a brand team, which tries to maintain consistency across the franchise, so we can talk with them and pick their brains – they provide us with feedback on things we may need to change or things we need to think about.

“There’s a lot of communication that goes on to help make sure we deliver the best Assassin’s Creed.”

A TALE OF TWO CREEDS There’s a particular reason for British players to be excited about Syndicate: for the first time in the franchise’s history, the Assassin and Templar war is headed to mid-19th Century London.

The game ties into the conclusion of 2012’s Assassin’s

October 2nd 2015

Creed III, which saw the Assassins ousted from the capital and seven gangs, helmed by main antagonist Starrick Crawford, take over the streets. Players will start on the outskirts of London as Assassin siblings Evie and Jacob Frye, who are plotting their return. Only there’s a twist: gamers can play as both of the pair, switching on the fly.

“We had the idea for the two characters to begin with, and then allowing the player to play as both of them just made sense,” explains Phillips. “Why would we have just this one character that you would only see occasionally but they’re a key part of the story?

“We wanted to give you the opportunity to customise your experience and your play style, and interact with that character more. It allowed us to tell two parts of the story as well: you’ve got Jacob for the more focused ‘I want to take down the Templars’ storyline and Evie for the more mysterious Piece of Eden Assassin-Templar War element of the franchise.”

We’ve removed the co-op and the companion app, and focused just on the singleplayer experience.

Scott Phillips, Ubisoft Quebec

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Gamers can swap which of the characters they’re playing as at almost any time by opening the menu. Evie and Jacob differ in their approach to situations: Evie is tooled towards sneaky stealth fans, while Jacob is better built for combat. They’re helped out further by a shared set of unique talents and gadgets, including new weapons and fighting combos, improved stealth and a rope-launching grapple hook. Phillips adds that both characters can be effectively used for either style of play.

“It’s been interesting going through play tests and having to iterate and change on things, as well as making sure players understand how it works as it’s a new mechanic,” he continues. “As everything is, it’s challenging – but it’s well worth the challenge.”

A pair of playable characters might seem like the ideal opportunity for co-operative multiplayer. After all, the Assassin’s Creed games have offered a variety of

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ASSASSIN’S CREED SYNDICATE THE BIG GAME

It’s great to see how other studios solved this or that problem, or how they designed their game to make the player do this or that thing.

“It’s great for the games industry, because it makes us all better. We are challenged by each other. I love seeing other openworld games, learning from them and trying to improve our craft and make the experience better for the player.”

Syndicate features two playable characters, as well as new abilities and gameplay mechanics

competitive and co-operative game modes since 2010’s Brotherhood. But Syndicate will ship without multiplayer of any kind, the first core title in the series to do so since 2009’s second instalment.

“When we looked at how we were going to deliver the best Assassin’s Creed we can, our idea was to focus on single-player,” Phillips details. “That’s why we removed the co-op and the companion app, and focused just on that experience – we feel like that’s what the core of Assassin’s Creed is. We wanted to make sure that all of our effort went into that.

“There are a number of other games that focus on single player-only, and our goal was to deliver the best single-player we could.”

OPEN WORLDS APART From Whitechapel to Buckingham Palace, Syndicate’s virtual London is populated by a variety of famous faces, including Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale, Queen Victoria and Alexander Graham Bell, with even infamous serial

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killer Jack the Ripper making an appearance in the game’s first batch of DLC. Despite the recognisable roster, Phillips insists that one of the key characters isn’t flesh and blood; it’s the city of London itself. A sprawling recreation of the Victorian industrial age, trains rumble along tracks, horses pull carriages along cobblestone streets and steamboats puff down the Thames.

Assassin’s Creed is no stranger to living, breathing environments; the franchise’s inaugural title arguably helped to popularise the open world genre upon its release on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2007. Almost a decade on, open worlds are commonplace: even this year’s Metal Gear Solid V had a vast setting. With a non-linear approach to gameplay becoming standard affair, is the series that helped spark the trend concerned about being out-classed at its own game?

“In terms of worrying about the competition, no,” Phillips insists. “Open world is just another genre, type or feature of a game.

The number of openworld games is great for the industry, because it makes us all better.

Scott Phillips, Ubisoft Quebec

SYN & REDEMPTION Eight years have passed since the inaugural entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise helped establish a market for sprawling openworld titles.

From naval warfare, hide-andseek multiplayer and realistic crowd behaviour to free-running, co-operative modes and the micro-management of assassin guilds, every new instalment in the series has built upon the original game’s time-hopping narrative and stealth-action gameplay.

Syndicate continues this trend of innovating in the genre, with Phillips and his team spearheading the franchise’s evolution for the first time.

Whether players will take to the major alterations – two main characters, the removal of multiplayer, new gameplay mechanics, the Victorian technology of London – is yet to be seen. But all the signs so far suggest that Assassin’s Creed’s British outing looks set to put the series back on track.

ASSASSIN ECONOMY MUCH like its predecessor, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate will give players the ability to invest real money into the game.

“We do have microtransactions,” confirms Ubisoft Quebec game director Scott Phillips.

“They’re mainly meant as time-savers; they’re for people that don’t want to just play the core game – they want to jump ahead or get through things faster.

23

“But the game is balanced with the focus on what’s available in the economy is how you play the game. The microtransactions are meant only for those people that want to move ahead more quickly. They don’t allow you to get the best weapon in the game right off the bat – you can’t do that.

“There are boosters that are meant to increase the speed at which you do things, but they don’t change the balance of the game.”

October 2nd 2015

CULT GAMES

Niche ‘n’ easy The growth of digital, crowdfunding and other alternate routes to market has given rise to a breed of games that prove that size isn’t everything. Matthew Jarvis speaks to the kings of cult at Rebellion, Access Games and Giants Software

Y

ou may have not played Farming Simulator, Deadly Premonition or Sniper Elite, but you likely know them by name.

These are examples of mid- and low-budget titles that have managed to achieve either commercial or critical success, despite their position outside the realm of triple-A releases.

In other words: they’re cult hits.

As Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley explains: “A cult hit comes when you get a mismatch between critical praise and sales in either direction. A game that sells like a dog but wins awards can become a cult hit, as can a game that reviews not so well but sells gangbusters because of word of mouth.”

Kingsley knows the power of establishing a dedicated following for a mid-tier title. The third in Rebellion’s Sniper Elite series shot to the top of the UK retail charts upon release last year, sitting for two weeks above a Top Ten filled with the big-budget likes of Watch Dogs, FIFA, Call of Duty and Minecraft.

Like many cult titles, Sniper Elite is an example of a game taking a common mechanic – shooting – and twisting it into a unique form.

Despite the risks, a unique approach to game design can pay dividends.

Japanese title Deadly Premonition was released for Xbox 360 in 2010, Offering open-world, survival horror gameplay mixed with quirky humour, the game was highly divisive.

Consumers and the media lauded and lambasted it in equal measure; some compared it to TV show Twin Peaks, while others condemned its clunky mechanics and poor graphics.

Deadly Premonition’s passionate audience inspired a Director’s Cut re-release of the title on PC and

October 2nd 2015

Deadly Premonition divided critics – but its fans are highly passionate

We’re in an age where user reviews are very important, so professional review scores hold less sway.

Nobuo Tomita, Access Games

for developers by reviews, which often distil a game down to a single numerical score and miss out on the nuanced elements of a cult hit.

Players who glance at the review might then give the game a miss, unaware of its hidden treasures. But this snap decision-making could change, as game sites such as Eurogamer and Kotaku move away from offering scored reviews.

“The move away from Metacritic scores and points out of 10 is good for everyone,” says Kingsley.

“Removing a score encourages people to find out about our game themselves. They have to read the review in depth to make an informed decision, and it encourages gamers to do just a little more research

PS3 in 2013. The game’s cult success also led to an Xbox One exclusivity deal for developer Access Games’ next title, D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die. Nobuo Tomita, D4 producer, explains: “One of the main reasons we were able to work with Microsoft is because one of [Deadly Premonition designer] Swery’s fans worked there and gave us a shout-out. We even entrusted the localisation to a professional who was a fan of Deadly Premonition, which helped us retain more of our originality in the final version.”

A DIFFERENT REVIEW One of the biggest hurdles for cult games is attracting a wider audience. This is often made harder

24

– whether that’s Steam reviews, YouTube or something else.”

Thomas Frey is creative director at Giants Software, the studio behind titles such as Farming Simulator 15, Ski Region Simulator and Demolition Company.

“With new media like YouTube and Twitch, people have started to make their own opinions about games,” he agrees. “They have the chance today to easily check out a game by themselves. The success of a game does not necessarily rely on a press score.”

Tomita, too, sees user reviews as beginning to eclipse professional opinions on new games, opening up the opportunity for the audiences of cult games to extol their virtues.

“Eurogamer’s removal of scores earlier this year doesn’t really change anything,” he says. “We’re in an age where user reviews are very important, so professional review scores hold less sway.”

However, Kingsley offers a word of warning that the appreciation of more unique titles may not be as revolutionised by dropping scores as some might expect.

“Will scoreless reviews change perceptions and affect sales?” he asks. “I’m not so sure – word of mouth has always trumped reviews, whether chatting in the pub, on Reddit or from the headset of your favourite Twitch channel.”

FROM STREAMS TO THE OCEAN With or without the backing of traditional games media, cult games have been offered a new lease of life thanks to the growing popularity of YouTube and Twitch.

Live streamers and content creators often create humourous

www.mcvuk.com

CULT GAMES videos around the original elements of cult games, encouraging their audiences to purchase the titles. This can have real-world effects: a series of videos by YouTuber PewDiePie about Skate 3 resulted in EA reprinting the boxed version of the game, which returned to the retail charts four years after its launch.

“You definitely need a hook that makes you stand out,” advises Kingsley. “The long tail of sales for games once they are no longer in the release limelight is very important for the independent sector.”

Frey adds that user-created content can be a way of maintaining momentum after launch.

“The modding community is very important,” he explains. “Mods keep a game interesting for a long time. As well as mods, there are a lot of Let’s Play videos about Farming Simulator.

Those videos create a lot of buzz around the title – they are today’s new way of promoting a game.”

In fact, some titles have built their success entirely on their ability to generate funny videos on the internet. Goat Simulator, a parody of cult games like Farming

www.mcvuk.com

Simulator, was created as a joke, but was then propelled to a full boxed release by its popularity.

But Frey warns against designing a game solely in the hope of achieving cult success.

“Goat Simulator went viral and earned a lot of publicity from it,” he says. “As a business model you cannot aim for something like this – it’s like winning a jackpot. For longtime success, it’s important that the game itself is well-made and contains innovative gameplay.”

Tomita adds there is little danger of such games impacting the market for true cult titles.

“If creative titles are cult then, even if we do see saturation, I don’t think consumers will ever get completely exhausted with them,” he says.

“Things will just get sifted out until only the good games remain.”

MEASURE OF SUCCESS By definition, the next cult smash hit is almost impossible to predict.

It could be a graphically impressive title with poor gameplay, a mechanically innovative effort that lacks aesthetic design or something

Top: Access Games’ Nobuo Tomita; Above: Rebellion’s Jason Kingsley

25

the industry has never seen before – and perhaps isn’t yet ready for.

Kingsley returns to his view of cult success as either critical or commercial prosperity – never both – questioning the value of a title that wins over critics and a dedicated few but fails to capture mainstream attention.

“There are two areas of success for a game: critical praise and consumer praise via sales,” he states. “Winning awards is always nice, and so is making a profit on a game, but if I had to choose only one of these, I would choose consumer praise as sales.

“Yearning for and achieving only critical praise means you risk ending up as a great footnote in the history of games, but you and lots of friends and colleagues could be out of a job afterwards.”

Conversely, Tomita concludes with a pledge to keep creating original work – even at the potential cost of success: “We’re creating truly unique things, and will continue to create them and leave our name in history regardless of what sort of reception we get.”

October 2nd 2015

BATTLE OF THE BRANDS GUITAR HERO LIVE

Can Guitar Hero’s solo project...

Earlier this year, Activision announced it was bringing back its iconic Guitar Hero series.

But has the firm learnt its lesson from the franchise’s 2010 crash? Alex Calvin reports

I

n true rockstar fashion, the original Guitar Hero series did not fade away; it burned out.

At the height of its popularity it was the biggest game in the world, but partly due to a plethora of expansion packs from both itself and rival Rock Band, consumers lost interest and the series died.

But earlier this year, Activision announced a new entry in the series called Guitar Hero Live, developed

by DJ Hero studio Freestyle Games.

Guitar Hero Live ditches the computer-animated visuals of old in favour of a first-person liveaction style. The guitar peripheral has been redesigned – it now features two rows of three buttons as opposed to one line of four inputs. The game only allows for guitar and vocal play, and also introduces a new element called GHTV, a live channel that will be updated with new songs over time.

Compare that to Rock Band’s full group offering, including guitar, bass, drums and vocals, and it’s hard not to view Guitar Hero Live as lacking in the instrument department.

“Across the three major parts of the game, our new gameplay, new guitar and GHTV, we think as a package it’s really strong,” project director John Napier says.

“This is a critical thing for us. If we are going to bring the game back then we wanted to have something new about the gameplay experience and therefore that means a new generation of controller. It’s not purely just a reinvention of the traditional Guitar Hero.”

DOWN WITH THE KIDS One of the big aspects in Guitar Hero is GHTV – a series of TV

October 2nd 2015

channels offering different music.

Napier says that replacing the multiple add-ons and SKUs of the past with GHTV’s constantly evolving playlist is one way to avoid the saturation the series saw last time. But it is also reflective of the way that people listen to music these days.

“Technology has moved along a lot over the last ten years,” he explains. “Consoles today are connected to the internet in a way that they just weren’t eight or nine years ago. GHTV has come from how people listen to music these days. People expect to be able to gain access to a very wide range of music. People aren’t buying physical music anymore, they are getting their music on demand and over the web.

“People listen to music in a different way and now we’d like to help people play music in a different way also.

“GHTV is a response to that new line of technology and the new listening habits of players.

We’ve constructed a video game around that so that players will not necessarily need to go to a retail store in order to buy a new physical copy of the game because they are connected to the net and are playing GHTV. Then we’ll be able to continually add in new songs and material. It’s not just new songs, it’s new features, too. We are working on a really strong content pipeline of new premium shows and music all the way through this year and well into next and beyond.”

Obviously the music market has changed a great deal since the first Guitar Hero boom. Freestyle and Activision say they’ve taken note of that with GHTV. But the games

Players will not necessarily need to go to a retail store in order to buy a new physical copy of the game.

John Napier, Freestyle Games

Guitar Hero Live has a strong post-launch roll-out plan, says Freestyle’s Napier

26

market has changed too. The PS4 and Xbox One are mostly speaking to core gamers; not the wider audience present on the PS3, 360 and Wii when Guitar Hero hit the big time. But Napier is optimistic.

“I hope that we’ll be able to grow [to the original huge popularity of Guitar Hero],” he insists. “GHTV has a lot of potential when you start to think about what we have made.

“And the fact that the content within it and the ability to update it is entirely open to us then the future of it and Guitar Hero Live has really great broad potential. Fingers crossed that players will also.”

ROCK BAND 4 BATTLE OF THE BRANDS

...outperform Rock Band’s reunion?

It’s been half a decade, but Rock Band is getting back together. Matthew Jarvis jams with Harmonix’s Daniel Sussman and Mad Catz’ Alex Verry and Rachel Gordon to see if the ensemble rhythm franchise still has what it takes

L

ed Zeppelin waited 27, Pink Floyd held on for 24 and Blur took 16: in comparison to rock and roll reunions, the five-year gap since the last Rock Band game seems like a flash. But in the world of games, it’s been an age.

“There’s certainly a group of people who have played Rock Band who are now maybe a little older,” admits Daniel Sussman, project director for Rock Band 4 at developer Harmonix.

“There is also an audience of people who are on Xbox One and PS4 who have never played Rock Band.

“For the folks who have never played it before, we have a lot to offer. Certainly by Rock Band 3, you

would’ve been hard-pressed to find someone who had never picked up a guitar and played the game. That’s not necessarily the case now.”

INSTRUMENTS OF WAR The split between returning performers and fresh-faced players is mirrored in the new game’s approach to its genre-defining plastic instruments: new guitar, drum and microphone peripherals will launch alongside the game, but those who already own Rock Band and Guitar Hero products can simply use those.

“It’s really important for us to make the barrier to entry as low as possible,” explains Sussman. “What will happen is that people will pull their old stuff out of their closets, give it a whirl and realise that it’s got a lot of miles. There’ll be an audience who want to upgrade.”

It’s not just players that have matured since Rock Band 3 hit shelves. The games landscape today is far more digital-heavy, while the war for shelf space at retail has been reignited by products such as toysto-life – an interesting challenge for a series dependent on physical accessories. Alex Verrey, global PR and communications director at Mad Catz, explains: “We’re sensitive to the fact that retail is cautious over a glut of new hardware, which is why the decision was made to focus only on the essentials,” he says. “At launch, we’re going live with the game, game and guitar controller, and Band-inthe-Box bundles – nothing more.

“Backward compatibility means retailers unable to stock the new hardware can still list the title, safe in the knowledge that gamers can purchase the game on day one and play using legacy hardware.”

Rock Band 4 isn’t just a re-skin of Rock Band 3 – there are a lot of things that are groundbreaking innovations in the category.

Daniel Sussman, Harmonix

Harmonix’s Sussman (above top) and Mad Catz’ Gordon (above middle) and Verrey (above)

27

GUITAR VILLAIN It’s not just toys-to-life and the myriad Q4 releases that Rock Band 4 will find itself battling with this Christmas. There’s also the small matter of another returning music rhythm title: Guitar Hero.

As the rivalry flares up again, Verrey is confident Rock Band has what it takes to come out at the top of the billing.

“With both music franchises launching anew in this generation, a reset button has been hit and Rock Band can grow market share significantly,” he enthuses.

Mad Catz’ European marketing manager Rachel Gordon highlights Rock Band’s focus on its titular multiplayer gameplay as separating it from Guitar Hero Live’s dedication to its stringed eponym.

“We’re going into it with a little bit of a different angle; Guitar Hero Live seems like more of a solus game, while we’re concentrating on the band aspect of it,” she explains.

“Using the term ‘party game’ is frowned upon, but it is about giving it that social, community aspect.”

ROCK OF AGES Sussman expresses his confidence that Harmonix’s new instalment may turn out to be as revolutionary as the very first entry in the series.

“The time down has allowed us to reflect on what’s unique about the experience going all the way back to the original Guitar Hero and Rock Band – what the spark of genius was in there that resonated with people and allowed us to capture some of that.

“This isn’t just a re-skin of Rock Band 3 – it’s a ground-up rebuild.

There are a lot of things that are groundbreaking innovations in the category. This is a bona fide sequel.”

October 2nd 2015

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE MCV speaks to Robert Malyon about why his store, Hove’s Gamestar, has decided to focus on pre-owned stock over new titles and why stores should counter the dry summer period by stocking other goods How has business been for you over the last few weeks?

The summer holidays were quite good when everyone was off school, but generally speaking it’s pretty tough.

Many retailers find summer hard as nothing is coming out.

There were lots of people off school. And silly little things like the fact there’s been a lot of rainy days. That can make it really good for business. Though there’s

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

One. The mark-up is quite good on those games as they cost a lot brand new. We’ve done lots of PS3 and Xbox 360 games because the price of those is dropping now.

People are picking up some pretty good bargains there.

not much coming out, people are buying other things to keep themselves entertained. We’ve got a whole different range of products, ranging from 50p to £1.

We sell a lot of DVDs and Blurays. Though there aren’t many heavy hitters coming out on PS4 and Xbox One, we’ve been selling a lot of middle-of-the-row titles.

Have you diversified what you sell, outside of DVDs and Blu-rays?

We do posters which have sold well. They have been a good line for us. We get them from GB Eye, and they have some of the

What else has been selling well?

The main areas we’re doing well with are the PS4 and the Xbox

PRICE CHECK: MILTON KEYNES

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS 1. FIFA 16 EA, PS4

MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION

2. FIFA 16 EA ...................................................................................XO

MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION

3. FIFA 16 Deluxe Edition EA ................................................................................PS4 4. FIFA 16 Deluxe Edition EA ...................................................................................XO

XO, Microsoft

TERRARIA

XO, Sold Out

PS4, 505 Games

PS4, Sony

£14.99

£15.99

£14.99

£15.99

£12.99

£14.99

£16.99

N/A

£12.99

£14.86

£14.92

£14.99

9. NBA 2K16 2K Games ...................................................................XO

£14.99

£14.99

£17.99

£14.99

10. FIFA 16 EA ............................................................................... 360

£13

£15

£15

N/A

6. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Sony............................................................................PS4

IN STORE

5. NBA 2K16 2K Games ...............................................................PS4

THE ESCAPISTS

7. Fallout 4 Bethesda ..................................................................PS4

UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market

SOMA

PULSE

SKYHILL

Frictional’s underwater sci-fi horror title is now available on PS4

This indie title casts players as a blind girl who must use sound to ‘see’

Daedalic’s rogue-like survival game hits PC next week

OUT NOW

October 2nd 2015

ONLINE

8. Halo 5: Guardians Microsoft .....................................................................XO

OUT OCTOBER 20TH

28

OUT OCTOBER 6TH

www.mcvuk.com

MARKETPLACE

Gamestar 83 Boundary Rd, Hove, BN3 5TD

really good licences. We also sell some more diverse posters, like inspirational ones, which I thought wouldn’t sell but have sold nicely.

It helps to have that cross section of things. Over Christmas we’re looking into getting some branded mugs in – get some little impulse purchases on the counter.

What are your pre-orders looking like?

We focus on pre-owned now, so we’re not taking pre-orders as such.

Phone: 01273 414 114 Website: gamestarsussex.com Email: gamestarsussex@gmail.com

We just get the games in when people come to trade them in.

Why have you transitioned into focusing on pre-owned games?

It’s hard to compete with supermarkets and Amazon on brand new titles. GAME sells titles at the proper price generally, but there’ve been times when the supermarkets have brought something out well below the RRP. With pre-owned, we have control over what we are paying and what we are selling it for.

INCOMING

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR OUTLET IN MCV? Contact acalvin@nbmedia.com or call 01992 515 303

The release schedule bulks up as the Q4 rush begins to take hold, with Tony Hawk, Rock Band, Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed and Guitar Hero hitting shelves

TITLE

FORMAT

GENRE

PUBLISHER

TELEPHONE

DISTRIBUTOR

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

3DS

Kids

Nintendo

01753 48 3700

Open

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5

PS4/XO/PS3/360

Skating

Activision

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Darksiders 2 Deathinitive Edition

PS4

Action

Nordic Games

sales@nordicgames.at Nordic Games

Rock Band 4

PS4/XO

Music

Mad Catz

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

PS4

RPG

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

October 2nd

October 6th

October 9th Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance Transformers: Devastation

PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC

Action

Activision

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

PS4

Action

Sony

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden

3DS

Fighting

Bandai Namco

01215 069 590

Advantage

Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & the Monster Seal

Vita

RPG

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

October 16th

Rodea: The Sky Soldier

Wii U/3DS

RPG

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

Shovel Knight

PS4/XO/Wii U/3DS

Platformer

Avanquest

01480 359 403

Open

Tales of Zestiria

PS4/XO/PC

RPG

Bandai Namco

01215 069 590

Advantage

Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut

PS4/XO

Strategy

Deep Silver

01256 385 200

Koch Media

WRC 5

PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC

Racing

Big Ben

01279 822 822

Exertis

PS4/XO/PC

Action

Ubisoft

01279 822 822

Exertis

October 23th Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Guitar Hero Live

PS4/XO/PS3/360/Wii U

Music

Activision

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Jackbox Games Party Pack Volume 1

PS4/XO/PS3/360

Party

Avanquest

01480 359 403

Open

Just Dance 2016

PS4/XO/PS3/360/Wii

Music

Ubisoft

01279 822 822

Exertis

NOW That’s What I Call Sing: Single Mic Pack

PS4/XO

Music

Ravenscourt

01256 385 200

Koch Media

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

3DS

Action

Nintendo

01753 48 3700

Open

www.mcvuk.com

29

October 2nd 2015

UNCHARTED

UNCHARTED Sony’s romping adventure trilogy is clambering its way onto PS4 in the form of the Nathan Drake Collection.

Matthew Jarvis charts a course for the finest merchandise on offer

CREATED as an homage to Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider, Uncharted is now as iconic as its adventuring inspirations.

Naughty Dog’s PlayStationexclusive franchise helped kickstart the PS3 with inaugural release Drake’s Fortune in 2007.

Sequels in the form of Among Thieves and Drake’s Deception followed in 2009 and 2011, respectively. The series also made a leap to handheld, PlayStation Vita titles Golden Abyss and Fight

Uncharted 2 is the third-highest-rated game of all time, with the entire Uncharted trilogy selling over 21 million units.

for Fortune both hitting the device in 2012.

The core three entries in the series were all critically acclaimed, with Uncharted 2 becoming the third-highest-rated game of all time on Metacritic, as well as the top rated PS3 game of 2009.

Follow-up Uncharted 3 saw the biggest beta in PS3 history, with the game’s multiplayer mode going on to host more than nine billion matches. The games’ popularity spurred the franchise to more than

THE ART OF THE UNCHARTED TRILOGY Comprising detailed looks at Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves and Drake’s Deception, this comprehensive volume features hundreds of never-before-seen designs and pieces of concept art from the creation of the PS3 triptych.

SRP: £29.99 Manufacturer: Dark Horse Distributor: Diamond Comic Distributors UK Contact: 01928 531 760

UNCHARTED DRAKE NAUGHTY DOG COLORWAY

UNCHARTED: THE FOURTH LABYRINTH

UNCHARTED: THE BOARD GAME

Stylised by artist Erick Scarecrow, this arty reimagining of Nathan Drake stands seven inches tall and is limited to 500 pieces.

Prolific sci-fi and fantasy author Christopher Golden is behind this literary expansion of the Uncharted universe.

Players take on the role of treasure hunters and compete for victory points in this tabletop take on Nathan Drake’s exploits.

SRP: $100 (£66) Manufacturer: ESC Toys Distributor: ESC Toys Contact: info@esctoy.com

SRP: £6.99 Manufacturer: Titan Books Distributor: Titan Books Contact: sales@titanemail.com

SRP: £25 Manufacturer: Bandai Distributor: Bandai Contact: 01489 790 944

October 2nd 2015

30

www.mcvuk.com

UNCHARTED

Sponsored by

O

gaming merchandise uk

21 million sales as of June 2015, according to Naughty Dog. Now, the beloved adventuring series is returning on PS4, thanks to the upcoming Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, which lands this month.

The Collection should stir up the memories of existing fans, while also giving new PlayStation owners a chance to play the games for the first time, ahead of the release of fourth –

and potentially final – instalment Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on March 18th, 2016.

But A Thief’s End won’t be it for Uncharted next year; Sony announced in 2014 that a film adaptation of the franchise will hit cinemas on June 10th 2016.

With passion for Uncharted set to be running high from now until the middle of 2016 – and beyond – now is the right time to start stocking up on adventurous merchandise and tie-in treasures.

DRAKE HENLEY SHIRT Fans of lead hero Nathan Drake’s fashion sense can mimic the wise-cracking treasure hunter with this recreation of his iconic Henley shirt. It comes complete with stitched neck detailing, but wearers will have to supply their own rope, guns and one-liners.

SRP: £25 Manufacturer: Insert Coin Distributor: Insert Coin Contact: 01702 521 850

THE ART OF NAUGHTY DOG

HOG WILD T-SHIRT

UNCHARTED BUTTON UP SHIRT

Charting the history of developer Naughty Dog from Crash Bandicoot to Uncharted, this book includes art, essays and stories.

The moniker of Sully’s seaplane is actually a throwback to the original Crash Bandicoot.

Fans in on the joke can show off with this tee.

This plaid button-up includes Drake’s lucky horsehoe totem from Uncharted 3 sewn into its collar. Treasure-hunting luck not guaranteed.

SRP: £29.99 Manufacturer: Dark Horse Distributor: Diamond Comic Distributors UK Contact: 01928 531 760

SRP: £22 Manufacturer: Insert Coin Distributor: Insert Coin Contact: 01702 521 850

SRP: £62.10 Manufacturer: Musterbrand Distributor: Musterbrand Contact: service@musterbrand.com

www.mcvuk.com

31

October 2nd 2015

HOT PRODUCTS

Sponsored by

HOT PRODUCTS MCV takes a look at the best accessories heading to UK retail. This week, the Xbox One pad gets a makeover and Crucial hopes to stick in the memory with its new PC components

OFFICIAL XBOX ONE SPECIAL EDITION LUNAR WHITE WIRELESS CONTROLLER MICROSOFT has given its Xbox One controller a visual makeover.

Following in the footsteps of the white Xbox One console SKU released with Sunset Overdrive, the new Lunar White Xbox One Wireless Controller swaps the pad’s classic black colour scheme for a pale white.

The design is accentuated with a satin gold D-pad and back triggers, as well as a rubberised diamond grip for improved comfort while playing.

As well as its special looks, the Lunar White pad includes all of the regular features of the standard Xbox One controller, such as vibrating impulse triggers, quicker access to the triggers and bumpers, a D-pad designed for a mixture of moves and

uses, and a shape crafted to fit a variety of hand sizes.

Like the redesigned Xbox One controller released earlier this year, the Lunar White pad also includes a 3.5mm stereo jack to allow players to plug in a headset or headphones.

This means an extra audio adapter is no longer needed.

[INFO] RRP: £54.99 Release Date: Out Now Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822

CRUCIAL BALLISTIX ELITE DDR4 PERFORMANCE MEMORY FOR some time, the fastest category of memory for gamers’ PC rigs has been DDR3. Now, the next stage of RAM speed has been introduced: DDR4.

Among those bringing products boasting this increased performance to market is Crucial, which has launched a DDR4 line of its Ballistix Elite memory.

October 2nd 2015

Available in a range of capacities and speeds, the line starts at a speed of 2,666 MT/s. Crucial predicts that this performance will increase as the technology matures.

Meanwhile, the bandwidth of the memory starts at 21.3 GB/s. Crucial says that the Elite products will additionally offer

speeds and responsiveness beyond that of standard DDR4.

The extra performance is balanced by a black heat spreader, which should help keep the PC’s internals cool.

This is helped by an exclusive M.O.D. utility and thermal sensor, which provides real-time temperature monitoring.

32

[INFO] RRP: Varies Release Date: Out Now Distributor: Crucial Contact: 0800 013 7385

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October 2nd 2015

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DIRECTORY

ENQUIRIES CONOR TALLON Tel: 01992 535647 ctallon@nbmedia.com

FINK

CREATIVE

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CLICK ENTERTAINMENT

Artworking Mastertronic Brand Identity Ukie Localisation Rising Star Games Advertising BBFC Website Design Deep Silver Exhibition Bethesda Illustration Just Flight 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

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Web: www.sonydadc.com

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DIRECTORY

GAMING ACCESSORIES

L3I

GAMING ACCESSORIES

VENOM

Power Up! Twin Docking Station

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Tel: + (0)1923 471 020

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ADVERTISE WITH US

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY? Web: www.venomuk.com

Venom UK Gaming @VenomGamingUK

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

CALL CONOR TALLON ON 01992 535647 OR EMAIL HIM AT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM

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INSIDER’S GUIDE

INSIDER’S GUIDE CODESWHOLESALE.COM

DIRECTORY

WHO? Specialism: Digital games wholesaling Location: Al Jazeera Al Hamra, RAK Investment Building, 31291 Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 300,000 subscribers every month.

CodesWholesale.com CMO Fatih Parlayan explains why he expects other distributors to learn from his firm

FOR GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT CHARLOTTE NANGLE CNANGLE@NBMEDIA.COM

Tell us about your company.

In the field of trading games we usually lack the reliable connection between the distributor, the supplier and the customer. This is why CodesWholesale.com embarked on a mission to change the current model of working in the industry and make selling easier to both wholesale and retail channels. We came up with a solution which is fast, effective and, most importantly, time saving. CodesWholesale.com releases appropriate tools that are designed to make the game trading process much easier.

THIS MONTH’S DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT: MHT TV GAME................................................................. gerry@mhtgame.com

What success have you seen recently?

In July, we introduced a new function called ‘White Label’.

Thanks to it, our users are able to launch the platform to the wholesale of games under their own brand. Within a week from the release date, 300 of our partners chose to use the feature.

What are you working on?

We collect opinions from our registered users. Thanks to that, we are able to acknowledge what we can simplify and improve.

Right now, we are in the process of improving our platform.

What are the biggest trends affecting you right now?

The development of digital distribution is the issue which mainly influences our work.

We follow the statistics, from To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact cnangle@nbmedia.com

The boxed versions of games will become an addition for fans only. which we have seen a regular increase in the popularity of the sales channels.

What are you looking forward to over the next 12 months?

We believe that digital distribution will dominate the world’s markets, where the boxed versions of games will become an addition for fans only. As for wholesalers, they will change their current work model and start to trade in an easier way. We also have faith in the increasing popularity of games produced by small studios. These types of titles appear on the best-seller lists more often nowadays.

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR COMPANY IN INSIDER’S GUIDE? PLEASE CONTACT MJARVIS@NBMEDIA.COM OR CALL 01992 515 303

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Contact: T: @CodesWholesale W: CodesWholesale.com E: b2b@codeswholesale.com

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October 2nd 2015

FACTFILE MALAYSIA Sponsored by

INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE: MALAYSIA Population: 30,742,000 Capital City: Kuala Lumpur Currency: Ringgit GDP (Per Capita): $12,127.21 KEY RETAILERS Game4u, Lazada, MaxLink4Gamers, Impulse Gaming, GameShop TOP DISTRIBUTORS Playbox, Maxsoft, Master Genius, Play Interactive

TOP DEVELOPERS Sunnyside Interactive, Appxplore, Dilectus Games, Kurechii Studio, Easy Only! Games, Mediasoft, WIGU Games, Shawn Beck PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION Bandai Namco, Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft (Singapore)

These include Bandai Namco, ALTHOUGH Malaysia boasts which opened a new office in one of the healthiest economies Kuala Lumpur last October. in Asia, its games market was Joining Bandai Namco is initially slow to gain momentum.

Ubisoft.

Although the Assassin’s This was exacerbated by a lack Creed publisher doesn’t have an of local studios and publishers, a office in Malaysia, it covers the dearth of skilled labour and the area from its Singapore location. apparent disinterest from Western This year, Ubisoft announced companies, local blogger Manoj that it would open its first theme Prasad wrote in 2012. park in Kuala Lumpur in 2020.

Gaming trends in Malaysia The 10,000-square-metre appear to follow that of China, attraction will with gamers include rides embracing MMO based on the games, shooters firm’s range of and mobile titles video game IP. above many “According to other genres. a 2014 report by Long a the World Tourism territory plagued Organisation, by piracy, in Malaysia is the 2007 the Jean de Rivières, Ubisoft Motion Pictures second-mostEntertainment visited country Software in Asia” commented Jean de Association joined with the Rivières, senior vice president of Motion Picture Association to Ubisoft Motion Pictures. combat the illegal sale of games “There is room for multiple in Malaysia. Thanks to this and projects to take root in the region other efforts, the country is now and a growing middle class becoming a far more attractive with an increasing income and prospect for triple-A publishers appetite for entertainment.” from the West.

Malaysia has a growing middle class with an increasing income and appetite for entertainment.

October 2nd 2015

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MALAYSIA FACTFILE

MEANWHILE IN... CHINA Sony has highlighted the Asian country’s strict censorship laws as a hurdle for PlayStation 4 sales in the territory months after launch IT appears that the muchheralded launch of PS4 and Xbox One in China isn’t off to as strong a start as some may have hoped.

China’s 15-year ban on foreign games hardware was lifted earlier this year, with PS4 and Xbox One hitting shelves a few months later. Following the launch, Microsoft’s machine was reported as struggling to find its feet in the country, and it now looks like Sony’s box may be having as hard a time.

That’s based on comments from SCE CEO Andrew House, who told Reuters that China’s infamously tough restrictions on censorship were a barrier to the PS4

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39

taking off due to their ‘time-consuming’ nature.

Sony also announced a 17 per cent price drop for the console in the country.

Among the Shanghai Culture Department’s blacklisted traits are games

including ‘anything that violates China’s constitution’ and ‘anything that promotes or incites obscenity, drug use, violence, or gambling’.

October 2nd 2015

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION Sponsored by

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OVERSEAS, THEN LOOK NO FURTHER

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CLD DISTRIBUTION Rue du Grand Champs 14 , B 5380 Fernelmont Belgium Tel: +32 81 83 02 02 Fax: +32 81 83 02 09 Email: infos@cld.be Web: www.cld.be home of www.dragonwar.eu & www.mawashi.eu

CYPRUS

SWEDEN

G3 GREAT GAMES LTD 4 Gregoriou Papaflessa Street, Office 101, Engomi, Nicosia 2414, Cyprus.

Tel: +357 22 666612 Web: www.greatgames.com.cy

GAME OUTLET EUROPE AB PO Box 5083, S-650 05 Karlstad, Sweden Sales dept: ali.manzuri@gameoutlet.se Sales dept: andreas.lindberg@gameoutlet.se Purchase dept: hamed.manzuri@gameoutlet.se Purchase dept: david.nilsson@gameoutlet.se Web: www.gameoutlet.se

IRAN

BRAZIL Sony Music Entertainment Brasil # 1 Physical Distributor in Brazil Rua Lauro Muller n°. 116 – 40°. Andar Salas 4001 a 4003 Botafogo Rio de Janeiro RJ CEP. 22.290-160 Tel. +55 21 2128-0771 Fax: +55 21 2128-0747 Email : rodrigo.altieri@sonymusic.com Website: www.sonymusic.com.br | www.day1e.com.br

UAE

DC GAMES GROUP No.9, Hemmatian St., Takestan St., Sattarkhan Tehran, Iran Tel: +98-912-1014090 +98-21-44228670 Email: Bahizad@Doostan-Co.com Web: www.Doostan-Co.com

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

NORDIC

WORLDWIDE

WENDROS AB SWEDEN, NORWAY, DENMARK & FINLAND Jakobsdalsvägen 17 12653 Hägersten Sweden Phone: +46 8 51942500 Fax: +46 8 7466790 Email: HM@wendros.se LM@wendros.se Web: www.wendros.se

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED Email: info@click-entertainment.com Web: www.click-entertainment.com Phone: +44 (0)203 137 3781

MCV WORLDWIDE Editorial: + 61 (0)424 967 263 Leigh.Harris@mcvpacific.com

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

WWW.MCVPACIFIC.COM

MORE DISTRIBUTORS AUSTRALIA AFA Interactive, Bluemouth Interactive, Five Star Games, Mindscape, Namco Bandai Partners, Turn Left Distribution BENELUX CLD Distribution, Koch Media, Gameworld Distribution B.V. CANADA E One, Importel, Just4Games, Solutions 2 Go, Vidéoglobe CYPRUS Access, Gibareio, Zilos, Nortec Multimedia CZECH REPUBLIC Cenega, Conquest, Comgad, Playman, ABC Data DENMARK Bergsala, Elpa, Impulse, Koch Media, Nordisk Film Interactive, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision FRANCE Big Ben, Innelec, Koch Media, SDO, Sodifa GREECE Zegatron, CD Media, Namco Bandai Partners, IGE, Nortec, Enarxis, Beacon HUNGARY CNG.hu/Cenega Hungary, CTC Trading, Magnew, PlayON, Stadlbauer ICELAND Sena, Myndform, Samfilm, Ormsson INDONESIA Maxsoft, Uptron, Technosolution IRELAND MSE Group, Baumex JAPAN Ajioka, Happinet, Jesnet NORWAY Bergsala, Game Outlet, Koch Media, Nordic Game Supply, Nordisk Film, Pan Vision POLAND CD Projekt, Cenega, Galapagos, LEM PORTUGAL Ecoplay, Infocapital, Koch Media, Namco Bandai ROMANIA Best Distribution SERBIA ComTrade, Computerland/Iris Mega, Extreme CC SPAIN Digital Bros, Koch Media, Namco Bandai Partners, Nobilis SWEDEN Bergsala, Koch Media, Namco Bandai, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision, Wendros, Ztorm (digital) UAE Red Entertainment Distribution, Pluto Games (LS2 Pluto), Viva Entertainment, Gameplay Entertainment, Geekay Distribution

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM October 2nd 2015

40

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OFF THE RECORD

OFF THE RECORD This week, EGX gets busy in Birmingham, FIFA kicks off at midnight across the UK and Legends of Gaming Live brings YouTubers to London EGX-TRAORDINARY 75,000 people voluntarily travelling to Birmingham? It must be time for EGX. Yes, Gamer Network’s flagship games expo came to Brum’s NEC for the first time last week, following its the closure of London’s Earls Court.

More than 200 playable upcoming games were on the show floor, not to mention the big stars and big props.

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME It’s FIFA season. GAME kicked off the launch of EA’s new football title with midnight events and a host of famous footballers who turned up in store to sign copies of the title – from Ashley Young’s appearance in Manchester to top Leeds Utd scorer Chris Wood, who popped up in his hometown.

GAME’s Newcastle upon Tyne outlet went the extra mile, inviting the Newcastle United Ladies side along to show off their skills and challenge the fans to a match in celebration of the introduction of ladies teams in FIFA 16.

LEGENDARY EVENT

Picture credit: Martin Ograbek

Alexandra Palace was host to YouTubers, games firms and players in their thousands last month, as Legends of Gaming Live came to the London venue to pit pro-gaming masters against each other.

As well as giving away a hoard of free swag and showing off some of 2015’s biggest games, the event saw World Records smashed and YouTube star Ali-A crowned Legends of Gaming Winner 2015.

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October 2nd 2015

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Dany Belvedere @losalfajores

Paul @blackmagemasher Speeding a truck into an enemy capture point in %DWWOHÂż HOG EHIRUH JHWWLQJ VKRW E\ DERXW VHYHQ SHRSOH $ZHVRPH

Kensean @KenseanCrew

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David Martin @theworldofdavo Two friends starting a war RYHU D GLVSXWHG GHHU LQ Age of Empires while I built a Wonder for a VQHDN\ YLFWRU\

Mihai T. @tmihai20

Ahmad Not@TwitchCon @bokuwahmz

CONTACTS Christopher Dring

Kelly Sambridge

Andrew Wooden

Editor cdring@nbmedia.com

Head of Design and Production ksambridge@nbmedia.com

Content Director awooden@nbmedia.com

Ben ParďŹ tt

Elizabeth Newton

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Associate Editor bparďŹ tt@nbmedia.com

Production Executive enewton@nbmedia.com

Account Manager ctallon@nbmedia.com

Alex Calvin

Sam Richwood

Laura West

StaďŹ&#x20AC; Writer acalvin@nbmedia.com

Designer srichwood@nbmedia.com

Business Development Consultant lwest@nbmedia.com

Matt Jarvis

Michael Canham

Lianne Davey

StaďŹ&#x20AC; Writer mjarvis@nbmedia.com

Finance Manager mcanham@nbmedia.com

Circulation ldavey@nbmedia.com

Erik Johnson

Stuart Moody

US Correspondent ejohnson@nbmedia.com

Head of Operations smoody@nbmedia.com

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Š Newbay Media 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

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THE RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD Charlotte Knight GAME

Steve Moore Simply Games

Jennifer Johnson Don McCabe CHIPS Shop Direct

Jon Hayes Tesco

Sarah Jasper The Hut

Gurdeep Hunjan Simon Urquhart Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Microsoft

Dermot Stapleton Niall Lawlor GameStop Get Games

Phil Moore Grainger Games

Igor Cipolletta ShopTo

Phil Browes HMV

Robert Lindsay Games Centre

Stephen Staley Robert Hennessy Paul Sulyok James Cooke Gameseek John Lewis Green Man Gaming Argos

Craig Watson Dixons Retail

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YOUTH DEVELOPMENT The biggest grassroots football tournament in the country will kick off its third season this month. The partnership between PlayStation and the English Schools FA has given nearly 150,000 youngsters the chance to experience the pride of representing their school in nationwide tournaments with support from the likes of Harry Kane, James Milner, Gary Cahill, Leighton Baines, Aaron Ramsey and Luke Shaw.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

This September marks 20 glorious years of football on PlayStation. We are celebrating every epic shot, save, cross and dive, whether on PS One in Actua Soccer or PS4 in PES 2016. You’ve been with us every step (and kick) of the way. Here’s to our Players, and the best club in the world. PlayStation FC.

Got some unbelievable tekkers you need to share with the world? PS4 lets you upload your screenshots and videos to social media and YouTube with a tap of the SHARE button. You can also edit your videos with SHAREfactory to make your own post match highlight reels!

playstation.com