MCV 870 March 18th 2016 by Biz Media Ltd

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 870 FRIDAY MARCH 18TH 2016

FROM THE CREATORS OF BORDERLANDS

AdTemplate.indd 1 COVERWRAP.indd 2 BATTLEBORN MCV

11/03/2016 11/03/2016 15:07 13:39

AVAILABLE 3RD MAY KEY FEATURES: • Battleborn Heroes: Battleborn has a deep roster of 25 playable heroes and no two are the same. Every hero has their own personality and comes equipped with their own unique weapons and powers. • Story Mode: Battleborn’s Story Mode is a multi-chapter narrative experience that can be played entirely singleplayer, and is even better when it’s played cooperatively with friends both splitscreen and online. Each chapter is like an episode of a television show, with each episode’s unique plot both standing on its own and pushing the overarching story of the game forward. • Multiplayer: Battleborn’s team-based competitive multiplayer action can be experienced by up to 10 players online in 5v5 matches, and includes three distinct multiplayer modes Capture, Meltdown and Incursion • Progression System: All experience points, whether earned through playing Battleborn’s Story Mode or Competitive Multiplayer modes, contribute to leveling up individual Character Rank, as well as player profile Command Rank.

BATTLEBORN MCV COVERWRAP.indd 3

11/03/2016 13:39

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 870 FRIDAY MARCH 18TH 2016

HI-REZ’S EURO INVASION VERONIQUE LALLIER ON HER AMBITIONS FOR SMITE P24

May the best game win Six triple-A consoles games go head-to-head in hectic release pile-up this May by Marie Dealessandri BRACE yourself: UK games retail is facing one of the most congested spring release slates in history. May in particular is rammed with six major titles arriving within four weeks: Battleborn, Uncharted 4, Doom, Homefront: The Revolution, Overwatch and Mirror’s Edge Catalyst will all be fighting for gamer attention. “We will be working closely with publishers to give each title their deserved preorder and launch campaigns,” said ShopTo’s head of

commercial Alison Fraser. “It will be important to ensure customers know the differences between Battleborn and Overwatch. Each title is worthy in their own right. “The plans for Doom are shaping up nicely and, even though Uncharted 4’s release date has moved a couple times, the title should have brilliant results. There are also a lot of fans of the Homefront and Mirror’s Edge franchises eager for their new releases to come out.” A senior buyer at a major High Street games chain added: “It’s the biggest May release slate for many years. Although, to be fair, May was very good last year with The Witcher 3 and Project CARS.” Each of these games will consider themselves as certain chart toppers. Although stores warn that some may want to consider moving into June, to spread the spend for consumers. Games Centre boss Robert Lindsay said: “At the risk of

MAY DAY PAY DAY

Battleborn (PS4, Xbox One, PC) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4) Doom (PS4, Xbox One, PC) Homefront: The Revolution (PS4, Xbox One, PC) Overwatch (PS4, Xbox One, PC) Total War: Warhammer (PC) Mirror’s Edge Catalyst (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

It’s the bugbear of our industry that there’s no major releases for weeks then a few in succession.

May 3rd May 10th May 13th May 20th May 24th May 24th May 26th

sounding like a broken record, it’s the bugbear of our industry that there’s no major releases for weeks then a few in succession. A little coordinated planning would benefit the whole industry.”

Robert Lindsay, Games Centre

PLUS DEEP SILVER’S 2016 COMEBACK n CAN YO-KAI WATCH CONQUER EUROPE? 03 MCV870 Cover_V7.indd 1

15/03/2016 17:03

NEWS

Koch Media: ‘Self-publishing really is dead’ CEO Klemens Kundratitz says backing Kickstarter success stories is a real opportunity for game publishers by Alex Calvin & Christopher Dring THE age of developers selfreleasing their games is over. That’s the claim of Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Dead Island and Saints Row publisher Koch Media. Speaking to MCV this week, he says that developers are facing the complexity of launching games globally across multiple platforms, and are turning to the likes of Koch Media for help. The ‘indie publishing’ sector has been booming in recent years, with companies such as Team17, Kiss, Curve, 505 Games, Sold Out, Rising Star Games, Nomad, Ripstone and Devolver capitalising on the market. Koch Media has specifically been supporting titles that have already been funded via Kickstarter. “It’s a great opportunity for us as a publisher to get behind products which have been validated by the

Koch Media is supporting Kickstarted game Mighty No.9.

community,” Kundratitz told MCV. “Many developers have tried the self-publishing model and were not successful and I think that apart from some exceptional cases, self-publishing really is dead. The complexity of bringing a game to market across the globe, across multiple platforms, often in digital and physical forms, requires a

lot of experience, a dedicated publishing infrastructure and considerable financial strength. That’s the reason why we believe teaming up with independent studios and crowdfunded products is absolutely a strategic element of Deep Silver’s future. “They are good examples of products where we teamed up

with very talented developers and formed a perfect alliance where both sides played to their strengths and were commercially successful in a partnership.” Koch Media announced last week that its Deep Silver publishing arm had teamed-up with UK outfit Sumo Digital to create Dead Island 2.

Hasbro, Cartoon Network and Nintendo unite to make Yo-kai Watch the UK’s ‘strongest boys brand’ by Christopher Dring NINTENDO and Viz Media say they’re throwing big money behind the launch of Yo-kai Watch. The 3DS game is due to arrive on April 29rd, less than a week after the first TV episode will air on April 23rd on Cartoon Network. The game is being backed by a ‘Splatoon and Super Mario Maker-sized’ marketing investment, Nintendo says. While toy manufacturer Hasbro and TV channel Cartoon Network are preparing their own campaigns for the toy range and a TV Show. “2016 is all about laying the foundations to support Yo-kai

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Remy van Leeuwen (pictured above) and Aadil Tayouga (pictured above)

Watch as it builds to become the strongest boys’ brand in the UK,” said Aadil Tayouga, EMEA licensing manager at licence holder Viz

Media Europe. “Key launches from Hasbro, Nintendo and Cartoon Network will introduce the universe to an eager audience

of young fans whilst retail right across the territory are very keen to build support programs. “We are working with licensees to ensure a successful soft launch through 2016, and then working with retail partners to build in-store theatre to support footfall and sell-through as our core program launches fully in Q1 2017.” Yo-kai Watch is a the most popular video game franchise in Japan. Nintendo UK product manager Remy van Leeuwen said: “It is difficult to say whether it will have the same impact in the West, but I definitely think that there is a lot of potential for it.”

www.mcvuk.com

15/03/2016 16:09

NEWS

Gamescom registrations up 60% for 2016 show by Christopher Dring THE organiser of Gamescom has reported an impressive start to its 2016 show. Koelnmesse say that it has had 60 per cent more registrations during its Early Bird period than it did in 2015. Businesses from 33 countries have already registered for the event, while Turkey will be this year’s partner country with a 500 square metre pavilion. Meanwhile, Bandai Namco, Bethesda, CD Projekt, Deep Silver,

THE EDITOR

EA, Konami, Nintendo, Oculus, Samsung, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Warner Bros and Wargaming are among the companies exhibiting at the show this year. eSports presentations from Turtle Entertainment have also been confirmed, alongside the return to the Indie Arena. Gamescom 2015 attracted 806 exhibitors from 45 countries in a newly expanded 193,000 square metre area. 345,000 visitors attended the event, including 33,500 trade visitors from 96 countries.

MAY 2016: WHO WILL TRIUMPH? IF there’s one thing that the record-breaking success of The Division proves, it’s that good games will sell whenever. It’s not all about Christmas. Not that the games industry needs to hear that lesson this year. It may have been a quiet start to the 2016, but from next month the major games come thick and fast. May’s line-up, in particular, is akin to what you’d expect in an October or November. May isn’t an unusual month for big video game launches. Ever since Rockstar released all those Spring blockbusters between 2008 and 2012 (GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire and Max Payne 3), we’ve been used to seeing a couple of big titles arrive that month. But what people often forget when looking to those major sellers are the games that didn’t make it. Remember Blur, Split/ Second, Brink or Alan Wake? All suﬀered in the shadow of Red Dead Redemption or LA Noire. And when you look at the release slate for this May, you have to wonder which ones gamers will prioritise, and which ones they’ll hold oﬀ until they’re on the pre-owned shelves. It’s not an easy answer. Battleborn (May 3rd) may be an ‘unproven new IP’, but it’s from a proven developer in Gearbox, which is responsible for 2K’s biggest franchise: Borderlands. A week later comes Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (May 10th), which could well prove to be the biggest launch on PS4 so far. Just a few days later we will have Doom (May 13th). After its impressive E3 showing, and

Companies from 33 countries have already registered for the 2016 Gamescom.

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No Man’s Sky (PS4)

Dark Souls III (PS4)

Pokkén Tournament + Amiibo Card (Wii U)

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Pokémon Moon (3DS)

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Quantum Break (XO)

Microsoft

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www.mcvuk.com

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May’s line-up is akin to what you’d expect in an October or November. following the marketing job Bethesda pulled on Fallout 4, you wouldn’t bet against that. Homefront: The Revolution (May 20th) is an interesting one. The first Homefront sold well, but wasn’t well received. However, this second title is from the former Crytek UK team, and Deep Silver has been building up to this one for some time. Then comes Blizzard’s Overwatch (May 24th). It’s a new IP and it’s a little similar to 2K’s Battleborn. But this is Blizzard we’re talking about. Everything it touches invariably turns to gold. And wrapping up the fourweek period is Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst (May 26th). The first game garnered a big cult following, despite not selling that much. But when you consider it’s EA’s first massive release of 2016, you can’t see past it being another hit. It’s going to be a competitive month. And you can’t help but feel that one or two of them will be better oﬀ in June or even (gasp) July. But rather than dwell on the negatives, there’s no question that it’s good to be getting excited about the release schedule this early in the year. cdring@nbmedia.com

March 18th 2016

15/03/2016 16:09

INTERVIEW DEEP SILVER

Rolling in the Deep After publishing a string of global hits such as Dead Island and Saints Row IV, Deep Silver has had a rather quiet couple of years. But with blockbuster titles like Homefront: The Revolution hitting stores in May, 2016 is looking to be one of the biggest years yet for the German publisher. Alex Calvin speaks to CEO Klemens Kundratitz

n the last five years, Deep Silver has elevated itself into the publishing big leagues. 2011’s zombie smash hit Dead Island put the company on the map worldwide. Then two years later, the company made a number of high-profile IP acquisitions from a bankrupt THQ. Deep Silver managed to get its hands on the open world crime franchise Saints Row, as well as post-apocalyptic IP Metro. What followed was the company’s most succesful year ever, but since Saints Row IV in 2013, it’s been relatively quiet for the firm. “Deep Silver has not been among the first publishers to release triple-A next generation games so it was a relatively quiet time,” CEO and founder Klemens Kundratitz says. “Traditionally as an independent publisher we have never been among the first to jump on a new generation of platform. We believe that in terms of development, we are better advised to be in the second range of publishers, especially with very big budget projects.” In 2016, Deep Silver is back with some of its more ambitious blockbusters. First up is Homefront: The Revolution in May – a project that Deep Silver saved when it stepped in and bought the franchise and development team after Crytek ran into financial difficulties. Deep Silver rebranded the team Deep Silver Dambuster Studios and has high expectations for the title. “Between now and the summer, Homefront is our entire focus,”

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Kundratitz says. “We’re going to surprise many people with the quality that product will finally deliver. We had some challenges along the way, but we are determined to establish Homefront as a well-recognised IP in the shooter genre. The game offers a massive single-player part which is really deep and immersive and then the co-op on top is really fun and unique.” BACK FROM THE DEAD That’s not the only major title that Deep Silver has in the works – the publisher also has a new Dead Island title in production. Sheffield’s own Sumo Digital is handling the project now, following difficulties with previous developer Yager. “We ceased the collaboration with them as we wanted to make no compromises with this IP,” Kundratitz explains. “Sumo Digital showed so much understanding of the brand and had creative ideas and an excellent, clear vision that was aligned with our own. It just made perfect sense for us to move the project to them. We are obviously super excited about the progress we are making with them.” Deep Silver also has some slightly smaller titles in its line-up, including Mega Man spiritual successor Mighty No.9. That title raised $4m through Kickstarter and Paypal and has a wealth of cult appeal, but has

Homefront: The Revolution hits shelves on May 20th.

been delayed a number of times due to technical issues. “Mighty No.9 in many ways is exciting for us. It’s our first development in Japan and a collaboration with [Mega Man and Mighty No.9 creator] Keiji Inafune,” Kundratitz says. “Unfortunately we just had to iron out the last multiplayer issues and that’s well on its way now. We are confident that we will release the game in the coming months.” POWER OF THE CROWD And Mighty No.9 isn’t the only Kickstarter title in Deep Silver’s line-up. Last year it launched physical versions of InXile’s Wasteland 2 and Revolution’s Broken Sword 5. In the near future, the firm is also publishing the new game from former

www.mcvuk.com

14/03/2016 16:02

DEEP SILVER INTERVIEW

Dead Island 2 is developed by Sumo Digital and published by Deep Silver

Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi – Bloodstained. “It’s a great opportunity for us as a publisher to get behind products which have been validated by the community,” Kundratitz says. “Many developers have tried the self-publishing model and were not successful and I think that, apart from some exceptional cases, self-publishing really is dead. The complexity of bringing a game to market across the globe, across multiple platforms, in digital and physical forms, requires a lot of experience, a dedicated publishing infrastructure and considerable financial strength. “That’s why we believe teaming up with independent studios and crowdfunded products is absolutely a strategic element of Deep Silver’s future. They are good examples of products where we teamed up with very talented developers and formed a perfect alliance where both sides played their strengths and are commercially successful in a partnership.”

www.mcvuk.com

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So, with a number of smaller projects as well as big IP like Homefront and potentially Dead Island 2, 2016 is looking to be one of Deep Silver’s busiest and potentially biggest years to date. “The coming 12 months will be marked by a number of key releases on console and PC,” Kundratitz says. “Deep Silver has evolved over the last five years as a leading independent developer and global publisher. We are closing the gap between us and the top league of games companies. But at the same time we are determined to keep our independent spirit to be a great publishing partner for other independent companies and form alliances that work for both partners in the long-term, in both the physical and digital space. Kundratitz concludes: “We have a lot of games in the pipeline and are very much looking forward to E3, where we are not going to be absent and where we will make our next major announcement.”

FURTHER PURCHASES

Self-publishing is dead. The complexity of bringing a game to market requires a dedicated infrastructure and considerable financial strength. Klemens Kundratitz, Deep Silver

OVER the last three years, Deep Silver has made a number of high profile acquisitions. It has purchased blockbuster IP such as Saints Row from THQ, as well as studios such as Fishlabs and the Homefront team at Crytek UK. And CEO Klemens Kundratitz says the firm is always looking to make new purchases. “It’s part of our nature as an independent publisher,” he says. “These days, we are keeping our eye out for viable investments. With changes in our industry happening on an almost weekly basis, there are often possibilities arising. Being independent we can act faster than others and can enter into different types of business relationships with our partners as we demonstrated with our crowdfunded products.”

March 18th 2016

14/03/2016 16:02

CHEAT SHEET

UP & DOWN

Market Data

The Division fires the UK games retail market to new heights

DOWN Far Cry Primal makes way for another Ubisoft hit, down one place

£20m

£19.3m 478,485 units

£30m £10m

£11.3m 339,068 units

Week Ending February 27th

£7.8m 256, 678 units

Week Ending March 5th

UP Ubisoft’s The Division is the biggest Q1 launch ever

Week Ending March 14th

EVENT CALENDAR MARCH 2016 .................................................................................. INSOMNIA 57 The NEC Birmingham, Birmingham Friday, March 25th – Monday, March 28th ■ Multiplay’s Insomnia eSports event returns to Birmingham’s NEC ■ Featuring pro-gaming events and the UK’s biggest LAN party ■ Counter-Strike, Rocket League, DOTA 2 and League of Legends tournaments to be played ■ Consumers can also check out the latest games in the Exhibition Hall ■ In addition, Insomnia 57 features the Indie Zone, Retro Zone and more GADGET SHOW LIVE 2016 NEC, Birmingham Thursday, March 31st - Sunday April 3rd ■ The UK’s largest consumer tech event returns for the eighth time at Birmingham’s NEC

.................................................................................. LONDON GAMES FESTIVAL London Friday, April 1st – Sunday, April 10h

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EGX REZZED Tobacco Dock, London Thursday, April 7th – Saturday, April 9th ■ Gamer Network’s indie-focused event returns to London’s Tobacco Dock ■ Consumers can try the latest games, from the big blockbusters to hits from smaller teams BAFTA GAME AWARDS Tobacco Dock, London Thursday, April 7th ■ Celebrating the best games of the last twelve months ■ Taking place at London’s Tobacco Dock

MAY 2016 ..................................................................................

APRIL 2016

March 18th 2016

■ The brand new LGF is a collaboration between UKIE, Film London and the Mayor of London ■ Five summits have already been announced, on VR, audio, finance, eSports and culture

INTERFACE St Mary’s Church, London Thursday, May 5th ■ MCV and Develop’s indie networking and investment event returns this May

www.mcvuk.com

15/03/2016 10:06

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

SQUARE ENIX SCORES PR SUCCESS WITH CHUCKLE BROTHERS/HITMAN VIDEO

1,337

A promotional video of the Chuckle Brothers playing real life Hitman was trending on Twitter on Friday. The comedy video saw Paul ‘Chuckle’ ordering the actor playing Agent 47 to: ‘hit her, hit her, hit her.’ Childhoods nationwide destroyed in a moment.

The number of stores selling video games in the UK has increased by more than 1,300

@OnlyOneT If team Capcom had a nasty boss they’d be getting a bollocking for not coming up with Chuckle brothers idea 1st... Top idea @SQUARE_ENIX_EU Stuart Turner, Capcom Friday, March 11th

@hanknova Well, that’s marketing done. No more marketing ever. You can’t do better.

SimCity-rival Cities: Skylines has now hit an impressive 2m sales

$100,000

Tim Edwards, PC Games N Friday, March 11th

SUMO DIGITAL SIGNS DEAD ISLAND 2

UK TO GET PHYSICAL/DIGITAL COMBINED CHART

UK studio Sumo Digital will handle development of upcoming zombie shooter Dead Island 2. Publisher Deep Silver had originally hired Yager to create the title. The story was revealed in MCV last week.

Data powerhouses SuperData and GfK have teamed up to put together a combined digital/ physical monthly UK chart. The chart will be just for console games and will debut in the summer.

@sumodigitaltd Would you look at that, we’re trending on Facebook! Come join us there too @Deadislandgame Sumo Digital Thursday, March 10th

@ATNewMedia Finally, a combined physical and digital chart. Amazing how difficult its been to nail it in this day and age AT New Media Wednesday, March 9th

@WalnutSoap Wasn’t super fussed about another Dead Island. But a Dead Island game from the Crackdown 3 guys? SIGN ME UP Paul Watson, Gamer Network Thursday, March 10th

The Pokémon Company is putting this amount behind a Pokken eSports event

The Chinese Room’s Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture dominated the nominations for next month’s BAFTAs

The number of weeks between GAME Fest at Birmingham NEC and EGX at the same venue

@Colm_Ahern Christmas Number 1 betting will be like late 90s pop charts, now! It’s f****ng all. to. play. for.

Colm Ahern, God Is A Geek Wednesday, March 9th

ANKA Headset - PDP Design and manufacture the Officially licensed Microsoft – fully Wireless Headset for Xbox ONE

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GAMESAID THIS WEEK LONDON MARATHON

GAMESAID GOLF DAY

STAND UP FOR GAMESAID

Next month, Warner Bros PR and GamesAid trustee Cat Channon is running the London Marathon to raise money for the charity. The 26.2 mile endurace race is taking place on April 24th and donations can be made via the platform JustGiving.

The annual GamesAid golf and spa day returns on July 14th. Since its debuts in 2008 the event has raised more than £375,000. Tickets can be booked on golfandspaday.com or by contacting Keeley Munden at keeley2703@hotmail.com.

Games industry comedy night Stand Up For GamesAid returns to London’s Comedy Store on May 9th. The event will be hosted by GamesAid patron and comedian Imran Yusuf. Tickets are available on thecomedystore.co.uk and cost £15

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

www.mcvuk.com

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March 18th 2016

15/03/2016 10:06

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

Konami strengthens PR and social media teams Two new recruits for Metal Gear Solid publisher ● IGN hires UK news editor ● Promotions at GamesRadar+ KONAMI | The Pro Evolution Soccer firm has recruited two new faces to its UK team. ASIM TANVIR (above left) is joining as online and social media manager. He used to run NextGen Gaming Blog and WENB for Kitana and also worked on Sky’s social side. Meanwhile, the business has named DANIELLE MOUNSEY (above) as senior PR manager for the UK. Mounsey previously worked for Square Enix as a PR executive, where she handled campaigns for titles such as Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy, Hitman and Deus Ex.

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Playstation, Official Nintendo, Kotaku UK and GamesRadar+. Skrebels commented: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining IGN, and will demonstrate my delight by changing my name to Ian-Graham Nicholmas. Please update your address books.”

“We’re busy looking forward to exciting projects within Konami, and Danielle and Asim bring unique skills that will help us elevate both PR and social media elements to a much wider audience,” said Konami’s head of communications JAY BOOR. “Both come with excellent track records and will be integral in extending the reach of our titles.”

GAMESRADAR | Future has promoted two members of GamesRadar’s editorial team. SUSAN ARENDT (above left), has worked as the site’s managing editor, is now the US executive editor. “I’m pleased to cap my first year at GamesRadar+ by

IGN | The media giant has named JOE SKREBELS as its UK news editor. He previously worked at Future as the Official Xbox Magazine community manager. He has also been a freelance writer for the likes of Edge, Official Xbox, Official

stepping into my new role,” she said. “The shifting sands of web media are an ongoing challenge, but I have complete confidence in our team’s ability to adapt and thrive. We’re focused and committed to finding ways both silly and serious to cover everything you love in gaming and entertainment.” Meanwhile, commissioning editor MATT ELLIOT has joined the global editorial team as senior commissioning editor. Elliot stated: “It’s enriching to be surrounded by such bright and brilliant people, and I look forward to sharing my hot takes on gargantuan RPGs, Star Wars and my inevitable, doomed search for companionship in Mass Effect: Andromeda.”

www.mcvuk.com

14/03/2016 14:21

WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

WEEKLY CHARTS TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION has just made history by becoming the best-selling Q1 title ever. The game has broken a 11-year record held by Sony’s Gran Turismo 4. So The Division logically debuts at No.1 in this week’s charts, with over 277,000 copies sold. The title has sold more units in its first 24 hours than any game in Ubisoft’s history. The firm can also prides itself on having Far Cry Primal as No.2, with sales declining by 58 per cent. Ubisoft also has a third title in the Top 10 this week: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, at No.10, in spite of sales decreasing by 30 per cent week-on-week. In the meantime, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III

comes back to the Top 3, thanks to a 11 per cent increase in sales. The only new entry this week is Square Enix’s Hitman, whose boxed digital Collector’s Edition for PS4 and Xbox One launched on March 11th. The title also debuts at No.9 in Steam’s charts. Sticking with the Steam chart, it is still dominated by The Division. But surprise hit Stardew Valley by Chucklefish is performing well at No.3. Over on mobile, Supercell’s new hit, Clash Royale, enters the Top 10 free iPad games at No.2 and the free iPhone titles chart at No.3. But Minecraft: Pocket Edition by developer Mojang still leads the listings for paid games, on both iPad and iPhone.

GLOBAL STEAM CHARTS (UNITS)

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

LW 01 02 09 NEW 07 06 RE NEW

TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION DEVELOPER: UBISOFT PUBLISHER: UBISOFT

TITLE Tom Clancy’s The Division (P) Stardew Valley The Culling Tom Clancy’s The Division Gold Edition Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Factorio Grand Theft Auto V Hitman

PUBLISHER Ubisoft Chucklefish Xaviant Ubisoft Valve Wube Rockstar Square Enix

TOP 40 UK PHYSICAL RETAIL 02

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

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

12 13 MCV870 weekly Charts_V3.indd 1

Title Format Publisher Tom Clancy’s The Division PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft Far Cry Primal PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft Call of Duty: Black Ops III PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard FIFA 16 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 PS4, XO, PC EA LEGO Marvel’s Avengers PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC Warner Bros Grand Theft Auto V PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Rockstar Forza Motorsport 6 XO Microsoft The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Wii U Nintendo Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft Heavy Rain & Beyond Two Souls Collection PS4 Sony Minecraft: Xbox Edition XO, 360 Microsoft Assassin’s Creed Syndicate PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft LEGO Jurassic World PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS4, PS3, Vita Sony Minecraft: Story Mode PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Telltale Games/Avanquest Rise of the Tomb Raider XO Microsoft Star Wars Battlefront PS4, XO, PC EA Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Konami WWE 2K16 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games Disney Infinity 3.0 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney Street Fighter V PS4, PC Capcom Halo 5: Guardians XO Microsoft Knack PS4 Sony Destiny: The Taken King PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard Mortal Kombat XL PS4, XO Warner Bros Fallout 4 PS4, XO, PC Bethesda Just Cause 3 PS4, XO, PC Square Enix Hitman PS4, XO Square Enix Killzone: Shadow Fall PS4 Sony Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection PS4 Sony Terraria PS4, XO, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC 505 Games Pokémon Omega Ruby 3DS Nintendo Just Dance 2016 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Ubisoft Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon 3DS Nintendo LEGO Marvel Super Heroes PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros Pokémon Alpha Sapphire 3DS Nintendo Deadpool PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga PS3, 360, Wii, DS, PC Warner Bros Need for Speed PS4, XO EA

Source: Steam, Period: March 7th to 13th March 18th 2016

Source: UKIE/GfK Entertainment, Period: Week ending March 12th 12

www.mcvuk.com

14/03/2016 16:05

WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

UK IPAD PAID

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 02 NEW 08 RE 09 NEW NEW 03 04

UK IPHONE PAID

(UNITS)

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

Title Assassin’s Creed Identity Maze: Subject 360 HD Draw a Stickman Goat Simulator Terraria Charlie and Lola: I’ve Won! The Secret Order: Beyond Time HD Minecraft: Story Mode Geometry Dash

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Ubisoft Big Fish Hitcents.com Coffee Stain Studios 505 Games BBC Worldwide Big Fish Telltale RobTop Games

LW 02 03 04 06 07 08 09 05 10

(UNITS)

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

Title Assassin’s Creed Identity Heads Up! Football Manager Mobile 2016 Plague Inc. Monopoly Game Bloons TD 5 Geometry Dash The Chase Tipping Point

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 29th to March 6th

UK IPAD GROSSING (REVENUE)

UK IPHONE GROSSING (REVENUE)

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 01 02 04 07 06 08 05 09 11

GAME OF WAR - FIRE AGE DEVELOPER: MACHINE ZONE

Title Clash of Clans Candy Crush Saga Candy Crush Soda Saga Boom Beach Hay Day Candy Crush Jelly Saga Mobile Strike The Sims FreePlay Gummy Drop!

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Supercell King King Supercell Supercell King Epic War EA Big Fish

LW 03 02 NEW 04 05 06 07 09 10

CLASH OF CLANS DEVELOPER: SUPERCELL

Title Candy Crush Saga Game of War – Fire Age Clash Royale Kendall and Kylie Mobile Strike Candy Crush Soda Saga Candy Crush Jelly Saga 8 Ball Pool Boom Beach

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 29th to March 6th

UK IPHONE FREE (UNITS)

LW NEW 01 05 04 07 RE 02 08 09

FAILY BRAKES DEVELOPER: SPUNGE GAMES

Title Clash Royale Stack Dream League Soccer 2016 Color Switch Piano Tiles 2 Super Sharp Kendall and Kylie Candy Crush Jelly Saga Merged!

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Supercell Ketchapp First Touch Games King Cheetah Technology 1Button Glu Games Roblox Corporation GramGames

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 29th to March 6th www.mcvuk.com

12 13 MCV870 weekly Charts_V3.indd 2

Developer King Machine Zone Supercell Glu Games Epic War King King Miniclip.com Supercell

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 29th to March 6th

UK IPAD FREE (UNITS)

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Ubisoft Warner Bros SEGA Ndemic Creations EA Ninja Kiwi RobTop Games Barnstorm Games Barnstorm Games

LW 02 NEW 08 07 09 NEW 04 NEW 03

STACK

DEVELOPER: KETCHAPP

Title Color Switch Clash Royale Faily Brakes Piano Tiles 2 Dream League Soccer 2016 Blackbox - Think outside the box Thumb Drift Two Dots Kendall and Kylie

Developer Samuel Ratumaitavuki Supercell Spunge Games Cheetah Technology First Touch Games Ryan McLeod SMG Studio Playdots Glu Games

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 29th to March 6th 13

March 18th 2016

14/03/2016 16:05

MONTHLY SALES CHARTS

FEBRUARY CHARTS CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS III was still at the top of the charts in February. But the title’s developer, Treyarch, was less profitable, thus losing its first place in the developer charts. This is due to No.1 developer Ubisoft Montreal having two titles in the charts this month (Far Cry Primal and Rainbow Six: Siege) and No.2 developer Traveller’s Tales having three of its LEGO games in the list. Activision’s shooter is followed by a new game: Far Cry Primal, which directly enters the charts at No.2. The title is also No.7 in the digital sales ranks. These good performances allow Ubisoft to lead both the publisher and developer ranks. After a rather quiet 2015, the firm has started the year with huge successes, as The Division has just broken sales records and will inevitably lead the March charts. There’s no surprise with the rest of the Top 5, with LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, published by Warner Bros, climbing the ladder

to become No.3, and EA’s FIFA 16 as well as Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V still in the Top 5. There are, however, a number of other new entries in the rest of the February charts. Street Fighter V debuts at No.8, so Capcom returns to both the developer (at No.7) and publisher listings - the firm is No.8 in terms of value. EA’s Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 enters the Top 40 charts at No.10 and Nintendo’s Pokémon Super Mistery Dungeon debuts at No.21. Meanwhile, Bandai Namco has two new titles in the list this month: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 at No.14 and Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth at No.28. Digital sales are led by FIFA 16 and Call of Duty: Black Ops III again, with £6.5m and £5m in revenues respectively. Physical software sales by format are still largely dominated by PlayStation with 45.5 per cent market share in terms of revenue and 40.7 per cent regarding units.

Far Cry Primal, published by Ubisoft, debuts at No.2 in this month’s charts.

TOP 40 UK PHYSICAL RETAIL 02

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

LM 01 NEW 04 02 05 03 06 NEW 07 NEW 15 10 08 NEW 12 11 16 14 09 17 NEW 13 20 23 25 27 22 NEW 21 19 36 37 35 18 39 32 RE 31 RE RE

Title Format Publisher Call of Duty: Black Ops III PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard Far Cry Primal PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft LEGO Marvel’s Avengers PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita Warner Bros FIFA 16 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA Grand Theft Auto V PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Rockstar Star Wars Battlefront PS4, XO, PC EA Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft Street Fighter V PS4, PC Capcom Fallout 4 PS4, XO, PC Bethesda Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 PS4, XO, PC EA Assassin’s Creed Syndicate PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft Minecraft: Story Mode PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Telltale Games Just Cause 3 PS4, XO, PC Square Enix Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 PS4, XO, PC Bandai Namco Minecraft: Xbox Edition XO, 360 Microsoft LEGO Jurassic World PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita Warner Bros Destiny: The Taken King PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS4, PS3, Vita Sony WWE 2K16 PS4, XO, PS3, 360 2K Games Forza Motorsport 6 XO Microsoft Pokémon Super Mistery Dungeon 3DS Nintendo Disney Infinity 3.0 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney Need for Speed PS4, XO EA Halo 5: Guardians XO Microsoft Resident Evil Origins Collection PS4, XO, PC Capcom Rise of the Tomb Raider XO, 360, PC Square Enix The Elder Scrolls Online PS4, XO, PC Bethesda Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth PS4 Bandai Namco Just Dance 2016 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Ubisoft Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection PS4 Sony Terraria PS4, XO, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC 505 Games/Merge The Sims 4 PC EA Wolfenstein: The Old Blood PS4, XO, PC Bethesda Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Konami LEGO Dimensions PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Warner Bros Life is Strange PS4, XO, PC Square Enix Battlefield Hardline PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA Battlefield 4 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA NBA 2K16 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Sports Killzone: Shadow Fall PS4 Sony

Source: UKIE/Gfk Chart-Track, Period: January 31st to February 27th March 18th 2016

14 15 MCV870 Monthly Charts_V5.indd 1

www.mcvuk.com

15/03/2016 10:08

MONTHLY SALES CHARTS

PHYSICAL SOFTWARE SHARE BY STUDIO (REVENUE)

01 TM 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LM 02 01 03 05 04 RE RE RE 05

TOP 10 UK CONSOLE DIGITAL SALES BY REVENUE (JANUARY)

UBISOFT MONTREAL PARENT COMPANY: UBISOFT

Developer Traveller’s Tales Treyarch EA Canada Rockstar North DICE Capcom PopCap Games CyberConnect2 Avalanche Studios

Parent company Warner Bros Activision Blizzard EA Take-Two EA Capcom Independent Independent Independent

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Title FIFA 16 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Grand Theft Auto V Fallout 4 Destiny Star Wars Battlefront Far Cry Primal FIFA 15 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege

Source: UKIE/Gfk Chart-Track, Period: January 31st to February 27th

PHYSICAL SOFTWARE SHARE BY PUBLISHER (REVENUE)

01 TM 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LM 01 03 02 05 06 12 15 07 10

LM 01 02 03 06 05 10 07 08 09

Revenue £6.5m £5m £1.8m £1.4m £1.14m £1.1m £0.95 £0.73m £0.70m £0.56m

PHYSICAL SOFTWARE SALES BY FORMAT (REVENUE)

UBISOFT Publisher Electronic Arts Warner Bros Activision Blizzard Take-Two Nintendo Bandai Namco Capcom Square Enix Microsoft

PHYSICAL SOFTWARE SHARE BY COMPANY (UNITS)

TM 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Publisher Electronic Arts Activision Rockstar Bethesda Activision Electronic Arts Ubisoft Electronic Arts Activision Ubisoft

Source: SuperData, Period: February 1st to February 29th

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Title

Manufacturer

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

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

Sony Microsoft Microsoft Nintendo Sony Nintendo N/A Nintendo Sony Nintendo

Source: UKIE/Gfk Chart-Track, Period: January 31st to February 27th

Format PS4, PS3, XO, 360 PS4, PS3, XO, 360 PS4. XO, PS3, 360 PS4, XO PS4, XO, PS3, 360 PS4, XO PS4, XO, PC PS4, PS3, XO, 360 PS4, XO, PS3, 360 PS4, XO

UBISOFT Publisher Electronic Arts Activision Blizzard Warner Bros Nintendo Take-Two Microsoft Bethesda Sony Square Enix

Source: UKIE/Gfk Chart-Track, Period: January 31st to February 27th

PHYSICAL SOFTWARE SALES BY FORMAT (UNITS) TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Title PlayStation 4 Xbox One Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 3DS PC Wii U Wii PlayStation Vita DS

Source: UKIE/Gfk Chart-Track, Period: January 31st to February 27th www.mcvuk.com

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Market Share 45.5% 32.7% 6.9% 5.1% 3.8% 2.6% 2.6% 0.3% 0.3% 0.1%

Manufacturer Sony Microsoft Microsoft Sony Nintendo N/A Nintendo Nintendo Sony Nintendo

Market Share 40.7% 29.3% 10.5% 5.7% 5.7% 3.9% 2.7% 0.8% 0.5% 0.2%

Source: UKIE/Gfk Chart-Track, Period: January 31st to February 27th 15

March 18th 2016

15/03/2016 10:08

YO-KAI WATCH COMES TO EUROPE

Bigger than Star Wars: Is Yo-kai Watch about to conquer Europe? The 3DS Japanese kids phenomenon reaches our shores next month. Just how big is it? And will it work over here? Christopher Dring speaks to Nintendo, licence holder Viz Media and Japanese experts Famitsu to find out

orget NX and smartphone games – the product that might just come to define Nintendo’s 2016 is a 3DS title. Yo-kai Watch is a monster of a Japanese phenomenon. Created by Level-5 (the company responsible for the Professor Layton series), the last Yo-kai Watch movie attracted more viewers in its first weekend than Star Wars: The Force Awakens (974,557 people went to see the film versus 800,258 for Star Wars). There wasn’t a full Yo-kai Watch 3DS game last year, but a spinoff game (Yo-kai Watch: Busters) went on to sell as many units as FIFA does over here (2m units). “The concept of Yo-kai is popular for Japanese people due to traditional folklore,” explains Mitsunobu Uwatoko, chief analyst at Famitsu. “There are other Yo-kai franchises, but Yo-kai Watch has translated the idea into the modern culture for young children. In addition, the marketing strategy is following Pokémon, and as a result it has become a strong franchise in all of entertainment.”

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He continues: “Developer Level5 will continue to develop the original video game series, but we believe they are planning the next step for Yo-kai Watch, such as holding an eSports event and developing contents for VR/AR.” GO WEST Yo-kai Watch certainly sounds a little like Pokémon. The game follows the story of either Nate or Katie, who come across a mysterious Yo-kai (which is a Japanese word for a sort of spirit) called Whisper. Whisper gives the hero the mysterious Yo-kai Watch, which allows the player to see other Yo-kai. Utilising the Watch, the game’s characters can befriend Yo-kai and use them to battle others. “Pokémon was created 20 years ago and we really hope that Yo-kai Watch is going to have the same awareness and longevity,” says Aadil Tayouga, EMEA Licensing Manager at licence holder VIZ Media Europe. “Yo-kai Watch is a unique property and is enjoying huge success around the world as

Viz’s Tayouga (top) and van Leeuwen (above) want to turn Yo-kai Watch into 2016’s biggest boy’s brand

a result of its ability to bring something new to the market. The animation is superbly crafted and written with a very strong sense of humor - it works on a more multi-tiered level than most of the other properties vying for attention in the boys’ market, displaying strong humor, adventure and didactic resolutions. “The Nintendo game is receiving rave reviews everywhere and, where many properties develop additional media platforms and licensing programs as an adjunct to the original property, all elements of the Yo-kai Watch universe come together as essential assets of the same core property. The TV will provide reach which will be enhanced by the interactive game and extended further by the consumer products, a virtuous circle to ensure growth and brand stability.” The humour and characters will prove key to Yo-kai Watch’s European performance. Titles from Japan don’t always succeed in the West – particularly ones that are steeped in Japanese folklore – but there are elements to the series

www.mcvuk.com

14/03/2016 14:25

YO-KAI WATCH COMES TO EUROPE

A NEW GENERATION FOR NINTENDO 3DS A big attractions for Nintendo around Yo-kai Watch is its potential impact on 3DS. The handheld machine is now five years old, and appears past its peak. There are a few potential hits for the platform this year, including a new Pokémon and Fire Emblem, yet whereas those games will likely appeal to existing 3DS owners, Nintendo product manager Remy van Leeuwen hopes Yo-kai Watch will entice new users to the machine. “3DS has still got a big life ahead of it,” he says. “There will be a lot of great experiences and Yo-kai Watch, particularly, will help expand it into the kids market. There’s more beyond this first title, So there’s hardware driving potential.”

that Nintendo and Viz believe will resonate with children worldwide. “It is difficult to say whether it will have the same impact in the West, but I definitely think that there is a lot of potential for it, especially working together with the likes of [toy company] Hasbro and [TV company] Turner,” says Nintendo UK product manager Remy van Leeuwen. “Everyone is going to back it to its fullest. Because of the nature of Yo-kai and their emotional abilities, it makes it quite easy for kids to relate to them. For instance, there is a Yo-kai called Cheeksqueek, which basically makes people fart. That’s been a hit with kids in our research.” He continues: “One of the other key aspects that will definitely resonate with kids in the UK is the comedy aspect to it. The characters themselves are just funny, and they’re quite deep, too. We will be trying to bring that out in our campaign.” Nintendo hopes its hardcore fans will be interested in the game, but its main aim is to win over kids. However, van Leeuwen says

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Yo-kai Watch has taken Japan by storm, says Famitsu’s Uwatoko

simply recreating the Pokémon effect won’t be easy. “We live in a wildly different time if you compare it to when the first Pokemon games were released,” he says. “But there are a lot of other opportunities now to engage with kids, with the TV show starting on Cartoon Network, I think that’s a great place for kids to be introduced to the franchise, to get to know the universe and characters. And then go and explore from there.”

WHAT WE THINK IS this Pokemon 2.0? Yo-kai Watch is a huge Japanese hit in merchandise, TV and games. It’s also about battling monsters (of sorts), so the comparisons are there. However, unlike Pokémon, this is a brand heavily based in Japanes culture, which may deter Western players. Also, unlike when Pokémon hit, the kids media landscape is fragmented and challenging. However, with huge names such as Turner, Hasbro and Nintendo throwing their respective marketing weights behind it, there’s ever reason to believe this can become 2016’s top boy’s brand.

ONE TO WATCH Nintendo says the marketing campaign it is putting behind Yo-kai Watch has an investment akin to last year’s blockbuster launches of Splatoon and Super Mario Maker. And that’s not including the campaigns from Cartoon Network and Hasbro. The toys set to reach the market over the summer includes the Yo-kai Watch itself, plus a series of collectable medals that appear in the game and show – this will be joined by a book to store the medals. There will also be plush toys and figurines.

The TV show will debut on Cartoon Network on April 23rd, six days before the 3DS game hits. There is currently no word on the manga series or the movies, although Viz points to early 2017 for the next major push behind Yo-kai Watch. “For the moment, we are focusing on the launch of the franchise in the West,” continues Viz’s Tayouga. “2016 is all about laying the foundations to support Yo-kai Watch as it builds to become the strongest boys’ brand in the UK. Key launches from Hasbro, Nintendo and Cartoon Network will introduce the universe to an eager audience of young fans whilst retail right across the territory are very keen to build support programs for the wider merchandise program. “We are currently working with a large number of licensees to ensure a successful soft launch through publishing and soft lines in 2016 before, working with key retail partners to build in-store theatre to support footfall and sell-through as our core program launches fully in Q1 2017.”

March 18th 2016

14/03/2016 14:25

RICH TAYLOR, ESA INTERVIEW

Is E3 in trouble? Christopher Dring speaks to Rich Taylor, the senior vice president of E3 organiser ESA, about the recent loss of Activision and EA from the expo’s show floor

EA and Activision have both decided not to hold a booth at E3 this year. It has raised questions within the trade over the relevance of E3. What do you make of the situation? I always have this conversation. The ‘is E3 still relevant?’ question gets asked every year, and then gets answered in June of that same year with a resounding ‘yes’. E3 is beyond relevant, it is essential and critical to the game and entertainment industry calendar. There is nothing that suggests that this one is going to be any different. It changes year-over-year. It has never been a stagnant show. Last year, if you asked most people in the aftermath of E3 how they found it, many, I know for a fact, will tell you it was the best E3 they can remember, the best ever, the best E3 in years. But in the ramp up to that show I was answering the same sort of questions that you just put to me. I am looking forward to it, I think it is going to be another tremendous show, and then we’ll have this same conversation next year again. I agree that last year’s show was good. But when you see two of the biggest companies in video games decide to abandon their typical giant booths, you can appreciate why that might raise a few of these questions... You can understand why folks ask. Individual companies are making decisions based on themselves, it’s not about the value of E3, it’s about where they are, and I will leave it to them to provide answers on a company-by-company basis. But E3 is constantly evolving, a few years ago we didn’t have VR, last

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going on, a record number, I believe, that starts a few days before and goes into the start of E3. That’s a reflection of the fact that people realise that the place to make news and break news, and have that amplified around the globe in a way like no other show can, is at E3. That is why the Bethesdas and Xboxs and PlayStations and Ubisofts know that this is a great launching ground for the exciting titles they have coming up.

year we had 27 companies at E3 showing virtual reality products and now it is in the marketplace. E3 changes. It is not the same year-over-year-over-year. There’s a familiarity to it, but one of the things we do at the close of every show as we’ve discussed in the past - is that we talk to everyone we can - attendees, exhibitors, retailers, you name it - and we try and figure out how to change the experience and make it better. We’ve done that this time, and we will be making adjustments to guarantee it is going to be a tremendous show. There are a number of press briefings

E3 has been, and will continue to be, the place to be for those who care about and love the world of video games. Rich Taylor, ESA

EA is still doing stuff during the E3 week, of course. In fact they’re doing more than ever with their own event. But for them it’s a case of wanting more consumer involvement. E3 last year allowed a limited number of gamers into the show via your partners, but do you need to go a bit bigger and open the door to fans? Again, we are always trying to work out what magic levers we can push and pull to make the show better than the previous edition. The consumer question is certainly part of that equation. You saw last year, as you mentioned, individual companies who brought along some of their most valued customers. We will probably end up doing that again this year, and there will be some additional elements on top of that, which may or may not happen. But we are always trying to figure out what we need to do, such as finding ways to better accommodate and facilitate YouTube personalities. We just continue to look around and see how we can make the experience right not only for the exhibitors, but the attendees and reporters who cover it. And the consumer question, that is one of the points

March 18th 2016

16/03/2016 09:37

INTERVIEW RICH TAYLOR, ESA

E3 is the launching pad for the games industry, says ESA

that we will take a hard look at. I think we have shown over the last few years how that has been evolving. The challenge will be in fitting in consumer visitors alongside the masses of industry attendees. That’s the balance we have to strike. We need to make sure the show is serving its core purpose, whatever that may be. And that core purpose may change yearover-year as well. Are you happy with your home at the Los Angeles Convention Center? Could you move to a more suitable venue? We haven’t made any formal announcements as of yet. We have a great relationship with LA and we will be making announcements regarding the future at the close of E3 in terms of plans for 2017. Right now we have reached an accommodation with Los Angeles that’s makes us comfortable in the near term. On the assumption that EA and Activision’s absence leaves a gulf on the show floor at E3, do

March 18th 2016

19 20 MCV870 ESA_V4.indd 2

you need to be more aggressive in broadening your reach into the mobile and PC communities? You raise the right point, we obviously want to have a robust, energetic show floor. So if people aren’t there, we will find others to be there. E3 is a place that people want to be. We are not inviting them to a mortuary convention, it is quite the opposite. There is a lot of activity in this space, from the college level to indie developers to triple-A titles. We are talking to a number of entities and developers, encouraging them and inviting them to be a part of the show when perhaps in the past they have not been. There are opportunities now for new faces to be part of the excitement there.

WHAT WE THINK THE ESA may dismiss EA and Activision’s decision to abandon their booths, but this is a big loss to the organisers. They’ll need to fill the gaps with some other big companies, and work on winning them back for 2017. E3 remains an exciting event this year. These ‘absent’ businesses are still going to be there in some form. Plus, there are a significant number of big press conferences. But these events are anchored around that central E3 show. Without it, the PlayStation/Xbox/Nintendo head-to-head fights will likely be a thing of the past. And for the millions that tune in every year, that will be missed.

Are there other new elements you can talk about from E3 this year? Not really, because most of the stuff that becomes new and news are what the companies unveil at E3. We just provide the roof and the walls, and we make sure it is all working. Our role is ultimately the least glamorous of what happens that week. We are not the men

on the flying trapeze, we are the workers that set up the circus. I just know that anecdotally companies have some new and fun things that will be announced. There will be an increased presence and activity around the virtual reality and augmented reality spaces, which will be interesting. But a lot of this is still being put together and there will be announcements that we will be able to share, when we are allowed to share them. What would you say to those that are concerned about the recent absentees from E3? The best message is that E3 has been, and will continue to be, the place to be and the place to follow for those who care about and love the world of computer and video games. For those people who love entertainment and love innovation. We are the hub, the centrepiece and the launching pad for all the most exciting elements in any of those areas. If you care about that, then E3 is going to do what it has always done, and that is put rocket fuel behind that excitement you already have, and propel you towards the coming year in entertainment.

www.mcvuk.com

16/03/2016 09:37

KEY MARKETING ACTIVITIES Massive TV campaign with Eurosport’s MXGP coverage. Press tour at the MXGPs in Qatar and the Netherlands. Extensive online advertising with key media partners. Sponsorship of events – inc Hawkstone and the MXGP.

Coming April 8th 2016 MXGP - The o cial FIM Motocross World Championship Videogame © 2016 developed and published by Milestone s.r.l. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2016 YouthStream - All rights reserved

“FULL OF FANTASTIC ENVIRONMENTAL AND CREATURE DESIGN” “DARK SOULS III, THE MOST ANTICIPATED OF THE SOULS SERIES SO FAR” “MOST REWARDING GAME OF 2016” “DARK SOULS III IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING” “I FELT A SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT LIKE NO OTHER” “DARK SOULS III FEELS FASTER AND IT IS THIS THAT DEFINES THE GAME”

PC Dark Souls™ III & ©BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. / ©2011-2016 FromSoftware, Inc.. Published and distributed by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S. and its subsidiaries. “2” and “3” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Ø” is a trademark of the same company.

E M B R A C E T H E D A R K N E S S

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A P R I L

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INTERVIEW VERONIQUE LALLIER, HI-REZ

Flying Hi Smite’s creator Hi-Rez is making a big move towards Europe, as well as launching on consoles and competing to win a BAFTA this year. Marie Dealessandri speaks to the new VP of European publishing Véronique Lallier to find out more about the studio’s ambitions

n February, US studio Hi-Rez announced that it has finally decided to cross the pond to open a brand new office in Brighton, and appointed Véronique Lallier to run it. The developer also announced that of its beloved Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) title Smite will be coming to PS4. In addition, the game has been shortlisted as one of six nominations for the AMD eSports Audience Award at this year’s BAFTAs. “MOBA is definitely a big market and I would say that it’s growing a lot: at the end of 2015 we had doubled our Smite player base, from seven million to 14 million unique users. I think it’s definitely a very healthy market,” Véronique Lallier enthuses. The former Warner Bros’ VP of digital publishing has been working in the games industry for 17 years, for companies such as Ubisoft, Take-Two and NCSoft Europe. But joining Hi-Rez was not a difficult choice to make: “Hi-Rez shapes its games around the community, around what players like, and makes sure its products revolve around that. So that’s why I really wanted to join them,” she explains. Lallier adds: “I had an amazing conversation with these guys and I really fell in love with their vision. I’m really excited to be a part of it now and really excited with the opportunity the European market offers, because that was a very important move.

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The team in the US is very keen to develop our focus towards the European users, and having me in place now - and I will have a few people joining me in the next few months - will definitely help us to achieve that and to serve better our European user base. Hopefully, it will also attract more players into our game. It’s an exciting prospect.”

but all our websites and tools are not fully localised,” says Lallier. “So that’s something I really want to make sure is done in the near future, because I think it’s the best way for us to make sure our users are aware of our latest news. I want to make sure everyone in Europe can understand what we are talking about, what are our next moves, what are the changes we are bringing into the game based on their feedback... This is really my focus: making sure we develop to serve the European communities better.” The new VP of European publishing insists Hi-Rez’s messages need to be “properly addressed.” “We want to make sure we have a presence locally, like setting up local tournaments and events, meeting with our players but also hearing from them, what they would like to see change, what is their feedback on the game,” Lallier explains. Smite’s community in Europe is already well established, as the European team won the 2016 Smite World Championship. “That was great for us because the way the team has played was actually quite different from what you could see the other teams doing, by picking

LOCALISING SMITE After entering the Asian market a few years ago with a studio in China, Hi-Rez is now eager to grow in Europe. So what’s the developer’s first priority here? “Finding an office space,” Véronique Lallier laughs. “Something which is very close to our heart is communicating with our fans with videos, so part of the requirement for this office is having a green screen room where we can broadcast and create content, but also do some shoutcasting. That is something that is very important for us,” she explains. But more importantly, in order to connect with its community in Europe, Hi-Rez is working on Smite’s localisation. “At the moment, it is localised in multiple European languages

www.mcvuk.com

14/03/2016 14:22

VERONIQUE LALLIER, HI-REZ INTERVIEW

Smite’s open beta is launching on PlayStation 4 next week.

up different gods, doing different mixes between skills, and I think that’s how they won this, by surprising the opponents,” Lallier says. “That’s something Europeans do well: doing things slightly differently. They are trying to optimise the gameplay and the skills of the gods by using very unusual mixes.“ PLATFORM AGNOSTIC But Hi-Rez’s ambitions don’t stop there. After its huge success on PC, Smite has begun its transition to consoles. “The launch on Xbox One last year really drove some of the big increases in our player base,” Lallier comments. “It’s definitely a great market. But our vision is more about making games for

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our community and it’s kind of ‘platform agnostic’ I would say, because we are not only making PC titles, we are making fun and free-to-play games. In midJanuary we launched our first mobile game, Jetpack Fighter. So for us the matter is more to know where our community is and how we can serve them better, and not really the platform. “We are also working on our new IP Paladins right now. It is going to launch first on PC, as we did start the beta phase, but we will also launch it on consoles.” She continues: “I am also very excited about the launch of Smite on PlayStation 4. I can’t wait until March 22nd when it goes into open beta, allowing everyone to jump in and start playing. Releasing on PS4 shows

We want to make sure our games are optimised to the way our consumers are playing. Véronique Lallier, Hi-Rez

Hi-Rez’s dedication in bringing the same fun and accessible game experience to our fans on all platforms.” “We are not afraid to do crazy changes so basically we are testing a lot during these phases and, for example, we’ve changed a lot of things in Paladins since we launched the game in this beta phase, because we really want to make sure the game is optimised to the way our consumers are playing.” And when asked what are her aims for the year to come, Lallier’s answer remains pretty simple: “We just want to keep on providing great content for our fans, continue to be present and create great eSports seasons for our professionals, and just continue to have fun.”

March 18th 2016

14/03/2016 14:22

American Nightmare is rated PEGI 18; users under 18 in PEGI-rating countries receive Kameo instead. Available at participating retailers, while supplies last. Not available in all markets. Pre-release game; game release dates, availability, content and features subject to change. Download from Xbox Live; Show requires broadband internet; ISP fees apply. ÂŠ 2016 Remedy Entertainment Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Alan Wake is a registered trademark of Remedy Entertainment Ltd.

Company

Call our specialist sales teams 01279 822 822 exertis.co.uk/home store.exertis.co.uk/home

DAN PEARCE INTERVIEW

INDIE INTERVIEW Ten Seconds with Dan Pearce Aged just 16, Dan Pearce was picking up awards for games development. Five years on, Alex Calvin speaks to an older and wiser developer about the massive changes to the indie sector and his new game, Ten Second Ninja X

2 year-old Dan Pearce’s CV will make many developers weep with jealousy. In 2010, at the age of just 16, he was awarded the BAFTA Young Game Designer prize; just three years later he was chosen as one of the organisation’s Breakthrough Brits. “It was really strange,” Pearce says. “Every single time I did anything with BAFTA I kept thinking ‘okay, this is the last time so I’ll make the most of it’ so I’d always talk to everyone and try and take advantage of the opportunity as best I could. I keep being involved with BAFTA and I’m terrified of the day that they go: ‘nope, we’re done with you now’.” Part of Pearce’s prize for winning the BAFTA Young Game Designer was spending a week with EA’s now-defunct Bright Light studio, which was then developing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. And his experience there put him off the triple-A scene. “Everyone there was happy and treated me quite nicely but no-one was making what they wanted to make,” Pearce explains. “The people making that game went on straight afterwards to make Alien Isolation and absolutely nailed it. That’s what that team can do when they were given the time and the budget to do it. It was heartbreaking to see all that talent go to waste by being given such short development times and such small budgets. It terrified me that I could be doing my absolute best and still put out a really bad game because someone higher up didn’t do their job properly. That terrified me.” THE INDIE DREAM After finishing school, Pearce attended a Game Design course at the University of Westminster. But by this point he was close to finishing two video games – Ten Second Ninja and Castles in the Sky – so opted to leave and go indie. But that sector has changed a lot in the last few years. “The indie dream of going it alone, working right down to the last penny, putting your work out there and doing it all alone is not possible anymore,” Pearce explains. “You could have done that in 2012 or 2013, but unless you

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Dan Pearce released Ten Second Ninja in 2014 and is currently working on a updated version, entitled Ten Second Ninja X.

It terrified me that I could be doing my absolute best and still put out a really bad game because someone higher up didn’t do their job properly. Dan Pearce

have a lot of experience that is tremendously difficult now.” He continues: “There’s been a big surge of people who decided to go indie after [2012 documentary] Indie Game: The Movie. A lot of that seems to be people who saw the movie and thought ‘I can do that’. That movie came out when the indie movement was having the biggest peak it will ever have, this massive surge of developers making cool and interesting games on a budget. And it didn’t even need to be hugely polished, people were buying it anyways. People are moaning about the indieapocalypse because that was what indie was and they weren’t recognising

it for what it was: the biggest peak that style of game development has ever had. The truth of the matter is this is exactly what indie is most of the time. This is why publishers exist.” Since leaving university, Pearce has released the two aforementioned games. And right now he is working on a new and updated version of Ten Second Ninja entitled Ten Second Ninja X. “I got into the indie scene around 2012/2013, when you could release something that was a little bit rough around the edges, but so long as it had a good core then it was fine and people were accepting of that,” he explains. “I feel like around the start of 2014 when Ten Second Ninja came out, that was starting to go away and you were starting getting indies releasing their second games that were a lot more polished. On a narrative level we were a little bit cheap with our ideas. I don’t want to make good games; I want to make great games. Ten Second Ninja was a great game and I couldn’t let that go just because it was the most visible game that I have yet published. And I want Ten Second Ninja X to take its place because we’re only a few months out from releasing it and I genuinely believe it’s a great game. “I’m so proud of it and it feels like what the first game should have been.”

March 18th 2016

14/03/2016 17:09

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE

Michael Evans-Taylor from Outland Video Games shares his enthusiasm for Nintendo’s next console (but not so much for virtual reality) and talks about PlayStation 4 getting the upper hand over Xbox One How has business been lately? It’s been pretty good, which is a nice surprise considering it’s just after Christmas and it is usually quieter. What games have been selling particularly well recently? The Division has been the big seller but, other than that, it has been mostly PS4 titles in general more than anything. There hasn’t been one stand out title because there were so many new games recently that have been huge.

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

What platform do you think will perform the best this year? I think PS4 will continue to go forward. I’d like to see the Wii U getting a bit of traction, but Nintendo has been pretty stranded lately and it lacks a few exclusives. I think the PS4 has, in my opinion, better exclusives than the Xbox One. And it’s selling much better down here as well.

I’m really looking forward to the NX as I’m personally a huge Nintendo fan, but it’s hard to know what’s going on with them. I’m hoping it’s going to have some kind of compatibility with 3DS and the Wii U, since the Wii U has not been around for as long as consoles usually are in this generation. And obviously a lot of games have just come out on it. Nintendo also has the New 3DS that recently came out and they’re not releasing many New 3DS exclusive games. So,

What are your thoughts on the next Nintendo console?

Virtual reality seems good but I’m still not sure it’s more than a gimmick. Michael Evans-Taylor, Outland Video Games

PRICE CHECK: MAIDSTONE

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS 1. UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END LAUNCH EDITION Sony, PS4 2. UFC 2 Day 1 Edition - Iron Mike Tyson Hall of Famer & The Gracie EA .............................................................................PS4

FORZA MOTORSPORT 6

3. No Man’s Sky Sony.........................................................................PS4

NEED FOR SPEED

4. Dark Souls III Bandai Namco ...................................................PS4

EA, PS4

6. Pokémon Moon Nintendo............................................................... 3DS 7. UFC 2 Day 1 Edition - Iron Mike Tyson Hall of Famer & The Gracie EA ................................................................................XO

9. Pokémon Sun Nintendo............................................................... 3DS 10. Monster Hunter Generations Nintendo............................................................... 3DS

The latest digital releases coming to market

Bandai Namco, PS4

£49.99

£24.99

N/A

£44.99

£45.99

£49.99

£28.99

£42.99

£44.99

£29.99

£34.99

£37

£33.90

£25.20

£32.85

£47.56

£45.62

£29.45

£40.79

ACTION HENK

THE ELDER SCROLLS: THIEVES GUILD

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST

RageSquid’s toy racer finally landed on Xbox One and PlayStation 4

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited DLC is coming to consoles

The SNES hit is now available for New Nintendo 3DS players

OUT: NOW

March 18th 2016

28 29 MCV870 Retail_V4.indd 1

Nintendo, Wii U

IN STORE

8. Quantum Break Microsoft ..................................................................XO

PROJECT CARS

ONLINE

5. Pokkén Tournament + Amiibo Card Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

UPLOADING

Microsoft, XO

MARIO KART 8

OUT: MARCH 23RD

OUT: NOW

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14/03/2016 14:23

MARKETPLACE

Outland Video Games 67 High St, Ryde PO33 2RJ

Phone: 01983 566954 Website: www.facebook.com/ OutlandVideoGames

you know, rather than sort of killing its consoles entirely with a new one, we can hope for some kind of cross feature with the NX.

anymore. Unless you get some really, really immersive VR titles, I think it should be seen as a sort of gimmicky thing.

How do you think virtual reality will do? I’ve used the Oculus Rift a few times at trade events. It seems good but I’m still not sure it’s more than a gimmick, like when 3D came out. Some games used 3D for a while but then it all settled down and you don’t really see it

Can you tell me about your prospects for the year to come? Things look quite good since a lot of very good games are coming out this year. I’m looking forward to the new Uncharted game. The second hand market is also stronger than ever, so that’s quite a good thing for us.

INCOMING TITLE

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

Four new LEGO Dimensions packs come to retail today, as well as Nintendo’s Pokémon fighting title, Pokkén Tournament FORMAT

GENRE

PUBLISHER

TELEPHONE

DISTRIBUTOR

March 18th LEGO Dimensions DC Comics Aquaman Fun Pack

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360

Toys-to-life

Warner Bros

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

LEGO Dimensions DC Comics Superman Fun Pack

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360

Toys-to-life

Warner Bros

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

LEGO Dimensions Ghostbusters Stay Puft Fun Pack

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360

Toys-to-life

Warner Bros

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

LEGO Dimensions Midway Arcade Level Pack

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360

Toys-to-life

Warner Bros

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Pokkén Tournament

Wii U

Fighting

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

Revolution: 25th Anniversary Collection

Adventure

Revolution

01256 385 200

Koch Media

Senran Kagura: Estival Versus

PS4/Vita

Action

PQube

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

3DS

Action

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault

PS4/PS3/Vita

Strategy

PQube

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Alekhine’s Gun

PS4/XO/PC

Action

Avanquest

01480 359 403

Open

March 24th Hyrule Warriors: Legends March 25th

Disney Infinity 3.0: Marvel Battlegrounds Playset

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360/PC Toys-to-life

Disney Interactive

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

République

PS4

Action-adventure

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

Trackmania Turbo

PS4/XO/PC

Racing

Ubisoft

01279 822 822

Exertis

Adam’s Venture: Origins

PS4/XO/PC

Puzzle-adventure

Soedesco

01902 861 527

Pavillion

MXGP 2

PS4/XO/PC

Racing

PQube

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Nights of Azure

PS4

RPG

Koei Tecmo

01462 476130

Open

Trillion: God of Destruction

Vita

RPG

Idea Factory

0208 664 3456

Creative

Dirt Rally

PS4/XO/PC

Racing

Codemasters

01256 385 200

Koch Media

Quantum Break

XO/PC

Action-adventure

Microsoft

01279 822 800

Exertis

April 1st

April 5th

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March 18th 2016

14/03/2016 14:23

TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION

TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION Ubisoft’s latest phenomenon brings its share of merchandise. And as The Division is already a huge success, retailers should probably look into it. That’s why Marie Dealessandri has selected the finest products available

TOM CLANCY’S The Division has only been out for ten days but it is already breaking records. The RPG has sold more copies in its first 24 hours than any game in Ubisoft’s history and has become the best-selling Q1 game ever. The firm did not provide any sales numbers though, but referred to “millions of players’ enduring engagement in The Division’s game world.” The title has even been a victim of its own commercial

The Division sold more copies in its first 24 hours than any game in Ubisoft’s history.

(and critical) success: on the day it launched, players were too numerous to be able to get past each other in the first Safe House of the game and everybody had to politely queue to take the first mission. The Division takes place in a post-apocalyptic New York City, after it was wiped out by a smallpox outbreak. Gamers play as the Strategic Homeland Division agents, a group activated as humanity’s last hope, fighting

THE DIVISION - TAKE BACK NEW YORK SWEATER A post-apocalyptic scenario should not prevent the Strategic Homeland Division agents from being well dressed. Actually, this hoodie sends the perfect message: ‘take back New York’, just in case players forget the purpose of The Division. It also features the agents’ motto: “Extremis Malis, Extrema Remedia” (“Desperate times call for desperate measures”). SRP: $59.99 (£42) Manufacturer: Ubisoft Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822

TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION: NEW YORK COLLAPSE

THE DIVISION STAINLESS STEEL MUG

THE DIVISION PHOENIX BEANIE

New York Collapse is an ‘in-world companion’ to The Division. By resolving the book’s mystery, players will learn key secrets about the game.

There’s always time for tea thanks to this stainless steel mug, even if there’s a city to save.

This beanie would be perfect to protect the SHD agents from New York’s postapocalyptical weather.

SRP: £19.99 Manufacturer: Chronicle Books Distributor: Abrams & Chronicle Books Contact: info@abramsandchronicle.co.uk

SRP: £9.99 Manufacturer: Numskull Distributor: Numskull Contact: 01707 800 881

SRP: £14.99 Manufacturer: Merchandise Monkey Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

March 18th 2016

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14/03/2016 14:23

TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION