MCV 871 March 25th 2016 by Biz Media Ltd

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 871 FRIDAY MARCH 25TH 2016

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TITLE: PLATFORM: GENRE: RELEASE DATE: RATING: PLAYERS: DEVELOPER:

YO-KAI WATCH© Nintendo 3DS RPG 29th April 2016 PEGI 7 1-2 Level-5

REALITY SHOW

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES

SONY, DEVELOPERS AND RETAIL ON PLAYSTATION VR AT GDC

ISSUE 871 FRIDAY MARCH 25TH 2016

UK gamers trust specialist media more than YouTubers GameTrack data reveals 83 per cent of gamers trust the likes of IGN, Edge and GameSpot O But official trailers are more influential than independent media by Christopher Dring THE specialist press is the most trusted source for video games opinion in Britain. Data from Ipsos Connect’s GameTrack shows that 83 per cent of gamers have faith in specialist games media like Eurogamer and GameSpot, more than they trust any other form of gaming outlet. This includes YouTubers and other video bloggers, which are trusted by 71 per cent of UK gamers. Advertising is trusted by 60 per cent, while official trailers and developer websites are both

trusted by 75 per cent of gamers. Mainstream media, such as newspapers, command a 70 per cent rating, while social media streams were trusted by 61 per cent of players. The data will come as reassurance to the traditional press, which has seen its standing in the games media eroded by the popularity of YouTube videos and Twitch streams. Across Europe (France, Spain, Germany and Britain), the ﬁgures are a little lower. 75 per cent of gamers in these four European countries say they trust specialist

media, versus 61 per cent for YouTubers. Advertising is only trusted by 44 per cent of European gamers. However, when it comes to influence, the figures are quite different. In the UK, 68 per cent say that specialist media impacts their decisions versus 67 per cent for YouTubers and video bloggers. But it is official trailers (75 per cent) and advertising (72 per cent), which have the biggest influence on gamers’ opinions. For the data, GameTrack spoke to 8,317 gamers, including 2,107 from the UK.

67% The percentage of gamers who are inﬂuenced by YouTubers and video bloggers

ADVERTISING

SPECIALIST MEDIA

NEW SPAP

YOUTUBER

TRUST LEVEL 60%

TRUST LEVEL 83% POPULARITY

5.7M

INFLUENCE

68%

ERS

POPULARITY INFLUENCE TRUST LEVEL

71%

POPULARITY 42.8M INFLUENCE

N/A 72%

TRUS

T LEV EL 7 0% POPU LARIT Y 1.8 6M INFLU ENCE 51%

67%

PLUS CAN PC SAVE THE XBOX? MILES JACOBSON’S ROLLERCOASTER YEAR

NEWS

Sony considering PlayStation VR PS VR could become the ‘must bundles for European markets have’ Christmas gift of 2016 by Christopher Dring PLAYSTATION VR may yet be bundled with the Move and the PS Camera in Europe. Last week, Sony announced that its headset will launch in October for £350. The PS VR requires the PlayStation Camera to operate, and also makes use of the Move controllers. A bundle with these products is available in the US, but there was no news as to whether this will be coming to European markets. Speaking to MCV shortly after the announcement, European president Jim Ryan suggests there will be some bundles come October, and

has defended the absence of the Camera from the base unit. “Europe is a delight to work in, but it is complicated, fragmented and challenging from a logistical perspective,” he explained. “It is complicated by the fact that the install base of both PlayStation Camera and PlayStation Move numbers in the many millions. So we don’t want to load the box with these things, when in some cases our consumers already own them. “We just need to get into the detail of what our SKU conﬁgurations are. What retailers might do, because UK retailers love nothing better than to create a bundle. I have to work it through country-by-country, retailer-by-retailer... it is messy, but it is eminently solvable.”

By Alex Calvin UK retailers have tipped PlayStation VR to have a Christmas akin to Wii’s ﬁrst year on sale. Stores were responding to the news that PlayStation VR will arrive in October for £349, with 50 games due before the end of the year. “The price point means it’s far more accessible than customers were anticipating but of course the true cost with the controller and camera added on is getting expensive,” ShopTo’s head of commercial Alison Fraser said. “October is a perfect release month for the early adopters to create the excitement for the gifting season. It could feel similar to the Wii’s ﬁrst Christmas when it was the must-have present. PlayStation VR’s price point and brand will make it a success for core console customers and the more casual gadget fans who have trust in the brand.” The Hut Group’s head of games and tech Mike Fethers added: “PlayStation VR seems

to be the front runner for the normal consumer, without needing an expensive PC build and having access to a great catalogue of current and future ﬁrst-party content helps signiﬁcantly.

This could feel similar to the Wii’s ﬁrst Christmas when it was the must-have present. Alison Fraser, ShopTo

“Sony has excelled itself by announcing this early and showing who’s working with them for VR content. It’ll build a decent level of hype.” Games Centre boss Robert Lindsay believes the PS4 install base gives it an edge: “Sony’s trump card is the PS4 and, with the publisher support it will no doubt have, the competition will struggle to match.”

Frontier completes self-publishing transformation by Christopher Dring ELITE DANGEROUS creator Frontier Developments says it has no plans to make games for anyone else ever again. The ﬁrm, who has made games for the likes of Microsoft, Atari and Amazon, is readying the release of Planet Coaster – a game it considers its second selfpublished franchise (after Elite). “Once we publish Planet Coaster, we will be 100 per cent self-published,” said Frontier’s

March 25th 2016

He continued: “About six years ago, we decided we wanted to be self-published. We have done some amazing work with Microsoft, but we were always doing that with an eye on parting company. We were very professional until the end – we always tried to deliver more than what was asked for us. “But it is a nice reward for all the teams, who have stuck by during some challenging development times so that we can make games for ourselves.“

creative director Jonny Watts. “The transition is almost complete. “Publishers form a really strong part of quality control. When The Beatles was making the best music, you had John Lennon and Paul McCartney sort of being antagonistic in the creative process. A publisher is almost your conscious, so not only have we had to grow our publishing department, but also from a creative point-of-view, we have to keep challenging ourselves. We don’t want to be complacent.”

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NEWS

Devs warn Xbox over PC plans By Alex Calvin LEADING games developers insist Microsoft’s plan to combine the worlds of Xbox One and PC will only work if they don’t try to ‘close’ the PC platform. The ﬁrm recently outlined its strategy for the Universal Windows Application (UWA) framework, which lets developers release projects on both Windows 10 and Xbox One easily. Speaking to MCV, Epic boss Tim Sweeney says the concept is good, but depends on Microsoft’s long-term intentions. Currently, games using the UWA framework can only be bought via the Windows Store, which has attracted criticism. “It’s a great idea – I could write one programme once and ship it on desktop, phone, console

THE EDITOR

and not have to deal with porting eﬀort,” he said. “The pessimistic view is that Windows is going to make a series of changes to the way things work, which disadvantages competing stores and will give the Windows Store such an advantage that all relationships between developers, consumers and publishers have this Microsoft build-in imposed on them.” PC development veteran Cliﬀ Harris added: “I hate anything that represents a move towards a closed system with one company as gatekeeper.” But not everyone is so pessimistic: “I like the idea of the audience for your game isn’t just Xbox’s install base,” said game designer Dan Pearce. Read more about Microsoft’s PC plans on page 16

PLAYSTATION SHINES AT GDC BUT XBOX LAYS DOWN FRESH CHALLENGE

t was a triumphant GDC for Sony. PlayStation VR was the talk of San Francisco, and the firm’s return to game industry dominance is looking more assured with every passing press conference. But there was one question that the platform holder didn’t have an answer to last week, and one that was cannily placed into the minds of the media by its closest competitor. Xbox’s announcement that it will allow for cross-platform play - not just with PC but PS4 as well - was latched upon by gamers worldwide. But it was a sneaky announcement. There’s no indication that PlayStation will allow for such a thing. Andrew House, Shuhei Yoshida and the PlayStation PR team carefully fended off the questions at GDC, but that won’t be the end of it. The truth is, cross-platform gameplay doesn’t benefit PlayStation. One of the most popular reasons as to why gamers choose one console over another, is that their friends own the same machine. That’s why both Microsoft and Sony were so quick to cut the price to get their install bases up as quickly as possibly. Whoever takes the early lead tends to keep it. PS4 took that lead. Its install base is fast approaching 40m and that success is just breeding more success. However, if Xbox One and PS4 players can suddenly play together, then it doesn’t matter which machines their friends

Microsoft’s Quantum Break will launch on both Xbox One and Windows Store.

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UFC 2 (PS4)

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered (XO)

UFC 2 (XO)

Ratchet & Clank Inc. The Bouncer DLC (PS4)

Dark Souls III (PS4)

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Launch Edition (PS4)

No Man’s Sky (PS4)

Sony

Quantum Break (XO)

Microsoft

New Super Mario Bros. U + Luigi U Selects (Wii U)

Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Selects (Wii U)

Nintendo

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Sega EA Sony Bandai Namco Sony

The truth is, crossplatform gameplay doesn’t benefit PlayStation. own. PlayStation would lose the strategic advantage its superior sales has provided it. It means PlayStation must make a choice: does it take the sensible business option and refuse Xbox’s move? Or does it prove that its ‘For the Players’ mantra is more than just a marketing slogan, and open its system up? It’s a difficult decision, although based on Sony’s recent track record, you’d imagine it’ll make the right choice. CONSUMERS TRUST YOU. WHO KNEW? So we went with the cover angle this week that more gamers trust specialist media than YouTubers. We thought that was a surprising fact in today’s climate. But actually, according to the IPSOS data, almost every form of games media is trusted by consumers – whether that’s official blogs, YouTubers, magazines, specialists sites, trailers, national newspapers, radio shows, and so on. In a post-Gamergate world, where journalists are scrutinised constantly in comments threads, that’s quite reassuring to read. cdring@nbmedia.com

March 25th 2016

INTERVIEW JIM RYAN, PLAYSTATION

PlayStation rescues VR dream at GDC Sony dominated yet another major event last week with the news that its PlayStation VR headset will be out in October for £349. Is the VR revolution back on? Christopher Dring analyses the market and speaks to European boss Jim Ryan

t’s become almost predictable. PlayStation turns up to major games industry event, invariably steals all the headlines, and leaves its rivals wondering what exactly they can do to stop them. Not that the team always has to work that hard. Much like the PS4 vs Xbox One battle of E3 2013, Sony attended GDC in San Francisco last week on the back of some spectacular own goals from its competition. GDC was all about VR – almost embarrassingly so – but excitement has abandoned this new technology in recent weeks. First came the eye-watering £500 price tag that Oculus had slapped on its Rift headset, and then that was made to appear almost reasonable by HTC’s £689 asking price for its Vive product. VR had suddenly become the playground of the uber-rich and uber-high-end PC gaming crowd. That was until Sony announced that its PlayStation VR headset will retail for £350 – a price tag that will still hurt the wallet of even the more affluent gamer, but is nevertheless affordable to those that have a few games to trade-in. “I am extremely comfortable with the RRP,” PlayStation’s European chief Jim Ryan tells us. “These are obviously decisions that we think about hugely, we always do. We always try to represent good value in our pricing, and we think we have done that with PlayStation VR.”

special bundle that includes these products. What’s stopping that coming to Europe? “Europe, as you know, is a delight to live in, a delight to work in, but it is complicated, fragmented and challenging from a logistical perspective,” explains Ryan. “It is slightly messy, but we just need

owners that currently lacks access to a PlayStation Camera, you’ll need one of those and it’s not included in the box. Players may want to use the Move controllers, too, which can be used for certain titles. Those are also not included. Both Move and Camera have been available for some years, and according to Ryan, they are owned by ‘many millions’ of PS4 owners. So it’s understandable that Sony would not force people to buy them, however, the US has a

to get into the detail of what our SKU configurations are, and what retailers might do – because UK retailers love nothing better than to create a bundle. I have to work it through country-by-country, retailer-by-retailer... it is messy, but it is eminently solvable.” The other piece of news to emerge from GDC is the

People are becoming prepared to get into this. Nobody wants to be late to the party. Jim Ryan, PlayStation

CAMERA, ACTION £350 is not the whole price. If you’re one of the many PS4

March 25th 2016

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JIM RYAN, PLAYSTATION INTERVIEW

PlayStation VR will cost £349 in the UK, and according to PlayStation’s Ryan, the tech will be proﬁ table

release date: PlayStation VR will be released globally in October. A slight delay from its previously planned ‘first-half of 2016’ release window. “[October] is when we have an alignment between the appropriate amount of hardware to put into the market and the proper number, and quality, of games to launch with,” insists Ryan. But will there be enough stock? Following the announcement, some stores had immediately sold out of their initial batch of headsets. “It’s hard to tell,” Ryan admits. “The news overnight on pre-orders is extremely encouraging, but I’d be very wary about extrapolating how we’ll do through to launch based on less than 24 hours. “I would say that the early preorders has surpassed our initial expectations. So that suggests demand, and therefore day one, might be quite significant.” VIRTUALLY HERE There are a lot of unknowns about virtual reality. There is excitement

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PUBLISHERS ON-BOARD

in the market and those that have played it will tell you that it is genuinely an impressive experience. But will it warrant the price? And has the excitement from the media extended to the consumers? It’s difficult to predict. It will come down to the marketing in many ways. Ryan says the industry shouldn’t expect ‘the OXO tower’ – which is a reference to one of the many expensive stunts Sony adopted when launching the PS4 – but that PlayStation is “taking this very seriously.” “The marketing mix is going to be very different to anything we have done before,” he concludes. “One thing that we observe very clearly and very consistently, is that people only really get this once they try it. Experiential activity is going to play a part that is far greater than anything we have done before. The marketing will definitely be there, and it will definitely be meaningful, it will just take a rather different form to what we’ve done previously.”

ONE of the concerns surrounding VR last year was the lack of major third-party support. There may be over 200 developers working on VR games, but outside of Ubisoft, the triple-A publishing giants were adopting a ‘wait and see’ strategy. There was no game from EA or Activision or Take-Two. So it was reassuring to see at GDC that EA is working on a Star Wars: Battlefront experience for PlayStation VR, while the likes of 2K and Warner Bros are also working on projects.

Not to mention pretty much every major Japanese publisher. “I think as things move from being rather abstract R&D projects, into something that has crystallised as real, with a release date and price, then confidence to make an investment in it increases,” explains Jim Ryan, the PlayStation head of Europe. “People are becoming prepared to get into this. Nobody wants to be late to the party.” He adds: “And I am pretty sure that there will be a number of other publishers that will be looking at those names and thinking: ‘I don’t want to be last.’”

March 25th 2016

PLAYSTATION VR THE DEVELOPERS

What do the developers think of PlayStation VR? There are some 230 developers working on PlayStation VR games. Christopher Dring asks some of them if Sony’s new headset is powerful enough to change the world

Simon Harris Executive Producer, Supermassive Games THE announcement of PlayStation VR at this price point is clearly a strong bid from Sony to establish an entry point for VR gaming experiences that are recognisable to established consumers. In terms of delivering a proposition for their millions of existing PS4 consumers, it’s within reach for those interested in early adoption. With the reaction to the preorder campaign, for all three devices, already showing that consumers are voracious about getting their hands on VR devices, it’s clear that Sony is keen to remain competitive against the other two PC-based devices. Having a defined consumer base that can all get a VR ready set-up without significant

Frank Vitz Creative Director, Cryengine

initial investment in upgrading hardware is an advantage. As a developer with two announced titles for the launch, we can confirm that there is definitely enough power within the machine to create incredibly immersive and visually impressive VR experiences, which deliver to the HD fidelity that gamers expect.

WE have had Cryengine running with PlayStation VR for a while now and, with some optimisation and careful planning of assets, we’re reaching a solid 60 frames per second. That means effectively rendering 120 frames per second, one for each eye, at the usual high fidelity level that Cryengine can provide. Based on first-hand experience with our own projects, such as Robinson: The Journey, we know that the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR are very capable of running good VR. Sony’s positioning, and the package of headset and console

are very attractive. Many users own a PlayStation 4 already and only have to get the headset, which makes it much more accessible and it will definitely have an impact on the market.

Artur Janik Technical Producer, Techland Ben Tester PR & Community Manager, Wales Interactive THE PSVR is a great addition to the quality VR market and whilst it may not be quite as powerful as the Rift or Vive, I do think it’s of a quality that will exceed expectations from consumers, especially when you compare the price difference to its competitors. The fact that it has the attachment to the PlayStation 4, which has sold around 36 million consoles worldwide, is hopefully a sure sign that virtual reality could finally become mass-market. Sony has taken their first step to breaking out of the

March 25th 2016

WHEN it comes to performance and concerns for the future of VR as a whole, a lot of this actually hinges on developers. Personally, we know that for a VR title to work on a specific piece of hardware, we have certain performance criteria in place, and so you have to work with that in mind and just push on. So many people want VR to be a success because it really adds something special, so as developers we need to help ensure VR doesn’t turn into another hardware fad like 3D TVs did to some extent. At Techland, we’re still eagerly testing the waters on multiple fronts. We currently

virtual barrier that is your TV. I now wonder how long it will be until the limitations of the PlayStation Camera will become the next barrier that needs breaking out of.

have a small team putting the finishing touches on a project with full VR integration, which we will be unveiling quite soon, and we’re continually letting multiple teams freely branch off and tinker around with ideas and VR hardware.

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THE DEVELOPERS PLAYSTATION VR

Sylvain Cornillon CTO, Bossa Studios. THE magic of VR is not only in hyperrealism as games like Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption have proven. So the PS4 definitively has the power to run compelling VR experiences. The Sony VR demos like The London Heist also proved that graphical quality can be achieved in framerate with a bit more effort. With a fixed hardware and an approval process, PSVR experiences are probably going to be the most consistent and reliable. It can be a great entry in the market, even though console development is still harder for small developers

Jason Kingsley CEO, Rebellion and there might be fewer risky experiments. In a way, PSVR stands in a market of its own at a remarkably low price point for the quality of the product that will be delivered.

WE’VE already said that we want to make Battlezone for multiple VR platforms, but we’ve been lucky to work especially closely with Sony on PlayStation VR. We’ve got no issues with the power of the hardware at all - really the onus is on the developers to make comfortable and immersive VR games through their own tech and design. In development terms you have to forget some conventional wisdom. With Battlezone, for example, we had hit a rock solid 120MHz reprojection right from the earliest builds. You can’t just optimise closer and closer to launch. The GDC announcement was really exciting. I think

Tim Woodley SVP Global Brand and Marketing, 505 Games SONY’S contribution to establishing VR as the next industry paradigm can’t be understated. It is always quicker for a new technology to be adopted if there are multiple manufacturers driving the market and Sony, as a trusted name in consumer electronics among the mainstream, have the production and marketing muscle to play a major role. As Andrew House said at GDC, Sony has the wind of momentum in their sails with the PlayStation 4 approaching a global install base of 40m homes worldwide. Convincing these early adopters to fork out $400 to augment their existing PS4 experience is obviously an easier sell than the more expensive alternatives. I trust Sony to take this responsibility seriously and ensure that PSVR is every bit as compelling and pleasurable an experience as the higher end solutions, even if the tech is towards the lower-end. I

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we all felt that sub-£400 was going to be the price point for early VR adopters on consoles, and knowing PlayStation will put its weight behind the platform this Christmas is really reassuring for independent studios like us.

Simon Gardner CEO, Climax

think if we learnt anything from the last paradigm - the Wii, Kinect and Move motioncontrol era – it is that quality of gaming experience isn’t necessarily predicated on the quality of the tech. This could be another big moment for our industry, and the last thing we need is for the mass market - or at least the console early adopters to have a less than optimal experience in this ‘greenshoots’ period and therefore reject this latest and most promising attempt at VR yet.

Darren Williams VP Marketing, Harmonix Music Systems

PLAYSTATION VR will be the most accessible and numerous tethered device, and its place in the living room will mean it will be accessible to a much wider audience even if just casually. Provided the games and experiences are built for it and adhere to Sony’s strict guideline requirements, then there is no reason to worry about performance.

I DON’T think there’s ever been any question that VR will appeal to the enthusiast PC audience, and now with Sony making their move, it builds further confidence that VR can gain a foothold in the broader mainstream as well. We’re excited at the options both as VR developers and VR fans.

March 25th 2016

CHEAT SHEET

UP & DOWN

Market Data UFC 2 and Pokkén Tournament can’t match The Division’s launch week sales

£20m

FAR CRY Primal falls three places to No.5 as sales dip 37 per cent

£19.3m 478,485 units

£30m £10m

£11m 316,902 units

£7.8m 256, 678 units

Week Ending March 5th

Week Ending March 12th

UFC 2’S Week One sales were 53 per cent higher than 2014’s original UFC’s

Week Ending March 19th

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

Q The brand new LGF is a collaboration between UKIE, Film London and the Mayor of London Q Five summits have already been announced, on VR, audio, ﬁnance, eSports and culture EGX REZZED Tobacco Dock, London Thursday, April 7th – Saturday, April 9th Q Gamer Network’s indie-focused event returns to London’s Tobacco Dock Q Consumers can try the latest games, from the big blockbusters to hits from smaller teams BAFTA GAME AWARDS Tobacco Dock, London Thursday, April 7th Q Celebrating the best games of the last twelve months Q Taking place at London’s Tobacco Dock

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

APRIL 2016 .................................................................................. LONDON GAMES FESTIVAL London Friday, April 1st – Sunday, April 10h

March 25th 2016

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

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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

PLAYSTATION VR WILL COST £349 AND LAUNCHES IN OCTOBER

4.5

Sony announced at an event at last week’s GDC that its PlayStation VR hardware will set UK consumers back £349 and is due for an October release. That price tag does not include a PlayStation Camera, which is required to track the headset.

Kotaku reports that Sony is working on a new version of PS4 featuring improved GPU and 4K resolution game support

279m

@kezamacdonald PlayStation VR for £349 is a GREAT price.

@PatrickDane My very biggest worry for PlayStation VR is a question of support. Sony has a super bad track record of supporting anything, if it doesn’t take oﬀ. Patrick Dane, Bleeding Cool Tuesday, March 15th

Keza MacDonald, Kotaku UK Wednesday, March 16th

@ScottishColin PlayStation VR surprises all with a price point that doesn’t kill it before it’s even arrived.

@JeﬀGrubb Messaging for PlayStation VR seems tough. From zero, you’ll need to buy three other things to make it work for a total of around $850.

Colin Macdonald, All4Games Tuesday, March 15th

Jeﬀrey Grubb, GamesBeat Tuesday, March 15th

@Michael_French £350 PlayStation VR in October - I’m more keen to see if/how Oculus, HTC etc react over the next few weeks.

@_JakeTucker Seeing a big PlayStation VR list of developers going around. The one developer still yet to declare is Hello Games. Where’s No Man’s Sky VR? Jake Tucker, Pocket Gamer Tuesday, March 15th

Michael French, Games London Tuesday, March 15th @justicar Playstation VR is £349. The goggles are literally more expensive than the system itself.

Since it debuted in Japan 20 years ago, the Pokémon series has sold over 279 million units worldwide

30 Oculus has revealed that 30 games will launch alongside its Rift headset

$300m Runescape ﬁrm Jagex is in talks over a proposed buy-out by Chinese mining company Shandong Honda

$330m The Division is the fastestselling new IP in history, Ubisoft has announced. The title generated $330m in ﬁve days

@xeroxeroxero PlayStation VR price is big news. Makes VR aﬀordable and not the pursuit of the ultra hardcore enthusiast.

PS4 Bluetooth Communicator - PDP Design and manufacture the PS4 Bluetooth/USB Communicator

europesales@pdp.com

Glenn White, EA Tuesday, March 15th

Peter Willington, Auroch Digital Tuesday, March 15th

www.pdp.com

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

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LONDON MARATHON

GAMESAID GOLF DAY

STAND UP FOR GAMESAID

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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

March 25th 2016

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

The Pokémon Company evolves its PR team Enticknap and Bryant join the UK team O Hilton to run Sumo’s new studio O Future strengthens commercial team THE POKÉMON COMPANY | The firm behind the monster-catching series has just added two names to its PR team. First, RICHIE ENTICKNAP (above left) has been hired as video game PR manager. He joins from Curve Digital, where he held the same position for ten months. Before that, Enticknap had been the PR and community officer at UKIE for more than two years. JONNIE BRYANT (above) has also joined the company as senior PR manager for Europe. Bryant has been working in the video games industry for over 13

March 25th 2016

of experienced and new talent dedicated to creating the highest quality gaming experiences,” said Hilton. “Working closely with the Sumo studios in Sheffield and Pune, the Nottingham studio will build on the technical and creative excellence that Sumo is well known for.”

years. He has had several senior PR positions at Jagex, Blizzard, Vivendi and Take-Two. SUMO DIGITAL | Industry veteran KARL HILTON has joined Sumo Digital, where he will be running the company’s new UK studio in Nottingham. Hilton has previously been Crytek’s managing director for the UK for five years. He created his own development studio, Free Radical Design, in 1999. Known for the TimeSplitters franchise, the company was then acquired by Crytek in 2009. “We are looking to create a state of the art studio in Nottingham and will build a team

FUTURE | The media giant has announced two senior appointments to its commercial and sales team. Joining from Time Inc. where he worked for 16 years, MATT DOWNS (above left) is now Future’s director of agency

sales. He will be in charge of all aspects of agency relationships and trading. JOHN BURKE (bottom, left) has also been hired as head of tech partnerships, a newly created role for Future. He will be responsible for creating and increasing Future’s partnerships with tech brands. Burke previously worked at The Telegraph Media Group. Commercial sales director CLARE DOVE commented: “We are delighted that Matt and John have joined us at this extremely exciting time. Both bring a huge wealth of experience to the team that will undoubtedly help expand Future’s growth and help us maintain our position as the UK’s leader in tech publishing.”

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WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

WEEKLY CHARTS THE DIVISION is at the top of the charts again for its second week. Ubisoft’s sales for the title decreased by 73 per cent week-on-week. Meanwhile, two very different fighting games claimed the second and third spots this week. EA Sports UFC 2 debuts at No.2, with first week sales surpassing the previous instalment in the series by 53 per cent. And in third place is Nintendo’s Pokkén Tournament, which is the first Pokémon spin-off to launch on Wii U. Pre-Easter sales allowed a few games to perform very well this week, such as Bethesda’s Fallout 4, which gained 14 places with sales rising 69 per cent. Little Orbit’s Kung Fu Panda: Legendary

Legends also re-enters the charts at No.33 thanks to an impressive 91 per cent increase in sales. The third Kung Fu Panda movie came out on March 11th, which probably boosted the sales. Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 also re-enters the ranks, at No.34, with sales rising 58 per cent. Over on Steam, The Division and Chuckleﬁsh’s Stardew Valley still lead the listings. Unknown Worlds’ Subnautica re-enters Steam’s charts at No.6, following the launch of an update for the title on March 16th. In the meantime, there’s nothing new in the mobile charts, which are still dominated by Supercell and Mojang titles.

GLOBAL STEAM CHARTS (UNITS)

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

LW 03 RE 04 06 RE 08 07 09

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

TITLE Stardew Valley Ark: Survival Evolved The Culling Counter-Strike: Global Oﬀensive Subnautica Grand Theft Auto V Factorio Hitman

PUBLISHER Chuckleﬁsh Studio Wildcard Xaviant Valve Unknown Worlds Rockstar Wube 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 01 NEW NEW 03 02 04 07 05 06 08 12 14 27 10 13 16 15 18 28 20 17 21 24 19 11 30 25 22 23 09 32 26 RE RE 36 RE RE 31 38 RE

Title Format Publisher Tom Clancy’s The Division PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft EA Sports UFC 2 PS4, XO EA Pokkén Tournament Wii U Nintendo Call of Duty: Black Ops III PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard Far Cry Primal PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft FIFA 16 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA Grand Theft Auto V PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Rockstar Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 PS4, XO, PC EA LEGO Marvel’s Avengers PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC Warner Bros Forza Motorsport 6 XO Microsoft Minecraft: Xbox Edition XO, 360 Microsoft LEGO Jurassic World PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros Fallout 4 PS4, XO, PC Bethesda Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed Syndicate PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft Minecraft: Story Mode PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Telltale Games/Avanquest Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS4, PS3, Vita Sony Star Wars Battlefront PS4, XO, PC EA Just Cause 3 PS4, XO, PC Square Enix WWE 2K16 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games Rise of the Tomb Raider XO Microsoft Disney Inﬁnity 3.0 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney Knack PS4 Sony Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Konami Heavy Rain & Beyond Two Souls Collection PS4 Sony Killzone: Shadow Fall PS4 Sony Destiny: The Taken King PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard Street Fighter V PS4, PC Capcom Halo 5: Guardians XO Microsoft The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Wii U Nintendo Terraria PS4, XO, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC 505 Games Mortal Kombat XL PS4, XO Warner Bros Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Legends PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC Little Orbit Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Konami LEGO Marvel Super Heroes PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC Warner Bros Football Manager 2016 PC Sega Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection PS4 Sony Deadpool PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 3DS Nintendo

Source: Steam, Period: March 14th to 20th March 25th 2016

Source: UKIE/GfK Entertainment, Period: Week ending March 19th 14

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WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

UK IPAD PAID

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 07 RE 02 06 NEW 05 10 RE RE

UK IPHONE PAID

(UNITS)

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

Title Charlie and Lola: I’ve Won! The Room Three Assassin’s Creed Identity Terraria Myths of the World: The Heart of Desolation Goat Simulator Geometry Dash Bloons TD 5 HD Playtime With Blaze and the Monster Machines

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer BBC Worldwide Fireproof Games Ubisoft 505 Games Big Fish Coﬀee Stain Studios RobTop Games Ninja Kiwi Nickelodeon

LW 03 05 04 06 07 09 02 08 RE

(UNITS)

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

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

Source: UKIE/Reﬂ ection, Period: March 7th to March 13th

UK IPAD GROSSING (REVENUE)

UK IPHONE GROSSING (REVENUE)

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW RE 03 01 07 06 08 07 05 10

CLASH OF CLANS DEVELOPER: SUPERCELL

Title Clash Royale Candy Crush Saga Game of War - Fire Age Candy Crush Soda Saga Hay Day Mobile Strike Candy Crush Jelly Saga Boom Beach Gummy Drop!

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Supercell King Machine Zone King Supercell Epic War King Supercell Big Fish

LW 01 02 03 06 07 08 09 05 RE

CLASH ROYALE DEVELOPER: SUPERCELL

Title Clash of Clans Candy Crush Saga Game of War - Fire Age Mobile Strike Candy Crush Soda Saga Candy Crush Jelly Saga 8 Ball Pool Kendall and Kylie Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes

Source: UKIE/Reﬂ ection, Period: March 7th to March 13th

UK IPHONE FREE (UNITS)

LW 03 NEW 05 06 07 04 09 10 RE

CLASH ROYALE DEVELOPER: SUPERCELL

Title Stack Dragon Land Color Switch Piano Tiles 2 Faily Brakes Dream League Soccer 2016 Candy Crush Jelly Saga Merged! WordUp

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Ketchapp Social Point Marc Lejeune Cheetah Technology Spunge Games First Touch Games King GramGames PlaySimple Games

Source: UKIE/Reﬂ ection, Period: March 7th to March 13th www.mcvuk.com

Developer Supercell King Supercell Epic War King King Miniclip.com Glu Games EA

Source: UKIE/Reﬂ ection, Period: March 7th to March 13th

UK IPAD FREE (UNITS)

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

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

LW 03 02 NEW 04 05 09 08 RE 10

STACK DEVELOPER: KETCHAPP

Title Clash Royale Color Switch Colourin - The free colouring in book quiz game for adults Faily Brakes Piano Tiles 2 Two Dots Thumb Drift Twisty Wheel Kendall and Kylie

Developer Supercell Marc Lejeune Poptacular Spunge Games Cheetah Technology Playdots SMG Studio Tastypill Glu Games

Source: UKIE/Reﬂ ection, Period: March 7th to March 13th 15

March 25th 2016

NEWS ANALYSIS

How PC can save the Xbox It’s been a challenging first two years for Xbox One. Now Microsoft is bringing a number of console titles to Windows 10, and unifying its PC and Xbox ecosystem. Is the platform holder reducing its console focus? Alex Calvin speaks to the experts

or all the challenges Microsoft has faced in the story of Xbox One, there’s no denying that the tech giant has been open to change. Its latest push on the gaming front is to unite its Windows 10 and Xbox One ecosystem with UWP – its new Universal Windows Platform. This will see developers making games using the Universal Windows Application (UWA) framework, which allows developers to make a game that will work on both Windows 10 and Xbox One with little in the way of issues. “I like the idea of one big platform and knowing that the audience for your game isn’t just Xbox’s install base – it’s everyone,” BAFTA-winning developer Dan Pearce says. “Your game can reach many more people with minimal effort.” Epic’s Tim Sweeney adds: “In terms of developer proactivity and ease of porting, it’s a great idea – I could write one programme once and ship it on desktop, phone, console and not have to deal with less porting effort. That’s a valuable idea. “You see some elements of that in Apple’s ecosystem where they have the same low-level operating system kernel between iOS and Mac but the higher level layers on top are entirely different. Microsoft’s approach is the completion of that train of thought and is valuable. And that will prove useful as new families of devices are introduced, such as HoloLens.” CLOSED OFF But the idea has its critics. To many, UWP represents Microsoft attempting to close off the currently-open PC ecosystem. If the firm’s plans for UWP go forwards

March 25th 2016

Rise of the Tomb Raider launched as an Xbox-exclusive in November, but came to PC in January

in their current state, consumers will only be able to get UWAs from Microsoft’s own Windows Store. PC development veteran Cliff Harris even believes the idea of the UWA is flawed. “I hate anything that represents a move towards a closed system with one company as gatekeeper, and I equally hate any system that tries to imply that a game is a game, and not in any way dependent on the platform,” he explains. “The kind of system dreamt up by people in suits in boardrooms who think ‘one platform for all games’ have never played Eve Online on a phone, or Angry Birds on a 2560 res monitor. Different platforms are different, why does this upset people so much? It’s fine.” Sweeney adds: “The pessimistic view is that Windows is going to make a series of incremental changes to the way things work with these forced updates, for example, which disadvantage

At its core, UWP is a great idea. But we need to be prepared to prevent Microsoft from attempting to close PC down. Tim Sweeney, Epic Games

competing app stores, and places like Battle.net or Steam, to give Windows Store such an advantage that all commerce and relationships between developers, consumers and publishers have this Microsoft build-in imposed on them. “There’s another possibility and that’s the generous view that UWP brings great improvements to the Windows platform in ensuring that no one app can take over the system and does a great world of good to make Windows software trustable and avoid malware. And it does that while retaining the PC’s status as an open platform. You could obtain these UWP programmes from the Windows Store, Steam, Battle.net or anywhere else. If Microsoft takes that direction, we’ll be wholehearted supporters of that. At its core, UWP is a great idea, it’s worthy of our support. We just need to be prepared to prevent it from being a Trojan Horse for Microsoft to close down PC.” THE DEATH OF XBOX? In trying to unify its Windows 10 and Xbox businesses, Microsoft has released a number of its console-exclusive titles on PC. The firm has recently revealed that Quantum Break, previously announced as an Xbox Oneexclusive, would launch on PC on the same day (and is only available on Windows Store). Meanwhile, upcoming titles such as Sea of Thieves and Halo Wars 2 are launching on both Xbox One and PC. As a result, there are now fewer reasons to purchase an Xbox One, something that Xbox boss Phil Spencer himself has even admitted in an interview with Polygon. Could Microsoft be winding down its console focus?

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NEWS ANALYSIS

(From left to right): Epic’s Sweeney, Four Circle’s Pearce, Positech’s Harris and Contact Sales’ Stallibrass

“Clearly Microsoft has sat down and thought about its presence in the console market,” Contact Sales MD Robert Stallibrass says. “But I don’t feel it is giving up on Xbox One. Microsoft is aware of the challenges, is facing up to them, and is working very hard to get to the top spot.” Pearce adds: “Obviously Xbox One isn’t selling as well as PS4, and I can see how it would make sense for Microsoft to double down and go: ‘OK, rather than trying to sell the Xbox to people, let’s try and sell Microsoft platforms to people’. A good way to do that is to sell people Windows 10 and some people on Xbox One simultaneously by saying say: ‘hey, these games are from Microsoft or Xbox. If you have one of our devices, you can get this cool content’. “I can see why that would make a lot of sense to say: ‘If Xbox isn’t selling as well as the PS4, if we push Windows 10 and PC a bit more, maybe we update the Xbox or release a new Xbox, then we can get people hooked on these IPs, we can get people hooked on these franchises via PC and then make a more stable push with

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Xbox’. A lot of it might be about retaining players. It’s not so much that they’re trying to back out of the console race, they are always going to be quite dedicated to that, but it’s about retaining players who maybe bought PS4s and not Xbox Ones and saying: ‘you have a PC, right? Why not play Quantum Break, see how you find it’. It’s a good way of keeping Microsoft’s exclusives part of the conversation for people who aren’t part of that Xbox One install base.” But Positech’s Harris feels this is a temporary measure. “Microsoft has Windows 10, and it wants people to embrace it, and whenever it does this, it has to find a way to give people a reason to care about a new operating system,” he explains. “Once Windows 10 is established, I think that trend may well reverse.” Even if this is temporary, Microsoft has the future of its console business to think of. Releasing its line-up of consoleexclusives on Windows 10 serves as a reminder to the massive PC audience that Microsoft does have a strong stable of IP. And it opens up a possible new market for Xbox to sell consoles to.

OFF THE MARK BY creating a closed system like Universal Windows Platform, some critics have said that Microsoft hasn’t understood the appeal of the PC space. This is a sector that thrives on being open, where fans can fix broken games with patches from the community, where users create mod content and where consumers are able to tinker with the inner workings of products. “PC is so naturally open. But it’s not going to be the first time that someone has come to an open platform with a closed alternative that has a list of benefits,” Ten Second Ninja developer Dan Pearce says. “The best example of that is Apple – it did that so long ago and it really works for them because after you’ve had so many viruses on your PC, someone coming up to you and saying: ‘the Mac just doesn’t have that problem’ can be a really big selling point. “You do get so much content from all over the place on PC because it is so open, and that’s very appealing for a lot of developers. Lots of them are fine with UWP so long as the

benefits are good enough. If Microsoft has tools that enable devs to make a game and release it on Windows Store and Xbox, that could be really appealing for some people. A lot of it is about ease of use and what benefits Microsoft offers beyond it just being an arbitrary exclusivity thing.” And though at the moment it appears that UWP won’t allow mods, this may not matter as much as some might think. “Indie games thrive on mods, and a few big titles like Skyrim really embrace them,” Positech’s Cliff Harris says. “But its worth remembering that games like Call of Duty and Football Manager are not heavily mod dependent. People who care about modding including me – will hate UWP, but I suspect it’s sadly a vocal minority.” And Contact Sales MD Robert Stallibrass points out that this situation is open to change. “The lack of modding is a current situation but it would not surprise me if the system in the future was made slightly more open,” he predicts.

March 25th 2016

MCV AWARDS INTERVIEW MILES JACOBSON

Fantasy football 22 years ago, Miles Jacobson entered Sports Interactive and landed his dream job working on Championship Manager. In the wake of his Person of the Year prize at the 2016 MCV Awards, he discusses his future in video games and looks back on a rollercoaster year

What does it mean for you to win the Person of the Year award? It is incredibly humbling to be honoured by the industry in this way – there are so many amazing people in games, so to be recognised by the award is very special. How would you evaluate 2015? A rollercoaster! Some real highs, with great sales and receptions for Football Manager 2015, 2016 and Football Manager Mobile. The launch of Football Manager Touch on iOS and Android proves that the mobile market can bear double-digit pricing. But then the disappointment of the Football Manager Online launch in Korea in the latter part of last year hasn’t been great. This will be fixed by the launch of the game in China with lots of changes made. You’ve often said you view Sports Interactive as a sports company. Does that mean you feel a bit distant from video games? I love both the games industry and the football industry – and I am lucky to have been welcomed by both. There are some developers out there who look down on our work a bit because, well, it’s sport and they don’t like sport. And we make sequels, and they don’t like sequels. And we care more about gameplay than graphics – although that’s certainly less of an issue nowadays with the indie scene. I think anyone with a bit of mainstream success, even if in a niche like ours, is going to get this in any entertainment industry – some devs think working on iterative titles is both easy and boring, but to keep

March 25th 2016

Football Manager 2016 has around 650,000 registered players

improving year after year is hard and exciting. But here I am, trying to justify something that I don’t actually feel the need to justify. We make games for ourselves – and it just so happens that a couple of million people each year want to buy and play them, too. Which means we don’t have to get proper jobs. Which is awesome!

We make games for ourselves - and it just so happens that a couple of million people want to play them, too.

You’ve been an active supporter of War Child and you mentioned a special project you are putting together for them. Could you tell us more? For the last 20 years, War Child has been releasing records under the ‘Help’ banner – typically compilation albums from the hottest bands

Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive

in the world. This year, it’s games’ turn. We have some of the hottest studios in the world, from 343 to Team 17, from Torn Banner to Hardlight, Creative Assembly to Curve, taking six days out of their ridiculously busy schedules to make a game for War Child, which we’re then going to release as a compilation. Originally it was just going to be for PC, but with Amazon now on board we’re looking at an Android version, too. It’ll be out in July as a digital product, although there are retail possibilities, with both merchandise and possibly digital cards. Sega is publishing, and giving 100 per cent of revenues to War Child. The aim is to not only raise significant funds for the

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MILES JACOBSON MCV AWARDS INTERVIEW

charity, but use the games to raise awareness of their work, too. What do you think it is that makes the games industry such a charitable one? With our work, we entertain and - some of us - educate, but our work helps people escape their normal lives and make them a little bit better. So the natural carry-on from that is that we’d be interested in making the world a little bit better as well. Looking back over your career, what would you say have been your defining moments? Does breaking the record for the most money taken in a lunchtime

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hour at Quick Burger count? Games-wise, I suppose it’s the risks that have worked. Moving from Eidos to Sega with a new brand, yet keeping the audience and the dev team together is probably the best known. The thing I’m proudest of though is keeping the team together – when we became part of Sega 10 years ago, there were 35 of us at the studio, and 30 of us still work together. That’s been a large part of our success. Of course, not everything has worked. But the successes have outweighed the failures. But you asked about a career defining moment? I don’t think I’ve had one yet. Hopefully that is still to come, I’ve got a few years left in me yet.

Some devs think working on iterative titles is both easy and boring, but to keep improving year after year is hard and exciting. Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive

You’re right, this isn’t a lifetime achievement award: what left is there for you to achieve? There’s a whole world of football fans out there who haven’t played our games. A massive, global, untapped market. Whether it’s Football Manager, Mobile, Touch or Online, there are a lot of experiences people haven’t yet had, so we have to look more global as a studio. We’ve had some success with a documentary that has been shown on TV in 50 countries now – so there are more possibilities with broadcast media. And hopefully some more books. And some new game ideas. We’ve only just begun.

March 25th 2016

THE BIG GAME DIRT RALLY

March 25th 2016

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DIRT RALLY THE BIG GAME

DIRT RALLY

In pursuit of the perfect run Codemasters is ditching the arcade experience to create the most authentic rally game yet. Marie Dealessandri speaks to Codemasters’ chief game designer Paul Coleman about this lofty ambition Release Date: April 5th Formats: PS4, XO, PC Publisher: Codemasters Developer: Codemasters Distributor: Koch Media Contact: 01256 385 200

8 years after the release of the first Colin McRae video game, the franchise finally comes to the new consoles. The rally driver’s name has not been used in the title since 2008’s Dirt 2, but with this new entry, Codemasters will feel it has a game to live up to his legacy. “Listening to what fans wanted, we knew that they loved previous Dirt games because they loved rally. But what was being offered wasn’t matching the true experience of the real-life sport,” says Paul Coleman, chief game designer at Codemasters, which has developed the series since the beginning. “This is the full rally experience and bringing that authenticity to the franchise makes it feel really fresh and exciting. Our ambition has always been to make it the best rally game ever made.” To achieve this, and before releasing Dirt Rally on PlayStation

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only extremely proud of, but we feel is exactly what gamers want right now.”

4 and Xbox One, Codemasters relied on PC gamers. The firm launched its brand new title on Steam Early Access in April 2015 – a surprising approach considering the fact that Dirt is already a well-established franchise. Doesn’t Codemasters already know what its fans want? “Early Access really helped us identify what players wanted out of a new Dirt game,” Coleman explains. He adds that the game has been validated over ”80 million miles of community testing during Steam Early Access.” “From how well-received our new physics model has been, to feedback on just about every facet of the game, having that testing ground to help us improve has been invaluable. It was a pretty big departure for the franchise, but that feedback and level of input that we received from the community was fundamental in creating a game that we’re not

A LONG JOURNEY The community being the driving force of this new title, Coleman points out that Dirt Rally did not need a big investment in terms of advertising: “This game has been boosted by its passionate community since its Early Access debut who have spread the word, rather than having a big campaign. “But with the console release we’re becoming much more visible and trying to get people more aware of Dirt Rally, rather than it just being something they heard about through a friend.” The game’s PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launch on April 5th is indeed a new challenge for Codemasters. Even if the team behind the Dirt franchise has an 18-years long experience in

March 25th 2016

THE BIG GAME DIRT RALLY

Dirt Rally launches on April 5th on PS4 and XO.

developing consoles titles, moving this new entry from PC to PS4 and Xbox One required a lot of investment from the team. “We’ve been working on Dirt Rally for a long time. From its early prototype through to Steam Early Access and now onto consoles, it’s been a long journey,” Coleman admits. “Having initially been developed on PC, we had those great foundations to build from. For us, it was making sure that the fidelity of the handling was the same across all platforms. There’s some difference, such as on the Xbox One where you get the motors in the triggers that give you a little more feedback for wheel spin. But otherwise it’s about hitting 60 frames-per-second and getting a solid 1080p.” And for Codemasters’ chief game designer, it was pretty clear that console players were ready for some real rally driving: ”From feedback we’ve been receiving, I was confident that there was a real hunger from the console owners for a more challenging rally game on those systems.” “When we began on a prototype, we focused completely on what the car felt like to drive,” Coleman

March 25th 2016

explains. ‘We’re doing things more in-depth to get across the atmosphere and skill required to get behind the wheel on one of these cars.” RACING ON THE EDGE Coleman is himself a rally co-driver, a “lover of all motorsports” as he puts it. So being able to convey his passion through a screen was an aspiration and a priority. And he was not the only one. “Dirt Rally is the result of a genuine feeling at the studio that people wanted a more authentic rally gaming experience. The goal was to capture that precise essence of what makes rally unique – communicating that raw emotion of hurtling down an icy road at breakneck speed, pushing your car to the absolute limits in the pursuit of that perfect run. “We really ripped up the rulebook on this one. We created a new physics model, and from there we spent a lot of time working out exactly what was needed to make a rally game that felt like a real representation of the sport.” Coleman’s enthusiasm is quite contagious, and the chief game

We spent a lot of time working out what was needed to make a rally game that felt like a real representation of the sport. Paul Coleman, Codemasters

designer is sure that Dirt Rally will succeed in spreading it even more. “There’s a huge crowd of discerning racing gamers out there that are looking for a more serious experience on new consoles,” he asserts. ”Dirt Rally is a focused, thrilling and challenging title, that’s not only the definitive rally game but also the definitive racing game. It not only offers something for racing fans but for all gamers, which I believe other big titles can’t.“ Making sure to target all kind of players was also dear to Codemasters’ heart: “Dirt Rally offers a challenge that appeals to all levels of gamer, but we want the game to feel as inclusive as possible from the outset. To aid in that, we’ve included a series of tutorials for the console release that ease newcomers into the experience,“ Coleman points out. “There’s some great racing games out there right now but we’re confident that Dirt Rally differentiates itself as an authentic, fun racing title and that will really resonate with gamers.” He concludes: “Dirt Rally is the only game that provides this white knuckle feeling of racing on the edge.”

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DiRT RALLYÂŽ

FREE T

For every unit of Dirt Rally purchased you will receive one special edition t-shirt while stocks last.

To place an order contact Superindie on 01183 345 736 or order online at Superindie.co.uk www.Superindie.co.uk

INSIGHT GENERATION MEDIA

ANALYSIS

TV ad spend in the lucrative toys-to-life space Generation Media’s assistant media executive JOE PHELAN investigates the growing toysto-life craze and the ad support accompanying its continued rise during 2015/16.

s gaming sits on the precipice of VR, it is more apparent than ever that the way we interact with gaming media is consistently evolving. Over the past few years, toys-to-life has continued its momentum and established itself as a genuine presence amongst gaming in the kids market. Of the Top Ten gaming titles in 2015, four fell into the toys-to-life category, double the number of 2014. Skylanders Superchargers achieved 2,084 children TVRs and reached over 76 per cent of kids in the UK. By making use of the kids commercial channels such as the Nickelodeon and Disney portfolios, these brands have been able to further access and influence this demographic. With titles such as Disney Infinity (which increased its ad spend by five per cent in 2015) incorporating IPs with proven track records amongst kids such as Star Wars and Marvel, the range of toys-to-life titles is more expansive than ever. When investigating how the toys-to-life sub category has managed to build and establish such an effective relationship with kids, it is essential to observe the genres heavy hitters; Skylanders, Disney Infinity, LEGO Dimensions and Anki Overdrive. Looking at the figures from the past full 12 months, Activision’s Skylanders brand boasts over

60 per cent share of voice in the sub-genre amassing a substantial 3,615 children aged four to 15 TVRs and averaging 157 TVRs over its 23 week burst. Disney Inﬁnity and LEGO Dimensions provide alternate options for action ﬁgure-based games and still managed to reach an impressive amount of kids over the period, 74 per cent and 72 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, Anki Overdrive has provided a fresh take on the genre, with an engaging racing entry. While a console is not required to play, the physical race track is controlled purely through an app. Released in October, Overdrive delivered 686 children aged four to 15 TVRs, averaging 57 children aged four to 15 TVRs over 12 weeks. In addition, each of these toy-to-life franchises adopted 20 and 30-second TV creatives in their campaigns. While this may suggest a pattern amongst the category it is most probable that these time lengths

76 per cent of UK kids saw Skylanders Superchargers TV ads

were chosen in line with the standard practices within the industry. TOY STORY Licensed traditional toys from established game brands also received considerable TV support over the period. Pokémon is a mainstay amongst toys and games with popularity that doesn’t appear to ever fade. In 12 months, it achieved 1,993 children aged four to 15 TVRs through its range of action ﬁgures/trading cards and was able to reach 78 per cent of children. World of Warriors action ﬁgures also enjoyed a successful period, with 717 children aged four to 15 TVRs. Though it

may not have the signiﬁcant investment of the Pokémon range, the campaign over this period still managed to reach 58 per cent of children. The toy-to-life train shows no signs of stopping and clearly is very TV reactive amongst children of all ages. The genre provides a stepping stone between traditional gaming and VR by integrating traditional play with toys and video gaming. The question is, when VR is openly accessible amongst consumers, will this impact the performance of toy-to-life games? Or will these games and accessories join the mountain of gaming peripherals that have been edged out by advancements in tech.

TOYS-TO-LIFE AD PERFORMANCE February 2015 - February 2016 Toys-To-Life Franchises

Children four to 15 TVRs

Creative Second Length

CH 1+ Reach

Individuals 1+ Reach

Skylanders

3,615

20” & 30”

79%

61%

Disney Infinity

1,073

20” & 30”

74%

63%

Anki Overdrive

686

20” & 30”

54%

19%

LEGO Dimensions

445

20”, 30” & 60”

72%

69%

Source: DDS/Kantar March 2016

Generation Media is a Media Planning and Buying firm focused on the leisure and entertainment markets. You can contact the company on 0207 307 7900 March 25th 2016

00 24

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DODGE ROLL GAMES INTERVIEW

INDIE INTERVIEW We need guns. Lots of guns. BioWare developer Dave Crooks set up his own studio and came up with a name for his first project – Enter the Gungeon. His only problem? He didn’t actually have an idea for a game. Alex Calvin reports

ike many indie developers, Dave Crooks started in triple-A. After begging and pleading for an interview at the now-closed BioWare Mythic, he landed a role working on its social media. Further begging and pleading saw him join the game design team. But in 2014, EA closed the studio and Crooks opened his own company with friends and colleagues – Dodge Roll Games. Its first title is Enter the Gungeon, which launches on April 5th for PS4 and PC. The game combines elements from shoot-em-ups and roguelikes (very difficult games where levels are generated procedurally and death normally means re-starting entirely). But – unlike many projects – the actual gameplay was not the first thing the studio dreamt up. “We played this game by Vlambeer called Gun Godz with a really goofy rap song that goes: ‘I got gun for picnic/it’s gun that send texts/it’s gun that make breakfast’,” Crooks explains. “Sometime in the next 24 hours the word ‘Gungeon’ popped into my head because of that rap, and I went up to my colleague and said ‘What about a game called Enter the Gungeon?’ and he was like: ‘Yes. Now what is it?’. We had to figure it out from there. Roguelike was very much in our head at the time so it was probably going to be that.” GOING ROGUE There has been a recent resurgence of roguelike games with titles like Rogue Legacy, Galak-Z, Spelunky and Crypt of the Necrodancer. “It might be down to the Souls series and the return of the hard game,” Crooks says. “People became okay with dying more often in games. “It may also be down to live streamers. You have these channels that need tonnes of content. Most roguelikes only take an hour to complete, so streamers can do a number of one-hour sessions back-to-back. And it’s different each time, which means loads of content to feature in a stream. “The indie revolution has helped, too. Roguelikes are nice as they are procedurally generated. Small teams can make 50 enemies that devs can place in rooms or have floor tile

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The word ‘Gungeon’ popped into my head so I pitched a project called ‘Enter the Gungeon’. We figured the rest of the game out from there. Dave Crooks, Dodge Roll Games

sets that assemble themselves so they can create a great deal of re-usable content.” Though thanks to the indie revolution, there has never been more competition in the indie space. “It’s never been easier to make and release indie games,” Crooks insists. “At the end of the day, there are so many developers releasing game and there is only so much consumers can spend on games. It isn’t an apocalypse, it’s just lots of competition. There was a point where if you could get your game onto Steam, you were pretty much guaranteed a moderate level of success. But that’s not really the case anymore. Discoverability has become a lot harder.”

Getting attention in the indie space isn’t the only challenge facing the sector. With titles like The Witness and No Man’s Sky, what indie means has changed. It is no longer confined to 2D pixel-art titles like Enter the Gungeon. “There’s going to be a division of indie developers and it’s going to be people who do stuff like The Talos Principle, The Witness and No Man’s Sky or the hobbyist developers with one or two-man teams. The section of the industry with the four-man teams is going to disappear,” Crooks says. “I imagine, going forwards, indie is either going to be near triple-A experiences with large teams or low-risk hobbyist studios. The high-risk small-to-medium sized teams are going to start to fade away because of how dangerous they are. Obviously there are going to be exceptions to the rule. But indie is being pressed into the forefront of every gamer’s mind. Some people didn’t even think about what an indie game was. They are playing Rocket League or super excited for No Man’s Sky and with all this competition people are raising the bar. That would have been raised anyway without that competition because everyone wants to drive the industry forward and make beautiful things. “I’m not sure if the idea of the indie is going to change all too much, but the indie landscape is going to change quite a bit.”

March 25th 2016

SAVE THE DATES The best networking events, the most informative conferences and the greatest awards nights from the team behind MCV

May 5th St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church

May 19th Hamyard Hotel

October London

TWELVE GAMES OF

October London

November London

Nov 21st The Brewery

For more information contact Conor on 020 7354 6000 or email ctallon@nbmedia.com

JUSTIN BAILEY, FIG INTERVIEW

‘This is the future of crowdfunding’ Some of the most acclaimed games developers of all time have united to create a crowdfunding and publishing platform called Fig – which allows backers to benefit from the financial success of a game. Can it take down Kickstarter? Christopher Dring asks CEO Justin Bailey

ig wants to revolutionise how video games are financed. The crowdfunding platform differs from Kickstarter in a number of ways. The big one is that fans/investors can actually share in the potential success of the game after it has come out. Fig also offers to support developers. The company’s board includes development legends (and Kickstarter experts) such as Tim Schafer, Alex Rigopulos and Brian Fargo, and they will support developers in marketing, PR and distribution. It sounds ambitious. Could it possibly work? We speak to CEO Justin Bailey. Fig is often referred to as a crowdfunding platform, but isn’t it more a full publishing service? We are both. Fig raises development funding for the game and co-publishes it when it is developed. Our main goal is to help developers through the entire process in order to create amazing games. Part of that includes connecting fans with developers, bringing them into the process, thereby creating a more connected relationship.

So far there’s only been two games funded via Fig. Has it been difficult to get the advantages of Fig across to users? We have only been around for a very short period of time. The last campaign was our first, and the first ever in the history of video gaming to offer unaccredited investment reservations. The advantages of Fig resonated strongly with the Psychonauts 2 campaign, which secured over $3.8m. That was an excellent stepping stone for Fig’s brand awareness.

crowdfunding is that you are able to test out ideas, aim that testing at your desired market, and receive consumer response. Anchors in the Drift is a great game in the making.

Participation in potential financial success is something fans want. It’s the next evolutionary step in crowdfunding.

One game that didn’t hit its Fig funding goal was Anchor in the Drift. What went wrong? The free-to-play games market is a difficult one. Investors prefer to wait until the game launches in order to see consumer reaction, customer acquisition costs, and monetisation. And consumers have been conditioned to playing the game first before purchasing add-ons. Those two points were the biggest disadvantages that they were unable to overcome. One of the greatest strengths of

Justin Bailey, Fig

Why is it important to offer equity to fans? It’s the next evolutionary step in crowdfunding. We have seen fans grow tired of just ‘pre-ordering’ a game they want made, helping developers to make a game, but seeing none of the financial success. Participation in potential financial success is something they want. This is the true future of crowdfunding.

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Double Fine’s founder Tim Schafer raised $3.8m on Fig to develop Psychonauts 2

There has been a lot of discussion around the challenges faced by the indie sector. What’s your take on the situation? Developers should be realistic. We see a lot of campaigns asking for a level of backing that just isn’t realistic. Having developed games, we know what questions to ask and can work with developers to set appropriate goals. We strive to achieve that with every Fig campaign.

Rock Band is now on Fig. What impact do you hope that will have in raising awareness? Any game from Harmonix is a big deal. We have projects from inXile Entertainment and Obsidian in the works as well as other high profile and exciting indie devs. Our line-up of offerings is crazy and Harmonix is one of the important headliners. Rock Band is one of the few franchises in the past decade to break out of the video game world into the modern consciousness. Having Rock Band associated with Fig will have a tremendous impact on brand awareness. So far you’ve only worked with US studios, are you looking to expand globally? Each country has its own laws regarding unaccredited investment. We are more than open to working with developers and investors from around the world, and we’re still exploring what makes the most sense.

March 25th 2016

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE Steven Stangroom from Stans Games tells MCV about the challenge of competing with Amazon and how card games such as Magic: The Gathering generate more proﬁt than video games How has your business been performing lately? It’s been ok, it has even been good. The Division surprised me, it sold really, really well, much better than I expected. Far Cry Primal also performed very well. But apart from these two big Ubisoft titles, it’s very short on games, there’s no real triple-A hit at all. What platform do you think will perform the best over this year? It’s deﬁnitely PlayStation 4. I often

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

get offered second-hand Xbox One. I’ve got probably ten Xbox Ones offered for every one or two second-hand PlayStation 4s. PlayStation also has a lot better titles coming out, whereas Xbox hasn’t got a lot of stuff. And I don’t do PC games anymore, there’s no profit in them whatsoever.

They’re both out in May. A lot of major games are coming out that month. What are your thoughts on this congested schedule? All these games normally come through Easter, but it’s a bit diﬀerent this year. I suppose it’s because Easter is a little earlier in the year, so games are all coming in May. I would have preferred it for Easter really.

What games are you looking forward to this year? I’m personally looking forward to Doom and Uncharted 4.

I make the same amount on a pack of Pokémon cards than I do on a brand new video game.

What challenges are you facing at the moment?

Steven Stangroom, Stans Games

PRICE CHECK: TAUNTON

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FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING

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Nintendo, 3DS

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UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market

MLB THE SHOW 16

ADR1FT

FALLOUT 4’S AUTOMATRON

The baseball title is coming to PS3 and PS4’s digital stores

The long-awaited space adventure has landed on Steam’s Early Access

The ﬁrst DLC for Fallout 4 is now out on PS4, Xbox One and PC

OUT: MARCH 29TH

March 25th 2016

IN STORE

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

OUT: NOW

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MARKETPLACE

Phone: 01326 211 394 Website: www.stansgames.co.uk

Stans Games 9 Berkeley Vale, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 3PL

The problem is always Amazon. It’s cheaper for me to buy games on Amazon than it is via trade. It would be easier to barge in the games from this website than to get it from my main suppliers. What are your prospects for the year to come? I do a lot of Magic: The Gathering cards. That’s quite popular, as well as Pokémon cards. I make the same amount on a pack of Pokémon cards than I do on a

brand new game. So obviously I should probably move away from games and try other things cause there’s more proﬁt in them. How do you think virtual reality will do? I’ve just ordered ten sets from Sony: I’m already ordering because there’s going to be a shortage, but I’m not sure how it will do. At the moment, it is deﬁnitely too expensive but there will be people wanting it, because it’s new.

INCOMING TITLE

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

Disney launches its new Marvel Battlegrounds Playset for Inﬁnity 3.0 today and Ubisoft releases its racing title Trackmania Turbo, after a week of open beta FORMAT

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March 25th 2016

HEARTHSTONE

HEARTHSTONE Hearthstone is one of Blizzard’s biggest hits and, as a consequence, lots of related merchandise are available for fans to purchase. Marie Dealessandri takes a look at the products surrounding the phenomenon

40 million: that was the number of registered players for Blizzard’s free-to-play card game Hearthstone as of November 2015. And as Blizzard just released a brand new expansion, Whispers of the Old Gods, we can bet this number will further increase. Hearthstone is a digital game only, so retailers can find it difficult to capitalise on the phenomenon. However, there’s an easy way to satisfy the ever-growing Hearthstone’s community. From

Hearthstone generates around $20m (£14m) every month.

Battle.Net gift cards to pillows, merchandising is a good way to diversify one’s activity and to attract a PC audience that tends to stay behind its screen rather than shop on the High Street. The opportunity with Hearthstone is huge. Activision Blizzard announced last year that Destiny, Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone combined generated over $1.25bn (£0.87bn) in revenues. In addition, a report from research

HEARTHSTONE EVIL HECKLER WOMEN’S TEE Calling someone’s mother a Murloc is clearly not a good idea – but buying a T-shirt that says it on your behalf is. Created by Jinx, this T-shirt is available for both men and women. SRP: £15.45 Manufacturer: Jinx Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

HEARTHSTONE HARTH STONEBREW TALKING BOTTLE OPENER

HEARTHSTONE ROSE T-SHIRT

An opener that talks when opening a bottle – because why not?

Hearthstone’s logo is all over this T-shirt, to make sure fans can identify each other.

SRP: £13.90 Manufacturer: Blizzard Gear Distributor: Blizzard Entertainment Contact: +44 20 3060 1081

SRP: £16.99 Manufacturer: Gaya Entertainment Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Limited Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

March 25th 2016

HEARTHSTONE CARD BACK WALLET - MEN’S Apart from being a perfectly functional wallet, this accessory also features a code for a Hearthstone card pack. SRP: £17.40 Manufacturer: Blizzard Gear Distributor: Blizzard Entertainment Contact: +44 20 3060 1081

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HEARTHSTONE Sponsored by

gaming merchandise uk

firm SuperData published last August revealed that Hearthstone made approximately $20m (nearly £14m) from microtransactions every month. The release of the game on Android and iOS mobile platforms in late 2014 clearly boosted the title. The key to Hearthstone’s popularity is that it’s both simple and easy to learn, but also very engaging

and hard to master. Therefore, it attracts casual gamers as well as professional players. Hearthstone actually has one of the biggest eSports scenes. The prize pool for the game’s 2016 World Championship was a huge $1m. And to attract even more players, Blizzard has just signed a partnership with Thailand-based company Ini3 Digital, to bring a Thai-language version of the game.

HEARTHSTONE BOX JOURNAL This hard-cover faux-leather notebook features a couple of art inserts and comes with a bookmark so that buyers don’t lose their train of thought. It’s the perfect accessory for players to keep track of their decklists. Or write a Hearthstone fan-ﬁction. SRP: £13.90 Manufacturer: Blizzard Gear Distributor: Blizzard Entertainment Contact: +44 20 3060 1081

HEARTHSTONE ROSE SNAP BACK HAT

HEARTHSTONE THROW PILLOW

HEARTHSTONE HARDCOVER RULED JOURNAL

This cap keeps it simple, with an embroidered Hearthstone Rose logo. The name of the game is also written on the back.

Thanks to this Hearthstone-inspired pillow, fans can now re-decorate their homes accordingly.

Insight Editions just released this ﬁnely crafted journal, which includes artwork from Hearthstone.

SRP: £19.66 Manufacturer: Jinx Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

SRP: £17.40 Manufacturer: Blizzard Gear Distributor: Blizzard Entertainment Contact: +44 20 3060 1081

SRP: £13 Manufacturer: Insight Editions Distributor: Insight Editions Contact: j.hamilton@insighteditions.com

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March 25th 2016

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COMPANY PROFILE /

RAGTAG DEVELOPMENTS LTD KEY CONTACTS:

ADDRESS: Innovation Centre Mewburn Road Banbury OX16 9PA

Rich Hancock Creative Director contact@ragtagdev.com

RAGTAG DEVELOPMENTS LTD is an independent, award-winning, interactive software development studio based in Oxfordshire, specialising in high-end interactives, apps, games and the use of video game technology in other business sectors. In 2012 Ragtag were proud to win an innovation award for an in-development internal project which is going live later this year. The core team consists of 4 professional developers with a combined games industry experience of over 60 years. Their expertise covers all major mobile, desktop, server, web and console technologies, using an in-house custom graphics engine. The same technology is being used to power the soon to be released amazeballz pool game, for which Ragtag is building an online community to help shape future content. The game will be available on desktop, mobile and TV platforms, with a beta version playable via the website. • Pick up and play 3D Pool – intuitive, fast and ﬂuid • Real cue interaction – feels like playing pool for real • Dynamic challenge system to test your skill level • Play on iOS, Android, PC, OS X, and tvOS • Cross platform competition via play by mail • US 8-Ball, 9-Ball, UK 8-Ball, 6-Ball, and Crazy-Pool • Customise your own blank canvas environment • Shot replay system with slow motion and reverse play To get involved visit www.amazeballzgame.com

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO ISSUE 859 FRIDAY DECEMBER

GAMES

4TH 2015

ISSUE 860 FRIDAY DECEMBER 11TH

2015

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

THE A TEAM

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES

INDIE THICK OF IT

N SHAHID AHMAD ON 10 YEARS PLAYSTATION’S DEV CHAMPIO

BESTWICK TAKES US THROUGH 25 YEARS SONY P16 ATDEBBIE OF TEAM17

P18

UK RETAIL SPEAKS OUT 55%

70%

believe PS4 will rule next year (above top),

Twist think virtual reality is doomedUKIE’s SuperData’s van Dreunen

(above middle) and Reﬂection’s Leksell (above)

ack are bdig Charts ital e y’r the time, And this

s partnerships for mobile and

19%

console data Q MCV digital demand more tit

re-launches charts section

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picked Uncharted 4 as their most anticipated game of 2016