MCV 878 May 13th 2016

ISSUE 878 FRIDAY MAY 13TH 2016

2016 THE TOP WOMEN SHAPING, GROWING AND LEADING THE UK GAMES BUSINESS

TOP 30 WOMEN IN GAMES

RHIANNA PRATCHETT, SCRIPTWRITER What was your dream job as a child, and why?

A mermaid. I blame Daryl Hannah in Splash.

to pay £5 to do so. Sometimes you can make all the right moves and still not win (okay, that one’s from Star Trek).

How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I wrote game reviews for the young women’s magazine Minx.

What would you say to someone looking to work in games?

Play games. Write. Read.

Network. Be interested in people.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

Best - Saying yes to working on Tomb Raider. Worst - Saying yes to working on Thief.

What is your greatest achievement to date?

Helping Crystal Dynamics birth a new Lara Croft in two games.

And winning a Writers Guild Awards for the second.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Say thank you. Refer to everyone as ‘fabulous’ – at least in public and learn when to say ‘Fuck off!

Use adjectives like you’re having

ANGELA DICKSON, COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR UK & IRELAND, ACTIVISION

EMILY BRITT, SENIOR PR MANAGER, THE POKEMON COMPANY

What was your dream job as a child?

A pilot as I loved Top Gun. Obviously this didn’t last too long.

NOT only is Emily the senior PR manager for Pokémon, she also found time to head up industry charity GamesAid as its Chair before stepping down at the start of 2016. In the last year, £564,000 has been raised by the UK games charity, an increase of 29 per cent over previous years. Fluent in French and Spanish, Britt began her career as a QA technician at GT Interactive in 1997 and has since taken in PR roles at Konami, SCi, Eidos, 2K Games and Square Enix. She joined the Pokémon Company in 2013.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

Best career decision was to join Activision. I wasn’t a gamer when I joined so it was a leap of faith to a company/industry that was emerging versus traditional companies. Nothing stands out as a bad decision as you always make mistakes, but they’re key learning experiences.

Which person inspires you?

Both my grannies. They were tough, no-nonsense women who embraced life and also knew when to say ‘Fuck off’.

What tips would you give to someone looking to get into the games industry?

There are many roles in games and I’d encourage anyone to get involved and see the potential for broader commercial roles in addition to maybe some of the more stereotyped careers like testers and developers. The industry is fun and fast paced and always looking for talent.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Embrace change and see the opportunities rather than barriers – this is critical within games.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

There are so many to choose from as I’ve had the privilege of working on the creation of toysto-life with Skylanders, many record-breaking Call of Dutys, the biggest new IP Destiny, and the first game to reach $1bn in sales – Guitar Hero III. But the greatest achievement is seeing my team breaking records by always challenging the norm.

ROSEMARIE DALTON, INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MANAGER, BETHESDA SOFTWORKS How did you start in games?

By accident. I had been travelling around Israel, Egypt and Sinai, then found myself back in the UK in need of a job - and found one in the games industry.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to date?

At the risk of sounding like a right knob my greatest achievement is my son, Conor. I quite like him.

May 13th 2016

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

Taking the job in games was one of the best professional decisions I made as I have loved it.

Worst decision? No idea – all decisions are good. The key thing is to make them and live with the consequences; good or bad.

JESSICA CURRY, COMPOSER/STUDIO HEAD, THE CHINESE ROOM CURRY created the brilliant score for her company’s game Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, which went on to win the Music and Audio Achievement categories at this year’s Game BAFTAs. Her artistry and company drive are admired at the highest level. Being the co-head of The Chinese Room, she has been responsible for some of the best British games available.

Who inspires you?

Lyn Prodger from Action For Kids. The UK charity sector is a tough place and she works to ensure the disabled get the opportunity to lead a better life.

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TOP 30 WOMEN IN GAMES

CATHERINE WOOLLEY, SENIOR GAMES DESIGNER, CREATIVE ASSEMBLY

AMANDA FARR, HEAD OF CONTENT & SERVICES, XBOX

CHARLOTTE KNIGHT, UK RETAIL MD, GAME

What was your dream job as a child, and why?

As a child I had no idea of what I wanted to do. I really liked games and played them avidly with my twin sister Charlotte. But I never even thought that I could get a job in games, as then it wasn’t as easy to get information on it. As I grew older and more informed, I realised I could work in games and see something I worked on sat on a shelf in a game store - that was a goal.

What was your dream job as a child, and why?

I had a few – resonably diverse – dream jobs. The first was a pop singer but if that failed, I had my heart set on being Prime Minister. The singer dream faded out quite soon but it took a bit longer before I realised I probably wasn’t going to run the country. I was a bit of a tomboy growing up, always loved tech and must have been around eight when I played my first game and found my first real hobby.

What was your dream job as a child, and why?

When I was nine, I wanted to have my own retail business – from a shoe store to a card shop to a travel agent. I liked the idea of serving customers and counting money, so I guess I had a business mind really young. And then a lawyer, but that did not work out according to plan.

How did you begin your career in the games industry?

After a nudge from my sister I went to university, which opened me up to finding out more about games and their development. I took a course at The University of Wales, Newport, in Games Design which helped inspire me to do the utmost to get into games. Shortly after finishing my course in 2009 I took a dive and moved to Aldershot in the attempt to get a job. Luckily just under a month later I started my first job at EA Bright Light.

I always like to think that my enthusiasm helped me get my first job.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

The worst decision I have ever made was to not spend my university time as well as I could have. While at university I

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could have made games in my spare time, but instead I spent a lot longer playing games. It’s not a great example of a worst decision, but I like to feel that I have yet to make a bad decision for my career.

And the best decision I made was moving over to Creative Assembly. When my contract was coming up at EA Bright Light – shortly before the studio shut down – I had job offers from three different studios, all working on fairly different games on very different teams. I always wonder where I’d be today if I had gone to one of the other companies. But I know I made the right decision in going to Creative Assembly to work on Alien: Isolation, which has definitely been the highlight of my career so far.

How did your career in the games industry begin?

When I was 15 working in my family’s games shop. I had always loved games and having the opportunity to talk to likeminded people was a dream come true, as was having the ability to play new releases free. Years later, I applied to a recruitment agency called Answers hoping to get a role in games. Liz Welsh who ran Answers, called me and suggested I apply for a role at GT Interactive. That was over 15 years ago and I haven’t looked back since.

What tips would you give to anyone looking to get into the games industry?

You need to be enthusiastic and motivated towards getting into games. If you have the enthusiasm to go to events and talk to people and generally go out of your way to meet people, then you’re on the right track.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

To never give up, believe in yourself and know that you can improve. Sure it’s cheesy, but it’s good advice.

What achievement are you most proud of in your career in games?

Longevity. I would say being able to work in the games industry for over 15 years is my greatest achievement. I have been lucky enough to work on some amazing games through the years and with some fantastic people – both of these have contributed massively to my longevity.

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How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I started working at GAME (then Electronics Boutique) when I was 19, fresh out of college and having made the decision that I wanted to get a job, earn money, work with people and learn about business. I started out as a PA for the CEO, but this wasn’t my most suited role. I did various different jobs right at the start, then joined the buying team as an assistant and worked my way up.

What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?

My best decision was to stay with GAME through thick and thin. It’s been a roller coaster and I have learnt so much along the way, being part of the management team that turned GAME around in 2012 was definitely a great decision.

What is your crowning achievement to date?

Five years ago, I was made the youngest director in the company at 31 years old, it was a proud moment after starting at GAME so young. I worked hard to reach that position and really pushed myself to be considered.

That was a big celebration and something I’m still really proud of.

May 13th 2016

TOP 30 WOMEN IN GAMES

ROBERTA LUCCA, CO-FOUNDER, BOSSA STUDIOS LUCCA co-founded Bossa Studios and served as its CMO until last year. She has recently moved into a non-exec role at the company. Lucca was voted one of the Top 35 women under the age of 35 in Management Today, and was an Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2014.

NINA KRISTENSEN, CO-FOUNDER, NINJA THEORY NINA KRISTENSEN co-founded Just Add Monsters in 2000.

In 2003 the team developed Kung Fu Chaos for the Xbox.

A year later, Just Add Monsters was purchased and renamed Ninja Theory. The company has been responsible for many major releases, including Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey To The West and DMC: Devil May Cry.

KEZA MACDONALD, EDITOR, KOTAKU UK MACDONALD has worked in digital media for more than ten years, specialising in games. For two and a half years she was UK games editor at IGN, the world’s biggest games website and won two industry awards.

She became editor of Kotaku UK in 2014. She contributes to newspapers (including The Guardian and Observer), books and magazines on video games, and regularly appears as a games expert on UK TV and radio, including BBC and Channel 4 News, BBC 5 Live and the Charlie Brooker-fronted Channel 4 show How Video Games Changed The World.

Her book about Dark Souls, You Died, was published in April 2016.

VERONIQUE LALLIER, VP EUROPEAN PUBLISHING, HI-REZ STUDIOS What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I always wanted to work in games since I got my first NES. I loved escaping in games, and something I realised along the way was that I wanted to be part of a creative team that build content to make people dream.

This is still a drive for me and I love the prospect of offering people and gamers an escape, a digital adventure in a virtual world. Games that particularly impressed me when I was a kid were Zelda, the first one; Final Fantasy VII and Duke Nukem later on.

How did your career start?

I started as a marketing intern at Ubisoft France in 1999 during my business studies course. I have stayed in the industry ever since, and not long after I got a job as a product manager for Rockstar.

JO COOKE, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, FRONTIER DEVELOPMENTS How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I was working on a HiFi magazine for Haymarket and was told EMAP had launched some games magazines, and had a job going on Computer and Video Games. I went for an interview and got it.

haste, sleep on it and re-read it before you send it - if at all.

What advice would you offer someone trying to get into the games industry?

Understand and try to communicate what you have to offer. It is not enough to say ‘gaming is in my DNA, I love games therefore you should give me a job’.

What is your greatest achievement to date?

My current role at Frontier and heading up the marketing for a self-published dev with amazing titles like Elite and Planet Coaster.

Self-publishing means we are so closely connected to our customers without any middlemen that we get insights and feedback on everything we do almost in real-time. The players inspire and challenge us daily, and we are constantly rewriting the traditional rule books of publishing.

What’s the best advice that you’ve received?

Do not send an angry email in

Which person inspires you?

My late grandad – he became a journalist for his local paper at 85.

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Based in Paris, I worked there for four to five years, supporting and launching titles such as Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas, and Midnight Club.

What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?

My best decision was moving to the UK. This country has an open environment with lots of good opportunities for women to pursue a professional career, especially in games. While the industry has changed massively over the last couple of years, when I started it was way more difficult as a woman to get your foot in the door in a maledominated world. I am happy to see the industry is evolving and becoming more inclusive - even though we are not completely there yet.

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TOP 30 WOMEN IN GAMES

CAROLINE MILLER, DIRECTOR, INDIGO PEARL

KAT OSMAN, MD, LICK PR What was your dream job as a child, and why?

Professional tennis player.

Loved the sport as a child and was fairly good, but clearly not good enough to play professionally.

How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I started my career with work experience at an agency called Herald Communications, which was later acquired by Fleishman Hillard. They took me on full time as a PR executive and I worked across a number of accounts including Fox Pathe, LG Electronics, The Gala Group and Eidos Interactive, which was my favourite. I then decided that I wanted to focus on games PR. We have a lot of extraordinary, talented and friendly people in our industry.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

After briefly being preoccupied with becoming a nun, I thought I’d like to be a teacher, then a jockey, then a gymnast. Not liking children, being allergic to horses and not mastering hands-free cartwheels put paid to all of those.

So nothing left to do but PR.

What tips would you give to anyone looking to get into the games industry?

Look at your strengths and what career path in the industry you are most suited to. Be honest and realistic, too. Loving and playing games is not enough.

Also internships and work experience can be invaluable and can lead to a permanent job.

How did your career in games begin?

Blame Rosemarie Dalton. I got to know her through mutual friends and I was on the dole after a long stint of travelling in the US and Australia. She worked at Virgin and told me there was a job going in International Sales. So I borrowed a smart jacket, lied about my typing skills and got the job.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to date?

Lick PR and having some terrific clients. Also World of Warcraft on the Six O’Clock News.

Which person inspires you, and why?

My mother, for her strength, intelligence and support; and Kelly Cutrone – she’s an inspirational and straighttalking publicist.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

The best was to go it alone. It’s scary but I like being in control so quite unbearable for managers and business partners.

The worst decision was every hairstyle I had in the ‘90s.

What’s the best advice you have been given?

‘Don’t worry about them liking you, worry about them

respecting you’ - that was from a very senior and successful female mentor. Generally women care too much about being liked and don’t speak up enough.

What tips would you offer someone looking to get into the games industry?

Apart from sleeping your way to the top, I’d say do your research and start applying. I love it when I get a really thoughtful and tailored email asking for a job or an internship.

We’ve got someone with us at the moment who sort of nicely badgered me into giving them an internship.

Once inside the industry, remember that it’s small and friendly so try hard not to screw anyone over, and do your best to be nice to everyone.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to date?

I guess running a successful company for 17 years, day in and day out and all that entails. Oh sorry, was I meant to answer “the birth of my children” to that question...?

KIRSTY PAYNE, VP, SPECIALEFFECT

DR SIOBHAN THOMAS, COURSE DIRECTOR, LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY

KIRSTY PAYNE has been a passionate campaigner for SpecialEffect since 2007. In her position as vice president, she has been committed to the charity’s goal of helping severely disabled young people to play games, engage and help level the playing field in a technical environment, vastly improving the quality of life for young people with disabilities. She’s tirelessly promoted the SpecialEffect Games for Good message and engaged with major publishers and developers to campaign

SIOBHAN THOMAS is course director and senior lecturer on the BA (Hons) Game Design and Development degree at LSBU. She is also a game designer and writer, specialising in AR and pervasive learning games.

Thomas has run the BA (Hons) Game Cultures course since 2008. Her academic focus is on sensory and somatic

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to include accessible elements at development stage, aiming to achieve a future with fully accessible games for all.

A major initiative of Payne’s was the UK’s first Games Art Exhibition, a UKIE event to promote the UK games industry and SpecialEffect, raising vital funds and National awareness.

Payne has a games industry background spanning 27 years including stints at Codemasters, Mindscape, Activision and Mastertronic, before setting up specialist agency Rocket Media.

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methodologies for game design and she researches body-oriented design practices. She also sits on the boards of a number of organisations, including Women in Games Jobs.

She is one of the International Game Developer Association’s (IGDA) London Chapter Coordinators and co-founded the Enable Gaming project.

May 13th 2016

TOP 30 WOMEN IN GAMES

SARAH SEABY, EUROPEAN MARKETING & PR DIRECTOR, BETHESDA SOFTWORKS Tell us about your games industry career.

I spent a number of years trying to beat my brother at long jump, 100m and javelin on Daley Thompson’s Decathlon on the Commodore 64. With these experiences, and the fact I will always remember my brother telling me that girls can’t work in the games industry, I not only had an early passion for games, but I had a point to prove – girls can work in the games industry.

I got my career break after reading the games trade paper – CTW – a forebear to MCV, and spotted a job ad for Interplay.

One thing led to another and they offered me the job, and so my games industry journey began.

At Interplay I decided to do a marketing degree at night school, which really helped my career.

About a year later we went through a merger with Virgin, at which point I was a product manager. Then in 1999 I moved to Take-Two as international marketing manager. I spent just short of seven years with Take-Two, including having the amazing chance to work in the New York office. In 2006, I was part of the round of redundancies they went through and left them having been marketing director.

From that point I took on a consultancy role with Sega to work on the hugely successful Mario and Sonic at the Olympic

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CAT CHANNON, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL PR, WARNER BROS

Games, and then went to work at a new start-up company called Gamecock. That provided me with a completely different set of experiences, however, the company was bought out in 2008 having been hit by the credit crunch and I was made redundant for a second time – something that seems to happen too often in our industry. After spending some time waiting for the right opportunity, I took on the role of European marketing and PR director at Bethesda in 2009.

Seven years later and I’m still enjoying working in this role.

What tips would you give someone starting in games?

My advice would be you need to love games – you should eat, breathe and sleep them. You need to know what new games are coming out or are out, what the most important and innovative games of all time are and why, and depending on the role you are going for, look to build a portfolio, developing your own mini games or art style. I would also recommend getting an industry qualification; there are so many great courses available.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

My mum always said to never look back in regret but to move on to the next thing.

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How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I took a job in my local games store in Bath, just before the dawn of the 32bit consoles.

I met the Future Publishing gang and while working there was offered a job at ISM as a marketing rep, with a freelance gig on Sky One’s Gamesworld.

From there I became a producer and presenter but TV wasn’t for me and I took a job at Official PlayStation Magazine. I worked at Future for a number of years before the desire to be in a position to afford my own plane ticket somewhere took over, I headed into games PR and have never looked back.

compromised times with family and friends for the sake of the job, some of which I’ll always regret. I learnt a valuable lesson the hard way. Being great at your professional life doesn’t mean your personal life has to suffer.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

The best was to take a voluntary redundancy package after Vivendi bought Activision. I persuaded the press office at Whistler Mountain to take me as a work experience volunteer.

Working in an industry where I had no connections or experience and being successful enough to be invited back was a massive confidence boost. I learnt a lot about myself and it was a great check on whether I’d just been successful in games because of my network or because I genuinely had a talent for the job.

The worst decisions I ever made were to prioritise work over personal life. In the early years I missed out on, and

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Don’t over-commit. I have a habit of wanting to do everything and help everyone. Take a breath before you say yes and check you can deliver to the standards you want without killing yourself in the process.

What tips would you give to anyone looking to get into the games industry?

I’m going to steal Indigo Pearl’s mantra. Be nice and work hard you’ll be rewarded for both.

Don’t be afraid to take a step back to take a step forward.

There were a couple points where I took strategic pay cuts or steps down which enabled me to leap frog ahead.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

I have been, and am still, incredibly fortunate to work alongside some of the best development talent in our industry. There are campaigns that I’m particularly proud of where I feel I’ve delivered the best anyone possibly could.

But it’s got to be working with GamesAid that I’d consider my greatest achievement.

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TOP 30 WOMEN IN GAMES

SIOBHAN REDDY, STUDIO DIRECTOR, MEDIA MOLECULE

FIONA SPERRY, FOUNDER, THREE FIELDS ENTERTAINMENT SPERRY began her career in publishing, working for US giant McGraw-Hill. In five years there she worked her way up from publishing assistant to publisher. But wanting to get closer to the creative process, she joined developer Criterion as producer in 1997. She was appointed studio director in

2000 and focused the company on console development as the first PS2 development kits arrived. Criterion then revved the engine on the Burnout series.

She established independent development company Three Fields Entertainment in March 2014: its first game, Dangerous Golf, is out in June.

SIOBHAN REDDY is co-founder and studio director of LittleBigPlanet creator Media Molecule. South African born, with a childhood in Australia, Reddy moved to the UK aged 18 where she worked at Perfect Entertainment, before moving to Burnout firm Criterion in 1999.

She co-founded Media Molecule in 2006, acting as executive producer before taking up her current role in 2009. In 2013 she was named one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by BBC’s Women’s Hour. In 2014 she was listed in Fortune’s 10 Powerful Women in Gaming before appearing on MCV’s Top 100 Women in Games in 2015.

in publishing their first game on PlayStation. She has led the charge on how our industry can support vital education initiatives such as Dare to be Digital, the Next Gen Skills Academy, and the Liverpool Studio School.

HELANA SANTOS, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, MODERN DREAM

GISELLE STEWART OBE, UK DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS, UBISOFT What was your dream job as a child, and why?

I wanted to run a riding school when I was about eight.

Then I realised that I really wanted to be a dentist, but I hadn’t taken the right range of O Levels.

How did you begin your career in games?

By accident. A friend asked me to hold the fort while he was on holiday and didn’t let me out. I also had the MBA he was looking for to grow and sell his company.

It was an amazing opportunity and I lived on adrenaline.

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How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I always answer by saying ‘depends how you define the games industry’. I did a doctorate on social virtual worlds, community, and identity, and that led me into a path of tech journalism, then commissioning – all around interactive ‘stuff’. I don’t think many people have a ‘career’ in mind necessarily when they are starting out – you just work out what you like and what you don’t. I was lucky that my interest in digital media and human behaviour came at the right time – from the mid-’90s – and people were interested in hiring curious people like me.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Landing my current job.

Getting my doctorate was also pretty cool and being a VP for SpecialEffect is a pure honour.

DR MARIA STUKOFF, HEAD OF ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT, PLAYSTATION FIRST DR MARIA STUKOFF has been at the forefront of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe’s Academic work for the last five years. There, she has helped bring new talent into the industry and aided young devs

DR JO TWIST, CEO, UKIE

SANTOS joined Modern Dream in 2014, following a career in development spanning companies such as Pivotal, Blitz and Radiant Worlds. She has been a UKIE Board member since 2014 and is a director of Arch Creatives, which provides a shared works space in Leamington Spa.

What tips would you give to anyone looking to get into the games industry?

Develop a good network of people you trust, who can mentor and/or be a sounding board.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to date?

Persuading the makers of Migration Policy that our sector should be exempt from a sunset clause.

And being made an Officer of the British Empire – it sounds so grand.

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Who inspires you?

Tina Fey, Daenerys Targaryen and Claire Underwood. Doesn’t matter if your role models are fictional or not – these women are clever, confident, resilient, and know how to play the game.

What tips would you give to anyone looking to get into the games industry?

Demonstrate your passion through your portfolio and be findable online. Learn how businesses work. Develop your tone of voice on social media, read everything, and be brave.

Network. Be original and be resilient: failure is good: we know that playing games.

May 13th 2016

TOP 30 WOMEN IN GAMES

TIMEA TABORI, ENGINE PROGRAMMER, ROCKSTAR NORTH

DEBBIE BESTWICK, CEO, TEAM17

How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I was motivated to pursue a career in games from early on, but there were no related uni courses in my home country of Hungary.

I knew I would have to move to find the best opportunities so when I was 16 I decided to finish my secondary school education in Ireland. While there I found out about the great games courses at Abertay University and ended up getting my Honours Degree in Computer Games Technology there. During my student years, I had the opportunity for a great internship at Codeplay and was also an IGDA Scholar at GDC, which all helped me land my current position as (then Junior) Engine Programmer at Rockstar North upon graduating.

What was your dream job as a child, and why?

I think from around 12 I really knew I loved games and wanted to be involved in some way. I joined the industry straight out of school and I’ve been very lucky.

My first paid job most certainly has led to a dream career.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

The best decision you can ever make is to jump headfirst into new experiences and

challenges. I have had the opportunity to be a part of so many life-changing experiences and I’ll be the first to admit that I often felt scared or doubted myself. But by overcoming those feelings and choosing to make the most of these opportunities and learn along the way has been incredibly rewarding.

And the worst decision you can make is to listen to that voice inside your head that tells you that you’re not good enough. We all have it in us. Some have it louder than others, but never let it discourage you.

How did you begin your career in the games industry?

Being a passionate gamer and a commercial nuisance from a very young age, I believe I was destined to be part of the games industry in some way. Retail was the start: working my way up to the lofty *cough* heights of ‘store promotional manager’ for a big indie chain back in the ‘80s (Microbyte). Following that, I co-founded Team17 in 1990 and released a few hundred games since then. I celebrated our 25th birthday and my 28th year in the games industry last year.

What tips would you give to anyone getting into games?

Be passionate, build a community and collaborate.

I have found this to be an incredibly exciting and dynamic field, where the opportunities to learn and grow are endless. The game dev community is a very friendly and supportive one, so get involved and make friends.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

Best, without a doubt choosing the games industry as my chosen career.

Worst was taking so long to realise I was good enough to step up to lead a company and take it forward.

GINA JACKSON, MD, NEXT GEN SKILLS ACADEMY How did you start your career in games?

My first job was as a tools designer and programmer at a developer. I also created the 3D animations for pitches to publishers.

I joined the industry really by accident but once I did, I loved the work, I loved the people.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve made?

My best was to start talking publically about the underrepresentation of women in the games industry. I try to be positive, promoting women and their great contribution, the power of

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What tips would you give to anyone looking to get into the games industry?

Some tips I wish someone had given me at the start: Don’t take no for an answer.

role models and the difference a diverse team can make.

The worst was talking about the under-representation of women in games. If I am asked to speak on a panel it’s rarely about the work I do or what I have achieved.

Don’t let anyone tell you can’t do something because you’re female – it really was a boys’ club when I started out, so of course I welcome the diversity that is embracing our industry.

Don’t be afraid of your own ambition - go for it.

Don’t think you’re the stupid one as you don’t understand why things happen a certain way, you are often the smart one and change is needed.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Common sense is one of the most valuable skills you have.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to date?

I have a few so this is tough. I guess it’s the turning around of Team17 over the last five years from the people who just made Worms to a globally recognised games label with some seriously high profile label partners (Mouldy Toof - The Escapists, Playtonic -Yooka-Laylee, Studio Happy Bee - Way to the Woods, Roll 7 - OlliOlli 2 and Not A Hero, Unicube - Sheltered, Lillith -Allison Road, Ivent Games -S.O.T.S.U, Steam Roller Studios -Deadwood) Which person inspires you, and why?

I absolutely hero worship Gabe Newell. He does things the right way and for the right reasons and that is a huge inspiration for lots of what I do on a daily basis.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Securing a publishing deal directly with Nintendo for UK dev Kuju for Battalions Wars. It was one of the first deals Nintendo did directly with a UK developer. And for being the originator and organiser of MCV’s first Top 100 Women in Games list.

08

www.mcvuk.com

TOP 30 WOMEN IN GAMES

AND THE FINALISTS ARE…

KATHERINE BIDWELL, CO-FOUNDER, STATE OF PLAY How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I started as a web designer for QVC, and then at an ad agency.

As well as web design, this involved making browser-based mini games and animations. I was more passionate about that aspect of web design than any other and that led to me and my business partner Luke Whittaker setting up State of Play.

What’s the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?

I don’t like to dwell on worse decisions, it’s a negative outlook and every decision you have made has led to where you are today. The best decision State of Play made was pursuing our dream of making Lumino City. It

Outside of the Top 30, MCV and Women In Games are celebrating some of the most successful, impactful and inspirational females from the last 12 months at next week’s Women In Games Awards. The finalists are:

was tough but we knew from the start it could be a really unique and special project. Even though it took longer than we expected (four years) we were so proud of the end result, and luckily the public and critics did, too.

RISING STAR Jodie Azhar – Lead Technical Artist, Creative Assembly Sophie Densham – Community and Communications Officer, UKIE Amy-Marie Graves – Community Executive, Square Enix Kate Gray – Video Producer, Gamespot Jessica Hughes – National Account Manager, Warner Home Entertainment Dorottya Kollo – UI Artist, Splash Damage Waiyin Lau – Technical Artist, Splash Damage Becky Lavender – Engineer, Playtonic Jill McKnight – National Account Manager, Warner Home Entertainment Karen Stanley – Environment Artist, Sony London Studios

What’s the best advice you have received?

In a really practical sense [industry vet] Andy Payne gave me some great advice which was ‘keep an eye on your overheads’. This is a fantastic piece of advice for indie companies. With the temptation to expand rapidly, it’s a good idea to keep your feet on the ground, and make sure you have the finances to carry on making the games you want to make.

BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE YEAR Debbie Bestwick –MD, Team17 Angela Dickson – Commercial Director, UK & Ireland, Activision Louise Gaynor – COO, Target Media Sam Glasscoe – Business Unit Controller, Warner Home Entertainment Charlotte Knight – UK Retail MD, GAME Veronique Lallier – VP European Publishing, Hi-Rez Studios Caroline Miller – Director, Indigo Pearl Kat Osman – MD, Lick PR Vickie Peggs – CEO, Universally Speaking Ella Romanos – Founder, Altara Games CREATIVE IMPACT Katherine Bidwell – Co-Founder, State of Play Michelle Chuang – Co-Founder, Supersolid Jessica Curry – Composer/Co-Studio Head, The Chinese Room Meg Jayanth – Writer Nina Kristensen – Co-Founder, Ninja Theory Dr Romana Ramzan – Game Design Lecturer, Glasgow Caledonian University Siobhan Reddy – Co-Founder, Media Molecule Helana Santos – Technical Director, Modern Dream Timea Tabori – Engine Programmer, Rockstar North Catherine Woolley – Senior Games Designer, Creative Assembly

NOIRIN CARMODY, CO-FOUNDER, REVOLUTION; CHAIR, UKIE What was your dream job as a child, and why?

I wanted to be a star, inspired by spending much of my time listening to music and watching film. It is serendipitous that I work in the entertainment sector.

How did you begin your career in the games industry?

I joined Activision in 1988 in the role of market analyst. My first job involved researching the emerging PC market in Europe and analysing the company’s games portfolio.

What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?

The best was joining the other co-founders at Revolution and moving from publishing

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UNSUNG HERO Rosemary Buahin – Head of Trade Marketing, PlayStation Ann Hurley – Head of Games Business Development, Testronic Diane Hutchinson – Founder, Girlgamersuk Samantha Kingston – Co-Founder, Virtual Umbrella Tanya Laird – Mentor/Advisor/Lecturer – Digital Jam Katherine Parrott – Assistant Games Buyer, Argos Clair Radford – Sony Brand Manager, CentreSoft Kerry Turner – Founder, Make Play Code Michelle Tilley – Senior Release Manager, PlayStation

to making games. It is incredibly rewarding to work with talented teams and create innovative titles.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

My contribution to Revolution’s success. We celebrated our 25th anniversary last year, something I am very proud of. I am also very proud of my children.

CAMPAIGNER Emily Britt – GamesAid Cat Channon – GamesAid Anna Harakopoulos – NinetySix Games Gina Jackson – Next Gen Skills Academy Lynne Kilpatrick – DCMS Kirsty Payne – SpecialEffect

Which person inspires you?

British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. She was an ambitious and devoted pioneer in photography. Daring in her experiments with image making and persistent in the promotion of her work in an area dominated by men.

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION OF THE YEAR Jude Ower MBE – Founder, Playmob Rhianna Pratchett – Scriptwriter Giselle Stewart OBE – UK Director of Corporate Affairs, Ubisoft Dr Jo Twist – CEO, UKIE Noirin Carmody - COO – Revolution (and UKIE Chair)

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May 13th 2016

XXX XXX IN GAMES WOMEN

‘We want more companies to step forward on issues of diversity’ space away from most men was created with the formation of a professional networking group on LinkedIn. It was soon evident that there was a need for a location where women were able to talk freely about their experiences good and bad - in the industry. And one of the first requests was for events to be organised for women who were keen to meet others.

The first conference organised

by WIGJ took place in September at the NH Harrington Hall Hotel near Gloucester Road in London.

In March 2012 the first meet-up in London took place where 55 women in games supporters signed up and attended.

Last year, WIGJ announced that its core objective is to double the number of women in games working in the UK and Europe by 2025. Jenny Richards-Stewart, CEO, explained: “We want more

Interactive Selection’s MD and WIGJ’s founder DAVID SMITH talks about the evolution and latest achievements of the UK not-for-profit organisation and discusses what remains to be done for women in games

W

IGJ was formed in 2009, initially as an information only website called Women in Games Jobs. Its objective was to help recruit more women into the games industry by promoting female role models and giving encouragement and information to those women seeking to work in the games industry.

At the time only one in 15 of the games industry workforce - or six per cent - were thought to be female and I had heard too many stories from people I’d interviewed in my role as MD of recruitment agency Interactive Selection not to realise that a problem of ‘gender imbalance’ existed. I was helped by Antonia Cullum, a former producer at Channel 4 and Lionhead working at Interactive Selection, who was able to translate some masculine ideas on what might be useful to women, into something that was genuinely helpful.

In 2010, WIGJ collaborated in a half day conference in Brighton during Develop where Sheri Graner-Ray told of her experiences of women in games in the USA. At the conference I was able to read out a letter of support from the UK Minister for Equalities, Lynne Featherstone, which was critical of the games sector. This kickstarted an active campaign to encourage change.

In 2011, the opportunity for women to network together in a

May 13th 2016

WIGJ’s core objective is to double the number of women in games working in the UK and Europe by 2025.

David Smith, WIGJ

companies to step forward on issues of diversity and inspire the next generation of talent.”

Now a not-for-profit organisation, WIGJ membership stands at over 5,000 globally with 1,000 in the UK alone. The group is the largest of its kind in the world, alongside Women In Games International which does great things in North America.

In the last month, WIGJ broke the news that the games industry still employs the fewest women in Creative Media - but the sector has seen remarkable growth in recent years at 19 per cent of the workforce, with 2,000 employees, compared to 14 per cent or 800 in 2012.

WIGJ is very pleased to be supporting MCV and NewBay Media’s 2016 Women in Games Awards. There still remains much more to do.

WIGJ runs quarterly meet-ups and conferences to support women in games

00 10

www.mcvuk.com

WOMEN IN GAMES

‘Women have an important role to play in the industry’ AOIFE BRODIGAN, Facebook’s head of EMEA gaming marketing, shares why the social network is actively promoting women in the games industry

A

t Facebook, our mission is to make the world more open and connected. Last week we held our 4th Level Up Games Summit, with over 300 gaming partners from across the industry joining us for an inspirational two days in our EMEA headquarters in Dublin. In recognition of the important role women play in shaping the industry, we kicked off the conference with our inaugural Women in Gaming event on May 4th. In a video address, COO Sheryl Sandberg introduced the program and shared our goal to bring women from all parts of the industry together to talk about diversity, leadership and change.

Women have an important role to play in the industry. We are important as consumers, characters, designers, engineers and professionals. Recent reports have shown that in the US nearly half of gamers are female and, in the UK, female gamers outnumber men. The era of smartphones and mobile games are attracting more and more women to this industry.

Mobile game developers have been reaping the benefits of targeting female gamers and, on Facebook, we’ve seen an increase in titles aimed primarily at women.

According to a new report by Newzoo, revenue from games on smartphone and tablet devices are set to reach $36.9 billion in 2016 and are likely to outstrip the revenue from console and PC games for the first time.

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Other parts of the industry are slowly starting to take note.

In the video games market we are seeing positive moves to make games more appealing to a female audience. In titles like Life is Strange, Mirror’s Edge and Monument Valley, female characters are breaking out of the background and becoming more than just supporting cast.

Industry veteran Brenda Romero delivered a keynote at Facebook’s Level Up Games Summit

CREATIVITY AND OPPORTUNITY We were excited to have Brenda Romero, award-winning game developer and veteran of the industry join us on stage to deliver a hugely entertaining and educational keynote on diversity. Highlighting the need for increased female representation, she outlined some of the challenges faced in developing a more inclusive industry.

In a study carried out by the International Game Developers Association, results showed that women make up 22 per cent of the global games industry today.

In a panel discussion led by Laura Scanlan (client partner for games at Facebook), we explored some of the opportunities for women in the gaming industry today. In a year where women were subjected to online threats it can be difficult to convince young women that this is an industry full of creativity and opportunity. Jenny Richards, CEO for WIGJ shared her mission to “double the amount of women working in the industry over the next few years” by working with

In a year where women were subjected to online threats, it can be difficult to convince young women that this is an industry full of opportunity.

Aoife Brodigan, Facebook

11

educational bodies to encourage more women into the industry.

Nikki Lannen, Warducks’ founder and CEO, shared her story of leaving her job to set up her company to build games targeted at females.

Mickey Elimelech, head of marketing at Space Ape, shared her tips for building a career while maintaining a healthy work life balance. Rick Kelley, Facebook’s VP of global marketing solutions for games, shared some interesting stats on how Facebook is doing in terms of diversity and leadership: “I’m really proud of the fact that women are making up 50 per cent of the global games leadership team.”

To close out the event, women from our Facebook gaming team led round table discussions on the ways women can support each other to keep the industry moving in a positive direction.

We are looking forward to expanding Facebook’s Women in Gaming program over the next year, as we partner with more bodies and launch more events across the globe. We hope to see the industry out in force again at MCV’s Women in Games Awards next week and are really excited to present the award for the ‘Outstanding Contribution of the Year’.

May 13th 2016

CHEAT SHEET

UP & DOWN

Market Data A lack of new titles (aside from Battleborn) means physical game sales fall again

£10m

SALES OF Sony’s Ratchet & Clank fell 51 per cent as the title drops from No.1 to No.3

£5m

£6.6m 220,813 units

Week Ending April 23rd

£6.1m 215,881 units

Week Ending April 30th

£5.4m 192,956 units GTA V CLIMBS four places to No.4 with unit sales rising 20 per cent weekon-week

Week Ending May 7th

EVENT CALENDAR MAY 2016 ..................................................................................

MCV WOMEN IN GAMES AWARDS 2016 Hamyard Hotel, London Thursday, May 19th Q MCV’s Women in Games Awards return for the second year Q Six prizes will be handed out on the night – Rising Star, Businesswomen of the Year, Creative Impact, Unsung Hero, Campaigner and Outstanding Contribution of the year Q Julia Hardy will be hosting the ceremony

JUNE 2016 ..................................................................................

INSOMNIA GAMING IRELAND INEC, Killarney Friday, June 10th - Sunday, June 12th Q Event organiser Multiplay is bringing its Insomnia event to Ireland Q Attendees will have the chance to play the latest games, watch live shows, enter PC and console competitions, speak with their favourite YouTubers and attend panel talks Q That’s on top of merchandise which can be found in the retail zone

May 13th 2016

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EA PLAY Club Nokia @ LA Live, Los Angeles and The Apollo, London Sunday, June 12th – Tuesday, June 14th Q Publishing giant EA is holding its own events in both Los Angeles and London rather than having a presence at trade show E3 Q Attendees will be able to get hands on with EA’s latest releases E3 2016 LA Convention Centre, Los Angeles Tuesday, June 14th – Thursday, June 16th Q All eyes turn to Los Angeles once again as the largest companies in games reveal their biggest announcements Q So far, Bethesda, Microsoft, Ubisoft and Sony have confirmed they are holding press conferences at this year’s event

JULY 2016 ..................................................................................

DEVELOP INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 Hilton Metropole, Brighton Wednesday, July 13th Q Over 500 people from 170 companies are coming to this year’s Develop Awards

www.mcvuk.com

CHEAT SHEET

PRESENTS

5 SECOND FACTS

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

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

BATTLEFIELD GOES TO WORLD WAR ONE EA has revealed that the latest entry in its Battlefield franchise is Battlefield 1 and is set in the First World War. The title is coming out on October 21st for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Its World War One setting is a stark contrast to Activision’s Call of Duty. The upcoming entry in that franchise, Infinite Warfare, is set in the far future.

10 Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 will cost $119 (£82) as of July 29th

85%

@Leearigold Battlefield 1 looks superb. Great trailer and brilliant choice of setting.

@GeorgeOsborn Battlefield set during the First World War, the conflict that is definitely known for its fluid combat and thrill a minute action.

Lee Kirton, Bandai Namco Saturday, May 7th

George Osborn, freelance journalist Friday, May 6th

RESPAWN IS WORKING ON A STAR WARS GAME

MIGHTY NO.9 FINALLY HAS A RELEASE DATE

Titanfall developer Respawn has announced that it is developing a Star Wars title. It joins EA studios Visceral, DICE, Capital, BioWare and Motive, who are all working on Star Wars games.

At long last, Keiji Inafune’s spiritual successor to Mega Man Might No.9 has gone gold after several delays. The title is coming out on June 21st courtesy of Koch Media.

@amy_hennig Thrilled to have Respawn and my friend Stig Asmussen joining the EA Star Wars family. Exciting times.

@JohnLHardin Glad Mighty No.9 has a release date. It’s my last undelivered Kickstarter product. Technically, it’s my last Kickstarter thing ever.

Amy Hennig, Visceral, Wednesday, May 4th

John Hardin, Sega/Atlus Monday, May 2nd

@andihero Star Wars game by the Titanfall people. Life is good.

@toadsanime Mighty No.9 releasing June 21st? Ha! Believe it when I see it.

Game lost me ages ago.

Andi Hamilton, freelance journalist, Wednesday, May 4th

Domenic Callocchia, Working Casual Monday, May 2nd

In an investor call, Activision revealed that 85 per cent of PS4s bought in America in Q1 were sold with Black Ops III

21 Imagine has cut the print edition of Play magazine after 21 years

1.4m Capcom has revealed that Street Fighter V has sold 1.4 million units – 600,000 copies short of its two million unit goal

£2m High Street retailer GAME has acquired AR company Ads Reality for £2m Wii U Mario Fight Pad - PDP Design and manufacture the Officially Licenced Nintendo GameCube Styled Classic Pro Controller for Wii U europesales@pdp.com

www.pdp.com

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

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

www.mcvuk.com

GUILDFORD GAMES NIGHT

GAMESAID GOLF DAY

STAND UP FOR GAMESAID

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Until Dawn developer Supermassive is holding the Guildford Games Night on May 25th. The event is taking place at Pews Bar with all proceeds going to GamesAid. You can donate here: justgiving.com/GuildfordGames-Night-2016

The annual GamesAid golf and spa day returns on July 14th. Since its debut 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.

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The fourth annual Stand Up For GamesAid comedy night was on Monday, May 9th at London’s The Comedy Store. Over £9,000 was raised through ticket sales and a raffle – a record for the event.

May 13th 2016

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

New biz dev manager for Curve Vega joins from PlayJam O Innogames hires head of PR O Climax scores new art director CURVE DIGITAL | JOHN VEGA has joined the Londonbased publisher as business development manager.

Vega previously held various positions at games network PlayJam: he began as a QA and integration analyst in 2003, then became head of QA in 2007. For the past five years, he’s worked as developer relationship manager.

“I’m thrilled to be joining a brilliant company at the most exciting time in its history,” Vega stated. “The opportunities we’re now able to explore mean that this isn’t just a fantastic new role for me, but something definitely appealing to the wider development community.”

May 13th 2016

Curve MD JASON PERKINS added: “John’s skill in identifying titles early in development and working with teams through until completion will enable us to rapidly expand our portfolio – we see him as an integral part of the business.”

increasing InnoGames brand awareness internationally. This will be important in continuing the company’s reputation for high quality business partnerships and as an attractive place to work. I also look forward to leading the launch communication of several interesting mobile projects in the pipeline right now.”

INNOGAMES | The Forge of Empires studio has hired PETER MEYENBURG as its new head of PR. He will be in charge of all external and internal communications at InnoGames. Meyenburg previously worked at Rakuten as EMEA corporate PR lead.

He commented: “I plan to put a high priority on further

CLIMAX STUDIOS | The Assassin’s Creed Chronicles developer has promoted industry veteran GARY WELCH to art director.

He joined Climax Studios in 2011 as studio animation director, having previously worked for

14

the likes of EA for more than 13 years. Welch worked on, amongst others, EA’s Harry Potter franchise, and since he joined Climax he’s helped create Assassin’s Creed Chronicles and upcoming VR title Gunsight.

CEO SIMON GARDNER said: “We are very happy to announce the appointment of Gary as our art director. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the post and his recent work in VR and AR is proving invaluable to our new projects.”

Welch added: “I’m very excited to take on this role, especially with all the new and varied projects we have coming up.

“It’s going to be a diverse and interesting year for us, so I can’t wait to get started.”

www.mcvuk.com

WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

WEEKLY CHARTS 2K’S Battleborn takes the top spot this week. It’s the first No.1 for the TakeTwo family since GTA V’s return at the top in 2015.

The latter incidentally performed very well this week, gaining four spots to No.4. Rockstar’s title increased in sales by 20 per cent week-on-week.

But Battleborn was nearly beaten by Call of Duty: Black Ops III, which only sold 100 physical copies fewer. Activision Blizzard’s FPS keeps its No.2 spot.

Sony’s Ratchet & Clank has been pushed down to No.3, with sales dropping by 51 per cent.

Battleborn is the only new title in the charts this week, as overall UK games sales decreased by 11 per cent over last week.

Nevertheless, some titles still managed to perform very well, such

as Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. Sony’s title re-enters the charts at No.22 thanks to an impressive 125 per cent rise in sales due to retail promotions ahead of the launch of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Meanwhile, Bandai Namco’s Dark Souls III is still No.1 on Steam, but pre-orders for Bethesda’s Doom are right on its heels.

Over on mobile, Slither.io is still dominating the free iOS charts but Angry Birds Action! is not far behind.

Rovio’s latest title debuts at No.3 on iPad and No.7 on iPhone.

Blizzard’s Hearthstone also re-enters the grossing mobile charts this week, following the launch of a new expansion, Whispers of the Old God.

GLOBAL STEAM CHARTS (UNITS)

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

LW NEW 03 NEW NEW NEW 07 04 05

DARK SOULS III DEVELOPER: FROMSOFTWARE PUBLISHER: BANDAI NAMCO

TITLE Doom (P) Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Battleborn Stellaris (P) Star Wars Collection Total War: Warhammer (P) Grand Theft Auto V ARK: Survival Evolved

PUBLISHER Bethesda Valve 2K Games Paradox Interactive LucasArts/Disney Sega Rockstar Studio Wildcard

TOP 40 UK PHYSICAL RETAIL 02

01

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

Title Battleborn Call of Duty: Black Ops III Ratchet & Clank Grand Theft Auto V Tom Clancy’s The Division Far Cry Primal LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Dark Souls III EA Sports UFC 2 FIFA 16 LEGO Jurassic World Star Wars Battlefront Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 WWE 2K16 Dirt Rally Minecraft: Xbox Edition The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt Destiny: The Taken King Halo 5: Guardians UEFA Euro 2016 Pro Evolution Soccer Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Forza Motorsport 6 Disney Infinity 3.0 Yo-Kai Watch Quantum Break Fallout 4 Minecraft: Story Mode Rise of the Tomb Raider Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege Batman: Arkham Knight Zoo Tycoon Kinect Sports: Rivals Skylanders Superchargers Football Manager 2016 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Terraria Just Cause 3 Until Dawn

Source: Steam, Period: May 2nd to 8th May 13th 2016

03

04

05

Format Publisher PS4, XO, PC 2K Games PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Rockstar PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PC Bandai Namco PS4, XO EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PC EA PS4, XO, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games PS4, XO Codemasters XO, 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, PC Bandai Namco PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard XO Microsoft PS4, PS3 Konami PS4, PS3, Vita Sony PS4 Sony XO Microsoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney 3DS Nintendo XO Microsoft PS4, XO, PC Bethesda PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Telltale Games/Avanquest XO, 360 Square Enix PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PC Warner Bros XO Microsoft XO Microsoft PS4, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS Activision PC Sega PS4, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, DS, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC 505 Games PS4, XO, PC Square Enix PS4 Sony

Source: UKIE/GfK Entertainment, Period: Week ending May 7th 16

www.mcvuk.com

WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

UK IPAD PAID

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW RE 02 NEW 03 08 10 NEW RE RE

UK IPHONE PAID

(UNITS)

01

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

Title Crazy Craft Mod for Minecraft PC Edition Terraria Dark Romance: The Swan Sonata HD LEGO Jurassic World The Sims 3 Soccer Physics Final Cut: Fame Fatale Five Nights at Freddy’s Minecraft: Story Mode

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Franko Bucker 505 Games Big Fish Warner Bros EA Otto-Ville Ojala Big Fish Scott Cawthon Telltale

LW 03 03 08 05 04 06 07 NEW RE

(UNITS)

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

Title Heads Up! Plague Inc. Storage Hunters UK : The Game Football Manager Mobile 2016 Monopoly Game Angry Birds Bloons TD 5 Growing Pug Geometry Dash

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: April 25th to May 1st

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: April 25th to May 1st

UK IPAD GROSSING (REVENUE)

UK IPHONE GROSSING (REVENUE)

01

01

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 01 03 04 05 07 06 08 09 RE

CANDY CRUSH SAGA DEVELOPER: KING

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

Candy Crush Jelly Saga Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

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

LW 02 01 05 03 06 RE 09 RE 07

CLASH OF CLANS DEVELOPER: SUPERCELL

Title Game of War - Fire Age Candy Crush Saga Mobile Strike Clash Royale Candy Crush Soda Saga Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes Marvel Contest of Champions Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft 8 Ball Pool

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: April 25th to May 1st

UK IPHONE FREE (UNITS)

01

01

LW 02 NEW NEW NEW RE 08 06 05 NEW

SLITHER.IO DEVELOPER: STEVE HOWSE

Title Disney Crossy Road Angry Birds Action!

Crossword Quiz - Crossword Puzzle War Tortoise WordBrain Roblox Color Switch Piano Tiles 2 Choppa

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Disney Rovio Conversion Foursaken Media MAG Interactive Roblox Corporation Marc Lejeune Cheetah Technology Parta Games Oy

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: April 25th to May 1st www.mcvuk.com

Developer Machine Zone King Epic War Supercell King EA Kabam Blizzard Miniclip.com

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: April 25th to May 1st

UK IPAD FREE (UNITS)

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Warner Bros Ndemic Creations UKTV Interactive Sega EA Rovio Ninja Kiwi Blimps RobTop Games

LW NEW 05 03 RE NEW NEW RE 06 RE

SLITHER.IO DEVELOPER: STEVE HOWSE

Title Crossword Quiz - Crossword Puzzle Color Switch Stack Defend the Planet Risky Road Angry Birds Action!

Marvel Avengers Academy Disney Crossy Road 100 Pics Quiz

Developer Conversion Marc Lejeune Ketchapp Argo Studio Ketchapp Rovio TinyCo Disney Poptacular

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: April 25th to May 1st 17

May 13th 2016

THE WORLD NEEDS HEROES

Available on

24 MAY th

© 2016 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., All rights reserved. Overwatch is a trademark, and Blizzard Entertainment is a trademark or registered trademark of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the properties of their respective owners. “ ”and “3” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Also, “ ” is a trademark of the same company. “Sony Entertainment Network” is a trademark of Sony Corporation. All rights reserved.

“Superb”

“Pure Fun” Gamereactor

Eurogamer

“Fast, breathless, “Ushering in a new simple and accessible” era of shooters” Digital Spy

Games TM

“One of our most anticipated games of the year” Metro

INTERFACE ROUND-UP

What did we learn at Interface 2016?

Following MCV and Develop’s third Interface event, Alex Calvin rounds up the biggest learnings from our schedule of speakers and panels

1.

’A great Kickstarter is 50 per cent having a great idea and 50 per cent being able to convince people you can finish it’

T

his year’s Interface kicked off with a panel on crowdfunding, with Revolution’s Charles Cecil, Playtonic’s Andy Robinson and Thomas Bidaux from ICO Partners comparing their experiences with Kickstarter.

The key to a successful Kickstarter, they agreed, was listening to your community, and keeping your fans in the loop.

“Understand your community,” Robinson, whose studio raised £2.1m for Yooka-Laylee, said.

“The biggest challenge for us has come after the funding. You shouldn’t promise things you can’t follow up on.”

He continued: “A great Kickstarter is 50 per cent having a great idea and 50 per cent being able to convince people you can finish it.

People will worry about whether a Kickstarter game is going to come out. You need to show the team, show who they are, show why they have the pedigree to bring this game out. And show the game.”

COMMUNITY SERVICE Meanwhile, Cecil remembered some problems Revolution ran into when launching Broken Sword 5 – but these were solved by being open with the fans.

“When we announced the game, we said it was going to take six months,” he said. “That was what

May 13th 2016

would have happened if we had written the game we were originally going to (but it got bigger due to stretch goals). I really worried when that six months was up and people started asking where the game was, because it was going to take another six months.

“I rewrote the release to reflect this and expected a negative reaction. But the response was either: ‘we didn’t believe you in the first place, take your time’ or: ‘we’ve been waiting for five years, we don’t mind waiting a little longer’. If you are as honest as can be, you’ll be okay. When dealing with a large community, don’t waiver. When you say something, be absolutely clear.

Even if you are being harangued for a response, wait until you are clear about your position.”

Revolution also said that there was going to be a DRM-free PC edition – but this ran into trouble.

“We were working with Koch who published the game at retail.

There was a moment when we were in crunch and they said: ‘you have to get the DRM-free master copies now, otherwise the game will come out later for backers than it will for retail, which would have been a disaster’,” Cecil said.

“So we said why don’t we do a Steam version, and I knew it was the wrong thing to do. So when the game came out, a small number of people – quite reasonably – got

(Left to right): Playtonic’s Robinson, ICO Partner’s Bidaux and Revolution’s Cecil talk about the pitfalls of crowdfunding

As long as you’re honest as you can be, you’ll be okay. When you say something, be absolutely clear.

Charles Cecil, Revolution

20

really irate because they cared passionately. So we had to deliver what we said we would. The temptation was to reply straight away, but I spoke to the team and put out a tweet apologising and saying a DRM free version was on the way. That turned the whole thing back, people thought they were being listened to.”

Bidaux added: “If things go well, your fans will be your biggest advocates. Funders have a sense of ownership. People want to be special. Backers need to be treated special.”

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INTERFACE ROUND-UP

2.

How to pitch your game to an investor or publisher

O

ur keynote for this year’s Interface was Team 17 boss and industry veteran Debbie Bestwick, who shared her tips on how to sell your game to an investor or publisher.

Bestwick advises developers to do their research when it comes to working with a third party.

“Research and planning are the two most underrated areas of setting up a new a business and running an existing one,” she said.

“No-one goes into business without doing research. 90 per cent of the games pitched to Team17 in the last few years haven’t had answers to our questions about their game such as ‘do customers want this product?’.”

Bestwick also said that developers need to treat their studios seriously, insisting that the moment it hires someone it is a business and should behave as such. Furthermore, developers need to know that any partners will want a return on investment, and that these companies aren’t here to fund games as a hobby – it needs to take it seriously.

TIME IS MONEY In addition, she said that time is the most valuable asset that studios have.

“Treat time as a cost,” Bestwick said. “Use it wisely. Are you posting the right kind of things on social media? Take your average day and break it down, think about what you are doing. You’ll be amazed how much time fails to give you a return-on-investment. This will change the way you work.”

Developers need to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses, too. Bestwick advised the crowd at Interface: “If you don’t have a skill, hire it. Know your strengths and employ your weaknesses.”

Studios also need to be mindful of what they want from a partner – distributors, publishers and labels offer wildly different things. Distibutors take

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Team17’s Bestwick says that devs need to treat their studios as a business and do their research on partners

financially stable partners are.

They can do this by checking accounts and financials.

a finished game and launch it (with minimal effort or services, Bestwick says). Publishers offer funding, marketing, PR, sales and protection support, while labels offer a variety of services.

To be most successful, developers need to make a list of preferred partners and approach them over time – Bestwick herself used to pitch to one a day for an entire week. Furthermore, studios need to do their research and know who they are emailing.

And be sure to proof read any materials being sent.

“It’s sloppy to see the same assets with typos and names,” she said. “You’re not going to hurt my feelings by having the wrong partner on, but it indicates that you haven’t focused and shown attention to detail.”

When picking a partner, devs need to think about how they will work together. Bestwick said that studios need to consider where the game will fit within a publisher’s line-up. Bestwick herself once pitched a cute family game to a partner that only released 15-plus titles. And creators must ascertain how

If you don’t have a skill, hire it. Know your strengths and employ your weaknesses.

Debbie Bestwick, Team17

21

MONEY TALKS When developers finally come to pitching, they should send something brief initially due to the sheer volume of pitches. A perfect pitch should have the USPs and the vision for the project.

The next stage is getting a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (MNDA) signed, and sharing a playable build of the games, any build notes and instructions, development plans, competitor and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analyses, as well as a full breakdown of what is desired in terms of funding.

Bestwick notes that any partner worth their salt will want to do a due dilligence of the developers, as well as look at their production, tech and dev plans and forecasts for sales.

And developers will be asked what they want from a deal.

“Make sure you know the answers – it’s your game and your business,” Bestwick concluded.

May 13th 2016

INTERFACE ROUND-UP

3.

‘Don’t be fooled: self-publishing is still publishing’

I

n an interview with MCV earlier this year, Koch boss Klemens Kundratitz said that selfpublishing was dead. We put this statement to our panel of indie publishers.

Sold Out boss Garry Williams insisted that not only is selfpublishing just publishing, it’s very hard work.

“Don’t be fooled by selfpublishing – that is still publishing,” he said. “If you are on that side of it, you are publishing.“ He continued: “There’s so much involved in publishing, so developers should focus on your game. Discovery is a killer. If you aren’t doing marketing from the start, you may be screwed.

Concentrate on what you are good at: good games will always sell.”

4.

P

(Left to right): Rebellion’s Kingsley, Sold Out’s Williams, Kiss’ Still, Channel 4’s Macdonald and Rising Star’s Mathers

The secret to good PR? Just be yourself!

R is something that many find difficult to get right.

Thankfully, our panel of industry veterans were here to help.

Our group suggested that developers adopt the approach of indie development hero and Thomas Was Alone maker Mike Bithell, where you speak about whatever’s on your mind on Twitter, and aren’t constantly trying to push a game.

“Mike Bithell does it really well. He’s engaged, he’s talking about politics, games and his experiences,” Indigo Pearl boss Caroline Miller said. “He’s not hitting you over your head about the game. He’s being himself.”

She continued: “You just have natural stories. If you naturally

May 13th 2016

Channel 4’s Colin Macdonald added: “One thing that annoys me is seeing people doing amazing games, getting them on the App Store and thinking it’s entitled to be a success. It’s nonsense. Selfpublishing is publishing. You need a plan. If no-one knows about your game, they’re not going to buy it. If you publish, have a way for people to find out how amazing it is.”

Rising Star’s Martin Mathers agrees that a publisher is not essential, but you stand a better chance of success with one.

“Self-publishing isn’t dead,” he said. “The market is saturated and gaining visibility is difficult.

Publishers aren’t the only answers to that. However, it does increase your chances of winning the lottery.”

have something to say like you’ve reached a new milestone or you have a voice actor, talk about it.

But don’t talk about the same thing over and over again.”

Renaissance PR’s Stefano Petrullo added: “It’s good to talk about you and about why you are making this game. When developers start talking about the reasons they’re doing a particular game, the media is interested.”

Meanwhile, Premier’s Lauren Dillon advises that it’s important to have a strategy in place when it comes to effective PR. “You need to know where you want to start and end,” she said. “As well as when and where you want to talk to people.

If you naturally have something to say, talk about it. But don’t talk about the same thing over and over again.

Caroline Miller, Indigo Pearl

22

“But it doesn’t need to be rigid.

Something might come up and you can piggyback on it.”

Tracey McGarrigan of Ansible PR added: “Having a plan is key.

It should almost be part of the development strategy and given the same amount of time and resource.

Having a plan in place, working out the key beats and when you definitely need to be talking about X. Y and Z is important.

“You can build that around opinions about politics or the industry, you have a real wealth of opinion there. You can be talking around and about your game.

“But PRs are here to be able to plot that through and support people through it. I know it can be quite daunting if you aren’t normally speaking in that space.”

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INTERFACE ROUND-UP

Interface in numbers 5%

Euromonitor predicts by 2019, global console game sales will have fallen by five per cent; mobile software is set to rise by 24 per cent

5.

B

2,000

Four per cent of app downloads come from being featured on a store. Organic searches and word of mouth result in 70 per cent

The number of games pitched at Team17 for parnership consideration

1/6 Only one in six Kickstarter projects are successful, according to data from ICO Partners

Learn from EA on how to promote your game

usiness Birmingham’s Roy Meredith shared some valuable tips about how to market your game based on what he learnt during his time at EA. The publishing giant came up with the concept of the ‘X’, a statement that summarises your game and is reflected in all future communication and marketing.

This made sure that both the marketing and development teams fundamentally understood what a game was – previously, there were instances of marketing pushing something different to the actual finished product.

For example, the X for SSX 3 was ‘Make the mountain your bitch’, while Medal of Honor: Allied Assault’s was ‘Step into the boots of a World War Two

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4%

soldier and experience the curse of Normandy’.

“Everything you say about your game – be it a screenshot, a USP, a message – has to reflect your X,” he said.

“It’s damn hard to get an X right - I worked with studios who had 60 goes at getting an X right.”

And from the moment you come up with the idea and tell your friends about it you are marketing your project.

“You need to start building a community straight away,” Meredith said.

“In fact, start sooner. You need to build an audience for your games. It’s critical without that you can’t do anything else. You need to have those relationships and every channel available to promote yourself.”

Business Birmingham’s Meredith says you need to start talking about your game as soon as possible

23

May 13th 2016

HOMEFRONT : THE REVOLUTION

FREE T

For every unit of Homefront: The Revolution 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

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P es Pr esen e te t d by b © 2016 and published by Deep Silver, a division of Koch Media, Austria. Developed by Deep Silver Dambuster Studios. Homefront, Deep Silver and their respective logos are trademarks of Koch Media GmbH. Portions of this software are included under license © 2004-2016 Crytek GmbH. All rights reserved. Crytek, CryEngine and their respective logos are trademarks of Crytek Group. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

“2”, “PlayStation” and “Ô are registered trademarks and the “Õ” logo and “Ø” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

SAND SAILOR STUDIOS INTERVIEW

INDIE INTERVIEW Paint it Black Sand Sailor Studio’s Black: The Fall might look like just another gritty and dark game set in a dystopian and crumbling society. But creative director Cristian Diaconescu tells Alex Calvin that there’s a lot more to it than that

O

n the surface, Black: The Fall looks very much like a game we’ve all played before – the title has that dark, dystopian and almost postapocalyptic setting and tone that so many modern releases go for.

It’s the first project from Romanian developer Sand Sailor Studio and tells a story set in a communist society. It stars Black, who is a factory worker trying to escape the hellscape.

“Growing up in Romania was not only an influence, but it was the main trigger and the initial scope of the game: to show how we – and our parents – lived during communism.

The countryside workers converted into factory workers, the oppressed intellectuals, the fear and anger towards the system, the manipulation, the distrust,” says executive creative director Cristian Diaconescu.

“They all led to a gradual loss of identity as individuals and as a nation.”

Black: The Fall is coming out via Square Enix’s Collective label for indie games.

“I have a lot of experience in the games industry, I can do anything from animations to design to sound,” says Diaconescu, an industry vet who has worked on games for the likes of Ubisoft and Activision.

“But I do not know marketing. One step was finding a solid partner that can do solid marketing for us. The best move we have made so far is getting Andreea [Vaduva, community manager] on-board because I just didn’t have the time to do it and wasn’t doing a great job with it.

“That’s why we chose Square Enix. It has its Collective platform. It pitches games to its community. If you are voted they do a deep assessment and if you pass, Square goes with you to Kickstarter or IndieGoGo. It was good for us because we launched around the same time as Square Enix Collective.”

The studio’s Kickstarter beat its £25,000 goal, raising £28,485. But this was not an easy feat for the Romanian firm.

“Doing a Kickstarter in Romania is super hard as Kickstarter doesn’t let Romanian companies on,” Diaconescu explains.

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Creative director Diaconescu says Black: The Fall was heavily influenced by growing up in Romania

We wanted to show how we and our parents lived during communism – the fear and anger towards the system, the manipulation, the distrust.

Cristian Diaconescu, Sand Sailor

“So we had to do it through the UK. It was okay. I’m hoping that Kickstarter will open up for other countries. It was tough.”

LIFE’S A PITCH Kickstarter – like many things in business – is difficult to get right. So what tips would Sand Sailor offer those giving crowdfunding a try?

“We had to do a very good pitch,” Diaconescu says. “That’s a must, but it’s not enough. One thing that we learned the hard way was that we are doing too many Early Birds [tiers for early backers that offer rewards for a lower price].

You don’t want to do many of them. People

25

jump on the Early Bird and you lose money and traction because you want to have a huge spike in the first day. If you do too many Early Birds, that spike will not be high enough.

“You want that spike to be as high as possible because then you’ll get coverage. That’s one thing that we learned about the hard way. Then you have to do updates. We did shoutouts for other developers on Kickstarter, too. That was awesome. We weren’t sure about it at first because it was our first Kickstarter and the projects weren’t that similar. But it was worth it.

“You can also do shout outs for successful companies. If you can get a big developer to do a shout out for you it’s awesome because they’ll have a high number of backers.”

The game has been available in Early Access since July 2014, as well as at shows like Rezzed, where MCV met the team. And so far, the reception to the game has been positive.

“The public is awesome. It’s knowledgable, many of them are developers, so it’s been good feedback on how to improve the game,” Diaconescu says.

“People love the game. We have couples playing it, we have dads and kids playing it together. It’s not a multiplayer game but we found out that it can be played as one.”

May 13th 2016

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE Ibby Hussain of Middlesbrough’s Super Games World tells MCV why he thinks his hardware sales have taken a nose dive, how well virtual reality is going to do and how he plans to support Yo-Kai Watch been really annoyed because they have just bought new consoles.

I haven’t had much of a massive interest as of yet in terms of preorders, but it is early days so far.

This might be why there’s been a downturn in hardware sales – people are holding off to see what the new machines are like.

How has business been lately?

It’s been pretty great if I’m honest.

We had a bit of an upturn. In February, the market was really quiet but it’s picked up now.

We seem to be ticking over quite nicely.

bit of a surprise, I didn’t think that would do as well as it did.

What’s been selling well?

New releases. Star Fox Zero is doing phenomenally well for us, Yo-Kai Watch and Quantum Break have done reasonably well, too.

And Ratchet & Clank, that was a

Sony and Microsoft are rumoured to be working on upgraded versions of the PS4 and Xbox One. What are your thoughts on this?

I’ve had a few people who have

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How has hardware been selling?

Slow. PS4 is still outselling the Xbox One, but hardware overall has taken a bit of a nose dive.

How do you think these rumoured mid-gen upgrades are going to perform commercially?

PS4 will still be on top unless

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MARKETPLACE

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it’ll go the same way that Kinect or PlayStation Move went. A lot of people will buy it, but they’re going to hold off and see who supports it.

You mentioned that Yo-Kai Watch is selling well. Are you stocking merchandise for it?

One of our suppliers has just managed to get hold of some for us. We are going to be supporting it with merchandise. It’s going to be huge. A lot of Pokémon fans are excited about it.

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27

May 13th 2016

CALL OF DUTY

CALL OF DUTY Two new Call of Duty titles will hit retail this year, which means that licensed merchandise will be everywhere.

Marie Dealessandri takes a look at the upcoming products and those that fans might have missed in the past few months

LAST week was full of good news for Call of Duty fans. Activision announced two new additions to its successful franchise.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will launch on November 4th and will be set in space.

“With Infinite Warfare, we are taking Call of Duty to places fans have never experienced in the series,” commented Dave Stohl, studio head at developer Infinity Ward. “On one hand, this game is the kind of gritty, boots on the

The Call of Duty series has sold 250m units worldwide. Black Ops III generated over £500m in revenue in its first three days.

ground, visceral war story that Call of Duty is known for. On the other, its future setting takes players on a journey of epic scale and proportions, providing incredible gameplay innovations and new experiences for our fans. And it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun.”

Activision also announced a remake of 2007’s Modern Warfare. This improved version won’t be sold separately but only as part of a bundle including Infinite Warfare.

CALL OF DUTY: INFINITE WARFARE LOGO HOODIE Infinite Warfare’s launch is six months away but a few products are already available for fans to purchase in the game’s official store, including this hoodie. The collection also includes hats, T-shirts and a couple of accessories, all displaying the title’s logo. These are already available to preorder and should ship around May 23rd.

SRP: $49.99 (£34) Manufacturer: Activision Distributor: Call of Duty Official Store Contact: callofduty@spottrot.com

CALL OF DUTY: INFINITE WARFARE KONTROLFREEK S.C.A.R. THUMBSTICK

CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS III SKULL LOGO BACKPACK

MEGA BLOKS - CALL OF DUTY ARCTIC INVASION

KontrolFreek signed a new partnership with Activision for exclusive Infinite Warfare products such as this thumbstick.

This spacious backpack with various pockets will allow players to easily carry all their gaming gear.

This set allows players to recreate scenes from Ghosts, including an all-terrain vehicle and a barricade with barbed wire fence.

SRP: $17.99 (£12.40) Manufacturer: Kontrol Freek Distributor: Lime Distribution Contact: 01622 845 161

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May 13th 2016

28

www.mcvuk.com

CALL OF DUTY Sponsored by

O

gaming merchandise uk

These long-rumoured announcements are also great news for retailers, as products surrounding the franchise are always big sellers. Some Infinite Warfare items are already available to pre-order, mainly apparel simply featuring the game’s logo.

But Activision also renewed its partnership with accessories brand KontrolFreek to launch new products throughout 2016, including controllers’ thumbsticks and protection sets.

Until more products are released, retailers can still purchase items from the massive range already available for many of the 14 main CoD titles.

The Call of Duty series has sold 250m units worldwide as of January 2016 and the huge success of the latest instalment in the franchise, Black Ops III, has undoubtedly boosted this figure.

Black Ops III generated revenues of over $550m worldwide in its first three days.

ASTRO GAMING A40 TR HEADSET + MIXAMP PRO TR The best way to prepare for battle is to have a high-quality headset in order to hear enemies coming. This adjustable Black Ops III headset can be customised to adapt to any environment. Its microphone minimises background noise and can be positioned on either side of the headset.

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This door poster measures 53 x 158 cm and is printed on high-quality paper. It features Advanced Warfare’s box art.

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May 13th 2016

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+98 – 21 – 44228670

ADDRESS: No 9, Hemmatian St. Takesaten St., Satterkhan St. Tehran, Iran, 1444636445

DC GAMES GROUP is trading name of Gorouh Doostan Rayaneh Narmafzar Company (LTD) which was established in Tehran, Iran in 2008. It is a privately owned company.

DC Game Group is seen as a pioneer in the game industry in Iran.

Our core strength lies in our experience for more than 15 years in Iran’s market combined with effective sales strategies and strong attention to market’s needs.

Our main focus is on Video Game Consoles. We are in contact with large global suppliers. We import from different countries around the world, mainly USA, European countries, UK and specially U.A.E and distribute in Iran.

DC Games Group is constantly looking for new international suppliers. We are always interested in developing new business partnerships.

DC Games Group is a leading distributor of all kind of Game Consoles, Accessories and Video Games in Iran.

We supply to all cities of Iran and we have over 500 customers including wholesalers, street shops and individuals around the country.

Some major activities and services of the company can be outlined as follow: Q Game consoles: Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft XBOX 360/One, PS Vita, Nintendo Wii U/3DS XL. Q Official accessories by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo…

Q Official license game accessories e.g. Products by, Mad Catz, 4Gamers,...

Q Selling Digital Game Code and Gift Cards e.g. PSN, iTunes...

ISSUE 859 FRIDAY DECEMBER

GAMES

4TH 2015

INDIE THICK OF IT 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

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO

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

19%

ches charts section console data Q MCV re-laun erships for mobile and digital deman

41%

picked Uncharted 4 as their most anticipated game of 2016

DIRECTORY

WHO?

INSIDER’S GUIDE RAGTAG DEVELOPMENTS

Specialism: Software development Location: Innovation Centre, Mewburn Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 9PA

Contact: W: www.ragtagdev.com P: 01295 817617 E: contact@ragtagdev.com

RagTag’s Rich Hancock talks about the company’s new game Amazeballz Pool and augmented reality Tell us about your company.

Established in 2011, Ragtag is an independent, award-winning, interactive software development studio based in Oxfordshire, specialising in high-end interactives, apps, games and the use of game tech in other sectors.

Small Business Sunday. Our proudest achievement though is our game Amazeballz Pool.

be challenged and we cater for both, allowing anyone to enjoy our experiences.

What are you currently working on?

We’re handling several exciting multinational projects but our main focus is Amazeballz Pool.

What successes have you seen recently?

We’ve worked on a variety of games, apps and interactive experiences, which recently garnered entry into Theo Paphitis’

What are the biggest trends in games affecting you right now?

Recently, more difficult games have become popular, which is a stark contrast from the rise of the casual market. Gamers do like to

What are you looking forward to in games in the next year?

On top of all the great games, increasing support from streamers and the rise of eSports, we’re very excited about what might happen with augmented reality.

As a technology, AR has been around for years, but has always been a gimmick and that may all be about to change.

DISC REPAIR

TOTAL DISC REPAIR

Tel: +44 (0) 1202 489500

May 13th 2016

Web: www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk

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DIRECTORY

ENQUIRIES CONOR TALLON Tel: 02073 546000 ctallon@nbmedia.com

FINK

CREATIVE

DISTRIBUTION

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT

Artworking Mastertronic Brand Identity Ukie Localisation Rising Star Games Advertising BBFC Website Design Deep Silver Exhibition Bethesda Illustration Just Flight Appynation Digital Media IntentMedia Charity GamesAid Banners & Takeovers Konami Packaging Design Just Flight Email: info@finkcreative.com CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION

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

Web: www.finkcreative.com

Tel: +44 (0)203 137 3781

DISTRIBUTION

email: sales@click-entertainment.com

CURVEBALL LEISURE

Web: www.creativedistribution.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1792 652521

DISTRIBUTION

SONY DADC

DISTRIBUTION

Web: www.curveball-leisure.com DISTRIBUTION

Empowering your creative business

Tel: +44 207 361 8000 games@sonydadc.com

www.sonydadc.com

Tel: +302 1090 11900

www.mcvuk.com

Web: www.enarxis.eu

Tel: +44 (0) 207 462 6200

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Web: www.sonydadc.com

May 13th 2016

DIRECTORY

L3I

GAMING ACCESSORIES

Tel: 01923 881000

Web: www.logic3.com

LIME DISTRIBUTION

GAMING ACCESSORIES

Tel: 01622 845 161

Web: www.limedistribution.co.uk

ADVERTISE WITH US

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY?

CALL CONOR TALLON ON 020 7354 6000 OR EMAIL HIM AT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM

May 13th 2016

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www.mcvuk.com

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

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

BELGIUM

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

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

IRAN

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

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

SWEDEN

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

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

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

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

WWW.MCVPACIFIC.COM

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

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM www.mcvuk.com

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May 13th 2016

FACTFILE GERMANY

INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE: GERMANY Population: 82,652,000 Capital City: Berlin Currency: Euro GDP (Per Capita): $45,091.4 KEY RETAILERS Amazon, Müller, Expert, GameStop, MediaMarkt, Pro Markt, Real, Saturn, Otto Group MAIN DISTRIBUTORS Groß Electronic, Bagainpark, Koch Media, Vitrex Multimedia, Nordic Game Supply, Big Ben Interactive

TOP DEVELOPERS Bit Barons, Candygun Games, Crytek, Deck 13, Deep Silver Fishlabs, Keen Games, Reality Twist, Yager Development, Blue Byte, Bigpoint, Goodgame, Daedalic Entertainment, Piranha Bytes, Studio Fizbin, Rat King Entertainment, Headup Games, Mimimi Productions, Crazy Bunch, The Good Evil PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION Capcom, CI Games, Deep Silver, EA, Kalypso, Microsoft, Bandai Namco, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft

HALF of the German population plays games according to data firm Newzoo. These 41.5m consumers allowed the German market to increase by two per cent in 2015, generating $4bn (£2.7bn) in revenues.

Germany is the biggest games market in Europe and Newzoo predicts that its revenues will continue to grow at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent until 2018.

Nintendo used to be the leading player in the German games industry, until the PS4’s launch in late 2013. In 2014, Sony became No.1 in the country. “German gamers displayed a keen interest in getting their hands on a next gen console,” explains data firm Euromonitor.

Dr. Maximilian Schenk, MD of German games trade body BIU told MCV: “Physical purchases clearly remain the more popular option for buyers.

May 13th 2016

“But digital continues to gain ground as more titles are downloaded. Digital PC and console games made up 25 per cent of revenue in the first six months of 2015.”

The German market is known for its tough restrictions on violent games. For example, Bethesda’s Fallout 3 was banned from the country until 2018. But the publisher finally succeeded in overturning the title’s ban earlier this year.

Germany is also known for Gamescom, Europe’s biggest games trade show. Companies from over 33 countries have already registered for this year’s expo. The event currently has 60 per cent more registrations than last year at this point. In 2015, Gamescom gathered 806 exhibitors from 45 countries and approximately 345,000 from 96 countries visited the event.

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GERMANY FACTFILE

MEANWHILE IN... THE UNITED STATES Players, publishers, developers and retailers will soon be able to purchase a .games domain for their company’s website STARTING in Q3 2016, gaming companies will be able to register .games websites.

The domain extension has been acquired by US-based company Rightside last week.

The wholesale price for .games addresses will start as low as $12 (around £8.30).

Rightside CEO Taryn Naidu stated: “The software games industry alone is forecasted to grow from $90 billion a year in 2016 to $115 billion a year by 2020, and that doesn’t even include the hardware and hobby game market.

“Our acquisition of .games is an exciting opportunity for game

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brands of all sizes, as well as individuals to buy an easy-to-remember online .games destination, and use it as a helpful online searching, positioning and branding tool.”

Rightside believes that this new domain extension will help the games industry to ‘engage more viewers’.

May 13th 2016

OFF THE RECORD

OFF THE RECORD This week, we look at the consequences of Leicester City’s Premier League win on FIFA 16 and discover Cliff Bleszinski’s new look as he shaved his head to raise money for a children’s cancer research charity FOXY James Vardy himself has also seen an upturn in fortunes. Last year the England forward was a lowly 71-rated silver player. Now the Golden Boot challenger is a 91-rated gold. Mahrez, meanwhile, has improved from a 73-rated silver to a 93-rated Gold.

SOME might argue that Leicester City’s biggest achievement this season was defying literally all the odds and somehow being crowned the Premier League champions. That, however, significantly underplays the team’s remarkable achievements in FIFA 16.

For instance, throughout FIFA 15’s tenure, Leicester was selected 36.2m times by online players. In FIFA 16, however, that number has soared to 133.7m.

That’s a 269 per cent increase. Players using Leicester have also scored 51,728,408 goals. That’s up 615 per cent! Also up is the number of individual gamers who have chosen to play as Leicester – that’s jumped from 3.9m to 17.2m, up 335 per cent.

WOULD YOU RATHER FIGHT ONE HORSE-SIZED DUCK OR 100 DUCK-SIZED HORSES?

CLIFFY B’S HAIRCUT CLIFFY B. or Cliff Bleszinski, as is the modern way. He’s best known as one of the creators of Gears of War, and as being the only game developer on the planet that’s comfortable talking to women. But this week we tip our hats to him for sacrificing his lovely locks in the name of charity.

Cliff recently shaved his head to raise money for children’s cancer research charity the St Baldrick’s Foundation. He did so at an event in Raleigh, North Carolina, which went on to raise an incredible $200,000 for the organisation. Which is bloody good going.

May 13th 2016

Tim Sweeney – Founder, Epic Games “Definitely the 100 duck-sized horses. Seymour Cray, the supercomputer designer, asked his customers whether they would like to plough a field with two strong oxen, or 1,024 chickens. Similar principle. I think you could take a divide and conquer strategy, beat them one at a time. Whereas the one horse-sized duck? A couple of pecks and you’re dead, right?”

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OFF THE RECORD

Green Man Gaming Asks...

To celebrate the release of @DOOM, what’s your favourite classic FPS? #GMGasks

Each week Green Man Gaming asks the Twitter community what they think about the biggest gaming topics trending today.

Tag your reply with #GMGasks to have your say!

Painkiller and Quake!

The two best!

Lets Rock. Has to be Duke Nukem.

@BulletHell

@namemaygohere

Shadow Warrior!!!!!

Doom 2 is my favourite game of all time, no question. FEAR was an amazingly good shooter as well.

@Iyagovos

@demodulated

As much as I love #Doom, I think the original #Painkiller sort of mastered the genre at the time of its release.

Unreal Tournament

@BlueLightsShine

@Rodsteen

CONTACTS Christopher Dring

Kelly Sambridge

Andrew Wooden

Editor cdring@nbmedia.com

Head of Design and Production ksambridge@nbmedia.com

Content Director awooden@nbmedia.com

Ben Parfitt

Elizabeth Newton

Conor Tallon

Associate Editor bparfitt@nbmedia.com

Production Executive enewton@nbmedia.com

Senior Account Manager ctallon@nbmedia.com

Alex Calvin

Sam Richwood

Lesley McDiarmid

Staff Writer acalvin@nbmedia.com

Designer srichwood@nbmedia.com

Senior Account Manager lmcDiarmid@nbmedia.com

Marie Dealessandri

Mark Burton

Sarah Goldhawk

Staff Writer mdealessandri@nbmedia.com

Managing Director mburton@nbmedia.com

Account Manager sgoldhawk@nbmedia.com

Stuart Moody

Mark Rankine

Charlotte Nangle

Head of Operations smoody@nbmedia.com

Sales Director mrankine@nbmedia.com

Account Manager cnangle@nbmedia.com

Please address all enquiries to: Newbay Media, MCV, Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, SG14 1JA. Printed By: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood, NP12 2YA

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© Newbay Media 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

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For the 12 months ending December 2009, MCV had an average weekly net circulation of 8,045. MCV’s circulation is 100 per cent named and zero per cent duplicated.

Newbay Media specialises in tradededicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets.

As well as MCV, Newbay publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Music Week, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two onlineonly brands: Mobile Entertainment, dedicated to the growing mass market smartphone sector, and Licensing.biz, for everyone in the global licensing industry. It also runs a number of events including the MCV Industry Excellence Awards, the London Games Conference and the Games Media Awards.

MCV has an exclusive media partnership with Famitsu – Japan’s leading video games analyst and news source

ISSN: 1469-4832 Copyright 2016

THE RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD Charlotte Knight GAME

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May 13th 2016

Proudly sponsoring The 2016 MCV Women in Games Awards