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THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES
Issue 583 Friday April 16 2010 £3.25
06 New Atari boss
WITH THIS
ISSUE s
Online-centric publisher snares EA man John Burns to head Euro operations
International Media Partner
A guide to 505’ fluff-splattered Naughty Bear
19 Trade guide to FirstPlay We take a close-up look at Future’s new on-console PS3 video show
29 Retail Biz Our detailed product guides focus on 2010 FIFA World Cup and many more
EVERY BUYER EVERY BRANCH EVERY INDIE EVERY WEEK
‘Retail MUST go to E3’ Event organiser seeks to grow international attendee numbers for June’s LA event by Christopher Dring THE UK games trade needs to attend E3 this year, says show host the ESA. The organiser has told MCV it plans to dramatically ramp up last year’s number of international attendees as it establishes E3 as an event not just for North America. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are all expected to flesh out their Q4 hardware plans at E3 2010. And ESA says that any retailer wishing to stock these items simply can’t afford to miss the LA-based expo, which takes place from Tuesday, June 15th to Thursday, June 17th. “We were happy with our international attendees last year, but we now want even more people from overseas,” ESA senior VP of communication
EXTRA SPECIAL EXPO: Thousands flocked to E3 2009 – but now organisers want to grow it further with even more retail attendees
and research Richard Taylor told MCV. “E3 last year was, by any measurement, a smash. E3 in 2010 will be the epicentre of what is going on in the video games industry around the globe. The world watches E3 to see what’s coming next.”
The E3 Retailer Lounge is returning and will grow for this year’s event, Taylor added. “In the lounge they can evaluate orders and attend oneon-one meetings and escape the hustle of the showfloor,” he
said. “We had this last year, and we expect that to be even more popular come June. “But the main appeal will be what the exhibitors display on the show floor. “If any retailer has an interest in featuring a new games product on their shelves or online environments, then they need to be in Los Angeles in June to see it first hand. That’s the real draw.” 41,000 flocked to the show in 2009 – and the ESA expects more this year. “Attendance levels will be to capacity,” added Taylor. “Hotels are going to be full. If you want to attend the event, then get on the internet, talk to the travel agents and get your plans in order as soon as you can.”
Average Wii price down to £155 Console sells for £25 less than RRP, but there’s been no price cut by Dominic Sacco THE PRICE of the Nintendo Wii has tumbled at retail. MCV’s research, which monitored the sale of hardware across 25 leading UK retailers, shows that the average price of Wii is now £155.56. That’s £24.43 (13.6 per cent) less than its expected price of £179.99. WHSmith is selling the Wii for the lowest price – at just £120 – as it closes down its games department. That’s followed by ShopTo with a price tag of £134.85,
followed closely by Sainsbury’s at £134.99. These attention-grabbing retail initiatives have been joined by a number of hardware and software bundles designed to drive interest during Easter trading. But there has been no official price drop of the console. A Nintendo spokesperson confirmed to MCV: “We have not made any adjustment to the UK trade price of Wii since our announcement of the reduction in October last year. “Nintendo does not set prices for its consoles or games,
and retailers are free to price any of our products as they see fit.” The Wii originally went on sale in December 2006 at £179.99. Nintendo raised the trade price to £199.99 in March last year but lowered it back to £179.99 in October. Nintendo’s console has sold more than 67m units globally, and broke the 6m barrier in the UK late last year. Wii Sports, which is bundled with the console in some territories, is also now the world’s best-selling game, with over 60m copies sold.
WII-FOR-ALL The top ten Nintendeals
1. WHSmith – £120.00 2. ShopTo – £134.85 3. Sainsbury’s – £134.99 4. Grainger Games – £139.00 5. TJ Hughes – £139.99 6. Morrisons – £144.00 7. Simply Games – £144.89 8. The Hut – £149.73 9. Zavvi – £149.95 10. Amazon – £149.98
INCORPORATING
Ubisoft set for next Wii Dance hit by James Batchelor JUST DANCE continues to define how successful a surprise smash can be – and Ubisoft is already working on its next toetapping best-seller. Dance on Broadway will arrive on Wii on June 25th. The game will offer Just Dance fans a more theatrical take on music games. Although not a direct sequel, the game is sure to benefit from the high profile of its counterpart. Just Dance again topped the All Formats chart this week. The game has racked up four weeks at No.1 so far. It’s also the fastestselling new IP from any thirdparty publisher on Wii. “We’re delighted with the game’s continued success. With UK sales now approaching 1m units it truly has been a phenomenon,” commented Mark Slaughter, group brand manager. Ubisoft’s UK marketing director Murray Pannell added: “Just Dance has completely reversed the traditional sales trend. I’m delighted for the development studio and I think it’s important to thank Nintendo for its support to keep the game at No.1.”
PERSONNEL 28 RETAIL BIZ 29 NEW RELEASES 38 HIGH STREET 40 CHARTS 42
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NEWS
[LEADER] WHY SMALLER FIRMS ARE FLOCKING TO DIGITAL DOWNLOADS THE HEADS of three mid-tier publishers – Square Enix, Atari and Codemasters – all stress the importance of online delivery in this issue of MCV. Take a look to the right, on page 6, and page 15. It’s just coincidence that Cousens, Rogers and Burns happen to talk about the same topic in three separate pieces. And that David Reeves talked at length about it last week. But there’s a trend to pick out here. In fact these middle-tier teams could be the dark horses in the online race. They own powerful IPs, but are small enough to be agile in one of the fastest moving fields. Online businesses demand quick wits and good customer service. Online games businesses need all that and more – specifically strong brands and good gameplay. That’s why the next Lara Croft title is an Xbox Live Arcade one, why Atari knows its future lies in releases like Test Drive (which will straddle the boxed product/DLC gulf), and why it will be no
“Time is proving that the boxed business – while still very lucrative for many, and a staple of the industry – is best left to the big boys.” surprise when Codies takes Cricket to browser game savvy players in India. Giants like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft are doing the same thing, yes. But some of their big bets – games like Just Dance and arguably even a retail giant like FIFA – make their money (or the bulk of it) through disc sales. Even if they are produced with slightly different budgetary models funding their development, such games are still part of a distribution business that many others are re-evaluating their place in. Just look at the Guitar Hero category – while still strong, it’s seen better days. Only a company like Activision is set up to handle something that fluctuates so wildly. It would harm other businesses too much – just ask MTV Games parent Viacom, which has admitted Rock Band sales moved slower than it expected. Ultimately time is proving that the boxed business, while still very lucrative for many, is best left to the big boys. That’s the big three, plus the format-holders and resurgent firms like THQ and Capcom. Other people, like the companies in this issue and others like LucasArts (more on that next week), are fast learning to find opportunities elsewhere – and these days that is online. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
Square grows share with eye on Top Five Japanese giant plans to seriously grow market share and wants to beef up digital, mobile and owned IP offering, says Euro CEO by Christopher Dring & Rob Crossley SQUARE ENIX has laid out ambitious plans to become a Top Five European publisher over the next few years. The company also reckons it can turn up the heat on other entertainment mediums with its tentpole franchises such as Final Fantasy. Square Enix has already had two No.1 games this year – Final Fantasy XIII and Just Cause 2 – building on serious gains made in 2009. “For 2009 we hit our goal in Europe of growing our market share to a Top Ten position,” Square Enix Europe CEO Phil Rogers told MCV. “That’s what we realised across our key territories. “Our next step is to take us up into a Top Five position in Europe and that’s what we want to achieve – that’s of course something we cannot realise overnight so it’s a multiyear goal.” Square Enix is already looking at new ways to reach consumers in areas such as the digital and mobile spaces. “Today’s world seems to be in constant transition in terms of how, when and where consumers play games,” continued Rogers. “We want to establish many and diverse points of contact with our customers. “To achieve this, I think owning IP is key, but how we then deliver that IP across a variety of different platforms – PC, mobile, console, ISP – to accommodate consumers’ everadjusting lifestyle is something we are constantly aware of and working towards.” Rogers told MCV that Square Enix can ‘go beyond’ gaming, as well: “Our group goal is to become one of the Top 10
ENIX RISING: Square’s Eidos buy transformed the publisher, says CEO Rogers as the company looks to be a Top Five games firm
players in the worldwide media and entertainment industry.” Rogers also described the integration of Eidos and Square Enix as ‘transformative’ for its Wimbledon, London office. Square Enix bought Eidos early last year. “We are tearing down walls
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groups interact when they sit next to each other for the first time. Communication across the office has certainly changed. “For our first year, we haven’t done too badly with the 2009 success of Batman: Arkham Asylum recently winning the BAFTA for Game
Today’s world is in constant transition. We want to establish many diverse points of contact with customers. Phil Rogers, Square Enix
in the office to ensure we minimise physical barriers, to open up space to accommodate the larger team and hopefully provide us with a new exciting working environment,” he said. “We’re mid-way through this project and it has been interesting to see how different
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of the Year, and Final Fantasy XIII and Just Cause 2 both reaching No.1 in the UK charts this year. Those achievements are a testament to our teams working together to achieve high goals.” Square Enix: 020 8636 3000
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NEWS
EA and Battlefield dominate March [PRE ORDERS]
UK games market slips seven per cent in March compared to 2009 Battlefield is the month’s best-selling game by Christopher Dring THE VALUE of the UK games software market fell in March by seven per cent year-on-year, according to ELSPA/GfK Chart-Track. The monthly charts show that EA’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was the biggest selling title of the month, followed by Final Fantasy XIII and Ubisoft’s evergreen hit Just Dance. These blockbuster releases couldn’t reverse the downward trend the industry is seeing in sales of boxed games. MCV revealed last week that UK sales had fallen 7.8 per cent for the entire of Q1. However, games still made £303 million during the period.
TOP 10
EA was the dominant publisher of the month. The company took a 17.5 per cent of the market in March in terms of units and 18.2 per cent share in terms of value. Square Enix also shot up the publisher rankings courtesy of Final Fantasy and Just Cause 2. In terms of sales for March by value, 360 was the most successful format, but only just, with PlayStation 3 a mere 0.1 per cent behind it. But in terms of units of games sold Wii was the leading platform, followed by DS – thanks to the lower average price of Wii and DS titles versus PS3 and 360.
RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED EDITION 360, ROCKSTAR
2. RED DEAD REDEMPTION LIM ED PS3 ....................................ROCKSTAR
3. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT PS3 ......................................CAPCOM
4. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION + T-SHIRT 360 ......................................UBISOFT
5. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT 360 ......................................CAPCOM
6. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION + LONG-T 360 ......................................UBISOFT
7. RED DEAD REDEMPTION PS3 ....................................ROCKSTAR
THE MONTH’S CHAMPIONS
8. 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP PS3 ..............................................EA
It was a big month for Square Enix, with two new games in the Top Five – Just Cause 2 and Final Fantasy XIII. However, it was EA’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2 that was the month’s top performer.
9. RED DEAD REDEMPTION 360 ....................................ROCKSTAR
1: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 .............................................EA 2: Final Fantasy XIII ...............................................Square Enix 3: Just Dance ....................................................................Ubisoft 4: Just Cause 2 .......................................................Square Enix 5: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 .......................Activision 6: God of War III ...................................................................Sony 7: Wii Fit Plus ................................................................Nintendo 8: Heavy Rain .........................................................................Sony 9: Wii Sports Resort ....................................................Nintendo 10: Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing ................................Sega
10. 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP 360 ..............................................EA Week ending: April 9th Source: SHOPTO.COM Turn to page 41 for more pre-order charts from leading online retailers
UK SOFTWARE SALES MONITOR Your weekly guide to the UK games software market… There were no new releases last week and it showed. Total UK software sales for the week ending April 10th plummeted 30 per cent to £18m. Unit sales were down 27 per cent to 892,175. The only software release of note was a Borderlands DLC-on-disc pack.
[WEEKLY MARKET VALUE] Week Ending April 9th 2010
£18.0m
This is the lowest week so far for the UK games market in 2010, with sales down for all the games in the Chart-Track Top 40. This allowed Just Dance to hold on to the top spot. Next week the market should bounce back with the launch of Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell: Conviction – the first in a string of big new releases for the summer. FIFA World Cup 2010 follows on April 30th.
Total UK Software Sales Source: ELSPA/ChartTrack and Intent Media
25
20
15
10
5
Ubisoft’s Just Dance held its spot at the top – the game is now the UK’s third biggest selling third-party Wii title
£23.3m
£25.7m
£18m
1,021,965 Units
1,222,138 Units
892,175
Units
0 Week Ending March 27th
Week Ending April 2nd
Week Ending April 9th
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New Euro boss for Atari EA online guru appointed GM and VP for Europe Firm will mix disc and digital model by Michael French FORMER EA man John Burns has become the new VP and GM of Atari Europe. Burns, previously senior director of European online publishing for Electronic Arts, will be responsible for all the commercial efforts of the publisher in Europe.
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its way in the digital space,” he said. “But Atari will still focus on packaged goods.” Burns pointed to upcoming racer Test Drive Unlimited 2 as a key Atari retail release. “The key word for the industry when it comes to digital is ‘transition’ – it’s not an off switch, just going from packaged to online. And as
The key word for the industry when it comes to digital is ‘transition’. It’s not just a switch from boxes to online. John Burns, Atari
Atari has transformed itself into an online-centric business in recent years – but it will retain an active boxed product strategy, Burns told MCV. “Atari has had its ups and downs over the last five years – but that is consistent with a lot of companies in this sector. The whole industry is still finding
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digital accelerates, retail will become even more important. “Consumers are ready – I think that’s where the real opportunity is. I’d question whether any entertainment industry has been truly ready for the rise of digital content, but games are well prepared. What matters in this transition
TRANSITIONS: Burns says Atari won’t give up on boxed product
is that we have strong properties – this is one of Atari’s strengths.” Burns has worked in the games industry for over 20 years. At EA he was part of the exec team that launched its global mobile division, he also held a position overseeing long
term strategies for digital distribution, MMOs, web games and in-game advertising. Key service-oriented digital products EA Store and Xbox Live Arcade bestseller Battlefield 1943 were both launched during his tenure. www.atari.com
Zushi Games goes into administration UK PUBLISHER Zushi Games has confirmed to MCV that it has entered administration. The company’s co-founder and chairman Ian Stewart declined to comment further until the ongoing litigation processes are complete. According to Companies House’s listings, Zushi Games officially entered administration on March 18th and has a receivership action against one or more of its properties. The UK publisher was formerly known under the label of Zoo Games. The firm renamed in March 2009 following a management buyout from its previous US owners Greenscreen, which bought the firm in 2008. Zushi published titles such as Premier Manager and Jiga-Pix. It was set to launch its first digital title, Premier Manager PSN, this summer.
British Inspiration Awards to boost GamesAid GAMESAID IS one of many UK-based charities set to benefit from the inaugural British Inspiration Awards. The Awards, which take place at The Brewery in London on Friday, April 23rd, are set up to recognise the creative minds that have contributed to Britain’s economic, social and artistic development. The event has been backed by the games industry, with Nintendo MD David Yarnton heading the executive board. “We wanted to raise some funds for GamesAid but also look to honour the people that have added so much to the country in a creative way,” Yarnton told MCV. “People don’t always realise the contribution Britain makes to the creative industries –
everything from science to art to even our own industry. “We’re not necessarily looking at the people in front of the camera, but those
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“We want to build the value of the creative industries as a whole, and games is just one part of that,” added Yarnton. “Most industries have their
We want to build the value of the creative industries as a whole and games are just one part of that. David Yarnton, Nintendo
behind the scenes, those that have the ideas and add value to our country. Let’s give younger people the belief that anything can be achieved.” The ceremony will award those in the Interactive Entertainment space, as well as film, TV, music, fashion, the arts and more.
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own award, but by bringing them all together, we’re saying these are the best of the best. “After getting the first year off the ground, we’ll get those who win or were nominated involved in future British Inspiration Awards.” www.britishinspiration awards.co.uk
INSPIRED: Nintendo UK MD David Yarnton heads up the BIA executive board
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‘Natal, Move to revolutionise fitness game market this year’ Non-traditional and casual games will benefit most from upcoming new control tech by James Batchelor IT MAY be the core consumers that are currently championing the potential of Microsoft’s Project Natal and Sony’s PlayStation Move – but it could be non-gamers that benefit the most from the new hardware. Publishers and developers that specialise in fitness titles and other non-games software have said that their chosen genres could be key to the success of the forthcoming motion controllers. “The non-games sector will benefit more than any other sector from Natal and PlayStation Move,” said Simon Prytherch, managing director of NewU Fitness First developer Lightning Fish Games. “These devices are suited to non-core audiences. A key feature of these devices is the
EUROGAMER: HMV has been unveiled as key sponsor and retail partner for the Eurogamer Expo, which takes place at Earls Court between Friday, October 1st and Sunday, October 3rd. HMV will sell games at the show. EA: Former Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella have formed new development studio Respawn Entertainment, and signed a publishing deal with EA. MICROSOFT: Gears of War 3 has been announced for Xbox 360. The game will conclude the current story arc and is due to arrive on April 8th, 2011.
ability to accurately monitor user performance. “We will see new ways of interacting and new genres emerging as creative minds get to grips with the technology.” Avanquest sales director Steve Powell added: “The launch of new hardware will open up the more hardcore gaming platforms to family-
MOTION SECONDED: Powell (top) and Prytherch (bottom)
based games, and I’m sure we’ll see self-improvement titles amongst these. “There will be plenty of buzz around the new hardware releases, which may also encourage hardcore gamers to try something different.”
Firms are already looking to tap into the Wii Fit market on other platforms. EA is developing the next EA Sports Active title for PS3 and iPhone, while Rare is rumoured to be working on a Natal-based fitness game.
FMG signs Advantage Kalypso Media preps FOREIGN MEDIA Games has secured a new distribution deal with Advantage. The distributor will now exclusively handle the publisher’s titles in the UK throughout 2010 and beyond. “We’ve been very impressed with Foreign Media Games’ commitment to the UK,” said Advantage’s general manager Max Butler. “The investment in product development and particularly UK trade and consumer marketing is certain to be rewarded with success at retail and we’re delighted to be on board and part of the launch.” FMG managing director Michel van Elmpt added: “We learned from our launch in Benelux how important it is to provide a premier level of support to our retail partners.
Sponsored by
hardcore 2010 line-up
Advantage’s Butler praises FMG
“Our investment in the UK will build important foundations and with the appointment of the Advantage team, with their unrivalled experience, we have everything in place.” The deal begins this week with FMG’s first UK releases: Gamehits, Casual Mania and Mystery Tales: Time Travel. FMG: 0207 240 2645
KALYPSO MEDIA is heavily targeting the hardcore gamer market this year, with a variety of key releases in the action, RPG and strategy genres. The publisher is expecting high sales from three titles in particular – DarkStar One: Broken Alliance, Patrician IV and the Akella-developed Disciples III: Renaissance. DarkStar One is due for release on Xbox 360 on June 4th, and focuses on space combat and exploration. Also due in June, Disciples III: Renaissance brings PC owners the first 3D entry in the long-running fantasy RPG series. Looking further ahead, Kalypso will be focusing its efforts in Q4 on Patrician IV,
the latest instalment in the publisher’s successful PC strategy series. “We are incredibly excited to add the strength of these titles to the Kalypso portfolio,” said Kalypso Media UK’s MD Andrew Johnson. “Our 2010 line-up ranges from titles like DarkStar One and Patrician IV from our internal development studios to games from our partners such as Disciples III: Renaissance from Akella. “We are constantly looking for new ways to build on the quality of Kalypso Media’s games and raising our profile as a leading independent global games publisher.” Kalypso Media: 01344 382 167
KONAMI: Survival horror sequel Saw 2 has been announced for Xbox 360 and PS3, and is due for release this autumn. The game will be set between the second and third films. WARNER: FEAR 3 has been officially announced for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, with a UK release pencilled in for this autumn. The sequel is being developed by Day 1 Studios in collaboration with Monolith Studios. APPLE: A new iPhone Game Center has been announced, which will act as an Xbox Live-style service for iPhone, featuring leaderboards multiplayer matchmaking and played profiles.
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Disney and GAME team up at Gadget Show Live Companies join forces to showcase Split/Second: Velocity to thousands of consumers by James Batchelor THOUSANDS OF consumers got to sample Split/Second at last week’s Gadget Show Live thanks to a collaboration between GAME and Disney. The publisher shared the retail giant’s stand at the consumer event, which took place at Birmingham’s NEC from Wednesday, April 7th to Sunday, April 11th. Disney took up a quarter of GAME’s stand with an eightconsole set-up showcasing the new racer’s multiplayer mode. The firm also showed trailers of other upcoming releases. More than 88,000 people attended The Gadget Show Live, with the publisher reporting overwhelmingly positive feedback for
Split/Second and GAME had a big presence at The Gadget Show Live
Split/Second from both gamers and the media. “The response from the public to Split/Second was simply fantastic,” said Disney’s sales manager Daniel Hall. “The eight pods were busy throughout the five days. I can’t recall a time when there was a free seat or when someone wasn’t waiting for a turn.
“It was a brilliant partnership with GAME and something we’d look to replicating next year.” Dean Shaw, local marketing manager for GAME added: “This was GAME’s first year at The Gadget Show Live and it was amazing. Our stand was continually busy and it was great that Disney let our
customers get the first chance to play Split/Second. The feedback from grans to kids is that it is a fantastic game.” Disney also sponsored the main competition held during a live hour-long edition of the TV show filmed at the event. Split/Second: Velocity is due on May 21st for 360 and PS3.
Oz supplier exits games DISTRIBUTOR Funtastic has backed out of the Australian games market. The supplier will now focus on toys and DVD. The decision follows tough economic conditions in the territory, and the firm doesn’t expect things to improve moving forward. “The decision to exit games was made based on sustainability and profitability for the future,” said business manager Gavin Wulfsohn. “2009 was tough and 2010 doesn’t look much different. Retailers are still justifiably being cautious. “I believe the days of a software-only distributor in this territory have passed – the margins are too small.” Funtastic distributed its last game – Alice in Wonderland – in March. For more on the New Zealand and Australian market, head to page 24
Disney: 020 8222 1413
WEEK CAMPAIGN OF THE R 3: TRI MONSTER HUNTE Keen to make the series’ Wii debut a true triple-A launch, Nintendo has drawn up a monster marketing plan to run into the summer…
RELEASED: APRIL 23 FORMATS: WII PUBLISHER: CAPCOM/NINTENDO
CINEMA/TV Game trailers are being shown before screenings of Clash Of The Titans in cinemas nationwide, racking up an estimated 1m impressions. Teaser trailers began appearing on TV on March 28th with a takeover running around the movie 28 Weeks Later on Channel 4. This has since spread to other key spots on multiple channels, with ads running alongside Lost, 24 and other male-focused dramas. A launch TV campaign will target similar channels towards the end of April.
DEVELOPER: CAPCOM PRICE: VARIOUS DISTRIBUTOR: KOCH CONTACT: 0870 027 0985
ONLINE Initial teaser advertising has already been running across all major gaming sites, with
the second phase kicking off this week. Launch week will see site takeovers on the likes of IGN, GameSpot, Eurogamer and various Future sites. All online advertising will link to the Facebook hub, encouraging established Monster Hunter fans to spread the word. OUTDOOR The outdoor campaign will
corridor. Over the last month, Nintendo has hosted a range of sampling events around the country, with gamers booking places through the Facebook hub. feature giant billboards placed in a number of key locations across London and other large UK cities. There will also be digital outdoor advertising along the M4
RETAIL A full catalogue of POS items will be available in stores both before and after launch, focusing on the game’s key monsters.
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So what will they do for us? With the Election just weeks away, we look at the industry pledges from Labour, Lib Dems and Tories... by Christopher Dring THE THREE leading political parties have laid out their plans for the UK games industry ahead of the General Election. Manifestos released from TIGA and ELSPA have called on the incoming Government to help tackle the skills crisis for games developers, provide financial support to studios and improve broadband connectivity. Labour has already pledged a £90m tax break for games production, while the recently passed Digital Economy Bill sets out measures to combat piracy and has made the PEGI age ratings system law. Furthermore, the party says it will launch a Festival of Britain to showcase British talent across the creative industries. The Tories also promise ‘fiscal support’ for developers – however, games were absent from their election manifesto. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems have backed Labour’s tax break. The Party also promises financial support for small businesses. All three parties acknowledge the need to promote PEGI and agree that the skills crisis must be addressed as soon as possible. The General Election takes place on Thursday, May 6th.
Tom Watson, Labour, MP for West Brom East
Ed Vaizey, Conservative, Shadow Minister for Culture
Dom Foster, Liberal Democrat, MP for Bath
“When you consider the cultural significance and the economic benefits of games, it is actually reprehensible for the Government of today not to recognise the games industry. It would be economically stupid not to recognise a £3bn turnover industry, with 20,000 jobs that could be 150,000 jobs. “There are still battles to be won. There are some serious educational challenges we have to contend with. To me the skills agenda is more important than the tax break announcement. If we don’t have the people, then there’s no point in the tax break. “But if I were to do a political pitch I would say the games industry has just been handed £90 million in tax relief during huge economic difficulty. It’s not the only thing we have to do, but I think that is a pretty good signal from the Labour Party of our commitment.”
“The Conservative Party has taken the games industry seriously for years, and the rest are playing catch-up. “Over the past two years I have been raising the issue of Canada taking our talent, and Labour told me time and time again it was an issue for the World Trade Organisation. And it wasn’t until I put down a Parliamentary question did it transpire that the World Trade Organisation would do nothing. “Labour’s tax break is like 13 years of marriage, as you are showing your partner the door, he or she turns around and says: ‘I promise I will change?’ Do you believe them? “We will give the games industry a seat at the top table. We will offer fiscal support to developers and of course help with skills – I think the Government should use games to promote computer science and maths courses.”
“If you are in a business in the games industry – then the first thing that matters is not tax breaks or how supportive a political party is, but the economy overall. The biggest support any political party can offer is to get the economy back on track. “The second thing is tax breaks, and we are clear: we will support a games development tax break. Thirdly, many of the firms involved in the games industry are small businesses, and if you look at our manifesto you will see £900 million of extra money to offer direct support to small businesses. “The final issue is skills, and we will help make progress to deliver the sort of skills you need. There are wonderful examples of games that are being used in our schools and we need to support the development of those titles.”
WHAT ELSPA WANT... UK trade body ELSPA has called on the incoming Government to: Provide financial support in-line with other creative industries. Work with the games industry on educating consumers on age ratings. Help tackle IP theft at all levels. Work with the industry and Skillset to encourage the take up of STEM and computer science subjects. Communicate the positive impact of gaming and the responsible attitude
WHAT TIGA WANT... of the industry to all relevant Government departments. Develop a flexible and effective broadband and telecommunications infrastructure in which emerging games technology can thrive. Support the use of games technology in training and education. Support a Government-sponsored agency with responsibility for tax breaks, lottery funding, industry promotion and inward investment.
Development trade body TIGA has called on the incoming Government to do the following: Introduce Games Tax Relief as soon as possible, which should cover any company within the scope of UK Corporation Tax. Set up an independent organisation to check if a game can be considered ‘culturally British’ and therefore qualify for the tax break. Maintain bursaries for trainee
teachers in maths and science. Promote the games industry as a career option at schools. Reduce tuition fees for priority undergraduate subjects. Provide a SME Training Tax relief for developers – which will offset expenditure on training. Increase the flexibility of Train To Gain – a Government scheme whereby employers can benefit from full or partial public funding.
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MCV INTERVIEW RORY DONNELLY, SENIOR VP OF EUROPEAN PUBLISHING, THQ
EURO STAR: Donnelly is confident that THQ can maintain its recent financial success by playing to its strengths, such as core fighting games
The Don’ of THQ After restructuring last year, THQ bounced back with hits like UFC 2009. James Batchelor chats to senior vice president of European publishing Rory Donnelly about further improving the firm’s fortunes…
You were promoted to senior VP for You’ve held several European roles European publishing at the tail end during your 10 years at THQ. What of last year. How do you plan to lessons have you learned from your grow THQ’s business in Europe? previous tenures in the area? We aim to continue the strategy we If you don’t succeed at first, try, try and have successfully adopted over the past try again. Maintaining very strong 12 months. We have achieved a We’re developing tremendous turnaround this fewer, bigger core games, year and are well positioned maintain our lead in the fighting category, for growth in 2011 and 2012. rationalise our kids Rory Donnelly, THQ portfolio and address how our titles appeal to the mass market and relationships with all of our key partners casual gamer audiences. across the business along with a
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compelling and innovative product lineup is imperative to be successful. What are the main challenges facing any publisher bringing video games to Europe? Some consider Europe as a single territory. However, it is so much more than that, because it has so many different cultures, languages, consumer tastes, legal constraints, currencies and so on that it makes it a very complex market to apprehend.
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MCV INTERVIEW RORY DONNELLY, SENIOR VP OF EUROPEAN PUBLISHING, THQ A property that sells very well in box for the UK SKU, and went on to Germany, for example, might not be sell over 800,000 in the UK market nearly as successful elsewhere and vice alone, highlighting the importance of versa for reasons which are often quite adapting for local tastes. difficult to identify sometimes. A constant challenge that has become What success did THQ see in 2009, much more prevalent recently is that of and how does it plan to follow up parallel importing and exporting – on these? particularly with sterling being weak UFC Undisputed 2009 was a huge against the euro. This is posing some success for THQ in 2009 selling over problems for publishers. 3.5 million units worldwide. We have Another serious challenge we face in Europe is a complex market. Europe is that of piracy, Games that sell well in particularly in southern Germany might be as European territories.
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How can the industry overcome these? I believe it is important to cater to the local market needs as much as possible. A great example of this is with our game Big Beach Sports, which we launched in June 2008 on the Nintendo Wii. We strategically positioned the cricket element at the forefront of our campaign communication and front of
successful elsewhere. Rory Donnelly, THQ recently announced plans to launch UFC 2010 on May 28th across Europe with some great new features and innovations over 2009. Our new IP Darksiders, which was launched in early January, has got off to a great start for us having sold over 1.2 million units to date. We also released
Metro 2033 across Europe on March 19th and the title has already received critical acclaim across the media throughout Europe. We are also hugely excited about the next offering from our New York-based studio Kaos who are developing Homefront, which is due for launch in the second half of our fiscal year 2011. What products failed to meet your expectations and what did you learn from these? Due to rapidly changing market dynamics, our game World of Zoo did not fully live up to our expectations. The casual games sector is extremely challenging. Launching this in October did not allow us to be prominent on the shelves for the crucial gift-giving period, which came later in the year than usual due to the challenging economic climate worldwide. We plan to approach this market differently next year.
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What are your hopes for 2010? I hope that the economic climate improves or, at worst, does not deteriorate any more – and that the market decline we experienced in 2009 in the video games sector is nothing but a distant memory. What goals do you hope to achieve by the end of the year and how will you accomplish this? We are well on our way to achieving the goals set for our fiscal year which ended on March 31, 2010. We have achieved a tremendous turnaround this year and are well positioned to increase revenues and profitability going forward. We have a strong product line-up for fiscal 2011 and we’re positioned for accelerated growth in fiscal 2012. We plan to continue to prudently manage our cost structure while driving sales of our top titles with strong marketing programs. To accomplish this, we need the continued dedicated support and hard work of all of our employees.
TARGETING HIGH QUALITY Some of the big games due to arrive from THQ in 2010 include…
UFC UNDISPUTED 2010 Released: May 28th Formats: Xbox 360, PS3, PSP
DARKSIDERS Released: June Formats: PC
THE LAST AIRBENDER Released: August Formats: Wii, DS
The follow-up to last year’s best-selling wrestling game, which sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide. This year’s entry once again pits consumers against fighters from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The PC edition of THQ’s post-apocalyptic adventure approaches, potentially boosting sales of the original console versions. Gamers take on the role of War, the fourth horseman of the apocalypse.
THQ continues to utilise its long-running licensing deal for popular anime Avatar: The Last Airbender. The 2010 edition recreates the events depicted in the upcoming live action M Night Shyamalan film based on the series.
BIG BEACH SPORTS 2 Released: June Formats: Wii
HOMEFRONT Released: 2011 Formats: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
WARHAMMER 40K: SPACE MARINE Released: 2011 Formats: Xbox 360, PS3
The sequel to the publisher’s 2008 sports game, this mini-game compilation introduces a variety of new activities and Balance Board compatibility, while maintaining the franchise’s family-friendly art style and tropical vacation theme.
A brand new FPS IP, Homefront takes place in a futuristic United States where economic collapse has paved the way for an oppressive North Korean occupation. Players sign up to the American Civilian Resistance and fight to reclaim their homeland.
THQ explores another sector of the Warhammer universe in this new action RPG, bringing the bestselling franchise to consoles for the first time this generation. Gamers join the superhuman Space Marines on a campaign to protect humanity.
“I applaud the developers for their attention to detail and their creation of one of the best strategy games I have seen in a long time.”-GameOn
COMING MAY 14TH Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943 © 2009, Graviteam. Designed and developed by Graviteam. Published under the license of Snowberry Connection LRM Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed and published by Lace Mamba Global Ltd. All company names, brand names, trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.
GD\V LQGG
For sales contact Glenn Hayes tel: 07919 415 728 email: glenn@lm-global.net
CELEBRATE THE CREATIVE PEOPLE WHO’VE HELPED MAKE BRITAIN GREAT AT THE BRITISH INSPIRATION AWARDS
The British Inspiration Awards, Friday 23rd April from 11.30am, The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London EC1 Join us for this exclusive Awards event, which recognises British excellence in the creative industries. Your day will start with a Champagne reception and live music, followed by a wonderful three-course lunch with beverages and the awards presentation itself. A limited number of tables are available. Book yours now by calling Barrington Harvey on 01462 456780 or visit www.britishinspirationawards.co.uk
The British Inspiration Awards will support charities through our partners
Registered charity no. 1130353
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MCV INTERVIEW ROD COUSENS, CEO, CODEMASTERS
Taking on the big boys The future of Codemasters is secure after Reliance Big Entertainment snapped up 50% of the company earlier this month. Christopher Dring speaks to CEO Rod Cousens on what the acquisition means and whether the firm is ready to challenge its bigger publishing rivals… How significant is your new partnership with Reliance? It is tremendous news for Codemasters. Any analysis you look at today talks about the growth economies in the world and point to markets such as India and China. And a partnership with a company as strong as Reliance gives us access to these markets, particularly India. I’d say we are better placed in emerging markets than companies far more substantial than ourselves. We’ve been derided for having games such as Cricket, but it is the No.1 sport in the biggest market in the world. We have product that appeals worldwide, with Cricket, F1, Dance Factory and the back catalogue of Cannon Fodder, Megalomania and so forth. On top of that, we believe that future content will be delivered digitally, so again our partnership with Reliance is a great opportunity. Reliance as a mobile network operator has 100 million subscribers, which we
can make aware of our content. And through their subsideries Jump Games and Zapak, there’s a lot we can do. So India is an important market for Codemasters? If you measure it in terms of a console base, it’s
“
Staff at Codemasters can walk with their heads held high and no longer consider themselves a small unknown. Those that have sat in the fast lane to date, move over.
Rod Cousens, Codemasters
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not. But if you measure it in terms of online, then it absolutely is. We’ve been out there from an early stage, and have been in many emerging markets where we can compete. Codemasters had a great end to 2009, but is it fair to say that things were still a little tough for you? Not necessarily. When you are a company with a release schedule that focuses on five or six titles, you do tend to go through periods where you’re not as productive as you’d like. And when you are not prepared to compromise on quality you won’t publish titles prematurely. This is something we had to confront, and this partnership deals with that. Video game stock doesn’t perform well in the financial markets and attracting investment is a challenge. It is no secret that we had to secure investment to sustain growth over the coming years. So now that Codemasters is on safer financial footing, how are you looking to grow your business? A traditional games publisher with a distribution infrastructure is no longer the model. It is the model of the dinosaurs. We have done all the heavy lifting in that regard. We have positioned ourselves well for the future. We’ve focused on franchises that are proven. We have an online infrastructure that companies far bigger than ours haven’t got – which has been extremely beneficial in terms of the alignments with Reliance. And we are now addressing emerging markets. I think all of those aspects are points other companies are yet to address.
Do you expect Reliance to take Codemasters properties, such as Cricket, and make them work in the mobile and casual spaces? Yes, I do. When you entertain investment from external companies the discussion often centres on where the company goes in the future – so topics such as this have been touched on. Has it been tied down at this point? No it hasn’t. But I absolutely believe we will be working together in the mobile and online casual areas. How else do you see Codemasters and Reliance working together? Obviously we’ll work on growth, and growth has to be funded and I think they will be big supporters of that. I think they will open up emerging markets. They are intent on being a global player and we offer a turnkey operation in markets where they are looking for growth. They are also a significant investor in Hollywood, particularly Dreamworks, so we are looking for collaboration within the whole group. This is a substantial company – the Reliance Group has a market capital of about $81 billion. So there are all sorts of opportunities in the mix, many of which I am probably completely unaware of at this stage. How much of a say does Reliance Entertainment now have in the future of Codemasters? They will have a big say because they own half the company. They are equal shareholding with Balderton Capital. Both of them will clearly have a say. One is a VC and the other is this conglomerate of activity around the world. So this should make Codemasters a bigger worldwide force, too? This secures the long-term future of the company. Staff of Codemasters can walk around with their heads held high, and no longer consider themselves this small unknown. Those that have sat in the fast lane to date, move over.
Suit up and take to the skies as you play as Iron Man™ or War Machine in this brand-new story which thrusts you deep into the Iron Man world.
Iron Man 2, the Movie © 2010 MVL Film Finance LLC. Marvel, Iron Man, all character names and their distinctive likenesses: TM & © 2010 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. © SEGA. SEGA and the SEGA logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. All rights reserved.“2”, “PlayStation”, “Ô, and “7” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. Trademarks are property of their respective owners. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo.
Nationwide Cinema Campaign for the first month of launch including: • Pearl and Dean Sponsorship of Iron Man 2 film with Pearl and Dean soundtrack specially re-recorded by grammy award nominated band Lamb of God. • Silver Spot in Iron Man 2 across the DCM cinema chains. Online Campaign targeting cinema goers, film enthusiasts and Marvel fans. Promotional Partnerships with key Iron Man 2 partners including Hasbro, Burger King and Gameloft. Press Campaign including National Press and Consumer Press.
WWW.IRONMAN2GAME.COM www.marvel.com
www.sega.co.uk
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TRADE GUIDE TO FIRSTPLAY
A media First FirstPlay – a weekly interactive games show for PS3 – was launched on PSN last week. But what exactly is it? How does it benefit the industry? And how can developers and publishers get involved? MCV takes a closer look at Future’s latest project…
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TRADE GUIDE TO FIRSTPLAY
Tour de First Future’s new weekly show boasts an array of video features, reviews, previews and even digital downloads. We take a closer look at what FirstPlay has to offer….
REVIEWS AND PREVIEWS Upon selecting a review or preview an advertisement will appear. These trailers are only skippable after the viewer has already seen them, and gamers are able – at a press of a button – to visit a website or PlayStation Store item associated with the ad. The articles themselves are written by the Official PlayStation team, the reviews are rated out of 10, and the video can be displayed in full HD. This section also includes reviews of the latest Blu-ray releases. The first issue featured a preview of FIFA 2010 World Cup plus reviews of Just Cause 2 and God of War III.
SCREENSHOTS
FEATURED DOWNLOADS
FirstPlay allows publishers to deliver artwork and screenshots of its upcoming releases to consumers. Displayed in high resolution, readers can zoom in, move around, and even save the images out and turn them into an XMB wallpaper. Audio captions are also available with every shot.
In this section gamers are able to access a plethora of DLC. These include a variety of digital extras such as demos, beta trials, dynamic themes, costumes and so forth. The first issue included a FirstPlay Theme and an exclusive parachute download for Just Cause 2.
SUBSCRIBE FirstPlay issues cost 99p each and are available via the PlayStation Store. Users can subscribe to the service for 90 days at the cost of £8.99, a saving of 30 per cent.
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TRADE GUIDE TO FIRSTPLAY MEET THE TEAM
TEAM FIRSTPLAY: (Clockwise from top left) Nick Ellis, James Jarvis, David Boddington, Tim Clark, Nathan Ditum, Adrian Ruiz, Liz Wilson, Dan Read, Paul Stevenson and Kim Richards
Official PlayStation Magazine editor-in-chief Tim Clark heads up the FirstPlay team. As well as being an expert on all things PlayStation, he also has experience in the television industry, which has been invaluable in the production of FirstPlay. The FirstPlay team (see left) also includes staffers from Official PlayStation Magazine, while day-to-day running of the show is handled by David Boddington – who joined Future following a stint at Endemol and The History Channel. As well as experts in gaming, the full team also features professionals from TV companies such as the BBC and Sky.
HOW CAN THE INDUSTRY GET INVOLVED? There are two main ways for publishers and developers to get involved with FirstPlay – either through advertising or content. In terms of ads, there are six slots available that can run up to 30 seconds of HD video. These slots are positioned before certain content and can only be skipped after the consumer has watched it once. During the video, viewers can also press a button that will take them to a website (via the in-built PlayStation browser) or a PlayStation store item associated with the ad. In other words, if you are advertising a PSN download, users can go straight to the PlayStation Store and buy it.
“We hope that by creating a new medium we will encourage new people into engaging with games media.” Richard Keith, Future
NETWORK HIGHLIGHTS Also available from the main menu is the Network Highlights section. In here the FirstPlay team will take a closer look at the latest content available over PSN, such as videos, LittleBigPlanet levels. PlayStation Minis and much more.
THE FACTS: Frequency: Every Thursday Length: 30 to 40 minutes
AUDIO
Size: 1GB aprox
Future has secured popular British stand-up comic Lucy Porter as the voice of FirstPlay. The 37 year-old is a regular voice on BBC Radio 4, and has acting and writing credits on a host of sitcoms. She has also made appearances on UK panel shows such as Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Mock The Week.
Price: 99p per issue or £8.99 for 90 days
In terms of content, publishers and developers are encouraged to work with the editorial teams on video, reviews, previews and features. Yet another key way to get involved is through downloadable content. The trade is invited to provide DLC, PSN games, Minis, beta trials, demos and more for the FirstPlay Featured Downloads section. A key benefit of using FirstPlay for DLC is that, in most cases, FirstPlay will cover the associated download fee, which can mean a significant saving for publishers and developers. “We hope that by creating what is, in effect, a new medium, we’ll be able to bring people into engaging with games media – and learning about what games are coming and how to get them – who maybe weren’t before,” says Future’s FirstPlay publisher Richard Keith. “FirstPlay offers very direct ways for the trade to communicate to this audience. The high definition advertisements are an amazingly powerful way to get TV, cinema or viral ads laser targeted direct to PS3 gamers with no waste.”
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TRADE GUIDE TO FIRSTPLAY
First to market What prompted Future Publishing to launch FirstPlay? We are always looking at ways to get our content gamers in ways that will suit them. To be able to deliver HD video content direct to the PlayStation 3 is an obvious benefit. We’ve been talking to PlayStation for a number of years about this idea and have developed it very much in partnership with them. Because we are delivering the content directly to a PS3 it means we can use the console’s power to deliver broadcast quality HD content that is properly interactive – not only choosing what to watch but being able to link through to the Store and the web via the PS3’s built-in browser. And what we can honestly say is that the quality of the content is better than you will get
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very closely with PlayStation to reach that audience directly. Also we will use Future media – both in the games division via our websites GamesRadar and computerandvideogames.com or our magazines and our other young male-targeted media such as Total Film, T3 and SFX. What kind of media do gamers want to consume through their consoles? First and foremost the PS3 delivers great gaming experiences and FirstPlay is committed to bringing gamers closer to that experience, whether that’s through first looks and reviews of the big titles, or filtering the often baffling array of content available to download via
We have invested a lot of time and money in on-console media and we don’t want to give up our lead in this area. Richard Keith, Future
anywhere – whether that’s on the web or on traditional broadcast TV. How many consumers do you expect to reach with FirstPlay? We are expecting a pretty big audience to build over time. We are launching in the UK at first but are in negotiation with other PAL territories and hope to spread throughout Europe and beyond over the next 12 months. What other long-term goals do you have for FirstPlay? We will be developing FirstPlay into a properly rounded service for PS3 gamers – bringing them the best gaming journalism and offering more and more in terms of downloads, extras and benefits for our users and subscribers. So how do you plan to promote the service? Again, the benefit here is that we can be very targeted in our advertising – our audience are all on the PS3. So we’re working
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the Store. However, we also see that the PS3 works as a platform and people are comfortable downloading add-ons, map packs, costumes and themes for their games, the latest movies to watch from the PlayStation Video Store or streaming music videos via a service such as VidZone. What are the challenges for producing content for FirstPlay? There are obvious
MCV speaks to FirstPlay publisher Richard Keith on the philosophy behind the PS3-exclusive show and what lies in its future...
FirstPlay boss Richard Keith says Future will be using its own publications as well as the PS3 to drive awareness for FirstPlay
challenges to getting 30 to 40 minutes of such high quality content out the door every week but we have a big and experienced team to do that. Because FirstPlay comes to users directly via their PS3 we also have to go through Sony’s quality assurance and online delivery systems, which means there is quite a long lead time for each episode. How significant is FirstPlay to Future’s overall strategy? We are keen to get our content onto as many platforms as our audience is using – whether that is magazines, the web, mobile or in this case, their consoles. In that sense it’s a continuation of our existing strategy. Is there any interest in launching a similar service on other platforms, such as Xbox or PC? We tend to be pretty agnostic when it comes to competing platforms – we have official licences to publish magazines for all the platform holders and also have specific websites for Nintendo and Xbox. We think that the benefits of onconsole media are going to be obvious and we have invested a lot of time, effort and, when it gets down to it, money on developing what we think is a new kind of media – and we are unlikely to want to give up our lead in this area.
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TERRITORY REPORT: AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Gaming
DEVELOPMENT The games development sector in Australia suffered over recent years. Developer of Ashes Cricket, Transmission Games, recently closed its doors, while Force Unleashed developers Krome and Edge of Twilight studio Fuzzyeyes have both had to cut their numbers. The sector has had to cut back due to economic concerns, while the Australian Government is yet to offer tax breaks – meaning it can’t compete with the likes of Canada and soon the UK. “The GDAA – with its current head Tom Crago from Tantalus – works tirelessly to promote the Aussie dev community around the world,” adds One to Another MD Simon Alty. “Unlike the market as a whole, the dev community has had it tough in 2009.” Despite the cutbacks, there are still some blossoming studios in Australia, and there is optimism that studios will be able to grow now the recession is over. Meanwhile, publishers such as THQ continue to invest in the territory. “We have projects out to 2012 and are well supported by two great studios – Blue Tongue in Melbourne and Studio Australia in Brisbane,” said THQ Australia and New Zealand general manager Rodney Block. “There is plenty of fantastic talent here which we will continue to tap into and support.” In New Zealand the development sector is very different, with studios focusing on digitally distributed titles. However, Mario Wynands, the managing director of studio Sidhe, feels this digital focus sets New Zealand up well for the future. “Developers here continue to push forward with original IP and digital distribution, and have had some success despite missing the boat on boxed retail product over the last decade,” he comments. “New Zealand now has around 25 different developers covering the gamut of console, PC, web, handheld, and mobile.”
down under
The Australian and New Zealand games markets defied the economy and grew in 2009 – but it wasn’t all good news with developers closing and continued political opposition to adult age ratings. Christopher Dring investigates the two territories…
RETAIL In Australia, games retail is dominated by EB Games, which has 337 stores in the territory. However, EB Games has faced stiff competition from JB Hi-Fi, which has 114 stores in the territory. JB Hi-Fi is a pure Australian games specialist, and the outlet continues to grow rapidly. In contrast to EB and JB Hi-Fi, UK retailer GAME had a tough time in 2009. There are 110 GAME stores in Australia, but the chain failed to grow its market share. Australian games market specialist O2A says GAME is set to come out fighting in 2010, with a campaign designed to make the retailer appear more Australian. The final big games retailer in Australia is department store Big W. There are 158 of these outlets in the country, and the chain continues to benefit from the popularity of Nintendo’s formats. Being a mass merchant, Big W attracts the right type of consumer for DS and Wii hardware and software. In New Zealand, the key players are once again EB Games and JB Hi-Fi, but the country also has chains of its own such as The Warehouse. Like Australia, there hasn’t been a decline in games retailers with no closures. However, it is still a very competitive market. Gamewizz business manager Raja Henley explains: “There has been no recent closures, but the retail sector is very competitive with most major chains selling big new releases at cost – similar to the UK.”
MARKET OVERVIEW AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND PS3 .............783,189
PS3 ..............117,000
PSP .............607,168
PSP ............165,000
PS2 .........2,555,641
PS2 ...........534,000
Xbox 360 ..814,261
360............140,000
DS .............2,571,381
DS ................93,000
Wii.............1,737,090
Wii................94,000
Xbox..........842,003
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TERRITORY REPORT: AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND AUSTRALIA Sales of hardware and software in Australia broke records last year, hitting AUD$2.05 billion – a four per cent increase over 2008. Software was the key riser, increasing six per cent year-onyear. Hardware, meanwhile, remained steady with 2.247 million pieces of hardware sold in 2009 compared to 2.249 million sold in 2008. Peripherals sales were also up 31 per cent year-on-year. The biggest sellers in the market were family games, which accounted for 27 per cent of all games sold in Australia, while action games came in second – accounting for 15 per cent of games sold. In terms of console installed base, DS is most popular, followed by PS2 and then Wii, while PS3 is slightly behind Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (see graph below left). However, One To Another MD Simon Alty warns that it will be hard to accurately chart the growth of the market in the future, with several retailers leaving research collective GfK Group. “The best source for all this information is the excellent industry body here known as the IGEA,” he says. “However, in 2009, the marketleading retailer EB Games chose to leave the GfK systems. “With JB Hi-Fi still providing data, the industry has been able to factor in the EB sales information through its own analysis and rounding, allowing for accurate market tracking. “But as of January 2010, it is reported that JB Hi-Fi has also left the GfK process and so we are left with market data that does not include the primary specialist retailers in the market. Retail will continue to privately provide sales data on an individual products performance – but the days of accurate comparative data analysis are behind us – at least for now.”
[ESSENTIAL FACTS] Population: 22,300,000 Capital: Canberra Language: English Currency: Australian Dollar GDP: (per capita) $36,918 Distributors All Interactive Namco Bandai Partners AFA Interactive Tuff Kat Retailers GAME, EB Games, JB Hi-Fi, Big W
THE ADULT RATING DEBATE The Australian games market has suffered over the years due to a lack of an adult age rating. This has meant publishers have had to redevelop mature games for the region, and in some cases not release products at all. South Australian AttorneyGeneral Michael Atkinson previously opposed an adult rating, however he recently resigned from his post. Therefore, the chances of an adult rating passing into law has been increased, especially as the new Attorney-General John Rau is said to be in support of an 18 rating for games. The R18+ issue has gained support from both gamers and the industry. Over 40,000 submissions have been received by the Attorney-Generals’ office calling for an adults-only rating, while retailer EB Games has backed the initiative.
NEW ZEALAND The game market in New Zealand was worth NZ$170 million in 2009, a 12 per cent increase over 2008. Console sales increased by 13.5 per cent, from 1.075 million units sold in 2008 to 1.32 million units sold in 2009. Meanwhile, peripheral sales rose 37 per cent. Once again, family games were the biggest sellers on the market. “Despite the economic challenges of the last 12 months, interactive gaming has proven to offer families good value entertainment,” says Mark Goodacre, president of New Zealand trade association ISANZ. “We expect that in 2010 the industry will continue to maintain its steady sales performance, as playing video games becomes as popular as watching television or surfing the net.” Interestingly, Wii and DS are the least popular consoles in New Zealand, although that could well change this year, “For 2009 the games market grew, however obviously we noticed a lot less software releases than previous years,” comments Raja Henley, business manager of distributor Gamewizz. “The Nintendo Wii also had another massive year – second year in a row – and is rapidly gaining on the PS3 and 360 install bases.” All sales data is according to independent market research group GfK Retail and Technology Australia.
[ESSENTIAL FACTS] Population: 4,365,027 Capital: Wellington Language: English Currency: New Zealand Dollar GDP: (per capita) $27,083 Distributors Gamewizz Namco Bandai Partners AFA Interactive All Interactive Retailers The Warehouse, EB Games, JB Hi-Fi, Noel Leemings/Bond & Bond
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MEDIA FOCUS: GAMESPOT
‘Spot: The Difference As GameSpot continues to evolve its consumer games site, James Batchelor chats with parent company CBS Interactive’s Simon Whitcombe and editor Guy Cocker about trying to stand out from the crowd…
MAKING TRAX How well has GameSpot UK it’s free, it’s more immediate and in performed sinced you launched? many cases it’s delivered in a fashion Guy Cocker, Editor, GameSpot UK: that means more to that individual user. We’ve gone from strength-to-strength. Guy Cocker: It also allows us to We’ve got 4.9 million monthly unique engage users on a real-time basis, get users in the UK, which is a nine per feedback and allow them to be a part of cent growth on last time when we were the process. We’re obviously growing at 4.5 million. We’re really doing well in a much faster rate than print magazines the UK marketplace, we’re working are at the moment, and it’s shown that closely with Simon and the guys in the we’re really engaging with our users. US and really developing the global working relationship that The circulation of all Future we’ve been cultivating for UK’s magazines is a drop in the last five years now.
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the ocean compared to GameSpot’s userbase.
What advantages do you feel you have these days over more traditional media, such as print? Simon Whitcombe, VP of Games, CBS Interactive: Having run Future’s games group in the US, I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am not to be working on print magazines. They are finding it very difficult to find their place in 2010. The model that existed ten years ago is very difficult to make sense of in today’s market. If you added up the circulation of all Future UK’s games magazines, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the monthly unique users of GameSpot UK. Gamers and anyone close to technology get their content from the web because
Simon Whitcombe, CBS How important is newer media, such as video previews and the podcast, to your proposition? Guy Cocker: It’s interesting that you call it ‘new’ media – we’ve been doing the podcast since 2006, when GameSpot UK launched. It’s as tied into what we do as the written content. We’re very much on the forefront of producing video and audio content, interviewing developers, doing video reviews and it’s incredibly important to what we do overall. How challenging do you find the competition in the UK, such as IGN
and Eurogamer, and how do you ensure that we stay competitive? Simon Whitcombe: I think our strength at GameSpot has always been our focus. We’re 100 per cent focused on video games – 24/7, 365. IGN is our biggest competitor in the UK and globally when it comes to traffic but they are a little broader in their focus, looking at other forms of entertainment. Guy Cocker: We pay a lot of attention to our competition and we’re a great admirer of some of the work they do but we’ve got 4.9 million monthly unique users, so we’re the leader and we always have been. We’ve got to look at what we’re doing and maintain that competitive edge we’ve always had, and I think we’re doing that really well.
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Have you got anything else exciting planned for the near future? What else are you doing to grow the site? Simon Whitcombe: We can’t give details but we’re thinking about gameplay data, such as Xbox Achievements, and being able to pull that into GameSpot. We have a product launch later this year that is really focused around that idea. Secondly, the games group at CBS is in the process of re-architecting Metacritic
GameSpot has just launched a UKspecific version of its consumer data service Trax. “GameSpot has 50 million global unique monthly users,” says CBS Interactive’s Simon Whitcombe. “Trax measures the interests of those global users around individual video games. As far as being a leading sales indicator, it’s unbelievably important. “For the first time brand marketers in the UK can look at UK-specific data about their titles and compare it to their competitive set. “When launched in the US, this brought about a massive shift towards online advertising. Trax was the catalyst and launching it now in the UK could have a similar impact.”
and putting some new special sauce into that brand. We’re going to roll that out in the second half of this year, and it’s something that we’re really excited about. Community is already a huge focus for GameSpot: we have 15 million registered users globally, and a significant percentage of those reside in the UK. We’re now thinking about social media and how users can be connected to us through the likes of Facebook. We’re also thinking a lot about preorders. Around 51 per cent of our users pre-order their games on a regular basis, and this is becoming more important to games publishers. We think we have a role to play in that space, and we’ll have more news about that later this year.
Advertentie 230x315_advertentie 230x315 v2 06-04-10 13:09 Pagina 1
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www.foreignmediagames.com
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Sponsored by
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COMMERCIAL MANAGER
PERSONNEL
Location: London
This high profile position is to deliver membership growth and engagement through member benefits, events and services that add real value. The role holder will also need to keep abreast of latest industry developments to ensure that the association maintains its competitive position. THE ROLE Develop a membership growth strategy that identifies potential Interactive Entertainment categories and companies to target for membership. Work to sign them up as members. Identify where the association can add value for members by offering services or products to them. Maintain and develop product and service offerings for the association, and deliver these either through internal resources or via subcontracts and partnerships. Ensure there is positive member feedback from all that we do. Marketing of all member facing activities. Input members views and ideas on policy to the Director General Set up and run member based sub committees based on projects/work streams
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QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS ROLE: Significant management experience Results orientated Excellent interpersonal and negotiating skills Excellent organisational and time management skills Proven decision making skills Excellent attention to detail Proven experience delivering results and working to targets Positive, enthusiastic and driven attitude. Awareness of financial management systems
Focus promotes Grant Hughes and gets Wild Publisher names new director and marketing boss Robbins is new Kuju CEO Telltale hires Allison
PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Location: London
This position is to work with the executive and the board to determin the public affairs and communications strategy for the association. Ensure effective communication of all the associations activities and objectives to our key stakeholders, political partners and customers. The post holder will ensure the association is considered the leading representative for the interactive entertainment sector, engaged with government policy development, legislation and implementation.
THE ROLE Define and implement the public affairs and communications strategy for the association. Ensure our members are fully informed and engaged on key initiatives being undertaken by us. Define and implement the press engagement strategy, ensuring the association is at the forefront on the key issues defined within its strategic plan. Build integrated communications plan that links government facing lobbying with press and consumer messaging. Drive messaging framework that connects the association’s key issues, and builds to a long term industry and association vision. Monitor and gain feedback to ensure our members clearly understand our core focus, and that they support and value the organisation. Produce regular tracking reports, monitoring opinions and feedback and taking appropriate action. Provide PR and public affairs counsel to senior management on a proactive and reactive basis Plan and implement a measurement methodology to track effectiveness of public affairs and communications campaigns. Monitor and evaluate our monthly key defined media messages and government stakeholders’ opinions.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED FOR THIS ROLE: An established track record in the field of public affairs and communications, and a solid understanding of building an integrated communications strategy to multiple audiences. Good understanding of various communications disciplines that will be used to deliver on the core strategy (PR, Govt Lobbying, advertising, digital media tools and direct marketing). Excellent written and verbal skills, including the ability to distil complex issues into plain English for consumer friendly messaging. Excellent organisational and time management skills Proven decision making skills Excellent attention to detail Proven experience delivering results and working to targets Positive, enthusiastic and driven attitude.
CLOSING DATE: MAY 6th
CONTACT: MAXINE@HRDEPT.CO.UK UK INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ASSOCIATION LIMITED UKIEA formally ELSPA is the representative body for the country’s dynamic and vibrant interactive entertainment and videogame industry. Our membership currently includes virtually all of the major traditional publishers of videogames in the UK. The association now wishes to expand and develop its membership base to include the new and developing areas of the industry. The association works to protect, promote and provide for its members’ interests via a number of activities including political lobbying, collective industry-wide PR, Intellectual Property legalities and protection, sales charts and reports (via GfK Chart-Track), and detailed market research.
FOCUS GRANT HUGHES has been promoted to business development director for Focus Multimedia. Hughes has worked in the games industry since 1995, having previously worked as marketing manager at peripherals firm Datel and buying and marketing assistant at GAME. He leaves his former position of PR and
marketing manager, which he has held since joining Focus in 2004. This role will now be filled by ALAN WILD, Focus’ newest recruit. Wild has more than ten years of experience in the industry, most recently working as UK PR manager at BitDefender and international product manager at Ascaron Entertainment.
KUJU NIGEL ROBBINS has been appointed as the UK studio’s new CEO. The news follows confirmation that founders IAN BAVERSTOCK and JONATHAN NEWTH have stepped down into non-executive roles. Robbins was previously president of MTV Networks Asia Pacific, where he oversaw over 30 MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1-branded TV, online and digital content services in the region. He also worked as president of MTV Group Japan and senior vice president of content and creative under MTV Networks International. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on Kuju’s strong foundations and focus on doing what we do best,” said Robbins. “Our job is to create compelling quality content across all platforms and delivery channels, and that will
continue to be the focus within each of our studios, ensuring that we are the first choice developer for our various publishing partners.” TELLTALE STEVE ALLISON has joined the developer’s executive team as senior vice president of marketing. Allison boasts more than 12 years of experience in the industry. He has worked as chief marketing officer and senior vice president at Midway Games, and held several publishing, marketing and management positions at Atari. “Telltale is a company very well positioned for the bright digital future of the interactive entertainment business,” said Allison. “I’m excited to be part of this accomplished, experienced team as we work to take our brand and games to the next level.”
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RETAILBIZ RECOMMENDED GAMES PRICE CHECK CHARTS NEW RELEASES
FOOTBALL FRENZY EA brings the sporting event of the year to consoles with 2010 FIFA World Cup P30
WITH THIS ISSUE We take an in-depth look at 505 Games’ new IP, Naughty Bear
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE FORGOTTEN SANDS P32 Ubisoft’s latest Prince epic aims for multiformat success WARIOWARE: DIY P34 Nintendo adds a mini-game creator to the popular WarioWare franchise SKATE 3 P35 Key skateboarding franchise targets online gamers on Xbox 360 and PS3 THE TREASURES OF MONTEZUMA P36 Foreign Media Games delivers its storydriven puzzler to DS RESTAURANT TYCOON P36 Touch screen eat ‘em up featuring mini-games akin to Cooking Mama
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RETAILBIZ: 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 30 MCV 16/04/10
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EA wants to make 2010 FIFA World Cup the summer’s biggest game following the huge success of FIFA 10… by Dominic Sacco FIFA 10 became the fastest-selling sports game ever when it went on sale in October last year, selling 1.7m copies in Europe during its first week alone. As the biggest launch in EA’s history, it’s no surprise that the publisher sees an extra opportunity with an official game to tie-in with the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. EA Sports senior product manager Luke Cousens explains: “We’re delighted with the performance of FIFA 10 and believe 2010 FIFA World Cup is another great opportunity to bring in new gamers to the football game genre. “The title will also deliver something fresh for existing football gamers.”
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FIFA is one of the biggest sports franchises in the world, and EA has previously released three official World Cup tie-ins since World Cup 98. Last year’s FIFA 10 is also one of the best-received in the series, with current
could well receive similar praise from the gaming press. EXTRA TIME
As well as boosting the fantastic the fantastic FIFA gameplay, 2010 World Cup adds a host of additional features to pull in new and existing We’ll be targeting football football fans. fans with an extensive launch “We’ve introduced a campaign that runs alongside new two-button control all the World Cup excitement. system and we’re hoping Luke Cousens, EA this innovation will bring back or bring in new gamers who may have felt that the average Metacritic scores of 90 on Xbox complexities of FIFA might have passed 360 and 91 on PS3. them by,” adds Cousens. These scores mean FIFA 10 is the “Needless to say, there’s spectacular highest-rated sports game of this console generation. And with the World Cup tie- presentation and detail, bringing to life all the emotion and excitement of the in making use of a modified version of tournament itself and gamers will be the FIFA 10 engine, this new game
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able to play out the 2010 FIFA World Cup in a full and authentic online tournament mode.” The game boasts a host of other new features such as innovations in gameplay that capture the journey from qualification stages to the final tournament. There are special home and away strategies for every nation, situational tactics in-game and new stadium altitude effects that can fatigue players faster and impact the flight of the ball. Players will be able to select from all 199 international teams that took part in qualifying and play across South Africa’s ten official World Cup stadiums, and stadiums from the qualifying regions. EA Sports has also tweaked its market-leading football engine from FIFA 10 to enable a faster-paced and more responsive gameplay experience.
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RETAILBIZ: 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA WWW.MCVUK.COM
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The Wii version of 2010 FIFA World Cup gets its own art style, a dream team mode and the ability to store custom teams on a Wii Remote, which can be uploaded to a friend’s console. SCORING AT RETAIL
FIFA has always been a big seller, and EA is confident the latest iteration will deliver once again. Cousens says: “We’re anticipating a strong performance for the title around both release and during the run up to the World Cup tournament this summer. “Specialist press reaction for the game has been incredibly positive so far and you can definitely feel the World Cup excitement starting to build across the UK.” To ensure that 2010 FIFA World Cup performs well, EA
RELEASED: APRIL 30 FORMATS: 360, PS3, WII, PSP PUBLISHER: EA DEVELOPER: EA CANADA PRICE: £24.99 – £49.99 DISTRIBUTOR: CENTRESOFT CONTACT: 0121 625 3388
has put together a huge marketing campaign that will begin at launch. “We’ll be targeting football gamers and football fans with an extensive launch campaign that runs hand-in-hand with the nationwide excitement building around the tournament this summer,” continues Cousens. “This will hit TV, print, online and radio in addition to a significant PR campaign running across the national press and men’s lifestyle environments.” 2010 FIFA World Cup will be released in UK stores on April 30th for Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP, with the Wii version to follow.
ALWAYS COCA-COLA EA has partnered with Coca-Cola Zero to further promote 2010 FIFA World Cup on Xbox 360 and PS3. Players with an internet connection and a copy of the game will be able to play the Coca-Cola Story of the Finals mode. This allows gamers to re-play moments from real World Cup football matches. “The free online feature will enable gamers to relive crucial moments from the actual tournament hours after games have been played,” Cousens says. “As with every major tournament, there will be shocks and controversy, and we believe players will enjoy trying to rewrite history on the pitch, especially when huge underdogs are concerned.”
The game hits retail several weeks before the World Cup begins. The tournament will officially kick off in South Africa on June 11th.
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RETAILBIZ: PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE FORGOTTEN SANDS 32 MCV 16/04/10
Ubisoft takes the legendary action adventure series back to its most popular storyline, tying in with the franchise’s silver screen debut…
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by James Batchelor AND SO THE merchandising circle of life is complete. The Prince of Persia games have sold well enough to warrant a Hollywood production and now the upcoming movie will be accompanied by a video game release. Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands shies away from the universe of the 2008 reboot and returns to the storyline of last generation’s Sands Of Time trilogy – widely recognised as the franchise’s high point. With Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer and Jake Gyllenhaall bringing The Sands Of Time to the silver screen, Ubisoft has taken the opportunity to create a brand new
chapter in the best-selling series, set a few years after the first game. As such, the publisher is keen to stress that The Forgotten Sands is an entirely separate affair from the movie. Veteran fans will be able to experience a brand new storyline from their
‘Ubisoft has created a brand new chapter in the best-selling Sands Of Time series.’ favourite series, and the release of the film should hopefully raise the game’s profile enough to encourage newcomers to give it a go. Having saved his own kingdom in the first game (and the film), the Prince visits his brother’s realm – only to find it
under attack from dark forces. The hero must explore the besieged palace, the surrounding town and ancient catacombs in order to fight off the demonic hordes and discover who is behind this assault. TIMELY MOVES
Once again, acrobatic platforming, elemental trickery and intense combat are the orders of the day here. The nimble monarch can run along walls, skip between ledges, swing from poles and perform all the other athletic, Parkour-style feats that fans will remember from his past outings. Gamers will need to master the controls and time their moves well in order to navigate the crumbling ruins of the kingdom.
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RETAILBIZ: PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE FORGOTTEN SANDS WWW.MCVUK.COM
When faced with enemy warriors, the Prince is equipped with a sword and devastating attacks to match. The power of current generation hardware means that Sands Of Time fans will be taking on more monsters than ever before, from small groups of three to swarms of up to 50 minions. While players can depend on the Prince’s aptitude for swordplay to take out their foes, they can also use his athletic abilities to evade harm and turn the tables. For example, they can leap onto the shoulders of an opponent and crowd-surf their way to safety – or into a better position for a deadly jump attack. The series’ trademark ability to rewind time and correct mistakes, both in exploration and combat, has also made a welcome return.
MCV 16/04/10 33
The Forgotten Sands aims to recapture the atmosphere and gameplay that made the original Sands Of Time such a success
However, time is just one element players are able to manipulate in this release. The Prince can now bend earth, air, water and fire to their will. Examples include the ability to freeze all of the water in an area so that the Prince can swing from long bars of ice. THE PRINCE OF SALES
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will launch on consoles and handhelds next months. The PC version is due to arrive in June – coinciding nicely with the debut of the OnLive game-streaming service, for which the game serves as a launch title. Ubisoft will also produce a Collector’s Edition for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC SKUs, which features a steelbook case, bonus DVD, and a downloadable game.
RELEASED: MAY / JUNE (PC) FORMATS: 360, PS3, WII, DS, PSP, PC PUBLISHER: UBISOFT DEVELOPER: UBISOFT MONTREAL PRICE: VARIOUS DISTRIBUTOR: GEM CONTACT: 01279 822800
Console owners will be able to download Prince Of Persia Classic – based on the original 1989 game – from XBLA or PSN, while PC users will bag a free copy of The Sands Of Time. With the film set to be one of Disney’s biggest blockbusters this summer, expect plenty of cross promotion between The Sands Of Time and The Forgotten Sands, as well as a comprehensive campaign targeting Prince of Persia’s established fanbase.
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RETAILBIZ: WARIOWARE: DO IT YOURSELF 34 MCV 16/04/10
WWW.MCVUK.COM
WARIO’S BACK: Nintendo says WarioWare DIY has the potential to appeal to a much wider audience
CONSOLE CONNECTIVITY Wii owners can add another dimension to their game by downloading the WarioWare DIY Showcase WiiWare game from the Wii Shop Channel. By connecting their DS to the Wii via wi-fi, this download gives gamers access to over 70 extra mini-games, which can be transferred to the DS. Players can also upload DS levels to the Wii and play them on the TV. The WiiWare game also includes an unlockable multiplayer mode that lets up to four people play minigames together. Wario fans can even play a game based on Balloon Fight from the original Nintendo Entertainment System.
Nintendo’s popular WarioWare series is now giving users the chance to create their own mini-games on the DS… by Dominic Sacco THE WARIOWARE series is a muchloved collection of obscure mini-games, which has built up a loyal fanbase since the original game, WarioWare Inc: Minigame Mania, hit stores in 2003. Nintendo has created a number of inventive sequels since then but WarioWare: Do It Yourself is arguably the most creative to date. The DS title features over 90 in-built mini-games and allows players to create and share their own levels through a wi-fi connection. Nintendo product manager Zoe Cooper says: “The WarioWare series has performed well in the past with the most recent release of this type being WarioWare: Smooth Moves on Wii, which has sold over 350,000 units since launch, so we are similarly hopeful for this new edition to the Wario franchise.” The brand new mini-game editor boasts changeable graphics, animations, music and rules. And as usual for a WarioWare title each mini-game lasts no
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longer than ten seconds, with players having to frantically complete their task in a time limit. Gamers can also create their own music for each game, either by using the standard 90 songs as a starting point or by drawing on their own creativity and composing a score from scratch. There’s even the option for users to devise their own four-panel black and white in-game comics to share with friends online.
Based on initial reviews and previous performances of Wario titles, we would hope to see strong sales at retail. Zoe Cooper, Nintendo “WarioWare DIY presents us with the opportunity to give existing Wario fans a great new quirky title for their collection,” adds Cooper. “However, the new mini-game creation feature of this release has the potential to appeal to a much wider gaming audience who want to test their development skills.
“This will hopefully give us greater sales potential.” WarioWare DIY brings a bundle of new game modes to the fray, including the D.I.Y ABCs for beginners and the riddle-solving Assembly Dojo.
RELEASED: APRIL 30 FORMATS: DS PUBLISHER: NINTENDO DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PRICE: £34.99 DISTRIBUTOR: OPEN CONTACT: 01753 483 700
THE HAPPY WORLD OF WARIO
To further add to the excitement, Nintendo is also regularly holding contests to find the best user-generated mini-games relating to specific themes, with the winners gaining extra promotion for their games. WarioWare DIY is supported by an above the line marketing campaign consisting of TV advertising on kids’ channels and online activity running across various gaming and children’s websites. Online advertisements are driving traffic through to the WarioWare DIY microsite, which offers consumers the chance to enter Nintendo’s contest to find the best mini-games. PR will be maximised with a range of reviews in gaming, kids and national
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press, with Nintendo offering in-store support via a full range of visuals. PRESS AWARE
The latest Wario game has received strong reviews from the gaming press, with an average score of 81 on review aggregator site Metacritic. The user score is currently 9.1. Cooper adds: “We have already had a really positive response for this release amongst the gaming media, with recent scores of 9/10 from IGN and 92 per cent from Official Nintendo Magazine. “Based on these initial reviews and previous performances of Wario titles, we would hope to see strong sales at retail and a good public reception to this anticipated release.” WarioWare DIY will be released on DS on April 30th.
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RETAILBIZ: SKATE 3 WWW.MCVUK.COM
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SKATE MATES: EA’s Skate 3 adds a host of multiplayer features allowing players to team up or go head-tohead with rivals
RELEASED: MAY 14 FORMATS: 360, PS3 PUBLISHER: EA DEVELOPER: EA BLACK BOX
The third in EA’s realistic skate ‘em up series promises players more tricks, flips and online playability with an emphasis on content creation… by Dominic Sacco SKATE 3 is a continuation of what made the first two titles so accessible and fun – while adding the ability for gamers to team up and form their own skateboarding crews. EA’s relatively new but well-received franchise first skated into retail in late 2007 and was a breath of fresh air to gamers that were used to playing the arcade-like Tony Hawk games. In fact, EA claims the original Skate outsold Activision’s Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground by two-to-one. Skate was instantly acclaimed for its inventive twin-stick control method that did away with complex button combos from Hawk games. Skate and Skate 2 received average review scores of 86 and 84 on review aggregator website Metacritic, and Skate 3 is set for similar success after being met with positive feedback so far.
Where Skate and Skate 2 brought realism to the market and represented the spirit of the skateboarding culture, Skate 3 builds on the series’ core appeal by focusing on teamwork, user-created content and the hugely popular world of online multiplayer. It even adds a new co-op mode to the mix.
‘Skate 3 allows gamers to create their own parks, skaters and ingame videos before sharing them online.’ Players can opt to play co-op either online or offline, while carrying out team challenges and competing with rival skate crews. Various rewards are given for epic stunts and fails, including new ‘Hall of Meat’ body-control bails, encouraging gamers to experiment with the
environment and use their imagination to pull off tricks. SKATE AND CREATE
Skate 3 allows gamers to create their own skate park or town with a new level editor mode, or simply tweak the existing locations in the main world Port Caverton. Objects can be dropped into the landscape at will including rails, benches and mega-ramps. Custom environments can be uploaded to the internet for others to download and experience by themselves or with their skate crew. If that’s not enough, Skate 3 boasts a huge roster of pro skaters as well as its own character creation option, with Andrew Reynolds, Eric Koston and Chris Cole making an appearance. Players can even follow the path of a skate industry mogul by designing and selling their own boards, or set new trends and impress friends by swapping
PRICE: £49.99 DISTRIBUTOR: CENTRESOFT CONTACT: 0121 625 3388
in-game replay videos and photos. These can be traded from console to console or imported from the Skate website, which also allows custom-made graphics and logos to be uploaded. EA may have focused on multiplayer content in Skate 3, but there is also a full and robust single-player mode too. Major modes gamers can enjoy by themselves include Domination, Own the Lot and Hall of Meat. A bundle of new tricks have also been added for players to master, with darkslides and underflips among the game’s advanced stunts. A new Skate School also enables newcomers to learn the ropes before hitting the streets. With the established Skate gaming brand, new online features and two much-loved video game predecessors, EA’s latest Skate title is looking set for retail success. Skate 3 will be released for Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 14th.
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RETAILBIZ: TREASURES OF MONTEZUMA/RESTAURANT TYCOON 36 MCV 16/04/10
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DS owners will soon be treated to a puzzle game with a twisting storyline as they explore the ruins of an ancient civilisation…
Foreign Media Games readies a management sim that challenges players to create, run and improve a top restaurant…
by James Batchelor
by James Batchelor
DS PUZZLER The Treasures Of Montezuma taps into the masses’ love for tile-matching puzzle games – an ever-popular, addictive genre. Rather than putting players through a series of pre-set challenges, the game actually weaves a storyline between matches, depicting the tale of a global search for lost treasures. Players assume the role of a young female graduate travelling through Mexico, circa 1935. The student is assisting Dr Emily Jones on her quest to recover a collection of priceless artworks. Their adventure inevitably presents them with several puzzles that involve matching groups of three or more identical jewels and stones. It’s the time-honoured gameplay that has made titles such as Bejeweled and Puzzle Quest so popular and is sure to resonate well with DS owners.
and various power-ups will give them an advantage as they play. By combining four or more stones or buying bonuses between each level, players can multiply their growing score, increase the number of jewels on the screen or extend the time limit. The whole game is presented in an atmospheric art-style that captures the essence of 1930s adventures, while still retaining the clear, accessible layout of popular casual games. Finally, the affordable price tag makes it the perfect impulse buy for DS owners this summer.
MANAGEMENT sims have always proven to be popular with gamers – particularly on the PC – as the genre allows them to live out their dreams of running anything from a successful business to an entire city. Restaurant Tycoon is set to prove the gameplay can work just as well on the DS by putting players in charge of an up-and-coming eatery and challenging them to make it the best in the city. The title is extremely comprehensive, covering every imaginable aspect of the business, from preparing and serving the dishes to marketing and developing the restaurant itself. As with other Tycoon titles, players can customise almost everything about their creation, making it a more personal strategy outing. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
RELEASED: MAY 7 FORMATS: DS
JEWEL SHOCK
PUBLISHER: FOREIGN MEDIA GAMES
The object of each of the 41 levels, which are spread across five episodes, is to collect all of the jewels in the playing field within a certain time limit. Gamers will need to be quick of hand and keen of eye to master each one,
DEVELOPER: MOST WANTED ENTERTAINMENT PRICE: £19.99 DISTRIBUTOR: CONNECT INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: 01922 649 868
Gamers start off by buying a vacant property and decorating it on a limited budget. They can redecorate at a later stage to improve the atmosphere of their restaurant and make it more appealing to customers. They must then choose which of the three international cuisines they wish to specialise in: French, Chinese or Italian. With this done, they can draw up a
menu for the chef – although ingredients will need to be selected carefully in order to make the maximum profit. Available dishes range from soups and salads to entrees and desserts, and players can prepare any of these themselves in the touch-screen minigame, akin to the likes of DS smash hit Cooking Mama. It’s not all about the food, though. Entrepreneurs will have to handle every facet of their business, keep the staff happy, research new recipes and customer tastes, and launch creative marketing campaigns to spread the word about their restaurant. Restaurant Tycoon can be enjoyed in Free Game or Campaign mode, with the latter split into 15 missions. The depth of this title is sure to appeal to hardcore simulation fans, while casual gamers will find it accessible enough to quickly start their own crowd-drawing restaurants. RELEASED: MAY 7 FORMATS: DS PUBLISHER: FOREIGN MEDIA GAMES DEVELOPER: MOST WANTED ENTERTAINMENT PRICE: £19.99 DISTRIBUTOR: CONNECT INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: 01922 649 868
MCV Develop Advert 2
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ne rd u Bi 7 J y rl til Ea un s te Ra
13 -15 JULY 2010
be inspired Excellent Speakers. Great Networking. Top Location. The Develop Conference in Brighton is the leading event for game development professionals in Europe. Last year, over 1,200 developers from every level of the development community descended on Brighton to meet, learn, share and network with their peers. Expect a stellar line-up of speakers, a choice of over 80 high quality sessions and fantastic networking opportunities with some of the industry’s brightest and best from over 500 different companies and 29 territories. Confirmed Keynotes include:
Other sessions include: • Working with WiiWare: From Student Developers to Swords and Soldiers Jasper Koning, Ronimo Games • An Overview of the Stereo 3D Marketplace Susan Tunstall and Jon Lee, BTV • The Reality of Making Money from Episodic Games Andrew Eades, Relentless Software • The Lowdown on Downloadable Content Chris Bruce, SingStar, SCEE • Managing Risk from a Developer's Perspective John Dennis, Team 17 • Productivity: Make Life Easier for Your Team Jason Avent, Disney Black Rock Studio • How to Make the Games Media Work for You Johnny Minkley, Eurogamer
Louis Castle, CEO, Instant Action Inc. Evolve
KEYNOTE
David Helgason, CEO, Unity Technologies Evolve
KEYNOTE
Adam Levenson, Director, Central Audio and Talent, Activision Publishing AUDIO
KEYNOTE
Running alongside the Conference is the Develop Expo, which is FREE for visitors to attend and brings together some of Europe's most innovative companies from every sector of games development. To find out how you can get involved call us on: +44 (0)20 7405 4500
Develop in Brighton manages to set the right balance with lots of relevant sessions coupled with great networking events. Thoroughly recommend it.
It far exceeded my expectations. I met lots of friends, had really great business meetings, lots of press, and it all happens in an amazing location.
David Jones, CEO, Realtime Worlds
David Perry, Creative Director, Acclaim Games
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38 MCV583_final
12/4/10
09:51
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RETAILBIZ: NEW RELEASES 38 MCV 16/04/10
WWW.MCVUK.COM
Check out MCVUK.COM/RELEASE-DATES for more
Iron Man 2 soars onto shelves Movie buffs can take to the skies in Sega’s Iron Man 2, while Capcom caters to fighting fans with Super Street Fighter IV. Also due out soon are Monster Hunter Tri, FIFA World Cup, Dead To Rights: Retribution, Lost Planet 2 and more... TITLE
FORMAT
GENRE
PUBLISHER
TELEPHONE
DISTRIBUTOR
Wii DS PS3 / XBOX 360 DS DS Wii PC / XBOX 360 DS
Simulation Simulation Action Non-games Non-games RPG Action/Adventure Puzzle
Deep Silver Ghostlight Namco Bandai EA EA Nintendo Square Enix Ubisoft
0870 027 0985 01376 555 333 0121 506 9585 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 01753 483700 020 7324 5200 01279 822800
Koch Open Advantage Centresoft Centresoft Open Open Gem
XBOX 360 / PS3 / Wii / PSP PC PS3 PSP / DS / Wii / PS3 / XBOX 360 PS3 XBOX 360 / PS3 PC DS
Sports Casual/Adventure Action Action Sports Fighting Action Mini-games
EA Mamba Games Sony Sega Konami Capcom Ubisoft Nintendo
0121 625 3388 01273 202220 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 020 8987 5706 0121 625 3388 01279 822800 01753 483700
Centresoft Lace Centresoft Centresoft Open Centresoft Gem Open
DS DS DS PC / DS Wii DS
Sports Casual Casual Adventure Action Casual
O Games Foreign Media Games Foreign Media Games Ubisoft Nintendo Foreign Media Games
0121 625 3388 020 7240 2645 020 7240 2645 01279 822800 01753 483700 020 7240 2645
Centresoft Open Open Gem Open Open
PC / PS3 / XBOX 360
Action
Capcom
0121 625 3388
Centresoft
PS3 XBOX 360 DS / Wii PSP DS PS3 / XBOX 360
Action/Adventure Adventure Mini-Games Fighting Simulation Sports
South Peak Microsoft South Peak Namco Bandai Ubisoft EA
0121 625 3388 01279 822800 0121 625 3388 0121 506 9585 01279 822800 0121 625 3388
Centresoft Gem Centresoft Advantage Gem Centresoft
Wii DS XBOX 360 PS3 / XBOX 360 DS PS3 / XBOX 360
Fighting Adventure Action/Adventure Action/Adventure Action/Adventure Racing
THQ South Peak 505 Games Rockstar Disney Interactive Disney Interactive
0121 506 9585 0121 625 3388 0121 506 9585 01279 822800 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388
Advantage Centresoft Advantage Gem Centresoft Centresoft
PC / PS3 / XBOX 360
Action
Sega
0121 625 3388
Centresoft
APRIL 23rd Ballerina Dancing on Ice Dead To Rights: Retribution FLIPS: Enid Blyton Adventure Series FLIPS: Mr Gum Monster Hunter Tri Nier Ok! Puzzle Stars
APRIL 30th 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Black Mirror 2 God Of War Collection Iron Man 2 PES 2010 Platinum Super Street Fighter IV Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction WarioWare DIY
MAY 7th All Star 5-A-Side Football Classic Games Restaurant Tycoon Runaway: Twist of Fate Sin & Punishment 2 The Treasures of Montezuma
MAY 11th Lost Planet 2
MAY 14th 3D Dot Game Heroes Alan Wake Miniclips' Sushi Go Round Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 Petz Fantasy Skate 3
MAY 21st All Star Karate Famous MorphX Red Dead Redemption Sonny With A Chance Split/Second: Velocity
MAY 28th Alpha Protocol
MUSTSTOCK ...................................IRON MAN 2 Released: April 30th Format: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP Publisher: Sega Distributor: Centresoft Contact: 0121 625 3388
Released to coincide with the latest film, Iron Man 2 follows the continuing adventures of Tony Stark and his superhero alter-ego. The movie is set to be one of this year’s biggest blockbusters, so expect Sega’s companion title to perform just as well.
MUSTSTOCK ...........SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV Released: April 30th Format: Xbox 360, PS3 Publisher: Capcom Distributor: Centresoft Contact: 0121 625 3388
unravel the mystery and find the lost treasures of Montezuma
OUT ON MAY 21ST
Capcom follows up the success of its 2009 smash hit with the enhanced Super Street Fighter IV. New characters are introduced, old favourites return and popular modes are recreated making this a must have purchase for any dedicated Street Fighter fan.
02 Dev104_final
29/3/10
17:43
Page 1
THE
HOT
LIST
Develop 100 lists the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100 most successful games studios based on key market data from GfK-ChartTrack Published with Develop in May and MCV on Friday May 7th See new microsite at www.develop100.com from Friday May 7th
12,000 copies plus digital edition. Additional circulation of Develop 100 at Develop Conference Brighton in July and Develop Industry Excellence Awards
>>>>>>>>>
Ad copy deadline: Monday April 19th Contact katie.rawlings@intentmedia.co.uk for advertising and sponsorship opportunities +44 (0) 1992 535 647
40,41 MCV582_final
12/4/10
10:52
Page 1
RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET 40 MCV 16/04/10
WWW.MCVUK.COM
Sponsored by
POLL WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF GAMING?
REVIEW SCORES
20%
MCV provides the most important average review scores of the last few days – all sourced from Metacritic...
83%
Just Cause 2 PC Square Enix
81%
79%
78%
72%
Yakuza 3, PS3, Sega
The Settlers 7, PC, Ubisoft
MotoGP 09/10, 360, Capcom
*Metacritic scores correct at the time of going to press
THIS WEEK
LAST WEEK
1
3
4
TITLE/FORMAT
5
PUBLISHER
POKÉMON HEARTGOLD FORMAT: DS
56%
DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO
2
1
POKÉMON SOULSILVER DS
3
4
JUST CAUSE 2: LIMITED EDITION PS3
SQUARE ENIX
4
3
JUST CAUSE 2: LIMITED EDITION 360
SQUARE ENIX
5
5
BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 360
6
9
BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 PS3
7
RE
JUST DANCE WII
It seems the participants of the latest MCV online survey don’t consider either motion control or 3D gaming to be crucial to the future of the games industry. When asked which will prove to be most important, more than half of this week’s voters opted for ‘neither’, believing that gaming can grow in its traditional form. Of those that did select one of the two technologies, just under a quarter of the
total voters opted for motion control, keenly anticipating this year’s release of Natal and PlayStation Move. Only 20 per cent believe that 3D is the way forward, despite the recent buzz surrounding the announcement of Nintendo’s 3DS and the imminent launch of 3DTVs this summer. Take part in MCV’s next poll at www.mcvuk.com
MARGIN MAKER
INDIE CHARTS - ALL FORMATS 2
24% MOTION CONTROL
NEITHER
WarioWare DIY, DS, Nintendo
1
3D
NINTENDO
Sponsored by
A string of new LittleBigPlanet merchandise is now available from Impact Global Solutions. The collectibles include 12-inch and six-inch Sackboy plush toys, keyrings, large and small wobbleheads and a range of bags and mugs for every occasion. A LittleBigPlanet Game of the Year edition is coming on April 16th. Impact Global Solutions: 0845 600 1676
EA EA UBISOFT
8
7
GOD OF WAR III PS3
9
NEW
JUST CAUSE 2 360
SQUARE ENIX
10
6
FINAL FANTASY XIII 360
SQUARE ENIX
DEAL OF THE WEEK
SONY
Play.com customers can pick up a 250GB PS3 Slim with God of War III and a pre-ordered copy of GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City for £284.99 – a saving of £85.
Charts compiled by Game Guide/Complete EPOS Solutions. For more information about Complete EPOS Solutions call 01543 370002. For more information about the Game Guide call 01606 836347.
Whatever direction you're going, we can help.
Artwork copyright of Richard Burns
OPM Response Ltd Tel: +44(0)1206 21 44 21 www.opmjobs.com
40,41 MCV582_final
9/4/10
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Page 2
RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 16/04/10 41 Sponsored by
PRICE CHECK [PRE ORDERS] Just Cause 2 PS3, Square Enix
Pokémon: SoulSilver DS, Nintendo
Prison Break: The Conspiracy 360, Deep Silver
Infinite Space DS, Sega
SpongeBob: Boating Bash Wii, THQ
TOP 10 RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED ED
IN STORE: LEICESTER £39.99
£34.99
£29.99
£24.99
£34.99
£39.99
£34.99
£39.99
£19.99
N/A
2. GOD OF WAR: TRILOGY
£39.99
£39.99
N/A
N/A
£19.99
3. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT
£37.70
£32.70
£29.87
£24.87
£16.00
4. RED DEAD REDEMPTION
PS3, ROCKSTAR PS3 ......................................................................SONY PS3 ..................................................................CAPCOM 360 ................................................................ROCKSTAR
5. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT
PS3 ..................................................................CAPCOM
6. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT
ONLINE
360 ..................................................................CAPCOM
£37.91
£29.91
£27.91
£17.91
£14.91
£37.99
£29.99
£29.99
£24.99
£19.99
£37.73
£29.73
£27.73
£17.73
£14.73
£36.85
£29.85
£27.85
£22.85
£16.85
7. GOD OF WAR: COLLECTION
PS3 ......................................................................SONY
8. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION + LONG-T
360 ..................................................................UBISOFT
9. RED DEAD REDEMPTION
PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR
10. GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY
PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR Week ending April 9th Source: SHOPTO.COM
FROM THE FRONTLINE This week’s frontline interviewee is Marcos Dinsdale from Grainger Games’ Hull branch...
[PRE ORDERS]
TOP 10
How has the market been for you so far this year? It’s been a really good year so far, especially as our brand is still new in Yorkshire. We’ve been supported by some blinding titles performing well outside of the traditional festive release period.
GOD OF WAR: COLLECTION PS3, SONY 2. GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY
What makes your store unique? A totally honest and no nonsense approach to genuine customer service; backed up by the best pricing and offers around. The customer response to our offers and prices have been overwhelming since we opened. What are your hopes for 2010? Watching the Grainger Games brand continue to expand outside of its home turf and getting more great people on board in the company. As well as the continued success of our own Hull store, we’ve continued to build on a solid first six months and have already established a loyal customer base.
PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR
3. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION
360 ..................................................................UBISOFT
4. ALAN WAKE: LIMITED ED
“The customer response to Grainger Games’ offers and prices in the Hull store have been overwhelming since it opened.”
360 ..............................................................MICROSOFT
5. RED DEAD REDEMPTION
PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR
6. RED DEAD REDEMPTION
360 ................................................................ROCKSTAR
7. HALO REACH
360 ..............................................................MICROSOFT
What were the key titles for you in Q1 and what’s your hot tip for Q2? I can’t really pick a favourite but I was happy with many titles. Heavy Rain was phenomenal for us and was so for weeks after release, which is great to see on a Sony exclusive. It sold well based on the
strength of good media, decent playable demo and customer word of mouth. I’m hoping Splinter Cell’s delays pay off and I’m also looking forward to Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption in Q2. I hope these can bring sales success to genres that have not always triumphed at retail.
8. GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY
PC..................................................................ROCKSTAR
9. GRAN TURISMO 5
PS3 ......................................................................SONY
10. GOD OF WAR: TRILOGY
PS3 ......................................................................SONY Week ending April 9th Source: PLAY.COM
42,43 MCV583_final:52-53 MCV572
13/4/10
10:02
Page 1
RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS 42 MCV 16/04/10
WWW.MCVUK.COM
Check out RETAILBIZ at WWW.MCVUK.COM
OFFICIALUKCHARTS NINTENDO DS THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
[1] [FULL PRICE]
TITLE
POKÉMON SOULSILVER
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
POKÉMON HEARTGOLD NEW SUPER MARIO BROS MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER’S INSIDE STORY PEPPA PIG: FUN AND GAMES PROFESSOR LAYTON & PANDORA’S BOX MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS MARIO KART DS SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING SONIC CLASSIC COLLECTION
2 3 6 4 5 7 8 9 10
WII THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
TOP 40ALL
PUBLISHER
1
[ENTERTAINMENT - ALL PRICES]
DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO NINTENDO
1
NINTENDO NINTENDO P2 GAMES
[2]
FORMAT: Wii
DEVELOPER: UBISOFT PUBLISHER: UBISOFT
NINTENDO
THIS WEEK
LAST WEEK
SEGA
2
3
BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 360, PS3, PC
NINTENDO
3
2
JUST CAUSE 2 PS3, 360, PC
4
4
COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 360, PS3, PC, DS
5
6
WII SPORTS RESORT Wii
NINTENDO
6
9
WII FIT PLUS Wii
NINTENDO
7
5
POKÉMON SOULSILVER DS
NINTENDO
8
8
FIFA 10 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PC, PSP
9
7
POKÉMON HEARTGOLD DS
NINTENDO
10
10
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WII Wii
NINTENDO
SEGA SEGA
[FULL PRICE] TITLE
JUST DANCE
PUBLISHER
[3]
TITLE
PUBLISHER EA SQUARE ENIX ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
EA
1
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WII
11
11
SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING PS3, 360 Wii, DS SEGA
DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO
12
13
MARIO KART WII Wii
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MARIO KART WII NINTENDO MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS SEGA SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING SEGA F1 2009 CODEMASTERS FIFA 10 EA RED STEEL 2 UBISOFT BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE – VILGAX ATTACKS D3P RABBIDS GO HOME UBISOFT COD4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2 4 3 5 7 6 8 9 11
WII THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
TITLE
13
12
ALIENS VS PREDATOR 360, PS3, PC
14
16
ASSASSIN’S CREED II 360, PS3, PC
15
18
MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS Wii, DS
16
17
FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 360
17
14
GOD OF WAR III PS3
18
21
LEGO BATMAN PC, DS, PS3, 360, Wii, PSP
19
15
FINAL FANTASY XIII 360, PS3
20
19
BEN 10: VILGAX ATTACKS 360, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2
PC CD-ROM
[BUDGET PRICE]
THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
PUBLISHER
1
JUST DANCE
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
WII SPORTS RESORT WII FIT PLUS WII PLAY MONOPOLY EA SPORTS ACTIVE PEPPA PIG: THE GAME LEGO INDIANA JONES: ORIGINAL RAYMAN RAVING RABBIDS TV PARTY CARNIVAL: FUNFAIR GAMES
2 3 4 5 9 6 11 13 10
[4]
NINTENDO SEGA UBISOFT SEGA MICROSOFT SONY WARNER BROS SQUARE ENIX D3P
[FULL PRICE]
TITLE
PUBLISHER
1
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010
NINTENDO
2
2
THE SIMS 3
NINTENDO
3
3
NAPOLEON: TOTAL WAR
NINTENDO
4
6
THE SIMS 3: WORLD ADVENTURES
EA
EA
5
5
BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2
EA
EA
6
4
C&C4: TIBERIAN TWILIGHT
EA
P2 GAMES
7
11
MASS EFFECT 2
LUCASARTS
8
7
THE SETTLERS 7: PATHS TO A KINGDOM
UBISOFT
UBISOFT
9
9
ASSASSIN’S CREED 2
UBISOFT
2K PLAY
10
8
DAWN OF WAR II: CHAOS RISING
[5]
DEVELOPER: UBISOFT (FRANCE) PUBLISHER: UBISOFT
DEVELOPER: SPORTS INTERACTIVE PUBLISHER: SEGA EA SEGA
EA
THQ
42,43 MCV583_final:52-53 MCV572
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10:02
Page 2
RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 16/04/10 43
position for the second consecutive week. It’s Ubisoft’s fourth week at No.1 in 2010 – the most for any publisher this year. Just Dance is now the third biggest-seling third party Wii game. Meanwhile, all Top 40 titles dropped in sales this week. That includes Modern Warfare 2 with a drop of 46 per cent, and Wii Sports Resort, which is down 25 per cent.
PS3
L FORMATS
THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
Highest New Entry
21
30
MASS EFFECT 2 360, PC
22
24
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS DS
23
20
HEAVY RAIN PS3
EA NINTENDO SONY
24
23
JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PC UBISOFT
25
28
GRAND THEFT AUTO IV 360, PS3, PC
26
36
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS 360, PS3, PC
27
38
MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER’S STORY DS
28
35
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 PC
EA sees further success this week with Battlefield: Bad Company 2 rising back into second place, despite dropping 28 per cent in sales. This pushes Square Enix’s action-adventure epic Just Cause 2 into third, which saw sales tumble 31 per cent. Mass Effect 2 also springs back up the charts following recent price promotions. dominic.sacco@intentmedia.co.uk
[FULL PRICE] TITLE
PUBLISHER
1
BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
JUST CAUSE 2 GOD OF WAR III COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 FIFA 10 HEAVY RAIN ASSASSIN’S CREED II ALIENS VS PREDATOR FINAL FANTASY XIII SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING
1 4 3 6 5 9 8 7 11
DEVELOPER: DICE PUBLISHER: EA SQUARE ENIX SONY ACTIVISION BLIZZARD EA SONY UBISOFT SEGA SQUARE ENIX SEGA
ROCKSTAR EA
PSP
NINTENDO SEGA
[FULL PRICE]
PEPPA PIG: FUN AND GAMES Wii, DS
P2 GAMES
THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
25
PEPPA PIG: THE GAME Wii, DS
P2 GAMES
26
WWE SMACKDOWN 2010 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP
THQ
29
DARKSIDERS 360, PS3
THQ
33
34
PURE 360, PS3, PC
1
FIFA 10
32
34
40
MEGA DRIVE ULTIMATE COLLECTION PS3, 360
35
37
COD4: MODERN WARFARE 360, PS3, PC, Wii, DS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
36
39
MX VS ATV REFLEX 360, PS3, DS, PSP
37
RE
THE SIMS 3 PC
38
RE
BAND HERO 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS
39
33
PROFESSOR LAYTON: PANDORA’S BOX DS NINTENDO
40
RE
MARIO KART DS DS
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE: VILGAX ATTACKS LITTLEBIGPLANET JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR: THE GAME ASSASSIN’S CREED: BLOODLINES GRAN TURISMO FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 DISSIDIA: FINAL FANTASY LEGO INDIANA JONES 2: ADVENTURE CONTINUES NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT
29
27
30 31
PC CD-ROM THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 7 4 8 3 6 9 5 15
DISNEY SEGA
THQ EA ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
NINTENDO
TITLE
PUBLISHER
SIMS 3: DESIGN & HIGH-TECH STUFF DEVELOPER: THE SIMS STUDIO PUBLISHER: EA ASSASSIN’S CREED
FOCUS
ROME: TOTAL WAR
GSP/AVANQUEST CITY INTERACTIVE
WOW: BATTLE CHEST
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
MURDER, SHE WROTE
FOCUS
HIDDEN EXPEDITION: DEVIL’S TRIANGLE SNIPER: ART OF VICTORY VAMPIRE SAGA: PANDORA’S BOX THE SIMS 2
2 3 5 4 6 7 9 RE
8
TITLE
FOCUS
CITY INTERACTIVE FOCUS EA
THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
PUBLISHER
DEVELOPER: EA SPORTS PUBLISHER: EA
XBOX 360
[BUDGET PRICE]
SHUTTER ISLAND
WEEK ENDING 10/04/10
D3P SONY UBISOFT UBISOFT SONY SEGA SQUARE ENIX LUCASARTS EA
[FULL PRICE]
TITLE
1
BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
JUST CAUSE 2 COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 FIFA 10 ALIENS VS PREDATOR MASS EFFECT 2 ASSASSIN’S CREED II FINAL FANTASY XIII HALO 3: ODST
1 2 4 5 6 10 8 7 12
(c) ELSPA, Compiled by ChartTrack
JUST DANCE has maintained its market-leading
PUBLISHER
DEVELOPER: DICE PUBLISHER: EA SQUARE ENIX ACTIVISION BLIZZARD MICROSOFT EA SEGA EA UBISOFT SQUARE ENIX MICROSOFT
[SOURCE]
[ANALYSIS]
44,45 MCV583_final
9/4/10
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Page 1
YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SERVICE COMPANIES
sourcebook WWW.INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK/SOURCEBOOK
creative and promotional SErvices 3DI Tel: 0845 4582898 www.threedi.net
Indigo Pearl Tel: +44 (0)20 8964 4545 www.indigopearl.com
The Audio Guys Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1788 565230 www.theaudioguys.co.uk
AN.X Ltd. Tel: 020 7785 7156 www.anxagency.com
JR DESIGN Tel: +44 (0) 7824 506436 www.joeryandesign.co.uk
The Pixel Tel: 0800 043 1040 www.thepixel.com
Ark VFX Ltd. Tel: 0114 268 4999 www.arkvfx.net
Media Safari PR Tel: +44 (0)1225 471 202 www.mediasafari.co.uk
Über Tel: 0114 278 7100 www.uberagency.com
Barrington Harvey Tel: +44 (0)1462 456780 www.bhpress.co.uk
More Creative Tel: 020 7561 6010 www.morecreative.co.uk
uk distribution and logistics
Bastion Tel: +44 (0)20 7421 7600 www.bastion.co.uk
Multiplay Tel: +44 (0)20 7100 1337 www.multiplay.co.uk
Gfk Chart-Track Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 8741 7585 www.chart-track.com
Parker Consulting Ltd Tel: 07771571639 www.parkerconsulting.biz
Dilute Recordings Tel: 01483 306834 www.diluterecordings.com
PMA Marketing Tel: 020 7483 0568 www.pmamarketing.com
Eye-D Creative Ltd Tel: +44 (0)20 7407 1440 www.eye-dcreative.co.uk
RAINBOW PRODUCTIONS Tel: +44 (0)20 8254 5300 www.rainbowproductions.co.uk
FEREF Tel: +44 (0)207 292 6330 www.feref.com
RealtimeUK Tel: 01772 682 363 www.realtimeuk.com
FINK Creative Ltd Tel: 01480 302350 www.finkcreative.com
Richard Jacques Studios Tel: 07831 756977 www.richardjacques.com
Fluid Tel: +44 (0)121 212 0121 www.fluidesign.co.uk
Shorewood.Blueprint Tel: 020 7183 9666 www.shorewood-blueprint.com
Freeform.London Tel: 020 7183 6664 www.freeformlondon.co.uk
Side Tel: +44 (0) 207 631 4800 www.side.com
Frontroom Tel: 020 7384 5400 www.frontroom.com
SKYSKRAPER® Tel: +44 (0)20 7252 3288 www.skyskraper.net
Game Frontier Ltd Tel: 0870 420 2424 www.gamefrontier.com
Studio CO2 Tel: +44 (0) 1483 414 415 www.studioco2.com
Discstribution Tel: + 44 (0) 845 4308735 www.discstribution.com EntaTech Tel: 0333 101 1000 www.entaonline.com Gem Tel: 01279 822822 www.gem.co.uk Gem Logistics Tel: 0845 456 6400 www.gemlogistics.co.uk Meroncourt Europe Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1462 680060 www.trade.meroncourt.co.uk
international distribution ComputerLand doo Tel: +381 11 309 95 95 www.computerland.rs CURVEBALL LEISURE Tel: 01792 652521 www.thegamecollection.net Funtastic Tel: +61 3 9419 5444 www.funtastic.com.au GameStreamer, Inc. Tel: 001-813-527-0383 www.gamestreamer.net
LO
TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS
44,45 MCV583_final
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In association with
Tel: +44 1 480 210 621 www.usspeaking.com
LOCALISATION QA AND TESTING
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4-Real Intermedia GmbH Tel: +49 (0) 69809088 - 0 www.4-real.com
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Absolute Quality Tel: +44 (0)141 220 5600 www.absolutequality.com
Partnertrans Tel: +44 1753 247731 www.partnertrans.com
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ANAKAN GmbH Tel: +49 (0) 30531420450 www.anakan.de
PlayableGames Tel: 020 7421 6487 www.playablegames.net
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Babel Tel: 01273 764100 www.babelmedia.com
Testronic Laboratories Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1753 653722 www.testroniclabs.com
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Universally Speaking Tel: +44 1 480 210621 www.usspeaking.com
Enzyme Labs Tel: +1 (450) 229-9999 ext.312 www.enzyme.org
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ChaYoWo Games Tel: +1 917.650.0010 www.chayowogames.com Crytek UK Tel: +44 115 949 0808 www.crytek.com Data Design Interactive Tel: +44 0 1384 44 79 00 www.datadesign.uk.com xaitment GmbH Tel: +49 (0) 6897-600 80-0 www.xaitment.com
manufacturing services Arvato digital services Tel: 0121 502 7800 www.arvatodigitalservices.com
OK Media Tel: +44 (0) 20 7688 6789 www.okmedia.com
DISCHROMATICS LTD Tel: 01495 243222 www.dischromatics.co.uk
Technicolor Tel: 0208 987 7829 www.technicolor.com
MPO UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 8956 2727 www.mpo-international.com
The Producers Limited Tel: 0845 234 2444 www.theproducers.co.uk
Multi Media Replication Ltd Tel: +44(0) 1264 336330 www.replication.com
Total Console Repair Ltd Tel: 08719 181 721 www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk
gaming accessorieS AntiGrav Media Ltd Tel: 01932 454929 www.antigrav-media.co.uk Hubb Accessories Tel: 01642 204343 www.playwithhubb.com I-Globe Accessories Ltd Tel: 01332 756610 www.i-ga.co.uk Logic3 plc Tel: 01923 471000 www.logic3.com
recruitment Aardvark Swift Tel: 01709 876877 www.aswift.com
Game Options Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1382 731909 www.gameops.co.uk
Pebble Entertainment GmbH Tel: +49 (231) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 477 927 0 www.pebble-entertainment.com/en
Amiqus Tel: 01925 252588 www.amiqus.com/games
Specialmove Consultancy Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 141 585 6491 www.specialmove.com
Pinpoint Consumer Elec. Tel: +44 (0) 1606 558 428 www.pinpointce.co.uk
GUIDE PLEASE CONTACT: ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK OR 01992 535647
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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 46 MCV 16/04/10
WWW.MCVUK.COM
International Distribution Guide AUSTRALIA
DENMARK
INDIA
RUSSIA
All Interactive.................Helensvale Town Centre
Hitzona.............................................................Moscow Noviy Disk .......................................................Moscow
AUSTRIA
Soft Club..........................................................Moscow
Koch Media GmbH...............................Rottenmann Play Art Multimedia Handels GmbH....Rankweil
BELGIUM
Vellod...................................................................Mitishi
GATEWAY DISTRIBUTION APS
SERBIA
Gateway Distribution ApS +44 1279 408 665 (UK) +45 7026 0870 (DK) dt@gatewaydistribution.dk
COMPUTERLAND DOO
www.gatewaydistribution.dk
Kumodraska 45
ESTONIA CLD DISTRIBUTION S.A. ZI Noville les Bois, Rue de la Tour, 2b 5380 FERNELMONT, Belgium Phone: 0032 81 83 02 07 Fax: 0032 81 83 02 09 E-mail: infos@cld.be Web: www.cld.be
11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Andrico ..............................................................Tallinn
Tel:+381(0)11 309 95 95 Fax:+381(0)11 309 95 96
FINLAND
mail:games@computerland.rs
Panvision Oy.......................................................Turku
FRANCE EMC GROUPE CASINO..........Croissy Beaubourg
website:www.computerland.rs
ISRAEL Hed-Arzi......................................................Or-Yehuda
Wholesaler Gaming products Official Benelux distributor for
ITALY
BENELUX
Replay Interactive....................................Singapore
SOUTH AFRICA Midigital ..............................................Johannesburg
Cidiverte Spa ...............................................Gallarate
Horelec S.A. ...........................................Bruxelles
SINGAPORE
INNELEC MULTIMEDIA
Coop Italia..........................................Sesto F.NO (FI)
Nu Metro Interactive ......................Johannesburg
45 rue Delizy,
Digital Bros spa................................................Milano
SPAIN
93692 PANTIN Cedex, France
Leader Spa.................................Gazzada Schianno
Ardistel. S.L..................................................Zaragoza
Email purchase: f_alglave@innelec.com
Newave Italia...................................................Firenze
Distribuciones Videográficas Digitales ....MADRID
Email export sales: g_armspach@innelec.com
Promovideo SRL ...........................................Senago
Lamee Software S.L. .....................................Madrid
Tel: 00.33.1.48.10.55.55
NETHERLANDS EBS-Benelux...........................................Bunschoten
GAMEWORLD
Gameworld BV............................Capelle A/D Ijssel
PLANETA DEAGOSTINI INTERACTIVE
Micromedia BV...........................................Nijmegen
Diagonal, 662-664, 3ª planta D, 08034,
Cornusbaan 1, 2908 KB Capelle A/D IJssel
SUPREME FACTORY
Favour Games..................................................Tilburg
Barcelona, Spain,
Tel: +31 10 298 3838
439 avenue de la Gare
Rigu Sound B.V................2153 GB Nieuw Vennep
Tel: +34 93 492 08 89
Web: rishi@gameworld.nl
84470 Chateauneuf de Gadagne Email : xavier@supremefactory.com Phone : 0033 432 751 165 Fax : 0033 432 751 160
EBS Benelux Lorentzweg 1 3752 LH Bunschoten-Spakenburg
GERMANY Groß Electronic .......................................Rohrnbach
NEW ZEALAND
distributioninteractive@planetadeagostini.es www.planetadeagostini.net
Gamewizz..........................................................Albany
NORWAY
DistribucionesVideográficas Digitales ....Madrid Distribuye Palmera................................Las Palmas
Pan Vision Norway.....................................Trollasen
JC Distribuciones .............................................Getxo
MPX.no .......................................................Sandefjord
Shine Star, S.A...........................................Barcelona
Platekompaniet....................................................Oslo
The Netherlands
Massemedia AS...........................................Notteroy
SWEDEN
Phone: +31 (0)33 201 21 00
Pan Vision Norway..............................................Oslo
Bergsala AB............................................Kungsbacka
Fax: +31 (0)33 201 21 01 E-mail: info@ebs-benelux.com Website: www.ebs-benelux.com
CYPRUS Gibareio.............................................................Nicosia
GOODTONES GREAT GAMES LTD 1 Alkaiou Street / Office 1 / Engomi / Nicosia 2404 / Cyprus tel. +357 22 666612 www.greatgames.com.cy
JOWOOD ENTERTAINMENT AG Heiligenstädterstrasse 201-203/19 Otto Group ...................................................Hamburg 1190 Wien, Austria Playcom Software Vertriebs .......................Erfurt Tel: +43 (0)1 37909 0 Vitrex Multimedia Großhandel.....................Erfurt Fax: +43 (0)1 37909 1064 Web: www.jowood.com GREECE
POLAND CD Projekt Sp. z o.o......................................Warsaw
TECHLAND Sp. z o.o.
GAME OUTLET EUROPE AB
ul. Jana Szczyrki 12,
PO Box 5083
Centric ...............................................................Athens
54-426 Wroclaw, Poland
S-650 05 Karlstad, Sweden
Nortec Multimedia.........................................Athens
E-mail: business@techland.pl
Phone: +46 54 854750
Zegetron S.A....................................................Athens
Web: www.techland.pl
Fax: +46 54 854759
Phone: +48 71 354 46 10
E-mail: info@gameoutlet.se
Fax: +48 71 354 46 10
Website: www.gameoutlet.se
HUNGARY Antec .............................................................Budapest
ICELAND
PORTUGAL
Panvision....................................................Stockholm
ecofilmes...............................Sao Joao Da Madeira
SIBA AB ...................................................Gothenburg
Sena ................................................................Reykavik
TO ADVERTISE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION GUIDE PLEASE CONTACT ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK
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EDITORIAL PLANNER WWW.MCVUK.COM
The International Distribution Guide is dedicated to promoting companies outside of the UK. If you are looking for new customers overseas, then look no further...
SWITZERLAND ABC Software GmbH.......................................Buchs
MCV 16/04/10 47
UPCOMING FEATURES A glimpse at some of the special features coming up in MCV, the only trade publication that covers all sectors of the video games market... FRIDAY APRIL 30th
MCV AWARDS REVIEW
TURKEY
games market and the major trends sweeping the region such as the continuing popularity of online gaming.
FRIDAY MAY 28th
ARAL Import..................................................Istanbul
AFRICA TERRITORY REPORT
Nortec Eurasia...............................................Istanbul
UNITED STATES BASCO, INC. VIDEO GAMES DISTRIBUTOR Tel: 1-917-627-3000 Fax: 1-718-228-4401 Email: sales@bascodistribution.com Web: www.bascodistribution.com
U.S. GAMES DISTRIBUTION, INC. 16700 Schoenborn St.
MCV brings you a full report and pictoral round-up of the biggest night in the games industry calendar, which rewards the most deserving companies and attending representatives for industry excellence.
#2 North Hills, CA. 91343 Tel: +1 818 920 9393 info@usgamesdist.com www.usgamesdist.com
UAE
SUMMER PERIPHERALS SPECIAL The accessories sector has already enjoyed a strong start to the year with the launch of the DSi XL, but what lies in store for the summer? MCV provides a detailed run down of the latest products that are set to take the retail community by storm.
Africa may seem an unlikely territory for gaming, with civilisation spread thinly around this gargantuan continent and largely found on the northern and southern coasts. MCV details the major players and retailers in this region, as well as the unique processes by which games are published and released in Africa.
FRIDAY JUNE 11th FRIDAY MAY 14th
ALESAYI UNITED COMPANY Video Games Distributor in the Middle East
E3 2010 SPECIAL
TOP 20 INDIES
P.O BOX 16999 Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai U.A.E. Tel: 00971 4 883 5960 Fax: 00971 4 883 5175 E-Mail: marketing@alesayi.ae U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com
PLUTO GAMES PO Box 10705, Office 103-104 Emirates Islamic Bank Building, Dubai, UAE www.pluto-games.com Tel: +971 4261 8111 Fax: +971 4261 8112
Modern Pluto Trading LLC...............Saudi Arabia NXT Global LLC .................................................Dubai
Independent retail remains a thriving sector in the UK, with chains such as Grainger Games continuing to grow. MCV gives a run-down of the 20 best independent games retailers in the UK.
Pluto Derinton Games LLC............................Egypt Red Entertainment Distribution ..................Dubai
CHINA TERRITORY REPORT One of the biggest markets in the Far East, China is also one that bears the most differences when compared to Western territories. We explore the challenges publishers face in the region with an in-depth look at China’s growing
The biggest event in the games industry’s calendar returns and, as the offical International Media Partner for the event, MCV brings you a complete guide to this year’s E3 Expo. We look at how the organisers have improved the 2010 event over its predecessors, and offer a roundup of what to expect, including: A breakdown of the venue, including stand locations, and a schedule of key presentations. Interviews with major execs from some of the industry’s leading publishers. An international guide detailing the leading services companies in both established and emerging territories.
FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: CHRIS.DRING@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK
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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR
DIRECTORY KEY CONTACTS
DESIGN STUDIOS Fink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 302352
GAMING ACCESSORIES
...bringing you all the right lines
DISC REPAIR Elm-Digitalia UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0845 643 6021 Total Disc Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01202 489 500 DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION Green Man Gaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 7193 6910 DISTRIBUTION BDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0777 192 7688 Creative Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8664 3456 Curveball Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01792 652562 Discstribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0845 430 8735 Gem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800 GLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01708 725742 Ideal Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01767 689720 Logic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471 000 Meroncourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01462 680060 Universal Games Distribution (UK) Ltd . . 0208 787 7030 USD Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01933 227220 GAMING ACCESSORIES Pinpoint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01606 558428
Wii Charge Station Quad
360 Intercooler TS Black
LCD / Plasma Cleaning Mitt
Classic Disc Repair System
GAMES CONSOLE REPAIR Total Console Repair Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 087 19 18 17 21 LOCALISATION Partnertrans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01273 229030 Testronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 653 722 Universally Speaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 210621 WWE DSi Crystal Case
DS Lite / DSi / DSi XL Stylus Pack
RETAIL SERVICES Complete Epos Solutions Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . 01543 370002 General enquiries:
STORE FITTINGS AMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0113 2311030 UK Shopfitters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0844 257 8800
01606 558 428
or email: enquires@pinpointce.co.uk Road One, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 3QG www.pinpointce.co.uk Part of the Pinpoint Group PINPOINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01606 558428 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinpointce.co.uk
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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
Distributors of DVDs, Blu-Ray, Music CDs and Video Games
www.discstribution.com Over 100,000 Different Items to Order Online
THE NEW FORCE IN ENTERTAINMENT
DISCSTRIBUTION +44 (0) 845 430 8735 Call Kevin, Ashley, Richie or Pete Accepted Payments - Paypal - Google Checkout - Credit Cards - Bank Tranfers and 30 Day Credit Accounts
DISCSTRIBUTION . . . . . . . +44 (0)845 430 8735 . . . . . . . . . www.discstribution.com
GLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01708 725742. . . . . . . . . wholesale@glsgames.com
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
CURVEBALL LEISURE . . . . . . 01792 652526 . . . . curveballsimon@googlemail.com
GEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.gem.co.uk
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
MERONCOURT . . . . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1462 680060 . . . http://trade.meroncourt.co.uk
CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION. . . . 0208 6643456 . . . . www.creativedistribution.co.uk
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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR DISTRIBUTION
Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 8,000 request-only subscribers every month.
STUDIOS Epic Games ...................................................+1 919 870 1516 nDreams...........................................................01252 375754 Razorback ...........................................www.razorback.co.uk Realtime Worlds ...............................+44 (0) 1382 202 821 Stainless Games.......................jobs@stainlessgames.com
IDEAL SOFTWARE . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1767 689720 . . . . . . . . . . www.idealsoftware.net DISTRIBUTION
TOOLS Blitz Games Studios ......................+44 (0) 1926 880 000 bluegfx ..............................................+44 (0) 1483 467 200 Crytek ........................................................+49 69219 77660 Dolby...........................................................(0) 1793 842 922
SERVICES amBX UK Ltd. ...............................................www.ambx.com Ian Livingstone..................................+44 (0) 1483 421 491 Imagination Studios..............................+46 (0) 18-106930 Onteca................................................+44 (0) 151 709 0028 Partnertrans ......................................+44 (0) 1273 229030
UNIVERSAL GAMES DISTRIBUTION (UK) LTD . 0208 787 7030 . www.unigames.co.uk DISTRIBUTION
TC Associates.................................+44 (0) 7768 883 808 Testronic Labs ..................................+44 (0) 1753 653 722 Universally Speaking .......................+44 (0) 1480 210 621 Xaitment............................................+49 6897 - 600 80-0
COURSES University of Hull.............................+44 (0) 1482 465 951
To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and every week in MCV) contact alex.boucher@intentmedia.co.uk. All subscription requests should go to mcv.subscriptions@c-cms.com USD LIMITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01933 227220. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.usdlimited.com
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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK DISTRIBUTION
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
LOGIC 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471000 . . . . . . . . . . . www.uksales@logic3.com
GREEN MAN GAMING. . . . . . . 020 7193 6910 . . . . . . . . info@greenmangaming.com
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DISC REPAIR
LOCALISATION
ELM-DIGITALIA UK. . . . . . . . . 0845 6436021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.elmdigitalia.co.uk
PARTNERTRANS . . . . . . . . . . . 01273 229030 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.partnertrans.com
DESIGN STUDIOS
LOCALISATION
Design/Branding/ Advertising/ Packaging/Web
finkcreative
01480 302 352 olly@finkcreative.com www.finkcreative.com
FINK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 302352 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.finkcreative.com
TESTRONIC LABORATORIES . . . +44 (0) 1753 653 722. . . . www.testroniclabs.com
GAMES CONSOLE REPAIR
LOCALISATION
TOTAL CONSOLE REPAIR . . . . . . . 08719 181721 . . . . . www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk
UNIVERSALLY SPEAKING . . . . . . . 01480 210621 . . . . . . . . . . . www.usspeaking.com
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RETAIL SERVICES
DIARY DATES From the MCV Awards to our Games Developer Conference, here are all the essential industry dates to put in your diary…
APRIL MCV INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010 Thursday, April 22nd The Brewery, London Kathryn.Humphrey@intentmedia.co.uk
MAY COMPLETE EPOS SOLUTIONS LTD . . . . 01543 370 002. . . . . . . . www.ggepos.com STORE FITTINGS
MONETISING MOBILE Wednesday, May 26th BAFTA, London Jodie.Holdway@intentmedia.co.uk MCM LONDON EXPO Saturday, May 29th – Sunday, May 30th ExCeL, London www.mcmexpo.net
JUNE E3 2010 Tuesday, June 15th – Thursday, June 17th Los Angeles Convention Centre www.e3expo.com
JULY
MCV INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010 Thursday, April 22nd The Brewery, London Kathryn.Humphrey@ intentmedia.co.uk The biggest night in the UK games industry’s calendar returns to The Brewery in 2010, and will once again feature awards split across three main categories; Retail, PR and Marketing, and People and Industry. A whopping 650 representatives from all corners of the UK games trade will be attending this essential games industry event that gives credit to the industry’s most deserving execs.
DEVELOP CONFERENCE 2010 July 13th - July 15th Brighton, UK www.develop-conference.com
AMA DISPLAYS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0113 2311030 . . . . . . . . . . . www.ama-displays.co.uk UK SHOPFITTERS
DEVELOP INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010 July 14th Brighton, UK www.develop-online.net CASUAL CONNECT SEATTLE Tuesday, July 20th – Thursday, July 22nd Benaroya Hall, Seattle, US seattle.casualconnect.org
AUGUST GAMESCOM Wednesday, August 18th Sunday, August 22nd Cologne, Germany www.gamescom-cologne.com EDINBURGH INTERACTIVE FESTIVAL 2010 Wednesday, August 25th – Thursday, August 26th Edinburgh, Scotland www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com
UK SHOPFITTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . 0844 257 8800 . . . . . . . . . www.ukshopfitters.com
DEVELOP CONFERENCE 2010 Tuesday, July 13th – Thursday, July 15th Brighton UK www.developconference.com The Develop Conference is where the European developer community come together to learn from each other and share experiences, be inspired by renowned experts and gurus, get upto-date with the latest tools and techniques, make new contacts and catch-up with old ones. The conference will open on Tuesday, July 13 with the Develop Evolve track – showcasing the latest in emerging game markets, from mobile to social to digital to casual games.
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MAILBOX
Why was Q1 underwhelming? Commenters on MCVUK.com respond to our report from last week on Q1’s sales. Many express their collective disappointment and question why the strong slate of new releases did not meet expectations… Most people blame the recession, but I blame alternative ways of gaming: iPhone gaming, Facebook gaming, fast growing games like SeaFight, Metin 2, and Dark Orbit. These games are not tracked by Chart-Track but they’re growing at crazy rates. When the recession ends, I fear that all the people blaming the economy for the downturn of traditional retail sales will be in for a rude shock.
Street Fighter IV
F.E.A.R. 2 Resident Evil 5
Bayonetta, Darksiders Army of Two: 40th Day
Mass Effect 2
BioShock 2
Aliens vs Predator
Sonic & Sega AllStars Racing, Heavy Rain
Nicholas Lovell
Let’s see the actual numbers for digital games before making such statements, shall we Nicholas? I get the feeling there’s a reason no one publishes the numbers. Let’s put it this way: if the numbers were as good as people allude to, they’d have published them. After all, how much money do you make from free games? How many downloads of iPhone games are needed to make them profitable when the general price is a couple of quid?
Nicholas Lovell
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Final Fantasy XIII
Just Cause 2, Pokémon Heartgold & SoulSilver
NOTE: In order to accurately represent like-for-like weeks, we have compared weeks 1-13 of 2010 with weeks 2-14 of 2009. This is due to there being 53 sales weeks last year
On the up side, May is looking great for new releases and after reading the hands-on previews for Red Dead Redemption, I reckon this could be the big money maker. Throw in Lost Planet 2 and Alan Wake and things are looking good. Jon
Warwick Hunt
Jagex is making profits of £18 million pounds a year from a free game (RuneScape), even after the disastrous investment in MechScape. Companies such as Playfish, Zynga, Bigpoint, GameForge and many others have revenues of over €50 million a year each, with margins ranging from 25 per cent to 75 per cent. And these companies are all growing fast. Playfish went from zero to a rumoured $50 million turnover in less than two years. There is no aggregate data, true. But there is unequivocal evidence that free works. And the sooner developers realise this, the better.
Halo Wars, Killzone 2
I certainly know that the list of games I want to buy is getting longer and longer every month, but I just can’t afford to buy them all. When you get a flood
“
It’s that or waiting until they hit the ‘platinum’ brand release point. I would be interested to see if the other 26 million units were being absorbed by the second hand games market, which I would imagine is now seeing a small surge due to people’s restricted finances. David
Are these Q1 figures really all that surprising? The NPDs (granted, these are US figures)
I blame alternative gaming: iPhone, Facebook, etc. People blaming the recession for falling sales are in for a shock.
of hyped titles all at the same time not everyone can afford to buy them all in that month. I’m bidding on Heavy Rain, Dirt 2, Army of Two: The 40th Day, and Assassin’s Creed II on eBay, just because it’s much cheaper to get hold of the titles that way.
Nicholas Lovell
”
for January and February 2010 have all disappointed compared to the first few months of 2009, which were pretty amazing, all things considered. It’s the NPD figures to be released shortly for the month of March that are expected on show improvement on the back
of some pretty high profile releases and more favourable like-for-like comparisons as we continue into the year. James Benn
Could it be that it was the games themselves that underperformed? Whilst I don’t doubt for a second the recession is taking its toll, the games themselves might have played a part. Also none of them have the impact as a Street Fighter revival or a sequel to the smash hit Resident Evil 4 (rubbish as it may have turned out). BioShock 2 was a rehash that didn’t receive the same glowing praise as the original. Aliens vs Predator had a great ad campaign, but very mixed reviews – and FFXIII could have been huge, but the game itself is very divisive. I’d also add that, as with the Wii’s lack of first-party games, one issue might be how early support (or lack thereof) for the PS3 is stifling growth of the sequels on that platform.
We compared the first 13 weeks of the year to the same period in 2009, with this year’s market value down to £303 million
The poor port of Bayonetta must have hit sales, and certain games being treated as an afterthought no doubt harm the overall series (like BioShock) down the line. Keith Evans
LATEST NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR MOBILE Bookmark us in your phone:
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e n W ... o out Bear s k roc ughty r e g Na rain win G y, to art ance p V h SFI s a c S r s ’ fe com es of p a C m ek, 05 Ga e 5 sw Thi g and Sin
SIX DEGREES
OF ACTIVISION It’s almost rude not to know someone who once worked there. This week, we start with...
1
Danielle Woodyatt now runs top specialist agency Lunch, but in the ‘80s she was the PR queen at US Gold where the top man was...
2 Geoff Brown, who built a good chunk of his business distributing Capcom games. The Japanese firm gained a new Euro boss recently in the shape of...
3
WHY IS STREET FIGHTING THE BIZZLE? Because when Capcom held a preview event for upcoming Super Street Fighter IV last week, rapper Lethal Bizzle turned up (pictured with extended fingers below left). Also pictured is Capcom’s Leo Tan, who is still proudly boasting about his SSFIV victory against Mr Bizzle.
David Reeves, who, of course, used to be president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, a role he took over from industry legend...
Chris Deering, who’s now the chairman of Codemasters, where top sales geezer....
4
Jon Tibble now plies his trade, having made his (actually quite amusing) name at Vivendi as part of a UK team that was headed up by Spurs fan...
5
6
George Georgiou, who’s now UK marketing boss at Blizzard, the World of Warcraft super-developer owned, of course, by... ACTIVISION
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ADVERTISING: 01992 535647
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Design: Adam Butler Adam.Butler@intentmedia.co.uk Production Manager: Suzanne Powles Suzanne.Powles@intentmedia.co.uk Business Development: Dave Roberts Dave.Roberts@intentmedia.co.uk Contributing Editor: Samantha Loveday Samantha.Loveday@intentmedia.co.uk Circulation & Marketing: Hannah Short Hannah.Short@intentmedia.co.uk
FAX: 01992 535648
Please address all enquiries to: MCV, Intent Media, Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford SG14 1JA. Managing Director/Publisher: Stuart Dinsey Stuart.Dinsey@intentmedia.co.uk Telephone: 01992 535688
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SAXON HOUSE, 6A ST. ANDREW STREET, HERTFORD, HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND SG14 1JA Intent Media specialises in trade-dedicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets. As well as MCV, Intent publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Mobile Entertainment, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two online-only brands: CasualGaming.biz, dedicated to the growing mass market video game 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.
www.intentmedia.co.uk
MCV is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation and the Periodical Publishers Association. Membership of the ABC and PPA provides our advertising partners with confidence in our circulation statements. 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.
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ISSN: 1469-4832 Copyright 2008
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WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 16/04/10 57
SING FOR STOCK
Last chance to win £2,000 worth There’s only one week left if you want to be in the running for 50 copies of We Sing (worth £2,000 in total). All you need to do is send a picture of you, your staff, or your customers using We Sing in your store. Need inspiration? Check out these fantastic efforts from Grainger Games’ Doncaster and Hull stores – complete with props, costumes, sets and photoshopped lens flare (top left). Can you top them? Every entry gets a free copy of the game and the best picture (and don’t you worry – we’ll print the best) will bag the full 50 copies. Head to www.wesinggame.com to upload your picture or send it to mcv@wesinggame.com
Don’t be shy: get We Singing! (Terms: competition open to all retailers, including online stores. You can enter as many pictures as you like. Limited promotion, first-come-first served, one twomicrophone+game pack per store, no cash alternative)
MCV takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues of the day. The current members are...
Lisa Morgan, GAME
Duncan Cross, Asda
Martyn Gibbs, Gamestation
Don McCabe, CHIPS
Tim Ellis, HMV
Graham Chambers, Amazon
Peter Willis, DSGi
Igor Cipolletta, ShopTo
Anthony Stocker, Argos
Stephen Staley, Gameseek
Keith Sharpe, play.com
Joanna Hunt, Tesco
Sarah Jasper, The Hut
Gurdeep Hunjan, Sainsbury’s
Jon Biggs, Morrisons
Phil Moore, Grainger Games
Azeem Sadiq, Comet
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N O I T I T E P M CO Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your c hance to win one of five copies of Naughty B ear. To be in with a shout, all y ou have to do is answer the following que stion:
What does a bear do in the woods ? A) Shit B) Pick wild fl owers C) Cross his le gs ers to Send your answ
naughtybear o.uk @intentmedia.c