MCV531 April 3rd

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THE INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Friday April 3 2009 £3.25

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9 0 0 2 , 0 1 L I PR A G I N M O C

Marketing & PR Highlights • National Kids’ TV campaign.

• 3 Week Nickelodeon campaign including TV and Microsite.

• 3 month print campaign targeting key kids’ magazines.

• Targeted online campaign.

• Celebrity Ambassador Lil’ Chris • Extensive seeding campaign offering a VIP trip and “Ultimate Band experience”

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THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES

International Media Partner

Issue 531 Friday April 3 2009 £3.25

04 Koch to grow

12 Eidos in 2009

Distributor sets up new initiatives to exploit sales in health and mobile sectors

Why it’s business as usual for the Britsoft firm despite that looming £84m buyout

06 Capcom’s Monster hit

17 The Hut Stuff

The publisher plans to ensure Euro sales for its big Monster Hunter series

CEO Matthew Moulding discusses the rise of a new force in online retail

09 Action ‘Station

19 Digital Distribution Focus

Gamestation details ‘high impact’ plans for its Easter marketing push

Why publishers are going digital as pressure on shelf space mounts

EVERY BUYER EVERY BRANCH EVERY INDIE EVERY WEEK

INCORPORATING

HMV shows its teeth again with new live games event Retailer pairs with UKeSA for Game On! London Olympia event, filling the gap left by absent Play.com Live

by Michael French NOT CONTENT with boosting its range to include Re/Play second hand titles and the Gamerbase experience stores, HMV has underlined its move towards becoming a games specialist by backing a new London consumer event.

Put together in association with competitive gaming outfit

“

product showcase, and there’s even the opportunity to sell games to the attendees, according to the organisers.

“From what we can see, there are no other events planned that will feature this mix and range of activity, so I feel we have an opportunity to create something special,” HMV’s head of games Tim Ellis told MCV.

We want gamers to leave the event with a genuine sense that HMV is the home of games and gaming.

Tim Ellis, HMV

UKeSA, Game On! London will take place June 20th to 21st. It is hoped 25,000 consumers will be drawn to the Olympia Exhibition Centre for the show.

The UKeSA’s Season One Final will take place alongside a

”

“Working with UKeSA will add a different dimension to the event, particularly the eSports finals of the Premiership Season One that will be staged, while we are also offering publishers the

It is hoped over 25,000 will attend the Game On! event in London, put together by UKeSA and headlined by entertainment retailer HMV

chance to run their own events as part of the programme.

“We’re doing our utmost with UKeSA to make the event financially viable to the industry – we all know belts are necessarily tightening, but the consumers are still out there.”

UKeSA chief exec Ray Mia added: “Industry players have been thinking about staging a London-based gaming event for quite a while now – something that combines a consumerfacing set up with a more inclusive and encompassing gaming agenda.

“It will be the first opportunity after E3 for anyone to see publisher inventory, and it’s also before Cologne, so there’s potentially an opportunity here to finally develop a UK event at the right place and at the right time.”

It’s just the latest move by HMV in the past 12 months to seriously prove it is a major force in games retail.

Ellis added: “I firmly believe we are showing more innovation towards games and gaming than any other retailer – just because we also sell music and film doesn’t mean we can’t be considered the best games specialist out there also.

“We want the gaming community to walk away from this event with a genuine sense that HMV is not only at the forefront of gaming retail, but is increasingly becoming the home of games and gaming.”

Activision wants to win ‘entertainment war’ November’s Modern Warfare sequel will compete with popular TV, DVD and music brands, says publisher

by Christopher Dring MODERN WARFARE 2 could beat out the ‘safe bet’ X Factor and Harry Potter brands at Christmas to be the year’s top entertainment property.

At least that’s according to publisher Activision. The publisher is confident the sequel can trump the success of Modern Warfare and World at War to become the ‘biggest selling video game of all time’.

“Each year the Call of Duty franchise goes from strength-tostrength,” brand manager

“

game of all time. That may raise some eyebrows, but step back and look at the franchise's

The reality for Call of Duty is that we are competing with entertainment propositions outside of video games.

Simon Wells, Activision

Simon Wells told MCV. “We want to propel this year's title to be the biggest selling video

”

trajectory through preceding launches, and this objective starts to look viable.”

The game is due for release in November, and will be backed by intense marketing support said Wells: “We firmly believe we have the potential to be the No.1 entertainment property of the year. The reality for a franchise as large as Call of Duty is that we are competing directly with entertainment propositions outside of the video game space.

“Plans are being developed to deliver one of the most engaging campaigns of the year.”

PERSONNEL 21 RETAIL BIZ 23 NEW RELEASES 31 HIGH STREET 32 CHARTS 34

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NEWS

[LEADER] SO IS IT GAME ON OR ANOTHER GIZMONDO? DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION was the talk of GDC. No surprise there, given the importance of network services to Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation. But OnLive stunned everyone, whilst Zeebo had us thinking about Brazil and China. Where no consoles currently grow.

OnLive is the brainchild of Mike McGarvey (the onetime global head of Eidos) and Steve Perlman (developer of QuickTime and WebTV).

It promises to allow state-of-the art online gaming without users owning a game, or even a console. All you need is a PC or Mac. Or even a TV if you have a dongle – which will be given away. Yes really.

Was a demo in San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art the day the industry changed, as claimed by Perlman – or is this just another Gizmondo?

Zeebo, backed by mobile giant Qualcomm, is a settop box for emerging markets – using wireless 3G technology. No, I don’t know either.

But it will be fascinating finding out. And judging by the number of publisher bosses squeezed into that OnLive conference, we’re not the only ones who want to know more.

FOCUS ON DIGITAL AT LGC Given the current debate about digital distribution, it is fitting that this will be the theme at the inaugural London Games Conference.

From OnLive to WiiWare, from the retail threat to pioneering in-store strategies, from consumer habits to market size predictions... all will be covered.

LGC ‘09: Digital Distribution & The Future Of The European Games Market takes place on Thursday October 26th at BAFTA. More news soon.

Nintendo indie champ Distributor increases team as DSi hits retail Nindie.com celebrates

by Stuart Dinsey KOCH MEDIA has stepped up its focus on Nintendo products by expanding its team to sell into new markets.

Three years after launching the Nindie.com division, the company has responded to the recent widening of the supply chain for Nintendo products by increasing its investment in both existing and new areas.

“

Pappalardo and Gibbons will work alongside the Nindie.com division, which boasts seven dedicated sales staff.

“We enjoy a close and dynamic relationship with the independent retail community.

Over the last three years we have invested heavily in fresh ideas that have genuinely supported this much maligned market sector,” said Koch Media boss Craig McNicol.

New business is important, but these opportunities will not deter us from normal levels of stock and service for indies.

Craig McNicol, Koch Media

Michael Pappalardo has been appointed by Koch to maximise opportunities in the health club and sports shops markets, as well as continuing the work the company has already done with local health authorities around the country.

At the same time, Gary Gibbons has recently been hired to focus on the fast growing mobile phone and home shopping markets.

”

“These new customer sectors we are targeting will not deter us from our drive to be the champion of indies for the Nintendo formats.

“It is important to continue to seek new business though, and these new opportunities will be fed initially by a small range of relevant products that will not deter from the stock destined for the independent games retail sector.”

Koch launched the Nindie.com division in 2006, introducing a number of innovations to aid smaller retailers and effectively revive

FRANK HERMAN Most of you who knew Frank Herman will have heard the sad news that he passed away on Monday.

This week has been a time for private mourning amongst family and close friends, but a man so important to the games industry, and loved by so many, must also be remembered in MCV. We will publish a full tribute to Uncle Frank next week and invite eulogies from former colleagues or rivals. Let’s celebrate his 25 years in the business.

Frank achieved more than can be done justice here. He co-founded Mastertronic, the first ever budget games publisher. He brought Sega to Europe and effectively built the modern console market – Nintendo were way behind for years.

Frank also set up GT Interactive over here. Quietly, he served on many a board and aided many a private deal. He was the first person I interviewed, back in 1986 when I was 19. We were all young then. Except Frank, of course. He was always ancient. And always the smartest guy in the room.

A dozen years later he aided the MBO that created Intent Media. Frank made those he touched feel special. That was his gift. But we are many, whilst Frank was one of a kind. He will be sadly missed.

Stuart.Dinsey@intentmedia.co.uk

Mums and dads spend nearly £2bn a year on entertainment PARENTS spend on average £247 per child per year on digital entertainment, new research has found.

The technology, media and telecoms division of Harris Interactive carried out an online survey with parents of children aged between six to 16 years old. The firm asked for details on what parents spend on mobile phones, games, digital gadgets and inhome entertainment, in an attempt to work out the annual spend of parents on their children’s digital entertainment.

The research found that the total value of parents spend is £1,956 million (£247 per child) a year. Video game software and hardware came out top of the list, with the average parent spending £98 a year on games per child.

This is closely followed by mobile phone spend, which includes texts, games and ringtones, with parents spending on average £88 a year per child.

Parents buying films for their kids contribute £427 million to the DVD market, while the

total value parents spend on CDs is £209 million. The research also found that UK parents in total spend £40m on music downloads for their kids.

In comparison, mums and dads of children aged up to 16 years spend £355 per year on clothes and £112 on leisure activities (GE Money data).

“This data puts parents’ spending sharply into context and shows how important digital entertainment and communication is to children,” stated Harris Interactive.

Harris: 01732 779 087

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NEWS

targets growth WH Smiths in [PRE ORDERS] games U-turn TOP 10 third anniversary New sectors identified

THE SIMS 3

New entertainment website launches in partnership with The Hut Group WHSMITH has launched a new website dedicated to entertainment, despite previously stating it will back out of games, DVD and CDs. WHSmith Entertainment has been launched in collaboration with white label specialist The Hut, and features over 200,000 products. However, the High Street giant has reiterated its desire to

deals, it has something to suit everyone.

“In addition to the new website, we will continue to provide a tailored convenience offer in our High Street stores.”

WHSmith’s entertainment offer hit trouble before Christmas following the collapse of EUK, and at the time the firm told MCV that it was

PC EA

2. RIDDICK: ASSAULT ON DARK ATHENA 360 ..................................................ATARI

3. TEKKEN 6 PS3 ..................................................ATARI

4. UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED PS3 ....................................................THQ

4. inFAMOUS PS3 ..................................................SONY

6. ALAN WAKE 360 ..........................................MICROSOFT

7. GHOSTBUSTERS 360 ..................................................ATARI

8. GHOSTBUSTERS PS3 ..................................................ATARI Koch boss Craig McNicol has set up new initiatives to exploit sales in the health and mobile sectors

Nintendo loyalties at the specialist end of the trade.

Nindie.com was immediately well received by retail and applauded by the industry at

9. OPERATION FLASHPOINT 2: DRAGON 360 ......................................CODEMASTERS

large, which helped Koch Media to win Best Distribution Team at the MCV Industry Excellence Awards in 2007.

10. FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4 PS3 ......................................................EA Week ending March 28th Source: SHOPTO.COM

Koch: 0870 027 0895

ROYAL VISIT FOR PADDINGTON

HRH The Princess Royal (above with ELSPA chairman Andy Payne) formally opened the Paddington Academy last month.

The specialist school for performing arts, media, business and enterprise was co-funded by the United Learning Trust and GamesAid. The games industry has already donated over £1 million to the Academy.

reduce its games offer in stores, instead focusing on a ‘tailored’ offer.

“Our strategy for entertainment remains the same – we are continuing to gradually reduce our presence in this category,” a WHSmith spokesperson told MCV. “The aim of our new site is to offer an entertainment range for our online customers and we’ll continue to review how we develop the offer going forward.

“The new site has over 200,000 entertainment products including new and upcoming DVDs, CDs and games, with a range of games consoles to suit all ages. Whether customers are looking for the latest chart titles or some great

[MARKET VALUE]

£24.6m 35

continuing its strategy to leave games and focus instead on books and news.

A WHSmith spokesperson said: “The EUK collapse did not come as a complete surprise to us, although the timing was particularly unhelpful.

“Long-term trends in entertainment look set to continue. We are continuing to implement our strategy to reduce our presence in entertainment to focus instead on books, news and stationery.”

WHS: 0207 851 8850

30

25

20

15

10

5

£30.9m

£25.9m

£24.6m

1,223,328 Units

1,064,760 Units

1,058,242 Units

Week Ending March 21th

Week Ending March 28th

0 Week Ending March 14th

Total UK Software Sales Source: ELSPA/ChartTrack and Intent Media

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Japan’s biggest game to storm Europe Capcom set to ‘get serious’ on Monster Hunter’s European marketing New title to arrive in the spring

JAPANESE PUBLISHER Capcom is set to ramp up promotion for its Monster Hunter series in Europe, in an attempt to ape the success of the series in the East.

The producer of the PSP Monster Hunter titles, which

“

this time we’re taking things far more seriously in terms of the promotion.”

Ryozo went on to detail Capcom’s plans to establish the Monster Hunter brand in the UK, after previous titles in the series have failed to rival the incredible sales it has enjoyed in Japan.

No one here in Europe knows what the game is so we just need to spread the name of Monster Hunter.

Ryozo Tsujimoto, Capcom

outsold Wii Fit and Pokémon Diamond in Japan last year, has told MCV that Capcom will focus on promoting the brand before the next title is released in the PAL territories.

“What has been lacking in Europe in the past with the Monster Hunter series is definitely the promotion,” admitted Ryozo Tsujimoto.

“The PR and marketing for the last two titles in the series have been very limited, but

TSUJIMOTO: The Monster Hunter producer feels the franchise can be huge in the UK as well as Japan

“

by Will Freeman

“Currently in Europe the Monster Hunter franchise has been fairly quiet, so the first step is to actually get the game noticed. No one here knows what the game is so we just need to spread the name of Monster Hunter,” revealed Tsujimoto, who is also the son of Capcom’s owner.

“The next step will be to explain and convey the information on what the game actually is. Then we want to

let people play the game and experience it for themselves.

Finally, we need to maintain support for the community, to

keep people coming together playing the game. It’s very important for Capcom to strategically plot this path.”

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for PSP is set to hit Europe in the spring.

Capcom: 020 8846 2566

Layton franchise set to expand on Nintendo DS

“

Diabolical Box, which is the second in a trilogy of games already available in Japan.

Level 5 is not only working on localised versions of the original trilogy, but also three Professor Layton prequels and a movie.

in 2009, with a possible four more games due over the next few years.

The next title to reach the UK courtesy of developer Level 5 is Professor Layton and the

“

AT LEAST one new title in the smash hit Professor Layton series is set to arrive in the UK

Nintendo has told MCV that there are currently ‘no plans’ to bring Layton to Wii, making it a DS-exclusive franchise, similar to the platform holder’s globe-trotting Pokémon series.

Along with localised versions of the original trilogy, Level 5 is also working on three Professor Layton prequels for DS, along with a movie based on the series entitled Professor Layton and the Eternal Songstress.

Level 5 studio head Akihiro Hino confirmed at the Game Developers’ Conference last week that his team is currently localising The Diabolical Box, and hopes it will be ready within the next six months.

Hino also added that he wants to see all six Professor Layton titles eventually get released in the West.

DS ONLY: Layton is set to remain a Nintendo DS-exclusive brand

Professor Layton and the Curious Village has been a mainstay of the GfK-ChartTrack All Formats Top Ten ever since it was released in November last year.

Limited stock levels kicked off ‘silly pricing’ for the game before Christmas – with new copies changing hands for £70 through online auction sites.

Nintendo: 01753 483700

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Microsoft: Packaged goods business ‘won’t decline’ Platform holder says Xbox Live complements retail – as digital-only product emerges

MICROSOFT has told MCV that it sees downloadable content and Xbox Live as a ‘complementary’ addition to boxed product – and that it doesn’t see the packaged goods business declining.

However other standout companies have pointed to 2009’s explosion of

“

download and digital content market – but it is complementary to boxed content and services.

Wherever we can, we make sure retail is part of the Xbox Live ecosystem.”

And as companies such as EA and Warner Bros begin to release download only product – most notably the latter’s Watchmen movie tie-in – others

Wherever we can, we make sure retail is part of the Xbox Live ecosystem. But I do see growth in digital content.

Neil Thompson, Xbox

download-only new releases – which cut out retail altogether.

Speaking in MCV’s investigation into the digital download sector, UK head of Xbox, Neil Thompson said: “People often ask me, ‘Will Halo X be download only?’

But I don’t see the packaged goods business declining. What I do see is the growth of the

“

by Christopher Dring

in the industry have predicted that 2009 will be the year that exclusive digital delivery of full games finally takes off.

IGN Entertainment owns PC digital games service Direct2Drive. The firm’s head of marketing in the UK Rich Keen added: “We are beginning to see the emergence of digital only

Digital-only titles like Watchmen (left) won’t hurt retail, says Thompson

products, especially within the core PC category. A recent example is Red Alert 3: Uprising, which capitalised on the established online community that surrounds the Command & Conquer

franchise and their openness towards digital distribution to ensure success.”

To read MCV’s special feature on the state of the digital download market, turn to page 17.

Young joins expanding Creative from EUK RISING UK games outfit Creative Distribution has secured the services of former EUK sales manager Kevin Young, as it announces a move to brand new premises ten times the size of its current base.

Young joins the Croydonbased distributor as new business manager, and will be tasked with expanding Creative’s client roster as the company relocates to new offices just down the road from its present location.

“We are delighted to have Kevin Young join the team at Creative Distribution,” operations director Damien White told MCV.

KEVIN YOUNG: Creative Distribution has snapped up ex-EUK exec

“With our forthcoming move into new premises we will be able to grow in what is going to be a challenging year.

“Kevin’s experience and knowledge are very welcome additions and we look forward to working with him.”

Young, who was formally EUK’s sales manager and Square Enix buyer, added: “What a great opportunity it is to be part of such a dynamic and constantly growing company – one with big aspirations to be a greater player in the global games industry. I’m looking forward to utilising this experience to work with my colleagues and achieve these goals.”

The move follows recent news that former EUK senior buyer Nick Arran has joined Sainsburys, while ex-EUK games boss John Stanhope has joined Tesco as senior buying manager Creative: 0208 6643456

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Playtime heads into administration Much-loved independent chain calls it a day following fall in like-for-like sales Online outlet may be saved

by Christopher Dring LEADING INDEPENDENT chain Playtime Multimedia has entered administration, the retailer has told MCV. Insolvency specialists P&A Partnerships has been appointed by the retailer, and the Northern-based independent has cited a collapse in like-for-like sales as the reason behind its decision.

“

our like-for-like sales were well down, and we’ve had to consolidate because of that.

We are now working closely with the administrators, and the situation is continuing to develop all the time.”

“We didn’t actively look to sell any of the stores, because who would look to buy a retailer in today’s market?”

P&A partner John Russell added: “The company Playtime

We had to call in the administrators because we could not continue in the current retail market.

Gareth Rowbotham, Playtime

“We had to call in the administrators last week because we just could not continue in our current format in the current retail market,” admitted Playtime Multimedia boss Gareth Rowbotham.

“The whole retail market for us has just gone dead. We had ten stores last summer and going strong, but over the autumn and over Christmas

”

Multimedia has taken steps to proceed into liquidation. Some of the stores have closed and there has been some consolidation. Full details of the situation should be made available shortly.”

Despite the situation, Rowbotham is optimistic that he can continue selling games through his Doncaster store and website.

PLAYTIME MULTIMEDIA: The independent chain was a two-time MCV Awards finalist with ten stores across Northern England, but has been forced to call in the administrators following a huge drop in sales

“Myself and my brother own the Playtime flagship store in Doncaster, so hopefully we can continue something through that, albeit in a smaller vein,” he said.

“We also run Playtimeanytime.com through the Doncaster store. Online has been the one shining light for us over the past few months in terms of sales, so once we’ve come through the

other side we will look at where we are and the possibilities of running that operation still.

“Any announcements on out future retail plans will be made in the next few weeks,” he concluded.

Starting life in Doncaster during 2000, Playtime Multimedia was one of the more successful independent retailers with ten stores across the North

of England. The business has grown steadily year-on-year since then, with its prime High Street locations cited as a big reason for its success.

The company was also nominated for an MCV Award in 2007 and 2008, and has been a mainstay in MCV’s annual Top 20 independents feature since its inception.

P&A Partnership: 0114 275 5033

Budget Meier duo hits retail Centresoft signs Nordic TWO CLASSIC Sid Meier titles lead Mastertronic’s latest wave of budget games.

The publisher has released the veteran developer’s Civilization IV and Railroads! under its PC Gamer Presents label, which retail at the new VAT-reduced price of £9.77.

The two Sid Meier games both met with critical praise when released in 2005 and 2006 respectively, and bring quality and depth to strategy gamers everywhere.

Also just released by Mastertronic is the Eidos duo of Conflict: Denied Ops and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, both joining the publisher’s

Games distribution deal

Mastertronic’s latest line-up includes Sid Meier’s Civilisation IV and Railroads, plus Eidos’ Conflict: Denied Ops and Kane and Lynch

Mastertronic Added Dimension range (MAD).

The re-releases provide anyone who missed out when they first hit shelves the chance to pick them up at a lower price – something that is becoming increasingly important to consumers in the current economic climate.

“This batch of quality titles will make an excellent addition to our current range,” said Mastertronic’s sales director James Cato.

“All the games offer superb quality and value to both consumers and retailers alike.”

Mastertronic: 0845 234 4242

CENTRESOFT has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Nordic Games.

The partnership will see Centresoft handle primary and secondary distribution for all of the publisher’s products.

The deal initially covers Nordic Games’ launch titles Dance Party Pop Hits, Dance Party Club Hits, Kart Racer and Truck Racer.

“It is great to see a new company enter the market in these difficulty times with a positive attitude towards retail,” said Centresoft’s commercial director Margaret Pearson.

“The products are well suited to the platforms, and this feels like the beginning of a great relationship.”

Nordic Games’ international sales manager Nik Blower added: “We’ve worked hard to find the right distributor that not only has the ability to offer a broad distribution network, but also shares the desire to grow our business.

“In such difficult times, this has been a challenge but in Centresoft we have the utmost faith that they will deliver the support and results we need.”

Centresoft: 0121 625 3388

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Gamestation plots ‘high impact’ Easter holiday marketing push Half price games offer returns Wacky Wabbit mascot to feature in print creatives

by Christopher Dring HIGH STREET giant Gamestation has vowed to slash prices in its biggest Easter marketing campaign to date.

New releases and Nintendo DSi is set to benefit from the promotional activity, with up to 50 per cent off recently released software. And the retailer is confident the campaign will raise the profile of not just the chain, but also the games industry as a whole.

“We have our most compelling campaign outside of Christmas with a range of half price titles, to attract thousands of customers into store,” said Gamestation’s head of marketing Emma Kitching.

“Our creative this year stars our favourite Wacky Wabbit with his family of avid gamers, which is in a vivid shade of yellow, giving us the ultimate standout on the High Street.

“One of the things that we have put a lot of time into is having a high impact window display, so expect to see a visually striking combination of half price games, Nintendo DSi and new releases in our

[IN BRIEF] VALVE: The developer of zombie shooter Left 4 Dead, has revealed that the title has sold over 2.5 million units worldwide at retail.

MTV GAMES: Sales of the Rock Band series has exceeded the $1 billion mark in North America, after only 15 months on shelves.

SONY: The platform holder has unveiled Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time for PlayStation 3. The game is set for release in the UK before the end of the year.

“

Our Easter campaign is designed to raise the profile of Gamestation and the industry on UK High Streets.

Emma Kitching, Gamestation

window, all complemented by our grinning Wacky Wabbit.

This creative will feature on all below-the-line activity and our press campaign. We anticipate this will be Gamestation’s biggest Easter campaign.

The new shop front is designed to stand out on the High Street

”

“This is also the first time that we will run with our amazing half price campaign outside of Christmas, which makes it our strongest value offering for customers at this time of year.

“Our marketing campaign is designed to really raise the profile of Gamestation and the games industry on High Streets around the UK this Easter, and we’re very grateful to our partners in the industry who have helped us pull it all together. We’ve got great games at great prices.”

Gamestation: 0845 345 0335

Fallout 3 theft settlement reached AWESOME Games has negotiated an out of court settlement with Bethesda, following the accusation that the indie had sold stolen copies of Fallout 3.

The Walthamstow-based independent admitted it had bought Fallout 3 from an unknown seller, believing it to be imported stock. However, the title had not been released, and Bethesda believed the goods to have been stolen.

Monetary damages were paid to Bethesda by the store’s proprietor Ahnes Qureshi, and injunctions were made against

Sponsored by

company who perpetrates such acts,” commented Bethesda MD Sean Brennan.

“While it may be tempting to buy games from unknown sources and to release games early, it’s just not worth the risk, as Mr. Qureshi will attest.”

Ahnes Qureshi added: “I have learnt a lesson from this and I apologise unreservedly. It has cost me dearly and I will certainly never repeat this Awesome Games apologises for selling a stolen copy of Fallout 3 (insert) mistake. I would advise other indies not to buy from unofficial “We take such matters as Awesome Games to prevent sources or they may end up in the theft of our stock very the outlet from infringing on the same trouble I did.” seriously and will rigorously Bethesda’s intellectual property pursue any individual or rights in the future.

Bethesda: 0207 575 3215

GAMESTOP: The US retailer has announced its eighth straight year of growth.

Results for the fiscal year ending January 31st 2009 saw like-for-like sales climb 12.3 per cent for the same period the year before. Net earnings jumped 38.2 per cent at $398.3m.

BETHESDA: Fallout 3 claimed the GDC 09 Game of the Year Award at last week’s Games Developer Conference.

NINTENDO: The format holder has confirmed that Wii has surpassed 50 million global sales – and that DSi has already sold two million units in Japan.

DISNEY: A title inspired by 1995 movie outing Toy Story is on the way to Wii this autumn. It supports a 3D mode, and comes packed with 3D glasses.

LATEST NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR MOBILE Bookmark us in your phone:

MOBILE.MCVUK.COM

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NEWS

New Play.com and DSGi games execs join the MCV Retail Advisory Board Play marketing manager steps in following Gian Luzio’s departure Peter Willis joins DSGi’s games team

by Christopher Dring TWO NEW retail experts have joined the MCV Retail Advisory Board following personnel changes at Play.com and DSGi. Play.com marketing manager Richard Chapple has joined the board following the departure of head of games, Gian Luzio. Chapple has worked at Play for three and a half years and is responsible for the firm’s marketing of DVD, games and gadgets. He also has a growing profile amongst trade.

Also joining the RAB is DSGi’s new games category manager, Peter Willis. Willis replaces outgoing manager

David Poulter, who has moved within the company to head up the retailer’s Imaging category.

The RAB is an elite group of the trade’s top games buyers, which was been set up to keep MCV up-to-date on the latest happenings in the UK trade.

“

The new recruits join RAB luminaries such as GAME CEO Lisa Morgan, Gamestation MD Martyn Gibbs, Asda’s head of games Duncan Cross and HMV’s head of games Tim Ellis, and have already begun contributing to the magazine.

The new recruits join RAB luminaries such as GAME CEO Lisa Morgan, Asda’s Duncan Cross, and HMV’s games boss Tim Ellis.

The members of the board are also responsible for picking the winner of the Special Recognition accolade at the MCV Awards.

”

“We are delighted to welcome Richard and Peter to our Retail Advisory Board,” said MCV editor-in-chief Michael French.

Sega is set to follow the success of Empire: Total War and House of the Dead with a range of top new titles...

“The Retail Advisory Board is an integral part of MCV’s editorial offering. The RAB helps to keep us up-to-date on the latest developments at retail, and provides comments

on the latest issues currently affecting the trade.”

Other new members to the RAB will be announced over the coming weeks.

MCV: 01992 535646

ON THE RADAR

THE RAB EXPANDS: Richard Chapple (left) and Peter Willis (right) step in following the departure of Gian Luzio and David Poulter

“With our upcoming titles we are hoping to continue to build on our previous year’s success, and Virtua Tennis is a really great title to open our account with.

The first quarter is further enhanced with the [OPINION] addition of two really innovative titles for the Nintendo Wii: The Conduit and Let’s Tap. Both of these should enhance our strength on the format and broaden our portfolio further.”

John Clark, UK Sales Director, Sega

[ALSO COMING] MARIO & SONIC WINTER Released: Q4 2009 Formats: DS, Wii BAYONETTA Released: 2009 Formats: PS3, 360 PLANET 51 Released: Winter 2009 Formats: 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC

Phantasy Star Portable

Virtua Tennis 2009

The Conduit

Let’s Tap

Released: April 17th Formats: PSP

Released: May 2009 Formats: Wii, PS3, 360, PC

Released: Spring Formats: Wii

Released: Spring Formats: Wii

Sega delivers its popular Phantasy Star series to PSP. Up to four players can team up over wi-fi to unravel the whole new story, with customisable avatars and exclusive new content. The game is ideal for long-term fans.

The popular tennis sim is back, with new courts, new players, new licences and improved on-court action. The game is also making its Wii debut, with full Motion Plus controls, and there are also brand new mini-games to play.

The Nintendo Wii’s latest first person shooter boasts stunning graphics, 12 player online support and intuitive controls. The game also makes use of the Wii Speak peripheral for communication with friends.

Developed by ‘the father of Sonic’, Let’s Tap boasts an innovative new gameplay experience, where players only need to tap near the Wii Remote to play. The title offers a full multiplayer mode and five unique games.

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EIDOS ’09: BUSINESS AS USUAL

Getting on with it There may be an £84m takeover by Square Enix hanging over the last bastion of British games publishing, but the Eidos team can’t think about that. There are games to sell. Some damn good ones, too.

Stuart Dinsey reports…

EVERY NOW and then, interviews In recent times Eidos has switched to “Then we have some permanent begin with a list of things that cannot a studio focus and generally a ‘less is promotions in place with many true be discussed. more’ approach to publishing. football brands and media partners This is usually due to an over-zealous With the exception of Tomb Raider, throughout the UK and Europe, such as PR person, often American. When the things were perhaps a little too quiet FourFourTwo, The Daily Mail, ITV and shutters go up it’s not pretty or, by last year, but there are hopes in 2009 The Times. definition, very interesting for a variety of titles.

“I think a lot of people are going to In the case of Eidos, however, it is These kick off through spring and be pleasantly surprised. This will be an perfectly reasonable that there may summer with the likes of Battlestations impressive new chapter in the story of be no-go areas when MCV rolls up to Pacific, Championship Manager 2009 the franchise.” talk futures. After all, this publicly-listed Edition and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

ACTION ‘STATIONS company will be owned by Square Enix There are also significant hopes Hopes are high for Battlestations and within weeks. and trade interest in Just Cause 2 and Batman, if to different degrees.

Bosses at the publisher’s UK and Mini Ninjas.

“Battlestations is in a European offices are genre which isn’t mass hardly going to want to A lot of people are going to be market, but the game rock the boat. But they pleasantly surprised with quality is incredible,” do want to talk – for Championship Manager 2009. This adds Melchior. “For they have to guide someone that likes war Eidos through its will be an impressive new chapter games, then it’s the best spring and summer in the story of the franchise. of the genre. release schedule.

Bob Burridge, Eidos “And as for Batman, SPRINGING INTO LIFE even though there is no Indeed, Eidos is likely to have worked Every title has its challenges, not least film or new TV based on this story, we through its autumn titles before any know we have a winner.

Champ Manager – but this is a ramifications from the deal with Square “Arkham Asylum is a fabulous game, franchise moving in the right direction.

Enix come to affect Wimbledon HQ. So quite simply one of the best Eidos has “We’re very excited about the world has to be kept informed, to ever published. And you have to Championship Manager 2009 for a some degree at least. remember that there is a huge amount number of different reasons. Firstly, we For the record, the denied zones in of appeal for Batman across the board.” have gone back to the fundamentals of MCV’s interview are Square Enix, and So whilst stepping carefully around the game and they are now spot on,” the company’s interim financials and the minefields of corporate PR, the says UK general manager Bob Burridge. sales forecasts. message from Eidos is more than clear: “A lot of work has gone into getting “The trade and consumer care more There may have been distractions, but it the basics absolutely right and making about product than what goes on hasn’t been distracted. sure Championship Manager 2009 is a behind the scenes anyway. And the Until anybody tells them otherwise, it completely new version of the game same goes for the consumer,” offers is business as usual for the UK team and rather than a 1.5 version, which is European head of publishing they are looking forward to making the something this genre has suffered Patrick Melchior. most of what is on the slate. from historically.

“

”

EIDOS: KEY RELEASES Square Enix’s £84m bid may be looming large over everything Eidos does, but it’s got some corking titles set to hit retail in the meantime...

BATTLESTATIONS: PACIFIC...............May 15th, 2009

BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM ..............Summer 2009

The sequel to the chart-topping Battlestations: Midway offers 28 missions, and features some of the most decisive naval battles in history. (360, PS3, PC).

One of the most anticipated licensed games of 2009, this third-person action title will satisfy those left hungry by the lack of a Dark Knight game. (360, PS3, PC).

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EIDOS ’09: BUSINESS AS USUAL MELCHIOR & BURRIDGE: Focusing on a set of important releases through spring and summer

“

Arkham Asylum is a fabulous game, quite simply one of the best Eidos has ever published.

Patrick Melchior, Eidos

”

CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2009 ................TBC 2009

MINI NINJAS ...............................................Autumn 2009

JUST CAUSE 2...........................................Autumn 2009

Eidos’ flagship sports strategy title is back better than ever this year. The publisher has held back release to ensure gameplay is the best it can be. (PC).

Hitman developer IO Interactive has come up with this ninja title, starring ‘the smallest hero... on the biggest adventure’. (WII, DS, 360, PC, PS3).

One of the most impressive sandbox-style games of recent years returns. This time, hero Rico Rodriguez lands in South-East Asia. (360, PS3, PC).

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MCV INTERVIEW MATTHEW MOULDING, THE HUT

Moulding the future Last month Zavvi was reborn courtesy of The Hut. Christopher Dring talks to CEO Matthew Moulding about the new acquisition and his firm’s growing white label business...

BUSINESS ZAVVI: Moulding is targeting £75 million in sales this year, driven by video games

What was behind the decision to relaunch Zavvi?

We tried to get the Woolworths name back in December – and we were keen to reinvent both them and Zavvi as online retailers. They are both such strong brands – Woolworths phenomenally so.

But Shop Direct came in for Woolworths, and we just couldn’t compete. So we continued with Zavvi, and that has worked out really well.

What we intend to do with Zavvi is take this established brand, and their database of over a million customers, and try and capitalise on it. Zavvi was heading towards £25 million sales online, and even if we’re half as successful to begin with – following the brand damage it will suffer – we’ll still be in a good position.

The Zavvi site now features new products such as electronics, perfume, lingerie and sportswear. Some people may think that this is a huge departure.

But we know from our experience with TheHut.com, that we can make a strong offering on alternative categories away from entertainment, and we’re really pleased how the first week has gone.

WHO IS THE HUT? Do you feel that Zavvi will replace TheHut.com as your primary ownbrand ecommerce site?

No, we’re going to keep both going. We have a tiny share of the market in reality, especially compared to Amazon and Play, but it is a very big market.

TheHut.com is now more accepting of a broader range of products, and focuses on a different demographic to Zavvi.

We’ve taken TheHut.com from zero and we’ve done very well with that. But we feel Zavvi can give us that extra bit of scale to get us established with suppliers with better buying terms and so forth.

Formed in March 2004, The Hut Group began life as a white label business, producing websites for some of the High Street’s biggest names.

However, the first website launched

by The Hut was its own-brand site, TheHut.com, which arrived in July 2004. It wasn’t until September that The Hut produced its first white label site for Boots, and it took a further eight months before the Asda ecommerce website arrived.

Since then, The Hut has produced sites for The Co-op, Dixons, Currys, PC World, specialist games portals for Phones4U and Dial-a-Phone (under the names Games4U and Click-a-

Game), launched the LoveFilm shop and re-launched the popular Sendit and CDWow web stores.

In December 2008 The Hut won the Bank of Scotland Entrepreneur Challenge, beating six other regional finalists to the fiercely-contested prize. The Hut claimed £5 million of interest-free funding for up to three

years and won four days of mentoring with entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter.

Since then, The Hut has launched websites for independent video game chain CHIPS and supermarket behemoth Tesco. It also bought the rights to the Zavvi name last month and recently launched the WH Smith entertainment web store.

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MCV INTERVIEW MATTHEW MOULDING, THE HUT And what about marketing for the Zavvi website?

The marketing team is doing presentation after presentation and are looking at the level of spend they’d like to do.

It won’t just be online marketing, as we’re eager to build a skill set for offline advertising as well. We’re not strong in offline marketing in the slightest, and so we will put a budget behind that.

How key is the video game market for The Hut Group?

Gaming is at the heart of what we are.

Last year the games market saw fantastic growth, so it is at the forefront of what we do. As for music, we’re still doubling our sales every year, but of course music is starting to go through a challenging time. We will be buying one or two businesses in different product sectors, but I don’t see anything changing in the foreseeable future in terms of our games focus.

“

The guys at CHIPS have been working closely with us on the site, and what we do is give them an offering they couldn’t get on their own, with no risk. Equally for companies like CHIPS, they can look at doing extra product they couldn’t find space for in store.

What about your bigger clients such as Asda? What do you offer them?

What we can do for big retailers is an extensive online offering, which would require significant internal infrastructure, at zero risk to them. So it is profitable from day one for all of our partners, but not necessary for us.

Like Play and Amazon, you have a warehouse in Jersey. How vital is having a Jersey base in trying to compete online?

We do all our distribution from Jersey, and we’re invested out there. So it is important from that angle. The real

Video games is at the heart of what we are, and I don’t see our focus changing in the foreseeable future.

Matthew Moulding, The Hut

So what percentage of your business does games account for?

Two years ago, the games sector accounted for less than ten per cent of our business. Today, it accounts for about 40 per cent. Now that we’ve launched all these new categories, it could drop to around 30 per cent.

Will the new Zavvi site have a big video games focus?

Definitely. We want to differentiate it from TheHut.com, so it might focus on different platforms. We’re still finding out through the database what the best selling titles and platforms for Zavvi.

Looking at your white label business, you have an eclectic client base, including indie chains like CHIPS. What makes The Hut an attractive proposition for small companies?

If you are a small retailer we deliver, without any real investment, an online proposition to rival the biggest websites.

It gives them a revenue stream and credibility in a difficult time when they need to be looking at online but don’t want to make a massive investment.

”

winner is the consumer. Entertainment is the most tight margin business out there. Anyone making money out of £6 CDs must be doing very well.

What are The Hut Group’s plans for the rest of the year?

We want to have a very strong entertainment offering, with a strong focus on games. We want to improve our content, so the ability to see trailers is something we’re working on. We want to introduce reviews too, to get user generated content on the website.

If we continue to offer the best value, with an excellent experience, then I think we’ll be significantly improved.

What are your financial targets?

This year we’re aiming for sales of £75 million. I think in gaming we can make some real headway by strengthening the team with key appointments that will underpin our planned sales growth. We’re a quarter through the year now, and we’re getting visibility on where we will be at year end. As long as we continue to bring in quality staff and invest in the infrastructure, I think we’ll hit target. © 505 Games S.r.l. Character design Claudio Sciarrone. 505 Games S.r.l. is a sole owner of the brand, logo and character design of the Diva Girls. Developed

by Arc System Works Co., Ltd. and DEL. Trademarks are property of their respective owners. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo.

For Sales Enquiries Please Contact Centresoft on: 0121 625 3883

Copyright Š 2008 SouthPeak Interactive Corporation. "SouthPeak", "SouthPeak Interactive", "SouthPeak Games" and their related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SouthPeak Interactive Corporation. All rights reserved. Copyright Š 2008 Replay Studios GmbH. Replay Studios, the Replay Studios logo, and Velvet Assassin, Violette Summer, the Velvet Assassin logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ME Enterprises GmbH, Germany and used under license by Replay Studios. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

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DIGITAL DOWNLOADS FOCUS

The Digital Revolution As competition for retail shelf space grows, publishers are turning towards the digital market for a solution.

Christopher Dring speaks to the key players about the sector’s growth, and where it’s headed…

[OPINION] Neil Thompson, UK Head of Xbox, Microsoft At the moment people are staying home more. Of course that has presented a challenge to other sectors, but for us in games it is a real opportunity.

People are staying indoors and investing in family time more and they want experiences that allow them to play together. We’ve certainly seen that in the market over the last few years and as digital content has become pervasive they see Xbox Live as a key part of that experience.

If you look at how the industry can harness something like Xbox Live, publishers have released a number of new experiences that have refreshed the games consumers would have got over Christmas, including GTA IV, Prince of Persia and Fallout 3.

Downloadable content has revitalised franchises. If you look at the February ChartTrack figures you’ll see that GTA IV has had a resurgance. Lost and Damned has brought life back to that title.

What Live does is help publishers increase the life cycle of games, both in terms of the consumers that have already come into the franchise but also those who want to get into it as there is a new reason to buy the original game. That’s where it becomes key for our industry – we must find new ways to monetise the investment being required to make these great games.

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS were the talk of the Games Developers Conference last week.

At the event Sony discussed releasing PSP games ‘simultaneously’ through retail and PSN, a new digital console called Zeebo was unveiled, and cloudcomputing service OnLive grabbed the headlines, with certain corners of the media calling it ‘the future of the video games industry’.

All of this followed a period that saw GTA IV: Lost and Damned break Xbox Live records and Warner release its Watchmen movie tie-in exclusively through PSN and Xbox Live.

“All too often, digital distribution is viewed as a bolted on incremental revenue stream rather than an integral part of the product’s distribution plan,” says Games Domain International CEO Roger Walkden.

“The reasons for this have varied from publisher to publisher, but what is undoubtedly true is that most publishers are rapidly migrating digital distribution plans higher up the ‘to do’ list than two years ago.

“

“Our partners with a strategic focus on digital distribution are telling us that today 15 per cent of their PC revenues come from download – two years ago, this would have been negligible.”

Long seen as the enemy to retail, the digital market is fast becoming a friend to the High Street. GTA IV on Xbox 360 enjoyed a significant upturn in sales following the release of GTA: Lost and

Retailers have limited shelf space and they de-list quickly. But we can stock everything forever.

Paul Howes, Metaboli Damned, while gamers often visit stores in order to buy points for MMOs, Xbox Live and Wii. “People do say to me ‘when will Halo X be download only?’ but I don’t see the packaged goods business declining,” insists UK head of Xbox Neil Thompson.

“What I do see is the growth of the download and digital content market – but it is complementary to packaged content and services. We offer retailers the chance to get involved through points and subscription cards. Wherever

we can we like to make sure that retailers have an opportunity to be part of the Xbox Live ecosystem.”

Mastertronic’s operations director Dermot Stapleton adds: “We’ve been selling our specialist simulation products for over four years by download. We don’t see this as a ‘digital versus retail’ battle, rather we can complement the work retailers do for us by adding extra catalogue that they can’t support due to space issues.”

Overcrowding has been a topic of contention for the games industry over the past 12 months. The DS and Wii software market has become particularly flooded with SKUs, and retailers have been unable to stock all the games hitting the market every week. So publishers are increasingly turning to digital in order to get their products in front of the consumer.

“Retail has a limited amount of shelf space and they de-list products quickly,” explains Metaboli’s business director for Northern Europe Paul Howes. “Some e-commerce sites also tend to de-list after a nine month period. But we can stock everything forever.”

”

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DIGITAL DOWNLOADS FOCUS

Indeed, the long-tail advantage of digital is another attractive prospect for games firms. Not only will titles remain available indefinitely, publishers are also able to delve into their back catalogues and earn extra revenue re-releasing software through the likes of Steam, Xbox Live, PSN and of course, Nintendo’s Virtual Console.

“The Virtual Console on Wii is a great way to allow older Wii gamers to get access to classic titles they remember from their younger days,” says Wii senior product manager Rob Lowe.

“It also makes it easy for a new generation of Nintendo fans to try classics such as Super Mario World and Street Fighter II for the first time.”

The digital marketplace has also made the budget games sector a more profitable arena than before, as Howes explains: “If you look at the economics of a budget game, with titles going for £2.99 or £4.99, it doesn’t make sense to put a game in a box, on a truck and ship it in and out. So I think the boxed budget sector will, in the long term, be affected by digital.”

“

“A recent example is Red Alert 3: Uprising, which capitalised on the established online community that surrounds the Command and Conquer franchise and their openness towards digital distribution to ensure success.”

THE DIGITAL FUTURE

Although the download market is growing rapidly, it is still a long way from being the alternative distribution channel publishers are looking for. The film industry has long benefited from the multiple distribution networks of cinema, DVD, Blu-ray and digital, so what needs to happen before downloadable games become mainstream?

“More publishers and developers need to build content specifically for the digital channel,” explains Telltale Games’ CEO Dan Connors, who released the download-only title Wallace and Gromit: Fright of the Bumblebees last month.

“Right now many companies treat digital distribution as incremental revenue for their retail SKUs, without understanding online consumer

We are beginning to see the emergence of digital only products especially in the core PC category.

Rich Keen, IGN UK

GamersGate CEO Theodore Bergquist agrees: “With no cost for putting product on the shelves, the price of getting the game to the consumer is minimal. It’s a win-win situation.

Publishers can sell old or budget games at no risk and consumers get a better spectrum of titles and products to choose from. The long tail represents a significant part of GamersGate’s revenues and older games are an important chunk of our portfolio.”

However, the digital sector is becoming far more than just a home for retro software, DLC and niche titles that retailers won’t stock. Publishers such as Warner and EA are going much further, releasing new, big-name titles exclusively through digital platforms.

“We are beginning to see the emergence of digital only products, especially within the core PC category,” says UK head of marketing for IGN Entertainment Rich Keen.

UPLOADING: OnLive promises top digital content without the need for hardware

IS ONLIVE THE FUTURE?

”

behaviour. As a result, the products don’t take advantage of the strengths of the medium.

“There also needs to be more quality content going through the channel, so more gamers will get used to being a digital consumer and will understand the benefits. There is a large enough install base of paying customers to make digital distribution a viable alternative channel for publishers.”

Paul Howes concludes: “To push digital further into the mainstream, a combination of things need to happen which are starting to occur. It’s about distribution, which we’re managing, it’s about publisher initiative, which is starting to happen, it’s about pricing, as we need a least parity with box.

“Lastly, broadband is key, and Virgin and BT are investing in these areas pushing out faster speeds. Once all these elements come together, I feel that will be the tipping point for digital.”

Not all digital services require gamers to download software.

A new platform unveiled at the Games Developers Conference in San Francisco last week was Rearden Labs’ OnLive, which enables consumers to play console quality games without a PC or a console.

Control inputs from the gamer are uploaded to a remote server where the game is actually being played, and consumers see a video of the game they are playing on their TV or PC. The firm claims that game lag has been reduced to one millisecond, and that leading publishers including Electronic Arts, Warner, Ubisoft, Epic and Take Two have already signed up with the platform.

Games can be played through virtually any PC or Mac, or players can buy a small box for Ethernet and controller cables instead.

“The success or failure of the OnLive service will ride on whether it is priced low enough to induce a large number of consumers to subscribe to it.”

Shortly after the console’s announcement, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter issued a statement saying that OnLive will impact games retail and will be an attractive prospect for publishers.

“In our view, the success or failure of the service will ride on whether it is priced low enough to induce a large number of consumers to subscribe, in turn driving a greater number of games available from the publishers,” he said in the statement.

“In our view, the OnLive model will appeal immensely to publishers, who will likely derive greater revenue per sale than is derived through conventional retail distribution. We think that the adoption of a service like OnLive will impact retail.”

The OnLive Beta is set to go live this summer.

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k u . o i.c l bo a t me . w w w

Established in 2002, Metaboli is the leading provider of digital download platforms for major retailers, gaming sites and Internet service providers. Already working with more than 60 online distribution partners, including Game Group, BT and MSN, and offering an extensive games catalogue from the world’s leading publishers, we’re ready to ‘talk digital’ with new publishing or distribution partners.

If you have a new business opportunity you’d like to discuss with us, please contact

paul.howes@metaboli.com

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Sponsored by WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 03/04/09 21

PERSONNEL

Frank Sagnier leaves Double Fusion Industry veteran joins Power Challenge Edge’s Campbell switches to MCV Future shuffles ONM staff DOUBLE FUSION The uropean MD of the in-game ad firm FRANK SAGNIER has left to become CEO of online sports software specialist Power Challenge. Before Double Fusion, Sagnier spent eight years at Electronic Arts Europe where he ran marketing, third party and online publishing. He was instrumental in launching casual game service Pogo in the territory.

“I’m very excited with the Power Challenge opportunity,” said Mr. Sagnier.

“We have a very unique, high-quality in browser soccer

Saigner challenges himself in his new role at Power

game, a number of amazing partnerships such FOX Sports, Miniclip and Spill Group, all contributing to a fast growing consumer base and revenues coming from a mix of subscriptions, item sales and advertising.”

INTENT MEDIA COLIN CAMPBELL, longtime Edge Online frontman, has joined the MCV publisher as head of US content and business development.

The highly rated publisher and journalist has over 20 years’ experience within the industry.

He ran US trade title Games Business and online pioneer Fastest Games News throughout the 1990s, having played a key role at MCV predecessor CTW in the late 1980s.

Campbell continues with Edge until mid-April, but is

then moving to a new office in the US for his Intent role.

“This is a significant hire for us. Colin is incredibly well connected and respected when it comes to the US games industry,” said Intent Media boss Stuart Dinsey.

“When managerial responsibility of Edge Online was moved from Future's US office to its UK office, I felt that it was the right time for me to move on,” said Campbell.

FUTURE PUBLISHING SIMON BRAMBLE has moved from his role as news editor at PSW to become news

editor at Official Nintendo Magazine. Elsewhere on the magazine, FRED DUTTON has been promoted from production editor to deputy editor with Chris Scullion becoming games editor, moving up from his role as staff writer.

ONM editor Neil Long said: “I’m delighted to welcome Simon to the team. He’s a fantastic writer and joins ONM at a really important stage in its ongoing development.

“The core magazine is in fantastic shape and our site, Girl Gamer and our bi-monthly Wii User Guides all enjoying great success at the moment.”

mcv-e3-official-mar12.pdf

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4:15:48 PM

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CM

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CMY

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The 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 Expo) is the must-attend event of the year for the global interactive entertainment industry.

There's no better place to experience and test-drive the newest computer and video game products and technologies.

Register online at www.E3Expo.com

June 2-4, 2009 å L.A. Convention Center å E3Expo.com

© Entertainment Software Association 2009

MY

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RETAILBIZ RECOMMENDED GAMES PRICE CHECK CHARTS NEW RELEASES

ALSO THIS WEEK...

HANNAH MONTANA P26 Disney releases its video game tie-in of the ‘tween’ movie of the moment STORY HOUR P28 Zushi Games releases its debut titles a duo of storytelling games on Wii DCS: BLACKSHARK P29 The Fighter Collection releases the first in a series of aviation sims

AN i FOR DETAIL

DANCE PARTY P30 Nordic Games’ first console release takes full advantage of the dancemat

Nintendo’s DSi finally reaches retail this week. Read our full preview overleaf...

NEW RELEASES P31 MCV prints the full list of all the titles coming up on the horizon in the UK

Page 24

HIGH STREET P32 We speak to indie That’z Entertainment and run our price check

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Nintendo’s newest han dheld arrival is pa cked with features th at mark it o ut as a distinct le ap forward …

ALL SMILES: The DSi’s camera function offers new possibilities for gamers

RELEASED: OUT NOW MANUFACTURER: NINTENDO PRICE: £149.99 DISTRIBUTOR: OPEN CONTACT: 01753 483700

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RETAILBIZ: NINTENDO DSI WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 03/04/09 25

by Christoper Dring THE NINTENDO DSi lands on UK High Streets this week – and looks set to be the most significant step-change so far for a format which is already the outstanding hardware phenomenon of the 21st Century.

Key new features include two motion-detecting cameras, enhanced sound, game downloads and in-built memory which allows users to customise their DSi. It will launch with black and white versions, and is the slimmest and lightest member of the DS family yet.

The ‘i’ in DSi is all about individuality. It can take, store, customise and share photos. It can play your favourite music – and allow you to mess about with it. DSiWare software can be downloaded directly from the DSi Shop to make every unit unique in terms of appearance and content.

“

Even before the shot is snapped, you can use the stylus to draw on, distort or apply filters to whatever the camera is pointing at.

Face recognition software allows you to change people’s expressions, morph them together or add accessories such as glasses or even cat ears.

The camera does more than just take editable pictures, however. Because it’s motion-sensitive, it will also change the way DSi games are played.

It detects players’ facial features and body movements, so action can be controlled by movement alone; a whole new way to interact with the hardware and one that’s already proved hugely popular and inclusive on Wii. DSiWare – the handheld equivalent of digital distribution kingpin WiiWare – will continue to evolve and expand through quirky and creative add-ons as well as full-blown games, with loads of new stuff yet to be announced.

At launch we’ll be concentrating on DSi’s camera, download and recording/playback features.

James Honeywell, Nintendo

“With Nintendo DSi it is our intention to launch a new member of the Nintendo DS family that will offer new forms of entertainment and enjoyment, ensuring that customers continue to see the Nintendo DS as an exciting, innovative product,” says Nintendo’s senior product manager for handheld James Honeywell.

“We hope that the various new features will be useful and fun in everyday life and will encourage you to take your Nintendo DSi with you wherever you go. As you start to customise the DSi for yourself, storing your images and sound files in your own DSi, it will increasingly become personal and an integral part of your life.”

It is the presence of the two cameras that will grab most headlines and imaginations. Both take photos at a VGA resolution, but it doesn’t end there. All the pictures can be modified and manipulated.

i-MARKETING

”

One application will allow users to make animated cartoons or minimovies, whilst popular title Wario Ware utilises the camera to deliver a completely interactive experience.

Players get started by connecting to the internet via any wireless connection using the DSi’s Wi-Fi capabilities.

Then they can stock up on the Shop’s currency – good old Nintendo Points.

They can collect these either online using a credit card or by purchasing them at retail. Then they can just browse, buy and have fun.

“Although there are many new features, at launch we will be focusing on the camera, sound recording and playback facility and the download service,” adds Honeywell.

“These three features represent the easiest to access and instantly beneficial aspects of the Nintendo DSi.” The DSi is the grand next step for Nintendo’s world-conquering handheld, and the platform holder is expecting big things – supporting the product with an extensive marketing campaign (see iMarketing, above right).

Retail will be stocking up on games, accessories and hardware to capitalise on this Easter’s ‘must have’ product.

IT WOULDN’T be a Nintendo hardware launch without a typically massive PR and marketing push.

The DSi campaign kicked off on March 23rd with online preawareness leading into a heavyweight TV campaign that began on March 30th. This will run for four weeks. The TV advertising focuses on the new camera and sound features of DSi. Throughout all activity there will be a search campaign to enable users to easily find information on DSi online.

Point of sale material is also available throughout the launch phase aiming to educate consumers of the new features available in Nintendo’s latest handheld.

Cubes, wobblers and standees have all been produced and an A5 leaflet is available that will explain DSi in more detail.

“DSi will be our biggest handheld hardware launch to date and will easily be our biggest campaign this year,” says Nintendo senior product manager James Honeywell.

“We have already planned our activity throughout the whole year as we plan to drive awareness and communication right through to Christmas.”

DSINFO

Launches April 3rd £149.99 Two motion-detecting cameras Cameras loaded with 11 special effects Images can be edited after they’re taken Enhanced volume and sound quality Built-in internet capabilities Download games and applications from the DSi Shop 12 per cent thinner Available in black or white Bigger, brighter screen

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RETAILBIZ: HANNA MONTANA: THE MOVIE 26 MCV 03/04/09

WWW.MCVUK.COM

RELEASED: MAY 1 FORMATS: 360, PS3, WII, DS PUBLISHER: DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS DEVELOPER: DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS PRICE: VARIOUS DISTRIBUTOR: CENTRESOFT CONTACT: 0121 625 3388

Disney Interactive prepares to promote the official companion game to the upcoming Hannah Montana: The Movie, which invites fans into the world of the teenager with a sensational double life…

by James Batchelor WHILE THE phenomenal hype surrounding the High School Musical movie trilogy has largely come and gone, there is one Disney teenage franchise that is still going strong.

Making its debut in 2006, Hannah Montana has easily matched the success of its Grease-esque counterpart, and is set to improve on this further.

The franchise is built around the story of a fictional character Miley Stewart, played by Miley Cyrus, who leads a double life: by day, she is an ordinary high school student, but at night she is the pop sensation known as Hannah Montana. The show is one of the highest ranking programmes made for girls aged eight to 12 across all UK channels.

The third series has just launched on the Disney Channel, boasting a new look for the teen superstar. Her first two albums, released under the Hannah

Montana licence, have both gone gold in the UK, and The Climb, the latest single from the upcoming Hannah Montana: The Movie, has debuted at No.6 on the U.S. Billboard Singles Chart – the highest ever position in the US for Miley Cyrus to date.

With triumphs such as these under Disney’s belt, the stage is set for the inevitable success of the official video game for Hannah Montana: The Movie. Launching alongside its silver screen source material, the game follows the events of the film and allows Hannah’s fans to experience the life of being a pop star struggling to lead a normal life when the spotlights are turned off.

“There is a lot of Hannah Montana buzz our there,” says Disney’s UK PR manager Faye O’Donohue-Hill. “The latest series has been supported by a massive above-the-line campaign.

“

“There are a lot of publicity and marketing activities planned around the launch of the film from our Studio group coupled with our marketing campaign. We think the game is bound to be a hit with tween girls.”

Following the premise of the show, the game’s plot tells us that the only

Tennessee, hoping that getting back to her roots and the hometown she left behind will put everything in perspective for her.

The result is an adventure that sees Miley discovering whole new ways to appreciate both of the lives she leads.

Players assume the role of both Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana, experiencing There is a lot of Hannah the complexities of having Montana buzz out there. We a dual life for themselves. think that the game is bound As they explore key locations in Crowley to be a hit with tween girls.

Corners and the Faye O’Donohue-Hill, Disney surrounding areas, gamers people that know Miley Stewart’s will stumble upon tasks and challenges superstar secret are her family and her that allow them to realise their dreams best friend Lilly. As juggling school, of becoming their teen idol. friends and her secret life as a celebrity As you would expect, the Hannah starts to take its toll, Miley finds herself Montana sections revolve around forced to choose between her real life the world of music, with fans’ aptitude and that of her alter-ego. for music, singing and dance put to To help clear her head, her father the test. Successfully completing takes her home to Crowley Corners, activities unlocks new tracks,

”

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RETAILBIZ: HANNAH MONTANA WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 03/04/09 27

accessories and concert venues, with the ultimate goal of taking to the stage as Hannah herself.

MILEY HIGH

MONTANA TO CLIMB: The success of Disney’s ‘tween’ franchise is growing rapidly

Meanwhile, Miley’s role in the game is considerably more down to earth. Fans will discover her rural origins as a Tennessee farm girl, exploring her world and reuniting with her old friends.

In addition to the more poporientated content, they can even unlock outfits for Miley and Hannah’s wardrobe, allowing them to customise the characters to suit their own tastes.

As the biggest property Disney is releasing this quarter, Hannah Montana will be subject to a substantial marketing push, conveying the game’s message to the series’ sizeable established fanbase.

A three-week TV campaign will run throughout May, targeting girls with ads revolving around the iconic character.

As part of this, on air competitions will

be held on the Disney Channel across May and June.

A print campaign will run in Disney Girl and Hannah Montana Magazine during May and June, supported by features in targeted publications, trying to bring fans closer to the world of Hannah and Miley.

There will also be reviews and competitions across national and regional press, and an extensive PR campaign targeting tweens, fans of Hannah and their parents.

Online, the game will get plenty of exposure on various Disney websites and newsletters throughout May, as well as eye-catching ads appearing on key girls’ websites.

There will be game demo pods appearing in Disney stores around the country, as well as a few pods appearing at screenings of the movies at key cinemas, where there will also be competitions to win the game and related merchandise.

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RETAILBIZ: STORY HOUR 28 MCV 03/04/09

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Zushi Games launches the first two instalments in its new Story Hour franchise, bringing the most classic children’s stories to Wii in the form of interactive books…

by James Batchelor NINTENDO recently achieved success with its experimental Christmas release, 100 Classic Book Collection for DS. This odd but appealing title blurred the lines between literature and mainstream video games for the first time, offering a range of classic masterpieces and modern triumphs in digital form.

However, for all its appeal, a crucial audience was alienated by the DS software: children. The handheld’s sizeable younger audience surely has little interest in the likes of Shakespeare, Dickens or Austen. Yet reading is just as important to today’s youth, if not more so, than it is to adults.

Zushi Games has the answer. The newly-rebranded publisher is preparing to release its first two Story Hour games, bringing collections of timeless children’s stories to the Wii. Each game contains a selection of some of the finest tales that have been told for generations, blending them with the allimportant element of interactivity, which so often helps to engage children.

“There are two titles to choose from: Story Hour Fairy Tales and Story Hour Adventures,” explains Zushi’s marketing and PR manager Chris Brown.

“Both are exciting, imaginative, mystical and interactive storytelling experiences for pre-school kids who potentially miss out on all the joys of playing on a Nintendo Wii. “They also deliver education and entertainment value for parents to learn and play along with their children whether after nursery or at bed time, thanks to its creative production values, storytelling narration and gameplay.”

Story Hour Fairy Tales focuses on tales centred around princesses and RELEASED: MAY 29

STORY TIME: New publisher Zushi’s upcoming pair of Story Hour games offer young gamers and their parents the chance to ‘play’ their way through timeless tales including Aladdin, Jack And The Beanstalk, Paul Bunyan and The Three Brothers

heroines, including Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Dancing Princess. Meanwhile, Story Hour Adventures lives up to its name, featuring classic stories like Jack And The Beanstalk, Aladdin, Paul Bunyan and The Three Brothers.

Each story is presented in its own unique way. A range of different artists have illustrated each tale, lending their own individual style – and telling the tale from a perspective of their choice.

“

FORMATS: WII PUBLISHER: ZUSHI GAMES

HAPPY HOUR

DEVELOPER: OTHER OCEAN

Crucially, parents can choose how their children enjoy the stories. They can either have each tale read to them by the narrator or read it out loud,

PRICE: £19.99 DISTRIBUTOR: GEM CONTACT: 01279 822800

eventually encouraging their child’s development by getting them to try reading it themselves.

Unlike the 100 Classic Book Collection, the Story Hour games also offers lots of interactivity. At key points

These games offer exciting, imaginative and interactive storytelling experiences for pre-school kids.

Chris Brown, Zushi in the story, the narration stops to make way for a quick mini-game related to the tale’s events.

Kids have to accomplish basic tasks, such as helping Cinderella find pumpkins or helping Paul Bunyan chop down trees.

All of these mini-games, as well as the navigation through menus, are instantly accessible, requiring nothing more than the Wii Remote.

To promote the Story Hour Fairy Tales, Zushi will be concentrating its marketing efforts on appealing to parents.

Print ads will appear in selected specialist and lifestyle publications, while key websites will see banners, skyscrapers, MPUs and rich media displays. The publisher will also utilise e-marketing and affinity marketing.

“These are distinctively unique and polished interactive story-telling games targeting pre-school kids and parents, encouraging them to share the magical experience of story time,” adds Brown.

”

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RETAILBIZ: DCS: BLACK SHARK WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 03/04/09 29

RELEASED: OUT NOW FORMATS: PC PUBLISHER: THE FIGHTER COLLECTION DEVELOPER: EAGLE DYNAMICS PRICE: £34.99 DISTRIBUTOR: GEM CONTACT: 01279 822 800

Aviation specialist The Fighter Collection enters the UK games market with the first of its self-published series, Digital Combat Simulator – which focuses on the Russian Ka-50 ‘Black Shark’ attack helicopter…

by James Batchelor WHILE MOST other genres can take a few liberties with their source material in order to create a more enjoyable gameplay experience, simulation games are far more dependent on detail. Fans of these titles crave realism and demand nothing less than thorough research from the developers, regardless of whether or not the studio is familiar with whatever experience they are replicating.

Expertise is the biggest advantage The Fighter Collection has. The aviation company has years of experience with real-life aircraft – it even currently operates, rebuilds and maintains the largest collection of working World War II fighters in Europe. So it makes sense that such a firm should be perfectly positioned to create the ultimate flight simulation titles.

Having previously dabbled in games software – the company has even created training simulators for the military – The Fighter Collection now affirms its commitment to the medium with DCS: Black Shark, the first title in its new

Digital Combat Simulator series. This new franchise not only represents the company’s first self-published venture into the UK games market, but also forms a strong contender in a niche genre.

“The Digital Combat Simulator series will model in a large number of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft in the most profound level of detail, all offering fully clickable cockpits with six degrees of freedom,” says Jim Mackonochie, head of business development for The Fighter Collection.

FLIGHT CONTROL

“

As is implied by the title, the first game focuses on the Black Shark, or the Russian Ka-50 attack helicopter as it is more formally known. Flight sim fans can leap into the cockpit of this formidable chopper and take on a variety of combat missions, mastering their control over the aircraft in order to survive and triumph over their enemies.

For the more serious fight simulation enthusiast, the detailed modelling and extensive cockpit options puts them in

control of the Black Shark’s engine, fuel, hydraulics, electicals, navigation, radio, fire suppression, sensors and weapons systems. Meanwhile, more casual players looking for an experience more akin to the likes of HAWX and Ace Combat can enjoy the more arcade gameplay mode.

The developers at Eagle Dynamics have spent a great amount of time and

Each title will be stand-alone but will be able to integrate seamlessly with each other titles in the series.

Jim Mackonochie, TFC effort recreating the physics of the helicopter, ensuring it behaves in-game just as it would in real life. In fact, Mackonochie reveals the reason a helicopter was chosen to launch the series was because the flight characteristics of this type of aircraft was “the most difficult technical nut to crack”.

As a result, DCS: Black Shark boasts realistic flight physics, with the chopper behaving realistically when under

gamers’ control. The damage model and system cascade affect show how battered their craft would be after taking hits during the missions. Even the weapon physics are impressive, with missiles, rockets and cannon rounds all susceptible to ricochets.

Additional aircraft will be added over the course of the year, from fighter to more helicopters. These new products will be completely compatible with DCS: Black Shark and each other, as well as standing up as single titles, making the DCS series an unusual retail proposition.

“Each title will be stand-alone but will be able to integrate seamlessly into the core world simulation engine along with each other title in the series,” says Mackonochie. “Owners of each type of aircraft will be able to connect over the internet and take part in our synthetic battlefield environment.”

The result is that players will able to battle alongside their fellow DCS owners, even if they haven’t chosen Black Shark.

”

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RETAILBIZ: DANCE PARTY 30 MCV 03/04/09

WWW.MCVUK.COM

New publisher Nordic Games is hoping to rejuvenate the dancemat genre with the release of its musical duo, Dance Party: Pop Hits and Dance Party: Club Hits...

by James Batchelor WHILE OTHER gaming trends have come and gone, the dancemat genre is just as relevant today as it was when it debuted in the arcades.

Its influence is still being felt in rhythm-based software such as Guitar Hero, whilst active titles such as Wii Fit certainly owe it a major debt. So it’s only right that companies should continue to develop dancing products.

New European games publisher Nordic Games has opted to centre its first ever console release around dancemats, creating a duo of rhythmically appealing titles in Dance Party Pop Hits and Dance Party Club Hits. These games continue the tradition of the ever-popular dancemat games, challenging players to follow a set routine of foot-stomping moves along to a variety of popular tunes.

Although the games are compatible with all major dancemats already available for the Wii and PS2, Nordic will also be releasing special Dance Party dancemats, made specifically for use with the game. These mats will be available separately, but the publisher is hoping sales for both the peripheral and the game will be strong.

“We expect retail will sell the games with the mats together at very competitive prices – it is generally how this type of product is bought,” says Nordic’s international sales manager Nik Blower. “We’ve worked very hard to ensure ours are the lowest price and highest value combination of rhythmaction or music games available.”

“

Retailers can look forward to more titles being added to the Dance Party series, with some very clever and exciting features.

Nik Blower, Nordic

”

TWO TO TANGO

TOP TUNES

One of the key features of Nordic’s own-brand dance mat is that they feature eight directional pressure pads.

This means that instead of just the traditional dance routines revolving around four directions, the two titles will really put players to the test with eight arrows to follow.

As with other dancemat games, the appeal of Nordic’s titles will be

dependent on its roster of tunes.

Fortunately, each of the Dance Party games boast 15 familiar hits, with tunes from the Sugababes, Sam Spaaro, Booty Luv and Sophie Ellis Bextor amongst many others.

Each song has a set routine for players to master on three different difficulty levels, making for a grand total of 45 routines.

However, if gamers manage to perfect all of these, or just believe they can do better, there is the opportunity to record their own dance moves for any of the tracks. There is even a fitness mode, with routines designed to work up a sweat and help dancers improve their health.

PARTY TIME: Nordic Games’ debut releases offer players eight directions to follow

Another element of the dancemat genre’s popularity has been the multiplayer – be it two-player dance offs or points-battling amongst the family.

Dance Party also caters to gamers’ competitive streaks, with a head-to-head two-player setup as well as a Party mode, which supports up to eight players.

“We recognise that not everyone with a PS2 or Wii has access to an internet connection, so we took this into account and made sure the party and social elements weren’t forgotten,” adds Blower. “With Dance Party, you can have eight players with just one game, one dancemat and one console.”

RELEASED: APRIL 24 FORMATS: WII, PS2 PUBLISHER: NORDIC GAMES DEVELOPER: BROADSWORD INTERACTIVE PRICE: VARIOUS DISTRIBUTOR: CENTRESOFT CONTACT: 0121 625 3388

Although the launch campaign is being kept to a minimum, Nordic is aiming for long-tail success with marketing planned for the summer. However, there will be plenty of POS available in the form of dummy mat and game boxes, posters, FSDUs, shelf wobblers and A4 flyers.

The firm’s above-the-line summer campaign will be detailed in due course.

“The Dance Party games and others like it tend to sell over a long period so there is no need for us to focus too much on the launch period,” explains Blower. “When I worked at Big Ben UK, we had the same approach with Dance:UK – coincidentally also developed by Broadsword – and it worked well. We sold over 750,000 units in the UK alone.

“Doing it this way also allows us to better target our marketing, as we will have already had some sales and therefore a real consumer group to work on. Retailers can also look forward to more titles being added to the Dance Party series with some very clever and exciting features.”

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RETAILBIZ: NEW RELEASES WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 03/04/09 31

Check out MCVUK.COM/RELEASE-DATES for more

South Peak and Atari spice up April Violent WWII adventure Velvet Assassin arrives in UK stores, as Vin Diesel returns in the long-awaited Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena. Other imminent releases include Little Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Story and Ultimate Band...

TITLE

FORMAT

GENRE

PUBLISHER

TELEPHONE

DISTRIBUTOR

Wii DS Wii DS PC PC PC PC PC PC DS PSP PC DS DS Wii PC / PS3 / XBOX 360 DS / Wii / PS2 PC / XBOX 360

Children's Children's Music RPG Simulation Action RPG Simulation FPS Simulation Simulation Equestrian Simulation Shooter Self-Improvement Self-Improvement Sports Action Music Stealth/Action

505 Games 505 Games 505 Games V.2 Play Atari Atari Atari Atari Atari Atari Zoo Digital Ghostlight Bluestone V.2 Play V.2 Play Zoo Digital EA Disney Interactive South Peak

0121 506 9585 0121 506 9590 0121 506 9585 0121 625 3388 0121 506 9585 0121 506 9585 0121 506 9585 0121 506 9585 0121 506 9585 0121 506 9585 01279 822 800 01376 555333 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 01279 822 800 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388

Advantage Advantage Advantage Centresoft Advantage Advantage Advantage Advantage Advantage Advantage Gem Open Centresoft Centresoft Centresoft Gem Centresoft Centresoft Centresoft

PSP / PC / Wii / PS2 DS PSP PSP Wii PSP

Action FPS Action RTS Puzzle RPG

Oxygen South Peak 505 Games Deep Silver Midas Sega

0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 506 9585 0870 027 0985 01376 555 333 0121 625 3388

Centresoft Centresoft Advantage Koch Open Centresoft

DS PC / PS3 / XBOX 360 PC PC PC PS3 / XBOX 360 PC Wii Wii DS DS Wii Wii Wii

Simulation Action/Adventure Strategy RTS Puzzle Action Adventure Self-Improvement RPG/Action Puzzle Self-Improvement Action Strategy Music

Activision Blizzard Atari THQ THQ Kalypso Media Koei Kalypso Media Deep Silver Rising Star Games 505 Games 505 Games Nordcurrent Nintendo EA

0121 625 3388 0121 506 9590 0121 506 9585 0121 506 9585 0121 506 9585 01462 476 130 0121 506 9585 0870 027 0985 01582 433700 0121 506 9585 0121 506 9585 0845 456 6400 0870 027 0985 0121 625 3388

Centresoft Advantage Advantage Advantage Advantage Open Advantage Koch Centresoft Advantage Advantage Trilogy Koch Centresoft

Wii / DS PSP DS / Wii / PS3 / PS2 / XBOX 360 DS Wii PC / Wii Wii DS PC PC / Wii

Puzzle Action Music Simulation Simulation Sports Music Lifestyle Strategy Action

Ubisoft Koei Disney Interactive JoWood JoWood Playlogic Nintendo Deep Silver JoWood Playlogic

0845 456 6400 01462 476 130 0121 625 3388 01273 202 220 01273 202 220 0121 625 3388 0870 027 0985 0870 027 0985 01273 202 220 0121 625 3388

Trilogy Open Centresoft Lace Lace Centresoft Koch Koch Lace Centresoft

APRIL 10th Diva Girls: Princess on Ice Div Girls: Diva Dancers We Rock: Drum King Away: Shuffle Dungeon Games For Laptop: Chris Sawyer's Locomotion Games For Laptop: Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure Games For Laptop: Neverwinter Nights & Expansions Games For Laptop: Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 & Expansions Games For Laptop: Tactical Ops Games For Laptop: Tycoon City New York Love Is... In Bloom Mary King's Riding School 2 Metal Slug Collection Mind Your Language: Learn Japanese Mind Your Language: Learn Spanish Skate City Heroes The Godfather II Ultimate Band Velvet Assassin

APRIL 17th CID The Dummy Dementium Dragonball Evolution Mytran Wars Octomania Phantasy Star Portable

APRIL 24th Animal Planet: Emergency Vets Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Company Of Heroes: Anthology Company Of Heroes: Tales Of Valor Crazy Machines Complete Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 Gobliiins 4 Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009 Little King's Story Mind, Body & Soul: Big Word Puzzle Book Mind, Body & Soul: MinDStorm II Minon: Everyday Hero New Play Control! Pikmin 2 Rock Band 2

MAY Ist Aqua Panic Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Hannah Montana: The Movie Game Life Signs Pet Pals Pool Hall Pro Rhythm Paradise Russell Grant's Astrology The History Pack Vertigo

MUSTSTOCK ........................VELVET ASSASSIN

MUSTSTOCK ..............CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK

Released: April 10 Format: Xbox 360, PC Publisher: South Peak Distributor: Centresoft Contact: 0121 625 3388

Released: April 24 Format: Xbox 360, PS3, PC Publisher: Atari Distributor: Advantage Contact: 0121 506 9585

Based on the exploits of historical spy Violette Szabo, Velvet Assassin sends players into the memories of a secret agent on a series of brutal missions. Bringing a new take on World War II to gaming, this title is certain to draw attention with its graphic violence.

The highly anticipated sequel to Escape From Butcher Bay, Assault On Dark Athena contains a brand new adventure, a remastered edition of the original title and new multiplayer modes.

Fans of Vin Diesel and the first game are already counting the days until this game arrives.

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RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET 32 MCV 03/04/09

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Sponsored by

INDIE CHARTS - ALL FORMATS THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

1

PUBLISHER

RESIDENT EVIL 5 FORMAT: 360

2

2

3

NEW

4

TITLE/FORMAT

DEVELOPER: CAPCOM PUBLISHER: CAPCOM

RESIDENT EVIL 5 PS3

CAPCOM

WWE LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA PS3

THQ

PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE DS

NINTENDO

5

NEW

GTA: CHINATOWN WARS DS

ROCKSTAR

6

NEW

WWE LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA 360

7

8

9

WII FIT Wii

GANGSTERS, KNIGHTS AND CHAINSAWS LESS POPULAR THAN ZOMBIES

THQ NINTENDO

8

3

KILLZONE 2 PS3

SONY

9

12

SONIC AND THE BLACK KNIGHT Wii

SEGA

10

NEW

MADWORLD Wii

SEGA

11

5

SOCOM CONFRONTATION (WITH PS3 WIRELESS HEADSET) PS3

SONY

12

10

PERSONA 4 PS2

13

7

EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR PC

SQUARE ENIX SEGA

14

6

HALO WARS 360

15

15

SOCOM CONFRONTATION SOLUS PS3

16

NEW

17

13

TOM CLANCY H.A.W.X PS3

UBISOFT CAPCOM

MICROSOFT

RESISTANCE RETRIBUTION PSP

SONY SONY

18

RE

STREET FIGHTER IV 360

19

7

EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR SPECIAL FORCE EDITION PC

SEGA

20

RE

SEGA ULTIMATE MEGA DRIVE COLLECTION 360

SEGA

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.

A SLEW OF high quality new releases have failed to topple Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 from the top spot in the Indie Charts. In a week that saw the release of WWE Legends Of Wrestlemania, GTA: Chinatown Wars, MadWorld and Sonic And The Black Knight, the zombie-infested blockbuster remained triumphant, proving the popularity of the series is not waning.

Legends Of Wrestlemania also stood tall, affirming that the wrestling genre has yet to become stagnant. The THQ title shot straight into the upper end of the chart, with the PS3 version

“Legends Of Wrestlemania stood tall, affirming that the wrestling genre has yet to become stagnant, despite a recent annual release.” second only to Resident Evil 5, despite fans receiving their usual annual fix of WWE Smackdown Vs Raw back in November.

Rockstar’s critically acclaimed Chinatown Wars performed well in its debut week, outselling the 360 version of Legends Of Wrestlemania and the other new releases. However, it failed to outsell the seemingly unstoppable Professor Layton And The Curious Village, reflecting the significance of the Nintendo handheld’s mainstream audience.

Despite Sega’s efforts to lead the way for more mature titles on the Wii, the eagerly awaited MadWorld lost out to the latest Wii-exclusive outing for the publisher’s mascot, Sonic And The Black Knight.

Finally, contrary to several claims from indies to MCV, Resistance: Retribution proves there is still a viable audience on the PSP. James.Batchelor@intentmedia.co.uk

speak to Richard Stevens at That’z Entertainment FROM THE FRONTLINE We in Thurrock’s Lakeside shopping centre…

What sets your store apart from the rest?

We’ve been trading for the best part of 24 years. We’re the only independent in Lakeside, which is quite a bustling shopping centre, but we focus on customer service and always look for the niche products that sell really well but are often ignored by our competitors.

What has been selling well for you?

Towards Christmas, Nintendo products for the Wii and DS wiped the floor with everything else. But throughout the year, it’s pretty much an even split between Xbox 360 and PS3. The Nintendo products slow down quite a lot. Overall though the 360 still has its nose in front.

Has anything been underperforming?

The PSP has been very quiet for the last year or so despite Sony’s efforts to revitalise it and bring out new models.

It’s not really supported a lot of the time, particularly in terms of games. A lot of the titles that come out across most formats don’t appear on PSP. What would you change about the games industry?

We used to deal with a lot of the larger companies directly, but that isn’t really the case now. A lot of publishers now deal with us through distributors, and a price gets added on for that. The only one we deal with directly is Konami. Back then, we also had more a bit more help with regards to staying competitive.

ble at a l i a v All A

For more information contact sales - 01256 385 251

NINTENDO DS, IS A TRADEMARK OF NINTENDO.

TO TAKE PART PLEASE CONTACT: JAMES.BATCHELOR@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK

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RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 03/04/09 33 Sponsored by

Check out RETAILBIZ at WWW.MCVUK.COM

PRICE CHECK

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania

Madworld

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PS3, THQ

Wii, Sega

DS, Rockstar

PSP, Sony

360, Microsoft

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IN STORE: SCUNTHORPE

ONLINE

RETAIL PROMOTIONS

NINTENDO DS, IS A TRADEMARK OF NINTENDO.

An 80GB PS3 console can be bought bundled with Sony’s LittleBigPlanet on Curry’s website for £299.99 with a free copy of Ubisoft’s Far Cry 2.

The rentailer is having a sale with up to 50 per cent off pre-owned games.

Prices range from £17.99 for Fallout 3 on PS3 to a mere 99p for FIFA 07 on Xbox 360.

MARGIN MAKER

Wii fans over 18 can pick up this mature Sega bundle, which includes the console with Wii Sports, MadWorld and House Of The Dead: Overkill for £189.99.

IN THE PAST, flight simulation has been a predominantly PC-based genre, but over the past few years the likes Tom Clancy’s HAWX has proven console gamers are more than partial to going up-diddly-up.

Mad Catz now caters to this audience with the latest additions to the Aviator range. The Saitek Aviator Flight Stick For Xbox 360 and Saitek Aviator Flight Stick For PlayStation 3 brings all the advantages of a dedicated joystick to console owners.

As with the PC counterparts, the console edition of the Aviator

features an oversized flat base for increased stability and boasts all the control options you would expect from a flight stick. This includes a heavy-duty combat trigger, throttle lever, POV analog stick and three dedicated fire buttons, modelled on those of the respective consoles’ controllers.

The sticks have been fully tested to work with the Ubisoft’s HAWX and are fully compatible with the PC, too. The Xbox 360 edition also includes and integrated Xbox Live headset connector to communicate with other players online.

Mad Catz: 01908 336538

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RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS 34 MCV 03/04/09

WWW.MCVUK.COM

Check out RETAILBIZ at WWW.MCVUK.COM

OFFICIALUKCHARTS NINTENDO DS THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2 3 4 5 6 9 11 14 10

[1] [FULL PRICE]

TITLE

PROFESSOR LAYTON: CURIOUS VILLAGE DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO

PLAYSTATION 2 THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

TITLE

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD PERSONA 4 SQUARE ENIX FIFA ‘09 EA PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2009 KONAMI TOMB RAIDER: UNDERWORLD EIDOS WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 THQ NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERCOVER EA LEG0 BATMAN WARNER BROS MONSTERS VS ALIENS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

PSP THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

[FULL PRICE] TITLE

PUBLISHER

RESISTANCE: REVOLUTION

2 3 4 5

2 3 4 5

FIFA 09 BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE FOOTBALL MANAGER 2009 NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERCOVER

6 7 8 9 10

6 9 8

PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2009 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 MIDNIGHT CLUB: L.A. REMIX TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 2009 PATAPON 2

7

DEVELOPER: SCEA BEND PUBLISHER: SONY EA D3P SEGA EA KONAMI THQ ROCKSTAR EA SONY

FORMAT: PS3, 360

DEVELOPER: CAPCOM PUBLISHER: CAPCOM

LAST WEEK

2

2

WII FIT Wii

3

7

STREET FIGHTER IV 360, PS3

4

3

PROFESSOR LAYTON DS

5

4

WWE LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA 360, PS3

6

9

FIFA ‘09 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS, PC

[4]

[5]

RESIDENT EVIL 5

THIS WEEK

DEVELOPER: MONKEY BAR GAMES PUBLISHER: D3P

1 RE

1

PUBLISHER

1 NEW

[2]

[3]

[FULL PRICE]

BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE

2 4 3 6 5 7 8 9

TOP 40ALL

PUBLISHER

GTA: CHINATOWN WARS ROCKSTAR DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING NINTENDO CLUB PENGUIN: ELITE PENGUIN FORCE DISNEY SCRABBLE INTERACTIVE: 2009 EDITION UBISOFT MYSTERY CASE FILES: MILLIONHEIR NINTENDO MARIO KART DS NINTENDO NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. NINTENDO MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES SEGA BIG BRAIN ACADEMY NINTENDO

[ENTERTAINMENT - ALL PRICES]

TITLE

PUBLISHER NINTENDO

7

10

COD: WORLD AT WAR 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PC

8

6

GTA: CHINATOWN WARS DS

CAPCOM NINTENDO THQ EA ACTIVISION BLIZZARD ROCKSTAR

9

15

COD4: MODERN WARFARE 360, PS3, PC, DS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

10

5

TOM CLANCY’S H.A.W.X. 360, PS3

11

NEW

THE WHEELMAN 360, PS3,

12

13

WII PLAY Wii

NINTENDO

13

25

MARIO KART WII Wii

NINTENDO

14

11

KILLZONE 2 PS3

15

8

DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING DS

16

16

MARIO & SONIC: OLYMPIC GAMES Wii, DS

17

14

BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE PS2, Wii, PSP, DS

18

23

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV 360, PS3, PC

UBISOFT MIDWAY/UBISOFT

SONY

D3P

19

28

CARNIVAL: FUNFAIR GAMES Wii, DS

26

SEGA MEGA DRIVE COLLECTION 360, PS3

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

SEGA

ROCKSTAR

20

PC CD-ROM

NINTENDO

2K PLAY SEGA

[FULL PRICE]

TITLE

PUBLISHER

1

EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2009 SEGA WARHAMMER 40,00O: DAWN OF WAR II THQ WOW: WRATH OF THE LICH KING ACTIVISION BLIZZARD TOM CLANCY’S H.A.W.X. UBISOFT COD 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION BLIZZARD THE SIMS 2: DOUBLE DELUXE EA C&C: RED ALERT 3 EA CRYSIS EA GRAND THEFT AUTO IV ROCKSTAR

2 4 5 3 6 7 9 RE

11

DEVELOPER: CREATIVE ASSEMBLY PUBLISHER: SEGA

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RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 03/04/09 35

The Wheelman, the Vin Diesel adventure co-

GfK-ChartTrack All Formats Charts as Resident Evil

published by Midway and Ubisoft, just missed out

5 racks up a third week at the top. The game has

on the Top Ten, due in no small part to the

now matched the success of Resident Evil 3,

continuing success of past Christmas blockbusters

both having survived three weeks at the top of

such as FIFA 09 and the Call Of Duty games

the charts.

Despite a 40 per cent loss in sales, Nintendo’s Professor Layton only slips by one position, failing to match the success of the non-moving Wii Fit. James Batchelor

The publisher also benefits from the ongoing price promotion of Street Fighter IV, which saw a sales boost propel the brawler up the charts.

PS3

L FORMATS Highest New Entry

21

31

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

Highest Top 40 Climber

GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR PS3, Wii, 360, PS2 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

22

NEW

23

19

HALO WARS 360

24

17

MY FITNESS COACH Wii

25

NEW

C&C: RED ALERT 3 PS3

PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2009 WII

KONAMI MICROSOFT UBISOFT

KILLZONE 2 STREET FIGHTER IV WWE LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA TOM CLANCY’S H.A.W.X. COMMAND & CONQUER: RED ALERT 3 THE WHEELMAN LITTLEBIGPLANET FIFA ‘09 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR

2 4 3 5 NEW NEW

9 6 7

SINGSTAR QUEEN PS3, PS2

CLUB PENGUIN: ELITE PENGUIN FORCE DS DISNEY

28

18

EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR PC

SEGA

WII

29

21

SONIC AND THE BLACK KNIGHT Wii

SEGA

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

SONY

30

12

PUZZLER COLLECTION DS

UBISOFT

31

24

MARIO POWER TENNIS Wii

NINTENDO

32

RE

NEED FOR SPEED: PROSTREET 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2 EA

33

NEW

34

RE

SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2

35

RE

LITTLEBIGPLANET PS3

AFRO SAMURAI 360, PS3

ATARI THQ SONY

36

27

SCRABBLE INTERACTIVE: 2009 EDITION DS UBISOFT

37

30

MYSTERY CASE FILES: MILLIONHEIR DS

NINTENDO

38

RE

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2009 PC

29

32

DISNEY’S BOLT PS3, PS2, 360, DS, Wii

DISNEY

40

36

LEGO STAR WARS DS, 360, PS3, Wii

LUCASARTS

SEGA

PUBLISHER

WORLD OF WARCRAFT

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

WOW: BURNING CRUSADE ACTIVISION BLIZZARD AMAZING ADVENTURES: LOST TOMB FOCUS MYSTERYVILLE 2 GSP/AVANQUEST BEJEWELED 2 FOCUS MYSTERY IN LONDON: JACK THE RIPPER FOCUS THE ORANGE BOX EA BEJEWLED TWIST FOCUS AGE OF EMPIRES III MICROSOFT SETTLERS: HERITAGE OF KINGS FOCUS

13 9

SONY CAPCOM THQ UBISOFT EA MIDWAY/UBISOFT SONY EA ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

[FULL PRICE] TITLE

DEVELOPER: BLIZZARD PUBLISHER: ACTVISION BLIZZARD

PUBLISHER

1

WII FIT

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

MARIO KART WII MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES SONIC AND THE BLACK KNIGHT MARIO POWER TENNIS THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: OVERKILL RAYMAN RAVING RABBIDS TV PARTY MADWORLD PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2009 FAMILY SKI & SNOWBOARD

4 5 2 3 7 21 6 NEW

8

DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO

XBOX 360

[BUDGET PRICE]

1 NEW

DEVELOPER: CAPCOM PUBLISHER: CAPCOM

EA

22

4 2 3 5 18 6

PUBLISHER

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

20

TITLE

TITLE

RESIDENT EVIL 5

27

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

[FULL PRICE]

1

26

PC CD-ROM

WEEK ENDING 28/03/09

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

TITLE

RESIDENT EVIL 5

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

WWE LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA STREET FIGHTER IV CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE HALO WARS CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR THE WHEELMAN TOM CLANCY’S H.A.W.X. FIFA ‘09 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

NEW

3 7 9

NINTENDO SEGA SEGA NINTENDO SEGA UBISOFT SEGA KONAMI ATARI

[FULL PRICE]

1 2 5 8 4 6

(c) ELSPA, Compiled by ChartTrack

CAPCOM CONTINUES to triumph in the ELSPA

PUBLISHER

DEVELOPER: CAPCOM PUBLISHER: CAPCOM THQ CAPCOM ACTIVISION BLIZZARD MICROSOFT ACTIVISION BLIZZARD MIDWAY/UBISOFT UBISOFT EA ROCKSTAR

[SOURCE]

[ANALYSIS]

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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR

DIRECTORY

STORE FITTINGS

KEY CONTACTS

CREATIVE & PROMOTIONAL SERVICES Wrapstar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0)7778 204970 DISTRIBUTION Creative Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8664 3456 Gem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800 Ideal Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01767 689 720 Logic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471 000 Meroncourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01462 680060 GAMES CONSOLE REPAIR Total Console Repair Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 087 19 18 17 21

AMA DISPLAYS . . . . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1924 507217 . . . . . . . . . www.ama-displays.co.uk CREATIVE & PROMOTIONAL SERVICES

GAME DEVELOPER HotGen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +44 (0)20 8603 0555 LOCALISATION Partnertrans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 247731 Testronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 653 722 Universally Speaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 210621 STORE FITTINGS AMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01924 507 217 Retail Entertainment Displays. . . . . . . . . . . . 01733 239001 DISC REPAIR TDR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01202 489 500 Perfect Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8778 5164 RTI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01895 252 191 WRAPSTAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . +44 (0) 7778 204970 . . . . . . . . www.wrapstar-skins.com DISTRIBUTION

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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK DISTRIBUTION

EDITORIAL PLANNER Some of the special issues coming up in MCV, the only trade publication that covers all sectors of the market...

FRIDAY APRIL 10th

PRE-OWNED SPECIAL As the global economy continues to suffer, retailers and consumers are increasingly turning to the pre-owned market to increase margins and save the pennies. MCV provides a series of features on the pros and cons of the often controversial second-hand video game sector.

TERRITORY REPORT: AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND Australia is regularly in the gaming press, with many of the biggest adult games having to be edited before they can be released Down Under due to the lack of an ‘18’ certificate. MCV investigates the state of the Australian and New Zealand video game markets, speaking to suppliers, key industry personnel and analysts.

FRIDAY APRIL 17th

SELF IMPROVEMENT AND NON-GAMES With the success of Wii Fit and Brain Training inspiring waves of less traditional and more beneficial titles, it’s a good time to analyse this sector of the market. MCV looks at what the future holds for selfimprovement titles and ‘non-games’, and how publishers are working to capture the audience of this market.

FRIDAY APRIL 24th

MCV AWARDS WINNERS Find out who emerged victorious from this year’s Awards ceremony, as MCV brings you a full report on the biggest night in the games industry calendar, which rewards the most deserving companies and the attending representatives for industry excellence.

TERRITORY REPORT: CHINA AND ASIA The Far East contains several unique markets that do things very differently to the rest of the world. Publishers and platform holders alike have to jump through completely different hoops to see their products released here. We look at how the territory’s video games industry works and what opportunities it offers.

LOCALISATION AND QA SPECIAL Good localisation is growing in importance as publishers look to expand their reach into emerging markets. MCV talks to the leading QA and localisation specialists on the latest developments facing the sector.

FRIDAY MAY 8th

TOP 20 INDEPENDENTS Independent retail remains a thriving sector in the UK, with chains such as Grainger Games continuing to grow in the face of economic uncertainty.

MCV gives a run-down of the 20 best outlets in the sector.

FRIDAY MAY 15th

GUIDE TO GAMES RETAIL BUYERS Profiling the key players in this sector of the industry, we look at the leading retailers’ games buyers. This ultimate guide will give publishers everything they need to know about those who play this crucial role in bringing games to shelves. We also offer a round-up of the sector’s movers and shakers, as the retail landscape continues to change.

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: LOGIC 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471000 . . . . . . . . . . . www.uksales@logic3.com

CHRIS.DRING@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK

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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR DISC REPAIR

HIGH PERFORMANCE OPTICAL DISC REPAIR SYSTEMS Eco Senior Fully Automatic Repair System

Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 8,000 request-only subscribers every month.

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Call 01895 252191 for Introductory Offers Eco Master

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Stainless Games ...............jobs@stainlessgames.com Strawdog Studio ...................+44 (0) 1332 258 862 TOOLS bluegfx ................................+44 (0) 1483 467 200 Epic Games ................................+1 919 870 1516 Fork Particle............................00 (1) 925 417 1785 Natural Motion.......................+44 (0)1865 250575 SERVICES 3D Creation Studio ..............+44 (0) 151 236 9992 Air Edel................................+44 (0) 207 486 6466 Air Studios ...........................+44 (0) 207 794 0660 GAMEINDUSTRYJOBS.eu..........+31 3110 7504580 Ian Livingstone .....................+44 (0) 1483 421 491 Partnertrans .........................+44 (0) 1753 247 731

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To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and every week in MCV) contact jaspreet.kandola@intentmedia.co.uk.

All subscription requests should go to mcv.subscriptions@c-cms.com

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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK DISC REPAIR

Insider’s | Guide

This week’s Insider is Mick Morris from motion capture company Audiomotion…

Tell us something we didn’t know about Audiomotion.

The whole motion capture thing is a front. Everyone at Audiomotion has either a lycra fetish or a penchant for guns.

Some of the staff are into both.

Makes for interesting nights out.

Could you tell us a little about your services?

We are a service-based provider of motion capture to the games and film industry. With over 130 cameras we capture faces, fingers and body simultaneously with multiple actors. This makes for more cinematic storytelling.

What’s the best thing about your job?

I work with an amazing team who never fail to surprise me with their top-notch animation.

We get to work on a wide

TOTAL DISC REPAIR. . . . . . . . . . 01202 489500 . . . . . . . . . www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk

range of games, movies and commercials. It’s never dull.

Any new developments happening at your company?

We have some cool new services under wraps at the moment. In terms of projects we are still basking in the glow of Killzone 2. On the movie front we’ve been working on The Watchmen and Angels and Demons, both movies featuring our work but only one has people in cool lycra outfits.

How are you coping with the economic climate?

We are busy on a raft of greenlit projects. We will be doing our best to help our clients get the absolute maximum bang for buck over the next 12 months and beyond, without compromising on quality.

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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR LOCALISATION

GAME DEVELOPER

TESTRONIC LABORATORIES . . . +44 (0) 1753 653 722. . . . www.testroniclabs.com LOCALISATION

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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK GAMES CONSOLE REPAIR

DIARY DATES ‘09 From the MCV Awards to the PES Industry Rankings, here are all the essential industry dates to get in your diary…

APRIL MULTIPLAY M FESTIVAL Friday, April 10th Monday, April 13th Stoneleigh Park, Southampton www.mfestival.com.

MAY TOTAL CONSOLE REPAIR . . . . . . 087 19 18 17 21. . . . . www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk STORE FITTINGS

LONDON MCM EXPO Saturday, May 23rd – Sunday, May 24th London, Excel www.londonexpo.com

JUNE E3 Tuesday, June 2nd – Thursday, June 4th LA Convention Center, LA www.e3expo.com

JULY DEVELOP CONFERENCE 2009 Tuesday, July 14th – Thursday, July 16th Brighton www.develop-conference.com

MCV INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS Thursday, April 23rd The Brewery, London jodie.holdway@ bhpr.co.uk The biggest night in the games industry calendar returns to The Brewery and will feature awards split across three 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 industry event that gives credit to the industry’s most deserving execs.

DEVELOP INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS Wednesday, July 15th Brighton www.developmag.com RETAIL ENTERTAINMENT DISPLAYS . . 01733 239001 . . . . . . . www.reddisplays.com LOCALISATION

GAMES CONVENTION ONLINE Friday, July 31st Sunday, August 2nd Leipzig, Germany www.leipziger-messe.com

AUGUST EDINBURGH INTERACTIVE FESTIVAL Monday, August 10th – Sunday, August 16th Edinburgh, Scotland www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com GDC EUROPE Monday, August 17th Wednesday, August 19th Cologne, Germany www.gdceurope.com GAMESCOM Wednesday, August 19th Sunday, August 23rd Cologne, Germany www.gamescom-cologne.com PARTNERTRANS . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 247731 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.partnertrans.com

XBOX 360/MCV PUB QUIZ Thursday, May 21st Sway Bar, Holborn dave.roberts @intentmedia.co.uk The Xbox 360/MCV Pub Quiz is now firmly established as one of the industry’s favourite nights out.

Taking place every three months at the swanky Sway Bar in Holborn, it brings together the market’s leading publishers, retailers and media to compete for some pretty substantial prizes – and the honour of being the biggest brains in games.

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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 42 MCV 03/04/09

WWW.MCVUK.COM

International Distribution Guide AUSTRALIA

DENMARK

All Interactive.................Helensvale Town Centre

ENTERTAINMENT TRADING APS AFA INTERACTIVE

Stenholm 1, 9400,

66 Hughes Street, Mile End,

Norresundby, Denmark

South Australia 5031

Phone: +45 70277640

Tel: +61 8823 41355

Fax: +45 70277650 email: sales@entertainment-trading.com Web www.entertainment-trading.com

Groß Electronic .......................................Rohrnbach

Playcom Software Vertriebs .......................Erfurt

POLAND

Vitrex Multimedia Großhandel.....................Erfurt

CD Projekt Sp. z o.o......................................Warsaw

GREECE Centric ...............................................................Athens Nortec Multimedia.........................................Athens Zegetron S.A....................................................Athens

HUNGARY

Poland

Antec .............................................................Budapest

Asia Pacific HQ - Level 8/606 St.Kilda Rd,

Gateway Distribution ApS

Melbourne, Vic, Australia, 3004

+44 1279 408 665 (UK)

Web: asiapac-sales@thq.com

+45 7026 0870 (DK)

Tel: +6139573.9203

dt@gatewaydistribution.dk www.gatewaydistribution.dk

Red Ant...................................Baulkham Hills, NSW

AUSTRIA

ESTONIA Andrico ..............................................................Tallinn

Koch Media GmbH...............................Rottenmann Play Art Multimedia Handels GmbH....Rankweil

FINLAND Panvision Oy.......................................................Turku

BELGIUM

FRANCE

Horelec S.A. ...........................................Bruxelles

EMC GROUPE CASINO..........Croissy Beaubourg

CLD Distribution S.A. .........................Fernelmont

Tel: +48 71 341 76 95 Fax: +48 71 343 98 96

PORTUGAL ecofilmes...............................Sao Joao Da Madeira TM

MILESTONE INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE LIMITED Pramukh Plaza, 2nd Floor,

PLANETA DEAGOSTINI INTERACTIVE

Cardinal Gracious Road,

Diagonal, 662-664, 3ª planta D,

Chakala, Andheri East,

08034, Barcelona, Spain,

Mumbai 400 099, INDIA.

Tel: +34 93 492 08 89

Tel: +91 22 28203319

distributioninteractive@planetadeagostini.es

Fax: +91 22 28203334

www.planetadeagostini.net

email: distribution@milestoneinteractive.com website: www.milestoneinteractive.com

ISRAEL

v.2 PLAY. LDA Studio Office Marquês de Pombal – Avenida de Loulé nº 123 1069-152 -

ITALY INNELEC MULTIMEDIA 45 rue Delizy, 93692 PANTIN Cedex

GAMEWORLD

France

Cornusbaan 1, 2908 KB Capelle A/D IJssel

Email purchase: f_alglave@innelec.com

Tel: +31 10 298 3838

Email export sales: g_armspach@innelec.com

Web: rishi@gameworld.nl

Tel: 00.33.1.48.10.55.55

Gibareio.............................................................Nicosia

INDIA

Hed-Arzi......................................................Or-Yehuda

BENELUX

CYPRUS

Email: business@techland.pl Web: www.techland.pl

Sena ................................................................Reykavik

GATEWAY DISTRIBUTION APS

TECHLAND Sp. z.o.o.

Kazmierza Wlk 27, 50-077 Wroclaw,

ICELAND THQ AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & ASIA.

Pan Vision Norway..............................................Oslo

Otto Group ...................................................Hamburg

GERMANY

Lisbon, Portugal

Cidiverte Spa ...............................................Gallarate

Tel. 00351 21 31 46 51 0

Coop Italia..........................................Sesto F.NO (FI)

Fax 00351 21 31 61 12 5

Digital Bros spa................................................Milano Leader Spa.................................Gazzada Schianno Newave Italia...................................................Firenze

RUSSIA

Promovideo SRL ...........................................Senago

Hitzona.............................................................Moscow Noviy Disk .......................................................Moscow

NETHERLANDS

Soft Club..........................................................Moscow

Gameworld BV............................Capelle A/D Ijssel

Vellod...................................................................Mitishi

Micromedia BV...........................................Nijmegen Favour Games..................................................Tilburg

SERBIA

Rigu Sound B.V................2153 GB Nieuw Vennep

DTP ENTERTAINMENT AG GOODTONES GREAT GAMES LTD

Goldbekplatz 3-5, 22303 Hamburg, Germany

1 Alkaiou Street / Office 1 /

Tel: +49 (0)40 66 99 10 0

Engomi / Nicosia 2404 / Cyprus

Fax: +49 (0)40 66 99 10 10

tel. +357 22 666612

email: s.lass@dtp-entertainment.com

www.greatgames.com.cy

Web: www.dtp-entertainment.com

NEW ZEALAND Gamewizz..........................................................Albany

COMPUTERLAND DOO Kumodraska 45

NORWAY

11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Pan Vision Norway.....................................Trollasen

Tel:+381(0)11 309 95 95

MPX.no .......................................................Sandefjord

Fax:+381(0)11 309 95 96

Platekompaniet....................................................Oslo

mail:games@computerland.rs

Massemedia AS...........................................Notteroy

website:www.computerland.rs

TO ADVERTISE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION GUIDE

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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 03/04/09 43

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...

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

JAPAN

SINGAPORE

UNITED STATES

Replay Interactive....................................Singapore

SOUTH AFRICA Midigital ..............................................Johannesburg

BASCO, INC. VIDEO GAMES DISTRIBUTOR

Nu Metro Interactive ......................Johannesburg

Tel: 1-917-627-3000 Fax: 1-718-228-4401

SPAIN

Email: sales@bascodistribution.com

Ardistel. S.L..................................................Zaragoza

Web: www.bascodistribution.com

Distribuciones Videográficas Digitales ....MADRID

Lamee Software S.L. .....................................Madrid

DREAMGEAR, LLC FRIENDWARE

20001 S. Western Ave.

Marques de Monteagudo 18,

Torrance, CA 90501

28028 Madrid, Spain`

Phone: 310-222-5522 x 111

email: juan.bustamante@friendware.es

Fax: 310-222-5577

www.friendware.es

Contact: Moris Mirzadeh

INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Email: moris@dreamgear.net

PLANETA DEAGOSTINI INTERACTIVE Diagonal, 662-664, 3ª planta D, 08034,

U.S. GAMES DISTRIBUTION, INC.

Barcelona, Spain,

16700 Schoenborn St.

Tel: +34 93 492 08 89

#2 North Hills, CA. 91343

distributioninteractive@planetadeagostini.es

Tel: +1 818 920 9393

www.planetadeagostini.net

info@usgamesdist.com

GERMANY

www.usgamesdist.com

VIRGIN PLAY Paseo de la Castellana 9 – 11,

UAE Red Entertainment Distribution ..................Dubai

28046 Madrid, Spain Tel: +34 91 789 35 50 Web: www.virginplay.es

PLUTO GAMES DistribucionesVideográficas Digitales ....Madrid Distribuye Palmera................................Las Palmas JC Distribuciones .............................................Getxo Shine Star, S.A...........................................Barcelona

SWEDEN

PO Box 10705, Office 103-104 Emirates Islamic Bank Building,Dubai, UAE.

Tel: +971 4261 8111 Fax: +971 4261 8112

Panvision....................................................Stockholm

Modern Pluto Trading LLC...............Saudi Arabia

SIBA AB ...................................................Gothenburg

NXT Global LLC .................................................Dubai

SWITZERLAND

Pluto Derinton Games LLC............................Egypt

TURKEY ARAL Import..................................................Istanbul Nortec Eurasia...............................................Istanbul

FOLLOWING the recent tragic school shootings in Winnenden, pressure seems to be mounting for a total ban on violent games in Germany, a territory already renowned for its tough stance on violent content.

A recent piece, translated by GamePolitics, in a German newspaper by the head of the National German Police Union Heini Schmitt states: “It is known that in every situation in which a violent rampage has occurred, the perpetrator has had a remarked addiction to so-called killer games. The manner of the deed is astonishingly similar to virtual examples.

“There is admittedly no proof that these frequent escapes into virtual killer worlds can contribute to such insane deeds, but neither can the role killer games be completely dismissed. The world would be no poorer if there were no more killer games.”

www.pluto-games.com

Bergsala AB............................................Kungsbacka

ABC Software GmbH.......................................Buchs

NEW RESEARCH from Japan’s Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association suggests that the number of people in Japan who consider themselves to be gamers has reduced significantly in the last year.

The organisation polled over 1,000 individuals aged between three and 79. The number that claimed to be gamers had dropped by 30.3 per cent compared to when the same poll was run in 2007.

Kotaku calculates that in broader terms, this means there are six million fewer gamers in the country now than there were a year ago.

The results back up 2008’s market figures which showed that despite ongoing growth in regions such as the UK and North America, the Japanese video games market is in steep decline, shrinking 15 per cent last year.

Ahead of the release of the DSi in Europe and America early next month, Nintendo’s rejigged dual screen handheld has now passed the 2m unit sales barrier in its homeland of Japan.

DSi hit the market in the Far East last November, and has to date in 2009 sold over 700,000 units.

BRAZIL

MOBILE GIANT Qualcomm has unveiled what it describes as the games industry’s 'fourth console' at GDC, for the Brazilian market.

The device, called Zeebo, is a digital distribution set top box which will also be released in other emerging territories such as China, Mexico and India. “It targets the next billion consumers”, according to Qualcomm boss Mike Yuen.

Using the firm's cellular technology “we can achieve that scale and leverage seen by Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft in a different way in different markets,” he said.

PLEASE CONTACT ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK

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sourcebo YEAR-ROUND PRINT & ONLINE PROMOTION FOR ALL INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SERVICE COMPANIES

ACCESS SOURCEBOOK ONLINE AT: WWW.INTENTMEDIA

CREATIVE AND PROMOTIONAL SERVICES 3DI Tel: 0845 4582898 www.threedi.net

an.x Tel: 0207 785 7156 www.anxagency.com

Ark VFX Tel: 0114 268 4999 www.arkvfx.net

Barrington Harvey Tel: +44 (0)1462 456780 www.barringtonharvey.co.uk

Bastion Tel: +44 (0)20 7421 7600 www.bastion.co.uk

Candy Lab Tel: +44 (0)20 7031 0888 www.candylab.co.uk

Dilute Recordings Tel: +44 (0)1483 306834 www.diluterecordings.com

DKPM Tel: 0845 111 0312 www.dkpm.co.uk

Game Frontier Tel: 0870 420 2424 www.gamefrontier.com

Gem Creative Tel: 01279 822800 www.gem.co.uk

Frontroom Tel: 020 7384 5400 www.frontroom.com

Head First Tel: 0161 228 6699 www.head-first.co.uk

IGA Worldwide Tel: +44 (0)20 7250 4340 www.igaworldwide.com

Indigo Pearl Tel: 0208 964 4545 www.indigopearl.com

infinite Field Marketing Solutions Tel: 01793 829196 www.infinitefms.com

Intent Media Tel: 01992 535647 www.intentmedia.co.uk

Root Tel: 0207 739 2277 www.thisisroot.co.uk Sarsen Software Tel: +44 (0)845 8679685 www.sarsensoft.co.uk

Side UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7631 4800 www.side.com

Skyscraper Tel: +44 (0)20 7631 5308 www.skyskraper.net

Studio CO2 Tel: +44 (0)1483 414415 www.studioco2.com

The Audio Guys Tel: +44 (0) 1926 813546 www.theaudioguys.co.uk

The Pixel Tel: 01275 831676 www.thepixel.com

Ă&#x153;ber Tel: 0114 278 7100 www.uberagency.com

RECRUITMENT

Media Safari PR Tel: +44 (0) 1225 731 388 www.mediasafari.co.uk

Aardvark Swift Recruitment Tel: 01709 876877 www.aswift.com

ELSPA Tel: 0207 534 0580 www.elspa.com

Outsource Media Tel: +44 (0)207 713 9000 www.omuk.com

Amiqus Tel: 01925 252588 www.amiqus.com

Eye-D Creative Tel: +44 (0)20 7407 1440 www.eye-dcreative.co.uk

Peppermint P Tel: +44 (0)207 240 2645 www.peppermintp.com

Datascope Recruitment Tel: +44 (0)20 758 06018 www.datascope.co.uk

Feref Tel: +44 (0) 20 7292 6300 www.feref.com

RealtimeUK Tel: 01772 682363 www.realtimeuk.com

Game Options Tel: +44 (0)1382 731909 www.gameops.co.uk

Fluid Tel: +44 (0)121 212 0121 www.fluidesign.co.uk

Rocketbox Tel: +49-511-8984384 www.rocketbox.de

Lis Welsh Search and Selection Tel: +44 (0)1858 545355 www.liswelsh.co.uk

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ok

In association with

Tel: +44 1 480 210621 www.usspeaking.com

.CO.UK/SOURCEBOOK Specialmove Consultancy Tel: +44 (0) 141 585 6491 www.specialmove.com

Orange Studio Tel: +39 051 588 04 50 www.orangestudio.it

Volt Europe Tel: +44 (0)1737 774100 www.volteurope.com

Serco Games Research Tel: 020 74216487 www.sercogamesresearch.com

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Harbottle & Lewis LLP Tel: 020 7667 5000 www.harbottle.com Sheridans Tel: 0207 079 0103 www.sheridans.co.uk

LOCALISATION, QA AND TESTING 4-Real Intermedia Tel: +49 (0)69 80 90 88-0 www.4-real.com

Arvato Digital Services Tel: 0121 502 7800 www.arvatodigitalservices.com

Dischromatics Tel: 01495 243222 www.dischromatics.co.uk

Scaleform Tel: +1 301 446 3200 www.scaleform.com

BRIFFA Tel: 0207 288 6003 www.briffa.com

MANUFACTURING SERVICES UNIVERSALLY SPEAKING Tel: +44 1 480 210621 www.usspeaking.com

Creative North Studios Tel: +44 (0)1484 487904 www.creativenorth.co.uk

LEGAL SERVICES

Trilogy Logistics Tel: 0845 456 6400 www.trilogy-uk.com

U-Trax Tel: +31 30 293 2098 www.utrax.com

UK DISTRIBUTION AND LOGISTICS Games Without Frontiers Tel: +44 (0) 845 430 8735 www.gameswithout.com Gem Distribution Tel: 01279 822822 www.gem.co.uk

OK Media Tel: +44 (0)20 7688 6789 www.okmedia.biz Technicolor Home Entertainment Services Tel: 0208 987 7829 www.technicolor.com Total Console Repair Tel: 0871 9181721 www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION AFA Interactive Tel: +618 8234 1355 www.afainteractive.com.au

Interactive Ideas Tel: 020 8805 1000 www.interactiveideas.com dtp entertainment AG Tel: +49 (0) 40 66 99 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 0 www.dtp-entertainment.com

Absolute Quality Tel: +44 (0)141 220 5600 www.absolutequality.com Meroncourt Tel: +44 (0)1462 680060 http://trade.meroncourt.co.uk Babel Tel: 01273 764 100 www.babelmedia.com

Cenega Service Team Tel: +48 22 574 2578 www.cenega.com

Enzyme Labs Tel: +1 (450) 229 9999 ext. 312 www.enzyme.org Localsoft Tel: +34 952 92 93 94 www.localsoftgames.com

Pinnacle Software Tel: 020 8309 3934 www.pinnacle-software.co.uk

PlayV Email: dhope@playv.co.uk www.playv.co.uk

Scratch Busters Tel: 01992 535701 www.scratchbusters.co.uk

Entertainment Trading Tel: +45 70277640 www.entertainment-trading.com

Funtastic Tel: 61 3 9535 5888 www.funtastic.com.au

THQ Asia Pacific Tel: +613 9573 9200 www.thq-games.com/au Virgin PLAY Tel: +34 91 789 35 50 www.v2play.com

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MCV FORUM

Give kids a sporting chance with games

An open letter to Tessa Jowell MP, proposing a scheme that could see games used to encourage children to develop their sporting abilities...

CONCEPT

Schools Olympic Legacy Challenge: Establish an innovative Olympic Legacy (not for profit) organisation with great steering groups etc. and deliver both a real and virtual world project using celebrity, music, games, movie and sports stars to make it irresistible to schools and kids to participate.

OBJECTIVES 1) To inspire and thereby engage non-sporty kids in sports.

2) To inspire sporty kids to engage more positively with less sporty kids, helping them get into sport and become good at it thereby creating better communities through sport.

3) To extend the concept on

an international basis.

STRATEGY – CONCEPT –

3) Establish a ‘real world’ school

PROJECT

(or after school) sports league exclusively for schools’ ‘virtual world’ team members to compete in real world sports of

1) Establish a ‘real world’ school (or preferably after school) sports league and

“

The goal is to inspire and thereby engage non-sport kids in sports, as well as building better communities.

Simon Le Jeune

reward winners with irresistible rewards (as proved irresistible in my previous projects e.g David Beckham coaches your school football team, meetings with celebs and pop stars).

Success in this activity counts 30 per cent towards the school results.

2) Establish a ‘virtual world’ (video game-based) school (or after school) sports league and reward winners. Success in this activity counts 30 per cent towards the school results.

”

some type or another. Success in this activity counts 40 per cent towards the school results.

4) To compete in the leagues it

is conditional that the ‘real world’ competitors undertake to train and manage, develop and encourage the virtual members (possibly via a buddy system) to achieve the best results in real world sports. Every member of the school would have to achieve a competency in some type of sporty activity for the school to be entered.

funding to the tune of millions of pounds in value.

WHAT DO I NEED? 1) To establish and run everything as a not for profit project and develop advisory and other boards.

2) To present a bid for CREDENTIALS

I established Computer Summer Camps in the UK where we motivated ‘nerdy’ kids to become sporty as part of the activities.

I was the founder of a concept that I developed into a Government project that eventually drew £8.5m in funding regarding computers and kids and schools and gender rebalancing and operates in 3,500 schools already as an after school activity and attracted tremendous ministerial acclaim.

I brought in celebrities and corporate sponsors and match

£36,000 for a six month feasibility study and to seed fund the project. This will also be sufficient time to secure match or independent sponsorship funding for the concept from organisations already showing interest.

departments and ministers I was involved with previously.

I hope this is concise and straightforward and please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts as to how to move this forward.

Kind Regards, Simon Le Jeune simon.lejeune@redcarpet consultancy.com

3) Your backing and authority

and access to key Olympic and other stakeholders and their contacts to help develop the project.

WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOU?

A bit of good news in these difficult times, and the same benefits as there were for the

LATEST NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR MOBILE Bookmark us in your phone:

MOBILE.MCVUK.COM

47 Dev93_v1

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THE

HOT

LIST

Develop 100 lists the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100 most successful games studios based on key criteria including data from GfK-ChartTrack, NPD, Famitsu and Metacritic plus industry soundings

Published with Develop in May and MCV on Friday May 15th See new microsite at www.develop100.com from Thursday May 7th 10,000 copies plus digital edition. Additional circulation of Develop 100 at Develop Conference Brighton in July and Develop Industry Excellence Awards Edited by Owain Bennallack >>>>>>>>>

Ad copy deadline: Wednesday April 15th Contacts Jaspreet.Kandola@intentmedia.co.uk for advertising and sponsorship opportunities

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48 MCV 03/04/09

Off The Record With the yelps of frustration and delight from the PES tournament next door, Konami’s birthday celebrations got into full swing – with Konami UK general manager Pete Stone at the centre of it all...

Media types including Konami’s Steve Merrett and journo Steve Hill pose for a ‘not staged at all’ snap for Off The Record...

Konami’s own Pro Evo king Jon Murphy was on hand to mix it up on the decks during the evening – but sady played very little of his personal, mustachioed favourite, Giorgio Moroder...

WWW.MCVUK.COM

This week, we attended Konami’s rather splendid party, celebrating both its 40th Birthday and PES Industry Rankings tournament...

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MCV 03/04/09 49

PLEASE EMAIL US YOUR FUNNIEST INDUSTRY PICTURES AT

OFFTHERECORD@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK

RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

MCV takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues of the day. The current members are...

LISA MORGAN, GAME

Mastertronic’s Chris Michael Darbo defeats the PES industry rivals and takes home two tickets to see England take on Slovakia at Wembley.

Microsoft’s Sam Leigh chats with former colleague, Konami’s Steve King...

The Future Publishing boys get stuck into a fevered game of Pro Evo...

DUNCAN CROSS, ASDA

MARTYN GIBBS, GAMESTATION

DON MCCABE, CHIPS

TIM ELLIS, HMV Real, actual girls at a games publisher’s birthday? See! We really are mainstream...

RICHARD CHAPPLE, PLAY.COM

CAROLINE AUSTEN, THE HUT

JON BIGGS, MORRISONS CVG’s Gavin Ogden immersed in yet another mammoth PES tussle...

System 3’s Chandra Nair and Capcom’s Sam Brace work the camera...

DEBBIE O’NEILL, COMET

GRAHAM CHAMBERS, AMAZON

PETER WILLIS, DSGI So PES is just for boys, hey? Here’s conclusive proof otherwise, naysayers...

Konami and friends looking dapper and ready for a night on the tiles...

Futurites including Tim Clark and Nate Ditum play ‘backseat driver’...

IGOR CIPOLLETTA, SHOPTO

OUT ON A LIMB Sega’s PR team pulled out all the (bloody) stops for promotion of proudly blood-splattered title MadWorld last week - dropping severed human appendages around London, still all desperately clinging to the game. Apparently, the stunt cost the publisher an arm and a leg...

ANTHONY STOCKER, ARGOS

STEPHEN STALEY, GAMESEEK

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Readers’

lives HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM WORK?

I don’t relax away from work – so many kids, so much to do, so little time!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE GAME, FILM AND ALBUM OF ALL TIME? I don’t have ‘a favourite’ – it’s about times, places and urges…

Game: My first loves still haunt me – Defender: all three-and-one-quarter inch of it. House of the Dead in the arcades in public. Singstar only in private! Board games still a must.

ere we get ‘get It’s the part of the magazine wh exec - and find out personal’ with a leading industry Disney UK boss what makes them tick. This week, Matt Carroll reveals all...

Sing it! to our European sales and marketing teams was a more recent high point.

WHO’S THE FUNNIEST PERSON YOU’VE EVER MET? Funny ha-ha? I don’t find people funny. Not even Mr Castle at the Disney office.

Funny strange? I have a top 100 in alphabetical order – only four are Disney, and one of them used to be Disney.

Film: I have a top 100 in alphabetical order – only five are Disney.

Album: currently Babylon By Bus – Bob Marley. On Spotify for a Roots Rasta Friday now!

Good site to check out; if you can see how the music industry is going to earn any money on this digital innovation, let me know.

WHAT’S YOUR FONDEST MEMORY OF WORKING IN THE INDUSTRY?

WHO WAS YOUR INSPIRATION WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG – BOTH PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY?

Being at MicroProse in Chipping Sodbury when we only had eight titles to release a year and a product management team of five. Those were the days. Hasbro Interactive’s lightside – never the darkside. It was a great team spirit – now in all corners of the industry. Also hiring the man who was ECTS’s Parappa the Rappa (your secret is safe). Demoing High School Musical

Stuart Pearce: Then for being stuck into the job required with passion and pride, a great leader, totally committed yet respectful and humble. Now because he has the challenge of working with hugely talented people to bring out their best to get great results. From non-league to England – inspiration for us all. But, still, that penalty….

“I love Babylon By Bus by Bob Marley. I’m having a Roots Rasta Friday on Spotify right now...”

WHEN WERE THE ‘GOOD OLD DAYS’?

We haven’t had them yet. They’ve not been at all bad, but I prefer to look forward to making better ones.

EDITORIAL: 01992 535646

Managing Editor: Lisa Foster Lisa.Foster@intentmedia.co.uk

Advertising Manager: Lesley Blumson Lesley.Blumson@intentmedia.co.uk

Please address all enquiries to:

Editor-In-Chief: Michael French Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk

Advertising Executive: Rob baker Rob.Baker@intentmedia.co.uk

Associate Editor: Tim Ingham Tim.Ingham@intentmedia.co.uk

Art Director: Stuart Moody Stuart.Moody@intentmedia.co.uk

MCV, Intent Media, Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford SG14 1JA.

Retail Editor: Ben Parfitt Ben.Parfitt@intentmedia.co.uk Staff Writer: Chris Dring Chris.Dring@intentmedia.co.uk Staff Writer: James Batchelor James.Batchelor@intentmedia.co.uk Contributors: Ed Fear, Andrew Wooden, Will Freeman

ADVERTISING: 01992 535647

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

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED UNTIL YOU WERE RED IN THE FACE? I don’t laugh. Don’t even try.

FAX: 01992 535648 Finance Director: Hilary Cole Finance Manager: Siobhan Cook Assistant Finance Manager: Michael Canham

Managing Director/Publisher: Stuart Dinsey Stuart.Dinsey@intentmedia.co.uk Telephone: 01992 535688

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ISSN: 1469-4832 Copyright 2008

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Key Points • Take on drums, lead guitar, bass guitar and go centre-stage as the front man.

• Follow the storyline to stardom or jam to any song in different venues that you unlock in story mode.

• Ultimate Band offers family entertainment with multiplayer competition and co-operative modes.

• Players can customise their band by choosing players that look just like them.

• 30+ well known songs for the Wii and 15 for the DS made famous by artists such as The Plain White T’s.

© Disney. All rights reserved. NINTENDO DS, Wii AND THE Wii LOGO ARE TRADEMAEKS OF NINTENDO. Product names and/or visuals shown are of product currently in development and may be subject to change

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, 0 1 i r l A p Coming

2009

milies alike. fa d an s en te , ds ki to s al pe ap at th e ed music gam ts to rock.

Ultimate Band is a performance-bas en m ru st in ed ne t nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; do u yo at th g in herals, show The innovative controls mean no perip

www.ultimateband.co.uk