MCV Issue 561 - Friday October 30th by Intent Media (now Newbay Media Europe)

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MONZA SEPARATES THE MEN FROM THE BOYS.

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THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES

Issue 561 Friday October 30 2009 £3.25

04 Risky business

15 30 Under 30

The industry reacts to MCV’s revelation that retail is turning away new releases

MCV prints its must-read annual round-up of the industry’s rising stars

07 Reach for the Sky

09 Mama’s the word

Microsoft reveals its retail plans for the launch of Xbox 360’s new Sky service

505 Games on why it’s not scared of releasing alongside Modern Warfare 2

06 Taking on the big boys

41 Shoot to thrill

Trilogy and The Producers team up to form UK’s new ‘super-distributor’

We take a special look at one of games’ most celebrated genres: The FPS

EVERY BUYER EVERY BRANCH EVERY INDIE EVERY WEEK

INCORPORATING

Asda breaks silence on supermarket price cuts Retailer ‘didn’t make any money’ from sub-£30 FIFA 10 launch Firm strongly denies ‘screwing suppliers’ by Tim Ingham THE TRUTH IS OUT: Supermarkets lose money on the triple-A titles on which they choose to slash prices. That’s according to Asda games category manager

“

cut the likes of FIFA 10 and Operation Flashpoint to sub£30 price tags this quarter – with all eyes on the release of Modern Warfare 2 next month. But despite accusations from specialist retailers that the UK’s grocers ‘fix’ product in collusion

We didn’t make any money on FIFA 10. The price we pay the supplier is more than we charge customers. Duncan Cross, Asda

Duncan Cross, who this week lifted the lid on the supermarket’s Q4 price cuts – and tackled the concerns of the indies that have crammed MCVUK.com’s messageboard in recent weeks. Alongside fellow supermarkets Tesco and Morrisons, Asda has already

”

with publishers, Cross claims that Asda sets its own prices. He said: “There have been many comments regarding the pricing of FIFA, particularly on MCVUK.com… It might surprise [other retailers], but we aren’t making any money on FIFA because the price we pay the supplier is more than what

SPEAKING OUT: Cross says that retail, not publishers, set Q4 prices

we charge our customers. I am sure other supermarkets are in a similar boat, so to criticise them as ‘bully boys’ doesn’t make sense – how can you be a bully if you are selling something for less than you buy it at?” Writing on his official Asda blog, Cross also met the accusation that price slashing hurts suppliers head on. He said: “Regarding the comment on ‘reducing choice and screwing suppliers’, again this is simply not the case at Asda. We’ve been growing our games range consistently for the past five years and now stock more titles from more suppliers than ever – over 350 lines.” Cross’s comments come after Konami boss Pete Stone told MCV: “It is our understanding that retail sets these prices, and they are unnecessary and worrying.”

Modern Warfare 2 to smash GTA sales record by Tim Ingham ACTIVISION’S wealthiest competitors are preparing themselves for a ‘Modern Warfare 2 Christmas’ – forecasting that the game will hit a record-breaking 1.7m UK sales in its opening week. According to sources close to top rival publishers, the figure has been estimated as the game secures 500,000 preorders at retail.

If the prediction becomes reality, the game would become the UK’s most lucrative entertainment launch of all time, smashing the previous record set by Rockstar’s GTA IV. According to GfKChartTrack, that title generated 926,000 unit sales in its first five days on sale – taking £40 million at tills. If Modern Warfare 2 hit 1.7 million sales at £40 per

500,000 pre-orders have already been registered for MW2

unit, it would net Activision a whopping £64 million. The game has an RRP of £55. Activision’s marketing director for the UK & Ireland David Tyler told MCV: “The level of pre-order success we are experiencing here in the UK sets us on a trajectory to be the largest video game launch in history. “The feedback from retailers is that the recent surge in preorders is a result of consumers

making sure that they don’t miss out should stores go out of stock on November 10th. “The industry has a multitude of titles which attract a good level of buzz pre-launch. However, Modern Warfare 2 is something unprecedented, even in our marketplace. “The marketing machine around the title will ensure that it is the title everyone is talking about throughout November and December.”

PERSONNEL 44 RETAIL BIZ 45 NEW RELEASES 56 HIGH STREET 58 CHARTS 60

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NEWS

[LEADER] The combination of Trilogy and The Producers is evidence of what the industry does best – allowing smaller companies to step up and challenge the trade’s otherwise unstoppable giants. You can’t really term the two as underdogs especially Trilogy, which counts serious publishers like Ubisoft, Capcom and Square Enix amongst its partners. But it is great to see an element of disruption in a market that is increasingly conservative, as retailers and publishers batten down the hatches. Of course, it’s also just another sign of consolidation in games. But perhaps not the flavour we are used to – and which often spells doom and bad business bets. After all, Vivendi Games bought itself out of the market to save face, Eidos needed rescuing and – thinking back to a more dusty, parochial example – it was a financial black hole which swallowed Vis and Bam (remember them?). Instead, Trilogy’s new deal with The Producers seems to offer something for everyone in distribution, whether its plain ol’ box-shifting or digital downloads. Now that’s progress.

CAUTIOUS RETAILING IS TRANSFORMING THE MARKET Our cover story last week touched a bit of a nerve amongst both retailers and publishers. To recap: Buyers have declined to stock Rising Star Games’ Muramasa: The Demon Blade, a new IP for Wii – the market’s most popular console – in shops, but will sell it online. RSG thinks this spells a new wave of conservative behaviour from retailers, who only see profits in first-party titles, sequels, games with big marketing budgets and pre-owned stock – which both limits consumer choice and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy where new IP becomes unviable based on conventional wisdom. We’ve since heard both reasoned agreement and disagreement (cast your eyes to the right) – and thankfully no stone-throwing, which isn’t really what this debate is about. Do these original games need bigger marketing budgets to make them a sure thing during the Christmas run-in? Do retailers need better terms – like sale-or-return, bountiful POS, or exclusivity on stock – to offset any bum investments? Are we looking at the increasingly-possible situation where smaller publishers focus on the offseason to ensure they aren’t trampled in the Christmas rush? There is no easy solution, but these are questions everyone needs to ask in order to make sure all the players in the market – retailers, publishers and, yes, product and bargain hungry consumers – are satisfied by what is on offer, and how it is offered. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk

‘Risk-averse’ retailers Smaller publishers’ hidden gems are at risk, say suppliers Industry by Michael French PUBLISHERS THIS WEEK debated whether retailers are too sceptical about new IP following accusations that the High Street is ‘dumbing down’. Last week MCV revealed that Rising Star Games’ Wii release Muramasa had been declined by buyers at some major chains (23/10). City Interactive’s Roy Campbell – former UK MD at

“

releases into some of the chains if they go straight to pre-owned. ‘A brand new preowned title’ – it’s an oxymoron. How can you explain that to your nonEnglish speaking HQ?” City has re-evaluated its release schedule as a result. Said Campbell: “In Q4 you either need to have big balls, big marketing or a title that starts with ‘FI’ and ends with ‘FA’. For 2010 we will be

These days in Q4, you either need big balls, big marketing or a title that begins with ‘FI’ and ends in ‘FA’. Roy Campbell, City Interactive

THQ – told MCV he had been left “without a doubt” that retailers had become more conservative this year. He said: “The frustration felt by smaller publishers is very painful as there are ‘nuggets’ in many of their respective line-ups that will never be fully exploited. “I speak regularly to many other publishers and some tell me that they can only get new

“

THE CHANGING FACE OF DISTRIBUTION

looking to get a more balanced release schedule so that we can get the shelf presence our lineup deserves. “We have to be realistic about the marketing money impact we would get in Q4.” Koch MD Craig McNicol said it was up to publishers to tailor their line-up to the demands of the market. He added: “Retailers are operating in an extremely

RISING STAR HITS PS3 AND 360 UNDETERRED BY RETAILERS refusing to stock Muramasa, Rising Star has told MCV it will release nine games in Q1 2010 – including its first 360 and PS3 titles. February 2010 sees the release of Animal Kororo (DS) and HalfMinute Hero (PSP), plus Gamebridge titles Way of the Samurai 3 (360/PS3) and Papermates (DS). Another five games follow in March: Avalon Code (DS), Samurai Showdown Edge of Destiny (Xbox 360), Fragile Dreams (Wii), My World My Way (DS) and Rune Factory Frontier (Wii).

Kikizo launches four new games sites PUBLISHER KIKIZO has unveiled four new consumer games websites and has rebranded its flagship portal: VideoGamesDaily.com. Kikizo will remain the name of the network of websites, and a new corporate site has been launched at Kikizo.biz. The four new consumer sites include FPSgamer.com, which is aimed at shooter fanatics, Videogametv.com, which is filled with game videos, cheats and tips website Levelskip.com and GaijinGamer.jp, which focuses on Japanese games culture.

Doree has re-branded the Kikizo consumer site VideoGamesDaily

“Our mission is to be different,” said Kikizo director Adam Doree “Our websites refuse to follow the crowd, instead focusing on niches and

gaps in the market that engage high value, precisely definable audiences.” As a part of the expansion, the publisher has hired former Eurogamer editor Kristan Reed as a contributor to FPSGamer, and promoted Edwin EvansThirlwell to network-wide editor. Rupert Higham has also joined Kikizo, having worked for games retailer CEX. The new portals follow the launches of BlurayDaily.com and Flytrapgames.com, earlier in the year. www.kikizo.biz

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split market

[PRE ORDERS]

TOP 10

advised it should trust High Street buyers

COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 360 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

Konami hails Pro Evolution ‘rebirth’

City Interactive’s Roy Campbell and Koch’s Craig McNicol weigh in on the debate over retail being more selective on certain releases

competitive environment and they do so with transparent business objectives – to maximise sales and profits for their shareholders. “[Peak season] is the domain of the ‘hero titles’ and first party games. I would not want to tell others how to run their business, but I would say listen carefully to what the buyer

tells you – especially if its a suggestion to launch in a quieter period. It might just save you from making a costly mistake.” Rob Dobisch, owner of Hampshire independent Discz, said: “We play it safe because we have to. If money was made on these ‘risky’ titles, then we’d take them.”

KONAMI is celebrating the triumph of its ‘much improved’ Pro Evolution Soccer series – after the latest iteration hits No.1 in the All Formats Chart. PES 2010 took the top spot in the ELSPA/GfKChartTrack rankings on Monday, ahead of Microsoft’s Forza 3, EA’s FIFA 10 and Sega’s Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games. The company told MCV that the game’s success was largely down to improvements made after close consultation with the series’ fans following the release of PES 2009. “We are delighted to see PES 2010 top the chart against some incredibly strong competition,” said Konami GM Peter Stone.

“With the likes of Forza 3 and WWE Smackdown released on the same day, it is great to see our revitalised and much improved crowdpleaser emerge triumphant. PES is a key series for us, and we have high hopes for the coming year.” As revealed on MCVUK.com (26/10), 66 per cent of the game’s overall unit sales in its opening weekend were on PS3. According to GfK-ChartTrack data, Xbox 360 claimed 32 per cent, with PC generating just two per cent. Konami previously revealed that it had shipped three million copies of the title to retail. The series has sold over 55.5 million units to date. Konami: 020 8987 5730

2. COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 PS3 ....................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

3. FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 PC ............................................SEGA

4. TEKKEN 6 PS3 ............................NAMCO BANDAI

5. MAG: MASSIVE ACTION PS3 ..........................................SONY

6. LIMITED EDITION BLACK WII Wii ....................................NINTENDO

7. TEKKEN 6 360 ............................NAMCO BANDAI

8. ASSASSIN’S CREED II PS3 ......................................UBISOFT

9. ASSASSIN’S CREED II 360 ......................................UBISOFT

10. GOD OF WAR III PS3 ..........................................SONY Week ending October 23rd Source: SHOPTO.COM Turn to page 59 for more pre-order charts from leading online retailers

UK SOFTWARE SALES MONITOR Your weekly guide to the UK games software market… This week’s UK software sales leapt 27 per cent to £33.7 million, while units sold rose 20 per cent 1,335,452. The improvement in sales follow two consectutive weeks of decline. Sales were driven by Konami’s football sim Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, which was launched last week alongside Forza Motorsport 3, WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010, Eye Pet and Borderlands. The beginning of half term for UK schools also benefited retail.

[WEEKLY MARKET VALUE]

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

Week Ending October 23rd 2009

£33.7m

30 25 20 15 10

£27.9m

£26.5m

£33.7m

1,153,811 Units

1,114,416 Units

1,335,452 Units

A handful of new releases are scheduled for launch next week, including Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Football Manager 2010, DJ Hero and Tekken 6 PES 2010 drove software sales at retail this week

Week Ending October 10th

Week Ending October 17th

Week Ending October 23rd

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New super-distributor emerges Trilogy and The Producers form ‘strategic partnership’ Rob Gross brought in as commercial director by Michael French LOOK OUT Gem and Centresoft – a new distribution rival has emerged following a deal between The Producers and Trilogy. The two have teamed up under a ‘strategic alliance’ to offer an end-to-end service of manufacturing and logistics, plus white label home delivery, digital distribution and Nintendo products – which the firms claim they sell for 20 per cent cheaper than rivals. Former Midway and Black Bean man Rob Gross has been recruited as commercial director to oversee all new joint sales initiatives between the two companies. Bosses at both firms said the deal will offer a decent alternative to established distributors operating on the market. “We really do think that the games industry needs a credible and capable alternative to the current

MAKING THE SWITCH

“

We believe that the games industry needs a credible and capable alternative to the current choice of suppliers. Matthew Allen, Trilogy

choice of suppliers and we intend to offer that choice,” said Matthew Allen, managing director of Trilogy Logistics. “Between us we will offer a full range of services.”

Andy Payne (left), Matthew Allen (middle) and Rob Gross (right) have high hopes for their new distribution alliance

”

Andy Payne, managing director of Mastertronic, who own The Producers, added: “The prospect of working with Matthew Allen, his team and their customers, opens up so

many opportunities. This all puts us well and truly on the map now. “We have been the games industry’s best kept secret for years, and now we intend to get a little more known.” The Producers/Trilogy: +447774672891

Rob Gross explains why he has made the move over to distribution: “I have worked with The Producers and Trilogy down the years and always enjoyed the experience. Andy and Matthew both focus on their partners and offer solutions to all challenges, I have seen this first hand from my time within publishing. I have had 12 years of working in publishing and know what publishers need in terms of service levels. This is a real opportunity, one I am excited about.”

£6m ad spend planned for Left 4 Dead 2 US SUPER-DEVELOPER Valve has told MCV it will spend around $10m (£6.12m) on the European marketing campaign to support Left 4 Dead 2.

“

$25m is being spent on the game’s launch globally, Valve marketing chief Doug Lombardi told MCV. Half is set aside for Europe, with the lion’s share being spent on the UK release.

Based on the pre-orders, Left 4 Dead 2 will be the fastest-selling product in Valve’s history. Gabe Newell, Valve

The game, published under EA’s Partners label, follows on the heels of last year’s sleeper hit, and pits players in co-op first person shooter scenarios fighting off waves of zombies.

”

In Europe, the developer is lining up a plan Lombardi describes as ‘more aggressive than last year’s campaign’, with television advertising in all major markets appearing during

sports and lifestyle programming, plus strong outdoor investments in more cities than before, as well as online and print advertising. The move comes off the back of strong pre-order activity for the game. “Based on the strength of pre-orders, Left 4 Dead 2 will be the fastest-selling product in Valve’s history,” commented Valve president Gabe Newell. “Left 4 Dead 2 has consistently run at 300 per cent of Left 4 Dead’s numbers.” EA Partners general manager David DeMartini added: “Left 4 Dead 2 is expected to once again exceed everyone’s expectations and be an industry

Left 4 Dead 2’s pre-orders are tracking ahead of last year’s original

best title on PC and Xbox 360 for the year.” “With Left 4 Dead and now Left 4 Dead 2, Valve has created one of today’s most compelling video game

experiences and leading entertainment franchises." The game is released on November 20th in the UK on Xbox 360 and PC. EA: 01483 463 000

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Retail is critical to the success of Sky Player, says Microsoft Constant marketing and in-store bundles will drive console sales this Christmas, says Xbox boss Thompson by Christopher Dring UK XBOX BOSS Neil Thompson has called retail ‘critical’ to the success of its Sky Player service on Xbox. The service – which allows Sky subscribers to watch Sky TV through Xbox – launched earlier this week. Microsoft has

“

We try to include retail in all that we offer, and we’ll constantly look at packaging Live services in stores. Neil Thompson, Xbox

released a retail pack, which features a media remote, onemonth’s subscription to Sky and three months of Xbox Live Gold for £29.99. “We try to include retail in all that we offer, especially around Live,” Thompson told MCV. “Retail is a critical component in educating

marketing planned all the way until Christmas and beyond. “We’ve started a lot of the marketing – we’ve been on TV already,” he added. “We will constantly promote this, both through retail as well as online through Xbox.com. In terms of advertising, it will come more in peaks. However, there will be continuous service-based activity between now and Christmas and Sky will be part of that. “The more entertainment services we offer, the more likely it is people will value the Xbox and see it is as something they have to have. We do think it is very helpful in getting more people onto the platform and onto Xbox Live. In the UK we have more people on Xbox Live per Xbox sold than anywhere else in the world. “We are expecting Sky Player to be very successful and will be of great benefit to Xbox and Sky.”

consumers around the breadth of services we offer on Xbox. “We’ll constantly look at new ways of packaging Live services at retail and figuring out ways we can provide compelling offerings on the High Street. “One of the reasons for creating the retail packs is for

”

gift giving. When consumers plug their Xbox in on Christmas day, they often jump straight on Xbox Live. And something like this Sky pack would be great for Boxing Day football.” The Sky service is only available in the UK, and Thompson is confident it will boost hardware sales – with

Xbox boss Neil Thompson expects Sky Player to boost 360 sales

Microsoft: 0870 601 0100

I’m A Celeb TV show to boost game sales KOCH MEDIA expects the new series of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! to push viewers towards the

“

“I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! is one of the biggest events in the whole TV year and this year looks like being

ITV has been involved at every stage of development, and we are now working with its commercial people. Amy Curtin, Koch Media

game adaptation – after working closely with the broadcaster. The Wii and DS title from Mindscape is being distributed by Koch, and recreates challenges from the show.

”

no exception,” said Koch’s head of marketing Amy Curtin. “The high profile of the series can only be a major benefit to the sales potential of the games.”

The company has developed a strong working relationship with ITV and the makers of the show in order to raise the game’s potential further. “We have worked extremely closely with ITV in all aspects of bringing the games to market,” Curtin explained. “They have been involved at every stage of the development process and as we have

moved closer to the release of the two games, we have worked with ITV’s commercial people.” Mindscape has put together an extensive trade and consumer campaign designed to raise awareness of the games’ release, with high profile online and print activity planned with the company’s key partners, such as The Sun and Heat. The Wii and DS editions of I’m A Celebrity are due for release on November 6th and 20th respectively. Koch: 0870 027 0985

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THQ focuses on core market in 2010 Publisher signs new shooter Metro 2033 for release next year Key Q1 games include Darksiders and ATV by Michael French THQ HAS SIGNED the rights to a new Russian-made FPS – as it bids to grow its core gamer audience in the next 12 months. Metro 2033, by Russia's 4A Games, rounds out a trio of titles in key genres due for release at the start of next year. The shooter, based on a bestselling book by novelist Dmitry Glukhovsky, will hit 360 and PC in early 2010. The PC release will be complemented via a partnership with Nvidia and its physics technology PhysX. Metro 2033 joins actionadventure Darksiders and offroad racer MX vs ATV Reflex – all of which are due for release post-Christmas.

“

Metro 2033 is fantastic for our portfolio. We’re excited about our line up for early 2010. Richard Williams, THQ

Earlier this year the publisher saw great success with UFC and Red Faction II,

Metro 2033 tells the story of a group of underground survivors in a post-apocolyptic Moscow. The title will join Darksiders: Wrath Of War and MX vs ATV Reflex on THQ’s release roster for 2010

”

which were both released during quieter retail periods, but shifted big numbers.

“The announcement of Metro 2033 is another fantastic addition to our portfolio," VP of global brand management at THQ Richard Williams told MCV. “With Darksiders, MX vs ATV Reflex and Metro 2033 all offering high quality gameplay

targeted at the core audience, we’re excited about our lineup for early 2010.” He added: “Metro 2033 will plunge gamers into a terrifying vision of the future. 4A Games have worked closely with Dmitry Glukhovsky to deliver a

unique game world, a compelling, cinematic story and an incredible, atmospheric experience to rival anything in the category." Metro 2033, set in Moscow, sees gamers battle horrific underground encounters. THQ: 01483 767 656

More Big Fish games heading to retail CASUAL GAMES giant Big Fish has teamed up with Focus Multimedia to launch eight new PC titles at retail this Christmas. Games due for released today (October 30th) include Drawn: The Painted Tower, The Serpent of Isis, Flux Family Secrets: The Ripple Effect, Strange Cases: The Tarot Card Mystery, Lost in the City and Virtual Villagers Double Pack. Meanwhile, Hidden Expedition: Devil’s Triangle will arrive on Friday November 27th. Each game has a recommended price of £9.78. “We're delighted to strengthen our partnership with Big Fish Games,” said Focus MD Craig Johnson.

Focus will release a range of new Big Fish games into retail this week, including Lost In The City and Drawn: The Painted Tower

“In doing so, we continue our tradition of bringing only the world’s best casual games to market.” Big Fish Games’ director of licensing Paull Handelman added: “Our partnership with Focus is extremely successful. They are a fantastic team.

Big Fish has enjoyed much success at retail this year. Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst and Mystery in London: On The Trail Of Jack The Ripper both topped the ChartTrack budget PC charts, and Focus has sold over 250,000 Big Fish titles at retail in 2009 alone.

“As casual games, and in particular hidden object titles, continue their meteoric rise in popularity here in the UK, consumers and retailers alike are realising that Focus Multimedia’s range offers the very best selection of titles,” concluded Johnson.

“By licensing more premium products from Big Fish Games, Focus makes it possible for UK retailers to continue offering their customers the best known, best quality casual gaming titles in the world.” Focus: 01889 570 156

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NEWS

Sponsored by:

INDUSTRY RISING STARS

UNDER 3

Want to know who the industry’s hottest young talents are? Look no further: MCV provides a guide to some of the brightest young talents in the sector. Didn’t get in? Then you didn’t campaign hard enough...

BOLU AKINDOYIN

LAUREN BRADLEY

ROB BURMAN

Marketing Manager, amBX

Product Manager, Namco Bandai

European PR Manager, South Peak Games

In his five years with amBX, 26 year old Bolu has run product and technology launches, organised amBX’s presence at exhibitions internationally and presented the tech on five continents. At amBX, he is known for his attention to detail and dedication to driving amBX in the games industry and beyond.

Lauren joined Namco Bandai earlier this year from agency Cogent Elliot, where she was responsible for accounts with luxury brands such as Land Rover. In just over six months, her professional approach and refusal to crack under pressure has impressed those inside and outside the company.

28-year-old Rob took up his role at SouthPeak at the start of the year. Since then, he’s juggled a varied workload, one minute sending out decapitated heads to journalists, the next working with the Brownies for a baby game. He’s an enthusiastic and extremely dedicated PR manager.

CHRIS CAHILL

ALICE CARLISLE

LOUISE POWELL

Senior Games Buyer, Sainsbury’s

Account Director, Maverick

Marketing Executive, Gem

Chris’ colleagues call him an incredibly valuable member of the team who drives the supermarket’s games category both internally and externally. He has great relationships with suppliers, which have been instrumental in bringing Sainsbury’s closer to the games industry throughout the last 18 months.

Alice has worked on a number of high-profile creative projects for publishers – for brands including FIFA and Pirates of the Caribbean – earning praise from the likes of Disney, Bethesda and others. She now has a senior role at Maverick, helping clients with digital ad strategies in the non-boxed game space.

Recently-promoted Louise manages the marketing for Gem’s supply partners and works closely with sales teams to maximise product awareness in the channel. This includes overseeing marketing activity in Gem’s The Future magazine, co-ordinating web communications and trade campaigns.

2009’s MCV 30 Under 30 is sponsored by OPM Recruitment, the leading specialist recruitment consultancy in the computer, console, handheld, mobile, online games and interactive entertainment sectors. OPM recruits for a diverse roster of clients in the UK and worldwide with jobs available in every area of business associated with entertainment products and services. www.opmjobs.com

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30 UNDER 30

Sponsored by:

GUY COCKER

RAMONA DA SOUZA

HANNAH EBATSON

VICTORIA FISHER

Editor, Gamespot UK

PR, Lunch PR

Pre-owned Games Head, HMV

UK Trade Marketing Manager, THQ

Guy was recently appointed editor of Gamespot UK. A member of the editorial team since the site was relaunched in 2006, he steered the GameSpot UK Podcast to the top of the iTunes Games chart and a Games Media Award win in 2007. He also launched the site's GMA-nominated video show Start/Select. His recent promotion sees him taking control of GameSpot UK as it continues to grow: the latest stats for the site boast 4.5m unique users and 58.6m page impressions per month.

Described by her boss as ‘the real gem in the team’, Da Souza joined agency Lunch two years ago, coming straight from university after graduation from her degree in Public Relations. Since joining Lunch she has become a key member of the team, working across several highprofile accounts including work on games released by companies such as Sega, Majesco, Koch Media and Mindscape. She is currently working on the forthcoming release of U-Sing, the official karoke game on the Wii.

Hannah started work at Virgin Retail where she was accessory buyer, looking after the firm’s peripheral ranges. After that, she moved over to GAME working as pre-played games merchandiser for second hand titles. In April 2008, Hannah joined HMV. She has been instrumental in the successful launch of the second hand and trade-in Re-Play games range at HMV, which has steadily grown to become a key part of the retailer’s gaming offer since it was rolled out to stores a year ago.

Victoria recently took on her new role as trade marketing manager at THQ. This comes following a fouryear tenure working in the UK and European marketing team. There she worked on successful brands such as the publsher’s Disney/Pixar game tieins, plus titles based on Nickelodeon properties, as well as some of THQ’s releases, based on owned IPs. In her new role, Victoria has already successfully launched the WWE preorder campaign and continues to work hard and build trade relationships.

NATALIE GILES

BEN HARDCASTLE

RYAN WYLIE

CRAIG LEWIS

Brand Manager, Activision Blizzard

Senior Games Buyer, The Hut

Repairs Supervisor, Total Console Repair

General Manager, Creative Distribution

28-year-old Natalie has worked at Activision for over a year, having significant impact on the firm’s licensed IP releases and launching the new value range Fun 4 All. She has driven significant profit growth across these areas during a time when licensed kids titles have elsewhere struggled. Her continued enthusiasm has helped raise the profile of games that otherwise would be overshadowed by big names such as Call of Duty and Guitar Hero.

Ben has single handedly taken games at The Hut group from nothing to turnover in excess of £20 million within the last three years – and he's only 28. Ben isn’t afraid to speak his mind: he was promoted from being a customer service agent in his first couple of weeks after he stepped up to single out the poor range on offer. He has since created a formidable product offering which is nearly always cheaper than other online competitors.

Originally hailing from South Africa, 27-year-old Ryan came to the UK in 2004 and his keen interest in gaming led him to eventually taking a role at Total Console Repair in 2006. According to his boss he quickly excelled at the firm. His colleagues attribute Ryan’s strong leadership skills, passion and determination as having helped seriously grow the business into what is now Europe’s largest independent console repair centre.

During his three years at Creative Distribution, Australian Craig has built solid relationships within the trade and established himself with a mix of intelligence and good buying skills. Last year he stepped up to the position of general manger from senior buyer and is now the most senior member of staff outside of the directors. He is seen as a major driving force in pushing the company forward, so expect to hear a lot more of his name in future.

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30 UNDER 30

Sponsored by:

LAURA LISTER

RUPERT LOMAN

NEIL LONG

ADAM MCCANN

Games Buyer, Asda

Managing Director, Eurogamer

Editor, Official Nintendo Magazine

Operations Director, VideoGamer.com

Skillfully managing Asda’s accessory category boosted Laura’s reputation in 2009; the section continues to grow ahead of the market and deliver big year on year growth. And thanks to effective management of her stable of a dozen suppliers she has delivered stella launch results on titles such as Ashes and Operation Flashpoint. Her down to earth and ‘happy to help’ approach has earned her credibility plus many friends from across the industry, all of whom say we should expect to see more her in the future.

Since co-founding Eurogamer in 1999, Rupert has helped develop consumer site Eurogamer.net into Europe’s leading games website. In recent years he has overseen the launch of Eurogamer in ten languages and established consumer event the Eurogamer Expo as a key date in the gaming calendar. More recently, he worked with Patrick Garratt to launch the Games Media Awardwinning games blog VG247.com. He is also a founding trustee of industry charity GamesAid.

Long is a familiar face to MCV readers – but his career in games started before a three-year stint with the industry’s leading trade publication. He started out in marketing at Special Reserve, moving to Intent Media in 2005. He was appointed editor of MCV two years later, at 24. He then made the switch to Future London in November 2008, taking up the reins of the Official Nintendo Magazine and Wii Guide, and is pushing the magazine forward on all fronts including print, online and special projects.

Adam founded consumer site VideoGamer.com while still at university. Now 25, colleagues say his tireless passion and enthusiasm for games drives him to work until all hours devising strategies to push the brand forward. These efforts – such as forging a deal to make VideoGamer Virgin Media's gaming content partner, further expanding the site’s editorial reach – have achieved sterling results. The site now boasts over 1.1m uniques and over 4m page impressions a month.

OLLY MCGOWAN

ANDY MILES

KIERAN O'NEILL

SOPHIE ORLANDO

Asset Management, Indigo Pearl

Senior Marketing Executive, Interactive Ideas

Co-founder and CEO, Playfire

Publicist, EA Games

Olly looks after the assets for some of the biggest publishers in the world for Indigo Pearl, such as Activision, Sega, Namco Bandai, Disney, Konami, Bethesda and Sony. He also updates, develops and designs new systems to help maintain Indigo's edge in asset management. Oh, and, his colleagues are quite keen to point out he enjoys time outside the office, with active hobbies such as skiing and abseiling, and, apparently, a touch of naked golf when weather permits.

29-year-old Andy has been instrumental in the growth of distributor Interactive Ideas. Thanks to his input, the company has achieved record revenues and doubled in size during the last two years. Descrbed by colleagues as an excellent communicator and creative thinker, he has built strong relationships with both Interactive Ideas’ key customers and its top suppliers, helping Interactive to outperform its competitors.

The first firm Kieran set up was a video sharing website he opened age 15 – and which he sold for $1.25m at 19. But forget early retirement, he then founded three companies, two in games: PSU.com, a huge online community for Sony fans, and social network for gamers, Playfire. The 24year-old is doing something right – key investors include founders of Skype, Bebo, Lastminute.com and LoveFilm, plus industry luminaries Chris Deering and David Gardner.

Sophie has worked in the industry for two years, hailing from an agency background, and is the day-to-day point of contact for franchises including Battlefield, Need For Speed and Left 4 Dead. She is also heavily involved in event management and PR strategy. Her eye for detail, efficiency and commitment have greatly impressed colleagues and contacts – so much so that she is already managing a number of her own projects.

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30 UNDER 30

Sponsored by:

GARY CLAY

DANIELA SCHULZE

CHIN SUN SOON

JAMES THORNBY

Xbox EMEA Third Party Marketing Manager, Microsoft

Project Manager, Babel Media

Creaive Designer & Community Director, Tecmo Koei

Product Manager, Disney Interactive

26-year-old Gary works with a number of high profile publishers to deliver integrated marketing campaigns that drive use of 360 hardware, software and Xbox Live to create the best possible console ecosystem. He joined the Microsoft team from EA about a year ago and is proving to be a real asset to the EMEA team, one very senior Xbox boss tells us. He has a genuine passion for both the games and music industries – and is also rather talented at Guitar Hero and DJ Hero, we hear.

Daneila has risen through the ranks at Babel and is now one of the QA and localisation firm’s star project managers. Both co-workers and industry contacts lobbied for her to be on the list thanks to her sterling work looking after the releases from major clients including THQ, Eidos, Playlogic and Take 2. She’s known as easy to deal with, efficient, very responsive – and, above all, honest; all very important skills when helping publishers during the most crucial period before a game’s release.

Chin has been instrumental in supporting Tecmo Koei’s rebrand and merger, helping to create a continuity and identity between all the firm’s brands. He oversees and drives the creative process for marketing across Europe, and has a clear vision for the identity of each product. Whether working on press invites and billboards or dealing with fanatical Dynasty Warriors fans, Chin’s input and vision is driving the awareness of Tecmo Koei and its games, helping to not only keep core fans happy, but grow its audience.

James joined Disney Interactive Studios in January 2008 from Konami. He currently works across the UK and Ireland sales and marketing team leading product forecasting and managing frontlist releases such as Disney’s Club Penguin DS – which topped the DS chart this year. In addition, James is point person for Ireland, South Africa and Australia’s marketing activities. He is currently leading the local sales and marketing team for next year’s hotly-tipped racer Split/Second.

MARTIN PULLEN

ANNE SCANTLEBURY

CRAIG TING

IAN WEBSTER

Owner, ZXGamer

Co-host and Head of News, One Life Left

Site Merchandiser, Amazon

Community Manager, Codemasters

Martin opened his indie store ZX aged just 19, in October 2008. Situated in the busy university town of Loughborough, the store recently celebrated its first year of business and has enjoyed continual month on month sales growth in the face of the recession and local pressure on the High Street. The store has two employees, recently introduced its own reward scheme, the ZCard, and is financially self sufficient. Martin’s next aim is to open a second store early next year, plus an e-commerce site.

24-year-old Scantlebury is Head of News (or, colloquially, ‘News Fox’) and co-host of Games Media Award winner One Life Left. Co-hosts Ste Curran and Simon Byron say Scantlebury is a perfect representation of the expanded games audience in 2009, who know little about video games but don’t care; they play things because they are fun and they make their lives better. She can hold her own without them too – in their absence she recently hosted special episode ‘Ann Life Left’.

Craig joined Amazon.co.uk in July 2007 from a background in hospitality management. The 24-yearold has become an integral part of the team through his creative approach to site merchandising, aided by his product knowledge and passion for genres including RPGs. Responsibilities range from planning trade marketing campaigns to management of email and editorial strategy. He’s also a ‘glorious leader’, ‘key player’ or ‘complete liability’ at the MCV Pub Quiz, depending on who you talk to.

In a job requiring endless patience, nerves of steel and dedication to community causes, Ian Webster has shown how to inspire, manage and entertain online gaming communities, wherever they are. His community contribution to the marketing and development process makes better games, as proven with the recent successes of Operation Flashpoint and Dirt 2. Work on both led to some ‘best of breed’ social media efforts, including number one rankings on YouTube.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS Bryony Benoy (Ubisoft), James Haley (Imagine), Alastair Islip (Asda), Andrew Mehta (United Games), Chris Tufnell (BHPR), Darren Neville (HMV), Graeme Boyd (Xbox), Johanna Hakala (Activision Blizzard), Ken Clow (Sainsbury's), Keyleigh Watson (BHPR), Nick Arran (Sainsbury's), Peter Oliver (Indigo Pearl), Richard Thompson (HMV), Sarah Jasper (The Hut), Sharan Jain (Bounjourno), Laura Hewitt (Electronic Arts)

Proud sponsors of MCV's 2009

OPM Response Ltd Tel: +44(0)1206 21 44 21 www.opmjobs.com

© SEGA. SEGA and the SEGA logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the SEGA Corporation. © 2009 Ilion Animation Studios, HandMade Films International & A3 Films All Rights Reserved. © 2009 Pyro Studios S.L. All Rights Reserved. “2”, “PlayStation” and “PS3”, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Trademarks are the property their respective owners. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo.

www.planet51game.com www.sega.co.uk

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GENRE FOCUS: FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS

Sponsored by:

is the 360 and PC Dead on Xbox the market in s es cc Valve’s Left 4 su y FPS to enjo latest original

Shoot to thrill The first person shooter is one of the world’s most popular video game genres, with the likes of Halo and Call of Duty dominating the charts. Christopher Dring investigates the sector and talks to the experts on the past, present and future of the FPS...

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, the first person shooter is one of gaming’s oldest genres. It first arrived in 1974 when Steve Colley – a future NASA engineer – created Maze War, a game that boasted network play, wireframe graphics and the ability to turn and move in two directions. But it took almost 20 years before the FPS reached the mainstream, with id Software’s 1992 hit Wolfenstein 3D. The Nazi-based blaster is seen as the daddy of the modern day first person shooter and laid the groundwork for 1993’s smash hit Doom. At the time the FPS’ home was on the PC, with fans insistent that the genre simply couldn’t work without a mouse and keyboard. And then in 1997 British developer Rare launched GoldenEye, the N64 game that went on to sell eight million units worldwide. “The final product was a more traditional FPS than we’d first planned – it’s well-documented that the original design was all on-rails,” says Rare’s head of studio Mark Betteridge “As the work progressed we realised that it made sense to shift development in that direction, both as a game and as a potential asset for Nintendo. It turned out to be a great tool for attracting a

“

different type of gamer to the N64. Up to that point the consoles had never been able to field many serious competitors to the PC FPS market.” In the years that followed GoldenEye the FPS grew to become one of the world’s most successful genres. Today Halo and Call of Duty are two of the biggest franchises in games, while four of the top five most played titles on Xbox Live are first person shooters.

When making Call of Duty we look at every genre such as racers and RPGs - and include elements of all of them. Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward So what has been the secret to the category’s continued success? Valve’s marketing boss Doug Lombardi explains: “When done correctly, it’s hard to argue that there is another genre that allows you to feel like ‘I did that.’ “Using our own games as examples, Portal was a puzzle game that managed to make you feel smart and emotionally attached to a crate with a heart painted on the side of it. Meanwhile Left 4 Dead allows you to feel like you’re part of a team, and there are distinct outcomes based upon your teamplay.”

Valve is a great example of how the first person shooter remains such a dominant force in gaming. The developer is responsible for some of the most innovative shooters on the market, from its first game (1998’s Half-Life), past Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Portal and last year’s zombie-infested Left 4 Dead. And the firm says that trying something new is key to growing the genre. “For Valve, innovation has been everything,” adds Lombardi. “That was Half-Life’s mission statement – innovate. Since then we’ve managed to take a pretty different approach to every game – from taking a little multiplayer-only MOD called Counter-Strike to retail in 2000 to doing an FPS puzzler in 2007 with Portal to our latest attempts to bring new things to the genre through co-op play in Left 4 Dead.”

”

COMBAT EVOLVED The first person shooters of today are vastly different to the experiences pioneered by Doom in the ‘90s. Over the years the humble FPS has come to incorporate rival genres into its framework, introducing puzzles, racing sections and even RPG elements into the final product.

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MCV 30/10/09 23

Sponsored by:

GENRE FOCUS: FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS

e most e amongst th its sequels ar ted ea cr rs Half-Life and te oo st person sh influential fir

THE HOLY RAIL

“We look at everything when we are making a game,” says Infinity Ward’s creative strategist Robert Bowling. “I think it is important to appreciate the work everybody is doing, no matter what the genre. Really, when making Call of Duty we look at all genres such as racing games and RPGs, and incorporate elements of all of them. “We will play an RPG and go: ‘This xp, ranking and perk ability is awesome’ and that inspires decisions in our games. And that is why we are moving away from being a first person shooter to creating a first person action game.” Kikizo director Adam Doree, who has just launched FPSgamer.com, adds: “You can’t understate the contribution survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill have made to the shooters’ transformation from B-movie fare to something capable of real atmospheric nuance and narrative sophistication. Also significant on this front – as broader cultural influences – are Stephen Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan and the Alien films.” Indeed, today’s shooters are a far cry from the FPS of yesteryear, so much so that some titles – such as 2K’s latest Borderlands and Nintendo’s Metroid Prime series – have looked to drop the first person shooter moniker altogether. “We have developed Metroid Prime Trilogy with a viewpoint to seeing how Metroid – a 2D game – would change in 3D by utilising a FPS platform,” explains Kensuke Tanabe, who oversaw the Prime series as manager of production group No.3 at Nintendo’s Software Planning Development Division. “So it’s important to understand that the idea is based

“

on pursuing a better Metroid on a FPS platform, rather than a better FPS title that utilises the Metroid franchise. In that sense, we adopted a unique categorisation for our game — the first person adventure.” LEFT FOR DEAD First person shooters may be the world’s leading video game genre, but breaking into the sector can be a tough task. For every BioShock or Far Cry that cuts through, there is a Haze, Turning Point or XIII that falls aside. In 2007, Midway put millions behind the launch of Blacksite: Area 51 even telling MCV that it expected the title to top the

Right now our sights are trained on Natal. It’s an opportunity to exercise some genre evolution. Mark Betteridge, Rare charts. But the game failed to even impact the Top 40. The latest publisher attempting to crack the tough FPS market is SouthPeak, with its multiplayer-based Section 8 – which launched last month. “It’s been tough, especially for a company the size of SouthPeak, to bring through games that compete on a similar level with established brands such as Halo and Operation Flashpoint; let alone the behemoth that is Modern Warfare,” comments SouthPeak’s European marketing director Ed Blincoe. “Bringing new, innovative features and gameplay with you doesn’t guarantee interest or visibility with

the consumers and you have to fight hard to make sure your voice is heard over the shouts of others.” FUTURE PERFECT Looking ahead there are plenty of new first person shooters on the horizon vying for attention. This year gamers will be enjoying Left 4 Dead 2, Modern Warfare 2 and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, while 2010 boasts even more sequels, including BioShock 2, Ghost Recon: Predator and Red Steel 2. There’s new IP coming too, in the form of Activision’s promising Singularity and 2K’s Borderlands, while Sega is looking to crack the FPS market with the classic Aliens vs Predator licence. “The Alien and Predator are amongst the most iconic film characters in the history of Sci-Fi ,” says Sega’s senior product manager Ben Walker. “The Colonial Marine has pretty much been the blueprint for futuristic FPS characters in recent times; and all of this affords us with incredible awareness and familiarity, which is a rarity in the genre.” And what can we expect after 2010 – especially with the launch of Project Natal and Sony’s motion controller? Rare’s Betteridge concludes: “It’s still a booming business, you only have to look at the success of the Halo series to see that. And we’re obviously very happy about the excitement over Perfect Dark coming back to Xbox Live Arcade. “Right now our sights are trained on Natal, which is a great opportunity to break new ground with content and gameplay, It’s also an opportunity to exercise some genre evolution, so hopefully we’ll be able to develop something on that front.”

”

A sub-genre to the FPS is the onrails shooter. These games were particularly popular in arcade rooms during the ‘90s, with the likes of Virtua Cop, House of the Dead and Time Crisis dominating the sector. However, as the arcade industry went into decline on-rails titles began to die out – with just a few enjoying moderate success on consoles. Until the arrival of Nintendo Wii, that is. Nintendo’s console is crammed with on-rails shooters, including House of the Dead: Overkill, Dead Space: Extraction and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, which have all received postive reviews in the specialist press. And Capcom’s UK PR manager Leo Tan feels that on-rails games can do a job not covered by your typical first person shooter: “When the beauty of your product is in its simplicity, I don't think you want to risk losing that beauty by overcomplicating,” he said. “In that sense, you could argue that it's challenging to innovate, but within the limitations of that simplicity amazing things can happen. “When the director is free to tell the story that he wants, how he wants, a game becomes closer to the kind of experience that a film offers. Every aspect of the camera control and pacing is strictly directed and elements like plot progression can be masterfully orchestrated. That’s the kind of experience that our upcoming Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles on Wii is going to deliver.” Sega’s senior UK product manager Ben Walker adds: “Historically, Sega’s FPS line-up has been borne from its arcade roots. Titles such as House of the Dead and Ghost Squad have long been arcade favourites and with the advent of the Wii and its control system, there’s now a natural console home for these shooters.”

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GENRE FOCUS: FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS

Sponsored by:

The rise and rise of the

first person shooter From Maze War to Modern Warfare 2, the FPS has come along way from its 1974 debut…

Maze War (1974)

Spasim (1974)

Battlezone (1980)

Hovertank 3D (1991)

Wolfenstein 3D (1992)

Doom (1993)

Steve Colley designed the very first FPS on PC. Incredibly, the game even boasted network play but wasn’t made commercially available.

Developed around the same time as Maze War, Jim Bowery’s Spasim was a first person shooter set in space, but again it wasn’t available in shops.

Atari’s tank shooter brought the FPS to consumers. The game appeared in arcades in 1980 and hit home computers in 1983.

Id Software began its FPS career with Hovertank and Catacombs 3D. Both titles were well received for their impressive visuals and were followed by...

...Wolfenstein, which brought the first person shooter to the mainstream. It introduced weapon selection, 360 degree movement – and Nazis.

Wolfenstein may have been a watershed moment, but Doom was the first big FPS hit. It introduced the word ‘deathmatch’ to the genre.

Alien vs Predator (1994)

Marathon (1994)

System Shock (1994)

Dark Forces (1995)

Duke Nukem 3D (1996)

Quake (1996)

This was Rebellion’s first AVP game and was an early example of a console FPS. The studio returned to the franchise in 1999, and will again next year.

Although not Bungie’s first game (Pathway to Darkness was released in 1993), Marathon was a huge success and spawned two sequels on Mac.

The progenitor to BioShock, System Shock combined RPG elements with the FPS experience and enjoyed great reviews. A sequel arrived in 1999.

LucasArts got in on the act with a Star Wars FPS. The game expanded what was achieved by Doom by allowing you to crouch as well as look up and down.

The sequel to a platforming series, Duke Nukem was praised for its humour and its level design, with a wealth of secrets to discover.

Id software continued its trend of creating significant shooters with Quake, which allowed gamers to play against each over the internet.

GoldenEye 007 (1997)

Turok (1997)

Unreal (1998)

Half-Life (1998)

Rainbow Six (1998)

Medal of Honor (1999)

The N64 Bond tie-in proved that consoles could do FPS games too, selling eight million units globally. 2000’s Perfect Dark is its spiritual successor.

Turok was a big hit on N64. Four sequels followed before Acclaim went under. Disney has since picked up the rights and released a game last year.

Unreal took the FPS to new levels with its AI and visuals. The game gave birth to the Unreal engine, which has powered other FPS’ such as BioShock.

Valve entered the FPS scene in 1998 with the groundbreaking Half-Life, which was renowned for its superb story, no cut scenes and impressive AI.

Publishers started going tactical in 1998. Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six is the best known, but Spec Ops and Delta Force were also released that year.

Created by Steven Spielberg for the Sony PlayStation, Medal of Honor started a trend of World War II-based shooters.

Timesplitters (2000)

Deus Ex (2000)

Red Faction (2001)

Halo (2002)

Metroid Prime (2002)

Call of Duty (2003)

The multiplayer-focused title was created by the guys behind GoldenEye. The first game was a PS2 exclusive, while its sequels were multiplatform.

Often described as the best PC game of all time, Deus Ex demonstrated perfectly how a FPS can blend seamlessly with other genres.

The PS2 version of Red Faction was released a full four months before its PC counterpart as FPS developers began to focus more on consoles.

The game that sold the Xbox. Halo’s AI, combat systems, visuals and vehicles pushed Bungie right to the top of the FPS pile.

Nintendo wasn’t known for its shooters, but Retro Studio’s Metroid Prime changed all that. The game was more an adventure title than a shooter.

The project leads behind Medal of Honor: Allied Assault launched their own studio: Infinity Ward. A year later Call of Duty was born.

AND THE REST… Far Cry (2004)

Killzone (2004)

Portal (2007)

Modern Warfare (2007)

Left 4 Dead (2008)

Crytek entered the scene with the CryENGINEpowered Far Cry. The title boasted cutting-edge visuals, advanced AI and huge draw distances.

Sony put its weight behind the FPS genre in 2004. Although Killzone didn’t live up to the hype, its PS3 sequel, released this year, certainly did.

Portal is one of the most original first person games. Set in the Half-Life universe, the title is in fact a puzzler with an amusing storyline to boot.

Call of Duty went modern in 2007, and hype for this year’s sequel has reached fever pitch. Cast your eyes to the right for our full Infinity Ward interview.

As the world waits for Half-Life 2: Episode 3, Valve delivered a unique co-op experience with Left 4 Dead. A sequel is due in November.

Annoyed Crysis, Perfect Dark Operation Flashpoint, XIII, Resistance etc. didn’t make the list? Why not drop us your thoughts on the most influential first person shooters to mcv@intentmedia.co.uk

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MCV 30/10/09 25

MCV INTERVIEW ROBERT BOWLING, CREATIVE STRATEGIST, INFINITY WARD

Modern development Infinity Ward is this year’s most talked about developer. Christopher Dring speaks to community manager Robert Bowling on sky-high expectations for Modern Warfare 2 and developers marketing their own games…

“

We still make Call of Duty games because we’re having fun doing them. And When that stops being fun, we’ll move on to something new. Robert Bowling, IW

” Sponsored by:

FPS Gamer is a new gaming site dedicated to first person shooters. It is the one-stop destination for shooting fanatics on both console and PC. www.FPSGamer.com

Call of Duty 4 remains one of this generation’s defining video games. Do the ultra-high expectations heap pressure on you? It does, but just as much pressure that you always have when you make a game. Early on we decided to shelter ourselves from the hype. We are focusing on making a game that we can be proud of and our fans will like. And I am confident in our product. You told our sister magazine Develop earlier in the year that Twitter was like ‘having the players in the studio with you’. Is that still the case? Definitely. I try to be very transparent on Twitter. I communicate with our Twitter followers the same way I’d communicate with my office buddies. So during development, if we are sitting in a meeting and we are arguing about something, no matter what it is, I can just turn to what is now 60,000 people and ask them. Twitter has been fantastic throughout development, and I would recommend more people adapted that into their design schedule. How dramatically do you think games production has changed because of this relationship studios are now having with their audiences? The average gamer is much closer to the people who make the games than they ever were before. And as a result they are much more developer aware. No longer is it an Activision game, but an Infinity Ward game, or a Treyarch game, or a Bungie game. And gamers know where to go to offer their feedback. You’ve been involved in the PR of Modern Warfare 2. What are the advantages to being so close to the game, from development to when it appears in shops? We know everything there is to know about Modern Warfare 2. Not only do we know the game but we know the gamer. We know what to expect from them and what they expect from us. So it helps us guide design decisions and decisions overall, including with PR. Have you been involved with the marketing at all? I am directly involved. A benefit of being so close to the gamer is that you can call bullshit on the really lame shit. Sometimes a marketing idea will come through we don’t like. For example, recently it was suggested that we should send a mass e-mail to our website users to pre-order the Modern Warfare 2 guide. And I said no. Yeah it would probably sell a few more guides, but we don’t use our newsletter to market to our gamers.

How important is it for developers to be involved in these decisions? I don’t think any developer should not have control of how their game is presented. And they should take control of that a lot more. It is why I started the Twitter account in the first place. I have direct line to our audience and the press. Many editors will follow me, and they can direct message me and I can clarify things. There’s no middleman. We are responsible for what we say and do, and we can be held accountable for our successes and failures. You appear to have invested in audio, with Hans Zimmer on the score and some top voice actors. Why have you gone down this route for audio? We never go for the really big actor everybody knows. We want to get characters that fit perfect. We will sit, night-after-night, and just watch demo reels and audition tapes. For Hans Zimmer, it is his first time scoring a game. We designed it to be a cinematic experience and he is a master of creating that. We didn’t want to get anything that didn’t meet the quality you’d expect from a film. I guess Hans Zimmer doesn’t come cheap and I imagine the development budget is pretty high. How has this helped creating Modern Warfare 2? We are pretty tight on our budgets. Early on – when we decided to make a

sequel – Activision estimated out a ridiculous budget. And we were like: ‘No, we don’t need that.’ If you have excess you feel like you should use excess. So we said: ‘Let us design a game the way we’d always design a game’. We didn’t let the budget affect our mentality. We would only put stuff in the game that is right for it, and not because we can. Of course it does afford us certain luxuries. With Hans, it wasn’t so much about the money. It is something he has never done before. You have to score a game in a totally different way to a film. So he took it on because he was intrigued by it and he liked the story. Not because we had a cheque book. You’ve been working on Call of Duty for ten years. Have you ever been tempted to create a new IP? We still make Call of Duty games because we’re having fun doing it. And when it stops being fun, we’ll move on to something else. If we do want to do something else, then we will. We don’t feel tied to making Call of Duty games. You moved from PC to consoles with Call of Duty, what needs to happen before you’d consider Wii? Or PSP? If we feel we could deliver the cinematic experience on other platforms, then we would gladly move to that platform. Right now, we don't think the Wii can deliver the exact experience that we’re doing.

COMING SOON Artwork subject to change

For more details, or to place your order, call the Focus Multimedia sales team â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 01889 570156 Focus Multimedia Limited, The Studios, Lea Hall Enterprise Park, Wheelhouse Road, Rugeley, Staffs WS15 1LH. All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

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LGC PARTNER PROFILE: ZAVVI.COM

The Hut looks forward London Games Conference sponsor Zavvi and its parent firm The Hut have transformed the defunct High Street chain into an online success – but does digital distribution fit into its future? Yes – and in a big way, Tim Ingham discovers…

THE HUT ON THE UP The Hut has seen sales growth of 189 per cent a year – from £997,000 in 2005 to a whopping £24 million last year. As well as running its own retail sites at thehut.com and zavvi.co.uk, The Hut provides ecommerce services for the likes of Asda, Argos, Lovefilm and WH Smith. This month, The Hut Group will further expand its client base by launching offerings for new partners Borders and Littlewoods, aiming to realise its target of operating 30 sites by January 2010.

WHEN ZAVVI collapsed last Christmas, it looked like there was no way back for the High Street entertainment store. The firm plunged into administration on Christmas Eve – another deadly blow to the High Street after Woolworths suffered a similar fate but weeks before. Fast-growing online retail specialist The Hut, however, saw something in the Zavvi brand as other firms dawdled, and snapped it up in March. And after trading with the brand for seven months via Zavvi.com, things are on the up. After UK success, a multilingual website is on the cards. Zavvi.com aims to have over 50 per cent of its customer based in Europe by September 2010. Despite giving Zavvi a new lease of life online, however, The Hut knows it also has to steer the brand into the next evolution of consumer spending: digital distribution. The firm got heavily involved in London Games Conference – both sponsoring and attending the show. “It is important that the industry has a forum where we can shape the future together,” says The Hut’s product director Gian Luzio. “Together we have to avoid the pitfalls that we have seen take place in the music industry where the labels agreed digital distribution prices that made their whole business model unviable for many large companies.” Although The Hut is currently very much a boxed product business, the firm has an eye on the future. In a shock admission, Luzio candidly admits that the firm will launch its own streaming and download service in future, “across all entertainment formats including books, music, games and movies” – a sure-fire indication that this company has no qualms about upsetting the apple cart when it comes to traditional relationships. In the short term, The Hut is very keen on the idea of selling Xbox Live and PSN points – something which has already been adopted by US retailers such as Amazon. Luzio believes that the

games industry is at a critical time, whereby it can avoid the retail monopolisation that Apple enjoys in the music industry. “We should try and get a free market in games digital distribution,” asserts Luzio. “iTunes cornered the music distribution market and they are solely responsible for the problems the music labels are facing.” SHINY ZAVVI PEOPLE

Despite his certainty that The Hut needs its own digital distribution platform, however, Luzio is not naïve enough to think he has the sector’s future fully mapped out. “The digital distribution of games and the current business models are in

“

“Despite Call of Duty possibly being the biggest selling game of all time this Christmas I am convinced I will not get a duvet set, a plush toy, the t-shirt a book or any other merchandise from the high street or online. We all want more people to be playing more games and digital distribution will be a great channel to assist this but to increase revenues and brand awareness we all need to work together in retail and publishing and be more innovative.” Companies currently profiting from boxed products will need to be forward-thinking, brave and no-nonsense to fully take advantage of the digital revolution; a plate it seems The Hut will have no problem stepping up to.

There will be models in future where people can play the same game on their mobile, and home console. Gian Luzio, Zavvi.com

their infancy,” he adds. “There will be more advanced models coming over the next few years that will enable people to play the same game on their mobile phone, portable gaming device and console – and interact with everyone on it.” Before that point, The Hut is – like any good businesses – concentrating on making money and helping expand the market today. Over and above digital distribution, it believes (in typical maverick fashion) than the games industry is missing a very simple trick. Luzio concludes: “The industry is very poor at maximizing retail opportunities compared to film. A clear example of this is the recent Monster vs Aliens release on DVD. I bought the DVD, the plush toy, the bed spread, the pyjamas and the stickers and my two-year-old son is extremely jealous. My point being is that the games industry should focus on maximizing merchandising opportunities.

”

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LGC PARTNER PROFILE: ZAVVI.COM

INTO THE BREACH... The Hut’s Gian Luzio on the future of digital distribution:

Luzio says that The Hut will eventually offer customers digitally downloadable product

“Digital games distribution is going to see massive growth over the next few years as it is relatively simple and allows you to buy from the comfort of your own home. It will not replace physical product as nobody wants to receive a voucher code for a birthday present or a Christmas present – they want a physical product. “A couple of years ago one of my family gave me a voucher code for a department store. I never spent it and I’ve never spoken to her again. The truth is that downloads make awful presents and we must make sure that games remain objects of desire and not worthless digital products. In essence – digital distribution gives you immediacy but does not give you the enjoyment, experience and security of physical product. The technology can deliver everything but do we want it to?”

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Direct2Drive’s Rich Keen feels it is vital that a digital download chart is made available

PIRACY PROBLEMS Rich Keen believes that the industry needs to group together to nix digital games disribution’s bigget threat – piracy: “We believe that illegal downloads are mainly driven by ease of access. Sure, there’s a cost element – it’s nice to get something for free – but getting a game off these things is not as easy as ripping a music file. You need to work quite hard.

“The ability to purchase a PC game online legitimately is very simple, and once this becomes the norm it will have a huge effect. “We allow people a sense of ownership, where you can redownload for free. There’s always

going to be an element that’s going to look to syndicate and buy pirated material, but we feel that is going to reduce once customers feel that they’re getting a problem-free user experience and quality customer service elsewhere.”

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LGC PARTNER PROFILE: DIRECT2DRIVE

Drive a hard bargain IGN-owned Direct2Drive is one of the earliest success stories in digital games distribution. Tim Ingham catches up with marketing boss Rich Keen…

IF GAMES is to have its own ‘iTunes’, then there are three very early contenders for the prize: Steam, Metaboli – and IGN’s Direct2Drive. The firm has seen huge growth in recent years, and celebrated its fifth birthday last month. Indeed, it’s not only one of the most successful companies in the digital sphere – but one the fastest growing in the entire industry, with year-on-year revenue up from fiscal year ’08 to fiscal year ’09 by over 300 per cent. Traffic growth from August last year to August this year was up 240 per cent. “PC digital distribution has exploded over the last three years with very little central support from core industry bodies,” explains Direct2Drive marketing director Rich Keen. “This is testament to consumer confidence in

“

for within an official chart. It will take the industry to come together to make this happen. We also need to come together to share understanding and generate consensus to ensure that we all best position digital products in our consumer marketing, as bullet-proof consumer confidence in digital distributed products is a challenge that we all face.” The firm hasn’t met much resistance from publishers, who may have been concerned that selling titles digitally could impact negatively on boxed product. Indeed, the only major PC release not carried on Direct2Drive is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft – which is sold via the publisher’s own platform. Direct2Drive’s ambition is to secure yet more major exclusives from these partners – and to continue to see

We feel that now is the time to allow all digital sales to be accounted for within an official chart. Rich Keen, Direct2Drive

digital within the core PC community and the steps that companies such as ourselves, Steam and Metaboli have been taking to ensure the customer experience is positive and the digital product offering is good. “We’re now at the stage where more and more mainstream consumers are being attracted to digital distribution, so events like LGC are vital in bringing the industry together to formulate a joint strategy and voice to ensure that digital distribution delivers maximum benefit to the UK software market.” One of the hottest topics at this week’s London Games Conference was the call for a digital chart – something that, unlike its rivals, Direct2Drive fully endorses. “Digital distribution across all formats is making a huge impact on overall unit sales but no-one knows what the overall uplift is because there is no transparency on sales figures,” says Keen. “We feel that now is the time to allow all digital sales to be accounted

”

where technology and consumer spending evolves. “We’re at the start of a long journey of discovery and development,” adds Keen. “We feel that as a business we have progressed immensely over the last five years but we also understand that there is a long way to go before our vision for digital distribution is realised. “Whilst new business models are constantly being developed, most are all still shifting and growing as ours is, so no model has been truly fully investigated and realised. “The beauty of tying your business to developing technologies is that you are constantly challenged to innovate, whilst also translating the benefits of emergent platforms to impact on the consumer and improve their gaming experience. Live streaming platforms like Gaikai are a perfect example of fantastic innovation that now needs to translate into a commercially marketable consumer service; which once a reality should have a hugely positive impact on the market.”

DIRECT2INDIES One of Direct2Drive’s USPs is that it carries a wealth of independent games that would struggle to get exposure at retail. Rich Keen explains: “Our concentrated focus on bringing indie games onto Direct2Drive began mid-2008 when we brought in staff to solely focus on bringing cutting edge indie content into the store,” says Keen. “Our dedicated indie channel subsequently launched in August 2008, which was developed into a co-branded partnership with the Independent Games Festival. “The partnership quickly grew and in 2009 we sponsored the Independent Games Festival at GDC San Francisco where we launched the Direct2Drive Vision award, the winner of which received a £5,000 prize.

We treat indie releases on par with triple-A products and regulary run indiespecific campaigns. “We now have strong links with the indie development community in the US and UK and actively work closely with them to ensure we generate the widest possible interest for their products across our network. “A recent example of this was a project we ran with UK developers Rudolf Kremers and Alex May whose indie smash Dyson was recently forced to undergo a name change prior to release. We ran an exclusive competition on Direct2Drive and across the IGN network globally, where we asked our users to send in their recommendations for the game’s new name. “The response from our community was fantastic, the eventual winner being the catchy Eufloria, which is now the official title of the released game. We regularly run indie specific marketing and promotional campaigns, treating indie releases on a par with triple-A products. We make sure independent products receive premium merchandising spots on Direct2Drive and subsequent coverage across the IGN Network.”

ÂŠ 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

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www.risingstargames.com Basepoint Business & Innovation Centre Butterﬁeld Luton United Kingdom LU2 8DL © Toei Video / JU-ON Film Partners / JU-ON 2 Film Partners. © 2009 AQ INTERACTIVE INC. Licensed to and published by Rising Star Games Ltd.

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LGC PARTNER PROFILE: TEAM 17

Sweet 17

Developer Team 17 has kept an eye on the evolution of digital distribution for years. Tim Ingham discovers more…

IF YOU WANT a company that has been freed to hit new critical heights by digital distribution, you needn’t look further than Team 17. The developer, best known for its work on the Worms franchise, decided to become a digital-only publisher last year – removing publishers from the payment chain of its titles. As one of the industry’s greatest digitial acolytes, its choice to get involved in London Games conference was obvious. The firm’s belief in the power of non-traditional distribution – and forthright views on the industry at large’s reluctance to commit to it – makes it one of the most interesting players in the market. “The fact that digital distribution is finally being spoken about with some degree of interest made me think that wherever digital distribution is concerned, I’d like Team17 to be associated,” explains CEO Martyn Brown. “I’ve spent a fair bit of time discussing the virtues of digital publishing during 2009 and we’ve had digital titles since early 2006. ONLINE OPERATOR

“There are a lot of companies that need to get their strategy right because a lot of the opportunities will not be around forever. I think the digital medium Brown has ‘freed’ his firm from traditional relationships with boxed game publishers requires a lot more strategy and certainly an agility – not all companies release in Alien Breed around “[With publishers involved], we were have that in relation to digital, where the corner. being driven more by marketeers and sales and marketing are performed to Adds Brown: “It means that we the financial quarter rather than very different degrees.” could duck out of the third party genuine excitement for what we Team 17’s decision to wanted to develop. I think push all of its titles out it’s probably unfair to label We’ve managed to duck out independent of every third party with the of the third party publishing publishing partners is a same brush, but our nonsense – and I use that controversial move – relationship with many of but Brown doesn’t them was rarely smooth – word deliberately. mince his words when for some it appears we were Martyn Brown, Team 17 it comes to the benefits. an unfortunate requirement He believes that the firm’s business publishing nonsense – and I mean that in the whole process. model allows it to test more creative term. We were sick of the low-risk “As the model becomes more and ideas than rival studios. The firm approach to development and wanted more broken – particularly the triple-A already has four smash digital releases to get back to making the games we next-gen model – it was getting harder under its belt, an enviable presence on wanted to make on the platforms we to enjoy developing titles, so something Apple’s App Store – and a promising feel make most sense to do so. had to give.”

“

”

PUBLISH AND BE DAMNED? Team 17’s Martyn Brown discusses publishers’ approach to digital distribution: “I think they’re slowly coming around to the fact but really I think a lot took their eye off the ball – or ignored it because the finances didn’t make sense, which they won’t if you’re a large, bloated organisation. You’re seeing a lot of small indie breakaways who are leaving for the same reasons we did. We actually offered Worms on XBLA to our then publisher of the handheld versions of Worms and there was no interest. We couldn’t believe it. It’s gone on to be one of the best selling titles on XBLA and didn’t undergo any price reduction for 18 months. At one time we had two titles in the global weekly top ten. For a minnow from Wakefield, it shows what can be done.”

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LGC PARTNER PROFILE: POWER PLAY

The Power of good

How can a peripherals firm like Power Play take advantage of digital? Tim Ingham finds out… Power Play’s Paul Holcomb believes games companies need to change their thinking on how people consume media

RIIFLEX-OLOGY Power Play’s latest accessory for the market is its Riiflex dumbbells. These add weight to both the Wii Remote and Wii Nunchuk to give consumers a more hearty workout on title such as Wii Fit and EA Sports Active. The dumbbells will initially only be available in 1kg varieties at launch. However, the firm plans to launch 0.5kg and 2kg versions next year.

YOU’D BE forgiven for wondering Holcomb believes that digital’s why an accessories firm like Power Play impact on the industry is already much wanted to get involved in the digitally- bigger than some have estimated – and focused London Games Conference. goes back a longer way than most But like many of its peers, the believe. In addition, he questions Atlanta, US-based firm realises it needs whether the trade is doing enough to to keep a close eye on the sector – take advantage. and the way its customers are “Digital distribution for video games engaging with it. has been around as long as the “Consumers are becoming more Peripherals connect the user accustomed to accessing to the game experience, so entertainment onare unaffected by how the demand, and video content is delivered. games are no different,” explains Power Play Paul Holcomb, Power Play president Paul Holcomb. “Companies that currently lead the internet, so it seems about 20 years too gaming industry need to create late to be discussing how to respond to innovative distribution models or else it,” he says. the marketplace will create new ones “The internet is a microcosm of and replace these companies as leaders. business models whose potential “Apple has become a key player in transcends the online space alone. the industry because they understand However, discussing business models is that, ultimately, consumers are in the wrong way to look at this and control in any competitive marketplace.” sadly, for the most part, the video game

“

industry has been reactive rather than proactive about creating the idealistic game experience. “Virtually every household games console is now connected to the internet, so we as consumers should expect to see business models that recognise that all our devices will be connected to the internet, and to each other too. “Why should a consumer have to wait to get home to a console in order to continue a game that they can access on their mobile device? This isn’t a technology challenge; it’s a business paradigm challenge. “The point is, business models should follow the experience that the users desire. Innovative business models will become self evident if the industry focuses on creating the ultimate experience for gamers; consumer-centric thinking will always reveal the most successful result. In

”

order to find the most innovative business models, we need to think like a consumer, not a corporation.” The company is less certain on the unknown question of how peripherals can interact with digital-only releases in future. But it is sure that, however the relationship evolves, it wants to be part of it. “Peripherals connect the user to the game experience, so they are neutrally affected by how the content is delivered to the end user,” adds Holcomb. “Accessories are increasingly becoming as much of the appeal of a game experience as the game itself, so publishers that develop strong relationships with peripheral manufacturers can create a unique value proposition to the game consumer regardless of how the game is acquired. Peripherals help bridge the gap between the real and virtual world that the gamer is experiencing. A well thought-out peripheral can drive consumers into retail stores.”

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© 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision, Call of Duty and Modern Warfare are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. ‘2’, ‘PlayStation’ and ‘ ’ are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Music composed by Hans Zimmer. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

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LGC PARTNER PROFILE: GAMESTREAMER

Stream come true The company previously said it wants to become the ‘iTunes of video games’ – and GameStreamer’s ambition doesn’t stop there. Tim Ingham speaks to chief operating officer Steig Westerberg... ONE OF THE industry’s most forward-thinking companies, GameStreamer can’t wait for the digital revolution to take the industry by storm. The company’s digital distribution and streaming services offer developers and publishers access to a B2B network of consumer sites that will host their titles online, targeting a wide range of demographics. Clients can choose from a selection of payment models, and decide whether they want their game streamed or available for download. “GameStreamer believes that digital distribution is about to begin rapid growth as physical distribution drops, explains GameStreamer COO Steig Westerberg. “Now is a pivotal point in that juncture and it is important that participants in this business establish a solid base for anticipated further growth.” Sites hosting games delivered by GameStreamer include social networks, retailers, e-tailers, media companies, churches and schools. The firm says its growing network will ‘result in the widest catalogue of games available anywhere’. One of its major targets are retailers, whom it believes should be making bolder moves into the digital world. “Retailers should realise that the such as micro-transactions and in-game movement towards digital distribution ads that are not possible with traditional has already begun and that it will retail sales,” adds Westerberg. accelerate in the future,” adds “At GameStreamer we realise the Westerberg. “They need to partner market is large and that different with GameStreamer to establish a sound digital Retailers should realise that distribution platform or the movement towards risk being digital distribution has begun marginalised.” and will now accelerate. However, Steig Westerberg, GameStreamer GameStreamer understands that its core business relies on challenging the High participants require various business Street’s traditional dominance with models to attract purchasers to their new solutions. games. We are aware of market “GameStreamer believes that digital changes and are more agile than distribution will provide a basis for traditional retailers at meeting these many cutting edge business models new models.”

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BUDDY SYSTEM GameStreamer’s Steig Westerberg wants to work more with retail in bringing digital video games to the maintream

”

GameStreamer COO Steig Westerberg discusses the firm’s white label clients: “Our white label partners are already highly successful businesses in their own right,” says Westerberg. “They typically have unique offerings that draw dedicated viewers. But what they lack is the skills, expertise and experience to expand a games store offering to their customer base. “We complement their existing offerings and build a game store that is indistinguishable from their own website. Their customer base already meets the profile of game buyers and it becomes a natural extension of their offering. At first game buys might be impulse purchases, but end users soon realise how reliable the system is and come back for more.”

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LGC PARTNER PROFILE: CD TEAM FUTURE PROOF? CD Team’s Jo Fone on what the games industry has yet to explore in digital distribution: “Our industry has so much to be proud of as one of the most creative and innovative, I am confident it will constantly evolve to enhance the consumer experience whilst maximizing revenue streams. “CD Team specialises in delivering the content securely and on time with our services, and providing solutions in the form of hardware, software and discs to enable developers to do so in-house. We work with prerelease content, whilst we don’t influence what that content is, we do ensure companies can share and test that content in-house, and journalists across the world receive their marketing and review titles on time.”

CD Team’s Jo Fone and Richard Dearing believe the firm can benefit from the digital revolution

A Team player DUPLICATION specialist CD Team “We also need to be sure we work is in its 15th year of business – having on practical solutions for today’s serviced the traditional games industry business. The consumer experience admirably for its entire lifespan. must be the focus and whilst we So why, you could justifiably ask, can’t say exactly what the future did it sponsor the digital-focused will look like, we are supporting London Games Conference? customers today – developers’ and The answer is a simple one: even publishers’ pre-release titles, PR and businesses that have physical marketing materials with reliable digital product in their company name have to The media industry is in look to the future. And turmoil. All media companies for CD Team that and the games industry must means one thing – address critical questions. working as close as possible with the Jo Fone, CD Team creators of software. “The media industry is in turmoil,” delivery on disc, flash memory and says CD Team MD Jo Fone. “New USB formats. platforms such as online, mobile, and Operations director Richard Dearing social networking, are driving major adds: “In partnership with Imation TDK shifts in consumer behavior and it was clear to see that sponsorship of advertising. Companies are rethinking this event was an excellent opportunity their business models. All media to demonstrate our continued companies and the games industry commitment to the games development must address some critical questions. community and to enable CD Team to

“

CD Team’s core business is in physical product – so why has it got involved in LGC? Tim Ingham reports…

be part of the ongoing discussion regarding its future.” After forming in 1995, the firm has worked through the transition from CD, through to DVD and now Blu-Ray publishing. But what of digital? How will the next evolution fo the industry affect a disc replication company? Fone believes that the hybrid of physical and digital product will carry on for years yet – certainly into the next generation of consoles. “CD Team offers services and equipment which support the games development community before the release of the title to the consumer, so the effect on our business will be different to that of a disc replication company which is tied into the mass production of discs for retail distribution,” adds Fone. “Removing the optical disc drive from the next generation hardware

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would reduce cost but it would also remove a proven content delivery method and a range of ‘backwards compatible’ entertainment features. “USB has become the standard for peripheral connections so it is likely that USB flash drives will be supported and support for Secure Digital memory cards has also become a standard feature of home entertainment devices. “The services and equipment CD Team offers to the games development community is a vital part of the process. “The methods of delivery, physical and online, will change when the next generation of consoles are released but we believe there will still be a requirement for both.”

WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD!

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