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THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES
Issue 564 Friday November 20 2009 £3.25
04 Wii sales leap
16 October sales
Nintendo and Koch discuss the huge success of the new Black Wii
We take a closer look at yet another successful October for the UK games industry
05 O’Connor joins Warner
22 Eastern promise
Former Vue and Disney exec becomes UK marketing manager at publisher
A closer inspection at Japan’s struggling video games market
07 Social services
27 The year 2000
Microsoft talks about its new Xbox Live services – Twitter, Last FM and Facebook
Part one of our look back at the last decade, taking in the launch of the PS2
EVERY BUYER EVERY BRANCH EVERY INDIE EVERY WEEK
INCORPORATING
Q1 mania strikes retail Trade braced for ‘most congested New Year ever’ Further game delays expected by Christopher Dring
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An industry that relies on a few weeks of the year is not what anyone wants.
POST-CHRISTMAS HITS JANUARY: Army of Two: 40th Day PS3, Xbox 360, PSP .....................EA Bayonetta PS3, 360......................................Sega Darksiders PS3, Xbox 360 ...........................THQ Dark Void Xbox 360, PS3, PC ..............Capcom Mass Effect 2 Xbox 360, PC .................................EA Vancouver 2010 Xbox 360, PC, PS3....................Sega FEBRUARY: Aliens vs Predator Xbox 360, PS3, PC....................Sega BioShock 2 PS3, 360, PC.....................2K Games Dante’s Inferno PS3, PSP, Xbox 360......................EA Napoleon: Total War PC .................................................Sega Star Trek Online PC .................................................Atari Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll Wii .................................................Sega The Princess and the Frog DS, Wii ......................................Disney Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction PC, Xbox 360 .........................Ubisoft
MARCH: APB PC, Xbox 360 .................................EA Battlefield: Bad Company 2 PC, PS3, Xbox 360........................EA Command & Conquer 4: Twilight PC .....................................................EA Final Fantasy XIII PS3, 360 ........................Square Enix God of War III PS3 ...............................................Sony Q1 TBA: Blur PS3, PC, Xbox 360...........Activision Heavy Rain PS3 ...............................................Sony MAG (Massive Action Game) PS3 ...............................................Sony Mafia II PC, PS3, Xbox 360 ..........2K Games Red Dead Redemption PS3, 360 ..............................Rockstar Red Steel 2 Wii.............................................Ubisoft Singularity PS3, 360, PC .....................Activision Sonic And SEGA All-Stars Racing Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, DS ............Sega Split/Second 360, PS3 ..................................Disney Nintendo DSi XL .............Nintendo
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LEADING publishers and retailers have called Q1 2010 the most congested first quarter the industry has ever seen. The line-up, which includes BioShock 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Final Fantasy XIII, is reminiscent of a strong Christmas release slate – and could lead to smaller games being ignored during this typically quiet period. One senior buyer for a High Street chain told MCV that their employer was “starting to sweat” over the number of releases lined-up – with more to be announced. However, other trade members were more confident – optimistic that a more balanced schedule will pay dividends for the industry in 2010. “Having an industry that relies so heavily on just a few weeks of the year is not what anyone would want,” Activision MD Andrew Brown told MCV. “If your quarters were more balanced it would help everybody’s growth.” Sega’s UK MD John Clark added: “It seems to be the most congested Q1 there has ever been. However, by releasing titles that are musthave games, we offer a great consumer proposal.” Top retailers also feel a crowded Q1 will help during the traditional post-Christmas sales downturn. “We’re excited by so many great games coming out in Q1,” said HMV’s head of games Tim Ellis. “It means that after a relatively quiet 2009, the industry can hit the ground
running and keep momentum going through the year. “It’s not always good having titles fight for retail space and marketing profile, but, on balance, I imagine retailers will say they’d rather have these challenges than not.” Asda’s Duncan Cross agreed: “As ever we welcome the continued development and release of great games and it should help the market continue its Q4 momentum.” In September, Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot told MCV that
Andrew Brown, Activision
Q1 2010 was looking “pretty crazy,” and suggested that some titles may get delayed until the end of the year – something ShopTo’s Igor Cipolletta accepts could happen. “It seems to have taken a while but publishers have finally realised that releasing all the big titles at Christmas is not necessarily the best time to maximise exposure,” he said. “Although Q1 is certainly busy, doubtless some of these will slip and the release congestion will ease.” Many of Q1’s big titles were pushed out of Christmas to avoid the launch of the recordbreaking Modern Warfare 2.
Call of Duty inspires new retail outlets by James Batchelor MODERN WARFARE 2 has enticed yet more retailers into games, with petrol vendor BP the latest non-traditional chain to start selling triple-A product. The latest Call Of Duty was available at over 300 BP stations from midnight on November 10th. And now the firm wants to expand its range in 2010. A BP spokesperson said: “We have been trialling selling games. We see this as a good category to get involved in.” Activision’s sales director Roy Stackhouse added: “When BP approached us we were extremely interested. With gaming proving to be an ever-important element in entertainment, I am sure games will be an increasing focus for many of the nontraditional games outlets.” Cash and carry outlet Makro has also used COD’s success to increase its share of the games market, offering the title to customers for a mere £20. Makro UK commercial director Allard Sjollema said: “Games might not be traditionally associated with Makro, but we have reversed this assumption and raised our profile in the industry.”
PERSONNEL 32 RETAIL BIZ 33 NEW RELEASES 38 HIGH STREET 40 CHARTS 42
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[LEADER] THE WARFARE STATE The numbers speak for themselves. 1.2m sold in its first day in the UK – making £47m revenue. Another 500,000 sold in the following four days – taking the number to £67m. Around one in five British console gamers now own it; one in 49 UK citizens; one in every 27 houses. Modern Warfare 2. Not a bad little launch, hey? Thanks to unprecedented retail activity – responsible for a large chunk of the initial sales – Call of Duty is already on course to gross over a billion dollars worldwide in this calendar year alone. Yet only now can we start to see the real impact of the game’s release. Countless publishers have pushed titles back into Q1 to avoid collateral damage – while another new wave of retailers are suddenly keen to stock games. After months of hype, retail excitement and consumer teasing the game was duty-bound to succeed. Demand and pre-order numbers were eyewateringly high; post-release sales the same. Now we can see MW2 is on a scale no-one else can compete with. For all the talk of beating GTA IV and Halo 3, its sales numbers are in a league of their own. Much credit goes to the 2,000 UK midnight openings and special offers run by the likes of
“Modern Warfare 2 is on a scale no-one else can compete with. But, in the end, did UK retailers get a fair shake at it? Or did supermarkets ruin the release?” GAME, Gamestation and HMV – and of course those plucky supermarkets (at least I think ‘plucky’ is how I heard someone describe them...). But in the end did retailers – both bricks and mortar and online – get a fair shake at this? Yet again it was another release undercut by supermarkets, which must have caused no end of grief for indies, the specialists, and consumers who pre-ordered and were locked into prices at various shops. Maybe that’s the cost of success – no-one said that a single creative industry can engineer ‘the biggest entertainment launch of all time’ without stepping on people’s toes. But also, what impact – if any – did that infamous RRP rise have on last week? Did it distort the numbers, or not matter? Most consumers bought it at or under £44.99 – £10 lower than the recommended price – and ChartTrack seems to use £39.99 as the average cost of the game. Has the extra custom this attracted helped recoup the development budget – as Activision said it would when it raised the RRP? A lot of games would dream of making a few million in months, let alone a day. It’s probably still too early to tell – we’ll get a better grasp of the real potential of MW2 once we’ve seen the game’s second and third weeks on the market. For now, Modern Warfare 2’s arrival is the games industry’s defining moment of 2009. Whether the trade can learn anything from the various controversies it has sparked remains to be seen. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
Wii sales leap as Xmas Black SKU gives console Q4 lift as it becomes last week’s biggest seller by Tim Ingham WII HARDWARE sales jumped 60 per cent last week – as the black version of the console helped stimulate fresh interest in time for Christmas. The Black Wii, which launched a fortnight ago on Friday, November 6th, helped the console become the best performing home system of the week, according to Nintendo. And preferred distributor Nindie.com – owned by Koch Media – has told MCV that it has been working “round the clock” to deal with increased demand. “Of course it would be wrong to attribute all of this to Black Wii as we’re all starting to see a natural peak season uplift on all hardware,” said senior Nintendo product manager Rob Lowe. “But we have been really pleased with Wii’s performance over the last couple of weeks and the new Black Wii has certainly contributed to that. In fact Black hardware sales have doubled week-on-week.” Nintendo is hoping to avoid any stock troubles as demand increases. Lowe added: “We’re
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We can’t only attribute this sales jump to Black Wii – but we’re really pleased with it. Rob Lowe, Nintendo
bringing in a decent supply of stock and hopefully retail will find it in plentiful supply this
FANTASY BECOMES REALITY
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Christmas – although consumer reaction to the new colour might suddenly change that position. It
Excitement is building amongst UK retailers for what could become the biggest game of Q1 – Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII. The publisher confirmed a US and European release date for the game last week after a notable teaser campaign. The epic title will hit shelves on March 9th, 2010.
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factor kicks in New marketing Nindie.com working ‘round the clock’ Black Wii sales have more than doubled each week since launch
is a limited edition version of the console so currently we only have plans for it to be available in 2009.” Koch Media boss Craig McNicol added: “We are working around the clock this Q4, opening each weekend to take in deliveries to support yet another strong Nintendo Christmas. Nindie.com
continues to be the only place to offer a fair allocation of stock to the independent channel. We allocate our stock based on the market share that our customers have built up with Nindie on first party Nintendo purchases in the past quarter. Loyalty gets paid back with fairness.” Nintendo: 01753 483 700
boss for Warner
[PRE ORDERS]
TOP 10 ASSASSIN’S CREED II
Former Disney, Sky and Vue exec joins media giant’s UK games team
360 UBISOFT
by Tim Ingham WARNER BROS Interactive Entertainment has hired a former Disney and Vue Entertainment hotshot as its new UK marketing manager. Tanya O’Connor joins with over a decade of UK and international entertainment marketing experience. She jumps ship from a senior marketing role at cinema chain Vue Entertainment to join Warner, where she will work on titles including LEGO Rock Band, Where The Wild Things Are and Lord Of The Rings: Aragorn’s Quest. Previous to her role at Vue, O’Connor managed kids’ releases and catalogue titles at Disney Home Entertainment in the UK, before being promoted to the global brand team in Los Angeles, US – where she looked after Touchstone and Miramax titles. In addition, she has worked in brand marketing at Sky and Bacardi in London
2. ASSASSIN’S CREED II PS3 ......................................UBISOFT
3. LEFT 4 DEAD 2 360 ..............................................EA
4. MAG: MASSIVE ACTION PS3 ..........................................SONY
5. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS O’CONNOR: Ex-Disney and Bacardi exec will look after Warner games portfolio
WII ....................................NINTENDO
6. FINAL FANTASY XIII PS3 ................................SQUARE ENX
and for Foxtel in Sydney. “Tanya brings not only global experience from LA and Sydney, but also valuable entertainment experience from Vue, Disney Home Entertainment, Sky, Foxtel and Bacardi,” commented WBIE UK sales and marketing director Spencer Crossley,. “Tanya is an exceptional appointment and underlines our ongoing commitment to include the widest possible entertainment experience in the WBIE UK team.” WBIE: 020 7984 6718
7. GOD OF WAR III PS3 ..........................................SONY
8. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 PS3 ..............................................EA
9. GRAN TURISMO 5 PS3 ..........................................SONY
10. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS PS3 ..............................................EA Week ending November 14th Source: SHOPTO.COM Turn to page 41 for more pre-order charts from leading online retailers
UK SOFTWARE SALES MONITOR Your weekly guide to the UK games software market… This week’s UK software sales have skyrocketed 198 per cent to £103.1 million. It is comfortably the highest weekly figure of the year and isn’t far off 2008’s Christmas week, when £112.8 million went through UK games retailer’s tills. Unit sales also leapt up, rising 123 per cent to 3,422,625 games sold. The highly anticipated arrival of Modern Warfare 2 drove the sales. The game grossed £67.4 million, almost two thirds of the weekly value. Meanwhile, 1.78 million units were snapped up, which was over half of all games sold last week. Next week’s major releases should ensure another good week for games, with Assassin’s Creed II, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Left 4 Dead 2, F1 2009 and LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues due for release.
Total UK Software Sales Source: ELSPA/ChartTrack and Intent Media
[WEEKLY MARKET VALUE] 120 Week Ending November 14th 2009
£103.1m
100 80 60 40 20
£38.1m
£34.7m
£103.1m
1,619,448 Units
1,532,255 Units
3,422,625 Units
0 Modern Warfare 2 smashed UK sales records this week
Week Ending October 31st
Week Ending November 7th
Week Ending November 14th
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UK Film Council remains tightlipped on video games integration Government body has no plans to represent video games industry despite calls for support from Ed Vaizey MP by James Batchelor THE UK FILM Council is staying silent on the possibility of incorporating video games into its remit. The notion of games being integrated into the Council’s
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top table. Some people have suggested we need a Video Games Council, akin the UK Film Council.” However, a spokesperson for the organisation told MCV this week: “The UK Film Council is aware of the ongoing debate
We need to see whether there is any scope to extend the remit of the Film Council to cover games.
responsibilities was suggested last month by Shadow Culture Secretary Ed Vaizey. In his address at this year’s London Games Conference, he described the Film Council as “the obvious body to give video games the national voice they need and deserve”. He said: “The video games industry needs a place at the
Ed Vaizey MP
Shadow Culture Secretary Ed Vaizey has suggested the UK Film Council adopts games
organisation to represent games may be appealing, the creation of one should not be not be necessary. He dismissed the creation of a standalone ‘Games Council’ claiming the Conservative Party had “no appetite” to create new Governmental bodies – in the interest of cutting back on beauracracy. “There is a discussion worth having: Namely, to see whether there is any scope to extend the remit of the UK Film Council to cover video games,” he said. “That is certainly something that [The Conservative Party] will look at actively if we are voted into power.” The general election is due to take place before May 2010.
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currently surrounding but we have no official comment to make at this time.” The spokesperson went on to explain that the decision ultimately lies with the Government, rather than the organisation itself. During the conference, Vaizey emphasised that while a separate, Government-backed
UK Film Council: 020 7861 7861
THQ titles to sponsor Stargate THQ HAS signed a new partnership with Sky One to sponsor the first series of the popular Stargate Universe. The multi-million pound deal will run for eight months, ending in June 2010, and will see the publisher sponsoring episodes of the new show, as well as repeat episodes of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Promo spots will focus around THQ’s key forthcoming titles, primarily those that appeal to the show’s audience of over one million fans.
Ads began with Darksiders on November 3rd. Other games tipped to be featured include Metro 2033 and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II: Chaos Rising. THQ has made similar investments in the past with Sky, most notably sponsoring wrestling coverage with its WWE titles. Earlier this quarter, the company has sponsored various shows to promote Discovery Animal Planet, The Biggest Loser and, of course, WWE. “Broadcast sponsorship has long been a core component of THQ’s media mix,” said marketing director Jon Rooke.
“The addition of a flagship sci-fi show such as Stargate Universe further bolsters our ability to engage and interact with an avid and hugely receptive audience with key brands such as Darksiders and Metro 2033.” The sponsorship deal was brokered between Badge Media and Sky Media. Badge Media’s managing director Mark Gibson added: “This is a huge investment from THQ in one of Sky’s flagship programmes, which will create a crucial foundation for the support of these great new titles from THQ.” THQ: 01483 767 656
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Microsoft hails its ‘killer weapon’ Live is streets ahead of rivals’ services following social media additions, says company by Tim Ingham MICROSOFT has claimed that it is “continually keeping ahead” of its rivals’ online services with additions to Xbox Live. The firm this week added social media services such as Twitter, Facebook and music portal Last.FM to Live – as well as HD movie streaming service Zune. However, Sony confirmed that Facebook would be coming
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gaming,” UK Xbox boss Neil Thompson told MCV. “There are lots of clever companies out there doing interesting things on their platforms, but it’s our job to keep ahead of them, and constantly innovate. We’re keeping that pace going and will continue to do so. “Xbox Live is flying at the moment – in the UK especially. Live is a killer weapon for us in terms of our line-up.
Xbox Live is flying at the moment - especially in the UK. We’ll continue to keep that pace going. Neil Thompson, Microsoft
to PS3 on Tuesday, whilst Wii launched its own version of the BBC iPlayer. “We were the first to really understand the power that an online, live service has and bring it to life for millions of gamers – and now we’re the ones evolving it beyond
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“When we first got into the console business, we understood that the elements that were going to define success in this business were really software and services. We knew that the hardware component was important, but really wasn’t the vital thing.”
Neil Thompson says software and services are more vital than hardware
The Zune service is a particularly intriguing addition to Xbox 360 – introducing a premium video experience with instant-on HD and surround sound. Microsoft told MCV that the service was a way to build awareness of the Zune brand –
but was not an indicator that it had plans to introduce Zune hardware to the UK. “Zune is a pivotal element to our whole entertainment offering and a brand we’re going to keep building on,” added Thompson. Xbox: 0870 601 0100
Gem turns retailers into digital stores UK DISTRIBUTOR Gem has found a unique way to help bricks and mortar retailers sell digital content. The firm has partnered with Paramount to sell two of this summer's blockbusters – Star Trek and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – as digital movies on USB sticks. Specifically themed around the movie brands, the USB sticks work on PC, Mac and DivX enabled devices – including PS3 and Xbox 360. They will also be available as part of special Xbox 360 bundles available to indies. The Transformers pack is due for release on November 30th,
Gem’s Chris Peacock details the new Paramount USB products
while Star Trek went on sale this week. Both cost £19.99 and coincide with their DVD and Blu-ray releases.
“We are delighted to be working with Gem to bring these products to market. Expanding our entertainment
offerings on USB is becoming increasingly important as more movies are viewed on multiple devices,” commented John Robson, Paramount Digital Entertainment’s vice president of digital distribution EMEA. Chris Peacock, Gem’s managing director, added: “We are very excited to be working with Paramount Digital Entertainment to bring these USBs to market. “Delivering a movie on USB offers an exciting way of bringing digital content to the retail market and we look forward to developing this sector further.” Gem: 01279 822 822
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Zushi enters download sector with PSN game Publisher breaks into digital space with Premier Manager for PS3 by James Batchelor ZUSHI GAMES has revealed it will launch its first digitally downloadable title in 2010. The publisher will release a new instalment in its Premier Manager series on PlayStation Network for PS3 next year, marking the first time Zushi has shied away from traditional boxed product. “As a company we are always looking for the next opportunity to broaden our appeal to the end consumer,” Zushi’s Chris Walton is plotting future digital-only releases marketing executive Chris continue to look at digital PSN was a natural progression Walton told MCV. opportunities that are allowing a new audience of “This version is going to be presented to us,” said Walton. players to give the title a go.” a PSN exclusive. It will bring “Digital distribution new features not seen is gaining momentum, in Premier Manager Digital distribution is bringing a new before, building on gaining momentum and purchase option to the the key elements of we will continue to look gamer, and we relish the retail version.” at future opportunities. the opportunity to Producer Jon reach consumers in a Seymour added: “In Chris Walton, Zushi new way.” the case of Premier Walton added that Zushi Zushi will be watching the Manager, we identified a gap was particularly interested in sales of Premier Manager on where football management bringing its titles to other PSN carefully, as its success fans are not being catered for platforms, including Xbox Live could prompt further releases. on consoles. and Apple’s App Store. “We want to remain “Following previous competitive and so we will successes on PS2, moving onto Zushi: 0114 263 6030
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Ubisoft takes on Wii Fit PUBLISHER Ubisoft has unveiled a Christmas marketing blitz for Your Shape, designed to fight off stiff competition from Wii Fit Plus and EA Sports Active. The Wii fitness title – which uses a motion sensing camera to monitor body movements – is due for release on December 4th. And Ubisoft feels that preChristmas is the ideal time to launch a new fitness product. “A release prior to Christmas enables us to make the most of the public’s health-conscious mindset by sustaining continuous marketing and PR campaigns,” said brand manager Ombeline Wallon. “These will build up from launch, reaching a high for New Year, and will last until the end of January, covering both the Christmas period and New Year’s resolutions – peak buying times for video games and for fitness products.” Ubisoft has arranged two bursts of television advertising – firstly at launch and then in early January to ensure Your Shape is highly visible during the key periods. This will be supported by print ads running from early December to the end of January, covering women’s publications such as Fabulous, Heat, Grazia and Zest.
TV star Zoe Lucker has signed up to help promote Your Shape
The publisher has also signed up TV actress Zoe Lucker, who recently appeared in the current series of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, to be the face of Your Shape’s launch. A dedicated PR campaign will ensure her appearances and promotions will generate coverage across a range of different media. “Thanks to the exclusive camera, Your Shape is a very innovative title on the fitness market,” Wallon added. “It really brings something different in terms of consumer experience as they are finally able to exercise controller-free and still get feedback in real time. We think this will really make Your Shape stand out in this now busy market.” Ubisoft: 01932 578 000
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Sponsored by
Acclaimed RPG hits UK stores Divinity II arrives in the UK after enjoying 9/10 reviews throughout mainland Europe by Tim Ingham A TITLE DUBBED ‘the surprise RPG hit of 2009’ is coming to the UK, after Mastertronic signed distribution rights to release the game. Divinity II: Ego Draconis has enjoyed 80 per cent-plus review scores in Europe, including a 9/10 on Eurogamer Spain. The website called the game ‘the big surprise RPG hit of the year’ – and Mastertronic is confident that the title will enjoy similar praise from the UK media.
DIVINE SCORES: Divinity II has been a critical hit across Europe
The PC and 360 game will arrive at UK retail today (November 20th) – and Mastertronic is planning a
widespread marketing campaign to back the release. “The European games press have been unanimous in their
view of Divinity II,” explains Mastertronic sales boss Garry Williams. “Plaudits state that it is 2009’s surprise hit. “It’s already stormed the European sales charts, picking up numerous awards on the way. Mastertronic has been presenting the title to UK retail and getting a great reaction.” Divinity II, which was developed by Larian Studios in Belgium, sees players take the role of a dragon slayer. As the story unfolds, gamers discover new abilities as they evolve into a dragon lord. Mastertronic: 0207 502 4450
Koch has No Fear of Christmas challenge BLUE OCEAN has released the first Wii and DS peripherals under the No Fear brand. The accessories division of Koch has signed a new deal that allows it to use imagery and logos from extreme sports label No Fear on its products, with the first items hitting shelves this month. “There has long been a crossover between extreme sports enthusiasts and gamers,” said Koch MD Craig McNicol.
“Until now, there hasn’t been a funky, adultoriented solution for those wanting to protect their Nintendo DS.” He added that Koch views the deal as “a long term partnership” and that “the No Fear brand appeals to the same core target audience as we do.”
The first products from Blue Ocean’s No Fear range include a durable silicon cover for the Wii Balance Board. Branded with the No Fear logo, the heavy-duty cover fits securely over the board, making its more comfortable for intense gaming sessions. There is also a set of six slip cases available to DS owners.
Each has been crafted from a soft, flocked material on the outside, with a soft fleece inner lining to protect the handheld, and features familiar designs such as the logo, the Eyes Device or the No Fear tattoo design. No Fear was established in 1990 in California, and is recognised by fans of extreme sports such as snowboarding around the world. Koch: 0870 027 0985
MICROSOFT: More than ten million Xbox 360 units have been sold across Europe, the Middle East and Africa to date. Microsoft stated it is the only console to see yearon-year sales growth in all territories this year. DISNEY: The publisher reported a 25 per cent decline in its annual profits, slipping to $3.3 billion for fiscal year 2009. Full year revenues for the year ending October 3rd came in at $36.1 billion, down from $4.42 billion in 2008. GAME: The next three BAFTA Games Awards will be sponsored by GAME after the retailer signed a new partnership deal. NCSOFT: The MMO publisher saw its Q3 profits jump year-on-year by 836 per cent, thanks to the strong release of Aion. EA: Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight will be released on March 19th, 2010. Customers who preorder will receive a bonus prequel mission, the game’s soundtrack and access to the multiplayer beta. SONY: PS3’s upcoming 3.10 firmware update will introduce Facebook into the XMB. Users will also have the option of linking their PSN and Facebook accounts.
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EEK W E H T F O N IG A P M CA D II ASSASSIN’S CREE Ubisoft prepares its biggest ever marketing campaign, ensuring maximum exposure for Ezio’s upcoming debut…
PRINT Assassin’s Creed II will be advertised across a variety of gaming and mainstream publications. Ads have been running since early October and will continue to do so for a limited time after launch. ONLINE A similar online campaign is currently running across specialist gaming websites. This will be expanded to include mainstream sites during the week of launch. Ubisoft has also produced a special prequel film, Assassin’s Creed: Lineage, which depicts the events leading up to the game. The first episode recieved three million views within the first two weeks.
The community site, Live By The Creed, already has an audience of more than 40,000 people. TV The sponsorship of Five’s network premiere of The Da Vinci Code kicked off marketing back in May, followed by a 60-second teaser ad that reached over four million people. Closer to launch, tensecond teaser ads are
airing on Virgin and Sky, as well as alongside Five’s The Gadget Show. These will then run on other terrestrial and satellite channels between early November and December. OTHER Assassin’s Creed II was advertised on screens in London’s Victoria Station in September, and will sponsor Lovefilm’s delivery envelopes around launch.
The game was promoted and sampled at consumer events, such as the MCM Expo and Eurogamer Expo. A consumer pod road show will be visiting stores around the country in November and December. The game’s launch will also be accompanied by the release of Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance, a novel published by Penguin that expands on the events of Assassin’s Creed II.
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LucasArts and the LucasArts logo are trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. © 2008-2009 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM as indicated. All rights reserved. LEGO, the LEGO logo and the Minifigure are trademarks of The LEGO Group. © 2008-2009 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved. ‘2’, ‘PSP’, ‘PlayStation’ and ‘ ’ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. Microsoft, Windows, the Windows Vista Start button, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies, and ‘Games for Windows’ and the Windows Vista Start button logo are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
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NOUGHTIES RETROSPECTIVE: 2000
2000 FLASHBACK
ON PAPER, the year 2000 was a great start to the decade when it comes to video games. It was the year that ushered in the arrival of the PS2, and hype around new efforts by Microsoft and Nintendo started to build and build. But in reality… well, let’s just say it was more of a transitional year. Culturally, it wasn’t the nation’s – or indeed the world’s – best. In the UK, the year’s biggest-selling single was Bob The Builder’s ‘Can We Fix It’. Big Brother made its debut and gripped a country of braindead TV viewers. In a wider, global sense, text messages hadn’t even hit ubiquity yet. Hell, it was the year Americans voted George W. Bush into power (or didn’t vote him into power – it depends on who you ask).
In the first of a series of features looking back on the last ten years in the video games industry, Michael French raids the MCV archives to chronicle the arrival of the ‘Noughties’…
[THE BIG STORY]
ARRIVAL OF PLAYSTATION 2
t amongst keep PlayStation interes JANUARY 2000: To to rted sta y Son h, hig e alik consumers and industry software. PSX for es alti roy -scale of introduce a new sliding
MARCH 2000: The cut prices for software licence caught on – and s it wasn’t long un til PlayStation ga started appearing mes at £9.99 and even £7.99.
THE NEW WAVE
Back in games, there was a similar struggle. Coming off the back of a strong Christmas 1999, an oversaturated games market saw Sony lower royalty rates so publishers could slash prices on PSOne software (at that point it was still just ‘PlayStation’) to maintain consumer interest. And boy did they have to keep punters interested – the much-hyped launch of the PS2 was pencilled in for the end of the year, after a sell-out March debut in Japan. Did the building hype behind the PlayStation 2 kill off the only other 128bit console on the market, Sega’s Dreamcast? Arguably, the smaller-thantoday console market only had space for one or two suitors. The idea of four formats (if you included the Nintendo Dolphin, which wasn’t announced until later in the year) seemed ridiculous. Read on for more on the ramp up for PS2, the demise of Dreamcast and Hasbro Interactive, and the unveiling of of a little-known device that back then we all called ‘X-box’…
re by mass-market softwa MAY 2000: Buoyed ntlet gau the n dow ew thr sales, Chris Deering and old foe Sega. He to new rival Microsoft 30m units in Europe ost alm sold said PSX had ger potential. big n – and that PS2 had eve
JUNE 2000: Bu t it didn’t take lon g to sour all the feeling over prici good ng and hardware . Sony confirmed PS2 was proving that so popular that its next console only be available would before Christmas 2000 via a spec customer orderial only scheme.
AUGUST 2000: It got worse later in the summer. First Sony admitted that exchange rate fluctuations meant PS2 hardware prices would rise (sound familiar). Then the old favourite tabloid 'Rip-off Britain' headline reared its head over the £299 RRP. Plus, if further proof were needed that everyone wanted a piece of PS2, DVD porn barons said the device's movie playback was perfect for them to grow their market. A nation of schoolboys rejoiced…
before it The situation got worse NOVEMBER 2000: launch, ore bef s day t better: Jus was going to get any of PS2 consoles ion cat allo 's ope Eur t Sony admitted tha had been cut.
DECEMBER 20 00: But it was all worth it – the PS arguably the first 2 arrived as fevered games ha rdware launch in 60,000 units we Europe. re sold in a day in the UK, with 70,00 France and Germ 0 in both any - Sony was ex pe cte total within the ne d to have sold 1m in xt month. Dreamw hat? Xwho?
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MCV 20/11/09 17
NOUGHTIES RETROSPECTIVE: 2000
[X MARKS THE SPOT]
[THE DREAM STARTS TO END]
3
1
4 2
XBOX DIDN’T LAUNCH until late the following year, but Microsoft used the start of the decade to herald its move into games hardware with a big reveal of the new console at the 2000 GDC (1). By September, 156 publishers and developers were officially backing the console (2), even though Sony’s PS2 was waiting in the wings for its Western launch. In fact, Microsoft was so eager to court developers it even tried to poach Phil Harrison from Sony to help spearhead negotiations with third parties (3). Still, developers had plenty of time to make games for it – just weeks after the PS2 launched, MCV revealed at the end of 2001 that Europe wouldn’t actually be getting the console until early 2002 (4). Advantage: Sony.
[DEATH IN TOY TOWN]
SURE, SEGA ACTUALLY pulled the plug on its last console Dreamcast in 2001, but in 2000 the writing was on the wall. ‘Sega frustrates consumers’ yelled one MCV headline. ‘Sega admits slowdown’ screamed another. ‘Dreamcast re-think’ we revealed towards the end of the year . And when in November the firm said in a financial statement that it might consider ‘becoming an online network and content company’ the local teams went into damage limitation mode, saying they were still committed to hardware and retail. All despite the fact stores left right and centre were slashing the price to get someone – anyone – to buy a machine instead of the sexy new PS2…
[MEET THE NEW ‘BOY] 1
3 2
In a Big Media sense, further proof 2000 was a transition year can be seen in the demise of Hasbro Interactive – one of Hollywood’s first attempt to conquer games. Clearly the attention games had from outisde the industry was dying down and (surprise!) it turned out releasing dross licensed software didn’t guarantee a profit. Hasbro’s games business was folded into its toy firm (1), as the company considered a sell-off (2). It emerged the publisher had lost a then-ridiculous $170m in two years only after the firm admitted defeat and that it was planning to sell of assets (3). EA rolled up with its cheque book to pick through the ruins, but left emptyhanded, leaving the spoils to Atari/Infogrammes. (EA did get the last laugh though: after one of Atari’s many mid-decade missteps, it eventually scored the EA Hasbro publishing label in 2008.)
[WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?]
TODAY LEAKED, DETAILED pictures of new hardware and brands might be more common than ever – but in the year 2000 it was almost unheard of. So how’s this for an odd story: With buzz building for PlayStation 2, momentum switching from Dreamcast to Xbox, and next to no-one really bothered about the GameCube (then codenamed Dolphin), Nintendo obviously felt a bit left out. So, not to be undone, it sent these renders of the ‘next-gen Game Boy’ to MCV.
[2000: THE TOP TEN GAMES] Title
Publisher
1 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Eidos
GAMES MARKETERS – they are a clever bunch, aren’t they? They know how to build hype, position a title and create targeted market appeal. Or sometimes they do the weirdest, mind-boggling things. This one definitely falls into the latter category. Faced with marketing the latest Worms game, did THQ choose to sensibly promote its iconic British-made invertebrate heroes? Of course not – instead it pictured some poor sap having a 20-foot flesh-spaghetti-monster torn from his arse. Er… Even now, ten years later, we think it’s a bit strong.
Format PSOne, PC, Dreamcast
2 Pokemon Yellow
Nintendo
Game Boy
3 Gran Turismo 2
Sony
PSOne
4 WWF Smackdown 2
THQ
PSOne
5 Pokemon Red
Nintendo
Game Boy
6 Pokemon Blue
Nintendo
Game Boy
7 WWF Smackdown
THQ
8 FIFA 2001
EA
9 Toy Story 2
Activision
10 The Sims
EA
PSOne PSOne, PC, PS2 PSOne, PC, DC, N64, GBC PC
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“ Grainger Games enjoys the consistent supply of allocated Nintendo lines from <ŽĐŚ MĞĚŝĂͬEŝŶĚŝĞ. ” ŚƌŝƐ ,ĂƌǁŽŽĚ͕ WƵƌĐŚĂƐŝŶŐ DŝƌĞĐƚŽƌ
“ No complaints here. A solid, reliable service provided by EŝŶĚŝĞ͘ĐŽŵ. ” /ŐŽƌ ŝƉŽůůĞƩ Ă͕ CEO
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MCV INTERVIEW STE CURRAN, ONE LIFE LEFT
Video games made the radio star The One Life Left radio show and podcast triumphed at the 2009 Games Media Awards last month. Christopher Dring speaks to one of its three presenters, Ste Curran, about the programme’s popularity… The One Life Left team: Ann Scantlebury, Ste Curran and Simon Byron
How did One Life Left come into existence? Lots of things colliding at the same time. I’d fallen out of love with games writing, I had a lot of free time and was looking for something new and fun to do. I’d always thought there was space for some games coverage that didn’t take games seriously. Something that wasn’t super earnest or objectively aimed at boys in their mid-teens. I think the temptation, when you hear the mainstream press coverage of video games, is always to react against that. But the truth is they’re right – most games are ridiculous, just like most movies and books, and until we acknowledge that we’re just those men in a room shouting about games as art, what car goes fastest, what weapon is the best. No one, outside of those men, wants to listen to that and we didn’t want to do that at all. We wanted to do something fun, for us, really. It was selfish. Meanwhile I kept hearing good things about Resonance FM, the London-based radio station which has supported us for four years. So I pitched them a show
about video games. They liked the idea figures because I know how crippling and commissioned us for six weeks. The that can be. You watch your numbers go only thing they didn’t like was the name, up and down and, if you’re as neurotic which at the time was ‘Game Unwatch’. as I am, you worry incessantly about They were definitely right about that. what you’re doing wrong. Our first show was the worst thing. It So yeah, we secretly know we do was me reading out a script, stumbling OK, but it’s still sort of strange when verbatim through some lecture notes I’d people come up to us and say they made for something else. Ann went home crying. Our first show was the worst But Resonance were thing. Ann went home crying. patient and brilliant, we But we got better – and we’re got a bit better, and we’re still going 100 episodes later. still there more than 100 episodes after we should Ste Curran, One Life Lieft have finished. heard the radio show. Winning the Were you surprised by your Games award was like a roomful of people Media Award triumph? doing that at once. Our only expectation We were absolutely astonished. for the evening was that we’d have an Speechless, even. We’ve always avoided amazing time and get drunk. We did feedback about the show. We know both of those things as well, obviously. people listen – we’re in one of Resonance’s primetime slots, we always Why do you feel that people voted do well in the iTunes charts and we get for you? letters from listeners every week, which I’d hope because we’re inclusive. is more than Edge did when I was there Anyone who wants to get involved is – but we’ve avoided actual listener welcome – indeed, if you’re reading this
“
and you want to do something, please email us. But it’s also probably because we’ve never given a game lower than 7/10 and PRs like that, right? Do you feel games are largely unrepresented on the radio? Sure. I think it’ll change as gaming’s audience widens and people who’ve grown up with that new type of gaming find themselves in the position to commission things. But even if it doesn’t change, I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, not least because there are dozens of podcasts around.
”
Why is video games podcasting so popular now? Because podcasting isn’t a single-focus medium. You can do other stuff while you listen and that means even if the content’s wasting your time – not that One Life Left ever does that – you can still be achieving something, be that work, travel, or playing a video game. Also, they’re free.
“An underground hit...
8/10 ”
“...a true classic...
8.9/10 ”
“...an artful assault on ” the senses...
88%
“...a relentless romp that’s as breathless as it ” is beautiful...
85%
8 nsheathe your blade, fulfil your destiny!
27-11-09
For national account enquiries, please contact Mastertronic on 0845 234 4242
For independent sales, please contact Advantage Distribution on 0121 506 9585
www.risingstargames.com
Muramasa: The Demon Blade © 2009 Marvelous Entertainment Inc. Licensed to and published by Rising Star Games Ltd. Nintendo Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
RSG Muramasa MCV Advert2 Amended v2.indd 1
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TERRITORY REPORT: JAPAN
Land of the
falling sales It’s been a tough year for the Japanese games market. Sales are down and the country’s successful development sector is falling behind its Western rivals. Christopher Dring takes a closer look… LONG SEEN as the home of the video games industry, Japan has hit troubled times over recent years. Software and hardware sales have spiralled downwards, with the latest data from Famitsu showing a 10.5 per cent drop in sales for the first half of Japan’s 2009 fiscal year (April to September). A result driven by falling sales of Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s Wii console. “The current situation of Wii cannot be defined as healthy," said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata to investors last month.
“
One glance at the Japanese Top Ten shows a distinct lack of new IP, with old favourites Pokemon, Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter still the country’s biggest sellers. “To be honest, I think that Western developers are superior to those in Japan overall, so we the Japanese developers should realise that we have to work hard to reach the Western level,” admits Platinum Games’ executive director Atsushi Inaba. And Inaba also feels it is time to stop developing games for just Japanese
Japanese developers must start creating games that secure the hearts and minds of a global audience. Atsushi Inaba, Platinum Games
“The price cut seems to have the least impact here than other parts of the world. It is our urgent mission to recover the momentum of Wii during the holidays utilising Nintendo’s strength.” Indeed, there is reason for cautious optimism over the Christmas period. Nintendo is hoping to drive sales with the launch of its new DSi LL console as well as New Super Mario Bros Wii. Meanwhile, Sony will capitalise on its recent PS3 price-drop with the impending release of Final Fantasy XIII in December. DEVELOPER TROUBLE
Japan’s flagging development community is another concern for the territory. Once the kings of games development, Japan’s studios have been eclipsed by its Western counterparts. And Keiji Inafune – the producer of Dead Rising and creator of the Mega Man series – declared at the Tokyo Games Show in September that the Japanese games industry was ‘finished.’
”
consumers, and look at creating for a worldwide audience. “We’re fast reaching a stage where it’s going to be about individual developers and not about what country they are in. Globalisation is coming to our industry too,” he says. “In Japan, we have to develop with securing the hearts and minds of a global gaming audience as our primary goal.” And it’s not just developers looking West either. The country’s publishing super-powers are also turning to Europe, with Square Enix snapping up Eidos, Namco Bandai swooping for Atari’s European distribution business and Temco Koei launching its own initiative. “Ten years ago the European market and Japanese market were almost equal,” says Tecmo Koei boss Kenji Matsubara. “During the decade, the European market has almost doubled, while the Japan has stayed the same. Our European business is not so big, but we see many opportunities for us to expand, and this is why we launched Tecmo Koei Europe.”
Population: 127,590,000 Capital: Tokyo Currency: Yen GDP: (per capita) $38,457 Language: Japanese Key Retailers: Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera, Sakuraya, Book Off, Don Quijote, Conbini, Amazon
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TERRITORY REPORT: JAPAN
MARKET DATA The Famitsu Game White Paper team from Enterbrain talk us through the sales for the first half of Japan’s fiscal year, which runs between April and September 2009, and makes predictions for the Christmas ahead… The overall market in Japan for the first half of fiscal year 2009 dropped by 10.5 per cent year-on-year (Fig 1). This is mainly attributable to weak hardware sales, which saw a decline of 15.1 per cent year-on-year. Software sales also declined by 7.5 per cent year-on-year. The decline in hardware sales was mostly caused by the weak performance of PSP and Wii (Fig 2). Not to mention, unlike last year, the lack of strong titles such as Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G and Mario Kart Wii. In terms of hardware, DS and PS3 were the only winners. As DSi was launched and the long-awaited Dragon Quest was released, DS total sales reached 1.69 million in the six months period. The price cut for PS3 implemented on September 3rd boosted unit sales by 65 per cent. It is very likely that this boost was mainly triggered by those potential hardcore gamers having waited long for the price cut. In contrast, despite the fact that Xbox 360 had a Yen 10,000 price-cut for the
elite version, it was not strong enough to offset the dip from last year's pricecut and its positive impact was limited. On the software sales side, while DS saw the rise of 21.4 per cent year-onyear, the rest of the platforms saw a decline (Fig 3). Intriguingly, the biggest
to be another supporting factor for the device’s long-lasting popularity. Going into the year-end sales season, it is likely that PS3 would gather the biggest attention supported by the recent price-cut to below YEN30,000 and the launch of long-awaited Final Fantasy XIII from Square Enix on December 17th. While Wii and PSP also had price cuts, the impact would not exert significant impact compared to PS3, which has benefited from longstanding consumer pullback. That said, although third party publishers of Wii have been struggling and thus the system has been perceived a little anxiously, the launch of New Super Mario Bros Wii would certainly boost the console sales.
“While Nintendo DS saw a year-onyear rise in fiscal year 2009, all other games platforms experienced a decline in sales.” chunk of this DS rise was brought about by the launch of Dragon Quest (Fig 4). There are several factors contributing to the popularity of the title such as the fact that it is one of the most longawaited killer title series ever launched for the DS platform and that it features “Surechigai” (wireless passive communication capability), which enables multiple players to enjoy the game in parallel. Furthermore, downloadable content – which is being added constantly – seems
FIG 1: TOTAL GAMES MARKET – JAPAN Hardware Software Total
H1 JFY 2009 Total YEN 80.9 Billion YEN 132.9 Billion YEN 213.8 Billion
H1 JFY 2008 Total YEN 95.2 Billion YEN 143.6 Billion YEN 238.9 Billion
YoY Comp 84.9% 92.5% 89.5%
FIG 3: HARDWARE SHARES H1 JFY 2009: HARDWARE SALES VOLUME SHARE 15.0% Wii
FIG 2: HARDWARE SALES BY FORMAT Model Nintendo DS Lite Nintendo DSi PlayStation Portable Wii PlayStation 3 PlayStation 2 Xbox 360 Others Total
H1 JFY 2009 190,091 1,508,727 813,604 594,398 581,676 128,281 137,059 3,953,836
H1 JFY 2008 1,314,919 1,583,731 1,105,174 352,457 219,270 138,740 4,714,291
YoY Comp 14.5% 51.4% 53.8% 165.0% 58.5% 98.8% 83.9%
http://www.enterbrain.co.jp/corporat e/marketing_e.html
14.7% DSi 3.2% PS2
3.5% 360 4.8% DS Lite
20.6% PSP
38.2% DSi
H1 JFY 2008: HARDWARE SALES VOLUME SHARE 2.9% 4.7% 360 PS2 7.5% PS3
23.4% Wii
27.9% DS Lite
33.6% PSP
FIG 4: JAPANESE H1 2009 TOP TEN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Platform DS DS Wii DS Wii DS PSP DS PS2 DS
Title Dragon Quest IX: Pocket Monster Heart Gold/Soul Silver Wii Sports Resort Tomodachi Collection Monster Hunter 3 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky SD Gundam G Generation Wars Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Publisher Square Enix Pokemon Nintendo Nintendo Capcom Square Enix Capcom Pokemon Namco Bandai Capcom
Released 11/7/09 12/9/09 25/6/09 18/6/09 1/8/09 30/5/09 30/10/08 18/4/09 6/8/09 28/5/09
Copies Sold (H1 JFY 2009) 3,925,285 2,067,609 1,194,491 1,156,103 908,693 515,184 451,676 397,157 303,054 294,504
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UK MONTHLY CHARTS: OCTOBER
EA reigns supreme FIFA 10 dominated all-comers in October, as its publisher generated over one third of all software revenue in the month...
SOFTWARE BY COMPANY (UNITS)
[SOURCE]
THIS LAST MONTH MONTH
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 2 9 5 6 3 7 8 10 11
– – – –
EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.2 NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.5 SONY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 UBISOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 MICROSOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 CODEMASTERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.9 THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 TAKE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
FIFA 10 and Need For Speed: Shift push EA to exactly double its market share in terms of units when compared to September. Elsewhere, Nintendo’s share drops by 1.4 per cent as Sony’s grows by a full three per cent. Activision suffers a 5.5 per cent monthly dip. SOFTWARE BY COMPANY (VALUE)
– –
1 – 2 – 4 3 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 –
XBOX 360 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.3 PS3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.9 NINTENDO WII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.8 NINTENDO DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.1 PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 PSP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.0 PS2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7 XBOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0
SOFTWARE BY FORMATS (VALUE)
(c) ELSPA, Compiled by ChartTrack
1 2 8 5 6 3 10 9 7 22
LAST WEEK
XBOX 360 maintains its dominance of software sales, growing its share of the market by 1.1 per cent. PS3 enjoys the biggest monthly growth, up 7.2 per cent from September. Nintendo Wii loses 3.2 per cent of share, whilst DS is 3.5 per cent down month-on-month.
THIS LAST MONTH MONTH
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SOFTWARE BY FORMATS (UNITS) THIS WEEK
EA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.6 NINTENDO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4 SONY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7 MICROSOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6 CODEMASTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 UBISOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 KONAMI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1
EA ADDS a whopping 20.3 per cent monthly revenue share to its September number, to comfortably generate over a third of all money made by software in October. Nintendo loses 3.4 per cent, as Microsoft jumps one place but loses 3.1 per cent of share.
THIS WEEK
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
LAST WEEK
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
– – – – – – – –
XBOX 360 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.0 PS3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.5 NINTENDO WII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.8 NINTENDO DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3 PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6 PSP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 PS2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 OTHERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0
THE VALUE charts show an identical pattern to September in terms of placings – but PS3’s monthly share jumps an impressive 7.8 per cent. Xbox 360 loses just 0.7 per cent, as Wii’s share dips 3.8 per cent and DS claims 2.3 per cent less share than it did the previous month.
INDIVIDUAL FORMAT CHARTS PS2
PS3
PSP
XBOX360
1
1
1
1
FIFA 10.....................................................................................EA
FIFA 10.....................................................................................EA
GRAN TURISMO............................................................SONY
2 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010.......................THQ
2 UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES ....................SONY
2 FIFA 10.....................................................................................EA
FIFA 10.....................................................................................EA
2 HALO 3: ODST ..................................................MICROSOFT
3 COD: WORLD AT WAR.............ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
3 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 ....................KONAMI
3 DISSIDIA: FINAL FANTASY..............................SQUARE
3 OPERATION FLASHPOINT ..................CODEMASTERS
4 SINGSTAR MOTOWN ..................................................SONY
4 NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT.............................................EA
4 NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT.............................................EA
4 FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 .............................MICROSOFT
5 TRANSFORMERS: FALLEN...ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
5 OPERATION FLASHPOINT ..................CODEMASTERS
5 MOTORSTORM: ARTIC EDGE ................................SONY
5 NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT.............................................EA
6 GUITAR HERO 5.........................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
6 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010.......................THQ
6 MONSTER HUNTER: FREEDOM UNITE.....CAPCOM
6 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 ....................KONAMI
7 BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE .................................................D3P
7 BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM...............................EIDOS
7 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010.......................THQ
7 BORDERLANDS ...................................................2K GAMES
8 MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2...........ACTIVISION
8 FALLOUT 3: GAME OF YEAR EDITION.BETHESDA
8 GTA: CHINATOWN WARS..............................ROCKSTAR
8 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010.......................THQ
9 NFS: UNDERCOVER..........................................................EA
9 COLIN MCRAE: DIRT 2..........................CODEMASTERS
9 BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE .................................................D3P
9 BRUTAL LEGEND ...............................................................EA
10 UP............................................................................................THQ
10 GUITAR HERO 5.........................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
10 HARRY POTTER: HALF-BLOOD PRINCE..............EA
10 GUITAR HERO 5.........................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
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WWW.MCVUK.COM
UK MONTHLY CHARTS: OCTOBER
ALL FORMATS TOP 50
1
1
FIFA 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, PS2, WII, PSP, DS, PSP
2
OPERATION FLASHPOINT: DRAGON RISING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . CODEMASTERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, PC
3
UNCHARTED: AMONG THIEVES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SONY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3
4
NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, XB360, PC, PSP
5
WII SPORTS RESORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII
6
PROFESSOR LAYTON AND PANDORA'S BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS
7
HALO 3: ODST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MICROSOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360
8
PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KONAMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, X360, PC
9
MARIO & SONIC AT THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES . . . . . . SEGA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII, DS
10 FORZA MOTORSPORT 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MICROSOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360 11
2
WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, PS2, PSP, WII, DS
12
WII FIT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII
13
GUITAR HERO 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, WII, PS3, PS2
14 BORDERLANDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2K GAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X360, PS3 15 MARIO KART WII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII 16 GRAN TURISMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SONY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PSP 17
COLIN MCRAE: DIRT 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CODEMASTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, WII, PSP, DS
18 BRUTAL LEGEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, X360 19 MYSIMS AGENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS, WII 20 BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EIDOS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, PC 21
SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII
3
22 FALLOUT 3: GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BETHESDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, X360, PC 23 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROCKSTAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, PC 24 DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS 25 STAR WARS: CLONE WARS - REPUBLIC HEROES . . . . . . . . LUCASARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII, X360, PS3, DS, PSP, PC, PS3 26 PROFESSOR LAYTON AND PANDORA'S BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS 27 LEGO BATMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WARNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X360, WII, DS, PSP, PS3, PS2, PC 28 WII PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII 29 LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LUCASARTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII, DS, PS3, XB360 30 UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS, WII, PS3, X360, PS2, PSP, PC 31
KILLZONE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SONY COMPUTER ENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PS3
4
32 CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, PC, XB360, DS, PC 33 SCRIBBLENAUTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WARNER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS 34 WET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BETHESDA SOFTWORKS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3 35 MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, WII, DS 36 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, WII 37 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, PS3, PC, XB360, DS, PC 38 CARNIVAL: FUNFAIR GAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2KPLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS, WII 39 SEGA SUPERSTARS TENNIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
XB360, WII, PS3, DS, PS2
40 LITTLEBIGPLANET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SONY COMPUTER ENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PS3
41 LEGO INDIANA JONES: ORIGINAL ADVENTURES . . . . . . . . LUCASARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS, WII, X360. PS3, PSP, PS2, PC 42 PEPPA PIG: THE GAME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UBISOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS 43 MARIO KART DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
DS
PS3, XB360, WII, PS3, PS2, PC
45 THE BEATLES: ROCK BAND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XB360, WII, PS3 46 WOLFENSTEIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
XB360, PS3, PC
47 TOY STORY MANIA! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DISNEY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII 48 G-FORCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DISNEY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS, WII, PS2, XB360, PSP, PS3 49 MARIO STRIKERS CHARGED FOOTBALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII 50 SONIC UNLEASHED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII, PS2, XB360, PS3
INDIVIDUAL FORMAT CHARTS WII
DS
PC - FULL PRICE
PC - BUDGET PRICE
1 WII SPORTS RESORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO
1 PROFESSOR LAYTON: PANDORA. . . . . . NINTENDO
1 OPERATION FLASHPOINT. . . . . . . . . CODEMASTERS
1 WOW: BATTLE CHEST . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2 MARIO & SONIC OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES SEGA
2 DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING . . NINTENDO
2 THE SIMS 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA GAMES
2 ESCAPE THE MUSEUM . . . . . . . . . . GSP/AVANQUEST
3 WII FIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO
3 PROFESSOR LAYTON: CURIOUS. . . . . . . NINTENDO
3 CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2010 . . . . . . . . . . EIDOS
3 MYSTERY CASE FILES: RAVENHEARST . . FOCUS
4 MARIO KART WII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO
4 MARIO & SONIC OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES SEGA
4 AION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NCSOFT
4 BEJEWLED TWIST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FOCUS
5 FIFA 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA
5 MYSIMS AGENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA
5 WOW: LICH KING . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
5 ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON 3 . . . . MASTERTRONIC
6 SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL. . . . . . . . . NINTENDO
6 SCRIBBLENAUTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WARNER
6 EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEGA
6 BRAIN COLLEGE: TROPICAL. . . CITY INTERACTIVE
7 GUITAR HERO 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
7 MARIO KART DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO
7 FIFA 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA
7 WORLD OF WARCRAFT . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
8 TOY STORY MANIA! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DISNEY
8 KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS . . . SQUARE ENIX
8 RISEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KOCH MEDIA
8 AGE OF EMPIRES III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MICROSOFT
9 MYSIMS AGENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA
9 RHYTHM PARADISE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO
9 FALLOUT 3: GAME OF YEAR EDITION BETHESDA
9 HIDDEN EXPEDITION: AMAZON. . . . . . . . . . . FOCUS
10 ASHES CRICKET 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . CODEMASTERS
10 CLUB PENGUIN: ELITE PENGUIN FORCE. DISNEY
10 WARHAMMER 40,000: DAWN OF WAR II . . . THQ
10 CIVILIZATION IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MASTERTRONIC
EXPERIENCE F O L L I R H T E U R T THE
G N I D R A O B E SKAT
STEP ON BOAR
D
RIDE WITH FRIE
NDS
RIDE VERT OR S
TREET
© 2009 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark and Ride is a trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Tony Hawk is a registered trademark of Tony Hawk, Inc. All rights reserved. ‘2’, ‘PlayStation’ and ‘ ’ are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved. Patents Pending.
TH _Ride_Print_Ad_DPS-MCV.indd 1
activision.com
11/11/2009 12:44
GRITTY SURFACE MOTION SENSING TECHNOLOGY
Similar to grip tape on a real skateboard
Rotate, tilt, and lift the board to pull off amazing tricks
SMART SENSORS
CONTOURED BASE
Push for speed, pull off grabs, and set up for bigger tricks using the four smart motion sensors
Curved bottom for stability, a full range of motion and unparalleled control
GET ON BOARD 4TH DECEMBER
www.TH
TH _Ride_Print_Ad_DPS-MCV.indd 2
.com
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PERSONNEL Sponsored by
Namco Bandai Euro team restructures Internal changes to marketing team for Europe and PAL territories Former Activision MD joins Mamba
Pictured (left to right): Lorca, Raush and Gatté take on new roles in order to grow Namco Bandai in Europe.
NAMCO BANDAI The publisher has announced a number of new internal appointments as part of a management reorganisation designed to help Namco Bandai Partners improve its performance in Europe and other PAL territories. PATRICK RAUSH leaves his role at NBP Germany and is named international marketing director in charge of Namco Bandai Europe products. MATHIEU PIAU has been appointed as international marketing manager for third
MAMBA GAMES The company has hired THOMAS ORMOND to handle international business development – particularly looking at expansion in Europe. Ormond has previously worked as managing director of Activision France,
party titles. Both will report to OLIVIER COMTE, who will now head up the international marketing team as vice president of marketing sales and publisher. ALBERTO GONZALES LORCA takes up the role of vice president for third parties, tasked with seeking new publisher partners. He will be supported by the firm’s business development manager ALEXANDRE BREAS. SAMUEL GATTÉ has been named publishing and product support director. He will also report to Comte and is
responsible for product support services such as QA and localisation. “We are at a crucial stage in the company’s growth where we must optimize our effectiveness and offer first-class services to our partners,” said Namco Bandai Partners’ CEO JACKIE FROMION. “We are lucky to have many highly talent and driven people within our organisation, and despite the difficulties of the marketplace and the challenges ahead, I have utmost confidence in the reorganised team.”
Microprose France, and Fun Soft for France and South Europe. He has been working as a consultant for the industry since 2006. “It is a very exciting opportunity to collaborate with a newcomer in the marketplace,” said Ormond.
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RETAILBIZ RECOMMENDED GAMES PRICE CHECK CHARTS NEW RELEASES
‘TAR VERY MUCH... Ubisoft unleashes the game of 3D spectacular movie, James Cameron’s Avatar. Can it live up to the hype? P34
TONY HAWK: RIDE Activision brings its ‘reinvigorated’ skateboarding franchise to retail
P36
C.O.P Ubisoft’s new 3D open-world action adventure hits Nintendo’s DS
P37
NEW RELEASES P38 MCV provides a rundown of all the games waiting to be placed on your shelves HIGH STREET P40 We round up the most important Metacritic scores of the week, and check retail’s prices FULL UK CHARTS P42 MCV prints this week’s GfK-ChartTrack rankings – including the All Formats list
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RETAILBIZ: JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR 34 MCV 20/11/09
Ubisoft seeks to raise the bar for both movie tie-ins and games development in general with the companion title to James Cameron’s latest epic...
WWW.MCVUK.COM
by James Batchelor
tipped to be a landmark moment in cinematography,” explains brand manager Phil Brannelly. “This is a high-quality licensed game. It will be a much higher quality product
VIDEO GAMES based on the latest cinematic releases are no longer news – in fact, it’s more newsworthy when there isn’t a hastily developed tie-in. However, We expect to explode the in the case of James preconceptions about movieCameron’s Avatar: The to-game licences amongst Game, there’s an unusual buzz among gamers. core gamers. As Avatar approaches, Phil Brannelly, Ubisoft Ubisoft has promised that the spin-off has received just as much than most movie tie-in games to date. dedication and development time as the And when the film comes out? likes of Assassin’s Creed, and a few key Pandemonium. features should make it stand out from “We acknowledge that we have a the usual box office cash-ins. challenge in changing the perception of “Our expectations are in line with movie-to-game licences amongst core those for the movie, which is being gamers, but with Ubisoft Montreal
“
developing the game on an enhanced version of the Far Cry 2 engine, over a three-year development period, we expect to explode these preconceptions. “For the mass market, who will be swept up in the Fox marketing machine, the game provides a perfect companion piece to the movie allowing them to further explore James Cameron’s world.”
”
WORLDS APART
Avatar: The Game invites players into the universe of the sci-fi flick from the creator of Titanic and Terminator. Focusing on events set before the upcoming film, the game takes place on the beautiful world of Pandora, where
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RETAILBIZ: JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 20/11/09 35
The game will recreate the incredibly vibrant world of the upcoming sci-fi movie
AV’ SOME OF THAT While the film has received an impressive amount of coverage over the last year or so, thanks in no small part to the legacy of its director, Ubisoft is working hard to make sure the game receives just as much attention. TV The main focus will be on a heavyweight TV campaign, designed to reach the broadest audience possible. Ubisoft is aiming to reach 71 per cent of 16 to 34year-old males, estimating that each will see the ads an average 3.8 times. Ads will run around key programming that targets boys, dads and movie fans. The publisher has arranged a two-phase campaign that will see game-specific ads intertwined with Fox’s marketing of the movie, ensuring plenty of exposure throughout December.
the RDA Corporation is endangering the indigenous species of the planet, the Na’vi, as it mines for rare materials. Players pilot their own Avatar, a hybrid of human DNA and a Na’vi body, as they explore the Pandoran jungle to research the strange blue creatures. As they become wrapped up in the ongoing struggle between the two factions, players must choose where their allegiances lie: with the RDA and their own people, or with the Na’vi’s overwhelmed tribe? It’s a strong narrative that fits in perfectly with the movie, and one that Ubisoft believes will be a key selling point when the game is released. “The storyline is one of the game’s standout features. It has been designed as a prequel to the film, so it’s telling its
own story within James Cameron’s Avatar universe,” Brannelly says. “Within that storyline, there is a dual experience where one can play as the human face of the RDA, ‘researching’ the planet, or the Na’vi who are protecting their home. This is a real double-edged experience.” Crucially, the game will also feature a 3D mode on PS3 and Xbox 360, which makes James Cameron’s world look more incredible than ever before. Stepping up from the stereoscropic 3D technology that has been worked into a few titles this year, this is actually compatible with the 3DTVs due for release in the UK next Spring. “In the USA and Japan, 3DTVs are now readily available, so the game is ready for that market,” says Brannelly.
RELEASED: DECEMBER 4 FORMATS: 360, PS3, WII, DS, PSP, PC PUBLISHER: UBISOFT DEVELOPER: UBISOFT MONTREAL PRICE: VARIOUS DISTRIBUTOR: TRILOGY CONTACT: 0845 362 7769
“Unfortunately here in the UK, as usual, we’re about six months behind but it’s in there and, courtesy of JVC, we have been lucky enough to play and demo it to the press. It has to be seen to be believed and, like the film, will change its industry forever.” With a solid game running beneath the rich narrative and the allure of the first 3DTV-compatible game, Avatar is certain to draw interest among gamers when it arrives this December.
Print/Online Avatar: The Game will appear in ads across all Official magazines, expanding onto sites of specialist and mainstream interest online. Overall, Ubisoft expects to rack up 12 million impressions throughout November and December. Creatives and videos will run across such destinations as VG247, Gamespot, Videogamer, Eurogamer, Game Trailers, Console Monster and TVG. Targeting a wider audience, online ads will also run across FHM.com, Zoo Today, Sky Sports Network, MSN Messenger, MSN Network and Miniclip. Retail A range of POS will be available to retailers from Trilogy, including A2 posters, giant dummy boxes, RDA human standees and Na’vi standees. The game has also been sampled at a number of public consumer events, including Eurogamer Expo, MCM Expo and Multiplay M Festival.
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RETAILBIZ: TONY HAWK: RIDE 36 MCV 20/11/09
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TICKET TO RIDE Activision Blizzard calls its legendary Tony Hawk skateboarding series out of temporary retirement for an exciting new peripheral-based release… by James Batchelor
calculates how the player’s weight and position shifts and translates this information into in-game movement. In this way, gamers can recreate the moves of their favourite pro-skaters – without breaking their neck in the process.
IT’S HARD to imagine that it was almost ten years ago that Tony Hawk was one of the hottest video game properties on the market. The franchise continued to sell well enough as it veered away from ACROSS THE ‘BOARD numbered sequels and adopted a variety “Tony Hawk: Ride is set to reinvigorate of suffixes, such as Underground and the franchise as it introduces a new American Wasteland. exciting skateboard peripheral to the Unfortunately, by the time the market,” says brand manager Natalie current generation rolled around, it had become apparent that Tony Hawk’s video games We’re committed to making weren’t quite living up to Ride a family favourite this the performance of their Q4 – especially when dad predecessors, due in no shows off his skating skills. small part to dwindling consumer interest. Natalie Giles, Activision Now, Activision Giles. “The board has been designed and Blizzard believes it has the answer. Its developed exclusively, to provide gamers newest skateboarding title is set to with a highly interactive and new way to reinvigorate the brand and the genre. In interact with their skating game. a world becoming increasingly fond of “It’s a very social experience, which immersive peripherals, it should come offers players the opportunity to build as no surprise that Tony Hawk: Ride skating skills and recreate tricks like the takes the action away from fiddly pros with their friends and family. We’re controls and into motion control. committed to making this title a family The game comes bundled with a favourite this Christmas – especially unique skateboarding peripheral. Built when dad showcases his skating skills.” to replicate Tony’s favoured mode of transportation – minus the wheels – this While it may look daunting to anyone
“
that can’t even stand on a skateboard without losing any sense of balance, Tony Hawk: Ride has been developed to be accessible to everyone. The flat board makes it comfortable, the wireless connection allows more freedom and the lack of the complex button combinations the series is known for makes it easy for anyone to pull of the coolest tricks. Pro-skater fans will still be treated with the in-depth challenges they have enjoyed from previous Tony Hawk titles, tapping into their competitive side with a range of trick, vert and speed modes. However, families are also catered for with a selection of multiplayer modes – many of which feature ‘hot seat’ gameplay, whereby players take it in turns to top each others scores. The trade has been keeping an eye on this since it was first unveiled earlier this year, and Activision says support from the High Street has been strong. “Retail demand for the title in other launch markets has been high,” says Giles. “Retailers have confidence in the product proposition due to the unique, social experience which both the game and the peripheral offer.”
”
Activision has prepared an extensive marketing campaign to herald Tony Hawk’s return to glory, raising awareness of Ride’s unique features by demonstrating the peripheral through a variety of media: There will be a strong four-week online campaign for Tony Hawk: Ride, targeting the game’s core audience of nine to 14-year-old boys. This will be supported by an aggressive PR campaign. A three-week TV campaign will begin on December 1st, showing off the skateboard and its potential. The game has been travelling to several consumer events since October 21st, and will continue to be sampled until mid-December. It is scheduled to appear at such shows as London Freeze and the Metro Ski and Snowboard Show, as well as Activision’s national retail shopping centre tour. Tony Hawk: Ride will have a strong in-store presence, with plenty of POS that showcases the skateboard peripheral and in-store demos arranged at key outlets. RELEASED: DECEMBER 4 FORMATS: XBOX 360, PS3, WII PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION BLIZZARD DEVELOPER: ROBOMODO (360/PS3) BUZZ MONKEY (WII) PRICE: £99.99 DISTRIBUTOR: CENTRESOFT CONTACT: 0121 625 3388
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RETAILBIZ: C.O.P: THE RECRUIT WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 20/11/09 37
Ubisoft unleashes one of the most ambitious DS titles to date, putting the Big Apple on the small screen… by James Batchelor GIVEN THE series’ success, any title that features an open world city, a crime-based plot and police chases draws inevitable comparisons with Grand Theft Auto. While many such titles fail to match Rockstar’s franchise, Ubisoft now has an offering that not only rivals GTA but also stands to best it. C.O.P: The Recruit goes one better over March’s ambitious and critically acclaimed GTA: Chinatown Wars. Rather than taking the top-down perspective, the game boasts a fully 3D open-world realisation of New York City that runs at a smooth 60 frames per second – an accomplishment that’s more than a little rare on the DS. And the city is far from empty. Ubisoft has promised a bustling and vibrant New York, with pedestrians wandering the streets, constant traffic on the roads, night and day cycle, and varying weather effects.
“
C.O.P: The Recruits technical achievements are enough to make it stand out from the competition and Ubisoft will be proudly promoting these to the more traditional gamers among the DS’ demographic. The publisher will also be targeting gifters this Christmas.
addition to the DS boys’ market, and we firmly believe it has its place as a great stocking filler this Christmas.” ON THE BEAT
The story follows former underground street racer Dan Miles as her joins the Criminal Overturn Program – conveniently abbreviated C.O.P: The Recruit is a great as C.O.P. addition to the DS boys’ While investigating a market. It will be a great series of terrorist attacks stocking filler this Christmas. against New York, his mentor is falsely arrested. Matt Benson, Ubisoft Miles is forced to go “At launch, C.O.P: The Recruit will be undercover and resume his life on the streets, where he discovers a dangerous primarily led by specialist PR, bolstered conspiracy plotting a devastating attack with some tactical online advertising,” against the city. says brand manager Matt Benson. The narrative is spread across 60 “Nearer to Christmas, the game will missions, promising over 20 hours of form part of a heavyweight Ubisoft DS gameplay. As players progress they can range campaign aimed at driving explore the handheld Big Apple at their awareness amongst gifters, aimed at leisure, engaging in high-speed pursuits people aged between 16 and 34. or intense gunfights with the scum of “November is always a competitive the city, with all the gameplay elements period. Given the success of Combat of gamers expect from a game of this highly Giants and Combat of Dragons, we popular genre. believe that COP: The Recruit is a great
”
"I'm looking for the perfect job with an award winning publisher." "According to this OPM have loads of those."
The DS’ functionality has also been used to bring in a number of features that will truly make gamers feel like part of a citywide law enforcement agency. Using the stylus and the PDA-style interface, players will be able plan and launch SWAT team assaults, set up road blocks, summon an ambulance and access New York’s camera system to locate your targets. “C.O.P: The Recruit received numerous awards at this year’s E3 and Gamescom,” adds Benson. “The quality of the title is undoubtedly there. It’s also unique as we’re the only full 3D sandbox action adventure on the DS, complete with vehicles, gadgets and weapons. Of course, it’s safe for the younger DS gamer, being a 12+ PEGIrated title.” RELEASED: OUT NOW FORMATS: DS PUBLISHER: UBISOFT DEVELOPER: VD DEV PRICE: £29.99 DISTRIBUTOR: UBISOFT CONTACT: TRILOGY
OPM Response Ltd Tel: +44(0)1206 21 44 21 www.opmjobs.com
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RETAILBIZ: NEW RELEASES 38 MCV 20/11/09
WWW.MCVUK.COM
Check out MCVUK.COM/RELEASE-DATES for more
Retailers dance with their Darkside Ubisoft and Capcom prove there is still plenty to look forward to this Christmas, catering for Wii owners with Just Dance and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Also out soon is LEGO Rock Band, Flips, Tony Hawk, Zelda and more... TITLE
FORMAT
GENRE
PUBLISHER
TELEPHONE
DISTRIBUTOR
XBOX 360 PC PC Wii XBOX 360 / PS3 / Wii / DS PS2 PC Wii DS DS / PC / Wii / PS3 / XBOX 360 DS / Wii XBOX 360 Wii DS XBOX 360 / PS3 XBOX 360 / PS3 / Wii
Strategy Simulation Simulation Music Music Action Simulation Mini-games Simulation Action/Adventure Action/Adventure Racing FPS Fighting Fighting Action/Adventure
THQ Just Flight Just Flight Ubisoft Warner Games Namco Bandai Just Flight Ubisoft Ubisoft Sega Mindscape Disney Interactive Capcom Ubisoft THQ Warner Games
0121 506 9585 0845 234 4242 0845 234 4242 0845 362 7769 0121 625 3388 0121 506 9585 0845 234 4242 0845 362 7769 0845 362 7769 0121 625 3388 0870 027 0985 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0845 362 7769 0121 506 9585 0121 625 3388
Advantage Mastertronic Mastertronic Trilogy Centresoft Advantage Mastertronic Trilogy Trilogy Centresoft Koch Centresoft Centresoft Trilogy Advantage Centresoft
DS DS DS DS DS Wii DS DS PSP / DS / PC / Wii / PS3 / XBOX 360 DS XBOX 360 / PS3 / PC Wii Wii / PS3 / XBOX 360 DS
Music Non-games Non-games Non-games Non-games Mini-games Simulation Simulation Action Action/Adventure Action Quiz Sports Puzzle
Namco Bandai EA EA EA EA Warner Games Ubisoft Ubisoft Ubisoft Mindscape EA Warner Games Activision Blizzard Warner Games
0121 506 9585 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0845 362 7769 0845 362 7769 0845 362 7769 0870 027 0985 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388
Advantage Centresoft Centresoft Centresoft Centresoft Centresoft Trilogy Trilogy Trilogy Koch Centresoft Centresoft Centresoft Centresoft
Wii / DS PSP DS
Action/Adventure Fighting RPG
Majesco Namco Bandai Nintendo
0117 373 6151 0121 506 9585 0870 027 0985
Open Advantage Koch
DS
Puzzle
Nintendo
0870 027 0985
Koch
PS3 / XBOX 360 PS3 / XBOX 360
Action Action
Sega THQ
0121 625 3388 0121 506 9585
Centresoft Advantage
PC PC / PS3 / XBOX 360 PSP / DS / Wii / PS2 PC / PS3 / XBOX 360 Wii
FPS Action Action/Adventure Action Casual
City Interactive EA D3Publisher Capcom Zushi
0845 362 7769 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 0121 625 3388 01279 822 800
Trilogy Centresoft Centresoft Centresoft Gem
Wii
Simulation
City Interactive
0845 362 7769
Trilogy
Wii
Survival Horror
Capcom
0121 625 3388
Centresoft
NOVEMBER 27th Blood Bowl Class 60+ Freight Constellation Professional Just Dance LEGO Rock Band Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 5 Newcastle To York - Modern Peppa Pig Petz: Nursery Planet 51 Playmobil: Circus Pure (Classics) Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles TMNT Arcade Attack UFC Undisputed (Platinum/Classic) Where The Wild Things Are
DECEMBER 4th Easy Piano FLIPS: Cathy Cassidy FLIPS: Enid Blyton FLIPS: Eoin Colfer FLIPS: Too Ghoul For School Game Party 3 Girls Life Sleepover Party Imagine Beauty Stylist James Cameron's Avatar: The Game Playmobil: Pirates The Saboteur Scene It? Bright Lights Big Screen! Tony Hawk: Ride Touchmaster 3
DECEMBER 11th Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakwal Tekken 6 The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
DECEMBER 18th Nintendo presents Crossword Collection
JANUARY 8th Bayonetta Darksiders
JANUARY 15th Alcatraz Army Of Two: The 40th Day Astroboy 2009 Dark Void Love is... in Bloom
JANUARY 19th Combat Wings: The Great Battles Of World War II
JANUARY 22nd Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero
MUSTSTOCK ............RESIDENT EVIL: DARKSIDE Released: November 27th Format: Wii Publisher: Capcom Distributor: Centresoft Contact: 0121 625 3388
The sequel to 2007â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Umbrella Chronicles. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is an onrails shooter that draws fans back to the locations from Resident Evil 2, reuniting them with Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. A must-have purchase for series fans.
MUSTSTOCK .................................JUST DANCE Released: November 27th Format: Wii Publisher: Ubisoft Distributor: Trilogy Contact: 0845 362 7769
A dance title with a difference. Just Dance dispenses with the untidy dance mat and challenges players to follow a series of routines with only the Wii Remote clutched in their hands. Dance sequences are choreographed to a widely appealing setlist.
mcv_advert2_v1.indd 1
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RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET 40 MCV 20/11/09
WWW.MCVUK.COM
Sponsored by
POLL DOES THE DEMAND FOR COLLECTOR'S EDITIONS WARRANT THE EXTRA SHELF SPACE?
REVIEW SCORES MCV provides the most important average review scores of the last few days – all sourced from Metacritic...
No
96%
Modern Warfare 2 360, Activision
25% Yes
41% Depends on the title
85%
79%
79%
77%
New Super Mario Bros,
Ghostbusters, 360, Atari
Rabbids Go Gome, Wii, Ubisoft
Band Hero, PS3, Activision
Wii, Nintendo
34%
Collector’s Editions have been announced for many of the biggest releases in the run-up to Christmas and Q1 2010. However, it seems the games industry is divided over the value of these SKUs. Only a quarter of the users in the latest MCV
online survey believe such products generate enough sales to justify the extra shelf space they eat up. Take part in MCV’s next poll at www.mcvuk.com
*Metacritic scores correct at the time of going to press
MARGIN MAKER INDIE CHARTS - ALL FORMATS 1
2
THIS WEEK
LAST WEEK
1
4
USB ports are everywhere these days, so Blaze’s new Rechargeable Battery Pack with USB Cable for Wii is ideal for Nintendo fans, allowing them to keep their Remote permanently charged. The Battery Pack fits snugly into the Remote and doesn’t add any more weight than regular batteries. The long life lithium ion battery recharges quickly when plugged into any USB port, be it on the Wii console itself, PC or any other device. Blaze: 01302 325225
5
TITLE/FORMAT
PUBLISHER
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 FORMAT: PC
2
NEW
3
4
4
3
NEW
DEVELOPER: SPORTS INTERACTIVE PUBLISHER: SEGA
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS 360
EA
GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY 360 RATCHET & CLANK: A CRACK IN TIME PS3
5
7
WII FIT PLUS WII
6
RE
7
3
8
NEW
8
10
TEKKEN 6 360
10
9
UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES PS3
ROCKSTAR SONY NINTENDO
FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 360
DEAL OF THE WEEK
MICROSOFT
TEKKEN 6 PS3
GAME customers save more than £50 when they purchase a DSi, bundled with an accessories pack, Nintendo’s Rhythm Paradise and EA’s FIFA 10.
NAMCO BANDAI
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS PC
EA NAMCO BANDAI SONY
Charts compiled by Game Guide/Complete EPOS Solutions. For more information about Complete EPOS Solutions call 01543 370002. For more information about the Game Guide call 01606 836347.
Introducing the new
Exclusively Distributed by
Accessory Pack for the Nintendo DS Available for Christmas
TM
Peppa Pig © Astley Baker Davies Ltd / E1 Entertainment UK Ltd 2003. All Rights Reserved. Developed and Produced by Asylum Entertainment Ltd. The names Pinnacle, Pinnacle Software and Pinnacle Entertainment Ltd and associated logos as used in this game are under license to P2 Games Ltd. Trademarks are property of their respective owners. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo.
To order CALL NOW on
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RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 20/11/09 41 Sponsored by
PRICE CHECK [PRE ORDERS] CoD: Modern Warfare 2 360, Activision Blizzard
Ghostbusters Wii, Atari
Disney’s A Christmas Carol DS, Disney
Rabbids Go Home Wii, Ubisoft
Dragon Age: Origins 360, EA
TOP 10 ASSASSIN’S CREED II
IN STORE: MANCHESTER
360 UBISOFT
£44.99
£34.99
£29.99
£34.99
£39.99
£44.99
£34.99
£29.99
£34.99
£39.99
2. ASSASSIN’S CREED II
£32.99
£29.71
£22.71
£29.71
£37.71
3. LEFT 4 DEAD 2
£44.99
£34.99
£29.99
£34.99
£39.99
4. GOD OF WAR III
PS3 ..................................................................UBISOFT 360 ..........................................................................EA PS3 ......................................................................SONY
5. MAG: MASSIVE ACTION
PS3 ......................................................................SONY
6. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS
ONLINE
WII ................................................................NINTENDO
£44.97
£39.19
£24.97
£29.97
£37.97
£44.95
£29.95
£24.97
£27.95
£37.95
£44.97
£29.97
£27.97
£34.97
£39.97
£42.99
£29.99
N/A
£29.99
£37.99
7. GRAN TURISMO 5
PS3 ......................................................................SONY
8. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2
PS3 ..........................................................................EA
9. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS
PS3 ..........................................................................EA
10. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION
360 ..................................................................UBISOFT Week ending Novemebr 13th Source: SHOPTO.COM
FROM THE FRONTLINE Nindie.com speaks to Console Connections’ Chris Bowman… What makes your store unique? We are well known in our area with over ten years in the trade. We have a large back catalogue of games for all platforms and offer good customer service and value for money. What has been performing well? The obvious non-performer at the moment is the DS – mainly due to the R4 cards. The Xbox 360 is our top performer but the PS3 has been catching up in the past few months.
“If we start giving gamers premium products for less, they will expect it all the time.”
What are the biggest challenges you face? I think the rise of downloads is inevitable in the future and will affect all games retailers sooner or later. But at the moment, the biggest problem is the unnecessary discounting of triple-A titles: the recent release of FIFA 10 being a prime example.
[PRE ORDERS]
TOP 10 ASSASSIN’S CREED II 360 UBISOFT 2. ASSASSIN’S CREED II
PS3 ..................................................................UBISOFT
3. F1 2009
WII ..........................................................CODEMASTERS
4. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS
WII ................................................................NINTENDO
5. LEFT 4 DEAD 2
360 ..........................................................................EA
6. PEPPA PIG: THE GAME
WII....................................................................UBISOFT
What is the one thing you would change about games retail? I think we need a retail pricing scheme similar to the French model. It would help against the devaluing of products because, once we start giving consumers premium products for less, they will expect it all the time. In the end, it sends us into a big downward spiral that is hard to stop.
7. THE SIMS 3: WORLD ADVENTURES
PC ............................................................................EA
8. WE SING
WII ..........................................................NORDIC GAMES
9. LITTLEBIGPLANET
PSP ......................................................................SONY
10. GRAN TURISMO 5
PS3 ......................................................................SONY Week ending Novemebr 13th Source: PLAY.CO.UK
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RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS 42 MCV 20/11/09
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Check out RETAILBIZ at WWW.MCVUK.COM
OFFICIALUKCHARTS NINTENDO DS THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
[1] [FULL PRICE]
TITLE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING PROFESSOR LAYTON: CURIOUS VILLAGE RHYTHM PARADISE STYLE BOUTIQUE MARIO KART DS WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB: PASSION CLUB PENGUIN: ELITE PENGUIN FORCE NINTENDOGS: LAB & FRIENDS
2 3 6 5 4 7 12 11 16
DEVELOPER: LEVEL 5 PUBLISHER: NINTENDO
PLAYSTATION 2 THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
SEGA NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
2
3
WII SPORTS RESORT Wii
THQ
3
2
FIFA 10 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PC, PSP
4
1
WII FIT PLUS Wii
5
6
FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 360
6
7
MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYPMICS Wii
DISNEY NINTENDO
PUBLISHER
PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 KONAMI WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 THQ COD: WORLD AT WAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD SINGSTAR MOTOWN SONY TRANSFORMERS: FALLEN ACTIVISION BLIZZARD BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE D3P DISNEY SING IT: POP HITS DISNEY GUITAR HERO 5 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERCOVER EA
[3]
DEVELOPER: EA PUBLISHER: EA
[4]
TITLE
NINTENDO EA NINTENDO MICROSOFT
14
LEGO BATMAN PC, DS, PS3, 360, Wii, PSP
NINTENDO
12
MARIO KART WII Wii
NINTENDO
9
23
PURE 360, PS3, PC
10
8
GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY 360
11
9
PES 2010 360, PS3, PC
12
4
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 PC
SEGA EA
DISNEY
13
5
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS 360, PS3, PC
14
17
PROFESSOR LAYTON: PANDORA’S BOX DS NINTENDO
15
16
SINGSTAR TAKE THAT PS3, PS2
16
11
WWE SMACKDOWN 2010 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PS2, PSP
SONY
17
13
NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT 360, PS3, PSP, PC
20
UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES PS3
19
RE
COD 4: MODERN WARFARE 360, PS3, PC, Wii ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
20
10
TEKKEN 6 360, PS3
1
EA SONY
NAMCO BANDAI
[FULL PRICE]
TITLE
PUBLISHER
2 3 4 5
2 3 5 9
GRAN TURISMO SONY FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 SEGA PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 KONAMI STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT: SQUADRON LUCASARTS
2
1
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010
3
2
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS
4
3
THE SIMS 3
5
5
CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2010
6 7 8 9 10
4
GTA: CHINATOWN WARS HANNAH MONTANA: ROCK OUT WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT MOTORSTORM: ARCTIC EDGE
ROCKSTAR
6
9
EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR
DISNEY
7
4
BORDERLANDS
THQ
8
8
WOW: WRATH OF LICH KING
EA
9
10
FALLOUT 3: GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION
SONY
10
7
PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010
RE
6 8 10
THQ
18
FIFA 10
[5]
ROCKSTAR KONAMI
1
DEVELOPER: EA CANADA PUBLISHER: EA
SEGA
7
THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
PUBLISHER
PUBLISHER
8
PC CD-ROM
[FULL PRICE] TITLE
DEVELOPER: INFINITY WARD PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION
NINTENDO
[FULL PRICE]
TITLE
FORMAT: 360, PS3, PC
LAST WEEK
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
1
THIS WEEK
1
PSP
[2]
COD: MODERN WARFARE 2
NINTENDO
FIFA 10
1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12
TOP 40ALL
PUBLISHER
PROFESSOR LAYTON: PANDORA’S BOX
[ENTERTAINMENT - ALL PRICES]
COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 FDEVELOPER: INFINITY WARD PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION BLIZZARD SEGA EA EA EIDOS SEGA 2K GAMES ACTIVISION BLIZZARD BETHESDA KONAMI
42,43 MCV564_final:54-55 MCV553
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14:25
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RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 20/11/09 43
MODERN WARFARE 2 made its triumphant debut
back in the Top Ten, in seventh and ninth places
this week, selling more than 1.78 million units in
respectively. inclusion in the standard Wii console pack boosting
GTA IV with 927,000 units. Call Of Duty’s success also helped to drive Xbox 360 hardware sales, with popular bundles boosting LEGO Batman sales by 107 per cent and Pure sales by 143 per cent. Both titles are now
sales by 45 per cent and lifting it to No.2.
PS3
L FORMATS
THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
Highest New Entry
21
18
SUPER SMASH BROS. BRAWL Wii
NINTENDO
22
19
WII FIT Wii
NINTENDO
23
32
LEGO STAR WARS: SAGA 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PC, DS, PSP LUCASARTS
24
29
WII PLAY Wii
NINTENDO
25
31
DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING DS
NINTENDO
26
RE
PROFESSOR LAYTON: CURIOUS VILLAGE DS
NINTENDO
27
21
DJ HERO 360, PS3, Wii, PS2
28
34
SEGA SUPERSTAR TENNIS 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PC, DS, PSP
29
15
BORDERLANDS 360, PS3, PC
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD SEGA 2K GAMES
30
24
EYEPET PS3
31
35
STAR WARS CLONE WARS 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PC, DS, PSP LUCASARTS
32
NEW
HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT VOL 2 Wii, DS
33
25
HALO 3: ODST 360
MICROSOFT LUCASARTS
SONY
EA
34
36
LEGO INDIANA JONES PSP, 360, Wii, PS3, PS2, PC, DS
35
40
RHYTHM PARADISE DS
NINTENDO
36
27
GRAND THEFT AUTO IV PC, PS3, 360
ROCKSTAR
37
30
GUITAR HERO 5 360, PS3, Wii, PS2
38
NEW
RABBIDS GO HOME Wii, DS
39
26
GHOSTBUSTERS 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PC, DS, PSP
40
33
STYLE BOUTIQUE DS
PC CD-ROM THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
Bundles also benefitted Wii Sports Resort, with its
record for week one sales, previously held by
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD UBISOFT ATARI NINTENDO
TITLE
PUBLISHER
1
ASSASSIN’S CREED
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 6 8 1
WOW: BATTLE CHEST
NEW
TREASURE SEEKERS 1 & 2: COMPLETE
MASTERTRONIC
5 13 7 3
JEWEL QUEST III
GSP/AVANQUEST
DEVELOPER: UBISOFT MONTREAL PUBLISHER: FOCUS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
MYSTERY IN LONDON: JACK THE RIPPER ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON
FOCUS MASTERTRONIC
BEJEWLED TWIST
FOCUS
WORLD OF WARCRAFT
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
ESCAPE THE MUSEUM
GSP/AVANQUEST
MYSTERY CASE FILES: RAVENHEARST
FOCUS
launch of Reflex Edition for Wii. James.Batchelor@intentmedia.co.uk
[FULL PRICE] TITLE
PUBLISHER
1
COD: MODERN WARFARE 2
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
FIFA 10 UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT TEKKEN 6 RATCHET & CLANK: A CRACK IN TIME WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 BORDERLANDS DJ HERO
1 2 5 6 4 3 7 8 9
WII THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
DEVELOPER: INFINITY WARD PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION BLIZZARD EA SONY KONAMI EA NAMCO BANDAI SONY THQ 2K GAMES ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
[FULL PRICE] TITLE
PUBLISHER
1
WII SPORTS RESORT
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MARIO KART WII NINTENDO MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES SEGA WII FIT NINTENDO CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION BLIZZARD HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT: VOLUME 2 EA FIFA 10 EA RABBIDS GO HOME UBISOFT TOY STORY MANIA DISNEY STAR WARS: CLONE WARS - REPUBLIC HEROES LUCASARTS
3 2 4 NEW
25 5 13 6 8
DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO
XBOX 360
[BUDGET PRICE]
Additionally, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare returns to the Top 40 at No.19, boosted by the
THIS LAST WEEK WEEK
[FULL PRICE]
TITLE
1
COD: MODERN WARFARE 2
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 FIFA 10 GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS HALO 3: ODST WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 DJ HERO BORDERLANDS
1 3 2 4 5 6 10 11 7
(c) ELSPA, Compiled by ChartTrack
its first five days on sale. The game smashed the
WEEK ENDING 14/11/09
PUBLISHER
DEVELOPER: INFINITY WARD PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION BLIZZARD MICROSOFT EA ROCKSTAR EA MICROSOFT THQ KONAMI ACTIVISION BLIZZARD 2K GAMES
[SOURCE]
[ANALYSIS]
44,45 MCV5564_final
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YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SERVICE COMPANIES
sourcebook WWW.INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK/SOURCEBOOK
creative and promotional SErvices 3DI Tel: 0845 4582898 www.threedi.net
Indigo Pearl Tel: +44 (0)20 8964 4545 www.indigopearl.com
The Audio Guys Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1926 813546 www.theaudioguys.co.uk
AN.X Ltd. Tel: 020 7785 7156 www.anxagency.com
JR DESIGN Tel: +44 (0) 7824 506436 www.joeryandesign.co.uk
The Pixel Tel: 0800 043 1040 www.thepixel.com
Ark VFX Ltd. Tel: 0114 268 4999 www.arkvfx.net
Media Safari PR Tel: +44 (0)1225 471 202 www.mediasafari.co.uk
Über Tel: 0114 278 7100 www.uberagency.com
Barrington Harvey Tel: +44 (0)1462 456780 www.bhpress.co.uk
More Creative Tel: 020 7561 6010 www.morecreative.co.uk
gaming accessorieS
Bastion Tel: +44 (0)20 7421 7600 www.bastion.co.uk
Multiplay Tel: +44 (0)20 7100 1337 www.multiplay.co.uk
Gfk Chart-Track Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 8741 7585 www.chart-track.com
Parker Consulting Ltd Tel: 07771571639 www.parkerconsulting.biz
Dilute Recordings Tel: 01483 306834 www.diluterecordings.com
PMA Marketing Tel: 020 7483 0568 www.pmamarketing.com
Eye-D Creative Ltd Tel: +44 (0)20 7407 1440 www.eye-dcreative.co.uk
RAINBOW PRODUCTIONS Tel: +44 (0)20 8254 5300 www.rainbowproductions.co.uk
FEREF Tel: +44 (0)207 292 6330 www.feref.com
RealtimeUK Tel: 01772 682 363 www.realtimeuk.com
FINK Creative Ltd Tel: 01480 302350 www.finkcreative.com
Richard Jacques Studios Tel: 07831 756977 www.richardjacques.com
Fluid Tel: +44 (0)121 212 0121 www.fluidesign.co.uk
Shorewood.Blueprint Tel: 020 7183 9666 www.shorewood-blueprint.com
Freeform.London Tel: 020 7183 6664 www.freeformlondon.co.uk
Side Tel: +44 (0) 207 631 4800 www.side.com
Frontroom Tel: 020 7384 5400 www.frontroom.com
SKYSKRAPER® Tel: +44 (0)20 7252 3288 www.skyskraper.net
Game Frontier Ltd Tel: 0870 420 2424 www.gamefrontier.com
Studio CO2 Tel: +44 (0) 1483 414 415 www.studioco2.com
AntiGrav Media Ltd Tel: 01932 454929 www.antigrav-media.co.uk Hubb Accessories Tel: 01642 204343 www.playwithhubb.com Logic3 plc Tel: 01923 471000 www.logic3.com Pebble Entertainment GmbH Tel: +49 (231) – 477 927 0 www.pebble-entertainment.com/en Pinpoint Consumer Elec. Tel: +44 (0) 1606 558 428 www.pinpointce.co.uk
international distribution ComputerLand doo Tel: +381 11 309 95 95 www.computerland.rs CURVEBALL LEISURE Tel: 01792 652521 www.thegamecollection.net Funtastic Tel: +61 3 9419 5444 www.funtastic.com.au GameStreamer, Inc. Tel: 001-813-527-0383 www.gamestreamer.net
LO
TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS
44,45 MCV5564_final
13/11/09
10:27
Page 2
In association with
Tel: +44 1 480 210 621 www.usspeaking.com
LOCALISTATION QA AND TESTING
legal services
4-Real Intermedia GmbH Tel: +49 (0) 69809088 - 0 www.4-real.com
Orange Studio Tel: +39 051 588 04 50 www.orangestudio.it
Harbottle & Lewis Tel: +44 (0)207 667 5000 www.harbottle.com
Absolute Quality Tel: +44 (0)141 220 5600 www.absolutequality.com
Partnertrans Tel: +44 1753 247731 www.partnertrans.com
Marriott Harrison Tel: +44 (0)20 7209 2000 www.marriottharrison.co.uk
ANAKAN GmbH Tel: +49 (0) 30531420450 www.anakan.de
PlayableGames Tel: 020 7421 6487 www.playablegames.net
software development
Babel Tel: 01273 764100 www.babelmedia.com
Testronic Laboratories Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1753 653722 www.testroniclabs.com
Cenega Poland Sp.Zo.o Tel: +48 22 574 2578 www.cenega.com
Universaly Speaking Tel: +44 1 480 210621 www.usspeaking.com
Enzyme Labs Tel: +1 (450) 229-9999 ext.312 www.enzyme.org
U-TRAX Tel: +31 30 293 2098 www.utrax.com
ChaYoWo Games Tel: +1 917.650.0010 www.chayowogames.com Crytek UK Tel: +44 115 949 0808 www.crytek.com Data Design Interactive Tel: +44 0 1384 44 79 00 www.datadesign.uk.com xaitment GmbH Tel: +49 (0) 6897-600 80-0 www.xaitment.com
manufacturing services Arvato digital services Tel: 0121 502 7800 www.arvatodigitalservices.com
OK Media Tel: +44 (0) 20 7688 6789 www.okmedia.com
DISCHROMATICS LTD Tel: 01495 243222 www.dischromatics.co.uk
Technicolor Tel: 0208 987 7829 www.technicolor.com
MPO UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 8956 2727 www.mpo-international.com
The Producers Limited Tel: 0845 234 2444 www.theproducers.co.uk
Multi Media Replication Ltd Tel: +44(0) 1264 336330 www.replication.com
Total Console Repair Ltd Tel: 08719 181 721 www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk
uk distribution and logistics Discstribution Tel: + 44 (0) 845 4308735 www.discstribution.com EntaTech Tel: 0333 101 1000 www.entaonline.com Gem Tel: 01279 822822 www.gem.co.uk Meroncourt Europe Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1462 680060 www.trade.meroncourt.co.uk
recruitment Aardvark Swift Tel: 01709 876877 www.aswift.com
Game Options Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1382 731909 www.gameops.co.uk
Amiqus Tel: 01925 252588 www.amiqus.com/games
Specialmove Consultancy Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 141 585 6491 www.specialmove.com
Trilogy Logistics Ltd Tel: 0845 456 6400 www.trilogy-uk.com
GUIDE PLEASE CONTACT: ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK OR 01992 535647
46,47 MCV564_final:Layout 1
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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 46 MCV 20/11/09
WWW.MCVUK.COM
International Distribution Guide AUSTRALIA
ESTONIA
ISRAEL
RUSSIA
All Interactive.................Helensvale Town Centre
Andrico ..............................................................Tallinn
Hed-Arzi......................................................Or-Yehuda
Hitzona.............................................................Moscow
AUSTRIA
FINLAND
ITALY
Soft Club..........................................................Moscow
Koch Media GmbH...............................Rottenmann
Panvision Oy.......................................................Turku
Cidiverte Spa ...............................................Gallarate
Vellod...................................................................Mitishi
Noviy Disk .......................................................Moscow
Play Art Multimedia Handels GmbH....Rankweil
BELGIUM
Coop Italia..........................................Sesto F.NO (FI)
FRANCE
Digital Bros spa................................................Milano
EMC GROUPE CASINO..........Croissy Beaubourg
Leader Spa.................................Gazzada Schianno
Horelec S.A. ...........................................Bruxelles
Newave Italia...................................................Firenze
CLD Distribution S.A. .........................Fernelmont
Promovideo SRL ...........................................Senago
BENELUX
NETHERLANDS
SERBIA COMPUTERLAND DOO Kumodraska 45 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
INNELEC MULTIMEDIA
EBS-Benelux...........................................Bunschoten
Tel:+381(0)11 309 95 95
45 rue Delizy,
Gameworld BV............................Capelle A/D Ijssel
Fax:+381(0)11 309 95 96
93692 PANTIN Cedex, France
Micromedia BV...........................................Nijmegen
mail:games@computerland.rs
Email purchase: f_alglave@innelec.com
Favour Games..................................................Tilburg
website:www.computerland.rs
GAMEWORLD
Email export sales: g_armspach@innelec.com
Rigu Sound B.V................2153 GB Nieuw Vennep
Cornusbaan 1, 2908 KB Capelle A/D IJssel
Tel: 00.33.1.48.10.55.55
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: +31 10 298 3838 Web: rishi@gameworld.nl
SINGAPORE Replay Interactive....................................Singapore
Gamewizz..........................................................Albany
GERMANY Groß Electronic .......................................Rohrnbach
NORWAY
Otto Group ...................................................Hamburg
Pan Vision Norway.....................................Trollasen
Playcom Software Vertriebs .......................Erfurt
MPX.no .......................................................Sandefjord
Vitrex Multimedia Großhandel.....................Erfurt
SOUTH AFRICA Midigital ..............................................Johannesburg Nu Metro Interactive ......................Johannesburg
Platekompaniet....................................................Oslo
SPAIN
Lorentzweg 1
Massemedia AS...........................................Notteroy
Ardistel. S.L..................................................Zaragoza
3752 LH Bunschoten-Spakenburg
Pan Vision Norway..............................................Oslo
EBS Benelux
The Netherlands
GREECE
Distribuciones Videográficas Digitales ....MADRID
Lamee Software S.L. .....................................Madrid
Phone: +31 (0)33 201 21 00
Centric ...............................................................Athens
POLAND
Fax: +31 (0)33 201 21 01
Nortec Multimedia.........................................Athens
CD Projekt Sp. z o.o......................................Warsaw
E-mail: info@ebs-benelux.com
Zegetron S.A....................................................Athens
PLANETA DEAGOSTINI INTERACTIVE
Website: www.ebs-benelux.com
Diagonal, 662-664, 3ª planta D, 08034,
CYPRUS
HUNGARY Antec .............................................................Budapest
Gibareio.............................................................Nicosia
GOODTONES GREAT GAMES LTD
Sena ................................................................Reykavik
1 Alkaiou Street / Office 1 /
INDIA
tel. +357 22 666612 www.greatgames.com.cy
ul. Jana Szczyrki 12, 54-426 Wroclaw, Poland
ICELAND
Engomi / Nicosia 2404 / Cyprus
TECHLAND Sp. z o.o.
E-mail: business@techland.pl
Barcelona, Spain, Tel: +34 93 492 08 89 distributioninteractive@planetadeagostini.es www.planetadeagostini.net
Web: www.techland.pl Phone: +48 71 354 46 10 Fax: +48 71 354 46 10
VIRGIN PLAY
PORTUGAL ecofilmes...............................Sao Joao Da Madeira
Paseo de la Castellana 9 – 11, 28046 Madrid, Spain Tel: +34 91 789 35 50
DENMARK
Web: www.virginplay.es
DistribucionesVideográficas Digitales ....Madrid
GATEWAY DISTRIBUTION APS Gateway Distribution ApS +44 1279 408 665 (UK) +45 7026 0870 (DK) dt@gatewaydistribution.dk www.gatewaydistribution.dk
v.2 PLAY. LDA Studio Office Marquês de Pombal – Avenida de Loulé nº 123 1069-152 -
Distribuye Palmera................................Las Palmas JC Distribuciones .............................................Getxo Shine Star, S.A...........................................Barcelona
Lisbon, Portugal Tel. 00351 21 31 46 51 0 Fax 00351 21 31 61 12 5
SWEDEN Bergsala AB............................................Kungsbacka
TO ADVERTISE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION GUIDE
46,47 MCV564_final:Layout 1
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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 20/11/09 47
The International Distribution Guide is dedicated to promoting companies outside of the UK. If you are looking for new customers overseas, then look no further...
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
USA
UAE
ALESAYI UNITED COMPANY GAME OUTLET EUROPE AB PO Box 5083 S-650 05 Karlstad, Sweden Phone: +46 54 854750 Fax: +46 54 854759 E-mail: info@gameoutlet.se Website: www.gameoutlet.se
Video Games Distributor in the Middle East P.O BOX 16999 Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai U.A.E. Tel: 00971 4 883 5960
US RETAIL giant GameStop revealed it received more pre-orders for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 than any other game before it. GameStop’s executive vice president of marketing and merchandising Tony Bartel said: “As of today, the number of pre-order reservations we’ve taken for the game is the highest for any title we’ve ever sold in our 6,200 store network.”
Fax: 00971 4 883 5175 E-Mail: marketing@alesayi.ae U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com
Panvision....................................................Stockholm SIBA AB ...................................................Gothenburg
SWITZERLAND ABC Software GmbH.......................................Buchs
PLUTO GAMES PO Box 10705, Office 103-104 Emirates Islamic Bank Building, Dubai, UAE www.pluto-games.com
TURKEY
Tel: +971 4261 8111 Fax: +971 4261 8112
ARAL Import..................................................Istanbul Nortec Eurasia...............................................Istanbul
UNITED STATES
Modern Pluto Trading LLC...............Saudi Arabia NXT Global LLC .................................................Dubai Pluto Derinton Games LLC............................Egypt Red Entertainment Distribution ..................Dubai
BASCO, INC. VIDEO GAMES DISTRIBUTOR Tel: 1-917-627-3000 Fax: 1-718-228-4401 Email: sales@bascodistribution.com Web: www.bascodistribution.com
A RECORD number of North American stores opened at midnight on November 10th to usher in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Activision Blizzard reported that more than 10,000 retail outlets opened their doors at 12am precisely, allowing consumers to pick up the hugely popular FPS as soon as possible. The publisher also held an impressive celebritypacked launch at New York’s Union Square, where attendees had the chance to win a Modern Warfare 2-branded Hummer.
JAPAN
NAMCO BANDAI reported a net loss of 6 billion yen for the first half of the financial year. The company’s earnings saw a significant decline from the profit of YEN 1.3 billion reported in the same period last year. Sales for the six months ending September 30th fell by 9.5 per cent year-on-year to YEN 172.7 billion, with a total of 8.4 million units shipped during the period – a slight decrease compared to the 8.9 million shipped in 2008. Namco Bandai’s best-selling game for the half year was Ben 10: Alien Force, which sold 480,000 units across the US and Europe. This was followed by Afro Samurai, which sold 420,000 units, and Tales Of Vesperia, which sold 410,000. The release of Tekken 6, which hit shelves on October 30th, is expected to boost the publisher’s software sales for the remainder of the year. Namco Bandai predicts it will sell a total 25.7 million units by December 31st, an improvement on last year’s 23.4 million units.
U.S. GAMES DISTRIBUTION, INC. 16700 Schoenborn St. #2 North Hills, CA. 91343 Tel: +1 818 920 9393 info@usgamesdist.com www.usgamesdist.com
HEAVYWEIGHT industry figure and Nintendo president Satoru Iwata claims that the industry is still some way off ditching retail. “Most radical people even dare to say that retailers will be replaced by digital distribution in no time,” he recently told investors. “But personally, I think it will still require a significant amount of time. “In short, in 20 years or so I might say it will have probably changed. But in five years or so, I do not totally agree with opinions that no one will purchase titles at retailers by then. Habits of life do not change so radically and quickly.”
PLEASE CONTACT ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK
46-51 MCV564_final:Layout 1
13/11/09
12:06
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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR
DIRECTORY
DISTRIBUTION
KEY CONTACTS
DISC REPAIR TDR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01202 489 500 DISTRIBUTION BDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0777 192 7688 Creative Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8664 3456 Curveball Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01792 652562 Discstribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0845 430 8735 Gem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800 GLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01708 725742 Ideal Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01767 689 720 Keyne Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01908 821047 Logic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471 000 Meroncourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01462 680060 Trilogy Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . +44 (0)845 456 6400 GAMES CONSOLE REPAIR Total Console Repair Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 087 19 18 17 21
Distributors of DVDs, Blu-Ray, Music CDs and Video Games
www.discstribution.com Over 100,000 Different Items to Order Online
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DISCSTRIBUTION +44 (0) 845 430 8735 Call Kevin, Ashley, Richie or Pete Accepted Payments - Paypal - Google Checkout - Credit Cards - Bank Tranfers and 30 Day Credit Accounts
DISCSTRIBUTION . . . . . . . +44 (0)845 430 8735 . . . . . . . . . www.discstribution.com GAMING ACCESSORIES
...bringing you all the right lines
GAMING ACCESSORIES Pinpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01606 558 428 LOCALISATION Partnertrans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 247731 Testronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 653 722 Universally Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 210621
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SkipDr Premier Disc Cleaner Enigma DSi Necessity Kit
STORE FITTINGS AMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01924 507217 Retail Entertainment Displays . . . . . . . 01733 239001
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or email: enquires@pinpointce.co.uk Road One, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 3QG www.pinpointce.co.uk Part of the Pinpoint Group
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DISTRIBUTION
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Tel: +00441908 821047 Fax: +00441908 821048 Email: carl@keynedistribution.co.uk web: www.keynedistribution.co.uk Unit C105, MKTWO Business Centre, 1-6 Barton Road, Water Eaton Ind Est, Milton Keynes, MK2 3HU
KEYNE DISTRIBUTION . . . . . . . 01908 821047 . . . . . . carl@keynedistribution.co.uk
MERONCOURT . . . . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1462 680060 . . . http://trade.meroncourt.co.uk
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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK DISTRIBUTION
EDITORIAL PLANNER Some of the special issues coming up in MCV, the only trade publication that covers all sectors of the market... FRIDAY DECEMBER 4th
TERRITORY REPORT: INDIA India is one of the most interesting markets for video games in the world. Despite rife piracy and under-developed infrastructure, India’s video games industry continues to grow – not least in terms of mobile. MCV takes a closer look at one of the world’s most intriguing emerging markets.
CHRISTMAS GAMES MARKETING The festive period is upon us and the major publishers are preparing their Q4 marketing campaigns to ensure their latest titles are on the Christmas lists of everyone and anyone. MCV takes a look at the latest marketing initiatives dominating the sector, from extensive TV activity to shopping centre tours. FRIDAY DECEMBER 11th
SPORTS GENRE FOCUS From the ongoing battle between FIFA and PES to the rise of more unorthodox titles such as Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games, the sports genre has never been stronger. We look at the key titles from this popular sector that are certain to be filling consumers’ stockings this Christmas.
ANNUAL RETAIL SURVEY MCV publishes the results of its annual retail survey, quizzing a huge number of retailers for their views on the games industry in 2009. We’ll ask retailers which products have been key, how confident they are in their business and their thoughts on what the next 12 months have in store.
NOVEMBER CHARTS We take an in-depth look at the games industry’s performance during the busiest month of the year. With more new releases hitting shelves than in any other month, including blockbusters such as Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed II, which titles dominated sales? Were there any surprise hits? And which September and October releases, such as FIFA, PES and Guitar Hero, continue to hold their own as the battle for Christmas No.1 heats up? FRIDAY DECEMBER 18th
REVIEW OF THE YEAR It has been a dramatic year for the UK video games industry – from a brand new PEGI rating system to significant mergers and acquisitions, involving the likes of Eidos and Midway. In this special feature, MCV runs through the highs and lows of 2009 and takes a close look at what we can expect from 2010. FRIDAY JANUARY 8th 2010
50 THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2010 Let’s face it, 2009 wasn’t the easiest year, but with so many major blockbusters planned for 2010 – and in the first quarter as well – there is still plenty to look forward to. To prove it, MCV will list 50 things that you should be looking anticipating in the New Year, and if you’ve got any suggestions, then why not let us know?
FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: LOGIC 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471000 . . . . . . . . . . . www.uksales@logic3.com
CHRIS.DRING@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK
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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR DISTRIBUTION
Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 8,000 request-only subscribers every month.
STUDIOS Epic Games ...................................................+1 919 870 1516 nDreams...........................................................01252 375754 Realtime Worlds ...............................+44 (0) 1382 202 821 Razorback ...........................................www.razorback.co.uk Stainless Games.......................jobs@stainlessgames.com
CURVEBALL LEISURE . . . . . . 01792 652526 . . . . . . . simonbrown@googlemail.com DISTRIBUTION
TOOLS Blitz Games Studios ......................+44 (0) 1926 880 000 bluegfx ..............................................+44 (0) 1483 467 200 Crytek ........................................................+49 69219 77660
SERVICES amBX UK Ltd. ...............................................www.ambx.com Ian Livingstone..................................+44 (0) 1483 421 491 Imagination Studios..............................+46 (0) 18-106930 Onteca................................................+44 (0) 151 709 0028
CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION. . . . 0208 6643456 . . . . www.creativedistribution.co.uk
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The Producers and Trilogy have joined forces to offer a full supply chain management service covering manufacturing, warehousing, fulfilment and distribution Save money - Pay in £ not € - Flexible Inventory
To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and every week in MCV) contact katie.rawlings@intentmedia.co.uk. All subscription requests should go to mcv.subscriptions@c-cms.com
Contact Rob Gross on: +44 (0)845 456 6400 – rgross@trilogy-uk.com
TRILOGY LOGISTICS . . . . +44 (0)845 456 6400 . . . . . . . . . . . . www.trilogy-uk.com
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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK STORE FITTINGS
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GEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.gem.co.uk
TOTAL DISC REPAIR. . . . . . . . . . 01202 489500 . . . . . . . . . www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk
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DISTRIBUTION
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TOTAL CONSOLE REPAIR . . . . . . 087 19 18 17 21. . . . . www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk DISTRIBUTION
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IDEAL SOFTWARE . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1767 689720 . . . . . . . . . . www.idealsoftware.net
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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK LOCALISATION
DIARY DATES ‘09 From the MCV Awards to our next Pub Quiz, here are all the essential industry dates to get in your diary…
DECEMBER GAME CONNECTION EUROPE Tuesday, December 8th – Thursday, December 10th Lyon, France www.game-connection.com PARTNERTRANS . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 247731 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.partnertrans.com
FEBRUARY
LOCALISATION
Quality Matters
CASUAL CONNECT EUROPE Wednesday, February 10th – Friday, February 12th Hamburg Congress Centre, Germany europe.casualconnect.org
At Testronic Labs, we help you produce great quality games. For us, quality means a game that exceeds the expectations of the players, a game that works on every platform and reads right in every language, a game that’s just right for its audience. We’re here to make it better.
DICE SUMMIT 2010 Wednesday, February 17th – Friday, February 19th Red Rock Casino, Las Vegas, US www.dicesummit.org
Testing on all major console, PC and iPhone platforms Functionality testing Translation and localisation Localisation testing PC compatibility Compliance testing MMO performance testing Usability / focus group testing New Player Experience (NPE) testing
MIDLANDS MCM EXPO 2010 Saturday, February 20th – Sunday, February 21st Telford International Centre www.mcmexpo.org
MARCH
TESTRONIC LABORATORIES . . . +44 (0) 1753 653 722. . . . www.testroniclabs.com
GDC 2010 Tuesday, March 9th – Saturday, March 13th Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, US www.gdconf.com
LOCALISATION
JUNE
For further information, please contact sales-tl@testroniclabs.com www.testroniclabs.com
E3 2010 Tuesday, June 15th – Thursday, June 17th Los Angeles Convention Centre www.e3expo.com
JULY CASUAL CONNECT SEATTLE Tuesday, July 20th – Thursday, July 22nd Benaroya Hall, Seattle, US seattle.casualconnect.org
AUGUST GAMESCOM Wednesday, August 18th Sunday, August 22nd Cologne, Germany www.gamescom-cologne.com
UNIVERSALLY SPEAKING . . . . . . . 01480 210621 . . . . . . . . . . . www.usspeaking.com
MCV/XBOX 360 INDUSTRY PUB QUIZ Thursday, December 3rd Sway Bar, Holborn orlaith.kennedy@ intentmedia.co.uk Taking place every three months or so at the rather swanky Sway Bar in Holborn, it brings together the market’s leading publishers, retailers and media to compete for some pretty substantial prizes – and the honour of being the biggest brains in games. It’s also a very smart networking event, with buyers and publishers, editors and agencies all rubbing shoulders at the bar.
DEVELOP INDUSTRY PUB QUIZ Monday, December 21st Sway Bar, Holborn orlaith.kennedy@ intentmedia.co.uk The game development community will reunite at the Sway Bar in Holborn this Christmas for the Develop pub quiz. Once again Develop’s Ed Fear will host the evening, as coders, testers and artists complete for pretty substantial prizes – and the honour of being the biggest brains in games. It’s also a smart networking event, with developers and outsource agencies rubbing shoulders at the bar.
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MAILBOX
Answering the Call of Duty A consumer wrote to MCV this week with his in-depth account of the battle to purchase Modern Warfare 2 on launch day – a nice insight into what 1.2 million gamers experienced in those first record-setting hours... LAST WEEK heralded the release of the latest video game title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, certain to be this year’s biggest hit. After months of hype and plenty of anticipation on the part of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 fans around the country, the big day had finally arrived. Sort of. You see, the game was due to become available on November 10th, which was actually Tuesday, but that didn’t stop eager consumers chomping at the bit all day on Monday, lighting-up internet forums with speculation about pricing and availability. And with a huge number of people seemingly desperate to get their hands on the game, a number of retailers duly obliged by selling it at midnight. So, like any gamer worth their salt, I decided to try and nab myself a copy quickly and at a bargain price – by embarking on what can only be described as a midnight run. Having decided to brave the cold weather and set-off in search of COD at 11.45pm, I drove straight past an open Blockbuster store – the staff obviously having stayed on late for the occasion. The reason I didn’t stop was because I was heading for ASDA in Bournemouth; the web had taught me that COD – which should retail at £50+ – would be available there for just £32. I certainly didn’t anticipate there being over 70 cars parked up when I arrived at 11.55pm, in a store that usually closes at midnight and whose car park would normally be desolate. Rather than risk it, I decided to follow a wise fellow shopper who said loudly on his phone that he wouldn’t be waiting in a queue “of hundreds”.
Over one million copies of Modern Warfare 2 were sold in its first day on sale
I wasn’t the only one: About ten of us ended-up in a kind-of bargain-hunting convoy of cars, all heading for some unknown MW2 Mecca. One short journey later (erm, definitely within the speed limits, Officer), we all ended up
“
GAME store in the parade, to find just 50 people in the queue – but COD on sale for around £45. That said, the store did have some great trade-in offers, which explains why the nearby Argos store – which was also selling the
Asda let me in as they were closing. The staff had definitely had enough of all the madness – and, to be honest, so had I.
at... another ASDA at around 12.15am – but, frankly, it didn’t look promising. The car park was as packed as it is during normal daytime trading hours, and when I walked into the store I was staggered to see at least 150 teen, 20-and 30something gamers forming a very long queue. I quickly retreated, walking the short distance to the new
”
game at £45 and had opened late – was completely empty. But I was looking for a real bargain, so I headed down the road to Tesco, to see what they were offering. There, I didn’t encounter any queues or car park jams and the store was surprisingly quiet. However, the game was on sale for around £40. Not bad, but not exactly the bargain
I’d hoped-for. I decided to go back to where I started, to ASDA – to see if the queue had finally subsided. When I arrived, the car park was empty and the main doors closed. I approached the main entrance and a burly security guard. My perseverance in asking how many copies they’d sold (“hundreds mate”) paid off, as I was beckoned-in by a kind member of staff. (A fellow gamer who didn't want to disappoint me, perhaps?) Hurrah for the helpful and sympathetic ASDA staff! It turns out that the store hadn’t actually sold out of the game, but the staff had definitely had enough of all the madness... and so had I, to be honest. So, I paid my £32, thanked them for serving me and retreated back home, mission complete. But did I stay-up half the night, playing the game online
like many of my fellow gaming enthusiasts undoubtedly would have done? Nah, I was completely shattered and hit the sack. At nearly 40, I'm getting too old for this malarky! Jason A. Dashwood, Bournemouth
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FOR SALES INFORMATION AND TO ORDER Tel: 0870 243 0123 quoting code DVA Email:: key.trade@tso.co.uk Web: Visit i i www.tsoshop.co.uk/dsa for f a full f list i off DSA titles. i .
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Off The Record
WWW.MCVUK.COM
This week, MCV celebrates the premiere of the fastestselling entertainment launch of all time...
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MCV 20/11/09 57
MCV takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues of the day. The current members are...
MODERN ART The days of Nicky Campbell and ex-members of Blue are over, folks: Games can now finally pull in some decent celebs to a game launch. Modern Warfare 2’s premiere last week was a shining example, as these pics show. Amongst others, you’ll find Dizzee Rascal, Gavin And Stacey’s Matt Horne, Desperate Housewives’ Jesse Metcalfe and the Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo- as well as TV funnyman Dom Joly and Goldie.
LISA MORGAN, GAME DUNCAN CROSS, ASDA MARTYN GIBBS, GAMESTATION DON MCCABE, CHIPS TIM ELLIS, HMV KEITH SHARPE, PLAY.COM SARAH JASPER, THE HUT JON BIGGS, MORRISONS AZEEM SADIQ, COMET GRAHAM CHAMBERS, AMAZON PETER WILLIS, DSGI IGOR CIPOLLETTA, SHOPTO ANTHONY STOCKER, ARGOS STEPHEN STALEY, GAMESEEK JOANNA HUNT, TESCO GURDEEP HUNJAN, SAINSBURY’S
Sponsored by
November 20th 2009
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OFF THE RECORD
SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND, SIR? So you’ve probably seen the pictures before you read this text. Indeed, if you own a pair of testicles, it’s likely taken you a good four minutes to get here. But, now you have, don’t fear: Off The Record has no desire to mock meticulously-coiffed girl band The Saturdays. More mean-spirited types, of course, would make comments about them handling these plastic Band Hero instruments because they can’t play the real thing. But MCV knows they’re a credible band who don’t need sex to sell. That’s why they stand about in parks in the middle of the day dressed as immaculate high class escorts. God bless ‘em.
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Managing Editor: Lisa Foster Lisa.Foster@intentmedia.co.uk
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Please address all enquiries to:
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MCV, Intent Media, Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford SG14 1JA.
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MCV is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation and the Periodical Publishers Association. Membership of the ABC and PPA provides our advertising partners with confidence in our circulation statements. For the 12 months ending December 2008, MCV had an average weekly net circulation of 8,833. MCV’s circulation is 100 per cent named and zero per cent duplicated.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS United Kingdom £150 l Europe £175 l Rest of the World £250 To order your subscription via Visa, Mastercard, Switch or AMEX or to make changes to your subscription details, contact mcv.subscriptions@c-cms.com or call 01580 883848.
SAXON HOUSE, 6A ST. ANDREW STREET, HERTFORD, HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND SG14 1JA Intent Media specialises in trade-dedicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets. As well as MCV, Intent publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Mobile Entertainment, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two online-only brands: CasualGaming.biz, dedicated to the growing mass market video game sector, and Licensing.biz, for everyone in the global licensing industry. It also runs a number of events including the MCV Industry Excellence Awards, the London Games Conference and the Games Media Awards.
www.intentmedia.co.uk
ISSN: 1469-4832 Copyright 2008
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When we talk, gamers listen. And with more media channels than you can shake a joystick at, including TV, press, online and DM, more people will be listening to our Christmas message than ever before. We’ve had a cracking year and we’re looking forward to a bumper Christmas. So we’d just like to thank all our publishers and store staff for your continued support and wish you all the best for 2010! GAMESTATION AND RELATED TRADE MARKS ARE OWNED BY GAMES STATION LIMITED © 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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