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THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES
Issue 567 Friday December 11 2009 £3.25
WITH THIS
ISSUE LOOK WHO’S BACK... Turn to page 3 for exclusive AvP news...
We take a special look at Nintendo’s new crossword game for DS
EVERY BUYER EVERY BRANCH EVERY INDIE EVERY WEEK
High Street battles on as new decade dawns 91 per cent of stores tell the MCV Retail Survey they have what it takes to endure 2010 by James Batchelor UK RETAILERS believe they have cracked the formula to survive the next decade – after enduring a true annus horribilis on the High Street in 2009. In a year of financial troubles, company closures and an erratic release slate, a whopping 91 per cent of retailers claimed they were confident about the future of their business in MCV’s annual Retail Survey this week – proving that it takes more than the recession to dampen the industry’s spirits. Only one per cent of companies contacted were pessimistic about their business’s prospects. Optimism was further reflected elsewhere in the survey, with 48 per cent of companies predicting their
Christmas takings would be greater than last year’s, and an additional 27 per cent believing they would match those of 2008. Activision Blizzard’s Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 dominated other polls, including retail’s Highlight of the Year with 73 per cent of the vote. 64 per cent of respondants also backed it to be this year’s Christmas No.1. The record-breaking game easily outperforming competition from the likes of Assassin’s Creed II, FIFA, PES and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Activision was just pipped to the post by EA in the Best Attitude and Quality to Retail poll, with the latter winning over 21 per cent of the vote. Elsewhere, Koch and Gem had a strong year, but it was Centresoft that was named the
This year’s MCV Retail Survery reveals that the High Street is not running scared of the economic downturn
most highly commended distributor, taking 48 per cent of votes. In the peripherals market, Mad Catz came out on top, with Venom following in a very close second. The kind words reached a halt when it came to the supermarkets, however. A third of retailers identified
price slashing on major releases at the likes of Tesco and Asda as the biggest problem facing the industry. These aggressive price points even angered twice as many retailers as the economic recession. Turn to pages 21-25 for the MCV Retail Survey 2009
INCORPORATING
DS breaks UK sales record NINTENDO DS has become the biggest-selling games hardware in UK chart history, surpassing 10 million units sold. The device hit the milestone in week 47 of this year according to GfK-ChartTrack data, taking it past the record held by Sony’s PS2. UK unit sales of PS2 stand at 10.02 million to date, whilst DS has already hit 10.05 million – with a bountiful Christmas period yet to finish. DS has been on the UK market for just four years, eight months, having launched in March 2005. PlayStation 2 launched nine years ago in November 2000. Nintendo DS has sold at a rate of over 5,700 console per day in the UK, where almost one in six people own one of the handhelds. MCV revealed last week that Nintendo Wii had hit six million UK unit sales.
Trade’s biggest night returns on April 22nd THE COUNTDOWN to next year’s MCV Awards has begun – with date, venue and categories announced. Over 600 retailers and execs from all sectors of the business will attend what is the single biggest and most prestigious event on the UK games industry calendar. Sponsors already include Nintendo, Codemasters and Premier PR, with more details on their premium
involvement in the evening due next week. The event will take place on Thursday April 22nd at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London. Several new categories will include Supermarket of the Year, Peripherals & Accessories Brand of the Year and Best Game Creative (single advertising execution). A full list of the 17 awards up for grabs and an explanation
EA Sports’ Peter Moore collected the Grand Prix prize this year
of how the lobbying procedure and voting works appears on Page 3 of this week’s MCV. “Much of what the industry loves about the MCV Awards has been retained. The venue and April timing is very popular and our judging process is once again totally transparent,” said Intent Media boss Stuart Dinsey. “But we have a few surprises in store too, and the new categories have been
driven by demand from MCV readers. It will be another sellout and probably our biggest night yet.” The MCV Awards 2010 will be managed by Kathryn Humphrey, who has joined Intent Media. Tables will be sold on a Gold, Silver and Bronze basis. Contact Kathryn.Humphrey@intent media.co.uk for more information.
PERSONNEL 24 RETAIL BIZ 25 NEW RELEASES 29 HIGH STREET 30 CHARTS 32