MCV818 January 16th 2015

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GDC 2015 Moscone Centre, San Francisco, March 2nd - 6th

info.perforce.com/MCV

GAME CONNECTION AMERICA San Francisco, March WED TUE- 5th MON 2nd SUN SAT FRI

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GET SET FOR THE YEAR AHEAD WITH OUR SPECIAL POSTER 01

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UK games retail sales up 12% to £2.3bn in 2014 Console sales top £915m O Average price of games increases to £31.43 O Points cards grow But it wasn’t all good news.

Boxed software sales slumped seven per cent to £948m. It’s the first time boxed games market income has fallen under £1bn in more than a generation.

Meanwhile, despite a significant increase in revenue, the actual number of video games, consoles and accessories that were sold last year fell six per cent. 58.6m physical video game items were

sold at retail in 2014 versus 62.6m in 2013.

Turn the page for in-depth analysis on the market performance by Chart-Track director Dorian Bloch.

PS4 ended 2014 as the UK’s No.1 console.

New eSports channel for MCVuk.com MCV is adding regular reporting on the global eSports business.

The start of February sees the launch of eSports Pro, a new e-bulletin and alerts service that will cover the pro-gaming sector around the world.

Written by launch editor Chris Higgins, eSports Pro content will strike the right balance between coverage for and about key businesses already in the space and commentary that will help anyone in games understand the sector.

Email eSportsPro@nbmedia.com to get on the launch mailing list.

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DEVELOP QUIZ

GMA’S 2015

GAMESCOM INTERFACE C l g ,G Cologne Germany y, August A g t 5th 5th-9th Cologne, Germany, London 9th

London Thursday, February 12th

The UK boxed video games market generated £2.294bn in 2014, MCV can reveal.

GfK Chart-Track says that the figure, which combines sales of boxed games, consoles and accessories, is a 12 per cent improvement over the year prior.

The increase was almost entirely down to huge sales of PS4 and Xbox One, with £915m generated from the sale of consoles in 2014 - that’s an increase of 46 per cent year-on-year.

PS4 ended the year as the UK’s No.1 games console, according to Sony.

Accessories sales shot up seven per cent to £431m, driven once again by PS4 and Xbox One peripherals as well as online points cards.

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SIGGRAPH Los Angeles, August 9th - 13th

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by Christopher Dring

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THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES

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ADVERTISE WITH US

2015 PLANNER 07

eSports Pro will profile and interview eSports’ leading names, with guides on understanding this fast-growing part of the games business and insight from the pioneers of the sector - all led by an advisory board of insiders.

From January to March, MCV will cover eSports extensively, introducing a new series of ‘Understanding eSports’ articles to help core games firms across publishing, development and retail learn and understand why competitive gaming is such an important area. (See page 9)

eSports Pro will help you understand this fast-growing part of the games business.

In February, an MCV Extra supplement will also profile leading eSports hardware that retailers can stock in order to cater for the vital PC crowd and eSports audience.

Find out more about high-profile sponsorship and advertising opportunities with eSports Pro and MCV by contacting Conor Tallon on ctallon@nbmedia.com or calling him on 01992 535 647.

PLUS 36 THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2015 WAS IT RIGHT TO CLOSE CVG?

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ANNUAL DATA 2014

2014: HOW DID WE DO? This figure is down from six per cent in 2013.

GfK Chart-Track director Dorian Bloch takes us through the 2014 UK market data for software, accessories and games consoles to find the year’s biggest winners – and losers

Q Generation 7 accessories (PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii traditional gaming accessories and hybrid toy characters, excluding digital content) were down 41 per cent and accounted for 23 per cent of all gaming accessory revenue in 2014 (excluding digital content). This figure is down from 43 per cent in 2013.

T

he overall games market (software, hardware and accessories) declined six per cent in units and climbed 12 per cent in revenue during 2014.

Revenue growth came from console hardware (up 46 per cent), which needs little explanation in the first full calendar year for PS4 and Xbox One. Those two consoles accounted for 85 per cent of all console revenue in 2014.

Growth also came from gaming accessories (up seven per cent).

To understand revenue growth within gaming accessories we need to look at a specific breakdown, since the sector covers a huge amount of product groups:

Q Generation 8 accessories (PS4, Xbox One and Wii U traditional gaming accessories and hybrid toy characters, excluding digital content) were up 217 per cent and accounted for 37 per cent of all gaming accessory revenue in 2014 (excluding digital content). This was up from 13 per cent share in 2013.

29 per cent of annual console software units were sold in December 2014, something not seen since 2000.

Q Fuelling growth for traditional gaming accessories (all gaming accessories, excluding digital content) were extra controllers, battery packs and docks, and headsets. These three product groups accounted for 57 per cent of all traditional gaming accessories (up from 52 per cent in 2013). It is clear from this result exactly what kind of products new console owners require.

Dorian Bloch, GfK Chart-Track

Q All handheld accessories (Nintendo and Sony products) were down 23 per cent and accounted for just four per cent of all gaming accessory revenue in 2014 (excluding digital content).

Q Digital content (Xbox Live, PSN and eShop digital content and online time as sold by retailers,

excluding Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo digital delivery via their own websites) was up six per cent. Digital content accounted for 37 per cent of total gaming accessories in both 2014 and 2013.

Q Hybrid toy (single characters, combination packs and characters split from software starter packs) revenue decreased two per cent with overall toy revenue share accounting for 25 per cent of all gaming accessories (excluding digital content). This was down from 28 per cent in 2013.

Q4 DOMINANCE Entertainment software revenue decreased seven per cent overall.

Console software decreased six per cent, and if we remove handheld software (which decreased 34 per cent) then home console software fell just two per cent.

Generation 8 (PS4, Xbox One and Wii U) software increased 281 per cent and accounted for 56 per cent of all entertainment software revenue (up from 14 per cent in 2013).

Overall, Generation 8 software, console and accessory sales accounted for 67 per cent of the entire revenue market in 2014, up from 31 per cent in 2013.

Last year’s Q4 was especially interesting. It was the highest

TOTAL UK SOFTWARE, CONSOLE HARDWARE & GAMING ACCESSORIES TITLE Entertainment Software Market (Units) Entertainment Software Market (Value) Games Consoles (Units) Games Consoles (Value) Gaming Accessories (Units) - Branded/Own Brand Gaming Accessories (Value) - Branded/Own Brand Entertainment Software + Console Hardware + Console/PC Games Accessories (Units) Entertainment Software + Console Hardware + Console/PC Games Accessories (Value)

January 16th 2015

2013 34.5m £1.015bn 2.9m £625m 25.2m £403m 62.6m £2.043bn

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13/12 -13% -3% +5% +38% +1% -4% -7% +7%

2014 30.2m £948m 3.5m £915m 24.9m £431m 58.6m £2.294bn

14/13 -13% -7% +21% +46% -1% +7% -6% +12%

www.mcvuk.com

2014 ANNUAL DATA

THE TOP 55 BEST-SELLING BOXED GAMES OF 2014 TITLE 01 FIFA 15 (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PC) 02 CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 03 GRAND THEFT AUTO V (PS4, XO, PS3, 360) 04 DESTINY (PS4, XO, PS3, 360) 05 WATCH DOGS (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC) 06 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION (XO, 360) 07 FIFA 14 (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PSP, PC, PS2) 08 FAR CRY 4 (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 09 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 10 ASSASSIN’S CREED UNITY (PS4, XO, PC) 11 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION (PS4, PS3, Vita) 12 TITANFALL (XO, 360, PC) 13 ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC) 14 THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEO GAME (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 15 BATTLEFIELD 4 (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 16 LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, DS, PC) 17 MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 18 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC) 19 DRIVECLUB (PS4) 20 PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 21 FORZA HORIZON 2 (XO, 360) 22 WOLFENSTEIN: THE NEW ORDER (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 23 THE EVIL WITHIN (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 24 THE LAST OF US REMASTERED (PS4) 25 WWE 2K15 (PS4, XO, PS3, 360) 26 THE CREW (PS4, XO, 360, PC) 27 HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION (XO) 28 SUPER SMASH BROS (Wii U, 3DS) 29 DISNEY INFINITY 2.0 (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360) 30 MARIO KART 8 (Wii U) 31 SOUTH PARK: THE STICK OF TRUTH (PS3, 360, PC) 32 THIEF (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 33 SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS) 34 ALIEN: ISOLATION (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 35 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 36 JUST DANCE 2015 (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii) 37 INFAMOUS: SECOND SON (PS4) 38 NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 39 LEGO THE HOBBIT (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC) 40 TOMODACHI LIFE (3DS) 41 METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES (PS4, XO, PS3, 360) 42 FORZA MOTORSPORT 5 (XO) 43 ASSASSIN’S CREED ROGUE (PS3, 360, PC) 44 POKÉMON OMEGA RUBY (3DS) 45 THE SIMS 4 (PC) 46 FROZEN: OLAF’S QUEST (3DS, DS) 47 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL (PS3, 360) 48 POKÉMON ALPHA SAPPHIRE (3DS) 49 SNIPER ELITE 3 (PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC) 50 RAYMAN LEGENDS (PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC)

2014 marked the first time 50 per cent of the year’s unit sales took place during Q4

Q4 percentage in terms of new games released during a calendar year (38 per cent). Note also that 2014 saw the lowest number of games released in a year, which helps explain this.

Furthermore, in terms of games sold, Q4 2014 accounted for 50 per cent of all unit sales from the year for the first time. 52 per cent of 2014’s entertainment software revenue was achieved in Q4. For revenue, it has been around 51 to 52 per cent for the last four years, except in Q4 2013 where it dropped to 49 per cent due to the GTA V effect. (The game came out in September.)

December 2014 was also remarkable; 28 per cent of annual entertainment software units were sold last December, something not bettered since 1998 (when it was 30 per cent). 29 per cent of annual console software units were also sold in December 2014, something not seen since 2000.

Of course, it’s important to consider the huge effect of Black Friday. Black Friday took place on November 28th, and was actually part of Week 48 - the first calendar week of December 2014.

www.mcvuk.com

With regards to units sold, Black Friday was one of two dates in 2014 that managed to break into the Top 20 best-selling entertainment software days of all time. The other was September 26th – FIFA 15’s launch date.

In terms of revenue, Black Friday 2014 was also the 13th-biggest entertainment software day on record. The Black Friday sales week was the biggest week of 2014 for entertainment software and console hardware (units and revenue), and the second biggest week of 2014 for gaming accessories (units and revenue) – Week 52 was No.1 for accessories because of a huge surge in digital content and online time sales.

NOTES

PUBLISHER EA Activision Rockstar Activision Ubisoft Microsoft EA Ubisoft Activision Ubisoft Sony EA Ubisoft Warner Bros EA Warner Bros Warner Bros Warner Bros Sony EA Microsoft Bethesda Bethesda Sony 2K Games Ubisoft Microsoft Nintendo Disney Nintendo Ubisoft Square Enix Activision Sega EA Ubisoft Sony EA Warner Bros Nintendo Konami Microsoft Ubisoft Nintendo EA Avanquest EA Nintendo 505 Games Ubisoft

UK AVERAGE SELLING PRICES

All 2014 versus 2013 comparisons are based on revenue data, unless stated otherwise. It is important

TITLE Software Consoles Games Accessories Software + Consoles + Accessories

to note that these estimates are for the UK retail physical market, extrapolated at different rates either by year or by type of product or by specific format.

These estimates cover entertainment software, console hardware and gaming accessories.

Gaming accessories does not include PC

2013 £29.42 £214.85 £15.98 £32.62

2014 £31.43 £260.44 £17.28 £39.13

gaming hardware retail upgrades such as graphics cards, hard drives, standard non-gaming keyboards and mice, webcams, soundcards, speakers or network devices and adaptors.

03

January 16th 2015

CHEAT SHEET

THE WEEK IN VIDEO GAM

THE EDITOR

Xbox and PlayStation digital games now available in HMV

SORRY MINECRAFT. YOU’RE NOT THE UK’S BIGGEST GAME

by Christopher Dring

W

riting this editorial column can, at times, feel like smashing my head against the proverbial brick wall.

I know I must sound like a record trapped on repeat, but the data and information this industry is giving out just isn’t good enough.

Not to dismiss Chart-Track’s figures. The data that we’ve printed on the front page of this issues is important to a large segment of this industry (and one that is worth £2.3bn no less). But it’s that chart on page 3 that frustrates me – the one that has FIFA 15 sitting pretty at No.1. Because I am convinced the bestselling game of 2014 was actually Minecraft.

In the box charts that game sits in sixth and 11th positions (Xbox and PlayStation editions have been separated for some reason), but it was also top of the iOS charts and pretty much dominated the Xbox Live and Google Play rankings all year and, I imagine, ruled the roost on PSN, as well.

Judging by the huge number of Minecraft books, clothes and toys, I have to assume that there really is no bigger game in the world. Yet history will tell you it was FIFA. That’s just stupid.

What’s worse, is that most of the games industry wants to share its data. It’s just a few difficult businesses that insist they can’t divulge their numbers because they’re private, or they’re public, or they’re secretive, or some other bullshit reason.

January 16th 2015

HMV has launched digital Xbox and PlayStation titles in all of its stores, the retailer has told MCV. The business started selling single SKU ESD products in its outlets in early December, and says stocking individual digital titles is ‘far easier for consumers to understand what they’re getting’ as opposed to online currency.

The company has added full 5ft bays for Sony and Microsoft in

Judging by the ridiculous amount of Minecraft books, clothes and toys, I have to assume there is no bigger game in the world.

Yet history will tell you it was FIFA. I know the real motivation as to why they’re not sharing.

It’s the same reason most companies said nothing while our industry suffered the PR disaster that was GamerGate.

It’s fear. Companies are afraid of putting their head above the parapet, of daring to speak out and being criticised for it, of opening their books and letting the world discover just how big they are (or aren’t).

But this self-interest has got to stop. 2015 is shaping up to be one to really remember. Turn to page 16 and you’ll see what I mean. But if this year is to live up to its potential, a bit of bravery is needed.

Together as an industry we can show the world how big and progressive we are.

We can stamp out misogyny, cyber-bulling and hacking.

We just need to stand up and be counted. And I mean that literally. cdring@nbmedia.com

the majority of its stores, with ‘till queue drops’ for each brand in all 133 of its outlets.

“Our new digital retail proposition provides consumers with an extensive digital games product offering from Microsoft and Sony,” says HMV games boss Phil Browes.

“The first few weeks’ sales have been strong and it is obviously resonating well with our customer base. We are looking forward to building on this throughout 2015 as we further enhance our digital offer.”

Terraria and XCOM set for Toy Fair 2015 THE rapidly growing world of video game merchandise will hit Toy Fair in London next week.

The organisers of the 2015 event have told MCV that games businesses have already signed up, including Jazwares, which will be using the event to show off its Terraria range of figures, plush toys and playsets.

Meanwhile, Esdevium Games will be back to exhibit its new wares, including the new XCOM Board Game, which includes a companion app.

04

“While Toy Fair may not be the most obvious event for the video games professionals to pay attention to, the genre is making an impact on the toy industry with a number of key launches coming off the back of video game successes,” said Natasha Crookes, director of public affairs and communications at the British Toy and Hobby Association.

“Toy Fair 2014 saw a number of high profile gaming brands branching out and partnering with major toys companies and there

www.mcvuk.com

CHEAT SHEET

MES

Market Data The quiet January release slate makes for a slow few weeks for games retail

£50m

£40m

£30m

Bandai Namco’s new hires: (left to right) Colm Bannon and Andy Robinson

£52m 1,733,975 units

£20m

£27m 926,720 units

£10m

CVG vet Robinson joins Bandai Namco

by Christopher Dring BANDAI NAMCO has recruited CVG editor Andy Robinson as its new PR executive.

Robinson was part of the CVG team for nine years. He was the site’s editor when Future announced its plans to close the publication.

Robinson joins alongside Colm Bannon, who is Bandai Namco’s customer services and community executive. He will work alongside Edwin Chuah managing customer communications, working on titles including Project CARS, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Bannon began in games as a QA tester before joining Sega’s Sonic brand team as PR and marketing assistant.

“I am thrilled to have both Andy and Colm join our team at Bandai Namco UK,” said PR and marketing director Lee Kirton.

“We have continued to deliver impressive stand-out titles and targeted campaigns and this year is going to be even bigger as we continue to engage with our community in the best way we can. The team is expanding and it’s great news for the future to welcome great talent in a changing market.”

£0m

£13m 454,477 units

Week Ending Week Ending Week Ending Dec 27th Jan 3rd Jan 10th

UK RETAIL TOP 10

1

GRAND THEFT AUTO V

2

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

3

FIFA 15

4

Far Cry 4

Ubisoft

5

The Crew

Ubisoft

6

Assassin’s Creed Unity

Ubisoft

7

Minecraft: PlayStation Edition

8

Minecraft: Xbox Edition

9

Destiny

10

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

ROCKSTAR Activision Blizzard EA

Sony Microsoft Activision Blizzard Warner Bros SPONSORED BY

is no reason for 2015 to be any different, with a number of video game inspired products to be showcased on the show floor.”

Last year’s event included toys based on Minecraft (via Character Options) and Gears of War Meccano.

Entry to Toy Fair is free provided you pre-register before the event starts at www. toyfair.co.uk. It takes place between January 20th and 22nd in London Olympia’s Grand and West halls.

www.mcvuk.com

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

1

05

AMIIBO TOON LINK (WII U)

NINTENDO

2

Amiibo Lucario (Wii U)

Nintendo

3

Amiibo Mega Man (Wii U)

Nintendo

4

Amiibo Bowser (Wii U)

Nintendo

5

Amiibo Rosalina (Wii U)

Nintendo

6

Amiibo Sonic (Wii U)

Nintendo

7

Amiibo Ike (Wii U)

Nintendo

8

Amiibo Sheikh (Wii U)

Nintendo

9

Amiibo Meta Knight (Wii U)

Nintendo

10

Amiibo Shulk (Wii U)

Nintendo

January 16th 2015

NEWS ANALYSIS CVG CLOSURE

WAS FUTURE RIGHT TO CLOSE CVG? Days before Christmas, Future announced that its iconic CVG brand would be coming to an end with the closure of the website. Critics and fans were dismayed, but was it really a wrong move? Christopher Dring speaks to Future’s head of content for film, games and music, Declan Gough

B

ack in May last year, MCV ran a story that announced Future was planning to close Computerandvideogames.com.

It came as a shock. CVG was not only very good, it was also still hugely popular. What’s more, Future had only just invested in a new CVG website.

There was a backlash and an overwhelming surge of support for the brand across social media.

CVG had been running for 33 years, and both nostalgic industry folk and the website’s loyal readers reacted with heartfelt dismay.

It was enough for Future to temporarily halt its plan. Instead, it reduced the website’s headcount and kept it going. But this proved only to be a stay of execution; just before Christmas, Future announced that CVG would be closing in February.

MORE THAN CVG CVG is the headline name in the story, but it’s not the only website to fall under Future’s axe. Edge Online and the official PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo sites, as well as the SFX and Total Film portals, were also closed as part of the process.

Instead, Future is now placing all of its entertainment content onto one website – GamesRadar+.

“We are at the end of a long process where we have been simplifying our offering from a digital point-of-view,” explains Declan Gough, Future’s head of content and marketing for film, games and music.

“It was a complicated scenario from a commercial perspective and from a user experience. We

January16th 2015

GamesRadar+ will incorporate the coverage of defunct properties CVG, SFX and Total Film

We wanted the opportunity to corral all of our great journalists together and bring them to the fore.

Declan Gough, Future

that CVG’s loyal readers will simply migrate over to the new site.

“It’s not just about CVG, we’re talking about a bunch of websites and audiences here,” says Gough.

“You can never guarantee anything, but what I do know is that gamers want to read great content, and I think our 50-plus journalists working across the globe in games can stand up against any other group of journalists.

“They are a fantastic, challenging group of people – and this is our opportunity to bring them altogether under one digital roof, and offer access to all of our content. Time will tell, but I genuinely believe that over a period of time we can migrate

had lots of different websites doing lots of different things in slightly different ways, and we actually wanted the opportunity to corral all of our great journalists together and bring them to the fore.”

GamesRadar may be a popular video games website – especially in America – but it doesn’t boast the credibility of CVG. GamesRadar is best known for its Buzzfeed-style list articles, the sort of features that get shared on Facebook and generate plenty of search engine hits. It’s not the sort of website where you’ll find deep critical analysis or long-form features or breaking news.

Future says GamesRadar+ will now incorporate some reviews and news pieces. But it’s no sure thing

06

those audiences across to the GamesRadar environment.”

Gough adds that the firm doesn’t plan to simply replicate CVG on GamesRadar+.

“It will be a new look and a new feel,” he explains. “If you check the reviews, for example, what a lot of it will be about is surfacing the many wonderful reviews that currently exist in the print products, and at the moment do not come to life digitally. I think that is an opportunity that we are criminal in not surfacing. So you will get different perspectives from different reviewers, giving people the opportunity to take as much or as little as they want from that but getting lots of different views.

“From a news perspective, there are lots of sites that generate a lot of content on a day-to-day basis, and what we have to try to do is break that down to anywhere between six and ten stories a day where we look to go behind the news. Of course, if there’s a big story, we will break it as well. But we would like to move away from that and towards the analysis side of things – maybe make better use of the Edge team in the digital space.”

BATH TIME Another major undertaking for Future has been moving out of London and uniting all of its games teams on the same floor in one office in Bath. Gough says this is part of its new way of looking at its writing talent.

“We see them as one games editorial team. The days of this almost feudal, legacy print ideology

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CVG CLOSURE NEWS ANALYSIS

CVG ran for more than three decades, transitioning from print to online only in 2004

of ‘I work for a particular brand’ is coming to an end. Yes, these people are important to those brands and those brands are important to us, but we see ourselves as a single games editorial team. That is the key thing for us with GamesRadar+ – we won’t be pulling in different directions.”

Of course, there’s no shaking the feeling that Future is making a mistake. With the notable exception of Official Nintendo Magazine, Future’s various print brands are unscathed, while the digital side of things have suffered.

Online journalists, including video experts, are the ones that have found themselves out of work. It seems archaic – surely it would be better to cut the old-fashioned ink and paper products?

“The print titles are in incredibly rude health, that’s the thing,” defends Gough. “It wouldn’t take a genius to work out that if they weren’t delivering, they wouldn’t still be here now.

“As a business, our five print brands are key pillar products for us. They are out-performing where we hoped they would be at this point in time. They have had a stellar few months. Official PlayStation and Official Xbox in particular are both producing wonderful results for us at the

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moment – long may that continue.

“For us it is not about being print or digital; it is about delivering the right content to the audience and letting them choose how they want to digest that.”

The print titles are in incredibly rude health.

It wouldn’t take a genius to work out that if they weren’t delivering, they wouldn’t still be here now.

THE RIGHT FUTURE? From a pure, cold, business point-of-view, GamesRadar+ makes sense. It is the website that produces the most popular content, and uniting Future’s movie, sci-fi and video game editorial under one umbrella brand is a sensible move. All of those great journalists, from Edge to Official Xbox, working together in one publication is something that should excite people.

But it doesn’t. Creating an IGNlike website may be what Future as a business should do, but it’s come at the cost of a publication that not only produced excellent content, but had its own character and flavour.

As it stands, Future looks as if it’s abandoning its investment in news and long-form journalism.

It will be up to GamesRadar+ to dispel this concern – to utilise its journalistic talent to do more than just list the seven best toilets in games. Because right now, it feels that what may be the right move for Future, is a step backwards for video games media as a whole.

Declan Gough, Future

07

January 16th 2015

MARKETING

[INFO] Released: January 23rd Publisher: Avanquest Developer: 1st Playable Productions Distributor: Open Contact: 01480 359 403

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

We’ve experienced firsthand the success that can be achieved from products with film tie-ins.

Battle in the Bay has been created by the same team that produced Disney’s Frozen: Olaf’s Quest so we know the gameplay will be of the highest standard.

The film has received positive reviews in other territories, so we’re confident it will be a hit in the UK, too.

Retailers who stock the game will benefit from the initial hype around the movie, and from fans who can’t wait to get their hands on the latest Big Hero 6 products.

THIS WEEK: BIG HERO 6: BATTLE IN THE BAY THE video game adaptation of Disney’s new animated blockbuster Big Hero 6 will benefit hugely from the hype around the film. Avanquest says it is going to be making the most of its relationship with the film by teaming up with other licensees for the Big Hero 6 brand.

The publisher will be working closely with its retail partners to support the title, both in-store

and online, with promotional offers. The firm is also highlighting the title across social media, as well as ensuring that the game is featured in key target publications and websites with reviews and competitions.

Furthermore, the outlet is teaming up with parent and child games website Everybody Plays, hosting online adverts which will coincide with the title’s launch.

SIMON REYNOLDS European Games Director, Avanquest

XBOX ONE FIGHTS BACK IN 2014 WITH INTENSE TV ADVERTISING This week, GameTime examines last year’s battle between Sony and Microsoft for TV superiority PS4

Xbox One

700 600 Individual TVRs

500 400 300 200 100 0

Jan-14

Feb-14

SONY has confirmed the PS4’s success in the UK as the machine outsold Microsoft’s Xbox One throughout 2014. In light of this, we examine the TV advertising strategy of the two consoles across the year.

Microsoft out-advertised Sony in terms of individual TV viewer ratings

Mar-14

Apr-14

May-14

Jun-14

Jul-14

Aug-14

Sep-14

Microsoft’s market share fell below Sony’s until June; its heaviest month of TV activity coincided with E3.

Sony started its Christmas TV campaign in September. However it was then that Microsoft’s campaign weight rose, achieving 41 per cent more individual TVRs than Sony.

(TVRs) accrued throughout 2014. In total, TV advertising for the Xbox One console amassed 3,272 individual TVRs (vs Sony’s 1,628), equating to a total games and consoles TV ad market share of over 12 per cent.

In March, Sony occupied over 15 per cent of the segment.

Oct-14

Nov-14

Dec-14

Though the Xbox One enjoyed a few spells of superiority following its price cut and the release of FIFA 15, Sony hit 1m sales in early September.

Microsoft reached the same total in late November. Global sales of the PS4 are now 18.5m, compared to the Xbox One’s 10m shipped, not sold.

MCV GameTime is provided by Generation Media 0207 255 4650 | www.generationmedia.co.uk

January 16th 2015

08

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A BRIEF HISTORY UNDERSTANDING ESPORTS

UNDERSTANDING ESPORTS

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ESPORTS For the first entry in our continuing coverage of the eSports market, Matthew Jarvis looks back at the growth of competitive gaming and sees where it could be headed in years to come

M

ultiplayer gaming has come on leaps and bounds since the days of head-tohead face-offs on arcade cabinets.

Events originally took the form of High Score challenges, such as Atari’s Space Invaders Tournament in 1980, which attracted more than 10,000 competitors.

The popularity of competitive events was then catalysed in the 1990s by the boom in PC games including StarCraft and Quake.

STEPPING UP THE GAME As the presence of professional gaming grew, a number of organisations emerged attempting to take the sector to a wider world stage. These included Major League Gaming (MLG), which was established in 2002.

Shooters such as Counter-Strike and Call of Duty have remained popular choices for those seeking competitive gaming, while fighting titles like Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom have found their own eSports home in the Evolution Champion Series – or ‘Evo’.

Matt MacDonald, senior eSports manager at Multiplay, says of the UK sector: “Right now, CounterStrike: Global Offensive is the dominant eSport in the UK in terms of both viewership and participants. Call of Duty also seems to be doing incredibly well in terms of console gaming.”

Despite the popularity of shooters, it is actually a relative newcomer to the sector – the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre – that currently holds the eSports crown.

Blizzard’s StarCraft franchise helped to establish the eSports sector

2009 title League of Legends boasted more than 27 million players daily as of last January, according to developer Riot Games, with in excess of 11 million people simultaneously watching the 2014 LoL World Championship event.

Fellow MOBA Dota 2 has also boomed in popularity since its official 2013 launch, now seeing more than 800,000 concurrent users on the Steam platform.

The exclusivity of these two titles has also meant that PC remains the top choice for pro-gamers.

LIVE AND KICKING As audience numbers have grown, so has the money on offer for the best players – and event hosts.

Valve’s annual tournament for Dota 2, The International, saw its prize pool explode from $2.9

Valve’s annual tournament for Dota 2, The International, saw its prize pool explode from $2.9 million in 2013 to a staggering $10.9 million last year.

million in 2013 to a staggering $10.9 million last year – making 2014’s instalment the biggest eSports event to date.

The birth of live streaming through services such as Twitch has opened the accessibility of eSports.

“Twitch has boosted the entire scene for everyone and created probably the first sport to be successful outside of traditional media,” explains Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell, manager of UK eSports group Team Dignitas.

71.5 million people watched pro-gaming in 2014, according to Red Bull, with viewers watching just over two hours at a time on average. Mainstream broadcaster ESPN showed 2014 finals of The International live – the first such time an eSports competition had been broadcast on TV.

COMING IN FEBRUARY A NEW OUTLET FOR eSPORTS A new channel on MCVuk.com dedicated to competitive gaming Written by experts, and guided by an advisory board of insiders Supported by a twice-weekly email newsletter sent to over 10,000 industry Get on the mailing list - email eSportsPro@nbmedia.com to register Sponsorship packages available - email ctallon@nbmedia.com for details

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

IMAGINE’S SCARBOROUGH MOVES TO KOCH Esdevium account manager joins games industry O NCSoft PR guru signed by Gamer Network KOCH MEDIA | The Saints Row publisher has made a number of hires.

DAVID SCARBOROUGH (left, above), formerly of Imagine Publishing’s games team, has joined as PR and marketing assistant.

He was at Imagine for three years, working on GamesTM before heading up X-One for a brief period. At Koch, Scarborough will be reporting to PR manager SUZANNE PANTER. “It’s been a privilege joining the talented team here at Koch Media,” Scarborough told MCV. “Retiring my cynical journalistic demeanour in favour

of a cheery PR disposition has been a daunting prospect, but jumping the fence is a fantastic opportunity. I can’t wait to further sink my teeth into the role.”

Meanwhile, DOMINIC NUCKOWSKI (left) has joined Koch as national account manager. In this role, he will be responsible for Koch’s CentreSoft account for Ireland, as well as ShopTo and Grainger Games.

Nuckowski previously held the same role at Esdevium Games. He replaces BRADLEY GOODMAN, who departed Koch Media last October.

“It’s an honour to join the team at Koch Media,” said Nuckowski.

“Video games are a new field for me, so I am looking forward to getting to grips with the industry”

GAMER NETWORK | NCSoft PR CRAIG STEPHENS has started 2015 by moving over to Gamer Network.

He will be working in the newly created role of marketing and PR manager, overseeing the growth of EGX, EGX Rezzed and GameHorizon, in addition to dealing with Gamer Network’s marketing and PR output.

Stephens joined NCSoft in 2010 as a PR manager, rising to senior PR manager in 2013.

In 2011, Stephens was on MCV’s 30 under 30 list.

“Gamer Network has a fantastic portfolio of sites and events and I’m thoroughly looking forward to growing the brands

and business with this highly successful team,” Stephens said.

MD of Gamer events DAVID LILLEY added: “Craig will help increase the profile of EGX to gamers and the industry alike, and also ensure each of our partners and exhibitors get great results from being part of the show.”

MICROSOFT | Xbox Live founder BOYD MULTERER has announced his departure from the company.

Taking to Twitter, Multerer said: “Goodbye Microsoft. It was a good run. Xbox was great. Time to do something new.”

He added that he is working on an unannounced project.

AROUND THE INDUSTRY DCMS | LYNNE KILPATRICK of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will receive an OBE. This award is in recognition of Kilpatrick’s services to the video game industry, such as her tireless work behind the scenes promoting the industry to the Government. She was also instrumental in putting together a plan for video games tax relief.

ARTCRAFT ENTERTAINMENT | MMO development veterans J TODD COLEMAN and GORDON WALTON have opened a new studio called Artcraft Entertainment.

Walton has been in games development since 1997 and has worked on the likes of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Ultima Online and The Sims Online. Meanwhile, Coleman co-founded Shadowbane

January 16th 2015

10

developer Wolfpack Studios, and formerly worked at Kingsisle Entertainment.

HIGH VOLTAGE | Developer High Voltage is opening a second studio in New Orleans.

The outfit, best known for its assistance in producing titles including Saints Row, Injustice and Mortal Kombat, will create 80 new jobs in the process.

The firm’s CEO KERRY GANOFSKY said that the developer initially considered setting up this second studio in Georgia or Flordia, but eventually settled on New Orleans as the best fit.

High Voltage will benefit from a number of local financial incentives, such as a $150,000 performancebased grant to reimburse relocation costs, workforce training programs and a digital media incentive.

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EDITORIAL CONTACTS

EDITORIAL CONTACTS WHAT WE’RE EXCITED FOR I could pretend I’m most looking forward to Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Star Wars, and Batman. But I’m not. It’s Zelda. It will always be Zelda.

Christopher Dring, Editor

Hotline Miami 2, Metal Gear Solid V, Bloodborne, Arkham Knight, Star Wars, Street Fighter V...there’s A LOT to be excited about this year.

Alex Calvin, Staff Writer

cdring@nbmedia.com

acalvin@nbmedia.com

As tragic as it undoubtedly is, I’m most looking forward to the revamped version of Dark Souls 2. What have I become?

Ben Parfitt, Associate Editor

Everything is mere distraction until Metal Gear Solid V arrives.

Bloodborne, Uncharted 4 and No Man’s Sky might help pass the time, though.

Matt Jarvis, Staff Writer

bparfitt@nbmedia.com

CALL ALEX BOUCHER ON 01992 535 647 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR EMAIL ABOUCHER@NBMEDIA.COM

mjarvis@nbmedia.com

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Finance Manager: Michael Canham mcanham@nbmedia.com

Production Executive: Elizabeth Parker eparker@nbmedia.com

Head of Design and Production: Kelly Sambridge ksambridge@nbmedia.com

Designer: Sam Richwood srichwood@nbmedia.com

Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England SG14 1JA Newbay Media specialises in tradededicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets.

As well as MCV, Newbay publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Music Week, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two onlineonly brands: Mobile Entertainment, dedicated to the growing mass market smartphone 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.

US Correspondent Erik Johnson ejohnson@nbmedia.com

Special Projects: Lisa Carter lcarter@nbmedia.com

© Newbay Media 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

The contents of MCV are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems.

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ISSN: 1469-4832 Copyright 2014

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MCV is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association. For the 12 months ending December 2009, MCV had an average weekly net circulation of 8,045. MCV’s circulation is 100 per cent named and zero per cent duplicated.

THE RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD MCV takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues in the industry. The current members are...

Charlotte Knight GAME

Steve Moore Simply Games

Jon Hayes Tesco

Ketu Patel Amazon

Sarah Jasper The Hut

Phil Moore Grainger Games

David Firth Shop Direct

Don McCabe CHIPS

Gurdeep Hunjan Sainsbury’s

Steve Thomas Xbite

Simon Urquhart Microsoft

Robert Lindsay Games Centre

Igor Cipolletta ShopTo

Dermot Stapleton Get Games

Niall Lawlor GameStop

Phil Browes HMV

Stephen Staley Robert Hennessy Gameseek John Lewis

Paul Sulyok Green Man

James Cooke Argos

Craig Watson Dixons Retail

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19

January 16th 2015

DATA DECEMBER

MONTHLY CHARTS It’s the biggest sales period of the year, and it’s the usual suspects of FIFA, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto V dominating the Top 40. Alex Calvin investigates

THIS MONTHS UPS

DECEMBER was a busy month for retail, with the festive season and Black Friday deals contributing to booming sales.

8.5m games were sold during the period, an increase of 3.9 per cent on December 2013. These sales generated 3.4 per cent more revenue year-on-year – a massive £260m was made during the month.

This is likely due to heavy price cutting around Black Friday and the weeks leading up to Christmas.

The Top Five games of the month should not come as a surprise to anyone, with usual suspects Call of Duty, FIFA, Grand Theft Auto, Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed taking the top five places.

Ubisoft’s market share rose last month, due to the sheer number of games the publisher had in stores – three of the Top Six games were produced by the firm. It also overtook Activision Blizzard in terms of overall software market share.

INDIVIDUAL FORMATS TOP 40: DECEMBER (NOV 23RD – DEC 27TH)

THE NUMBER of games sold in December is up 3.9 per cent year-on-year

UBISOFT was the No.1 publisher this Christmas with three games in the Top Ten

£260M was made from software sales last month, an increase of 3.4 per cent on last year

POKÉMON and Super Smash Bros helped increase Nintendo’s market share in December January 16th 2015

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

TITLE Grand Theft Auto V Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Grand Theft Auto V Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare DriveClub FIFA 15 Assassin’s Creed Unity Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare FIFA 15 FIFA 15 Far Cry 4 Pokémon Omega Ruby Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Assassin’s Creed Unity The Crew Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Minecraft: Xbox Edition Halo: The Master Chief Collection Far Cry 4 FIFA 15 Minecraft: Xbox Edition Just Dance 2015 LittleBigPlanet 3 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Super Smash Bros The Crew LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Destiny Far Cry 4 Assassin’s Creed Rogue Football Manager 2015 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Sunset Overdrive Forza Horizon 2 Tomodachi Life Disney Infinity 2.0 Forza Motorsport 5 The Last of Us: Remastered

12

FORMAT PS4 360 XO XO PS4 360 XO PS4 PS4 XO PS4 3DS 3DS PS4 PS4 PS3 360 XO XO PS3 XO Wii PS4 XO PS4 Wii U XO 360 PS3 PS4 360 360 PC PS4 XO XO 3DS 360 XO PS4

PUBLISHER Rockstar Activision Blizzard Rockstar Activision Blizzard Sony EA Ubisoft Activision Blizzard EA EA Ubisoft Nintendo Nintendo Ubisoft Ubisoft Activision Blizzard Microsoft Microsoft Ubisoft EA Microsoft Ubisoft Sony Ubisoft Sony Nintendo Ubisoft Warner Bros Sony Activision Blizzard Ubisoft Ubisoft Sega Warner Bros Microsoft Microsoft Nintendo Disney Microsoft Sony

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DECEMBER DATA 01

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY PUBLISHER [UNITS] LM 03 01 04 02 06 08 07 05 09 10

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TITLE Ubisoft Activision Blizzard EA Take-Two Nintendo Sony Warner Bros Microsoft Sega Disney

MARKET SHARE 17.8% 14.4% 12.6% 10.2% 10.0% 7.9% 7.2% 6.9% 2.2% 2.1%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY PUBLISHER [VALUE] LM 03 01 04 02 07 08 06 05 09 10

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TITLE Ubisoft Activision Blizzard EA Take-Two Nintendo Sony Warner Bros Microsoft Sega Bethesda

MARKET SHARE 19.0% 15.5% 14.6% 13.0% 10.3% 7.3% 6.0% 6.0% 1.5% 1.5%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT [UNITS] LM 01 02 03 04 06 07 06 08 09 10

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TITLE PlayStation 4 Xbox One Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Nintendo 3DS Wii U PC Wii PlayStation Vita Nintendo DS

MARKET SHARE 26.0% 23.3% 19.5% 11.0% 8.2% 3.6% 2.9% 2.5% 1.4% 1.3%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT [VALUE] LM 01 02 03 04 06 07 05 08 09 10

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TITLE PlayStation 4 Xbox One Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Nintendo 3DS Wii U PC Wii PlayStation Vita Nintendo DS

PRESENTS

10%

1,980

03

ALL FORMATS TOP 40: DECEMBER (NOV 23RD – DEC 27TH) 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

TITLE Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare FIFA 15 Grand Theft Auto V Far Cry 4 Assassin’s Creed Unity The Crew LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Minecraft: Xbox Edition Minecraft: PlayStation Edition DriveClub Destiny Just Dance 2015 WWE 2K15 Pokémon Omega Ruby Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Super Smash Bros Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag LittleBigPlanet 3 The Evil Within Dragon Age: Inquisition Disney Infinity 2.0 Halo: The Master Chief Collection Assassin’s Creed Rogue Forza Horizon 2 Skylanders Trap Team LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Football Manager 2015 The LEGO Movie Videogame Watch Dogs Alien Isolation Frozen: Olaf’s Quest Sunset Overdrive The Last of Us: Remastered Tomodachi Life Forza Motorsport 5 Mario Kart 8 The Sims 4 Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Pro Evolution Soccer 2015

5 SECOND FACTS

The Japanese games market decreased ten per cent in value during 2014, hitting its lowest point in 24 years

www.mcvuk.com

MARKET SHARE 31.1% 27.5% 16.0% 8.8% 7.9% 3.7% 2.2% 1.4% 0.9% 0.5%

02

FORMAT PUBLISHER PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Rockstar PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros XO, 360 Microsoft PS4, PS3, Vita Sony PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360 2K Games 3DS Nintendo 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Warner Bros Wii U, 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, PS3 Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney XO Microsoft PS3, 360 Ubisoft XO, 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, DS, PC Warner Bros PC Sega PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, DS, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Sega 3DS, DS Avanquest XO Microsoft PS4 Sony 3DS Nintendo XO Microsoft Wii U Nintendo PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Konami

Read and remember these stats so you can sound clever at the next Monday morning meeting...

95%

According to Kickstarter, Monument Valley dev Ustwo 1,980 games were has said that only five per successfully funded on the cent of downloads of the crowdfunding service in game on Android were paid 2014, generating $89.1m for – the other 95 per cent from backers of downloads were pirated 13

8.5m In the first few days of 2015, Steam saw 8.5m concurrent users – the highest Valve’s retail platform has seen

PDP design & manufacture the Afterglow Communicator PlayStation europesales@pdp.com

www.pdp.com January 16th 2015

INTERVIEW SHAUN CAMPBELL, EA

MASTER OF THE ARTS EA may have had a quieter Christmas than usual, but new UK country manager Shaun Campbell still had to oversee the fastest-selling FIFA yet, a manic Black Friday and the impending launch of a new Battlefield. Christopher Dring meets the new boss

T

here’s a perception that 2014 was a quiet year for Electronic Arts. It wasn’t.

Of course, there were a few notable absentees from its release schedule. The previously clockwork annual Q4 launches of Need for Speed and Battlefield were AWOL. And these games were certainly missed during the festive run-in.

But 2014 was also a period in which EA launched Titanfall, one of the first blockbusters of the year.

Then in the summer it released UFC, which was a brand new EA Sports property.

He adds: “Overall for 2014, we are really proud of our performance.

“When you look at the Western games market, we are the No.1 publisher on this new generation of consoles. We have upwards of ten great titles on Xbox One and PS4 and our successes has come from the quality of those games.

But it’s also been about how we took those products to market, and I’m really proud of what the teams have done.

“I’ve only been here three months and it is clear that we have a fantastic team that are passionate about what they do.”

That was swiftly followed by The Sims 4 in September, and over Christmas the firm published one of its best games yet in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

And, of course, in between those last two titles there was FIFA 15.

That game sold 2.66m units in just three months, making it the fastestselling FIFA in history.

“I officially started the Monday after FIFA launched. But I’m taking the credit,” jokes Shaun Campbell, EA’s new UK country manager.

“It’s been a big success, which you can see from the numbers and what consumers are saying. And it was voted Game of the Year by retailers in MCV – so store managers are also loving it.”

AROUND THE WORLD Australian-born Campbell joined EA UK from its Nordic base, where he managed the firm’s presence across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Baltics and Russia.

He was instrumental in setting up the Association for the Nordic

Games Industry (ANGI), and is just as eager to get involved in the wider UK industry, too.

“It’s been 11 years since I joined EA in Australia,” he recalls. “I was sales director for four and a half years. Then I went to Geneva to our European HQ, before becoming country manager for the Nordic region, a job I had for over four years. That gave me the opportunity to run the whole business and work across sales and marketing. It was an interesting market to manage because of the complexities.

“Now I’m here as country manager, and it’s my responsibility to deliver the goals that we’ve set for the UK and Ireland business, and work across the commercial and marketing teams to deliver those results.”

BATTLE SCARS Campbell’s arrival in the UK comes at an interesting time in

BETTING ON BLACK SHAUN Campbell’s first Christmas as EA’s new UK boss was an uncharacteristically quiet one for the publisher, with just Dragon Age: Inquisition hitting shelves and no Battlefield, Medal of Honor or Need for Speed on the release schedule.

The one big phenomenon that the UK experienced for the first time on Campbell’s watch was Black Friday. Yet EA was cautious about cutting prices too severely.

“It’s a US phenomenon that has hit the UK hard, and we are starting to see that in other

January 16th 2015

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markets as well,” he says.

“It’s retail-driven and it is an opportunity. But we have to think about the long-term future of our franchises. Battlefield 4 is a good example of a game that we have been able to sustain all the way through the year.

We have Battlefield Hardline coming in March, but we are still seeing new players coming into Battlefield 4. So you just have to be sensible about what you do. I get why retail wants to do it, and we will support it where we can, but we have to think about the impact on the brands.”

www.mcvuk.com

SHAUN CAMPBELL, EA INTERVIEW

SKATING LESSONS

EA UK country manager Shaun Campbell has previously managed the firm’s operations across a number of regions

EA’s history. A new management team (including CEO and fellow Australian Andrew Wilson) is beginning to improve EA’s poor public image, the firm is toying with new routes to market (such as subscription service EA Access), it is spending less money on acquiring businesses, and are now doing the thing that players really want it to do – make good games.

Take for instance Mirror’s Edge.

That is not a game associated with big sales, but its cult popularity was enough to persuade EA to create a sequel. The firm’s upcoming Star Wars title will be the third entry in the fan-favourite Battlefront series. It’s even greenlighting new IP from some of its biggest studios including the RPG Shadow Realms (from BioWare), and the as-yet-untitled multivehicle racer from Burnout creator Criterion Games.

But Campbell and EA are not talking about these projects just yet. Instead, for the team in the UK, the focus is on a certain other major blockbuster that’s due in just a few short months.

“For Battlefield: Hardline, we like to think we can break this game out beyond that core Battlefield segment,” says Campbell. “It is a very interesting take on the franchise. When people get to play

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sure we deliver on all of that. The decision to move it was made with that in mind.

“We just want to deliver the best possible experience we can and that can mean making some tough decisions. From an EA perspective, historically it may have been the case that we would say: ‘we need to get this game out the door’. But what we are seeing is the business making tough decisions to move games for the right reasons.”

Campbell is coy about discussing anything beyond Battlefield. EA has been open about its upcoming slate – Mass Effect, Mirror’s Edge, Star Wars, PGA Tour, Need for Speed and so on – but it has been careful not to over-promise with early footage or ambitious statements.

Nevertheless, the firm is feeling quietly optimistic about what it has in store for the end of 2015.

“We are really confident about this year,” Campbell concludes.

“When you look at where the platforms – Xbox One and PS4 – are at, they are in a strong place and we expect that to continue.

And if you align that with what we are working on for 2015, beyond Battlefield: Hardline, we do feel like it will be a really successful year for us. There are some great games coming.”

it, they’ll see that they still have this core Battlefield element in terms of the great multiplayer, but with this strong, episodic, cops and robbers-themed single player experience. That is very much something that can bring new players into the franchise.”

Hardline was set to be EA’s big Christmas title. But it was delayed

What we are seeing is the business making tough decisions to move games for the right reasons.

Shaun Campbell, EA

to make sure that the game is up to scratch. The launch of Battlefield 4 in 2013 was hampered by online and technical issues, which angered fans. EA is eager not to repeat that mistake.

“We delayed the game for all the right reasons,” Campbell explains.

“What we are looking to deliver is a new direction for the Battlefield franchise. [New developer] Visceral being part of it now means being able to build that strong singleplayer story, and we need to make

15

ONE of the more unusual stories of 2014 for EA was the return of Skate 3 to the UK retail charts.

A series of YouTubers put together comical videos featuring EA’s 2010 sports title. The result was a surge in demand for the title, which motivated GAME to re-stock it and for the game to return to the Top 40.

EA’s UK head Shaun Campbell says this surprise success highlights one of the many changes taking place within the games industry.

“Skate 3 has become one of those evergreen titles that just appeals to such a broad base of players,” he explains.

“They hear about it, they pick it up, it is easy to get into and great fun to play.

And it just keeps performing.

“One of the things we continue to look at is how we do get to the players that are out there. [YouTube] is a good example of something you can do to get to a market that is there, that clearly responds to things in that way.

“It is just about understanding where people are. Where are they actually purchasing? Where are they consuming information?

Where are they responding to that information? We need to react to that. We need to look at what that means in terms of going to market, and in terms of our marketing message and when we deliver that message. One of the interesting and exciting things about this industry is reacting to these changes.”

January 16th 2015

2015 PREVIEW

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36 THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

IN 2015 2015 looks set to be one of the most exciting years in gaming history. Christopher Dring lists the biggest releases, events, hardware and trends that will shape the next 12 months 1. PS4 VS XBOX ONE CONTINUES The battle between Sony and Xbox raged on during 2014. After a strong lead from PlayStation, Xbox finally garnered some momentum in November. This year it will be the battle of the exclusives in what is expected to be a far closer fight.

3. THE VR REVOLUTION ARRIVES 2014 was a big year for virtual reality: Sony unveiled its VR headset Project Morpheus at GDC while Facebook acquired Oculus Rift for $2bn. 2015 is expected to be the year that VR goes from prototype to an actual retail product.

2. THE RETURN OF MIYAMOTO Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario and Zelda, is back making games with not one but three titles – Project Guard, Project Giant Robot and Star Fox. All three are due some time this year.

4. THE NEW 3DS LAUNCHES Nintendo is looking to extend the life of its portable by releasing a new version of the console.

The New 3DS features extra buttons, a better screen, extended battery life and, best of all, an

January 16th 2015

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improved CPU for faster menus and online access.

year’s PES critically matched FIFA. Is the comeback on?

5. A BIG YEAR FOR ZELDA Two Zelda titles are coming this year. The first – a remake of the 2000 N64 classic Majora’s Mask – is coming to 3DS this spring. Yet the big one will be The Legend of Zelda HD (temporary title) - a new, open-world Zelda for Wii U.

7. THE FIRST UK TAX BREAKFUNDED GAMES 14 games have been approved for UK tax relief and we should see some of them this year. Titles include Pixelbomb’s Beyond Flesh and Blood and Chucklefish Games’ Wayward Tide.

6. FIFA VS PES For years, FIFA has been leaps above Pro Evolution Soccer critically and commercially. But last

8. STEAM MACHINES BOTHER TO TURN UP The Steam Machines represent PC gaming’s attempt to enter the

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2015 PREVIEW

02

03 living room. Xbox and PlayStation won’t be too worried, but it’s all about Valve’s new controller. The pad is designed to offer mouse and keyboard-style accuracy but in a more simplistic form. If it works, it should make PC gaming more accessible to a wider audience.

9. HALO 5: GUARDIANS As exclusives go, you don’t get bigger than this. It’s been a busy year for Halo, with remakes, mobile games and a live-action online series, but it’s really all leading up this. How can Sony compete?

10. UNCHARTED 4 Oh yes, with this one. 2013’s The Last of Us made Naughty Dog the most revered games developer in the world. And expectations are sky high for the latest in its Uncharted series.

11. RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER Lara Croft returns this Q4 in the sequel to 2013’s very good Tomb Raider reboot. This time she’s a temporary Xbox One exclusive.

12. METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN Last year’s Ground Zeroes gave Metal Gear fans a taste of what to

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13 DICE. This could be the biggest game of 2015.

expect from The Phantom Pain.

This new one takes the series into an open-world for the first time.

17. STREAMING COMES OF AGE Streaming may be redefining movies, TV and music, but it’s yet to really work in games. Sony gives it a go this year with PlayStation Now, which streams PlayStation content to various devices. Playing Uncharted without the need for a console may be enticing, but Sony must overcome challenges around pricing and latency.

13. E3 2015 Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will be rolling out their big hitters at this year’s E3. Uncharted, Zelda and Halo are all due to take centre stage. And of course, there’ll be surprises. Perhaps a new Fallout or Gears of War? What about Half-Life 3? (Oh who are we kidding?)

14. GAMESCOM 2015 The Cologne-based trade show returns between August 6th and August 9th and promises to be the biggest one yet. MCV will be there, complete with our daily magazine.

18. LOADS OF NEW IP 2015 is another year of big new IPs. Evolve, The Division, Bloodborne, Splatoon, Project CARS, The Order: 1886, Quantum Break... and that’s just to name a few. For a closer look at the big new IPs of 2015, head to page 22.

15. MCV AWARDS 2015 New awards and a new judging system are all part of this year’s MCV Awards, which take place on Thursday, April 16th. Lobbying is open now.

19. ANOTHER MAJOR YEAR FOR THE HORROR GENRE The survival horror game made a comeback in 2014 with Alien: Isolation and The Evil Within. That continues in 2015 with the return of some icons, including Resident Evil HD, Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Silent Hills and Dead Island 2.

There’s a few new IPs, too, including Dying Light and Until Dawn.

16. YEAR OF STAR WARS 2015 is a banner year for anyone in love with A Galaxy Far, Far Away.

The big moment is the movie Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, but EA is also releasing Battlefront, by Battlefield makers

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20. BATTLE OF THE BRAWLERS Fighting fans are spoilt for choice this year. There’s Street Fighter V due in Q4, while Tekken 7, Mortal Kombat X and Dead or Alive 5: Last Round are all scheduled to arrive in one form or another. Oh, and then there’s the bizarre Tekken/ Pokémon tie-up Pokken. Yep. 21. BATTLEFIELD: HARDLINE This one slipped from Christmas and is probably the biggest game of the first quarter of the year.

Hardline is a new take on the Battlefield series, featuring a cops and robbers storyline.

22. INDIES COME OF AGE This year’s line-up of indie games is the most impressive yet, and the likes of No Man’s Sky, Below, Super Hot, Rime, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, Hover, Hotline Miami 2, Volume and The Witness could even help shift some consoles.

23. CONSOLE PRICE CUTS Last year we predicted that Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U would get price reductions to win over a younger audience. Yet, much to our surprise, it was the newer machines - PS4 and Xbox One - that were slashed in price. This

January 16th 2015

2015 PREVIEW

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31 year we expect to see some price movement on 360 and PS3 (perhaps to that magic £99 price point), while Wii U should definitely see a bit of a cost reduction as Nintendo seeks to boost sales 24. ASSASSIN’S CREED COMES TO LONDON The new Assassin’s Creed is always an annual highlight, but this year’s title has an extra special meaning for us in the UK – it’s set in London. Assassin’s Creed Victory takes place during the Victorian era, so think Oscar Wilde, Jack The Ripper and Sherlock Holmes (of course he’s real).

25. BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT UK retailers voted this as their most anticipated game of 2015 in last year’s retail survey. It’s out in June, too, which will be a nice summer boost for retailers.

26. MOBAS GO TO BATTLE The huge success of League of Legends and DOTA 2 has seen every games publisher under the sun attempt a MOBA. It’s by no means a sure thing, MOBAs including Transformers Universe (Jagex) and Dawngate (EA) have failed. Yet there’s still a number of

January 16th 2015

09 due to arrive in China this month, but it’s been delayed.

promising titles making a bid for that MOBA crown in 2015. Check out Smite, Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm and 2K’s first person shooter-cum-MOBA Battleborn.

30. BOXED GAMES REBOUND Now there are over 3m PS4 and Xbox One consoles in the UK marketplace, games retailers can finally expect to see an increase in software sales. Best of all, there’s a steady steam of blockbuster content coming down the pipe.

27. ESPORTS TAKES THE UK eSports has yet to really take off in the UK, but it is growing. eSports specialist Gfinity is planning to open an eSports arena in the UK, there’s an eSports sub-group that has even been set-up at UKIE, while we are putting together an eSpots B2B product next month called eSports Pro.

31. VIDEO GAMES AT THE BIG (AND SMALL) SCREEN There are a handful of promising films based on games out this year, including Hitman: Agent 47 in August and a Ratchet and Clank movie. But it’s not all about the cinema, perhaps the most exciting project is the Halo TV series, which is produced by Steven Spielberg and is due out before Christmas.

28. HOMEFRONT IS BACK It’s changed ownership twice, but now Homefront: The Revolution is finally set to arrive courtesy of Deep Silver. The dystopian openworld shooter sees the US face-off against Korean invaders.

32. THE GAP BETWEEN MOBILE AND CONSOLE GETS SMALLER There’s been an increase in console-quality games on tablets and smartphones – such as last year’s BioShock. Expect that to continue in 2015, particularly with EA describing iPhone 6 as being ‘on par’ with PS4. Whether these devices can win over the core gamer, however, is to be seen.

29. THE CONSOLE MARKET’S ASSAULT ON CHINA CONTINUES The Chinese games market is one of the largest in the world, but for 14 years consoles could not be sold in the territory. That all changed last year and Xbox One was the first machine to reach the sector, shifting 100,000 units within its first week. The PS4 was

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33. TOP NETWORKING EVENTS There’s a good spread of events this year for all walks of the industry. There’s Games Retail 2020 for retailers, the Games Media Awards for journalists, the marketing event London Games Conference will return, as will the Develop Awards and Develop Live for the UK’s top creators. Meanwhile, a new B2B content marketplace called Interface is scheduled for Spring. Oh, and the Game 5s football tournament, plus some pub quizzes and the Women of the Year Awards. It’ll be a busy year.

35. RAINBOW SIX: SIEGE It seems everyone has a co-op shooter at the moment. But 2015 marks the year the grandfather of all co-op shooters – Rainbow Six – returns to consoles for the first time in seven years. This game sees a SWAT team face off against a group of hostage takers.

36. A YEAR OF MAJOR RPGS Whether it’s hardcore RPGs like Bloodborne and Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, or more mainstream fare like The Witcher 3 and Fable Legends, there’s plenty for the role-playing aficionado to look forward to in 2015.

www.mcvuk.com

2015 PREVIEW

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2015?

Alex Simmons, Editor-In-Chief, IGN UK Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain cannot come soon enough.

I interviewed Hideo Kojima last year and he talked off the record about things that will feature in Phantom Pain that haven’t been made public.

I’m a huge fan anyway, but hearing what Kojima has in store has me hugely excited.

Andy Payne MD, Mastertronic eSports getting bigger in Europe, and Arab gamers playing a bigger part in global gaming. I look forward to playing a small part in making this happen.

2015 is going to be great!

Antoine Molant UK Head of Marketing, Capcom Season two of The Missing and more news on the new Twin Peaks. Also being part of the industry’s on-going change. It’s an exciting time with the amount of options available to bring content to the consumer, and that’s a wave Capcom has started riding as we launch new Resident Evil titles and show more of Street Fighter V. Craig McNicol, MD Northern Europe, Koch This is the year we will launch

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England are most looking forward to a winter Escape.

The joy of being able to escape from it all in February.

And should we escape from The Escapists, what type of world are we escaping too?

Hopefully one with zombies, a bit of scavenging and the fear of Dying Light. Or maybe a trip back in time to 1886 and Victorian London to meet the mysterious Order?

It’s all a bit dark and scary so bring on the summer I say, and a chance to see real beauty, flowers, trees and fields. Let’s open our eyes, in fact lets go Beyond Eyes, as Tiger Squid and Team 17 blur the lines between gaming and art.

Dead Island 2 and bring together one of the most creative game campaigns I’ve seen for a while. Personally, I’m looking forward to the Rugby World Cup in the UK. David Firth Gaming Merchandiser, Shop Direct We are really looking forward to the great new software coming and the continued growth of PS4 and Xbox One. We will be intrigued by what Nintendo do – never write them off.

Also, we look forward to the continued evolution of the industry, whether that’s new tech like Oculus Rift or gamers starting to stream, rather than own, games.

Ed Rumley General Manager, Chillingo I believe 2015 will be the year that wearable tech takes off in the mass market and I can’t wait to see how indie devs embrace these new opportunities. Closer to home, Chillingo is working with more UK indies such as Small Impact Games and iMPOSSIBLE on Mech and Street Kart respectively, so I’m really looking forward to seeing more UK indies flying the flag on mobile next year.

David Yarnton Non-Executive Director, Gfinity Although we have a very vibrant eSports community and great players, we’ve yet to regularly crack the top rankings of World Tournaments. My wish for 2015 would be to see some UK teams rank in the Top 10 of any eSports tournament and even better would be for someone to bring home a top prize and receive positive media recognition.

Fergal Gara VP and MD, SCE UK and Ireland I’m looking forward to a prosperous 2015. There is a good chance that consumers will feel the benefits of lower inflation and both feel more optimistic and help drive the economy forward via retail.

At this point of a new hardware lifecycle, we all look expectantly to the

Debbie Bestwick MD, Team 17 People in the cold North of

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new IP that will define the generation. While we had enormous launches for both Watch Dogs and Destiny last year, it isn’t yet clear which titles we will look back on in a few year’s time as those that defined this generation. 2015 could be the year when we see those titles emerge or establish themselves more firmly as pivotal IP in the cycle.

Frazer Locke Head of Vendor Management – Video Games, Amazon Well, firstly, I got excited when I managed to pull together an A-Z of franchises for a customer research question related to the most anticipated releases of 2015, without drawing breath – exemplifying just how many great games are coming.

Secondly, I’m looking forward to the continued explosion of digital gaming and how this is changing consumer behavior. Thirdly, I’ll be interested in seeing how virtual reality develops and whether it can really capture the imagination of the general public.

And finally, the naive optimist in me is looking forward to QPR staying in the Premier League.

Gurdeep Hunjan Games Buying Manager, Sainsbury’s Industry wise, definitely VR headsets.

Personal gaming wise, Uncharted without a doubt!

And finally, I’m really looking forward to what Liverpool FC plan to do to replace the void left by Stevie G.

January 16th 2015

2015 PREVIEW Harvey Eagle UK Marketing Director, Xbox Halo 5, Harry Kane, Rise of the Tomb Raider, reduced load times for games, Windows 10, Whitstable Oyster Festival, wearables bling, E3, Below, Star Wars, Evolve, The Ashes, M-commerce, Quantum Break, Capital One Cup Final, VR. Ian Livingstone I’m looking forward to reading a front page headline of a national newspaper saying, ‘Games are good for you!’

James Cooke Buying Manager, Argos A slim next-gen console. Lots of Amiibos. The New 3DS. The word getting out on PlayStation TV. True sequels for Halo and Uncharted.

Seeing what Rockstar will do next. Whether The Avengers 2 movie will send Infinity 2.0 through the roof? Two new Pixar movies in one. And most importantly: what J.J. Abrams will do to Star Wars.

James Rowson Purchasing Director, ShopTo The continuation of what is a heated next-gen war between Sony and Xbox.

There are amazing titles inbound for 2015 that may start to determine who wins this console fight in the UK. John Clark SVP Commercial Publishing, Sega I’m still looking forward to the impact of Steam Machines

January 16th 2015

and virtual reality as I was in 2014. This year should see the continued rise of eSports, with Twitch and YouTubers bringing competitive gaming and spectating further into the mainstream. In addition, it’d be great to see how the tax breaks increase productivity and creativity.

screen at the office and calling it ‘research’ is one of the best perks of our job.

Outside working hours I am personally really looking forward to the – eventual – arrival of The Witcher 3. Oh, and is it too early to say that I’m looking forward to the summer sun?

Dr. Jo Twist CEO, UKIE More games coming with their tax credit to help us showcase the UK as a global powerhouse. We also look forward to the General Election and are confident that the new government will be supporting us as an innovative and creative blueprint for the digital economy.

Martin Defries MD, Rising Star Games The imminent announcement and then release of our major digital-only title - it’s been more than five years in the making. Months of electioneering. Limitless Citizen Smith wisdom from Russell Brand. The Rugby World Cup. Rezzed, GDC, PAX, MCM, E3, Gamescom, etc. the circle of life indeed!

Lee Kirton PR and Marketing Director, Bandai Namco A positive new year is what I look forward to with hoverboards, extended Wi-Fi on the tubes, decent honest people who care about what they do, great games from talented studios getting more support, innovative genres in games and more risks being taken and England winning the Rugby World Cup, too.

Mike Fethers Senior Buyer – Games, The Hut Nintendo now has a respectable install base in the UK for Wii U, with 2015 starting with Captain Toad and leading into Zelda, it’s a good news story. Also, with Amiibo being a huge success, it’ll be great to see more titles take advantage of that.

Microsoft stepped up in the tail end of 2014 and customer feedback has been good. With the return of strong IPs like Crackdown, it’s going to be difficult for the everyday customer to pick their format if they haven’t already.

Personally, I’m looking forwards to more indie titles being picked up and turned into monsters. Hotline Miami 2 isn’t available for pre-order anywhere but it’s going to be one of my GOTYs.

Marilena Papacosta PR and Marketing Manager Europe, Koei Tecmo While trying to momentarily forget the surreal workload that comes with it, I’m pretty confident that 2015 will be a great year for Koei Tecmo, mainly because playing an array of fantastic upcoming titles on the 50’’

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Miles Jacobson Studio Director, Sports Interactive 2015 is a very exciting year for us – not only will we have our annual game, but it will also see the release of Football Manager Online in Korea and possibly other Asian countries and, following the success of last year’s FM documentary, some other exciting projects, too. Some are games and some are not – starting with FM Top Trumps online.

I’m also looking forward to more levels for Best Fiends, more LEGO games, and titles that really show off PS4 and Xbox One. Finally, I’m working on a charity project for release this summer that I hope all the readers of MCV will get behind – details to come.

Paul Jackson CEO, Dovetail Games The things I’m looking forward to fall into three categories.

There’s the personal, which is seeing my beloved Gillingham stay in division one; there’s the professional which is catching a 40lb carp in Dovetail Games Fishing when it launches. And then there’s the personal and professional, which is getting to see some ‘real’ virtual reality.

Paul Sulyok CEO, Green Man Gaming This time last year I was hoping for Half Life 3 news...

I’m still waiting - so much so I’m having to publish my own games. I can’t wait for IdolHands and Keebles to launch in early 2015 from Green Man Loaded.

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2015 PREVIEW Peter Stone Branch Director, North Europe, Konami Having a confirmed release date for The Phantom Pain, seeing how PES progresses next year, and Arsenal doing better than fourth in the Premier League. I should get at least two of those.

Phil Browes Head of Games and Technology, HMV In December HMV launched a new digital proposition, providing consumers with an extensive digital games offering from Xbox and Sony. We are looking forward to building on this throughout 2015 as we further enhance our digital offering. We are also looking forward to a host of fantastic games with Batman and Metal Gear top of my list.

Rob Cooper UK MD, Ubisoft Obviously, I’m looking forward to seeing England win the Rugby World Cup! From an industry standpoint, it looks set to be an exciting year in terms of releases. I do, however, think that these games will come with challenges. We have many opportunities to develop our communities and speak with them, but I think there’s still work to be done. In 2015, I’m hoping that as an industry, we can work on communicating more effectively – and transparently – with consumers about the challenges that developers face in delivering the kind of complex and detailed

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universes that new-gen games offer. Hopefully, this openness will encourage more positive engagement and constructive dialogue.

And, if Huddersfield could avoid relegation as well, that would be excellent...

With that in mind, along with the continued transition towards next-gen hardware, I’m looking forward to seeing the next ground-breaking games. Also, with the recent tax breaks in the UK together with the continued support of the government, I am looking forward to cementing the UK as a world leader in video games development.

Robert Lindsay MD, Games Centre 2015 is looking set to be one of the best years ever in terms of triple-A titles, including some games we haven’t seen in a couple of years such as Uncharted and The Witcher.

Throw in a pile of new PS4 and Xbox One customers and the industry could see its best year in a long time.

Shahid Ahmad Director of Strategic Content, SCEE As a gamer, as a sci-fi fan, as someone who grew up reading Asimov and Clarke, it’s No Man’s Sky. That game touches a part of me I thought was never going to get touched again. And Hello Games knows that, and I hope they fulfil that vision for more than just the people it’s reached so far.

Rod Cousens CEO, Codemasters New games break through and the East embraces more Western content. Consoles surge on falling prices and digital revenues are meaningful. VR works this time round and is embraced widely. The industry-wide business model is a disciple of Steam and the odds of success on mobile increases.

Above all, 2015 is a high growth year supporting higher investment in creativity and engineering, drawn from British talent produced by a reformed educational structure that’s relevant for tomorrow and appeals globally.

Shaun Campbell UK Country Manager, EA The thing that excites me about the industry is that it keeps changing. In the 11 years I’ve been with EA, it has changed so much in how we think about it and how we go to market.

And that will continue. The younger generation coming in now is different in terms of how they consume media.

But that on-going change is what really excites me.

Simon Kemp General Manager, Nintendo UK 1. Amiibo has got off to a strong start with some characters selling out as fast as they can be replenished. In 2015 we will see Amiibo compatability

Roy Stackhouse General Manager, UK and Ireland, Activision Our industry continues to lead the charge in terms of pushing the boundaries of entertainment.

21

on more games – on Wii U and 3DS – delivering more new experiences.

2. Splatoon. For me this was the star of the show at E3 last year.

3. ...and Man Utd back in the Champion’s League.

Spencer Crossley UK Sales and Marketing Director, Warner The biggest year to date for WB Games, with Dying Light, Mortal Kombat X, Mad Max and, of course, Batman: Arkham Knight. Additionally with an array of titles yet unannounced alongside an eclectic portfolio of digital titles, it’s going to be an extremely busy but very successful year for the UK. Strauss Zelnick CEO, Take-Two We are looking forward to the launches of GTA V on PC and Evolve.

We also hope to see the continued growth of next-gen platforms and the ongoing advancement of our art form through leading-edge technology, rich storytelling and deep player engagement.

Tim Woodley SVP Brand and Marketing, 505 Games The continued use of emotive storytelling.

For ages, story has played second fiddle to gameplay, but last year showed that the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

Beyond that, I can’t wait for the ultimate Heist showdown between Battlefield Hardline and our 9m-unit-andcounting Payday when they go head-to-head.

January 16th 2015

2015’S NEW FRANCHISES

NEW IP FOR A NEW YEAR Now that the busy Christmas period is out of the way there’s a whole year of fresh releases to look forward to, including a number of brand new IPs. MCV checks out some of the biggest and most interesting inaugral properties hitting stores in 2015

QUANTUM BREAK

SCREAMRIDE

BELOW

Released: March 6th Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Frontier Developments Format: Xbox One Though best know for the epic sci-fi simulation title Elite Dangerous, Frontier has also been hard at work on Screamride – a more destructive take on the rollercoaster sim genre.

Released: 2015 Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Capybara Games Format: Xbox One, PC

Microsoft and Remedy’s long-awaited new science fiction action IP gives players the ability to manipulate time. It also includes a Quantum Break TV show, which will affect how fans play the title.

Capybara Games is behind this creative title announced during Microsoft’s 2013 E3 show. Permanent death and tough combat stands in the way of a tiny warrior’s exploration of a remote island.

THE ESCAPISTS

SPLATOON

Released: 2015 Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Remedy Format: Xbox One

ORI AND THE BLIND FOREST

Released: Q2 2015 Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo EAD Group 2 Format: Wii U

Released: 2015 Publisher: Team 17 Developer: Mouldy Toof Format: Xbox One, PC One of the first titles released through the ID@Xbox initiative, this prison break game is being developed by one-man UK-based team Moudly Toof.

It’s been a while since Nintendo did a major new IP. Splatoon is a team-based shooter with squid-like combatants vying to dominate maps using colourful ink.

Released: 2015 Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Moon Studios Format: Xbox One, 360 First revealed at E3 2014, Ori and the Blind Forest is a new platforming title from indie developer Moon Studios. The game is being published through Microsoft’s ID@Xbox programme.

January 16th 2015

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2015’S NEW FRANCHISES

BLOODBORNE Released: March 27th Publisher: Sony Developer: From Software/Studio Japan Format: PS4 Dark Souls studio From Software has once again teamed up with Sony’s Studio Japan for this brand new gothic – and presumably very difficult – fresh IP, which also adopts a faster pace of combat.

THE ORDER: 1886 Released: February 20th Publisher: Sony Developer: Ready at Dawn Format: PS4 This graphically impressive cover-based shooter takes players to an alternate-universe version of Victorian London, where they will be slaying monsters with the help of steampunk weaponry.

EVOLVE

PROJECT CARS

NO MAN’S SKY

UNTIL DAWN

Released: 2015 Publisher: Sony Developer: Hello Games Format: PS4

Released: 2015 Publisher: Sony Developer: Supermassive Games Format: PS4

This ambitious open-world sci-fi title boasts billions of planets for players to explore.

Developed by Sean Murray’s Hello Games, the game is finally going to be blasting off on PS4 later this year.

Originally slated for the PlayStation 3 with Move support, this horror IP is now headed to the PS4 and sees a group of friends trapped in a haunted house attempting to survive the long night.

DYING LIGHT

THE DIVISION Released: 2015 Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Massive Format: PS4, XO, PC

Released: March 20th (PS4, XO, PC), 2015 (Wii U) Publisher: Bandai Namco Developer: Slightly Mad Format: PS4, XO, Wii U, PC

Released: February 10th Publisher: 2K Games Developer: Turtle Rock Format: PS4, XO, PC

Backed by a crowdfunding effort, Slightly Mad’s community-driven racing title Project CARS has aims of taking on genre leaders Gran Turismo and Forza.

Released: January 20th Publisher: Warner Bros Developer: Techland Format: PS4, XO, PC

Winner of the Game of the Show awards at both E3 and Gamescom last year, Turtle Rock’s team-based shooter sees four players trying to take down a fifth, who is put in control of a giant and powerful monster.

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Ubisoft’s new military online shooter sees players team up to bring order to a city in the throes of a deadly virus. It’s also a showcase of Ubisoft Massive’s brand new and technically impressive Snowdrop engine.

Dead Island studio Techland’s new zombie title is a slightly different take on the undead genre, mixing in free-running elements and a day and night cycle where the flesheating monsters become far deadlier in the dark.

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January 16th 2015

INDIE INTERVIEW ANA RIBEIRO Sponsored by

PIES, PSYCHOLOGY AND PIXEL RIFT: THE STORY OF BRAZIL’S FIRST VR GAME CREATOR Ana Ribeiro gave up everything to move to the UK and start a new life developing for the Oculus Rift. Matthew Jarvis discovers her fascinating journey

A

successful business and steady wage would leave many satisfied, but Ana Ribeiro’s passion led her to give it all up and travel almost 9,000km in pursuit of her dream of becoming a game developer.

“I worked for the government for five years,” she explains. “I wanted to do something new, so I moved out and came to England. I enrolled on a three-year games course at the NFTS (National Film and Television School). My experience making games is short – I actually have a degree in psychology.”

Ribeiro also sacrificed her flourishing business selling empadas – a type of Brazilian pot pie.

“I decided to change my life and start anew,” she explains. “I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I searched for the best place in Europe to do a games course; there was Germany, and the UK. I knew English, so because

of that, and because I already liked England, I decided to come here.”

IN LOVE WITH VR It sounds like a brave move – and it is. But listening to Ribeiro discuss her upcoming game Pixel Rift, it’s clear her ambition was always set to trump the safe option. This drive is mirrored in her choice of platform for the game – the Oculus Rift VR headset.

“The first time I tried the Oculus Rift it blew my mind,” enthuses Ribeiro. “I was really motivated to work in such a strong medium. I can’t even begin to describe it – it was just such a strong experience.

“I’ve never wanted to make a game where someone has already done something like it before.

Doing something for Oculus was more of a challenge for me.

“I also didn’t want to go for a market that was already saturated like mobile or shooters; I knew

Pixel Rift sees players go on a virtual reality trip through gaming history

I would struggle to gain any attention because so many things had already been done, and it would be impossible to compete with so many big companies already in the market. Virtual reality is somewhere where everyone is trying new and interesting things.”

Created as Ribeiro’s final project for her course, Pixel Rift has already garnered much critical praise and interest – and has made Ribeiro a national icon of sorts.

“Apparently I’m the first Brazilian in the world to make a game for the Oculus Rift,” she states.

“There are lots of people in Brazil who want to make games, but very few who actually get the chance to design them.”

RIFT IN TIME Ribeiro is only at the start of her career, but it’s clear her ambition is set to take her and her creation a long way.

“I plan to do as much with Pixel Rift as I can,” she says. “I’m hoping

January 16th 2014

24

to see whether I can do something with Sony, because there’s obviously Project Morpheus as well as the Oculus Rift.”

Ribeiro adds that investors are lining up to bring the student project to a wider audience.

“I’m talking to investors and seeing how I can bring the project along,” she explains. “I hope to bring Pixel Rift out this year, so hopefully Oculus is out by the end of 2015. I’m also really interested in getting the game on Samsung’s [mobile virtual reality headset] Gear VR; the challenge will just be optimising it for phones. Even if I don’t get investment this year, I’m still going to do the game.”

And beyond that? Ribeiro reaffirms that her passion for virtual reality will continue to see her iterate on the budding platform.

“There’s a lot still to do on Pixel Rift, so I might do another game in about two years’ time,” she says.

“I’m still motivated to work in virtual reality, so, at least for now, I’m not planning to do another type of game.”

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Advanced TV hardware required. Іnitial set-up, updates, and some games and features require broadband internet (ІSP fees apply), Kinect for Xbox One and/or additional requirements.

Online multiplayer requires Xbox Live Gold (sold separately. Games sold separately. See xbox.com/xboxone

Call our specialist retail team 01279 822 822 exertis.co.uk/home exertis.co.uk/home/store

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE Adrian Hill of Pontefract-based retailer Console Yourself discusses the rising popularity of retro gaming products and the advantages of stocking them How has business been for you recently?

It’s been really good. The new consoles have encouraged a lot of people back into games.

What in particular has been selling well?

Over the Christmas period Grand Theft Auto V sold crazy well. We also do a lot of retro stock in store, which was flying off shelves during the Christmas period. People want that nostalgia feeling over

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

college down the road and they buy loads of retro stock.

Christmas, play those old games with their families on the SNES. The GameCube has sold well, too.

Why do you think retro has made a return?

I reckon that people just want to go back to the roots of games. They want to play all the platforms they missed out on.

You also sell stock online. How much of your business comes from the internet?

Quite a lot of our business is online now. We have an eBay page, which has been performing brilliantly. A lot of that retro and collectible stock sells very well over eBay. Retro has really made a comeback for us. We have a

Has your move into retro been a recent thing or have you been stocking it for a while?

We’ve always kind of had it, but

PRICE CHECK: TAUNTON

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS 1. AMIIBO TOON LINK Nintendo, Wii U

2. Amiibo Lucario Nintendo............................................................. Wii U 3. Amiibo Mega Man Nintendo............................................................. Wii U 4. Amiibo Bowser Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

CAPTAIN TOAD: TREASURE TRACKER

GRAND THEFT AUTO V Rockstar, PS4

GRAND THEFT AUTO V Rockstar, 360

Nintendo, Wii U

Deep Silver, PS3

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£29.32

£37.85

£32.85

£14.85

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£54.99

N/A

£34.99

9. Amiibo Meta Knight Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

£23.99

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10. Amiibo Shulk Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

£40

£44

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6. Amiibo Sonic Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

ONLINE

5. Amiibo Rosalina Nintend ............................................................... Wii U

SAINTS ROW IV

7. Amiibo Ike Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market

GRAND THEFT AUTO V

RESIDENT EVIL: REVELATIONS 2

SCREAMRIDE

Rockstar’s blockbuster crime title is finally landing on PC

The first episode of the new horror title will be online next month

The chaotic rollercoaster title hits both Xbox consoles in March

OUT: FEB 17TH (PS4, PS3), FEB 18TH (360, PC)

OUT: MARCH 6TH

OUT: JANUARY 27TH

January 16th 2015

IN STORE

8. Amiibo Sheikh Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

26

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MARKETPLACE

Console Yourself 12 Gillygate Pontefract West Yorkshire WF8 1PQ

it’s definitely become a focus for us in the last year or so. Everyone else has moved into the tablet and phone market, we’ve gone back to the retro stock. And it helps us stand out from the rest of the High Street.

Is there a lot of competition in your area?

Not really. The only other big game store nearby is Grainger Games, but we’re in different markets. We have our niche with the retro stuff.

Phone: 01977 695 666 Website: www.facebook.com/ ConsoleYourselfPontefract

As well as retro, do you sell more modern stock like digital codes?

Yes, we sell the DLCSoft stock for PlayStation, and we’ve recently started selling Nintendo DLC. We’ve been selling the Sony stock for a while and it’s really come into its own now. At first we didn’t really know what it was. We’d like to see Microsoft do a similar thing to DLCSoft, because at the moment we’re just stocking its points. A DLCSoft system for Microsoft would make our lives much easier.

INCOMING TITLE

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR OUTLET IN MCV? Contact acalvin@nbmedia.com or call 01992 515 303

Already we have some big games filling out the release schedule, with the likes of Evolve, The Order and the PC port of GTA V coming to stores FORMAT

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January 16th 2015

MARIO

MARIO Mario sidekick Captain Toad made his independent debut this month on Wii U. Matthew Jarvis takes a look at the best merchandise from the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom

He may be over three decades old, but Mario remains as alive in the hearts of consumers as ever.

Originally created in 1981, in the 34 years since, games starring the titular Italian plumber have sold more than 262 million units. This makes the series the best-selling video game IP of all time – and has for a long time been a popular IP for tie-in merchandise.

The wealth of accessories, clothing and other products based on Mario himself is bolstered

2015 will see a trilogy of new Mario games released for Wii U.

by the popularity of his various sidekicks. From brother Luigi, dinosaur companion Yoshi and love interest Princess Peach to series baddies Bowser and his army of Koopas, there’s little shortage of inspiration for merchandise creators.

Of course, this variety is also supported by the enduring popularity of Mario games.

Last year saw the release of Mario Kart 8, which sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide in its

PRINCESS PEACH WIRED FIGHT PAD FOR WII U Modelled on the layout of the GameCube controller, this brightly coloured pad is designed to appeal to fans of Mario’s missus, Princess Peach.

The controller works with any Wii or Wii U title that supports the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro. It’s also ideal for use in Super Smash Bros for Wii U. SRP: £24.99 Manufacturer: PDP Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822

LUIGI BOBBLEHEAD STYLUS FOR 3DS

HAMMER BROTHERS PLUSH

SUPER MARIO BROS BACKPACK

The other half of the Super Mario Brothers gets his due thanks to this adorable stylus for Nintendo’s 3DS handheld.

One of Mario’s most tricky enemies, the Hammer Bros, appear here in detailed plush recreation.

Fans can take the Italian plumber with them thanks to this bag featuring a large main pocket and a smaller front pocket.

SRP: £9.99 Manufacturer: PowerA Distributor: ILT Distribution Contact: 0845 519 7053

SRP: £22.99 Manufacturer: Sanei Distributor: Nintendo/Open Contact: 01753 483 700

SRP: £29.99 Manufacturer: Bioworld Distributor: Meroncourt Contact: 01462 680 060

January 16th 2015

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MARIO Sponsored by

O

gaming merchandise uk

first month on sale, making it the Wii U’s best-selling game to date.

Another game starring the iconic character – Super Smash Bros for Wii U – bested the record later in the year, becoming the fastestselling Wii U game in the US thanks to 490,000 units shifted in its first three days.

This success should be sure to continue in 2015, with a trilogy of new Mario-related games landing on Wii U. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, a

puzzler spin-off of 2013 title Super Mario 3D World, was released earlier this year, charting at number 16 in the UK retail games charts in its first week. DIY Mario game Mario Maker is also slated for release this year, and will allow fans to create their own levels using a range of templates from Mario’s vast video gaming history. Rounding out the trilogy is the local multiplayerfocused title Mario Party 10, the first entry in the popular series for the Wii U.

MARIO WII REMOTE PLUS Operating in exactly the same way as the Wii Remote Plus, this controller adopts a vivid red colour scheme to complement Mario’s distinctive overalls. The Wii Remote is compatible with both the Wii and Wii U consoles. Its in-built MotionPlus technology is required for titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Nintendo Land. For players looking to keep Mario company, remotes similarly modelled after Peach and Luigi are also available.

SRP: £39.99 Manufacturer: Nintendo Distributor: Open Contact: 01753 483 700

SUPER MARIO IN-EAR HEADPHONES

K’NEX BOWSER VS FIREBALLS BUILD SET

YOSHI PREMIUM FIGURINE

Players can listen in to the satisfying ‘bling’ of coins with these earbuds branded with the Mario Mushroom.

Mario’s greatest foe takes on the challenge of hot lava in this construction kit based on the Mario Kart series.

The rideable dinosaur strikes a pose in this special model. Ideal for use as a paperweight – or for squishing Goombas.

SRP: £7.99 Manufacturer: Venom Distributor: Venom Contact: 01763 284 181

SRP: £9.99 Manufacturer: K’NEX Distributor: Tomy UK Contact: 01271 336 155

SRP: £14.99 Manufacturer: Nintendo Distributor: Open Contact: 01753 483 700

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January 16th 2015

HOT PRODUCTS

Sponsored by

HOT PRODUCTS MCV takes a look at the best accessories heading to UK retail. This week, we FREQ out over a new Mad Catz headset and get to grips with a fresh set of Stealth controller skins

MAD CATZ FREQ 9 WIRELESS SURROUND HEADSET Mad Catz has bolstered its headset range with a new flagship model in its FREQ line of products.

The FREQ 9 claims to be compatible with nearly any audio source, including PC, Mac, PS4 and Xbox One, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices. It connects via a 3.5mm audio jack and also by using Bluetooth technology. A wireless adapter box (included) converts sound to Bluetooth and beams the data directly to the headset. AptX technology is utilised to reduce hiss and latency, making the quality much closer to that of a wired source.

This high-quality audio is provided by 50mm neodymium drivers, with AM3D audio support used to turn standard stereo sound into more immersive surround sound – ideal for competitive gamers looking at ways to boost their in-game performance.

Featuring a hidden boomless microphone, the FREQ 9 can be used to both chat online

in multiplayer games and take handsfree calls from a smartphone.

In addition to this, the FREQ 9 boasts digitally-controlled Active Noise Cancellation (D-ANC). This feature lets the wearer reduce unwanted background noise, meaning quieter audio can be heard. The noise cancellation works alongside Binaural Monitoring, which monitors ambient audio and allows users to turn on a ‘listenthrough’ mode in order to once again hear outside of the headset.

The FREQ 9 comes with a companion app for Android and iOS, allowing users to activate features on their headset and track battery level via their phone.

[INFO] RRP: £299 Release Date: January 2015 Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822

STEALTH SX112 GAME GRIPS FOR XBOX ONE Peripherals manufacturer Accessories 4 Technology has brought its range of Stealth controller grip add-ons to Microsoft’s latest console.

The Stealth SX112 Game Grips for Xbox One pack contains two game grips, which add improved friction to the sides of the Xbox One pad.

Four thumb grips are also included, which specifically aim to boost the level of control offered by the controller’s two analogue sticks.

The six included jackets are moulded from silicone, which is utilised to enhance grip and control during long gaming sessions, or while playing particularly fast-paced titles that require precision.

January 16th 2015

30

A4T claims that the entire controller will be improved using the skins, without any control buttons, triggers or the pad’s battery area being restricted by the add-ons.

In addition to boosting players’ gaming performance, the rubber pieces double up as protection for the controller, providing resistance against scuffs and scratches. With gamers wishing to safeguard their high-tech investment, this is a must.

[INFO] RRP: £9.99 Release Date: January 30th Distributor: Advantage Contact: 0121 506 9585

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OK MEDIA brings a wealth of expertise to the marketplace having previously been part of the Warner Music group.

We have pro-actively developed extensive knowledge of the games industry working with companies of all sizes.

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These now include limited edition print and packaging, pick pack and ship services from our new 12, 000 pallet capacity warehouse, licensing solutions for Germany, BluRay (3D) / USB stick duplication and serialised credit card style products (including point of sale activation cards), reverse logistics and a wide range of print and P.O.S. solutions.

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DIRECTORY

ENQUIRIES CONOR TALLON Tel: 01992 535647 ctallon@nbmedia.com

FINK

CREATIVE

DISTRIBUTION

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT

Artworking Mastertronic Brand Identity Ukie Localisation Rising Star Games Advertising BBFC Website Design Deep Silver Exhibition Bethesda Illustration Appynation Digital Media IntentMedia Charity GamesAid Banners & Takeovers Konami Packaging Design Just Flight Email: info@finkcreative.com CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 208 6643456 ENARXIS DYNAMIC MEDIA

Tel: +44 (0)203 137 3781

Web: www.finkcreative.com DISTRIBUTION

email: sales@click-entertainment.com

CURVEBALL LEISURE

Web: www.creativedistribution.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1792 652521

DISTRIBUTION

SONY DADC

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Web: www.curveball-leisure.com DISTRIBUTION

Empowering your creative business

Tel: +44 207 462 6200 games@sonydadc.com

www.sonydadc.com Tel: +302 1090 11900

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Web: www.enarxis.eu

Tel: +44 (0) 207 462 6200

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Web: www.sonydadc.com

January 16th 2015

DIRECTORY

GAMING ACCESSORIES

L3I

GAMING ACCESSORIES

VENOM

Accessories for use with Xbox One速 Controller Kit

Twin Docking Station

Includes 2 Rechargeable Battery Packs

Tel: + (0)1923 471 020

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ADVERTISE WITH US

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY? Web: www.venomuk.com Phone: +44 (0)1763 284181 Email: darren.scott@venomuk.com sam.phipps@venomuk.com tom.hodge@venomuk.com

CALL CONOR TALLON ON 01992 535647 OR EMAIL HIM AT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM

Tel: +44 (0)1763 284181 January 16th 2015

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Venom UK Gaming @VenomGamingUK

w w w. v e n o m u k . c o m

Web: www.venomuk.com www.mcvuk.com

INSIDER’S GUIDE

INSIDER’S GUIDE ENARXIS DYNAMIC MEDIA

DIRECTORY

WHO? Specialism: Wholesale Location: 68 Ilia Iliou Street, 117 44, Neos Kosmos, Athens, Greece

Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 8,500 subscribers every month.

Enarxis’ web presence and marketing manager Stefanos Kalpaxidis on the wholesaler’s global masterplan

FOR GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT ALEX BOUCHER ABOUCHER@NBMEDIA.COM

What projects do you currently have in the works?

Many. We have invested a lot in warehouse and logistics management systems and in technology and tools that empower our job. One of the next big steps that is in the works is our online B2B e-commerce solution.

THIS MONTH’S DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT: Epic Games .................................................. www.epicgames.com/careers

What are the biggest challenges you face?

Space. We have already acquired additional warehouse space, but the introduction of the classic toys and merchandise products at the pace we have seen has quickly exceeded our capacity.

Hopefully in the next two months another warehouse will be ready to cover our needs, as well as office space to accommodate our growing team.

What is your biggest success to date?

Thankfully we have had many successes and that’s the reason the company is growing yearon-year. If I had to pick one, I would say that our biggest success is our people. Nobody here came and stayed by chance. They all have experience in their respective fields and form a cohesive and effective team.

Tell us something about your company no one knows.

Apart from the video games business, Enarxis has a second business unit related to foods To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact aboucher@nbmedia.com

Our biggest success is our people. Nobody here came and stayed by chance. and drinks – mainly traditional Greek products. Moreover there is a third business unit, which looks after merchandise and classic toy products. These range from keychains, mugs and action figures to board games, remotecontrolled cars, racing slots and a lot more. We are continuously expanding the product range.

How did you choose your company name?

The Greek word Enarxis is the English word for ‘Start’. The formation of the company in 1999 was a new beginning for the founder John Georgakopoulos – the man who started it all.

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR COMPANY IN INSIDER’S GUIDE? PLEASE CONTACT MJARVIS@NBMEDIA.COM OR CALL 01992 515 303

WWW.DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET www.mcvuk.com

Contact: E: info@enarxis.eu W: www.enarxis.eu T: +30 210 901 1900 F: facebook.com/enarxisdynamicmedia

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January 16th 2015

FACTFILE BRAZIL Sponsored by

INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE: BRAZIL Population: 200.4 million Capital City: Brasília Currency: Real GDP (Per Capita): $11,080 KEY RETAILERS Abraão Games, Action Game, Game Mania, World Game, GameStore, Big Shop, Submarino

TOP DEVELOPERS 8D Games, GameBlox, Hive Digital, Uplay Mobile, Braza Games

TOP DISTRIBUTORS Alcateia, Incomp, NC Games, Rcell, Zap Games

PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, Disney, GameMaxx

BRAZIL is paving the way for video game success in Latin America.

According to a 2013 SuperData Research survey, Brazil’s games industry generates around $1.4 billion (£0.92bn) annually. This is more than a third – 36 per cent – of the $3.9 billion (£2.56bn) generated by the entire Latin American games market.

The impressive amount also makes the sector the fifth largest video games market in the world.

Most of Brazil’s games retail sector is digital. This is driven by the country’s 50 per cent internet penetration, almost double that of the worldwide average – 32 per cent. Mobile and social titles are driving the widespread adoption of digital; the free-to-play sector saw growth of almost a third (30 per cent) during 2013, while

pay-to-play revenues dropped by around the same amount.

Mobile has expanded to account for more than two fifths (40 per cent) of total games revenue.

On the back of this, SuperData expects digital games revenue in Brazil to surpass $2.4 billion (£1.58bn) by 2016. In addition to this, revenue for social and mobile is predicted to reach $279 million (£183.3m) and $580 million (£381m), respectively.

While mobile and social are booming, they have some way to go before traditional platforms are overtaken. The Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE) estimates that a quarter of Brazilians play electronic games. Two thirds (65 per cent) of these opt for console, while two fifths (42 per cent) prefer PC and less than one fifth (17 per cent) use mobile as their primary way to play.

Digital games revenue in Brazil is expected to surpass $2.4 billion by the end of 2015.

January 16th 2015

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BRAZIL FACTFILE

MEANWHILE IN... CHINA Chinese success story Snail Games is gearing up to expand outside of the territory with its Android OBox console CHINESE games publisher and mobile network provider Snail Games is set for global expansion.

The company, which is now the fifth largest phone service provider in China, has announced plans to bring its ‘OBox’ console to international markets, after the console took off in its home territory.

The Android-powered box will be accompanied by the similarly Androiddriven W3D handheld games console.

Snail plans to provide US retailers with a variety of hardware configurations of the machine, which includes an Nvidia K1 processor and support for 3D and 4K video playback.

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Snail also hopes to bring its successful MMO Age of Wushu to the Western iteration of the device.

The highly popular game currently boasts more than five million monthly users, primarily in China.

January 16th 2015

COMING TO MCV NEXT YEAR JANUARY 30TH

THE TOP 100 WOMEN SHAPING, GROWING AND LEADING THE UK GAMES BUSINESS z Recognising the most influential female games execs in the UK

z Lobbying and suggestions should be sent to WomenInGames@nbmedia.com (deadline December 16th)

z Published January 30th, 2015 z Following on from 2013’s Top 100 Women in Games – one of MCV’s most popular web articles of all time*

z Voted for and selected by a panel of leading peers and games industry professionals * MCVuk.com unique visitors, March 2013: 294,889

z Covering development, retail, education, technology, publishing, media, services, support and more

FEBRUARY 19TH z Ceremony takes place on February 19th in central London

z Voted for by the Top 100 and a panel of leading peers and professionals

z Networking afternoon and awards event at the Ham Yard Hotel, near Piccadilly

z Top 100 in attendance with tickets for a further 100 guests on sale in December

z Awards for Creative Inspiration, Campaigner and Pioneer

z Sponsorship opportunities guarantee you exposure and involvement in this important campaign throughout December, January and February

OFFICIAL PARTNER

FOR SPONSORSHIP / SALES ENQUIRIES CALL ALEX BOUCHER ON 01992 535 647 OR EMAIL ABOUCHER@NBMEDIA.COM

ASIA TERRITORY REPORT Sponsored by

TERRITORY REPORT: ASIA Asia now accounts for more than two fifths of the world’s video games market.

Matthew Jarvis takes a close look at three of the region’s most prosperous countries – China, South Korea and Japan

W

hile North America alone may contribute a quarter of global video games revenue, the combined force of Asian territories now dwarfs the rest of world, comprising more than 40 per cent of total games market share, according to the International Data Group.

Three of the region’s countries stand out as major players in the wider games world: China, Japan and South Korea.

The former two are, on their own, two of the top three games markets in the world, behind North America, while the latter is one of the largest countries for online and social titles in terms of audience and commercial success.

While the US may independently generate more revenue, the Asian region exceeds it in terms of audience scale – Asia Pacific has more gamers than any other region worldwide, 50 million, as opposed to North America’s 30 million, according to video game publishing services provider LAI. GAMING ON THE GO Often considered as one of the birthplaces of the console games market, Japan is actually fastbecoming a region dominated by mobile.

Market intelligence outlet CyberZ reports that mobile games generated $5.4 billion (£3.55bn) in Japan during 2013 – almost double the $3 billion (£1.97bn) recorded the year before.

While the revenue from mobile games comprised a sizable chunk – 30 per cent – of Japan’s total games market spend in 2012, by the end of 2013 mobile gaming

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the platform’s multiple form factors selling more than three million units in 2014 – the best-selling console in the region. The PlayStation Vita was the territory’s second-bestselling device, with the handheld and its Vita TV spin-off shifting over one million units last year.

had boomed to account for half of the country’s total $10.8 billion (£7.1bn) games sector value.

This expansion was driven by the wild success of games including Puzzle & Dragons and Clash of Clans.

CyberZ added its belief that the Japanese mobile sector had hit a value of $6.5 billion (£4.3bn) during 2014, with analyst Serkan Toto expecting the segment to grow to hit $8.1 billion (£5.3bn) by the end of next year.

This mobile transition may explain the struggle seen by the traditional games market in recent years.

FREEDOM TO PLAY Following a long period where foreign games consoles were banned, China has now lifted the restrictions, leading to a new market for platform holders to benefit from.

The ban was lifted in January 2014. Before this, the China Game Industry Annual Conference’s Chinese Games Party announced that the Chinese games industry generated more than $13 billion (£8.6bn) during 2013 – a rise of more than $4 billion (£2.6bn) on 2012’s $9.8 billion (£6.5bn) total.

PC is the platform of choice for Chinese gamers. Local gaming

£3.55bn Mobile games generated $5.4bn (£3.55bn) in Japan during 2013 According to Famitsu, the retail Japanese games sector fell by nearly 10 per cent in 2014, only achieving a worth of ¥368.6 billion (£2.1bn), as opposed to 2013’s ¥409 billion (£2.3bn). Hardware fell 8.5 per cent to ¥142.2 billion (£0.79bn), while software saw the hardest fall by 10.7 per cent, slumping to ¥226.4 billion (£1.26bn).

Despite the increasing competition faced by conventional home consoles, handheld devices continue to entice consumers.

Nintendo’s 3DS has consistently remained the top-selling console in Japan since its debut in 2011, with

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January 16th 2015

TERRITORY REPORT ASIA

news outlet Games In Asia predicts that more than two thirds (67 per cent) of total Chinese games revenue – $8.7 billion (£5.7bn) – is generated by PC, driven by the popularity of online titles, making China the world’s biggest PC games market.

This may now change following the relaxation on console restrictions.

Microsoft launched the Xbox One in China last September, with the box shifting more than 100,000 units in its first few days – a number far ahead of the machine’s poor sales in handheld-dominated Japan. Meanwhile, Sony’s PS4 is currently gearing up for launch in the territory within the first few months of this year.

CONNECTED NATION While China occupies the top spot in the global online games market, it is closely followed by South Korea.

Research firm IHS states that the South Korean online games sector is worth more than $2.8 billion (£1.84bn) – and will exceed $3.5 billion (£2.3bn) by the end of 2017.

Understandably, due to the massive popularity of online

10 million South Koreans closely follow eSports, with one in 10 residents owning a copy of competitive gaming title StarCraft II.

competitive titles such as Dota 2 and League of Legends in the territory, South Korea has a burgeoning PC market.

The Federal Game Institute predicts that 10 million South Koreans closely follow eSports, with one in ten people living in the country owning a copy of competitive gaming staple StarCraft II. According to the Korea Internet and Digital Entertainment Association trade body, online

JAPANESE HARDWARE CHARTS 2014

01

NINTENDO 3DS (INCL. 3DS, LL, NEW 3DS, NEW LL) UNITS SOLD: 3,153,045

NO. NAME 02 PlayStation Vita (including Vita TV) 03 PlayStation 4 04 Wii U 05 PlayStation 3 06 Xbox One

UNITS SOLD 1,147,936 925,570 604,856 450,034 45,958

THE FACTS INFO Number of Countries: 49 Dependencies: Akrotiri and Dhekelia, British Indian Ocean Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Hong Kong, Macau Population: 4.16 billion Languages: Various Currency: Various

JAPANESE SOFTWARE TOP TEN 2014

01 NO. 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

YOKAI WATCH 2: GANSO/HONKE PUBLISHER: LEVEL 5 PLATFORM: 3DS UNITS SOLD: 3,050,178

TITLE Pocket Monster Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Super Smash Bros Yokai Watch 2: Shinuchi Yokai Watch Mario Kart 8 Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru to Ruka no [...]

Kirby: Triple Deluxe Super Smash Bros

gaming comprises roughly 60 per cent of South Korea’s content exports revenue.

Like Japan, however, mobile is also a huge factor in the growth of South Korea’s games market – mobile and tablet boomed by more than 250 per cent during 2013, hitting $1 billion (£0.66bn) in revenue. In total, the South Korea games market is worth an estimated $5 billion (£3.3bn).

PUBLISHER/PLATFORM UNITS SOLD Pokémon Co./3DS 2,464,850 Capcom/3DS 2,381,177 Nintendo/3DS 2,066,022 Level 5/3DS 2,007,327 Level 5/3DS 994,346 Nintendo/Wii U 842,053 Square Enix/3DS 748,139 Nintendo/3DS 687,957 Nintendo/Wii U 478,366

TOP DEVELOPERS Square Enix, Konami, Nintendo, Sony, Sega, Platinum Games, Atlus, Capcom, Level-5, Grasshopper Manufacture, Bandai Namco, SNK, NipponIchi, Tencent Holdings, NHN Entertainment, NCSoft, Nexon

LOCAL PUBLISHERS Nintendo, Sony, Atlus, NIS, Blueside, NCSoft, Nexon, EA, Gamevil, Gameloft, Konami, Sega, Riot Games, Ubisoft KEY RETAILERS Homeplus, Sonokong, Lotte, E-Mart TOP DISTRIBUTORS Sony, Atlus, HanbitSoft, Nexon, Daewon Game Company

Japanese charts data courtesy of Famitsu

January 16th 2015

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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION Sponsored by

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OVERSEAS, THEN LOOK NO FURTHER

BELGIUM

CLD DISTRIBUTION Rue du Grand Champs 14 , B 5380 Fernelmont Belgium Tel: +32 81 83 02 02 Fax: +32 81 83 02 09 Email: infos@cld.be Web: www.cld.be home of www.dragonwar.eu & www.mawashi.eu

CYPRUS

G3 GREAT GAMES LTD 4 Gregoriou Papaflessa Street, Office 101, Engomi, Nicosia 2414, Cyprus.

Tel: +357 22 666612 Web: www.greatgames.com.cy

IRAN

SWEDEN

GAME OUTLET EUROPE AB PO Box 5083, S-650 05 Karlstad, Sweden Sales dept: ali.manzuri@gameoutlet.se Sales dept: andreas.lindberg@gameoutlet.se Purchase dept: hamed.manzuri@gameoutlet.se Purchase dept: david.nilsson@gameoutlet.se Web: www.gameoutlet.se

DC GAMES GROUP No.9, Hemmatian St., Takestan St., Sattarkhan Tehran, Iran Tel: +98-912-1014090 +98-21-44228670 Email: Bahizad@Doostan-Co.com Web: www.Doostan-Co.com

NETHERLANDS

UAE SOEDESCO B.V. Koddeweg 13, 3194 DH Rotterdam The Netherlands Tel: +31 104722462 Fax: +31 104722893 Email: info@soedesco.com Web: www.soedesco.com

ALESAYI UNITED COMPANY Video Games Distributor in the Middle East, P.O BOX 16999 Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai U.A.E. Tel: 00971 4 883 5960 Fax: 00971 4 883 5175 Email: marketing@alesayi.ae U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com

NORDIC WENDROS AB SWEDEN, NORWAY, DENMARK & FINLAND Jakobsdalsvägen 17 12653 Hägersten Sweden Phone: +46 8 51942500 Fax: +46 8 7466790 Email: HM@wendros.se LM@wendros.se Web: www.wendros.se

MCV WORLDWIDE Editorial: + 61 (0)424 967 263 Leigh.Harris@mcvpacific.com

Advertising: + 61 (0)417 084821 Joel.Vandaal@mcvpacific.com

WWW.MCVPACIFIC.COM

MORE DISTRIBUTORS AUSTRALIA AFA Interactive, Bluemouth Interactive, Five Star Games, Mindscape, Namco Bandai Partners, Turn Left Distribution BENELUX CLD Distribution, Koch Media, Gameworld Distribution B.V. CANADA E One, Importel, Just4Games, Solutions 2 Go, Vidéoglobe CYPRUS Access, Gibareio, Zilos, Nortec Multimedia CZECH REPUBLIC Cenega, Conquest, Comgad, Playman, ABC Data DENMARK Bergsala, Elpa, Impulse, Koch Media, Nordisk Film Interactive, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision FRANCE Big Ben, Innelec, Koch Media, SDO, Sodifa GREECE Zegatron, CD Media, Namco Bandai Partners, IGE, Nortec, Enarxis, Beacon HUNGARY CNG.hu/Cenega Hungary, CTC Trading, Magnew, PlayON, Stadlbauer ICELAND Sena, Myndform, Samfilm, Ormsson INDONESIA Maxsoft, Uptron, Technosolution IRELAND MSE Group, Baumex JAPAN Ajioka, Happinet, Jesnet NORWAY Bergsala, Game Outlet, Koch Media, Nordic Game Supply, Nordisk Film, Pan Vision POLAND CD Projekt, Cenega, Galapagos, LEM PORTUGAL Ecoplay, Infocapital, Koch Media, Namco Bandai ROMANIA Best Distribution SERBIA ComTrade, Computerland/Iris Mega, Extreme CC SPAIN Digital Bros, Koch Media, Namco Bandai Partners, Nobilis SWEDEN Bergsala, Koch Media, Namco Bandai, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision, Wendros, Ztorm (digital) UAE Red Entertainment Distribution, Pluto Games (LS2 Pluto), Viva Entertainment, Gameplay Entertainment, Geekay Distribution

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM January 16th 2015

44

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OFF THE RECORD

OFF THE RECORD This week we look back at some of the interesting things that the games industry got up to over Christmas to raise money for charity, and check out GAME’s advice for being healthy in the New Year

VERY EFFECTIVE FUNDING Most of us might have been busy stuffing our faces and opening presents, but gaming charity SpecialEffect was busy raising money over the Christmas period.

First up Twitch personalities QuickyBaby (right) and PeppyPepper (far right) raised £8,000 with a World of Tanks marathon on the streaming platform. Meanwhile BBC tech reporter Kate Russell (below) was sponsored to stream Elite Dangerous over the course of 14 days – including Christmas Day – and in the process raised £7,000.

And the likes of (below right, top to bottom) Indigo Pearl, Bethesda, and Konami all donated money in order to wear their Christmas jumpers, raising over £500 for the charity.

All in all a pretty tidy score!

Picture Credit: Fashot.tv

January 16th 2015

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OFF THE RECORD CHRISTMAS CHEER Special Effect wasn’t the only group raising money for a good cause this Christmas. YouTube sensation Yogscast raised over £725,000 for charity this festive season. £615,000 of this came from Yogscast’s Jingle Jam – the team ran a series of streams over Twitch where they played games and did challenges.

The gaming celebs raised a further £116,000 with its Christmas single ‘Does Santa Claus Visit Zombie Pig-men Kids in the Nether in Minecraft (At Christmas Time)?’ and limited edition festive jumpers.

This money has been donated to Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders/MSF, Fauna and Flora International, SpecialEffect and End Polio Now.

SINGING THEIR HEARTS OUT Another year, another charity single from games industry do-gooders GamesAid and its Games on Song choir.

The group this year included folks from Sony, EA, GAME and Green Man Gaming, among others, singing to raise money for a good cause.

If you haven’t picked it up already, the Games on Song Christmas charity single is available on iTunes for a mere £1.29.

THE WEEK IN 140 CHARACTERS The Tweets you might have missed in the last seven days @fevington Useless statistic because we’re having fun in SQL. 30 per cent of Xbox buyers paid for Next Day Delivery compared to five per cent of PS4 buyers.

@kezamacdonald It seems crazy me to complain about people making $ from YouTube vids when there are execs/bankers making money from actual human suffering.

Keza MacDonald, Kotaku UK,

Mike Fethers, The Hut Group, Monday December 22nd

Monday January 5th

@gamerlaw Hearing rumours that some platforms are considering asking developers to bear the EU VAT rise, rather than consumers. Troubling.

@JimSterling So Moriarty, Miller and the boys leave IGN for their own venture. Old games media getting shaken up like woah. Exciting.

Jas Purewal, Purewal & Partners, Wednesday December 23rd

Jim Sterling, Jimquisition, Monday January 5th

@SimonParkin Has there *ever* been a DDOS attack against a video game company that has occurred during school term time?

@schillingc Chris Schilling is creating I NEED £180 TO BUY AN AMBASSADOR NEW NINTENDO 3DS. Become a Patron.

Simon Parkin, freelance journalist, Saturday December 27th

Chris Schilling, freelance journalist, Tuesday January 6th

@TomPhillips151 Xbox One’s New Year resolution: 1080p

@femfreq Thanks @Intel for stepping up to lead by example and take real action in addressing rampant gender disparity within the technology industry.

Tom Phillips, Eurogamer, Thursday January 1st

Anita Sarkeesian, game critic, Wednesday January 7th

@GAMEBoston So, 2015 looks to bring some mega games our way. What are you getting? Project CARS, Mortal Kombat X, Battlefield Hardline...

@espio1 Despite the circumstances I have many, many happy memories from my time at Future and want to thank all of my former colleagues.

Andy Robinson, ex-CVG, current Bandai Namco,

GAME Boston, Friday January 2nd

January 16th 2015

Friday January 9th

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OFF THE RECORD GAMING RESOLUTIONS Christmas. A time to spend with family and eat tonnes of food (well, you couldn’t exactly get online with your games), so you’re probably looking at January as a chance to shed a few of those pounds.

Luckily for us GAME has been sharing some video game-related exercises to help get you in shape this coming year, with industry mascots Link and Master Chief showing us how to burn off those festive calories.

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