MCV833 May 15th by Future PLC

TWO MILLION AND COUNTING THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 833 FRIDAY MAY 15TH 2015

PLAYSTATION UK BOSS FERGAL GARA ON WHAT’S NEXT FOR PS4 P08

Top to bottom: Tesco’s Ferdenzi, ShopTo’s Fraser and GAME’s Knight want indie games on shelves

‘Indie developers, put your games in boxes and we will stock them’ UK retail calls on studios to consider the physical games market as release schedule dries up by Christopher Dring THE biggest names in UK retail want to stock more independentlycreated video games. Stores including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, GAME and ShopTo have told MCV that there is a real opportunity for indie games in boxes, as the number of triple-A releases landing on shelves shrinks. “There is a massive opportunity at retail to maximise sales for indie games,” said Tesco games buyer Jon Ferdenzi. “Whether it would be full price digital games through points cards or fully boxed solutions.

“I actually think the latter is a very good idea, especially for grocery at gifting periods. The price point is generally lower, and would add a lot of value to purchases if boxed with other products.” ShopTo’s head of commercial Alison Fraser added: “We would give independent games a chance on our website. “As we are a pre-order heavy retailer we would soon ﬁnd out the demand for indie titles. As there is a lack of new releases between the larger titles, there are certainly gaps to ﬁll in retail, space on the site to promote and social media to educate customers.”

As there is a lack of new releases between the larger titles, there are certainly gaps to fill in retail. Alison Fraser, ShopTo

HOW TEAM 17 IS CHANGING PUBLISHING THE BIG GAME: SPLATOON

GAME’s head of retail Charlotte Knight says the ﬁrm is committed to oﬀering the ‘widest range of gaming products’ on the market, and is always open to new partnerships. Meanwhile, the head of games at another major High Street chain believes Minecraft and Terraria are proof of the potential for indie games at retail. “There does seem to be a really solid market for a physical version of some of these digital experiences,” he said. “Some customers still like having discs. Not only have we seen Minecraft sell and keep selling, we also have Terraria, which has ticked over really well for over a year.”

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CHEAT SHEET

Market Data The market bumps up slightly thanks to the chart-topping success of Project CARS £10

£6.4m 217,496 units

£5m

£6.45m 231,552 units

£8.5m 268,234 units

22cans has struggled to fulﬁl Kickstarter pledges with Godus

Week Ending Week Ending Week Ending May 9th May 1st Apr 25th

‘Crowdfunding has waned, and that’s a good thing’ by Matthew Jarvis

UK RETAIL TOP 10

PROJECT CARS

Grand Theft Auto V

Mortal Kombat X

FIFA 15

Dying Light

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Battleﬁeld Hardline

Minecraft: Xbox Edition

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Destiny

BANDAI NAMCO Rockstar Warner Bros EA Warner Bros Activision Blizzard

KICKSTARTER is losing its popularity and that’s good news for the games industry, says 22cans. The developer came under fire from the media and consumers after its Kickstarter project – Godus – suffered development issues. The firm later admitted it may fail to meet some of the pledges it made to its backers. Head of production Andrew Walker (top right) said that a growing awareness of the challenges around crowdfunding has seen some consumers reticent to back projects – but that’s not necessarily a negative.

“There was a huge boom in crowdfunding in the games industry over the last few years, and that has waned now as people have started to understand it better,” he told MCV. “I think that’s a good thing. It’s settling down and is starting to ﬁnd its key demographic.” He added: “Crowdfunding is a perfectly valid platform for some consumers. But people who crowdfund need to be aware that they aren’t pre-ordering; they’re backing a business decision. “The industry needs to take a very clear stance on crowdfunding and all crowdfunding attempts should be open, honest and explain the risks to the consumer.”

EA Microsoft Microsoft Activision Blizzard

UK development on top as Project CARS takes No.1

SPONSORED BY

by Christopher Dring

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT (PS4)

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS4)

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (XO)

Light Blue Yarn Yoshi Woolly World Amiibo (Wii U)

Nintendo

Pink Yoshi Woolly World Amiibo (Wii U)

Nintendo

Batman Arkham Knight (PS4)

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (XO)

Bethesda

Splatoon Squid Bundle Amiibo (Wii U)

Nintendo

Yoshi’s Woolly World Inc Green Yarn Yoshi Amiibo (Wii U) Nintendo

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

May 15th 2015

BANDAI NAMCO Square Enix Bandai Namco

Warner Bros

Activision Blizzard

PROJECT CARS is the ﬁrst new IP from an independent UK studio to top the charts in four years. The racing game, developed by Londonbased Slightly Mad Studios and published by Bandai Namco, drove straight to the top of the Chart-Track Top 40 last week. This made it the ﬁrst independently-developed UK new IP to take No.1 since Splash Damage’s Brink in 2011. The game’s success follows a resurgence from UK studios in recent months. In March, independent UK studio Rebellion had two games in the Top 10 - Sniper Elite III and

Zombie Army Trilogy – while new UK studio Playtonic managed to generate £1m for its nostalgic 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee on Kickstarter in less than a day. Project CARS suﬀered a number of delays on its journey to retail, but the game has gone down well at retail and among critics, with a Metacritic score of 85. “The reaction has been overwhelmingly fantastic,” said creative director Andy Tudor. “We had a bold vision for Project CARS and we are extremely proud of what we’ve achieved. It provides a solid base to go forward from as we look to the immediate and long-term future of the franchise.”

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CHEAT SHEET

Consoles will control less than half of the UK games market this year by Matthew Jarvis THE success of PS4 and Xbox One hasn’t managed to beat back mobile’s growing dominance of the games market, says research ﬁrm Newzoo. The company estimates that console’s revenue share of the UK games industry will fall below 50 per cent for the ﬁrst time ever this year, dropping to 48 per cent. While the console sector will lose overall market share, it will still see revenue rise by 1.1 per cent versus 2014. Meanwhile, handheld revenue

THE EDITOR

is predicted to drop 25.5 per cent, with PC falling by 4.7 per cent. Personal screen gaming revenue (smartphones and watches) is expected to rise 4.4 per cent in 2015 to claim 17 per cent of the total market. Tablet – the fastestgrowing games category – will see revenue jump 10.1 per cent. “Mobile will take 28 per cent of all game spending in the UK this year as the market matures and growth rates slow down,” observed Newzoo CEO Peter Warman.

INDIE DEVS, THE HIGH STREET NEEDS YOU

was glued to Playtonic’s Kickstarter for its Banjo Kazooie spiritual sequel Yooka-Laylee. The game had a relatively modest target of £175,000, but smashed that within 40 minutes. A day later, it had passed £1m and hit every one of its stretch goals. As I write this, the game has generated £1.5m, and still has over 30 days left to run. This isn’t the ﬁrst, second – or even tenth – example of a studio Kickstarting a game in an all-but-forgotten genre, and stimulating masses of interest. Yooka-Laylee harkens back to the 3D platformers of the late 1990s, a genre that barely exists anymore. When we asked Playtonic why 3D platformers waned they suggested the industry had just moved on to the next popular genre. It’s a frustrating characteristic of the games business to all but abandon what has come before as it moves on to the next hot trend. Already it feels like the market has cast aside the last generation of consoles, despite the fact that millions of Xbox 360s and PS3s remain under TVs. Paid-for titles on mobile is another example. According to the experts, consumers are only really interested in ‘free’ games, so most developers have headed down that route - despite the contradictory success of games such as Monument Valley. It becomes a self-fulﬁlling prophecy. Stop developing paid-for mobile games, and consumers will naturally gravitate towards free-to-play. Stop making games for Xbox 360 and PS3, and sales will

Ars Technica promises to ‘pull no punches’ with new UK site by Alex Calvin THE newly-launched UK branch of consumer website Ars Technica has pledged to not ‘pull any punches’ in its coverage of the latest technology. Senior editor Sebastian Anthony (below), who has hired former GameSpot journalist Mark Walton to boost Ars’ gaming credentials, says the firm will have ‘zero fluff’ and go deeper than rival outlets. “We really try to cut through the crud to deliver deep, insightful analysis of the latest gadgets,” he told MCV. “Our readers are generally people who have a very high understanding of technology

and engineering, and so we don’t pull any punches. “Our primary focus is on delivering insightful, impartial journalism that cover our core areas of technology, science, culture, policy, gaming and automotive. We are of the rather old school opinion that if we focus on quality, really delivering a product that readers want, then the rest will follow.” Ars Technica launched in America in 1998 and the UK launch marks its ﬁrst move outside of its home market. “The UK is our second-largest audience, and our readers have always asked for more stories from the UK, Europe and the rest of the world – so here we are,” said Anthony.

Ars Technica launched its UK site on May 5th

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It’s a frustrating characteristic of the games business to all but abandon what has come before as it moves on to the next hot trend. inevitably fall. Abandon 3D platformers, and fans will find something else to play. It’s the same with physical retail. Developers are increasingly heading down the digital route, hastening the decline of the boxed market that - on last count - is still worth around £1bn annually. As a result, these retailers are crying out for content, and there’s a real opportunity for indie developers to answer that call. It’s certainly something some gamers are after. Click around a few Kickstarter campaigns and you’ll find numerous posts requesting a physical version. These indie games are also increasingly looking like triple-A products, too. Just look at the likes of No Man’s Sky, The Witness or the aforementioned Yooka-Laylee. But unlike triple-A efforts, these games don’t need to sell 300,000 units to make serious money; some don’t even need to sell 30,000. Digital remains the future of games retail. But like 3D platformers, you might be surprised at the number of people that still want to buy games the old-fashioned way. cdring@nbmedia.com

May 15th 2015

MARKETING

Bandai Namco eyes the silver screen for Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt a YouTube masthead takeover in the UK the day before the title’s launch on May 19th. “Expectations are high,” Bandai Namco UK product manager Phil Brannelly told MCV. “Preorders are high. The level of buzz and positive intentions from the industry and gamers is through the roof. “This is building into one of the most exciting launches of the year, if not the game of the year. “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is developer CD Projekt’s crowning achievement. The studio is breaking new ground and redeﬁning the single-player RPG for the new generation of consoles.”

by Alex Calvin PUBLISHER Bandai Namco has placed the cinema front and centre in its marketing push for upcoming action RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The ﬁrm advertised the title alongside The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies before Christmas and, more recently, ahead of superhero blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron. It has also been hosting The Witcher 3 Film Club with IGN, bringing back classic ﬁlms that thematically tie in with the game to cinemas, such as Predator. This is on top of TV ads alongside Game of Thrones and

[INFO] Formats: PS4, XO, PC Release Date: May 19th Publisher: Bandai Namco Developer: CD Projekt Red Distributor: Advantage Contact: 01215 069 590

The Witcher 3 is building a huge amount of prerelease hype, says Phil Brannelly

DISNEY INFINITY VS SKYLANDERS: WHO WILL WIN 2015? This week, GameTime looks to the past success of toys-to-life to see what lies ahead for this year

CH TVRs

Month 1

800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

Month 2

Month 3 759

516 475

473

504

645 650 530

557

373

331

245

DISNEY INFINITY

IT’S been a good start to the year for Disney Inﬁnity. Sales of its toys are up 56 per cent year-to-date, and there’s been plenty of coverage for the third game in the series, which adds Star Wars characters to the mix. But Activision’s rival - Skylanders – is having an equally good time;

DISNEY INFINITY 2.0

SKYLANDERS

SKYLANDERS GIANTS

SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE

of its product launches. It averaged just short of 80 children TV viewer ratings (TVRs) per month across the three-month launch period for Infinity 2.0 in comparison to Activision’s 500 CH TVRs for Trap Team. With Infinity 2.0 focusing on Marvel and the first Infinity focusing on ‘classic’ Disney characters, Disney

toy sales for the franchise have increased 44 per cent for the first five months of the year versus 2014 (data courtesy of GfK Chart-Track), and the company is expected to announce its fifth game in the series soon. Disney has historically been less active than Activision on TV in support

SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM

has always had its heritage to play oﬀ of when supporting the brand – Activision has not had this luxury. With a huge cinematic release slate this year, including Avengers, Inside Out and Star Wars, Disney will likely once again take advantage of the myriad multimedia opportunities these associations provide.

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

May 15th 2015

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INTERVIEW FERGAL GARA, PLAYSTATION UK

The ‘Station master As Sony celebrates hitting 2m PS4s sold in the UK, Christopher Dring meets UK MD Fergal Gara to discuss price wars, the next generation of PS4 owners and what has happened to all the games

“ANY PRICE WAR IN ANY MARKET CAN BE DANGEROUS” ONE thing that has defined the on-going battle between Xbox One and PS4 over the past 12 months has been a price war. Xbox One has seen its price reduced by £130 in the UK since the machine launched (a reduction aided by removing Kinect from the box). Sony hasn’t let Microsoft undercut it, however. The firm, with the help of retail, has matched the price movements of Xbox. The result has seen both consoles fall well below £300 on the High Street. It’s good for consumers, but with GAME and Xbox reporting

“THE GAMES ARE COMING” FOR all the commercial success of PS4 (and, indeed, Xbox One) there remains a dearth of titles hitting the platforms. Gara insists the games are coming, and that the relatively slow start to this generation may be the result of too many titles failing to impress at launch. “My sense is that the new platforms have opened up the ambitions of developers and the capabilities of what they can achieve,” he tells MCV. “What has then happened since has been a bit of rushing to market and a couple of not perfect launches. That’s perhaps driven some conservatism to not overly force this and make sure we get it right - there’s been an adjustment of pace. “The good news is that the ability to stick to timelines will improve as people get experience of the hardware under their belts. I have been hearing stories from around the industry that give me assurance that developers have got a better grasp on things, so we will be in increasingly good shape.” The immediate challenge for Sony, however, is this Christmas. Xbox already boasts a line-up that contains exclusive titles such as Rise of the Tomb

lower revenue numbers, has it been worth it? “Any price war in any sector in any market can be dangerous,” says PlayStation UK boss Fergal Gara. “If there is a race to zero, who wins from that? We are proud that we managed to launch at a very competitive price, and demand has held up very strongly for PS4. “Therefore, our RRP on day one is our RRP today. Yes, there are promotions that offer consumers better value from time-to-time, but it’s great that we managed to start at such a great price and it has held well.”

“BLOODBORNE TOOK US BY SURPRISE” THERE hasn’t been an especially large line-up of games for PS4 or Xbox One, but one recent title that has stood out is Bloodborne. Currently the highest rated game on the new consoles, Bloodborne is a PS4 exclusive akin to the Dark Souls series (it was developed by the same studio). The Souls series has a cult following, but the games haven’t exactly been commercial smash hits. Partly because of this, the sheer scale of Bloodborne’s sales caught Sony somewhat unawares. “It did surprise us,” says Gara. “We had expectations to do well.

May 15th 2015

We looked at the Souls series as a frame of reference, and we thought we could do better than that. We did – and then some. Relative to some of our sister territories, we were being quite ambitious, but even that proved to be conservative. “I think Bloodborne might have just landed just at the right time; it was a relatively quiet time, it was a very high quality title and a great platform differentiator for us. We were caught a little bit behind in terms of the volume, but we were able to chase it and maximise its potential.”

Raider, Halo 5 and Forza 6. But PlayStation has been tightlipped on its plans. “I won’t go into any detail now,” adds Gara. “There is plenty for gamers to get excited about already, such as Tearaway for PS4 and No Man’s Sky. That’s just the start of what is on the table right now. So I don’t have any concerns that we will have a lack of strong software for PS4 this peak.”

FERGAL GARA, PLAYSTATION UK INTERVIEW

“THERE IS MORE WE COULD DO WITH PS3, BUT PS4 IS THE FOCUS” Fergal Gara says the potential to do the same with PS3 is limited. “There is no doubt that at this stage, and with the success we have enjoyed globally, that our focus is on PS4,” he comments. “There is more that we could do with PS3 on a promotional level, but don’t expect us to do anything near to what we are doing with PS4, because that is the future.

THE rapid rise of PS4 has seemingly taken its toll on PlayStation 3, which has seen sales fall sharply since the start of the year. In previous generations of consoles, particularly with PS2, Sony has been able to reduce the cost of its older machines and sell them to younger players and families. However, UK boss

“THIS IS A KEY YEAR WHERE WE SHOULD BE REACHING YOUNGER AUDIENCES” “The toys-to-life category is looking strong this year, and the return of Guitar Hero and Rock Band will hopefully revive interest in that genre. It is perfect timing really as we head into our third Christmas. “There are other franchises that are gamer titles but are also broader and more accessible; I would pick out Star Wars Battlefront and Arkham Knight.”

WITH 2m PS4s sold in the UK, Sony has now set its sights on the next generation of players. “This is a key year where we should be reaching younger audiences,” UK MD Fergal Gara says. “We have some first-party software that can certainly reach into the younger age groups, such as Tearaway for PS4. Plus, there are games that go across the age spectrum, like FIFA.

The strength of toysto-life and revival of Guitar Hero and Rock band is perfect timing as we head into our third Christmas. Fergal Gara, PlayStation UK

“WE ARE PUTTING THE FULL WEIGHT OF PLAYSTATION BEHIND NO MAN’S SKY” PLAYSTATION’S UK boss Fergal Gara says that some of the biggest budget indie games on PS4 will receive the same sort of support as its internallydeveloped projects. Picking out No Man’s Sky as an example, Gara says these games have the potential to go beyond the usual expectations of an ‘indie’ title. “No Man’s Sky has been treated as if it was from one of our internal studios,” he says. “We have been

working very closely with the developers and bringing it into our release programme as if we had made it. We are not going to treat it any differently and we are going to put the full weight of PlayStation behind it. If it all comes together as well as expected, it will be treated like a first-party release; it is not a self-published small indie title on the platform.” It, along with other indie games, could even be released in a box.

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“These days we think increasingly of a game being a game, whether it is digital, physical or both,” says Gara. “It is more about making the right decision for the right title at the right time. “It is entirely possible that we will release some of these games together, digitally and physically, or one after another, but it will be decided on a title-bytitle basis.”

“PS3, as has been pretty well documented, was a heavily engineered machine, and there’s a limited ability to take significant cost out of it. “It will certainly be around for this year and beyond, but don’t expect it to have anywhere near as much focus in the UK as PS4. The gap between the two is very, very wide.”

“BLACK FRIDAY IS NOT GOING TO GO AWAY” ONE of the biggest sales periods for PS4 over the last 12 months was Black Friday. But Sony says that, rather than generating extra sales, the event actually had a negative impact on the rest of Christmas. “The peak season is what we expected to be, just not in the shape we expected,” says UK MD Fergal Gara. “As we learned of retail’s aspirations [for Black Friday] we raised our forecasts, but it surpassed any ideas we had. But it caused lower December numbers than we were used to.” PS4, Xbox One and a host of big games all received major price discounts over that weekend, but if it didn’t have any positive impact on sales overall, will the industry be doing it again this year? “The feedback we are getting from retail is that Black Friday is not going to go away,” says Gara. “Are there new ideas of how to approach it percolating? Yes, to some degree. But it is pretty early days in terms of having any clear ideas of exactly what shape it will take. “Black Friday came from almost nowhere. It reached similar levels of maturity to the US in its first real outing. If you look at the percentage of the total year’s sales achieved that weekend, it is very much in the ballpark of the US – and it happened over several years over there.”

May 15th 2015

THE BIG GAME SPLATOON

Inking outside the box Nintendo’s mad new Wii U-exclusive is an entirely original concept in a genre it has no experience in. Which makes Splatoon one of the most exciting games it has put out in years. Christopher Dring takes a closer look

Nintendo UK’s Nair hopes Splatoon will shift Wii U consoles

here’s a myth that Nintendo doesn’t make many new IPs. It’s not true. This year alone the platform holder has put out Boxboy, Ironfall Invasion and Codename: STEAM, and its biggest games of the last decade have all been entirely original concepts – titles like Wii Fit, Wii Sports and Brain Training. But perhaps the real reason that myth exists is that it’s been a while since Nintendo has developed a new set of characters – a ‘core’ game IP with mass-market appeal, like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon or Mario Kart. You have to go as far back as 2002, with the GameCube’s Pikmin, to find the last time Nintendo made such a game. And it’s this that makes the impending release of Splatoon –

May 15th 2015

Nintendo’s very unique take on the co-op shooter genre – so enticing. “Nintendo is ultimately focused on providing great gameplay experiences that are fun, immersive and make people smile,” says Nintendo UK marketing manager Chandra Nair. “If that idea is best realised with an existing set of characters and an existing universe then perhaps that’s the direction the project will go in. It’s all about the idea and how it’s best turned into a great game. With Splatoon it just so happens that the mechanic of travelling through ink before bursting out and shooting begged for Inklings and Octopians, and for a very different premise to what other Nintendo IP could provide. And so, we have a brand new IP.”

Splatoon is a new genre for Nintendo – it’s a shooter – but ultimately it’s what Nintendo does best: multiplayer fun. Chandra Nair, Nintendo UK

SQUIDS IN As you can probably tell from Nair’s brief description, Splatoon isn’t your typical co-op shooter. The game challenges teams of players to cover a map with paint by utilising an array of weaponry. These players – or Inklings – can also transform into squids and swim through the paint and even up walls to hide and rapidly move through the landscape. Rainbow Six, this is not. “It is a new genre for Nintendo – it’s a shooter – but ultimately Splatoon is what Nintendo does best: multiplayer fun,” explains Nair. “It feels like a Nintendo game and has all the values that you’ve come to expect. So fans are going to love it.” The media that have played the game are certainly optimistic.

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SPLATOON THE BIG GAME

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May 15th 2015

THE BIG GAME SPLATOON

MCV got hands-on with Splatoon at E3 last year, and although we only managed to play a small slice of it, we had a lot of fun. Since then, Nintendo has been showing more of the game to the press, and the response has been positive. “The first time we played Splatoon, we knew that it was good and that we had something special on our hands,” says Nair. “It’s always nice to have your suspicions confirmed and it’s been amazing to read all the great things about it since last E3. In last week’s Nintendo Direct we revealed a lot more about the game and showed once more that it does listen to its fans by committing to an update that will add a whole host of online multiplayer match options.” Indeed, it’s all well and good the media’s enjoying the game, but Nintendo needs to generate that level of optimism among its core fans. And it’s doing so by allowing Wii U owners to try it for free with its Global Firetest online game beta.

May 15th 2015

TO DYE FOR ALONGSIDE the arrival of Splatoon is a trio of Amiibo (left). There’s Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy and the Squid Amiibo toys. These unlock in-game challenges and allow gamers to access different clothing for their characters. And some of these Amiibo are already in short supply. Not bad for a set of characters without any previous history. “I genuinely don’t know what the magic element is,” says marketing manager Chandra Nair. “It’s classic Nintendo though, that spark of magic that you can’t quite explain but just is. As soon as I saw the Inkling Amiibo I wanted them in the same way that I wanted the Yoshi’s Wooly World Amiibo; the same way I needed Charizard and Toon Link... and all the others. Aaarrgghh, damn you Amiibo.”

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SPLATOON THE BIG GAME

Nintendo is letting the public try Splatoon with its Global Firetest game beta

Says Nair: “If you love Mario Kart, the chances are high that you’ll love Splatoon. Games of this quality and distinction don’t come around very often and we’ll be shouting from the highest rafters for all to hear. If you own a Wii U, you need this game.” Nair says that Nintendo is targeting a similar audience to Mario Kart 8 with Splatoon. “And by that I mean everyone,” he says. “We have TV campaigns for kids, 12 to 25 year-old boys, Nintendo gamers and the wider gaming fraternity.” There will also be out-of-home digital displays, all of which will utilise the game’s rather unique art style. GREAT MINDS INK ALIKE This may be an untested new IP, but to Nintendo it’s a possible Wii U system seller. “If you don’t own a Wii U, you need one for this game,” begins Nair. “And Mario Kart 8, Pikmin 3, Super Smash Bros, The Legend Of Zelda:

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The Wind Waker HD, Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors and so on” He continues: “We’re targeting Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros owners but we’re using this opportunity to talk to lapsed Nintendo fans, too. Wii U has a fantastic software line-up and there really is something for everyone. There are a whole load of non-Wii U owning, lapsed Nintendo fans out there who will be tipped over the edge by Splatoon.” Without a Pikachu or a Mario attached to it, Splatoon may seem like a risky project. What’s more, the co-op shooter is everywhere these days – there are recent hits like Destiny and Evolve, and there’s more to come, such as Rainbow Six: Siege. But Splatoon to these games is a bit like comparing Gran Turismo to Mario Kart. This is a very Nintendo take on what has traditionally been a core gamer genre, and that alone makes Splatoon worth paying attention to.

SPLAT ALONE

There are a load of non-Wii U owning, lapsed Nintendo fans out there who will be tipped over the edge by Splatoon. Chandra Nair, Nintendo UK

SPLATOON may have traded on its online co-op shooting credentials, but there’s a lot more to the game than that. It has a series of modes and options, including local multiplayer, as well as an entire single player campaign that mixes puzzle elements with shooting. “Up until very recently we’ve only talked about the multiplayer because that was the basis for the versions of the game we’ve showed off so far,” says Splatoon’s UK marketing chief Chandra Nair. “But there will be a satisfying single-player aspect that sees characters taking part in more traditional challenges. Three Amiibo also unlock a further 60 challenges. Splatoon is a game that you can enjoy on your own or with a friend in the same room. But it comes into its own online.”

May 15th 2015

“THE FIRST TRUE ESSENTIAL OF THIS GENERATION”

“2” and “PlayStation” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Also, “

SCARECROW NIGHTMARE MISSION PACK

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” is a trademark of the same company. Bloodborne™ ©2014 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Developed by FromSoftware, Inc. “Bloodborne” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. All rights reserved.

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MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

2K MAKES TWO HIRES TO UK TEAM GAME’s Cooper comes on board O Digital Spy picks up Gizmodo UK editor O GameSpot promotes Crossley 2K GAMES | The Borderlands publisher has made a number of changes to its UK PR team. Former GAME social media co-ordinator AARON COOPER (top) has come on board as UK social and community executive. Cooper worked in this role at GAME for five years. “It has been nothing short of an electric five years at GAME HQ. I’m proud to have been a part of building and growing an exciting – award winning – community,” Cooper said. I’m ecstatic to be joining the 2K team to help grow and

Before Gizmodo, he was editor of T3 magazine, and deputy editor of ShortList. He has written for the likes of The Guardian, The Sunday Times and Wired UK.

nurture their UK community and I’m excited to have the opportunity to focus my efforts and output across 2K’s strong portfolio of titles.” Meanwhile, ADAM MERRETT (left) has moved from 2K’s international team to its UK group as communications manager. Merrett joined the firm last year as a PR manager. Before that he worked at global comms firm Way to Blue and Capcom UK.

GAMESPOT | The games media giant as promoted ROB CROSSLEY (left) to its UK editor. Crossley joined GameSpot UK last September as its news editor. Prior to that he had spent two years as associate editor at Future’s CVG. He is the first UK editor GameSpot has had since GUY COCKER’s departure in 2013.

DIGITAL SPY | The tech website has hired Gizmodo UK editor MATT HILL as its deputy editor. Hill has over 14 years of media experience.

Meanwhile, fellow CVG writer TAMOOR HUSSAIN (below left) has also joined GameSpot UK as news editor. Hussain was previously features editor at CVG, having risen from editorial assistant. “I’m delighted to see Tamoor join GameSpot as a key member of its editorial team in the UK,” Crossley said. “Knowing first-hand how skilled and dedicated Tamoor is, I’m confident he’ll be in his element. “I’m also incredibly proud to be promoted to the role of UK editor. It’s a huge opportunity, and I’m looking forward to repaying the faith that [GameSpot owner] CBS Interactive has shown in me.”

AROUND THE INDUSTRY PLAYTONIC GAMES | The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the former Raredevelopers’ first game, YookaLaylee, smashed its £175,000 funding goal within 40 minutes of launching. The title went on to make over £1m within 24 hours. TENCENT | The Chinese mobile firm has acquired 14.6 per cent of Glu Mobile, the developer of mobile hit Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, for £126m. Tencent has acquired 21m shares at $6 each, while the head of Tencent’s interactive entertainment division Steven Ma has joined Glu’s Board. “Tencent was attracted to Glu due to its five-year growth track record, high-quality entrepreneurial management, and unique approach to

May 15th 2015

methodically building a portfolio of success in the shooter, action RPG, narrative RPG, time-management, sports and racing genres,” said Ma. ZYNGA | The social gaming firm is preparing to lay off 364 members of staff. This represents 18 per cent of the company’s entire workforce. These cuts will save the firm around $45m. This comes as Zynga reported losses of $46m for the quarter ending March 31st. APP ANNIE | The analytics provider has acquired mobile measurement service Mobidia. As a part of this acquisition, Mobidia’s 30 staff will join App Annie, and its Vancouver headquarters will become App Annie’s twelfth global office. It has now been re-branded App Annie Canada.

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May 15th 2015

DATA APRIL CHARTS

MONTHLY CHARTS Warner Bros continues to enjoy strong sales at retail, but the rest of the market struggles with a severe lack of games. Christopher Dring crunches the numbers for April 2015

THIS MONTHS UPS AND DOWNS ALMOST 100,000 fewer games were sold in April 2015 compared with April 2014

There are only a handful of new titles in the Top 40, including a The Sims 4 expansion Of course, digital data is lacking from the ﬁgures, and as a result we don’t fully know how the market performed. This includes GTA V. The ROCKSTAR game launched on PC in April, with 90 per cent of its sales coming via digital platforms. As a result, GTA V on PC would almost have certainly performed better than its tenth place in the individual format charts.

INDIVIDUAL FORMATS TOP 40: APRIL (MARCH 29TH - APRIL 25TH)

WARNER BROS is the No.1 publisher by revenue due to Mortal Kombat X’s release DYING LIGHT falls out of the Top Ten during its second month on sale

PS3 AND 360 increased their share of the software market in April

May 15th 2015

IT HAS been an April to remember for WARNER BROS. Fresh from winning the Best Publisher prize at the MCV Awards, the ﬁrm conquered the April charts with Mortal Kombat X. This success follows a good March for Warner, which rose up the rankings on the back of Dying Light Elsewhere, things are looking disappointing. 6.7 per cent fewer games were sold in April 2015 versus the same period in 2014, which can be attributed to a lack of new releases.

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 Mortal Kombat X Mortal Kombat X Bloodborne Battlefield: Hardline Battlefield: Hardline Grand Theft Auto V Halo: The Master Chief Collection Grand Theft Auto V Minecraft: Xbox Edition Grand Theft Auto V Forza Horizon 2 Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Far Cry 4 FIFA 15 FIFA 15 Borderlands: The Handsome Collection FIFA 15 Dying Light Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare The Sims 4: Get To Work The Order: 1886 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Far Cry 4 Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Dying Light Mario Party 10 Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin Terraria Destiny FIFA 15 Pokémon White 2 The Last of Us: Remastered Grand Theft Auto V Battlefield: Hardline Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Far Cry 4 The Sims 4 Disney Infinity 2.0

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

PUBLISHER Warner Bros Warner Bros Sony EA EA Rockstar Microsoft Rockstar Microsoft Rockstar Microsoft 2K Games Ubisoft EA EA 2K Games EA Warner Bros Microsoft Microsoft EA Sony Microsoft Ubisoft Bandai Namco Microsoft Warner Bros Nintendo Bandai Namco 505 Games Activision Blizzard EA Nintendo Sony Rockstar EA Activision Ubisoft EA Disney Interactive

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APRIL CHARTS DATA ALL FORMATS TOP 50: APRIL (MARCH 29TH - APRIL 25TH)

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY PUBLISHER [UNITS] LM 01 02 03 05 07 04 06 08 10 12

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

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

MARKET SHARE 15.4% 14% 12.4% 8.3% 7.8% 7.7% 7.0% 6.4% 2.6% 2.2%

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

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

TITLE Warner Bros EA Take-Two Sony Nintendo Ubisoft Activision Blizzard Microsoft Bandai Namco Square Enix

MARKET SHARE 18.5% 18.2% 15.1% 8.7% 7.9% 5.9% 5.8% 5.0% 3.0% 1.4%

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

TM 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

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

MARKET SHARE 31.1% 24.2% 15.3% 9.1% 6.9% 6.6% 3.1% 1.4% 1.1% 1.0%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT [VALUE] LM 01 02 03 05 04 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 3DS PC Wii U PlayStation Vita Wii DS

PRESENTS

MARKET SHARE 39.2% 28.8% 10.3% 5.9% 6.0% 5.0% 3.0% 0.6% 0.5% 0.5%

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 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

TITLE Mortal Kombat X Grand Theft Auto V Battleﬁeld Hardline FIFA 15 Far Cry 4 Bloodborne Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Minecraft: Xbox Edition Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Dying Light Halo: The Master Chief Collection Forza Horizon 2 Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin WWE 2K15 Destiny Disney Inﬁnity 2.0 Terraria Evolve LEGO Marvel Super Heroes The Crew The Sims 4: Get To Work LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham The Order: 1886 Assassin’s Creed: Unity Skylanders: Trap Team Mario Party 10 Ride Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Dragon Age: Inquisition Watch Dogs Super Smash Bros Pokémon White 2 The Last of Us: Remastered Resident Evil: Revelations 2 The Sims 4 Final Fantasy: Type-0 HD The Evil Within Xenoblade Chronicles The LEGO Movie Videogame The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D Alien Isolation Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate NBA 2K15 Tomodachi Life Assassin’s Creed Rogue Saints Row IV: Re-Elected/Gat Out of Hell Skate 3

5 SECOND FACTS

FORMAT PUBLISHER PS4, XO, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Rockstar PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC, Wii, 3DS, Vita EA XO, PS4, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision PS4, XO 2K Games XO, 360 Microsoft PS4, PS3, Vita Sony PS4, XO, PC Warner Bros XO Microsoft XO, 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bandai Namco PS4, XO, PS3, 360 2K Games PS4, XO, PS3, 360 EA PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney Interactive PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 505 Games/Merge Games PS4, XO, PC 2K Games PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, 360, PC Ubisoft PC EA PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, PC Activision Wii U Nintendo PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC PQube PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Konami PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft Wii U, 3DS Nintendo DS Nintendo PS4, PS3 Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Capcom PC EA PS4, XO Square Enix PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda 3DS, Wii Nintendo PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Sega 3DS Nintendo/Capcom PS4, XO, PS3, 360 2K Games 3DS Nintendo PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO Deep Silver PS3, 360 EA

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

$4.5bn

30m

PlayStation 4 has hit two million consoles sold in the UK in just 75 weeks, faster than PS2

Nintendo has put together three New 3DS bundle, featuring the games Xenoblade Chronicles, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Monster Hunter 4

Electronic Arts enjoyed a far better Q4 than predicted, and its full year revenues hit $4.5bn

Blizzard’s hit free-to-play card game Hearthstone now boasts more than 30 million gamers

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PDP design & manufacture the Oﬃcial Microsoft licensed Xbox ONE TV Kinect Sensor Clip europesales@pdp.com

www.pdp.com 19

May 15th 2015

INDIE PUBLISHER ROUNDTABLE

Independent thinking Finally, thanks to digital distribution, developers can ditch those creatively restrictive publishers and go it alone. Alex Calvin speaks to those companies who insist the right publisher can be a force for good

Developers can release games on their own, with no real need for publishers. Why should they still turn to a publishing partner? Andy Payne, Mastertronic: They shouldn’t, or – more accurately – they needn’t. A ‘publisher’ is many things to many people, and with that role comes not only rights, as was always the case, but responsibilities. A publisher has to be part of the creative team and above all must respect the game creators and the creative process. Oh, and they really need to make sure that sales are increased to pay for their revenue cut at least.

Debbie Bestwick, Team 17: The growth of disruptive distribution platforms along with new, smaller, more creatively-focused indie devs means that anyone could make a game and get it out there. The bad news is that everyone’s making a game and this causes massive discoverability issues. Add to that a lack of marketing experience for many of these new teams and a fractured platform landscape and it was clear that a new kind of publisher was needed. Partners like Team 17 can

Gary Rowe, Green Man Loaded: It’s no longer enough to put a good game onto Kickstarter or Early Access and hope that people will find you. It can happen and you can be lucky. You can get noticed and you can get picked up by an influential YouTube star.

devote development, marketing, PR, community management resources and real life-cycle management can come into it’s own when trying to handle a multi-platform release. We can do all the stuff that gets in the way of actually making the game.

Jason Perkins, Curve Digital: Traditionally, publishers just helped out with PR and marketing. As we have our own in-house development team we are able to support on a development side. A lot of these indie guys are quite small teams. So being able to develop a PC version in parallel to the console SKUs is a real advantage. We’re hearing a lot of stories with regards to Steam and that old word ‘discoverability’ seems to be appearing again. Consequently we can create a lot of noise about a game through our own channels, good PR and strong marketing. That’s where we really come into our own. We’ve been making games for a long time now, and we’re offering deals that are very equitable in terms of the revenue share. That’s our headline pitch.

Publishing partners do all the stuff, like QA and marketing, that gets in the way of making the game. Debbie Bestwick, Team 17

A publisher isn’t required in that process, but a good publisher will help. We can raise awareness and drive engagement. And publishers certainly help on the funding side of things. What are you looking for in developers and games now? Has this changed at all? Bestwick: The main things are a great original idea and a burning

desire to see it come to life. One of the great things about the indie development explosion over the past few years has been this incredible burst of creativity. There’s definitely upward pressure on production values and an increased expectation of creative, innovative gameplay. Given the massive increase in the number of indie games being published on all platforms it’s becoming increasingly harder to get noticed, especially for ‘me too’ titles.

Perkins: There isn’t really a particular sort of change in terms of the developers that we are looking for. But everyone is on the look out for those slightly bigger titles that might be more interesting to the core gaming market, than maybe the market that is just interested in indie content. We need to attract more triple-A customers. The big triple-A launches sell millions of units, where an indie title will sell hundreds of thousands. If we can fill that gap then that would be brilliant. Payne: We want to work with developers who make games

(Left to right): Mastertronic’s Payne, Chillingo’s Rumley, Team 17’s Bestwick and Green Man Loaded’s Rowe say that indies don’t need publishers – but they help

May 15th 2015

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INDIE PUBLISHER ROUNDTABLE

Team 17 partnered with Sold Out to release The Escapists at physical retail

that we love to play. We don’t care about physical borders - we work with developers in small or sometimes single-person teams, based all over the globe.

Ed Rumley, Chillingo: In the last three years we’ve reduced the number of games we publish by over 80 per cent. The reason for this is we have shifted to a freemium business model. We still publish the occasional paid game but freemium is where our business is focused. Games have become live services, which means we can’t publish that kind of volume any more. We need to focus on launching games and then really working hard to make them successful. A number of indie games have come to physical retail as boxed titles or download cards. Have you seen much of an appetite for indie games here? Tim Woodley, 505 Games: We started life as a brick-and-mortar

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create a business model that can support this – and to their credit, that’s something they’ve become increasingly supportive of. We’re also seeing an increasing number of indie games that can hold their own at retail against the triple-A titles, and the exposure that seeing a game on a store shelf can have can only be a good thing.

publisher and was able to bring our retail expertise to the digital space with good effect. We’re still extremely proud of our ability to activate our on-theground retail business in all major markets at will. Terraria sold really well at physical retail and opened up that brand to a whole new audience. Payday 2 was originally intended to be a digital-only release and, even if the bulk of sales have been done digitally, arguably it would not be the juggernaut franchise that it is today without the physical shop window that release was afforded.

Bestwick: I’m not surprised by the demand for indie games at retail. There are many consumers who just prefer their games on disc. The sales figures for games we’ve released at physical retail show that there’s a sizeable demand there and the platform holders need to

Curve’s Perkins (top) and 505’s Woodley (above) say there’s an opportunity for physical indie titles

Perkins: Following The Swapper, we’re looking to do more in-store ESD cards rather than boxed releases. We’ve spoken to GAME and it is keen to do more, too. The High Street still gets an awful lot of footfall. A lot of their business is cash and that obviously allows kids to buy content. With digital you typically need to have a credit card registered to the store. As long as it’s merchandised correctly in-store, if we can get some of our indie games in there then that would be great.

May 15th 2015

INDIE INTERVIEW NICHOLAS SPARGO Sponsored by

One teacher’s battle to make a game He quit being a teacher and put forward £7,500 of his own cash to make his very first game. But can Nicholas Spargo make his RPG Melancholy Republic a success? Alex Calvin finds out

ast year, Oxford-based physics teacher Nicholas Spargo quit his job to work full time on JRPG passion project, Melancholy Republic. He isn’t your typical indie developer. In fact, he had no experience of games development and even less of coding. “I haven’t done a course in it or anything,” says Spargo. “I couldn’t just leave my job to start working on a game, so I started developing a prototype and the script in my free time. “That’s no easy task – as a teacher you have to mark hundreds of books a week and have loads of other tasks to do in your free time. “Eventually I became really happy with how the game was coming along. It really showed me what we were capable of doing. “After that, I left teaching to work on the game full time. I started Cloud Runner Studios as a result. At the moment there’s only a few people involved – myself, another writer and a couple of composers in Manchester. Most of the team is actually freelance.” Spargo is upfront about his lack of coding skills. But thanks to free development software RPG Maker, he has been able to make his game. “With my lack of experience I wasn’t going to dive on in and make a StarCraft II rival. I wanted to stick to what I know – writing and stories,” Spargo says. “Another passion for me was RPG Maker. There’s been a few good indie games that have seen quite a lot of success using that software. It’s something I’ve always messed around

May 15th 2015

with for years making little games and experimenting. “Part of the process when I was prototyping was wanting to have a bit of understanding as to how to manipulate the engine. I spent a few months teaching myself [coding language] Ruby to that end. It was tough at the start, but I stuck to things I was comfortable with and didn’t go into things that were unnecessary, like making my own engine or using super advanced development tech, which weren’t needed for the scope of our game.”

I’ve little development experience – publishers might have been turned off by that.

GETTING A KICKSTART Rather than pitching his game to a publisher, Spargo launched a Kickstarter to make Melancholy Republic. “There are lots of small indie games publishers, but I really want to prove myself,” he says. “That’s one reason I want to do this myself because I haven’t had much experience. Publishers might have been turned off by that. For me this game was a lot of proving myself as an individual and as a developer. I’ve never known much about indie publishers. If one

Nicholas Spargo, Cloud Runner Studios

contacted me further down the line and were happy with the standard of the game, then it’s something I’d look at. “Kickstarter was a way to get people enthused about a game and also ensure that the quality of the game is the same as our vision. I

Spargo has put forward £7,500 of his own money to make Melancholy Republic

could make the game for free, but it would take much longer and wouldn’t be of as high a quality, so Kickstarter was an opportunity for us to make an excellent game the way I envisioned it, and in a timely fashion. The amount of feedback and fans talking to us about the game, giving us ideas and wanting to get involved, is incredible.” In fact, the firm’s current Kickstarter is its second. When it became clear that the first wasn’t going to make its £15,000 goal, Spargo started another, investing £7,500 of his own money and launching with a lower goal. “We launched the first Kickstarter and didn’t have a community, any fans or a social media presence,” Spargo says. “It was naive. The people who did see it were blown away and left really good feedback. We just struggled to get exposure for the game. I decided to invest half of the £15,000 that we had budgeted to complete the game myself, and we asked for a lower goal.” And if this Kickstarter fails, Spargo is going to continue trying until his game is made. “If we cannot secure funding I would focus on finding unpaid, hobbyist artists and level designers to help complete the game, or possibly find equal share partners to complete development, albeit in a reduced form and scope than what we are aiming for right now.” He concludes: “This is obviously not a desirable route as it would increase the development time hugely. We won’t try again at an even lower target as it would not do the game or backers justice to deliver a much reduced final product to them.”

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INSIGHT

How to self-publish: Managing retail and going global keep happy. Remind yourself that everybody wants to sell your great project, even if they pretend they don’t think it’s any good. Have a realistic level of confidence in your title and don’t be frightened to politely disagree. Evaluating the sticky bit of a contract, being clear on what you are trying to protect – and what the other party is trying to protect – will often get you halfway towards a resolution. Ultimately, contracts are there for everyone’s protection and benefit so, if you’re honest about what you all want and willing to insert a clause, search for a solution and compromise where necessary, then there are very few roadblocks that cannot be overcome. Sometimes people have ‘red-line’ terms they aren’t able to cross, but remember that sometimes these red-lines are negotiating tactics, too. Try to see the issues from the other side, and if their point is reasonable, then agree to it.

In part three of JASON KINGSLEY’s regular column on self-publishing, the Rebellion CEO discusses the workload pressures that come with going alone, and how to structure those important deals

elf-publishing involves a lot more complexity than work for hire. With work for hire you normally have one deal with one partner; it’s straightforward and you don’t have to worry about how this deal might affect any others. As a developer-publisher, however, there are a lot more moving pieces to track, and they all interact with one another – like one of those sliding block puzzles. Retailers and distributors still have a lot of input over how and where your game is sold, and they have a lot of people in their value chain that they need to protect and consider. It’s only right that everyone should be paid fairly, but with rapidly changing market conditions in our sector, tensions can arise which are difficult to balance. Whilst retail is still an extremely important component of the overall sales mix, it’s now not the only game in town and it’s fair to say that, due to the shift in the landscape towards digital, the terms on offer have changed a lot over the past five years. From the perspective of a self-publisher, this has been a welcome development.

Whilst retail is still an extremely important component of the overall sales mix, it’s now not the only game in town. Jason Kingsley, Rebellion

FIND YOUR HARBOUR MASTER UK developers make games for a global audience, but when it

FOCUS ON FINDING SOLUTIONS Critical to managing multiple agreements is staying calm and checking your obligations. People can often get their nose put out of joint, and as a self-publisher you have a lot more people to

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Finding the right people to help you self-publish is vital, says Rebellion’s Jason Kingsley

comes to physical and digital sales, it’s not easy to work out who distributes where - with some people operating ‘globally’ and others saying they are ‘global, except for China’. There are also huge legal variations by country, on top of the differences between consumer protection and business-to-business laws. The upshot is that you need help. You need to find your harbour master, someone who – in travel or seafaring terms – knows all the regulations and operational procedures of a particular port, in order to ensure safe travel. For Rebellion’s Zombie Army Trilogy, that was Garry Williams from Sold Out, who helped us navigate these channels. If you don’t know someone who can help you in this respect, then get networking. Never assume you know everything - because you don’t – and be willing to invest in the right people. As the old Red Adair quote goes: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” Mistakes can be expensive, in both financial and reputational terms. When it comes to everything from legal to distribution counsel, control the scope of what you’re asking them about - it saves a lot of money if you know the specific areas where you need input. That said, don’t be afraid to ask if there’s anything else you need to know. With lawyers in particular, I find they have a healthy pessimism that often provides hard-charging games entrepreneurs with a valuable reality check.

Kingsley’s final article in this series will examine the early results of self-publishing Zombie Army Trilogy

May 15th 2015

XXX XXX INTERVIEW PAUL JEAL, CODEMASTERS

Codemasters revs its new engine Codemasters is finally bringing the F1 series to the PS4 and Xbox One, and what’s more – fans will be getting their hands on the racer earlier in the season. Alex Calvin speaks to the game’s director Paul

his year’s entry in Codemaster’s F1 series marks a change in pace in more ways than one. First and foremost, F1 2015 is the series’ PS4 and Xbox One debut, and benefits from the use of an updated version of the company’s Ego Engine. And while this let Codemasters make a more graphically impressive game, this isn’t all the firm has done with the move to the new formats. “You want a certain amount of power dedicated to securing a high frame rate and driving experience, but we really wanted it to be a visual showcase for next-gen as well,” game director Paul Jeal says. “But I can’t begin to explain the uplift we’ve had in the car handling model, the complexity of the physics. And the AI is much more natural and human-like. We didn’t want to just port across what we had done before and give it a bit of a facelift, but really re-build and take a much bigger step onto the new platforms.” The fact that F1 is finally coming to the newer machines will surely be good news to fans disappointed by F1 2014, which was only available on PS3 and Xbox 360. But Jeal says he has no regrets about last year’s title being on the older hardware. “It’s fair to say that the transition speed from old gen to new gen took us by surprise in terms of how fast the uptake has been,” he says. “When you’re planning a project well in advance of the consoles even being available it was the right decision at the time, and I still strongly believe that it’s still the right decision.” May 15th 2015

F1 2015 is also coming out far earlier in the year and – more importantly – earlier in the F1 season. Last year’s F1 2014 launched in October, just as the races were coming to an end, while F1 2015 is coming to stores in June. “It’s a much more sensible window for us,” Jeal insists. “The season’s barely started yet. We’ve still got the huge races like Silverstone and Monza to come. That can only be good for us. “We have clear statistics that show that engagement with our product is so higher on live Grand Prix weekends. Multiplayer lobbies are full of people playing the game at the same time as the Grand Prix. This earlier release will generate more sales and interest.”

June is a much more sensible release window for us. The F1 season has barely started.

PRACTICE LAP This game has also benefitted from a longer development time. Before F1 games were normally made over a 12-month period, but F1 2015 began development in 2013 so the team could get used to the new tech. And Jeal says he’d like to have longer to make F1 games in the future. “We wanted a long run-up on it as we were getting up to speed with the new tech and trying to understand what we had to play with,” he says.

Paul Jeal, Codemasters

00 26

“We weren’t trying to rush. Going forward, I’d love to cycle teams in a similar way to Call of Duty. That’s going to enable us to get more into a product. But for now, it’s about trying to maximise the development time. Stepping onto the new consoles is a huge unknown. We’re the first Codemasters team working on that, and we’ve gotten right in with the technology as well as the game. We really needed that twoyear run-up period.” Next year, Codemaster’s ownership of the F1 game rights runs out. But Jeal is confident that the firm will secure the contract once again. “Contracts obviously include dates, but we’re always in discussions with the Formula One Group,” he explains. “We have a razer-sharp focus on F1 as a part of our portfolio.” He concludes: “We’re discussing what we can do next year and beyond in terms of existing F1 products and perhaps adding something new to our F1 portfolio. It’s an on-going partnership that we want to continue.”

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MCV AWARD WINNER DEBBIE BESTWICK, TEAM 17

How a 25-year-old studio is reshaping the games industry For more than two decades, Team 17 has helped to define the UK development sector. Now, it plans to redefine what it means to be a games publisher. Following her recognition as Person of the Year at 2015’s MCV Awards, MD Debbie Bestwick tells Matthew Jarvis more

Team 17 remains one of the UK’s longest-running indie developers. How has the sector changed during that time? It seems almost like we’ve come full circle – and then some – from where Team 17 originally started in the early ‘90s. We’re seeing something similar happening in the indie space with an explosion of creativity and talent that we probably last saw on the Amiga. This industry never stands still and is very cyclical in nature; as the number of indie titles increases exponentially we expect to see a great deal of upward pressure on production values as a way of making titles stand out. One of the challenges the indie community faces over the next two years is how it responds to the issue of going up a level – whether it’s the larger indies becoming even larger and more professional or smaller groups banding together to work on individual projects. PS4 and Xbox One have doubled down on their attempts to entice indie titles onto their platforms. Are their efforts sufficient? Both Sony and Microsoft have made huge strides in the last five-or-so years and are unrecognisable to what they were back then. While I accept things take time, for consoles to keep up with PC and mobile they need to be even faster, and more flexible and agile, on the business side.

May 15th 2015

2014’s Flockers was the ﬁrst new IP from Team 17 in over a decade

Has the growth of indie on console affected the sector’s strength on PC? It’s made it easier to build a sustainable business for all developers – not just indies – as we now have a number of viable platforms and storefronts, which in turn increases the audience. That’s not to say that PC doesn’t come without its own challenges. Simultaneous releases across platforms are pretty much mandatory if you’re going to get the most out of your marketing budget, otherwise an average game can see the profits of one SKU ploughed into the next to promote its release.

The term ‘publisher’ represents a way of doing business that’s completely at odds with the new world of digital distribution. Debbie Bestwick, Team 17

Some developers recently told us that bundling sites have cultivated key reselling. Having recently offered a Worms Humble Bundle, what is your opinion? Bundle sites always have a potential of being a source of

cheap Steam keys. Having said that, I don’t think that is where the majority of the keys that are sold through reselling sites come from. The vast majority of business done outside of Steam is on larger new release products, where a significant saving can be made on the SRP on day one. Bundles tend to only include products that are at least a year or two old, and that have already been through their own promotional price lifecycle, and hence have been available for a low price in the market – these are less appealing to the kind of consumers that are seeking large savings on new games. 2014’s Flockers marked the first new IP from Team 17 in over a decade. Why was last year the right time to launch a new franchise? Our internal studio is always experimenting with its own ideas. If any of them look particularly promising, we put them into the same greenlight process we use for external projects and see if they have the creative and commercial potential we’re looking for. The game performed well for a brand new IP and met our expectations. As for a sequel, who knows? If we can come up with something equally compelling then we’d obviously look at that. You’ve said in the past that Team 17 is a ‘label’, rather than a ‘publisher’. What does this mean? ‘Publisher’ has too many negative connotations and represents a

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DEBBIE BESTWICK, TEAM 17 MCV AWARD WINNER

Team 17’s Bestwick was named Person of the Year at this year’s MCV Awards

way of thinking and doing business that’s completely at odds with the new world of digital distribution and the kind of company we wanted to build. When we started our Indie Partner Program we came up with a manifesto – a statement of our core values. In brief, this was a commitment to being a vehicle for our partner’s creative vision, putting them front and centre, never taking IP ownership, showing our partners where every penny is spent and giving them sign-off on it, helping them however and wherever we can, and, most of all, helping them to build a sustainable business. When we looked at it, it didn’t resemble any kind of publisher that we either knew of or had worked with. So we looked at other mediums for inspiration, particularly in the field of entertainment that constantly sees huge artistic and business upheavals: music. Once we’d changed our perspective in

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this way there was only ever one thing to call ourselves – and that was a label. Competitors of ours will have no option but to attempt to follow suit, I’m just not sure how many of them will be able to. It means divesting yourself of all the old ways of thinking. Those that are unable to follow where we’re leading will simply miss out; we’re already signing games where our partners are choosing us over first parties and traditional triple-A publishers, which is both very humbling and gratifying – it’s a sign that we’re getting it right and building something different.

PLATFORM PICKS TEAM 17 MD Debbie Bestwick offers three tips to Xbox and PlayStation on boosting their indie business 1. Give account managers more power and responsibility, including providing them with their own budgets, with less oversight and sign-off from higher up the chain. 2. Less indie branding. While it’s helpful to some, it generally stigmatises and ghettoises indie developers and publishers. These are simply great people making great games, and they deserve to be judged on the quality of their games. Great titles compete on any level. I don’t want to see indie-branded sections on digital stores where you have to

What’s next for Team 17? I want to build the best label in the world for games creators that has a huge impact in what they expect from their publisher, label or partner, and that will hopefully help reshape the industry into something that’s better for everyone: labels, developers and consumers alike.

hunt around for quality games – they deserve to be alongside triple-A. 3. Look again at your subscription services. Using indie games to pad these offerings out is great for consumers but it’s not helping the indie cause as a whole. We talk to plenty of developers who’ve had their games signed up to go into these programs and it’s really no better than the old work-for-hire model and the subsistencefarming level of business it breeds. On a wider point, it breeds a perception of indie games as being of little-or-no value – I’m starting to lose count of how many times I see comments like ‘I’ll wait for it to be on PlayStation Plus or Games With Gold’ when a title is announced.

May 15th 2015

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE MCV speaks to Andy Harris of Wisbech’s Seventh Heaven about the issues he faces due to a lack of preorders, why he no longer stocks DLCSoft digital content and the effect Facebook has had on his business How has business been lately? Not bad. It’s been about as good as expected. It hasn’t been setting the world on fire, but it’s paying our living which is always good. What’s been selling well? Second hand stuff, mostly. We have a lot of pre-orders for Project CARS this week, and Bloodborne did very well for us. But then you get rubbish that you just can’t shift.

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

because no-one pre-ordered until the reviews came out. People have been stung before with rubbish games with a lot of hype, so they wait until the reviews come out to pre-order it. Or they just come in on day one. When we’re ordering oﬀ CentreSoft six weeks in advance, how do you predict the number of units to stock?

Are you planning some kind of launch event for Project CARS? There’s no need. Our customers are happy to come in on the day of release. We don’t tend to do midnight launches – we only do them for the big franchises like FIFA and Call of Duty. Have you seen a change in the number of pre-orders? It’s a job to know how many to stock on day one now. I didn’t have enough units of Bloodborne

People are preordering later and later. How do you predict the number of units to stock on day one?

What’s your digital oﬀering like at the moment? It’s the points cards and

Andy Harris, Seventh Heaven

PRICE CHECK: CARDIFF

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS 1. PROJECT CARS Bandai Namco, PS4

MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Day One Edition Bandai Namco ...................................................PS4

FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING

3. Project CARS Bandai Namco ......................................................XO 4. Call of Duty: Black Ops III +Beta Activision Blizzard ............................................PS4

Warner Bros, PS4

MORTAL KOMBAT X

Sony, PS4

Warner Bros, XO

Nintendo, 3DS

N/A

£29.99

£49.99

£54.99

£32.99

£29.49

£46.99

£47.99

£32.86

£25.99

£36.92

£41.75

9. Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

£34.99

£27.99

£44.99

10. Amiibo Zero Suit Samus Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

N/A

£24.95

N/A

6. Call of Duty: Black Ops III Activision Blizzard ...............................................XO

ONLINE

5. Batman Arkham Knight – Day One Edition Warner Bros ........................................................PS4

BLOODBORNE

7. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Day One Edition Bandai Namco ......................................................XO

UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market

ULTRATRON

SPACE HULK

DON’T STARVE: GIANT EDITION

Curve’s arcade-themed twin-stick shooter is due for imminent launch

This Warhammer 40,000 title is out on PS3 and Vita at the end of May

Klei’s indie hardcore survival game is hitting the Wii U next month

OUT: MAY 8TH (XO), MAY 14TH (PS4, WII U, PS3, VITA)

May 15th 2015

IN STORE

8. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Bethesda ...............................................................PS4

OUT: MAY 29TH

OUT: JUNE

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MARKETPLACE

Seventh Heaven 19 Old Market, Wisbech, PE13 1NB

subscriptions for PlayStation and Xbox. That’s all I do. You’re not selling the DLCSoft stock? No. We did have it for a while, but the margins were just so ridiculously small. It was a waste of time to do it. You have a decent social media presence. How has this aﬀected your business? We’ve seen sales spikes after

Phone: 01945 589526 Website: www.facebook.com/ seventh.wisbech

posting on our Facebook page. You can put a second hand PlayStation 4 on there and within thirty minutes it’s gone. It’s a really good tool for us. It’s much better than a website would be. You’re not interested in doing an online store then? No, the margins just aren’t worth it. You couldn’t compete. There’s enough competition with our physical store let alone online.

INCOMING TITLE

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

It’s a big few weeks for simulation fans, as Deep Silver brings Farming Simulator 15 to market, while Codemasters is releasing F1 2015 FORMAT

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Strategy

Nintendo

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PQube

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May 29th Space Hulk

PS3/Vita

Action

Funbox Media

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Splatoon

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Shooter

Nintendo

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PS3

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Warner Bros

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

June 6th Mortal Kombat X

June 9th The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

June 12

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May 15th 2015

THE WITCHER

THE WITCHER The Witcher has carved out a name for itself as a graphically-impressive, critically-acclaimed epic fantasy franchise. This year, the trilogy comes to a close. Matthew Jarvis looks at the best merchandise from the iconic IP

WHILE cinematic adaptations of books are now a common sight, video game takes on literature are less common – and successful revisions are even rarer. One IP to have mastered the leap from page to screen is CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher, based on a series of fantasy novels by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. Originally pitched in the mid1990s by Adrian Chmielarz – who went onto form Bulletstorm and Gear of War: Judgement developer

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is sure to ignite interest among PS4 and Xbox One owners looking for a technical showcase.

People Can Fly – The Witcher took until 2007 to materialise as a video game, exclusive to the PC. A sequel, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, followed in 2011. This game marked the series’ first foray onto console, launching on Xbox 360 one year later. Between them, the first two Witcher titles have sold more than eight million copies as of September 2014. The series’ mainstream presence was perhaps best highlighted when

THE WORLD OF WITCHER LIMITED EDITION Fans can journey deeper into the world of The Witcher with this premium hardback book, which serves as a guide to the characters, monsters and landscapes of the three Witcher games. Six special enamel pin badges are also included, styled on leading man Geralt’s medallion and the signs of the Aard, Yrden, Igni, Quen and Axii spells. A separate fabric-coated portfolio contains an art print, and the black clamshell box hides a secret compartment. SRP: £89.99 Manufacturer: Dark Horse Distributor: Diamond Comic Distributors UK Contact: 01928 531 760

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT MEDALLION AND CHAIN

WITCHER COLLECTION KNAPSACK

THE WITCHER 3 MONSTER SLAYER PREMIUM T-SHIRT

A recreation of leading man Geralt’s fearsome neckware, this metal medallion is sure to make a Witcher out of any devoted fan.

This premium bag is inspired by The Witcher, constructed from thick wool and features a padded laptop compartment.

Not recommended for actually slaying monsters, this shirt displays a collage of game hero Geralt and his prey.

SRP: £26.99 Manufacturer: Jinx Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

SRP: £69 Manufacturer: Musterbrand Distributor: Musterbrand Contact: service@musterbrand.com

SRP: £19.99 Manufacturer: Jinx Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

May 15th 2015

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THE WITCHER Sponsored by

gaming merchandise uk

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk gave a Collector’s Edition of The Witcher 2 to US president Barack Obama when he visited the country in 2011. The Witcher IP has also been harnessed by CD Projekt Red for use in a free-to-play MOBA title, The Witcher: Battle Arena. The mobile-exclusive title was launched on iOS and Android earlier this year. The Witcher has become renowned for its gritty fantasy

setting, as well as its narrative proficiency and graphical prowess. The makes the upcoming conclusion to the story of lead anti-hero Geralt in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt sure to ignite interest among PS4 and Xbox One owners looking for a technical showcase. PC owners are in for a treat, too. The game’s deep world and iconic characters have led to a wide range of merchandise based on The Witcher, from books and clothes to bags and board games.

THE WITCHER ADVENTURE GAME Taking the brutal gameplay of the Witcher series to the tabletop, this board game invites up to four players to take on the roles of some of The Witcher’s iconic characters and journey across the world, battling monsters, completing quests and earning gold and victory points. Games can take up to two hours, but are designed to oﬀer narratives similar in depth and engagement to the its video game siblings. SRP: £53.99 Manufacturer: Fantasy Flight Games Distributor: Esdevium Games Contact: 01420 593 593

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT: COLLECTORS EDITION OFFICIAL GUIDE

THE WITCHER 3 INTO THE FIRE PREMIUM T-SHIRT

THE WITCHER 3 SILVER SWORD WOMEN’S T-SHIRT

48 pages of bonus content are included in this guide, as well as maps for every area and tips on how to get all 36 endings.

Geralt’s hairy face is the star of this shirt, which also features a horse and some evillooking baddies.

Equipped with Geralt’s blade and magical signs, this shirt will transform the wearer into an unstoppable Witcher monster slayer. (Probably.)

SRP: £19.99 Manufacturer: Prima Games Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822

SRP: £19.99 Manufacturer: Jinx Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

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May 15th 2015

HOT PRODUCTS

DIRECTORY

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May 15th 2015

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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 Just Flight Appynation Digital Media IntentMedia Charity GamesAid Banners & Takeovers Konami Packaging Design Just Flight Email: info@ﬁnkcreative.com CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION

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May 15th 2015

DIRECTORY

GAMING ACCESSORIES

L3I

GAMING ACCESSORIES

VENOM

New officially licensed products

Dual Charging Stand & Battery Packs Dock, store & charge 2 DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controllers.

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

Tel: +44 (0)1763 284181 May 15th 2015

Venom UK Gaming @VenomGamingUK

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INSIDER’S GUIDE

INSIDER’S GUIDE UNIVERSALLY SPEAKING

DIRECTORY

WHO? Specialism: Localisation and testing Location: Knowledge Centre, Wyboston Lakes, Great North Road, Wyboston, MK44 3BY

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

Loreto Sanz Fueyo, director of Universally Speaking, talks about breaking into the world of QA for mobile

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

Tell us about your company. Universally Speaking provides localisation and testing solutions for the games industry. We were established over 10 years ago and since then have worked on products ranging from massive triple-A titles to smaller budget games. In recent years we’ve seen the evolution of gaming through mobile platforms and social media, changes that are reﬂected in the explosion of developers we partner with.

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

What is your biggest success to date? We are very proud of all the projects we have worked on but something that highlights our success is that since 2008 we have been shortlisted in all but one year as ﬁnalists for the Develop Industry Excellence Awards and in 2013 we won the TIGA award for QA services What projects do you currently have in the works? We are working on some exciting stuﬀ for EA, Square Enix, Capcom, Frontier and Zynga to name but a few. What are the biggest challenges you face? The challenges we face as a provider of quality language and testing services remain unchanged: ensuring we meet our clients’ expectations in a world of shrinking deadlines and budgets. In addition to those, we have to make sure we are To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact aboucher@nbmedia.com

The evolution of gaming through mobile and social media has been reﬂected in the developers we partner with. always up-to-date with the latest platforms and devices. Tell us something about your company no one knows. We have a sister company called Universally Apps that just launched a couple of days ago during AppsWorld in San Francisco. We are very excited about this new venture, which we hope will help our clients maximise their return and minimise the risk associated with app launches while keeping the Universally group at the forefront of the digital revolution.

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Contact: W: usspeaking.com E: info@usspeaking.com T: @USSpeaking P: 01480 210 621

May 15th 2015

FACTFILE AUSTRIA Sponsored by

INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE: AUSTRIA Population: 8,579,747 Capital City: Vienna Currency: Euro GDP (Per Capita): $44,475 KEY RETAILERS MediaMarkt, GameStop, Saturn, Video Game Store, Videolife, Muller, Videolife, Videogames Pilko TOP DISTRIBUTORS Koch Media, Play Art, Sony DADC, Stadlbauer, Xendex

INDIE retail continues to flourish in Austria, as the country’s hypermarkets fail to make a significant dent in the games retail space. Additionally, the two largest grocery retailers in the country – Rewe International and Spar Österreichische Warenhandels – both have a minimal games offering, allowing specialist and independent games outlets to plug the gap. Retail research firm EHL observes that over the last decade, retail space has grown by 20 per cent in Austria’s capital city Vienna. However, the Vienna Economic Chamber states that overall consumer purchasing has fallen 0.6 per cent during the same period. This may have led to many consumers turning to cheaper offerings online.

TOP DEVELOPERS REDOX Game Labs, Sproing, BongFish, DonkeyCat, Broken Rules, Clockstone Studios, Egon.CX, Mi’pu’mi Games, Still Alive Studios PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION Nordic Games, Koch Media/Deep Silver, Microsoft, Xendex

The European Commission’s latest DESI report found that online retail appears to be more popular in Austria than its neighbours, with 65 per cent of consumers shopping using the internet in 2014 – two per cent more than the EU average. This is down from the 66 per cent of Austrian consumers who did so in 2013. Despite the familiarity of Austrian consumers with the internet, gamers aren’t as enthusiastic about going online. The DESI report continues that Austrians are less likely to use the internet to play games, music and videos than their EU counterparts. 42 per cent of regular internet users aged between 16 and 74 used the internet for such purposes during 2014, which was slightly below the EU average of 49 per cent.

The two largest grocery retailers in Austria both have a minimal games oﬀering.

May 15th 2015

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AUSTRIA FACTFILE

MEANWHILE IN... EUROPE The European Commission has proposed a merger for the region’s 28 diﬀerent national digital markets and the end of price disparity THE price of games across services such as Steam, PSN and Xbox Live in Europe could be made the same across all markets if a proposed digital reform is made law. The European Commission has outlined its plans to make geoblocking illegal, allowing consumers to purchase games from any country in the EU without the threat of being locked out of their purchases. It has also discused altering copyright law, letting content bought in one region be accessed and used in another. A third prong of the proposal is an

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examination of how digital platforms curate content, ensuring some content is not given visual priority over competitors. These three factors are said to be key points of

preparation for the commission’s longdiscussed ‘single digital market’, and are slated for introduction by the end of 2016.

May 15th 2015

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION Sponsored by

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WORLDWIDE CLICK ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED Email: info@click-entertainment.com Web: www.click-entertainment.com Phone: +44 (0)203 137 3781

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

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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 May 15th 2015

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AFRICA TERRITORY REPORT Sponsored by

TERRITORY REPORT: AFRICA It’s the second-biggest continent in the world, but Africa’s games industry has long lagged behind most of the globe. However, that is now changing, as the games industry in several regions begins to gather momentum. Matthew Jarvis takes a look

omprising of over 50 different countries, Africa’s games industry is as varied as the makeup of its inhabitants. However, one unifying factor among the African nations is a continuing struggle with piracy. In Egypt, for example, past reports have pegged the proportion of pirated video game software sales at figures as high as 60 per cent. The seeds for piracy have been fertilised by the low average income among many Africa residents. In South Africa, brand new games for PS4 and Xbox One tend to cost around 700 Rand (£38) but can run up to 900 Rand (£49). According to a 2012 national census, the average annual household income of black inhabitants of the country sits at around 60,600 Rand (£3,324). White households earn up to six times more, bringing in 365,000 Rand (£20,019) on average. This means that video games remain a luxury product out of affordable reach for many people in the region. LONG LIVE THE BOX One of Africa’s healthiest games markets is Kenya, and the bulk of the country’s video games industry is centred on the nation’s capital and largest city, Nairobi. Local news outlet Zuqka reports that specialist games retail outlets are commonplace, supplemented by a strong remaining presence of video game arcades in the region. The country’s largest games specialist is GamesChanger Kenya, which is located inside of nationwide supermarket chain

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internet, the video games sector will see the fastest growth in the entertainment segment, enjoying an increase of nine per cent over the four years. This will be driven by the increasing adoption of mobile and digital titles by consumers. “Video games has made the greatest transition to digital, largely due to the popularity of mobile gaming, but also because of the increased potential for digital distribution of console games,” says Vicki Myburgh,

Nakumatt. GamesChanger offers consumers console hardware and boxed software which, unlike some stores in the region, are original and not pirated copies. The second-biggest retailer is Inntech Media, which incorporates a ‘gaming lounge’ consisting of sixteen ‘gaming units’, which consumers can use to demo and play software. Zuqka adds that the third-largest games outlet is Game Express International, which it says serves half of the nation’s gamers. However, while physical retail is continuing to flourish ahead of digital, many game stores still

entertainment and media industries leader for PwC South Africa. PwC additionally predicts that 27 per cent of console software revenue will be generated by digital sales in 2018. The growing strength of the South African games market has led to growing investment in games development, too.

£120m South Africa’s consumer games market is valued at 2.2 billion Rand (£120m) sell pirated or unofficial modified versions of proper titles, with hacked versions of Grand Theft Auto proving particularly popular. SUCCESS IN THE SOUTH As Africa’s largest constituent region, South Africa expectedly also boasts the continent’s most lively games industry. The latest South African Entertainment and Media Outlook for 2014 to 2018 from market research firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimates that, second only to the

May 15th 2015

TERRITORY REPORT AFRICA

“The South African local game development industry is growing at a healthy rate,” explains Nick Hall, chairperson for local games organisation Make Games South Africa. “In the past few years we’ve seen a number of local titles do well internationally, and we are starting to see South Africa become a destination for larger developers to outsource work. “The industry has grown to the extent that it has recognised the need to start formalising, with the first step being the formation of Make Games South Africa. It is an industry association that is mandated to help accelerate the growth of the local scene, as well as lobbying our government to try and improve the ecosystem in which developers are operating.” However, Hall continues, there is much work to be done. “The industry is miniscule compared to the more established economies,” he adds. “According to our statistics, there are only 40 studios operating in the country – though there are likely more that we are not aware of – and the value of the development industry is about 53 million Rand (£2.9m). Our statistics also indicate the local industry employs some 253 people. May 15th 2015

“South Africa has some interesting challenges facing us. Strict exchange controls have made it difficult for developers to get access to digital distribution platforms – for example, a local developer still cannot get access to a Google merchant account.” Hall concludes that while boxed titles continue to thrive, digital remains the choice platform for homegrown studios.

THE FACTS INFO Countries: 54 (plus two disputed/partially recognised member states – Somaliland and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) Largest Cities: Cairo (Egypt), Lagos (Nigeria), Kinshasa-Brazzaville (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Greater Johannesburg (South Africa), Mogadishu (Somalia), KhartoumOmdurman (Sudan), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Alexandria (Egypt), Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Casablanca (Morocco)

No South African developer has released a physical boxed game in over 15 years.

Population: 1.1 billion

Nick Hall, MGSA

Average GDP (Per Capita): $1,576

“Poor internet access and high costs of data also mean that the local consumer market is still heavily skewed towards physical purchases, but no local developer has released a physical boxed game in over 15 years,” he says. “The local consumer market is quite healthy, and is estimated to be valued at about 2.2 billion Rand (£120m). The mobile market appears to be the fastest growing, followed by consoles.”

Languages: English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Afrikaans, Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Amharic, Igbo, Fula Currency: Various, including regional pounds, dollars, rupees and shillings, South African Rand and Zambian Kwacha

TOP RETAILERS BT Games, Incredible Connection, Dion Wired, Takealot, GameChanger Kenya, Delta 5 Games, Inntech Media, Raru, Game Express International, Games4Egypt, GameSword, Game Valley, Windoza Gaming Center TOP DISTRIBUTORS Ster Kinekor, Apex Interactive, Megarom, Steam, Humble, GOG.com TOP DEVELOPERS Leti Games, Free Lives, RuneStorm, Lighthouse Studio, QCF Design, Fuzzy Logic, GamePower, 24Bit Games, Sea Monster Entertainment, Formula D Interactive, Celestial Games, Kuluya, Thoopid, Maliyo Games, Kola Studios, Gamsole, I-Imagine Interactive, Ubisoft Casablanca, Maliyo Games, Kuluya, Chopuo, Nezal Entertainment, Timeline Interactive LOCAL PUBLISHERS Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, EA, Devolver Digital, GamePower

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OFF THE RECORD

OFF THE RECORD This week, Jagex paints the town red (and blue and green and purple) ahead of Block N Load, Roll7 joins the political race and Project CARS gets on the road to GAME ABLOCKALYPSE NOW THOSE in the games media might have been able to hone their skills on the virtual battlefield, but Jagex decided to put their real-life skills to the test last month in celebration of the launch of Block N Load. Members of the UK and European press, plus a number of notable YouTubers, were brought along to Apocalypse Paintball in Hertfordshire, where the shooter-meets-tower defense-meets-MOBA title was brought to life in the real world. Defending teams were tasked with protecting their helium balloon bases with cardboard boxes and thousands of paintballs, while attacking teams attempted to pop their precious inflatable hit points. The attackers were fitted with helmet-mounted GoPro cameras to capture their storming of the pseudo-fortress. The footage has been ‘lost’.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

WANT TO WIN AN XBOX ONE? HERE’S YOUR CHANCE WIN GREAT PRIZES BY TAKING PART IN MCV’S #ALLFORONE COMPETITION XBOX has teamed up with MCV to run a series of new weekly challenges. Every Friday, Xbox will test gamers and pose key questions based around upcoming events. Just for industry folk and retailers, there’s a way to take part via MCV which could win you some fantastic prizes. Here’s how it works: every week, MCV will print a challenge on this page. You simply need to show us your answer - tweet it to us, email us or post on our other social feeds.

MCV XBOX CHALLENGE NO.6:

HOW TO ENTER

MEMORY LANE The latest Wolfenstein game is now on store shelves, and you could be in with a chance of winning an Xbox One to play it on. Wolfenstein’s storied past got us thinking – what classic video game franchises would you like to see make a comeback? Get in touch (see right) with your nostalgic wishlist and you could soon have an Xbox One on its way to you – don’t miss out!

WIN!

O Tweet us with a picture or

video of your entry (if relevant) to @MCVonline - don’t forget to use #AllForOne with your entry. Make sure you use both! O You can also send entries to oﬀtherecord@nbmedia.com - use #AllForOne in the subject O Alternatively tell us via Facebook - you can ﬁnd us at facebook.com/MCVonline O Deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday, May 22nd

HAVE YOU ENTERED ANY OF OUR PAST CHALLENGES? STAY TUNED – THE FIRST WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON May 15th 2015

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OFF THE RECORD

THE WEEK IN 140 CHARACTERS The Tweets you might have missed in the last seven days @Envisager_ If you take the height of PS4 as 53mm x 2 million sales, it equals 106,000 meters or about 66 miles high ^_^

Chris Owen, PlayStation Europe Tuesday May 5th @michaelgapper I believe any political candidate who defeats such a strong leader should then have to defeat an immortal demon who can throw ﬁreballs in mid air.

Michael Gapper, Frontier Developments Thursday May 7th @TheStreetWriter New mugs trying to inﬁltrate the Capcom UK oﬃce?! Not on my watch!

Matthew Edwards, Capcom Thursday May 7th

@GAMETelford Best not forget what’s important today... Splatoon Direct at 3pm. Oh and to vote ;-)

GAME Telford Thursday May 7th @Daveness85 Puzzle and Dragons Z is basically what would happen if Pokémon and Bejeweled got drunk together and threw caution to the wind!! #LoveChild

WABBITS IN WESTMINSTER

David Pitt, GAME Bullring Thursday May 7th

THE past few weeks saw the UK’s political parties take to the campaign trail ahead of the general election. However, one last-minute entrant threatened to rock the boat – the self-proclaimed ‘ﬁfth major political party’, Vote Bunnylord. The party was engineered by developer Roll7 ahead of the release of its side-scrolling shooter Not a Hero, in which the anthropomorphic and aspiring politician Bunnylord sends his campaign manager Steve to clean up (by splattering with blood) the criminal underworld in order to recruit voters. Bunnylord kept it a bit cleaner on the streets of London, electioneering outside Westminster with his campaign manager and spokesman before retiring back to Dalston’s Loading Bar. The cuboid-clad rabbit even managed to garner some wider interest, earning an interview with the mainstream press. Thankfully, the bizarre PR stunt failed to win a seat in parliament during the election. There’s always 2020.

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@GAMERugby #GAMEWars It’s Star Wars week @GAMERugby. Get involved.

GAME Rugby Thursday May 7th

May 15th 2015

OFF THE RECORD

POLE POSITION AHEAD of the launch of Project CARS last week, GAME outlets around the UK invited gamers in-store to catch an early glimpse of the racing title. As well as providing a chance to entice consumers to place a pre-order for the title, the stores also highlighted the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;wheelyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; good selection of racing peripherals available for PS4, Xbox One and PC. (Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ďŹ red - ed.)

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Trigger Master @DemonDragonMast

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Bari Pollard @barijohn