THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 868 FRIDAY 4TH MARCH 2016
20.05.16 [
[ Homefront-Game.com ] HomefrontGame ]
HOMEFRONT : THE REVOLUTION
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© 2016 and published by Deep Silver, a division of Koch Media, Austria. Developed by Deep Silver Dambuster Studios. Homefront, Deep Silver and their respective logos are trademarks of Koch Media GmbH. Portions of this software are included under license © 2004-2016 Crytek GmbH. All rights reserved. Crytek, CryEngine and their respective logos are trademarks of Crytek Group. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. “2”, “PlayStation” and “Ô are registered trademarks and the “Õ” logo and “Ø” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
FERGUS MCGOVERN 1965-2016
THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 868 FRIDAY 4TH MARCH 2016
THE INDUSTRY PAYS ITS RESPECTS TO A LEGEND P04
PlayStation boosts UK team as PS4 sales soar past 3m Nintendo’s Jo Bartlett joins the team O Rich Keen promoted to marketing director by Christopher Dring PS4 has cemented its place as the UK’s most popular games console. According to UK retailers, quoting GfK figures, PS4 passed the 3m sales milestone back in January. The news comes as the firm fills two key roles at its UK division. Richard Keen has been promoted to UK marketing director. He joined in 2013 as head of product marketing. He was previously employed as international publishing director at IGN parent Ziff Davis. He replaces Murray Pannell, who left to join 2K Europe as VP of publishing in December. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s PR boss Jo Bartlett has been named head of communications. Bartlett began her career in games working for PlayStation at agency John Doe. She was named head of comms at Nintendo UK in
2011, and has handled the launch of Wii U, various 3DS iterations, plus games such as Mario Kart 8 and Pokémon X and Y. She fills a role vacated by David Wilson, who was promoted to director of communications at PlayStation’s European arm in November last year. “With 2016 looking to be another exciting chapter for PlayStation, I’m proud to be joining the talented in-house team,” Bartlett said.
“I look forward to building on its innovation.” Keen added: “With PSVR launching, the strongest first party line-up since PS4 launched and our third-party exclusives better than ever, the team is in a great position to make 2016 the most successful year in PlayStation history.”
Jo Bartlett (pictured, right) and Richard Keen (pictured, above right) have new roles at PlayStation UK
Major book publisher launches Gamebook app series BOOK publishing giant Hachette is launching a mobile app that combines reading with gameplay. The firm has teamed up with New Star Games and Martyn Brown’s Insight Studios to create New Star Soccer Story, which is based on the 20m-selling New Star Soccer mobile game. The title will be released to coincide with Euro 2016. The app is a choose-yourown-adventure story mixed with gameplay elements. It will take the
reader from playing football in the park to competing in the cup final, depending on the choices that are made along the way. It is being written by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore. Hachette hopes the initiative can attract young people into reading, and says it is on the lookout for other properties to give the Gamebook treatment. “Hachette is continually looking at new ways to engage with readers,” explained Hachette’s
brand development director Damian Horner. “The Gamebook series combines gameplay technology and traditional storytelling in a new way that goes far beyond the printed page or eBook. “We’re delighted that our first Gamebook utilises gameplay from the BAFTA winning New Star Soccer. The timing of its release during Euro 2016 will resonate with football fans, as well as keen readers and gamers.”
PLUS IS THE INDIE SCENE DOOMED? UBISOFT’S BIG PLANS FOR THE DIVISION
FERGUS MCGOVERN TRIBUTE
Games industry mourns one of its very best Probe and HotGen founder Fergus McGovern passed away last weekend at just 50 O Games execs lead tributes Andy Payne, UKIE For those who knew him, Fergus always thought and acted big. He was always dreaming up new stuff and then making it happen. I remember so well, when he asked me in 2001: ‘do you like music’ to which I said yes. Then he said, with that Fergus twinkle in his eye: ‘I will send you something amazing’. Three days later, the first iPod arrived. The only other person I knew that had one of these was Fergus – as usual he was ahead of the game. A few years later in 2003, we hit some cashflow problems at Mastertronic and it was Fergus who helped us out, when everyone else looked away. Without any hesitation he stepped up to help out. You don’t forget that stuff. God bless you Fergus, you were a true games entrepreneur and without people like you, none of us would be where we are today. You devoted yourself to your wife, children and your beloved Crystal Palace. Your phrase ‘football is like a drug’ always made me smile. But never as much as you smiled, no one else had ‘that’ smile. Rest in peace, we will all miss you and the world will not be such a bright place without you amigo.
Stuart Dinsey, Curve I’m still struggling to put into words the shock of losing Fergus. Like so many of us of a certain age in games, we grew up and built our careers together, having amazing times along the way. The tributes from his friends and colleagues have made me cry again – beautiful eulogies.
March 4th 2016
today, as many people still work and socialise together and anyone who had the experience of working with Fergus should count themselves very lucky. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity Fergus has given me in our industry, and he is going to be missed by everyone who had the pleasure of working with him, and sharing a beer with him. McGovern (above) with close friend Garry Williams (left)
I was lucky enough to know Fergus for almost 30 years and, like so many have said, he always had time for others - with smart advice and a focus on living and loving life.” Fergus was rightly proud of his family, his industry and his Croydon roots. Love to all that loved him.
Fergus helped shape the games landscape and his influence spanned the globe.
Garry Williams, Sold Out Fergus, loss is the absence of something that can never be replaced and that is you, my true friend. Deanna, Abbey, Ryan, Ella and I will try to be strong but you left a big ‘life shaped’ crater behind.
Rod Cousens, Jagex
Terry Haynes, HotGen
Rod Cousens, Jagex Fergus was one of the Originals, the Crazy Ones, The Players. He helped shape the games landscape and his influence spanned the globe. He knew what he wanted and how to get it. Right from the get go we did deals together and worked together. He often figured it out as he went along because that’s what had to be done when there was no framework. He was an early disruptor and trod the boards ahead of others, carrying the mantle for them on how to get to the top and then being a role model and mentor to them. He was a free spirit, self made, part of the band of brothers of whom the UK games industry should be proud. For his family, and for many of us who regarded him as family, he was one of the greats and our lives were all the more richer for knowing him and having him as a friend.
Mark Cale, System 3
I had the privilege of working with Fergus both at Probe Entertainment and HotGen Ltd. Working at Probe and HotGen has been like working with a big family and this is all down to one man, Fergus McGovern. The bond he created between all of the staff still continues
Dear Fergus, After seeing you last Wednesday on our boys gathering with Sean and Garry, I was so shocked to hear you were gone just three days later. Garry called me early on Saturday and broke the news.
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RIP FERGUS MCGOVERN
We both did not really believe it could be true so I rang Carol just to confirm. Our hearts were left empty as she confirmed our worst fears. It makes you think and appreciate every moment you have with family and friends. The last thing you joked about as we left was we only have 13 summers left to enjoy life. You’re right, life is too short. I just can’t believe this has happened. Having known you for 30 years, your passion, laughter, guidance and friendship will be truly missed. Your substantial contribution to the games industry will not be forgotten, but celebrated. Garry, Sean and I will ensure that. You were a pioneer, a leader and a very generous person but most importantly you were a true friend. I truly want to thank you for all your friendship and love. All my thoughts and love are with Deanna, Abby, Ryan and Ella. Sleep well, my dear friend, and rest in peace.
Rob O’Farrell, Dovetail People always went that extra mile for Fergus as he always had a sense of pride in individuals, the team and Probe. He never faltered in his belief in what we could achieve and gave us the space to achieve it. Fergus was always there for a beer, a chat and the occasional drive of his Ferrari. He started out as a boss and ended a very good friend, and for that I will be forever grateful.
was devoted to his children and as proud as any father can be; and finally, as I knew him, a friend whose appetite for life and a good time was as big as his heart. Fergus was a lot of different things to different people but Fergus the man was simply a one-off who will be remembered with great fondness by the many, many people whose lives he touched. Farewell, my friend – see you in the big pub in the sky.
David Perry, PlayStation My first car was actually his own personal car, he gave it to me when I made a game for him. I had decided to start my own company in my mother’s living room, and he gave me a steady flow of exciting projects to work on, including the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, which gave me my first No.1 video game. He also introduced me to Nick Bruty, one of the best artists in the industry and we made endless games together. Fergus taught me to keep jumping hurdles no
matter how challenging things would get. He believed we could do anything and so we believed it, too. He knew so many people in the industry, and it’s interesting to see just how many had close personal relationships with him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a strong
reaction to someone passing in the video game business. He’s a real loss and sadly this keeps happening now as we all get older. I spent so much time with him, and am really sad that the last dinner we had together, is the last dinner we will ever have together.
Sean Brennan, Bethesda Fergus was a big part of my life since I met him in the ‘80’s. I recall fondly his kindness and generosity throughout the years during the good times and more importantly the bad times. He was always willing to go that extra mile for a friend.
Gary Bracey, Kuju Fergus was remarkable in so many respects: as a businessman he was respected and admired by everyone who dealt with him – including myself, as a boss he was responsible for bringing so many (now) wellknown names into this business and taking a chance on young talent which flourished under his leadership; as a family man he
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McGovern founded Probe and HotGen and helped establish the British games industry
CHEAT SHEET
PRESENTS
5 SECOND FACTS
THE NEWS IN 140 CHARACTERS The Tweets you might have missed in the last seven days
Your shortcut to sounding clever in the pub, we take you around the industry in under 30 seconds
POKÉMON SUN AND MOON ANNOUNCED
£746
The Pokémon Company boss Tsunekazu Ishihara (right) announced two new Pokémon titles – Sun and Moon. The news leaked by way of a trademark filing the day before. Furthermore, the firm revealed its Virtual Console releases of Red, Blue and Yellow would support Pokémon Bank, which lets gamers store critters and transfer them into Sun and Moon.
HTC Vive VR headsets cost £689 in the UK. But with £57 shipping included, it will set consumers back £746
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@DomCarey Stoked for the Pokémon Sun and Moon announcement but guess we’ll have to wait until E3 for a launch date.
@Wesley_Copeland Sun and Moon is cool. But aren’t we forgetting about Pokemon Z?
Dom Carey, Activision Friday, February 26th
RESIDENT EVIL 4, 5 AND 6 SET FOR LAUNCH ON PLAYSTATION 4 AND XBOX ONE Capcom is bringing Resident Evil 4, 5 and 6 to PS4 and Xbox One. 6 launches on March 29th, with 5 coming out in the summer and 4 set for an autumn release.
Wesley Copeland, freelance writer Friday, February 26th
UNCHARTED PROMO USES ASSASSIN’S CREED ART Developer Naughty Dog accidentally used artwork from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in its latest trailer for Uncharted 4. The studio apologised and re-uploaded a new version of the trailer.
@Toadsanime Capcom must know that everybody will be waiting on the Resident Evil 4 port and not care for 5 or 6 in the meantime.
@DanDawkins I mean, this was funny more than anything, right? No one’s doubting Naughty Dog’s artistic credentials.
Ryan Brown, Daily Mirror Thursday, February 25th
Daniel Dawkins, Future Wednesday, February 24th
@brettclaxton The release of Resident Evil 6 with all its online bells and whistles is a weird business move with Umbrella Corps out in May.
SuperData claims that Rise of the Tomb Raider sold three times as many copies on PC as Xbox One in its first month
80m Streaming firm DingIt reports that after one year in business it has 80m viewers under its belt
100m Research firm DFC Intelligence predicts that PS4 will sell over 100 million units worldwide over its lifetime
26 After 26 years in development, Unreal World launched last week for PC
@ForkParker Naughty Dog should embrace this and put a mission in Uncharted 4 where Drake has to steal concept art from Ubisoft’s office.
Brett Claxton, PushStartPlay Friday, February 26th
Fork Parker, Devolver Digital Wednesday, February 24th
Wii U Mario Fight Pad - PDP Design and manufacture the Officially Licenced Nintendo GameCube Styled Classic Pro Controller for Wii U europesales@pdp.com
www.pdp.com
GAMESAID THIS WEEK .................................................... PLAY YOUR PART BECOME A MEMBER AMBASSADOR TRUSTEE WWW.GAMESAID.ORG
March 4th 2016
LONDON MARATHON
DISNEY CHARITY SCREENING
STAND UP FOR GAMESAID
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In just three month’s time, Warner Bros PR and GamesAid trustee Cat Channon is running the London Marathon to raise money for the charity. The 26.2 mile endurace race is taking place on April 24th.
Disney is holding a charity screening on March 11th. The firm is showing its new film Zootropolos at the Disney Cinema in Hammersmith. Ticket sales will be supporting GamesAid. Tickets can be bought at www.justgiving. com/Zootropolis.
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Games industry comedy night Stand Up For GamesAid returns to London’s Comedy Store on May 9th. The event will be hosted by GamesAid patron and comedian Imran Yusuf. Tickets are available on thecomedystore.co.uk and cost £15
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CHEAT SHEET
Ubisoft reigns during bleak February for UK games retail by Alex Calvin THE UK games market suffered a disappointing February, with just 1.3m physical games sold. That’s according to GfK Entertainment figures and represents an 8.8 per cent decline on February 2015. Meanwhile, software revenue dipped 6.8 per cent for the month to £36.4 million. Ubisoft had the highest market share for the month, topping the publisher rankings. This is thanks to continued sales of Rainbow Six: Siege and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, as well as a strong debut for Far Cry Primal. That title was the second best-selling release of the
THE EDITOR
month behind Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Far Cry Primal was not the only new title in the Top Ten – Capcom’s Street Fighter V charts in eighth place, while new shooter from EA Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 comes in at No.10. Meanwhile, Warner Bros’ LEGO Marvel’s Avengers charts in third place with sales rising 43 per cent month-on-month. That title launched on January 29th, so was only on sale for two days during the previous month’s data. The figures do not count digital sales of big download titles such as XCOM 2, Superhot, Unravel and Firewatch.
INDIEAPOCALYPSE IS NOT REAL
I
hate the term ‘indieapocalypse’. ‘Apocalypse’ is end-of-days talk. It suggests that the indie development scene is hurtling towards some epic collapse. It isn’t. It has changed. The quality of indie games is on the rise - in fact, it’s reductive to even use the word ‘indie’ to describe them anymore. Jonathan Blow’s The Witness (released in January) had a £30 price tag, was greeted with critical acclaim and shifted 100,000 units in a week. Superhot (released last week) reached No.2 in the Steam charts and received similar plaudits. These games have higher budgets and bigger expectations. A lot of them are now even coming out on discs. We’ve got indie devs talking about signing James Bond licences and teaming up with major software houses. This doesn’t sound like an apocalypse - quite the opposite. It has become harder, of course. The sheer quality of some of the games means that indies cannot get away with a ‘that will do’ attitude. Games have to be excellent. And the sheer number of developers has saturated the space somewhat. But platforms remain open. Government support is available. Opportunities are still there. That doesn’t sound much like an apocalypse to me.
THE FEBRUARY UK PHYSICAL TOP 10
1
CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS III
2
Far Cry Primal
3
LEGO Marvel Avengers
4
FIFA 16
5
Grand Theft Auto V
6
Star Wars Battlefront
7
Rainbow Six: Siege
8
Street Fighter V
9
Fallout 4
10
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
Ubisoft Warner Bros EA Rockstar EA Ubisoft Capcom Bethesda EA
PRE-ORDER TOP 10
1
TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION (PS4)
2
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4)
3
Tom Clancy’s The Division (XO)
4
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Special Edition (PS4)
5
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD + Amiibo + soundtrack (Wii U)
6
Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls Collection (PS4)
7
Quantum Break (XO)
8
UFC 2 Day One Edition (PS4)
9
Dark Souls III (PS4)
10
Mortal Kombat XL (PS4)
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UBISOFT
Sony Ubisoft Sony Nintendo
INVESTORS MUST SHOW VIRTUAL REALITY PATIENCE So the Vive’s price is over £700, a good £200 more expensive than the already ludicrously priced Oculus Rift.
Sony Microsoft EA Bandai Namco Warner Bros
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Neither manufacturer is anticipating immediate results. HTC proudly announced 15,000 Vive units had sold in the first 10 minutes - by technology standards, that’s hardly anything to write home about. But the fact HTC seems happy about it suggests it’s set its expectation low. The challenge is if VR investors have the same expectations. VR is an industry built on investor capital. Investment firms are eager to get on the ground floor with this new tech. They’re not expecting a return on the first game, but if they can get a slice of a future major VR software house... it will be worth it. But how long will these investors wait for Oculus and Vive to reach the mainstream? Will it be enough time for the prices to fall and VR to go mainstream? How many loss-making games will they be willing to fund? That’s the real risk to VR. Let’s hope the investment community has the same long-term attitude as HTC and Oculus. FERGUS MCGOVERN I only met Fergus twice, but I had heard so much about him from the industry old guard that I felt like I knew the man well. As a result, I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of his passing at the weekend. There’s nothing more poignant I can say than what was written by his friends on pages 4 and 5. He was a great man who was taken far too young. Our thoughts are with his family and his friends. cdring@nbmedia.com
March 4th 2016
INTERVIEW PETER O’REILLY, EA
“We’ve seen core Battlefield fans fall in love with Peggle” EA stepped up its efforts to win over PC fans in January by bringing its Access subscription service to the platform. EA’s Peter O’Reilly tells Christopher Dring about how it can help address the PC’s growing discoverability crisis
P
eter O’Reilly has a tough job. He is the senior marketing director for EA’s PC games service, Origin. And it is his job to win the hearts of the notoriously demanding PC gaming audience. Browse any games forum and you’ll meet people who are extoling the evils of EA. Bemoaning the missing features in The Sims 4, or condemning the launch issues that plagued SimCity and Battlefield 4. PC gamers don’t forgive easily. “We are on a journey to regain the trust of the PC gamer,” O’Reilly tells MCV. “Over the last couple of years we have focused on ensuring a great play experience from launch and bringing players a better experience on Origin with programs like the Great Game Guarantee [where fans can return titles they’re not happy with], On the House [where titles are given away for a set period], and now Origin Access [the newly introduced £3.99 subscription service]. We want to continue to build long-term relationships with players based on great experiences with great games. We’re excited about the progress we’ve made, but are always pushing ourselves to continue to innovate.” ACCESS ALL AREAS Origin Access is the latest offering from EA. The concept started life on Xbox One, and allowed EA gamers to pay a monthly subscription fee and get access
March 4th 2016
to a ‘vault’ of past EA titles. Subscribers can even get hold of upcoming games before they become publicly available. It’s an offering not to dissimilar to the services offered by the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. “Origin Access and EA Access give players another option for how to experience our games in much the same way they enjoy movies, TV shows and music,” says O’Reilly. “Gamers are a diverse group who are looking for different experiences. Some players want to try the latest games before they’re released, while others are more interested in having a diverse library of great games to explore.” He continued: “We’ve always wanted to bring this service to PC. It is a strong and growing business for EA, and we’re constantly looking for ways to make PC gaming even better. As soon as we were sure that EA Access on Xbox One was well liked by our players we started to work on Origin Access.” Access on Xbox One launched in August 2014, but it wasn’t until the middle of 2015 when EA started to see some results. Heavy promotion
We are on a journey to regain the trust of the PC gamer. Peter O’Reilly, EA
around E3 and Gamescom saw the number of members more than double between July and September. “But more exciting,” added O’Reilly, “is the fact that 70 percent of members have used the service to download and try a new game or franchise for the first time.” DISCOVERY CHANNEL O’Reilly reiterates something former EA COO Peter Moore told us in 2014, that Access is a way for gamers to discover titles they would never have previously played. “The Vault is a powerful way to introduce players to new experiences,” insists O’Reilly. “This is exactly what we had hoped to see. A subscription breaks down the price barrier to games. We’ve seen core Battlefield fans falling in love with Peggle and FIFA fans embrace Plants vs Zombies.” He boasts: “Players have never had more choices, from great indie games to triple-A blockbusters. We’ve put a lot of effort into making Origin a great way for players to discover, sample, buy and play games from EA and a diverse group of developers. Programs
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PETER O’REILLY, EA INTERVIEW
For £3.99 a month, gamers can play a a select number of popular EA games.
like The Great Game Guarantee make it easy for players to return a game if they try something new and don’t like it, while On The House helps players to discover a diverse group of games for free. Intelligent platforms with deep personalisation and recommendation engines are the best way to aid discovery of huge catalogues.” EA is careful not to oversell the potential of subscription offers. Access is not the only service of its type. The PlayStation Now streaming service is another, while PS Plus and Xbox Live include games as part of their subscription offers. But gamers like to own their products. The initial plans around Xbox One, with the inability to share games or tradein software, and the need to be connected online, resulted in a huge backlash from fans. This suggests that subscription services are not about to replace existing business models.
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O’Reilly agrees: “Gamers are a diverse group and Origin Access is just another option for players to experience our games. If players prefer to buy their games a la carte on Origin, they can still do that and get a 10 per cent discount if they’re a member. If they’d rather explore a diverse, growing library of games for a monthly fee, and early access to our new releases, we give them that option as well.” When EA Access was first announced back in 2014, there was some skepticism. The success of Netflix and Spotify came on the back of heavy investment and a significant amount of content, while the EA Access ‘Vault’ only contained a handful of older titles. It’s still a long way from proving itself a viable business model, and The Vault is still hardly brimming with products. But EA appears committed to it, and if it can get Access to work, then the industry will have a new mechanism to not just make money, but to encourage gamers try out new concepts, too.
EA: THE RETAILER
EA Access and Origin Access let players experience our games in much the same way they enjoy movies, TV shows and music. Peter O’Reilly, EA
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EA’S Origin download service was initially set-up to sell EA games. The publisher wanted to avoid a reliance on Valve and Steam and have a more direct relationship with its fans. But Origin has also attracted the attention of developers, who are eager to get their games out there in whatever way they can, and today the PC platform sells a plethora of titles from some of EA’s biggest rivals. And Peter O’Reilly, senior marketing director of Origin, says that the firm hopes third parties will want to join its Origin Access service, too. “We definitely do,” he said. “In fact, when we launched Origin Access, one of the 15 titles in The Vault was This War of Mine, a third party title developed by the very talented 11 bit studios. Expect to see more third party games in the near future.”
March 4th 2016
MARKET MOVES
APPOINTMENTS
Xbox’s Carey moves to Activision PR expert replaces Henry Clay O Sargent joins Premier O Three new recruits for Edge Case Games ACTIVISION | DOMINIC CAREY will be joining Activision’s UK communications team as a digital PR specialist. He joins from Edelman and has worked on the Xbox account for more than six years. He was part of the team that launched Kinect and Xbox One. Carey replaces Henry Clay at Activision. Clay has since set-up his own business. “I’m delighted to join the talented team at Activision, and to focus the experience I’ve built during my career towards a new and exciting challenge,” said Carey. He will be in charge for implementing digital PR campaigns for triple-A games,
March 4th 2016
such as Call of Duty, Destiny, Guitar Hero and Skylanders. Head of PR JONATHAN FARGHER commented: “Dominic’s hugely talented, experienced and passionate, with a wealth of media and community contacts built over the six years working in-house and agency side.”
His experience and desire to create stories that travel are a welcome addition to the team,” stated GARETH WILLIAMS, Premier’s games director. Sargent added: “I’m thrilled to have joined the Premier games team. They’re a great bunch of professionals working across an eclectic mix of projects and clients. There’s even a boiling water tap to make tea in the office. Job done.”
PREMIER | TOM SARGENT has been hired as senior account manager at Premier’s games team. He previously worked as a PR consultant at Renegade PR. “Tom joins as a senior member of the team as it expands its client portfolio beyond the UK.
EDGE CASE | Fractured Space’s developer has announced three new hires. Former EA and Atari industry veteran MARTIN FRAIN (pictured above) has
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joined as marketing director, along with new recruits in analytics (SCOTT DAVIS - pictured left) and monetisation (JORGE EZQUERRA - pictured left). These appointments follow the firm’s announcement that Fractured Space has reached half a million users on Steam’s Early Access. “The arrival of Martin, Scott and Jorge represents a huge step forward in creating a winning team in preparation for the full launch of Fractured Space later this year,” said COO CHRIS MEHERS.
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WEEKLY SALES CHARTS
WEEKLY CHARTS UBISOFT takes its first No.1 of the year with Far Cry Primal in this week’s charts. It’s the first title in the Far Cry franchise to be launched during Q1, as Ubisoft usually chooses the busy Q4 period. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, published by EA, debuts at No.2, selling 31 per cent more units than the first week’s sales of the previous title in the series. Third place also belongs to EA, FIFA 16 remains in the position despite a 38 per cent sales drop weekon-week. Call of Duty: Black Ops III has fallen to No.4, after spending eleven weeks at No.1. Activision’s title suffered from a 51 per cent decrease in sales.
Capcom’s Street Fighter V, which debuted at second place last week, has also fallen to No.12, with sales declining by 78 per cent. In the meantime, Nintendo’s Bravely Second: End Layer on 3DS debuts at No.12. Over on Steam, preorders for Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division lead the listings. Five titles also enter the retailer’s charts this week: Superhot, published by Imgn.pro, Wargaming’s Master of Orion, Chucklefish’s Stardew Valley, Ubisoft’s Far Cry Primal, and Grim Dawn by Crate Entertainment. On mobile platforms, Glu’s Kendall and Kylie had a promising first week.
GLOBAL STEAM CHARTS (UNITS)
01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
LW NEW 01 NEW NEW NEW 05 07 03 NEW
TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION (P) DEVELOPER: UBISOFT PUBLISHER: UBISOFT
TITLE Superhot Fallout 4 Season Pass Master of Orion Stardew Valley Far Cry Primal Counter-Strike: Global Offensive XCOM 2 Grand Theft Auto V Grim Dawn
PUBLISHER Imgn.pro Bethesda Wargaming Chucklefish Ubisoft Valve 2K Games Rockstar Crate Entertainment
TOP 40 UK PHYSICAL RETAIL 02
01
TW 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
04
05
LW NEW NEW 03 01 05 04 06 07 08 02 10 NEW 11 19 09
Title Far Cry Primal Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 FIFA 16 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Grand Theft Auto V LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Star Wars Battlefront Fallout 4 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege Street Fighter V Minecraft: Story Mode Bravely Second: End Layer Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Forza Motorsport 6 Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon
Format Publisher PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Rockstar PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PC EA PS4, XO, PC Bethesda PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, PC Capcom PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Telltale Games/Avanquest 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft XO Microsoft 3DS Nintendo
14 16 12 13 17 15 18 21 20 RE 23 27 37 RE 29 28 35 RE 39 26 22 32 33 25 31
Minecraft: Xbox Edition LEGO Jurassic World Just Cause 3 WWE 2K16 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Destiny: The Taken King Need for Speed Halo 5: Guardians Disney Infinity 3.0 Knack Rise of the Tomb Raider Just Dance 2016 Deadpool Halo: The Master Chief Collection Resident Evil Origins Collection Terraria Dying Light: The Following Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain NBA 2K16 Killzone: Shadow Fall The Elder Scrolls Online Battlefield Hardline The Sims 4 Guitar Hero Live
XO, 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PC Square Enix PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games PS4, PS3, Vita Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard PS4, XO EA XO Microsoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney PS4 Sony XO Square Enix PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision XO Microsoft PS4, XO, PC Capcom PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Vita, PC 505 Games PS4, XO, PC Warner Bros XO Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Konami PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PC Bethesda PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PC EA PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Activision
Source: Steam, Period: February 22nd to 28th March 4th 2016
03
Source: UKIE/GfK Entertainment, Period: Week ending February 27th 12
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WEEKLY SALES CHARTS
UK IPAD PAID
01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
LW 13 09 08 03 07 06 05 NEW NEW
UK IPHONE PAID
(UNITS)
01
MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG
Title Heads Up! Terraria Bloons TD 5 Minecraft: Story Mode Geometry Dash The Sims 3 Hide N Seek Secrets of the Dark: Eclipse Mountain Collector’s Edition HD Mystery Tales: Alaskan Wild HD
TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Developer Warner Bros 505 Games Ninja Kiwi Telltale RobTop Games EA Wang Wei Big Fish Big Fish
LW 03 01 05 07 04 08 09 10 12
Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 15th to February 21st
(UNITS)
MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG
Title Heads Up! Football Manager Mobile 2016 Monopoly Game Plague Inc. Bloons TD 5 Geometry Dash Tipping Point The Sims 3 Neo Monsters
Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 15th to February 21st
UK IPAD GROSSING (REVENUE)
UK IPHONE GROSSING (REVENUE)
01
01
TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
LW 02 04 03 06 08 07 05 14 12
CLASH OF CLANS DEVELOPER: SUPERCELL
Title Candy Crush Saga Game of War- Fire Age Candy Crush Soda Saga The Sims FreePlay Boom Beach Hay Day Candy Crush Jelly Saga Minecraft: Pocket Edition Farm Heroes Saga
TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Developer King Machine Zone King EA Supercell Supercell King Mojang King
LW 02 03 NEW 04 05 08 06 07 09
Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 15th to February 21st
CLASH OF CLANS DEVELOPER: SUPERCELL
Title Candy Crush Saga Game of War – Fire Age Kendall and Kylie Candy Crush Soda Saga Mobile Strike Boom Beach Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes Candy Crush Jelly Saga 8 Ball Pool
UK IPHONE FREE (UNITS)
01
01
LW NEW RE 12 03 06 08 02 NEW NEW
COLOR SWITCH DEVELOPER: SAMUEL RATUMAITAVUKI
Title Kendall and Kylie Multi Level 4 Car Parking Simulator Splash Candy Crush Jelly Saga Piano Tiles 2 Hungry Shark Evolution Petrol Station Car Parking Simulator Roblox Stack
TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Developer Glu Games Aidem Media Ketchapp King Cheetah Technology Future Games of London Play With Games Roblox Corporation Ketchapp
Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 15th to February 21st www.mcvuk.com
Developer King Machine Zone Glu Games King Epic War Supercell EA King Miniclip.com
Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 15th to February 21st
UK IPAD FREE (UNITS)
TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Developer Warner Bros SEGA EA Ndemic Creations Ninja Kiwi RobTop Games Barnstorm Games EA NTT Resonant
LW NEW 11 12 08 NEW 04 03 RE 05
COLOR SWITCH DEVELOPER: SAMUEL RATUMAITAVUKI
Title Kendall and Kylie Splash Twist Piano Tiles 2 Stack Swing Petrol Station Car Parking Simulator 100 Balls Episode - Choose Your Story
Developer Glu Games Ketchapp Ketchapp Cheetah Technology Ketchapp Ketchapp Play With Games Giedrius Talzunas Episode Interactive
Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: February 15th to February 21st 13
March 4th 2016
THE BIG GAME TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION
March 4th 2016
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TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION THE BIG GAME
TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION
Ubisoft’s game changer Tom Clancy’s The Division is one of the most awaited titles of the year. Ubisoft wants to “completely change the way people play online RPGs” and refers to its IP as the “biggest title in Q1 in the history of video games.” Marie Dealessandri asked Julian Gerighty, associate creative director at Ubisoft’s Massive, why The Division is such a big deal Release Date: March 8th Formats: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Massive, Red Storm Entertainment, Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Annecy Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822
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layers have been waiting for Ubisoft’s most ambitious title for nearly three years. Announced at E3 in 2013, The Division was supposed to arrive in 2014 and will finally hit shelves in just a few days, surrounded by massive hype. When the game was announced, Ubisoft’s ambition was pretty clear: “Our goal with Tom Clancy’s The Division is nothing short of completely changing the way people play online RPGs,” declared executive producer Fredrik Rundqvist back in 2013. Wayne Greenwell, brand manager at Ubisoft, tells MCV: “Ever since The Division was first announced there has been a huge amount of interest from fans and media, and now that it’s finally about to release, excitement levels are incredibly high.” Darren Bowen, the firm’s UK sales director, even referred to the game as “the biggest title in Q1 in the history of video games.”
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And indeed, expectations for this new IP are huge, as the shooter’s open beta attracted a record-breaking 6.4 million players. A RUINED NEW-YORK CITY “Tom Clancy’s The Division is an online action-RPG set in the weeks following Black Friday when a devastating pandemic sweeps through New York City,” explains Julian Gerighty, associate creative director at Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft’s Swedish developer. “You play as a member of The Division, a group of sleeper agents embedded into society that has been activated as humanity’s last hope.” The Division finds its roots in a real-life US protocol, Directive 51, which would see a ‘Continuity Policy Coordination Committee’ take over the country in case of catastrophic emergencies. “A few years ago there was an exercise conducted by the US government, called Dark Winter,”
The potential vulnerability of today’s urban systems is a subject that we found fascinating. Julian Gerighty, Ubisoft
15
says Gerighty. “It measured and simulated the effects of a pandemic hitting a city and the subsequent collapse of infrastructure. It only took four or five days for everything to fall apart. The interconnectedness of today’s urban systems and their potential vulnerability is a subject that we found fascinating. The Tom Clancy IP itself is about clear and present danger, plausible ‘what if...’ scenarios, and in the case of The Division, we asked ourselves: what would happen if the usual heroes couldn’t save us? Who could actually help? So we came up with the idea of The Division agents. We chose New York City, the peak of culture, a city that everyone knows or has seen in one way or another – nothing says civilisation as much as New York.” Greenwell adds: “What makes us stand apart from anything else is that this is the only action RPG which is set
March 4th 2016
THE BIG GAME TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION
UBISOFT’S SNOWDROP TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION is powered by Ubisoft’s new game engine, called Snowdrop and created by developer Massive. “From the start, we’ve been working on a game specifically for the new generation of consoles and PC. Our proprietary engine Snowdrop was built from the ground up for those platforms, and we’re really happy with the results we’ve
achieved in terms of building our own version of New York in mid-crisis,” enthuses associate creative director Julian Gerighty. Snowdrop improves the realism of The Division’s world. For example, the light is more authentic and evolves during the day, the environment changes depending on the weather and the destruction system was designed to mimic reality.
The title is set in a devastated New-York City
within the realistic setting of a devastated New York City. It’s a unique selling point which has really captured the imagination of our fans.” ENTERING THE DARK ZONE The setting may be original, but a post-apocalyptic action game is hardly new. However, Gerighty says The Division’s biggest innovations is in the game’s online options. “In our game, we built a new kind of experience with co-op gameplay in the open-world and a fully integrated Player vs Player enabled Player vs Environment area, called the Dark Zone, which can be accessed completely seamlessly from the open-world,” he describes. “There is one Dark Zone in the game and it’s located in the middle of Manhattan. It’s also the most dangerous area, where fear, betrayal, and tension are high. There you can team up with other players to take down your enemies and extract legendary loot via helicopter. It’s your choice to collaborate with other agents, or attack them and steal their loot. “The extraction is a key part of the Dark Zone gameplay: after entering and exploring this dangerous zone, players will be able to discover legendary loot. However, in order to integrate
March 4th 2016
it in their regular inventory, they need to call for an extraction by shooting a flare, attracting enemies, possibly other players, to their position. The key here is for the team to hold their position for 90 seconds and load the loot to the helicopter rope. If they succeed, they are rewarded with their Dark Zone loot.” This is how Tom Clancy’s The Division wishes to stand out from the crowded RPG world. But it’s also been compared to another game in which multiplayer and single-player gameplay is intertwined: Activision’s Destiny. The Division has actually been nicknamed “Ubisoft’s Destiny” by a number of critics. “I can’t really talk for other games, only to reiterate that a massive open world has always been one of our key creative pillars of development from the very start,” Gerighty insists. “We wanted to allow the player to have the freedom to explore the game’s narrative in a non-linear way.” Wayne Greenwell details: “The world is completely open and missions can be tackled in any order the player wishes, too. There is no loading or linear story structure, instead you can choose how you want to play,
and indeed who you want to play with as you explore New York.”
The Dark Zone is the most dangerous area in the game, where fear, betrayal, and tension are high. Julian Gerighty, Ubisoft
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BEYOND LAUNCH The Division is an ambitious game, and despite the long development time, not everything made it in. The company had initially intended to launch a companion app, in which the player had the capacity to control a drone. “The app gives you a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, the ability to attack enemies and to place targets for your allies or enhance their capabilities,” explained Ubisoft at the time. But the idea was dropped in June of last year. “We worked really hard to incorporate the companion app into the game and the decision to remove it was not an easy one – the fact is that it constituted too much of an unfair advantage to the teams who would use the drones,” Gerighty honestly explains. But there is more to come. To enhance the experience even further, Ubisoft has already scheduled ambitious DLC and expansions: “We have a substantial postlaunch plan to keep the experience fresh and continue the agent’s journey for all players, including three major expansions, free updates and new features to be released over the course of the next year,” Gerighty confirms.
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INDIE GAMES PUBLISHING
Is the indie games scene doomed? With more games launching than ever before, production costs shooting up and the spectre of the indieapocalypse haunting the sector, it would appear that all is not well in the indie games market – has its golden age passed? Alex Calvin speaks to the top indie publishers and labels
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here have never been more indie games on the market. Free to use engines like Unity or Unreal, as well as software like GameMaker, mean that literally anybody with a computer and the will to make a video game can do just that. And thanks to open platforms like Steam and iOS, it’s easier than ever to put it out there. The result is that the thriving indie market is reaching a saturation point. “There is just too much content, TinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik tells MCV. “The market is flooded. It’s the same thing that happened with mobile years ago, and happens with any open market place.” INDIEAPOCALYPSE NOW As a result of the sheer number of games, it’s become increasingly difficult to get visibility. Out of this, the idea of the ‘indieapocalypse’ has arisen – the notion that it’s never been harder to make and release indie games. But Team17’s Debbie Bestwick says that this is business as usual. “A lot of games are failing to achieve commercial and sustainable success,” she says. “That’s unfortunately always been a problem. There are a larger number of creators now, so we’re hearing more stories of doom and gloom. Throw in social media and it explodes. There are lots of incredibly successful indie games every year – significantly more now than five years ago.” Rising Star developer relations man Martin Mathers adds: “The indieapocalypse is a myth. It’s scare-mongering nonsense of
March 4th 2016
TinyBuild turned to Twitch to promote Punch Club
the highest order. That’s not to say that there aren’t challenges. If you look at history, the indie thing was where everything started and then that became the big publishers. The indieapocalypse would suggest that indies are an endangered species and that is not the case. If anything, it’s the biggest studios that are endangered. You have this huge wave of creativity and amazing games coming up that prove you don’t need £5m and teams of 200 to make a good title.” Devolver Digital’s Graeme Struthers says that there are challenges, but also plenty of tips for achieving success: “There is a lot of good advice out there for developers. Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail is someone who puts a huge amount of effort into explaining the best way to approach being an indie developer. And whilst there is no ‘indieapocalypse’, there are many pitfalls for developers. As ever, speak to your peers, avoid received wisdom from industry experts and you should be fine.”
The indieapocalypse is a myth. It’s scaremongering nonsense But that’s not to say there aren’t challenges. Martin Mathers, Rising Star Games
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But Curve Digital’s publishing director Simon Byron says there is some truth to the indieapocalypse. “I’ve seen a lot of people be dismissive of it. And it’s easy to claim that the opportunities exist as they used to, but it’s clear that that’s not true,” he says. “The market changes so rapidly that what was true last year isn’t true now, and even what happened last month isn’t true now. What is clear is that old days where you could publish a game on Steam and sit back and collect the money, are long gone. Our first Steam game – Stealth Bastard – was the only game to come out that week. When Stealth Inc 2 launched last year, there were 24 other games out that day. In the old days you’d pinpoint a release date; now you need to pick a release hour so you have the best chance of taking off.” SHOW ME THE MONEY As well as a rising number of games hitting storefronts, the cost of making games is rising. This has led to the rise of a new mid-tier, dubbed indie-A or triple-I by some. “Production values have been on the rise for about 18 months now,” Team17’s Bestwick says. “This comes at a real monetary cost. Developers need to feed families, pay bills. The more the consumers demand high production values, the higher the cost of games goes. It’s super competitive. But I like to think that people are starting to appreciate these games and what they are worth.” 505 Games’ global marketing boss Tim Woodley adds:
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INDIE GAMES PUBLISHING
THE PRICE TAG IN January of this year, indie developer Jonathan Blow announced a release date for his second solo title The Witness (pictured). He also revealed a £30 price point – something that was met with criticism by some online users because this is higher than the typical indie game. “There are too many games now that are technically indie but don’t really fit the form,” Rising Star Games’ indie developer relations man Martin Mathers says. “My personal opinion is that indie as a developer term is fine, but indie to describe a game is a bit of an insult. A good title is a good title whether it’s made by one person or three people or fifty people or whatever. I’m not entirely convinced that ‘indie’ as a descriptor should be a thing, but that’s me.” “Good quality games have value. The second Blow said The Witness would cost £30, I said: ‘Yep, I’m buying it’. Games should be £30/£40 anyway. £50 is a bit excessive. That’s the problem. Because the high-end has gone so high, the low end is
staying low and it shouldn’t be. It should be coming up. There are a lot of really high quality games. Something like Firewatch was priced about right, but [developer] Campo Santo could have charged slightly more. “There are so many games out there that are selling for £5, and it’s like: ‘Why aren’t you £15?’ I appreciate that they’re that price because they want them to sell, but people keep undercutting themselves for no good reason and it’s a real shame. Like I said, quality has value and that value needs to be upheld.” Soedesco’s executive manager Hans van Brakel says that developers need to consider pricing early. “Most indie developers need to look a bit further than just releasing the game and doing a bit of PR and marketing,” he says. “They need to find a way to make a margin on Steam without asking a base price that’s too high. These developers need a strong business plan involving marketing/PR and monetisation, DLC plans and so on.”
(Below left to right): Sold Out’s Williams, Kiss’ Still, Team17’s Bestwick and Soedesco’s van Brakel
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March 4th 2016
INDIE GAMES PUBLISHING
GETTING THE WORD OUT THE way indie games are promoted is changing. Developers and publishers are trying new ways of marketing their titles. For example, TinyBuild let its fans play Punch Club via Twitch before it launched. “The mainstream press still matters,” CEO Alex Nichiporchik says. “But reviews are no longer important. People now make decisions for themselves. You see this a lot with games that get mediocre reviews but then sell super well. People will look at game play, think it looks good, then made a decision for themselves.” He continues: “Two years, if a major YouTuber covered your game, that was it. You would sell a lot of copies and have a successful launch. However, today that’s not enough. Everyone is a YouTuber today, which means they have to make videos daily and the audience that follows them doesn’t necessarily gravitate towards buying those games. They just want to see their entertainer entertain them every other day. That doesn’t directly translate to sales anymore. “It’s not enough to just make a good game anymore. Punch Club didn’t show well at expos at all. So we thought: ‘how do we make people aware of this game?’ and launched Twitch Plays Punch Club, which made more people aware of the game.”
March 4th 2016
Curve is releasing Fiddlesticks’ Hue later this year
“Development costs are starting to rise again, which means that some of the bigger, more established studios are struggling to remain truly indie. Their size means that they need to be more ambitious with projects, bigger budgets, which means bigger unit forecasts.” And Sold Out’s Garry Williams says that money is an issue in the sector: “The indie scene is healthy but lacking in finance. The big have become bigger and aren’t interested in projects under £x million.” But this isn’t something that Devolver has encountered. “The scale and ambition of projects vary enormously and
In this day and age, and particularly for indie studios, it’s too risky to not take risks.
that has always been the case,” Struthers says. “We still have a very similar range of projects today as we had several years ago and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. For each project it is more a case of being confident that the budgets are realistic in the first place and that the group can complete the game and not kill themselves in the process.”
Tim Woodley, 505 Games
(From left to right): Devolver’s Struthers, TinyBuild’s Nichiporchik, 505 Games’ Woodley and Curve’s Byron
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INDIE SPOTLIGHT With so many games launching right now, what exactly are indie publishers and labels looking for? “It has to be something that intrigues us and that we want to play,” Struthers
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INDIE GAMES PUBLISHING
Playtonic’s YookaLaylee raised over £2m on Kickstarter
says. “There is clearly no set pattern to our group’s taste, given that we have moved from Pigeon dating simulators to katanawielding ninjas.” 505’s Woodley adds: “The reason why we’ve been so successful in the indie space is that this is where the risks are taken and where the innovation happens. When resources are tight, the concept has to do the heavy lifting. In this day and age, and particularly for indie studios, it is too risky not to take risks.” Curve Digital’s acquisition by the Catalis Group in January has meant that the publisher has ramped up what it is looking for. “Historically, Curve didn’t have a huge amount of money in helping people finish games and what the Catalis acquisition has done is help us to compete in that new, more expensive indie market and allow us to sign those titles that are raising expectations of what an indie game can be,” Byron explains. “Previously Curve would have struggled to compete in that market. But now, we are able invest in titles that need funding.
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You’re going to continue to see the evolution of Curve. The likes of Action Henk and Hue are moving away from what was considered to have been a typical Curve game.” PC-focused publisher Kiss is also looking to expand its offering. “We’ve called our new step Kiss 2.0 because it is a real change,” CEO Darryl Still says. “We’re looking for cross platform, we’re looking for bigger titles with a stronger background, more depth, higher SRP and a longer lead time.” He continues: “Now developers really have to do the background work and you have to treat it like a triple-A coming from Activision or EA. They can’t say ‘it’s indie so we can do it in a very amateur way’. You still have to be slick and professional about it. In fact, you need to be more slick and professional about it than the slick professionals are.” And TinyBuild’s Nichiporchik says that its games need to be able to be sold on social media.
“There’s a new generation of gamers growing up very connected and constantly online,” he says. “Now we are looking for something that can grab people’s attention quite easily. The latest example is Clustertruck. You see a gif of that and it sells the entire game. The issue there is making a good game around that.” Meanwhile, Team17 is looking to the future with its game releases. “Our portfolio is quite varied, with the likes of Yooka-Laylee, Allison Road, Worms, The Escapists and so on,” MD Bestwick says. “We’re always aiming for a broader spectrum rather than focusing on being known for one particular genre. We buy into teams as much as we buy into games We want to work with like-minded people, we want to make games the right way. I want to find titles that we believe have franchiseability and titles for the future. “For us, it really does come down to passionate, hardworking and creative freedom and genuinely nice people.”
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LAND OF THE BLIND DUE to the lack of market data, it’s difficult to know how the largely-digital indie games market is performing, and how other publishers’ titles are doing in comparison to each other. “What digital publishers lack is a sense of how they are doing,” Curve Digital’s publishing director Simon Byron says. “Whilst we can look at our sales figures and see what is performing well, what we don’t have the opportunity to do is get a real sense of whether we are doing well or not because we exist in isolation. It maybe using a crude method, but [Steam analytics site] Steam Spy’s results are within the margin of error that it portrays and therefore you can take a look at whether your own stats are accurate, but you can get a sense of how other games are doing.”
March 4th 2016
SOEDESCO UPCOMING RELEASES
Adventure time Soedesco’s Hans van Brakel tells MCV about the upcoming release of its first own IP, Adam’s Venture ADAM’S VENTURE: ORIGINS is the very first of Soedesco’s ownIP releases. It follows the Dutch publisher’s acquisition of the series from developer Vertigo last year. So far there have been three games in the series released between 2009 and 2012. Origins is a remake of these titles for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Origins sees fans playing as titular character Adam Venture as he seeks the Garden of Eden. Soedesco has high hopes for the title, with executive manager Hans van Brakel believing that the game will appeal to a wide audience due to its non-violent game play.
“The good thing about Adam’s Venture is that it’s for almost everyone,” he says. “And it’s a kind of title that’s not being made anymore. It’s an adventure game based purely on puzzling, platforming and story. It’s something that everyone can play. And it looks very good, too.” He continues: “This game has a very wide audience. Because of the story and the challenge, it will appeal to a lot of hardcore gamers as well. There is no violence and it’s very recognisable, it’s reminiscent of something like Indiana Jones or old-school Tomb Raider. We are trying to sell a game that a parent can play before their kids go to bed.”
FORMATS: PS4, XO, PC
DEVELOPER Vertigo Games
RELEASED: Q1 2016
DISTRIBUTOR Pavillion
PUBLISHER: Soedesco
CONTACT: 01902 861 527
From NERO to hero NERO launched last year for Xbox, but now Soedesco is bringing it to PS4 and PC, as well as boxed retail. Executive manager Hans van Brakel tells MCV more DEVELOPED by Rome-based studio Storm in a Teacup, NERO (which stands for Nothing Ever Remains Obscure) was released last year for Xbox One. But now publisher Soedesco has stepped in to release the visual novel both digitally for PlayStation 4 and PC, as well as physically for PS4, Xbox One and PC. It’s a narrative-driven first person puzzle experience that stars a child accompanied by a mysterious black-clothed companion. And according to Soedesco’s executive manager Hans van Brakel, NERO will sell primarily to the core gamer – but the publisher believes that the title www.mcvuk.com
will do well with a mainstream audience, too. “NERO is a wonderful journey in a world of incredible beauty, a story driven first-person game with puzzles and intuitive controls where the environment is connected to the characters and their past,” van Brakel says. “The world of NERO is magical and varied, making exploring an ongoing challenge.” He continues: “The critical reception to the game so far has been very strong. People love a good story in a world they can lose themselves in. That combined with the high production quality makes it a good fit for a lot of people.” 23
FORMATS PS4, XO, PC
DEVELOPER Storm in a Teacup
RELEASED: Early 2016
DISTRIBUTOR Pavillion
PUBLISHER: Soedesco
CONTACT: 01902 861 527
March 4th 2016
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HEWSON CONSULTANTS INDIE INTERVIEW
INDIE INTERVIEW Bring back the ‘80s Hewson Consultants is a name from a bygone era of gaming that has been reborn thanks to Government support and the current digital age. CEO Rob Hewson tells Christopher Dring about why now is the time to return
(From left to right): Hewson Consultants’ technical director John Ogden, chairman and founder Andrew Hewson, and his son (and CEO) Rob Hewson
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ast month, the UK Government announced it was granting £50,000 to game developers making prototypes. The UK Games Fund awarded cash to familiar names such as Ruffian, Tag, Spilt Milk, Roll 7, and one name that will have stuck out to gaming historians: Hewson Consultants. Hewson is a family-run games creator that originated in the 1980s. Led by Andrew Hewson, the firm was responsible for Cybernoid, Nebulus, Paradroid and a host of other titles that retro fanatics may recognise. The company vanished in the early 1990s, only to resurface in 2013 when Andrew kickstarted a book about his experiences in the industry. And now, under the stewardship of his son Rob, Hewson has returned to making games. “It took me a long time to convince my father that there was any value in revisiting the past,” Rob tells us. “I think the turning point was the Kickstarter campaign for his book. The response was incredibly enthusiastic. That made us realise that there was a great deal of goodwill for the company and we received countless messages, which seemed to yearn for a return to the glory days. When we looked at the opportunities of digital distribution, state funding and new platforms like VR and AR, it became clear that the time was right to give it another shot.”
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Now that open platforms have returned, it’s important that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.
The support from UK Government is key to helping the market re-establish itself, says Rob. “It’s important that we respond to this in a positive way as an industry. In the 1980s, the Government viewed the games industry as a disreputable anomaly, but now we are recognised as an important contributor to UK PLC. It’s important that the industry responds because it’s a ‘use it or lose it’ scenario.”
Rob Hewson, Hewson Consultants
RETRO THINKING The new Hewson is not just about recreating past hits - its first title is new puzzle platformer Mechinus – but Rob does feel that the opportunities around today are not dissimilar to the ones it capitalised on in the 1980s. “The UK games industry was thriving throughout the 1980s and we were producing the greatest games in the world,” Rob continues. “Unfortunately, we let that advantage evaporate because culturally and politically we were too conservative to recognise it as the birth of a new medium, which needed nurturing. Now that open platforms have returned, it’s important that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. We’re entering a period of opportunity and we need to encourage the disruptors of tomorrow.”
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THE END IS NIGH But what about the rising quality and cost of independent games development? What about the ‘indieapocalypse’ and the rising number of high profile indie failures? Has Hewson actually arrived too late to the indie party? “In the early ‘80s there were many companies which didn’t survive the transition from a hobbyist market to a professional market, and there were a lot of poor-quality titles released,” he recalls. “Not so long ago we emerged from a decadelong dark age, where only huge corporations with deep pockets could produce games. Today’s indie scene is a return to the open-platform, bedroom coder model that we had in the 1980s, except without the ubiquitous piracy that undermined it. “Ultimately it’s not just about budget. It’s about quality, innovation and, yes – marketing. If you can establish and maintain a reputation in the first two then it makes the third a lot easier.”
March 4th 2016
JON WATTS, A4T INTERVIEW
Under the radar Stealth VR is a £30 headset designed to offer a more affordable and accessible virtual reality experience. Alex Calvin discusses the product with A4T’s marketing assistant Jon Watts
A
s giant companies like Oculus, HTC and PlayStation ready their brand new and expensive VR hardware, a number of smaller companies are also bringing virtual reality tech to market. In March, accessories firm A4T will join the likes of Merge VR and Samsung’s Gear VR in the mobile virtual reality space with its brand new – and startlingly affordable – headset, Stealth VR. “We saw the opportunity to bring VR to the mass market,” marketing assistant Jon Watts says. “It’s always been niche. Until now, VR has always been very heavy and there’s a lot of hardware involved. Obviously, console and PC VR is coming out this year, and that’s going to be around £500 a pop. With current smartphone technology we saw the option to do it, to bring out a really accessible headset that you can get for £30. And from then on, it’s all free content via the App Store.”
“The actual technical capabilities of the console and PC headsets will be far superior to what you get on a smartphone. So this could be the entry point that captures the imagination of a lot of people who will go on to consider spending money on more expensive VR pursuits.” As a result, A4T reckons that over time, it can take Stealth VR past the tech crowd. “The people buying it on Day One will be techy, gadget people in their late teens and 20s, but then it’ll spread out to anyone who wants to use it,” Watts explains. “But once there’s one headset in a household, the whole family will be able to use it. There’s a lot of educational content coming out on the App Store – people are realising that it’s got massive potential there. Schools, educational systems and the Government are looking into it. It’s a free school trip.”
Mobile VR could be what captures the imagination of people who may spend money on more expensive VR pursuits. Jon Watts, A4T
ALL ABOARD Though there’s no doubt it is cheaper and lacks the major features of its PC counterparts, mobile virtual reality presents a considerably lower barrier to entry for wary consumers. It just requires the smartphone that most of us have in our pockets, while the likes of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive need a technically impressive PC to run the hardware. “It’s so accessible and it’s not going to set you back too much, so it will open people’s eyes to the possibilities of VR,” Watts says.
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And this diversity is something that A4T plans to reflect in its marketing for the hardware. “We are trying to show that it’s versatile and attractive to very different people,” Watts says. “On our packaging we have shots of a variety of people, different ages, genders and demographics. And on our website we are going to be giving people advice on the latest apps and give breakdown into categories – animations, educational, horror videos, sports videos, games, cinematic stuff and so on. We are trying to pitch it as broadly as possible.” At the moment, A4T is just attempting mobile VR – but is this the firm’s first step to releasing a full, premium VR headset? “We’re not looking into it at the moment,” Watts says. “I wouldn’t rule it out, but we are mainly focused on mobile VR and different variations of that.”
Stealth VR launches at the end of March and will cost £29.99
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March 4th 2016
MARKETPLACE
SHELF LIFE Fiona Conacher from Console Connections in Truro discusses Uncharted 4 events, the prospects for virtual reality, The Division pre-orders and the battle against digital downloads How has your business been lately? It’s not been too bad. It was a bit quiet after Christmas but it has picked up a bit now. We just had the half term, which was fairly busy, and then we’ve got the Easter break coming up. What games have been selling particularly well recently? The new Deadpool sold very well. Far Cry Primal came out last week and this is selling really well too.
PRE-ORDER CHARTS
Call of Duty and LEGO Dimensions have been going very well also and PlayStation 4 is the best-selling platform for us at the moment.
I am all for it. It’s good to move on, as long as it turns out to be of a decent level, you know what I mean? It’s got to be good quality products to get the consumers and, at the same time, it can’t be too costly. A lot of people are cutting back, so it’s price depending really.
Do you think PS4 will perform the best this year? I am not too sure to be honest. At the moment I would probably say yes, but it’s quite difficult to tell with the new virtual reality stuff coming out.
What challenges are you facing? Well, you’ve got the online and digital side of things. Some people say ‘I can get this online’
What are your thoughts on VR?
A lot of customers tend to like physical products, so the digital side of things is not challenging as such. Fiona Conacher, Console Connections
PRICE CHECK: NEWARK
TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS 1. TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION Ubisoft, PS4 2. Tom Clancy’s The Division Ubisoft ............................................................................XO 3. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Sony............................................................................. PS4 4. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Inc. Grass Effect Imp & Z7-Mech EA .....................................................................................XO
YOSHI’S WOOLLY WORLD
SUPER MARIO MAKER THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: WIND WAKER HD
Nintendo, Wii U
Nintendo, Wii U
Nintendo, Wii U
N/A
£39.99
£34.99
£37.99
N/A
£34.99
£29.99
£34.99
£36.99
£29.99
£29.99
£29.99
9. Heavy Rain & Beyond Two Souls Collection Sony............................................................................. PS4
£41.68
£32.68
£22.53
£28
10. Ratchet & Clank Inc. The Bouncer DLC Sony............................................................................. PS4
£40.79
£33.25
£29.45
£33.25
6. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Inc. Grass Effect Imp & Z7-Mech EA ................................................................................. PS4
IN STORE
5. Bravely Second: End Layer Nintendo....................................................................3DS
SPLATOON Nintendo, Wii U
7. Quantum Break Microsoft .......................................................................XO
UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market
THE FLAME IN THE FLOOD
REPLAY: VHS IS NOT DEAD
101 WAYS TO DIE (PC, PS4, XO)
The survival journey in post-societal America debuts on PC and XO
Neko’s puzzle/platform game has landed on consoles (Wii U, PS4, XO)
The UK indie title will be released on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
OUT: NOW
March 4th 2016
ONLINE
8. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD + amiibo Nintendo..................................................................Wii U
OUT: NOW
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OUT: MARCH 23RD
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MARKETPLACE
Console Connections 20 Victoria Square Truro TR1 2RX
or whatever, but in fact a lot of customers tend to like physical products. So I would not say it is challenging as such. But it can be quite hard to try to get a good price for the stock and I shop around a lot more to try to get the best prices. But, apart from that, nothing major. What are your prospects for the year to come? I’m looking forward to the new releases that are coming out. We
Phone: 01872 270 105 Website: www.facebook.com/consoleconnections
do a lot of pre-orders and we’ve got The Division coming out so it’s good news. And, like I said, I’m looking forward to VR. Hopefully it will take us into a good summer and a good Christmas period. Is there any event you are looking forward to this year? There might be an Uncharted 4 event in our store, a lock-in, so we are looking forward to that. The Uncharted 4 game looks like it’s going to be quite popular.
INCOMING TITLE
WANT TO FEATURE YOUR OUTLET IN MCV? Contact mdealessandri@nbmedia.com or call 01992 515 303
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD launches today on Wii U, while the Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls Collection arrives on PlayStation 4 FORMAT
GENRE
PUBLISHER
TELEPHONE
DISTRIBUTOR
PC
Survival
Excalibur
01869 338 833
Contact Sales
March 4th Better Late than Dead Goat Simulator: The Bundle
XO
Adventure
Double Eleven
01256 385 200
Koch Media
Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls Collection
PS4
Adventure
Sony
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
Mortal Kombat XL
PS4/XO
Fighting
Warner Bros
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
Wii U
Adventure
Nintendo
01753 483 700
Open
The Witch and The Hundred Knight: Revival Edition
PS4
RPG
NIS America
020 8664 3485
Open
PS4/XO/PC
Third-person shooter
Ubisoft
01279 822 822
Exertis
March 8th Tom Clancy’s The Division
March 11th Bus Simulator 2016
PC
Simulation
Excalibur
01869 338 833
Contact Sales
Revolution: 25th Anniversary Collection
PC
Adventure
Revolution
01256 385 200
Koch Media
Samurai Warriors 4: Empires
PS4/PS3
Hack & slash
Koei Tecmo
01462 476130
Open
Stella Glow
3DS
RPG
NIS America
020 8664 3485
Open
Zombie Vikings: Ragnarök Edition
PS4
Action
Rising Star Games
0845 2344242
Mastertronic
EA Sports UFC 2
PS4/XO
Fighting
EA
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
Need for Speed
PC
Racing
EA
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
LEGO Dimensions DC Comics Aquaman Fun Pack
PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360
Toys-to-life
Warner Bros
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
LEGO Dimensions DC Comics Superman Fun Pack
PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360
Toys-to-life
Warner Bros
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
LEGO Dimensions Ghostbusters Stay Puft Fun Pack
PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360
Toys-to-life
Warner Bros
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
March 17th
March 18th
LEGO Dimensions Midway Arcade Level Pack
PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360
Toys-to-life
Warner Bros
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
Pokkén Tournament
Wii U
Fighting
Nintendo
01753 483 700
Open
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus
PS4/Vita
Action
PQube
01216 253 388
CentreSoft
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March 4th 2016
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
ZELDA As Twilight Princess HD hits shelves today and the Legend of Zelda franchise celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, Marie Dealessandri takes a look at the best merchandise in the Hyrule kingdom
THE Legend of Zelda turns 30 this year – feel old yet? To celebrate the series’ birthday, Nintendo has big plans for the year to come. First, Twilight Princess HD is hitting retail today. The remastered version of the 2006 hit (released on both GameCube and Wii) will also include new content that can be unlocked with Amiibo. For example, the Wolf Link Amiibo (included in the game’s special edition) unlocks a new dungeon, while Link, Toon
Twilight Princess HD features new content that can be unlocked with Zelda-related Amiibo.
Link, Zelda and Sheik will unlock character boosts. An entirely original Legend of Zelda Wii U is also in the works and should be launched later this year. Finally, Hyrule Warriors: Legends is landing on 3DS on March 24th, which is also the occasion for Nintendo to release a new Zelda-themed version of its portable console. In terms of sales, the Zelda franchise is not as successful as some other Nintendo’s flagships,
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA AMIIBOS Nintendo’s Zelda-related Amiibo are all compatible with Twilight Princess HD on Wii U. Link and Toon Link give more arrows, Zelda and Sheik restore hearts, and Ganondorf makes the player take more damage. A Wolf Link Amiibo is also to be released with Twilight Princess’ special edition, that reveals a secret dungeon. SRP: £10.99 Manufacturer: Nintendo Distributor: Open Contact: 01753 483 700
LEGENDS OF LOCALIZATION BOOK 1: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
ZELDA: SCULPTED METAL KEYCHAIN
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TRI FORCE HEROES COLLECTOR’S EDITION GUIDE
Legends of Localization takes a detailed look at the differences between the Japanese and English versions of the original Zelda.
A simple yet beautifully detailed keyring, based on Link’s Hylian shield.
Tri Force Heroes was released on 3DS last October. The guide includes a detailed walkthrough and boss strategies.
SRP: $29 (£20) Manufacturer: Bang Printing Distributor: Fangamer Contact: orders@fangamer.com
SRP: £6.99 Manufacturer: Bioworld Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com
SRP: £19.99 Manufacturer: Prima Games Distributor: DK Contact: sales@uk.dk,com
March 4th 2016
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THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Sponsored by
O
gaming merchandise uk
such as Mario and Pokémon, but the series has a very loyal (and massive) fandom, that likes to spend money on T-shirts, toy and other related merchandise. The series was launched in February 1986 in Japan, and the following year in the rest of the world. It now features over 15 titles - not including remakes or spin-offs. These past few years, Nintendo has focused on remaking popular titles in the
series, such as The Wind Waker, initially released on GameCube in 2003 and launched on Wii U ten years later. The Wind Waker HD sold 1.69m units worldwide (as of December 2015) and made it to Nintendo’s Top 10 best-selling titles for the platform (at No.9). The 3DS version of Majora’s Mask (initially released on N64 in 2000) was the bestselling 3DS game of 2015 in the UK.
LINK GOLD WHEEL FOR WII U Mario Kart 8 is the best-selling title on Wii U, with 7.24m copies shifted. To enjoy the game even further, Nintendo has released steering wheels to attach a Wii Remote, including this Zelda-themed one, ideal for those that have downloaded the Zelda Mario Kart 8 DLC.
SRP: £11.99 Manufacturer: Nintendo Distributor: Open Contact: 01753 483 700
CANVAS MESSENGER BAG WITH GOLDEN TRIFORCE
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: ADVENTURER’S POUCH KIT
NINTENDO WII/WII U CONTROLLER
Featuring The Legend of Zelda’s legendary triforce, this bag boasts an adjustable shoulder strap and a big main compartment.
This faux leather Nintendo 3DS case comes with a Hyrule map cleaning cloth and two themed styluses.
Similar to the original GameCube controller, this one can be used with both Wii and Wii U and is perfect for Super Smash Bros.
SRP: £34.99 Manufacturer: Bioworld Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com
SRP: £14.99 Manufacturer: PowerA Distributor: ILT Distribution Contact: 0845 519 7053
SRP: £24.73 Manufacturer: Hori Distributor: Hori Contact: infoeu@hori.jp
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March 4th 2016
MARKETING, PR & CREATIVE AGENCIES
LEGAL
AUDIO IN
GERARD FOX LAW
Tel: 0044 7985678437 www.audioin.co.uk ........................................................................................................
charne@sprintmail.com www.gerardfoxlaw.com ........................................................................................................
BIG TOP PR Tel: 07784 778197 www.bigtop-pr.co.uk ........................................................................................................
TRADE BODY UKIE
DEAD GOOD MEDIA Tel: +44 (0)7780 600 728 www.deadgoodmedia.com ........................................................................................................
Tel: +44 (0) 207 534 0580 www.ukie.org.uk ........................................................................................................
STUDIO DIVA
PUBLISHING
Tel: 0117 214 0404 www.studiodiva.co.uk ........................................................................................................
FUNBOX MEDIA LTD
FLUID Tel: +44 (0)121 212 0121 www.fl uidesign.co.uk ........................................................................................................
KENNEDY MONK Tel: 0207 636 9142 www.kennedymonk.com ........................................................................................................
Tel: +44 (0) 114 278 7100 www.uberagency.com/ ........................................................................................................
info@funboxmedia.co.uk www.funboxmedia.co.uk ........................................................................................................
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES & RECRUITMENT
Tel: +44 (0) 208 664 3456 www.creativedistribution.co.uk/ ........................................................................................................
DC GAMES GROUP Tel: +971-50-9287220 www.Doostan-Co.com ........................................................................................................
INCOMM Tel: 01489 588 200 www.incomm.com ........................................................................................................
Tel: 0207 688 6789 www.oklogistics.de ........................................................................................................
PLAY DISTRIBUTION info@playdistribution.com www.playdistribution.com ........................................................................................................
WHOLESGAME info@wholesgame.com www.wholesgame.com ........................................................................................................
Tel: + 44 (0) 8701 600 504 www.audiomotion.com ........................................................................................................
OPM RECRUITMENT
QA & LOCALISATION, PAYMENT & SOLUTION
CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION
OK MEDIA LTD
AUDIOMOTION
UBER
RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION & MANUFACTURING
Tel: +44 [0] 1206 214421 http://opmjobs.com/ ........................................................................................................
PERIPHERALS, ACCESSORIES & MERCHANDISE
RAGTAG DEVELOPMENTS LTD
GAMING MERCHANDISE UK LTD
Tel: +44 (0)1295 817617 www.ragtagdev.com ........................................................................................................
hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com www.gamingmerchandiseuk.com ........................................................................................................
REMOTE CONTROL PRODUCTS
LIME DISTRIBUTION
LA MARQUE ROSE Tel: +33 1 43 14 88 00 info@lamarquerose.com ........................................................................................................
Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 210 205 70 http://www.r-control.de/ ........................................................................................................
UNIVERSALLY SPEAKING
SOUNDING SWEET LTD.
PERFORMANCE DESIGNED PRODUCTS LTD
Tel: +44 (0) 1480210621 www.usspeaking.com ........................................................................................................
Tel: +44 (0) 1789 297453 www.soundingsweet.com ........................................................................................................
Tel: 01628 509 047 www.pdp.com ........................................................................................................
EXEQUO Tel: +1 425 279 7855 sbonfi ls@exequo.com ........................................................................................................
Tel: 01622 845 161 www.limedistribution.co.uk ........................................................................................................
TO LIST YOUR COMPANY HERE AND ONLINE EVERY WEEK PLEASE CONTACT CNANGLE@NBMEDIA.COM OR CALL 020 7354 6000
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT AGENCIES AND SERVICE COMPANIES
COMPANY PROFILE /
GAMING MERCHANDISE UK LTD KEY CONTACTS: Luiz Ferreira, Director
Phil Rolls, Operations Manager
luiz@gamingmerchandiseuk.com
phil@gamingmerchandiseuk.com
GAMING MERCHANDISE UK sources and distributes the finest in officially-licensed gaming merchandise from all over the globe. We work closely with publishing and manufacturing partners worldwide to ensure we can bring to the industry what we feel is the best in sector range of merchandise available in the UK marketplace. Established in 2013 but with many years of experience in the industry, we’ve been working with dozens of retailers, from the smallest independents to major multinationals, supplying them with a carefully curated yet comprehensive range of merch including t-shirts, hoodies, caps, beanies and much more. We support all of the greatest video game franchises from throughout video game history. We’re a one-stop shop for all gaming merch retailers.
ADDRESS: International House 124 Cromwell Road Kensington, London SW7 4ET GB
O
gaming merchandise uk
Officially Licensed Video Games Merchandise -
We are official Gaming Merchandise & Apparel Heroes! -
T-Shirts, Hoodies, Mugs, Wallets, Bags, Key Rings, Dog Tags, Statues, Figurines, Plush Toys & the occasional DLC. Ç E hello@gamingmerchand iseu
k.com
w www.gamingmerchandiseuk.com
THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO ISSUE 859 FRIDAY DECEMBER
GAMES
4TH 2015
ISSUE 860 FRIDAY DECEMBER 11TH
2015
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS COMPANY AND MANY MORE ONLINE NOW AT:
THE A TEAM
THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES
INDIE THICK OF IT
N SHAHID AHMAD ON 10 YEARS PLAYSTATION’S DEV CHAMPIO
BESTWICK TAKES US THROUGH 25 YEARS SONY P16 ATDEBBIE OF TEAM17
P18
UK RETAIL SPEAKS OUT 55%
70%
believe PS4 will rule next year (above top),
Twist think virtual reality is doomedUKIE’s SuperData’s van Dreunen
(above middle) and Reflection’s Leksell (above)
ack are bdig Charts ital e y’r the time, And this
ns partnerships for mobile
19%
ches charts section console data Q MCV re-laun and digital demand more title
41%
picked Uncharted 4 as their most anticipated game of 2016
DIRECTORY
WHO?
INSIDER’S GUIDE OK MEDIA
Specialism: Manufacturing & distribution Location: Brookstone House, 6 Elthorne Road, London N19 4AG
Contact: W: www.okmedia.biz P: 020 7688 6789 E: doron@okmedia.biz
Doron Garfunkel, OK Media’s commercial director for the UK, talks about the new opportunities in retail Tell us about your company. OK Media manufactures discs, related print and packaging for media industries, and provides a wide range of other services from physical distribution to limited edition work. What successes have you seen recently? Despite the general downward trend in physical media, we enjoyed over 20 per cent growth in our turnover in 2015 as our diversification into other areas reaped rewards.
new opportunity to provide special edition products with content that can’t be downloaded - from USB sticks to figurines and cloth maps, all of which we can supply.
What are you currently working on? We are working on a big title, with a wide range of components including some special packaging, but at this stage it is confidential. We are also working on a number of compilation projects for clients outside of the games industry.
What are you looking forward to in games? I think it will be fascinating to see how VR does in the games arena. I also will be very interested to see the increasing originality of indiedeveloped titles and I am looking forward to seeing how the newly announced London Games Festival does when it launches in April.
What are the biggest trends in the games industry affecting you right now? Well, the physical market for PC products is obviously in steady decline but this has presented a
DISC REPAIR
TOTAL DISC REPAIR
Tel: +44 (0) 1202 489500
March 4th 2016
Web: www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk
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DIRECTORY
ENQUIRIES CONOR TALLON Tel: 02073 546000 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
Tel: +44 (0) 208 6643456 ENARXIS DYNAMIC MEDIA
Web: www.finkcreative.com
Tel: +44 (0)203 137 3781
DISTRIBUTION
email: sales@click-entertainment.com
CURVEBALL LEISURE
Web: www.creativedistribution.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1792 652521
DISTRIBUTION
SONY DADC
DISTRIBUTION
Web: www.curveball-leisure.com DISTRIBUTION
Empowering your creative business
Tel: +44 207 361 8000 games@sonydadc.com
www.sonydadc.com
Tel: +302 1090 11900
www.mcvuk.com
Web: www.enarxis.eu
Tel: +44 (0) 207 462 6200
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Web: www.sonydadc.com
March 4th 2016
DIRECTORY
L3I
GAMING ACCESSORIES
Tel: 01923 881000
Web: www.logic3.com
LIME DISTRIBUTION
GAMING ACCESSORIES
Tel: 01622 845 161
Web: www.limedistribution.co.uk
ADVERTISE WITH US
WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY?
CALL CONOR TALLON ON 020 7354 6000 OR EMAIL HIM AT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM
March 4th 2016
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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OVERSEAS, THEN LOOK NO FURTHER
BELGIUM
CLD DISTRIBUTION Rue du Grand Champs 14 , B 5380 Fernelmont Belgium Tel: +32 81 83 02 02 Fax: +32 81 83 02 09 Email: infos@cld.be Web: www.cld.be home of www.dragonwar.eu & www.mawashi.eu
BRAZIL Sony Music Entertainment Brasil # 1 Physical Distributor in Brazil Rua Lauro Muller n°. 116 – 40°. Andar Salas 4001 a 4003 Botafogo Rio de Janeiro RJ CEP. 22.290-160 Tel. +55 21 2128-0771 Fax: +55 21 2128-0747 Email : rodrigo.altieri@sonymusic.com Website: www.sonymusic.com.br | www.day1e.com.br
IRAN
SWEDEN
DC GAMES GROUP No.9, Hemmatian St., Takestan St., Sattarkhan Tehran, Iran Tel: +98-912-1014090 +98-21-44228670 Email: Bahizad@Doostan-Co.com Web: www.Doostan-Co.com
GAME OUTLET EUROPE AB PO Box 5083, S-650 05 Karlstad, Sweden Sales dept: ali.manzuri@gameoutlet.se Sales dept: andreas.lindberg@gameoutlet.se Purchase dept: hamed.manzuri@gameoutlet.se Purchase dept: david.nilsson@gameoutlet.se Web: www.gameoutlet.se
NORDIC
UAE
WENDROS AB SWEDEN, NORWAY, DENMARK & FINLAND Jakobsdalsvägen 17 12653 Hägersten Sweden Phone: +46 8 51942500 Fax: +46 8 7466790 Email: HM@wendros.se LM@wendros.se Web: www.wendros.se
ALESAYI UNITED COMPANY Video Games Distributor in the Middle East, P.O BOX 16999 Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai U.A.E. Tel: 00971 4 883 5960 Fax: 00971 4 883 5175 Email: marketing@alesayi.ae U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com
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
Advertising: + 61 (0)417 084821 Joel.Vandaal@mcvpacific.com
WWW.MCVPACIFIC.COM
MORE DISTRIBUTORS AUSTRALIA AFA Interactive, Bluemouth Interactive, Five Star Games, Mindscape, Namco Bandai Partners, Turn Left Distribution BENELUX CLD Distribution, Koch Media, Gameworld Distribution B.V. CANADA E One, Importel, Just4Games, Solutions 2 Go, Vidéoglobe CYPRUS Access, Gibareio, Zilos, Nortec Multimedia CZECH REPUBLIC Cenega, Conquest, Comgad, Playman, ABC Data DENMARK Bergsala, Elpa, Impulse, Koch Media, Nordisk Film Interactive, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision FRANCE Big Ben, Innelec, Koch Media, SDO, Sodifa GREECE Zegatron, CD Media, Namco Bandai Partners, IGE, Nortec, Enarxis, Beacon HUNGARY CNG.hu/Cenega Hungary, CTC Trading, Magnew, PlayON, Stadlbauer ICELAND Sena, Myndform, Samfilm, Ormsson INDONESIA Maxsoft, Uptron, Technosolution IRELAND MSE Group, Baumex JAPAN Ajioka, Happinet, Jesnet NORWAY Bergsala, Game Outlet, Koch Media, Nordic Game Supply, Nordisk Film, Pan Vision POLAND CD Projekt, Cenega, Galapagos, LEM PORTUGAL Ecoplay, Infocapital, Koch Media, Namco Bandai ROMANIA Best Distribution SERBIA ComTrade, Computerland/Iris Mega, Extreme CC SPAIN Digital Bros, Koch Media, Namco Bandai Partners, Nobilis SWEDEN Bergsala, Koch Media, Namco Bandai, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision, Wendros, Ztorm (digital) UAE Red Entertainment Distribution, Pluto Games (LS2 Pluto), Viva Entertainment, Gameplay Entertainment, Geekay Distribution
TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM www.mcvuk.com
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March 4th 2016
FACTFILE PORTUGAL
INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE: PORTUGAL Population: 10,610,000 Capital City: Lisbon Currency: Euro GDP (Per Capita): $21,429.2 KEY RETAILERS Worten, MediaMarkt, Fnac, Auchan, Radio Popular, Toys R Us, El Corte Inglês, CeX TOP DISTRIBUTORS Ecoplay, Infocapital, Koch Media, Bandai Namco, Spaco, Upload Distribution, Fraggerzstuff, Capital Games, Big Ben Interactive
PORTUGAL’S games industry is still an emerging market, which has been further jeopardised by the economic crisis. But mobile gaming represents a promising source of growth for the territory, thanks to some very successful developers. Spawn Studios, for example, has published mobile games totalling more than nine million downloads. Mobile hit 8-Ball Pool, created by Miniclip, was developed by the Lisbon branch of the firm. “You may be wondering how big 8-Ball Pool is - just imagine everyone in Portugal playing the game on mobile every day. We have 10 million daily active users,” said Miniclip’s director of mobile operations Mario Manolache at Lisbon’s Game Dev Camp last year. The event has been organised by Microsoft in the country for the past two years. It aims to encourage the development of video games in Portugal.
March 4th 2016
TOP DEVELOPERS Artbit, Awesome, Spawn Studios, Tio Atum, Upfall Studios, Wingz Studio, Yucca Studios, Biodroid, BSure Interactive, Nerd Monkeys, GameInvest, Bigmoon Interactive Studios, Bica Studios, B5Studios, Upfall Studios, Camel 101, Gojira NOTABLE GAMES FIRMS WITH A LOCAL OFFICE Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, EA, Bandai Namco
The Portuguese industry generated £145m in 2015. At the end of 2015, the Portuguese mobile games market was worth €24.6m (£19.3m) according to Statista. PlayStation is also particularly strong in the country, with former Sony Spain CEO James Armstrong even stating in 2013 that “Portugal is the country where PlayStation has the biggest market share in the entire world.” According to data firm Newzoo, Portugal was the 35th biggest video games market worldwide in 2015, generating $207m (£145m) in revenue. The Portuguese capital also has its Lisbon Games Week since 2014, with 50,000 attendees on average.
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PORTUGAL FACTFILE
MEANWHILE IN... CHINA The country will enjoy localised Pokémon games for the first time, as Sun and Moon will feature both Traditional and Simplified Chinese THE new Pokémon titles will be localised into Chinese for the first time. Pokémon Sun and Moon will be released on 3DS at the end of the year and will be available in nine languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Korean, French, German, Japanese, plus Traditional and Simplified Chinese. This was announced during last week’s Nintendo Direct, held for the series’ 20th anniversary. The franchise’s previous instalments were released with seven languages only. “I can’t wait to see what fans think of the new adventures they’ll find in Pokémon Sun and
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Pokémon Moon,” stated J.C. Smith, senior director of Consumer Marketing at The Pokémon Company International. The Chinese games market generated $22.2bn (£16bn) in revenue in 2015: the
country permanently lifted its 14-year ban on console games last year, following a temporary easing on restrictions back in January 2014.
March 4th 2016
OFF THE RECORD
OFF THE RECORD This week, SpecialEffect raises over £100,000 and Multiplay boss Craig Fletcher throws down the gauntlet CHARITY DUNKING IT’S that time of year again. SpecialEffect’s annual charity extravaganza GameBlast16 took place last weekend. Beamed directly from the headquarters of Runescape developer Jagex, the frolics raised over £100,000 for the charity, thanks in no small part to the willingness of Jagex’s staff to be dunked in tubs of goo for the internet’s general amusement. There was one dunk for every £5,000 raised. Splendid work, people.
YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PAR... GET A JOB
WOULD YOU RATHER FIGHT ONE HORSE-SIZED DUCK OR 100 DUCK-SIZED HORSES?
IT’S a bit like the scene in Wayne’s World 2 where Wayne is forced into a duel with Cassandra’s dad Jeff Wong to gain the right to date his daughter. Except Craig Fletcher’s hair is a lot shorter and we doubt he’s dubbed. Multiplay CEO Fletcher has, via a company press release, challenged potential job candidates to a spot of online gaming. Those who prevail over the former medical student turned games festival organiser will in turn be considered for employment. Word on the street is that 2K Games is challenging potential job applicants to bare-knuckle brawls in the car park before they can get the chance to apply for a WWE marketing job.
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Matt Pellett Editor, Official PlayStation Magazine I don’t know if I’d like to fight any kind of animal. The thought of either would make me tremendously sad. What a cruel question to ask. It’d be easier to fight one horse-sized duck, surely, to avoid being mobbed by 100 tiny horses. That’s 100 creatures to hurt. I guess I’d have to go for the former. Though I would do so begrudgingly and I’d only fight back if my life was on the line.
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OFF THE RECORD
Nope, too expensive.
I don’t think VR is going to be a success in the gaming community. Not at all.
JitterEye @Jitter_Eye
Lukas Aitken @LukasAitken
That’s the price of a quite good computer, it’s gonna stay niche for a while. Might as well go for Oculus instead. Was tempted to go with Vive because of front-facing camera, but not at that price.
THIS WEEK IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE HTC VIVE WILL CLOCK IN AT $799 IN APRIL. ARE YOU SOLD ON HIGH-END VR? #GMGASKS
VR is not going to be a viable commercial option until the headsets drop at least half in price. Too expensive.
Explosif.be @Explosifbe Nope, it’s an overpriced gimmick for now.
DualCORE1 @DualC0RE1
Anaesthesia @tifauk I still don’t see how it’s addressed any of the core issues that have made 95 KRPH PDFKLQHV D À RS every time.
Nuno Dias ˫#1DVG 1XQR
I think this is a necessary step forward. We’ll see the price drop and not in the distant future either. (iPad anyone?).
Nope. VR still seems too contrived. There’s something more natural about a screen and a mouse.
StevenX @DVDVR_DFA Nah, pass. It’s way too expensive.
:H3OD\G7KLV #:H3OD\G7KLV
Daniel Geaslen @Av8orGamer
Aperture Gaming @Aperture_Games
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