MCV869 March 11th by Future PLC

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES

IS IT GAME OVER FOR E3?

ISSUE 869 FRIDAY MARCH 11TH 2016

THE ESA RESPONDS TO PUBLISHER EXODUS P02

Dead Island 2 resurrected And in the UK, too - Sheﬃeld’s Sumo hired to save Deep Silver’s troubled zombie title

by Alex Calvin UK studio Sumo Digital is the new team in charge of Dead Island 2. The horror shooter was ﬁrst announced at E3 2014 during PlayStation’s press conference, and was being developed by Spec Ops: The Line creators Yager. However, publisher Deep Silver terminated its relationship with the studio in July 2015 because it ‘wanted to make no compromises’ with the franchise. Yager has since ﬁled for insolvency. “Sumo showed so much understanding of the brand, had

creative ideas and an excellent, vision that was aligned with our own,” Koch Media CEO Dr Klemens Kundratitz (pictured) told MCV. “It just made perfect sense for us to move the project to them. We will reveal more details at a later stage, but for now I’d like to say that we are obviously super excited about the progress that we are making with them, and that you should keep your eyes open for some truly great information coming your way soon.” Sumo Digital has previously handled triple-A IP including Disney Inﬁnity, LittleBigPlanet and Forza.

MCV AWARDS 2016 THE WINNERS AND PICTURES FROM AN EPIC NIGHT PAGE 04

The studio is also working on Microsoft’s new Crackdown game. “It’s an honour to be charged with the evolution of such an important franchise in Deep Silver’s catalogue,” said Sumo COO Paul Porter. “We’re looking forward to exceeding fan expectation with an ambitious design that we’re conﬁdent will take bone-crunching, visceral, zombie action to a whole new level.” This is Deep Silver’s second investment in UK development. Its upcoming shooter Homefront: The Revolution is being created at Nottingham-based Dambuster, which it owns.

NEWS

E3 organiser eyes consumers as EA and Activision pull support “E3 is beyond relevant,” says ESA’s Taylor O American games trade body speaking to possible new exhibitors by Christopher Dring A DEFIANT ESA, the organiser of E3, says the LA expo is ‘essential and critical’ to the games industry. Its comments come after Activision joined EA in not renewing its E3 booth for 2016. The two businesses follow the likes of Sega, Bandai Namco and Disney in no-longer booking space on the show floor. And to counteract the exodus of exhibitors, ESA’s Rich Taylor tells MCV that E3 may open its doors to consumers to win back some of these companies – a process that could start as early as this year. “The ‘is E3 still relevant?’ question gets asked every year, and then gets answered in June of that same year with a resounding ‘yes’,” he insisted. “E3 is beyond relevant, it is essential and critical to the game and entertainment industry calendar. It changes, it has never been a stagnant show and this year is no different. Last year if you asked most people, in the aftermath of E3 how they found it, many will tell you it was the best E3 they can remember. But in the ramp up to that show, I was answering the same sort of questions that you just put to me. “One of the things we do at the close of every E3 is that we talk to everyone we can... and we try and figure out how to change the experience and make it better. We’ve done that this time, and we will be making adjustments to guarantee it is going to be a tremendous show. There are a number of press briefings going on - a record number, I believe - that starts a few days before E3. That’s

March 11th 2016

The ESA’s Taylor says that there’s a record number of press brieﬁngs at this year’s E3

a reflection of the fact that people realise that this is the place to make news and break news, and have that amplified around the globe in a way like no other show can.” He added: “The consumer question is certainly part of the equation and one we will be taking a hard look at. You saw last year, certain companies brought along some of their most valued customers. We will probably end up doing that again this year, and there will be some additional elements on top of that, that may or may not come. But we are always trying to figure out what we need to do, such as finding ways to better accommodate and facilitate YouTube personalities.”

The ‘is E3 still relevant?’ question gets asked every year. Then in June, it gets answered with a resounding ‘yes’. Rich Taylor, ESA

For this year’s show, Taylor says that although EA and Activision may be absent, ESA are actively pursuing other big business to fill the gap. “We obviously want to have a robust, energetic show floor. So if people aren’t there, we will find others to be there. E3 is a place that people want to be. We are not a mortuary convention, it is quite the opposite. There is a lot of activity in this space, from the college level to indie developers to triple-A titles. We are talking to, and are talking to, a number of entities and developers, and encouraging them and inviting them to be a part of the show, when perhaps in the past they have not been.”

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NEWS

Over 1,300 new stores sold video games in 2015 by Christopher Dring THE number of physical stores selling video games jumped up in 2015. 6,609 stores sold games in the UK last year, a rise of 1,337 over 2014. The data comes via GfK and retail trade body ERA. Every store type increased last year, including electrical chains (up by three stores), music and video specialists (increased by 21), game specialists (up by eight) and general multiples (increased by 98). However, the biggest growth area was in the supermarket sector, with more then 1,200 new grocery outlets selling games.

THE EDITOR

The growth is impressive, but there’s still a long way to go in matching the video and CD markets. There are 14,727 physical stores selling music, while a further 14,852 DVD sellers (according to ERA, Millward Brown and Oﬃcial Charts Company). “These are astonishing numbers,” said ERA CEO Kim Bayley. “Conventional wisdom has always suggested that the internet spelled the end for physical entertainment stores, but these numbers show that traditional retail still has a place, particularly for impulse purchases and gifts. After all, you can’t giftwrap a download or a stream.”

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

f you had told me a few months ago that Warner Bros, Bethesda and PlayStation would clean up at the MCV Awards, I would have nodded and replied: “Of course they will.” Warner has propelled itself into the publishing elite with Dying Light, Batman, Mortal Kombat and LEGO Dimensions. Bethesda has just launched its biggest ever game in Fallout 4, following a reveal at its first E3 press conference. While PlayStation has managed to fend off fierce competition from Xbox to remain the UK’s No.1 platform. But if you had told me that EA, Activision, Ubisoft and Xbox would go home empty handed, I wouldn’t have believed you. Activision successfully halted Call of Duty’s decline with Black Ops III. EA launched two 1m-plus selling physical games in 2015, while Xbox had one of its biggest line-ups in its history. And Ubisoft had a quiet year, but it still deftly launched Assassin’s Creed into a sceptical marketplace before re-establishing the Rainbow Six brand. It’s hard to win an MCV Award today. Big line-ups and marketing budgets are not enough now. Everyone is banking on fewer, bigger bets, with far more complex and innovative campaigns that can go either way. It’s so easy to get it wrong. Although, judging by the hype around the likes of The Division, Quantum Break, Battleborn, Yokai Watch, Overwatch and Mirror’s Edge, I’d be shocked if some of those big names aren’t back among the winners in 2017.

ERA boss Bayley insists physical retail still has a place in the digital era

SPONSORED BY

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END LAUNCH EDITION (PS4)

UFC 2 Day One Edition + Iron Mike Tyson Hall of Famer and The Gracie (PS4)

No Man’s Sky (PS4)

Sony

Dark Souls III (PS4)

Bandai Namco

Pokken Tournament + Amiibo Card (Wii U)

Nintendo

Pokémon Moon (3DS)

Nintendo

UFC 2 Day One Edition + Iron Mike Tyson Hall of Famer and The Gracie (XO)

Quantum Break (XO)

Microsoft

Pokémon Sun (3DS)

Nintendo

Monster Hunter Generations (3DS)

Capcom

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SONY

Lionhead is a studio full of untapped critical and commercial potential. LIONHEAD MUST LIVE ON A close member of my family has spent the last nine months working on Fable Legends, so I know that any conciliatory remarks from me will be scant comfort for the Lionhead team. So I’ll write this as a fan. Closing Lionhead is a mistake. Fable II is one of the last generation’s best RPGs, and though Fable III was a step back, it was still excellent. It’s only since the studio has been used to push new business models and tech – such as freeto-play and Kinect – that things have started to go awry. Couple the team’s talent with the huge sales of Western RPGs like The Witcher, Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age, and Lionhead is full of untapped potential. If Xbox doesn’t pull a U-turn (and it should), I hope Lionhead sticks together. This is a golden age of UK games development, and I’d love them to head to Kickstarter (if the Banjo-Kazooie team can make over £2m to develop a 3D platformer, then imagine what the Fable studio could do), use Government tax relief schemes and be part of this brave new era for the British games industry. They will have my backing. cdring@nbmedia.com

March 11th 2016

MCV AWARDS 2016 THE WINNERS

THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES We celebrated the very best of the UK games industry last week. Here’s what the winners had to say after they received their precious (and well deserved) awards

INDEPENDENT RETAILER GAMES CENTRE

We’ve just won an Award for MCV Indie Retailer for the fifth year in a row. I’m genuinely surprised and thought it might be someone else’s turn this year, but apparently not. Robert Lindsay, Games Centre

GAMES PUBLISHER BETHESDA

We’re very happy to have won the award against such strong competition. 2015 was an amazing year for us, our agencies and the developers we work with. Thank you for the recognition. Sarah Seaby, Bethesda

March 11th 2016

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THE WINNERS MCV AWARDS 2016

MAINSTREAM RETAILER ARGOS

SPECIALIST RETAILER GAME

We are thrilled to win this award and we thank everyone for supporting us in the last twelve months. We are really engaged as a team on supporting video games as a category.

This award is for everyone at GAME; from the extremely hardworking teams at over 320 stores around the country to all those from head office who made 2015 such an amazing year.

James Cooke, Argos (not pictured)

Fred Prego, GAME (not pictured)

SALES TRIUMPH THE WITCHER III (BANDAI NAMCO/CD PROJEKT RED)

We’ve won many awards, so it’s great to see that the game has carried on with awards relating to sales performance, which could only be achieved through the team’s excellent work. Gary Coote, Bandai Namco Entertainment UK

NEW GAMES BRAND LEGO DIMENSIONS (WARNER BROS)

Thanks to MCV and everyone who voted for us, our partners across retail; distribution, with special thanks to CentreSoft; the media; our developer studios, and supporting agencies. Sima Westley, WB Games UK

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March 11th 2016

MCV AWARDS 2016 THE WINNERS

DIGITAL MARKETING TEAM PLAYSTATION UK

BUYING TEAM GAME

We try to have a lot of personality and do things differently, so it feels good to win this award. We have a very talented team as well, so it’s good for them to be recognised.

TRADE MARKETING TEAM PLAYSTATION UK

Thomas Whitaker, PlayStation UK

We love what we do and we’re so proud to be recognised for our tireless work evangelising the PlayStation brand in static and digital trade channels. Thank you so much.

It’s great to see the team recognised for all of their efforts. We pride ourselves on offering the broadest range of software and hardware and some amazing exclusives.

Rose Buahin, PlayStation UK

Charlotte Knight, GAME

MEDIA TEAM IGN

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for us. 2015 was a great year for IGN and it means a lot that our peers and partners thought so, too. Here’s to another exciting 12 months. Dan Kilby, IGN

EVENTS TEAM EGX (GAMER NETWORK)

Thanks to everyone who voted for EGX. The event is only a success because it enjoys such fantastic, unwavering support from the games industry and gaming community. Rupert Loman, Gamer Network (not pictured)

March 11th 2016

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OUR SPONSORS

DISTRIBUTION TEAM CENTRESOFT

AGENCY TEAM INDIGO PEARL

We never take these awards for granted and are thrilled, as ever, to have won it again. I would like to thank the team whose energy and dedication always surpass my expectation.

PERIPHERALS AND ACCESSORIES BRAND TURTLE BEACH

Margaret Pearson, CentreSoft

Wow, first Leo, now us! What a week for awards. We are absolutely delighted. It really means something to stand up in a room full of your peers and accept an award like this.

We won for the third year in a row, which is unexpected but extremely appreciated. Obviously the recognition from the industry is great to receive.

Caroline Miller, Indigo Pearl

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Keith Hennessey, Turtle Beach

March 11th 2016

THE WINNERS MCV AWARDS 2016

COMMUNITY TEAM PLAYSTATION UK

MARKETING TEAM WARNER BROS

Community is a really new part of what we do, it’s based on love and passion, and it’s not just me, it’s a whole bunch of community managers, so it’s really nice to recognise them.

SALES TEAM PLAYSTATION UK

Hollie Bennett, PlayStation UK

It’s a real pleasure, we’ve had an amazing year. We had a huge range of IPs and we’ve been so privileged to work with Mad Max, Dying Light, Batman and LEGO Dimensions.

We are surprised and thrilled to pick up this award. Our retail partners are an integral part of what we do at PlayStation and to be recognised by them is wonderful.

Sara Grover, WB Games UK

Alex Coultate, PlayStation UK

PR TEAM WARNER BROS

GAMES CAMPAIGN BETHESDA

We are delighted to win this award for the second year in a row, this means a huge amount to us. Huge thanks for the PR agencies who have worked hard to support us on our campaigns.

There was some great competition out there and congratulations to everybody else who was nominated, it was a great surprise. MCV is definitely a nice one to win.

INDIE GAMES LABEL DEVOLVER DIGITAL

Mark Ward, WB Games UK

Sarah Seaby, Bethesda

It’s very exciting, but I think it’s more for the developers who made the games, they totally deserve it. I don’t think anyone in the team at Devolver really expected to win an award. Robbie Paterson, Indigo Pearl PR

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March 11th 2016

MCV AWARDS 2016 THE WINNERS

PERSON OF THE YEAR MILES JACOBSON

It’s awesome to be rewarded in this event by the industry, by my peers, by the people I worked with and respected for so long. I think the games industry does a lot more for charity than we get the credit for. But I don’t think people do it for recognition, and that’s one of the differences between the games industry and others: sometimes people use charity as PR, whereas people in games really care about the stuff they are doing. It’s important to make sure that people in the government - and the shadow government as well - know that there is a lot more to what we do than games with guns. We really make a difference to people’s lives. Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive

STORE MANAGER OF THE YEAR PAUL CAISLEY

Despite the outstanding competition from my peers, I am absolutely thrilled to have won this award and look forward to another exciting and successful year. Paul Caisley, Grainger Games Metro Centre

UNSUNG HERO ROSEMARIE DALTON

I am shocked, embarrassed, horrified, happy and proud in equal amounts. Plus so many people have followed up with lovely comments that I am chuffed to bits. Rosemarie Dalton, Bethesda

March 11th 2016

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CHEAT SHEET

UP & DOWN

Market Data Software revenue dips 31 per cent as the market comes down from Far Cry Primal

£15m

£30m £7.5m

£8.9m 332,340 units

Week Ending February 20th

£11.3m 339,068 units

Week Ending February 27th

PLANTS VS Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 falls to third place with sales dipping 54 per cent

£7.8m 256, 678 units ZELDA: Twilight Princess HD on Wii U was the best-selling single SKU of the week

Week Ending March 5th

EVENT CALENDAR MARCH 2016 .................................................................................. GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE Moscone Center, San Francisco, USA Monday, March 14th – Friday, March 18th Q GDC returns to San Francisco Q Organisers expect over 26,000 attendees Q More than 400 lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtables on the state of games development INSOMNIA 57 The NEC Birmingham, Birmingham Friday, March 25th – Monday, March 28th Q Multiplay’s Insomnia eSports event returns to Birmingham’s NEC Q Featuring pro-gaming events and the UK’s biggest LAN party Q Counter-Strike, Rocket League, DOTA 2 and League of Legends tournaments to be played Q Consumers can also check out the latest games in the Exhibition Hall Q In addition, Insomnia 57 features the Indie Zone, Retro Zone and more GADGET SHOW LIVE 2016 NEC, Birmingham Thursday, March 31st - Sunday April 3rd

March 11th 2016

Q The UK’s largest consumer tech event returns for the eighth time at Birmingham’s NEC

APRIL 2016 .................................................................................. EGX REZZED Tobacco Dock, London Thursday, April 7th – Saturday, April 9th Q Gamer Network’s indie-focused event returns to London’s Tobacco Dock Q Consumers can try the latest games, from the big blockbusters to hits from smaller teams BAFTA GAME AWARDS Tobacco Dock, London Thursday, April 7th Q Celebrating the best games of the last twelve months Q Taking place at London’s Tobacco Dock

MAY 2016 .................................................................................. INTERFACE St Mary’s Church, London Thursday, May 5th Q MCV and Develop’s indie networking and investment event returns this May

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CHEAT SHEET

PRESENTS

5 SECOND FACTS

MCV AWARDS IN 140 CHARACTERS The Tweets you might have missed from an unforgettable night @ViralNinja Couldn’t be more pleased that my old boss and mentor, the incredible Rose Dalton won unsung hero at the MCV Awards.

Your shortcut to sounding clever in the pub, we take you around the industry in under 30 seconds

@GamesAid Standing ovation for our Unsung Hero. Very well deserved award for GamesAid ambassador, Rosemarie Dalton.

Richie Churchill, 2K Games Thursday, March 3rd

GamesAid, industry charity Thursday, March 3rd

@NeilGortz Congrats to Hollie Bennett and all of PlayStation UK for winning best Community Team at the MCV Awards.

Neil Gorton, Square Enix Thursday, March 3rd

@OnlyHumanJelly Catching up with MCV Awards news; thrilled to see worthy winners and strong nominees and so much industry love being shown tonight. Jessica Jacob, Jelly Media Thursday, March 3rd

@SarahWellock84 Lucky to work with such amazing and talented people at Bethesda. Best publisher and campaign for Fallout 4. Love this team.

@sdinsey1 Thank you to all at the MCV Awards tonight for being respectful to Fergus McGovern. 600 people and you could hear a pin drop.

Sarah Wellock, Bethesda Thursday, March 3rd

Stuart Dinsey, Curve Digtal Thursday, March 3rd

@markyward Incredibly proud of the team winning three prizes at the MCV Awards last night.

15,000 Within ten minutes of going on sale, the HTC Vive had shifted 15,000 units

505 A physical version of Psyonix’s car football smash hit Rocket League is launching in Q3 via 505 Games

3 Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End has been delayed for a third time. The PS4-exclusive is now launching on May 10th

£250m According to the Japanese press, Nintendo is investing £250m in its upcoming attraction at Universal Studios

@milesSI Tonight I won the Person of the Year Award. Thank you MCV and the UK games industry.

Mark Ward, Warner Bros Friday, March 4th

Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive Friday, March 4th

@game_collection So we didn’t win Best Indie Retailer at MCV Awards last night. Congratulations to Games Centre on winning ﬁve in a row. Well done lads/lasses. The Game Collection, retailer Friday, March 4th

@Leearigold Tonight’s comedian at the MCV Awards was incredible. Proper brilliant. Great booking. Honestly.

Lee Kirton, Bandai Namco Friday, March 4th

18 Target Australia is forcing games rated 18 and above to be sold in plain packaging 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

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LONDON MARATHON

GAMESAID TENNER

STAND UP FOR GAMESAID

..................

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.

As has become tradition, Gamesaid asked those attending last week’s MCV Awards to donate £10 to the charity in envelopes on each table. At this year’s show, the charity raised £1,812 through this venture.

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

March 11th 2016

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

Capcom’s Gorton joins Square Enix New community manager for Just Cause O Trusted Reviews hires games editor O Ben Wilson joins GamesRadar SQUARE ENIX | NEIL GORTON has been appointed as community manager. He joins from Capcom, where he had a similar job role for almost four years and worked on triple-A titles such as Resident Evil and Monster Hunter. Before that, Gorton worked as director and head of content at Ginx TV for nearly three years. PHIL ELLIOTT, Square Enix London’s head of community, commented: “We’re really happy that Neil’s joined the community team in London – he’s going to be taking the lead on all things Just Cause, which will give his creative talents plenty of room to grow.”

March 11th 2016

our coverage to the next level. He’s a great addition to the team.” Phipps added: “I am thrilled and honoured that the team entrusted me with the games editor role. It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity and great time to be getting back into the games industry. I can’t wait to get to work.”

TRUSTED REVIEWS | BRETT PHIPPS has joined Trusted Reviews as games editor. He previously worked at The Independent as a SEO assistant and, before that, he had been the guides editor at Videogamer.com for over two years. Phipps replaces SAM LOVERIDGE, who left Trusted Reviews earlier this month to join Digital Spy as gaming editor. ANDY VANDERVELL, deputy editor at Trusted Reviews, stated: “Gaming is an integral part of Trusted Reviews. It’s responsible for over two million of our 10 million monthly unique visitors and Brett has proved he has the skills and the talent necessary to take

GAMESRADAR | Freelance writer and editor BEN WILSON has joined the GamesRadar team as lead sports writer. This is a part-time, at-large role, that will leave Wilson able to take on commissions elsewhere, he told MCV. Wilson has been working in the games industry for the past 15 years, collaborating with

high profile publications such as Official PlayStation Magazine UK and The Guardian. “I’m delighted to be linking up with one of the most talented teams in the industry, in a manner which enables me to paid for literally talking balls - the habit of a lifetime, as many a PR will confirm - while continuing to look after my two little girls,” Wilson enthused. “I’m excited about the prospect of bringing exhaustive coverage of FIFA, PES, Madden and WWE to GamesRadar, in addition to finally being able to pitch the 3,000-word opus on Sensible Soccer I’ve been planning for two decades – something I may have forgotten to mention during initial discussions about the role.”

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WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

WEEKLY CHARTS FAR CRY PRIMAL is still No.1 in this week’s charts. Ubisoft’s sales for the title dropped by 64 per cent week-on-week. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, Nintendo’s remake of the 2006 GameCube and Wii hit, debuts at No.2. In the single format charts, the adventure game was the single best-selling SKU of the week. Elsewhere, last week’s second place, EA’s Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, has been pushed down to No.3, with sales decreasing 54 per cent, which is actually quite good for a secondweek’s sales. There are also two new entries this week. The Heavy Rain & Beyond Two Souls Collection,

released by Sony on PS4, debuts at No.8 and Warner Bros’ Mortal Kombat XL, enters the charts at No.21. A few titles also make their return to the Top 40 this week, such as Nintendo’s Pokemon Alpha Sapphire (No.32) and Omega Ruby (No.37) launched in 2014. It was Pokemon’s 20th anniversary last week, which will have boosted sales. Meanwhile, on Steam, pre-orders for Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division lead the charts again. In the meantime, Stardew Valley, published by Chuckleﬁsh, climbed the ladder to become No.2 this week. Over on mobile, Supercell’s Clash of Clans still dominate the listings.

GLOBAL STEAM CHARTS (UNITS)

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

LW 05 06 03 RE RE 07 02 NEW

TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION (P) DEVELOPER: UBISOFT PUBLISHER: UBISOFT

TITLE Stardew Valley Far Cry Primal Fallout 4 Season Pass Rise of the Tomb Raider Factorio Counter-Strike: Global Oﬀensive Superhot The Culling

PUBLISHER Chuckleﬁsh Ubisoft Bethesda Square Enix Wube Valve Superhot Team Xaviant

TOP 40 UK PHYSICAL RETAIL 02

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

LW 01 NEW 02 04 03 06 05 NEW 09 14 10 07 16 13 17

Title Format Publisher Far Cry Primal PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Wii U Nintendo Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 PS4, XO, PC EA Call of Duty: Black Ops III PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard FIFA 16 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA LEGO Marvel’s Avengers PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, PC Warner Bros Grand Theft Auto V PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Rockstar Heavy Rain & Beyond Two Souls Collection PS4 Sony Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft Forza Motorsport 6 XO Microsoft Street Fighter V PS4, PC Capcom Star Wars Battlefront PS4, XO, PC EA Minecraft: Xbox Edition XO, 360 Microsoft Assassin’s Creed Syndicate PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft LEGO Jurassic World PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros

11 20 08 23 19 NEW 15 24 RE 18 27 25 34 21 26 28 RE 22 30 31 RE RE RE RE 37

Minecraft: Story Mode Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Fallout 4 Halo 5: Guardians WWE 2K16 Mortal Kombat XL Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Disney Inﬁnity 3.0 Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Just Cause 3 Just Dance 2016 Knack Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Destiny: The Taken King Rise of the Tomb Raider Deadpool Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Need for Speed Resident Evil Origins Collection Terraria Dying Light Pokémon Omega Ruby LEGO Dimensions Battleﬁeld 4 The Elder Scrolls Online

Source: Steam, Period: February 29th to March 6th March 11th 2016

PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Telltale Games/Avanquest PS4, PS3, Vita Sony PS4, XO, PC Bethesda XO Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games PS4, XO Warner Bros 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PC Square Enix PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Ubisoft PS4 Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Konami PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard XO Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO EA PS4, XO, PC Capcom PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Vita, PC 505 Games PS4, XO Warner Bros 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Warner Bros PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, PC Bethesda

Source: UKIE/GfK Entertainment, Period: Week ending March 5th 16

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Coming April 1st 2016 MXGP - The o cial FIM Motocross World Championship Videogame © 2016 developed and published by Milestone s.r.l. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2016 YouthStream - All rights reserved

INTERVIEW DONTNOD

The good Life After five episodes, over 1.2 million units sold, cult fandom, critical acclaim and a physical edition, Alex Calvin speaks to Dontnod about Life is Strange, one of 2015’s most talked about video games

015 featured a number of rather different games go on to see both critical and commercial success. Solo developer Sam Barlow launched search engine-driven narrative Her Story, while Psyonix released car football title Rocket League. Meanwhile, French studio Dontnod – which made 2013’s Remember Me – teamed up with publisher Square Enix to release Life is Strange, an episodic adventure game starring an otherwise ordinary teenager who discovers the ability to travel in time. The title launched in January 2015 and went onto receive a Metacritic score of 85 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and – as of July 2015 – had sold in excess of 1.2 million units worldwide. Not only that, it was nominated for a seemingly endless number of awards, taking away the new games IP and use of narrative prizes at the Develop Awards, while it won Performance of the Year at the Golden Joysticks. “We didn’t really have any expectations for Life is Strange,” co-game and art director Michel Koch tells MCV. “Of course we wanted people to like and enjoy the game, but we honestly didn’t anticipate that it would be so successful. We simply wanted to create a coming of age story that would be anchored in reality in a way that we could talk about characters dealing with real life issues and facing difficult choices - a kind of slice of life at its core. Something that feels real enough that people

March 11th 2016

played a really big role in making sure the game found an audience, the partnership couldn’t have worked better.”

Life is Strange has sold over 1.2 million units worldwide

could relate to it. We think we’ve achieved this goal, and that’s probably played a huge part in the success of the game.” Co-game director Raoul Barbet adds: “When we started to work on the game, we never really thought about marketing, we just knew that we wanted to make this game and tell the story of those characters. We tried to shy away

ADVENTURE TIME WITH its focus on narrative and decision-making that have a sizeable impact on the story, Life is Strange falls into the adventure game fold. This is a genre that has made a return in the last few years through companies like Telltale and its Walking Dead series. “We’re really happy to see these kinds of games resurfacing,” co-game director Raoul Barbet says. “We’re huge fans of older adventures games so we’re really interested in the evolution of the genre, which can go into a lot of directions nowadays. “We also think that this genre can really bring new people to video games, players that love storydriven adventures, strong characters, puzzles, and easy controls. This is the perfect genre to tell in-depth stories.”

2015 was our most successful year we’ve had as a studio and we fully intend on building on that. Luc Baghadoust, Dontnod

from overthinking things like: ‘will it sell? Will players like the setting?’. We are extremely happy to see that we found a public and that there is a real broad market for this kind of ‘different’ project. Square Enix

LIFE IS SWEET Though Dontnod didn’t have any expectations for Life is Strange, the title went on to give the studio its biggest year to date. “2015 was the most successful year we’ve had so far and we fully intend to build on that,” producer Luc Baghadoust says. “Life is Strange has been a huge success with both fans and critics alike and the love is also backed up by strong sales. And we started this year with the release of a physical edition of Life is Strange (more on that in Strange Packages) and that is a really big landmark for any digital title. But the fact we’re a brand new IP that has a really strong foothold is even better.” For Life is Strange, Dontnod adopted an episodic model, something which presented a number of issues when it came to the development process. “The episodic model was an exciting challenge from a design point of view, and we learned during the past year that it was a difficult one in all the production aspects,” Baghadoust explains. “Business-wise, we actually expected each episode to sell less than the previous one. In a traditional game, you lose players little by little along the progression, and only a fraction actually complete the game. “To compensate for this, an episodic model can sometimes allow your game to be in the spotlight for several months

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DONTNOD INTERVIEW

(Left to right): Producer Baghadoust, and directors Koch and Barbet

instead of a single big launch, if you manage to keep a steady pacing between each episode release.” KNOCK-ON EFFECT And of course, if one episode is of a poor quality, it can have a massive impact on future sales, and result in a lower attach rate on subsequent episodes. “The episodic model can be a double-edged sword as it’s hard to recover if the first episode or episodes have poor ratings and sales,” Baghadoust says. “This wasn’t the case for Life is Strange at all though - we actually grew in unexpected proportions with each new episode release and the initial attach rate to season pass was really strong and it just continued in that way - it’s as if people really fell in love with the game straight away, which is amazing.” Despite Life is Strange’s huge success, Dontnod’s next game isn’t going to be anything like

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that title. Rather, the firm’s next project is RPG Vampyr published by Focus. “Vampyr is led by a different team and they hold their own aspirations and creative vision,” Koch says. “The strength of the studio is in its creative freedom. We love challenges and working on as action RPG seemed a good choice and in accordance with the publisher’s wishes. But of course, storytelling is at the core of Dontnod’s DNA, and you can expect this for Vampyr, too.” But that’s not to say that Dontnod doesn’t want to return to Life is Strange, or its 2013 action game, Remember Me. “We’d love to do a second season of Life is Strange, but time will tell,” Barbet teases. “And we love the Remember Me universe that we created in Neo-Paris and there are so many ways to create new experiences. But Capcom owns the rights to Remember Me so it’s up to them to allow new projects.”

STRANGE PACKAGES

The episodic model can be a double-edged sword. It can be hard to recover if the first part has poor ratings. Luc Baghadoust, Dontnod

LIFE IS STRANGE launched digitally in five parts, starting in January 2015. Now the title has finally made its way to physical retail in January 2016 and debuted at No.7 in the UK charts upon launch. “The game had a great reception and there was a lot of demand for a physical edition,” producer Luc Baghadoust says. “It’s a huge landmark for a digital title to get a physical release. Loads of people said they’d wait for a boxed version from the start but we never knew if it would happen. And many people who played the digital version now want a physical version for their collection - we’ve had reports of people buying multiple versions to give to friends. That’s the first time we’ve come across that.”

March 11th 2016

TOYS AND MERCHANDISE GUIDE

Making the most of the booming games merchandise market For every major games brand there’s a small mountain of T-shirts, toys, posters and figurines. Alex Calvin speaks to the experts to find out how this growing market is performing, what is selling and why publishers need to do to make the most of this thriving sector

alk into any games retailer and you’ll be greated by a wealth of toys and merchandise. T-shirts, figurines, bracelets, hoodies, posters, bags, keyrings, artbooks, mugs, shot glasses... the list of branded goods available goes on. And there’s some serious cash to be made in this sector. Just last year, American games retail giant GameStop ponied up $140 million to buy ThinkGeek parent company GeekNet. What’s more – the company reckons it can grow its merchandise business – worth $200 million in 2015 – to $500 million by 2018. “The games toys and merchandise market at the moment is very strong,” merchandise distributor Heo’s managing director Tom Pelly says. “It’s becoming more important for games retailers, even more so for the High Street. It’s a tough environment to be on, so retailers are finding they need to diversify their product range and have a wider variety of offerings in their store. Merchandise fills that need.” Gaming Merchandise UK boss Luiz Ferreira adds: “We’ve seen another year’s worth of growth. We have seen more licensees and licensors coming to the table. We have lots of weird and wonderful categories that are being explored and are coming to the merchandise sector. That’s really

March 11th 2016

positive. Retail are taking more notes when it comes to merchandise. The appetite from both retail and consumers is very vibrant.”

well, but we’ve certainly seen growth in the mug sector.”

SHOW ME THE GOODS So, we know that the toys and merchandise scene is booming. But what in particular is selling in this lucrative market? “A lot of it depends on the licences involved,” Pelly explains. “For example, The Legend of Zelda always sells very well. And there’s classic games like Mario and Street Fighter which are always a safe bet. Obviously others come along and do very well, too. “Funko Pop Vinyls figures have come along in the last few years and done very well. They are a nice gateway product for attracting people who may not have thought about collecting products. before. It’s something low priced that gets them into that mindset and leads onto higher price or higher quality items further down the line.” Ferreira adds: “There’s new categories. We’re seeing figurines, toys and statues growing from strength to strength. There’s more and more people wanting these collectible items. Clothing always does really well – T-shirts, hoodies. But where the growth is, in terms of a category, is mugs. We have seen a lot more mugs sold lately. Stuff like keyring, hoodies, t-shirts, baseball caps and beanies have always sold

Publishers should be considering merchandise early in game’s lifecycle. Luiz Ferreira, Gaming Merchandise UK

NEW SCHOOL COOL But it’s not just classic games brands like The Legend of Zelda, Mario and Street Fighter that are big merchandise properties. Increasingly, brand new IPs receive a wealth of merchandise at launch. 2014 saw Destiny and Watch Dogs come to market with a number of goodies, while The Division – which launched on March 8th – came out with T-shirts, books and posters. Conventional wisdom would suggest that merchandise is bought by the most die-hard of fans of game series – but these are new franchises. Consumers may be excited, but they haven’t played anything from the game yet. “People are as excited and as passionate about old games as they are new games as they are to mid games. They are equally as excited about,” Insert Coin’s head of communication Dan Long explains. “If you talk to someone who is a massive fan of Final Fantasy VII, they may

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TOYS AND MERCHANDISE GUIDE

just be as excited about that as they are about a brand new IP. It’ll hold the same itch that they can’t scratch kind of thing that they want to be a part of. It’s a whole part of belonging to this clan mentality. Newness has something that nostalgia does not in that it’s fresh and no-one’s sure what’s going on yet and you don’t know the mystery behind this character or organisation. That’s the bit that people love.” Ferreira adds: “It doesn’t necessarily need to be an established brand for there to be merchandise. Sure, it’s a bit of a risk because everything depends on how good the software is. If the game comes out and gets poor reviews, there’s a good chance that merchandise isn’t going to perform really. A lot of the large companies consider this very early on in the games development, particularly if they have a ten or twenty year plan. “But if there’s a lot of hype around a game, then why not? We’ve certainly seen some good feedback on the merchandise for The Division.” Bioworld Europe’s online marketer Michiel de Ruyter also believes that merchandise can be a good way of capitalising on excitement around a new brand. “The hype for these games weighs in as a big factor why merchandise companies jumped

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on board and started making products,” he explains. “When Ubisoft announced Watch Dogs at E3 2012, demand was extremely high. The buzz and hype surrounding this game gave it an instant fan base without even playing the game. So from that point of view it made a lot of sense that merchandise for this game was made.”

GAMING LOOT

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR IP But what do these gaming giants need to do to ensure their IP translates into a merchandise smash hit? “They need to pick a partner that believes in and understands the brand, and wants to work closely with them to build the brand together and develop fantastic products,” de Ruyter says. Ferreira adds: “They should be considering it earlier in a product’s lifecycle. There’s a lot of people out there that are doing a good job and there are a lot of choice. There’s not just one or two people doing T-shirts or clothing. There’s a lot of manufacturers out there willing to invest and support these franchises. There are lots of companies. There are lot in the UK, which is good in our industry and the export market. I’d certainly encourage publishers to at least investigate the opportunity of merchandise. “Really, it’s a no brainer.”

(From top to bottom): Insert Coin’s Long, Bioworld Europe’s de Ruyter and Heo’s Pelly

In January, geek subscription box giant Loot Crate made a proper move into games with Loot Gaming, a brand new games-focused box. This isn’t the firm’s first venture into the sector – Loot Crate has done special limited edition crates for Fallout, Call of Duty and Mass Effect. “We want to expand the gaming experience beyond the console or PC” Loot Crate’s gaming category manager Wes Citti says. “Our goal is to curate a product that lets fans enjoy their favourite game worlds in a new and exciting way. We want to deliver products from the best indie titles, triple-A releases and classic games. And we see a lot of potential in a combination of physical and digital items that we think a gaming audience would really love. He continues: “Loot Crate has a community of over 500,000 members. We’ve spent years developing a great product curation approach, experience with scaling up manufacturing, and excellent customer service. We love working directly with developers, publishers, and licensees to bring the digital world into the real world.”

March 11th 2016

JOHN KEARNEY, RETROFIST INTERVIEW

INDIE INTERVIEW Playing with Fire After designing chess pieces and pool halls for years at Pure Pool and Pure Chess developer VooFoo Studios, John Kearney departed to pursue a career in mobile development. Alex Calvin reports

n 2013, John Kearney was bored. Since he helped found VooFoo Studios back in 2007, he had been doing nothing but designing some – admittedly, technically impressive – pool halls, pool balls and chess pieces for its Pure Pool and Pure Chess console titles. He wanted to have a change and give the burgeoning mobile games scene a look. But after some of his colleagues at VooFoo disagreed, he left and formed his own mobile games-focused studio, RetroFist. “VooFoo kept making these parlour games and I thought mobile would be a good way for us, being a really small team, to show our skills,” Kearney says. “At RetroFist, we decided to focus entirely on mobile. We believed our skill set was very-much suited to games of high quality, developed in a reasonable amount of time. We thought that would help us stand out from the competition. Also, it meant we could be more creative. Much like VooFoo, we coded our engine from scratch, which is a bit mad these days with Unity and whatnot. For the first year, [RetroFist’s debut game] Fire Fu was locked in a room doing tech. “Developing our own tech does enable us to do things that others can’t and to stand out and really optimise and push our games to that extra level. We’re not relying on any thirdparty companies to give us tools or wait for features. It allows us to be very mobile and do exactly what we want to do. It’s very liberating.”

FULL HOUSE It’s no secret that the mobile market is crowded. The barrier to entry to reach the App Store or Google Play is very low, so the number of entrants to the sector is high. “It’s hugely challenging,” Kearney admits. “We researched the market heavily and worked out how best to take it on. Clearly the market is saturated nowadays. To get any kind of exposure and for people to notice you is immensely difficult. We did all of our research and everything and were attempting to get coverage for Fire Fu, so we sent out some press releases, some emails and that didn’t get picked

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Fire Fu is a mobile title with visuals inspired by Ubisoft’s recent Rayman titles

Developing our own tech enables us to do things that others can’t and really stand out from the crowd, It’s very liberating. John Kearney, RetroFist

up. We realised it was going to be a massive ball ache and much tougher than we realised.” IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE Much like RetroFist’s team relied on its own tech, it also originally planned to release Fire Fu on its own. But after being approached by Channel 4’s new publishing arm All 4 Games, the studio opted to sign with them. “Given the amount of marketing and PR we‘d have to put behind the game, we felt it was the wisest thing to do,” Kearney says. “We are really over the moon with our collaboration with Channel 4. We kind of

bottled it to be honest on the whole ‘go it yourself’ front. That was put to us, they made it clear that we would be one of a very select group but that they were finding their feet still, they would be pushing really hard and that was hugely appealing for us. “Given the nature of the industry at the moment, getting that help for a small indie developer allows us to focus on what we’re good at basically. We’re not marketing people, we’re not fantastic at PR. To be honest, I find it hard picking up the phone.” But there is plenty of help available for indie devs. Fire Fu was partially funded by Creative England, and Kearney maintains there’s a great deal of support out there for these smaller teams. “There’s an immense amount of help out there,” he says. “Creative England is absolutely brilliant. The support we have received from them has been immense, not just financially but in terms of feedback on the game throughout development. There’s plenty of funding opportunities available. There’s a great amount of interest if you are just willing to go out there and find the help. “If you have any skill and passion for games then there is help to be found.”

March 11th 2016

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE Ian Banks from Play-Away explains why retailers should look more into retro gaming, discusses his store’s rivalry with CeX and shares his expectations for the Final Fantasy titles that hit shelves later this year How has your business been lately? Steady-ish. It’s not too bad, but that’s mainly because we do gaming PCs. The games side of the business is not so good but PCs keep doing quite well. What games have been selling particularly well recently? The biggest one at the moment is The Division, which has been doing well on pre-orders. It would have been even better if we had

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

shouted about is the diﬃculty to get hold of so many collectible and limited editions of games. Business is not going to be as good as what it used to be, and, over the past ten years, I think it has been a slow downhill slide. We have to go more and more into the retro side of the business, that goes very well if you can get hold of the right material and the right games. On the second hand market, we have a local CeX, and they are

a PC pre-order for retail, but that went digital only. And Far Cry Primal of course is doing quite well, too. These games perform equally well on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. What challenges are you facing at the moment? Well, the usual competitiveness. Obviously digital will always be there, and we’re slowly losing companies to digital, one by one. The other thing we always

VR will be a pleasant change for the industry because a lot of the games that are coming out now are remakes. Ian Banks, Play-Away

PRICE CHECK: LIVERPOOL

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS 1. TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION (Ubisoft, PS4) 2. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Launch Edition Sony............................................................................PS4

LEGO DIMENSIONS STARTER PACK

3. Tom Clancy’s The Division Ubisoft ..........................................................................XO

FALLOUT 4

4. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Special Edition Sony............................................................................PS4

Warner Bros, PS4

Bethesda, XO

BLOODBORNE THE WITCHER III: WILD HUNT

Sony, PS4

Bandai Namco, XO

£99.99

£39.99

N/A

7. Quantum Break Microsoft .....................................................................XO

£47.99

£74.99

£28.99

£49.99

8. UFC 2 Day 1 Edition - Iron Mike Tyson Hall of Famer & The Gracie EA ................................................................................PS4

£39.99

£59.99

£29.99

£27.99

£34

£73

£30.99

£33.99

£43.95

£82.60

£29.45

£34.74

9. Dark Souls III Bandai Namco ......................................................PS4 10. Mortal Kombat XL Warner Bros ...........................................................PS4

UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market

GEARS OF WAR ULTIMATE EDITION

HITMAN

GUNSCAPE

The shooter’s PC version has been released as a Windows 10 exclusive

Hitman’s intro pack is launching on PS4, Xbox One and PC today

The FPS/world building indie title has landed on PS4, XO and PC

OUT: NOW

March 11th 2016

ONLINE

£44.99

6. Heavy Rain & Beyond Two Souls Collection Sony............................................................................PS4

IN STORE

5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD + Amiibo Nintendo................................................................ Wii U

OUT: NOW

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MARKETPLACE

Play-Away Address: 34 Guildhall St, Folkestone CT20 1DZ

Phone: 01303 240044 Website: www.playawayltd.co.uk

oﬀering very good money so we ﬁnd that challenging, too.

of Final Fantasy VII, which was one of the best game ever made.

What games are you looking forward to this year? There’s Uncharted 4 of course. It’s a big game, probably the biggest one of the year for Sony. Hopefully The Division will do very good also, because it’s a great online game. As for later in the year, the two we are most looking forward to are the Final Fantasy games: Final Fantasy XV and the remake

What are your thoughts on VR? I’ve experienced it and it was very good but I think it is all down to pricing at the end of the day, so we’ll see what happens. But it would be a pleasant change for the industry because a lot of the games that are coming out now are remakes, so with something like that it could become completely diﬀerent. I think it’s going to do very well.

INCOMING TITLE

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

It’s a busy month for toys-to-life: four new LEGO Dimensions packs hit shelves next week, and Disney releases its Marvel Battlegrounds Playset later this month FORMAT

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March 24th Adam’s Venture: Origins

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Racing

March 11th 2016

BIOWORLD EUROPE’S UNCHARTED 4 RANGE

BIOWORLD EUROPE’S UNCHARTED 4 RANGE Nathan Drake’s ultimate journey begins this May. But Uncharted 4-themed accessories will hit shelves way sooner. Marie Dealessandri discusses this trend with Michiel de Ruyter from Bioworld Europe

NAUGHTY DOG’S Uncharted franchise will apparently end this year. A Thief’s End is due out as a PS4 exclusive this May and the developer says this will be the last episode in the series. Uncharted 4 has been delayed a few times: initially announced to be released in 2015, it is now due on May 10th, 2016. But related merchandise is already available to pre-order and will begin to hit shelves as soon as the end of this month.

The coming months are all about highly anticipated games like Uncharted 4. Michiel de Ruyter, Bioworld Europe

“The coming months are all about highly anticipated games like Uncharted 4, Dark Souls III, Quantum Break and Doom,” says Michiel de Ruyter, in charge of online marketing and sales at Bioworld Europe – designer, producer and distributor of licensed products, including loads of Uncharted merchandise. “Our designers have outdone themselves and we can’t wait to share our products for these games as soon as possible.”

FOR GOD AND LIBERTY SWEATER Some treasure hunters do it for the gold others for god and liberty. Nathan Drake does it for a bit of both and hopefully gets the girl in the end. SRP: £39.99 Manufacturer: Bioworld Europe Distributor: Bioworld Europe Contact: info@bioworldeurope.com

PRO DEUS QVOD LICENTIA HOODIE

OLD COIN METAL KEYCHAIN

SKULL LOGO BEANIE

This cotton hoodie with an Uncharted 4 logo in front and a pirate skull at the back will make players look good during their adventures.

One of Uncharted’s found treasure - this old metal coin - can now sit besides your car keys.

A blue Uncharted 4 beanie with a brown pirate skull patch, which is ideal for protecting gamers from falling debris when climbing buildings Nathan Drake style.

SRP: £39.99 Manufacturer: Bioworld Europe Distributor: Bioworld Europe Contact: info@bioworldeurope.com

SRP: £4.99 Manufacturer: Bioworld Europe Distributor: Bioworld Europe Contact: info@bioworldeurope.com

SRP: £10.99 Manufacturer: Bioworld Europe Distributor: Bioworld Europe Contact: info@bioworldeurope.com

March 11th 2016

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BIOWORLD EUROPE’S UNCHARTED 4 RANGE