MCV898 October 28th by Future PLC

ISSUE 898 FRIDAY OCTOBER 28TH 2016

VR SPECIAL

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE EVE VALKYRIE CCP ON BEING A VR PIONEER n P14 RIGS COULD THIS BE VRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S KEY TO THE ESPORTS LOCKER? n P12 LETHAL VR THREE FIELDS AND TEAM 17 UNITE FOR NEW BITE-SIZED SHOOTER n P18

PLUS RANYARD ON OCULUS CONNECT n SQUARE ENIX COLLECTIVE 01 MCV898 Cover_V6.indd 1

25/10/2016 14:36

NEWS

Third party Switch support impresses, but what about the price? With the launch just five months away, retail is keen to get answers to the many Switch unknowns that remain by Ben Parfitt and Marie Dealessandri AN interesting design and seemingly extensive third party support has got retail excited about the Nintendo Switch, but big questions remain after the platform holder’s initial reveal. “It’s very Nintendo to bring something new and different to the market,” ShopTo’s head of commercial Alison Fraser told MCV. “The early third party list supporting the console is impressive. Let’s see what gaming brands are announced over the coming months.” HMV games buyer Nathan Allen added: “I was pleasantly surprised by the Switch reveal and I’m optimistic about it’s sales potential. I think it’s a significant step up

from the Wii U and, with the third party support they’re boasting, will hopefully appeal to a very broad spectrum of consumers.” Of course, from a retail perspective one question dominates in the mind of most retailers – how much is Nintendo going to charge for the machine?

Continued Allen: “I look forward to seeing more details around the specs and, crucially, price! With the more powerful and established PS4 and Xbox One consoles now hovering around £249, the Switch needs to be competitive.” Unfortunately, the uncertainties don’t end there, either.

“The storage space is high up on the list of questions,” Fraser explained. “The future is most certainly going the digital way for Nintendo as well. “The storage will dictate the requirements for cartridges which are unclear at the moment.” Gameseek’s Stephen Staley added: “Would running a game like Breath Of The Wild drain the battery quickly? The controllers look a bit small when they’re detached from the Switch, so will they cause discomfort? “Also, if Switch isn’t going to support 3DS or Wii U games, will this harm sales?” With Nintendo saying a March 2017 launch still on the cards, however, answers to all of these questions can be expected in the near future.

‘We need a Kitemark for indie developers,’ says Square Enix Phil Elliott says publishers need a better way to access talent, and devs need a more reliable route to market by Alex Calvin THE head of Square Enix’s Collective indie initiative Phil Elliott has said that the industry should do more to help the cream of the indie crop rise to the top. Speaking to MCV, Elliott said that the biggest challenge currently facing games publishers is the sheer number of indie developers in the market. Thus, Elliott says that responsbility to set a quality baseline for smaller studios is a consideration that the industry must tackle. “The sheer number of games is a challenge for developers and publishers. How does a publisher find a new game?” Elliott said. “That’s the biggest challenge the industry faces. How do we deal with curation? October 28th 2016

02 03 MCV898 News_V4.indd 1

“One of the things we like to do is due diligence for teams going through our Kickstarter process, so the trust relationship is bolstered. Trust is very important. What can the industry do to help with that? “Not just Collective, but what if UKIE or the IGDA or some body launched a Kitemark for quality? What if there was a network of mentors for certain territories or instead globally who come together and do what we do but on a much bigger scale. We would love to be part of that. “We don’t want it to just be about Collective. We want to see more games succeed and that route of funding become increasingly viable. Let’s try and encourage some of the trust. “Who is objective or neutral that can have access to lots of

The sheer number of games is a challenge for everyone. Phil Elliott, Square Enix Collective 02

people with experience of shipping games, who can be trustworthy? If Collective can do seven or eight games a year, what if there was a scheme that could do 20 or 30 games a year? It would be interesting to see.” You can read more about Square Enix Collective on page 12. www.mcvuk.com

25/10/2016 15:35

NEWS

Everybody Plays launches new online parent information hub PARENTS who want to ensure their children have a safe and enjoyable video games experience now have an additional resource to draw upon. Everybody Plays has expanded its already extensive knowledge base with the launch of a new Parent’s Guide to Games. The hub will offer a range of guides from setting up parental controls, age rating explanations and game suitability guidance. “This new hub lets us tackle issues on a game by game basis, and provide the sort of expert advice parents can’t find anywhere else,” editor Ian Morris told MCV. “If you read a lot of guides to setting up parental controls, most

THE EDITOR

of them are written for people who know their way around a console and understand the lingo – yet it may well be the folks who are less well versed who are the ones setting the consoles up. “Our goal here is to provide a resource that everyone can understand, ensuring everyone can find the answers they need, keep their families safe, and get the most out of gaming.” The site’s long-term goal is to take the service and place it where it can more directly connect with buyers. Added Morris: “Going forward, we’d love to get this information where it can help parents the most – at the point of sale, in storefronts both physical and digital.”

SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH

’m off. It’s been 11 and a half years since I joined MCV. All of which makes the change a little terrifying. My games industry journey started at Croydon’s Creative Distribution. Damien, Gareth, Justin, Benzie – good people and good times. Back then PS2 was king, the original Xbox was forging a new world of online gaming, and Sony and Nintendo were competing for handheld supremacy with the brand new PSP and DS. It was at Creative I saw a job ad for a staff writer on MCV, which was a mag I ﬂicked through every week. I was terrible at sales and had been doing an increasing amount of games writing and reviewing in my spare time. The idea that someone might pay me to write about games seemed farcical, but a couple of weeks later I was in Hertford and sitting down in front of Stu, Lisa and Johnny. I got very lucky. God, it feels like a lifetime ago. Not only have I changed from bright and youthful to haggard and exhausted, but the industry has changed a huge amount too. Some of the old indies I used to sell to at Creative, like Ronnie at Discover, are still with us, but the vast bulk of my old retail chums have long since departed. The games retail of today is barely recognisable compared to what we had back then. Will we even have games retail in another ten years? Changed too has the industry. The big boys have got bigger, but off the back of fewer, larger releases. Meanwhile,

Ian Morris wants a direct line to parents

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02 03 MCV898 News_V4.indd 2

Deep Silver Sony EA

the once endangered ‘little guy’ now ﬂourishes. And both increasingly do their business directly with the gamer. Retail, publishing, distribution – it all feels increasingly old fashioned, really. It likely won’t ever die completely, but the transformation we’ve already seen, and the further changes to come, are staggering. It’s all change at MCV, too, with the old guard being packed off to a home and the new generation taking charge. My departure marks virtually the end of the old Intent legacy, and in its place the current Newbay team on Monday leaves our old Hertford home and heads off to London Bridge. New editor Seth Barton has been here with us this week, staring the stark reality of a weekly print deadline square in the face. He knows his stuff and is every bit the safe pair of hands I wanted for MCV. I’m especially pleased for Alex Calvin, MCV’s new deputy editor. It’s no exaggeration to say he’s been the beating heart of the mag for some time now. Rounding off the team is Marie. Well, at least until the the Tories ship her back to France. We’ll be getting in another writer, too, interviews for which are ongoing. And, you may be distraught to hear, you’re not quite getting rid of me, either, as my first freelance gig is for none other than MCV, where I’ll be contributing news to the website every day. I wish you all the very best. Thanks for all the good times, everyone. It’s been incredible. You’ll all be missed x

October 28th 2016

25/10/2016 15:35

CHEAT SHEET

UP & DOWN

Market Data

Software revenue slightly rises nine per cent as Battlefield 1 has hit shelves PSVR LAUNCH title VR Worlds saw a 86 per cent decline in sales

£60m £15m

£30m £30m

£20m 531,266 units

£21m 537,230 units

£22m 605,162 units

Week Ending October 8th

Week Ending October 15th

Week Ending October 22nd

MINECRAFT: Xbox Edition’s sales increased 102 per cent week-on-week

EVENT CALENDAR OCTOBER 2016

NOVEMBER 2016

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

PARIS GAMES WEEK Paris Expo, Paris Thursday, October 27th – Monday, October 31st ■ The seventh edition of the Paris Games Week will be taking place at the end of October ■ Amongst the key attractions this year are an emphasis on video game jobs and careers, eSports, Paris Games Week Junior, a focus on French games, a video game bookshop and a retro gaming area

GOLDEN JOYSTICKS 2016 Indig02 Friday, November 18th ■ The 34th edition of the Golden Joystick Awards will be open to the public for the first time ever ■ The Golden Joystick Awards are being organised by Future’s GamesRadar+ and the winners are voted for by the public.

MCM LONDON COMIC CON Excel London Friday, October 28th – Sunday, October 30th ■ London’s Comic Con returns this October to celebrate pop culture ■ For three days, fans will have access to numerous attractions, including VidFestUK, a memorabilia area, a games expo, a comic village and the EuroCosplay Championships

October 28th 2016

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ESPORTS INDUSTRY AWARDS The Brewery, London Monday, November 21st ■ The first eSports Industry Awards will take place in London this November ■ Media personality Julia Hardy and Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury to host ■ 18 prizes up for grabs FUTURE GAMES SUMMIT Millennium Mayfair Hotel, London Wednesday, November 23rd – Thursday, November 24th ■ A brand new conference that will examine the opportunities and challenges facing the games industry in the UK and beyond

www.mcvuk.com

24/10/2016 16:36

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

NINTENDO UNVEILS THE SWITCH

Nintendo has finally revealed what was until now known as the NX. As expected, the Switch is both a handheld and a home console, which features a tablet that can be slotted into a base station. Thirdparty support and eSports seem to be amongst Nintendo’s key focus.

Nintendo announced 48 development partners for its new Switch console

@aarongreenberg Congrats to my friends @NintendoAmerica on the unveil today. Love seeing new innovation in our industry, Switch looks like fun! Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft Thursday, October 20th

@devolverdigital We’re excited for the Nintendo Switch and having met with Nintendo last week we’re confident you’ll see some our games on it next year! Devolver Digital Thursday, October 20th

@apacherose3 2017 is going to be AMAZING. #RedDeadRedemption2 looks fantastic and totally obsessed with the #NintendoSwitch already

@Jim_Trinca Alright, Switch looks fucking brilliant. Also that video is *amazing* marketing

Sam Loveridge, Digital Spy Thursday, October 20th @SimonMiller316 My favourite part of the Nintendo Switch reveal was when the dude lost his dog because he was too busy playing video games.

Simon ‘The Miller Report’ Miller Thursday, October 20th

Jim Trinca, SpecialGun Productions Thursday, October 20th

Microsoft’s gaming revenue declined five per cent in the first quarter of the 2017 financial year

$10

Hearthstone’s new Heroic Tavern Brawl mode will cost $9.99 (or 1,000 gold) to enter

@Rhodes_Writes It’s nice to see a console that doesn’t look like a toy and appears to play lots of actual games on it. They have my attention. #NintendoNX Stephen Rhodes, Freelance narrative designer Thursday, October 20th

@bskipper27 That was exactly how Nintendo needed to debut their new console #NintendoSwitch

@hownottodraw I’m excited that Nintendo still takes risks. They might not always succeed, but they push the industry forward and keep it from being stale. Kate Gray, Freelance writer Thursday, October 20th

Ben Skipper, IBTimes UK Thursday, October 20th

2017

Ubisoft’s highly-awaited VR title Star Trek: Bridge Crew will now launch on March 14th 2017 instead of November 29th

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www.mcvuk.com

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Sonic publisher Sega once again held its Cricket Challenge at Kew Green. This time, more than 40 industry veterans gathered to play cricket, with teachers and students from charity Action For Kids coming to watch. £2,000 was raised for GamesAid.

GOLDEN JOYSTICKS GAMESAID TENNER ..................

GamesAid will be collecting money at the Golden Joystick Awards. Envelopes will be left on tables, with attendees being asked to donate £10 each. The 34th Golden Joysticks take place on Friday, November 18th at the Indigo2. 05

GAMESAID RAISES £954,000 FOR CHARITY ..................

UK games industry charity GamesAid raised a massive £954,000 in the last year. This was shared between ten different organisations, who each walked away with £95,400. Over nine years, GamesAid has raised £2.7m. October 28th 2016

24/10/2016 16:36

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

Meet MCV’s new editor Barton joins from Expert Reviews ● New head of studios at Curve ● Green Man Gaming hires non-exec director NEWBAY MEDIA | MCV has hired SETH BARTON (top, left) as its new editor. Barton has been editor of Expert Reviews for the past 11 years and has also written for the likes of Stuff, Wired, Eurogamer and PC Pro as a freelance journalist. Meanwhile, senior staff writer ALEX CALVIN (above, left) has been promoted to deputy editor. He commented: “The ability to help run a trade publication is insignificant compared to the power of The Force” Barton added: “I’m thrilled to be joining the excellent team

CURVE DIGITAL | Zöe Mode and Headstrong Games have a new boss as BRYNLEY GIBSON has joined as head of studios. The industry veteran previously held the position of executive producer at Sony. Gibson commented: “I’m delighted to take up this new role. It’s an incredibly exciting time and I’m very happy to be a part of this fast-moving business.” CEO DOMINIC WHEATLEY added: “Brynley’s experience in producing million-selling and critically-acclaimed games is second to none.”

at MCV at an exciting time for the industry. VR is here, the traditional console cycle is being disrupted, the lines between mobile and TV gaming are blurring, eSports are on the rise, digital and physical sales fight for consumer attention, while the shadow of Brexit looms large. “To stay on top of these developments we’re relocating MCV to central London, so you’ll be seeing more of the team in person. Whether it’s in print, digital download or online, we’ll strive to make MCV an essential source of information for everyone who sells, publishes or develops games in the UK, as well as acting as a forum for constructive discussion across the industry.”

GREEN MAN GAMING | FAISAL GALARIA has been appointed

as non-executive director and board member at Green Man Gaming. He is a newcomer to the games industry but brings 10 years of experience from firms such as Spotify, Skype and Kayak. CEO and founder PAUL SULYOK said: “Faisal’s deep knowledge of working successfully with some of the biggest internet success stories in the world will be highly valuable to Green Man Gaming.” Galaria commented: “Paul [Sulyok] and the team have done a great job building a market challenging global technology company with strong foundations and enormous potential.”

Distributed by IT World Services TEL: +44 (0)17538 21122 EMAIL: sales@itworldservices.co.uk

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www.mcvuk.com

24/10/2016 16:37

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WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

WEEKLY CHARTS IT was quite a big week for EA, having claimed both first and second places in the charts. Battlefield 1 debuted in top spot and managed to outsell the combined week one sales of both 2013’s Battlefield 4 and 2015’s Battlefield Hardline. EA’s new entry in the franchise represented 45.05 per cent of weekly UK sales. As a consequence, EA’s FIFA 17 has been pushed down to No.2 with sales decreasing 36 per cent. 2K’s Mafia III managed to keep its third place despite sales dipping 59 per cent, and Gears of War 4 fell two spots to No.4, with sales decreasing 76 per cent. Meanwhile, Warner Bros’ Batman: Return to Arkham debuted at No.5.

Another new entry is 2K’s Civilization VI, which entered the list at No.15. But digital sales are not included and, as always with PCexclusive titles, sales for the game probably were higher than the charts suggest. As a matter of fact, the title topped Steam’s listings. Elsewhere, LEGO Harry Potter Collection debuted at No.19. It should be noted that of the eight PSVR launch titles that were in the charts last week, only one remained: PlayStation VR Worlds, now at No.29 following a 86 per cent dip in sales. Over on mobile, EA’s Fifa Mobile Football took the top spot on both iPad and iPhone free titles charts.

GLOBAL STEAM CHARTS (UNITS)

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07

LW RE 08 RE 02 04 RE

SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION VI DEVELOPER: FIRAXIS PUBLISHER: 2K GAMES

TITLE Fallout 4 Football Manager 2017 Doom Shadow Warrior 2 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Fallout 4 Season Pass

PUBLISHER Bethesda Sega Bethesda Devolver Digital Valve Bethesda

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 NEW 01 03 02 NEW 04 05 06 11 16 14 08 10 15 NEW 17 25 18 NEW 22 09 26 30 24 38 33 19 21 07 RE 13 40 34 RE 32 RE 29 RE 39 RE

Title Battlefield 1 FIFA 17 Mafia III Gears of War 4 Batman: Return to Arkham WWE 2K17 Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration Forza Horizon 3 Grand Theft Auto V Minecraft: Xbox Edition Star Wars Battlefront Skylanders Imaginators Rocket League Overwatch Civilization VI Destiny: The Collection Fallout 4 LEGO Dimensions LEGO Harry Potter Collection LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Call of Duty: Black Ops III Minecraft: PlayStation Edition LEGO Jurassic World Guitar Hero Live LEGO Marvel’s Avengers BioShock: The Collection Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 PlayStation VR Worlds Tom Clancy’s The Division Dragon Quest Builders Halo 5: Guardians Skylanders SuperChargers LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Minecraft: Story Mode Doom NBA 2K17 Tomodachi Life New Super Mario Bros 2 Madden NFL 17

Source: Steam, Period: October 10th to October 16th October 28th 2016

08 09 MCV898 Weekly Charts_V4.indd 1

Format PS4, XO, PC PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC PS4, XO, PC XO PS4, XO PS4, XO, PS3, 360 PS4, PC XO PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC XO, 360 PS4, XO, PC PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 PS4, XO PS4, XO, PC PC PS4, XO PS4, XO, PC PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 PS4 PS4, XO, PS3, 360 PS4 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC PS4, PS3, Vita PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 PS4, XO PS4, XO, PS3, 360 PS4 PS4, XO, PC PS4, Vita XO PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS PS4, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC PS4, XO, PC PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 3DS 3DS PS4, XO

Publisher EA EA 2K Games Microsoft Warner Bros 2K Games Square Enix Microsoft Rockstar Microsoft EA Activision 505 Games Blizzard 2K Games Activision Bethesda Warner Bros Warner Bros Warner Bros Sony Activision Sony Warner Bros Activision Warner Bros 2K Games Konami Sony Ubisoft Square Enix Microsoft Activision Warner Bros Telltale Games Bethesda 2K Games Nintendo Nintendo EA

Source: UKIE/GfK Entertainment, Period: Week ending October 22nd 08

www.mcvuk.com

24/10/2016 16:37

WEEKLY SALES CHARTS

UK IPAD PAID

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW NEW 06 02 NEW RE 09 05 RE RE

UK IPHONE PAID

(UNITS)

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

Title Shadow Wolf Mysteries: Curse of Wolfhill Tipping Point Youtubers Life European Mystery: Flowers of Death HD The Chase Terraria Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Bloons TD 5 HD Five Nights at Freddy’s

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Big Fish Barnstorm Games U-Play Online Big Fish Barnstorm Games 505 Games Rockstar Ninja Kiwi Scott Cawthon

LW 01 03 05 10 04 07 08 09 NEW

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: October 10th – October 16th

(UNITS)

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

Title Pumped BMX 3 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Heads Up! The Chase Plague Inc. Bloons TD 5 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Monopoly Game Base Invaders - For Big Narstie

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: October 10th – October 16th

UK IPAD GROSSING (REVENUE)

UK IPHONE GROSSING (REVENUE)

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 02 03 04 05 07 06 08 09 10

CANDY CRUSH SAGA DEVELOPER: KING

Title Game of War - Fire Age Clash of Clans Candy Crush Soda Saga Mobile Strike Clash Royale Gardenscapes - New Acres Gummy Drop! Hay Day Roblox

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Machine Zone Supercell King Epic War Supercell Playrix Big Fish Supercell Roblox Corporation

LW 06 04 05 03 02 07 08 10 RE

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: October 10th – October 16th

POKÉMON GO DEVELOPER: NIANTIC

Title Clash of Clans Game of War - Fire Age Mobile Strike Candy Crush Saga Clash Royale Candy Crush Soda Saga 8 Ball Pool Episode - Choose Your Story, feat. Mean Girls Gardenscapes - New Acres

UK IPHONE FREE (UNITS)

LW 05 01 03 04 NEW 02 NEW RE 06

FIFA MOBILE FOOTBALL DEVELOPER: ELECTRONIC ARTS

Title Block! Hexa Puzzle PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator Pineapple Pen Bottle Flip 2k16 Shuffle Cats Rolling Sky Dustoff Heli Rescue 2 Ski Resort Parking Sim Ice Road Snow Plow Trucker Six!

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer BitMango Outerminds Ketchapp Aidan Sabourin King Cheetah Technology Invictus Aidem Media GramGames

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: October 10th – October 16th www.mcvuk.com

08 09 MCV898 Weekly Charts_V4.indd 2

Developer Supercell Machine Zone Epic War King Supercell King Miniclip.com Episode Interactive Playrix

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: October 10th – October 16th

UK IPAD FREE (UNITS)

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Developer Yeah Us! Rockstar Warner Bros Barnstorm Games Ndemic Creations Ninja Kiwi Rockstar EA AyClass Apps

LW 01 06 02 07 04 03 NEW NEW RE

FIFA MOBILE FOOTBALL DEVELOPER: ELECTRONIC ARTS

Title Pineapple Pen Block! Hexa Puzzle PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator Bottle Flip 2K16 Rolling Sky Hop Flippy Bottle Extreme! - Hardest Flip Bottle 2K16 My Majesty King of Thieves

Developer Ketchapp BitMango Outerminds Aidan Sabourin Cheetah Ketchapp Derrick Mapagu Tigrido ZeptoLab

Source: UKIE/Refl ection, Period: October 10th – October 16th 09

October 28th 2016

24/10/2016 16:37

OPINION

ANALYSIS

Oculus Connect: This time it’s sociable ■ Probably the biggest let down of the conference were the panels. Putting my GDC advisory board hat on, the general consensus is that panels are easy to organize, but often lack clear benefit and audience takeaway. Personally, I found the information coming from the panels was too light and inconsistent to be a strong learning experience.

In his latest column, VR expert and former Sony London developer DAVE RANYARD looks back at this year’s Oculus Connect event

attended the Oculus Connect 3 – the first time event of its kind for me since leaving Sony. As one of the 2000-plus VR devs gathered in San Jose to enjoy keynotes, panels, talks and lots of demos, here are my top takeaways: ■ Mark Zuckerberg means VR business. Watching the keynote was inspiring, Oculus – or rather Facebook – totally get the important factors of VR. My mantra of ‘eyes, ears, hands’ was significantly reinforced by its huge push on Touch controllers. Every on-stage demo used Touch controls, with not a single Xbox controller in sight.

■ Thankfully, the demo room was a different story. It was easy to get into an Oculus or a Gear VR within five minutes of entering, which is a very different experience to GDC or E3. More time may be needed for a specific demo (especially the newly announced ones) but trying code was by far the best part of the whole event. Although the initial VR games are pretty much limited to one mechanic, the latest set of announcements clearly shows more complex games with several mechanics working in harmony to offer a deeper experience. Just

With the most famous CEO in the world taking such a keen interest, I’m more confident than ever that it is here to stay. Dave Ranyard, indie developer

look up Robo Recall to understand what I mean. Even the teleport mechanic has been built into the concept. Definitely more to come. There are still a couple of very uncomfortable experiences out there. These will have all but disappeared by early next year. One game I played continuously thrust me sideways, breaking every rule we have discovered about inducing nausea. When I discussed this with the demo handlers they told me a number of people had brought this up as a serious issue, to which I responded “So, why are you still showing it?” Still, if the meet ups I attended a few years ago felt like the grassroots beginning of cautious change, this felt like the start of something big. With the most famous CEO in the world taking such a keen interest in VR, I’m more confident than ever that it is here to stay. The debate has quietly moved on from ‘if’ to ‘when’ and the answer is ‘not too long’ in my humble opinion.

■ My second mantra: ‘Go somewhere cool, do something amazing, take your friends with you,’ was a large part of the event, with Mr. Z at the helm of the on-stage social demos. They consisted of cool avatars in a virtual space in which objects, environments and even desktops can be shared. It’s a huge improvement on video conferencing and looks set for business and personal life alike. ■ My deepest impression is that Mark was not ‘briefed’ on the demo the day before like so many CEOs would have been, and as a result it felt very natural. He is clearly invested in Oculus and its social potential. He led the demo, even making a video call to his wife mid-way through; my guess is he checks in on this project at least every week and is deeply involved in its review and direction.

October 28th 2016

10 MCV898 Insight_V3.indd 1

Social functionality like calling friends was central to this year’s Oculus Connect

www.mcvuk.com

24/10/2016 16:38

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12/10/2016 16:28

INTERVIEW SQUARE ENIX COLLECTIVE

Hip to be Square After its 2013 launch, Square Enix’s indie label Collective released its first games this year. Alex Calvin catches up with the initiative’s boss Phil Elliott to talk about its approach to indie projects and what his long-term aims are for the programme

The latest title Collective announced was Studio Ghibliinspired platformer Forgotten Anne

ot so long ago there was a point where MCV was announcing a new company getting into indie publishing more or less every single week. In the last few years, we’ve seen triple-A firms like Activision and Take-Two, alongside retailers like Green Man Gaming and GameStop, start publishing indie titles in search of the next hit. But one of the first big companies to enter this lucrative space was Square Enix. In October 2013, the Final Fantasy giant announced its own indie operation, Collective. “A lot of credit has to go to [CEO] Yosuke Matsuda,” Collective’s boss Phil Elliott says. “When he joined he started communicating these ideas about ways Square could work with indie studios, ways we could empower a community, ways we could work with crowdfunding – that was an interest of his. “There’s a lot of talent out there that needs to be supported. It’s very important that as an industry we have solutions and ways for new talent to come through.

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The number of games on Steam alone is massive. That provides a bigger challenge in that you can’t assume that you can make a good game and it’ll sell. “The future of the games industry can’t just be triple-A. That’s a really important part of it, but we’ve got to make sure there are ways for new ideas and for people to risk it and do things like Papers, Please because it adds to that emotional and experiential spectrum of what we present. Triple-A alone is never going to nail all of that.” COME TOGETHER Collective was rolled out three years ago, but it wasn’t until 2016 that it actually started releasing games. First was point and click adventure Goetia, which hit Steam in April, before first-person puzzle game The Turing Test launched in August. “It’s been a very interesting ride,” Elliott laughs. “To be honest, when we started, it was very much an experiment. We didn’t know how people were going to respond to the concept of us getting involved with Kickstarter or indie developers. We were very

The future of the games indutry can’t just be triple-A. We have to make sure there are ways for new ideas to come around. Phil Elliott, Square Enix Collective

sensitive to people assuming the worst. That’s fair, people should be cynical, particularly about big corporations. Publishers in general don’t have the best track record going back a few years. So we expected that and that’s fair. Our intention was always to see what the response is like and see if we could prove the concept and prove intentions over time. “Fast forward to the present day, this is probably the first year were planning more than three to six months ahead. We’ve released two games, we’ve just announced another. We already have projects lined up to release for the first six or seven months of next year. We’re aiming to publish ten games a year from next year onwards. We hit a $1m milestone on Collective Kickstarters. We also hit the 100 game mark on the Collective website in terms of publishing pitches. It still feels like we have great momentum. We are still learning. We have no plans to rest on our laurels but it feels real now. We have loads planned. It’s a very exciting time.” Collective’s approach is somewhat different to some of its

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24/10/2016 16:38

SQUARE ENIX COLLECTIVE INTERVIEW

THE NAME GAME AT the start of 2015, Square Enix Collective opened up some of its Eidos IP to pitches from developers. It opened a window for taking pitches for Gex , Fear Effect and Anachronox , with a Fear Effect game – from Goetia developers Sushee – being commissioned. Despite having some known game names, this window was not as successful as Collective had hoped. “Not many people got in touch,” Collective boss Phil Elliott admits. “It was pretty underwhelming. We had some gamers mail in with some ideas, but in terms of actual pitches from developers who could then go on and make the game, nothing really came of Gex and Aquanox . We had two for Fear Effect . One wasn’t

viable; the second was from the developers behind Goetia. We’re very happy to licence the IP and support them on the Kickstarter. We’re excited to see how that goes. “We’re still on the fence about when we should next open up the window. If a developer is out there and has designs on any of the more legacy Eidos IP, I would encourage people to get in touch. If they have a strong pitch, they don’t need to necessarily need to wait for us to open up more IP. I’m sure we’ll do something again next year. We’ll probably going to be a little bit more formal where we ask developers to consider these IPs. The reason we haven’t done it this year is that in truth we have been so busy. It’s just a capacity thing.”

Collective’s second release was puzzle game The Turing Test

indie publishing rivals. Rather than simply releasing a game, Square Enix’s label first of all features projects on its website to gauge interest with its fanbase. If a title is liked within the community, Square Enix offers to launch it on a crowdfunding platform, before again offering to help publish it. Developers always retain the IP, and they are under no obligation to stick with Collective beyond the community phase. “There’s no tie, there are absolutely no strings attached,” Elliott says. “We’re putting up 45 or so pitches a year on the community side, but only have capacity to support seven or eight Kickstarters. There’s not an automatic follow-on process. A lot of teams aren’t looking to go to crowdfunding, it’s more a way of building a community and we’re totally fine with that. We aim to drive around 20,000 views to each pitch that we publish on the site. “It helps them get that feedback and understand what gamers like and what they don’t. If we support a team through – and that’s free

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– at the end of it, there are no strings attached. “For the Kickstarters, we ask for five per cent of funds raised because we put a bunch of marketing into it and do a due diligence on the team so we can publicly endorse it and so on.” “In terms of how it came about... I’ll be honest when we started the concept of Collective, I didn’t think I’d be able to get away with saying there would be no strings attached. We were on a video conference with Matsuda-san and I was explaining it, saying if we support the Kickstarter, then we will be the publisher of the game. Matsuda-san said: ‘No, it should always be the developer’s choice’. That was the point where I realised that Matuda-san really understood this and that the philosophy of doing something that’s genuinely trying to be beneficial.”

People should be cynical, particularly about big corporations. Publishers in general don’t have the best track record going back a few years. Phil Elliott, Square Enix Collective

SERVICE INDUSTRY By taking projects and helping improve them from player feedback, Collective seems more like an incubator than a publisher. “We think of ourselves as a service provider,” he says. “On the

feedback website, we try to help developers build a community. With Kickstarter, we help with marketing and due diligence and help studios build trust between them and the backers. With the launch, we still provide QA, age ratings, PR, and community support. “We see ourselves as very different from traditional publishing. Developers own IP so have creative control, which puts a very different perspective on the relationship.” Going forwards, Elliott’s ambition for Collective is simple – to help indie developers who may go on to shape the course of the industry. “The biggest thing I’d love to see is some of the teams we have worked go and do amazing things and lead the industry. I’d love to see their ideas wowing people and doing exciting things, even for them to be changing the shape of the industry,” he says. “That would be the single most satisfying thing from my side, regardless of whether they are working with us or not on those projects.”

October 28th 2016

24/10/2016 16:38

VIRTUAL REALITY ESPORTS

eSports could be RIGged RIGS: Mechanized Combat League straddles two newly emerging games markets. Could it become the first true VR eSports experience? Jem Alexander speaks to developer Guerrilla Cambridge

irtual reality eSports have moved from sci-fi fantasy to near reality in just a few years, and UK-developed RIGS is leading the charge. The combination of VR and eSports sounds potentially thrilling, but so far this relationship has only gone as far as spectating certain eSports matches. Valve developed software to allow viewers of The International 6 to watch the DOTA 2 tournament; receiving an immersive eSports experience through their HTC Vive headsets. But we’ve yet to see a multiplayer VR game being played as part of a competitive league. VR MASSIVE With the launch of the PlayStation VR, alongside games such as RIGS which have a strong multiplayer offering, competitive VR experiences are suddenly far more accessible. The relatively inexpensive PSVR headset, coupled with the guaranteed parity of visuals and framerate across all PS4 systems, could help kickstart the VR eSports honeymoon period. “The possibility of RIGS being the first VR eSport is something that we’re all incredibly excited about,” says Piers Jackson, game director at Guerrilla Cambridge. “It would be the biggest stamp of approval we could get, because it would mean that we’ve successfully created a competitive sports title that’s being enjoyed by a lot of people.” As is so often the case, however, the Guerrilla Cambridge isn’t specifically targeting the eSports market with RIGS. One does not create an eSport, rather one sets the stage for an eSport to occur, and then hopes. “Becoming an eSport is something you’re kind of invited into; you can’t just force your

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will the competitive scene. Not least because in order to have a competitive scene, you need audience members to fill venues, or to watch via Twitch. “A good eSports experience is something that can be watched and for this to be possible it has to be readable, understandable, engaging and exciting,” says Jackson.

way in,” says Jackson. “The critical mass of players and people wanting to watch needs to be there first.” “For a game to get there it needs to be accessible and playable by all. I believe you can only really appreciate games being played at the top level if you’ve had a go yourself and understand how impressive the pro players are.” NICE AND EASY Many eSports eschew accessibility in favour of layers of deep, complex tactics and strategy. This makes professional play truly competitive and gives casual players something to be impressed by. Jackson maintains that, despite being easy for people to get into, RIGS has the scope for people to refine their play styles. The accessibility is important because VR is such new technology, no-one can take any player knowledge or experience for granted. “It has been really important for us to ensure that everyone can pick up the game and get into it quickly. But we’ve been making the game for a couple of years now and have a wide range of skill in the studio with the more competitive of us continuing to refine our playstyles, so I’d say the scalability is definitely there.” But as with many eSports titles, what ships in the box isn’t where the game ends. There will be updates that will expand the skill level, and indeed the skillset, of players looking to hit the upper echelons of RIGS play. “We have plans that will let us push the envelope, unlock additional high-end play styles, and be responsive to our community’s feedback,” says Jackson. So, once again, it comes back to community. The game will grow with the players, as

RIGS possibly being the first VR eSport is something we’re incredibly excited about. It would be the biggest stamp of approval. Piers Jackson, Guerrilla Cambridge

SPECTATOR SPECTACLE Naturally, this brings up questions about what a spectator mode should look like for a game that is played in VR. Since it’s never been done before, there’s a huge amount of freedom when it comes to developing such a thing, but also the potential to make mistakes. “The games don’t yet exist in VR that will support spectating – this will change. “Using VR for spectating has really powerful possibilities as it lets the viewer engage in a deeper way with the game. It’s the difference between watching football on TV and being in the stadium; it comes down to immersion. “From talking to eSports broadcasters, one thing we’re aware of is the importance of showing the player’s actual view to the spectator, particularly in first-person games. It’s critical for the audience to get a second-by-second understanding of what a pro-player is thinking and looking at, as well as what decisions they’ve made and why. “When you do this through VR, you’re genuinely getting a window into the gamer’s world because you’re able to see their head movements as they happen. This could be pretty revolutionary in terms of how you perceive games and certainly adds more connection between players and the audience.”

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24/10/2016 16:39

VIRTUAL REALITY ESPORTS

In the interest of generating as large an audience as possible, however, spectating games on a flat screen may be necessary for accessibility. Requiring viewers to step into a VR world to watch matches is great for immersion, but it requires anyone watching to be 100 per cent focused at all times. That’s a problem for VR whether you’re watching eSports or real-world sports. Like football, watching eSports is also inherently social, something that VR headsets would limit considerably. Not to mention the painfully real fact that alcohol and VR don’t mix, so say goodbye to the idea of the virtual reality sports bar. “Both options have pros and cons,” Jackson explains. A mixture of the two is clearly the key, so it’ll be interesting to see how developers tackle this as the industry matures. As for RIGS: “We haven’t revealed our spectator options; we’ll unlock them a little down the road. Gamers can use

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the social screen to watch and capture match footage.”

counts. “When we were designing our arenas, we tried as much as possible to keep the structures clean and readable so a fictitious occupant in the stands would get the best view of the action. As we also discovered, this clean readability and reduction in noise is also really critical for creating an optimal experience in VR. The two combined nicely to provide an experience that’s pretty easy to follow visually.” With RIGS, Guerrilla Cambridge is exploring two games frontiers simultaneously. Piers Jackson doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but sees a bright future for both VR and eSports, whether they’re intertwined or not. “We haven’t any real idea Piers Jackson, Guerrilla Cambridge where the boundaries of VR are; it’s simply too early. But I’m excited to see how player interaction develops in VR and the tech that will be invented to support it.”

DOING IT LIVE As for live competition, played on stage, precedent has already been set with a demo that took place on Sony’s stage at TGS this year between pro-teams SCARZ and Detonation Gaming. A good sign that, should the audience exist for it, Sony has the ability to put together entire live shows and tournaments in the future. Beyond giving pro-players the chance to demonstrate their skills, an eSport needs balance and visual clarity in order to make playing and watching fun. “We wanted both competitors and spectators to understand what a player’s abilities and loadout were at a glance. Balancing is critical to making our sport fair, so whilst they all have strengths and weaknesses, it’s how you use them and how players combine their use with their teammates’ RIGS that really

Using VR for spectating has really powerful possibilities. It’s the difference between football on TV and being in the stadium.

October 28th 2016

24/10/2016 16:39

INTERVIEW RYAN GEDDES, CCP GAMES

Ride of the Valkyrie CCP’s VR dogfighting title Eve Valkyrie was one of the most visible virtual reality titles ahead its launch earlier this year. Alex Calvin catches up with the game’s global brand manager Ryan Geddes to see how the roll out of both Valkyrie and virtual reality has gone Eve Valkyrie launched in March bundled with Oculus Rift, before coming to PlayStation VR in October. How would you assess the game’s launch so far? It’s been quite a ride. We started this project around the time of Oculus’ Kickstarter. Some of our guys in Reykjavík who made Eve Online had backed the original Kickstarter because they believed in VR so much. It was a group of four or five guys. They had alway had this dream of actually flying a fighter in VR in first-person and that the player would be that pilot in the cockpit. So they started building this thing. Fast forward a few years and here we have this VR game that’s live and people are playing and they’re fighting against each other in the Eve universe. It’s been great. We’ve really enjoyed it, as have our players, who have us a lot of great feedback. One of the great things about being out on Oculus Rift before PlayStation VR is that we had this good chance to tweak and iterate on the game with our community ahead of that launch. The PlayStation VR audience saw the benefit of the blood, sweat and tears of the PC community that went before it. 2016 has also seen virtual reality launch. How would you say that has gone? It’s been amazing. We’ll probably look back on this year and not realise just how crazy it was as we’re in it. Being a part of that birth year for VR is a really amazing thing and we’re really humbled to be part of it. We believed in VR from the very beginning and have gone on this crazy journey, and feel that a lot of that has

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Eve Valykrie was bundled with every Oculus Rift headset at launch

cleared up now. We were really looking forward to launching on PlayStation VR as it’s a totally different audience. Oculus’ audience is obviously PC-centric, not everybody on there is a pure gamer first, they’re people who love games but also love the latest tech, but the PlayStation VR audience are gamers first.

and know where they’re going to go. These are new challenges. The fire power that’s needed to run VR is significantly higher than it is for standard games. You have to make a lot of decisions about what’s important to have there, what do we need players to see and what do we need them to interact with and deploying our development resources wisely, meaning memory and graphics resources.

What challenges did developing Eve Valkyrie in VR pose? In Eve Valkyrie, you have complete situational awareness in the cockpit, total 360-degree vision, you can look over your shoulder and see a ship behind you, you can look at the wing to see which way your friends are coming in. That’s great but you have to design the gameplay around that. We need to make sure that cover works the right way, that when you’re flying in formation with your squad that you can look over at your mate

Given that virtual reality titles have to run at a constantly high frame rate to stop the risk of of motion sickness, has the technical aspect been a bigger focus than normal? I’m not sure anyone’s released a perfect game so far. But we really pay attention to getting the technical details right because if you have latency or lag in a VR game, it has an effect beyond annoyance. In a 2D game, if you

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24/10/2016 16:40

RYAN GEDDES, CCP GAMES INTERVIEW

CCP doesn’t have any plans for an Eve Valykrie sequel – but it is going to support the brand long term

have latency or lag, you notice a visual impairment that hampers your ability to enjoy the game to its fullest potential. If you have latency or lag in VR, if it’s bad enough it can make you want to leave the experience altogether. We try to avoid that at all costs. We’ve been doing VR for a while. There are always going to be bugs, there are always going to be issues that arise. We don’t expect everything to work every time. Has virtual reality created issues for your bug testing and QA teams? One of the first things a QA person will ask themselves when there’s a bug or problem is where the player was when it happened. In VR it’s a more difficult question because it’s an entirely 3D space. It’s a case of finding out where the player was and where the player was looking. Those can be two different questions with two very different answers. It’s multiplied

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the amount of awareness that developers have to have about what’s going on in the game at any given time. That’s a challenge but it’s also super cool. We forget sometimes as developers that we have to step back and realise we are actually putting people inside games now.

We’re going to see fewer VR experiences where the novelty wears off quickly. It’s going to be about deep, rich content.

Where do you see virtual reality in the next few years? I wish I knew. There are many different ways that game audiences are going to want to interact with virtual reality. You see it happening now with mobile VR, seated VR and this standing room-scale VR. We have Eve Gunjack, a mobile VR game. Valkyrie is a more traditional seated game experience with a gamepad. And there’s our R&D project, Arena, which is a standing title that’s really cool in VR that shows what we can do with this whole room scale thing. Where VR goes from here is an interesting

Ryan Geddes, CCP Games

question. These experiences are going to get richer, more like what we think of as traditional games. We see Valkyrie as a more traditional game for core players. We’re going to start seeing a lot more of that and a lot less of just ‘here’s an experience that we feel is interesting but the novelty is going to wears off quick’. Then it’s going to be about what the rich, deep content that we can have – the things that get you excited about switching on your VR device. What are your plans for Eve Valykrie going forwards? The important thing is create a game and world that people want to be in for the long term. You probably hear that a lot, but for us it’s a very serious thing. It’s what we built our company on and we intend to continue doing it. It’s a long term brand for us. Whether there’s a sequel, I don’t know. We haven’t even thought about that yet.

October 28th 2016

24/10/2016 16:40

INTERVIEW THREE FIELDS & TEAM17

The game with the golden gun Developer Three Fields and publisher Team17 have partnered to tackle the nascent VR market. Lethal VR is their debut title and it was developed with lightening speed. Marie Dealessandri talks to Team17’s Debbie Bestwick and Three Fields’ Alex Ward to find out more

hree Fields Entertainment has not ben idle since its inception last March. When some indie developers spend years announcing projects that come out years later, Three Fields is about to release its second game in just six months. The studio’s debut title, Dangerous Golf, launched in June but didn’t really perform as expected, with sales falling short of target. But it takes a bit more than that to deter Three Fields. Not only the studio is back with a new game, but it’s also a VR title. “The folks at Epic Games kindly sent us two HTC Vive development kits during the Summer,” co-founder Alex Ward tells MCV. “We cleared a space at the end of the office and started looking at some of the early titles available on Steam. I sat down with [game maker] Chris Roberts and [artist in chief] Paul Phillpot and we talked about some of the actions we thought would work well. Shooting, pointing, throwing, kneeling and leaning all came to mind. It seemed obvious to try something based around virtual shooting and throwing.” And that’s how Lethal VR came to be. This arcade-inspired shooter hits Steam on November 8th, with a PSVR launch to follow later this year, thanks to the support of publisher Team17, for whom this will be its first VR release. “Lethal VR is totally accessible,” says Team17’s CEO Debbie Bestwick. “I can imagine having so much fun playing the game with my gaming, and more importantly, my non-gaming friends. That’s something I specifically look for in a game. As a label we’ve had a lot of VR games submitted and Lethal has been the first title that has

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With Lethal VR, Three Fields wanted to create an experience that is different to a conventional console shooter.

immediately had everyone hooked with that ever important ‘one more go’ element we look for on our label.” A HOGAN’S ALLEY EXPERIENCE As one would suspect, Lethal VR’s development cycle was very short. Ward continues: “We’re interested in working on smaller, faster developments. We’d like to work on more titles across more genres.” And the HTC Vive development kits sent by Epic seemed to be a perfect opportunity to explore these new genres. “We wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t VR,” Ward says. “It’s a true 360 roomscale game. It could certainly be attempted with a joypad, but it would not be as satisfying and as compelling as ‘being there’ in VR and physically acting out the game for yourself. In our game you have to move around, kneel, lean, twist and be on your toes. It’s very different to a conventional console experience.” To make sure the experience would stand out from traditional console shooters, Three Fields

Three Fields’ Alex Ward (top) and Team17’s Debbie Bestwick (above)

found inspiration in iconic movies such as Point Break and The Man with the Golden Gun. “Those movies all feature sequences in gun ranges of some shape or form. Movies always show this sort of ‘Hogan’s Alley’ experience where different targets pop up one at a time,” Ward explains. “This seemed well suited to VR where we wanted to step inside one of those sequences and see how well we’d fare. Point Break has a very iconic – and secretly video game-related – opening sequence. The Man With The Golden Gun features a mechanically operated villain’s lair with pop up targets. And we loved the ‘pistol shooting competition’ sequence from Magnum Force.” For a game with such a short development cycle – the first stage was playable in under four days, Ward tells us – Lethal VR definitely sounds well thought through. What remains to be seen is if this going to be enough to sell well. Bestwick has the beginning of an answer: “We all know the install base of VR hardware is at the early stage of its cycle and has a long way to go. We are realistic, as are Three Fields, over the size of the market at this stage. Lethal is accessible with high production values and will be priced equally attractively, so we are optimistic and positive about the lifecycle of the game.“ But even if Lethal VR does sell well, Ward says we shouldn’t really expect Three Fields to necessarily deliver more VR games. “I wouldn’t expect anything from us. We like to change our minds a lot,” he smiles. “I think the road to VR is a road we all have to walk, and for some that will come sooner than for others.”

www.mcvuk.com

24/10/2016 16:40

MAKE HEROES. MAKE GAMES.

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Halo 5: Guardians. Image courtesy of Microsoft, 343 Industries.

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, Maya and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2016 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

MCV_AUTODESK_FP_AD.indd 1

25/10/2016 15:14

THE BIG GAME MARK MCMORRIS INFINITE AIR

MARK MCMORRIS INFINITE AIR

To Infinity and beyond The latest release from Golf Club developer HB Studios aims to be the most realistic snowboarding game on the market. Alex Calvin speaks to executive producer Peter Garcin to find out more

Release Date: October 28th Platforms: PS4, XO Publisher: Maximum Games Developer: HB Studios

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24/10/2016 16:41

MARK MCMORRIS INFINITE AIR THE BIG GAME

Mark McMorris was very much involved with the development of Infinite Air

espite being an undeniably cool sport, snowboarding isn’t something that video games have taken all that seriously. Previous releases, such as SSX, have tended to a more arcade style, and even those have melted away in recent years. But this week, a new snowboarding IP – Mark McMorris Infinite Air from HB Studios – is hitting PlayStation 4 and PC, and is more of a sim title than its arcade-focused brethren. The title is an open-world release with aims of being “the most authentic snowboarding game to date”. “I think, like sports games in general, the genre was ready for some reinvention,” executive producer Peter Garcin says. “We’ve all been playing basically the same game every year for almost 20 years now, and so I

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think there’s definitely an opportunity to try something fresh.” He continues: “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen an authentic game in this genre. Plus, we’re all snow sports enthusiasts here as well, and that’s definitely something that interests us. That’s also our strength here at HB, where we’ve had a long history of working on simulation sports, most recently with our other title The Golf Club.”

We want to redefine the snowboarding genre in the same way EA did the skateboarding genre with Skate.

ON ‘BOARD Previews for the title have been positive, with one outlet even referring to Infinite Air as ‘the Skate of snowboarding’, after EA’s popular skateboarding series. “Skate is definitely a huge inspiration for us, and I think we were actively hoping to redefine the genre in a similar manner,” Garcin says.

Peter Garcin, HB Studios

“The way EA pushed towards the realistic ‘feel’ of skateboarding, the physics based controls, the open worlds – those things are all core pillars of Infinite Air as well.” The third entry in the Skate series became very popular after YouTube giant PewDiePie revisited the game for his millions of viewers. Following this, the title re-entered the Top 40, with GAME asking EA to print more copies. As a result of this, and HB being inspired by Skate itself, YouTubers and streamers were considered during Infinite Air’s development. “YouTubers are definitely part of our strategy, and we even kept streaming and sharing in mind at the design level from the very beginning,” Garcin says. “We knew that sharing highlights and moments was going to be a critical piece of puzzle – especially given how important it is in real world snowboarding culture – so

October 28th 2016

24/10/2016 16:41

THE BIG GAME MARK MCMORRIS INFINITE AIR

STEEP COMPETITION INFINITE AIR isn’t the only snowboarding title coming to market. At E3, Ubisoft revealed its new open-world extreme sports IP Steep, which features snowboarding as part of a wealth of extreme sports. The title is set for a December 2nd release – roughly a month after Infinite Air hits shelves. Though the two share similarities, HB Studios executive producer Peter Garcin believes they offer very different things. “They’re really quite different games,” he says. “Yeah, they both have snowboarding in them – but our focus has always been singular and dedicated to authenticity around snowboarding. When you have that kind of focus you can go deeper into the subject matter and capture the nuances of the sport. So while on the surface the subject matter may seem similar, the experiences are really quite vastly different.”

HB Studios has taken more of a simulation direction than other snowboarding titles on the market for Infinite Air

we built up features that would support the experience being easy to share. The gameplay is really tuned toward ’sessioning’ features [riding a segment repeatedly to perfection], and that’s really well suited to streaming, so we’re excited to see what people start to post.” NAME GAME You’re also probably wondering who Mark McMorris is, too, and why his name is in the title. “Mark is at the top of his game right now,” Garcin says. “He’s got a pile of medals and was just voted Rider of the Year [Snowboarder magazine]. So when there was an opportunity to work with someone who’s at the

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pinnacle of their sport and wants to be involved in making the game great – that’s just something you can’t pass up.” His name and likeness haven’t just been slapped on the box, either. Garcin says that McMorris has been an active part of Infinite Air’s development. “He has brought that in-depth, insider knowledge of what it’s like to be a pro-athlete at the world class level in this sport,” he says. “We had him in the motion capture studio to get realistic movement, consulted with him on builds and gameplay to ensure that the physics/animation felt right, and even working with them on stuff like music selections, video edits and so on – we just

Like sports games in general, the snowboarding genre was ready for some reinvention. Peter Garcin, HB Studios

wanted to make sure it was the most authentic game ever and Mark has been invaluable in his contributions towards that goal.” Infinite Air launches today (Friday, October 28th), with the team at HB Studios having rather big dreams for the title. “Well we’re always hoping that it’s a huge critical and commercial success of course,” Garcin says. “But what is more important is the establishment of a franchise that we can build on for years to come. We want users to build up a community around content generation, and for everyone to see the promise and potential of this new model for the genre – so if we can establish that, I think it will have been a success.”

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24/10/2016 16:41

ANKI INTERVIEW

‘Anki Overdrive is not a toys-to-life product’ A blend of Scalextric and smartphone gaming, Anki Overdrive remains a unique offer within the toys-to-life market, but Anki actually rejects that label – which may have been a big plus. With the new Supertrucks hitting shelves now, Marie Dealessandri reports

nki Overdrive launched exactly one year ago and has managed to stay in the spotlight despite the struggles suffered by the toys-to-life market. The sector fights on but, with the Disney Infinity franchise discontinued and overall UK sales taking a 12 per cent hit (year-onyear as of May 2016), the future doesn’t look too bright. Anki Overdrive sees players race and fight smartphone-controlled cars on modular tracks, which can be reconfigured in numerous ways. The fact Anki Overdrive relies on physical products more than its other rivals in the sector may well be what makes it stand out from the crowd. Indeed, Anki thinks of itself in entirely different terms to its contemporaries. GET CONNECTED “We do not consider ourselves to be a toys-to-life product,” says Dominic Moore, Anki’s senior director of sales for the UK. “We see ourselves as one of the pioneers in the connected toy space. This is a new category driven by new technology that is accelerating due to the proliferation of smartphones and tablets.” Moore adds that ‘toys-to-life’ is a term that has actually lost its meaning after being overused and that most of the franchises out there don’t offer products that actually bring a toy to life. “Toys-to-life is just one example of connected toys that has become the buzzword in the gaming and toy industry as the bridge between video games and physical toys,” he says. “Several propositions have introduced physical toys into the

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virtual world. Yet, the term is a bit misleading in their case, as the toys themselves do not actually come to life. They serve only as a prop to unlock a character in the game, but the interaction and play is still focused on the TV screen.” But when asked about the decrease of major players on the market (particularly Disney Infinity), whose offering is just that, Moore wouldn’t say Anki benefited from these failures. “Such changes in any competitive market are a reminder of the need to stay focused on innovation in light of changing consumer trends,” he answers. And the innovation Anki wants to focus on is robotics and artificial intelligence technologies, Moore explains. The company was created by robotics and computer science PhDs after all. He continues: “There is a much bigger fusion between software and hardware with Anki Overdrive, and our physical elements – our Supercars and Supertrucks – are as critical a component in the

gaming experience as what is happening on the mobile device you use to play the game.” However, Anki Overdrive has yet to become as popular as the triple-A toys-to-life products that the company doesn’t want to be associated with. But the San Francisco-based firm continues to release new content regularly.

The term toys-to-life is misleading in some cases, as the toys only serve as a prop to unlock a character. Dominic Moore, Anki

Anki Overdrive appeals beyond just the younger demographic

MOTHER TRUCKER Anki launched its Supertrucks on the market just two weeks ago and obviously expects them to be a hit during Christmas, Moore says. “Our new battle rigs are taking an already thrilling gaming proposition to the next level. Both new additions supersize the Anki Overdrive battle-racing experience with an intimidating frame that is nearly triple the size of the game’s existing Supercars. “Supertrucks also introduce new weapons and games modes that really put players’ skills to the test.“ This new offering could also appeal to a wider audience. “We believe that consumers will love playing with Supertrucks, all of the new gameplay featured brings an added dimension that both new and existing fans will love,” Moore says. “Our core audience is 7-14 year olds. But the beauty of Overdrive is that it appeals to a wide crowd – many younger kids, ‘kidults’ and dads are huge fans of the game, including people who are passionate about real-life supercars. “We are confident that the desire and the demand for Anki Overdrive is going to propel us to new heights this Christmas.”

October 28th 2016

24/10/2016 16:41

INTERVIEW ANDREW WALKER, R8 GAMES

INDIE INTERVIEW Secret Formula In the past, Andrew Walker worked on WipeOut at Psygnosis. His latest project is an racing title with a techno soundtrack and artwork from The Designers Republic. Is Formula Fusion the new WipeOut? Alex Calvin reports

aving started out in development back in the late ‘80s, Andrew Walker’s CV includes stints at development legends like Psygnosis, Rockstar and Team17. He recently restarted his own studio – R8 Games – after an unsuccessful attempt to go indie back in the early 00s that saw the company go bust. This time around, his latest project at R8 Games, Formula Fusion, is an anti-gravity racing title that began life when he was playing around with Unreal Engine 4. “Based on my knowledge of WipeOut, I was exploring this protoype and realised that if we brought it forward to the modern day and gave it the next-gen treatment in the spirit of WipeOut, we may have something,” Walker says. “We created a proof of concept of one level and had some reaction from various industry friends – they felt there was a lot of mileage in this. I met up with Ian Anderson from The Designers Republic about the potential of doing something. He was really behind it so formed we reformed the company and became a bit more serious.” R8 turned to Kickstarter to fund the title with a goal of £35,000, but brought in £79,656, before launching the game in Early Access in August 2015. For Wilson and his team, this was something of a mixed experience. “Early Access has always been touted as the Holy Grail for developers,” he explains. “We expected to have more money coming in through Early Access. People expected a partfinished game, with a high level of quality. We didn’t get the money we thought we were going to, so we struggled in the early days. We were trying to ramp up but the money didn’t come in through Steam. “We changed our mind about Early Access around that point. You shouldn’t use it as a replacement for finance. It’s more of a testing environment. There’s a danger where people who buy Early Access games feel that they are designing something by proxy, so they expect a lot of feedback. We made the mistake early on of not speaking to people. When we changed

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R8 Games is keen to promote Formula Fusion as an eSport, as well as integrate VR

our mindset on how to use Early Access, and started approaching it as more of a focus testing area, then it’s actually a very powerful tool.”

If we treat this right, we could take what WipeOut should have been and push it further. Andrew Walker, R8 Games

THE NEXT STEP With anti-gravity racing gameplay, contributions from The Designers Republic and a soundtrack that includes The Chemical Brothers and other electronic artists, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Formula Fusion was WipeOut. While Walker doesn’t shy away from the comparison, he does say that living with that title’s legacy is tough. “As we’ve evolved this project and grown the team, it’s become a very serious venture,” Walker says. “I love WipeOut. It was the best development experience I’ve ever had. But it’s hard to actually bring it to the modern day. It’s difficult living under that shadow. We want to do something new. Designers Republic didn’t want to reproduce what it did for WipeOut – it was keen to do something different, which is tough. WipeOut was a genre defining title, but it has been left on the shelf for a while. “If we treat this right, we could take what WipeOut should have been and push it further.”

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24/10/2016 16:42

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18/10/2016 16:31

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE

Alex and Gemma Bowness from retro store Level Up Games discuss the sales impact of Pokémon Go and what they expect from Nintendo’s next console How has business been lately? Really good. We’re a pre-owned and retro store so our business is great across the board. What have you been selling particularly well recently? SNES has come back on everyone’s radar, and so has Nintendo. SNES is really popular right now. What about Sega? Sega is a big one too. Mega Drive is popular, hardware also sells

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

Have you seen an impact of Pokémon Go on the sales of the older Pokémon games? Yes, massively. As soon as Pokémon Go hit we were inundated with requests for the old Pokémon games. Game Boy Colours have been incredibly popular - to a level of retro chic if you pardon the use of the expression. There was a really big interest from people again. A lot of people who have downloaded Pokémon Go remembered all

quickly but there are more Mega Drives than SNES available in Europe. What challenge you are facing with your store at the moment? Just getting more stock back in to supply the demand really. Lots of people are collecting now, which means there are fewer of the older systems around the place to go out to other people who want them again, because they are that many more people collecting,

Nintendo’s move back to a cartridge system is going to be an interesting way forward. Alex Bowness, Level Up Games

PRICE CHECK: ROMFORD

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TITANFALL

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MANUAL SAMUEL

AMNESIA COLLECTION

DARK SOULS III: ASHES OF ARIANDEL

Perfectly Paranormal’s quirky survival game is available on PS4, XO and PC

The Dark Descent, Justine and A Machine for Pigs are landing on PS4

Dark Souls III’s first expansion just launched on PS4, Xbox One and PC

OUT: NOW

October 28th 2016

26 27 MCV898 Retail_V3.indd 1

ONLINE

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24/10/2016 16:42

MARKETPLACE

Level Up Games 40 Palace Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2DZ

Phone: 01227 785002 Website: www.levelup-games.co.uk Facebook: /levelupgamescanterbury Email: contact@levelup-games.co.uk

the original games. The mobile generation now are also the older people who had Pokémon when they were kids so they’ve been getting back into it that way. I know you only sell retro games but are your expectations for Nintendo’s next console? I’m really looking forward to seeing how it’s going to work. A lot of people have been equally awaiting to see what it is, how it’s going to work and what it’s

capable of. I think the move back to cartridges is an interesting way to do things, given how good these devices are now in terms of capacity. The move back to a cartridge system is going to be a quite interesting way forward. What are you expectations for the end of the year? Everyone does well at Christmas because everyone is looking to buy stuff. It’s always one of our busiest time of the year.

INCOMING TITLE

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

It’s quite a busy day for retail, as the highly-awaited Titanfall 2, Skyrim Special Edition and Just Dance 2017 all hit shelves today FORMAT

GENRE

PUBLISHER

TELEPHONE

DISTRIBUTOR

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

PS4/XO/PC

Fighting

Bandai Namco

0121 506 9585

Advantage

Just Dance 2017

PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360/Wii Dance

Ubisoft

01279 822 822

Exertis

October 28th

Mark McMorris Infinite Air

PS4/XO/PC

Sports

Maximum Games

01480 359 403

Maximum Games

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence - Ascension

PS4

Strategy

Koei Tecmo

01462 476130

Open

Root Letter

PS4/Vita

Visual novel

PQube

01462 677 844

Open

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition

PS4/XO/PC

RPG

Bethesda

0121 506 9585

Advantage

Titanfall 2

PS4/XO/PC

FPS

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

World of Final Fantasy

PS4/Vita

RPG

Square Enix

01256 385 200

Koch Media

Yomawari: Night Alone & htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary

Vita

Survival horror

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

PS4/PS3

Fighting

PQube

01462 677 844

Open

November 4th BlazBlue: CentralFiction Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

PS4/XO/PC

FPS

Activision

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Moto Racer 4

PS4/XO/PC

Racing

Microids

01462 487 373

PQube

PS4

Hardware

Sony

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Dishonored 2

PS4/XO/PC

Action adventure

Bethesda

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

PS3/Vita

RPG

NIS America

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Open

PS4/XO

Action adventure

Ubisoft

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Exertis

PS4

FPS

Deep Silver

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Koch Media

November 10th PlayStation 4 Pro November 11th

November 15th Watch Dogs 2 November 18th Killing Floor 2

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October 28th 2016

24/10/2016 16:42

TITANFALL 2

TITANFALL 2 Titanfall 2 is hitting shelves today, alongside an impressive amount of merchandise. Marie Dealessandri checks out what’s new

PLAYSTATION 4 players will finally be able to experience the joy of piloting giant robots as Titanfall 2 is making the leap to Sony’s console today. But developer Respawn insists that PS4 players won’t feel left out if they haven’t played the first one. Speaking to MCV earlier this month Respawn COO Dusty Welch said that the studio considers Titanfall 2 as a new IP. “For fans of the first game, we’ve added a lot of story

Titanfall 2 is a game that stands alone and can reach out to a new community. Dusty Welch, Respawn

elements and secrets that they’ll appreciate. But it’s a game that stands alone. It can reach out to that new community and they can enjoy it for the first time.” He continued: “It has a ‘2’ next to its name, but that signifies the dual elements of Titan and Pilot, and the single player and multiplayer.” And that’s because another novelty Respawn is bringing to this sequel is a proper singleplayer campaign, making it closer

BOMBER JACKET Level Up Wear has created a Titanfall 2 clothing line to launch alongside EA’s shooter. The new range includes this pilot bomber jacket, a couple of hoodies, as well as T-shirts and accessories. It is due to ship mid-November.

SRP: £44.99 Manufacturer: Level Up Wear Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

TITANFALL 2 COLLECTOR’S EDITION STRATEGY GUIDE

TITANFALL 2 MAXI POSTER

HEAT REACTIVE MUG

Prima’s new guide covers single and multiplayer and includes a calendar – so that you can keep track of the time you spend playing, presumably.

This 61 x 91.5 cm Titanfall 2 poster is part of a new collection released by GB Eye.

This heat-reactive mug is the perfect gift for Titanfall’s fans, who’ll definitely need caffeine to enjoy long gameplay sessions.

SRP: £19.99 Manufacturer: Prima Games Distributor: DK Contact: sales@uk.dk.com

SRP: £4.97 Manufacturer: GB Eye Distributor: GB Eye Contact: uksales@gbeye.com

SRP: £9.99 Manufacturer: Numskull Distributor: Gaming Merchandise UK Contact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

October 28th 2016

28 29 MCV898 Margin Maker_V3.indd 1

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24/10/2016 16:43

TITANFALL 2