MCV921 14th July

MCV 921

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THE ESPORTS ISSUE

BRINGING TOGETHER THE ELITE OF THE INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY INNOVATION, TRANSFORMATION & EVOLUTION 31st October – 1st November 2017 Congress Centre, 28 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS Panel Sponsor

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IFC What’s on?

Through a series of panels, roundtables and keynote discussions, Future Games Summit will bring together leading industry experts to help shape and define the future of this vibrant industry.

ENJOY INSIGHTS & DISCUSSIONS ON: The next generation of narrative storytelling - AR, VR and mixed reality Console tech development AI and robotics What about wearables?

Big data insights - get to know your audience better Publishing pitfalls - what to pursue and what to avoid Talent, development & retention - from indies to majors Getting ready to Brexit - navigating an uncertain future

THURSDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2017 ESPORTS is a thriving global market with 2017 being penned as the year eSports will become more ubiquitous among casual gamers. Here in UK, we recognise its immense potential but there’s much to be done when it comes to building an ecosystem from the grassroots up. For brands, media, and entertainment companies, eSports is the perfect opportunity to capitalise upon highly engaged digital natives and savvy millennials who love to play games and watch game content. But how?

Join us on Thursday 2nd November for a half-day workshop as we explore best practice from industry titans to help you make investments that bring ROI and an engaged fan base.

This is your opportunity to connect to people through passion points and capitalise on a multitude of investment opportunities.

www.futuregamessummit.com @FutureGamesSMT #futuregamessummit

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10/07/2017 11:11

The esports issue

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Esports UK

Five of the biggest players in UK esports give their verdict on the current scene and how the rest of the games industry can get involved

Features

Evil genius?

18

Evil Controllers unveils its latest product and its plan to dominate console esports

Child’s play

24

Industry experts discuss whether mobile is killing kids gaming on consoles

Christmas in July

28

We pick the hottest products that are likely to be big this Christmas

Page 5 The Editor • Page 6 On the Radar – the next two weeks • Page 8 Opinion from the industry • Page 42 Big releases • Page 46 Sales analysis • Page 48 End Game – community and events July 14 MCV 921 | 03

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“With brand loyalty being formed early on, esports are a potential gold mine for game makers and tournament runners.”

TheEditor

The new rules of esports I quite like to play the odd game of Hearthstone, but with a collection of over 1,000 cards and three years of near daily play, I reckon I may have overdone it a bit. My wife would certainly agree, now simply referring to it as ‘that game’.

What’s kept me playing all this time? It’s the competition, the sense of squaring off against a human opponent for each and every game, and the emergent gameplay that occurs through those interactions, both within a single game, and the game as a whole as the meta evolves.

‘Meta’ is just one of those words that, while it existed before, has been brought to the fore by the huge explosion of interest in esports – that’s right, there’s no capital ‘S’ in esports in MCV any more. And it’s that competitive drive I get from Hearthstone that lies at the heart of every esport - as it’s in every sport.

The sector has grown on a heady mix of fanatical fans and marketing money, as big ‘non-endemic’ (another now much-used phrase) brands see a way to reach consumers who just can’t be reached by more traditional marketing means. With brand loyalty often being formed in these precious early years, it’s a potential gold mine for those making the games and running the tournaments.

This issue, we’ve worked with our sibling brand, Esports Pro, to talk to some of the biggest names in UK esports. You can find five of those interviews starting on page 11, while longer versions and additional interviews will be available on www.esports-pro.com.

Esports is still evolving rapidly – even those who have worked in competitive gaming for almost 20 years can be surprised by its shifts and innovations. Or at least that’s my excuse for asking a lot of potentially stupid questions over the last few weeks, so during that time I’ve made two simple rules for talking about esports.

The first is if you drop the ‘e’ from a question or statement and it sounds stupid, then it’s best to think again. For example: ‘What kind of people like to watch sports?’ or ‘Who are the biggest sports teams?’ The second is not to make a football analogy out of everything. Esports may have a lot in common with sports – teams, tournaments and even apparel – but to return to that overused analogy at every turn is simply reductive.

Esports are pretty big, and they are going to get a lot bigger over the next ten years.

We’ll truly know they’ve made it when we can largely stop using the word itself so often. After all, it’s rare that anyone generalises all sports in the same manner.

Right, that’s this page done, anyone for a game of Hearthstone? If so, you can add me using #rhinoxious1371.

Seth Barton sbarton@nbmedia.com

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ontheradar

New 2DS XL comes out to play July 28th Nintendo’s adding a new member to the 3DS family later this month in the form of the New 2DS XL. Priced at £129.99, the console will be available in white/orange and blue/black SKUs, and both will come with an AC adapter in the box plus a 4GB microSD card. To celebrate its launch, Nintendo’s also releasing 3DS titles Miitopia (read more about this title on page 44), Hey! Pikmin and Dr Kawashima’s Devilish Brain Training on the same day.

Gamescom 2017 August 22nd-26th, Cologne

Insomnia X Resonate July 21st-23rd, Glasgow

Scotland’s biggest gaming festival, Insomnia X Resonate, is heading to Glasgow’s Scottish Event Campus later this month. As well as tournaments and plenty of hands on time with the latest games and indie hits, Insomnia X Resonate will also have a new VR zone and the first Scotland vs England YouTubers battle, featuring Syndicate, Terroriser, MarleyThirteen and 8-BitGaming to name just a few announced personalities. The Nintendo Switch will also be on the main stage every day, and the popular Minecraft Zone will be making a return as well. Tickets start from £15.

Just when you thought you’d got over your E3 jet lag, it’s time to start planning for Gamescom, which is returning to Cologne’s Koelnmesse next month. For the first time ever, Gamescom will make use of Hall 1 in Cologne’s fair grounds, which will form part of the business area and has been booked exclusively by EA. This takes the total exhibition area to a massive 201,000 square metres. More information, including what to see, where to go and our show predictions, will be available in our Gamescom special issue, which comes out on August 11th.

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Virgin Media’s exclusive Destiny 2 event

July 17th-18th

Virgin Media customers will be able to go hands on with Destiny 2 next week at an exclusive event in central London just before the official PS4 beta begins on July 18th. The event will showcase multiple game modes including the campaign and its competitive gameplay.

Limited tickets will be made available via Virgin’s website.

Hyper Japan July 14th-16th

Kicking off today, this year’s Hyper Japan festival will see dozens of gaming and anime fans descend on London’s Tobacco Docks.

Among a packed schedule of Japanese-themed activities, Nintendo will be showcasing several of its upcoming titles, including Super Mario Odyssey and Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. A dedicated VR zone will also be on offer to let anime fans experience the new Death Note VR Escape Room title, plus Kodansha’s VR idol game, Hop Step Sing.

4TG Game Con

July 29th-30th Taking place in Aberdeen over the last weekend of July, the 4TG Game Con festival features dedicated VR, arcade, indie and board game zones, plus plenty of special guests to meet and greet.

SpecialEffect One Special Day September 29th

It may be a few months away yet, but SpecialEffect is calling on the UK games industry to join the likes of EA, Sega, GAME, First Touch, Twitch, Yogscast and Seriously to support its One Special Day fundraising initiative in September. Last year’s event raised £90,000, so this year the charity is aiming to top the £100,000 mark as it celebrates its tenth anniversary. More details about the event will be released in the coming weeks, but for more information please contact nick@specialeffect.org.uk

SPONSORED BY

If you’d like your product, event or upcoming news to appear in On the Radar, email Katharine on kbyrne@ nbmedia.com

PRE ORDER TOP 5 TW

TITLE

01 02 03 04 05

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) South Park: The Fractured But Whole (PS4) Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4) Super Mario Odyssey (NS) Splatoon 2 (NS)

Publisher Sony Ubisoft Take-Two Nintendo Nintendo July 14 MCV 921 | 07

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guestopinion

Robert Hutchins - Editor, ToyNews

I

The special relationship

Toys R Us, and I don’t recall reporting on indie retailers t was when the Ninja Turtles were going through scratching out each other’s eyes to get their hands on a their most formative years and the Ghostbusters were on call most nights, that the UK toy industry World of Warcraft action figure line. woke up to a new dawn of children’s entertainment.

Meanwhile, pop-culture nerd Funko likes to hedge 1993 was a year of big franchises and even bigger toys; its bets and offer the wide-eyed, bulbous-head Pop! the Ghostbuster HQ Playset sat beneath the Christmas trees treatment to video game characters of almost any ilk, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures stared but it’s not a luxury all manufacturers can afford. longingly out of the windows of their plastic packaging.

What works for one, will not always work for another While these big movie franchises drummed up some and the toy industry must remain shrewd with the big business for toy retailers properties it invests across the country, ToyNews – in. K’Nex’s Mario Kart the UK toy trade publication – Nintendo’s Game Boy aligned the construction range, for was fervently filing stories of a instance, sits far more toy market with its video games new toy destined to change the comfortably on the local toy shape of things to come. retailer’s shelf, than Mega cousin, tapping into a young It was arguably Nintendo’s Blox’s Halo collection. audience that took pleasure in its Game Boy that aligned the toy Is Mario more childmarket with its video games friendly? Hardly – you’ve child-friendly properties. cousin, tapping into a young seen the bloke, like a dodgy audience that took pleasure in uncle with a BTEC in the handheld’s big buttons, robust construction plumbing and a hatred of turtles. He’s hardly Mr Tumble. and its multitude of child-friendly, big, characterMeanwhile, kids have been playing some derivation of driven properties. cops and robbers or goodies and baddies for generations.

Since then, toys and video games have enjoyed (or It’s no secret, of course, that video games have endured) a relationship that has thrown up record overtaken movies as the biggest form of mass sales figures for toys-to-life pioneers Activision and its entertainment, and the concept of the franchise has Skylanders franchise and Tomy's best-selling Pokémon overtaken that still. Nintendo’s strength in the toy market lines. Mind Candy’s Moshi Monsters also delighted in a is owed to its franchise-savvy approach, one that has been period of playground currency courtesy of Vivid not so successfully mirrored by Skylanders, Pokémon and to a many years ago, and we’ve all heard of Minecraft. certain extent Angry Birds.

The relationship has hit its share of speed bumps, too.

All the market is waiting for now is for video games to Disney Infinity failed to land at retailers too far outside of flip it all on its head again, à la 1993.

Robert Hutchins is the editor of UK toy trade title – and MCV's sister title – ToyNews. His favourite childhood toys include Boglins, Pogs and his sister’s Sylvanian Families that he subsequently lost in a pond 08 | MCV 921 July 14

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guestopinion

Jake Tucker - Editor, Esports Pro

P

In a League of its own

and it’s a rules-light take on football, with the offside rule syonix’s car-based kickabout Rocket League is two years old this month, and while most toddlers can’t replaced by ridiculous aerial skillshots.

If I may be so bold, it’s all the better for it. The offside even string a sentence together, Rocket League rule is, let’s be honest, bad – and as it turns out, cars flying has managed to mark itself out as one of the most through the sky trying to hit the ball into the goal makes promising esports of the generation. for a great spectator sport.

Over those two years, Rocket League has picked up 33m Making your game easily comprehensible for first-time players, with 1.6m of those coming back to play automotive viewers is essential. While Dota 2 might have an ocean kickball every single day. Meanwhile on Twitch, the game has had 35m total views, with viewers watching around of depth, it’s nearly impossible to convey to a non-player 5,375 years of streams featuring goal-scoring cars. what's going on. Let’s get technical here, too: Lich popping On the events front, his Chain Frost ultimate too Psyonix’s RLCS is still early in a teamfight and giving going strong after four enemy team time to split As it turns out, cars flying through the seasons, and broadcasting can lead to the other side the sky trying to hit a ball into outfit NBC and extreme winning, but you're not going sports company X Games to know that unless you're a a goal makes for a great have both announced big regular viewer. money tournaments in Want to know who’s winning spectator sport. collaboration with event a game of Rocket League, on the organiser Faceit. other hand? Take a look at the While it might not be as big a draw as esports’ leading score on the top of the screen. lights, Rocket League has several qualities that its more Rocket League isn’t the only game making big waves in established rivals don’t. As a result, it could well emerge as esports right now, though, with another hot ticket being the esport with the biggest mainstream success.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Despite being more Of course, you can never bank on a game becoming an complex than Rocket League, it still settles on a simple esport, especially if the company doesn’t have the benefit premise: survive longer than anyone else. of millions of pounds to support it. If you’re looking to If you're looking to run tournaments for a competitive game, or perhaps sign up the next esports hit yourself, publish or work with a game in the esports space, however, consider this one weird trick. don’t worry about the size of the team, or how much Rocket League's key strength is the ease with which the money you’ve got to push it – just make sure anyone can casual viewer can understand it: it might be a game of cars, understand the game, and it’s fun to watch. oversized balls and futuristic arenas, but strip that all back The community will take care of the rest.

Jake Tucker is the editor of MCV’s sister title Esports Pro. His main memory of Rocket League is getting stomped by Ubisoft at a ‘friendly’ games industry tournament July 14 MCV 921 | 09

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LOFOOTBALL

ESPORTS Seth Barton and Jake Tucker talk to five of the biggest players in the rapidly expanding esports market. We discuss the size and growth of esports in the country, what needs to be done over the next ten years to secure the UK as a key esports territory, and how the rest of the games industry can get involved

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Great Britain, Great esports The British Esports Association is looking to put esports on the map so it rivals the success of Team GB. Founder and acting CEO Chester King tells us more

Pictured above: Chester King, founder and acting CEO of British Esports

IF UK esports are going to match the success of Team GB, then it has to build wider acceptance, not only with gamers, but also their parents and the public at large.

For without broad cultural support, it will be struggle to become true contenders at the highest level.

That’s the thinking of Chester King, founder and acting CEO of the British Esports Association – or preferably just British Esports. That’s to align the organisation in the public’s perception with the likes of British Cycling or British Swimming.

Not just anyone can use that ‘British’ moniker, though.

“Legally, you have to have authority from the British government in order to use the word British in the name of any organisation or company,” King explains.

The government wanted to ensure King’s group could prove it would be ‘the pre-eminent esports association in the UK’. King points out, half-jokingly, that there weren’t any others to compete with, but the real clincher was a great advisory board: “They’re all doing it for free, they’re all trying to help, build a UK scene.”

That board includes veteran esports host Paul ‘ReDeYe’ Chaloner, Team Dignitas president Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell, Multiplay founder Craig ‘Wizzo’ Fletcher, Twitch’s UK director of partnerships Chris Mead, world champion esports competitor Ryan Hart and many more, while Andy Payne OBE is chairman.

The government gave the organisation its blessing, and soon it will be making another important step: “We’ll hopefully be turning into a charity this month,” King says. “So we’ll get some tax relief from companies that put money into different charities.”

IT’S JUST NOT CRICKET Strictly speaking, esports in the UK aren’t actually sports.

“Legally, we are classified as a game under UK law, like bridge and chess,” King tells us. “The government says we’re a game and that’s fine. The reason for that is if you’re classified as a sport, then you get public funding.”

King is upbeat about the classification, though: “This does us a favour, because there are so many brands who were very cautious about esports because of its perception as an unhealthy lifestyle.”

He feels that the ‘game’ classification means they are free to make their own case for its merits.

“Our position is that esports aren’t a replacement for sports, but it’s a great activity for mental wellbeing. We’re saying this is like modern chess, and you’ll never get a parent saying you’re playing too much chess.”

Getting more kids involved is key to British Esports’ core strategic goal of growing the grassroots: “Here’s an activity that kids can do at night, when they’ve done their activity for the day. Instead of watching crap TV, wouldn’t it be brilliant if they played a game that was competitive, involved leadership skills, cognitive skills and strategy?”

King is optimistic that grassroots esports will get funding, maybe not as a sport, but from “either the Department of Education or Health, [as] it’s great for both technology skills and mental wellbeing.

“We’re doing a pilot in Maida Vale Library with esports training, shoutcaster training and journalist training. It’s really rewarding, [as] there’s a massive problem with libraries reaching children from ten to 14.”

And it’s been a huge, oversubscribed success. So much so that British Esports is also working on a one-day training course to help teachers put on esports clubs in schools.

British Esports is starting from the bottom up, looking to capture the hearts and minds of the next generation of players and their guardians. It’s an eminently sensible approach to growing the sector in the long-term, and it’s just the start for the fledgling organisation.

“We want to have future British global champions,” King says. “It’s not the responsibility of publishers to do all this, because people will be sceptical. You need an independent association to do that.”

And British Esports looks all set to be that association.

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ESL UK: Local competition, global connections The ESL is among the longest-running esports organisations in the world. We talk to its UK chief, James Dean, about its operations in the UK and the opportunities for publishers

THE ESL has been around for 17 years, making it something of the old man of esports. It’s been highly active in the UK since 2013, setting up a tournament infrastructure that’s unrivalled in many respects.

So what were the company’s priorities on coming to this side of the pond?

“The first thing we did was to build our national league,” says managing director of ESL UK James Dean.

“Because it doesn’t only grow that player base and potentially get those teams into bigger tournaments, it also builds an entire local industry. The more national activity you have, the more talent it creates. More broadcasting, more backroom staff, production staff, league ops, marketing, admin, management – all those skills are then developed locally.”

Those national leagues need to be part of something bigger, though. “There has to be a clear path to progression. With our League of Legends tournament, the ESL national league is the only tournament that will get you a challenger series spot. That’s worth more than prize money, that’s progression.”

In terms of progress, Dean has big hopes for the UK in CS:GO this year. “We’re getting close to getting a proper UK team into a much higher league – three years ago I predicted that it would be this year. I hope it will, it’s heading in the right direction.”

THE NEXT ESPORT? While CS:GO and League of Legends aren’t going anywhere, there’s still space for new games to benefit from the engagement that esports can bring your next title.

Dean reckons that ESL is the natural choice for publishers looking for an esports partner: “ESL has been there from the early stages, and is one of the few that has lived through all the tough times as well and remains sustainable. Just naturally it’s an easy company to work with as a stakeholder.”

He’s bullish on how ESL can help, too: “We know how every stakeholder can make money out of esports.

If publishers put a good esports strategy in place, then it extends the franchise. The more engaged the users are, the more time they spend with the game, the more content is being created and tournaments held. It’s just a cycle in terms of growth.”

Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege is a great example, with Dean calling it “one of the early success stories” of a franchise converting from its traditional marketing model into a longer-term strategy. “Every season [they] release some DLC and that’s effectively paying for all the prize money, the tournaments and all the production. It’s sustainable, it’s a growing business for them.”

We wonder just how early in the design process companies approach ESL? “With Rainbow Six, we started working with them three years before launch,” Dean explains, adding later: “We will basically consult with a publisher. We have a lot of tools they can use, especially around matchmaking. It’s easy to integrate the platform into the game and ESL have been doing that for years, with Riot from the start, and the ESL API is in the PlayStation firmware, too.

“There are lots of great games publishers in the UK, and many of them haven’t unlocked the opportunity in esports,” Dean tells us, though that’s not always the case.

“The UK is so creative and we’ve got some amazing genres and ideas and IP coming from the UK, and there are examples where UK publishers are suddenly realising, ‘Hang on a second, there’s loads of incremental business here, and we’re enhancing our IP as well’.* “With the ESL having 20 years of history and a sustainable business model, and the industry only growing, we know that we’re here to stay,” says Dean, confidently. “So if you’re looking for advice on your next competitive game, even if it’s still years from release, you know who to call.”

Pictured above: James Dean, managing director of ESL UK

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Facing up to UK esports Faceit co-founder Michele Attisani talks big events, big wins and big risks in UK esports

Pictured above: Faceit co-founder Michele Attisani

MICHELE ATTISANI co-founded competitive games outfit Faceit in 2012, but before that he’d been gaming competitively for 15 years, supporting the habit with a career working with various Fortune 500 companies and several tech start-ups.

Attisani is, as a result, ideally positioned to talk about the state of the UK esports industry, and in his mind, the competitive scene in the UK is “definitely” growing fast. “[The games industry] is shifting from a traditional console market into a more PC and esport-focused market,” says Attisani. “I think 2017 so far is also the largest for esports events in the UK, which is a great success.”

This trend is continuing to the grassroots level, too, where players are eagerly competing in the hope of a call up to the big leagues: “In terms of grassroots activity, there’s definitely a lot going on at local level, obviously on the Faceit platform where we have a lot of activities on all the grassroot levels, but of course also with other organisations like Gfinity, Multiplay and others.”

Attisani feels that with their recent ECS CounterStrike final, which played out in front of a sold-out Wembley Arena, they “proved this year there’s a demand in the UK, and hopefully [esports organisations] will push more people to do more events in the UK. We’re certainly planning to do more. And I’m sure other people looking at the success we had will try and follow our lead.”

At the ECS finals, there wasn’t a single British team competing, so we ask Attisani if he feels like there’s a lack of British talent. “There’s a bit of a shortage of the UK talent, that’s for sure. And I don’t think that’s

necessarily a big issue for us – the ECS is a very global league and we have the best teams and players in the world participating. Therefore, the level of interest is extremely high, as it’s been proven, even without a UK team participating.”

Historically, the UK has always been more skewed towards consoles, Attisani says, suggesting the reason why that UK is behind in PC-based esports is the lack of interest in the platform. “I think now the trend is converting. We can see very strong growth in terms of PC gaming and PC esport in the UK, so now there’s a real opportunity to catch up as there’s a large number of people that are highly engaged and there’s a pretty healthy scene to take advantage of.”

The ECS is notably in Counter-Strike because all of the teams competing have equity and revenue share, and Faceit has been working with some big sporting groups as a result of this. Regarding traditional sports teams, Attisani says that their involvement is an “opportunity” as long as they “understand the differences between traditional sports and esports and are respectful of the systems.”

Attisani adds that “pretty much every sports federation is looking at esports right now and thinking about the market. Every sports group understands that in the next ten to 20 years, it’s going to be as big as traditional sports, if not bigger. And as a result everyone is looking at ways they can participate.”

We’ll likely see more announcements from established sports brand and a lot of different attempts to experiment and explore the market as they move to colonise digital sports. While some of these attempts will be successful, many will fail.

“So far, 2017 is the largest for esports events in the UK, which is a great success.”

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Gfinity: Waking the giant Gfinity’s head of partner relations Martin Wyatt discusses why the UK “is a sleeping giant in the world of esports”

WHEN we speak to Martin Wyatt, it’s the day before Gfinity’s Elite Series kicks off at the company’s own esports stadium, grafted onto the back of a Vue cinema in Fulham Broadway. For Wyatt, who joined in 2013 and is now Gfinity’s head of partner relations, it’s the culmination of a lot of hard work and planning, but also the start of a golden age for UK esports.

“It’s going to be a very positive picture over the next 12 months, because what is happening in the UK industry from any sports’ perspective is incredibly positive,” says Wyatt. “The fact that the quality of esports tournaments and content being created is starting to increase across the board, instead of being led solely by one or two particular companies, is really encouraging.”

Wyatt also mentions that as more people start to invest in UK tournaments, it not only attracts more teams from further afield, but it also means production values can increase. As a result, it’s never been easier to keep up to date with UK esports.

Wyatt states: “We have to be realistic. I don’t think the UK scene as a whole is going to explode and start hitting some of the busy heights that we’ve seen from real tier one titles and esports tournaments. I think the forecast of growth is a very positive picture indeed.”

That said, he also “absolutely” thinks that the UK is lagging behind. “Acknowledging that the UK esports scene is slightly behind North America, parts of Europe and Korea is just a sensible perspective to take. But at the same time, I and Gfinity as a business take the view that the UK is a sleeping giant in the world of esports.

“There’s an abundance of talent here that just needs to be found, and I believe Gfinity has the skills and the investment needed to shine a big spotlight on the UK.” With that in mind, Gfinity is also investing heavily in grassroots esports, with its Challenger Series providing a clear path of progression for amateur athletes. Those that impress in the Challenger Series can then easily move up to the Elite Series.

“One of the roles of Gfinity as a business is to take responsibility to drive some of that growth,” Wyatt continues. “We’re driving that participation growth, we’re driving the excitement around the UK esports industry, and we’re driving and taking responsibility for pushing the scene forward as quickly as possible.”

Wyatt thinks there’s plenty of talent in the UK scene.

Competitors are just starved for a good platform to compete on and hone their craft. This is where Gfinity’s Challenger Series comes in.

“The ultimate goal of the Challenger Series is to provide infinitely more participation opportunities for people that want to start having competitive gaming experiences. Here, they can do that in a safe place with some real strong incentives.”

Creating this narrative, and elevating UK esports players to the position of role models, is a key part of Gfinity’s plan to wake up the UK’s esports industry.

“When you see a successful execution of anything sporting wise, for example the 2012 Olympics, the Rugby World Cup, even going back as far as Euro ‘96, and they’re executed well, it stimulates the population to be involved.

“We are totally aware that there are a few key things that, in the UK, need to be fixed in order to really start aggressively accelerating how we catch up to the rest of the world, and that’s part of the Elite Series.

“We want it to follow the same model, so as we start to broadcast the tournaments, and people start to see how seriously we’re taking it, one of the things that we’re excited about is that it will stimulate and excite gamers everywhere to want to start competing more and build careers for themselves.

“Gfinity has done probably more for the UK esports scene than any other company out there, because we are passionate about esports. We’re very humble and very, very grateful for the support that we as a business have been shown by the esports community, and we’re looking to continue to do all we can for the UK.”

Pictured above: Gfinity’s head of partner relations Martin Wyatt

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Multiplay ups its GAME Two years after Multiplay’s acquisition by GAME, we talk to its founder Craig Fletcher about the partnership and the state of UK esports

CRAIG FLETCHER is a UK esports veteran, having clocked up 20 years in the industry. He is now working for GAME as ‘Multiplay founder & SVP esports and competitive gaming strategy at GAME’ – phew.

Multiplay’s impact on GAME has been obvious, with the company expanding rapidly into competitive gaming through its new instore Belong arenas.

Pictured above: Craig Fletcher, Multiplay and GAME

What kind of growth do you see in UK esports viewership over the next 12 months?

We expect the rate of growth to be similar to previous years, but there are a few things that could cause a rapid shift in this, such as if a UK-based franchise is established for Overwatch or other major esport league – something to encourage more UK fans to get behind a team that they can view as ‘their own’. If the new Call of Duty is really successful, this could also spur on viewership and we would expect to see many teams forming around it.

Is the competitive scene in the UK growing fast enough?

I would always say that no matter how fast it is growing, it is never fast enough. We have lots of catching up to do. It is great to see a number of organisations across the value chain – teams, publishers, production companies, tournament and event companies – setting up in London. We have long-established creative industries in the UK and a great financial centre from which to draw funding, so I am very confident that the UK can catch up quickly and take our fair share of the esports pie.

Are there sufficient events for fans to attend in the UK? There are already a number of events in the UK for fans to attend, spread nicely across the calendar. We have fixed venues as well as large-scale temporary events, with more investment in infrastructure being made by

multiple players in the industry, such as the opening of more Belong arenas and upscaling Insomnia. It would be good to see more major global tournaments having finals – or at the very least stops – in the UK, to show both what our infrastructure is already capable of and to drive interest and viewership from the UK audience.

Is there a lack of UK talent and how does that impact your business?

I don’t believe there is a lack of homegrown talent.

Certainly, the UK has generated some of the most well-known esports talent out there, especially on the casting and broadcast side. There just hasn’t been the jobs and investment for them to excel at the global pro level in the UK, so they have left the country to go where the work is, in territories such as Germany, America and the Far East.

On the player side, I think there is a great deal of latent talent in the UK that needs discovering. We know from our own research that there are literally millions of people out there interested in esports, but aren’t doing anything about it, and the number one reason is they do not know how. This is something we are working hard to fix.

How does the UK’s console bias change the opportunities available to your organisation?

If anything, it makes us better placed in this market given our unique structure as an esports and event organisation within a retailer. When GAME and Multiplay came together, you had a highly consolecentric organisation in GAME aligning with a highly PC-focused organisation and audience in Multiplay. This means we can leverage the best of both worlds and play to both our strengths. Cross-pollination is proving very interesting indeed, especially with the high percentage of customers new to games coming to the arenas and of course events like Insomnia.

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Evil Controllers marks ten years of making customised peripherals with a groundbreaking new design that it hopes will dominate console esports. Seth Barton reports

C

onsole esports simply wouldn’t be at the level they are today if it wasn’t for highly-modified competitive controllers. The latest – and arguably greatest – such controller is the new Evil Shift from Evil Controllers, which is due to be released later this summer.

Such controllers allow competitors to perform better, which, putting aside the competitive advantage for individuals, makes the game more appealing to watch, and their ergonomic designs make those endless hours of practice much safer.

In a way, that’s putting the cart before the horse, though.

Modified competitive controllers have existed for at least ten years now, it’s just that esports has brought them to greater prominence due to the exposure and commercial deals that surround this key endemic player in the still nascent industry.

Instead, the birthplace of such modded controllers was with gamers who simply wanted to be more competitive online – which is exactly where Evil Controllers founder and president Adam Coe’s initial motivation came from.

EVIL SCHEMES Evil Controllers is one of the original trailblazers in this space, Coe explains to us in a hotel suite with an incredible view over the Los Angeles Convention Center during E3.

“This is our ten-year anniversary, we started the company back in March 2007,” he recalls. “I was your typical Halo 2 gamer: 19 years of age in my dorm room and wanting to improve my gameplay.” He then hit upon the concept of relocating buttons to the underside. “I applied that to my controller and instantly changed my gaming forever.”

Coe was also quick to realise the business possibilities of his modified controller. “I used the last of my student loan money, around $500, and bought 20 controllers off eBay. I instantly started selling controllers, I think the second day after making my own.”

At first, he was selling the modified controllers back on eBay, but then moved to a dedicated website and was successful enough to quit college: “I left after my freshman year and pursued my dream of evolving the industry of video game controllers and gaming in general, striving to become a pioneer in innovation and design.”

Based on our limited time with the Evil Shift, it looks like he’s certainly achieved that.

ENEMIES OF EVIL Evil’s key competitor is Scuf, but Microsoft also made a move into the space with its 2015 Elite Controller. “Other

esports controllers have taken various approaches and improved upon the initial two-button underside designs,” admits Coe, but he’s still pretty critical of the competition’s designs, as you’d expect.

He has all the big-selling controllers, both first-party and modified, laid out on a table between us. Picking up a recent Scuf controller, he explains his issues with the design.

“This controller has four paddles in a vertical position.

What’s unique is that the paddles have a larger surface area, so you can reach them easily. The limitation to the design is the fact that you can’t utilise all four paddles at the same time. You can only use 50 per cent of the product, which is obviously a limitation.

“The fact that they are hinged off the backplate of the controller gives you the perception you can press them from any direction, when in actuality you can only press the lower-third part. Additionally, the concept of esports is all about speed and multiple button presses, and the idea of having to reach for a paddle to initiate a function faster negates that concept.”

He then moves onto Microsoft’s Elite controller, where he’s not happy with the ergonomics: “They obviously spent a lot of money in terms of research and design, making sure that this was the proper shape [brandishing a standard Xbox One controller], but interestingly they then add paddles to that design, changing the ergonomics and causing you to hold the controller differently.”

Picking up the Elite ourselves, we’re reminded just how heavy it is, a combination of its epic build quality and the numerous rumble motors, which are removed from true competition-class devices. Coe agrees: “It’s extremely heavy, and you have four fingers supporting this heavy controller, so you tend to hit the paddles unintentionally.

“When we’re talking esports and competitive play, cosmetics are not the primary focus. The primary focus is speed, usability, comfort and durability. This is the first Elite from Xbox, but I doubt it’ll be the last and hopefully we can have an influence on that.”

SHIFTING GEARS So having comprehensively criticised the competition’s efforts, Coe finally comes around to unveiling Evil’s latest effort, claiming simply that “the Evil Shift is the fastest esports controller on the market.”

As with Evil’s other devices, the new controllers are designed to stay close to the familiar, first-party PS4 and Xbox One devices they improve upon. “We keep to the same form factor, the existing ergonomics [of the]

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Pictured below: The PS4 and Xbox One versions of the new Evil Shift controller

controller that millions of gamers already own. The goal was to create a controller that was simplistic in design but extremely effective in its output.”

Current Evil controllers use four discrete buttons on the rear side, but here they are replaced by four larger paddles. “Visually, you see that there are two paddles on each side that rest below your fingers naturally, but what’s different is that these are not hinged off the housing of the controller. They are actually hinged off the switch itself.

“And the beauty of this switch is that it’s not like a typical up-and-down button. This can be pressed up and down, left-to-right, any direction.

“The idea is that you grip the controller as you would naturally, but with the addition of four paddles you can simultaneously press.”

It works well in practise, too, with the paddles sitting comfortably below our fingers and reacting to practically any input motion we try.

He moves on to the thumbsticks: “These are removable, as easy as pulling them out of the controller.

They come in three different heights, and no proprietary tool is needed. The beauty of this design, of being able to pull them in and out on the fly is that you can quickly make those in-game changes if necessary.”

The triggers have a full range of movement, with no physical lockouts to try and improve single-shot speeds,

but Coe claims that “by reducing the spring tension by over 50 per cent, you can actually pull the trigger faster than any other esports controller on the market.”

Finally, the controller has super-sensitive face buttons. “Esports is a game of milliseconds,” he says. “So our buttons travel just 0.3mm and they’re essentially touch buttons, so you’re able to hit the button instantaneously.”

But despite the short travel, there’s still both clear tactile and audio feedback – you know you’ve pressed it.

“All four features, the paddles, the thumbsticks, the hairpin triggers and the sensitive buttons, all shave milliseconds off of your game, allowing you to maximise all the features that are offered – with no limitations. Tie them together and you’re saving time.”

TAKING CONTROL Coe is quite the salesman, and this is a persuasive pitch. He obviously believes deeply in the product that Evil has created – and having tried it for ourselves, it certainly appears to have advantages over what’s currently available from its key competitors.

That said, there’s still an uphill battle Evil Controllers has to climb against the incumbent Scuf devices, which were universally used by all Call of Duty Championship finalists last year. However, when we put this to Coe, he remains unfazed and determined: “I’m 29 years old, so this has been a third of my life,” he says. “This is my life, my career.”

We quiz Coe on his plans to get his controller into UK retail, but there’s no news to report just yet: “We have a rollout strategy that we’re not in a position to discuss yet,” he replies.

We should hear more soon about the company’s plans to bring the controller to customers, however: “We’re looking at end of summer, so we plan on moving quickly,” he says when we ask about the company’s manufacturing plans. He’s been using the controller himself for quite some time, but Evil was waiting for patents to be filed before it could unveil it at E3.

Pricing is also yet to be finalised, but will be “in line with other esports controllers on the market,” Coe says.

Only time will tell whether it actually outperforms the latest Scuf devices in the hands of professional players, and even then with sponsorship deals in place, there’s no guarantee that simply being better will translate smoothly into the kind of exposure that Scuf has seen in recent years. That said, professional gamers and streamers will make up their own minds and consumers will follow the decision these key influencers make.

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Out 26th July 2017 Merge Games Ltd

Tel: +44 01565 651558 www.mergegames.com sales@mergegames.com

Due Q4 2017 Advantage Distribution

Tel: +44 0121 506 9585 www.advantagedistribution.co.uk sales@advantagedistribution.co.uk

Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure developed by Prospect Games, published by Merge Games Š2017 All other trademarks, copyrights and logos are properties of their respective owners

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PROSPECT 29/06/2017 12:19:21

Pictured, left to right: MotoGP riders Marc Marquez, Jack Miller, Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro

Formula E-sports With its new MotoGP Esport Championship underway, Katharine Byrne talks to Milestone’s marketing manager Andrea Loiudice about the motorsport to esport tie up Why turn the MotoGP series into an esports championship now?

It’s something that’s been discussed for months with [MotoGP owner] Dorna, and in the end we agreed that starting with a smaller version of the championship this year was a good strategy. This way, we’re opening the channels with the sponsors and the media, and starting to communicate this new project and build a community of fans around it.

We know this is going to be the toughest year, but both Dorna and Milestone are fully committed to a strategy for the next years and are really excited about the big potential of esports applied to a real sport like MotoGP. Why did you decide to make the championship exclusive for PS4 players?

In year one, we need as much support as possible, both on the technical side and on the communication side, so

partnering with PlayStation sounded like the right choice for this first year. They’ve helped us a lot in developing the technical side of the competition, and will support the championship with a full communication plan targeted towards their enormous audience both in Europe and in the US. Is there a lot of extra work involved in supporting an esports championship?

I would say it needs the same amount of effort as launching a game in the end. Community, sponsorships, events, communication, technical management of the championship… There are a lot of areas that need to be managed properly if you want to succeed in esports.

Starting with a smaller version of the championship also gives us the opportunity to explore all these areas and be prepared for the next years when the MotoGP Esport Championship will step up and need a fully dedicated team.

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The season finale will be held in Valencia to coincide with the last round of the FIM MotoGP World Championship – is it important to link esports events with real-world events?

This will be the future for esports based on real sports. The power of synchronizing real events with esports events in terms of impact and visibility is huge, and can create an easy link to catch the attention of the more generic media and audiences. Imagine seeing the final event of the MotoGP Esport Championship on TV just before the real final race, or the final match of a football game championship in the break of the real final match. This is something very interesting for TV channels and might help to broaden the esports audience a lot, stepping out from the gamers segment and attracting a bigger audience.

Have you got any real-life riders involved with the tournament?

The riders are helping to promote the championship. Each rider involved in one of the qualification challenges is going to play it himself and provide advice to the gamers. We have plans to involve them even more in the future. This is one of the big advantages of having Dorna involved in the project since the beginning, it opens a lot of doors for us, which would have been really hard to open if this had been a Milestone esports championship and not the official Dorna MotoGP esports championship as it is.

What are Dorna’s plans for the MotoGP Esport Championship going forward?

The plan we have in mind for the Esports Championship is a multi-year plan. We think this is a challenging but realistic goal thanks to the involvement of Dorna. We really liked their realistic and pragmatic approach of growing step-bystep following a broader vision. We’re already working on next year’s esports championship and I’m sure some other traditional sports will follow shortly.

How do you feel about big, traditional sports brands investing in esports?

There’s a great opportunity for them to attract millennials, who are watching less TV and are much less interested in ‘real’ sports. Most of the traditional sports have understood the advantages of creating a link between real sports and esports. We work with many different licensed motorsports and I can tell you all of them are interested in this area, so I’m pretty positive about the future and I’m convinced traditional sports investing in esports will be one of the trends we’ll witness in the next few years.

What kind of growth do you see in European esports viewership over the next 12 months?

Right now, Europe is far behind the US and Asia, but this means there’s a lot of room for rapid growth. FIFA can be a very good driver here – more so than typical esports games – and I hope in a couple of years MotoGP will also be able to help grow the esports viewership and market dimension in Europe.

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Child’s play With more children playing games on smartphones, Marie Dealessandri asks SuperData’s Insights team and Klosters Trading Corporation’s president Lutz Muller whether mobile is killing kids gaming on consoles?

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E

ver since the glorious days of the 8-bit era, console gaming has bloomed into a thriving entertainment industry. However, the players who also did their growing up alongside it have led to a massive change in the gaming demographics.

Indeed, most console games these days are created with adult audiences in mind, leaving kids games dramatically underserved in the mainstream release schedule. It’s not that kids aren’t playing games any more, but with more children swapping consoles for smartphones, is there a future for kids gaming on consoles?

Let’s start with the facts. According to the latest GameTrack Digest (ISFE/Ipsos Connect), 25 per cent of the UK gaming population in Q4 2016 fell into the six to 14 year age group. That might not sound like a lot, but drill down a little further, and you’ll find 68 per cent of kids aged six to ten and 77 per cent of children from 11 to 14 play video games in the UK – the highest rate of any age group.

There’s clearly a lot of interest, then, but what titles do kids actually play, and on what platform? According to Klosters Trading Corporation’s president Lutz Muller, “most games played by children [in the US] fall into the category of social games.”

This would explain why kids tend to play on mobile instead of consoles nowadays, particularly since consoles often offer few games that fall into the social bracket.

Muller continues: “What differentiates consoles from smartphones are four things: clock speed, graphics, screen resolution and memory. The game and hardware developers targeting the adult community are extremely focused on them, whereas the limits imposed by smartphones by definition require a type of game that is much more attuned to the needs of children. I hence see a situation where the two development streams, consoles versus mobile, continue to diverge and basically divide the consumer population into two very separate groups: children with smartphones and adults with consoles.”

The hardware issue is particularly important. Despite smartphones often costing more than your typical console over the course of a two-year contract, they’re also considered more disposable than a box that goes under your TV. With four out of five adults now owning a smartphone in the UK (according to Deloitte’s Global Mobile Consumer Survey 2016: UK Cut), it’s also clear to see why parents find it easier to let their kids play on mobile rather than investing in standalone consoles.

“Since the average age of a console gamer is over 30, today’s game developers prefer to create content for their key demographic,” SuperData’s Insights team research assistant Nate Monteverde tells MCV. “The release of the Nintendo Switch gave new life to the kids market on console, as they are known to create crossover products that appeal to nostalgic older

audiences and kids. PlayStation and Xbox also make their networks less accessible for kids today, as fewer games are just plug-in-and-play, instead requiring a paid online service – PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.

Overall, the console market caters less to kids today than they once did. Kids will need to find games on other platforms like handheld devices – the Nintendo 3DS – and mobile.”

UPWARDLY MOBILE For Monteverde, however, the current kids market can’t be neatly divided into a simple mobile-console split.

“It is an overstatement to say that consoles need to compete with mobile to retain kids. The markets are wildly different and neither market is cannibalising the player base of another. Consoles are catering less to kids today and prefer to focus on its older demographic.

Mobile is more accessible, has an abundance of content, and is portable, so kids can easily game anywhere. Mobile can act as the gateway that introduces kids to games, while consoles can act as the next step for kids who want to dive deeper into the gaming experience as they get older.”

Last year’s Pokémon Sun and Moon are a case in point, with even Nintendo saying the games benefited from the Pokémon Go effect in its end of year financials. The tricky part, however, is retaining those console converts in the long run – something Nintendo will no doubt be watching very closely as it rolls out more of its own inhouse mobile titles and upcoming child-friendly games for its New 2DS XL like Hey! Pikmin – and keeping them engaged with more games on more platforms until you’ve created a new franchise, merchandise range and a successful entertainment brand.

SuperData’s research manager Carter Rogers concurs, saying that “Nintendo clearly aims for mobile games to be a gateway to their IPs on console” but adds that more companies could do with applying the same strategy in order to broaden their appeal to kids, and more importantly, their parents.

“This is a valuable way for game companies to generate ancillary revenue and keep kids aware of IPs and characters,” he says. “The Angry Birds Movie was a major boost to Rovio. Sonic Boom and Skylanders Academy are keeping IPs viable for their respective publishers Sega and Activision during slow periods for the game franchises themselves.”

Expanding franchises into wider entertainment brands also provides a gateway to more markets, says Muller: “If you take a video game and turn it into a movie, then it comes down to how strong the movie is as a toy generator,” he explains. “In other words, if you successfully turn a video game IP into a broader entertainment IP, then you can enter the toy and wider licensing market.”

Pictured above: Carter Rogers from SuperData and Lutz Miller from Klosters Trading Corporation

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Successfully expanding directly into toys isn’t always a guaranteed success, however, with Muller saying that TV is often more effective for increasing brand awareness.

“So far, all efforts to take a video game brand and extend it into toys have failed,” he says. “Halo, Destiny, Warcraft, and so on, are cases in point. So the direct route ‘video-game-to-toy’ does not work.”

Instead, Muller says the best way to keep kids engaged is to actually release “games, games and more games,” and that includes titles specifically developed for phones and handhelds.

MINECRAFT POWERED Warner Bros’ Lego titles and Mojang’s Minecraft are both perfect examples of brands that have seen huge success in the kids market. But while Lego had its 85-year history as a toy company to draw on, both franchises share the same secret ingredient when it comes to engaging with children – their characters.

“A focus on recognisable characters remains essential,” says Rogers. “Even Minecraft, which doesn’t have characters per se, has a universally recognisable protagonist – Steve – and monsters.”

Minecraft also manages to exist as a toy range in its own right, says Muller: “I do not think the Minecraft toys are significantly influenced by the Minecraft video

game or vice versa. Minecraft toys live in their separate universe on the strength of what their licensees – Lego, Spin Master and Mattel – are doing to promote their respective piece of the pie, each in their own way and in line with their overall toy portfolio objectives,” he explains. “This is different in the case of Lego where the toys, the games and the movies all are part of an overall integrated campaign.”

Lego and Minecraft are also similar in the way they allow children to be creative, which for Monteverde is their main selling point.

“Minecraft is successful with kids because of the simple game mechanics that give kids the freedom to do a wide range of activities,” he says. “The freedom to create anything in the world of Minecraft copies the same formula that made Lego successful among kids for many years.”

Aside from these two behemoths, Muller reckons Nintendo is the only other major publisher still competing in the kids market, both with the 3DS and now the Switch.

“Very clearly, the two Nintendo consoles have a much lower age profile for their games than their PS4 and Xbox One counterparts,” says Muller. “However, over the longer haul, it will be the quality of the games playable on the Switch that will determine whether we are looking at a fundamental change in the sales trajectory.”

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Monteverde concurs: “Nintendo’s games have the potential to attract kids to the console space. Outside of their kid-friendly IP, the determining factor for the Switch’s impact on this market lies in what demographic Nintendo chooses to cater for with its future first-party and third-party game releases.”

THE NETWORK EFFECT Another piece of the puzzle is the toys-to-life market.

With the future of this segment looking more uncertain every year, SuperData reckons its best years may already be behind it, despite Ubisoft revealing its new toys-to-life title StarLink: Battle for Atlas at E3.

“Outside of Skylanders and Ubisoft’s StarLink, the toys-to-life market is undeveloped and lacks real growth opportunity,” says Rogers, with Monteverde bluntly adding that the market currently “resembles the shortlived plastic instruments space from several years ago and are past their peak.”

However, Muller believes there’s still hope in this sector, and that toys-to-life titles can act as an entry point to console gaming for kids.

“The toys-to-life market is healthy if shelf space allocation by the major retailers is anything to go by,” he says. “As the category has matured, its sales increases have moderated to a level which is much more in line with the toy market overall. It is very probable that the exposure of kids to the toys-to-life category will extend into regular video games as they grow older. After all, toys-to-life are played on the normal consoles – Xbox One, PS4, Wii U and now also the Switch.“ If physical toys are one way to get more children into console gaming, another way is a strong digital strategy with game streams and videos.

“YouTube works as a common and accessible platform for kids to watch games that they want to play,” Monteverde says. “Since kids lack financial independence, gaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch are essential exposure tools for kids looking for new games to play.”

Rogers continues: “Kids watching instead of playing does result in some lost sales for smaller and mid-tier games. However, the games that do succeed win big time due to a network effect.”

“A focus on recognisable characters remains essential.”

“The kids market on console is less defined today, as it mostly consists of crossover products that cater to audiences across all age ranges,” Monteverde says.

“Microsoft’s Xbox continues to heavily support Minecraft as the game’s mechanics and visuals cater to both adults and kids. Nintendo is another classic example of unique IP that creates lifetime fans from an early age. These kids eventually grow up, but still desire to play games that remind them of their childhood gaming experiences. The console market will continue to find ways to create crossover products that cater to audiences of different ages. However, as consoles shift their focus to an older demographic, content for kids will continue to be a niche part of the market.”

It doesn’t look like mobile will be going away any time soon, then, but putting an emphasis on cross-play between different platforms would at least give kids one way of jumping from one platform to another when they’re ready to move on.

“Mobile will remain the premier platform for kids gaming, but publishers stand to benefit if they make slightly older kids want to ‘upgrade’ to a more robust experience,” Rogers concludes. “Microsoft’s cross platform strategy for Minecraft helps console adoption since console players will be able to play with their mobile-only friends.”

GROWING UP Smartphones may be the current platform of choice with today’s youth, but it’s clear there’s still a core group of franchises driving the kids console market forward, with Minecraft at the forefront. If nothing else, this shift to mobile reflects the ever-changing landscape of the industry and the current proliferation of platforms.

Consoles aren’t the only way to play games any more, after all, and software is more diverse than ever.

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Christmas in July

It’s not long now until this year’s holiday shopping season begins, Katharine Byrne takes a look at the hottest games and products likely to be flying off shelves in the run-up to Christmas

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’s Top Consoles Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES

Arguably the hottest gaming product of the year, pre-orders for Nintendo’s Classic Mini: SNES have already sold through the roof, making further stock increasingly sought after.

Nintendo’s promised more stock this time round, but it’s also confirmed it will only be shipping said stock until the end of the year. The Mini SNES may not be on the shelves for long, but you can guarantee that every last one will find a home.

Nintendo vs Microsoft vs Sony: who will win?

The big Christmas console launch this year is, of course, Microsoft’s Xbox One X, but the biggest seller this holiday is more likely to be the Nintendo Switch – provided there’s enough stock to keep up with demand. Nintendo’s said it’s doing everything it can to prepare for the Christmas onslaught, and with the release of Super Mario Odyssey hot on its heels, it should be a bumper holiday season for the platform holder.

Indeed, Microsoft’s already said it doesn’t expect to sell many Xbox One Xs this year, putting the emphasis instead on its cheaper Xbox One S. That might seem odd

New Nintendo 2DS XL

With two new Pokémon games on the way this Christmas, the New 2DS XL is the ideal console for both new players and current 2DS owners who feel like they need a bit of an upgrade. With its gorgeous clamshell design and bright, bold colour schemes, the New 2DS XL shows there’s still plenty of life left in Nintendo’s sevenyear-old handheld family.

considering there’s a newer, shinier version of the console out to buy, but its price of £449 will be less likely to affect sales than the number of units that Microsoft can supply.

However, Sony’s PS4 Pro currently costs £100 less, potentially making it a more attractive buy for those after a higher end gaming experience. Then again, with today’s bundle deals favouring the PS4 Slim at the moment, Sony may face the same problem as Microsoft when it comes to shifting units of its 4K-enabled console. A lot will depend on which games are bundled with which console, but the race for best-selling console this holiday is likely to be a threehorse race between the Switch, Xbox One S and PS4 Slim.

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’s Top Games

Call of Duty: WWII

Release date: November 3rd Platform(s): PS4, XO, PC Developer: Sledgehammer Games

Publisher: Activision Distributor: CentreSoft Contact: 01216 253 388

Call of Duty is returning to its roots in WWII, swapping the futuristic gadgets and weapons of last year’s Infinite Warfare for the classic Garands and bolt action rifles it built its name on. WWII should please long-term Call of Duty fans and its renewed focus on team-based gameplay is primed and ready for creating tight-knit communities around its extensive multiplayer. Infinite Warfare was by no means a failure last year, but WWII should finally put Call of Duty back in players’ good books.

FIFA 18 Release date: September 29th Platform(s): PS4, XO, NS, PS3, 360 Developer: EA

Publisher: EA Sports Distributor: CentreSoft Contact: 01216 253 388

FIFA is the perennial best-seller in the UK charts, and FIFA 18 should be no exception – especially when EA’s branched out with a Switch version this year, too, which is exactly the same as the rest of its console counterparts minus the single player mode, The Journey: Hunter Returns. With better motion capture technology and even more finely-tuned controls, FIFA 18 is set to be the best version yet, unsurpisingly.

Destiny 2 Release date: September 6th Platform(s): PS4, XO, PC Developer: Bungie

Publisher: Activision Distributor: CentreSoft Contact: 01216 253 388

Destiny 2 has big shoes to fill – the first game ended up being Activision’s most successful new franchise launch in the publisher’s history, and it was also the biggest software launch for the PS4 when it first released back in 2014. With Bungie forcing players to start afresh this time round, Destiny 2 could be the shot in the arm the series needs, bringing in swathes of new and lapsed players alike.

Super Mario Odyssey Release date: October 27th Platform(s): NS Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo Distributor: Open Contact: 01753 483700

Breath of the Wild may have galvanised Switch sales over the last four months, but it’s Super Mario Odyssey that will take Nintendo’s console soaring into next year. A new Mario game is always a big event in the gaming calendar, but with Odyssey’s large open worlds harking back to the good old days of Super Mario 64, this is arguably the most hotly-anticipated Mario game since the Wii’s Super Mario Galaxy. It sales are likely to be limited only by the install base of Switch units and how many more units Nintendo can get to retail.

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12/07/2017 10:49

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Release date: November 17th Platform(s): 3DS Developer: Game Freak

Publisher: Nintendo Distributor: Open Contact: 01753 483700

Pokémon Sun and Moon were a massive success for Nintendo and The Pokémon Company last year, with both titles selling a combined total of 1.5m units in Europe during their first week alone. Whether these Ultra editions will hit quite the same level of success remains to be seen, but given the current catch ‘em all climate, we wouldn’t be surprised if these repeated their predecessor’s success and were the best-selling 3DS games of 2017.

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Release date: October 27th Platform(s): PS4, XO, PC Developer: MachineGames

Publisher: Bethesda Distributor: Advantage Distribution Contact: 0121 506 9585

There’s something quite ironic about the timing of Bethesda’s upcoming Wolfenstein title, and its continuation of hero BJ Blazkowicz’s story in Nazi-occupied America is likely to go down a treat with fans of the series. Its predecessor, The New Order, was the 22nd best-selling game of 2014, and the IP is now far better established, so there should be plenty of gamers vying for The New Colossus when it releases this October.

Star Wars Battlefront II Release date: November 17th Platform(s): PS4, XO, PC Developer: EA DICE

Publisher: EA Distributor: CentreSoft Contact: 01216 253 388

The first Battlefront was one of the top 20 best-selling games of 2016, but its sequel looks like it will be even bigger, with a brand-new single player campaign and loads of free DLC set to arrive post-launch. The latter will be key in forming a long-lasting community around Battlefront II, with EA stating that this new system has been designed to allow all players “to play longer.” Timed to coincide with the next Star Wars film, the Force looks strong with this one.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War Release date: October 10th Platform(s): PS4, XO Developer: Monolith Productions

Publisher: Warner Bros Distributor: CentreSoft Contact: 01216 253 388

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was the most successful Lord of the Rings game ever, when released back in 2014, and its sequel Shadow of War looks set to continue that success. Its much-heralded Nemesis system now allows players to recruit allies from several Middle Earth races, including Uruk-hai and Olog-hai, and its open world gameplay appeals far beyond just Tolkien enthusiasts.

Assassin’s Creed Origins Release date: October 27th Platform(s): PS4, XO, PC Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher: Ubisoft Distributor: Exertis Contact: 01279 822 822

Having taken a year off to revitalise the franchise, the appetite for Ubisoft’s latest Assassin’s Creed title should be at an all-time high when it launches later this year.

Set in Ancient Egypt, Assassin’s Creed Origins promises to be the series’ biggest open world yet, allowing players to explore the beginnings of the Assassin’s Brotherhood while they sail down the Nile and clamber over pyramids.

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12/07/2017 10:51

From ticket stub to controller Generation Media explains how cinema is providing an engaging platform for gaming advertisers to speak to their audience

A

s the dust settles on another explosive E3 show, the latest titles appear to be capturing the hearts and minds of generations X, Y and Z more than ever.

The way in which gaming advertisers are now reaching these adapting audiences is substantially evolving, especially in video. However, as the influence of TV continues to decline, with online taking the majority share, cinema can remain a pivotal part of communication strategies. Let’s delve deeper into the gaming consumer and their association with cinema before assessing how advertisers are using the medium to talk to and engage with this audience.

In order to not only reach but engage with these consumers, it is important to understand their media consumption habits. ’Console kings’ are that demographic of gamers that play mostly blockbuster

games on home consoles and are more likely to have a variety of interests outside of gaming (source: TGI 2017 Q1).

Among the variety of media content that they consume, cinema plays an avid role. As much as 92 per cent of this audience are cinemagoers, with 43 per cent of those being heavy cinemagoers.

Furthermore, 82 per cent of heavy cinemagoers are more likely to be ‘absolute gamers’ who live and breathe gaming in attitudes and behaviour. Of the films they see, action/adventure and science fiction are the genres that over index with this audience. To ensure that advertisers are promoting their products and services to the console kings in expansive, engaging ways, cinema needs to have a share of the AV marketing mix.

This is reflected among many audiences with the cinema industry experiencing a boom in recent

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years, driven by a continually strong film slate including live action reboots, a constant slew of top superhero content and new Star Wars releases.

Admissions for 2017 are predicted to reach 171 million, with admissions over the past five years remaining at a consistent level, averaging 166 million per year in the UK. With an audience that has fluctuated less than the likes of TV and print media, cinema sales house Digital Cinema Media (DCM), which commands an 82 per cent share of the market, has seen an increase in investment from advertisers.

With a roster that includes Star Wars: Episode 8, Dunkirk, Thor Ragnarok and Blade Runner 2049 to name a few, 2017 is predicted to generate more than ÂŁ91 million in gross revenue, a 47 per cent growth compared with 2013. Gaming has seen one of the largest areas of growth, with advertisers spending 51 per cent more in 2016 versus 2014.

With the increase in spend in cinema, there is an even greater pressure to provide innovative creative solutions to engage with a captive audience. It’s not to say gaming advertisers are not investing in traditional spot advertising, but brands have begun to strive for innovation in the medium to provide standout. Much like frequently used ad break takeovers on TV, PlayStation deployed a takeover of the ad-reel before the trailers around the release of Horizon: Zero Dawn, which featured a two-minute creative

alongside a host of impending Sony titles, such as Farpoint VR and Wipeout Omega.

The campaign provided PlayStation with the perfect opportunity to air an engaging gameplay vignette for its key focus title but also demonstrate its wide roster of upcoming games. Elsewhere, Xbox invested in 4DX technology for Forza Horizon 3. There are now ten 4DX cinemas in the UK, which utilise both 3D technology and motion/sensory influences to bring films to life.

The Forza creative put fans in the driving seat so they could experience the full force of the title, blurring the boundaries between gaming and linear entertainment. Both demonstrate the creative possibilities of cinema, while foyer takeovers and sampling are just a few more of a range of ways to engage the gaming audience in the unique space of cinema.

As the technological gaming landscape changes, so does the way in which gaming advertisers need to communicate with their audience. It’s clear that faith in the medium has increased in the past five years, with the gaming industry utilising cinema to form a vital part of the marketing mix.

If the budget allows, cinema is an excellent addition to complement the rest of a campaign.

For more information about how to create a dynamic cinema advertising campaign with DCM for your latest title, get in touch with joseph.phelan@generationmedia.co.uk

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Royal Shakespeare Company. As the workload increased, I invested in a bespoke recording studio built from the ground up in Stratford-upon-Avon. We opened the Leamington offices in late 2015 to accommodate a growing team. This now enables us to work on multiple projects simultaneously while also providing a costeffective service to our clients.

The sweet, sweet sounds of Stratford-upon-Avon MCV talks to Ed Walker at audio production gaming specialists Sounding Sweet

W

hether you’re making a small indie title or a big triple-A game, audio is always going to be key. Sounding Sweet specialises in creating audio for the games industry, coming highly recommended by Playground Games’ Gavin Raeburn – our 2017 MCV Awards Person of the Year no less.

Pictured above: Ed Walker from Sounding Sweet

For more details head to www. soundingsweet.com or contact info@ soundingsweet.com

Tell us about Sounding Sweet for those unfamiliar with your work.

We’re a UK-based independent recording and audio production company with a recording studio in Stratfordupon-Avon and separate post-production facilities in Leamington Spa. Our recording studio is equipped with the latest technology, including a 7.1 surround sound dubbing suite and two purpose built voice-over booths which double as foley studios and music recording spaces when necessary.

We are also fully equipped to record ADR, via Source Connect and ISDN. We provide the latest audio technology both in-game and in the studio. We have a comprehensive knowledge of the latest audio middleware and production techniques.

When and how did you start Sounding Sweet?

I worked in-house at Codemasters and Playground Games for a number of years before setting up Sounding Sweet in 2011. The company started in my house when I converted an outbuilding into a VO booth and a spare bedroom into the control room. We initially focused on dialogue recording due to our close proximity to the

To date, what are the biggest projects that you and the company have worked on?

As part of the audio team at Codemasters, I worked on the Dirt, Grid and Formula One racing franchises, before joining Playground Games where I worked on Forza Horizon and Forza Horizon 2.

More recently, Sounding Sweet has had the pleasure of working on Forza Horizon 3, MotoGP 17 and Guitar Hero Live to name a few. We provide audio design services and assist in various areas of audio production such as implementation, mixing, field recording, voice recording, music composition and editing.

Can you tell us anything about what you are currently working on?

We are currently working on a triple-A mobile title.

Its large audio requirement is both challenging and rewarding. Despite it being a mobile title, we are striving for a high-quality, console audio experience.

Do you see changes on the horizon for the sound recording and audio business in general?

With the arrival of VR and advanced graphical realism, audio is paramount to selling immersion. We embrace the changes of growing technology and new ways to approach audio, to ensure we are on par with the visuals.

What successes have you seen recently?

This year, our work can be heard in multiple game titles and trailers. We have also provided a number of supporting marketing activities to various game developers and publishers. We were recently nominated for a Develop Award in the category of ‘Creative Outsourcer - Audio’ for our work on Forza Horizon 3.

No doubt you have plans for 2017 and beyond – what do you hope to accomplish?

We have just invested in new field recording equipment in view of enhancing our own SFX library. In the last few months, we’ve been recording various vehicles and foley which may be available to purchase in the future. We are really looking forward to continuing to push the boundaries of mobile audio development. We are in the process of upgrading our studio to Dolby Atmos to ensure we have the latest technology available to our clients.

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Out 18th July 2017

Merge Games Ltd

Tel: +44 01565 651558 www.mergegames.com sales@mergegames.com

Advantage Distribution

Tel: +44 0121 506 9585 www.advantagedistribution.co.uk sales@advantagedistribution.co.uk

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles developed by Prideful Sloth Pty Ltd, published by Merge Games Š2017 All other trademarks, copyrights and logos are properties of their respective owners

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29/06/2017 12:19:42

VooFoo Studios at 10 As the Birmingham-based studio celebrates its tenth anniversary, Katharine Byrne speaks with marketing and PR manager Sean Walsh about the growth of the studio and its recent move into publishing

Pictured above: VooFoo’s marketing and PR manager Sean Walsh

How would you describe VooFoo’s journey over the last ten years?

It’s safe to say the past ten years have been eventful. It has, however, always been interesting and we wouldn’t want it any other way. We’re incredibly lucky to work in such a diverse and innovative industry that offers so many opportunities, none more so than for indie studios like ourselves. Of course, it hasn’t always been easy.

There have been challenges, particularly during our first few years of business, when lack of access to funding led to uncertainties over whether games would actually see the light of day. We had to balance maintaining a busy workload with a strategy that brought long-term sustainability, and for a small team in a notoriously unpredictable industry that can be tough. We’ve worked hard over the years to get that right and we’re proud to have established a reputation for technical and creative

expertise with games like Hustle Kings, which gave us our first break and really helped to establish the studio.

We’re really proud of everything we’ve achieved since then, from developing the hugely successful Pure series of games to our move into publishing last year with the release of Mantis Burn Racing.

What’s next for VooFoo over the next ten years?

We have some really exciting plans for the studio, building on the foundations we’ve laid over the last ten years to extend the business into new areas. We’re going to continue to support Mantis Burn Racing both in terms of content and extending it into new areas, including esports, which is a great fit for such a fun, competitive racing game. We’re going to be working on more of our own IP and growing the publishing side of the business. We’re already working on a number of

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as yet unannounced projects, which are as diverse as they are exciting and may just surprise a few people.

We’ll also continue to further develop our own in-house game engine and tools and we’ll be exploring licensing opportunities around those.

“For an indie studio to be successful, you need to remain agile and prepared to adapt to any challenges.”

What would you say has been the studio’s biggest success story over the last decade?

We can be proud of the fact we’ve created some very successful award-nominated games in that time, that have collectively generated over 5.5m downloads to date. The success of Hustle Kings gave us credibility and a level of security which we’ve been able to build upon with the hugely successful Pure games – Pure Chess, Pure Pool and Pure Hold’em have all performed really well both critically and commercially. Publishing our own IP, Mantis Burn Racing, a game that was mostly self-funded, while challenging, was also hugely rewarding and we’re really pleased to see that doing so well.

Why did you start self-publishing with Mantis Burn Racing?

Our heritage actually lies in racing games. Founder Mark Williams is the guy behind Max Rally, which released on the Commodore Amiga back in 1998. It’s a genre we’ve always wanted to revisit; we’ve had plans to make a new, modern top-down racing game ever since. We were certainly looking for the independence that publishing brings, to be in control of our own destiny as a studio and to be able to own our IP was important.

Mantis Burn Racing was the PS4 Pro’s first native 4K title – did you face any problems getting it up and running?

We’re a team that’s built a reputation for technical and artistic expertise and the PS4 Pro gave us a great opportunity to showcase our technology. We’d actually been asking Sony about 4K support for some time before they announced the Pro, so when the opportunity arose, we jumped at it and the process was pretty straightforward. The fact we were the PS4 Pro’s first native 4K game running at 60fps with no checkerboarding or other upscaling techniques certainly didn’t hurt our PR efforts either.

VooFoo’s also offering publishing services to other small indie teams now – what kind of studios are you looking to work with?

We understand first-hand the risks, challenges and pit-falls that small indie studios face when taking their games to market. This is where we can really help. We’ve been in the same position as these studios and we know how tough it can be to find the right publishing partner.

What we offer is both understanding and practical guidance through the development and publishing process to help these studios maximise their potential.

We’re a developer and publisher who has the experience and ability to manage the entire publishing process for these smaller studios, giving them the freedom and confidence to get on with doing what they do best, which is making great games.

Pictured above: Mantis Burn Racing was VooFoo’s first self-published title

What’s your secret to creating a successful indie studio?

One of the major challenges for us has been discoverability. It’s important to find your niche, work out what you’re good at and be creative. For an indie studio to be successful, you need to remain agile and prepared to adapt to [any] challenges. Grow at your own pace and remember, it’s important to take as much from your disappointments as you do from your successes.

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Secure your tickets now! gamescom-cologne.com International Business Media Services 42 Christchurch Road Ringwood BH24 1DN | United Kingdom Tel. +44 1425 48 68 30 | Fax +44 1425 48 68 31 info@koelnmesse.co.uk

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biggamereleases

Release date:

21/07

Splatoon 2

Developer: Nintendo • Publisher: Nintendo • Distributor: Open • Platform(s): NS • Price: £49.99

Competition is a "core element" of Splatoon 2.

The publisher says...

The press say...

How well will it do?

Splatoon 2 has the same core idea as its predecessor (splatting every available surface with colourful shades of ink in a bid to win the biggest amount of turf) but talking to Glixel, producer Hisashi Nogami said that competition was a "core element of the game."

Hence a couple of new modes in Splatoon 2, including League Battle, which lets two teams of up to four players compete for two hours to earn as many points as possible, and Salmon Run, which sees players team up against new enemies. There will also be brand new weapons and new attacks for old weapons, plus plenty of new clothing items to help players stay 'fresh'. n

We played Splatoon 2 at Nintendo UK's E3 event last week, going hands on with the new Salmon Run mode as well as the returning Turf War mode.

Fans should feel instantly familiar with the latter once they get to grips with the new weapons and stages (and turn off the game's overly-sensitive motion controls), but Salmon Run is another great addition that takes its team-based combat even further, adding arcade-style waves of enemies to the mix that can be enjoyed by two to four players.

It's fantastic fun, and should be a hit for those wanting a quick splat on the go. n

Considering the Wii U only sold 13.56m units worldwide, the fact that Splatoon's sold nearly 5m copies worldwide is pretty impressive. That's 36 per cent of all Wii U owners. It's also popular in the UK, debuting at No.2 back in May 2015 after becoming the biggest launch for a new IP on the Wii U. That doesn't mean Splatoon 2 will be an instant success, though. Switch's install base is still limited, and Nintendo's competition-focused Arms might throw some shade on it as well. However, with the first Switch bundle launching alongside Splatoon 2, it could be just the ticket to boosting hardware and software sales. n

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http://linkdistribution-uk.com Join us - Call today! +44 1274 684 668 Scratched Discs?

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Email: sales@totaldiscrepair.co.uk July 14 MCV 921 | 43

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biggamereleases Release date:

Aven Colony

25/07

Developer: Mothership Entertainment • Publisher: Team17, Sold Out • Distributor: Sold Out • Platform(s): PS4, XO • Price: £24.99

Having been in development since 2013, Mothership Entertainment and Team17's new simulation title is set to release on consoles in a couple of weeks, with a Steam and Itch.io launch on the same date. The title actually started as a beta title on Itch.io, which "helped [the] tiny four-person team engage with the community and grow the game significantly," founder of Mothership Entertainment Paul Tozour said.

Team17's CEO Debbie Bestwick added: “The

talented team at Mothership Entertainment have been incredibly focused on delivering a solid, fun and unique city-building experience with Aven Colony."

It sounds like the team did a pretty good job, too, as reviews of the beta have been mostly positive. Aven Colony, which is set in "an alien world of deserts, tundras and wetlands light-years from Earth," mainly focuses on survival, with harsh environments and a wealth of disasters threatening your new home.

Release date:

Aven Colony is a "fun and unique citybuilding experience"

Miitopia

28/07 Developer: Nintendo • Publisher: Nintendo • Distributor: Open • Platform(s): 3DS • Price: £34.99

Miitopia is essentially "Tomodachi Life meets JRPG"

Nintendo is releasing its New 2DS XL on July 28th alongside a couple of new titles: Dr Kawashima's Devilish Brain Training, Hey, Pikmin! and Miitopia.

The latter is an RPG but uses Mii characters as the main protagonists, making it quite different from your usual RPG fare. Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft labelled it as "Tomodachi Life meets JRPG," adding that it has a "very Nintendo spin" on the genre. In Miitopia, the player must get people's faces back after they've been stolen by a Dark Lord.

The title launched in Japan in late 2016 and debuted at No.6 in the charts, against strong competitors such as Pokémon Sun and Moon, Super Mario Maker and Final Fantasy XV. However, reviews for the title are mixed, with most critics noting a distinct lack of actual gameplay, such as characters walking automatically, which doesn't lend itself to exploration.

Miitopia is also compatible with Amiibo, with figures unlocking new outfits for the Mii characters.

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Valkyria Revolution biggamereleases

Digital releases

The pick of the crop from upcoming digital downloads Gorn

Developer: Free Lives Publisher: Devolver Digital Platforms: HTC Vive Price: £14.99 Release date: Out now

Super Cloudbuilt

18 07

OUT NOW

Genital Jousting developer Free Lives has partnered with Devolver Digital again for its VR debut title, Gorn. Available now on Vive as an Early Access game, this ridiculously bloody gladiator sim allows players to "savagely strike down an infinite supply of poorly-animated opponents with all manner of weapons."

Developer: Coilworks Publisher: Double Eleven Platforms: PS4, XO, PC Price: £15.99 Release date: July 25th, July 28th (XO)

Children of Zodiarcs

Developer: Cardboard Utopia Publisher: Square Enix Collective Platforms: PS4, PC Price: £14.99 Release date: July 18th

Children of Zodiarcs is releasing next week, courtesy of Square Enix Collective. Cardboard Utopia's title raised over five times its Kickstarter target at the beginning of 2016, and it aims to "bring a fresh approach" to the tactical RPG genre by combining board game elements such as deck building and dice crafting.

19 07

Aporia: Beyond the Valley

25 07

Developer: Investigate North Publisher: Green Man Gaming Platforms: PC Price: £14.99 Release date: July 19th

Coilworks and Double Eleven are finally releasing the definitive, remastered edition of Cloudbuilt, three years after the initial PC release. Super Cloudbuilt will launch on PS4, Xbox One and PC at the end of July, with all the DLC from the original title, enhanced graphics, UI and optimised gameplay.

First person puzzle Aporia: Beyond the Valley is hitting Steam next week, thanks to Green Man Gaming. Investigate North's title has no text or dialogue and lets the player explore its beautiful universe to "piece together the non-linear story of what happened in this mysterious world."

Release schedule Title

Format

Genre

Publisher

Telephone

July 14th Oriental Empires

PC

Simulation

Iceberg Interactive 01902 861 527

Pavilion

July 19th Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

PS4

Adventure

Merge Games

Advantage

July 21st Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star Splatoon 2

NS NS

Action Shooter

Marvelous Europe 01462 677 844 Nintendo 01753 483700

PQube Open

July 25th Aven Colony

PS4, XO

Simulation

Sold Out

0121 506 9585

Advantage

July 26th Unbox: Newbies Adventure

PS4

Adventure

Merge Games

0121 506 9585

Advantage

0121 506 9585

Distributor

July 14 MCV 921 | 45

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chartanalysis

N. Sane sales

Crash Bandicoot took retail by storm this June, while ten new entries also entered the Top 50

A

fter a couple of bleak months at retail, the market was back on track in June, with unit sales up nearly 53 per cent and revenue increasing 47 per cent. Sales were driven by no less than 11 new releases, with the top spot being taken by a title that only spent two days on shelves when GfK closed its report: Activision’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.

Vicarious Visions’ remaster of Naughty Dog’s iconic trilogy of games sold more than double the number of copies as June’s No.2, Tekken 7, which had been out for 30 days when GfK closed its report. A strong launch isn’t everything, though, as Activision will now have to prove it can continue to sell the

The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy sold more than double the number of copies as June’s No.2, Tekken 7, in just two days. game in the long term. However, this impressive performance, combined with other strong sales elsewhere in the charts (starting with Overwatch at No.5), allowed Activision Blizzard to take the top spot in the publisher charts, both in revenue and units.

Despite the fierce competition, Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7 still had a strong launch last month, with 79 per cent of its sales going to PS4.

Further down the charts, Codemasters’ Dirt 4 debuted at No.6 but didn’t manage to beat launch sales of the previous entry in the franchise, Dirt Rally, which entered the monthly charts at No.4 back in April 2016. Dirt 4 was not the only title from Codemasters to make it to last month’s Top 50, as Micro Machines: World Series debuted at No.23.

These performances allowed Codemasters to come back quite strongly in the publisher charts in terms of value, from No.22 to No.9. The UK firm also jumped from No.84 to No.4 in the developer rankings.

Meanwhile, the last new entry in the Top Ten was another PS4 exclusive remastered compilation, Wipeout: Omega Collection. Sony’s IP made it to No.9 for its first month at retail, after landing at No.1 during its launch week.

Needless to say, it was a really good month for Sony’s PS4, with Horizon Zero Dawn also taking the No.4 spot in June. The console’s market share in units increased from 44.6 per cent in May to 56.3 per cent

UK MONTHLY PHYSICAL CHART TOP 10 – JUNE

Title

Format

Publisher

01 Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy NEW PS4 02 Tekken 7 NEW PS4, XO, PC 03 Grand Theft Auto V PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 04 Horizon Zero Dawn PS4 05 Overwatch PS4, XO, PC 06 Dirt 4 NEW PS4, XO, PC 07 Injustice 2 PS4, XO 08 FIFA 17 PS4, XO, PS3, 360 09 Wipeout: Omega Collection NEW PS4 10 Rocket League PS4, XO

Activision Bandai Namco Rockstar Sony Blizzard Codemasters Warner Bros EA Sony 505 Games

Source: Ukie/GfK, Period: May 28th to July 1st

in June, mostly at the expense of the Switch, but it also benefitted from a slight decline in Xbox One’s market share too. Nintendo’s Arms only managed to make it to No.15, with sales figures way behind previous Switch titles – which was to be expected since Arms is a new IP and doesn’t have an existing fanbase to build upon, unlike Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Other new entries to June’s Top 50 included Morrowind, Bethesda’s expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online, at No.30, Ubisoft’s Star Trek: Bridge Crew at No.42, 505 Games’ Dead by Daylight at No.46, Sold Out’s Elite Dangerous at No.49 and MXGP 3 from Milestone at No.50.

Overall, many of last month’s best-selling titles were led by nostalgia, such as Crash Bandicoot, Wipeout and Micro Machines. The difficulty these publishers now face will be to build on this momentum over the months to come, as long-standing fans were likely waiting for these titles to buy them on Day One.

Tekken 7 landed at No.2 last month with 79 per cent of sales going to PS4

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rich experiences for brands that entertain creatiVe / design / digital / motion / licensing Tel: +44 (0)121 212 0121

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Web: www.fluidesign.co.uk

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endgame

This week, Square Enix livestreams three chilled out rabbits, VooFoo celebrates its tenth anniversary and IGN UK run 10K for SpecialEffect

Down the rabbit hole To celebrate the release of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Square Enix held a week-long livestream at London’s Vauxhall City Farm, where its resident bunnies posed as the game’s rabbit-like Moogle characters. Most of the time, they were just chilling out in the shade rather than posing nicely for Square Enix’s special Moogle-shaped cut-out board, but viewers were still able to decide their names for the week (above are King Moogle Mog XIII, Moglinardo De Palizio De Soleil XII and Mogbun), as well as what tasty treats they got to eat.

VooFoo turns 10 Mantis Burn Racing developer VooFoo Studios celebrated its tenth anniversary last month with a party at Birmingham’s Nuvo. Over 70 friends, colleagues and games industry partners were in attendance, and the studio capped off the evening with a Mantis Burn Racing Hot Lap challenge, which was won by VooFoo’s own Tom ‘Blonde Bombshell’ Buxton. Many happy returns, VooFoo, and here’s to another ten years.

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Brain food Brains Eden, the UK’s largest student games festival, returned to Anglia Ruskin University for its eighth edition earlier this month, giving attendees the chance to take part in a four-day game jam and get advice from leading UK developers such as Guerrilla Games, PlayStation First, Unity, ARM and Jagex in a host of workshops and career talks.

thedraft industry appointments

Photo by Matthew Power

United we stand

Unity held its annual Unite Europe conference at the end of last month, giving artists, teachers, filmmakers and researchers the chance to find out the very latest news on the company’s game engine. As well as plenty of speakers from Unity itself, representatives from Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, Facebook, Nvidia and Samsung were just some of the big names delivering in-depth talks about their experiences with the engine.

Capcom UK has promoted LAURA SKELLY (above left) to senior PR manager for UK and Europe and MATT EDWARDS (above right) to community and esports manager. Marketing director Antoine Molant said: “Laura’s promotion to senior PR manager comes off the back of her award-winning work on Resident Evil 7 and her experience of leading and managing PR campaigns for all of Capcom’s brands across UK and Europe for the past four years,” while Edwards’ new title “recognises his dedication to the esports scene.” Molant added: “Matt’s been instrumental in growing the fighting game scene for all of Capcom’s fighting game brands over the last couple of years which will expand further this year with the Capcom Pro Tour events across Europe.”

PlayStack London has hired Creative England’s former head of games ROB CROSSLEY as head of developer partnerships.

CEO Harvey Elliott said: “Rob’s experience and passion for gaming, combined with his proven track record of helping developers attain the funding they need and establishing an environment to flourish, will be invaluable to PlayStack.” Crossley added he was “absolutely delighted” to be joining PlayStack, saying “it’s the biggest moment of my career and I look forward to taking on this broad and engaging role and finding the best and brightest developers that our global industry has to offer.”

The International Game Developers Association has appointed Beamdog CEO TRENT OSTER as interim executive director following the departure of Kate Edwards, who has now stepped down from the role after five years. Oster will then return to his previous role as chair of the board of directors once a replacement is found.

Steel Media has launched a new PC games business website, PCGamesInsider.biz, which will be headed up by former MCV deputy editor ALEX CALVIN. COO Dave Bradley commented: “Steel Media is renowned for delivering expert B2B knowledge and utility, and with Alex Calvin on board we’ll be doing the same for PC as we already do for mobile and VR.”

Photo by Dan Taylor

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Uni Sans SemiBold

endgame

Who’s who?

Seth Barton Editor sbarton@nbmedia.com

Run to the right Last weekend, four members of IGN UK clad themselves in lycra for the Vitality British 10K run to raise money for SpecialEffect. So far, Joe Skrebels, Rory Powers, Daniel Krupa and Gav Murphy (pictured left to right, before and after their ordeal) have raised over £3,260 for the charity, but donations are still open if you’d like to contribute at www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/runign.

“Despite a lack of training, expertise or genetic gifts, four of the IGN UK team started the British 10K last weekend,” Joe Skrebels told MCV. “More miraculously, we all finished it too. The response we’ve had had from viewers and readers has been incredible, even if they do keep calling us slugs.

“We were a small part of a very big team – SpecialEffect corralled together over 100 runners this year, raising £20,000 by the time we crawled over the finish line. It’s a genuine honour to be a part of that and, despite myself, I cannot wait to do it again next year. A huge thanks to Mick, Tom and the rest of their team for letting us be a part of it. I highly recommend others join us in getting off our collective arses to help out. I can attest that it’s less scary than it seems from your nice chair.”

Presents

FIVE SECOND FACTS 17

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Katharine Byrne News Editor kbyrne@nbmedia.com Marie Dealessandri Staff Writer mdealessandri@nbmedia.com Sam Richwood Designer srichwood@nbmedia.com James Marinos Production Executive jmarinos@nbmedia.com Sophia Jaques Games Sales Manager sjaques@nbmedia.com Charlie Gibbon Account Manager cgibbon@nbmedia.com Caroline Hicks Events Director chicks@nbmedia.com Mark Burton Managing Director mburton@nbmedia.com

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The number of weeks it took the Nintendo Switch to hit 1m unit sales in Japan

The amount of revenue Facepunch has lost through Rust refunds on Steam

Bandai Namco has announced two new games based off Netflix anime franchises, Little Witch Academia and The Seven Deadly Sins

The number of female directors that will be on Ubisoft’s board if its new proposals are approved in September

Tomorrow, Splatoon 2 fans will be able to go hands on in the game’s first Splatfest event, a week before it officially launches

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IBC Say hello to some of our 2017 speakers Adam Simmons, VP content and marketing, DingIt.tv

Danial Wali, LightItUpDan

Lizzie Wilding, vice president – publishing, Dovetail

Benjamin Royce, senior recruiter, Ubisoft

Gavin Price, studio director, Playtonic

Lucas Liaskos, european community manager, Sony

Chris Bain, marketing director – central and eastern Europe, Xbox

James Brooksby, chief executive, Edge Case Games

Marco Cuesta, co-founder, FirstBlood

James Griffiths, narrative director, Cavalier Game Studios

Mitu Khandaker-Kokor, chief creative officer, Spirit AI

Claire Sharkey, brands and community manager, Dingit.tv

Colin McDonald, games commissioning editor, Channel 4

Daniel Da Rocha, managing director, Toxic Games

Jeremy Dalton, co-president, VR/AR Association

Jess Hider, European community manager, Unreal Engine

Nikki Lannen, founder and chief executive, Warducks

Phil Mansell, chief operating officer, Jagex

For the full speaker line-up, please visit our website: www.futuregamessummit.com Don’t miss out on our EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTexpiring 27/7/17 SPEAKING ENQUIRIES

SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES

Hannah Tovey Conference Manager E: htovey@nbmedia.com T: +44 (0)207 354 6011

Sophia Jaques Sales Manager E: sjaques@nbmedia.com T: +44 (0)207 354 6020

GENERAL ENQUIRIES eventsteamuk@nbmedia.com Charles Gibbon Sales Executive E: cgibbon@nbmedia.com T: +44 (0)203 889 4922

www.futuregamessummit.com @FutureGamesSMT #futuregamessummit

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OBC “Any good business strives to be either first, best or cheapest at what it does. Anticipating future trends is a cornerstone in all three models - I’m proud to be helping the Future Games Summit remain the most invigorating place to find that insight.”

ROB YESCOMBE, FREELANCE WRITER AND NARRATIVE DIRECTOR, ADVISORY BOARD 2017 MEMBER

“Future Games Summit will provide an essential role for all elements of an increasingly diverse market.

You can never have enough information, guidance or networking.

See you there.”

STUART DINSEY, CURVE DIGITAL, ADVISORY BOARD 2017 MEMBER

2017 Advisory Board

The 2 day event programme has been steered by our amazing Advisory Board. They have played a pivotal role in the development of the agenda for 2017, ensuring each session is relevant, topical and accurately reflects what the gaming industry needs.

Alex Smale managing director, Tribe Mix

Agostino Simonetta ID@Xbox regional lead, Xbox

Barry Meade director, Fireproof Studios

Daniel Krupa UK managing director, IGN

David Ranyard chief executive, Dream Reality Interactive

David Yarnton chairman UKIE eSports Sub-Group and director, Gfinity

Noirin Carmody chief operating officer, Revolution

Debbie Bestwick chief executive, Team 17

Paul Sulyok founder and chief executive, Green Man Gaming

Ed Valiente business development director, Nintendo

Jo Twist chief executive, UKIE

Nick Rooke director - developer relations, Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe

Rob Yescombe freelance writer and narrative director

Simon Gardner chief executive, Climax Studios

Stuart Dinsey chairman, Curve Digital

www.futuregamessummit.com @FutureGamesSMT #futuregamessummit

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10/07/2017 11:13