MCV 815 by Future PLC

THANK YOU TO ALL THE PLAYERS

Since

#20YearsOfPlay

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS “2”and “PlayStation” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Also, “

OF PLAYSTATION® ” is a trademark of the same company.

WITH THIS ISSUE

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 815 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28TH 2014

A GUIDE TO THIS Q4’S BIGGEST GAMES AND THEIR MERCHANDISE

REVEALED! The most exciting rising stars of the UK video games industry PAGE 09

PLUS MCV AWARDS RETURN ON APRIL 16TH WITH NEW CATEGORIES PAGE 4

CHEAT SHEET

THE EDITOR

MCV AWARDS RETURN

z Sixteen main awards and three new special awards z Lobbying opens next week

THE FUTURE IS LOOKING BRIGHT

always wanted to be in 30 under 30. In my days before MCV, when I was but a games tester working in leafy Cambridgeshire, that was one of my goals. If I could make the list in MCV or our sister magazine Develop, it would be a significant milestone. I am now 29. Next June, my chance to get on the list evaporates. I could cheat and put myself on the list because – whist I’m somewhat biased here – I am pretty awesome. But when this year’s nominations came in, I saw the incredibly brilliant people – some of them not even born in the 1980s – who were all vying for one of the 30 positions on this year’s list, and I realised there was no competing with this lot. While the results speak for themselves, there’s some really cool things about this year’s list you should be aware of. For starters, we had a record number of people put forward, which made our jobs particularly challenging, but were a rewarding look at who exactly is working hard in the business. Plus, there are 14 women on the final list, which is close to parity and important as it gives visibility of careers for women in the games business. And this year those that made the final 30 did not all have roles as frontline marketers, PR people and journalists, as sometimes is the case. We have a lot of the geniuses behind-the-scenes in the list, too.

November 28th 2014

We had a record number of people put forward for 30 under 30, which was a rewarding look at who exactly is working hard in the industry. In fact, beyond the 30 under 30, individual recognition in general is increasingly important in the games business, which is becoming more focused on smaller teams and smaller wins that contribute to a larger whole. That’s why last week we announced new awards for Women in Games and an accompanying Top 100 Brit List published in January. We’ve also added three brand new and important awards for individuals to next year’s MCV Awards – Store Manager of the Year, Unsung Hero, and Person of the Year. Like the work of the actual people in the games business, we hope these eﬀorts contribute to a bigger whole, championing the individuals that make games a winning formula, no matter how you want to measure it – by age, by gender, or their work on the channel. cdring@nbmedia.com

RESPONDEZ SIGNS AS FIRST EVENT PARTNER CUSTOMER service outfit Respondez has signed as the first event partner for the MCV Awards. An array of sponsorship opportunities are available to suit every kind of budget.

Contact Alex Boucher on 01992 535 646 or aboucher@nbmedia. com to find out more.

Market Data The launch of Grand Theft Auto V on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One helped the market rise hugely week-on-week £60m

£30m

£57.4m 1,486,145 units

£48.5m 1,265,418 units £36.9m 1,022,296 units

£0m

Week Ending November 10th

Week Ending November 17th

Week Ending November 24th

www.mcvuk.com

CHEAT SHEET

ON APRIL 16TH, 2015

SPONSORED BY

Halo: The Master Chief Collection drops seven places to No.10

1 UP Grand Theft Auto V returns to the top spot following its launch on PS4 and Xbox One

www.mcvuk.com

GRAND THEFT AUTO V

Far Cry 4

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

ROCKSTAR

POKEMON OMEGA RUBY + KEYRING (3DS) NINTENDO

Ubisoft

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire + Keyring (3DS)

Nintendo

Activision Blizzard

Super Smash Bros (Wii U)

Nintendo

FIFA 15

Super Smash Bros GameCube Controller (Wii U) Nintendo

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth + Cards (3DS)

Assassin’s Creed Unity

WWE 2K15

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Minecraft: PlayStation Edition

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Nintendo

Ubisoft

Wii U GameCube Controller Adapter (Wii U)

2K Games

LittleBigPlanet 3 + DLC (PS4)

Warner Bros

Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix Limited Edition (PS3) Square Enix

Sony

The Crew (PS4)

Minecraft Xbox One Edition (Xbox One)

Microsoft

NISA Sony Ubisoft Microsoft

November 28th 2014

30 UNDER 30 Sponsored by

MCV uncovers the brightest young things currently working in games retail, publishing, events, marketing, PR and journalism – the industry’s top 30 under 30

Andy Tomlinson Policy Oﬃcer, UKIE Age: 29

Christine Teare Operations Advisor, Nintendo Age: 23

Dan Kilby Commercial Projects and Marketing Manager, IGN Age: 27

www.mcvuk.com

SINCE Tomlinson joined UKIE in 2012, he’s been responsible for putting together industry responses to more than 30 consultations and reviews from the Government. These documents are massively important in inﬂuencing policy makers. He has had the diﬃcult challenge of cat-herding the opinions of a diverse sector and synthesising its thoughts into compelling consultation responses. His work on the Tax Breaks consultations, proving the need for the scheme, was invaluable in driving it through.

Ben Walke Community Manager, Codemasters Age: 29

TEARE has been with Nintendo for just over a year and has become an instrumental part of the UK operations team. Like a few on this list, her experience includes a stint at GAME as a member of one of its store teams, and she’s also worked in Nintendo Customer Support. Her colleagues says she has excelled in many projects at Nintendo and now looks after all the key retail accounts to ensure stock arrives on time. Highly regarded, she boasts ‘exceptional problem-solving skills that have proved invaluable’.

Colette Barr Account Manager, Lick PR Age: 24

KILBY oversees all integrated and content-based campaigns on the Ziff Davis brands - IGN, Askmen and Ziff Davis Tech. He runs all events, heads up creative commissioning for third parties and looks after design. Over the last year he has progressed from being someone highly capable at a specific set of tasks to someone who can take on a wide variety of responsibilities and execute them brilliantly. The firm says he’s thorough, and deals efficiently and courteously with stakeholders.

David Twells Sony Category Manager, GAME Age: 28

WALKE joined Codemasters in 2012 and has been at the heart of the studio’s community eﬀorts since. He handled GRID Autosport, a title that was born out of community feedback from GRID 2. Walke worked alongside the development team to shape the game, from its initial concept right through to release. He handles a global audience, acting as a face for fans and working alongside retailers and press. In addition to his community work, he presents his ﬁndings to the wider business.

BEGINNING on Oﬃcial Nintendo Magazine, Barr has already made a signiﬁcant impact in the world of PR. Having started as an intern, she was soon recruited full-time and her ‘passion for gaming, love of technology and vibrant personality made her a fantastic PR’. One of her clients, Gameloft, lobbied for her en masse due to her ‘great passion, knowledge and dedication’ and the fact that any campaign she works on ‘will be completed to the highest standard with no direction or oversight required’.

TWELLS manages the Sony category at GAME. He has managed the launch of PS4, achieving market-leading hardware share. He implemented various in-store projects including ‘Get Gaming Quicker’ and the new interactive PlayStation branded section. He has secured a number of exclusives, such as the white Destiny PS4 bundle. He launched the PS Vita code-to-content download oﬀer in the summer, and re-launched the PlayStation Brand Ambassador scheme across GAME store staﬀ.

November 28th 2014

30 UNDER 30

Grahame Gallacher PR Account Manager, ICO Partners Age: 29

Jennifer Johnson Junior Buyer for Gaming, Shop Direct Age: 27

Katy Ellis Account Executive, Amplify Age: 21

Kirk McKeand Freelance Journalist Age: 28

November 28th 2014

GALLACHER joined ICO Partners in 2013 as a PR account executive and within a year was promoted to PR account manager. He has worked on campaigns for a number of big name clients including Hi-Rez Studios, Born Ready Games and League of Legends creator Riot Games. His latest project is the MOBA game Smite; he has been building the game’s proﬁle across Europe and as a potential eSports product. His knowledge of eSports has made him an invaluable asset on a variety of projects.

Jack Jones Associate, Sheridans Age: 29

JOHNSON has been on the Shop Direct games team for ﬁve years and has most recently been covering the buying role. Shop Direct has more than doubled its market share over the past two years and Johnson has been a key player in making that happen. She has built a gaming zone across all Shop Direct’s sites and is also responsible for the VeryGaming Twitter account. She’s been described as a ‘true ambassador for Shop Direct and the games industry’.

Katherine Parrott Buying Assistant, Video Games, Home Retail Group Age: 22

ELLIS began her games industry career working for GAME before entering the world of media, writing reviews for a Nintendo website. Her career really kickstarted when she became social media marketing assistant for Rising Star Games. She then started writing for Nintendo Life before becoming assistant editor for Push Square. She’s currently working as account executive at Amplify. She’s so dedicated to games, she even oﬀered to work on Bandai Namco’s stand at MCM Comic Con for free.

Kim Richards Presenter, Entertainer and YouTube Personality, Yogscast Age: 29

OVER the last two years, McKeand has taught himself how to write well and then has gone and been featured on some of the most proliﬁc online gaming publications in the world – including IGN, Telegraph, Edge, Eurogamer, T3 and Videogamer. To begin with, he applied to a few fan sites, oﬀering his writing services and eventually getting a job for no pay. Two years later, he won the Games Media Award for games journalist Rising Star.

Lucy James Video Producer, GameSpot Age: 23

NUMEROUS people nominated Sheridans’ Jack Jones – including developers Mojang, Soccer Management, Kuyan and I Fight Bears. He has helped these companies protect their brands (including Minecraft) as they look to establish them in the market. He has been described as delivering invaluable commercial and legal advice, with excellent knowledge of video game law and an approachable personality. He has been a huge boost to the independent development scene in particular.

PARROTT joined Home Retail Group last year and has already established herself as a rising star at the retailer. Parrott handles all games accessories for Argos and also looks after some major publishers, namely EA, Ubisoft and Take-Two. That means she handled the launches of FIFA 15 and GTA V on PS4 and Xbox One, as well as Watch Dogs. She’s also made a large contribution to Argos’ new dedicated gaming ﬂyers, of which the High Street chain has now done three.

RICHARDS’ numbers speak for themselves. Over the last 18 months, her YouTube channel has gone from 0 to 644,591 subscribers, racking up an astonishing 59,515,808 views. Described as being hugely talented, people that have worked with Richards say that she puts in the hours and is unafraid of some hard graft. A role model to her fans and a positive inﬂuence in the industry, she’s cultivated a community of enthusiastic young gamers that shows what a great ambassador she is for the games market.

LUCY James is now a full-blown games media celebrity. Starting out as an intern at GameSpot three years ago, she went on to become a familiar face in the media, freelancing and appearing on Sky News, The Guardian, VideoGamer, GameReactor and the BBC. She was then appointed writer and presenter at games TV production company Ginx TV. She returned to GameSpot this year. One person that put her forward said: “I’m surprised she hasn’t won this award every year.”

www.mcvuk.com

30 UNDER 30 Sponsored by

Mary Antieul Strategy Planning Manager, GAME Age: 28

Mohan Gehlot Xbox Live Games Producer, Microsoft Age: 28

Neil McClarty Marketing Director on RuneScape, Jagex Age: 29

Rosie Ghezelbash Trade Marketing Executive, PlayStation Age: 25

www.mcvuk.com

ANTIEUL is a key example of someone who has developed through the GAME business. A former store manager and executive assistant to the CEO, she has worked closely with members of the senior team to deliver key business objectives and initiatives. Antieul has recently taken on the role of strategy planning manager, working on a number of projects for GAME including the continued management of the GAME App and the launch of the new feature ‘Scan It’.

Michelle Turner PR and Marketing Manager, Ripstone Age: 29

GEHLOT produces the Xbox Live dashboard for Europe. He joined Microsoft seven years ago, initially as a digital marketing manager where he implemented the ﬁrst Microsoft homepage in Silverlight outside of the US. He then worked as an online project manager for the Microsoft’s UK hardware site and Microsoft’s education website. From there he moved over to Xbox Live, where he has held several roles, including managing a team of four to implement video and music content across 17 EMEA countries.

Nadine Oehmcke Retail Manager, Dovetail Games Age: 25

MCCLARTY is a real Jagex success story, having worked his way up the chain for the past seven years. During that time, he has handled everything from billing support and digital and email marketing, right through to his current role as marketing director for the company’s ﬂagship game, RuneScape. Described as a strong team player who is enthusiastic and focused, he leads all marketing strategies and campaigns for the MMO as it enters its 14th year in existence.

Paul Webb Microsoft Retail Advisor, McCurrach Technology Age: 27

A rising star in the PlayStation UK office, Ghezelbash has established brilliant relations with major retailers since she took the role of trade marketing executive. A specialist in trade digital marketing and communications, Ghezelbash is responsible for Sony’s online presence at retail as well as PlayStation Plus activity. The subscription service in particular proved pivotal during the company’s record-breaking PS4 launch, and the significance of PlayStation’s digital business has grown significantly over the last 12 months.

Sandy Man Events Manager, PlayStation Age: 26

AT Ripstone, Turner is in charge of all internal communications, developer relations, handling agencies, PR and marketing planning, execution, event management and media liaison (so basically co-ordinates everything the company does in releasing a game). She began her career at Disney Interactive, working on major brands like High School Musical. At Ripstone, she has been partly responsible for the success of games like Stick It To The Man, Pure Pool, Pure Chess and Flyhunter Origins.

OEHMCKE has achieved an impressive amount in two years, having risen from sales operations executive to retail manager, leading the team and spearheading the company’s third-party partnerships, which have grown by 300 per cent in her time. Oehmcke has taken on the additional responsibility of setting up and managing the company’s localisation strategy on a SKU plan of 40 products annually. Dovetail’s staﬀ say the 25 yearold’s fearless ability to take on a seemingly endless list of tasks is ‘astounding’.

WEBB has worked as a retail expert for Microsoft for over ﬁve years, and represents the business across the North West of England. He speaks to specialists and supermarkets, oﬀering training and designing e-learning courses amongst other responsibilities. He helped launch Xbox One and picked up a few awards in his time, including Xbox Team Player Award in 2012 and Xbox Microsoft Retail Advisor of the Year 2013. One PC World store described him as ‘the best of our many company reps’.

MAN single-handedly manages events for PlayStation UK, which covers all the game releases, hardware launches, consumer shows, parties, the PlayStation School’s Cup and third-party support. Her most famous work over the last 12 months was the PS4 Lounge Pop-up area in Covent Garden, which held events every night for a fortnight. She also impressed during the EGX event. Her colleagues say she ‘delivers our brands on a huge scale but never forgets the ﬁne details’.

November 28th 2014

30 UNDER 30 Sponsored by

Sean Labode Product Manager, Sold Out Age: 26

Steph Parr Buying Executive, Green Man Gaming Age: 22

FORMER games media expert and video presenter Labode joined Sold Out this year as a product manager, having worked for the business as a freelance consultant. The boxed games publisher says that within his first months at the firm, he’s worked at ‘a professional level whilst absorbing all new skills in his first full time industry job.’ He has operated and run his own popular YouTube channel and is described as tenacious, enthusiastic and fast.

Shannon Taylor Online Marketing Manager, GAME Age: 26

JOINING the Green Man Gaming team just over a year ago, Parr has quickly become a valuable member of one of the busiest trading teams in the business. She was promoted from admin assistant to buying executive after just four months due to her love and knowledge of games, and cheery pro-active approach. Her relationships with publishers and developers, combined with her ability to drive a diverse range of promotions have made a signiﬁcant diﬀerence to sales, the retailer says.

Stuart Williams Commercial Financial Analyst, Nintendo Age: 26

WILLIAMS has made a big impact at Nintendo UK since he joined in March 2013. He was nominated by colleagues as the rising star of the business that year, consistently delivering the weekly company presention of sales numbers, as well as managing the demand forecast and product allocation process across all accounts. His achievements are the more impressive as he’s studying towards his CIMA professional finance qualification and is just about to sit his final exam.

Tom Senior PC Gamer Web Editor, Future Age: 29

UNDER Senior’s watch, PC Gamer page views have double since the site’s redesign. He’s played a crucial part in upgrading hardware coverage to oﬀer more reviews, features, and guides for PC gaming enthusiasts. PC Gamer’s reach has also expanded to 2.8m followers on Facebook and 0.5m on Twitter. He quietly produces top class previews, features and in-depth reviews. If that’s not impressive enough, he still ﬁnds time to write cover features for PC Gamer.

Stuart Saw Regional Director, EMEA, Twitch Age: 28

Thomas Brookes DirectSoft Admin, CentreSoft Age: 24

Tom Worthington PR Manager, Chillingo Age: 26

TAYLOR started her career at GAME working as a store assistant. After several temporary roles at head oﬃce, she joined the online marketing team as marketing assistant and over the subsequent three and a half years has progressed to online marketing manager. Described as dedicated, dependable, passionate and knowledgeable, her marketing campaigns aimed at the gaming community have been hugely successful. She was voted ‘Team Member of the Year’ this year.

TWITCH’S EMEA boss started his career as on-air talent for Sky in the UK before going on to work with Eurosport and DirecTV, among others. He owned two businesses, community website Crossﬁre and a gaming production company called QuadV. In 2009, Saw was recruited as Director of Operations for a streaming technology start-up in London. In 2012 he joined Twitch, where he has become instrumental in the growth of the live streaming ﬁrm within EMEA.

A graduate from De Montfort University, Brookes held brief roles working for InterContinental Hotels and Busy Bees before entering the games market at CentreSoft. Brookes works within DirectSoft – the firm’s direct-to-consumer offering for various etailers. He particularly works for the Shop Direct account. The firm says that Brookes’ commercial lead has made a great impact in his two years at the business. He has a phenomenal work ethic and attention to detail.

WORTHINGTON leads Chillingo’s product PR eﬀorts and has worked on more than 150 mobile games since joining in 2012. Colleagues describe him as an ambitious, fastidious and resourceful professional. He provides guidance and PR solutions to some of the world’s most talented indie mobile developers, who praise him for delivering campaigns that integrate PR, social media and community management to drive discoverability and engagement.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Matt Wallace-Merrett – Bandai Namco, Kate Gray – Future, Samuel Roberts – Future, Dan Wheeler – Future, Aoife Wilson - Freelance Journalist, Oliver Lawrence – OJS, Daniel Thurgood – Click Entertainment, Jem Alexander – Six To Start, Richard Bearpark – IGN, Simon Haley – Capcom, Rob Pearson – PlayStation Access, Joe Bell – GAME, Daniel Fowler – GAME, Abigail Papuga – GAME, Christie Wilson – GAME, Amy Ellison – Xbox, Oliver Hindle – Bossa Studios, Jenny Bramwell – UKIE, Emily Wooliscroft – Nintendo, Sarah Moﬀatt – Sony, Joe Skrebels – Freelance Journalist, Chris Brooks – Jagex, Andy Esser – Jagex, Shaun Akerman – Jagex, Sam White – Green Man Gaming, Jordan Lawrence – Green Man Gaming, Nick Marshall – Mastertronic, Eamonn Vann-Harris – Avatar, Edwin Chuah - Bandai Namco Games November 28th 2014

www.mcvuk.com

MARKETING

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK THIS WEEK: POKÉMON OMEGA RUBY AND ALPHA SAPPHIRE

[INFO] Released: November 28th Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Game Freak Distributor: Open Contact 01753 483 700

POKÉMON Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are two of Nintendo’s biggest launches for the Q4 period. The platform holder is planning a strong TV presence for the games, with over 500 TV viewer ratings delivered on kids TV for four weeks starting on November 17th. TV ads targeting families will be running for two weeks starting on the same date. In mid-October an online and social media campaign started alongside the launch of the title’s demo, and this will keep running through to the end of the year. The ﬁrm has been targeting buyers to ensure that they are aware of the games and the new 2DS transparent console bundles. In GAME, the ﬁrm has been providing special Steelbook versions of the game, as well as in-store downloads of the rare Pokémon Diancie.

November 28th 2014

IN THEIR OWN WORDS Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire are remakes of the original Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire that launched in 2003 on GameBoy Advance. Launching exclusively on 3DS, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire go beyond being a remake with a Pokémon X and Y visual upgrade. The key has been to ensure that the games felt relatively fresh to long time Pokémon fans who have already played through the GBA games numerous times and surprise them. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire really tap into nostalgic moments but, this time, fans can experience these moments again with the addition of more new things for them to discover such as new Mega Evolutions, discovering the

VANISHA KAVIA Product Manager, Nintendo UK

mystery behind Primal Reversion, more legendary Pokémon than ever before and more. For newcomers, they can discover the Hoenn region as a completely new and exciting adventure. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are remakes of beloved classics but also follow the really successful launch of Pokémon X and Y. With the old and new, the games have the great potential to re-engage those that played the originals, and for them to rediscover what they loved, but also to appeal to those new to the franchise. Pre-orders are really strong globally, outpacing those of X and Y, and so our expectations for sellthrough and driving Nintendo 3DS hardware momentum are very high for launch and beyond.

www.mcvuk.com

MARKETING

BRAND PROFILE LITTLEBIGPLANET PlayStation’s Joe Palmer on the publisher’s successful creative platformer IP IN 2008, a small British studio consisting of 27 people working from an oﬃce over a bathroom supplies company unleashed a game that was to go on to become a global phenomenon. The company was Media Molecule and the game, of course, was LittleBigPlanet, where players

The latest instalment of the series – LittleBigPlanet 3 – seamlessly continues this tradition but also lets new players access the wealth of millions of usercreated levels from the previous games, as well as being backwards compatible with existing downloadable content. This, plus the cross-compatibility of user levels for PS4 and PS3, means that LittleBigPlanet 3 truly is a game for the players. Long-time LittleBigPlanet fans will already be well-accustomed to

met on a blue and green planet and used hessian-based characters to play, create and share what they built with fellow gamers worldwide. Sackboy’s ﬁrst adventure was released to huge critical acclaim and soon became a best-selling PlayStation franchise. Since LittleBigPlanet launched, its massive online community has helped create an inspirational new world of imaginative gaming, with over nine million levels to date created by users and made available for all to play.

Stephen Fry’s melodious tones as LittleBigPlanet’s loving Narrator. In LittleBigPlanet 3, Fry is joined by his comedy collaborator, Hugh Laurie, as the voice of the world’s least skilled creator – Newton. A trio of new characters, each with their own unique skills and abilities, team up to help Sackboy on his mission. They eﬀortlessly bring the option of all-new co-op play to the series, but, as with every LittleBigPlanet, it really is players’ imagination that leads the way.

OCTOBER: THE MONTH IN REVIEW This week, GameTime looks back at the TV advertising accompanying October’s biggest games

3,500

140% % Change

3,000

2014

120%

Individual TVRs

2,000

100% 130%

80%

112%

1,500 1,000

93%

-500

60%

52%

500 0

60% 40%

89%

35%

35% 11%

-5% Jan

Feb

OCTOBER is the biggest month so far this year for games and consoles advertising, in terms of individual TV viewer ratings (TVRs) accrued. In total, 2,935 individual TVRs were recorded across the month, eclipsing October 2013’s total by more than 10 per cent.

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Elsewhere, Nintendo upped the ante with heavy support for Super Smash Bros. This campaign accrued 318 individual TVRs across October, falling narrowly behind Sunset Overdrive. Interestingly, there were fewer brands on air this October than there

The biggest TV campaign of the month was for Microsoft’s system exclusive Sunset Overdrive, which achieved over 332 individual TVRs and an 11 per cent share of the market. Across October, over 70 per cent of UK individuals saw the commercial at least once.

Sep

Oct

20% 0% -20%

were last year (32 vs 40). However, those choosing to invest in TV were backing the medium more heavily. 2014 is proving to be a healthy year for games and consoles TV advertising, with the market up by over 51 per cent year-on-year in terms of individual TVRs accrued.

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

www.mcvuk.com

November 28th 2014

% Change Year-on-Year

2,500

COMING TO MC JANUARY

THE TOP 100 WOMEN SHAPING, GROWING AND LEADING THE UK GAMES BUSINESS z Recognising the most inﬂuential female games execs in the UK

z Published January 30th, 2015 z Following on from 2013’s Top 100 Women in Games – one of MCV’s most popular web articles of all time*

z Covering development, retail, education, technology, publishing, media, services, support and more

z Lobbying and suggestions should be sent to WomenInGames@nbmedia.com (deadline December 16th)

z Voted for and selected by a panel of leading peers and games industry professionals * MCVuk.com unique visitors, March 2013: 294,889

FOR SPONSORSHIP / SALES ENQUIRIES CALL ALEX BOUCHER

CV NEXT YEAR FEBRUARY

z Honouring our Top 100 and proďŹ ling three key individuals

z Ceremony takes place midFebruary in central London

z Networking afternoon and awards event

z Awards for Creative Inspiration, Campaigner and Pioneer

z Voted for by the Top 100 and a panel of leading peers and professionals

z Top 100 in attendance with tickets for a further 100 guests on sale in December

z Sponsorship opportunities guarantee you exposure and involvement in this important campaign throughout December, January and February

ON 01992 535 647 OR EMAIL ABOUCHER@NBMEDIA.COM

MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

GREEN MAN GAMING MARKETING BOSS DEPARTS Cairns leaves the online retailer O Future makes hire to Board O Spencer moves to Rodeo Games GREEN MAN GAMING | EVP of marketing DARREN CAIRNS is leaving the retailer. Cairns departs after two and a half years at Green Man Gaming. He joined in May 2012, first as a consultant, before becoming EVP of marketing. Previously, Cairns held marketing roles at PlayStation, Yahoo, Three and BT. “Darren’s expertise helped Green Man Gaming’s growth during his time with us and he leaves an impressive legacy.” said Green Man Gaming CEO PAUL SULYOK. “It has been a pleasure to work with Darren and the whole team wish him great success in the future.”

Prior to his time at InSkin, he was CEO at behavioural targeting specialist Phorm for two years, and before that he spent two years as European MD for Advertising.com. He also worked at The Telegraph Group for ten years as Group managing director. “I am pleased to welcome Hugo Drayton to the Board. He brings with him a wealth of digital and media experience,” said PETER ALLEN, Future’s non-executive chairman.

Cairns added: “I’ve been part of something special at Green Man Gaming and it feels like the right time to use all of my collective experience on my next challenge. I wish Paul and the team the best of luck and will be supporting them all the way. I’d like to be remembered for my strategic insight, humour and immense baldness.” FUTURE | The media giant has announced the hire of media veteran HUGO DRAYTON as a non-executive director. This will take effect on December 1st 2014. Drayton is the CEO of advertising tech firm InSkin Media.

RODEO GAMES | QA tester MATTHEW SPENCER has joined the developer.

Spencer, formerly senior QA lead at Testology, has moved to Rodeo to be its QA lead, and will also be working on community management. “We’re now at the stage where we need an in-house tester. It means that we can focus on content and polish rather than finding issues,” said Rodeo creative director BOB MURCH. “We also wanted someone who could talk directly to fans and run the community side of Rodeo. We’ve always tried our best, but always end up not being able to give it enough time and attention. Over the next few months, Matthew will be there to answer fan questions and help develop that area of our business.”

AROUND THE INDUSTRY MAJESCO | The games publisher has admitted that it is struggling to stay afloat, and has warned that recent losses have resulted in doubts about the sustainability of the firm. An SEC filing shows that the company laid off staff in its development, testing, marketing and support roles on October 31st. In addition, it isn’t developing any new games for release in fiscal year 2015. NORDEUS | The developer behind free-to-play football management sim Top Eleven has opened an office in London. Nordeus’ UK studio will employ 15 to 20 people, who will be developing new games for the company. It is to be headed up by former Facebook mobile games platform partnerships exec Aman Ghei.

November 28th 2014

BIG FISH GAMES | The social games giant has been purchased by Kentucky-based gambling company Churchill Downs. The horse racing and casino firm purchased Big Fish for $485m, and the acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year. “We are extremely proud of the company we have built over the last twelve years. Churchill Downs is a company with a commitment to interactive entertainment and a track record of growth and performance,” said Big Fish CEO Paul Thelen. “We believe Big Fish is now positioned to become an ever greater force in the casual, mid-core and social casino mobile and online games industry. Churchill Downs is a great cultural fit for us and we are thrilled to be joining the Churchill Downs family.”

www.mcvuk.com

EDITORIAL CONTACTS

EDITORIAL CONTACTS WE ARE PLAYING... I delved back into Pokémon with Alpha Sapphire. Still the same game they’ve been releasing every year, and therefore it’s brilliant. Christopher Dring, Editor

I’ve been score chasing like a madman this week with Resogun, Pix the Cat and OlliOlli. My hands have turned into claws. Alex Calvin, Staﬀ Writer

cdring@nbmedia.com

acalvin@nbmedia.com

It’s been a bit of a Ubisoft fest, with the actually pretty decent AC Unity and the deﬁnitely very decent Far Cry 4. Ben Parﬁtt, Associate Editor

Having massacred half of France in AC Unity, I took a trip back to Super Mario World. Simple pleasures. Matt Jarvis, Staﬀ Writer

bparﬁtt@nbmedia.com

mjarvis@nbmedia.com

Publisher: Michael French mfrench@nbmedia.com

Head of Operations: Stuart Moody smoody@nbmedia.com

Group Sales Manager: Alex Boucher aboucher@nbmedia.com

Circulation: Lianne Davey ldavey@nbmedia.com

Account Manager: Conor Tallon ctallon@nbmedia.com

Finance Manager: Michael Canham mcanham@nbmedia.com

Production Manager: Alice Sanz asanz@nbmedia.com

Head of Design and Production: Kelly Sambridge ksambridge@nbmedia.com

Designer: Sam Richwood srichwood@nbmedia.com

OUR POPULAR QUIZ NIGHT IS BACK FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON ON DECEMBER 2ND

???

SUPER SIZED quiz event for the festive season

30 teams from publishing, retail, games development, media and more competing

Costs £249 for a team of ﬁve, includes food and drink all night

Venue is Minster Exchange, London. Near Tower Hill and Monument tube stations

CALL ALEX BOUCHER ON 01992 535 647 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR EMAIL ABOUCHER@NBMEDIA.COM

Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England SG14 1JA Newbay Media specialises in tradededicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets. As well as MCV, Newbay publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Music Week, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two onlineonly brands: Mobile Entertainment, dedicated to the growing mass market smartphone sector, and Licensing.biz, for everyone in the global licensing industry. It also runs a number of events including the MCV Industry Excellence Awards, the London Games Conference and the Games Media Awards.

US Correspondent Erik Johnson ejohnson@nbmedia.com

Special Projects: Lisa Carter lcarter@nbmedia.com

30 Quiz will test your games brain and general knowledge

© Newbay Media 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The contents of MCV are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems.

Please address all enquiries to: Newbay Media, MCV, Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, SG14 1JA. Printed By: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood, NP12 2YA

MCV has an exclusive media partnership with Famitsu – Japan’s leading video games analyst and news source

MCV is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association. For the 12 months ending December 2009, MCV had an average weekly net circulation of 8,045. MCV’s circulation is 100 per cent named and zero per cent duplicated.

THE RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD MCV takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues in the industry. The current members are...

Charlotte Knight GAME

Steve Moore Simply Games

Jon Hayes Tesco

Ketu Patel Amazon

Sarah Jasper The Hut

Phil Moore Grainger Games

David Firth Shop Direct

Don McCabe CHIPS

Gurdeep Hunjan Sainsbury’s

Steve Thomas Xbite

Simon Urquhart Microsoft

Robert Lindsay Games Centre

Igor Cipolletta ShopTo

Dermot Stapleton Get Games

Niall Lawlor GameStop

Phil Browes HMV

Stephen Staley Robert Hennessy Gameseek John Lewis

Paul Sulyok Green Man

James Cooke Argos

Craig Watson Dixons Retail

Editorial: 01992 515303 | Advertising: 01992 535647 | Fax: 01992 535648 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS United Kingdom £150 l Europe £175 l Rest of the World £250 To order your subscription via Visa, Mastercard, Switch or AMEX or to make changes to your subscription details, contact mcv.subscriptions@c-cms.com or call 01580 883848.

www.mcvuk.com

November 28th 2014

DATA ANALYSIS Source Games and Charts compiled by GfK Chart-Track

DATA & RESEARCH Last week GTA V launched for PS4 and Xbox One, and tops the charts once again IT shouldn’t come as a surprise that Grand Theft Auto V shot straight to the top of the charts when it launched on PS4 and Xbox One. The title already holds the all-time record for revenue generated by a game in the UK, but now it is the biggest-selling game in UK history. And it managed this feat – deposing record-holder Call of Duty: Black Ops – with its PS4 and Xbox One launch day sales alone. Meanwhile in second place, Far Cry 4 had the biggest launch for the series to date. It also tops the Steam charts. The Far Cry IP started out as a PC-exclusive in 2004, so it’s unsurprising that the game has a strong

PC following. The series franchise pack – last week’s No.2 – remains in the Steam charts in ﬁfth place. Back in the All Formats Top 40, Advanced Warfare sales for the week fell by 41 per cent, with the title dropping to third place. And this week both WWE 2K15 and Middleearth: Shadow of Mordor rose back up the chart due to the release of new SKUs. 2K’s wrestling title jumped 13 places to No.7 after being released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, while WARNER BROS’ Lord of the Rings tie-in goes from 23rd place to 11th following a launch on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

TOP 10 STEAM CHARTS

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 10 05 07 02 01 03 04 RE RE

FAR CRY 4 PUBLISHER: UBISOFT DEVELOPER: UBISOFT MONTREAL

TITLE PUBLISHER This War of Mine 11 Bit Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Activision Blizzard Counter-Strike: Global Oﬀensive Valve Far Cry Franchise Pack Ubisoft Football Manager 2015 Sega Assassin’s Creed Unity Ubisoft The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Nicilis DayZ Bohemia Interactive Rise of Nations: Extended Edition Microsoft

TOP 40 UK RETAIL 01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

LW NEW 01 04 NEW 02 20 05 07 03 23 14 10 11 12 16 19 16 08 17 22 21 18 27 28 24 25 14 30 33 31 38 37 29 34 15 RE 36 RE RE

GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR FORMATS: PS4, XO, PS3, 360 DEVELOPER: ROCKSTAR NORTH TITLE FAR CRY 4 CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE FIFA 15 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION ASSASSIN’S CREED UNITY WWE 2K15 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION DESTINY SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM DISNEY INFINITY MARVEL SUPER HEROES THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEOGAME TOMODACHI LIFE ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2015 FORZA HORIZON 2 LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES THE EVIL WITHIN SUNSET OVERDRIVE JUST DANCE 2015 FROZEN: OLAF’S QUEST THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEOGAME SUPER SMASH BROS FOOTBALL MANAGER 2015 MARIO KART 8 PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE THE SIMS 4 TERRARIA DRIVECLUB WATCH DOGS CALL OF DUTY; GHOSTS ALIEN ISOLATION NEW SUPER MARIO BROS 2 DISNEY INFINITY NBA 2K15 MARIO KART 7

Week ending November 22nd

November 28th 2014

FORMAT PUBLISHER PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360 2K Games PS4, XO, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, PS3, Vita Sony XO Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Warner Bros 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros 3DS Nintendo PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Konami XO, 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda XO Microsoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Ubisoft 3DS, DS GSP/Avanquest PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros 3DS Nintendo PC Sega Wii U Nintendo PS4, XO, PS3, 360 EA PC EA PS3, 360, PC 505 Games/Merge PS4 Sony PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS4. XO, PS3, 360, PC Sega 3DS Nintendo Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Disney PS4, XO, PS3, 360 2K Games 3DS Nintendo

Week ending November 22nd

www.mcvuk.com

DATA ANALYSIS Source

TOP 10 IPAD PAID CHARTS

TOP 20 INDIVIDUAL FORMAT

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

MINECRAFT – POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

TITLE Five Nights at Freddy’s The Chase Toca Nature Tipping Point Flightradar24 – Flight Tracker Monument Valley Terraria Photon Flash Player Football Manager Handheld 2014

DEVELOPER Scott Cawthon Barnstorm Toca Boca AB Barnstorm Games Flightradar24 AB Ustwo 505 Game Appsverse Sega

GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR FORMAT: PS4

Week ending: November 16th

DEVELOPER: ROCKSTAR NORTH

TW 02 03 04 05

LW NEW NEW NEW NEW

TITLE GRAND THEFT AUTO V FAR CRY 4 FAR CRY 4 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION

FORMAT XO PS4 XO PS4

06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

02 05 03 04 06 10 08 NEW NEW 01 NEW 12 07 NEW 14 13 19 NEW 24 09 21 NEW 28 20 NEW

ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE FIFA 15 FIFA 15 WWE 2K15 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION FAR CRY 4 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE WWE 2K15 FIFA 15 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM FIFA 15 FAR CRY 4 TOMODACHI LIFE ASSASSIN’S CREED: ROGUE MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION DISNEY INFINITY 2.0 DESTINY MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR

PS4 XO XO PS4 360 XO 360 PS4 XO XO 360 360 PS3 XO PS4 360 PS3 PS3 3DS 360 3DS 360 360 PS4 360

PUBLISHER Rockstar Ubisoft Ubisoft EA

Ubisoft Activision Blizzard Ubisoft Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard EA EA 2K Games EA Microsoft Ubisoft Microsoft Activision Blizzard 2K Games EA Warner Bros EA Ubisoft Nintendo Ubisoft Sony EA Disney Activision Blizzard Warner Bros

TOP 10 IPHONE PAID CHARTS

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

MINECRAFT – POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

TITLE The Chase Heads Up! The Oﬃcial DVSA Theory Test Five Nights at Freddy’s Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock Afterlight Angry Birds Monument Valley Tipping Point

DEVELOPER Barnstorm Warner Bros TSO Scott Cawthon Northcube AB Afterlight Collective Rovio Ustwo Barnstorm

Week ending: November 16th

TOP 10 GOOGLE PLAY CHARTS

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

MINECRAFT – POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

TITLE Football Manger 2015 Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 The Chase Five Nights at Freddy’s Worms 3 Theory Test UK 2014 Tipping Point AllCast Premium Plex for Android

PUBLISHER Sega Scott Cawthon Barnstorm Games Scott Cawthon Team 17 Focus Multimedia Barnstorm Games Clockwork Mod Plex

Correct as of November 24th

Week ending November 22nd

PRESENTS

5 SECOND FACTS

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

40%

1/4

Future’s share price shot up 40 per cent in the wake of the publisher’s full year ﬁnancial results

SCEA CEO Shawn Layden has suggested that PS4 has sold around double the number of Xbox One consoles worldwide

According to video game analytics ﬁrm EEDAR, only 25 per cent of Early Access games ever receive a full Steam release

Adventure game studio Double Fine has laid oﬀ 12 people after losing a publishing deal for an unannounced project

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

www.pdp.com www.mcvuk.com

November 28th 2014

LGC REVIEW

WHAT WE DISCOVERED AT LONDON GAMES CONFERENCE 2014 Facebook, Google, Yogscast and more delivered sage advice and astonishing statistics on the rapidly changing world of video game marketing and discovery at this year’s LGC. Christopher Dring takes a look at the best talks

BUZZFEED’S THREE TOP ‘COMMANDMENTS OF BEING INTERESTING’ BUZZFEED delivered its advice on how marketers can succeed in a social world. The website’s associate creative director Philip Byrne revealed the firm’s ‘commandments of being interesting’ on Buzzfeed, which he says is on course to become the world’s biggest news and entertainment website. He told attendees that 75 per cent of Buzzfeed’s traffic comes from social media. Facebook is becoming a bigger source for news and entertainment than Google, he said. Here are Byrne’s top three commandments:

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU When promoting brands on Buzzfeed or on similar sites,

there has to be a balance between the branded message you want to deliver and delivering something interesting.

YOU MAY NOT BE THE EXPERT Sometimes brands don’t know how to speak to their own audience. So find people or speak to people that do know. Don’t be afraid to use other people’s content.

Facebook’s Rick Kelley said that game ads are not up to scratch on the networking site

THE VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY IS DOING ADVERTISING ON FACEBOOK WRONG

DON’T GIVE A BOWLING BALL Do you remember when Homer gave Marge a bowling ball inscribed with his own name for her birthday in The Simpsons? It wasn’t for her, it was for him. Don’t stick your brand on something your audience doesn’t want.

VIDEO game advertisements on Facebook are less popular than dating ads, the social network revealed at LGC. In fact, game ads are the worst-performing on Facebook across all categories based on user feedback. Facebook’s global director of sales for games, Rick Kelley, told attendees that there are a number of things publishers can do better without the need to spend more. These include:

PRECISE TARGETING Facebook wants publishers to upload their own internal data, so that it can create a custom audience to target ads at. Facebook can combine that with their data to create a lookalike audience.

Philip Byrne of Buzzfeed revealed how to capture clicks and shares

November 28th 2014

RELEVANT CREATIVE FOR THE AUDIENCE EA created a specific video just for Facebook to raise awareness of the launch of Madden. The publisher then released a personalised follow-up video the next day to anyone that watched that first video. Then they did a third ‘call to action’ ad, with a pre-order link.

LEVERAGE YOUR BRAND To get more attention to your title, Kelley suggests taking a page out of the book of Supercell and King, which both brand their games with a watermark. The sales boss advises publishers leverage those past hits to generate interest in their new game.

www.mcvuk.com

LGC REVIEW

ONLINE GAMES MEDIA IS UNDER THREAT THE number of gaming websites will continue to dwindle, predicts IGN owner Ziff Davis. The firm’s international boss Geoff Inns told attendees that the demands on online media are becoming expensive, and require media owners to have deep pockets and a global reach. Inns said that there are two primary demands from advertisers on online media firms. They either need programmatic advertising, which is automated and targets specific users, requiring technology and

SIX THINGS EGX HAS TAUGHT US 3,300 attendees of video games consumer show EGX filled in a survey after the event. Gamer Network boss Rupert Loman revealed what was discovered from the survey. Including:

VR COULD BE HUGE 41.1 per cent of EGX owners said they want an Oculus Rift. The majority of these were male.

PS4 IS STILL DOMINANT 39 per cent of EGX visitors said PS4 was the piece of hardware that they plan to buy in the next 12 months, versus 24.1 per cent for Xbox One and 16.1 per cent for Wii U.

PRICE IS KEY Price is the most important factor prompting gamers to

pick between a PS4 or Xbox One, with the runner-up being exclusive games.

ANY DEVELOPER THAT IS NOT SPENDING 10% OF THEIR REVENUE ON ADVERTISING IS A FOOL

THE DRM DEBATE IS IN DECLINE Just one in five visitors said DRM policies matter to them.

POPULAR games analyst Nick Parker warned against publishers and developers spending less on advertising games. In a talk that revealed incredible statistics about how money is being spent on games ads (including the fact King is the world’s biggest-spending games firm for TV advertising in the US and UK), Parker showed that the big games companies, including EA, Ubisoft and Activision, are spending a

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT DOESN’T MATTER The least important factor for choosing between consoles was multimedia services and exclusive content for multiplayer games.

HOT TIPS FOR 2014 AND BEYOND Based on that feedback, the following titles will probably see critical and commercial success: Evolve, Elite: Dangerous, the Halo Collection, Super Smash Bros Wii U and Mortal Kombat X.

smaller share of their revenue on above-the-line marketing. “This is a worrying sign,” he said. “Anyone that is developing a game that doesn’t have an advertising budget of at least 10 per cent is a fool.” “It’s a crowded world. You have to do something to get your head above the noise and you have to invest in marketing.” He highlighted ads within mobile games as an effective way of reaching gamers.

UK GAMERS ARE FAR MORE SOCIAL THAN THOSE IN THE US GAMES media firm Curse revealed some major differences between the American and British games markets. Sales boss Nathan Lindberg said that FUTHead, a site dedicated to FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode, received more page views in September than all other video game websites combined. That’s in stark contrast to the firm’s equivalent Madden website. Using Comscore and internal data, Lindberg said that in the

Same language, diﬀerent meanings; Curse’s Nathan Lindberg revealed the UK/US divide

www.mcvuk.com

technical staff. Or they are faced with demand for integrated campaigns that include bespoke, creative content, created by editorial teams. “This is expensive. You need to hire people to do this,” said Inns. “On the integrated side, no-one is over-staffed editorially. All of this takes investment. You have to have deep pockets to do this. But what if you don’t? “I think we will see more games media businesses drop out over the next two to three years.”

US it’s all about paid media, while in the UK it’s about social. US gamers are most likely to hear about a game via advertising, while in the UK they are more likely to discover it via friends. “For TV and video consumption, nobody beats America, but actually Curse’s UK audience consumes more video than the US,” he added. 45 per cent in the UK learn about community sites via friends – in the US that’s just 18 per cent.

November 28th 2014

LGC REVIEW

YOUTUBE SUPERSTARS ARE NOT GAMES JOURNALISTS YOGSCAST says comparing it to the games media is a ‘category error’. Rich Keith, GM of the hit video network, said Yogscast and other video stars - such as PewDiePie - are not the games media; they are far more powerful than that and doing a different job. Keith revealed that 42 per cent of 8 to 16-year-olds view YouTube as the future of TV, and that 23 per cent of young people don’t watch TV at all. 39 per cent say they use YouTube to search for games. This is born out by their own audience as well. Nearly 23 per cent don’t watch TV at all. “Some seem to think we’ve gone from print, to digital to video... but actually that’s not what is happening,” he said. “This is not the evolution of

media. Don’t confuse video with games media. “Games media is about journalism. It is about talking about games and evaluating them. It’s about telling them whether to buy them or not based on their quality. “What Yogscast and people on YouTube are doing is entertainment. It is not journalism. That’s why what people are doing on YouTube is so powerful.” He said the main reason Yogscast viewers watch the show is because they want to laugh and see people and personalities. “When you are looking for news and reviews, you are researching information. When you are on YouTube, you are after something different.” He added that YouTube and Twitch are far more significant than traditional media: “They have an emotional connection.”

Rupert Whitehead of Google gave out tips on getting your mobile game noticed

HOW TO GET DISCOVERED ON GOOGLE PLAY GOOGLE’S developer relations expert Rupert Whitehead gave some advice on how mobile devs can improve the discoverability and install rate of their game. While many of these tips were given in relation to the Google Play store, they could be used on other mobile platforms. Firstly, Whitehead encouraged devs to put more effort into their store listings. Users “want to make a snap decision”, he said, and everything on that page should help them do so. He also said to think carefully about what keywords to use. He said Google Play’s search takes into account installs, uninstalls, install retention and engagement (how often people play). If you’ve made a game that performs well against these criteria, it will feature highly. Videos on your landing page will show how the game looks and works, helping gamers instantly understand whether or not your title is right for them. “If you haven’t spent time on good graphics for your landing page, they’ll reason you’ve probably not spent time making a good game,” said Whitehead. He also encouraged studios to use the official Google Play

Yogscast GM Rich Keith revealed the transition of kids from TV to Youtube

badge on the game and on websites and ads. This looks more professional and Google research suggests users are 47 per cent more likely to trust and download the game if using this official label. User reviews have a big impact on whether others will purchase or download your game. Five star-rated games get four times more downloads than four star games. Rather than ignoring negative reviews, engage; ask what the problem was, detail upcoming features and fixes. Some users will change their review. Whitehead also encouraged devs to work with opinion leaders to help promote the game, providing you ensure they are relevant and of value and interest to your target audience. However, you need to think about how your approach them: present them with a story, or involve them in your Alpha and Beta tests. Finally, devs were advised to think globally when releasing their game. This means more than simply localising the text on their landing page, but also redesigning the artwork, altering the price and maybe even changing the business model.

PARTNERS Event Partner

November 28th 2014

Event Partner

Live Streaming

www.mcvuk.com

INTERVIEW WIRED PRODUCTIONS Sponsored by

ON THE WIRE Wired Productions has tired of living in the shadows producing games for other companies, and is now publishing its own titles. Alex Calvin investigates

atford-based Wired Productions is a company you probably haven’t heard of. For four out of its six years the company acted as a ghost publisher for the likes of Nordic Games, handling the packaging, marketing assets, videos and websites for over thirty of its titles, including music IP We Sing for the Wii. In the last two years it has been working on karaoke games based on The Voice TV show. And recently the firm also decided to strike out on its own and publish its own games. Last year it released Let’s Fish! Hooked On, and this month launched Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops for PlayStation platforms. “We know that we have the skillset, we know that we have the resource, we know that we have the ability, so why wouldn’t we want to step out and do it ourselves to some extent,” says marketing boss Adam McGowan. “We have a very good grounding, and we believe we’re pretty good at what we do. We just want to take the opportunity to start publishing our own content, but also look at those smaller indie developers, get their products out into the market, get their products well known and push them out front and centre. That’s also one of the things that we’re hoping to achieve.” It might have its background in the casual Wii market, but now Wired is targeting the hardcore indie audience. “The indie boom started at a good time for us,” says McGowan. “We have a full publishing mentality, and now we are applying that to indie games, which is needed. Small devs need small agile publishers. With the right

November 28th 2014

Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops is the second game Wired has published itself

teams it can be a natural fit that suits our style.”

The indie boom started at a good time for us. We are applying our publishing mentality to indie games.

MARKETING THE SMALL GUYS Of course, like many involved in the indie scene, Wired has to work extra hard to get their games out there. And working with bigger partners to raise awareness of Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops was key, especially as it launched in the middle of November – the busiest time of year for the games market. “There are a lot of triple-A blockbusters coming out at the moment, which soak up the headlines and grab most of the attention,” McGowan explains. “You have to be a bit more targeted about what you do. Building a groundswell with a core demographic of gamers. Tiny Troopers is a twin stick arcade shooter, so it’s a priority that we go after fans of that genre and that we’re able to communicate our message and deliver a clear call to action to that target demographic.

Adam McGowan, Wired Productions

“From there it’s a case of extrapolating it out to the wider gaming community, but making sure you’re not trying to compete with the big triple-A blockbuster titles because you’re not able to get that kind of cut through.” And PlayStation has helped the team out a lot with promoting the title. “Sony is very good at supporting you where required,” McGowan says. “With the Vita again being pushed towards to the indie scene, Sony is doing a lot to help drive that. And aside from first party, there are certain publications and websites that have sprung up to help write about Vita games, giving those products that don’t get much attention some much-needed coverage.” He concludes: “It’s a case of working with these guys, finding the right partners that are able to help deliver the right message to the right audience.”

www.mcvuk.com

OUT

20 FEBRUARY 2015 TH

for more information visit

U K . P L AYS TAT I O N. C O M / T H E O R D E R

“2” and “PlayStation” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “ ” is a trademark of the same company. LittleBigPlanet™ 3 ©2014 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Developed by Sumo Digital. “LittleBigPlanet”, “LittleBigPlanet logo”, “Sackboy” and “Sackgirl” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. All rights reserved.

GAME FUNDING GUIDE

FINDING FUNDING There have never been so many ways to get cash to fund your games. MCV speaks to firms involved in publishing, crowdfunding and venture capital to get tips on how to secure funding THERE have never been more ways to get your games funded. And in this mini-guide, we have spoken to industry experts to discuss how to successfully appeal to publishers, venture capitalist firms and even gamers via crowd funding. But even knowing what funding method to pursue can be a daunting task. What is best suited to your business and product? Here, with the help of UKIE, we have compiled six ways that you can raise money to make the next Minecraft.

Angels are generally looking for a ten-fold return on their investment, and want an exit from the business within five to eight years. You can find out more at www. ukbusinessangelsassociation.org.uk

PUBLISHERS They might seem a bit old school, but publishers are still a major source of funding. They are great at managing risk in development, and can provide invaluable advice for the studios. Contact sam.collins@ukie.org.uk if you wish to talk to a publisher. On page 33 Team 17 boss Deborah Bestwick explains what a publisher has to offer to developers.

CROWDFUNDING This is being used more and more thanks to the internet making it easier to reach a large audience. Sites such as Kickstarter are an excellent means of testing out desire for your game and can serve as a way to promote your project. There are two main types of crowdfunding – ‘all or nothing’ or ‘keep it all’. The former has studios set up a financial target and time limit. If the project doesn’t reach its target, funding is returned. The latter allows studios to keep donations even if it hasn’t reached its goal. On page 32 we speak to developer Day For Night about what it learnt from trying to crowdfund its new game The Black Glove.

BUSINESS ANGELS These are private individuals who wish to invest in small businesses and generally work with start-ups. UKIE estimates that £850m is invested annually by business angels – 2.5 times more than venture captiral firms invest in early stage businesses. Angel investment is high-risk – 40 to 50 per cent of companies do not return on the investment.

www.mcvuk.com

around £2m, though smaller firms will put forward at least £50,000, according to UKIE. In return for this investment, venture capitalists ger significant control over company decisions. On page 33 Paul Jenkinson of venture capital firm Jenson Solution shares his insight. You can find out more at the British Venture Capitalist Association website www.bvca.co.uk.

From crowdfunding to publishers, there have never been more ways to get money to make your games.

VENTURE CAPITAL AND PRIVATE EQUITY These are firms that invest in companies and products in return for a stake in the growth of the business. This provides financial stability in order to give developers breathing room and space to plan strategically. Venture capitalists and private equity firms will generally invest

VENTURE CAPITAL TRUSTS SCHEME Similar in many ways to private equity firms, the venture capital trusts scheme is a government initiative designed to encourage individuals to indirectly give money to a number of small high-risk companies. Investors are incentivised to put money forward through income tax and capital gains tax reliefs. You can find out more at www.hmrc.gov.uk/guidance/vct.htm

REGIONAL GROWTH FUND This is a £3.2bn pot of money available in England from 2011 to 2017 administered by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. In 2011, Eutechnyx was awarded £1.8m. You can find out more at www.gov.uk/understanding-theregional-growth-fund

November 28th 2014

GAME FUNDING GUIDE

LIFE AFTER KICKSTARTER Members of the team who made BioShock turned to Kickstarter to fund their title The Black Globe, but it failed by a huge margin. Alex Calvin finds out what the studio has learnt

uch has been written about Kickstarter and how it allows creators to fund their dreams with the help of a generous and engaged community. And it has been successful in the past. Virtual reality firm Oculus started out on Kickstarter. And Chris Robert’s raised $6.3m for sci-fi sim Star Citizien on the site. But recently there’s been some high profile failures, too. In June a game launched on Kickstarter called The Black Glove. It was being developed by Day For Night Games, a studio staffed by alumni from BioShock-maker Irrational Games. And the team had lofty goals. It hoped to raise $550,000 between June and the start of November. But when the deadline struck, the team had failed to meet its target. In fact, it didn’t even raise half. It managed just $216,517. FAILURE TO LAUNCH The Black Glove had the makings of a successful Kickstarter. There was a good-looking product made by professionals with a track record of creating high quality games. It was backed by major industry figures. So what stopped it meeting its goal? “We didn’t adequately convey the mood and gameplay at first and many of our lower reward tiers initially lacked punch,” Day for Night Games creative director Joe Fielder tells MCV. “Our backers noted how we worked hard to address those issues, but it was tough to regain those we didn’t hook at first. The press seems less interested now in covering projects that are on the ropes and fighting to get back, which makes it difficult to get the word out and rally support the way that previous games have managed.

November 28th 2014

with fans is fantastic. It’s an incredible amount of work and it can be exhausting to keep up.”

The Black Glove only raised $216,517 of its $550,000 goal

“We also consciously avoided easily-digestible statements like ‘BioShock-meets-Twin Peaks’, probably to our detriment.” But even though it didn’t meet its target, creative director Fielder says that he has no regrets about turning to Kickstarter. “We saw Kickstarter as the best option for raising the funds necessary to independently develop and publish an uncompromisingly original game,” he tells MCV. “Crowd-funding is still a viable option to indies. It’s clearly become difficult to raise as much money as you once could in the past, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for smaller scale games or those that have raised part of their budget through other means.” But all the same, the experience taught the company a great deal about how to get games funded over Kickstarter. “You learn a lot very quickly about what’s important to your potential backers. The interaction

We came out of the Kickstarter campaign with a dedicated following. I’d chalk that up as a win. Joe Fielder, Day For Night Games

TIPS, PLEASE So, what tips has Fielder got for those attempting Kickstarter campaigns in the game space? “Go into it only after you’ve done a tonne of research and planning, but be prepared to adapt to the feedback that comes in. You quickly see what’s working and what isn’t, from your completion and conversion rates from video to the popularity of and reaction to your reward tiers,” he says. “The official reward tier text becomes locked once someone backs a tier, even to additions, so make sure the language allows for changes and updates referenced in the main body of your page.” He adds: “Make sure that the reward tiers that are the next few steps above your software tier are extremely enticing. Having hundreds or thousands of backers up their amount by half again or double can help enormously.” The project might not have worked on Kickstarter, but using the platform worked as promotion for the game, and helped attract some publishers, too. “We came out of this with a large and dedicated following. It appears to have opened up a number of options for us. I chalk those up as wins,” Fielder says. “Every publisher we’ve spoken with so far has reached out to us, which has been great. Some expressed interest early, whether or not our Kickstarter was successful. “Publishers are one option available to developers. They’re no longer the sole option, but I wouldn’t rush to say they’re no longer necessary.”

www.mcvuk.com

GAME FUNDING GUIDE

THE ROAD WELL TRAVELLED The tried and tested publisher route-to-market comes with a host of benefits, but it’s tough to win over these businesses. Team 17’s Debbie Bestwick talks publishing with Alex Calvin

f all the ways developers can get their games funded, the publisher route is one of the more well trodden paths. “Publishers like Team 17 actually fund games,” the company’s MD Deborah Bestwick says. “That is pretty unique right now as there’s not a lot of funding available. Kickstarter has had issues this year with the number of games that have hit target, Steam Early Access is not for all games. Basically, we fund products, we’re here to help studios get over the finish line.”

And with that developer funding comes a plethora of other services. “We also fund the back end, things developers don’t really think about like age ratings, QA and localisation, marketing, that final push,” Bestwick says. “Our offering changes from studio to studio – there is no one fits all solution. Some we’ll fund from start to finish, some we’ll give the back end funding. What each studio requires is very different. We can also help developers with our own development resources.” But like most publishers, Team 17 sees a huge number of

Publishers can oﬀer more than just cash funding, says Team 17 boss Bestwick

games and only has a finite pot of gold to offer these studios. So developers need to work hard to stand out. “Know your product and know your audience. I’ve seen over 1,000 games this year and many devs haven’t looked at the audience and the opportunity,” Bestwick explains. “There are a lot of games right now. I’ve never seen so many games, and I was around in the Amiga days where everyone was writing games. It’s super competitive. If you’re making a game it needs to stand out.”

RISK AND REWARD Venture capitalists can be even more demanding than publishers. Paul Jenkinson of VC firm Jenson Solutions offers his tips on how to secure cash

ompared to the hip, cool and modern world of Kickstarter, venture capital might seem a bit old hat. In short, people put money behind a company and help it grow with their contacts in the industry. It’s a sound way of securing money for your game, but investors often need multiple reasons to back games. “The companies we’ve invested in tend to be more than a game studio,” Paul Jenkinson, MD of venture capital firm Jenson Solutions explains.

www.mcvuk.com

“Investing in games is high risk because you never know how it’s going to be received in the market, so we’ve invested in companies that might have some underlying technology that has value beyond the games industry.” But aside from having some extra underlying tech or value, what can developers do to help investors open their wallets? “Developers need to look into the commercial side of the business,” Jenkinson says. “A lot of companies haven’t thought about the cost and

Jenson Solutions’ Jenkinson says devs need to oﬀer more than just a game to secure investment

challenges of marketing a game, making sure the economics of the game actually work. For example, with free-to-play titles, a lot of studios don’t understand how that business model works. You need to be really clued up.” He adds: “Many studios don’t have commercial and marketing knowledge because they are developers, not marketers or financers. “You need to find people with the skills you are missing internally to help you develop that side of the business.”

November 28th 2014

THE BIG GAME THE CREW

THE CREW

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK Ahmed Boukhelifa, co-founder and managing director at Ivory Tower, says the developer’s upcoming social open-world driving title The Crew is shaking up the racing genre. Matthew Jarvis sees what lies on the road ahead Release Date: December 2nd Formats: PS4, XO, Xbox 360, PC Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ivory Tower

“T

he Crew was born out of a dream to create a living, breathing world of car enthusiasts. A world in which any driving fantasy can be realised with co-operation at its heart.” It might be an understatement to say that Ahmed Boukhelifa, co-founder and managing director at Ivory Tower, has big ambitions for the developer’s upcoming racing game. But it’s not just The Crew that Boukhelifa hopes will re-envision virtual racing as we know it; he sees an opening in the market for a whole new breed of driving game, which is already being formed by rival titles. “The driving games market is ripe for change, and ready to offer new approaches to previously established codes and ‘rules’ of the genre,” he comments. “That’s something that DriveClub and Forza Horizon 2 have already done, to some degree.”

November 28th 2014

Unsurprisingly, however, Boukhelifa says that The Crew is the culmination of all that needs to change in the driving genre. “For The Crew, we’ve taken these new approaches to the best extreme,” he states confidently. A NEW SEASON The racing genre is one of gaming’s most over-stuffed segments. From driving simulators like Gran Turismo and arcade titles like Need For Speed to kart racers in the form of Mario Kart, virtual drivers are hardly short of choice. With such a packed grid, how do you deliver something new? “The first innovation that The Crew brings to the genre is a massive open world filled with activities, which delivers an unprecedented level of gameplay variety,” says Boukhelifa. “The entire USA becomes a driving playground, covering thousands of square miles.

“The Crew defines what freedom truly means in a driving game, without any barriers and invisible walls to restrict the car to the road.” We’ve seen this before in Burnout Paradise and the Forza Horizon and Test Drive Unlimited series – the latter of which was partially developed by some Ivory Tower team members. Those titles have allowed players to drive where they want for years. But Boukhelifa says his team is among the first developers to populate an openworld driving game with real people – rather than AI. “The second major innovation delivered by The Crew is a Ahmed Boukhelifa, Ivory Tower revolutionary social driving experience, in a persistent online world populated by other real players,” he says. “At the core of the game experience is

The driving games market is ripe for change, and ready to oﬀer new approaches to previously established codes and ‘rules’ of the genre.

www.mcvuk.com

THE CREW THE BIG GAME

UP A GEAR AHMED Boukhelifa, co-founder and managing director at Ivory Tower, details the top three innovations he expects to evolve racing games over the next generation

WORKING WITH (AND AGAINST) YOUR FRIENDS “Even though they’re already becoming more and more prevalent in video games, we expect social tools to shape the development of future racing titles even more. Communities will be able share not only in their games with ghosts or replays, but also outside of them. Tools to encourage and support more community-created content are also part of that dynamic.”

DRIVING ON THE VIRTUAL HIGHWAY “One aspect I strongly believe in is the development of virtual reality with devices such as Oculus Rift or Project Morpheus. Complete immersion in your gameplay experience will become a standard in the years to come.”

EVERYONE PLAYING TOGETHER – ON EVERYTHING “Cross-platform technologies will become a growing point of interest as gamers are currently separated based on their choices of hardware. We expect those barriers to shatter over time, as online gaming becomes even more prevalent.”

www.mcvuk.com

November 28th 2014

THE BIG GAME THE CREW

an advanced social interface that connects friends so that teaming up is effortless and efficient.” Boukhelifa hopes this collaborative gameplay will mark The Crew out as a landmark driving title, but adds that the game is more evolutionary, than revolutionary. “Social games with an online component have become more prevalent because they’re a natural evolution for an industry that’s always been about sharing,” he explains. “The changes that this progression creates in driving and racing games is probably more apparent and likely to be appreciated than with other types of games.” DRIVING (ON)LINE Boukhelifa is not alone in his high hopes for The Crew – Ubisoft revealed during its financials that it expects the title to sell two million units in its first year on sale. It’s a serious vote of confidence from the publisher, which has gone from the high of its recordbreaking launch of Watch Dogs in May to the challenging release of Assassin’s Creed Unity earlier this month. While those games sold in droves, both suffered some online issues – Watch Dogs brought Ubisoft’s Uplay servers to their knees (briefly) and Unity suffered matchmaking problems. The Crew requires an alwaysonline connection – something that may seem like a perilous move given these previous issues. Boukhelifa says the risk is a necessity for The Crew’s unique take on the driving genre. “The Crew was always designed as a persistent world populated by thousands of players,” he explains. “We wanted the playground we designed to feel alive, and for players to create their own stories.” This is all very well, of course – given that the game works. And it should, given the multiple betas held ahead of launch. But as Microsoft discovered with its initial stance (and subsequent U-turn) on the Xbox One’s always-online requirement, the masses may not agree that the benefits are worth the cost of entry. Despite this, Boukhelifa feels the resistance is shrinking.

November 28th 2014

The Crew requires an always-online connection to play

“A limited number of people might choose not to buy the game because of the need for an internet connection, but it’s just as likely that those people will instead choose to connect their console so that they can play The Crew,” he says. But accelerate or stall, The Crew won’t be the last of its kind. “Will we see more onlineonly games in the future?” asks Boukhelifa. “I personally think we will. This is only a natural development for the industry, especially when you look to our society’s habits in dayto-day life, and the predominant part the internet occupies.”

Online-only games are only a natural development for the games industry. Ahmed Boukhelifa, Ivory Tower

A NEW SET OF WHEELS In many ways, The Crew encapsulates many of the trends we’ve seen so far this generation – big open world environments, social integration and sharp graphics. “The new generation of consoles matches the way we envisioned The Crew for years,” states Boukhelifa. “We wanted our game to be set in a huge open-world allowing for a large variety of driving experiences, to be set in a persistent world where you’d be able to meet and play with

your friends at any moment and to offer a deep progression system with multiple paths to success. “All those constraints put together made the new consoles the most obvious choice.” Despite this, the game is also coming to last-gen; PS3 has been skipped due to a technical infrastructure incompatible with the new multiplayer, but Xbox 360 will be part of The Crew from launch. “We did our best to keep the essence of the game in the lastgen version,” Boukhelifa comments. “With Xbox 360’s architecture being closest to the new-gen hardware, there was an opportunity to please gamers that haven’t made the step to next-gen yet.” While one foot may be in the past for now, Boukhelifa clearly believes The Crew marks a new generation of racing game. “Innovation is the key element here,” he concludes. “Every game released in the past 10 years has tried to innovate in some way. “As for ourselves; we boldly go where no man has ever been before, mixing everything together to offer an experience of unprecedented scope.”

www.mcvuk.com

MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE GAME Peterborough’s Dan Kent tells us about maintaining the loyalty of both staﬀ and consumers, unleashing horror for the release of The Evil Within and how the store gets local celebrities involved with game launches family popping in to ﬁnd the right products for them. We’ve had some great feedback from our customers on our Facebook page, which is a great testament to the hard work the team put in.

Tell us about your store team. We have a team of over 20 staﬀ who are working around products that they love. There is a mixture of staﬀ, from those who have just joined us for Christmas to Dan, Darren, Matt and Chris who have all worked here for ten years or more. It is one of the reasons we have so many regular customers. We have seen many mums and dads throughout the years coming in to get their kids’ Christmas

presents. It’s great to see those parents still popping in years later to sort out their family’s Christmas, even if they have ﬂown the nest.

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

PRICE CHECK: ONLINE

What’s your store’s speciality? Getting involved. We are open at midnight for all the big new releases and have had some amazing product launches. We also pride ourselves on keeping it simple. We try and help everyone, whether you’re after your game at midnight or a

What is the best thing about dropping by your store? We’ve got demo consoles available in-store which prove very popular with families on a weekend. We also get a bunch

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS 1. SUPER SMASH BROS + GAMECUBE CONTROLLER ADAPTOR Nintendo, Wii U 2. Pokémon Omega Ruby Nintendo............................................................... 3DS 3. Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Nintendo............................................................... 3DS 4. Super Smash Bros Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

FORZA MOTORSPORT 5

FORZA HORIZON 2 NEED FOR SPEED RIVALS

Microsoft, XO

Sony, PS3

EA, PS4

5. Dragon Age Inquisition+ Exclusive DLC EA ................................................................................PC

GRAN TURISMO 6

£31.99

£41.99

£29.99

£39.99

£32.99

£44.99

£26.99

£42.99

£31.99

£39.85

£19.99

£33.99

9. Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix Limited Edition Square Enix..........................................................PS3

£25.97

£42.99

£29.99

£27.97

10. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth NIS America ....................................................... 3DS

£37.95

£42.85

N/A

£37.85

6. Wii U GameCube Controller Super Smash Bros Nintendo............................................................. Wii U 7. LittleBigPlanet 3 Sony.........................................................................PS4 8. The Crew Ubisoft ....................................................................PS4

UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market

November 28th 2014

XCOM: ENEMY WITHIN

HALO: SPARTAN STRIKE

PHOENIX WRIGHT: ACE ATTORNEY

2K’s strategy game expansion is available on iOS and Android now

This Halo twin-stick shooter launches on Windows and Steam

The ﬁrst three Ace Attorney games are coming to the 3DS

OUT NOW

OUT DECEMBER 12TH

OUT DECEMBER 9TH

www.mcvuk.com

MARKETPLACE

GAME Peterborough Unit 15c, Serpentine Green Shopping Centre The Serpentine, Hampton, PE7 8BE

of games, phones and devices traded-in; there are always new bits and pieces to look for. What’s been your favourite midnight launch to do? Our Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare midnight release went down well, but our personal favourite was The Evil Within; the dress-up really set the tone. Do you do anything with the local gaming community?

Phone: 0871 594 0066 Twitter: @GAMEHampton

The community of gamers in Peterborough are a lively bunch. We love to get involved with the wider community, and have recently run FIFA competitions in association with our shopping centre Christmas lights being switched on by Warwick Davis and Heart FM. We’re also excited to announce that we’ll be running a FIFA tournament with Peterborough United legend David Farrell at the Posh Stadium next year.

INCOMING TITLE

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

The Q4 rush might be tailing oﬀ, but there’s plenty of titles left this year. Super Smash Bros on Wii U closes out the month, with The Crew in early December FORMAT

GENRE

PUBLISHER

TELEPHONE

DISTRIBUTOR

Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom

PS3/360/3DS/PC

Action

Bandai Namco

01215 069 590

Avantage

LittleBigPlanet 3

PS4/PS3

Platformer

Sony

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

3DS

RPG

NIS America

020 8664 3485

Open

November 28th

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

3DS

RPG

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

Rugby Union Team Manager 2015

Sports

Alternative Software 01977 555000

Open

Super Smash Bros

Wii U

Fighting

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

PS4/XO/360/PC

Racer

Ubisoft

01279 822 822

Exertis

December 2nd The Crew

December 5th Big Hero 6

3DS/DS

Action

Avanquest

01480 359 403

Open

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix

PS3

RPG

Square Enix

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris

PS4/XO/PC

Action

Square Enix

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

Wii U

Puzzle

Nintendo

01753 483 700

Open

Action

Rockstar

01279 822 822

Exertis

Dying Light

PS4/XO/PC

Horror

Warner Bros

0121 625 3388

CentreSoft

Saints Row IV – Re-Elected and Gat Out Of Hell

PS4/XO

Action

Deep Silver

01256 385 200

Koch Media

PS4/XO/PC

Shooter

2K Games

01279 822 822

Exertis

January 2nd Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

January 27th Grand Theft Auto V

January 30th

February 10th Evolve

www.mcvuk.com

November 28th 2014

POKÉMON

POKÉMON It’s one of the biggest kids’ media franchises in the world, and the second-largest video game IP of all time. Matthew Jarvis catches up with the best pocket monster merch

FOR almost two decades, millions of budding Pokémon trainers have set out on their adventures to catch, train, battle and evolve the collectable creatures. The Pokémon video game franchise is the second-most successful IP of all time, tailing behind fellow Nintendo staple Mario. More than 260 million Pokémon games have been sold worldwide as of 2014, with last year’s releases, X and Y, selling almost 12 million units in their first four months on sale.

There are many pillars to the brand that are of growing importance and which help to keep the franchise relevant. Vanisha Kavia, Nintendo

This success is set to return to the 3DS this year, with pre-release hype (and orders) for Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby – remakes of 2003’s Ruby and Sapphire for the Game Boy Advance – already outpacing that of X and Y. “Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire remakes have always been a popular request from fans,” says Vanisha Kavia, product manager at Nintendo. Of course, it’s not just the Pokémon games that continue to excite fans. The collectable

POKÉMON X AND Y DAY TRIP ESSENTIALS KIT For Poké trainers playing on 3DS, 3DS XL, DSi or DSi XL, this ﬁve-in-one pack oﬀers a console case (which also has space for four game cards), two game card cases and two styluses, all branded with artwork from the massively popular Pokémon X and Y titles. SRP: £19.99 Manufacturer: PowerA Distributor: ILT Distribution Contact: 0845 519 7053

POKÉMON TCG PHANTOM FORCES THEME DECK The latest expansion to the Pokémon Trading Card Game, this deck includes 60 cards. SRP: £10.95 Manufacturer: The Pokémon Company Distributor: Esdevium Contact: 01420 593 593

November 28th 2014

TRANSFORMING POKÉ BALL – TEPIG

POKÉ BALL CONSOLE AND GAMES CASE

Fans can pretend they’ve caught their very own Tepig with this transforming plushie. (We don’t know what a Tepig is, either.)

Poké trainers on the go can carry their console and game cards using this generous storage bag.

SRP: £3.40 Manufacturer: Tomy Distributor: Tomy Contact: 01271 336 155

SRP: £19.99 Manufacturer: PowerA Distributor: ILT Distribution Contact: 0845 519 7053

www.mcvuk.com

POKÉMON

DIRECTORY

MCV DIRECTORY KEY CONTACTS Sony DADC ............................................ +44 (0) 207 462 6200

CREATIVE Fink ................................................................. info@ﬁnkcreative.com

GAMING ACCESSORIES DISC REPAIR

L3I............................................................................+ (0)1923 471 020

Total Disc Repair ..................................+44 (0) 1202 489500

Venom ............................................................... +44 (0)1763 284181

DISTRIBUTION Click Entertainment ............................ +44 (0) 203 137 3781 Creative Distribution ......................+44 (0) 20 8664 3456 RATES

Curveball Leisure ................................... +44 (0) 1792 652521

£70 per two column box (100mm x 75mm). To run weekly for a minimum of 1 year. Please phone for other size and/or position requirements.

Enarxis Dynamic Media ............................. +302 1090 11900

DISC REPAIR

TOTAL DISC REPAIR

Tel: +44 (0) 1202 489500

November 28th 2014

Web: www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk

www.mcvuk.com

DIRECTORY

ENQUIRIES CONOR TALLON Tel: 01992 535647 ctallon@nbmedia.com

FINK

CREATIVE

DISTRIBUTION

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT

Artworking Mastertronic Brand Identity Ukie Localisation Rising Star Games Advertising BBFC Website Design Deep Silver Exhibition Bethesda Illustration Appynation Digital Media IntentMedia Charity GamesAid Banners & Takeovers Konami Packaging Design Just Flight Email: info@ﬁnkcreative.com CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 208 6643456 ENARXIS DYNAMIC MEDIA

Tel: +44 (0)203 137 3781

Web: www.ﬁnkcreative.com DISTRIBUTION

email: sales@click-entertainment.com

CURVEBALL LEISURE

Web: www.creativedistribution.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1792 652521

DISTRIBUTION

SONY DADC

DISTRIBUTION

Web: www.curveball-leisure.com DISTRIBUTION

Empowering your creative business

Tel: +44 207 462 6200 games@sonydadc.com

www.sonydadc.com Tel: +302 1090 11900

www.mcvuk.com

Web: www.enarxis.eu

Tel: +44 (0) 207 462 6200

Web: www.sonydadc.com

November 28th 2014

DIRECTORY

GAMING ACCESSORIES

L3I

GAMING ACCESSORIES

VENOM

Accessories for use with Xbox One速 Controller Kit

Twin Docking Station

Includes 2 Rechargeable Battery Packs

Tel: + (0)1923 471 020

Web: www.logic3.com

ADVERTISE WITH US

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY? Web: www.venomuk.com Phone: +44 (0)1763 284181 Email: darren.scott@venomuk.com sam.phipps@venomuk.com tom.hodge@venomuk.com

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

Tel: +44 (0)1763 284181 November 28th 2014

Venom UK Gaming @VenomGamingUK

w w w. v e n o m u k . c o m

Web: www.venomuk.com www.mcvuk.com

INSIDER’S GUIDE

INSIDER’S GUIDE DATASCOPE

DIRECTORY

WHO? Specialism: Recruitment Location: Morley House, Regent Street, London, W1B 3BE

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

Julien Hofer, founder and MD of Datascope, discusses the diﬃculty of ﬁnding good programmers

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

Tell us about your company. Based in central London, Datascope has been one of the UK’s top recruitment consultancies for the games industry since its founding in 1991. Initially focused on games programming, we quickly expanded into other roles in the games, mobile and online industries, with the synergy between careers in these sectors allowing us to oﬀer a comprehensive service for both our clients and candidates.

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

What is your biggest success to date? Our data. It must be the most comprehensive database of talent in the world. What projects do you currently have in the works? We are incorporating AI in our candidate tracking system, which will require some in-house software engineering. What are the biggest challenges you face? There is the perennial problem of ﬁnding good programmers. In the UK we are more dependent than ever before on immigration, as our schools have, until three or four years ago, been woefully negligent in encouraging pupils to study programming. For instance, one person who works for us was not even taught how to programme until he arrived at university – and his degree was in programming. To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact aboucher@nbmedia.com

Until three or four years ago, our schools have been woefully negligent in encouraging pupils to study programming. Hopefully the problem is being ﬁxed now and, for all their apparent unpopularity, we have to thank the present government for improving things in this respect. Tell us something about your company no one knows. We have been specialising in games for longer than anyone else in the world today. However, I am too embarrassed to boast about this fact in case people enquire about my age.

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR COMPANY IN INSIDER’S GUIDE? PLEASE CONTACT MJARVIS@NBMEDIA.COM OR CALL 01992 515 303

WWW.DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET www.mcvuk.com

Contact: E: recruitment@datascope.co.uk W: www.datascope.co.uk P: +44(0)20 7580 6018

November 28th 2014

FACTFILE SRI LANKA Sponsored by

Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories

INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE: SRI LANKA Population: 20,277,597 Capital City: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Currency: Rupee GDP (Per Capita): $3,385 KEY RETAILERS ChelseyLK, My Gola, Gameking, Kiddies Corner LK

TOP DEVELOPERS Dawn Patrol, Sri Droiders, ARC Developers, Photon Fission

TOP DISTRIBUTORS Redline Technologies, TechZone, EPSI, MiTech, E-Globe Solutions, Trident, TechOne

PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION Microsoft, Gameloft, Sony

2014 marks the year that Sri Lanka broke into the Top 100 countries in the games industry. According to the latest Newzoo Global Games Market Report, the Sri Lankan games market generated almost $9 million in annual revenue during 2014. This total makes it the 100th biggest games industry in the world, its highest position yet. This growth may be thanks to the increasing prosperity of the country. In 2011, Rural Affairs senior minister Athauda Seneviratne announced that the per capita income of Sri Lanka had doubled since 2005, allowing inhabitants to afford more expensive luxury items. This amount is expected to double again by 2016. Local consumer interest is also inspiring more investment in the sector. The first Sri Lanka Cyber Games eSports tournament was

held in 2008, organised by the Gamer.LK gaming community. By 2013, largely as a result of the success of the event, the Sri Lankan eSports market had more than quadrupled, according to Sri Lankan news outlet The Papare. Many of the most popular games in Sri Lanka mirror those of Western markets. Dota 2, Halo, FIFA, Call of Duty and League of Legends all have a large eSports presence. As with many of Sri Lanka’s neighbouring states, mobile continues to drive consumer engagement with gaming. The country was the first region in South Asia to adopt support for both 3G and 4G mobile internet, driven by the staggering growth of mobile users in the territory – Sri Lanka’s mobile subscriber base experienced a growth of over 550 per cent from 2005 to 2010, according to the Sri Lankan Government’s annual report.

The ﬁrst Sri Lanka Cyber Games eSports tournament was held in 2008.

November 28th 2014

www.mcvuk.com

SRI LANKA FACTFILE

MEANWHILE IN... BENELUX Koch Media is to distribute the first proprietary IP from racing developer Milestone, RIDE, in the region PUBLISHER and distributor Koch Media is teaming up with Milestone to bring its latest game to the Benelux region. Milestone’s first own IP, RIDE, will launch into Benelux retail during Spring 2015 for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, PS3 and PS4. The game will allow virtual racers to ride more than 100 motorbikes spread across four different categories; superbirkes, supersports, naked and historical. “As an established publisher and distributor in the Benelux markets, we will be leveraging our local expertise and knowledge to successfully

www.mcvuk.com

introduce this ambitious and exciting project to players and motorcycling enthusiasts alike,” said Jeroen Pompen, MD of Koch Media Benelux. Marco Micallef, Milestone sales and marketing director,

added: “We’re conﬁdent that this collaboration will be successful thanks to the great expertise and knowledge of the market that Koch Media has proven in these years.”

November 28th 2014

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION