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NEWS
500,000 download new Who game ‘We’ve broken new ground for the TV and games industry,’ says BBC following strong opening performance by Christopher Dring HALF A MILLION consumers downloaded Doctor Who: The Adventure Games in its first two weeks. The free downloadable game was the first of its kind from the BBC, and the broadcaster hopes its success will inspire the games and TV industries to work closer together. “The result is a lot more than I was expecting,” Simon Nelson, controller of portfolio and multiplatform at BBC Vision told MCV. “We had set ourselves some fairly stretched targets on this and we’ve blown them away. “The credit goes to the Doctor Who and marketing teams, who are among the best in the BBC at creating integrated campaigns, messages and interactive spin-offs. This has been part of the Who planning process rather than just a bolt on at the end, which too many interactive things have been.
WHO’S LAUGHING NOW: The downloadable Doctor Who games are off to an impressive start
“I’m hoping that we have demonstrated to the TV and the games side that there is a marriage worth pursuing here. There have been many frustrated attempts to bring TV and games together before. And I won’t say that this is the final article, but I like to think
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We had set ourselves some fairly stretched targets on this and we’ve really blown them away. Simon Nelson, BBC
Pan Vision plots global expansion NORDIC PUBLISHER and distributor Pan Vision is planning to expand its presence to more European territories in a bid to become a global force. The company saw a turnover of E140 million in its last financial year, thanks primarily to its games operations. “We also distribute DVD and accessories, which make up a quarter of our business each,” said business line director for games Egil Strunke. “But more than half of our turnover comes from games, so that sector is definitely our main focus.” Pan Vision recently launched a digital division, which is handling the company’s first downloadable title: Miffy’s World for WiiWare. Strunke claims the company will be strengthening both its
NORDIC VISION: Pan Vision looks to grow beyond its home market
digital and boxed product offerings in order to grow its global presence. He also believes the downloads market lends itself to help newer companies. “If you look at the digital side, [company size is] almost indifferent today, thanks to the ease of marketing on the
internet through social networks and so on,” he said. “On the physical side, we will try and find one or two long-term partners in other territories, or we will open offices in the key markets, like the UK or Germany.” Pan Vision: 0203 176 0139
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we’ve broken ground for the TV industry, games industry, the public service sector and hopefully even the commercial sector, too.” Despite the initial success, the BBC is not resting on its laurels and is focused on making sure the rest of The Adventure Games are a success before looking ahead to future projects. “We are not complacent here and there’s plenty we can be doing to drive awareness,” continued Nelson. “It is a dilemma for anyone doing original web stuff because it is such a crowded environment. “We will be reviewing this pretty hard. We are not short of ideas, but we will be picking them very carefully. “Crucially, the industry and the audience have felt we have created something different here that works. That’s probably more important than the numbers.” BBC: 020 7292 8330
Free consumer games mag due A FREE consumer games mag will launch this October. Re-Play will carry a similar consumer editorial remit to the likes of Edge and GamesTM, but will be entirely supported by ads rather than issue sales. A test issue was available at last year’s Eurogamer Expo, and is due to officially launch at this year’s event in October. “With ad-supported ‘freemium’ content being all the rage, the time is right for a new type of video games magazine that encapsulates these trends,” said editor-inchief Azfar Shah. Re-Play will be available from independent games retailers, and has already recieved over
PLAY ON: Magazine will be free
25,000 pre-orders from more than 40 companies. Shah is currently seeking additional funding and support to help build the magazine up before it launches in October. info@re-play.me