MCV 835 May 29th

TTTTHHHH

Feel the rush of Formula 1, powered by a brand new game engine. A revolutionary new handling system and stunning broadcast visuals immerse you

deeper than ever in the world’s most exciting motorsport.

FORMATS: XBOX ONE®, PLAYSTATION®4, PC DVD PUBLISHER: CODEMASTERS DEVELOPER: CODEMASTERS STUDIO BIRMINGHAM EAN CODES: XBOX ONE 5024866364026 PS4TM 5024866363968 PC 5024866363890

NEW CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON MODEF1™ 2015 puts you in the heart of the action.

Beat your rivals and earn the adulation of the crowd as you celebrate on the podium.

NEW BROADCAST TV PRESENTATIONWith new grid introductions and television-style

presentation, the Championship Season is the most immersive FORMULA 1™ experience yet.

GET CLOSER TO F1 THAN EVER BEFORE Harnessing the power of the new generation engine, with new voice

interaction on consoles and new broadcast-style presentation, F1 2015 immerses the player in the sport like never before.

NEW PRO SEASON MODEWith a pure racing focus, take on the ultimate challenge –

Can you master the game on its most realistic settings?

Physical still dominant despite digital shift

UBISOFT ON ITS UK-THEMED ASSASSIN’S CREED P06

PLUS QA AND LOCALISATION SPECIAL THE WITCHER 3

ANARCHY IN THE UKTHE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES

ISSUE 835 FRIDAY MAY 29TH 2015

by Christopher Dring THE vast majority of console game sales still come from physical stores, new data reveals.

MCV has combined UKIE/GfK Chart-Track data with new fi gures from SuperData in an eff ort to show the split between the digital and physical market. And it shows that around 80 per cent of game sales are coming from the boxed market.

However, this is not an exact science. Both data sources utilise diff erent methodologies and they also look over slightly diff erent periods.

Chart-Track’s March chart, for instance, included sales up to March 26th, which means Bloodborne was only on sale for two days when the physical numbers were counted. This may explain why Bloodborne’s digital sales (which include all sales up until March 31st) are proportionally so high.

But it still provides an insight into the scale of the move between digital and physical. Big triple-A titles such as Battlefi eld Hardline are primarily bought in boxes, while the split is more even for digital-fi rst titles, such as Minecraft (although it’s interesting to see how strong physical sales are for the hit kids IP).

This chart is possible thanks to SuperData’s UK digital console chart, which utilises insight provided from publishers and payment fi rms.

“SuperData’s digital console chart for the UK is currently still in beta but we expect to have the charts on equal level with the traditional retail rankings by Q4 2015,” said SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen. “Our UK digital console rankings are compiled based on data we collect from payment service providers and participating developers. On a monthly basis, approximately 5.1 million UK gamers spend money on digital games across all platforms and devices.”

Digital charts ‘on par with retail Top 40’ to be available by Christmas, promises SuperData

1. Battlefield Hardline EA81.9% Physical 18.1% Digital

1. Mortal Kombat X Warner Bros85.5% Physical 14.5% Digital

2. Dying Light Warner Bros100%* Physical

2. Minecraft Mojang52% Physical 48% Digital

3. Minecraft Mojang51.3% Physical 48.7% Digital

3. Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar82.6% Physical 17.4% Digital

4. Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar84.2% Physical 15.8% Digital

4. Battlefield Hardline EA85.6% Physical 14.4% Digital

5. FIFA 15 EA84.4% Physical 15.6% Digital

5. FIFA 15 EA81.6% Physical 18.4% Digital

6. Bloodborne Sony60.4% Physical 39.6% Digital

6. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Activision71.2% Physical 28.8% Digital

7. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Activision76.2% Physical 23.8% Digital

7. Bloodborne Sony74.6% Physical 25.4% Digital

8. Destiny Activision42.3% Physical 57.7% Digital

8. Dragon Ball: Xenoverse Bandai Namco77% Physical 23% Digital

Physical Digital

UK Top Eight Console Games (March)

UK Top Eight Console Games (April)Around 5.1 million UK gamers spend money on digital games a month across all platforms.

Joost van Dreunen, SuperData

*Dying Light digital data unavailable at press time

WIN AN XBOX ONE P48

CHEAT SHEET

04May 29th 2015 www.mcvuk.com

£10m

£15m

£20m

£5m

Market DataThe blockbuster launch of The Witcher 3 brings software revenue up 148 per cent

Week EndingMay 16th

£8.5m268,234

units

Week EndingMay 9th

£15.1m419,370

units

Week EndingMay 23rd

£6.1m220,881

units

UK RETAIL TOP 10

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT BANDAI NAMCO12 Farming Simulator 15 Koch Media

3 Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar

4 FIFA 15 EA

5 Project CARS Bandai Namco

6 Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Bethesda

7 Battlefi eld Hardline EA

8 Mortal Kombat X Warner Bros

9 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Activision Blizzard

10 Destiny Activision Blizzard

AMIIBO PIKMIN + OLIMAR (WII U) NINTENDO12 Amiibo Bowser Jr (Wii U) Nintendo

3 Amiibo Dr Mario (Wii U) Nintendo

4 Arkham Knight Day One Edition + Harley Quinn DLC (PS4) Warner

5 Splatoon + Keyring (Wii U) Nintendo

6 Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited + Explorer Pack (PS4) Bethesda

7 Arkham Knight Day One Edition + Harley Quinn DLC (XO) Warner

8 Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush + Meta Knight Amiibo Nintendo

9 Amiibo Ganondorf (Wii U) Nintendo

10 Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited + Explorer Pack (XO) Bethesda

SPONSORED BY

by Alex Calvin NCSOFT is ‘accelerating’ its Western expansion with an aim of becoming one of the biggest games businesses in Europe and the US – just like it is in South Korea.

Speaking exclusively to MCV, NCSoft West’s SVP of publishing and business services John Burns said that the fi rm has fi nalised its internal restructure and is on a recruitment drive to bolster its presence in the PC and mobile markets.

“We are one of the top three companies in Korea,” he said.

“In the West we have a long history, but really what’s happening from now is the company is accelerating here. We’re looking to become one of the top companies in the West, much like we are in Korea. We have restructured, we built a new executive team, we’ve hired around 50 people in the last

three months across a variety of initiatives. And we are doubling down on our existing product portfolio strategy. We’ll continue to be very focused on high-quality PC MMO titles, including WildStar and [new MMO IP] Blade and Soul. That’s an increase in our commitment to the PC space.”

He continues: “But in addition to that, we’re making a deeper investment into new product areas. We’ve opened a new mobile studio in San Mateo, we’re going to place about 100 people there for mobile development. We are going to increase our overall commitment to mobile and essentially try to bring the kind of premium high-quality fun gaming experiences that our consumers have had on other platforms to the mobile space.

“We are also going to look to partner, invest and bring other developers globally and launch their products in the Western market.”

by Christopher Dring MUSIC giant Spotify is launching video and podcasts on its service, but not video games.

The streaming behemoth announced it would be adding podcasts, curated radio shows, plus news and entertainment video clips from the likes of BBC, Comedy Central, Maker Studios and ESPN at a press conference in New York.

It’s also introducing a running app, which includes music specifi cally designed for running that adapts to the user’s pace.

However, video games are not currently part of the plan.

Spotify told MCV that: “It’s all about the right content for diff erent people and diff erent parts of your day - expanding on music content to include podcasts and video. Games are not part of this.”

New-look NCSoft West eyes rapid American and European growth

Spotify rules out games as it goes beyond music

NCSoft’s Burns says the fi rm will continue to focus on PC MMOs like WildStar

CHEAT SHEET

05www.mcvuk.com May 29th 2015

by Alex Calvin ACCESSORIES fi rm PDP is launching a keyboard and mouse range, with aims of targeting the PC consumer market.

These products will be in stores this September.

“PDP’s Rock Candy brand is a proven success in video game and

mobile accessories and has generated over $42m dollars last fi scal year alone,” the fi rm’s EMEA MD Chris Spearing told MCV.

“With this momentum, PDP is expanding Rock Candy into the PC category with a quality and colourful product line. In a sea of boring black keyboards and mice, Rock Candy has a real visual impact at retail.”

PDP sets sights on PC accessory market

In March, we combined digital sales with physical to put together an alternative UK

chart, and the reaction was incredible.

Popular consumer site Kotaku decided it wouldn’t run chart stories until digital sales were included, and almost every publisher (including Take-Two’s CEO) expressed an interest in sharing their numbers. The MCV inbox was bulging by the end of the week. Two months on, we still don’t have a chart. And we’ve discovered how some platform holders can’t even produce one. But we’re getting there.

We were contacted by a few data fi rms in the wake of the story, too. Some simply wanted to attach themselves to our campaign, which is fi ne but not particularly helpful. Others - including SuperData - wanted to off er us data to print. Which is what we have for you this week.

The numbers on the front page of MCV are for console sales only. It isn’t perfect, it’s still in beta, and there will be a few things a little off . It’s a work-in-progress, and all feedback is useful. But this is at least something, and it provides us with an idea of the impact digital is having in the console space.

And we’re eager to discover what this data means to diff erent people.

For instance, what do you see when you look at our front page? Do you think: ‘Wow, digital is already one-fi fth of the console sector, and that includes the big blockbusters’? Or is your reaction: ‘Clearly physical retail

remains the dominant power in the console world’?

Now take a look at Minecraft’s fi gures. Do you think Minecraft’s half-and-half split between digital and physical is good news or bad news for the High Street?

What might seem a negative to you, may be viewed as an opportunity for someone else.

That’s why, for all our campaigning for more visibility in the digital space (and we aren’t about to stop), the industry should never become over-reliant on these fi gures.

At London Games Conference two years ago, Sega’s John Clark took to the stage to warn against over-analysing the market. Data can help you make business decisions, but it shouldn’t make them for you. Ignoring the trends can often be as lucrative – more so sometimes – as following them. If the industry spends too long staring at the numbers, then everyone will be making the same games, for the same platforms and with the same business models.

More digital data is needed, but a business that becomes reliant on it will only stifl e creativity, not reward [email protected]

THE EDITOR

More digital data is needed, but a business that is reliant on it will only stiff le creativity, not reward it.

WHERE NEXT FOR THE DIGITAL CHART?

Keywords’ Barth (far left) and Universally Speaking’s Sanz Fueyo (left) say publishers aren’t doing anything to stop buggy games

by Alex Calvin

MAJOR games publishers have not learnt their lesson from the slew of broken games released at the end of last year.

That’s according to QA and localisation experts who say that most games fi rms have not changed their approach to bug testing.

Titles such as Assassin’s Creed Unity, DriveClub, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Battlefi eld 4 have all struggled in recent years with bugs, connection issues and glitches. And the fi rms tasked with preventing these problems say publishers are still not devoting enough time or money to QA.

“If anything, it’s gotten worse,” said Universally Speaking director Loreto Sanz Fueyo. “Quality at the

moment is determined by time and resources, including money. Very few developers seem to want to release the perfect product, especially not if it means delaying launch.

“This will naturally have its consequences and we are likely to see again publishers, developers and games that will become ‘famous’ amongst the users for their sloppy work and cavalier attitude towards quality.”

Keywords localisation and QA director Thomas Barth added: “QA and localisation is more visible in the development process and there are studios allocating more time for them. But in general not much has changed from my point of view, despite the internet being very vocal around those issues at the end of last year.”For more on QA, turn to page 23.

‘Publishers are still not doing enough to end buggy games’

It’s not a populist thing to say, but I quite liked Assassin’s Creed Unity.The game’s 18th-century French

setting was beautiful, and there were some truly epic set pieces that were a joy to play.

Unfortunately for Ubisoft, not everyone agreed. The launch of Unity was plagued by technical issues and disappointing review scores, and the game ended up being one blockbuster the publisher would rather forget.

Now, Ubisoft has the chance to right Unity’s perceived wrongs with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Set in Victorian Britain, the game is being developed by a new lead studio and is due out on PS4 and Xbox One this October, with a PC version to follow later in the year.

“The team at Ubisoft Quebec has been focused on developing Assassin’s Creed Syndicate for more than two years now,” explains Marc-Alexis Côté, creative director at the developer.

“The launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity was a highly-anticipated moment for everyone at Ubisoft, including the teams at the Québec studios who have been working on the Assassin’s Creed franchise since Brotherhood. Any feedback we receive on our releases is motivation for us to make our games even better, to continue the Assassin’s Creed legacy of creating ambitious and innovative games and pushing the envelope even further with each new iteration.”

ANARCHY IN THE UKCôté is understandably reticent to spend too long talking about Unity.

He and the Quebec studio didn’t work on the game, after all.

In fact, for the developer, the past two years have been all about Syndicate. This is new ground for the studio; the team has worked on Assassin’s Creed games before, but in a support capacity. This is the first time it has taken full ownership of the big end-of-year Assassin’s Creed project.

“Having previously worked on the Assassin’s Creed franchise since Brotherhood, the team at Ubisoft Quebec was hungry to do more and take more responsibility,” explains Côté. “When you work on a project you always look back and think that you would have done things differently. Now that we are in the lead position it’s our time to do things our way, and that is a great feeling.”

The first and most noticeable difference with this year’s Creed is its setting. Victorian London has been a long-requested era from

Assassin’s Creed fans, and it’s something that’s likely to go down well with a UK audience.

“We certainly hope that people in the UK, and especially London, feel proud of the game and the way it showcases the city, but also the time period that we chose for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate,” continues Côté. “We’re bringing Victorian London to life with the largest city ever built in the franchise. Our version of London is divided into seven distinct boroughs. From the dense and impoverished White Chapel to the grand displays and green spaces of Westminster, the player will truly feel what it was like to live in 19th-century London.

“Every district will not only be visually different – their ecosystems will vary as well. For example, police presence was far higher in wealthy neighborhoods than it was in the slums, where almost no Bobby would dare go. Also, the large factories and workhouses of Southwark will encourage parkour gameplay that players are sure to enjoy.”

The Victorian setting allows Ubisoft to take the franchise forward. The age saw Britain’s industrial revolution, when roads were formed, railways existed and new weapons were developed.

“Although Syndicate takes place only 70 years after the French Revolution featured in Assassin’s Creed Unity, for our players it will be as though a thousand years have passed,” says Côté.

“In this short period of time, technological breakthroughs enabled humanity to evolve from a

For Creed and country

Last year’s Assassin’s Creed game was beset by PR challenges and a divisive critical response. This time, Ubisoft is bringing the series to London in an effort to restore its reputation. Will it work?

Christopher Dring asks Ubisoft Quebec creative director Marc-Alexis Côté

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate stars brother and sister, Jacob and Evie Frye

It’s our time to do things our way, and that is a great feeling.

Marc-Alexis Côté, Ubisoft Quebec


INTERVIEW MARC-ALEXIS CÔTÉ, UBISOFT

A modernised traffic system and new vehicles will transform Syndicate’s gameplay

medieval society into the modern world we know today. It’s a leap forward for mankind, and similarly for the world of Assassin’s Creed. It opens up a whole new set of dynamics and opportunities for the player.

“One very concrete example of this is the introduction of systemic vehicles, including carriages, trains and boats. Modern traffic systems completely change the crowds of Assassin’s Creed. The streets are now reserved for the horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians use sidewalks. Players will feel the change instantly as the crowd will now look very similar to real-life modern cities.”

KILLER IDEASThe modern changes to Assassin’s Creed also impact Syndicate’s gameplay quite significantly. The title’s stars can now use a rope launcher to scale tall buildings rapidly, and then zip around

from rooftop to rooftop like a Victorian Spider-Man.

There are also two lead protagonists this time, Jacob and Evie Frye, who add new gameplay elements and also provide an answer to some of the criticism that came out of Unity, which lacked a playable female character, even in the game’s co-op mode.

That’s another change as well: for the first time since 2010’s Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Syndicate has no multiplayer. This is so that Ubisoft Quebec can focus all of its efforts on the new gameplay elements, rather than over-stretching itself.

By dedicating itself to the single-player, the firm has been able to build a city that is 30 per cent bigger than Unity. The game’s hero can drive horse and carts, jump onto trains and even engage in hand-to-hand combat while travelling on the vehicles – in fact, the developer has spent a lot of

time on close combat this time around.

“Hand-to-hand combat will be a larger focus for this instalment, as it wouldn’t have been historically accurate for our lead character to have been walking around 19th century London armed with a sword,” explains Côté

He continues: “With Syndicate, we chose to focus on creating the biggest and most diverse city-based open-world experience we’ve ever had for an Assassin’s Creed game, and on refining and perfecting the innovative new gameplay elements that make up the single player experience.”

Last year wasn’t the best year for Assassin’s Creed. The franchise faced some criticism among the media and its loyal fanbase. But so far, Syndicate is looking the part and, if it lives up to its early potential, there’s every reason to believe that the series can put the challenges of 2014 behind it.

The Victorian era is a leap forward for mankind, and similarly for the world of Assassin’s Creed.

Marc-Alexis Côté, Ubisoft Quebec

www.mcvuk.com May 29th 2015

MARC-ALEXIS CÔTÉ, UBISOFT INTERVIEW

07

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEKTHIS WEEK: SPLATOON

IN THEIR OWN WORDS Nintendo is launching a massive marketing campaign for its brand new shooter IP Splatoon – one that the platform holder says will rival that of 2014’s Mario Kart 8.

It already has a digital out-of-home campaign running, showing characters on the digital escalator panels on Tube stations in London.

Nintendo has booked ads for Splatoon in the cinema before Tomorrowland, to target kids, and before Mad Max: Fury Road, to reach older gamers.

The platform holder is also sponsoring kids TV network Cartoon Network. In addition, it will open a Splatoon-themed skate park in Corby in the summer.

CHANDRA NAIRMarketing Manager, Nintendo UK

WE have a substantial campaign planned for

Splatoon. To give you an idea of the scale, we’re matching Mario Kart 8 – that’s the potential we think it has.

We have the utmost confi dence in the game. Not only does it give retailers a fantastic art style that really stands out in-store or on-screen, it also off ers various interesting up-sell opportunities with the Inkling Boy, Inkling Girl and Inkling Squid Amiibo.

Splatoon is a really interesting one for us because it allows us to expand to people who may never have considered Wii U before.

GAMES and consoles TV market ad pressure remained relatively fl at month-on-month as the number of individual TV viewer ratings (TVRs) in the market increased by just one per cent from March to April.

In contrast to March, however, April maintained similar levels of ad pressure to the year before, as March 2014 ad pressure was

heavily skewed by the ‘battle of the system sellers’ – EA’s Titanfall and Sony’s Infamous: Second Son.

Although maintaining similar levels of ad pressure, April saw a slight decrease in the number of brands on air compared to March (53 versus 48), showing a growth in the size of the average TV ad campaign.

Machine Zone’s MMO property Game Of War came out top of the pile for April with heavy support of its blockbuster commercial starring Kate Upton.

Activision found itself in second place with Skylanders, which has enjoyed a 44 per cent sales increase year-on-year, perhaps capitalising on the key Easter holiday period.

The success of 2015 so far in terms of TV market ad pressure owes a lot to January, which fi nished 71 per cent up year-on-year in terms of individual TVRs. This can be attributed to heavyweight campaigns from King.com and Supercell.

Now, all eyes turn to E3 to determine the outcome of the coming months.

APRIL 2015: MONTH IN REVIEWThis week, GameTime looks at which games properties were on top on TV during the Easter period

Year-on-year percentage change Ind. TVRs

MCV GameTime is provided by Generation Media0207 255 4650 | www.generationmedia.co.uk

May 29th 2015 www.mcvuk.com08

-40%

40%1,500

20%1,0000%500-20%

0

80% 2,500

60% 2,000

[INFO]Formats:Wii U

Released: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Release Date:May 29th

Distributor: Open

Contact:01753 483 700

Jan

71%

Feb

-6%

Mar

-21%

Apr

-2%

YTD

5%

MARKETING

PRESENTS5 SECOND FACTS

ANKA Headset - PDP Design and manufacture the Offi cially licensed Microsoft

– fully Wireless Headset for Xbox [email protected]

www.pdp.com

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

2mDeveloper Intelligent

Systems has said that Fire Emblem Awakening

sold 1.79m units as of December 2014

23fpsProject CARS developer Slightly Mad is struggling to get the Wii U version

of the game up to 30fps, and may instead port it to Nintendo’s next console

90minsXbox’s E3 press

conference will last an hour and a half when it

starts at 17:30 UK time on Monday, June 15th

52mOver 50m copies of Grand

Theft Auto V have been sold into retail worldwide, Take-Two has announced


DATA ANALYSIS

Games and Charts compiled by GfK Chart-Track

Source

0101 THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT DEVELOPER: CD PROJEKT REDPUBLISHER: CD PROJEKT RED

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNTFORMATS: PS4/XO/PC DEVELOPER: CD PROJEKT PUBLISHER: CD PROJEKT/BANDAI NAMCO

TW TITLE DEVELOPER 02 Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar 03 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt + Expansion Pass CD Projekt RED 04 Counter-Strike: Global Off ensive Valve 05 Dying Light Warner Bros 06 Galactic Civilizations 3 Stardock Entertainment 07 Elite: Dangerous Frontier Developments 08 Cities Skylines Paradox Interactive 09 The Witcher Trilogy Pack CD Projekt RED 10 Project CARS Slightly Mad Studios

TW TITLE DEVELOPER 02 Farming Simulator 15 (PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC) Koch Media 03 Grand Theft Auto V (PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC) Rockstar 04 FIFA 15 (PS4/XO, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC) EA 05 Project CARS (PS4/XO/PC) Slightly Mad/Bandai Namco 06 Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (PS4/XO/PC) Bethesda 07 Battlefi eld Hardline (PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC) EA 08 Mortal Kombat X (PS4/XO/PC) Warner Bros 09 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC) Activision 10 Destiny (PS4/XO/PS3/360) Activision

Top 10 Steam (Global)Top 10 UK retail

Week ending: May 23rdWeek ending: May 23rd

THE latest entry in CD PROJEKT RED’s Witcher series is fi nally in stores and has made quite an entrance.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt had the biggest launch of the year to date, beating the previous record-holder, EA’s Battlefi eld Hardline, by 53 per cent.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings launched in 2012 and also debuted at No.1 – and Wild Hunt has outperformed that title’s week-one by 608 per cent.

The PlayStation 4 SKU was the best-selling, forming 63 per cent of units sold.

The Witcher 3 is also top of the Steam charts, and in fact occupies two spaces thanks to its expansion pack. Meanwhile, The Witcher Trilogy Pack ranks in ninth place this week.

Meanwhile, KOCH MEDIA’s Farming Simulator 15 debuts in second place. The game is already out on PC, but the addition of PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360 SKUs brings the title back into the Top 40.

Meanwhile, comedy title Goat Simulator continues to rule the digital charts on Xbox 360, keeping Minecraft in second place. However, Mojang’s kids title still rules the roost on iOS (right).

Week ending May 24th

TW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Microsoft 03 Life Is Strange Square Enix 04 SFG Soccer Stir Fry Games05 Mount Your Friends Stegasaurus 06 Castleminer Z DigitalDNA 07 Terraria: Xbox 360 Edition 505 Games 08 Avatar Warfare DigitalDNA 09 ApocZ Sick Kreations 10 Battleblock Theater The Behemoth

01 GOAT SIMULATORPUBLISHER: COFFEE STAIN STUDIO

Top 10 Xbox Live

Week ending May 24th

TW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 Altio’s Adventure Snowman 03 Heads Up! Warner Bros 04 Lifeline 3 Minute Games05 Football Manager Handheld 2015 Sega 06 Plague Inc Ndemic Creations 07 Bullseye – TV Gameshow and Darts Island Wall Entertainment 08 Blek Kunabi Brother 09 Monopoly EA 10 Angry Birds Rovio

01 MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITIONPUBLISHER: MOJANG

Top 10 iPhone Paid

The Witcher 3 takes the top spot in spectacular fashion

DATA & RESEARCH


MARKET MOVES

SHOP DIRECT | Junior games buyer JENNIFER JOHNSON (left) is joining MCV’s Retail Advisory Board.

She replaces DAVID FIRTH (left), who has moved from Shop Direct’s

games team. Johnson has worked at the

retailer since 2004, starting out as a customer service advisor, before moving over to its buying team in 2008. She was promoted to assistant buyer, handling its small domestic appliances, gaming and computing areas

“After 10 years in Shop Direct and six years in the games

industry, I’m overjoyed to be appointed on MCV’s RAB,” Johnson said.

PREMIER | The PR firm has made a new hire to its games team.

SOPHIE COLLEY joins as an account manager from her role as PR assistant at publisher Square Enix. Prior to working at the Final Fantasy firm, Colley was senior account manager at Goal, handling accounts for the likes of Nutella, Asda, Greggs and Diesel.

Before that she worked as trade marketing manager for the Just Eat Group.

“We’re delighted to welcome Sophie to Premier as the latest

addition to our PR team,” senior account director GARETH WILLIAMS said.

“Sophie’s experience and drive for success impressed us greatly, as did her enthusiasm for the video games industry as a whole. We’re all very excited to have her on board.”

GAMER NETWORK | PAUL WATSON has returned to the Eurogamer

parent company. The former advertising

manager for Rock, Paper, Shotgun has come back after a ten-month stint working as marketing executive for Curve Digital.

He was taken the role of senior account manager at Gamer Network. Before he joined Rock Paper Shotgun in 2012, he was publisher relations and content manager at Green Man Gaming.

“I’m thrilled to have Paul back in the team and in a new senior sales role,” said Gamer Network’s sales director, DAN ROBINSON.

“Paul has accrued vital, transferable skills and first-hand experience of marketing games from his time working at Curve.”

Watson added: It’s great to be back with the Gamer Network family. I’ve always been a huge fan of Gamer Network’s strong portfolio and the talented team here, so I’m excited to be working in a more senior capacity.”

Shop Direct’s Johnson joins MCV RABJohnson replaces David Firth Premier hires Square’s Colley Watson returns to Gamer Network

APPOINTMENTS

SONY | PlayStation is currently on the hunt for developers to staff a new studio in North West England.

This outfit will be working exclusively on content for Sony’s virtual reality headset Project Morpheus. The yet-to-be-named studio might also include members of staff from DriveClub maker Evolution.

VISCERAL GAMES | The Battlefield Hardline studio has made a small number of lay offs as the developer’s focus shifts to other projects.

Parent company EA has said that the number of employees being made redundant is very small. This is the result of the studio focusing on producing content for Battlefield Hardline Premium and an as-of-yet unannounced Star Wars game.

This follows the departure of Visceral Games’ general

manager Steve Papoutsis in April.

ROCKSTAR | The Grand Theft Auto company is taking legal action against the BBC for its upcoming drama about the hit series.

The publisher has filed a lawsuit against the broadcasting company over trademark infringement.

CREATIVE SKILLSET | A report from Creative Skillset has revealed that 21 per cent of people within the games industry have done work experience – lower than any other sector in the creative media.

The Creative Media Workforce Survey took information from 564 members of the games sector. In a total, it spoke to 4,826 professionals across the creative industries.

AROUND THE INDUSTRY


EDITORIAL CONTACTS

EDITORIAL CONTACTS

Production Executive: Elizabeth [email protected]

Head of Operations: Stuart Moody [email protected]

Circulation: Lianne [email protected]

Finance Manager: Michael Canham [email protected]

Head of Design and Production:Kelly [email protected]

US CorrespondentErik [email protected]

THE RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

MCV has an exclusive media partnership with Famitsu – Japan’s leading video

games analyst and news source

ISSN: 1469-4832

Copyright 2015

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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

Sarah Jasper The Hut

Phil Moore Grainger Games

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Dermot Stapleton Get Games

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Phil Browes HMV

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Simon Urquhart Microsoft

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How did it feel to win the 2015 MCV Award for best peripheral brand? It’s a real honour simply to be nominated two years in a row, but to win two years running is incredible – this actually makes it three wins in four years. It’s been a big year for us in terms of transition. There’s been rapid adoption of the new consoles and gamers want options when it comes to gaming headsets and accessories. Our engineers work quickly to adjust for new hardware releases and create products that are fully functional across the new platforms and add features that provide genuine benefits to gamers, like being the only fully wireless gaming headset solution for Xbox One. So we have a broad portfolio of products that appeal to a variety of’ needs and budgets.

How are you staying ahead in the increasingly competitive gaming headset market? Turtle Beach stays the No.1 gaming headset brand because we’re a leading-edge, innovative audio tech company. It’s very important to be first to market with new and exciting products.

You refer to yourself as a ‘leading-edge innovative audio-tech company’. What have your latest innovations been? Well we have our HyperSound tech, which is a groundbreaking new directed audio technology that we’ve been developing. HyperSound injects audio into a highly-controlled, narrow ultrasound beam, creating a specific cone of audio, much like

a flashlight does with light. Step into the HyperSound audio beam and you will be surrounded by immersive, 3D audio. Step out of the HyperSound beam and you’ll hear nothing. It is a disruptive audio innovation with applications in commercial and consumer markets, and we have a hearing health product launching this year, which you’ll be able to see and hear more about at E3.

Turtle Beach is expanding beyond headsets, and is now making keyboards and mice. Why? The arena for competitive gaming and eSports continues to grow at an amazing rate, and it would be irresponsible for us to not pay attention to this trend and look at ways to be involved. Both retailers and consumers expect and appreciate a broader product offering in the PC gaming space, so we believe leveraging the Turtle Beach brand and expanding our product portfolio to include accessories, such as gaming keyboards, mice and mouse pads,

is a great opportunity for us to cater to the PC gaming audience looking for something new.

Turtle Beach is widely regarded as The Gaming Headset Firm. By diversifying are you worried you might lose that focus? That’s an interesting label, and one that we certainly do appreciate. But, this is a great opportunity to remind existing fans and inform younger gamers that Turtle Beach is a brand that has been around for 40 years now – having started life in the PC space making sound cards – so it’s actually part of our heritage. Also, our new PC gaming accessories were created in partnership with Nordic Game Supply (NGS), our long-standing distribution partner in the Nordics. We collaborated with NGS on product design to ensure these new accessories meet our standards for quality and innovation, to deliver products that the competitive PC gaming audience will truly appreciate. Turtle Beach is an official partner of Major League Gaming. What impact has this had on your business? ESports has grown faster than nyone expected and our partnerships with MLG and Twitch have certainly enabled us to get a foothold in this space. While we can’t directly attribute the rise in eSports to a spike in headset sales, headsets are essential for multiplayer gaming and in gaining a competitive advantage, so we are constantly assessing our eSports strategy and how best to integrate in this space in an authentic way.

Accessory to success

Accessories specialist Turtle Beach walked away from the MCV Awards 2015 with its second peripherals prize in two years. Alex Calvin talks to the firm’s senior communications manager Keith Hennessey about

the company’s continued success and expanding beyond gaming headsets

It would be irresponsible for us to not pay attention to the rise of eSports and look to get involved.

Keith Hennessey, Turtle Beach

Turtle Beach retained its ‘Best Peripherals’ MCV Award this year

XXX XXX


MCV AWARDS WINNERS TURTLE BEACH

INSIGHT


The early results are in for Zombie Army Trilogy, Rebellion’s first self-

published console title.I’m pleased to say we are on track

to make double our costs back in 12 months or less - a return rate that, if you’re a venture capitalist, you’d be more than happy with.

The goal of these articles has been to share some of the insights I’ve uncovered and, with this being the final piece, here are the key lessons we’ve learned.

1. Cut your coat according to your clothSelf-publishing was a risk, but we felt we could control that risk. We took confidence from our track record, and that the investment required for the game was relatively modest.

This has to be reflected in the price, which is why Zombie Army Trilogy retails for a third less than the £45 (and up) that new-generation console titles tend to start at. This reinforces the view that there’s a market in-between mobile games and full-priced console releases - perhaps the mid-tier is making a comeback. Basically: we weren’t over-ambitious or greedy, either.

2. Happy fans and strong sales beat critical acclaimWhen we made the first Nazi Zombie Army game, there were no plans for a sequel, let alone two of them and a console version. But

market opportunity – we simply made a great game that we thought others would like to play.

I’ve spoken before about the disconnect between professional game reviews and consumer purchasing decisions, and that disconnect has been apparent again with Zombie Army Trilogy. That’s not to denigrate anyone; it’s simply that that the game was never designed to win a BAFTA, and with my CEO hat on, and my responsibility to pay our 200-plus staff, it’s sales that keep the lights on, not review scores or awards (though they are always welcome). My advice to other developer-publishers is not to be unduly fearful of reviews – and I say that as Rebellion’s creative director and a vociferous proponent of the artistic and cultural value of our medium. Creativity and innovation matter a lot – however, knowing what you do best and if there is a market for it, and then delivering what that market

Self-publishing is a viable and profi table route if you’re prepared for everything that comes with it.

Jason Kingsley, Rebellion

The key lessons we learned from self-publishing Zombie Army Trilogy

In the fourth and fi nal part of his regular column, Rebellion CEO JASON KINGSLEY shares his insights from the launch of his fi rst self-published console game, Zombie Army Trilogy

wants - is more important for a sustainable business.

3. Decide quickly and share earlyIf there’s anything I will do differently next time, it’s making key decisions faster - such as how we’re going to get a game to market.

It’s surprising just how many emergent and unexpected issues there are. For example, with Zombie Army Trilogy, whilst it’s clearly an 18-rated game, if you want your game on supermarket shelves, then the cover needs to be appropriate. That skinned, burnt, Nazi skull represents the game’s tone and content, but may give a buyer the heeby-jeebies.

Also, direct access to the PlayStation and Xbox platforms is wonderful, but brings with it a number of production and approval processes, which can take far longer than you think.

Ultimately game developers should take heart - self-publishing is a viable and profitable route if you’re prepared for everything that comes with it.

INSIGHT

Zombie Army Trilogy may not be a critical darling, but it has a highly dedicated fanbase which counts for more, says Kingsley

the franchise found an audience - a keen fanbase for what is unashamedly a tongue-in-cheek, gory, WWII zombie shooter.

Part of the decision to self-publish came from knowing that there was a fanbase who wanted more. We didn’t over-analyse the

The wait has given us the time to start this generation with new technology: a totally clean slate.

Jonathan Bunney, Codemasters

When Codemasters revealed that last year’s new instalment

in the F1 franchise would not be coming to PS4 or Xbox One, it was seen as a bit of a misfire.

Racing games have long been a staple in the early months of new console generations, and F1’s absence left a noticeable hole in the calendar for driving fans that had just moved onto the new platforms and were looking for something to play.

It was also a risky move for Codemasters; with racing titles such as DriveClub and Forza on the starting grid early, F1’s delayed start could have opened a gap for any one – or all – of those games to leave it in the dust.

But you don’t come to the track with a slower vehicle to begin with, retorts Codemaster’s VP of publishing Jonathan Bunney.

“While we would have loved to have delivered the F1 experience for 2014, we didn’t want our first current-gen game to feel like a port of an old-gen title,” he explains.

“The wait has given us the time to start this generation with new technology: a totally clean slate from which we’ve built a game with near photo-realistic cars and tracks, giving us the ability to represent the sport more realistically than ever before. Plus, the new broadcast-style presentation in F1 2015 wouldn’t have been achievable under our previous technology or on the last generation of hardware.”

So while F1 2015 may have been slow to pull away, it’s set to hit the track at full speed. And the threat from rival franchises? Well, a race is nothing without some competitors – and Bunney suggests that F1’s fanbase has the

momentum to propel the upcoming game to a podium finish.

“Our community is clearly excited about finally getting its hands on the PS4 and Xbox One versions of F1,” he observes.

“The hunger for good racing games still shows no sign of slowing down. Over the years we’ve seen an increase in players who aren’t gamers, but have a love for F1. Conversely, we’ve also found that a lot of gamers who enjoy racing titles have started to show a wider interest in the sport of Formula 1, and this has been increasing fastest in the UK since Lewis Hamilton became World Champion.”

PERFORMANCE-TUNEDF1 2014 was released in early October of last year, and F1 2015 will arrive this July – almost nine months later. So what

The magic FormulaRacing fans were disappointed when Codemasters announced that F1 2014 would not be coming

to PS4 or Xbox One. This year’s follow-up changes that. VP of publishing Jonathan Bunney tells Matthew Jarvis what’s new for F1 2015 and why the wait was worth it

F1 2015

Release Date: July 10th Formats: PS4, Xbox One, PC Publisher: Bandai Namco Developer: Codemasters

THE BIG GAME F1 2015


exactly has that time allowed Codemasters to do? A lot, as it turns out.

“The most significant change for F1 2015 is the move to an entirely new engine,” Bunney points out. “We saw the shift to the current generation of consoles as a prime opportunity to start afresh and build the game from the ground up to take advantage of the additional performance and memory available to us. The new engine has brought with it significant improvements in all areas of the game, from screen resolution and framerate to the new physics and tyre model coupled to the force feedback and controller effects.

“We’ve also taken full advantage of the voice communication features of both PS4 and Xbox One, giving

the player unprecedented immersion when out on track. In addition, we have introduced the aforementioned broadcast style, which closes the gap between the TV and game experience; the replay cameras reflect the TV presentation, the race introduction commentary changes based on what’s happened in your season and you see more of the superstar drivers out of their cars, in garages, on the grid before a race and on the podium afterwards.”

A lot of these changes and tweaks might sound like a wishlist for hardcore simulation fans only, but F1 2015’s dedication to upping the level of realism is something that should even be of interest to fans of more arcade racing games like Forza Horizon, The Crew and Need For Speed, too.

THE simulation nature of the F1 games has long been a draw for fans of realistic driving titles, and these players often invest in peripherals such as racing wheels to boost their immersion while playing.

F1 2015 will expand support for extra devices, with a host of new features included in the series’ debut on PS4 and Xbox One.

“Though the numbers are relatively small, we’ve always offered very wide-reaching peripheral support in all Codemasters racing titles,” comments Codemasters VP of publishing Jonathan Bunney. “That’s no different in F1 2015.

“The game supports full voice communications between the player and their race engineer. This is made possible via Kinect on Xbox One and any PS4 compatible audio device. We’re also going to be supporting more than 50 input devices, thanks to the determination of our community.

“In recent years the increased availability of high quality and affordable steering wheels has benefited racing titles, and I see that continuing even more so with this generation of hardware.

“People are looking for more immersive and exciting ways to enjoy their gaming, and, with the likes of steering wheels, racing cockpits and VR headsets like Oculus Rift and Morpheus, we’re in for an exciting time in not only racing gaming, but gaming in general.”

Of course, those who opt for a standard PS4 or Xbox One controller won’t miss out on most of F1 2015’s improvements, either.

“The wheel experience is terrific, but we know that most console players will just pick up a pad,” adds Bunney. “So we’ve also put significant resources behind improving our pad handling model to deliver a much more responsive feel.”

TRACK TECH


F1 2015 THE BIG GAME

15

“As our simulation modeling has improved, we’re actually seeing both core and casual players get more from our games,” explains Bunney. “The closer we get to real life, the closer the experiences become to actually driving a car, not driving something that approximates a car.”

All in all, rewriting the code behind F1 from scratch doesn’t just provide a step up from the last generation of hardware – it also builds a step towards the future of the F1 IP, and racing games as a whole.

“We are keenly watching VR,” Bunney reveals. “Many major players have already moved into this space, the enthusiasm for the technology is gaining real momentum and VR is perfectly suited to racing games, because the world moves around you and motion sickness is reduced.

“Creating games that are successful in VR is a new skill we have to perfect and we’ve already made great strides with the VR implementation on ToyBox Turbos, Dirt Rally and Grid Autosport.

“Delivering a world-class VR experience on a title as technically demanding as F1 is definitely an opportunity – and a challenge – for the future.”

CONGESTION ON THE TRACKProject CARS, DriveClub, The Crew: the grid is currently packed with brand new racing IP.

And with major established franchises like Need For Speed and Forza fuelling up for release later this year, F1 2015 is facing some serious rivalry.

But Codemasters is confident the F1 brand seperates it from the pack.

“Competition always makes us stronger,” Bunney responds. “But F1 2015 is the only game which offers real drivers, teams and circuits – and that’s important with a real-world sport such as Formula 1.

“While we believe we have the best racing experience on the market, F1 2015 is the only officially-licensed product of one of the most glamorous and exciting sports in the world. You won’t be able to experience all of the licensed circuits, teams and drivers anywhere else, nor will you be able to experience the whole race strategy and pit stops using engine mix and real F1 knowledge to work your way up the field.”

F1 2015 is being published by Bandai Namco, which also put out newcomer (and chart topping)Project CARS mere weeks ago. Despite being both simulation driving games, Bunney says the relatively close release dates of the titles isn’t a cause for concern – it’s actually a boon.

“The way in which you play and progress in both titles differs quite significantly,” he explains. “Project CARS offers the player a career path from a fairly grassroots

beginning in motorsport, whereas F1 2015 immediately gives the player unprecedented access to the world’s fastest and most exciting motorsport, as well as all of the glitz and glamour that goes with it.

“Being stablemates with a title such as Project CARS can only help both the F1 brand and Bandai Namco take a real foothold in the racing genre.”

THE ROAD AHEADF1 may have taken its time coming to PS4 and Xbox One, but Codemasters certainly seems bullish that the game will be worth the wait for its fans.

And of course, this is only the beginning for the F1 franchise on these new machines. There is plenty of tinkering under the bonnet to come.

“We have a pretty clear roadmap and loads of ideas for the years ahead,” teases Bunney. “But right now we are very focused on making F1 2015 an enormous success – and early indications from the community and pre-sales are extremely encouraging.

“The game is great to play and, with significantly more Grand Prix weekends between our launch and the end of the season, we have a great year ahead.”

F1 2015 will launch in July, in the middle of the Formula 1 racing season. However, it’s actually a premature release compared to previous F1 launches.

Codemasters VP of publishing Jonathan Bunney explains why summer is the right time for this year’s game: “It’s always a challenge bringing a complicated sport like F1 to market early in the season, but this year we are releasing it many months earlier than we’ve done so before.

“Our previous October launch window was great for taking advantage of the run up to Christmas, but we know from our research that interest in the game jumps around every

Grand Prix – so this gives us many more opportunities to promote F1 2015 than we’ve ever had before. Every race will bring new customers to retail.

“It’s been a huge operational challenge. As any fan will know, the F1 teams make changes to their cars and liveries right up to the start of the season. So this year, for the first time, we will be providing users with free updates to ensure that any real life changes between pre-season and the start of the season will be mirrored in the game. For most casual fans it will be hard to spot the difference, but we know our core consumers will have their magnifying glasses ready.”

A NEW SEASON

Being stablemates with Project CARS can only help both the F1 brand and Bandai Namco take a real foothold in the racing genre.

Jonathan Bunney, Codemasters

F1’s gameplay and graphics engine has been completely rewritten for PS4 and Xbox One

May 29th 2015 www.mcvuk.comJ16

THE BIG GAME F1 2015

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Out of all the things that the UK games industry has achieved over the past decade,

GamesAid must stand as the best.The industry charity has raised

well over £1.2m since it launched to support children from all walks of life. Yet its impact goes beyond changing the lives of young people, as it is also symbolic of a maturing, responsible industry. With the success of GamesAid, is it any surprise that Government and investors are also treating this industry with renewed respect?

Last year, GamesAid raised £438,000, which saw seven charities – Special Effect, MAPS, Accuro, Action for Kids, Safe At Last, Jigsaw4U, Lifelites – receive £62,571 each. A lifechanging sum.

If there’s room for improvement, it’s in getting more of the industry involved. All the big publishers are supporters, but the charity is eager to bring in more individuals.

“There are a range of GamesAid events that people can attend, but we’d love to hear from anyone who can turn a fun idea into a fundraiser,” says GamesAid Chair, Emily Britt.

“Importantly, we need members to help us spread the word about

GamesAid, and to help decide which charities should benefit from our activity year-on-year.

“Our members become part of the GamesAid story - one which shows how our industry can do amazing things to help others and that being part of the charity is a positive and powerful undertaking.”

She adds: “Year-on-year we hope to raise more money, and to do this it’s important to raise awareness and grow our membership.”

JOIN NOWJoining a charity may seem like a tall ask, but you don’t have to run a marathon or climb a mountain. In fact, fundraising is not an essential part of being a member. Joining GamesAid simply allows you to support the charity by raising awareness, and voting for who you want to receive the money it raises.

“We love those who raise funds for us,” says GamesAid trustee Tracey McGarrigan, “and we have more people every year holding bake stalls at work, running, cycling, and training for events, or doing live game streams. But importantly, we need members to help us spread the word and find more charities

Brighton bike ride, while the Games On Song choir is getting back in the rehearsal studio.

All of which comes on the back of a series of other successes.

“We’re thrilled that we are now listed as an official charity on Humble Bundle and the support we have had has been incredible,” adds GamesAid trustee Dan Kilby.

“We’ve just celebrated another sell out year at the Comedy Store with Stand Up 4 GamesAid. Plus, we’ve had a team abseil from the ArcelorMittal Orbit, Norwich Gaming Festival held a pub quiz for nearly 200 people, we celebrated the power of the sofa with our Stay In 4 GamesAid night, while Disney has done charity screenings of some of its biggest releases.”

Rich Keen, GamesAid Co-Chair concludes: “The big events are fabulous, but every time an individual overcomes a fear or trains to do something amazing on behalf of GamesAid, it’s a success. The spirit and dedication of our fundraisers is something we are inspired by.”

To get involved with GamesAid, visit: gamesaid.org/join-us.

Why you should get involved with GamesAid

The industry charity is proving to be a roaring success, raising thousands of pounds for incredible charities. But it needs more people to get involved. Christopher Dring explains why you should and how you can

Anyone can turn a fun idea into a fundraiser on behalf of GamesAid.

Emily Britt, GamesAid Chair

This year’s Stand Up for GamesAid showcase raised £7,000

GamesAid donated more than £438,000 in total to seven charities last year

to support. The impact voting on where GamesAid money is spent is essential to our success. More members means we can do more fun stuff throughout the year.”

In terms of the initiatives coming up, GamesAid supporters can look forward to the Charity Poker Night at Develop Conference, the Golf and Spa day, the annual Cologne to

XXX XXX


JOIN GAMESAID

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It’s a challenging time to work in QA and localisation.

As well as the triple-A developers and publishers wrestling with the new tech found within the PS4 and Xbox One, there’s a slew of mobile and indie developers coming to market almost every week.

And although these studios might know their stuff when it comes to making games, they’re often not as well-versed on some of the processes needed to bring a game to market.

“More and more indie and mobile developers are approaching us for their localisation needs,” Localsoft CEO Randall Mage says. “But many do not have the necessary budget for professional localisation and some decide to do it on their own. This, of course, is a big mistake. The sooner developers understand the need to outsource linguistic and QA tasks, the better.”

And that’s just one of the new obstacles facing QA and localisation specialists.

“We have a new wave of content creators coming out of the indie scene and it can be challenging to convince them about the importance of solid QA and localisation to expand their market reach,” agrees Keywords localisation and QA director Thomas Barth, “while established developers and publishers are more conscious of the importance of international sales to reach success.

“As the number of triple-A to medium-sized titles decreases, with games basically turning into services, the QA and localisation

work becomes more and more fragmented and results in key challenges in regards to resources utilisation and talent retention.”

QUALITY TIMEBut it isn’t just these smaller companies – many triple-A creators aren’t giving QA and localisation firms enough time or money to properly work their magic. Sometimes they are even turning to cheaper options. “Can you put a price on the value of positive reviews? What about the damage of negative reviews? And what is the cost of re-doing your marketing campaign and keeping the team long hours in order to ‘fix’ poor localisation and ineffective QA?” asks Universally Speaking’s director Loreto Sanz Fueyo.

“The above have a cost that, while difficult to quantify, is by no means negligible and can make a serious impact on the success and profitability of a game.

“I could tell you many horror stories where we have had to fix some very poor localisation to the point of having to retranslate, and also where we have had to run very elementary QA and compliance checks at the last minute in order for our clients to successfully submit their games. In the end, it was a false economy and the lesson is a painful one to learn.”

Barth adds: “Producing games is costing more and more and the competition is steep, so the success of game titles is a risk that some developers or publishers are facing with more conservative investments – on

What’s bugging the bug testers?

With a plethora of new platforms, clients and business models, QA and localisation firms are under more pressure than ever before. Alex Calvin catches up with some of

the biggest names in the sector to discuss the latest trends

Can you put a price on positive reviews? What about keeping your team long hours to ‘fix’ poor localisation and ineffective QA?

Loreto Sanz Fueyo, Universally Speaking

Indie developers need QA and localisation as much as triple- A firms

QA AND LOCALISATION SPECIAL


top of new monetisation models. We have always been giving our partners budget options and what we can see is that there is a trend towards the most cost effective offerings. As service providers, it’s our job to offer solutions that fit even the tightest budget while still delivering relevant quality.”

LESSONS LEARNT After the plethora of bug-ridden games that launched at the end of 2014, one would assume that triple-A publishers would be more cautious, and perhaps change the way they approach QA and localisation – but the specialists are yet to see a significant change.

“We haven’t seen a massive shift in attitude or strategy towards allowing more time,” Sanz Fueyo says. “If anything, it’s gotten worse. Quality at the moment is determined by time and resources, including

money. There seems to be very few developers that want to release the perfect product, especially not if it means delaying launch.

“This will naturally have its consequences and we are likely to see again publishers, developer and games that will become ‘famous’ amongst the users for the sloppy work and cavalier attitude towards the quality of the end product.

“We strongly advocate the importance of good quality and how it translates into more sales and positive reviews.”

Pole to Win’s manager of operations Dylan Edwards adds: “The problem we are facing is that consumers still want the same turnaround times for the release of titles, which forces publishers to take more risks by releasing games earlier than what they would have been comfortable with previously.

“The perception of ‘The Release Date’ might have changed but the importance of QA remains very clear for our clients. What we have seen is the growing need to have constant, centralised support from the early stages of QA through to Submission and Customer Service. Publishers are not aiming to reduce QA or lessen their product’s quality, and the support needed is more rooted and wide-scoped than ever.”

But Barth’s experience has been slightly (and we mean slightly) different: “QA and localisation are more visible in the development process and there are studios allocating more time for them.

“But in general not much has changed from my point of view, despite the internet being very vocal around those issues at the end of last year.”

It can be challenging to convince indies about the importance of solid QA and localisation.

Thomas Barth, Keywords

Publishers need to give QA and localisation fi rms more time to work on games

LAST year China halted its ban on the sale of foreign consoles in the region, with both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launching there shortly after.

As a result, QA and localisation firms are now being asked to work on content for this part of the world.

“The scope in China has certainly increased, but there is still much growth potential,” Keywords localisation and QA director Thomas Barth says. “The release requirements for China are still fairly strict and the balancing act to adapt games to the market needs to mature further in order for publishers to become more confident to release even more titles in China.”

Pole to Win senior manager of operations Andrea Ciancetta adds: “Not only China, but the Asian markets are all really interesting for the whole industry, with consoles continuing to gain ground in territories like South Korea, while the popularity of PC and mobile titles continues expanding at a breathtaking pace. Locally we are also seeing a lot of interest in

expanding into this market and including it as part of companies’ overall strategy, and we are thrilled to be able to help our clients with this.”

However, Universally Speaking director Loreto Sanz Fueyo says that requests for Chinese localisation aren’t new.

“Chinese is on every request that comes through and it’s been this way for some time now. It’s a massive market and certainly since it opened its doors to the world of console the requests have been coming through.

“However, due to the idiosyncrasies of the Chinese market, there are still a considerable number of publishers and developers who partner with local companies. Paramount when publishing in China is being aware of the local sensibilities and adapting your game to the market; sometimes you will need to adapt not just a few icons and art assets, but often you might need to do a soft re-skin and a re-design of some elements of the game in order to have the best chance at succeeding in China.”

CHINA RISING


QA AND LOCALISATION SPECIAL

Every day, across 60+ languages

On multiple platforms including Android & iOS

We have an incredible network of studios globally

We consult with developers and publishers every day

UNIVERSALLY Speaking was founded ten years ago and has since established itself as one of the premier companies in the QA and localisation sector.

“We have worked on games ranging from massive triple-A titles to smaller budget titles. Recently we’ve seen the evolution of gaming through mobile platforms and social media, changes that are reflected in the explosion of developers we partner with and games we work on,” the firm’s director Loreto Sanz Fueyo tells MCV.

“We are passionate about what we do and have a team of experts in the fields of localisation and QA ready to help our clients, from translating their game to running compatibility testing, from localising keywords and metadata to running focus group testing.

“Our growth is very much supported by a strong history of word-of-mouth recommendations. Our clients and partners like working with us and, what’s more important, feel completely satisfied with the value proposition we deliver.”

With a large number of QA and localisation companies on the market, what is Universally Speaking doing to stand out?

“We are the longest-running UK-based games localisation specialist,” Sanz Fueyo says. “We don’t take this for granted, as it’s taken a huge amount of work over the last 11 years, but a lot of our clients have stayed with us over this time, which makes us proud and different. We have long-term relationships, which means we are actively involved and always

Tell us about Keywords Studios.Keywords is an international technical services provider to the global games industry.

Established in Dublin almost 20 years ago, it now has operations in Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tokyo, Singapore, New Delhi, Pune, Rome, Milan, Barcelona and London. It provides art creation, audio recording, localisation, testing, and customer support services across 50 languages and 12 games platforms.

What differentiates you from other quality assurance and localisation companies in the sector?We are the only international provider of the full range of integrated services mentioned above in the games market.

Profile: Universally Speaking

Profile: Keywords Studios

The QA and localisation firm’s director Loreto Sanz Fueyo tells MCV about Universally Speaking’s long history

Keywords’ localisation and QA director Thomas Barth tells MCV about the company’s global expansion

communicating with them and looking to improve.

“Our history means we have a very good understanding of the games industry in all its genres and have a good appreciation of the market in the UK and in Europe.”

The firm has also been shortlisted for the QA and localisation prize at the Develop Excellence Awards seven times since 2008.

“This is something that highlights our success and our position at the top of the localisation and QA services in the games industry,” Sanz Fueyo explains.

“We see this as a reflection of our hard work and dedication. In addition, we are very happy that the last 12 months have seen a steady growth within our company, expanding both our localisation and QA departments.”

Keywords Studios encompasses companies with a long-standing and unrivaled experience in the localisation and QA fields, like Binari Sonori and Babel. What have been your biggest successes recently? One of the most interesting projects we’ve been working on

We are the longest-running UK-based games localisation specialist.

Loreto Sanz Fueyo, Universally Speaking

We are the only international provider of the full range of intergrated services in the games market.

Thomas Barth, Keywords

in recent months is a yet-to-be-released PC game for a US publisher. Keywords Studios has handled the localisation in 65 languages – including Hausa, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Amharic and Khmer – and the localisation testing of the game, managing hundreds of translators and specialised resources all over the globe. What kind of clients are you working with at the moment?Keywords Studios services 20 of the top 25 games companies by revenue and seven of the top 10 mobile games developers by revenue. Mobile developers and publishers are definitely on the rise. Our partners include Microsoft Games, Supercell, King, Ubisoft and Blizzard, among others.


QA AND LOCALISATION PROFILES

QA and localisation Pole to Win started life in Japan over twenty years ago, and now works across multiple different global regions.

“Pole To Win was established in Japan to provide assistance to games developers and publishers in creating a clean and fine-tuned product that they can be proud of,” manager of operations Dylan Edwards tells MCV.

“Ever since, the Pole To Win group has provided QA and translation services for the video games industry. Now with over 20 years of experience, Pole To Win group covers Asia, North America and Europe, and continues to grow. Our high-security London facility allows us to work closely with many of our present and future clients, going as far as providing on-site staffing solutions.”

The firm has a great deal of experience, but handles each new challenge with a fresh approach.

“Even though Pole To Win Europe and the Pole To Win group have a wealth of experience in the industry we keep a fresh approach and we look at each new challenge as a unique chance to set our bar higher and provide a service that really feels to be built around the need of the project,” Edwards explains. “We feel this is very much in line with the company’s motto of converting a pole position to a win, which was chosen as the company name by the founder.”

In 2012, the firm opened its UK office in London – something that Edwards cites as one of Pole To Win’s recent successes.

“The Pole To Win group keeps expanding and broadening

Profile: Pole To Win Starting out life in Japan, Pole To Win opened an office in London three years ago. MCV catches up with the firm

our range of services and the territories we operate in. Since launching our London studio in 2012, we have grown to a capacity of over 200 people per shift,” he says. “London is the perfect backdrop for linguistic and QA talents to develop their profile and we look forward to growing our staff and our services further.”

Our London facility allows us to work closely with many of our clients, and provide on-site staff solutions.

Dylan Edwards, Pole To Win Europe

VI DEOGAM E LOCAL IZATIONSO TH E WORLD CAN PLAY!

Email us at [email protected] visit our website www.localsoftgames.com

LOCALIZATION SERVICES

Translation


QA AND LOCALISATION PROFILES

Tell us about LocalsoftLocalsoft is a world-class language service provider. We offer translations, audio and testing services.

We’ve been in the localisation business since 1988, first with myself (CEO Randall Mage) as a translator where I translated more than 300 video game titles. Myself and Localsoft translated 20 million words between 1988 and 2000.

During this time, Localsoft has grown from a single language vendor to a Language Service Provider offering services in more than 50 languages. We have internal processes for video game localisations.

What differentiates you from other companies in the sector?With over 25 years of providing

premium language services for the video games industry, we have a great deal of experience.

What have been your biggest successes recently?Our growth has been one of our success stories. We started off in a home office and gradually grew the company.

Our latest achievement is moving to our new headquarters to expand the business further. We are listed ninth place in the Common Sense Advistory’s 2014 ’20 Largest Language Service Providers in Southern Europe’ list.

What kind of clients are you working with at the moment?We work with many of the top video game publishers.

Localsoft was founded in 1997, and provides localisation for 50 languages

Profile: LocalsoftRandall Mage, CEO and founder of localisation firm Localsoft, tells MCV about the firm’s growth

VI DEOGAM E LOCAL IZATIONSO TH E WORLD CAN PLAY!

Email us at [email protected] visit our website www.localsoftgames.com

AUDIO SERVICES

Casting

Pre- / post-production

International Voice Talents

Artistic Direction

In-country Studios


PROFILES QA AND LOCALISATION

29

Before launch, I would have wagered that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt would be a

moderate success. There was no doubt it was a

graphically impressive and highly ambitious title – reflected in the seemingly endless parade of ‘Best of Show and ‘Most Anticipated Game’ prizes it has picked up. But it was the third entry in a notoriously dense franchise, based on a series of books that are hugely popular in Poland. That’s on top of it being, primarily, a PC IP.

But it has truly smashed expectations. Wild Hunt has comfortably had the biggest launch of the year to date. Not only that – it’s now the joint highest-ranked new game for the PS4 and Xbox One on Metacritic (alongside Bloodborne) with a score a 92.

“We’ve just launched the game and the reviews are really good. Seems we’ve made it. We did, right? It’s still hard to believe,” CD Projekt RED’s head of global communications Michał Platkow-Gilewski tells MCV.

“We wanted to redefine the action RPG genre in terms of connecting an open world with a plot that you actually care about.”

But it isn’t the critical acclaim that has impressed the team the most.

“What’s blowing us away are all these personal stories that have come flooding in on forums, social media or email,” says Platkow-Gilewski.

“For us it’s not about the hype, it’s about real people telling us how they appreciate what we do and express that in various ways. People with Witcher tattoos, fans who know the universe inside out, couples playing together and

people gifting each other Witcher items, because they care. It’s all incredibly humbling. Games should connect people and I think that’s what we’re doing.”

He continues: “We’re surprised everything worked so damn well. We’re like a well-oiled machine - we’ve been preparing for this for half a year and we pulled it off. D-day was a blast - almost 19 hours spent in the office, hundreds of emails sent and answered, a lot of stress and a lot of euphoria.”

NEW HORIZONSThe Witcher’s fan base has never been bigger. Wild Hunt’s week one sales were some 608 per cent higher than those of The Witcher 2. Part of this success is down to platform expansion. The series started as a PC-exclusive, moved to PC and Xbox 360 with its second entry and is now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. But there was more to its success than simply more platforms.

“The audience has definitely increased this time because we have three platforms at launch, but I think the major factor here was the massive communication effort on our part over the course of three years,” says Platkow-Gilewski.

“We’ve managed to convey how awesome The Witcher universe really is. We visited [American talk show host] Conan O’Brien, we’ve been to dozens of conventions, we’ve

given hundreds of interviews... and it worked.”

FUTURE PLANS So what is next for the Polish studio? Well it is continuing work on its sci-fi RPG Cyberpunk 2077 – last seen as an impressive CGI trailer in 2012 – and is supporting The Witcher 3 long after its launch.

“We’ll continue to work on Wild Hunt. We’ve announced the expansions - Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine - and we need to create them. There’s minor bugfixing and continuous work on optimising the game. We’re known for supporting our games well after launch and nothing has changed here.

“As for Cyberpunk 2077, let’s talk about it in some time.”

And as well as Wild Hunt, CD Projekt has taken The Witcher into other areas. It has released

a MOBA – The Witcher Battle Arena – based in the same world, as well as a board game, appropriately called The Witcher Board Game.

“We’ve seen a lot of positive feedback on both,” Platkow-Gilewski says.

“The Witcher Battle Arena, was downloaded well over 1m times in a month and we’ve seen some pretty good sales of the board game, too. The Witcher universe is really rich and there are a lot of stories to tell we normally can’t in the main game.”

He concludes: “There’s a myriad of characters there and we want to tell gamers

their story.”

The Witcher’s hour

After being pushed from 2014, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is finally in stores and is proving to be a phenomenal success for developer CD Projekt RED. Alex Calvin discusses the game’s blockbuster launch

We wanted to redefine the genre, connecting an open world with a plot players will care about.

Michał Platkow-Gilewski, CD Projekt RED


INTERVIEW CD PROJEKT RED

THOUGH Wild Hunt is the third entry in The Witcher series, prior to launch CD Projekt RED decided to play down this fact to bring new players on board.

And the studio’s head of global communications Michał Platkow-Gilewski says that this was a key part of the developer’s marketing strategy.

“We modified the logo, but the ‘3’ is still there in the form of the Hunt’s mark,” he says.

“This is the first time we’ve launched a game across all platforms, it’s our debut on a Sony system and our first game on Xbox One. We had to somehow address the potential issue of gamers being afraid of not knowing the previous games.

“Wild Hunt is created in such a way that players can hop in without knowing the previous games and the universe, so the title and logo of the game had to somehow reflect that. Look at the first scene of the game. We see a woman and long-time fans will know who the woman is well before we explain.

“We can’t, however, assume everybody will know that, so we explain who she is in a very seamless way. It’s the same with the logo - those who know this is the third part will see the ‘3’, those who start fresh will see a claw mark or a mask. Communication-wise, I think it’s a really good decision.“

NUMBERS GAME


CD PROJEKT RED INTERVIEW

31

To take a studio from obscurity to prominence once is impressive. To do it three

times is extraordinary.This is the feat managed by

Adrian Chmielarz, the co-founder of Metropolis Software and People Can Fly. These two outlets became renowned for globally successful titles including Painkiller, Bulletstorm and Gears of War: Judgement, before being acquired by big-label publishers: Metropolis by The Witcher studio CD Projekt Red and People Can Fly by Gears of War creator Epic Games.

But having twice made the leap from indie to triple-A, Chmielarz and his two People Can Fly cohorts were soon yearning to return to their origins.

“During our triple-A years at People Can Fly we often fantasised about going independent again,” Chmielarz recalls. “It’s just how we are wired. We do our best work when we have full creative freedom.

“One day we had a discussion with Epic about the future of People Can Fly and it became clear we had different paths in mind. In the end, Epic renamed People Can Fly to Epic Games Poland and now uses the studio to help with big projects like Fortnite, while we started The Astronauts. It was a win-win for everybody.”

TELLING TALESIt’s still early days for The Astronauts, but the studio already looks set to follow the path of Chmielarz’s past accomplishments.

Its first title, narrative-driven mystery-thriller The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, launched on PC last year to an ardent critical response

surrounding its photo-realistic visuals and non-linear storytelling. A PS4 launch is slated to follow later this year, after the game was revealed at Sony’s 2014 Gamescom conference.

Ethan Carter is a first-person title but, unlike so many of its peers, features no shooting or action beyond interacting with puzzle elements. Chmielarz says that its success highlights a growing trend among gamers for atmospheric, story-focused experiences.

“Even if you could describe Ethan Carter’s 250,000 copies sold on PC as niche, you couldn’t do the same to the narrative-driven Telltale games like The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones,” he states. “And note that the success of those games doesn’t come from the use of established licenses: Activision’s shooter The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct and the Game of Thrones RPG both flopped.”

Recent years have seen many triple-A firms increase their investment in more complex titles and begin to consider narrative quality as important as the

gameplay or graphical prowess. But Chmielarz sees smaller outlets as having an inherent advantage when it comes to weaving interactive tales.

“Gamers love a good story,” he comments. “But what they are looking for is storytelling that is told in the language of video games, and that’s what some indie developers deliver because they are not as afraid of experiments and they often can’t afford cutscenes anyway.”

He continues: “Such games then show people how potent their beloved medium is, which ultimately results in the public expecting more from triple-A.

“Indie games are affecting both the triple-A space and, generally, the public. You won’t find a triple-A version of Dear Esther or Gone Home, but you will find the certain philosophy behind these titles in parts of triple-A experiences. Take The Last of Us, for example, with its famous giraffe scene or the shop scene in the game’s Left Behind DLC.”

MORE TO BE TOLDChmielarz’s career has helped to shape the games industry, and now it seems that Ethan Carter’s approach to narrative is similarly helping transform the way that both creators and players approach storytelling.

So what will The Astronauts reappear with next?

“Our next game is going to be more of a ‘game’ than Ethan Carter, but will still tell a meaningful story,” Chmielarz reveals. “And it will tell it in a language that’s exclusive to games.

“If someone likes that game but has real trouble imagining it as a book or a movie, then we will have done our job right.”

From indie to triple-A... and back again

Adrian Chmielarz helped build Polish developer People Can Fly into a successful triple-A outlet. Now, he’s started afresh with a completely new studio –

The Astronauts. Matthew Jarvis finds out why

If someone has real trouble imagining our next game as a book or a movie, then we will have done our job right.

Adrian Chmielarz, The Astronauts

Ethan Carter highlights growing demand for better storytelling in games, says Chmielarz


INDIE INTERVIEW THE ASTRONAUTSSponsored by


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How has business been for you lately? It’s been great. There’s been a few dips, which is to be expected, but we’re doing pretty well. Trade-ins are looking healthy. And The Witcher came out this week and that’s performed really well. We had been pushing the pre-orders as usual.

How are you doing with pre-orders recently? We’re doing pretty well there.

Across the board, there’s been a big drop in pre-orders but we’ve always been pushing them pretty heavily. Generally we’re still getting around 30 or 40 pre-orders each week. We’ve done really well with them.

What have you been doing to push those pre-orders?Just explaining to customers the benefi ts of ordering early really. We also detail the off ers available, such as pre-order exclusive DLC.

It’s only a £5 deposit and we guarantee the price when they order. So if they pay £44, and that game then goes up in price prior to launch, customers will pay £44.

What else has been selling well?Around here Farming Simulator does really well. And we’re selling a lot of DLC for the new Destiny expansion, House of Wolves. Destiny continues to sell as Bungie expands that world. It seems to be pretty much limitless what they

Raymond Reid of Games Centre Dumfries tells MCV how the retailer has been defying the market trend and keeping its pre-order numbers up, and what events it has planned for the summer

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can do. And Project CARS was a really good performer for us.

Have you done any launch events lately?We haven’t done any midnight launches this year, purely because we don’t get enough interest.

We spoke to your Clydebank store in March – they said they were planning events for the summer. Are you doing this, too? We are. What we look at is having

in-store events where we have game challenges. We’ll give out prizes – games, merchandise, gift bags, that kind of thing. Then we’ll have competitions based on the likes of FIFA 15 and Mario Kart – we’re yet to decide the fi nal games. It gets people in store and on the consoles. Once they’re in the store, they look at the rest of the merchandise and games we have on off er. Or they’ll play a game in-store, decide they like it, and buy it from us.

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR OUTLET IN MCV?Contact [email protected] or call 01992 515 303

Games Centre Dumfries10 Queensberry Street, Dumfries DG1 1EX

Phone: 01387 270954Website: www.gamescentre.co.uk

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METAL GEAR SOLID V

Metal Gear Solid’s cultural impact is huge and has helped to shape the games industry for more than two decades.

Dan Long, Insert Coin

The 1980s: a decade of neon, sweatshirts, jackets and various other fashion-defining trends.

It’s also the Cold War era during which Metal Gear Solid V hero Venom Snake is exploring Africa and Afghanistan.

Inspired by the pivotal 1984 setting of the upcoming title, publisher Konami has teamed up with merchandise specialists Insert Coin and Level Up, as well as technology firm Berlin Boombox, to create a range of

new tie-in products, dubbed the ‘1984 Collection’.

The last core entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, PS3 exclusive MGS4: Guns of the Patriots, shipped more than three million units globally on its launch day. It was the best-selling PS3 game to date until the launch of Gran Turismo 5 and remains one of the PS3’s biggest-selling games ever, with six million units sold as of 2014. It is also the joint fifth-highest-rated title of all time on Metacritic.

DESERT CAMO BERLIN BOOMBOX

Modelled on Snake’s iconic stealth tool, the cardboard box, this speaker is constructed from durable corrugated cardboard. It’s designed with a strong carrying handle, as well as a simplifi ed power and volume control system consisting of one aluminium knob. The power-friendly class D amplifi er provides up to 200 hours of use on three AA batteries. It can connect to any music player or smartphone using a standard 3.5mm audio jack.

SRP: £79.99Manufacturer: Berlin BoomboxDistributor: Berlin BoomboxContact: [email protected]

Konami’s iconic stealth series returns in September with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Matthew Jarvis checks out the new merchandise hitting retail ahead of the anticipated title

BIG BOSS ‘84 VARSITY JACKET

This jacket is emblazoned with the name of legendary character Big Boss, as well as the number 84 and the Diamond Dogs logo.

SRP: £69.99Manufacturer: Level Up WearDistributor: KonamiContact: 02089 875 730

DIAMOND DOGS MUG

Metal Gear enthusiasts can have a sneaky cup of tea while infi ltrating the enemy base in style thanks to this branded cup.

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This bright top embodies the neon-soaked style of 1984. A crop top version for women is also available.

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Fans have already been treated to the prologue of MGSV in the form of standalone release Ground Zeroes. The title debuted at number two in the UK charts, and has since shifted more than one million copies worldwide. Ground Zeroes marked the first MGS since 2001’s MGS2 to come to PC. The Phantom Pain will also come to the platform, further expanding the audience for the series. As well as PlayStation, the new game is coming to Xbox One, too.

MGS’ fanbase is sure to be clamouring to discover what series creator Hideo Kojima has said will be the final game in the series.

“Metal Gear Solid is an amazing franchise – its cultural impact is huge and it has helped to shape the games industry for more than two decades,” comments Dan Long, head of communications at Insert Coin. “Even gamers who haven’t played the titles still love the rich lore of the universe – and want to show the world, too.”

DIAMOND DOGS SWEATER

Inspired as much by the fashion trends of the 1980s as it is by Metal Gear Solid V’s in-game military group, Diamond Dogs, this ‘Boss Grey’ pullover sweater is complemented by black and yellow detailing. The Diamond Dogs name and logo are featured, as is the year 1984 – the time setting of the game.

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38

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May 29th 2015 www.mcvuk.com

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MCV takes a look at the best accessories heading to UK retail. This week, we investigate Razer’s living room-friendly mouse and keyboard combo and take gaming on

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Creative Distribution ......................+44 (0) 20 8664 3456

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

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

Sony DADC ............................................ +44 (0) 207 462 6200

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

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

MCV DIRECTORY KEY CONTACTS

RATES £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.

TOTAL DISC REPAIR DISC REPAIR

Tel: +44 (0) 1202 489500 Web: www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk

DIRECTORY


ENQUIRIES

CONOR TALLONTel: 01992 [email protected]

SONY DADC DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 207 462 [email protected]

www.sonydadc.com

Empowering your creative business

Tel: +44 (0) 207 462 6200 Web: www.sonydadc.com

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0)203 137 3781 email: [email protected]

FINK CREATIVE

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

Just Flight

Email: info@fi nkcreative.com Web: www.fi nkcreative.com

CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 208 6643456 Web: www.creativedistribution.co.uk

CURVEBALL LEISURE DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 1792 652521 Web: www.curveball-leisure.com

ENARXIS DYNAMIC MEDIA DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +302 1090 11900 Web: www.enarxis.eu

DIRECTORY


L3I GAMING ACCESSORIES

Tel: + (0)1923 471 020 Web: www.logic3.com

VENOM GAMING ACCESSORIES

Web:www.venomuk.com

Phone:+44 (0)1763 284181

Email:[email protected]@[email protected]

Venom UK Gaming

@VenomGamingUK

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

Dual Charging Stand & Battery Packs

New officially licensed products

Dock, store & charge 2 DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controllers.

DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controllers sold separately.

“ ”, “PlayStation”, “DUALSHOCK” and ” ”are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Also, “ ” is a trademark of the same company. All rights reserved.

Tel: +44 (0)1763 284181 Web: www.venomuk.com

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY?

ADVERTISE WITH US

CALL CONOR TALLON ON 01992 535647 OR EMAIL HIM AT [email protected]

43www.mcvuk.com May 29th 2015

INSIDER’S GUIDE

Tell us about your company.We started Amiqus back in 2000 with a mission to take our love of the games industry and combine it with our experience in recruitment, to help more people find the right job at the right time. Building relationships, creating networks and supporting industry growth is what we’re all about. 15 years on and we’re pretty chuffed that we’re in a position to connect skilled and passionate candidates with the right studios in the games industry who share their values and vision.

What is your biggest success to date?That would have to be our four Develop Awards and, more recently, a TIGA award, too. It makes us so happy that people appreciate the work we do.

What projects do you currently have in the works?We have a sensational and exclusive recruitment project coming up, which will be to find people to work on possibly the world’s biggest sci-fi franchise. We can’t say any more than that but we are super excited.

What are the biggest challenges you face?The games industry is progressive and many jobs didn’t exist even five years ago. In-demand skills are rare, so being able to serve the whole of the ever-changing games industry is a real priority for us.

Tell us something about your company nobody knows.For our office, we designed bespoke wallpapers in the Amiqus colours with inspiring quotes chosen by the team. We also have a resident family of ducklings by a nearby lake who come back every year.

How did you choose your company name?It’s a combination of the letters AMS, which is the acronym for the company we sprang from eons ago and the letters for intelligence quota, IQ. We might not win every pub quiz but we try to recruit clever people where we can.

Amiqus business manager Liz Prince talks about the new job roles emerging in the games industry

Specialism: RecruitmentLocation: 3 Waterhouse Square,138-142 Holborn,London,EC1N 25W

Contact: W: amiqus.comE: [email protected]: 01925 839 700T: @WeAreAmiqus

INSIDER’S GUIDE

THIS MONTH’S DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT:

AMIQUS

Epic Games .................................................. www.epicgames.com/careers

To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact [email protected]

WWW.DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET

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

DIRECTORY WHO?

FOR GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT CHARLOTTE [email protected]

PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] OR CALL 01992 515 303

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR COMPANY IN INSIDER’S GUIDE?

The games industry is progressive and many jobs didn’t exist even five years ago.

Sponsored by


RUSSIA is one of the biggest markets for video games in the world, and is even overcoming its long-held issue with piracy.

According to market tracker SuperData Research, Russia comprises half of the Eastern European digital games market, generating $1.12 billion (£0.72bn) revenue during 2014. This is driven by Russian players’ strong interest in repeat spending, with the country proving the most profitable in terms of monthly spend; gamers spend $22.10 (£14.13) each month, across six separate transactions (on average).

Pay-to-play MMO titles have seen a slower decline in Eastern Europe than the rest of the world, with Russia among the most resilient markets. Despite this, free-to-play titles such as World of Tanks are having an effect. The free-to-play market in Russia was estimated at a

value of $464 million (£297m) last year by SuperData, and is expected to accelerate to $533 million (£341m) by 2018.

Other firms have been quick to capitalise on the Russian interest in free-to-play. Microsoft and 343 Industries launched a free-to-play version of Halo, Halo Online, exclusively in the region earlier this year.

Russia has long been considered as a games piracy blackspot. The latest Global Software Survey from the Business Software Alliance estimated that 62 per cent of software in the country is

unlicensed. However, SuperData counters this with its observation that console revenue increased 23 per cent during 2014, with the increasingly popularity of credit card payments driving consumers to legitimate retailers – suggesting a move away from the piracy that has plagued the industry in years past.

Russia comprises half of the Eastern

European digital games market.

FACTFILE RUSSIA

FACTFILE: RUSSIAPopulation: 143,975,923Capital City: MoscowCurrency: RubleGDP (Per Capita): $8,184

KEY RETAILERSSvyazno, Eldorado, Holodilnik, Citilink, DNS, Technopoint, Enter, Techport

KEY DISTRIBUTORS1C-SoftKlab, Akella, i-Jet Media

TOP DEVELOPERSGaijin Entertainment, ZeptoLab, Ice-Pick Lodge, Nival, Lesta Studio, 1C, Eagle Dynamics,

PUBLISHERS IN THE REGIONEA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Activision, 1C

INTERNATIONAL

MEANWHILE IN... BRAZIL

SOFTWARE piracy is becoming an increasing issue in Brazil due to a new PS4 hack, according to local reports.

Portuguese-language news outlet UOL Jogos states that Brazilian black market traders are off ering gamers the chance to bring their PS4 console in-store and have titles copied directly onto the machine’s hard drive.

Reportedly, the only lasting impact from the third-party hardware that enables the transfer is a second user profi le and a voided warranty from opening the casing.

Ten games are available at a cost of 300 Real (£63), averaging at 30

Real a game – or £6.30. The same games sold at Brazilian RRP would typically tote up to 1,700 Real (£358).

Sony had previously been reported to be working on a

countermeasure to combat a PlayStation Network account cloning exploit that had already been widely utilised by gamers in the region.

A handful of retailers in the South American country have managed to bypass the PS4’s copy-protection, off ering brand new titles for £6


RUSSIA FACTFILE

45

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

WORLDWIDE

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT LIMITEDEmail: [email protected]: www.click-entertainment.comPhone: +44 (0)203 137 3781

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT [email protected]

MCV WORLDWIDE

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORSIF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OVERSEAS, THEN LOOK NO FURTHER

SWEDEN

GAME OUTLET EUROPE ABPO Box 5083, S-650 05 Karlstad, SwedenSales dept: [email protected] dept: [email protected] dept: [email protected] dept: [email protected]: www.gameoutlet.se

AUSTRALIAAFA Interactive, Bluemouth Interactive, Five Star Games, Mindscape, Namco Bandai Partners, Turn Left DistributionBENELUXCLD Distribution, Koch Media, Gameworld Distribution B.V.CANADAE One, Importel, Just4Games, Solutions 2 Go, VidéoglobeCYPRUSAccess, Gibareio, Zilos, Nortec MultimediaCZECH REPUBLICCenega, Conquest, Comgad, Playman, ABC DataDENMARKBergsala, Elpa, Impulse, Koch Media, Nordisk Film Interactive, Nordic Game Supply, PAN VisionFRANCEBig Ben, Innelec, Koch Media, SDO, SodifaGREECEZegatron, CD Media, Namco Bandai Partners, IGE, Nortec, Enarxis, BeaconHUNGARYCNG.hu/Cenega Hungary, CTC Trading, Magnew, PlayON, StadlbauerICELANDSena, Myndform, Samfilm, OrmssonINDONESIAMaxsoft, Uptron, Technosolution IRELANDMSE Group, BaumexJAPANAjioka, Happinet, JesnetNORWAYBergsala, Game Outlet, Koch Media, Nordic Game Supply, Nordisk Film, Pan VisionPOLANDCD Projekt, Cenega, Galapagos, LEMPORTUGALEcoplay, Infocapital, Koch Media, Namco BandaiROMANIABest DistributionSERBIAComTrade, Computerland/Iris Mega, Extreme CCSPAINDigital Bros, Koch Media, Namco Bandai Partners, NobilisSWEDENBergsala, Koch Media, Namco Bandai, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision, Wendros, Ztorm (digital)UAERed Entertainment Distribution, Pluto Games (LS2 Pluto), Viva Entertainment, Gameplay Entertainment, Geekay Distribution

UAE

ALESAYI UNITED COMPANYVideo Games Distributor in the Middle East, P.O BOX 16999 Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai U.A.E.Tel: 00971 4 883 5960Fax: 00971 4 883 5175Email: [email protected] U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com

NORDIC

WENDROS AB SWEDEN, NORWAY, DENMARK & FINLANDJakobsdalsvägen 1712653 HägerstenSwedenPhone: +46 8 51942500Fax: +46 8 7466790Email:[email protected]@wendros.seWeb: www.wendros.se

CYPRUS

G3 GREAT GAMES LTD4 Gregoriou Papafl essa Street, Offi ce 101, Engomi, Nicosia 2414, Cyprus.Tel: +357 22 666612 Web: www.greatgames.com.cy

BRAZIL

Sony Music Entertainment Brasil# 1 Physical Distributor in BrazilRua Lauro Muller n°. 116 – 40°. AndarSalas 4001 a 4003 BotafogoRio de Janeiro RJCEP. 22.290-160Tel. +55 21 2128-0771Fax: +55 21 2128-0747Email : [email protected]: www.sonymusic.com.br | www.day1e.com.br

NETHERLANDS

SOEDESCO B.V.Koddeweg 13, 3194 DH RotterdamThe NetherlandsTel: +31 104722462Fax: +31 104722893Email: [email protected]: www.soedesco.com

IRAN

DC GAMES GROUPNo.9, Hemmatian St.,Takestan St., SattarkhanTehran, IranTel: +98-912-1014090 +98-21-44228670Email: [email protected]: www.Doostan-Co.com

WWW.MCVPACIFIC.COM

Editorial: + 61 (0)424 967 263Leigh.Harris@mcvpacifi c.com

Advertising: + 61 (0)417 084821Joel.Vandaal@mcvpacifi c.com


MORE DISTRIBUTORS

Sponsored by

BELGIUM

CLD DISTRIBUTIONRue du Grand Champs 14 , B 5380 Fernelmont BelgiumTel: +32 81 83 02 02Fax: +32 81 83 02 09Email: [email protected]: www.cld.be home of www.dragonwar.eu & www.mawashi.eu


DIARY DATES

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT [email protected] ADVERTISE CONTACT [email protected]

EDITORIAL PLANNER

JUNE 2015.............................................................................

JUNE 5TH E3 Preview and Show Tips Special Editions International Factfi le: New Zealand

JUNE 12TH E3 SPECIAL: The Alternative Guide To E3 -

Featuring all the secrets from the show, plus companies you have to meet when in LA

Territory Report: USA International Factfi le: China

JUNE 19TH E3 Announcements Issue International Factfi le: Luxembourg

JUNE 26TH/ JULY 3RD E3 Review Issue International Factfi le: South Africa

JULY 2015.............................................................................

JULY 10TH/17TH Video Games Event Guide International Factfi le: Turkey Territory Report: MENA

JULY 24TH Gamescom Preview Top 20 UK Indie Retailers International Factfi le: Serbia

YOUR GUIDE T0 THE SPECIAL FEATURES COMING UP IN MCV

E3 2015..................................................TUESDAY JUNE 16TH – THURSDAY JUNE 18THLOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTRE, LA

Once again, the global games industry will descend upon Los Angeles to discover what the future of games looks like.

WWW.E3EXPO.COM

DEVELOP AWARDS 2015..................................................WEDNESDAY JULY 15THHILTON BRIGHTON METROPOLE HOTEL, BRIGHTON

Our sister title Develop will be honouring the best the development sector has to off er over the course of 20 awards categories.

WWW.DEVELOPAWARDS.COM

GAMESCOM 2015..................................................WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5TH - SUNDAY AUGUST 9TH MESSEPLATZ 1, 50679 COLOGNE, GERMANY

More information will be revealed about the biggest games of the year at Gamescom, and MCV will be at there with our special show daily magazines.

WWW.GAMESCOM-COLOGNE.COM/

SAVE THE DATE

INDIE RETAIL MONTH

Including:

The Top 20 Independent Retailers interviewed How can indies survive the industry transition Indie Retail Awards – Who are servicing the

independent scene the best New opportunities – new products for indies Where to sell your indie games Digital Indies – Tips for small outlets trying to sell

digital content Indie retailer roundtable

JULY 2015 ON MCVUK.COM

E3 MONTH

Including:

Interview with E3 organisers, ESA Who is E3 for? Find out if you need to attend E3 predictions E3 Survival Tips E3: Where to eat, where to meet Around the clock coverage of the biggest games

show on earth. News, opinion and live video E3 review: What MCV thought E3 review: What the industry thought MCV’s 25 Games of E3

JUNE 2015 ON MCVUK.COM

OFF THE RECORD

SI ARE THE CHAMPIONS

MEMBERS of the games industry gathered once again to take to the pitch at the Barnet Power League football grounds in North London last week, in hope of footballing glory.

Teams from GAME, Rockstar, Marmalade, Sports Interactive, PlayStation, Xbox, Exertis, GameLoft, Turtle Beach and Testology all took part in this year’s MCV Games 5s.

The fi ve-a-side tournament saw not just one, but two showdowns between the UK PlayStation and Xbox sides, including in the plate semi-fi nals.

But it was Football Manager fi rm Sports Interacive that lifted the silverware at the end of the day, having bested GAME DC – one of two teams from the retailer – in a tense fi nal. The developer came all-so-close to winning last year’s competition, but were beaten at the last moment by 2014 victors Testology.

OFF THE RECORD This week, football and charity is widespread throughout the games industry, and there’s another chance to win an Xbox One

48

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN AN XBOX ONELIKE FIFA? WANT TO WIN A XBOX ONE? CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGEXBOX has teamed up with MCV to run a series of new weekly challenges.

Every Friday, Xbox will test gamers and pose key questions based around upcoming events.

Just for industry folk and retailers, there’s a way to take part via MCV which could win you some fantastic prizes.

Here’s how it works: every week, MCV will print a challenge on this page. You simply need to show us your answer - tweet it to us, email us or post on our other social feeds.

MCV XBOX CHALLENGE NO.8:

FA FIFA FEVERThe FA Cup is this weekend, so we’re looking to give away an Xbox One to the biggest football fans in the UK games industry.

All you have to do is send us your best FIFA 15 goals (see right). We’re after screenshots and videos of the best belters, penalties, free kicks, corner shots, and headers. It’s not just the fi nal kick – impressive dribbling, crosses and masses of style will make you stand out from the crowd. Go and get scoring!

HOW TO ENTER Tweet us with a picture or

video of your entry (if relevant) to @MCVonline - don’t forget to use #AllForOne with your entry. Make sure you use both!

You can also send entries to off [email protected] - use #AllForOne in the subject

Alternatively tell us via Facebook - you can fi nd us at facebook.com/MCVonline

Deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday, June 5th

WIN!

May 29th 2015 www.mcvuk.com

HAVE YOU ENTERED ANY OF OUR PAST CHALLENGES? STAY TUNED – THE FIRST WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON

OFF THE RECORD


@milesSI Woohoo! Team @SI_games won the @MCVonline 5-a-side tournament today. Which is good as it means the squad all still have jobs.

Miles Jacobson, Sports InteractiveThursday May 21st

@olismith93 Top day with Team PlayStation at @MCVonline’s 5-a-sides. Lost the @PlayStationUK derby but played well along the way!

Oliver Smith, PlayStation, Thursday May 21st

@AceyBongos Represented @XboxUK at the @MCVonline 5-a-sides today. We had to play @PlayStationUK twice. Don’t ask the score.

Graeme Boyd, Xbox, Thursday May 21st

@505Tim I’m all for bringing better story-telling to games but racing games are like porn... neither warrant ‘narrative’!

Tim Woodley, 505 GamesThursday May 21st

@SI_games @MCVonline 5-a-Side Cup Winners 2015 #getin

Sports InteractiveThursday May 21st

@wyp100 Jan 2013, Logitech said it would discontinue “non-strategic products” such as console gaming peripherals. Amazing what 20m+ PS4 sales will do for your opinion of a “non-strategic product”.

Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer, Friday May 22nd

THE WEEK IN 140 CHARACTERSThe Tweets you might have missed in the last seven days

HECK OF A PAYLOAD

THE developer behind vehicular exploration and combat title TerraTech embraced its generous side this month.

Payload Studios presented a cheque for £1,100 to charity SpecialEff ect, with the money raised through sales of the game via the Humble Store widget on the TerraTech website.

OFF THE RECORD


FALLING WITH STYLE

ANOTHER week, another charitable fundraising eff ort by the UK games industry.

Teresa Martucci, Matt Styles, James Beaven and Sarah Bavin took on the challenge of abseiling down the 376-foot-high ArcelorMittal Orbit, the UK’s largest sculpture.

They were joined by Lisa McGarrigan, who stepped in at the last minute to replace her sister (and GamesAid trustee) Tracey after she fractured a rib.

Overall, the brave team raised an impressive £1,596.44 for GamesAid. We’re feeling sick just looking at the pictures.

Mojomancer@Mojomancer

Mists of Pandaria for World of Warcraft: light-hearted and fun with the best exploration of a new land in any game.

TheBlocktacularCF @CFGX_20T

Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction or Starcraft: Brood War. The bar was set by Blizzard and never surpassed, even by them, since.

THIS WEEK ON

YOUR FAVOURITE DLC PACK OR GAME

EXPANSION?

Ryan Simmonds @Ryan_Simmonds_1

like getting a whole new game. .

Peter Chan @Peter_Chan

Serena is my favorite female lead in the game. :)

Simon@Lankysi

getting my trusty, loyal, friendly dog back, how could anything beat that?

Matt ‘Beardy’ Harris @MattSHarris

Fave: BF2 Special Forces.

etc grew.

Epic Gordon @eniek

Easy. The Last of Us: Left

a great game.

Cohh@CohhCarnage

Georgina Kamsika @Thessilian

Do Half Life Episode 1 and 2 count? Because damn, they rocked.

James White @Gnarlbones

could get any better, and then it did. Long live Sheogorath!

ONLINE PRACTICE & MORE Hone your skills in the new Online Practice Session

before challenging your friends and racing rivals from across the world in Online Multiplayer.

BONUS 2014 SEASON CONTENTLook back at last year’s exciting season and enjoy a fully playable 2014 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD

CHAMPIONSHIP™ as bonus game content.

THE MOST RELEVANT FORMULA 1 GAME YET An earlier release in the racing calendar and with free digital updates set to keep the game up to date during the season,

F1 2015 brings fans the most relevant FORMULA 1 videogame ever.

A STUNNING NEW GAME ENGINE A brand new game engine, built from the ground up

for the latest consoles and PCs allows players to experience FORMULA 1 in unprecedented detail.

WWW.FORMULA1-GAME.COM I FORMULA1GAME

© 2015 The Codemasters Software Company Limited (“Codemasters”). All rights reserved. “Codemasters”®, “Ego”® and the Codemasters logo are registered trade marks owned by Codemasters. “Codemasters Racing”™ is a trade mark of Codemasters.

An offi cial product of the FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. The F1 FORMULA 1 logo, F1 logo, F1 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP logo, FORMULA 1, FORMULA ONE, F1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and related marks are trade marks of Formula One Licensing BV, a Formula One group company. Licensed by Formula One World Championship Limited. All rights reserved. © Key art driver images 2015, licensed by Formula One World Championship Limited. All rights reserved.

All other copyrights or trade marks are the property of their respective owners and are being used under license. YouTube and the YouTube logo are trademarks of Google Inc. “ ” and “PlayStation” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Also, “ ” is a trademark of the same company.

Documents

MCV 835 May 29th