MCV822 February 13th

THE PUBLISHER TALKS RESIDENT EVIL AND STREET FIGHTER P06

OVERALL UK GAMES MARKET VALUE: 3.944bn

PLUS 3DS LUCKY DAY SONYS FIRST BIG EXCLUSIVE OF 2015 THE ORDER: 1886

by Christopher Dring THE UK games market is on the brink of returning to a level of prosperity not seen since 2008, with 3.944bn spent on video gaming in 2014.

This makes it the second biggest year in UK games industry history.

The fastest growing area of last year was console hardware, which was up by more than a third to 915m on the back of strong PS4 and Xbox One sales, while Wii U and Vita also saw sales growth in 2014.

The digital games market - including PC and console downloads, microtransactions and mobile titles is now worth almost 1.6bn (based on current IHS estimates), a rise of 18.8 per cent year-on-year.

Books and magazines were also up, by 77 per cent, bolstered by best-selling book franchises such as Minecraft.

The single largest digital market was console (including games and service subscriptions), which is now worth 573m, while PC content sits at 475m.

UKIE CEO Dr Jo Twist commented on the evaluation: Its fantastic to see the consumer market thriving and growing.

Impressive gures like these help reinforce the importance of our sector to policy makers and the media, strengthening our global standing as a key market in the digital economy.Turn the page for more information about the UK games market in 2014.

CAPCOMS COMEBACK

Digital, online and mobile market up over 18 per cent O Pre-owned sales eclipse 100m

UK games market jumps 13% to 3.94bn

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES

ISSUE 822 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13TH 2015

2014 was the second-biggest year in UK games industry history.

PERIPHERALS AND ACCESSORIESUP 4.3% (2013: 276m)

Source: GfK Chart-Track

PRE-OWNED SOFTWAREUP 10.7% (REVISED 2013: 96.4m)

Source: Kantar Worldpanel

BOXED SOFTWAREDOWN 6.3% (2013: 998m)


TOYSDOWN 14% (2013: 80m)

Source: NPD

MOBILE GAMINGUP 21.2% (REVISED 2013: 452m)

Source: IHS

1.048bn

288m 106.8m

23m 935m

548m 69m

5.4m

DIGITAL CONSOLE AND PCUP 17.6% (REVISED 2013: 891m)

Source: IHS

BOOKS AND MAGAZINESUP 77% (2013: 13m)

Source: Nielsen and industry estimates

CONSOLE HARDWAREUP 46.2% (2013: 626m)


915m

MOVIES AND SOUNDTRACKSDOWN 21.7% (2013: 6.9m)

Source: O cial Charts

EVENTSUP 96.4% (2013: 2.8m)

Source: MCV estimates

5.5m

CHEAT SHEET

04February 13th 2015 www.mcvuk.com

by Christopher Dring

SALES of toys based on video games fell 14 per cent in 2014, NPD has told MCV.

The decline is almost entirely down to a drop in popularity of Moshi Monsters products. NPD tells MCV that if Moshi Monsters was discounted, then video game toy sales would have risen year-on-year.

It was also a challenging year for Angry Birds. Sales of Angry Birds toys and products fell 50 per cent in value year-on-year, although they accounted for a smaller proportion of the market.

The most popular toy brand of 2014 was Minecraft. In total, 69m was generated from video game toys (not including toys-to-life products).

GFK Chart-Track has revealed that consumers spent 158m on points cards in 2014.

26m of that gure was generated by points cards for speci c individual titles, which a greater number of stores

stocked last year. Thats a 136 per cent increase year-on-year.

IHS estimates that 1.048 billion was spent on console and PC digital content in 2014. This means points cards comprised around 15 per cent of overall digital spend.

Digital points cards worth 158m

UK RETAIL TOP 10

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION12 Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar

3 FIFA 15 EA

4 Assassins Creed Unity Ubisoft

5 Minecraft: Xbox Edition Microsoft

6 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Sony

7 Destiny Activision

8 Call of Duty: Ghosts Activision

9 Far Cry 4 Ubisoft

10 The Crew Ubisoft

ZELDA: MAJORAS MASK 3D + NECKLACE (3DS) NINTENDO12 Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) Nintendo

3 The Order 1886 + Knights Endurance DLC (PS4) Sony

4 Dying Light + Survivor Handbook (PS4) Warner Bros

5 Amiibo Mega Man Figure (Wii U) Nintendo

6 Amiibo Sonic Figure (Wii U) Nintendo

7 Battle eld Hardline + Versatility Backpack DLC (PS4) EA

8 Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (3DS) Nintendo

9 Amiibo Charizard Figure (Wii U) Nintendo

10 Bloodborne (PS4) Sony

SPONSORED BY

10m

5m

Market DataWith a lack of new games, the market once again shrinks week-on-week

Week EndingJan 24th

Week EndingJan 31st

Week EndingFeb 7th

7m283,450

units

8m321,949

units

8m308,762

units

Toy market tumbles as Moshi Monsters falters

Points cards accounted for around 15 per cent of console and PC digital spend

Both Moshi Monsters and Angry Birds toys saw sales fall during 2014

CHEAT SHEET

05www.mcvuk.com February 13th 2015

SALES of video game-based movies and soundtracks slipped to 5.4m in 2014, according to the O cial Charts Company.

Both sectors su ered from a lack of high pro le releases. The biggest movie was the Need for Speed tie-in, which generated 3.4m in DVD sales.

BOOKS based on video games were worth 14.5m in 2014, a rise of almost 10m from 2013.

Book tracker Nielsen revealed this increase was down to the success of Minecraft books. Minecraft strategy books and annuals lled seven places in the Top Ten books based on games, totalling almost 2m sales.

GTA V is number one game soundtrack

2m Minecraft books sold in 2014

We were a little disappointed that this years market valuation did not total 4bn.

That would mean that the games industry was nally back to the level the retail market reached in 2008 when Guitar Hero, Wii and DS ruled the shelves.

But make no mistake, 3.94bn is an incredible gure and the best news is that this growth is almost across the board. Mobile games, PC games, console games, console hardware, peripherals, points cards and even books and magazines all grew in 2014.

The boxed software market continued to falter, but physical games retailers were easily compensated by impressive hardware and accessory sales, plus an increased share of the digital sector video game points cards alone accounted for 158m in revenue last year.

And thats not counting merchandise. One Minecraft book last year sold more copies than the latest Assassins Creed. Boxed game sales may be declining, but make no mistake: there are other opportunities for games stores and brands.

Toys took a battering last year, although this is entirely down to a rapid decline in Moshi Monster products. Take away the kids IP and the market would have grown, too.

The good news is that growth can be expected to continue in the short-term. But there are some early warning signs worth considering.

For instance, the boxed software market was expected to rise last year, but didnt. The toys-to-life genre dropped ve per cent, which isnt as severe as rst feared, but certainly suggests that the likes of Skylanders and Disney In nity may have peaked.

Even mobile and digital games, despite an impressive combined gure of 1.57bn, are growing at a slower pace than they did in 2013.

The games industry will not grow perpetually without continued investment and e ort. Next year I am con dent well surpass that 4bn number. But will it remain at that level in 2016 or 2017?

Its important that this revenue the industry is generating goes back into it. It goes into growing books and magazines and toys and soundtracks, it goes into new technologies like Oculus Rift and streaming and, most importantly of all, it goes back into making more great games.

Because it will be those games that decide whether the numbers continue to rise, not the popularity of mobile phones or free-to-play or tie-in [email protected]

THE EDITOR

One Minecraft book last year sold more copies than the latest Assassins Creed.

CAN GAMES KEEP GROWING?

TOP TEN UK VIDEO GAME DVDS 2014 (REVENUE)

TOP TEN UK VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACKS (REVENUE)

NEED FOR SPEED 3,371,424.84

MINECRAFT: OFFICIAL CONSTRUCTION BOOK (EGMONT) 548,017

2 Angry Birds Toons Season 1, Volume 1 293,831.93

3 Street Fighter: Assassins Fist 174,705.23

4 Resident Evil: Retribution 152,397.95

5 The Resident Evil Collection 133,417.97

6 Silent Hill: Revelation 110,348

7 Angry Birds Toons: Season 1, Volume 2 86,505.34

8 Pokmon: Kyurem vs The Sword of Justice 49,866.75

9 Pokmon The Movie White/Black 44,749.06

10 Silent Hill 39,134.06

2 Minecraft: The O cial Combat Handbook (Egmont) 466,897

3 Minecraft: The O cial Redstone Handbook (Egmont) 406,132

4 Minecraft: The O cial Beginners Guide (Egmont) 387,647

5 Minecraft: Blockopedia (Egmont) 80,835

6 Skylanders O cial Annual 2015 (Pu n) 51,310

7 Minecraft: The O cial Annual 2014 (Egmont) 48,399

8 Assassins Creed Unity (Penguin Books) 26,870

9 Angry Birds: Super Interactive Annual 2015 (Pedigree) 24,208

10 Build, Discover, Survive! Mastering Minecraft (Brady Publishing) 22,810

1

1

THE MUSIC OF GRAND THEFT AUTO V 23,397.62

2 The Last of Us: O cial Soundtrack 14,195.65

3 Destiny: O cial Soundtrack 9,920.67

4 Mass E ect 3 7,341.96

5 Far Cry 3 3,989.54

6 Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag Sea Shanty Edition 3,924.29

7 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Vocal 3,813.73

8 Dragon Age: Inquisition 3,683.51

9 Pokmon X and Y Super Music 3,458.17

10 Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag 3,368.74

1

TOP TEN UK VIDEO GAME BOOKS 2014 (UNITS)

The last time MCV met with Capcoms UK team, they were full of optimism.It was early 2012 and the next

year was to mark the arrival of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Street Fighter X Tekken, DmC: Devil May Cry and Resident Evil 6. The products were in place for what would surely be the publishers biggest year.

It didnt pan out that way. Fans and critics (and in some cases both) were left disappointed by almost all of those titles. What followed was a major company restructure that would see Capcom release just a handful of products over the next two years.

Our company chairman realised that maybe we werent trading on the seal of quality we used to, says Capcoms UK commercial director Andy Davis.

So we decided to rejig development, but do it at a time when the new formats were coming through and install bases are low - well that was the theory, no-one saw them coming out of the gates the way that they did.

He adds: We are now going to concentrate on the bigger products and the triple-A brands. So that is exciting, the revenue will still be there but it wont be spread across any me-too products.

NECESSARY EVIL As was apparent during this interview, the mood at Capcom is once again optimistic. The firm says that its reorganised the team so that the management is closer to both the development and commercial sides. Individual regions now have more autonomy, they can do their own deals, even sign their own merchandise,

without necessarily having to involve the directors in Japan.

Now we have our destiny and our fate in our hands, enthuses Capcom UK head of marketing Antoine Molant. That makes a big difference. That makes us stronger.

But this renewed optimism is not all about Capcom UKs increased responsibility. Its far more simplistic than that: the publisher now has some games to sell.

The first is the return of Resident Evil. A new version of the original game was a huge digital seller in January and now the company is preparing an episodic take on the series: Resident Evil: Revelations 2.

This title will be available to purchase in three ways. Fans can buy the episodes individually as they become available (released weekly from February 25th), buy a season pass, or wait until the last episode is released and buy them all in a box complete with extra content.

It is uncharted territory for us, continues Molant.

Right from the start we were very clear that there are three offers.. And through that we will tackle all sorts of consumers.

The ones that want just a taste of Resident Evil might simply go for an episode. But we were actually surprised to find talking with our fanbase on social media that the appetite for the boxed game is massive. We thought these people would want to buy the game before anyone else, so would download the episodes as they are released or get the season pass. But actually a lot of them are saying the extra content in the box is worth it, and they want a physical copy as well.

Capcom is understandably optimistic about Revelations 2. Originally intended for released on Xbox 360 and PS3, the firm redeveloped it for the new platforms

following the impressive early sales of PS4 and Xbox One. The episodic nature means it has a marketing period of almost six weeks, and it has an attractive price point, even the boxed version retails for around 35. But most significantly, the firm has made sure Revelations 2 does not repeat the mistakes of Resident Evil 6, which suffered a backlash from fans for being too action-orientated.

We heard the fans. They want to play an original, back-to-roots Resident Evil, and Revelations 2 is a good showcase of that, says Molant. The single player campaign uses modern techniques but has a very old school atmosphere, and that is what the fans want. But, theres also a market that wants to play an action-packed Resident Evil, because Resident Evil 6 was very commercially successful. So with Revelations 2, we have the more action-orientated Raid mode separate from the main single-player campaign.

FIGHT BACKThe year begins with Capcoms efforts to win over disgruntled Resident Evil players, and then the firms next target is Devil May Cry fans. DmC: Devil May Cry was released in 2013 to critical praise, but the fans condemned the title for being too different to its predecessors. Now the publisher is re-releasing the game for Xbox One and PS4, with a few significant changes.

This offer is purely based on what the fans have told [developer] Ninja Theory they would like to see in the game, explains Davis.

Molant adds: DmC was a very controversial game, but a very good

2015: THE RETURN OF CAPCOMAfter two years of near silence following a major company overhaul, Capcom is now returning to the scene with some of its biggest franchises. Christopher Dring meets UK commercial director Andy Davis and head

of marketing Antoine Molant to discuss Capcoms comeback

Capcoms Molant (left) and Davis (above) say that the rm is focusing on the big releases

The fans want to play an original, back-to-roots Resident Evil and Revelations 2 is a good showcase of that.

Antoine Molant, Capcom UK


INTERVIEW CAPCOM UK

game. We had a lot of ups and downs with it. But we are confident about this new one because it has been made with old-school Devil May Cry fan feedback.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 and DMC: Definitive Edition are the warm up acts for Capcoms main event. Its not clear if Street Fighter V will make it out in Europe this year, but make no mistake well be hearing a lot about it over the next 12 months.

Its quite a busy time for fighters, with a new Tekken, Dead or Alive and Mortal Kombat on the schedule. But Capcom isnt concerned.

Not to be arrogant, but Street Fighter seems to operate on a level of its own within that genre, says Davis. When Street Fighter IV came out, there were people who hadnt played a video game for years but came back because it was Street Fighter. So there is an opportunity to tap into that market.

Molant adds: We are looking at eSports with Street Fighter V as well. We have big plans there. It is a field that is exploding these days and the fighting genre is not that well represented yet. The League of Legends of the world are the top played games in eSports, but we feel we can grow that market for fighting games massively, and that is what we are looking at with Street Fighter V. But having said that, at its core Street Fighter is a game you play with your mates on the same sofa, having a laugh after a night out.

On paper, Capcoms line-up may not sound particularly new and inspiring. Theres a new Street Fighter, an episodic Resident Evil and a Devil May Cry update.

But after years of silence, these titles show Capcom is finally finding its feet, and its doing so with the help of its fans.

www.mcvuk.com February 13th 201507

We are looking at eSports with Street Fighter V.

Antoine Molant, Capcom UK

CAPCOM UK INTERVIEW

THE start of 2015 has shown no sign of letting up when it comes to the use of TV advertising by online and mobile properties.

So much is this the case that Nintendo was the only traditional games advertiser to make the Top Ten TV campaigns of January with

its Tomodachi Life property (in terms of individual TVRs accrued).

After dominating the games TV advertising market last year (occupying over 30 per cent of all individual TVRs), King and Supercell owns seven of the Top Ten campaigns of 2015 thus far.

Elsewhere, online rm Social Point entered the TV market for the rst time in support of its Dragon City property which was launched across both iOS and Android in August 2014. It is often the case that mobile game marketers opt to invest in TV after the initial user

base is established through mobile speci c cost per action driven campaigns.

With traditional games advertisers, TV ads are often dictated by the release timeline, in contrast to the always on strategy employed largely by mobile rms.

MOBILE PROPERTIES CONTINUE TO DOMINATE TV AD MARKETOnly one console game appears in the Top Ten TV campaigns of January. GameTime investigates

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

February 13th 2015 www.mcvuk.com08

RANK ADVERTISER BRAND INDIVIDUAL TVRS

1 King Bubble Witch Saga 2 480 2 Supercell Clash of Clans 292 3 King Pet Rescue Saga 263 4 King Farm Heroes 247 5 Supercell Boom Beach 202 6 Supercell Hayday 119 7 Social Point Dragon City 75 8 Nintendo Tomodachi Life 42 9 King Candy Crush Soda Saga 40 10 Disney Club Penguin Mobile App 20

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEKTHIS WEEK: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: MAJORAS MASK 3D

IN THEIR OWN WORDS NINTENDO has been focusing on online and social media content to promote the remake of Majoras Mask. The tone of these ads is sinister, in keeping with the title. On YouTube, Majoras Mask has been appearing at the top of related searches, while video content has been uploaded to the Nintendo3DSUK channel. The game was also central to the last two Nintendo Direct broadcasts.

In addition to this, the rm has been running a live action trailer on television to promote the game.

There is also a limited edition version of the game and a special 3DS console, both of which have been pushed alongside it.

CHANDRA NAIRMarketing Manager, Nintendo UK

MAJORAS Mask 3D is another classic that has

already received critical acclaim once, but is taking the gaming world by storm yet again. Weve got high expectations for the game. The funny thing about Majoras Mask is that so many people have heard of it, and its often talked about, but so many people missed out on it because it came at the end of the N64 console cycle. Now the millions who missed it nally have an opportunity to play it in the best possible way, with multiple additions and improvements.

[INFO]Formats:3DS

Released: February 13th

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Grezzo/Nintendo

Distributor: Open

Contact:01753 483 700

MARKETING

ESPORTS PRO

ROUND-UP

A League of Legends competition in the Philippines has hastily reversed its decision to limit the number of LGBT players per team.

Organiser Garena originally stated that a maximum of one (1) Gay/Transgendered [sic] woman would be permitted, explaining:

There are arguments and concerns that Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered Women members may probably have some unfair advantage.

But following a critical response from fans, media and even League developer Riot Games, Garena rescinded the rule.

APEX, the annual tournament for Smash Bros fans, had a lucky escape this year.

A bogus re alarm on the Friday of the event brought marshals to the Empire Meadowlands Clarion Hotel, Secaucus, where a routine check uncovered structural

damage. This, combined with other infractions, left APEX without a venue and facing cancellation.

Luckily, Twitch and Red Bull stepped in to save the show, relocating it 40 miles to the Garden State Convention Centre in Somerset, NJ.

ESPORTS organisation ESL has announced a $30,000 (19,600) tournament for female Counter-Strike: Global O ensive players.

The Intel Challenge Katowice will take place at Spodek Arena on March 15th, and will invite four teams to compete for the prize.

However, some players have criticised the event for only o ering four slots, and the exclusionary nature of a gendered tournament.

Its a sad day when there are teams outside the pro/semi-pro circuit who could rightfully attend, Brianna masq B told eSports Pro.

Filipino tournament for League of Legends forced to backtrack on controversial ruling restricting number of LGBT players per team after backlash from fans

Annual community get-together for ghting title rescued at the last moment by Twitch and Red Bull after a series of misfortunes resulted in loss of venue

A $30,000 competition aimed at female Counter-Strike players has come under re from professional gamers for its limited and exclusionary nature

LGBT RULE U-TURN FOR LEAGUE OF LEGENDS EVENT

APEX 2015 SMASH BROS GATHERING SAVED

FEMALE CS:GO TOURNAMENT DRAWS CRITICISM

A NEW OUTLET FOR eSPORTSA new channel on MCVuk.com dedicated to competitive gamingWritten by experts, and guided by an advisory board of insidersSupported by a twice-weekly email newsletter sent to over 10,000 execsGet on the mailing list - email [email protected] to registerSponsorship packages available - email [email protected] for details

DOTA PIT SEASON 3 GROUP STAGEOnline, EuropeThe Dota Pit League Season 3 kicked o its quali ers on January 20th, with the group stage starting on February 12th and continuing for the following two months.

The events prize pool started at $80,000, and has since been bolstered by sales of the in-game ticket. An additional $3,000 prize will be awarded to the player voted most valuable.

FEBRUARY 12TH MARCH 12TH

STARLADDER STARSERIES SEASON 12 LAN FINALSCyberArena, Kiev, UkraineThe 12th season of StarSeries boasts an increased prize pool of $50,000 and a brand new format.

16 teams will be split into four groups during Stage One, with the top two sides of each group qualifying for Stage Two. The teams will then compete in a best-of-three series. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the LAN nals.

FEBRUARY 20TH 22ND

eSPORTSTHIS WEEKS BIGGEST NEWS

UPCOMING EVENTS


MARKET MOVES

SEGA | The Sonic publisher has made two high-profile hires to its team.

Former THQ exec JON ROOKE (top left) is moving to Segas European HQ as its European marketing director.

Rooke takes the new role following a stint at Sega-owned developer Creative Assembly, where he worked as global brand director for survival horror title Alien Isolation.

Rooke is an industry marketing veteran, having spent five years at now-defunct publisher THQ, ending his time with the company as European marketing director.

He will replace AMANDA FARR at Sega Europe, who is moving to Xbox UK as its head of content and services.

Jon has a well-earned reputation within the industry and were very pleased to welcome him to Sega, said the publishers COO and president Jurgen Post.

Meanwhile JASON RICE (left) joins the company as director of brand licensing. Before this, Rice was licensing director for Cartoon Network at Turner Broadcasting.

Im delighted to welcome Jason to Sega, said Post. Over the last couple of years, weve heavily invested in the growth of our now extensive licensing portfolio, resulting in a fantastic

range. Jason brings with him a wealth of experience with top brands and is perfectly placed to further develop and expand on our strategy and licensing offering.

GAME | The retailers chief digital officer IAN CHAMBERS has left to pursue

other opportunities. Chambers joined GAME

in 2013 having previously served as VP and international MD at IGN. Prior to that he held digital distribution and digital marketing roles at EA and Ubisoft.

In a press release from GAME, Chambers said: Ive

very much enjoyed working at GAME throughout this period of growth, but now is the right time for me personally to leave to develop other business interests.

GAME boss MARTYN GIBBS added: On behalf of everyone at GAME I would like to thank Ian for the valuable gaming strategic insight that he has brought to the business thanks to his experience in the games industry, and wish him every success for the future.

In an email sent to partners, seen by MCV, Gibbs said that the firms digital team will be reporting to category director CHARLOTTE KNIGHT, while ANDY GRAINGER will head up its business strategy team.

JON ROOKE NAMED SEGA EUROPE MARKETING BOSSPublisher also makes Cartoon Network licensing hire OGAME digital boss departs

APPOINTMENTS

JOYSTIQ | The online gaming brand has been shut by AOL.

20 employees have been made redundant as a result of the shutting of both Joqstiq and MMO title Massively.

I would like to be able to tell you truthfully that this is an equitable and just decision that makes some sort of logical sense, but the reality is that our overlords decisions have always been unfathomable, Massively editor-in-chief Bree Royce said.

We all suspected this was coming eventually a year ago when a VP whose name I dont even know and who never read our site chose to reward our staggering, hard-won 40 per cent year-over-year page view growth by... hacking our budget in half. Its not about merit or lack thereof, and its not about journalism or gaming being dead or anything grand

like that, so theres no point in taking it personally.

SONY | The entertainment giant has sold off Sony Online Entertainment to investment management firm Columbus Nova.

SOE is to be renamed Daybreak Game Company, and will continue to work on Early Access zombie game H1Z1, as well as MMO titles EverQuest Next and Landmark. The developer will be working across PS4, Xbox One and PC.

SEGA | The publisher is slashing 300 jobs as it moves its focus onto PC and mobile titles.

Sega is offering voluntary redundancy packages to staff. It is also moving some employees to the digital side of its business.

Segas office in San Francisco will be moved to Southern California in the summer.

AROUND THE INDUSTRY


EDITORIAL CONTACTS

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Head of Operations: Stuart Moody [email protected]

Circulation: Lianne [email protected]

Finance Manager: Michael Canham [email protected]

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US CorrespondentErik [email protected]

THE RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

EDITORIAL CONTACTS

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Ceremony takes place on February 19th in London at the Ham Yard Hotel, near

Piccadilly Tube

Networking afternoon and awards event

Honouring our Top 100 and giving three special awards to outstanding individuals

Tickets cost 65 + VAT each and include pre- and post-event drinks plus theatre-seating

awards ceremony

Sponsorship opportunities still available guaranteeing exposure and involvement in our

Women In Games activity throughout February

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FEBRUARY 19THMCVS

CONTACT SARA MATHER TO RESERVE YOUR [email protected] / 020 7354 6001

DATA ANALYSIS


Assassins Creed Unity makes it back into the Top Five in a quiet week for video games

ITS the same names at the lead of the GfK Top 40 Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, FIFA and Assassins Creed all feature at the head of the charts. The latest in UBISOFTs Assassins Creed series rises to fourth place from eighth after the average price of the title dropped 5 in a retailer promotion.

Theres a distinct lack of new releases in the boxed charts, but over in the Steam rankings there are a number of fresh entries.

Topping the charts is WARNER BROS new zombie IP Dying Light. The Ultimate Edition of this game which includes the titles season pass also appears in sixth place. This game was set to come out physically alongside

its digital release but this was pushed back. No doubt Dying Light would have appeared high in the boxed charts.

Remasters of iconic puzzle title Grim Fandango and sci- adventure game Homeworld also appear in the charts in seventh and fth places respectively.

In the Xbox Live charts, SQUARE ENIXs Life Is Strange is top. The episodic title beat Minecraft to rst place. It debuted last week in second place, and its likely word of mouth has helped boost the games sales this week.

Meanwhile, the release of the second episode in TELLTALEs Game of Thrones series helps bring it back into the Top Ten.

TW LW Title Format Publisher 02 02 Grand Theft Auto V PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Rockstar03 03 FIFA 15 PS4, XO, PS3, 360,Wii, 3DS, Vita, PC EA04 08 Assassins Creed Unity PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft05 05 Minecraft: Xbox Edition XO, 360 Microsoft06 09 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS4,PS3, Vita Sony07 10 Destiny PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard08 07 Call of Duty: Ghosts PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard09 06 Far Cry 4 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft10 11 The Crew PS4, XO, 360, PC Ubisoft11 12 WWE 2K15 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games12 04 Saints Row IV: Re-Elected and Gat out of Hell PS4, XO Deep Silver13 13 Terraria PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Merge/505 Games14 15 LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, DS, PC Warner Bros15 14 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Warner Bros 16 18 Watch Dogs PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft17 20 Disney In nity 2.0 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Disney18 19 Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft19 21 Forza Horizon 2 XO, 360 Microsoft20 17 Dragon Age: Inquistion PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA21 23 The Evil Within PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda22 25 Assassins Creed Rogue PS3, 360 Ubisoft23 22 Super Smash Bros Wii U, 3DS Nintendo24 16 Rugby 15 PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Big Ben25 29 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, DS, PC Warner Bros26 24 Just Dance 2015 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Ubisoft27 30 Halo: The Master Chief Collection XO Microsoft28 26 Alien Isolation PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Sega29 27 Football Manager 2015 PC Sega30 28 Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA31 31 Wolfenstein: The New Order PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda32 32 The LEGO Movie Videogame PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, DS, PC Warner Bros33 34 Tomodachi LIfe 3DS Nintendo34 33 The Sims 4 PC EA35 RE Skylanders Trap Team PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS Activision Blizzard36 RE Tomb Raider: De nitive Edition PS4, XO Square Enix37 39 Mario Kart 8 Wii U Nintendo38 RE NBA 2K15 PS4, XO, PS3, 360 2K Games39 37 Battle eld 4 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA40 36 Pokmon Omega Ruby 3DS Nintendo

TOP 40 UK RETAIL01 COD: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION BLIZZARDFORMATS: PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC DEVELOPER: SLEDGEHAMMER GAMES

TW LW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 03 H1Z1 Daybreak Game Company 03 04 Stranded Deep Beam Team 04 05 Counter-Strike: Global O ensive Valve 05 06 Homeworld Remastered Collection Gearbox 06 07 Dying Light Ultimate Edition Warner Bros 07 08 Grim Fandango Remastered Double Fine 08 09 Ryse: Son of Rome Crytek 09 10 DayZ Bohemia Interactive 10 NEW Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 Idea Factory

01 DYING LIGHTPUBLISHER: WARNER BROS DEVELOPER: TECHLAND

Week ending February 7th Week ending February 7th

TOP 10 STEAM CHARTS

DATA & RESEARCHSource

Games and Charts compiled by GfK Chart-Track

PRESENTS5 SECOND FACTS

PDP design & manufacture the Ocial Microsoft licensed Xbox ONE

Charging Doc

[email protected]

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

4.5mMicro-computer

Raspberry Pi has sold 4.5m units since 2012. It is 500,000 units shy of being the best-selling UK-made computer ever.

$850mBetween them, Activision Blizzards new IPs Destiny

and Hearthstone have made $850m in non-

GAAP revenue.

20mDuring Halo 5: Guardians

multiplayer beta, 20m matches were played over the course of 2.5m hours

of gameplay.

49.99Free-to-play

lm tie-in Big Hero 6 Bot Fight has

one microtransaction worth 49.99.

TW LW Title Format Publisher 02 03 Grand Theft Auto V XO Rockstar03 02 Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare PS4 Activision Blizzard04 04 Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare XO Activision Blizzard05 05 FIFA 15 PS4 EA06 06 Minecraft: Xbox Edition 360 Microsoft07 09 Assassins Creed Unity XO Ubisoft08 15 Assassins Creed Unity PS4 Ubisoft09 13 FIFA 15 XO EA10 11 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare 360 Activision Blizzard11 22 Minecraft: Xbox Edition XO Microsoft12 10 Call of Duty: Ghosts 360 Activision Blizzard13 12 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS3 Sony14 07 FIFA 15 360 EA15 28 Far Cry 4 PS4 Ubisoft16 27 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS4 Sony17 21 Destiny PS4 Activision Blizzard18 17 The Crew PS4 Ubisoft19 RE Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare PS3 Activision Blizzard20 RE Call of Duty: Ghosts PS3 Activision Blizzard

TOP 20 INDIVIDUAL FORMAT

01 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTARFORMAT: PS4 DEVELOPER: ROCKSTAR NORTH

TW LW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 01 Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Mojang03 02 Terraria: Xbox 360 Edition 505 Games04 08 Monopoly Plus Ubisoft05 05 Apocz Sick Kreation06 09 Castleminer Z Digitaldna07 RE Game Of Thrones A Telltale Game Series Telltale08 06 Survival Games Season One DigitaDNA09 RE Avatar Warfare DigitalDNA10 RE Elements of Destruction Frozen Codebase

TOP 10 XBOX LIVE (UK)01 LIFE IS STRANGE SQUARE ENIXDEVELOPER: DONTNOD

TW TITLE PUBLISHER 02 Worms 3 Team 17 03 Theory Test UK 2014 Focus Multimedia 04 The Chase Barnstorm Games 05 Football Manager Handheld 2015 Sega 06 Geometry Dash RobTop Games 07 Five Nights at Freddys 2 Scott Cawthon 08 Tipping Point Barnstorm 09 Star Wars: KOTOR Aspyr Media 10 Scribblenauts Remix Warner Bros

TOP 10 GOOGLE PLAY CHARTS

TW TITLE DEVELOPER 02 The Chase Barnstorm 03 Radiation Island Atypical 04 The Chase Barnstorm 05 Football Manager Handheld 2015 Sega 06 Tipping Point Barnstorm 07 Five Nights at Freddys 2 Scott Cawthon 08 Goat Simulator Coee Stain 09 Strawberry Shortcake Berry Beauty Salon Cupcake Digital 10 Plague Inc Ndemic

TOP 10 IPAD PAID CHARTS

01

01

01

MINECRAFT POCKET EDITIONDEVELOPER: MOJANG

HEADS UP! DEVELOPER: WARNER BROS

MINECRAFT POCKET EDITIONDEVELOPER: MOJANG

TW TITLE DEVELOPER 02 Minecraft Pocket Edition Mojang 03 The Ocial DVSA Theory Test TSO 04 Ski Tracks GPS Track Recorder Core Coders 05 Football Manager Handheld 2015 Sega 06 Afterlight Afterlight Collective 07 Monopoly EA 08 Plague Inc Ndemic Creations 09 DVSA Theory Test Focus Multimedia 10 The Chase Barnstorm

TOP 10 IPHONE PAID CHARTS

Week ending: February 1st

Week ending February 7th

Week ending: February 1st

Week ending February 7th Correct as of February 19th


DATA ANALYSISSource

WHATS NEW ABOUT NEW 3DS?Nintendo has just launched two new versions of its 3DS console and two major games along with it.

Christopher Dring takes a look at the new machine and finds out more from Nintendos UK head of consumer marketing, James Honeywell

There are a few tweaks to the New 3DS under the hood, including a better battery life. But the most noticeable change is the increased CPU, which sees the console load faster and menus scroll faster. One game, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (due April 2nd), makes use of this extra juice and will not work on older 3DS units as a result.

MORE POWER

NFC technology has been built into the bottom screen of the New 3DS so that gamers can use their Amiibo toys (which work in a number of titles such as Super Smash Bros) without the need for an extra accessory.

One criticism the 3DS has faced down the years is that gamers really have to sit still to enjoy the true 3D effect. Nintendo has fixed that with super-stable 3D, which uses the consoles camera to track head movement. It will still falter if users move out of the consoles field of vision, but it is still a massive improvement.

BRAND NEW SCREEN

AMIIBO SUPPORT

There are two versions of the New 3DS (excluding special editions) the standard and the XL and each has its merits. Both have a good build quality and include all the new features. XL has the bigger screen, but it isnt as portable, while the standard version is more compact and even allows gamers to customise it with changeable faceplates.

TWO MODELS


FEATURE NINTENDOS NEW 3DS

There is no longer any need for that bulky Circle Pad Pro as Nintendo has added two new buttons and an extra analogue nub to the machine. While not quite as comfortable as a full-blown analogue stick, the nub is ideal for moving the in-game camera in several titles, including the newly-released Zelda.

NEW CONTROLS Q&A: NINTENDOS HEAD OF CONSUMER MARKETING, JAMES HONEYWELL

Last year was a bit of a quiet time for the 3DS. How would you say 2015 compares? While the early part of last year was quieter in terms of releases, the end finished in strong style with the launches of Super Smash Bros and Pokmon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, both of which performed really well. This year gets off to a bang with the New 3DS, New 3DS XL, Majoras Mask, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Ironfall Invasion and a host of updates. Friday, February 13th is really going to be a lucky day for our fans.

Who are you targeting the New 3DS at? Upgraders? New customers?Our first customers will be those who already own a Nintendo 3DS and are very active. This will be followed by kids and new customers as we roll out more new titles and increase our marketing throughout the year. We are aware that many people just received new units at Christmas so we wont be targeting them directly for now.

What features do you expect to be the big selling points of the hardware? With many Ambassador units already out in the hands of UK fans weve managed to gain some great insights into what people are enjoying. Top of the list for those whove had hands-on experience is the new super stable 3D, new controls and even the customisable cover plates.

Which model do you anticipate being the most popular? Based on other markets and who is pre-ordering, we expect the New 3DS XL to initially be the biggest seller but as we reach out to wider audiences during the year the New 3DS will come into its own.

Youre launching Majoras Mask and Monster Hunter 4 alongside the New 3DS. What are your marketing plans?Majoras Mask is a much-loved title that fans have been asking for a long time so it has an instant

base. We really want to make sure we are introducing it to a whole new audience who might not know about this title. For Monster Hunter we feel now is the time when we can open the title up to a Western audience. The developers have worked hard to listen to existing players and given them more of what they want, but also ensuring that this new instalment is open to newcomers.

Are there any other titles youre looking to push alongside 3DS?Ironfall Invasion is a great new exclusive available on eShop as a free demo. Its a great demonstration of the control features of the New 3DS but still works fully on the original 3DS as well. Our Ambassadors are really enjoying going back to relive some of their favourite titles. And those lucky enough to have the new hardware can look forward to the launch of Xenoblade Chronicles.

Xxx

The first New 3DS owners will be those who already own 3DS consoles.

James Honeywell, Nintendo UK


NINTENDOS NEW 3DS FEATURE

17

Call our specialist sales team01279 822 822

exertis.co.uk/homeexertis.co.uk/home/store

You have to do mobile gaming to be successful in the long-term.This is how Dan Doughty,

director of business development at Snail Games USA, introduces the companys upcoming mobile-meets-home console device, the OBox.

Designed to bridge the gap between the graphical prowess of the PS4 and Xbox One and the pick-up-and-play convenience of smartphones, the OBox is built on an Android operating system.

Its not an original concept from the Ouya to the Mad Catz MOJO, Android boxes are now a common sight. But Doughty says that the OBox will stand apart by providing a level of performance akin to a fully-fledged console.

The problem with the Ouya was that it was taking existing mobile games and blowing them

OBOX: THE CHINESE GAMES CONSOLE THAT WANTS TO TAKE ON PS4 AND XBOX ONE

Snail Games is a major player in the Chinese games market, with its MMO Age of Wushu attracting more than 5.5m monthly players. Now, the firms new Android console is headed to the US and Europe.

Matthew Jarvis finds out more from US director of business development Dan Doughty

up onto a big screen, he states. It wasnt capable of processing high-definition video the way video games need to be when theyre blown up onto a big screen.

This focus on high-quality gaming is best seen in the OBoxs potential display output; the machine features support for 4K video.

The machine is also modular, allowing consumers to swap out older components for improved hardware in the future.

FRONT OF THE PACKIts a bold claim that an Android-powered device could take on the new consoles from the two biggest companies in games but Doughty says the OBoxs ability to be upgraded will see it come to the forefront for players as the PS4 and Xbox One start to age.

The Xbox One is already two generations behind, as is the PS4, in processing data and video, he says. They will four or five generations behind by their end-of-life. Thats not acceptable in a technology-driven world.

Video games used to be synonymous with pushing the leading edge of technology thats really fallen by the wayside. Now, PCs are pushing video gaming because the consoles dont do it, and mobile devices arent able of doing it.

Were trying to push the technology again in a way that its not being pushed.

Of course, its not all about the technology.

Content is key, so were driving content very hard, says Doughty.

Having announced Snails first deal with mobile studio Gameloft, Doughty says there are many, many more partners to be revealed pre-E3.

Theres also the firms own hit property, Age of Wushu. The MMO currently sees more than 5.5 million monthly users, and is set to come to the OBox.

Doughty states that bigger outlets and titles will move across as they realise the potential of Android.

It will be a year or two before you move a franchise level product like Call of Duty over to an Android system and make it look as good as it does on Xbox One, he says.

The lower pricing of Android titles will also be a big draw for consumers, Doughty argues.

Youll see things like Asphalt 8 doing surprisingly well because theyre all of the things that people are looking for, without the overhead of having to pay $50 to $70.

It doesnt make sense in this world having to pay that kind of money simply because of the format youre developing for.

Doughty concludes that high- end Android systems such as

the OBox mark a change in consumer demand.

Its not about what we want to give the market;

its what the market wants

from us.

It will be a year or two before you move a product like Call of Duty over to an Android system.

Dan Doughty, Snail Games USA

The OBox (left) will be launched alongside the W3D smartphone and handheld games console (below, right), which can be used as a second controller

OBOX: THE NEXT BIG GAMES CONSOLE?


NEW ORDERThe rst big console exclusive of 2015 is The Order: 1886, an atmospheric steampunk shooter. Could it

prove to be a major PS4 system seller? Christopher Dring asks creative director Ru Weerasuriya

THE ORDER: 1886

Release Date: February 20th Formats: PS4 Publisher: Sony Developer: Ready At Dawn

It wasnt a question of delaying The Order a couple of years it was a question of wanting to nish this game right.

Ru Weerasuriya, Ready At Dawn

For all its commercial domination last year, PS4 wasnt exactly awash with many triple-A exclusives.

DriveClub, LittleBigPlanet, Infamous, The Last of Us: Remastered... there were certainly plenty to enjoy. But there was something missing. Something like a new big-budgetIP from one of the worlds most talented studios.

The Order: 1886 was shaping up to be that game. Originally scheduled for late last year, the steampunk single-player action game was unveiled at E3 in 2013 and has been subject to plenty of press attention.

Yet, six months ahead of its scheduled arrival, Sony announced that the game had been delayed.

Im happy we just pushed it, says Ru Weerasuriya, creative director and CEO at Ready at Dawn, the games studio.

Sometimes games get delayed by a year or two. For us it wasnt a question of delaying it a couple of years it was a question of knowing where we were and knowing that we wanted to finish this game right, rather than force it out. The great thing about a partner like Sony is that it has the same mentality as us. They want the game to be really good. The conversation was pretty easy. Nobody forced it on anybody, but everybody came to the same conclusion.

WHAT IS THE ORDER?When The Order was first unveiled it was via a teaser trailer that revealed very little. It was clearly steampunk in design (a mixture of Victorian characters and settings with reimagined modern-day weaponry and technology), and many instantly equated it to other Steampunk titles, such as Bethesdas Dishonored.

Yet, as more was revealed, it turned out to be more like a shooter with magical elements a sort of Victorian, mystical Gears of War. With a bit of stealth and melee combat oh, and werewolves.

The game is its own thing, says Weerasuriya, putting us out of our misery in trying to define it.

I know a lot of people want to coin certain terms for it because its what everybody does. If you see a good film, you equate it to something youve already seen before purely because your mind works that way. We need patterns; its no different here.

But were trying to build our own thing and were doing that by giving the player more of a diverse gameplay ride than what people will expect in a game.

The interesting thing about The Order is that its a narrative

THE BIG GAME THE ORDER: 1886


ALTHOUGH Ready at Dawn has a long-standing relationship with PlayStation, it isnt one of Sonys owned studios.

In fact, the company has even developed for Wii in the past. Yet studio CEO Ru Weerasuriya says that PS4 was always the platform of choice for The Order: 1886.

We do count on the fact that theres 8GB of DDR5 RAM on PS4, he says. There are certain hardware differences that make it worthwhile to do this stuff on there.

I havent worked with Microsoft on something like this, but Ill tell you something that was really cool about why it was only possible on PS4 and thats the approach that Sony took to building the platform years ago.

Its not all about the hardware, its about that mentality. I saw that mentality first hand and it helped. We truly believed that PS4 was being built for developers. This hardware was the ideal launch platform for us and all the developers out there to do something cool, rather than being a be-all, end-all platform and everyone having to work with it.

ONLY ON PLAYSTATION


THE ORDER: 1886 THE BIG GAME

21

gameplay and visual rollercoaster. The visuals will be the most important thing at different times, sometimes gameplay or narrative will be. Theyll just intertwine the entire way through.

Thats the fun part about building a game. Its experiencing this ride and taking people with you, and you hope theyll pick up at the beginning and not let go until the game is finished.

Indeed, the reaction towards The Order has evolved with almost every trade show the game has been to. There was a bit of uncertainty over what it was back in 2013, but after successful runs at E3 and Gamescom last year, Weerasuriya is feeling bullish.

Its been a long campaign since the game was announced, he says. It was a risky one to announce early, but the interesting thing is seeing peoples reactions as things grow and as we show more. It was really cool.

Its hard to not answer some questions when people are telling you that youre always showing them the same bits and are asking about the rest of the game. You always have to tell them to be patient. But then you show what we showed at Gamescom, and it feels

good because people say they get it now.

ARE YOU READY?The Order: 1886 is not just a potentially big game for PS4, it is also a significant moment in the life of its developer.

Ready at Dawn is a very good studio. Put its name into Metacritic and its career score is 87 from an average of five games. That puts it up there with the likes of Uncharted creator Naughty Dog. But despite its consistency, Ready at Dawns entire output to date has been based on other developers franchises such as God of War. For all its critical plaudits, the company has not actually developed an original game. Until now.

The company was built for this purpose, continues Weerasuriya.

We could have jumped onto a new IP very early on back in 2006, we had the deal good to go but we didnt purely because it wasnt about doing the biggest thing possible as fast as possible. We wanted to set ourselves up to win, to make sure we could do this right. Team, technology, culture all of that has come together.

The Order has been the most rewarding thing that any of us has ever done. Weve built

ourselves for this, and its hard to find a good group of guys that you want to work with every single day, but its an enriching experience: not just because of the IP, or the game, but because of the individuals.

We would normally put a sentence in here about how developing a new IP is a risky venture, but that doesnt appear to be the case anymore. Titanfall, Destiny and Watch Dogs proved that a new IP can be as much of a selling point as a sequel at the beginning of this console cycle.

But that doesnt mean Ready at Dawn hasnt felt pressure. PS4 is selling faster than even the most optimistic analyst had predicted. There are millions upon millions of fans eagerly awaiting each new release and, as we discovered last year, these fans are demanding a new generation spectacle.

Thats the challenge that we wanted, concludes Weerasuriya.

The point of working on an exclusive console title is that you want to showcase what the hardware can do. Having the install base makes it more exciting, makes us work harder, push the graphics further. For this console cycle the first wave of games need to showcase the power of the hardware faster than in the past. Thats the mentality we took.

The visuals will be the most important thing at dierent times, sometimes gameplay or narrative will be. Theyll just intertwine the entire way through.

Ru Weerasuriya, Ready At Dawn

The Order: 1886 has been widely praised for its cinematic and lifelike visuals

February 13th 2015 www.mcvuk.comJ22

THE BIG GAME THE ORDER: 1886

CONGRATULATIONS

PIONEERMARGARET PEARSON

CREATIVE IMPACTJULIE MAN

AMBASSADORGABRIELLE KENT

WINNERS

FOR SPONSORSHIP / SALES ENQUIRIES CALL ALEX BOUCHER ON 01992 535 647 OR EMAIL [email protected]

CONTACT SARA MATHER TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE: 64 + [email protected] / 020 7354 6001

EVENT PARTNERS

JOIN US ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH TO CELEBRATE OUR TOP 100 WOMEN IN GAMES PLUS THREE LEADERS

In 2010, Nick Burcombe, veteran developer at Sonys Studio Liverpool, was made redundant. Burcombe had worked at the

studio for the majority of his video games career, and helped launch the blockbuster sci-fi racing franchise Wipeout in 1995.

After his time with Sony, Burcombe founded Playrise Games, a design consultancy where he helped the likes of LittleBigPlanet 3 studio Sumo Digital with development. But all this did was make him want to start making games again

After I was made redundant I set out to be a design consultant, helping indie studios to get their games playing a bit better within the remaining time frame, Burcombe explains.

It was interesting, but you end up in a situation where youve arrived at the party too late. You just cant fix everything. It was biting me that I could do better than this. I knew that with the right opportunity wed be able to produce high quality games but in a cost effective way.

THE RETURNSo in 2012, he set up indie studio Playrise Digital. In contrast to Burcombes legacy in console development, the firms first title Table Top Racing was released on mobile devices, and later Vita.

When we went indie, console was prohibitively expensive and attitudes towards indies werent really as flexible as it could have been. There were reduced costs in going mobile, he says. And you are more free to make what you want. Digital distribution has changed everything for indie developers and thats why theres so much content on the stores now. But while its easier to publish, the sheer number of games makes it quite difficult to be seen. But if youve got good ideas they can stand up.

However, the move to mobile wasnt as simple as Burcombe anticipated. While development itself hadnt changed that much, the business on mobile was wildly different to console.

We launched two years ago and did very well for a few months at the start, but the market was shifting towards free-to-play, he says.

Thats a different type of business. It was something we didnt understand. Even when we took Table Top Racing over to being free-to-play, its a completely different

way of making money.

It requires a different shape of business.

Weve recently had to ask ourselves: do we want to be free-to-play and go through all the analytics and pore over how were going to get another pound from someone? And can we afford to stay in that game long enough to join the bidding war for acquiring users? That wasnt what we got into it for. Thats not the reason we became indie.

For now we want to make a great game that is fun, paid up front and then well give gamers the option of DLC. Thats what our forte and our experience is.

GETTING FREE-TO-PLAY RIGHT Right now Burcombe is working on a new Table Top Racing title for PS4 and Vita called World Tour. Yet he doesnt rule out a return to mobile and the free-to-play sector.

Weve had to learn from scratch what the free-to-play model is about, he explains.

Free-to-play requires expertise that we could acquire. We could have spent the last twelve months trying to acquire that, but it isnt satisfying for the business and it isnt why we became indie.

When we do return to mobile, if it is still the predominate business model, then well have to address that by bringing in some experts and consultants to help us read the data that is coming back to us.

He concludes: Breaking down the data and making sense of it is a job that we might need to do but its not something that drives us.

FIGHTING FREE-TO-PLAY

After the closure of Sony Studio Liverpool, development veteran Nick Burcombe decided to go indie. Alex Calvin speaks to him about trying to build a hit game without resorting to free-to-play

It started as a mobile game, but Table Top Racing is coming PS4 and Vita in World Tour

When we went indie, consoles were prohibitively expensive. There were reduced costs in going mobile.

Nick Burcombe, Playrise Digital


INDIE INTERVIEW NICK BURCOMBESponsored by


MARKETPLACE

How has business been?Its not been bad at all. Its been busy and Ive been selling lots of stock. Its a shame that Dying Light didnt make it in January but Im not hugely worried about that.

What was selling well over the Christmas period? GTA V sold tremendously well, both versions. But the PS4 version was just edging it out. Other than that it was the typical chart toppers Call of Duty and FIFA.

Now were in the quieter Q1 period, how are you getting customers to visit your store?We had our annual January sale. Ive been looking at what o ers I can do and trade-in deals so that we can stay competitive we try and stay ahead of CEX. That means we end up with a greater variety of stock to sell. Weve also had the likes of DriveClub, Tomb Raider: De nitive Edition and Wolfenstein on sale and theyve been great sellers. There are loads of people who bought a PS4

or Xbox One over Christmas and bought the then-new releases, but are now going back to games that came out previously.

You have a website. What fraction of your sales and revenue come from the site?The website is much smaller than our physical stores. We do a few bits online, and sell through Amazon and Ebay, too, but the majority of our sales at the moment are through our stores.

PlayTime Nottingham boss Ben Scho eld tells MCV about how hes been getting customers in his store during the quiet start of 2015 and why he keeps his website open even though it isnt bringing in huge sales

SHELF LIFE

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

1. EVOLVE + MONSTER EXPANSION PACK2K Games, PS4

2. Amiibo CharizardNintendo .................................................................Wii U

3. Evolve + Monster Expansion Pack2K Games ....................................................................XO

4. Dying Light + Pre-order DLC & Survivor HandbookWarner Bros ............................................................PS4

5. Monster Hunter 4 UltimateNintendo ................................................................... 3DS 6. The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask 3D + NecklaceNintendo ................................................................... 3DS 7. Amiibo WarioNintendo .................................................................Wii U

8. Amiibo Mega ManNintendo .................................................................Wii U

9. The Order 1886 + Knights Endurance DLCSony .............................................................................PS4

10. Amiibo SonicNintendo .................................................................Wii U

PRICE CHECK: BELFAST

ONLIINEIN

STORE

POKMON OMEGA RUBYNintendo, 3DS

ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME

Nintendo, 3DS

MARIO KART 7Nintendo, 3DS

SUPER SMASH BROSNintendo, 3DS

39.99 32.99 39.99 32.99

32.99 33.99 33.99 34.99

32 36.73 29.86 29.86

29.95 N/A 29.85 N/A

33.85 34.85 29.86 29.86

UPLOADINGThe latest digital releases coming

to market

MARIO VS DONKEY KONG: TIPPING STARS

The latest version of Nintendos puzzle IP launches on Wii U next month

The rst of four episodes of the new Resident Evil title launches next week.

Improved editions of the rst two Homeworld titles are out next week

RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS 2 HOMEWORLD REMASTERED COLLECTION

OUT FEBRUARY 25THOUT FEB 24TH (PS4/PS3), FEB 25TH (XO, 360, PC)OUT MARCH 20TH

Unless youre price matching Amazon, youre not going to sell anything online.

Ben Schofield, PlayTime


MARKETPLACE

Why do you think that is?We do the best we can with the site, but most people will go straight to Amazon. GAME does a lot through its website, too, but not as much as Amazon. We do ask customers when they buy stock from our store to visit our website. But if youre not price matching Amazon, youre not going to sell anything.

In that case, why do you keep the website open? Its an area of growth and you

want to be seen to be online. You would never close it just because youre not competing with other stores. From a retail point of view, people come into our stores and see our prices as were on the High Street. Getting people to visit your website takes a greater investment from customers to actually nd it. Our stores have been open for many years. We have a reputation. As our reputation grows, Id hope people would visit the website.

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

PlayTime Nottingham29 Tanners Walk, The Broadmarsh Centre, Nottingham NG1 7LG

P: 0115 950 4712T: @playtimeanytime

INCOMING Warner Bros new zombie IP Dying Light is nally out in a box at the end of February, while Assassins Creed Rogue is set to come to PC in MarchTITLE FORMAT GENRE PUBLISHER TELEPHONE DISTRIBUTOR

February 13th

Don Bradman Cricket PS4/XO Sports Funbox Media 01246 810623 Open

The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask 3D 3DS Adventure Nintendo 01753 483 700 Open

New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL 3DS Hardware Nintendo 01753 483 700 Open

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate 3DS Adventure Capcom 01753 483 700 Nintendo

The Escapists XO/PC Simulation Team 17 020 3405 4584 Sold Out

February 17th

Total War Attila PC Strategy Sega 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

February 20th

American Truck Simulator PC Simulation Excalibur 01869 338 833 Contact Sales

Dead or Alive 5: Last Round PS4/XO Fighting Koei Tecmo 01462 476 130 Open

The Order 1886 PS4 Shooter Sony 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

February 27th

Dragon Ball Xenoverse PS4/XO/PS3/360 Fighting Bandai Namco 01215 069 590 Advantage

Dying Light PS4/XO/PC Action Warner Bros 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart Vita RPG Idea Factory 020 8664 3485 Reef

Under Night In-Birth EXE: Late PS3 RPG NIS America 020 8664 3485 Reef

March 6th

Hyperdimension Neptunia Hypercollection PS3 RPG NIS America 020 8664 3485 Reef

Screamride XO/360 Simulation Microsoft 01279 822 800 Exertis

The Arland Atelier Trilogy PS3 RPG NIS America 020 8664 3485 Reef

March 10th

Assassins Creed Rogue PC Action Ubisoft 01279 822 800 Exertis

DMC: Devil May Cry De nitive Edition PS4/XO Action Capcom 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft


CO-OP

Retailers could upsell additional controllers alongside games that support couch co-op.

AS long as there has been video gaming, there has also been gaming with friends.

Whether its a second player taking control of the other paddle in Pong, a teammate reviving a downed ally in Battlefield or a rival racer pulling ahead metres from the finish line in Gran Turismo, the chance to butt heads or work together has long excited gamers.

Local multiplayer titles remain highly popular, providing retailers with the opportunity to upsell

additional controllers alongside games that support couch co-op, such as big hitter Call of Duty and Nintendo fan favourite Mario Kart.

Improved online and social functionality in games has allowed friends to play with each other over long distances in a greater variety of titles, too.

The desire to chat to teammates will inspire many consumers to search for a suitable headset, making that segment another prime focal point for stores.

THE ART OF EVOLVE

This hardcover book chronicles each step in the creation of 2Ks monster-versus-hunters co-operative shooter. It follows the development of the title from character design to motion capture. The book features an extensive range of concept and development art, as well as in-depth creator commentary revealing more behind the game.

SRP: 24.99Manufacturer: Titan BooksDistributor: Titan BooksContact: 020 7803 1913

From teaming up to take down a dragon to living out a virtual life as a criminal gang, gaming is often better with friends. Matthew Jarvis gets together with the latest co-op merchandise

PORTAL 2 CHAMBER SQUARES SCARF

Those who survive Portals multiplayer co-op testing can remember their hardship fondly with this knitted scarf.

SRP: 14.99Manufacturer: Crowded CoopDistributor: Crowded CoopContact: [email protected]

ASSASSINS CREED BROWN NECKLACE WITH LOGO

Assassins friendly with each other after playing Assassins Creed Unitys co-op modes can dress the part with this necklace.

SRP: 10.99Manufacturer: Bioworld MerchandisingDistributor: Gaming Merchandise UKContact: [email protected]

LEFT 4 DEAD ULTRA DELUXE BOOMER ACTION FIGURE

The explosive undead enemy comes to life in this detailed gure. It splits in two for added gory e ect.

SRP: 19.99Manufacturer: NecaDistributor: Star ImagesContact: 0207 249 4662

CO-OP


Sponsored by

O gamingmerchandise ukCO-OP

Both triple-A and indie games feature a range of co-operative experiences for players, and have proven highly successful at retail.

Co-op crime game Payday 2 was so popular on its release that many retail outlets sold out of boxed copies, leading publisher 505 Games to urgently order in extra stock.

Some games have even used the appeal of co-op as a marketing ploy. Far Cry 4 offered PS4 players

Keys to Kyrat, which allowed them to play the titles co-op mode with friends who didnt own the game.

Meanwhile, Valves co-op zombie-shooter franchise Left 4 Dead has now sold more than 12 million units since its inception in 2008 and resulted in consistent speculation among fans of a third entry in the series.

The developer of Left 4 Dead, Turtle Rock Studios, returns with a brand new co-op-focused IP this month, Evolve.

TURTLE BEACH EAR FORCE XO SEVEN PRO

This headset for the Xbox One features the new Audio Controller Plus, which adds the rms Superhuman Hearing technology, as well as selectable game and microphone presets. Turtle Beach has been selected by 2K as the o cial headset manufacturer of Evolve, and interchangeable speaker plates based on the game will be available to coincide with the titles launch.

SRP: 129.99Manufacturer: Turtle BeachDistributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

BORDERLANDS: ORIGINS

Fans of Gearboxs chaotic shooter can nd out more about the world and its characters in this ttingly high-octane prequel.

SRP: 13.50Manufacturer: IDW PublishingDistributor: Diamond Book Distributors UKContact: 01928 531 760

PAYDAY 2 MASKS

Modelled on the masks of Wolf, Dallas, Hoxton and Chains, this vinyl headgear features a backstrip for a tight t.

SRP: 39.99Manufacturer: Gaya EntertainmentDistributor: Gaming Merchandise UKContact: [email protected]

FABLE III CHICKEN T-SHIRT

With co-op o ering Fable Legends due out later this year, now is a great time to be stocking up on related gear like this top.

SRP: 24.99Manufacturer: Gaya EntertainmentDistributor: Gaming Merchandise UKContact: [email protected]

30

HOT PRODUCTS

February 13th 2015 www.mcvuk.com

Sponsored by

HOT PRODUCTS

GXT 315 EXTREME SOUND HEADSET

GAME accessories brand Trust has launched its latest headset, the GXT 315 Extreme Sound.

The peripheral is designed with an adjustable headband and extra-large ear pads equipped with soft padding to provide users a comfortable experience over long play sessions.

Inside the ear cups sit speakers optimised to provide deep bass and high audio quality.

A foldable microphone, suitable for players wishing to use in-game voice communication to talk to friends and teammates, is integrated into the outside of the peripheral.

A two metre durable braided cable connects the headset to games consoles or PC, with an in-line remote for volume control and microphone mute included.

NEW NINTENDO 3DS COVERPLATES

NINTENDO has released the rst set of its custom coverplates for its New 3DS handheld console.

These coverplates are only compatible with the standard-sized New 3DS. They are not for use with the New XL model.

Featuring a selection of famous Nintendo characters, as well as some colourful and abstract patterns, the coverplates lock into place on the front and back of the New 3DS.

Using the coverplates, players can customise their New 3DS as they see t. The current o ering of plates includes Mario, Luigi, Toad, Pokmon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Camou age and Black Stars designs, as well as di erently-textured selections, such as a wooden Mario variant.

The designs can be also mixed and matched for further unique combinations.

Fans can continue the customisation of their device using a number of themes for the 3DS operating system, such as the Yoshi theme (pictured left), which are designed to complement the available covers.

38 of these coverplates are available in Japan, so it is likely Nintendo will be releasing more over time.

[INFO]

RRP: 10.99 - 14.95Release Date: Out NowDistributor: OpenContact: 01753 483 700

MCV takes a look at the best accessories heading to UK retail. This week, we listen to Trusts Extreme Sound headset and check out Nintendos New 3DS coverplates

[INFO]

RRP: 25.99Release Date: Out NowDistributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

FOR SPONSORSHIP CALL CONOR TALLON ON 01992 535646 OR EMAIL [email protected]

SPONSORS

THURSDAY, APRIL 16TH LONDON LANCASTER HOTELMAKE SURE YOURE IN THE ROOM FOR THE BIGGEST MCV AWARDS YET

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TO LIST YOUR COMPANY HERE AND ONLINE EVERY WEEK PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] OR CALL 01992 535647

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PRESSXTRA.NET(Part of the Indigo Pearl Group)Tel: 0208 964 4545http://PressXtra.net

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PERFORMANCE DESIGNED PRODUCTS LTDTel: 01628 509047www.pdp.com

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GAMING ACCESSORIES & MERCHANDISE

CREATIVE & PROMOTIONAL STUDIO DIVATel: 0117 214 0404www.studiodiva.co.uk........................................................................................................

BRIDGE MEDIA GROUPTel: 020 3283 8466www.bridgemediagroup.com........................................................................................................

FLUIDTel: +44 (0)121 212 0121www. uidesign.co.uk........................................................................................................

GAME ROOMTel: +44 (0) 20 7729 3033www.gameroom-agency.com........................................................................................................

BY FRONTROOM

CLD DISTRIBUTIONTel: +32 81 83 02 02www.cld.be........................................................................................................

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

SOUNDING SWEET LTDTel: +44 (0) 1789 297453www.soundingsweet.com........................................................................................................

STUDIO CO2Tel: +44 (0)1483 414 415www.studioco2.com........................................................................................................

SUPERHEROTel: +4020 3031 6180www.superheroscreen.com........................................................................................................

THE AUDIO GUYS LIMITEDTel: +44 (0) 1934 710024www.theaudioguys.co.uk

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BERTel: +44 (0)114 278 7100www.uberagency.com

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CLICK ENTERTAINMENT LIMITEDTel: +44 203 137 3781www.click-entertainment.com

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Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories

DEAD GOOD MEDIATel: +44 (0)7780 600 728www.deadgoodmedia.com........................................................................................................

KENNEDY MONKTel: 020 7636 9142www.kennedymonk.com........................................................................................................ MANUFACTURING

OK MEDIA LTDTel: 02076886789www.okmedia.biz........................................................................................................

KEYWORDS STUDIOS GROUPTel: +353 1 902 2730www.keywordsstudios.com

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

U

LOCALISATION, QA & TESTING

LOCALSOFTTel: +34 952 028 080www.localsoftgames.com........................................................................................................

POLE TO WIN EUROPE LTDTel: +44 (0) 20 8607 7900www.poletowineurope.com

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Localization Services

UNIVERSALLY SPEAKINGTel: +44 (0) 1480210621www.usspeaking.com

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VMCTel: +44 (0)1753 849 700 (UK)www.vmc.com........................................................................................................

MONETISATION & PAYMENT

MILLENNIAL MEDIATel: +44 (0) 207 151 3320www.millennialmedia.com........................................................................................................

KEY CONTACTS:

Caroline [email protected]

Olly [email protected]

Alex [email protected]

ADDRESS:8a Lonsdale RoadLondonNW6 6RD

NOW in its 15th year, PressXtra.net from Indigo Pearl is the market leading solution to all digital asset distribution needs. Powered by unrivalled technology and managed by a team of experienced professionals, it has transformed the press o ces of 80 per cent of the videogame industrys publishers.

PressXtra.net is much, much more than a simple extranet. It is loaded with features that ensure the timely distribution and secure delivery of your assets, and is backed by a suite of usage reporting tools. And were so con dent of the stability and performance of the service, well give you a 99.99 per cent uptime guarantee.

Give us a call to nd out why all of the market leading companies are using PressXtra.net and how we can help streamline your business. Whether you are a publisher, developer, retailer or otherwise, we have the right solution for you.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS COMPANY AND MANY MORE ONLINE NOW AT:

COMPANY PROFILE / PRESSXTRA.NET (PART OF THE INDIGO PEARL GROUP)

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDETO INTERACTIVEENTERTAINMENTAGENCIES AND SERVICE COMPANIES

AMIQUSTel: 01925 839700www.amiqus.com........................................................................................................

RECRUITMENT

MEDIA & MARKETING

LIS WELSH SEARCH & SELECTION LTDTel: +44 (0) 7968 114812www.liswelsh.com

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

SPECIALMOVE CONSULTANCY LTDTel: +44 (0) 141 530 4555www.specialmove.com

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WAYFORWARD RECRUITMENT LIMITEDTel: 020 7734 4664 (London) 0117 966 6038 (Bristol)www.way-forward.com ........................................................................................................

CURSE, INC.Tel: +1 415 856 0056www.curseinc.com........................................................................................................

IGNTel: 0203 701 5682www.ign.com........................................................................................................

DIRECTORY


CREATIVE Fink ................................................................. info@ nkcreative.com

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

DISTRIBUTION Click Entertainment ............................ +44 (0) 203 137 3781

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

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CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION DISTRIBUTION

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

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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

Vibration Stereo Gaming Headset

Arcade Stick

New officially licensed products

Vibration technology for immersive gaming

For the authentic arcade experience and PlayStation are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Also, and are trademarks of the same company.

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]

37www.mcvuk.com February 13th 2015

INSIDERS GUIDE

Tell us about your company.OPM is a specialist recruitment consultancy that works in the games and interactive entertainment industries.

Formed in 1998, it has grown into an industry leader for recruitment in games on a worldwide scale, having put bums on seats in 29 countries in the last four years.

We hire for all areas of business, from testing through development, publishing, HR and everything in-between.

What is your biggest success to date?Winning the Develop Award for Excellence in Games Recruitment three times is an enormous achievement and one that we are very proud of. Weve been nominated every year since the awards inception too.

What projects do you currently have in the works?Right now, we are focused on expanding our commercial division: were looking to add another consultant.

What are the biggest challenges you face?Finding Unicorns perfect candidates for our clients. Particularly on the technical side of things, there are more vacancies than candidates worldwide. There has also been a huge rise in the demand for analysts and we have to look in other industries to ll these vacancies.

Tell us something about your company no one knows.OPM has never made anybody redundant or shortened their working hours, even through the recession.

How did you choose your company name?OPM stands for Other Peoples Money in honour of the investor I was going to sign up with in the beginning.

I utilised a business bank overdraft in the end but he taught me a lot and graciously gifted me the Ltd company when we parted.

MCV speaks to OPM MD Kim Parker Adcock about the rms search for recruitment Unicorns

Specialism: RecruitmentLocation: Ground Floor, Anderson House,228 Old London Road,Marks Tey, Colchester,C06 1HD

Contact: W: opmjobs.comE: [email protected]: @opmjobsP: 01206 214 421

INSIDERS GUIDE

THIS MONTHS DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT:

OPM RECRUITMENT

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 c

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MCV822 February 13th