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WWW.MCVUK.COM
NEWS
[LEADER] ONE SMALL STEP FOR GAME… GAME’s new PlayStation Home Moonbase might not seem to be a massive move for our King Retailer into the frontier of digital content. In isolation, it isn’t – it’s a brand extension in a virtual world, which isn’t even able to drive users to buying games yet. But as part of a bigger picture it’s a signal of intent. Until now, GAME’s work in digital has been more of a token gesture. Metaboli’s white label service, although comprehensive, is just a box-ticking move for a firm that ultimately needs to own a distribution process to exploit its true value. But as Alex Croft says, GAME wants to get itself on the virtual map. Hiring Paul Howes as its Mr Digital is likely just one facet of that. And GAME needs to act – Howes’ GameStop counterpart Chris Petrovic told GDC attendees last week that the games giant plans to hungrily acquire firms to accelerate its own place in digital. Both GAME and GameStop, however, face stiff competition in the form of Steam and Direct2Drive. It’ll be hard to imagine them toppling either any time soon. But there’s arguably space in digital sales for a number of leaders of different flavours – and the secret strength for someone like GAME are talents like its Reward Card. The company already has relationships with millions of customers via the scheme – those users see a value in the GAME brand as a way to help them find the entertainment they want. And if a bricks and mortar retailer can replicate that online, then half the battle in the switch to digital is already won.
…ONE GIANT LEAP FOR SONY PlayStation Move’s formal unveiling last week saw Sony make a bold claim on a familiar territory – the Wii’s market share. While the event opened with cringe-worthy bluster and half-truths – about how amazing it was, how it will redefine life itself and then send Nintendo home crying – you can see Sony has spotted an opportunity. An industry snapshot: Nintendo’s format is progressive, inclusive, fun and makes lots of money for those at the eye of its storm - Nintendo itself, retailers, and select third parties. But take a negative exposure of that picture, and you see some traditional genres and companies that find family-focused games too awkward. That’s not a criticism – it’s just a different market, with different demands from development through to PR. Move tries to claim part of that space on the ‘traditional’ part of the industry’s terms – and Sony has shown great abilities before at leaving space for third parties to thrive. Whether it can go one further than Wii remains to be seen. (Arguably, it faces the same problem as Natal. Neither it or Move are part of the original consoles’ configuration, so both could just be relegated to becoming a ‘format within a format’ like the Balance Board, 3D or the EyeToy.) But for now, Sony’s first Move has shown it at its strongest yet this generation. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
Sales boom puts EA back on top Publisher hopes to regain No.1 crown this year after topping February sales and seeing year-on-year sell through increase by Ben Parfitt IT’S BEEN A bumper 2010 so far for EA, thanks to a 3.6 per cent year-on-year rise in sell through for the publisher. The latest numbers from ELSPA GfK Chart-Track show EA claim 19.1 per cent of the year-to-date UK software market, driven in no small part by a highly successful February. The publisher was top of both the unit and value February charts, claiming 14.4 per cent and 15.5 per cent of the total market respectively. “It’s a very pleasing performance in the first quarter of the year, in what continues to be a very challenging local market,” EA UK’s sales director Rob Davey told MCV. “What is particularly pleasing is that this is a continuation of the share growth that we saw throughout last year. “Over the last 12 months, we recaptured the No.1 UK publisher position growing our
EA’s Davey is confident the publisher can grow its share even further
share by 3.1 per cent points to 17.9 per cent.” The publisher is also confident that the impressive momentum can be maintained throughout the rest of the year. “I don’t think anyone thought the market would be quite as challenging as it turned out to be in 2009,” Davey added. “We were confident in our release
schedule, our go-to-market strategy and the quality of relationships we have with our key retail partners so we were optimistic that we could grow our share and re-establish ourselves as the No.1 publisher in the UK, which we succeeded in doing – everyone’s really pleased with that.” EA: 01483 463000
New cricket title swings in CODEMASTERS wants to recreate its Ashes success this summer when it releases a brand new cricket title. International Cricket 2010 is being developed for Xbox 360 and PS3, and is the latest title to come out of Codies’ 15-year association with the sport. The publisher previously released last year’s chart-topping Ashes title and the Brian Lara series. IC 2010 is being developed by Australian studio Trickstar Games and boasts a wealth of new modes and options.
“With a focus on taking gamers into the action like never before, International Cricket 2010 will deliver the most authentic cricket gaming
yet,” said Codemasters producer John Szoke. “Codemasters enjoys an unrivalled heritage in producing cricket games and
International Cricket 2010 will build on this success.” Trickstar Games’ studio director Tony Parkes added: “We’re delighted to partner with Codemasters to develop the next leap forward in cricket gaming. “Our passionate team of industry veterans, which includes development talent who have worked on the Brian Lara series and Ashes 2009, is determined to deliver the most immersive and intuitive cricket experience for all fans of the sport.” Codemasters: 01926 814132