46 MCV581_FINAL
30/3/10
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46 MCV 02/04/10
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Why gaming TV is
stuck on repeat Former GamesMaster and current Playr producer Richard Wilcox gives us his thoughts on the return of the popular gaming show and why the industry needs to improve its video output before thinking about TV… AS A FORMER producer of the TV show GamesMaster, who worked on four of its series, I’ve been asked a number of times how I’d feel about it possibly returning with Future Publishing at the helm. What I say each and every time is that it’s a bit like being told one of your mates is
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I find it ironic that among all this talk of GamesMaster coming back, the industry is still stuck in the ‘90s when it comes to producing footage of video games. Much of the stuff that comes out is so heavily branded and so overtly sales-orientated that it’s difficult to use in an
Among all this talk of GamesMaster returning, it’s ironic that games footage is still stuck in the ‘90s. Richard Wilcox, Playr
fucking one of your old girlfriends. Yep, it’s that nice. I can only imagine that for Dominik Diamond it’s much, much worse. Personal feelings aside, the news has energised me to write about the current state of promotional video material games firms are issuing.
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editorial context. It’s one of the reasons games get so little coverage on TV compared to other forms of entertainment. Producing a weekly show like Playr on Film 24 – yes, there is still is a weekly show on games – is made more challenging when we have to re-edit official footage just to
Richard Wilcox isn’t in favour of a TV comeback for GamesMaster, despite being a former producer
get it into some sort of broadcast-friendly state. In fact, the Playr team is so frustrated with re-cutting footage just to make sure it can be shown on TV, we’ve decided to launch a new corporate solution. For a lowcost fee, we can produce
attention-grabbing videos and event coverage, which will meet the needs of television, but also work across any other entertainment medium. So, go ahead, make an old producer very happy and check out the website to see what we can do for you.
It’s www.playr.biz. By the way, in the next letter I will answer the other question I get asked all the time: “Who should replace Patrick Moore?” Let’s just say the answer rhymes with boff. richard.wilcox@playrhq.com
IS IT THE END OF SPECIALIST GAME RETAIL? The UK trade responds via comments on MCVuk.com to news that supermarkets are now the fastest-growing games retailers… I’ve bored people on many occasions over the past 10 years on why this was inevitable. Just why the games industry persists in thinking its products are any different to music or films both amuses and depresses me. The reality is games are a boxed disc product that sell themselves. The punter hasn’t needed retail advice for years, and they only really needed it in the early days when gaming was all about PCs, drivers, compatibility and whether a game would run on their machine or not. As soon as those concerns disappeared, specialist games retail was doomed. David Mclean
It’s not that surprising given how many independents have closed this year, along with all the GAME concession stores that closed and some of the other retail closures like Zavvi and Woolworths. If the supermakets were not allowed to sell products lower than the cost price, then they wouldn’t have got this share in the first place. Dee J Dave Ah, but according to ERA data it appears supermarkets are not the cheapest retailers overall. Specialists, generalists and online retailers sell games far cheaper than the likes of Asda and Tesco. Chris
Supermarkets sell at a loss to gain market share and customers are duped into thinking we specialists make so much money from games. Specialists then disappear and supermarkets takeover, selling at prices they want. When supermarkets eventually see a reduction in revenue, they’ll drop games altogether. Supermarkets may have a huge market share of revenue, but how much profit do they actually make from the video games industry? Indie RIP Games specialist retailers better wake up and smell the coffee or their marketshare will continue falling rapidly to
levels where current business models will not be sustainable. Senior managers need to seriously look at their strategies and business processes and start identifying quick ways of adding extra value to the end customers. I believe this can be creatively achieved in many forms that would help them compete against volume discounters such as supermarkets, but perhaps they need input from managers outside the industry. My suggestion is that they should review and create very clear segments for their customers and then look at market qualifiers and order winners, on which potential
customers base their selection and purchasing decisions on. In my view, this value-adding creativity is the solution to this very real problem. Surboy If you’re a specialist and good at what you do, this won’t be the end for you. Gamers love to talk about games and sometimes need advice – Betty at Tesco is not going to give them that. It’s fair enough supermarkets might be cheaper on certain games, but they don’t stock the vast range that we do. Our customers love talking to us because we are gamers too. Stuart