02,03 MCV582_final:4-5 MCV515
6/4/10
17:55
Page 2
WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 09/04/10 3
NEWS
digital-only
‘Traditional publishers are set for extinction’
Cecil and Sumo handling development duty
Codemasters CEO plans digital push after Indian games firm takes 50% stake
[PRE ORDERS]
TOP 10 GOD OF WAR TRILOGY
by Christopher Dring
IT’S ABOUT TIME: BBC Vision’s Nelson (inset, left) and Charles Cecil say the titles can introduce mainstream consumers to games
“It might put a few people’s noses out of joint and turn things on their head a bit given that it’s free,” said Cecil. “But most importantly I think this can redefine what people expect of a computer game in terms of its story and really prioritise narrative as a part of the medium. That can only be a good thing.”
Simon Nelson, the BBC Vision controller who commissioned the game, added: “With Doctor Who: The Adventure Games we can hopefully get viewers to do something they’ve never done before and introduce them to new forms of content and interactivity. I hope this will help demystify gaming.”
CODEMASTERS will become a major player in the digital space thanks to a heavy-duty investment deal. Indian games giant Reliance Big Entertainment bought a 50 per cent stake in the firm earlier this week. It has a market capital of around $81 million and is already established in the MMO, online casual game and mobile spaces. Codemasters CEO Rod Cousens has told MCV that the British publisher will use the partnership to move away from traditional publishing and grow its digital offer. “A traditional games publisher with a distribution infrastructure is no longer the model. It is the model of the dinosaurs,” he said. “We have positioned ourselves well for the future. We’ve focused on franchises that are proven. We have an online infrastructure that companies far bigger than ours haven’t got – which has been extremely beneficial in terms of our alignments with
PS3, SONY
2. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT PS3 ......................................CAPCOM
3. RED DEAD REDEMPTION LIM ED PS3 ....................................ROCKSTAR
4. RED DEAD REDEMPTION LIM ED 360 ....................................ROCKSTAR COUSENS: “We are well positioned for the future”
Reliance. And we are now addressing emerging markets. “I think all of those aspects are points that other companies have yet to address.” The deal with Reliance is likely to see Codemasters properties – including Dirt, Grid and Cricket – appear as new online and mobile titles. “This deal secures the longterm future of Codemasters,” Cousens added. “Staff at Codemasters can walk around with their heads held high, and no-longer consider themselves this small unknown. Those that have sat in the fast lane to date, move over.” Codemasters: 01926 814132
5. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT 360 ......................................CAPCOM
6. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION + T-SHIRT 360 ......................................UBISOFT
7. GOD OF WAR COLLECTION PS3 ..........................................SONY
8. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION + LONG T 360 ......................................UBISOFT
9. RED DEAD REDEMPTION PS3 ....................................ROCKSTAR
10. GTA IV EPISODES PS3 ....................................ROCKSTAR Week ending: April 2nd Source: SHOPTO.COM Turn to page 29 for more pre-order charts from leading online retailers
UK SOFTWARE SALES MONITOR Your weekly guide to the UK games software market… This week’s UK software sales rose 10 per cent to £25.7 million, while unit sales were up even further, increasing 20 per cent to 1,222,138 copies sold. This performance is largely down to the Easter bank holiday weekend, with consumers hitting the shops in force. But with no big new releases on shelves, it was Ubisoft’s evergreen title Just Dance that did the business for games retailers. Sales are expected to tumble slightly next week, with only a Borderlands add-on pack on the release schedule. However, things should pick up with the arrival of Splinter Cell: Conviction on April 16th.
[WEEKLY MARKET VALUE]
Total UK Software Sales Source: ELSPA/ChartTrack and Intent Media
30
Week Ending April 2nd 2010
£25.7m
25 20 15 10 5
Just Dance reclaimed the UK No.1 this week – its third spell at the top of the sales charts
£20.0m
£23.3m
£25.7m
841,092 Units
1,021,965 Units
1,222,138 Units
0 Week Ending March 20th
Week Ending March 27th
Week Ending April 2nd