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THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES
Issue 585 Friday April 30 2010 £3.25
04 UK market falls The weekly value of the UK games market tumbles to its lowest level for four years
International Media Partner
08 Cecil on piracy The Doctor Who developer says video game prices are too expensive
23 MCV Awards 2010
14 GAME’s plan
We run through all the winners from last week’s MCV Awards and see what they got up to at the Just Dance after-party in our eight page special
MCV speaks to interim boss Chris Bell following a dramatic week for GAME
EVERY BUYER EVERY BRANCH EVERY INDIE EVERY WEEK
INCORPORATING
Best intentions 80 Best Buy stores due by 2015 Pre-owned games range revealed Best Buy stores to host publisher events Own-brand peripherals launched ‘We can beat GAME and HMV,’ says entertainment boss by Christopher Dring US RETAIL GIANT Best Buy has vowed to take on HMV and GAME with the opening of its first UK store today (Friday, April 30th). The chain’s first UK shop is based in Thurrock, Essex and has been opened early for the Bank Holiday weekend. Best Buy Thurrock boasts a huge area dedicated to games – complete with new and preowned games, specialist staff, own-brand peripherals and even a gaming room. And entertainment boss Marc Spence told MCV that Best Buy’s set-up is far superior to anything the specialists offer: “We have a range that will match or beat anybody in this space,” he said. “We will be competitive in price. We have pre-owned. And we have a demonstration area
that our competitors won’t be able to manage. This is particularly key as we move towards the motion capture technology, such as Natal and Move. You need to be able to demonstrate this tech.
“
world class. Entertainment is an integral part of our business and we want to be famous for it.” Four more stores will be open in Liverpool, Bristol, Surrey and the West Midlands by the end of May – and Best
We have a range that will beat anybody in this space. We’ve created something in gaming that’s world class. Marc Spence, Best Buy
“Consumers said they’d been let down by our rivals when it comes to experiencing games. “We also have own-brand peripherals. It is a limited number of SKUs initially, but that will grow dramatically. “I believe we have created something in gaming that’s
Entertainment boss Marc Spence wants Best Buy to be ‘famous’ for its video games offering
”
Buy hopes to have ten stores in the UK by the end of 2010. The firm says it will have at least 80 UK outlets by 2015, creating up to 8,000 new jobs. “Best Buy believes it can add value to the UK retail sector and help grow it,” said Spence. Best Buy’s entry into the UK market is in contrast to recent developments at retail, with news of regular store closures. Last week, UK giant GAME said it would shut over 127 stores by 2013.
‘WE HAVE TO BE IN PRE-OWNED’ Best Buy is the latest UK retailer to enter the used games market. The firm has a range of pre-owned titles in-store already for all formats, and consumers can trade-in their games against anything instore, such as a Blu-ray disc or a TV, and vice versa. “Pre-owned is an important part of the UK market, so it has to play a part of our offering,” said head of entertainment Marc Spence. “What will it be in terms of share of our business? I have no idea. It is important to the UK consumers so it has to be important to Best Buy. The good thing about it here is that customers can trade their titles in for anything in the store and vice-versa. If you have an old TV you can trade it against games. This is something that works across the store.”
BEST BUY CAN BE A ‘MINI-E3’ Publishers can showcase their latest titles ahead of release at Best Buy, claims head of entertainment Marc Spence. The firm boasts a large demonstration area for games in-store, featuring high definition TVs, and a gaming room, which can house 18 rated titles. And the company hopes producers will look to demonstrate their games pre-release, with Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony already expressing interest in the proposition. “If you have a big product coming out, we would like to invite special gamers, whether it is through the internet or just good customers of ours, so they can play say, your latest Modern Warfare prerelease,” said Spence. “We want to invite the producers of the games into our stores early and create a mini-E3 for them to showcase their games in the best environment. “Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have all been in to the store, been in the gaming room, and they all have plans on how to use that moving forwards.”
PERSONNEL 54 RETAIL BIZ 57 NEW RELEASES 65 HIGH STREET 66 CHARTS 68