MCV587 Friday May 14th 2010 by Intent Media (now Newbay Media Europe)

THE INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Friday May 14 2010 £3.25

28.5.10

KEY FEATURES

— THE RIPPLE EFFECT, WHERE EVERY ACTION, CONVERSATION AND DECISION CHANGES THE STORY. — COMPLETE CHOICE OF COMBAT STYLE. — REAL MODERN-DAY SETTING. — DEVELOPED BY RPG MASTERMINDS, OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT. — OVER 30 HOURS OF GAMEPLAY AND UNPRECEDENTED REPLAY VALUE.

MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS T V CAMPAIGN

20” SPOTS IN TARGETED PROGRAMMING IN KEEPING WITH THE SPY FAN BASE. THE CHANNEL MIX FOCUSES ON 16 – 34 YEAR OLD MALES. ADVERTISING WITHIN CHANNELS SUCH AS SKY 1, ITV 2, E4, SYFY AND FILM4. ON LINE

SPECIALIST & LIFESTYLE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, WITH KEY SPECIALIST TAKE OVERS, LAUNCH ZONES, DEDICATED COMPETITIONS AND ALPHA PROTOCOL HUB WITH CVG & GAMES RADAR. PRINT

2 MONTH HEAVY PRINT CAMPAIGN ACROSS SPECIALIST AND LIFESTYLE MEDIA INCLUDING CONSECUTIVE BOOK ENDS AND INSIDE COVER DPS FEATURES. PR

TWO MONTH SPECIALIST AND CONSUMER PR CAMPAIGN.

© SEGA. SEGA, the SEGA logo and ALPHA PROTOCOL are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. Obsidian and the Obsidian logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. “2”, “PlayStation”, “PS3” and “À” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Ã” is a trademark of the same company. Windows, the Windows Start button, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies, and “Games for Windows” and the Windows Start button logo are used under license from Microsoft. All rights reserved.

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THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES International Media Partner

Issue 587 Friday May 14 2010 £3.25

04 New IGN UK MD

14 SPECIAL FEATURE:

Former EA digital guru Ian Chambers revitalises media giant’s local team

T0P 20 GAMES INDIES We profile the smaller retailers that continue to innovate and impress

06 Fresh charity pack support Now Best Buy, ShopTo and Play.com pledge to stock GamesAid PS3 pack

08 Microsoft Wakes up Today’s new release Alan Wake will get a sustained post-release campaign

EVERY BUYER EVERY BRANCH EVERY INDIE EVERY WEEK

In association with

INCORPORATING

MTV ready to Rock Europe Industry veteran Roy Campbell appointed VP of International for MTV Games Music game firm will set up new European team, based in London ‘We want to topple Guitar Hero’ says MTV Games chief Guthrie MTV Games boss Guthrie (right) wants to eat up Guitar Hero’s share. Former THQ man Campbell (far right) will make that happen, starting with Green Day: Rock Band (main)

‘GREEN DAY MORE SUITED TO ROCK BAND THAN BEATLES’

by Christopher Dring MTV GAMES is establishing a new base in Europe – and the entertainment giant has told MCV its local team will dethrone Activision as the territory’s No.1 publisher in the lucrative music games genre. The firm has hired former THQ exec Roy Campbell to head up its international business and put together a European superteam based in London. MTV’s Rock Band is the biggest music game in the US but in Europe it lags behind Activision’s monster-selling Guitar Hero brand. The music giant has set its sights on taking market share from Activision with Q4’s launch of Rock Band 3. “The reality is we have underperformed in Europe,

certainly versus our competitor,” said MTV Games executive VP and GM Scott Guthrie. “We had decent growth with the release of The Beatles: Rock Band, but we absolutely believe

“

someone with Roy’s experience and skill set will allow us to be much more nimble. “This is a very competitive marketplace, particularly here in the UK. I would say the UK

The reality is we have underperformed in Europe. But we absolutely believe we can be the market leader. Scott Guthrie, MTV Games

there is much more to come from us for Europe. Within that space our objective is to be the number one player. “It is a fairly straightforward game plan – to have more feet on the ground so that we’ve got dedicated resources that will be able to collaborate and work with our friends at EA. We believe bringing in

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is the toughest territory that any of us in the gaming business is operating in right now. There is a lot of price compression, there’s a lot of profit compression and it is a very savvy experience.” Guthrie admitted the firm has a tough task in unseating Guitar Hero: “We have a long way to go, and we are

MTV GAMES BOSS Scott Guthrie believes that Green Day: Rock Band is a better fit for the franchise’s audience than last year’s Beatles tie-in. Guthrie says sales of the Beatles game weren’t as high as hoped. “We were pleased with the performance of Beatles: Rock Band but we were expecting higher sales,” he said. “Our core audience of 16 to 34-year-old males are much

doing catch-up, and we are going up against not just a formidable opponent in Activision but also the likes of Sony with the SingStar franchise. But we absolutely believe we can be the market leader. “We really believe that with the launch of Rock Band 3 – a significant upgrade to what we had before – we can take market share away from them.”

more familiar with Green Day music than The Beatles. “This isn’t a band that has been around for a short period – they’ve been going 21 years. They have a great history. It is in fact a much wider audience than some people might give them credit for. Green Day probably has a much higher awareness than perhaps The Beatles did.” The Green Day edition of Rock Band arrives on Tuesday, June 8th.

More details on RB3 will be revealed at E3, while the firm is also readying Green Day: Rock Band for June 8th launch. “Unlike the other guy, we haven’t been bringing a new game out every year. What you will find with Rock Band 3 is that first of all the music is great – and it is new music, and lots of it – but there are some new consumer features that you will find exciting.”

PERSONNEL 28 RETAIL BIZ 29 NEW RELEASES 34 HIGH STREET 36 CHARTS 38

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NEWS

[LEADER] FRESH BLOOD FOR BIG MEDIA MTV GAMES HAS until now been a confusing games firm. It’s not quite a fully-fledged publisher. EA looks after its distribution and sales. But it’s not ‘just’ a developer. While its biggest games gesture has been to pay almost $200m for US studio Harmonix, MTV Games’ tendrils dig deep into entertainment parent Viacom’s marketing muscle. News that it plans to open a UK-based sales office for Europe prove once and for all that it wants to be taken seriously as a publishing force. And MTV Games understands that to do so it doesn’t just have to address the challenging ‘razor and blades’ model its music game heartland is built upon. No, it first and foremost needs a local team to oversee its interests – hence the appointment of Roy Campbell as VP for international. MTV Games’ boss Guthrie is right to say the UK is the world’s toughest software market. It’s hard not to disagree after the middling success of dad-pleaser The Beatles: Rock Band. If you can’t succeed when

Fresh UK focus as IGN hires new MD Former EA and Ubisoft veteran Ian Chambers recruited Media giant to grow through digital space, social media, retail and events DIGITAL DRIVE: Chambers will focus on bringing cohesion to the many facets of IGN UK

“The games industry might be attracting the attentions of global giants, but there’s still no substitute for local talent.” relying on one of GB’s biggest exports, then clearly you’re doing it wrong. Our market here needs the right treatment, or you just shouldn’t bother. It’s clear that while the games industry might be attracting the attentions of global media giants like MTV, there’s still no substitute for local talent. *** THE SAME THING is going on at IGN UK, which we reveal this week has signed up digital guru Ian Chambers as its new MD. He should help bring strong leadership to a clutch of diverse interests – from editorial to digital distribution and middleware – that are sick of being seen as ‘just a media company’. You can hardly blame them. To many, ‘IGN’ just means screenshot galleries and 8/10 reviews. But in fact IGN Entertainment’s offer includes a set of niche and territory-specific editorial sites plus things like Direct2Drive (digital distribution), FilePlanet (free downloads) and GameSpy (multiplayer middleware). Although grown together over time via acquisition and expansion, it’s an impressive array of services that touches most parts of the games industry, from consumer to developer. Say what you want about corporate daddy Murdoch – the evil Gepetto behind some mass-media assumptions that last week’s election would be easily won – but the NewsCorps-owned games properties are a formidable bunch. Pushing a message out to remind people of that makes sense. And it’ll be interesting to hear how the otherwise online-heavy IGN plans to make itself known at retail level. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk

by Christopher Dring IGN HAS recruited industry stalwart Ian Chambers as its new UK MD. Chambers arrives from marketing consultancy Digital 12 as IGN plans to take its UK battleplan to the next level and

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Prior to this, he worked at Ubisoft as head of digital and relationship marketing, where he pitched the idea for the publisher’s UPlay service. In his new role Chambers has been tasked with linking IGN’s media business, digital distribution platform and

Our investment in big hitters like Ian should be a signal of our intention to challenge and develop the UK market.

wants to be seen as more than just a media company. Chambers is an expert in the digital space. Most recently he has worked as senior manager for console digital distribution in the UK – working on the launch of FIFA Ultimate Team and Battlefield 1943 at EA.

Chris Ellis, IGN

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community engagement to drive value for the UK industry. The firm wants to have a presence ‘everywhere where games are played’ in the UK, from iPhone and social networks to events and retail. “Ian has worked at the very heart of European publishing

having held senior positions at both EA and Ubisoft,” IGN’s international senior vice president Chris Ellis told MCV. “His experience in building major brands whilst mastering new routes to the consumer will help us develop our partner and consumer offerings in the coming months. “Our continued investment in big hitters like Ian should be a clear signal of our intention to continue to challenge and develop the UK market.” IGN first entered the UK market in August 2006, and boasts a dedicated editorial team for the territory. It moved into live events early this year with FirstLook, where competition winners can try games ahead of their release. IGN also owns the digital distribution platform Direct2Drive. IGN: 0203 077 4000

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NEWS

World Cup fever hits retail Sales boost expected with branded peripherals from Exspect and new football games by Dominic Sacco UK GAMES retail will benefit from World Cup mania thanks to a range of official England accessories and football games. Exspect has been named official accessory licensee for England after it reached a partnership agreement with Digital Goals. The deal will see a wave of three lions-branded skins for the Nintendo DSi, iPhone and iPod Touch reach retail in time for the World Cup. “Football lovers up and down the country are looking for ways to show their support for England during the World Cup,” Exspect’s head of

[PRE ORDERS]

TOP 10 RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED EDITION 360, ROCKSTAR

2. RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIM ED PS3 ....................................ROCKSTAR

3. HALO: REACH LEGENDARY EDITION 360 ..................................MICROSOFT

4. RED DEAD REDEMPTION 360 ....................................ROCKSTAR

5. RED DEAD REDEMPTION

Meanwhile, new football games including EA’s 2010 FIFA World Cup and Ubisoft’s Pure Football, due on May 28th,

PS3 ....................................ROCKSTAR

6. ALAN WAKE LIMITED EDITION 360 ..................................MICROSOFT

7. ALAN WAKE + STRATEGY BOOK

“

Football fans will be able to fly the flag for England on their favourite gadget throughout the summer.

360 ..................................MICROSOFT

8. CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 360 ....................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

Mike Sanderson, Exspect

development Mike Sanderson told MCV. “Thanks to our partnership with Digital Goals, fans will be able to fly the flag for England on their favourite gadget throughout the summer’s World Cup months.”

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will further build on interest generated by the World Cup. Ubisoft’s brand manager Phil Brannelly added: “We have very realistic expectations for Pure Football and we’re supporting it with marketing activity and promotions.

FOOTBALL FRENZY: A wave of branded accessories and games will give retail a lift this summer

“Lots of people play video games these days and the football isn’t on TV all of the time, so sales should hold up with the current market trend.”

EA’s 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa has already proved to be hit at retail, sitting at the top of the GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40 for two consecutive weeks since its release on April 30th. Exspect: 01782 748 732

9. UFC UNDISPUTED + 1GB USB PS3 ............................................THQ

10. DEMON SOULS BLACK PHANTOM PS3 ............................NAMCO BANDAI Week ending: May 7th Source: SHOPTO.COM Turn to page 36 for more pre-order charts from leading online retailers

UK SOFTWARE SALES MONITOR Your weekly guide to the UK games software market… The UK weekly market value fell 15 per cent to £16 million, while unit sales dropped nine per cent to 771,104. Sales may have dipped this week, but not as much as some may have feared with no major new releases arriving at retail. FIFA World Cup 2010 is once again the biggest seller of the week, but it was an array of heavy discounting from retail that drove sales. The likes of GAME were selling games such as Modern Warfare 2 at low prices. FIFA World Cup will continue to be a major seller over the coming weeks with hype building for this summer’s tournament. Big name releases in May are sure to boost sales, including Lost Planet 2 and Alan Wake.

[WEEKLY MARKET VALUE]

Total UK Software Sales Source: ELSPA/ChartTrack and Intent Media

Week Ending May 7th 2010

£16.0m

GOAL: 2010 FIFA World Cup was this week’s biggest seller

£13.5m

£18.8m

£16.0m

650,382 Units

840,034 Units

771,104 Units

0 Week Ending April 23rd

Week Ending April 30th

Week Ending May 7th

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NEWS

GamesAid bundle support grows Play.com, Best Buy and ShopTo pledge support for PS3 charity pack Triple-game set arrives June 25th by Dominic Sacco BEST BUY, ShopTo and Play.com have all told MCV they will stock the GamesAid PS3 charity pack – and more retailers are expected to show their commitment over the coming weeks. The pack – revealed by MCV last week – is scheduled for

“

We are proud to be involved in helping raise money for GamesAid and we hope the pack will be well recieved. James Rowson, ShopTo.net

release on June 25th with an RRP of £29.99. CHIPS, The Hut, Amazon, Asda and Grainger Games have already announced their support. The bundle, which is expected to raise £500,000 for charity, features Eidos’ Tomb Raider: Underworld,

content will be well received by consumers.” GamesAid chairman Andy Payne added: “It is a long while since the industry got together like this. “The last time was seven years ago on the PS2, so to get a pack together where everyone is doing it for nothing, and in the midst of the worst trading times for years, shows that there is a sense of corporate and social responsibility. “Hats off to the retailers such as Asda, Grainger Games, The Hut, Amazon and Chips who so far have given the GamesAid PS3 triple pack their support.” The GamesAid charity bundle goes on sale for the PS3 on June 25th. www.gamesaid.org

Codemasters racer Fuel and Sega Superstars Tennis. Play.com games buyer Keith Sharpe told MCV: “We’ll certainly be stocking the triple pack – it’s a good proposition for our customers with the added benefit of supporting a very good cause.” ShopTo.net’s purchasing director James Rowson added:

”

“ShopTo will be supporting this pack and will feature it prominently on site as well as promoting it via newsletter to our customer base. “We are proud to be involved in helping raise money for the GamesAid charity and we hope its

FOR A GOOD CAUSE: BestBuy, ShopTo and Play.com are the latest to support triple pack

Growing Slitherine toasts PSPgo success THE PSPGO market may be more profitable than first thought – Slitherine claims the Sony handheld is one of its most lucrative platforms. MCV spoke to the publisher about its digital strategy following news of its merger with US firm, Matrix Games. And the company says that despite slow sales of Sony’s digital-only handheld, a lack of high-profile competition on the format has allowed it to turn a tidy profit. “PSP and iPhone are key platforms for us,” Slitherine marketing director Marco Minoli told MCV. “PSPgo has been a great platform for us. PSN titles – both full titles and minis – are mostly unexploited by big publishers.

There’s a lack of competition, which helps a lot in terms of sell-through. There’s just a few releases for PSPgo, compared to the thousands for iPhone. “PSP is also a very suitable platform for our titles as it’s more for the core gamer who can invest time in their games. iPhone is great for the more casual player.” Slitherine announced this week that it has merged with Matrix Games. Both companies specialise in the strategy sector, with Matrix a major player in the digital market and Slitherine specialising in boxed games.

HAVE A GO: Slitherine says the PSPgo market still has potential

Minoli says that the deal will see Slitherine’s titles better represented in the US, while the publisher is looking at ways to bring some of Matrix’s biggest games to UK retail. “Matrix has always been at the cutting edge for innovation,” said Matrix Games’ director of operations David Heath. “We started over 10 years ago and were one of the first companies to move into the digital download business. “By merging with Slitherine, both our companies can pursue our common goals to grow the business and this market as a whole.” Slitherine: 01371 812132

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NEWS

Encore for Nordic Games’ We Sing The battle for the Wii karaoke crown heats up as Euro publisher prepares packed sequel for July release by Christopher Dring NORDIC GAMES will fight to top the Wii karaoke market this summer with We Sing Encore. The game features 40 new songs that span rock, pop, rap and R&B, from artists such as Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, Elton John, Lady GaGa and more.

Other new additions to We Sing Encore include a singing lessons area, a ‘real-karaoke’ mode and a jukebox mode. The entire game engine has been overhauled, and now boasts a visual makeover, antilag features and HDTV support. We Sing Encore will launch for Nintendo Wii in July.

Wii. And the addition of 10 tracks exclusive to the English, Swedish and German versions will ensure players in those markets will benefit from even more of their favourite tracks. “With major improvements and more tracks, We Sing Encore represents incredible value for money, and will once

www.nordicgames.se

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We Sing Encore will once again prove that we’re the only karaoke game on Wii with mainstream appeal. Nik Blower, Nordic Games

Encore is due for launch around the same time as Mindscape’s U-Sing: Girls Night. “We Sing Encore takes the central premise of We Sing and builds upon it in every way,” said Nordic Games’ sales and marketing director Nik Blower. “With free rein to pick any song from any label, we’ve come up with what we think is the best line-up on Nintendo

”

again prove that we’re the only karaoke game on Nintendo Wii that has such a broad, mainstream appeal.” Nordic Games says that the title will be backed by a monster marketing campaign, including a celebrity-packed launch event, a heavyweight TV ad push as well as sponsorship of the VIP areas at some of this summer’s festivals.

Eutechnyx wins System 3 sets sights on Japan £6m investment AMSTERDAM-BASED company Prime Technology Ventures has invested £6 million in Ferrari Challenge developer Eutechnyx. The funds will help the studio finalise plans for a new racer that Eutechnyx believes will revolutionise the genre. The firm also plans to use the money to boost a licensed project that will be unveiled in June, as well as develop a freeto-play infrastructure that will help it establish itself in the casual online gaming space. “We’re thrilled to have secured this investment

headed up by Europe’s most successful technology venture capital,” said Eutechnyx CEO Brain Jobling. “As an independent developer, this infusion will help us to continue to forge our own destiny within a rapidly changing games industry.” Prime Technology Ventures’ general partner Monish Suri added: “When we saw what Eutechnyx was working on, we knew we had to be involved. We’re excited to play a role in something that will drive the future of video games.” Eutechnyx: 0191 460 6060

BRITISH publisher System 3 has taken a major step towards global expansion with the opening of a dedicated Japanese office. The new subsidiary will operate out of Tokyo and handle the launch of back catalogue and future releases in the region, starting with Williams Pinball Classics. System 3 Japan will be headed up by Takeshi Shimizu. He formerly worked as board director and chief producer for Opus, a Japanese developer that produces content for publishers such as Capcom and Eidos. System 3 CEO Mark Cale said: “I’m delighted to announce

ALL SYSTEMS GO: Veteran Takeshi Shimizu will head up System 3 Japan

the expansion of our publishing operation into where I would consider to be the homeland of electronic gaming. “The territory has always been considered somewhat of a Holy Grail for European publishers but I strongly

believe that now, more than ever, we are in the best position to do it. “Opening a dedicated Japanese office is the next logical step in realising our worldwide portfolio potential.” System 3: 0207 491 4441

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Microsoft puts Wake in the spotlight Publisher opts for internet marketing over TV Unique ‘webisodes’ to attract gamers through Xbox Live by Dominic Sacco THE MARKETING campaign for Alan Wake will predominantly take place online, Microsoft has told MCV. Despite the action thriller featuring TV-like episodes and the publisher previously saying Wake will ‘blur the line between TV and video games’, Microsoft has opted for a heavyweight online campaign with a series of internet-only ‘webisodes’ scheduled. Product marketing manager Laura Disney said: “The decision

“

“The series introduces players to Jake Fischer, a newspaper reporter who encounters a series of mysterious and haunting experiences,” adds Disney. Microsoft hopes to pull in a wide audience with the episodes, which are running on Xbox Live, brightfalls.com and xbox.com. The ‘webisodes’ complement the game’s thorough online advertising plan which is running across a broad range of lifestyle and movie websites such as The

The decision was made that concentrating on a bespoke online campaign held the most value for our audience. Laura Disney, Microsoft

was made that concentrating on a bespoke online marketing campaign held the most value for our audience.” The unique online ‘webisodes’ – a series of six live action shorts set in Alan Wake’s fictitious town of Bright Falls – serve as a prequel to the game.

”

Sun, FHM, Love Film, Total Film and Rotten Tomatoes. Specialist gaming site IGN even has its own designated Alan Wake hub. Microsoft is running a largescale print campaign designed to target core gamers, with a range of advertising running in

ONLINE AWAKENING: Microsoft says its online marketing campaign gives consumers greater value

lifestyle and entertainment press including Total Film, Empire and FHM.

Retail benefits from Alan Wake POS and pre-order items to assist the game’s release.

Alan Wake goes on sale today (Friday, May 14th). Microsoft: 0870 602 0100

Nintendo predicts record-breaking Mario launch SUPER MARIO Galaxy 2 is expected to trump the success of all previous Mario titles. The game was first announced at E3 last year but

“

11th. It has already received a perfect 10 in Edge magazine. “We hope this will be one of the biggest Mario launches in the UK to date,” said

The buzz around Super Mario Galaxy 2 is even bigger than it was around Mario Kart Wii – Mario’s biggest launch title. Robert Lowe, Nintendo

it is only in recent months that demand has begun to rise as details on Galaxy 2 emerge – and Nintendo believes this momentum will only grow. Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be released for Wii on June

”

Nintendo’s marketing manager Robert Lowe. “Mario Kart Wii is the current record holder, and the buzz around Galaxy 2 is even bigger than it was around Mario Kart.”

Mario’s outings have always been popular in the UK, with the DS and Wii editions of Mario Kart established as chart regulars since their release in 2005 and 2008 respectively. The plumber’s latest release, New Super Mario Bros Wii, has already sold 14.7 million copies worldwide since hitting shelves last November, and Nintendo hopes that the surge of new Mario fans will help Galaxy 2 surpass the performance of its 2007 predecessor. Lowe added: “Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a very different type of game – but we think the gaming public will be astounded at how the EAD team has managed to improve

FAN FAVOURITES: Mario and Yoshi return in their latest adventure

on a virtually flawless predecessor,” said Lowe. “We also hope those who entered the world of Mario with New Super Mario Bros

Wii will make the next step onto Super Mario Galaxy 2 and find it as amazing, astounding and beautiful as we have.” Nintendo: 01753 483700

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NEWS

LATEST NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR MOBILE

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NEWS

EK E W E H T F O N IG A P CAM

TTEN SANDS O G R O F E H T : IA S PRINCE OF PER

Ubisoft has a big campaign planned for its summer blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands…

RELEASED: MAY 21

TV There will be a three-week TV plan with adverts appearing on a range of channels including popular spots during World Cup football matches.

ONLINE An exclusive Prince of Persia mini-game will appear on Xbox360achievements.org, which will run alongside a social media marketing campaign on Facebook.

CINEMA National cinemas will feature advertising at screenings of Iron Man 2, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hot Tub Time Machine, Robin Hood and the Prince of Persia film.

RETAIL A range of POS materials including posters, giant boxes and standees will be provided to High Street and online retailers.

PRINT A far-reaching print campaign will run across mainstream and lifestyle publications, backed up by extensive Prince of Persia coverage in specialist gaming magazines.

FORMATS: 360, PS3, WII, DS, PSP, PC PUBLISHER: UBISOFT DEVELOPER: UBISOFT MONTREAL PRICE: VARIOUS DISTRIBUTOR: GEM CONTACT: 01279 822800

EVENTS There will be a hands-on Prince of Persia preview event for press at HMV Gamerbase in London’s Trocadero. Ubisoft will also have a stand at the upcoming MCM Expo from May 29th to 30th.

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TOP 20 UK INDIES

Independent retailers, the Davids of Britain’s games industry, continue to surprise in their ongoing battle with corporate Goliaths of national chains. James Batchelor and Nindie.com bring a rundown of the best indie stores around the nation…

CHIPS

GRAINGER GAMES

CHIPS maintains its position as one of the UK’s largest independent games retailer, with almost 30 stores spread out all over the country encompassing a mix of company-owned stores and franchised outlets. As it celebrates its 24th year in business, CHIPS’ store count is set to grow even more as the firm strives to match the might of national chains. Only two weeks ago, the indie’s MD told MCV that former GAME and Gamestation staff were enquiring about how they can set up their own franchise. The company also works to stay at the forefront of games retail, trying new initiatives such as the interactive Xplace information kiosks in five of its stores, and maintains a strong web presence with longrunning site www.chipsworld.co.uk. 0870 013 0028

The winner of the Best Independent category at this year’s MCV Industry Excellence Awards. Grainger Games has come a long way from its humble origins as a small stall in Newcastle’s Grainger Arcade back in 1997 – it now owns 26 stores around the North of England, with another to be opened later this month. Five of its stores were only opened last year as Grainger continues to expand in line with its ambitious three-year expansion programme and draws ever nearer to crossing the line between indies and nationals. Grainger Games prides itself on its strong customer proposition and its vibrant branding, as well as the close working relationships it has forged with many of the leading players in the industry. 0191 218 1827

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BRITAIN’S BEST INDIES BARKMAN COMPUTERS

CONSOLE CONNECTIONS

Barkman Computers was first founded by Nick Elliot way back in 1987 and is now celebrating its 23rd year in business – not bad for a single store. Operating out of Surrey’s Kingston Upon Thames, the outlet is something of a rarity in the indie scene thanks to its focus on new product, and lack of a second-hand business. Barkman also boasts a more diverse range of titles, including hard-tofind delisted games, and a broad customer base of loyal regulars. 0208 546 5941

First established in 1992 by Mark Conacher and Fiona Stafford, the Console Connections empire consists of two stores: one in Truro, Cornwall and the other in Barnstable, Devon. Both outlets sell a range of used and new products, with a three-day exchange policy on all products sold. Its management team work hard to give the two stores a professional look, but are keen to maintain the special indie atmosphere that has proven to be so welcoming to customers. 01271 379557

DVD.CO.UK

ECLIPSE ENTERTAINMENT

Since its inception back in 2001, DVD.co.uk has extended its reach beyond the shores of the UK – it now ships products all over the world, including the US, Japan, Australia and a multitude of European countries. DVD.co.uk’s tempting offers on new games has drawn plenty of consumers to its pages, as has its Pre-Release Price Promise, whereby it will maintain or lower the charge for preordered goods as the price fluctuates towards the game’s release. www.dvd.co.uk

The Lancashire-based independent was originally set up in 1994 by Steven Ireland, who has since hired a wealth of talent to grow his business. This team took the firm from strength-to-strength, peaking in 2002 when there were four Eclipse outlets in the region, catering for gamers in Blackpool, Cleveleys, Kirkham and Preston. While the company has sold its Kirkham and Preston branches in recent years, it is still considered to be one of the UK’s leading independents. 01253 820800

GAME ON

GAMES BASEMENT

Game On was first set up in 1997 and provides Saffron Walden with more than just the traditional range of video games and consoles: it also sells the full Games Workshop and Magic: The Gathering lines, as well as other trading cards and collectables, capitalising on the massive crossover between these audiences and gaming fans. The firm boasts a discount loyalty scheme that has over 5,000 members, a key pillar in its great customer service offering. 01799 506070

Games Basement is an indie retailer that takes the competititve mail order market very seriously. Not only does the site offer a wide range of the latest games, it also offers a variety of import titles, free delivery on all products and a range of other interesting services. Gamers can trade in their old titles for loyalty points as part of an overall loyalty card scheme, where every purchase yields points that can result in further discounts. The site even offers a gift-wrapping service. 0845 643 5546

www.nindie.com

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BRITAIN’S BEST INDIES GAMES CENTRE

DISKS & DISCS

Founded in 1996 by Robert Lindsay, this company holds the title of Scotland’s largest indie chain, thanks to its six High Street stores. Games Centre’s latest outlet opened in Airdrie in July last year and each store boasts deeply knowledgeable gamers and competitive pricing. They are all open seven days a week and supported by www.gamescentre.co.uk. 01236 752348

Disks & Discs operates out of a single store in Stafford, but thanks to its prominent High Street location it’s a rather successful one. The indie prides itself on offering a truly comprehensive range of products, ensuring that every new release appears in store at launch. As a result Disks & Discs has seen great hits with games that fewer nationals stocked. 01785 214098

GAMESEEK

GAMESTERS/THE COOL SPOT

The brainchild of MCV Retail Advisory Board member Stephen Staley, Gameseek is one of the UK’s fastest-growing online games stores. The site has been trading since 2002 and offers a full range of games, as well as DVD players, Blu-ray films and even toys. Its flexible payment options and efficient shipping have made the site highly popular with gamers. www.gameseek.co.uk

Started in 1993, this twin-brand chain currently operates out of three locations, with Gamesters stores in Rotherham and Scunthorpe and a Cool Spot outlet in Doncaster. Despite the two different names, the stores offer the same services, from pre-owned games to console and disc repairs. The company is also developing a two-pronged web presence. 01302 761656

GAMEXCHANGE

GROOVES

GameXchange boasts no less than five stores around the country. Of all the outlets it has, the jewel in the GameXchange crown is the Stretford branch, which boasts a shop floor size that many indies can only dream of: 1,300 sq ft. This allows it to stock plenty of the latest games and merchandise, and dedicated impressively prominent areas to key titles. 0870 746 6070

Operating out of a single store in Kirkwall on Scotland’s Orkney Islands, this indie is primarily a records and music store. However, the popularity of games has led it to branch out and stock hardware, software and accessories for all major formats. It also runs a trade-in system, rewarding customers with discounts against future purchases. 01856 872239

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BRITAIN’S BEST INDIES MAY CONTAIN FUN

POWERPLAY DIRECT

Perhaps better known as EverythingPlay.com, May Contain Fun is currently finalising plans to rebrand its website. As of June 1st, the firm will be known as FindAddBuy.com, a makeover that will see the launch of a new logo, revised navigation system and a site redesign. Launched as recently as April 2007, May Contain Fun’s site is a relatively new indie on the scene but is no less prominent. www.findaddbuy.com

This online entertainment specialist continues to run one of the best looking indie sites out there. Consumers can pick from a strong range of games, consoles and more, as well as additional products including DVDs, music, books and gadgets. Powerplay Direct operates out of its headquarters in Eastbourne and also boasts two large High Street stores in Leicester and Hereford. www.powerplaydirect.com

SEEDEE JONS

SHOPTO.NET

SeeDee Jons began in 1993 as an independent music retailer, before becoming an Apple authorised reseller and moving to larger premises in Jersey. As the games industry grew, owner John Holley worked to bring SeeDee into that market. The company now sells a range of PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo products, while a dedicated games buyer ensures SeeDee Jons always has the latest titles in stock. 01534 769405

Popular site ShopTo.net is run by MCV Retail Advisory Board member Igor Cipolletta, who is supported by a team of 16 enthusiastic staff. The successful company is expecting a turnover of around £23 million in its current financial year and plans to increase this by at least 35 per cent in the following year. It is currently gathering more than 3,000 new customers every week. www.shopto.net

SIMPLY GAMES

THE GAMES EXCHANGE

This well-respected online-only indie retailer hopes to double its business on last year, having managed to achieve this for the past two years running in spite of the recession. Simply Games is also looking into the possibilities of downloadable games, potentially moving away from its current focus of engaging with customers through console sales. www.simplygames.com

Having begun as a market stall more than a decade ago, The Games Exchange now operates out of two branches in Wales. The company trades in both new games and retro stock, as well as other gaming merchandise. The Games Exchange also offers a multi-tiered loyalty card, with discount rates ranging from three per cent for newcomers to seven per cent for gold members. 01745 336644

IN ASSOCIATION WITH NINDIE.COM Nindie.com was set up in 2006 as a community for the independent retailers of Nintendo. The service introduces a number of innovations to aid smaller retailers who sell Nintendo products. www.nindie.com 0870 027 8700

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Largest trade fair and event highlight for interactive games and entertainment

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Development kings The widely-read list of the world’s most successful game studios, the Develop 100, was published by MCV’s sister magazine Develop last week. Here, we provide a summary of the list – plus analysis from GfK Chart-Track’s business group director Dorian Bloch…

WE TOOK UP the challenge of coding every game that sells in the UK back in 2004 and by the launch of the first Develop 100 co-produced wiith ChartTrack (covering sales in 2005) we had coded up around 10,000 products. Roll on to the end of 2009 for the latest edition and this had risen to 17,500 products, all with developer credit to an independent or publisherowned studio and a country of coding origin. This means that we have probably the most accurate database of titles anywhere in the world. Sure, this is applied to sales in the UK, the third largest gaming market in the world and therefore cannot account for the cultural differences that would apply if we included USA and Japan. Nevertheless, this makes for a fascinating account of what actually sells in the UK, coupled to developer share rather than the more traditional publisher share of the market which is reported the world over. We recognise the importance of giving credit where its due which is why every week

we list the developer against each title in our standard weekly report, as seen on our website and as subscribed to by just about every publisher active in this market. The international profile of the various charts for video games is higher than ever. Some publishers and developers are now reaping the benefits with the monthly syndicated reports that rank developers according to their ongoing performance in the UK charts. Get in touch if you want more regular updates – you’ll receive a full monthly report for free to give you an idea of what’s on

“

fifth in the best sellers list. No.2 was GTA: San Andreas, the defining moment from the previous PS2 generation back in 2004. So three Nintendo firsty-party titles on single formats occupy slots in the all time top five volume sellers. A pretty impressive feat. And all of the above is before we even mention Wii Sports, which is bundled with every Wii console and found a place within one in four UK homes by the end of 2009. The Nintendo Wii’s installed base is 6.5m in the UK and therefore 6.5m copies of Wii Sports.

By the end of 2009 one console per person in the UK had been sold, with cumulative console sales since ‘95 at 61m and the UK’s population at around 61.5m last year.

offer (the monthly ranking of publisherowned and independent studios, the top titles by format and even a sales breakdown by territory). Ad-hoc reports are available on developer’s own titles – or its competitors’.

”

By the end of 2009 one console per person living in the UK had been sold (cumulative console sales since 1995 are around 61m and UK population in 2009 was around 61.5m). UK DEVELOPER TRENDS

STAT ATTACK

Let us cast our minds back to 2007, the first year when we had all of the current generation systems in place and the start of Nintendo’s domination of the No.1 developer spot, now three years running. Nintendo’s domination signalled the widening ‘casual’ demographic in the traditional console gaming market, with games like Dr Kawashima Brain Training on DS plus Wii Fit and Wii Play. By the end of 2009 Dr Kawashima was still the biggest selling stand-alone game of all time in the UK (3.5m units) while Wii Fit and Wii Play held fourth and

The most popular format across all developers in 2007 turned out to be Xbox 360 with 21 per cent. That was followed by DS with 20 per cent, PS2 with 17 per cent, Wii with 15 per cent, PS3 with ten per cent, PC ten per cent and PSP seven per cent. In 2009 the percentage share has changed dramatically, with Xbox 360 continuing to climb (28 per cent), Wii holding steady (24 per cent, up from No.4 to No.2), PS3 doubling (21 per cent, up from No.5 to No.3), DS declining four per cent (16 per cent, down from No.2 to No.4), PC also down four per cent (at No.5), then PSP (three per cent) and PS2 (two per cent). When looking at all products sold in 2007 the share for independent studios was 39 per cent (with 61 per cent being publisher owned). In 2009 this had dropped to 36 per cent independent (64 per cent publisherowned), so not a huge decline.

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However, the bigger difference is highlighted in the number of independent studios within the Top 100 – almost half in 2007 (48) compared to just over two-fifths in 2009 (42). Games produced in the top four territories (USA, Japan, Canada and UK) accounted for 90 per cent of all units sold in 2007 and 89 per cent in 2009 and in descending order for 2009 they are USA at No.1 (32 per cent), Japan No.2 (27 per cent), UK No.3 (18 per cent), and Canada No.4 (13 per cent). Within these numbers USA and Canada have remained stable, Japan has gained 1.2 per cent and UK has lost 1.4 per cent. Within the UK, independent studios accounted for 42 per cent, publisher owned 58 per cent. Indie share has actually increased dramatically over

“

the fastest-selling game of all time in the UK: Modern Warfare 2. Launch was on Tuesday, November 10th 2009 and on Wednesday, November 11th GfK Chart-Track was the first territory in the world to break the news on day one sales – 1.23m at £47.7m. The 24hour sell-through number beat the entire first week on sale for the previous record holder (Rockstar’s GTA IV sold through 927,000 – or £39.9m worth – in its five-day launch week). It is amazing to note that in terms of the day one sell-through, the UK accounted for a massive 26 per cent of the 4.7m estimated to have sold through in the UK and USA. So for the launch week we tracked the sales on a daily basis for Activision and we were again the first to break the news that MW2 racked up 1.78m units and generated £67.4m in the UK

Within Canadian-made games 82 per cent of product sold is by a publisher-owned studio – that’s no surprise given the many studio investments in the region.

2008 (36 per cent). Reasons for this stem from the huge effect that Rockstar’s GTA IV had on UK developer market share in 2008 and is also due to new products in 2009 such as Virtua Tennis 2009 (Sumo Digital/Sega), F1 2009 (Sumo Digital/Codemasters), but moreover in Q3 ’09 the mega-hit Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios/Eidos-Square Enix) and also NFS: Shift (Slightly Mad Studios/EA). Also of note is Asylum’s Peppa Pig: The Game, a notable success on DS and Gusto Games’ Wii version of Ashes Cricket 2009. Within Canadian-made games a massive 82 per cent of product sold is by a publisher-owned studio, the most top-heavy of all four territories, but something that will come as no surprise given the investment over the years by EA, Ubisoft, Activision and others in that region. Products such as FIFA 10 (EA Canada), Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Monteal) and Prototype (by Activision-owned Radical) spring immediately to mind. A MODERN MARVEL

Infinity Ward’s placing at No.2 this year cannot go without comment. It made

”

during week one. Putting that in perspective, Infinity Ward and Activision’s title grossed almost twice as much as the entire entertainment software market in the previous week. The Xbox 360 version of MW2 was the lead format, sold over a million UK units in week one and grossed £38.5m itself – more than the entire market for the previous week. By the end of 2009 MW2 had amassed eight straight weeks at No.1 and moved from simply within the Top 10 to being the No.3 cumulative unit seller (2.93m) and the No1. revenue generator (£112m) in the history of UK video gaming. Thanks to MW2 2009 was the year where the traditional ‘core-gamer’ market proved that a high quality gaming experience could generate sales of such magnitude, that all other entertainment day one and five-day entertainment industry box office, book and video game sell-through records were eclipsed. Ultimately a studio is judged on the sales success of their games – so why shouldn’t they be recognised for it? The Develop 100 is a fascinating report for all publishers and developers. www.chart-track.co.uk

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

NINTENDO – £203.63m ................................................................................... INFINITY WARD – £125.58m.................................................................................. EA CANADA – £100.99m........................................................................................ UBISOFT MONTREAL – £59.71m .......................................................................... FOUNDATION 9 – £36.83m ................................................................................... SEGA – £35.93m....................................................................................................... CAPCOM – £31.87m ................................................................................................. TREYARCH – £30.99m............................................................................................ YUKE'S – £30.06m .................................................................................................. LEVEL 5 – £29.14m.................................................................................................. TRAVELLER'S TALES – £28.52m......................................................................... NEVERSOFT – £22.01m .......................................................................................... KONAMI DIGITAL ENT. – £21.48m ........................................................................ TURN 10 STUDIOS – £20.79m............................................................................... CODEMASTERS – £19.20m .................................................................................... BUNGIE – £19.04m................................................................................................... SLIGHTLY MAD STUDIOS – £17.65m ................................................................... VICARIOUS VISIONS – £17.46m............................................................................ VISCERAL GAMES – £16.48m ............................................................................... ROCKSTAR NORTH – £16.30m ............................................................................. THE SIMS STUDIO – £16.22m................................................................................ VALVE – £16.15m ...................................................................................................... NAMCO – £15.63m ................................................................................................... ROCKSTEADY STUDIOS – £15.26m ..................................................................... EA TIBURON – £14.41m........................................................................................... EA BRIGHT LIGHT – £13.61m ................................................................................. UBISOFT FRANCE – £13.35m ................................................................................ EA BLACK BOX – £13.29m ..................................................................................... NAUGHTY DOG – £13.12m ...................................................................................... SPORTS INTERACTIVE – £12.81m ........................................................................ LONDON STUDIO – £12.25m ................................................................................. GUERRILLA GAMES – £11.27m.............................................................................. BETHESDA – £10.83m............................................................................................. RADICAL – £9.92m .................................................................................................. VOLITION – £9.76m ................................................................................................. MAXIS – £9.54m ...................................................................................................... GEARBOX SOFTWARE – £9.45m ......................................................................... HARMONIX – £9.20m.............................................................................................. 1ST PLAYABLE – £8.88m...................................................................................... PANDEMIC STUDIOS – £8.81m ............................................................................. GAME FREAK – £8.70m.......................................................................................... BIOWARE – £8.63m................................................................................................. ENSEMBLE STUDIOS – £8.54m ........................................................................... A2M – £8.43m .......................................................................................................... SONIC TEAM – £8.30m .......................................................................................... KUJU ENTERTAINMENT – £8.29m ...................................................................... CAT DADDY – £7.88m............................................................................................. HB STUDIOS – £7.79m ............................................................................................ UBISOFT ROMANIA – £7.05m............................................................................... RAVEN SOFTWARE – £7.03m................................................................................ EPIC GAMES – £7.02m............................................................................................ KROME STUDIOS – £7m......................................................................................... INSOMNIAC – £6.74m.............................................................................................. MEDIA MOLECULE – £6.43m ................................................................................ ROCKSTAR LEEDS – £6.15m.................................................................................. LUXOFLUX – £5.87m .............................................................................................. HUDSON – £5.78m................................................................................................... TECHLAND – £5.59m.............................................................................................. CREATIVE ASSEMBLY – £5.53m .......................................................................... COOKING MAMA LIMITED – £5.52m................................................................... FREESTYLEGAMES – £5.23m ............................................................................... SUCKER PUNCH – £5.20m .................................................................................... MIDWAY – £5.12m..................................................................................................... EA LA – £5.06m ....................................................................................................... TRANSMISSION GAMES – £5.05m ...................................................................... GRIN – £5.03m ......................................................................................................... EXIENT – £4.81m ...................................................................................................... EA DICE – £4.61m..................................................................................................... INIS – £4.54m ........................................................................................................... ASYLUM – £4.43m................................................................................................... RESPONDESIGN – £4.33m..................................................................................... REBELLION – £4.23m ............................................................................................. EA SALT LAKE – £4.16m......................................................................................... BLACK ROCK STUDIOS – £4.03m........................................................................ HEAVY IRON STUDIOS – £4m............................................................................... MONKEY BAR GAMES – £3.92m .......................................................................... TERMINAL REALITY – £3.90m............................................................................. CRYSTAL DYNAMICS – £3.88m............................................................................ SORA – £3.86m........................................................................................................ BLIZZARD – £3.85m ............................................................................................... CRITERION GAMES – £3.80m............................................................................... BIG FISH GAMES – £3.80m ................................................................................... POLYPHONY DIGITAL – £3.79m ........................................................................... GENIUS SONORITY – £3.77m................................................................................ N-SPACE – £3.74m ................................................................................................... MAGIC POCKETS – £3.72m.................................................................................... BEENOX – £3.62m ................................................................................................... MONOLITH – £3.59m .............................................................................................. EUROCOM – £3.53m................................................................................................ MIDWAY NEWCASTLE – £3.48m .......................................................................... ROUTE 1 GAMES – £3.39m .................................................................................... LIONHEAD STUDIOS – £3.39m............................................................................. RELIC – £3.24m ........................................................................................................ ALTRON – £3.22m.................................................................................................... WIZARBOX – £3.20m .............................................................................................. SLAM PRODUCTIONS – £3.20m........................................................................... GUSTO GAMES – £3.18m ........................................................................................ HIGH VOLTAGE – £2.83m ...................................................................................... ROCKSTAR SAN DIEGO – £2.82m........................................................................ 5TH CELL – £2.78m ................................................................................................

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DEVELOP 100: # 1 - # 100

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SPLIT/SECOND FOCUS

Marketing Velocity Disney says Split/Second: Velocity is one of the most innovative racing games of recent times, and is backing the release with an equally creative advertising push. Christopher Dring speaks to marketing boss Keely Brenner to discover the thinking behind the campaign…

Disney’s UK marketing boss Keely Brenner (right) has recruited England star Shaun Wright-Phillips (above) as a part of the firm’s innovative marketing campaign for Split/Second: Velocity

SPLIT/SECOND: Velocity is a major release for Disney. It is well on-course to be the publisher’s most successful original gaming IP todate. Not only is it a spectacular looking game, but the early response from the critics have been overwhelmingly positive, with many suggesting the game could be the kick in the tyres the racing genre desperately needed. “It’s a fantastic game from an incredibly talented studio, and we hope that people will enjoy playing it as much as we do,” says head of marketing for UK and Ireland Keely Brenner “Right from when the product was first green-lit, Disney and Black Rock set out to ensure that Split/Second would bring something ground-breaking to the racing genre, whether this be the introduction of a unique back-of-car HUD or the blockbuster movie style action sequences triggered in the power-plays.” THINKING CREATIVELY

Innovation has been key to Disney’s games strategy. Upcoming titles such as Epic Mickey are unique, while even the firm’s movie licences – such as Toy Story 3 – are filled with inventive ideas. Split/Second: Velocity is no different. From unique ‘power-plays’, where gamers can collapse bridges or topple towers

and Disney has been creative in this with a simple press of a button, to a space, too. Along with the aforementioned clever on-screen display that could influence how racing games are made in create-an-add competition, the publisher has produced editorial-style spots for MTV. the future. And it is this innovation that has helped inspire the game’s marketers. In these ads an actual MTV presenter is on-screen as if they’re reporting directly “We have mirrored this innovative from the Split/Second set itself. approach in our marketing for two key But it’s not just been about showing reasons, firstly the game is visually off the pretty graphics, with Disney stunning, so we have gone for high wheeling the latest code around to impact formats across the board to best some of the UK’s biggest events in a bid show this off, from web takeovers to hito get the game into consumer hands. def cinema ads, and secondly because “This has always been a priority for we want to ensure our marketing standsus,” continues Brenner. out from the competition,” adds Brenner. “One such example of The racing genre needs the creativity is the video shaking up and our mash-up application whereby you can create advertising shows how your own Split/Second race Split/Second has done this. sequence online using Keely Brenner, Disney Interactive sections of game footage, “We had confidence in the product and enter it into a competition. The winner is given the chance to go into an from the outset and felt the best way to form an opinion is to play it, hence the edit suite and actually have their final presence at events like the Eurogamer movie used for a UK TV ad spot. Expo, the Gadget Show Live and the “There’s been comments recently Modified Nationals show later this month. that the racing genre needs shaking up “This also demonstrates the wide and our advertising shows how audience that we are able to reach – Split/Second has done this.” Eurogamer was primarily core gamers, HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE the Gadget Show live was a family and Split/Second’s attractive visuals have tech savvy audience, and the Modified made the game ideal for TV advertising, nationals are older male car enthusiasts.”

“

Reaching out to a wider audience has been one of the key challenges for Split/Second. The game’s plaudits will have been noticed by the core gamer, but to reach a mainstream audience the firm has adopted multiple measures – including signing England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips as the game’s ambassador. “Celebrity endorsements can help raise awareness, but you only see the true benefit when genuine relevance exists,” adds Brenner. “Wright-Phillips was an excellent choice for us, not only because it allows us to engage with the millions following the World Cup, but Shaun himself is a gamer, and was incredibly enthusiastic about being involved.”

”

SECOND NATURE

Split/Second: Velocity has some stiff competition in the racing genre. This year alone there’s a plethora of big name racers, from Need for Speed to Gran Turismo, plus new IP such as Blur. But Disney no longer sees itself as a small player in games. Even in competitive genres, Disney is confident it can beat its bigger rivals. And with such high production values, innovative gameplay and creative marketing, there’s every reason to believe they could do it.

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EUROGAMER EXPO 2010

Show business Momentum is already building for this October’s Eurogamer Expo. HMV has signed up as official retail partner, and the event organisers have added a two-hour preview for media and trade. Christopher Dring speaks to Eurogamer chief Rupert Loman to find out more… Eurogamer boss Rupert Loman says the 2010 Expo will be bigger than ever, and he expects the show to sell out in record time.

How would you evaluate last year’s Eurogamer Expo? Eurogamer Expo 2009 was a huge success. We tripled our attendance from 2008, attracted some fantastic mainstream press coverage – including GMTV, Radio 1 and BBC Breakfast – and easily had the best selection of exclusive playable games of any UK event last year. The developer sessions included the first UK showings of Brink and Splinter Cell: Conviction as well as interesting talks from the likes of Heavy Rain creator David Cage and Chet Faliszek from Valve. In what ways is the 2010 show going to be better? Moving to Earls Court, this year’s event is another step-up in terms of scale but we’re also going to be running more activities alongside the main gaming arena such as tournaments, a press and retail preview session, industry and consumer conference elements and a party too. In addition, we’re starting to attract interest from other technology brands, and with the new ways of playing games being introduced this year – such as Project Natal, PlayStation Move, 3D and so on – this year’s event is shaping up to be fantastic.

With the move to Earls Court, are you confident the event will sell-out? In less than two weeks we’ve sold more than 2,000 tickets and we’re hugely confident of selling out this year’s event in record time. There really is an insatiable demand from the Eurogamer audience for these events.

everyone concerned and we’re very happy that they’ve committed to a multi-year partnership. Publishers get to sell their games on-site so the show is starting to become a revenue opportunity, while gamers who come down to the event and want to take home a game or two can now do so. On top of that, the promotion that HMV offers the event through their stores and website allows us to reach out to an even wider audience than just Eurogamer users.

What was the thinking behind doing a trade and media preview? We had over 500 journalists attend last year and one piece of feedback we received was that without The response to the trade and a session to themselves media preview has been they weren’t able to cover the games as much as phenomenal. Next year we’ll they’d have liked. The look to expand it to a full day. media and trade preview Rupert Loman, Eurogamer will allow the industry and press to get hands-on with lots of games before the show opens to consumers – How are you promoting the the response so far since accreditation Eurogamer Expo this year? opened has been phenomenal so we’re We have a full-on communications definitely looking at expanding this aspect strategy for this year’s event. We have of the event to a full day next year. brought a PR person in-house, we’ll be appointing an agency to manage media You’ve partnered with MCV Award in the run up to the show and on-site. winner HMV for the Expo – what’s This of course is in addition to working the benefits of teaming up with a with the internal PR departments of retailer for an event such as this? sponsors and attendees, the press preview The HMV partnership is great for and other pro-active plans to work with

“

journalists ensuring we capitalise on every opportunity and this year’s coverage will far surpass previous years. Has anyone signed up to showcase at this year’s Expo yet? We’ve already signed some fantastic titles from several top publishers but we won’t start announcing the games and speakers that will be at the event until after E3. We have already announced that we’re working with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to make the event happen in addition to the partnership with HMV. Why should publishers and developers be interested in the Expo this year? People should be excited about this year’s expo as we’ve established it as the key event for core gamers in the UK. The first two shows have allowed us to get to the stage where we are able to hire a huge space in Earls Court, start attracting international attention and even our own fringe events are starting to pop up. Industry people can get free tickets via expo.eurogamer.net and people should make sure October 1st to October 3rd are clear in their diaries.

”

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JUNE 23RD 2010 SEES THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE MCV & XBOX 360 GAMES 5S! Reserve your place now for the legendary tournament â&#x20AC;&#x201C; includes a screening of the England vs Slovenia final group match, along with a BBQ & beers! To confirm your place, please send an email to: enquiries@gamesfives360.co.uk

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Disney Split Second 14-05-2010_Final

10/5/10

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FOR ALL ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT TOM MASON ON 0121 625 3818

Disney Split Second 14-05-2010_Final

10/5/10

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Page 2

THIS WEEK ON SPLIT/SECOND: VELOCITY...

SURVIVAL MODE

As you slide around a sharp right turn you can see a big rig truck in the distance... The wreckage of a rival car blocks your path... A barrel of explosives hurtles towards your car as you pull left to avoid impact... This is Survival mode. In this action-packed mode you must overtake as many big rig trucks as you can and survive for as long as possible in order to rack up the points. The problem is the trucks are hurling barrels of explosives into your path in a bid to take you out. With just a Split/Second to react will you survive or come to an explosive end?

“WILL REMIND YOU WHY YOU DECIDED TO PLAY GAMES IN THE FIRST PLACE” PLAY

© Disney. “2”,“ ” and “PlayStation” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. Product names and/or visuals shown are of product currently in development and may be subject to change.

www.splitsecondvelocity.co.uk

28 MCV587_final:46 MCV515

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Sponsored by

POLL CAN BLACK OPS COME CLOSE TO THE SUCCESS OF MODERN WARFARE 2?

REVIEW SCORES MCV provides the most important average review scores of the last few days – all sourced from Metacritic...

84% PS3, EA

Lost Planet 2, 360, Capcom

31%

Yes

Alan Wake 360, Microsoft

83% 81% 68% 83% FIFA World Cup 2010,

69%

Nier, PS3, Square Enix

WarioWare DIY DS, Nintendo

The next instalment in Activision Blizzard’s hugely popular Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops, was announced two weeks ago and is scheduled for release this year. MCV asked readers whether it can come close to reaching the same degree of success that last year’s Modern Warfare 2 achieved at retail. Almost a third voted positively, with 31 per cent believing it can match the success of Modern Warfare 2. However a majority

of 69 per cent think it won’t be able to better Infinity Ward’s best-selling game of 2009 when it goes on sale globally on November 9th. Call of Duty: Black Ops is being developed by Treyarch, the same company who worked on 2008’s World at War, and many retailers have already priced the upcoming game at £54.99. Take part in MCV’s next poll at www.mcvuk.com

MARGIN MAKER

*Metacritic scores correct at the time of going to press

INDIE CHARTS - ALL FORMATS 1

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

TITLE/FORMAT

PUBLISHER

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP: SOUTH AFRICA FORMAT: 360

DEVELOPER: EA CANADA PUBLISHER: EA

NEW

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP: SOUTH AFRICA PS3

NEW

SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV 360

NEW

POKÉMON HEARTGOLD DS

EA CAPCOM NINTENDO

SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV PS3

CAPCOM

SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION 360

UBISOFT

NEW

GOD OF WAR COLLECTION PS3

SONY

NEW

IRON MAN 2 PS3

SEGA

NEW

IRON MAN 2 360

SEGA

BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 PS3

Charts compiled by Game Guide/Complete EPOS Solutions. For more information about Complete EPOS Solutions call 01543 370002. For more information about the Game Guide call 01606 836347.

Chatman is a talking and moving PC gadget designed to act as a PC ‘friend’. It’s designed for today’s generation of online-savvy children and makes chat sessions, web surfing and gaming more fun by regularly voicing its own opinion. Chatman’s flashing LED lights, moving eyes and animated mouth accompany a voice which lets the user know what it’s

thinking and how it feels about the discussions exchanged. Its artificial intelligence also allows it to convey 500 actions and 25 customisable moods as well as three personalities. Owners can even create their own user account and upload custom chit-chats on mychatman.com. Recreation Group: 0118 973 6222

DEAL OF THE WEEK A 250GB Xbox 360 Elite with Final Fantasy XIII, Forza 3, Fable 2, Gears of War 2 and Halo 3: ODST is currently being offered by Play.com for £239.99. The pack also includes an extra wireless controller, saving customers a total of £190.

36,37 MCV587_final

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RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 14/05/10 37 Sponsored by

PRICE CHECK [PRE ORDERS] 2010 FIFA World Cup 360, EA

TOP 10

Super Street Fighter IV PS3, Capcom

Iron Man 2 Wii, Sega

Splinter Cell: Conviction PC, Ubisoft

WarioWare DIY DS, Nintendo

£39.99

£29.99

£32.99

£39.99

£29.99

£32.99

2. RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED EDITION

£39.71

£19.71

£27.71

N/A

£27.71

3. HALO: REACH - LEGENDARY EDITION

£39.99

N/A

£29.99

4. LOST PLANET 2 + T-SHIRT

RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED EDITION

IN STORE: EXETER

360, ROCKSTAR PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR 360 ..............................................................MICROSOFT 360 ..................................................................CAPCOM

5. RED DEAD REDEMPTION

360 ................................................................ROCKSTAR

6. LOST PLANET 2 + T-SHIRT

ONLINE

PS3 ..................................................................CAPCOM

£34.91

£22.70

£22.00

£24.91

£31.13

£39.99

£24.99

£29.99

£24.99

£39.99

£24.99

£29.99

£26.99

£34.99

£24.99

N//A

N/A

7. RED DEAD REDEMPTION

PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR

8. 3D DOT GAME HEROES

PS3 ..............................................................SOUTHPEAK

9. HALO: REACH - COLLECTORS EDITION

360 ..............................................................MICROSOFT

10. DEMONS SOULS BLACK PHANTOM

PS3 ........................................................NAMCO BANDAI Week ending MAY 7th Source: SHOPTO.COM

FROM THE FRONTLINE This week’s frontline retailer is Nic Hills from Replay in Stevenage…

[PRE ORDERS]

TOP 10

How has the market been for you so far this year? This year has not been easy so far – footfall and turnover are slightly down. Perhaps this is due to the recession hitting people’s disposable income and continual pressure on margins from the internet and supermarkets. What has been performing well? What has been underperforming? PS3 has continued to grow for us and is catching up on 360 in sales, Wii has underperformed recently and PSP is struggling with limited quality releases. Most of our profits come from used games which provide the most stable and reliable source of turnover and income. What are the biggest challenges facing your store? To find ways to keep customers returning. We have expanded our product range and now stock chart CDs and DVDs, as well as a range of trading cards and T-shirts. We keep a consistently appealing range of stock, try to cater for casual gamers

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 360, ROCKSTAR 2. RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED ED

360 ................................................................ROCKSTAR

“I would like to be able to buy stock from our wholesalers cheaper than it is available on internet sites.” and also stock titles that supermarkets may not. What is the one thing you would change about games retail? I would like to be able to buy stock from our wholesalers cheaper than it is available on internet sites. I find these days I can source many new releases and a lot of back catalogue cheaper through

online retailers. I find myself buying stock from our ‘rivals’ over the internet because as a business I cannot justify spending more money to source it from our wholesalers.

3. RED DEAD REDEMPTION

PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR

4. ALAN WAKE: COLLECTORS EDITION

360 ..............................................................MICROSOFT

5. HALO: REACH - LEGENDARY EDITION

360 ..............................................................MICROSOFT

6. RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED ED

PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR

7. THE SIMS 3: AMBITIONS

PC ............................................................................EA

8. LOST PLANET 2

360 ..................................................................CAPCOM

9. HALO: REACH What are your hopes for 2010? For the election to inspire people to move on from the recession and create optimism to fuel high street spending.

360 ..............................................................MICROSOFT

10. UFC UNDISPUTED 2010

PS3 ........................................................................THQ Week ending MAY 7th Source: PLAY.CO.UK

38,39 MCV587_final:52-53 MCV572

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RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS 38 MCV 14/05/10

WWW.MCVUK.COM

Check out RETAILBIZ at WWW.MCVUK.COM

OFFICIALUKCHARTS NINTENDO DS THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

[1] [FULL PRICE]

TITLE

POKÉMON HEARTGOLD

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

POKÉMON SOULSILVER NINTENDO WARIOWARE D.I.Y NINTENDO NEW SUPER MARIO BROS NINTENDO PROFESSOR LAYTON & PANDORA’S BOX NINTENDO JEWEL QUEST: EMERALD TEAR GSP/AVANQUEST MARIO KART DS NINTENDO PEPPA PIG: FUN AND GAMES P2 GAMES DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING NINTENDO MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER’S INSIDE STORY NINTENDO

2 7 3 4 5 8 6 12 9

WII THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

TOP 40ALL

PUBLISHER

[ENTERTAINMENT - ALL PRICES]

DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO

[2]

PUBLISHER

FORMAT: 360, PS3, Wii, PSP

DEVELOPER: EA CANADA PUBLISHER: EA

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

JUST DANCE Wii

COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 360, PS3, PC, DS

WII FIT PLUS Wii

BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 360, PS3, PC

SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV 360, PS3

WII SPORTS RESORT Wii

SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION 360, PC

GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY PS3, PC, 360 ROCKSTAR

JUST CAUSE 2 PS3, 360, PC

[FULL PRICE] TITLE

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA

[3]

TITLE

PUBLISHER UBISOFT ACTIVISION BLIZZARD NINTENDO EA CAPCOM NINTENDO UBISOFT

SQUARE ENIX

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.

GOD OF WAR III PS3

SONY

DEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO

IRON MAN 2 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP

SEGA

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

MONSTER HUNTER TRI CAPCOM MARIO KART WII NINTENDO 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA EA MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS SEGA SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING SEGA F1 2009 CODEMASTERS RED STEEL 2 UBISOFT IRON MAN 2 SEGA HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT: VOL 2 EA

JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PC

FINAL FANTASY XIII 360, PS3

ALIENS VS PREDATOR 360, PS3, PC

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WII Wii

ASSASSIN’S CREED II 360, PS3, PC

POKÉMON HEARTGOLD DS

FIFA 10 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PC, PSP

GOD OF WAR COLLECTION PS3

1 3 5 4 7 8 9 27 10

WII THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

TITLE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

WII FIT PLUS WII SPORTS RESORT JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR WII PLAY EA SPORTS ACTIVE MONOPOLY RABBIDS GO HOME CARNIVAL: FUNFAIR GAMES CARS: RACE-O-RAMA

4 5 7 6 8 11

PC CD-ROM

[BUDGET PRICE]

JUST DANCE

2 3

[4]

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

PUBLISHER

UBISOFT SQUARE ENIX SEGA NINTENDO UBISOFT NINTENDO EA SONY

[FULL PRICE]

TITLE

PUBLISHER

NAPOLEON: TOTAL WAR

NINTENDO

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010

NINTENDO

THE SIMS 3

UBISOFT

C&C4: TIBERIAN TWILIGHT

NINTENDO

THE SIMS 3: WORLD ADVENTURES

BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2

SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION

UBISOFT

JUST CAUSE 2

2K PLAY

WOW: LICH KING

THQ

DAWN OF WAR II: CHAOS RISING

DEVELOPER: UBISOFT (FRANCE) PUBLISHER: UBISOFT

[5]

DEVELOPER: XX PUBLISHER: SEGA SEGA

EA UBISOFT UBISOFT ACTIVISION BLIZZARD THQ

38,39 MCV587_final:52-53 MCV572

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RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 14/05/10 39

ACTIVISION’s Modern Warfare 2 was at risk of

The top spot was held by EA’s FIFA World Cup.

tumbling out of the Top 10 for the first time since

The game dipped 34 per cent in sales this week,

its launch (which was six months ago), but heavy

but retail should expect sales to pick up as hype

price discounting from the likes of GAME has

builds for this summer’s tournament.

seen the title shoot straight up the charts into No.3, with a sales increase of 34 per cent.

Nintendo’s WarioWare D.I.Y performed well this week, rising to No.24 with a 109 per cent sales leap. Meanwhile, price activity saw sales of Invizimals

Despite the increase, the game couldn't dislodge Ubisoft’s Just Dance, which rose to

for PSP rocket 270 per cent, taking 28th position.

L FORMATS

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

Highest New Entry

POKÉMON SOULSILVER DS

NINTENDO

HALO 3: ODST 360

MICROSOFT

SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING PS3, 360 Wii, DS

WARIOWARE D.I.Y DS

FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 360

MONSTER HUNTER TRI Wii

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS DS

INVIZIMALS PSP

SEGA NINTENDO

MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS Wii, DS

MARIO KART WII Wii

NINTENDO

PROFESSOR LAYTON: PANDORA’S BOX DS

NINTENDO

LEGO BATMAN PC, DS, PS3, 360, Wii, PSP

BAND HERO 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS

MEGA DRIVE ULTIMATE COLLECTION PS3, 360

SEGA

WARNER BROS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD SEGA

GSP/AVANQUEST

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 PC

WOLFENSTEIN 360, PS3, PC

WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 360, PS3, PS2, WII, DS, PSP THQ

COD4: MODERN WARFARE PS3, 360, WII

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

SEGA ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

PUBLISHER

SIMS 3: DESIGN & HIGH-TECH STUFF DEVELOPER: THE SIMS STUDIO PUBLISHER: EA

2 5 4 3 6

MYSTERY CASE FILES: DIRE GROVE

WOLFENSTEIN

10 7 9

ASSASSIN’S CREED

FOCUS

ROME: TOTAL WAR

GSP/AVANQUEST

SHUTTER ISLAND

CITY INTERACTIVE

WOW: BATTLE CHEST DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY GOD OF WAR III SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 JUST CAUSE 2 FINAL FANTASY XIII IRON MAN 2 ALIENS VS PREDATOR

3 4 2 5 9 6 7 14 12

DEVELOPER: EA CANADA PUBLISHER: EA ROCKSTAR SONY CAPCOM EA ACTIVISION BLIZZARD SQUARE ENIX SQUARE ENIX SEGA SEGA

[FULL PRICE] TITLE

ACTIVISION BLIZZARD EA Activision FOCUS

JEWEL QUEST MYSTERIES: HEART

GSP/AVANQUEST

THE DRACULA FILES

GSP/.AVANQUEST

PUBLISHER

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

GRAN TURISMO LITTLEBIGPLANET IRON MAN 2 FIFA 10 ASSASSIN’S CREED: BLOODLINES FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE: VILGAX ATTACKS DISSIDIA: FINAL FANTASY NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT

3 4 RE

5 6 7 8 9 10

DEVELOPER: EA CANADA PUBLISHER: EA

XBOX 360

[BUDGET PRICE]

TITLE

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

ROCKSTAR

JEWEL QUEST: EMERALD TEAR DS

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

PUBLISHER

PSP

SONY

PC CD-ROM

TITLE

CAPCOM NINTENDO

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV 360, PS3, PC

[FULL PRICE]

MICROSOFT

Christopher.Dring@intentmedia.co.uk

THIS LAST WEEK WEEK

SONY SONY SEGA EA UBISOFT SEGA D3P SQUARE ENIX EA

[FULL PRICE]

TITLE

PUBLISHER

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV HALO 3: ODST JUST CAUSE 2 FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 IRON MAN 2 FINAL FANTASY XIII

4 2 5 3 8 6 7 11 9

second place despite a seven per cent sales dip.

PS3

WEEK ENDING 08/05/10

DEVELOPER: EA CANADA PUBLISHER: EA ACTIVISION BLIZZARD UBISOFT EA CAPCOM MICROSOFT SQUARE ENIX MICROSOFT SEGA SQUARE ENIX

[SOURCE]

[ANALYSIS]

40,41 MCV587_final

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INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 40 MCV 14/05/10

WWW.MCVUK.COM

International Distribution Guide AUSTRALIA

DENMARK

INDIA

RUSSIA

All Interactive.................Helensvale Town Centre

Hitzona.............................................................Moscow Noviy Disk .......................................................Moscow

AUSTRIA

Soft Club..........................................................Moscow Vellod...................................................................Mitishi

GATEWAY DISTRIBUTION APS

SERBIA

Gateway Distribution ApS +44 1279 408 665 (UK)

JOWOOD ENTERTAINMENT AG Heiligenstädterstrasse 201-203/19 1190 Wien, Austria Tel: +43 (0)1 37909 0 Fax: +43 (0)1 37909 1064 Web: www.jowood.com

+45 7026 0870 (DK) dt@gatewaydistribution.dk

COMPUTERLAND DOO

www.gatewaydistribution.dk

Kumodraska 45

ESTONIA

11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Andrico ..............................................................Tallinn

Tel:+381(0)11 309 95 95 Fax:+381(0)11 309 95 96

FINLAND Koch Media GmbH...............................Rottenmann Play Art Multimedia Handels GmbH....Rankweil

mail:games@computerland.rs

Panvision Oy.......................................................Turku

FRANCE

website:www.computerland.rs

ISRAEL

SINGAPORE

Hed-Arzi......................................................Or-Yehuda

Replay Interactive....................................Singapore

ITALY

SOUTH AFRICA

Cidiverte Spa ...............................................Gallarate

Midigital ..............................................Johannesburg

INNELEC MULTIMEDIA

Coop Italia..........................................Sesto F.NO (FI)

Nu Metro Interactive ......................Johannesburg

45 rue Delizy,

Digital Bros spa................................................Milano

ZI Noville les Bois, Rue de la Tour,

93692 PANTIN Cedex, France

Leader Spa.................................Gazzada Schianno

SPAIN

2b 5380 FERNELMONT, Belgium

Email purchase: f_alglave@innelec.com

Newave Italia...................................................Firenze

Ardistel. S.L..................................................Zaragoza

Phone: 0032 81 83 02 07

Email export sales: g_armspach@innelec.com

Promovideo SRL ...........................................Senago

Fax: 0032 81 83 02 09

Tel: 00.33.1.48.10.55.55

BELGIUM

CLD DISTRIBUTION S.A.

EMC GROUPE CASINO..........Croissy Beaubourg

E-mail: infos@cld.be

NETHERLANDS

Distribuciones Videográficas Digitales ....MADRID

Lamee Software S.L. .....................................Madrid DistribucionesVideográficas Digitales ....Madrid

Web: www.cld.be

EBS-Benelux...........................................Bunschoten

Distribuye Palmera................................Las Palmas

Wholesaler Gaming products

Gameworld BV............................Capelle A/D Ijssel

JC Distribuciones .............................................Getxo

Official Benelux distributor for

Micromedia BV...........................................Nijmegen

Shine Star, S.A...........................................Barcelona

SUPREME FACTORY

Favour Games..................................................Tilburg

439 avenue de la Gare

Rigu Sound B.V................2153 GB Nieuw Vennep

84470 Chateauneuf de Gadagne Email : xavier@supremefactory.com Horelec S.A............................................Bruxelles

BENELUX

Phone : 0033 432 751 165 Fax : 0033 432 751 160

GERMANY

NEW ZEALAND

SWEDEN Bergsala AB............................................Kungsbacka

Gamewizz..........................................................Albany

NORWAY Pan Vision Norway.....................................Trollasen MPX.no .......................................................Sandefjord

Groß Electronic .......................................Rohrnbach

Platekompaniet....................................................Oslo

Otto Group ...................................................Hamburg

Massemedia AS...........................................Notteroy

PO Box 5083

GAMEWORLD

Playcom Software Vertriebs .......................Erfurt

Pan Vision Norway..............................................Oslo

S-650 05 Karlstad, Sweden

Cornusbaan 1, 2908 KB Capelle A/D IJssel

Vitrex Multimedia Großhandel.....................Erfurt

Tel: +31 10 298 3838 Web: rishi@gameworld.nl

GREECE

POLAND CD Projekt Sp. z o.o......................................Warsaw

Centric ...............................................................Athens

GAME OUTLET EUROPE AB

Phone: +46 54 854750 Fax: +46 54 854759 E-mail: info@gameoutlet.se Website: www.gameoutlet.se

Nortec Multimedia.........................................Athens

CYPRUS Gibareio.............................................................Nicosia

Zegetron S.A....................................................Athens

SIBA AB ...................................................Gothenburg

HUNGARY Antec .............................................................Budapest

GOODTONES GREAT GAMES LTD

ICELAND

1 Alkaiou Street / Office 1 /

Sena ................................................................Reykavik

Engomi / Nicosia 2404 / Cyprus

Panvision....................................................Stockholm

TECHLAND Sp. z o.o. ul. Jana Szczyrki 12, 54-426 Wroclaw, Poland E-mail: business@techland.pl

ABC Software GmbH.......................................Buchs

Web: www.techland.pl Phone: +48 71 354 46 10 Fax: +48 71 354 46 10

TURKEY ARAL Import..................................................Istanbul

tel. +357 22 666612 www.greatgames.com.cy

SWITZERLAND

PORTUGAL

Nortec Eurasia...............................................Istanbul

ecofilmes...............................Sao Joao Da Madeira

TO ADVERTISE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION GUIDE PLEASE CONTACT ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK

40,41 MCV587_final

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EDITORIAL PLANNER WWW.MCVUK.COM

The International Distribution Guide is dedicated to promoting companies outside of the UK. If you are looking for new customers overseas, then look no further...

UNITED STATES

MCV 14/05/10 41

UPCOMING FEATURES A glimpse at some of the special features coming up in MCV, the only trade publication that covers all sectors of the video games market... FRIDAY MAY 21st

AFRICA TERRITORY REPORT BASCO, INC. VIDEO GAMES DISTRIBUTOR Tel: 1-917-627-3000 Fax: 1-718-228-4401 Email: sales@bascodistribution.com

the 2010 event over its predecessors, and offer a roundup of what to expect, including: A breakdown of the venue, including stand locations for all of the major publisher and format holders, and a schedule of key presentations. Interviews with major execs from some of the industry’s leading publishers. An international guide detailing the leading services companies in both established and emerging territories.

Web: www.bascodistribution.com

FRIDAY JUNE 18th

DISTRIBUTION SPECIAL U.S. GAMES DISTRIBUTION, INC. 16700 Schoenborn St. #2 North Hills, CA. 91343 Tel: +1 818 920 9393 info@usgamesdist.com www.usgamesdist.com

UAE ALESAYI UNITED COMPANY Video Games Distributor in the Middle East P.O BOX 16999

Africa may seem an unlikely territory for gaming, with civilisation spread thinly around this gargantuan continent and largely found on the northern and southern coasts. MCV details the major players and retailers in this region, as well as the unique processes by which games are published and released in Africa.

Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai U.A.E. Tel: 00971 4 883 5960 Fax: 00971 4 883 5175 E-Mail: marketing@alesayi.ae U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com

FRIDAY MAY 28th

10 YEARS OF THE SIMS MCV teams up with Electronic Arts for a closer look at retail phenomenon The Sims as it celebrates its tenth anniversary. We offer an insight into why the series has been so successful and what the future holds for Simkind.

As well as all the big E3 headlines, MCV takes an in-depth look at the biggest issues facing the always-important distribution sector. We speak to the major players – from pick ‘n’ pack specialists to multi-faceted sales and marketing behemoths – about the future of the supply chain and how they will be tackling the challenges ahead for the distribution side of the games trade.

FRIDAY JUNE 11th

E3 2010 SPECIAL

FRIDAY JUNE 25th

E3 REVIEW

PLUTO GAMES PO Box 10705, Office 103-104 Emirates Islamic Bank Building, Dubai, UAE www.pluto-games.com Tel: +971 4261 8111 Fax: +971 4261 8112

Modern Pluto Trading LLC...............Saudi Arabia NXT Global LLC .................................................Dubai Pluto Derinton Games LLC............................Egypt Red Entertainment Distribution ..................Dubai

The biggest event in the games industry’s calendar returns and, as the offical International Media Partner for the event, MCV brings you a complete guide to this year’s E3 Expo. We look at how the organisers have improved

A thorough and comprehensive look back at this year’s E3 Expo, reporting on the Big Three’s presentations and more.

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: CHRIS.DRING@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK

42-47 MCV587_final

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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR

DIRECTORY KEY CONTACTS

DESIGN STUDIOS Fink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 302352 DISC REPAIR Elm-Digitalia UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0845 643 6021 Total Disc Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01202 489 500

GAMING ACCESSORIES

...bringing you all the right lines

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION Green Man Gaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 7193 6910 TripleACodes.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . sales@tripleacodes.com DISTRIBUTION Creative Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8664 3456 Curveball Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01792 652562 Discstribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0845 430 8735 Gem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800 GLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01708 725742 Ideal Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01767 689720 Logic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471 000 Meroncourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01462 680060 Universal Games Distribution (UK) Ltd . . 0208 787 7030 USD Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01933 227220

Wii Charge Station Quad

360 Intercooler TS Black

GAMING ACCESSORIES Pinpoint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01606 558428 GAMES CONSOLE REPAIR Total Console Repair Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 087 19 18 17 21 LOCALISATION Partnertrans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01273 229030 Testronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 653 722 Universally Speaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 210621

LCD / Plasma Cleaning Mitt

Classic Disc Repair System

STORE FITTINGS AMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0113 2311030 DISC REPAIR

WWE DSi Crystal Case

DS Lite / DSi / DSi XL Stylus Pack

General enquiries:

01606 558 428

or email: enquires@pinpointce.co.uk Road One, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 3QG www.pinpointce.co.uk Part of the Pinpoint Group ELM-DIGITALIA UK. . . . . . . . . 0845 6436021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.elmdigitalia.co.uk

PINPOINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01606 558428 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinpointce.co.uk

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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION

Distributors of DVDs, Blu-Ray, Music CDs and Video Games

www.discstribution.com Over 100,000 Different Items to Order Online

THE NEW FORCE IN ENTERTAINMENT

DISCSTRIBUTION +44 (0) 845 430 8735 Call Kevin, Ashley, Richie or Pete Accepted Payments - Paypal - Google Checkout - Credit Cards - Bank Tranfers and 30 Day Credit Accounts

DISCSTRIBUTION . . . . . . . +44 (0)845 430 8735 . . . . . . . . . www.discstribution.com

GLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01708 725742. . . . . . . . . wholesale@glsgames.com

DISTRIBUTION

CURVEBALL LEISURE . . . . . . 01792 652526 . . . . curveballsimon@googlemail.com

GEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.gem.co.uk

DISTRIBUTION

MERONCOURT . . . . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1462 680060 . . . http://trade.meroncourt.co.uk

CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION. . . . 0208 6643456 . . . . www.creativedistribution.co.uk

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TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR DISTRIBUTION

Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 8,000 request-only subscribers every month. STUDIOS Epic Games..........................................................+1 919 870 1516 FaceFX...................................................................+1.919.727.9624 Stainless Games .............................jobs@stainlessgames.com TOOLS Blitz Games Studios.............................+44 (0) 1926 880 000 bluegfx.....................................................+44 (0) 1483 467 200 Dolby.........................................................+44 (0) 1793 842 922 Havok .................................................................+1 415 543 4620 SERVICES Amiqus ..............................................................www.amiqus.com Brand Protect ..........................................+44 (0) 1869 346160 Outso Ltd.............................................................www.outso.com Partnertrans.............................................+44 (0) 1273 229030 Testronic Labs.........................................+44 (0) 1753 653 722 Universally Speaking..............................+44 (0) 1480 210 621 COURSES Futureworks .............................................. +44 (0)161 237 7570 University of Hull ...................................+44 (0) 1482 465 951 To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and every week in MCV) contact alex.boucher@intentmedia.co.uk. All subscription requests should go to mcv.subscriptions@c-cms.com GAMES CONSOLE REPAIR

TOTAL CONSOLE REPAIR . . . . . . . 08719 181721 . . . . . www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk

LOGIC 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471000 . . . . . . . . . . . www.uksales@logic3.com

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ROB.BAKER@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION

Now is a great time to expand your digital business Distributors of CDkey, Epin and downloadable products.

www.tripleacodes.com

sales@tripleacodes.com

nima

DESIGN I DIGITAL I LITHO

TripleACodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sales@tripleacodes.com DISTRIBUTION

IDEAL SOFTWARE . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1767 689720 . . . . . . . . . . www.idealsoftware.net DISTRIBUTION

UNIVERSAL GAMES DISTRIBUTION (UK) LTD . 0208 787 7030 . www.unigames.co.uk

GREEN MAN GAMING. . . . . . . 020 7193 6910 . . . . . . . . info@greenmangaming.com

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LOCALISATION

STORE FITTINGS

PARTNERTRANS . . . . . . . . . . . 01273 229030 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.partnertrans.com

AMA DISPLAYS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0113 2311030 . . . . . . . . . . . www.ama-displays.co.uk

LOCALISATION

DISTRIBUTION

TESTRONIC LABORATORIES . . . +44 (0) 1753 653 722. . . . www.testroniclabs.com

USD LIMITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01933 227220. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.usdlimited.com

LOCALISATION

DESIGN STUDIOS

Design/Branding/ Advertising/ Packaging/Web

finkcreative

01480 302 352 olly@finkcreative.com www.finkcreative.com UNIVERSALLY SPEAKING . . . . . . . 01480 210621 . . . . . . . . . . . www.usspeaking.com

FINK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 302352 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.finkcreative.com

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DISC REPAIR

DIARY DATES From the MCV Awards to our Games Developer Conference, here are all the essential industry dates to put in your diary…

MAY MONETISING MOBILE Wednesday, May 26th BAFTA, London Jodie.Holdway@intentmedia.co.uk MCM LONDON EXPO Saturday, May 29th – Sunday, May 30th ExCeL, London www.mcmexpo.net

JUNE E3 2010 Tuesday, June 15th – Thursday, June 17th Los Angeles Convention Centre www.e3expo.com

JULY DEVELOP CONFERENCE 2010 Tuesday, July 13th Thursday, July 15th Brighton, UK www.develop-conference.com DEVELOP INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010 Wednesday, July 14th Brighton, UK www.develop-online.net CASUAL CONNECT SEATTLE Tuesday, July 20th – Thursday, July 22nd Benaroya Hall, Seattle, US seattle.casualconnect.org

AUGUST GAMESCOM Wednesday, August 18th Sunday, August 22nd Cologne, Germany www.gamescom-cologne.com EDINBURGH INTERACTIVE FESTIVAL 2010 Wednesday, August 25th – Thursday, August 26th Edinburgh, Scotland www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com

SEPTEMBER MCV/XBOX 360 QUIZ Thursday, September 23rd Sway Bar, London Orlaith.Kennedy@intentmedia.co.uk

TOTAL DISC REPAIR. . . . . . . . . . 01202 489500 . . . . . . . . . www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk

DEVELOP INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010 Wednesday, July 14th Brighton, UK www.develop-online.net Lobbying has already opened for the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Now in its eighth year, the event takes place in Brighton at the Hilton Metropole, on July 14th. Anyone in the industry can nominate a studio for the awards. Simply send a 300 word pitch to developawards@ intentmedia.co.uk. Prices have also been reduced to make the event more accessible. Contact Kathryn.Humphrey@intent media.co.uk to book tables and Katie.Rawlings@intent media.co.uk to order tickets.

MCV/XBOX 360 QUIZ Thursday, September 23rd Sway Bar, London Orlaith.Kennedy@ intentmedia.co.uk The MCV/Xbox 360 Quiz gives retailers, suppliers and the media the chance to show off their general knowledge skills in an appropriate arena for our industry – the local bar. There will be thousands of pounds’ worth of prizes up for grabs to the best performers on the night, as well as loads of top-notch booze and food. The quiz is free to enter for retailers and the media, and serves as a great networking opportunity.

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e, aok r a k of k... x i a m e wee u th yo ng h off i r b s we o poli , s t re atu paign e f ar am gul ical c e r t our d poli s a n ll we ons a s A ath r ma

SIX DEGREES

OF ACTIVISION

It’s almost rude not to know someone who once worked there. This week, we start with...

Robert Lowe, handsome and talented star of The West Wing shares a name and quite possibly nothing else with Nintendo’s...

2 Robert Lowe, who, being a dedicated QPR fan, might have had mixed feelings about recruiting...

Harry Redknapp to star in last year’s Wii commercials. Redknapp has just led Spurs ahead of Manchester City, who receive support from...

HERE COME THE GIRLS

4 Ian Livingstone, who as life president of Eidos persuaded the publisher to sponsor his team back when they were poor and shit (City, not Eidos. Probably). Interestingly, at the time...

To celebrate the upcoming launch of Wii karaoke title U-Sing: Girls Night, Mindscape UK and Lunch PR invited press from a variety of industries to see the game in action this week. It was presented by Mindscape Group’s exec VP Phillipe Cohen, Universal Music Online president Didier Semah and Mindscape UK’s GM Mark Stanger (pictured above, left to right). Better yet, guests were then treated to a VIP box suite at the O2 during a Rihanna concert. While the masses fought for standing room near the stage, we enjoyed the show from a comfy couch – the only way to enjoy Umbrella Ella Ella Ey Ey Ey, etc.

Mark Stanger also worked at the Tomb Raider publisher, heading up its new media division. He’s now UK boss at Mindscape, which was launched in Europe by...

Geoff Heath who, even before that, was the first ever Euro boss of... ACTIVISION

SEND YOUR PICTURES TO JAMES.BATCHELOR@INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK EDITORIAL: 01992 535646 Managing Editor: Lisa Foster Lisa.Foster@intentmedia.co.uk Editor-In-Chief: Michael French Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk Deputy Editor: Christopher Dring Chris.Dring@intentmedia.co.uk Staff Writer: James Batchelor James.Batchelor@intentmedia.co.uk Staff Writer: Dominic Sacco Dominic.Sacco@intentmedia.co.uk

ADVERTISING: 01992 535647

Online Editor: Ben Parfitt Ben.Parfitt@intentmedia.co.uk Contributors: Will Freeman, Rob Crossley, Stuart Richardson, Colin Campbell Advertising Manager: Lesley Blumson Lesley.Blumson@intentmedia.co.uk Advertising Executive: Rob Baker Rob.Baker@intentmedia.co.uk Art Director: Stuart Moody Stuart.Moody@intentmedia.co.uk

Design: Adam Butler Adam.Butler@intentmedia.co.uk Production Manager: Suzanne Powles Suzanne.Powles@intentmedia.co.uk Business Development: Dave Roberts Dave.Roberts@intentmedia.co.uk Contributing Editor: Samantha Loveday Samantha.Loveday@intentmedia.co.uk Circulation & Marketing: Hannah Short Hannah.Short@intentmedia.co.uk

FAX: 01992 535648

Please address all enquiries to: MCV, Intent Media, Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford SG14 1JA. Managing Director/Publisher: Stuart Dinsey Stuart.Dinsey@intentmedia.co.uk Telephone: 01992 535688

Finance Director: Hilary Cole Finance Manager: Michael Canham Michael.Canham@intentmedia.co.uk Printed By: Pensord, Tram Road,Pontllanfraith Blackwood, NP12 2YA

SAXON HOUSE, 6A ST. ANDREW STREET, HERTFORD, HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND SG14 1JA Intent Media specialises in trade-dedicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets. As well as MCV, Intent publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Mobile Entertainment, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two online-only brands: CasualGaming.biz, dedicated to the growing mass market video game sector, and Licensing.biz, for everyone in the global licensing industry. It also runs a number of events including the MCV Industry Excellence Awards, the London Games Conference and the Games Media Awards.

www.intentmedia.co.uk

MCV is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation and the Periodical Publishers Association. Membership of the ABC and PPA provides our advertising partners with confidence in our circulation statements. For the 12 months ending December 2009, MCV had an average weekly net circulation of 8,045. MCV’s circulation is 100 per cent named and zero per cent duplicated.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS United Kingdom £150 l Europe £175 l Rest of the World £250 To order your subscription via Visa, Mastercard, Switch or AMEX or to make changes to your subscription details, contact mcv.subscriptions@c-cms.com or call 01580 883848.

MCV has an exclusive media partnership with Famitsu - Japan’s leading video games analyst and news source

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WWW.MCVUK.COM

MCV 14/05/10 49

FROM THE ARCHIVE May 20th, 2005 NEWS It’s E3 week and, after the big press conferences, the general consensus is that Microsoft and Sony will battle it out for first place while Nintendo ‘does its own thing’ with GameCube and bolsters its handheld dominance... ESA president Doug Lowenstein says the games industry is “under siege like never before as politicians virulently attack video games”... Former Paragon heavyweights Damian Butt and Mark Kendrick form a new specialist magazine publisher, Imagine, with the avowed intent of taking on Future’s “boring” portfolio... Following investment from VC company Benchmark, Rod Cousens becomes CEO of Codemasters... SCi’s acquisition of Eidos is ratified by shareholders and the London Stock Exchange.

COOL RUNNINGS EA’s group marketing director for Ireland Dan Holman and his wife successfully ran the London Marathon for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Thanks to months of training, they finished with a respectable time of five hours and twenty minutes. It would have been quicker, but Dan was distracted by nurses, a toilet stop and Jelly Babies, he says. The Holmans raised a whopping £2,689 – far outdoing their target of £1,850. If you haven’t donated yet, you can do so at www.justgiving.com/Dan-Holman.

CHARTS All Formats Top 5 Star Wars Ep III: Revenge of the Sith .....LucasArts LEGO Star Wars ......................Traveller’s Tales/Eidos FIFA Street.............................................Electronic Arts Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition ........................Rockstar World Championship Snooker 2005 ..................Sega FEATURES An analysis of a new DFC Intelligence report shows how much games companies have grown, or shrunk, since 2001. Here are the top three: Take-Two ..................................................................50% Electronic Arts ......................................................124% Ubisoft......................................................................96% And the bottom three: Vivendi ....................................................................-28% Acclaim....................................................................-28% Square Enix ...........................................................-48%

PRIME MENACE-STER

AND FINALLY Microsoft’s E3 conference climaxes with a headline set from then-hot The Killers. The energetic frugging of sweaty senior industry execs looks like an opening scene from Casualty.

It wasn’t just the Tories who were robbed of a majority. While he waits for his game to launch next month, Naughty Bear launched a bid to become Britain’s next Prime Minister. Sadly, despite the reams of campaign posters that fans made for him on Facebook, few embraced his Manifesto: Compulsory invites for NB to all parties, the reinstatment of Capital Defluffing and the right to (groan) Bear arms.

MCV takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues of the day. The current members are...

GAME & Gamestation

Neil Ashurst,

Duncan Cross, Asda

Marc Spence, Best Buy

Don McCabe, CHIPS

Tim Ellis, HMV

Graham Chambers, Amazon

Danielle Fleming, DSGi

Igor Cipolletta, ShopTo

Anthony Stocker, Argos

Stephen Staley, Gameseek

Keith Sharpe, play.com

Joanna Hunt, Tesco

Sarah Jasper, The Hut

Gurdeep Hunjan, Sainsbury’s

Jon Biggs, Morrisons

Phil Moore, Grainger Games

Azeem Sadiq, Comet

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E F I L F O S E M GA C, SEGA E X u E G e are yo N I T E ing gam K g? m R in o c y p A la u p Which ard to , PR & M ut cy’s ing forw

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E T O QU

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ch I i h w f o none – n o t is i I t . a n t o S i t y c a d Pl istra n d a a x s o acy.” be e b r c X m o , o s c m e d e b a d ds, iP ation n our Virginia that gamingncdasnof it o o m P r d i o n f h a n t i i y “W untr Hampton Universityse, curity, from the sou rk – o o c w r o u t o n w tional ents at nd US na rns stud a a know ho new pressureidseno w n a io m t a a uc t Ob tal to ed Pres detrimen putting

EIGHTIES, NINETIES,

NOUGHTIES

The brands, people and technology that have dominated decades. This week, PR icons...

DANIELLE WOODYATT

BASTION/BHPR

ROBERT SAUNDERS

The long golden hair, the daintily painted nails, shoulder pads, slingbacks and outrageous flirting with all the boy journos... but it would be a few years before Simon Harvey emerged as a true PR power. In the '80s it was another diva, Danielle 'Woody' Woodyatt, who ruled with a Filofax of iron. She was our Edwina. She drove a Golf GTi convertible, for God’s sake. She was pure essence of ‘80s. Winner of the Air Kisser Of The Year title three years in a row and with a BA in overuse of the words ‘darling’ and ‘sweetheart’, she started out at US Gold, then moved to Virgin and is now head of the popular specialist agency called, in an obvious nod to PR etiquette in the '80s, Lunch.

It’s impossible to split the two biggest agencies of the decade, as Bastion (led by Dean Barrett) and Barrington Harvey (captained by Simon Harvey) carved up the big publisher’s accounts between them. Besides, this way we get to piss them both off. The ‘90s represented a bountiful land of feasts and fees for these guys. It was a time when even the biggest companies were happy to give their biggest business to ‘specialist’ agencies – rather than one that has a swanky address and handles Dean Gaffney’s personal appearances. These days they’re quite a bit leaner (the companies, not the bosses) and more diverse – because they have to be. But back then, they were kings.

After years of speculation, the original theory that the annoyingly youthful-looking Saunders was on work experience has finally been disproved; partly because he’s been at Nintendo so long his Head of Year would surely have started asking questions, but mainly because he’s been so damn good – a claim further proved by the fact that he has won the PR gong at the MCV Awards a whopping 17 years in a row. He was reminiscent of Annie Lennox at the Brits when no one could even name another female solo artist. Only better. This year it was a clear case of gerrymandering that saw the title go elsewhere, but there’s still no doubt Saunders was the PR man of the decade.

WWW.ALPHAPROTOCOL.COM

OUT 28.5.10

www.sega.co.uk

You’ve got a brand new blockbuster with brains on your hands.

Metal Gear and Splinter Cell could well have something to be fearful of.

... there are enough good ideas here to suggest Alpha Protocol will come out as an elegant hybrid.

OUT 28.5.10

WWW.ALPHAPROTOCOL.COM

www.sega.co.uk © SEGA. SEGA, the SEGA logo and ALPHA PROTOCOL are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. Obsidian and the Obsidian logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. “2”, “PlayStation”, “PS3” and “À” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Ã” is a trademark of the same company. Windows, the Windows Start button, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies, and “Games for Windows” and the Windows Start button logo are used under license from Microsoft. All rights reserved.