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MCV 04/09/09 5
NEWS
game funding £4.5m investment in educational content
Heroic sponsorship deals for Activision
[PRE ORDERS]
TOP 10 UNCHARTED 2 : AMONG THIEVES PS3 SONY
2. FIFA 10 PS3 ..............................................EA
3. PES 2010 PS3........................................KONAMI
4. GRAN TURISMO 5 easy, as is PC and Mac download. XBLA, PSN and WiiWare are all guarded, gated communities and you have to go through somebody and get permission to a degree.
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it can do in games, said Taylor. Sister channel E4 is also becoming more active in games. “Channel 4 Education’s output in the past couple of years has performed far better
We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the industry. The Digital Britain report said C4 should do more of this. Alice Taylor, Channel 4
“However, our plan with the Zombie Cow game is to get it on the Xbox Live Indie Games channel,” Taylor explained. The broadcaster’s first foray into gaming already bagged it a BAFTA, for online game Bow Street Runner, so the channel is keen to keep exploring what
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than television ever did. It’s got a lot of attention and it’s got a lot of positive feedback from both teachers and from the industry. In the Digital Britain report the stuff that Education is doing was noted as being what Channel 4 should do more of.”
ACTIVISION SAYS it will invest in more festival sponsorships than ever, after successfully debuting the DJ Hero brand at the Notting Hill Carnival. Last weekend’s event featured a live demo of the game plus DJ Hero branding throughout the Carnival. “As the leading music gaming property in the UK it is imperative that the Hero brand continues to be creative with its marketing, pioneering activity not just within gaming but as a global entertainment franchise,” said Guitar Hero brand manager Jon Edney “Working with big ticket properties such as the Notting Hill Carnival is testament to where the
brand now stands in terms of both its profile and credibility. There will be undoubtedly be plenty more brand defining partnerships to announce moving forward. “Experiential activity has developed into a crucial element of the Guitar Hero marketing mix. “Other Guitar Hero partnerships this year included Ibiza Rocks and the Kerrang Awards, both of which have proved to be fantastic successes both in terms of the short term brand exposure and the longer term benefits that all parties have gained from the relationship.” Activision: 020 3060 1000
PS3 ..........................................SONY
5. FIFA 10 360 ..............................................EA
6. COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 360 ....................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
7. COLIN MCRAE: DIRT 2 360 ..............................CODEMASTERS
8. COLIN MCRAE: DIRT 2 PS3 ..............................CODEMASTERS
9. HALO 3: ODST 360 ..................................MICROSOFT
10. COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 PS3 ....................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD Week ending August 29th Source: SHOPTO.COM Turn to page 54 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 games market value has bounced back following four weeks of decline. According to MCV calculations based on this week’s Gfk-ChartTrack/ELSPA weekly report, the UK market rose to £18.7 million for the week ending August 29th, a healthy 26 per cent rise. Unit sales jumped 14 per cent to 889,797. Sales were driven by the success of Eidos’ Batman: Arkham Asylum, which made it to No.1 in the weekly All Formats chart. It’s the first major release since Wii Sports Resort. The market should continue to recover in the coming weeks, aided by an Xbox 360 and PS3 price cut, as well as the new, slimmer PS3 model. September is also filled with major new game releases, including The Beatles: Rock Band, Halo 3: ODST, Dirt 2, Need For Speed, Professor Layton and Guitar Hero 5.
[MARKET VALUE]
£18.7m
15
10
5
Batman: Arkham Asylum made it to No.1 – becoming Eidos’ first major hit for some time
Total UK Software Sales Source: ELSPA/ChartTrack and Intent Media
20
£15.8m
£14.8m
£18.7m
816,396 Units
778,634 Units
889,797 Units
0 Week Ending August 15th Week Ending August 22nd
Week Ending August 29