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NEWS
[LEADER] ODE TO COLOGNE This bumper-sized issue of MCV comes to you just days before the inaugural Gamescom kicks off. And we’ve got a broad mix of features, interviews and exclusive news to match the trade show’s arrival. Following on from our cover story about Xbox 360’s nine million sales milestone, we’ve got the latest data and analysis of the global console market on page 32. There’s also a further examination of what recent release date slippages mean for the industry on page 12. Plus, this issue features key interviews with some of the biggest names in entertainment such as MTV, Nickelodeon, Square Enix and Microsoft. And that’s not to mention our guide to Gamescom starting on page 51. So whether you are attending the show or not, there’s plenty happening both within the pages of MCV and the walls of Koelnmesse to keep you busy.
SPIESS WORLD We’ve been no stranger to reports of opportunistic new publishers forming in the wake of consolidation and closure. The formation of Zen (see our story, below right) is just another example of this. But this week saw news break via an MCVuk.com newsflash (‘Midway in 50p MBO’, August 10th) that after a fraught few months Midway UK will survive via a management buyout from Euro MD Martin Spiess. He’s made a smart swoop for both the British and French offices, picking them up for just one Euro. Spiess is currently keeping his plans closely under wraps. Indeed, one or two parts of the deal are still to complete – but it’s not likely to fall through given Midway’s bankrupt state (most assets now belong to Warner, the rest closed or jettisoned via fire sale). MCV will have more details on what this new organisation will do in the coming weeks, but under Spiess’ auspices it has a promising future. A widely respected figure in the trade, he’s often described as having ‘worked for Company X when it was good’ – where ‘Company X’ can be Virgin, Atari or Midway. Under him, Midway Europe was the crown jewel of the publisher’s operation. Who said that European publishing was dead?
BOWLED OVER On that point, a well-earned congratulations has been earned by Codemasters, who this week managed to topple Nintendo, of all companies, from the top of the UK chart. Its Ashes Cricket 2009 game outsold the flagship Wii Motion Plus game Wii Sports Resort, which is only in its third week on the market. More impressively Ashes didn’t just rely on dominating the Wii. Its sales were quite evenly spread across all the consoles. And it’s the first British-produced number one game for two years. According to Codemasters, all its stock is already spoken for, making the game positive proof that ‘Britsoft’ publishing still has the savvy to succeed against bigger rivals. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
Games Media Awards Future Publishing, Eurogamer, VG247, Imagine and Videogamer get THE FINALISTS have been announced for this year’s Games Media Awards. Hundreds of you participated in an open nominations process, resulting in a field of runners and riders that should lead to plenty of discussion, celebration, sniping and, ultimately, 11 worthy winners. Eurogamer.net, Future Publishing, Imagine Publishing Videogaming247 and Videogamer score the most nominations. Next, a selected judging panel consisting of over 200 members of the games media and industry PRs will be asked to deliver their verdict ahead of the big night at Jongleurs in Camden on the evening of Thursday, October 15th.
There is no shortlist for the Games Media Legend award. Instead, soundings have been taken and the recipient will be announced on the night. They will join previous winners Gary Penn and Steve Jarratt in the GMA Hall of Fame. 505 and Warner Bros. are the latest to sign up as sponsors (see right). The two publishers join Gold Sponsors New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Xbox 360, EA, F1 2009 from Codemasters, DJ Hero and Sega, plus Games Media Legend sponsor Saw and main bar sponsor Wet. For more information on sponsorship opportunities or trade tickets please contact Dave.Roberts@ intentmedia.co.uk
BEST GAMES MAGAZINE
BEST GAMES WEBSITE
SPECIALIST WRITER (PRINT)
Games TM, Imagine Publishing Edge Magazine, Future Publishing PC Gamer, Future Publishing Retro Gamer, Imagine Publishing Official Xbox 360 Magzine, Future Publishing
Eurogamer.net, Eurogamer Network VG247.com, videogaming247 Gamespot.com, CBS Interactive Videogamer.com, Pro-G Media NowGamer.com, Imagine Publishing Incgamers.com, IncGamers
Jon Blyth, Freelance (PC Zone) Tom Francis, PC Gamer Matt Handrahan, Games TM Matthew Castle, NGamer Darran Jones, Retro Gamer Gillen McAllister, Official Xbox 360 Magazine
Steve Jarratt took home the Games Media Legend prize in 2008 – this year’s winner will be named on the night of October 15th
‘Publisher consortium’ targets Europe ANOTHER JAPANESE firm is looking to Europe in a bid to grow its sales. Zen United, a new consortium representing developers from Asia have signed a co-publishing deal with UK logistics firm PQube to bring a number of Japanese games to the European market. The initial line-up covers anime-styled titles, interactive detective stories and strategy games. The first release is 2010 PS3 and 360 title BlazBlue. Tomo Ohno, head of Zen United, said: “We feel that too
many titles from the Japanese development community have not been optimised for the markets here in Europe and have been lost due to insufficient focus. We have chosen to work with PQube because of their successful previous expertise with this integration.” Ohno added that he wants to bridge the gap between Japanese developers and European
markets, helping them find new opportunities for their titles globally. PQube will handle marketing, PR and sales across all European territories and will manage the launch of the line-up working directly with retail in the UK and with local independent distributors outside the UK. The firm is also hunting for other distribution partners. For more info contact PR@pqube.co.uk