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NEWS
[LEADER] SONY REMINDS US OF ITS REAL POWER For some, it’s been very easy to be cynical about PlayStation 3. A while ago the price was too high, the format lacked key games, and it just didn’t have much impetus at retail. For the rest, there has been a polite tolerance. Retailers accepted the price was high, but that didn’t stop them urging it to fall. The console’s new price cut and redesign addresses many of the quibbles on both sides. But while it’s all well and good Sony saying that the sales will now pick up (as Andrew House did in MCV last week – and discusses in more depth on page 16), what’s more fascinating is how Sony plans to make that happen. This week’s news of an £80m marketing drive for Europe – with £12m alone spent in the UK – plus the firm’s designs on ‘converting’ Wii owners looking to try something in HD, is bold and ambitious. About bloody time. Sony’s been careful to shake off an unfortunate image of arrogance in recent years – I’m sure the same accusations are now levelled at current generation incumbent Nintendo – but now it has every right to be boastful. All of which means the battle to win back market share (regardless of whether or not Microsoft tries to spoil the arrival of the slim PS3) is going to be interesting to watch.
KEEPING PIRATES AT BAY Gamescom last week was a great opportunity to speak to all kinds of people in the games industry. But from Yves Guillemot to small indie developers, one theme regularly emerged when you talked about Nintendo’s DS platform – piracy. It’s now conventional wisdom in the games industry that illegal ROM downloads and cards they can be played on are damaging the device’s software sales, making investment in smaller titles impossible. You can just log on to the web, order an R4 card from some sites and then start downloading games from others. It really is that easy. So it’s interesting to see Nintendo's reaction is to hire a specific anti-piracy expert for Europe in a move to step up its activity (see story right). Neil Boyd hails from the music industry – a sector that knows all too well the disruptive nature that piracy can have. Hopefully the real issue around piracy he can help Nintendo address – and by extension the rest of the games industry – is consumer awareness. It became cheap and easy to steal music off the web because the perceived value of it was always in a massive state of flux. Taping the Top 40 off Radio 1 was always technically illegal, but we all did it. What the games industry needs to do is find a way not just to stop mechanisms for piracy, but address the issues around why people want to pirate games. The answers might not be pleasant (and will probably involve the price of games and release dates), but the industry has to face up to them if it wants to take the issue seriously. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
Nintendo UK snares Neil Boyd heads new attack on sale of R4 cards New signing notifies by Tim Ingham NINTENDO HAS hired Warner Bros’ anti-piracy boss to crush UK retailers that continue to sell DS piracy equipment. Neil Boyd, who leaves his role as Warner’s director of anti-piracy in Europe, this week warned stores that if they continue to stock R4 cartridges they face permanently
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MCV can reveal that Boyd joins Nintendo UK in the role of European anti-piracy counsel, as the firm bolsters the department with a string of signings. These include former Universal exec Jonathan Tully, who is hired as a legal advisor and Mattius Damm, who takes the same role in Germany. Boyd will work under Jodi Daugherty – Nintendo’s senior global director for anti-piracy.
ISPs should put pressure on consumers not to download illegally. They can do more – and everyone knows it. Neil Boyd, Nintendo
damaging their relationship with Nintendo – as the platform holder steps up its fight against ‘piracy enablers’ in the region. Digital expert Boyd also called on ISPs to put more pressure on consumers they know are illegally downloading games.
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“The four key areas in our fight are legal enforcement, consumer awareness, technology and lobbying,” said Boyd. “Without all those coming together, we won’t solve piracy.” He warned online and High Street stores who are still selling the R4 device that Nintendo had “more eyes and ears”
PDP becomes software publisher ACCESSORIES giant PDP is set to publish its first video game following the acquisition of In2Games last year. The firm will release Squeeballs Party on DS, Wii and iPhone this Christmas, with other versions due in 2010. And the company is throwing its marketing muscle behind the title with a huge TV campaign, and is even looking into developing accessories, toys and a TV show. “We think Squeeballs is the best motion party game to date on Wii,” said PDP’s VP of
PDP is already working on future Squeeballs projects
software development and publishing Harry Holmwood “Needless to say it will be one of the most heavily promoted this Christmas.” PDP is not just confident in Squeeballs, but also feels its
ability to develop both hardware and software gives it an edge over its rivals as it looks to grow in Europe. “Squeeballs is a good illustration of the kind of stuff we can do that others can't. We’re already working with developer Eiconic on the sequel, and are looking at other ways we can expand Squeeballs – be it toys, TV, accessories or other products.” “We’re looking to leverage the unique combination of skills that PDP now has.” www.pdp.com