4,5 MCV556_final:4-5 MCV515
22/9/09
17:36
Page 2
WWW.MCVUK.COM
MCV 25/09/09 5
NEWS
law like France’ strongarm approach to illegal downloading
Xbox plans to rule Call of Duty sales
[PRE ORDERS]
TOP 10 HALO 3: ODST 360 MICROSOFT
A THIRD WAY? NOT EVERY member of the industry is certain France’s heavy-handed treatment is the best route forward. Namco Bandai UK marketing manager David Miller told MCV: “As a publisher, the reflex action is to support the [French] legislation, but do we all really still believe that it’s either realistic or in the best interests of an industry (and a world for that matter) going through a genuine revolution? “I think we are becoming aware of two uncomfortable truths. Firstly, the upsurge of the infrastructure of piracy, fuelled by Moore’s Law, the ubiquity of broadband, the proliferation of peer-to-peer and torrents, increasing storage and general access and ease of use. And
He added: “We therefore support the active steps being taken by the French Government to crackdown on piracy and illegal file sharing, and would encourage the UK Government to press forward with similar legislation.” The new chairman of the Entertainment Retailers
secondly that Generation Y is growing up in a culture that just feels differently about media consumption. Is it right to criminalise young people for that? “The developers, publishers and service providers that can embrace the new economic paradigms and the opportunities presented by the digital revolution will thrive. And by that I mean free, freemium, ad-funded, microtransaction and subscription. The bottom line is that in the long-term, we will all be required to view the marketplace as an ecosystem where only some of the players exchange cash some of the time – rather than the old fashioned idea of just a buyer and a seller.”
Association Paul Quirk claimed that internet piracy ‘is bleeding our industry dry’. “Too often the debate over illegal filesharing is portrayed as an ideological battle, but for us this is a commercial matter,” he said. “Illegal file sharing is damaging our businesses on a daily basis.”
2. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES A new 360 bundle will arrive with Modern Warfare 2
PS3 ..........................................SONY
3. FIFA 10 PS3 ..............................................EA
MICROSOFT says it can lead the way in Modern Warfare 2 sales and is backing the release with extra marketing support. The news follows the announcement of the Modern Warfare 2 superelite Xbox 360 last week (pictured), which comes with a 250GB hard drive, two controllers and a copy of the game. Microsoft is convinced gamers will get the most enjoyment out of Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox. “We want to offer people the best possible Modern Warfare 2 experience,” said Microsoft’s senior regional director for Entertainment Neil Thompson. “We firmly believe that with Live services, the
4. FIFA 10 360 ..............................................EA
5. PES 2010 PS3........................................KONAMI quality of the gaming experience on 360, and all the new ways we can get consumers engaged with the IP that Xbox is the best platform to experience this great game. I never use the word ‘own’, but it is ours to make the most of, and that’s what we intend to do. We firmly believe that 360 will be the lead sales platform for Modern Warfare 2. “We are working very hard with Activision to look at everything from consumer trials to in-store experiences to make the most of what will be a great launch.” Microsoft: 0870 601 0100
6. COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 360 ....................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
7. NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT PS3 ..............................................EA
8. GRAN TURISMO 5 PS3 ..........................................SONY
9. COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 PS3 ....................ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
10. NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT PS3 ..............................................EA Week ending September 18th 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… This week’s UK software sales rose two per cent to £18 million, while unit sales rose 0.5 per cent to 791,790. Sales were driven by EA’s Need For Speed: Shift, which hit shelves last week. As Guitar Hero 5, Dirt 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum continue to perform strongly.
£18m
15
10
Need For Speed: Shift performed strongest on PS3 with 52 per cent of the sales, while 360 accounted for 44 per cent. Next week sales are set to benefit from the release of blockbusters Halo 3: ODST and Professor Layton & Pandora’s Box.
Total UK Software Sales Source: ELSPA/ChartTrack and Intent Media
[WEEKLY MARKET VALUE] 20
£18.7m
£17.6m
£18.0m
917,468 Units
787,853 Units
791,780 Units
5
Need For Speed: Shift debuted at No.1 this week
0
Week Ending September 5th Week Ending September 11th Week Ending September 18th