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10 MCV 02/10/09
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NEWS
Plants Vs. Zombies shuffles to UK retail Focus Multimedia brings Popcap’s award-winning online casual game to shelves this week, priced at £9.78 by Christopher Dring THE CRITICALLY acclaimed Plants Vs. Zombies will hit retail shelves on Friday October 2nd, MCV can reveal. The tower defence game, which pits various plants
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also enjoyed rave reviews across the board, earning an 88 Metacritic rating and a nine out of ten score from Edge Magazine. The game was also backed by a huge online marketing campaign by PopCap, which
We know from our experience with Bejeweled that a game’s downloadable sales will translate into retail success.
Craig Johnson, Focus Multimedia
against an army of zombies, launched as a digital download in May this year for PC, Mac and iPhone. It is Popcap’s fastest-selling title of all time, and has
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included a music video that has been watched over one million times on YouTube. The UK retail release is being handled by Focus Multimedia and will cost just £9.78 – cheaper
than the game’s digital price of £14.95. “We’re delighted to team up with PopCap Games again and bring Plants Vs. Zombies to UK retail in time for Halloween,” said Focus Multimedia’s managing director Craig Johnson. “The amazing response this game has received from critics is unprecedented. Plants Vs. Zombies truly appeals to both casual and hardcore gamers, generating record sales online. We know from our experience with the Bejeweled franchise that a game’s downloadable sales success will translate into retail
sales success. You could say that Plants Vs. Zombies is a dead cert to become the best-
selling PC casual game in Q4.” PopCap has become one of the casual gaming sector’s biggest developers. Their games have been downloaded over one billion times worldwide, and the firm’s range includes Bejeweled and Zuma, which have sold 40 million units between them. Budget specialists Focus Multimedia is the firm tasked with delivering PopCap’s titles to retail. Most recently the publisher launched the popular Peggle Nights in August. Focus: 01889 570 156
EEK W E H T F O N G I CAMPA HPOINT S A L F N IO T A R OPE
Codemasters’ hardcore first-person shooter sneaks onto store shelves, backed by bumper marketing support…
RELEASED: OCTOBER 9 FORMATS: XBOX 360, PS3, PC PUBLISHER: CODEMASTERS DEVELOPER: CODEMASTERS PRICE: VARIOUS DISTRIBUTOR: GEM CONTACT: 0127 982 2800
Cinema Operation Flashpoint hits cinemas with a two-month nationwide 30-second campaign called ‘Sound of War’. The promotion is set to reach 3.5 million male gamers. Print Codemasters has booked ads in the specialist games press, covering PC, 360 and PS3 formats. The firm has also secured exclusive features and reviews in Official Xbox 360 Magazine, Official PlayStation and PC Zone – including full front cover and a promotional bag. Press previews have also been glowing, with PSM3 stating: “Operation Flashpoint’s realism is set to redefine your
expectations of first-person shooters. War has never been so cerebral.” Online The online initiative kicked off in mid-September and will run until November, targeting 25 million impressions. Codies has targeted websites including hardcore gaming networks and
the usual specialist portals, as well as more mainstream sites. The title is also set to have a presence on PSN and Xbox 360 Dashboard. Outdoor A six-sheet poster campaign has been launched across to London. Codemasters has also prepared a full range of POS including cubes and standees.