MCV840 July 10th : July 17th by Future PLC

CORRE DE FORCE THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES ISSUE 840 JULY 10TH / JULY 17TH 2015

UBISOFT’S EURO CHIEF ON ITS E3 FIGHT BACK P04

10,000 consumers flock to London’s Minecon

‘We want to be on every platform,” says Mojang

Our mission is to make Minecraft the most amazing game we can and to let people play it how they want.. Vu Bui, Mojang

MOJANG TARGETS NEW PLATFORMS FOR MINECRAFT MINECRAFT is already huge on mobile, PlayStation, Xbox and PC, but developer Mojang says there are more platforms to come. And it dismissed concerns that being owned by Microsoft will hinder expansion to other consoles. “If I had my way, we’d be on everything,” COO Vu Bui said. “We want to continue to be available to all players, and that means being on new platforms because everyone uses something different.” Could that include Nintendo machines? “I’ve never heard a reason why we haven’t ended up on Wii U or 3DS. It just hasn’t happened yet.”

‘MINECON SHOWED WHAT WE CAN DO WITH MICROSOFT’ LAST week’s huge Minecon event proved that Minecraft is in safe hands with Microsoft. Mojang COO Vu Bui says the firm is happy under new leadership, and that Xbox’s money has helped it expand. “It’s surprising to some, but opportunities have opened up for us,” he said. “Minecon is the first time we are able to show that. We’re all still the same team, now we just work with other teams. That brings us extra resources so we can do things we couldn’t do before. “Minecraft in Education is huge. Mojang is a tiny company, and education is a complex thing. Having that partnership with Microsoft allows us to do things that previously would have been much more difficult.”

‘NO LIMIT’ TO MINECRAFT’S EDUCATION PLANS

‘HOLOLENS IS MIND-BLOWING’ MOJANG says that Microsoft’s new AR tech is ‘like being in the future’. Minecraft was the first game confirmed to being in development for HoloLens, and was shown during an impressive on-stage demo at E3. Fans will be able to take their Minecraft creations and place them in the real world. “All those reviews out there that say HoloLens is mindblowing and like being in the future are correct,” Mojang COO Vu Bui enthused.

MOJANG says it wants to get Minecraft into as many schools as it can. The firm has already launched the Minecraft in Education programme, which includes a special version of the game. The scheme is designed to help pupils in subjects such as coding, science, history and art. “I don’t really see a limit for Minecraft in Education,” Mojang COO Vu Bui said. “I want to enable people to use Minecraft to enhance education, because people are already doing that. What we want is to inspire it to go further. I guess we’d eventually run out of schools to go into, but there is really no limit.”

PLUS INTERVIEW: SLITHERINE ON WAR GAMING THE BIGGEST F1 GAME IN YEARS

CHEAT SHEET

Market Data Without a game to rival the huge Batman this week, the market decreases in value Anki’s Tappeiner says that the toys-to-life sector is ﬁlled with Skylanders copy-cats

£20m

£15m

£18.3m 492,664 units

£10m

Anki targets Skylanders with September launch $8.7m 271,420 units

£8.4m 276,869 units

£5m

by Christopher Dring

Week Ending Week Ending Week Ending June 20th July 4th June 26th

UK RETAIL TOP 10

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT

LEGO Jurassic World

The Elder Scrolls Online

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Grand Theft Auto V

WARNER BROS Warner Bros Bethesda

WATCH out Skylanders, Anki believes it can become a new force in toys-to-life with its upcoming racing game: Anki Overdrive. Co-founder and president of Anki, Hanns Tappeiner, accused toys-to-life rivals such as Disney Infinity and LEGO Dimensions of ‘just copying Skylanders’, and said that his game will offer retailers something different when it arrives on September 20th – just five days before Skylanders Superchargers. Overdrive is a combat racer controlled via a smartphone, but the actual racing takes place in real life, utilising robotic cars and a track that gamers build themselves. The first game, Anki Drive, was a hit in the US, becoming the second most popular toy on Amazon over Christmas (beaten only

Bandai Namco Rockstar

Yoshi’s Woolly World

Nintendo

Minecraft: Xbox Edition

Microsoft

FIFA 15

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Minecraft: PlayStation Edition

EA Activision Blizzard Sony

SPONSORED BY

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

FALLOUT 4 (PS4)

Fallout 4 + Fallout 3 (XO)

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (PS4)

Warner Bros and Bethesda rule June charts BATMAN and LEGO have helped Warner Bros rise to the top of the publisher rankings once again, according to GfK Chart-Track. The ﬁrm published 27.6 per cent of the physical games sold in June with Batman: Arkham Knight at No.1 and LEGO Jurassic Park at No.3.

BETHESDA

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT (XO, PS4)

Sony

The Elder Scrolls Online (XO, PS4, PC) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (XO, PS4, PC)

Bethesda

Gears of War Ultimate Edition (XO)

Microsoft

Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain Day One Ed (PS4) Konami

LEGO Jurassic World (XO, 360, PS4, PS3, PC)

Microsoft

Grand Theft Auto V (XO, 360, PS4, PS3, PC)

Square Enix

FIFA 15 (XO, 360, PS4, PS3, Vita, 3DS, Wii, PC) Splatoon (WiiU)

Rare Replay (XO)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)

Amiibo Pikmin & Olimar (Wii U)

Nintendo

Amiibo Bowser Jr (Wii U)

Nintendo

Battleﬁeld: Hardline (XO, 360, PS4, PS3, PC)

Farming Simulator 15 (XO, 360, PS4, PS3, PC)

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (XO, 360, PS4, PS3, PC)

FIFA 16 (PS4)

July 10th / July 17th 2015

In second place is Bethesda, which saw its market share rise on the back of The Elder Scrolls Online (last month’s No.2 games). In total 1.72m games were sold last month, down from the 2m shifted in June 2014. Last year’s June numbers beneﬁtted from the launch of Watch Dogs in late May.

UK RETAIL TOP 10 – JUNE

by Frozen). The firm is now ramping up its European efforts for the sequel, and has recruited former Nintendo marketing boss Shelly Pearce to help the charge. “We are putting a lot of effort in the UK and Germany,” Tappeiner told MCV. “[Toys-to-life] is becoming crowded, but everyone is just copying Skylanders. We’re less interested in doing a game and more interested in bringing what we love about games to the physical space. That sets us apart.” Overdrive launches with a £150 price tag, which makes it the most expensive toys-tolife product on the market. “That’s how much we charged for Drive, and that worked well,” he said. “People have been playing Drive for months, even years. As people get used to the idea you can play it for a long time, then the view on price changes.”

WARNER BROS Bethesda Bandai Namco Warner Bros Rockstar EA Nintendo EA Focus/Koch Activision

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CHEAT SHEET

THE WRITER

The Witcher 3 UK console downloads hit 144,000 in May by Christopher Dring ALMOST 150,000 UK console gamers downloaded The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in May, the latest numbers from SuperData revealed. The UK download chart – which launched last month in Beta and MCV ran exclusively – shows just how successful games are in terms of both individual unit sales and total revenue.

SuperData compiles this information based on data received from payment ﬁrms and direct from publishers. It does not include sales of digital PC games. The data shows that The Witcher 3 was No.1 – boosted by a digital bundle with the Xbox One console – followed by Grand Theft Auto V in terms of revenue or Minecraft in terms of units.

YOU’VE MADE THE BIGGEST GAME ON EARTH – NOW WHAT?

e all know that Minecraft is a big game. We have seen the numbers. Tens of millions of units of the sandbox game have been sold worldwide. Entire careers have been created out of people uploading videos of themselves playing the game online via YouTube. The books alone have sold in the millions. No wonder Microsoft spent $2.5bn acquiring Swedish developer Mojang. But those are just numbers. Its success was most tangible when Minecon – the annual celebration of all things Minecraft – reached the UK last weekend at London Excel. Minecraft appears to defy gravity. Surely, six years after it launched in alpha, we should be seeing some erosion by now? But a record-breaking 10,000 people shelled out £129 each to be at Minecon, many dressed up as their favourite Minecraft characters, queuing for hours to see panels of developers or YouTubers, and to check out the latest Minecraft merchandise. For one weekend, London Excel was Disneyland for Minecraft. At the event, Mojang vowed to develop and evolve the core game by itself while giving other developers access to build spin-oﬀs (such as TellTale’s Story Mode). It is currently taking the game to Windows 10 and to HoloLens. Even Nintendo platforms could

Witcher 3 digital sales were boosted by the title being bundled digitally with Xbox One consoles

TOP TEN UK DIGITAL CONSOLE CHART (REVENUE)

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT (CD PROJEKT RED) REVENUE: £5,682,655

Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar)

Revenue: £1,967,776

Units: 16,101

FIFA 15 (EA)

Revenue: £1,753,382

Units: 10,983

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Activision)

Revenue: £1,663,748

Units: 12,883

Project CARS (Slightly Mad)

Revenue: £1,183,281

Units: 35,407

Minecraft (Mojang)

Revenue: £716,872

Units: 49,348

Destiny (Activision)

Revenue: £711,818

Units: 10,469

Battleﬁeld: Hardline (EA)

Revenue: £624,922

Units: 17,532

Bloodborne (Sony)

Revenue: £465,193

Units: 12,190

Battleﬁeld 4 (EA)

Revenue: £256,586

Units: 11,509

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UNITS: 144,117

There were fears that Microsoft might negatively aﬀect Minecraft, but there was no evidence of that to be seen at Minecon. be on the horizon, too. And the biggest and most popular game in the world is going to breach some new frontiers, too. Schools for a start. Mojang keeps hammering on about its Education programme and its dream of being in every education institute in the world. It is also teaming up with the likes of the UN to help build houses in Nairobi with its Block by Block scheme. All of this, Mojang tells us this week, would not have been possible without the huge cash injection it received from its new owners at Microsoft. There were fears at the beginning that Microsoft’s acquisition might have a negative impact on Minecraft, but there was no evidence of that at Minecon. For now it seems Microsoft is helping Mojang stay in keeping with the game it created. The developer is knocking down the blocks that separate video games from the real world. And it is continuing to build in some unexpected places. acalvin@nbmedia.com

July 10th / July 17th 2015

INTERVIEW ALAIN CORRE, UBISOFT

Straight to the Corre Ubisoft headed into E3 2015 to show the world how it will bounce back from a troubled 2014. Did it succeed? Christopher Dring speaks to EMEA executive director Alain Corre

n paper, 2014 looks like one of the most successful years in Ubisoft’s history. It smashed its targets by generating over a £1bn in software revenue – thanks to its biggest new IP launch (Watch Dogs), and major sellers such as Far Cry 4, The Crew and Assassin’s Creed. Unfortunately, that isn’t what Ubisoft’s 2014 will be remembered for. Instead, it was a time when the publisher had to put out a seemingly never-ending number of PR fires, and contend with the botched launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity – a blockbuster beset by bugs. “We are very sensitive to what fans are saying,” says Alain Corre, Ubisoft’s EMEA executive director. “When [Unity] happened, we had to react and we decided to be as transparent as possible. The change in mood has been rapid among our fans because we corrected the issues quickly. Today, fans are very happy with Unity, and the number of players is growing, which is good for our next game.” That next game is the Victorianset Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, which has the unenviable task of righting some of the perceived wrongs of its predecessor. “We always try to make the most polished game possible,” says Corre. “We respect our fans. Our company motto is quality and innovation. But we’re also creating very large, openworld games that are increasingly complex. It’s a lot of work. It’s worthwhile, but we are trying to push the limits and surprise people, and that comes with a set of risks.” GOING INDIE For a multi-billion dollar business with over 9,000

July 10th / July 17th 2015

employees, Ubisoft is a surprisingly personable business. It’s not that its rivals don’t care, it’s just that Ubisoft really cares. The firm’s CEO Yves Guillemot is someone you’ll often see loitering outside game demos or mingling with journalists, trying to discover what they think of his latest titles. His enthusiasm for the industry is evident in every interview he does. This personality is evident in some of Ubisoft’s output. The publisher doesn’t force its creators to make blockbuster followed by blockbuster, and encourages them to make their own indie-like projects. Games such as Valiant Hearts, Child of Light and Grow Home are hardly billion-dollar behemoths, but they were still successful, acclaimed projects by the creators of The Crew, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. “Our creative people sometimes want to try something different before they come back to what they know best,” explains Corre. “With Child of Light, for example, a creator wanted to do something different than a shooter, so came back with this story of a little girl in a poetic environment with lots of piano. We said great, let’s go, let’s try it, and it proved to be very successful. “More recently we had Grow Home, which came our studio in Newcastle, and we saw it was a super fresh ecological idea for gameplay, and it’s been super successful on PC. It’s a way to let creators breathe,

It’s in our DNA to bring out new IP. We are taking more risks than our colleagues because we believe our market will grow. Alain Corre, Ubisoft

step back a bit and think differently, before they can come back with new ideas for our big IP.” Not that Ubisoft’s triple-A efforts are all ‘big franchises’. The publisher has made a habit of showing new IP at E3 (see Watch Dogs, The Division and The Crew), and it continued that this year with the medieval combat game: For Honor. “It’s in Ubisoft’s DNA to bring out new IP,” insists Corre. “In two years we’ve released four major new IP. We are taking more risks than our colleagues, and that’s because we believe that our market will grow, and that we’ll be able to convince more people to join the category. For Honor, for example, has melee combat and co-op. It’s a game that used to be popular, but there have been none in recent years, so we’re bringing it back.” BROAD SPECTRUM For Honor was one of a handful of reveals from Ubisoft at E3. There was also a new Ghost Recon and a South Park sequel. The latter came as a particular surprise. Last year’s South Park: The Stick of Truth for PS3 and 360 suffered a difficult development. Ubisoft acquired the game after THQ’s collapse, but wasn’t happy with its quality, so delayed it until March 2014. The title arrived after the launch of PS4 and Xbox One, hindering its commercial potential. The process frustrated South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey

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ALAIN CORRE, UBISOFT INTERVIEW

New medieval combat IP For Honor was announced on-stage at Ubisoft’s E3 conference

Parker, who vowed to never make another game. What changed? “We were very pleased with The Stick of Truth’s success,” Corre answers. “It was a challenge as we took the game from THQ and had to refurbish it, so it required a bit of work. But at the end of the day, fans were happy. “From then, we saw it was a hot IP, and there’s a lot of things that we can do in the future. We needed to convince Matt and Trey to do another one, and it took a little while, but finally they were okay. We’re happy to have that kind of game in our portfolio because we want to propose diversity.” ‘Diversity’ is a word Ubisoft likes to use, and for good reason. Its line-up of games has historically looked after all types of players, from families (Just Dance) to kids (Rabbids) to the most hardcore of players (Assassin’s Creed). Yet attracting broader users has proven challenging recently – particularly on consoles, which have struggled to coax casual players from their phones and tablets. “We are looking at how the consoles are evolving in terms of the mass market,” admits Corre. “We have a lot of IP that have been successful with the casual market in the past that we are ready to bring back as soon as there are

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enough people from this audience on the PS4 and Xbox One.”

OPEN SEASON

BEYOND GAMES Ubisoft has found other avenues to explore with its IP. It is broadening out via toys, TV shows and – as of next year – its own movies like the upcoming Assassin’s Creed film. Corre hopes that these can help introduce more people to the world of games, and is already seeing some success with the Rabbids. “The Rabbids TV show has helped increase awareness and sustain the brand’s popularity,” says Corre. “We have just launched a new comic in France, which is now No.1 in the charts. There are a lot of things happening with Rabbids, just not in games because we’re waiting for the mass market.” 2015 may not have been the most noteworthy of E3s for Ubisoft, but it was a reassuring one. This is a publisher that is known for risk taking – it constantly experiments with new IP and tech – and those risks don’t always pay off. We saw that last year, and after the backlash it suffered, Ubisoft would have been forgiven for being a bit more conservative this year. But judging by its E3 line-up – plus the firm’s investment in VR – it’s clear that Ubisoft is still unafraid to take a chance. And that’s a good thing.

UBISOFT released three open world games last year: Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed Unity and Watch Dogs. At E3 this year, the trend continues, with open world action titles such as The Division, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate and the newly announced Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Some critics have complained that the focus on open world has made some of these games a bit too similar to one another. But this is simply what fans expect from their games today, says the publisher. “Open-world is becoming the norm, because the fan wants to be free to explore and do what they want in a game,” says Ubisoft’s EMEA boss Alain Corre. “We are trying to organise the games so that fans can find a

lot of pleasure in different things, different actions and different game play.” Yannis Mallat, Ubisoft Montreal CEO added: “We have been at the forefront of this shift, but we are not alone anymore. Five of the ten bestsellers last year were open world titles. We are seeing series like The Witcher and Metal Gear Solid go open world, it is because of the new power of the new consoles. Gamers are benefitting from what developers are able to do by another jump in CPU power. “Open world will allow us to continue and adapt our games with the evolution of the platforms. We like to see ourselves as world builders, because it allows us to transcend the platform.”

July 10th / July 17th 2015

DATA ANALYSIS Source Games and Charts compiled by GfK Chart-Track

DATA & RESEARCH The Dark Knight is again top of the charts as Warner’s winning streak continues FOR the second week running, WARNER BROS’ Batman: Arkham Knight is top of the charts. It maintains this top spot in spite of a 74 per cent dip in sales. This is the publisher’s third No.1 in a row following LEGO Jurassic World’s time in the top spot two weeks ago. That title holds second place after an 11 per cent sales dip, with the Xbox 360 SKU continuing to be the most popular version. And sales were aided this week by the launch of the Wii U version. Meanwhile, both the Xbox and PlayStation Editions of Minecraft reenter the Top Ten due to excitement built around

London-based Minecon. The Xbox SKU is back in seventh place, while the PlayStation Edition sits at No.10. Meanwhile in the Steam Top 10, Early Access darling Ark: Survival Evolved is No.1 for the ﬁfth week running. And four months before launch, preorders for BETHESDA’s upcoming Fallout 4 made it the ninth best-selling item on Valve’s store. In the Xbox Live charts, Goat Simulator continues to sit at No.1 ahead of long-time top spot holder Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. This is the ﬁfth week out of six that Goat Simulator has been No.1.

TOP 10 STEAM (GLOBAL)

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 02 03 04 RE RE 07 RE NEW RE

ARK: SURVIVAL EVOLVED PUBLISHER: STUDIO WILDCARD DEVELOPER: STUDIO WILDCARD

TITLE PUBLISHER Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar Counter-Strike: Global Oﬀensive Valve The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt CD Projekt RED Terraria 505 Games The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited Bethesda Elite: Dangerous Frontier Developments Rust Facepunch Fallout 4 (P) Bethesda Styx: Master of Shadows Focus Home Interactive

TOP 40 UK RETAIL 01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

LW 02 03 05 06 04 11 08 07 12 09 16 14 15 19 17 22 13 25 21 20 27 23 26 32 31 29 24 34 33 18 38 36 30 37 RE RE 35 RE 39

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT FORMATS: PS4/XO/PC

July 10th / July 17th 2015

DEVELOPER: ROCKSTEADY

Title LEGO Jurassic World The Elder Scrolls Online The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Grand Theft Auto V Yoshi’s Woolly World Minecraft: Xbox Edition FIFA 15 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Destiny Dying Light Payday 2: Crimewave Edition Farming Simulator 15 Splatoon Halo: The Master Chief Collection Far Cry 4 MotoGP 15 Terraria Mortal Kombat X Project CARS WWE 2K15 Wolfenstein: The Old Blood LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Watch Dogs Disney Inﬁnity 2.0 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Battleﬁeld Hardline The Sims 4 Super Smash Bros J-Stars Victory VS+ Batman: Arkham Origins Mario Kart 8 Assassin’s Creed: Unity Skylanders Trap Team The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Pokémon White 2 Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 Call of Duty: Ghosts Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Week ending July 4th

WARNER BROS

Format Publisher PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PC Bethesda PS4, XO, PC Bandai Namco/CD Projekt RED PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Rockstar Wii U Nintendo XO, 360 Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PC EA PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS4, PS3, Vita Sony PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO 505 Games PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Koch Media Wii U Nintendo XO Microsoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC PQube PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 505 Games/Merge PS4, XO, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PC Bandai Namco/Slightly Mad PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games PS4, XO, PC Bethesda PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Disney PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA PC EA Wii U, 3DS Nintendo PS4, PS3, Vita Bandai Namco Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Warner Bros Wii U Nintendo PS4, XO, PC Ubisoft PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard DS Nintendo PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Konami PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Warner Bros

Week ending July 4th

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DATA ANALYSIS Source

TOP 10 PLAYSTATION 4

TOP 20 INDIVIDUAL FORMAT

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT FORMAT: PS4

01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

WARNER BROS

DEVELOPER: ROCKSTEADY

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

LW 03 02 04 05 07 06 08 09 10 12 11 16 14 13

Title Batman: Arkham Knight LEGO Jurassic World The Elder Scrolls Online The Elder Scrolls Online LEGO Jurassic World Yoshi’s Woolly World LEGO Jurassic World LEGO Jurassic World LEGO Jurassic World The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Minecraft: Xbox Edition Grand Theft Auto V Splatoon

Format XO 360 XO PS4 Wii U Wii U PS4 XO PS3 XO PS4 360 PS4 Wii U

16 17 18 19 20

17 18 15 20 19

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Grand Theft Auto V Minecraft: PlayStation Edition LEGO Jurassic World Dying Light

XO XO PS3 3DS PS4

Publisher Warner Bros Warner Bros Bethesda Bethesda Warner Bros Nintendo Warner Bros Warner Bros Warner Bros Bandai Namco/CD Projekt RED Bandai Namco/CD Projekt RED Microsoft Rockstar Nintendo Microsoft Rockstar Sony Warner Bros Warner Bros

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT PUBLISHER: WARNER BROS

DEVELOPER: ROCKSTEADY

TITLE The Elder Srolls Online LEGO Jurassic World The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Grand Theft Auto V Dying Light Payday 2: Crimewave Edition Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Destiny Mortal Kombat X

DEVELOPER Bethesda Warner Bros Bandai Namco/CD Projekt RED Rockstar Warner Bros 505 Games Sony Activision Blizzard Warner Bros

Week ending July 4th

TOP 10 XBOX ONE

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT PUBLISHER: WARNER BROS

DEVELOPER: ROCKSTEADY

TW TITLE DEVELOPER 02 The Elder Srolls Online Bethesda 03 LEGO Jurassic World Warner Bros 04 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Bandai Namco/CD Projekt RED 05 Halo: The Master Chief Collection Microsoft 06 Grand Theft Auto V Rockstar 07 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Activision Blizzard 08 Destiny Activision Blizzard 09 Payday 2: Crimewave Edition 505 Games 10 Minecraft: Xbox Edition Microsoft

Week ending July 4th

TOP 10 XBOX LIVE (UK) 01 TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

LW 02 RE RE 03 05 06 RE RE 07

Week ending July 4th

TOP 10 GLOBAL GOOGLE PLAY

GOAT SIMULATOR MICROSOFT

DEVELOPER: COFFEE STAIN STUDIO TITLE Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Chivalry: Medieval Warfare Peggle CastleMiner Z ApocZ Avatar Warfare Trials HD Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Terraria: Xbox 360 Edition

PUBLISHER Microsoft Activision EA DigitalDNA Sick Kreations DigitalDNA Ubisoft Sega 505 Games

TW 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

MINECRAFT: POCKET EDITION DEVELOPER: MOJANG

TITLE Storage Hunters UK: The Game Football Chairman Pro Dr Panda and Toto’s Treehouse Bloons TD 5 Football Manager Handheld 2015 You Must Build A Boat Lifeline Scribblenauts Remix Geometry Wars

PUBLISHER UKTV Media Underground Creative Dr Panda Ninja Kiwi Sega EightyEight Games 3 Minute Games Warner Bros Activision

Correct as of July 6th

Week ending July 4th

PRESENTS

5 SECOND FACTS

Read and remember these stats so you can sound clever at the next Monday morning meeting...

$7.45m

220

10,000

YouTube superstar PewDiePie has doubled his earnings in 12 months – he is now reported to make $7.45m a year, up from 2014’s $4m

Australia has banned 220 games since March, the majority of which were mobile titles

London Minecraft event Minecon attracted 10,000 visitors and has won a Guinness World Record for the Largest Convention for a Single Game

The Dark Souls series has surpassed the eight million global sales mark. 3.25m units have been for PC

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PS4 Bluetooth Communicator - PDP Design and manufacture the PS4 Bluetooth/USB Communicator europesales@pdp.com

www.pdp.com July 10th / July 17th 2015

INSIGHT

How to stage an eSports event TICKETS Organisers need to determine how many tickets are going to be made available, whether to sell them at a fixed price or different prices depending on the seat, and the ticket price(s). It will be important to ensure tickets are not sold at price points that will dissuade a significant proportion of the target market, and are not sold undervalue.

NIC MURFETT and DERRY COUGHLAN of law ﬁrm Harbottle & Lewis reveal the six big things to consider when hosting a live eSports tournament

Showing underage viewers age restricted games could damage the maturation of eSports

Sports events blur the lines of live entertainment by blending the excitement of a concert with the intense competition and unpredictability of a sports tournament, and broadcasting the resulting mix to a global audience. But the magic of a great eSports event doesn’t come together without a huge amount of planning and organisation. Here are six things that an organiser should consider when planning an event. OBTAINING A LICENCE Unlike Valve, Riot and Blizzard, who own titles that have established fanbases and lend themselves to competitive gaming, most eSports events organisers won’t own the rights to the games featured. An organiser needs to obtain a licence from the rights owner. Obtaining a licence is key as it provides organisers with the rights it needs to include the game in its

A great eSports event doesn’t come together without a huge amount of planning and organisation. Nic Murfett and Derry Coughlan, Harbottle & Lewis

event, advertise its inclusion and broadcast the proceedings. VENUE Organisers need to procure a suitable venue by entering into a venue use agreement with the owner. Such agreements should clearly define each party’s responsibilities with respect to

the venue before, during and after the event – who is responsible for health and safety, the availability of lighting, water, heating and Wi-Fi, procurement and use of any equipment, obtaining necessary licences and each party’s respective insurance obligations. SPONSORS To raise finance for, and awareness of, events, organisers may wish to consider obtaining sponsors. The amount of finance that organisers raise through sponsorship depends on the commercial value of the rights they are prepared to offer sponsors. Bigger eSports events like the League of Legends World Championship or the Dota 2 International attract internationallyrecognised brands, while smaller events need to consider looking to peripheral firms and games brands.

AGE RESTRICTIONS Some games best-suited to eSports may be age restricted. If organisers intend to have competitors playing an agerestricted game at its event, they need to consider the implications of allowing underage competitors and viewers to attend. Doing so may, arguably, not be a criminal offence, but it would be a breach of the Code of Conduct of PEGI administrator Video Standards Council (VSC). Organisers have no legal obligation to sign up to the VSC’s Code of Conduct, but allowing a breach could have longterm implications for the maturation of eSports and how it is perceived. BROADCASTING To maximise exposure, and thereby commercial value of sponsorship rights, organisers need to consider how events are broadcast. Until the UK’s existing TV realise eSports are credible, or a new broadcaster emerges, the most effective means of broadcasting will be via streaming networks such as Twitch.

JOHN BURNS, NCSOFT INTERVIEW

Journey to the West NCSoft is one of Korea’s biggest gaming companies, and now the firm is investing huge sums into its Western outfit, too. Alex Calvin finds out more from NCSoft West’s SVP of publishing and business services, John Burns

n its native Korea, NCSoft is one of the top three games publishers alongside rivals, Nexon and SmileGate. The firm has long had a presence in the West, and has been behind MMO titles such as Guild Wars and WildStar. But now the company is looking to accelerate its growth in the West by expanding the products it’ll have on offer. The firm is making a considerable investment in mobile and tablet gaming with two game developers: the Canadian ThisGameStudio and a new currently-unnamed outfit in San Mateo, California. “Mobile is a natural evolution of what we are doing as a company,” NCSoft West SVP of publishing and business services John Burns says. “If we’re are going to look to grow and be more successful in the West, then mobile is a space we need to be active in. One of the core components is the desire to bring premium, high-quality games to mobile.” NCSoft is also working on bringing one of its Korean MMO properties, Blade and Soul, to the West. But there have been a few high profile failures in the MMO market. Even the genre’s poster child World of Warcraft has lost large numbers of subscribers. So how does Burns view the health of MMO gaming? “You have to look at it through the lens of the PC market, and that’s growing,” Burns says. “It’s a very engaging platform. And we see it as a continued part of our portfolio. It depends on the products you focus on, but really

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industry is doing with a lot of different initiatives. Even in mobile, where it used to be paid, and now is mostly free-to-play. That’s what we’re seeing with WildStar.”

across the platform and across the product portfolio, there are successes out there and a lot of opportunities in that market.” Blade and Soul is being released as a free-to-play product. It’s not NCSoft’s first free-to-play title. In fact, WildStar went from subscription fees to free earlier this year. Some media state this was due to disappointing sales of WildStar, but Burns refutes this. “WildStar has done very well. We’re very happy with its performance,” he says. “In January, we started to talk about what WildStar’s next step would be. We listen to our player base and make changes and requests based on what they are asking us for. One of the top requests we had was to change the business model. The transition to free-to-play is a reply to that. “If you look at the film industry, as a movie transitions through its lifecycle, it ends up on cable or on download and that’s just seen as a natural expansion to a larger audience. That’s what the games

If we are going to look to grow and be more successful in the West, then mobile is a space we need to be active in. John Burns, NCSoft West

NCSoft announced that its sci-ﬁ MMO WildStar was transitioning from subscription to freeto-play

LOST IN TRANSLATION Burns says that Blade and Soul will be one of many brands that will make the leap from Korea to the West – but doing so is not without its own set of challenges. “Part of our strategy will be bringing more IP from Korea to the West,” Burns says. “Lineage Eternal – one of our biggest IP – will also launch in the West. There’ll be more of that. “When bringing games to the West, you’ve got the translation challenges, but then you also have to make the content local. You need to make some changes that means you stay true to the core parts of the game and what makes the game fun, but give Western audiences a bit more of what they may like. Then you have the whole positioning and marketing effort. But frankly what you need is a great game. If you have that, then those other elements become easier to deal with.” What’s more, NCSoft is hoping to bring Korean hits from rival publishers to the West. “As part of our acceleration that expanding our product flow is going to be important,” Burn explains. “We have ThisGameStudio, and you can expect that we’ll have more of that. We are also going to look to partner, invest and help bring other developers globally and launch their products in the West.”

July 10th / July 17th 2015

INTERVIEW SLITHERINE

Winning strategy Strategy games are thriving on PC again, with the likes of XCOM, Civilization and Total War flourishing. But what about the niche titles at the edge of the spotlight? Slitherine director JD McNeil, development director Iain McNeil and marketing director Marco Minoli tell Matthew Jarvis about fighting a perception war on two fronts

litherine could very well be the biggest publisher you’ve never heard of. Formed 15 years ago, the Epsom-based firm has long been the flagbearer for war gaming titles in the UK – so much so that it doesn’t even fully consider the complex strategy titles in its catalogue video games, instead aligning them with their tabletop counterparts like Warhammer. “Our world is not the video games world, per se,” Slitherine Group director JD McNeil explains defiantly. “We operate in a different sector. What we used to say is that we’re not in the video games industry, but in the war games industry.” Development director Iain McNeil agrees: “We know that our market’s different. It doesn’t obey the same rules as the mainstream industry. Some of the things just don’t apply to our sector.” Purposefully placing itself outside of the games industry has helped Slitherine to attract an audience that differs from the traditional 16 to 32 age demographic enjoyed by traditional games. But JD retorts that war gaming’s reputation as a genre for older players is an outdated view. “One of the concepts that is often put to us is that we’re dealing with an ageing audience and that the business will decline because our fan base is getting older,” he recalls. “That’s a perception, and the data proves it quite wrong; we’ve grown fivefold over the last five years. The audience isn’t dying – it’s evolving.” In fact, Slitherine estimates the entire strategy genre – everything from niche hardcore titles such as

July 10th / July 17th 2015

It’s not all WW2 and Vietnam – titles like Star Hammer take war gaming beyond Earth

they really like, then they will buy it – the price is not really the issue.”

Civilization, XCOM: those are the games that we want to be competing with.

BEYOND THE WALL Slitherine’s purity in its war gaming vision has endeared it to its existing fan following. But it has also alienated it somewhat from the mainstream audiences enjoyed by more accessible strategy titles such as Civilization and XCOM. It’s this group that the publisher is now zeroing in on. “There’s no question that we need to try and appeal to the players watching on Twitch and so on,” admits Iain. “We’re a long way from being direct competitors with games like XCOM, but that’s the goal. Civilization, XCOM: those are the games that we want to be competing with, and that’s the direction that we’re headed towards.” One publisher from which Slitherine might take heed is close rival Paradox Interactive, which has found mainstream success with its complex strategy series Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis.

Iain McNeil, Slitherine

Pike & Shot to more mainstream efforts such as XCOM and Civilization – to now be worth $1.25 billion (£0.8bn) – a figure that trumps the $194 million (£124m) value of the eSports sector outlined by market tracker Newzoo for 2014. Slitherine’s own contribution to this figure has been driven by its steadfast confidence in its pricing strategy. While price tags of £50 and above may be off-putting for casual gamers browsing for a new title to try out, war game devotees are more than happy to shell out. “Our market tends to be short of time – rather than money – and not so price-sensitive,” explains Iain. “If they see something that

BACK TO THE BOX ALTHOUGH digital sales comprise the majority of Slitherine’s sales, boxed products contribute around a third of the publisher’s figures. In fact, the popularity of its physical software is such that Slitherine is flying in the face of the industry’s transition from boxed to digital. “We allow customers to pay an extra $5 or $10 to upgrade to a boxed copy if they already own the download,” details marketing director Marco Minoli. The boxes that are sold are printed on demand, a strategy that has big benefits, as Slitherine Group director JD McNeil explains: “In the days of retail, the minimum order you’d go for would be 5,000 units. Then you’d have to store them. We don’t have any stock issues at all, because there is no stock – except the manuals.”

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SLITHERINE INTERVEW

POCKET COMMANDER SOME may consider the war gaming sector as a genre historically rooted to the PC. But for Slitherine, at least, mobile has been a huge driver behind strategy’s prosperity, so much so that it had actually trumped the PC – for a time. “When we released Battle Academy it was our first, big flagship strategy game on iPad,” recalls development director Iain McNeil. “That sold far better on iPad than it did on PC: about five to one. It was hugely successful. Based on this, we started putting more games into production for iPad and encouraged developers to do iPad versions of things that were relatively complex strategy games. “Over the last two or three years, the iPad market has changed significantly. When we came to the market there was very little competition – there were a lot of apps, but very few premium apps. When Battle

Gamers’ growing obsession with how good games look has been a challenge for war gaming developers

“Civilization, Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings show you the potential for complex strategy games,” acknowledges Slitherine marketing director Marco Minoli. EASY ON THE EYES One of the biggest barriers facing Slitherine and the 200odd developers it represents is gaming’s growing superficiality. Take a look at a Slitherine title and you’re likely to be struck by how antiquated it appears. It comes down to a question of focus and resource – for games to look as good as they play would obviously be a plus, but realism in gameplay mechanics trumps visual flair for war game creators. “Every game would benefit from better graphics, absolutely,” Iain concedes. “The difference between our best- and worst-selling games has been magnified over the last three to five years. The titles that get things right – the level of complexity, the look and so on – their sales are going up significantly, whereas those that don’t keep up-to-date with modern expectations have seen a decline.”

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Academy came out it was one of, if not the, most expensive, games in the store. A $20 app was very unusual at that time. But since then, the iPad sales have not increased in the way that PC sales have – if anything, they’ve plateaued and are declining. That’s mainly due to the level of competition; there’s far more choice now on iOS and iPad is no longer the place to be for strategy games. “We’ve sort of done a U-turn – whereas before we were encouraging developers to be on iPad, we’re now saying because we’re seeing such a high percentage of our revenue from PC, PC comes first. Make sure it’s the best PC game it can be – don’t make any compromises for iPad. “The problem is that things are changing so fast; in two to three years’ time, it may be that we’re telling everyone that SteamOS is the way to go. It’s really hard to predict.”

to push too far and have it all collapse around our ears.”

One close competitor to have played into the hearts of PC fans is Creative Assembly’s Total War series. Criticised among the war gaming crowd for its preference for allure over accuracy, the series has nonetheless become a hit, partially on the back of its ability to render historical battles with visuallyimpressive fidelity.

The war gaming cult doesn’t get recognised because it’s not really that attractive. JD McNeil, Slitherine

Iain counters by arguing that, for the compact teams creating the majority of war games, resources can only stretch so far. “The teams are generally quite small – they can’t jump from where they are to competing directly with XCOM,” he explains. “We know we can do better, but we don’t want

Slitherine’s Iain (top) and JD McNeil (above) see war gaming’s perception as a barrier to attracting mainstream gamers

THE NEXT MOVE Is Slitherine planning to sand the rough edges of its intricate, but impenetrable, war games down to a mainstream-friendly sheen? “Simplifying?” responds JD. “No. Absolutely not.” Herein lies the rub; flirting with the mainstream means risking the very thing that has driven five years of growth – an intimate relationship with its market, games or otherwise. This doesn’t mean that the company is static, content with the dedicated fans it has. On the contrary: it’s ready to embrace a brand new set of gamers. “We can move and change direction and create new ideas as they enter our heads,” enthuses JD. “We’re never afraid of taking a risk. “We fully realise that the war gaming cult could be better. At this moment in time, it doesn’t get recognised because it’s not really that attractive. It’s our job to make it more attractive – it’s a whole new world out there.”

July 10th / July 17th 2015

INTERVIEW JONATHAN BUNNEY, CODEMASTERS

One for the road After a short delay, F1 2015 has finally made its last development lap and is racing into stores this week. Alex Calvin catches up with Codemasters VP of publishing Jonathan Bunney to find out more about this year’s game

his year’s F1 has a great deal going for it. After F1 2014 disappointed fans by not coming to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, this year’s entry is debuting on those newer platforms. The title boasts a brand new game engine that aims to make the most of the new hardware. Not only that, it is launching in July, far earlier in the F1 season – which runs from March through to November. Previous entries came out in September and October. So developer Codemasters has every right to be rather optimistic about F1 2015. “Pre-orders are strong and we think that this will be our biggest F1 title for some time,” Codemasters VP of publishing Jonathan Bunney. “It’s the first outing on the new consoles, we’ve built a brand new game engine from the ground up and our relationship with Formula One is better than ever. While we can show the incredible graphical fidelity of the game through videos and screenshots, it’s the racing experience that really shines – allowing players to race like a champion whether they’re a novice, a core racing gamer, or even a professional driver. Over the last few weeks we’ve had a number of the leading F1 drivers take the wheel and the reactions have been universally positive.” DIPPING SALES As Bunney says, this year’s F1

July 10th / July 17th 2015

Codemasters is not making F1 2015 for the PS3 and 360

title is coming to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for the first time – and it has left behind the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Sony and Microsoft’s older machines are owned by roughly 15 million gamers in the UK, while around 3.7 million UK consumers have picked up the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As a racing franchise, F1 has a broad appeal. So does Codemasters expect to miss out on sales by focusing on the latest consoles? “The market seems very buoyant and based on preorders and the response of our community, it appears that we’ll comfortably outsell F1 2014,” Bunney says. “The game is a huge step-up, there’s excitement around the new platforms and launching in July gives us many more Grand Prix to promote the game in the run up to Christmas – and we know from all our data that every Grand Prix results in a sales spike.”

Based on pre-orders and the community’s response, it appears we’ll comfortably outsell F1 2014. Jonathan Bunney, Codemasters

Yet surely, we asked, developing for both generations of console would have been more lucrative? “It’s simply a question of focus and prioritisation,” Bunney answers. “We wanted to have our entire F1 development team working on the current-gen platforms and not have to compromise to meet the lesser hardware capabilities of the legacy platforms.” FALSE START In May, F1 received a delay from its proposed release date – albeit a slight one. The racing title was initially set to hit stores in early June, but was pushed until its current mid-July date. Bunney insists that the small changes the team was able to make were worth the wait for the hardcore F1 fans. “As anyone who follows Formula One knows, there are always a number of pre- and early-season changes that impact the sport – from car performances and liveries, through to entire teams appearing,” Bunney says. “When we were due to launch in June there was no way we could accommodate the Manor team and the new Maclaren livery in time – but now both of these will be available via a day one patch plus numerous other improvements to the gameplay itself. An extra month at the end of a project feels like an extra three months at the start.”

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CODEMASTERS, JONATHAN BUNNEY INTERVIEW MARKETING RACE BANDAI Namco is handling marketing and distribution for F1, and has been using the hype around the F1 season to help excite racing fans. F1 and Codemasters’ social media channels have been talking about the game with support from the likes of Sky Sports personality and in-game commentator David Croft. Bandai Namco also has digital ads and video pre-rolls across Sky Sports website and its F1 portal. The publisher is also looking to use the Sky Sports app to push the title. It is aiming to reach its gaming audience via pre-roll footage on PS4 and Xbox One dashboards, in addition to pre-rolls on IGN and YouTube.

The team used F1 2015’s one month delay to add in a new team and Maclaren’s livery

Right now the racing sector is booming. Project CARS (published by Bandai Namco just as F1 2015 will be) came out and sold 1m copies globally in its first three weeks. There seems to be renewed health in the genre. “We see racing as a growth sector,” Bunney says. “The processing power of the new consoles has allowed us to much more accurately model the cars both visually and in terms of how they drive – which makes the experience better for everyone. We firmly believe that racing will be one of the best genres for VR and it offers tremendous opportunity for the future as we can finally completely immerse players into the race. And the success of film franchises such as The Fast and Furious show that there’s a huge global interest in car culture. “People will always dream about driving fast cars.”

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TEST DRIVE

Huge film franchises like The Fast and the Furious show there’s a massive global interest in car culture.

IN April, Codemasters launched the latest entry in its Dirt series – Rally (pictured) – into Steam’s Early Access scheme. “It’s been an amazing experience but it was definitely a little scary at first,” says Codemasters’ VP of publishing Jonathan Bunney. “We only announced the game five minutes before we put it on sale, and we actively asked players for feedback and so that we could make it the best it

Jonathan Bunney, Codemasters

could be. But the response has been phenomenal and we feel as if we’re on a journey of discovery with our community, making the game better every day. “By the end of the year we plan to have delivered seven content and feature packs, including iconic rally locations, a new motorsport in the form of Rallycross and synchronous multiplayer – all for free. The final package will be something pretty special.”

July 10th / July 17th 2015

THE BIG GAME GODZILLA

GODZILLA

A monster release Fresh from wreaking havoc on cinema screens, Godzilla is stomping back onto consoles after almost a decade of mobile and browser releases. Matthew Jarvis teams up with Bandai Namco product manager Karla Pett to track down the legendary creature

Release Date: July 17th Formats: PS4, PS3 Publisher: Bandai Namco Developer: Natsume Atari

hen it comes to Japanese pop icons, nothing comes bigger than Godzilla. First landing on cinema screens in 1954, the gigantic creature has been through a number of cinematic reincarnations – most recently in last year’s American reboot of the franchise, which garnered positive reviews and recordbreaking revenue. It achieved the best opening weekend debut of all time for a ‘creature feature’. But Godzilla’s video gaming history is as storied, beginning in the early 1980s on the Commodore 64 and continuing right through to the present day. For the last eight years, however, Godzilla’s colossal presence has been confined to the relatively miniscule screens of mobile and browser games, with 2007’s Godzilla: Unleashed serving as his last

July 10th / July 17th 2015

full-size console outing on PS2 and Wii. That changes this year, as Bandai Namco brings the iconic kaiju back to PS3 and PS4.

by iconic creatures from throughout Japan’s cinematic history, with players’ destruction attracting rival monsters for Godzilla to do battle with, such as fellow Japanese cinematic icon Mothra. “In total there are 30 stages, lots of famous monsters like Mothra and King Ghidorah, and you can power up Godzilla, which makes him grow taller,” explains Pett. “The game also has lots of great functionality on the PS4 where you can control Godzilla’s destructive beam with the touch pad or Karla Pett, Bandai Namco share your rampages online.” In many ways, the game harkens back to popular 1990s mass-destruction and monster-brawler titles such as Rampage. These types of game,

HAVING A SMASHING TIME The new title is Godzilla by name, Godzilla by nature. “Godzilla is an action game and the idea is to smash and smash some more – causing ultimate destruction,” enthuses Karla Pett, product manager at Bandai Namco. “There are lots of different modes, such as Destruction mode, in which the player controls Godzilla as he busts through certain stages, and King of the Monsters mode, where you play six different stages as six different monsters.” That’s right – Godzilla isn’t the only big beast gamers will be able to control. He’ll be joined

Traditionally summer is a little lighter for major titles, but people don’t stop playing games, and we shouldn’t stop releasing them.

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GODZILLA THE BIG GAME

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July 10th / July 17th 2015

THE BIG GAME GODZILLA

Godzilla isn’t just based on last year’s ﬁlm – the game encompasses the monster’s entire cinematic legacy

where players are able to cause widespread chaos in a destructible environment, have become a rarity in recent years, meaning that there’s likely to be plenty of gamers waiting for their chance to let loose. “I think it’s the gameplay style that’s the most true to what Godzilla is,” says Pett. “The Godzilla universe has some of the best, most iconic monsters going – if you had to smash up cities, surely you’d want to do it as Godzilla? And what could be better for letting off steam then smashing game cities to pieces? “Personally, having done my London commute this morning, I think there’s a space for Godzilla in lots of people’s lives.” MOVIE MONSTER Godzilla is currently in the midst of a reinvention. As well as the upcoming game, there are already two sequels to last year’s movie in the works. Like 2014’s entry, both new releases are slated to be directed by Gareth Edwards, once he has finished with Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One.

July 10th / July 17th 2015

But while interest in Godzilla’s return to the silver screen is sure to drive fans in-store looking for their chance to take control of the super-sized star, Pett sees the title as relating more to the entirety of Godzilla’s 50-year legacy. “Our game doesn’t really have anything to do with the movie, and we’re not too worried about what came out recently, it’s more of a homage to the classic Godzilla,” she responds. “I think this game is more about celebrating Godzilla through the ages than tying itself to something recent.” One way in which Bandai Namco is celebrating the whole of Godzilla’s history is via the appearance of his alter-egos from throughout the years, including both his classic 1950s and 2014 appearances, as well as his technology-infused counterpart Mechagodzilla. “Godzilla is faithful to the original licence not the recent movie, so we wouldn’t class it as a movie tie-in,” continues Pett. “Although, there are some fun nods to Hollywood in there.”

This game is more about celebrating Godzilla through the ages than tying itself to something recent. Karla Pett, Bandai Namco

SUMMER SCHEDULE The focus on the whole Godzilla franchise means that the gap between last year’s film and this year’s game isn’t a concern for Bandai Namco. “The movie last year can only help to bring Godzilla back to the front of people’s minds,” says Pett. “But, as the two aren’t connected in any way, we’re not concerned about launching the game at the time we are.” She concludes that bringing the game to market during the relatively quiet summer release period could entice players awaiting the late-year rush of titles. After all, who wouldn’t like to fill the time by stomping their way through virtual cityscapes? “Traditionally, summer is a little lighter for major titles than Q4 and Q1, but people don’t stop playing games, and so we shouldn’t stop making or releasing them,” Pett observes. “Personally, I think it’s nice to have a little breathing room when you release a title; it gives people the chance to discover something they might normally miss out on.”

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MARKET MOVES

APPOINTMENTS

Nintendo’s Richard Stickler joins EA Stickler takes on digital retail role O New comms oﬃcer at UKIE O Roche leaves 2K for Warner EA | There has been another high profile departure from Nintendo. Industry veteran RICHARD STICKLER has left the platform holder and joined EA as senior commercial manager digital for EMEA retail. Stickler comes on board with a wealth of experience in sales, having held senior roles in the sector at Nintendo UK, THQ, and distributor Exertis. This follows the departure of UK marketing and PR boss SHELLY PEARCE and Mario brand manager ROGER LANGFORD in the last month. “This is an exciting time for retailers that look to embrace and develop their online and

join indie publisher Curve Digital in May. Densham comes on board following a ten-month stint at charity SpecialEffect, where she worked in its events and fundraising department. “I am thrilled to join the UKIE team,” Densham said. “It’s a really exciting time to start working in the UK games industry and I can’t wait to get stuck in to this new role – hopefully I will fill Richie’s shoes with the legacy he deserves. I look forward to working with the wonderful team over here and meeting many of our members in the coming months.” UKIE boss DR JO TWIST added: “We’re delighted to welcome Sophie to the UKIE

in-store experience around digital,” Stickler told MCV. “As revenues and opportunity within digital continues to grow, players will also continue to expect and demand more - I am thrilled to join EA in this new role and look forward to working with retail partners across Europe to jointly develop and drive industry leading digital programmes that meet those demands.” UKIE | The UK games trade body has hired a new community and communications officer. SOPHIE DENSHAM arrives following the departure of RICHIE ENTICKNAP who left to

team. I have worked with Sophie on a few events through her previous work with SpecialEffect and I am really pleased that she will be joining us full time.” WARNER BROS | 2K PR manager MATT ROCHE has left the BioShock publisher. He has joined Warner Bros as international PR manager having spent six years at 2K Games. He joined in 2009 as international PR executive before being promoted to UK PR executive in 2011, then UK PR manager in 2014. He has also held marketing roles at BAFTA, Agency:2 and Hewlett Packard.

AROUND THE INDUSTRY DOVETAIL GAMES | The Medway-based developer behind simulation titles like RailSimulator has been named Technology Business of the Year in the Kent Excellence in Business Awards 2015. It follows its award for Business of the Year in the 2014 Medway Business Awards. WARNER BROS MONTREAL | The developer behind 2013’s Batman: Arkham Origins is working on a new IP for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. That’s according to jobs listings that show the firm is seeking 15 new roles, including animators, QA leads and level designers. RIOT | The League of Legends giant has invested in games media firm Curse. “Riot really believes in what we’re doing and where we’re

July 10th / July 17th 2015

going,” Curse CEO Hubert Thieblot said. “This investment boosts our efforts to continue creating what I believe to be the best communication tool in gaming – Curse Voice.” SONY | The tech giant has launched a crowdfunding platform called First Flight. Only Sony employees can pitch their ideas for funds, and only Japanese consumers can put money forward for now. MAG INTERACTIVE | The Swedish company has acquired Brighton-based developer Delinquent. Delinquent was formed by former PopCap senior game designer David Bishop, Relentless co-founder David Amor and investor Chris Lee. It is home to 12 staff and brings Mag’s employee count up to 50 across Sweden and the UK.

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EDITORIAL CONTACTS

EDITORIAL CONTACTS Christopher Dring Editor

Michael French Publisher

cdring@nbmedia.com

mfrench@nbmedia.com

Ben Parﬁtt Associate Editor

Conor Tallon Account Manager

bparﬁtt@nbmedia.com

ctallon@nbmedia.com

Alex Calvin Staﬀ Writer

Sam Richwood Designer

acalvin@nbmedia.com

srichwood@nbmedia.com

Matt Jarvis Staﬀ Writer

Laura West Business Development Consultant

mjarvis@nbmedia.com

lwest@nbmedia.com

Production Executive: Elizabeth Parker eparker@nbmedia.com

Finance Manager: Michael Canham mcanham@nbmedia.com

Head of Operations: Stuart Moody smoody@nbmedia.com

Head of Design and Production: Kelly Sambridge ksambridge@nbmedia.com

Circulation: Lianne Davey ldavey@nbmedia.com

Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England SG14 1JA Newbay Media specialises in tradededicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets. As well as MCV, Newbay publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Music Week, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two onlineonly brands: Mobile Entertainment, dedicated to the growing mass market smartphone sector, and Licensing.biz, for everyone in the global licensing industry. It also runs a number of events including the MCV Industry Excellence Awards, the London Games Conference and the Games Media Awards.

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Craig Watson Dixons Retail

James Cooke Argos

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July 10th / July 17th 2015

INDIE INTERVIEW TOM FRANCIS

Critic to creator For more than a decade, journalist Tom Francis dissected games, pulling them apart into their base components. Then he decided to try his hand at building the very things he had spent so long deconstructing. But could he walk the walk, too? Matthew Jarvis finds out

“E

verybody’s a critic,” goes the old adage and, in the age of the customer review, rarely has it been truer. Examine the Steam or Amazon page for any title and you’ll find hundreds – if not thousands – of players offering their helpful insight into how the game can be improved. “In reviews, it’s not hard to say what you think of a game, and it’s not hard to describe what a game is; the tricky part is saying why it’s good and why it’s bad,” observes developer Tom Francis. Francis knows what he’s talking about; for nine years he was one of PC Gamer’s foremost writers, known for his rigorous approach to games criticism. This scrutiny, and his lifelong obsession with the way games are – and should be – made, manifested into his own creations. “Once I started making games, I had the accumulated weight of all of the opinions that had built up over the years – ‘quicktime events are bullshit’, ‘I hate unskippable cutscenes’, ‘I hate losing progress’, – all these frustrations and gripes that I wanted to solve or do differently in a game of my own.” PULLING THE TRIGGER That game was 2013’s Gunpoint, a noir-inflected stealth title featuring electrical rewiring mechanics partly inspired by BioShock and Deus Ex. It was a critical success, praised for the very gameplay elements Francis set out to revolutionise. “I just felt very validated,” Francis recalls. “For years I had been working on this game thinking ‘this seems like a really cool idea and people should like it’. Then when it came out, people did like it – to a

July 10th / July 17th 2015

Heat Signature sees players breaking into spaceships in order to take them over

vastly bigger extent than I could’ve possibly have dreamed.” Gunpoint flourished, leading Francis to depart PC Gamer a mere 10 days after the title’s PC launch. He had made it – so what was next for the newly independent developer? “There were a lot of people asking me to do Gunpoint 2,” he says. “Funnily enough, its success sort of encouraged me to not do sequels. If I was struggling, then I would probably want to cash in on Gunpoint as much as possible, porting it to every platform under the sun, making DLC and then making a sequel. I haven’t had to bleed it dry, thankfully.” Instead, Francis began work on his next project – Heat Signature.

I don’t care if your game took you 15 years to make – you’re still asking £30 for it, and if it’s shit, then I’m going to say it’s shit.

SPACE RACE In Heat Signature, players are set loose in an infinite galaxy, piloting an assault craft with the sole intention of breaking into larger ships and taking control. As with Gunpoint, Heat Signature boasts a number of distinctive gameplay mechanics. But its sci-fi

Tom Francis

environment also sees it compete with bigger fry, including expansive big-budget titles Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen. “It’s a bit scary,” Francis admits of the competition. “There are loads of space games. I’ve seen a couple that overlap quite heavily with what Heat Signature is doing, but they do everything else in the universe, as well. “That’s intimidating at first, but then I realised it’s not actually that worrying. Because they’re not as focused, it’s harder to know what they’re about. They all seem vaguely exciting, but there’s lots of them, so they’re interchangeable.” HEATING UP It’s been two years since Francis was able to transition to full-time game development. Now working on the other side of the fence, does he feel differently about his time as a critic? “I did have a newfound appreciation for what things are difficult and what things are easy,” he says with certitude. “But I don’t think a developer gets extra credit for a game being hard to make; I don’t care if it took you 15 years – you’re still asking £30 for it, and if it’s shit, then I’m going to say it’s shit.” Gunpoint proved Francis could walk the walk, and many would sympathise if he had cashed in on the game’s success. But it’s the desire to have his say on the industry that continues to push him. “I have no reason to believe Heat Signature has less commercial potential than Gunpoint, but that just didn’t enter into my mind when I was coming up with ideas. It was purely just: I’m excited by this, so I’m going to make it.”

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MARKETPLACE

SHELF LIFE MCV speaks to Sammy Drysdale of Paignton-based GamesNation about the store’s plans for expansion, what events it has planned for the summer and the role that GAME has had in the UK pre-order decline How has business been recently? It’s been great. We had a slow start to the year, but business has really picked up in the last month. E3 generated a lot of buzz back into the industry. Everyone has remembered that they love games. What’s been selling particularly well for you? The new releases have been great. The Witcher 3 and Batman: Arkham Knight sold really well, and The Elder Scrolls Online was huge for us.

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

is going to be huge. We have 55 players down right now – we’re hoping to reach over 100 players. Then we have an event for the gaming charity SpecialEﬀect. Joe [Marshall, GamesNation co-founder] and I are doing a 24-hour Call of Duty marathon on Twitch.

How are your plans for expansion going? Great. We have been checking out a location in Torquay that used to be a GameStation store. Fingers crossed we’ll open up a GamesNation in GameStation. It will have a huge impact I think. Do you have many events planned? We have two big events coming up. Later this month we have a Call of Duty championship, which

Pre-orders are in decline in the UK. What has your experience been of this? GAME killed them. I was a store

GAME single-handedly killed pre-orders in the UK by forcefeeding them down people’s throats. Sammy Drysdale, GamesNation

PRICE CHECK: NORWICH

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS 1. FALLOUT 4 Bethesda, PS4

2. Fallout 4 and Fallout 3 Bethesda ..................................................................XO 3. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Sony.........................................................................PS4 4. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Microsoft ..................................................................XO

PROJECT CARS

MOTOGP 15

THE CREW

PQube, Xbox One

Ubisoft, Xbox One

Bandai Namco, PS4

Sony, PS4

£37

£35.94

£26.99

£19.95

£44.99

£39.99

£19.99

£22.99

£49.99

£34.99

£19.99

9. Amiibo Bowser Jr Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

£44.99

N/A

£29.99

£27.50

10. FIFA 16 EA .............................................................................PS4

£44

N/A

£46

6. Final Fantasy VII Remake Square Enix..........................................................PS4

ONLINE

5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Day One Konami ...................................................................PS4

DRIVECLUB

7. Rare Replay Collection Microsoft ..................................................................XO

UPLOADING The latest digital releases coming to market

TRIALS FUSION: THE AWESOME MAX EDITION

BEDLAM

BIG PHARMA

Fans will be able to play as a cat riding a unicorn in this Trials Fusion DLC

RedBedlam’s genre-hopping shooter is set for launch next month

After launching in beta, the medical simulation title is oﬃcially out

OUT: JULY 14TH

July 10th / July 17th 2015

IN STORE

8. Amiibo Pikmin and Olimar Nintendo............................................................. Wii U

OUT: AUGUST 13TH

OUT: NOW

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MARKETPLACE

GamesNation 32 Crossways Shopping Center Hyde Road Paignton TQ4 5BL

manager in GAME Torquay for six years and it has singlehandedly killed pre-orders in the UK by force-feeding them down people’s throats. That’s where it went wrong. When I ﬁrst started in GAME, pre-orders were for consumers who were really keen for a release and wanted to get them in early. But over time, the targets rose – the staﬀ had to get so-many pre-orders in a day. So every customer that goes into the

Phone: 01803 411730 Website: www.onegamesnation.com/

shop is asked to pre-order a game and over time people got sick of it. What is your approach to pre-orders at GamesNation? We advertise we are doing them on social media and talk to customers about them in-store. And if someone comes in we’ll take their pre-order. We just have a more laid-back approach towards them. When it’s forced on people that’s when they’ll wait.

INCOMING TITLE

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR OUTLET IN MCV? Contact acalvin@nbmedia.com or call 01992 515 303

August sees a plethora of re-releases for the newer machines hitting stores – ﬁrst up is Rare Replay, followed by Dishonored and Gears of War remasters FORMAT

GENRE

PUBLISHER

TELEPHONE

DISTRIBUTOR

PS4/XO/PC

Racing

Bandai Namco

01215 069 590

Advantage

Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess

PS4/PS3/Vita

Strategy

Koei Tecmo

01462 476 130

Open

God of War III Remastered

PS4

Action

Sony

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

July 10th F1 2015

July 17th

Godzilla

PS4/PS3

Action

Bandai Namco

01215 069 590

Advantage

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

PS4/XO

Sports

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

Simulation

Ravenscourt

01256 385 200

Koch Media

Adams Venture Chronicles

PS3

Adventure

Soedesco

01902 861 527

Pavilion

I Am Bread

Comedy

Ravenscourt

01256 385 200

Koch Media

Action

Microsoft

01279 822 800

Exertis

July 24th Fishing Expert

July 31st

August 4th Rare Replay

August 28th Devil’s Third

Wii U

Action

Nintendo

01753 483700

Open

Dishonored: Deﬁnitive Edition

PS4/XO

Action

Bethesda

01215 069 590

Advantage

Gear of Wars: Ultimate Edition

XO, PC

Shooter

Microsoft

01279 822 800

Exertis

Until Dawn

PS4

Horror

Sony

01216 253 388

CentreSoft

PS4/XO/PS3/360

Stealth

Konami

02089 875 730

Open

September 1st Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

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July 10th / July 17th 2015

MOVIES

MOVIES The summer movie season is in full swing, meaning cinephilic gamers will be settling down with popcorn and the latest ﬂick. Matthew Jarvis checks out the games that made it to the silver screen

NO longer are video games merely described as having ‘cinematic qualities’ – many of the industry’s biggest franchises have flourished in the medium of film. The highest-grossing video game adaptation to date is 2010’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, based on the Ubisoft IP. Sporting a star-studded cast, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley, helmed by Harry Potter director Mike Newell, and produced by

Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed and The Last of Us are just a handful of the big-brand adaptions on the way.

legendary movie exec Jerry Bruckheimer, the film made over $335 million at the Box Office. With an average critic rating of 5/10, Prince of Persia is also the second-highest-rated game movie of all time on Metacritic, behind 1995’s Mortal Kombat, which has an average score of 6/10. While game film adaptations have become notorious for their varying quality, mixed critical reception doesn’t deter fans from checking out their favourite

STREET FIGHTER: ASSASSIN’S FIST Originally created as a hit YouTube web series, Assassin’s Fist follows the iconic battlers from Capcom’s ﬁghting franchise, Ryu and Ken, as they unveil the secrets of their master Gouken and master the art of Ansatsuken. This release features all 12 episodes from the ﬁrst series of the show, and is available in the form of a limited edition steelbook, as well as DVD and normal Blu-ray. SRP: £12.99 (DVD), £29.99 (Ltd Edn Blu-ray) Manufacturer: Assassin’s Fist Limited, Evropa Films, Gloucester Place Films, Lonely Rock Productions Distributor: Manga Entertainment/Starz Contact: info@mangauk.com

HALO: NIGHTFALL

RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION

HITMAN STEEL PACK

Produced by Ridley Scott, Nightfall introduces the pivotal character of Locke to the shooter’s universe in time for Halo 5 later this year.

The ﬁfth entry in the biggest video game movie series of all time sees Alice battle against Umbrella and its undead hordes.

Agent 47’s silver screen adaptation stars Timothy Olyphant as the bald assassin and Bond girl Olga Kurylenko as his companion.

SRP: £12.99 DVD, £29.99 Collector’s Blu-ray Manufacturer: Anchor Bay Distributor: Manga Entertainment/Starz Contact: info@mangauk.com

SRP: £19.99 (DVD), £29.99 (3D Blu-ray) Manufacturer: Constantin Film, Impact Pics Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Ent. Contact: 020 7533 1111

SRP: £25.99 (Blu-ray) Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Ent. Contact: 020 7437 7766

July 10th / July 17th 2015

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MOVIES

DIRECTORY

MCV DIRECTORY KEY CONTACTS Sony DADC ............................................ +44 (0) 207 462 6200

CREATIVE Fink ................................................................. info@ﬁnkcreative.com

GAMING ACCESSORIES DISC REPAIR

L3I............................................................................+ (0)1923 471 020

Total Disc Repair ..................................+44 (0) 1202 489500

Venom ............................................................... +44 (0)1763 284181

DISTRIBUTION Click Entertainment ............................ +44 (0) 203 137 3781 Creative Distribution ......................+44 (0) 20 8664 3456 RATES

Curveball Leisure ................................... +44 (0) 1792 652521

£70 per two column box (100mm x 75mm). To run weekly for a minimum of 1 year. Please phone for other size and/or position requirements.

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July 10th / July 17th 2015

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FINK

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Artworking Mastertronic Brand Identity Ukie Localisation Rising Star Games Advertising BBFC Website Design Deep Silver Exhibition Bethesda Illustration Just Flight Appynation Digital Media IntentMedia Charity GamesAid Banners & Takeovers Konami Packaging Design Just Flight Email: info@ﬁnkcreative.com CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION

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DISTRIBUTION

SONY DADC

DISTRIBUTION

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Empowering your creative business

Tel: +44 207 462 6200 games@sonydadc.com

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July 10th / July 17th 2015

DIRECTORY

GAMING ACCESSORIES

L3I

GAMING ACCESSORIES

VENOM

Power Up! Twin Docking Station

Twin Docking Station

Tel: + (0)1923 471 020

Web: www.logic3.com

ADVERTISE WITH US

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY? Web: www.venomuk.com

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CALL CONOR TALLON ON 01992 535647 OR EMAIL HIM AT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM

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INSIDER’S GUIDE

INSIDER’S GUIDE DEAD GOOD MEDIA

DIRECTORY

WHO? Specialism: Consultancy, PR and marketing

Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 300,000 subscribers every month.

Location: Hitchin and London

MCV speaks to Dead Good Media’s Kayleigh Watson about the ﬁrm’s foray into documentary ﬁlm-making

FOR GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT CHARLOTTE NANGLE CNANGLE@NBMEDIA.COM

Tell us about your company. Dead Good Media is a multiaward winning boutique PR agency that was established in 2012 by the rather brilliant Stu Taylor. We work with both a domestic and international focus for our clients and specialise in the video game, ﬁlm and tech spheres. We’re currently working on The Bard’s Tale IV’s Kickstarter success, the UK PR for Focus Home Interactive and international PR for EuroVideo Medien.

THIS MONTH’S DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT: Outsource Media .......................................................................www.omuk.com

What is your biggest success to date? Where to begin? There’s been so many in almost three years. Managing the international PR for number one title Dying Light on behalf of Techland – we worked with Paddy Power on the zombie-proof house collectors’ edition story – has been a particular high. What projects do you currently have in the works? We are hugely excited to be ﬁlming our ﬁrst feature-length documentary, as well as looking ahead to Gamescom – it’s going to be a busy one for us in Cologne this year. What are the biggest challenges you face? The changing media landscape is an exciting challenge that PR companies face at all times, and we love to work closely To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact cnangle@nbmedia.com

We love to work closely with writers and publications that are constantly diversifying. with writers and publications that are constantly diversifying, together telling creative and compelling stories about our clients. Tell us something about your company that nobody knows Some may not already be aware that this is actually the third time Stu and I have worked together in the last six years – we’re a winning combo. Also, we’re rather ace when it comes to pub quizzes, coming ﬁrst last year and second this year at the Develop Quiz. We’ll be back to get that trophy.

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Contact: W: deadgoodmedia.com E: hello@deadgoodmedia.com P: 07780 600 728 T: @DeadGoodMedia

July 10th / July 17th 2015

@ THURSDAY AUGUST 14TH 2014 DAY TWO

INTERNATIONAL DAILY 2015 @

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14TH 2014 DAY TWO

2014 DAY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13TH

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15TH 2014 DAY

ONE

THREE

BILLION DOLLAR BABIE

WHY ACTIVISION IS FUNDING IND S: IE GAMES

by Christopher Dring

ACTIVISION surprised Gamescom this week by resurrecting the Sierra Games publishing business. A subsidiary of Activision, Sierra is to publish a range of titles from independent Sierra’s Loya studios. This includes (far left) and classic Sierra IP like King’s Marshall (left) Quest and Geometry Wars, are bringing as well as new IP and back Geometry possibly HD remakes. Wars this year It’s surprising because added: “We wanted to do Activision has a reputation this stuff for a long time, and for just publishing triple-A unfortunately there wasn’t billion-dollar franchises a path in Activision to do it such as Call of Duty, because we were focused Skylanders and Destiny. on the big blockbusters. “The indie movement is “With digitally distributed happening,” said Sierra’s MacLean Marshall, Sierra games becoming bigger MacLean Marshall. “And for every year, we were able to Activision not to be involved devs with the right ideas – make a compelling business in that... it has the big brands whether that is bringing back argument that we could be sure, but I think it would be a an old Sierra IP or something financially successful doing miss if we didn’t look at the entirely new.” this, while working with indie movement as well. For Senior director of external really cool indie talent on us, it is about finding the right development Bob Loya great IP.”

It would be a miss if we didn’t look at the indie movement

.2014

07.10

Hall 4.2 Stand A052 www.mxvsatv.com 06/08/2014 12:51 05/08/2014 14:11

Return of the hugely successful MCV @ Gamescom Daily The daily print & online resource for visitors to Gamescom Championing and promoting the international video games companies at Gamescom 2015 Latest games business news, insight from the trade show and company spotlights Delivered to 30,000+ games industry professionals at Gamescom Promoted to a global audience of 380,000+ via MCVuk.com

To be involved please contact Conor Tallon ctallon@nbmedia.com or call 01992 535647

AMERICA TERRITORY REPORT Sponsored by

TERRITORY REPORT: AMERICA It might be the land of the free, but is it the land of free-to-play? As the industry recovers from another huge E3 showing, SuperData CEO JOOST VAN DREUNEN examines the state of games in the US of A

n America everything is bigger – and its games market is no exception. With $19.8 billion (£12.6bn) in sales this year across all categories (excluding hardware) it is clear that Americans love gaming. As a consequence, the US also serves as a tastemaker for other international markets. For most publishers and developers, it is the most important Western market, and they’ll do anything to impress this massive consumer audience. So as the industry continues

$19.8bn The US games market saw $19.8bn in sales (excl. hardware) in 2014

to soar on the back of an exciting E3, let’s take a look at the US games market and do a quick status update. GAMING IS BIG – AND MAINSTREAM For a long time, the US games industry catered to a much more narrow demographic. But today, around 163 million Americans – half of the total population – play games. This is up from 145 million just two years ago. This much larger market has dramatically changed the playing field for publishers, since now that so many more people play games, the overall audience is also a lot more diverse. In the United States,

58 per cent of the mobile gamer population is female. It’s ridiculous, of course, to suggest that women simply didn’t play games up until recently – rather, the games industry failed to properly cater to them instead. But now that the business itself has levelled up and become more inclusive, we expect the content offering to follow suit. US-BASED PUBLISHERS ARE STILL GOING STRONG Despite the growing dominance of Asian publishers like Tencent, Nexon and NCSoft, and their persistent pursuit of the US market, the top American publishers still run the show. The big US-based

TERRITORY REPORT AMERICA

US RETAIL TOP 10 FOR 2014

CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE

Madden NFL 15

Destiny

Grand Theft Auto V

Minecraft

Super Smash Bros.

NBA 2K15

Watch Dogs

FIFA 15

Call of Duty: Ghosts

ACTIVISION EA Activision Rockstar Mojang Nintendo 2K Games Ubisoft EA Activision Data courtesy of NPD

publishers generated a cool $10.2 billion (£6.5bn) in total sales in 2014, and franchises like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto maintain a strong position among the top-selling titles worldwide. DIGITAL GAMES ARE A THING NOW Traditionally, the US has been a retail-based market. Both specialty chains like GameStop and general retailers like Walmart make a mint selling games, especially during the holiday season. But even so, in just a few years a growing amount of spending on games has begun to take place via digital channels. In the US, mobile gaming is the most popular digital category, with $4.5 billion (£2.9bn) in annual revenues estimated in 2015.

July 10th / July 17th 2015

THE FACTS

The top US publishers generated a cool $10.2 billion (£6.5bn) in sales in 2014.

INFO Population: 320,925,485 Currency: Dollar GDP (Per Capita): $54,596 Capital City: Washington, D.C KEY RETAILERS GameStop, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Kmart, Costco, Fred Meyer, Fry’s Electronics, Hastings Entertainment, Play N Trade, Gamers, Slackers

Joost van Dreunen, SuperData

Remarkably, digitalisation has given new life to PC-based gaming; combined, social games, PC DLC, free-to-play MMOs and pay-toplay MMOs account for $7.3 billion (£4.7bn) in annual sales. Even though the US has long been primarily a console market, PC gaming can no longer be ignored. As audiences adopt new ways to get access to and play games, the industry will follow.

KEY DISTRIBUTORS US Games Distribution, BigBen Interactive, BR-1 America, CI Games, Creative Mind, EZ Games, Mecca Electronics, Ram Rom Games, Royal Electronics, EOne, GameWorld,

Importel, Koch Media, Play N Trade TOP DEVELOPERS Rockstar, 343 Industries, Bungie, Blizzard, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Sony, Naughty Dog, EA, Epic Games, Capcom, BioWare, Bethesda, Id Software, PopCap, Riot Games

PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA, Ubisoft, Warner Bros, Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Take-Two, Sega, Capcom, Telltale Games, Konami, Riot Games

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CELEBRATING THE BEST OF THE BEST

OUR SPONSORS

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For exciting sponsorship opportunities contact: Charlotte: cnangle@nbmedia.com Get your tickets NOW! Email Kathryn: khumphrey@nbmedia.com or call 01992 535646

FACTFILE TURKEY Sponsored by

INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE: TURKEY Population: 77,695,904 Capital City: Ankara Currency: Lira GDP (Per Capita): $10,482 KEY RETAILERS Teknosa, Darty, Bimeks, Carrefour, D and R, Sony Centre, Media Markt

TOP DEVELOPERS Sobee Studios, MagiClick Games, Peak Games, TaleWorlds, Ark Game Studios, 2Gen, Kukla Interactive, Insofer, Pixofun, Dyun Studyosu PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION Sony, Ubisoft

TURKEY is a nation driven by the continuing success of digital and free-to-play games, despite controversy over one of the West’s biggest digital hits. According to research outlet SuperData, Turkey comprises 14 per cent of the Eastern Europe digital games market, with an estimated digital games revenue of $434 million (£278m) in 2014. This makes it the secondbiggest country for games in the region behind Russia, which makes up half of the local industry. Turkish gamers play games for longer than their neighbours, sticking with a single game for around three months on average. They are similarly happy to continue spending money on their games, paying for up to 184 days – 30 per cent longer than the Eastern European average. While Turkish gamers pay less per month, the extra time spent

investing in titles means that in total around an extra $20 is spent per player per game. Freeto-play MMOs are particular prosperous in Turkey, faring better in the country compared to Russia in terms of revenue. While both nations are dominated by male players, Russia is actually more femalefriendly; women make up 42 per cent of the Russian market, compared to just 36 per cent in Turkey. Despite Turkey’s passion for digital gaming, not all titles have fared so well. The presence of industry juggernaut Minecraft has faltered in the region after it was threatened with a ban. This followed an investigation by the government’s family and social policies minister Aysenur Islam into the game’s suitability for children, which concluded that the block-building game was fundamentally based on violence.

Turkish gamers play a single title for around three months on average.

July 10th / July 17th 2015

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TURKEY FACTFILE

MEANWHILE IN... AUSTRALIA The Pacific nation infamous for strict censorship has seen more titles outlawed, despite recently relaxing its classification rules IT appears that Australia’s attempts to counter its notoriously prude game classification laws have led to a higher number of titles being banned. Between 1995 and January 2015, 77 games were refused classification in Australia, effectively banning them from sale. In March, the government introduced a new ratings system, working on a 12-month trial period with the International Age Ratings Coalition. In the time since January, over 240 titles have been outlawed by Australia – more than triple the number banned over the preceding two decades

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and an average of around 40 each month. Australia introduced a R18+ category for games in 2013, allowing more adult-orientated games to be sold. However, one title to suﬀer

despite the new addition was Hotline Miami 2, which was banned in January. The designer of the title responded by telling players to pirate the game.

July 10th / July 17th 2015

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION Sponsored by

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OVERSEAS, THEN LOOK NO FURTHER

BELGIUM

CLD DISTRIBUTION Rue du Grand Champs 14 , B 5380 Fernelmont Belgium Tel: +32 81 83 02 02 Fax: +32 81 83 02 09 Email: infos@cld.be Web: www.cld.be home of www.dragonwar.eu & www.mawashi.eu

CYPRUS

SWEDEN

G3 GREAT GAMES LTD 4 Gregoriou Papaﬂessa Street, Oﬃce 101, Engomi, Nicosia 2414, Cyprus. Tel: +357 22 666612 Web: www.greatgames.com.cy

GAME OUTLET EUROPE AB PO Box 5083, S-650 05 Karlstad, Sweden Sales dept: ali.manzuri@gameoutlet.se Sales dept: andreas.lindberg@gameoutlet.se Purchase dept: hamed.manzuri@gameoutlet.se Purchase dept: david.nilsson@gameoutlet.se Web: www.gameoutlet.se

IRAN

BRAZIL Sony Music Entertainment Brasil # 1 Physical Distributor in Brazil Rua Lauro Muller n°. 116 – 40°. Andar Salas 4001 a 4003 Botafogo Rio de Janeiro RJ CEP. 22.290-160 Tel. +55 21 2128-0771 Fax: +55 21 2128-0747 Email : rodrigo.altieri@sonymusic.com Website: www.sonymusic.com.br | www.day1e.com.br

UAE

DC GAMES GROUP No.9, Hemmatian St., Takestan St., Sattarkhan Tehran, Iran Tel: +98-912-1014090 +98-21-44228670 Email: Bahizad@Doostan-Co.com Web: www.Doostan-Co.com

ALESAYI UNITED COMPANY Video Games Distributor in the Middle East, P.O BOX 16999 Jebel Ali Free Zone Dubai U.A.E. Tel: 00971 4 883 5960 Fax: 00971 4 883 5175 Email: marketing@alesayi.ae U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com

NORDIC

WORLDWIDE

WENDROS AB SWEDEN, NORWAY, DENMARK & FINLAND Jakobsdalsvägen 17 12653 Hägersten Sweden Phone: +46 8 51942500 Fax: +46 8 7466790 Email: HM@wendros.se LM@wendros.se Web: www.wendros.se

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED Email: info@click-entertainment.com Web: www.click-entertainment.com Phone: +44 (0)203 137 3781

MCV WORLDWIDE Editorial: + 61 (0)424 967 263 Leigh.Harris@mcvpaciﬁc.com

Advertising: + 61 (0)417 084821 Joel.Vandaal@mcvpaciﬁc.com

WWW.MCVPACIFIC.COM

MORE DISTRIBUTORS AUSTRALIA AFA Interactive, Bluemouth Interactive, Five Star Games, Mindscape, Namco Bandai Partners, Turn Left Distribution BENELUX CLD Distribution, Koch Media, Gameworld Distribution B.V. CANADA E One, Importel, Just4Games, Solutions 2 Go, Vidéoglobe CYPRUS Access, Gibareio, Zilos, Nortec Multimedia CZECH REPUBLIC Cenega, Conquest, Comgad, Playman, ABC Data DENMARK Bergsala, Elpa, Impulse, Koch Media, Nordisk Film Interactive, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision FRANCE Big Ben, Innelec, Koch Media, SDO, Sodifa GREECE Zegatron, CD Media, Namco Bandai Partners, IGE, Nortec, Enarxis, Beacon HUNGARY CNG.hu/Cenega Hungary, CTC Trading, Magnew, PlayON, Stadlbauer ICELAND Sena, Myndform, Samfilm, Ormsson INDONESIA Maxsoft, Uptron, Technosolution IRELAND MSE Group, Baumex JAPAN Ajioka, Happinet, Jesnet NORWAY Bergsala, Game Outlet, Koch Media, Nordic Game Supply, Nordisk Film, Pan Vision POLAND CD Projekt, Cenega, Galapagos, LEM PORTUGAL Ecoplay, Infocapital, Koch Media, Namco Bandai ROMANIA Best Distribution SERBIA ComTrade, Computerland/Iris Mega, Extreme CC SPAIN Digital Bros, Koch Media, Namco Bandai Partners, Nobilis SWEDEN Bergsala, Koch Media, Namco Bandai, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision, Wendros, Ztorm (digital) UAE Red Entertainment Distribution, Pluto Games (LS2 Pluto), Viva Entertainment, Gameplay Entertainment, Geekay Distribution

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM July 10th / July 17th 2015

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OFF THE RECORD

OFF THE RECORD This week, celebs go batty for Arkham Knight, the new Assassin’s Creed slinks around Europe, Gav Murphy hits the big 3-0 and Slitherine takes war (gaming) to Italy

NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA In case you were imprisoned in Arkham Asylum last month, Arkham Knight was finally released, becoming the biggest launch of the year so far. Warner teamed up with celebrities and artists to give the Dark Knight a makeover ahead of his latest outing. The firm partnered with figures including Jonathan Ross, model Jodie Kidd, actor and director Noel Clarke and singer Eliza Doolittle to give them a chance to redesign Bats’ iconic cowl and cape at the Cowl Exhibition at Kachette, Shoreditch. But it wasn’t just stars that made the effort for Arkham Knight’s release; retailers and gamers across the UK also got involved. Several stores hosted midnight launches, with staff and customers donning costumes and holding fundraising efforts.

CREED PLEASER Hot from demonstrating its latest Assassin’s Creed, Syndicate, at this year’s E3 show, Ubisoft brought the stealth title to fans across Europe as part of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: The Tour. Alongside events in Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Sydney and Moscow, gamers who headed to London were treated to a range of activities, including the chance to get hands-on with the same demo available on the E3 show ﬂoor and a theatre demonstration of a brand new gameplay segment. There was also an Assassin’s Creed art gallery and a temporary (or at least, so we’re told) tattooist providing themed Assassin’s Creed tattoos. A Victorian barber oﬀering era-appropriate beard trims was also on hand (or, rather, hair). We can’t fully recall his name, but we think it was Sweeney something...

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July 10th / July 17th 2015

OFF THE RECORD

SIX DEGREES OF AMANDA FARR

THE WEEK IN 140 CHARACTERS

WE SEARCH WIDE AND FARR TO CONNECT XBOX’S HEAD OF CONTENT AND SERVICES WITH THE BACONMEISTER HIMSELF

The Tweets you might have missed in the last seven days @ultrabrilliant Just testing out my new £800 graphics card with Arkham Knight.

Outside of the cinema, KEVIN BACON can be spotted in his ads for mobile ﬁrm EE, the PR for which is handled by...

Andy Kelly, PC Gamer Thursday June 25th

...Fever PR, a former haunt of Nintendo’s JO BARTLETT. She was also employed at John Doe, working with clients like Sony... @SimonMiller316 “You only gave this a high score because you’re obsessed with Batman.” Yeah. I sacriﬁced integrity to protect a fake man who wears a cape.

Simon Miller, Videogamer.com Friday June 26th

...and its head of PR DAVID WILSON, who works alongside oﬃcial PlayStation media outlet PS Access...

@Clert Spent £5 more on DualShock 4 at GAME. But it pays UK tax, supports our industry, employs game-liking people, and is a presence on the High Street.

Robert Purchese, Eurogamer Friday June 26th @BitSocket Got all the videos in Her Story. I feel almost like I achieved something. I achieved delaying the ironing until nearly midnight.

...including host and community manager HOLLIE BENNETT. Before Sony, Bennett found herself at Bandai Namco...

Scott and Joe, Bit Socket Sunday June 28th @ImagineMD The last time I had to wait ten minutes to load/ install a game before I could actually play it - it was The Hobbit on Spectrum 48k. #XboxOne

Damian Butt, Imagine Publishing Thursday July 2nd

...alongside PR and marketing director LEE KIRTON. From 2000 to 2008, he was part of Atari, working for marketing boss...

@dmseto Got a little bit of free time so I’m taking [Dragon Quest character] Healix sight-seeing in Paris.

Dan Seto, Square Enix Europe Thursday July 2nd

...AMANDA FARR, who is currently heading up Xbox’s UK content and services division.

July 10th / July 17th 2015

www.mcvuk.com

OFF THE RECORD

WHEN IN VENICE... Publisher Slitherine held its annual Home of Wargaming gathering late last month, inviting more than 50 of its developers to Italy for three days of conferences, talks and networking. Many of the developers work on medieval titles, meaning that an evening of archery with Middle Age bows went down a treat. Luckily, the evening spent touring a prosecco factory – complete with taste tests – took place the day before the archery, ensuring that no arrows went awry. During the day, it was business as usual, with talks on Twitch, development tips and more stretching for over 12 hours in total.

BEERS AND BEARDS IGN video maestro Gav Murphy hit the grand old age of 30 last month, and to celebrate threw a banger of a party at Dalston’s very own Loading Bar. As with most hip ‘n’ happening parties (we obviously attend plenty) there was a theme, selected by Gav himself. The bearded wonder decided to honour his fantastic facial hair by making the dress code ‘come as your favourite bearded person’. As you can see, Loading responded in style, dressing up the staﬀ as Gav and even getting the bar’s decor itself in on the action. Unfortunately we’re a little short on further details. As Loading owner James Dance told MCV: ““Never has so much Jäger been drunk by so few.”

Reliant Robin. Need I say more?

FuzzieBoy @FuzzieBoy HOVER BIKE!

BATMAN HAS THE BATMOBILE, GHOST RIDER HAS HIS MOTORBIKE – WHAT WOULD YOUR SUPERHERO VEHICLE BE?

A real superhero doesn’t need a vehicle. He makes his way to the crime scene through supernatural transportation.

Amayirot Akago @AmayirotAkago

#GMGASKS

A badass transformer vehicle; a hybrid between a Transformer robot, the Batmobile and Iron Man’s suit.

Mihai T. @tmihai20 The new Batmobile turns into a badass tank so I’ll go with that.

Tecnniqe @Tecnniqe

I would ride on an armoured battle fox, of course.

A GIANT wild boar.

TheFoxGuy @DatFoxGuy

db @dbcher

Nzall @realnzall

A giant Adam SesslerPRELOH WKDW EUHDWKHV À DPHV IURP LWV RUL¿ FHV DQG VFUHDPV

My supervillian vehicle would be a scythe chariot drawn by cybernetically enhanced white ligers.

terminally chill @guru8bit

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Jon @tuxisagamer

A Ford Fiesta.

TechShark @TechTheShark

July 10th / July 17th 2015