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RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET 42 MCV 15/05/09
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[RETAIL REACTION] MOVIE MAGIC AT RETAIL
MCV offers a weekly digest of the latest news on the High Street...
AS HOLLYWOOD’S traditional blockbuster season begins to build momentum, evidence that film licences are still a key area of the games market is evident everywhere. Half of the titles in the Top 10 of the Indie Charts are connected to movie properties, led by the newly released X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Marking a triumph for indies over larger retailers, Wolverine actually managed to secure the top two positions over Nintendo’s Wii Fit – a feat it was unable to achieve at mainstream retail. Interestingly, the other film-based titles in the Indie Charts, Riddick and The Godfather II, aren’t even connected to any recent silver screen releases, and yet have gone on to sell
SONY TO PUBLISH GHOSTBUSTERS Sony has negotiated a surprise 11th-hour deal to publish the official Ghostbusters game throughout PAL territories in June. A Sony spokesperson told MCV: “We will be releasing the title on June 19th, for PS3 and PS2, to co-incide with the release of the Blu Ray movie from Sony Pictures.” A PSP version will follow from Sony in the autumn. MCV understands that the title will still arrive on Xbox 360, DS and Wii, published by Atari. A rep from the publisher told MCV these SKUs will arrive later this year. HOME RETAIL GROUP PROFITS FALL BY 24 PER CENT Home Retail Group saw its profits slashed by a quarter, as the recession hit its Argos and Homebase brands. Profits at the group fell to £328m for the year to February 28th. However, the group recorded a loss of £402m due to write downs of £694m and what it described as 'onerous' lease charges. Total group sales fell to £5.9bn, with like for like sales at Argos falling by 4.8 per cent. Gross profit margins at the retailer were also heavily hit, down 100 points.
well – proving the games industry is not as dependent on current box office success as other forms of merchandising. Potentially a prime example of this is Ghostbusters: The Video Game, a title making its way to shelves a full 18 years after the last film. Sony’s last-minute announcement that it will be publishing the game on its own formats, and that these will boast exclusivity for a time, is sure to have an impact on retail - but can help drive PlayStation 3 sales this summer. With one blockbuster release now halved in terms of potential impact – thanks to the 360 and Nintendo versions being delayed until later this year – there is now more room for the likes of Wolverine, Coraline, and the upcoming Transformers, Ice Age, Batman and Harry Potter titles to dominate retail over the coming months. James.Batchelor@intentmedia.co.uk
INDIE CHARTS - ALL FORMATS THIS WEEK
LAST WEEK
1
TITLE/FORMAT
PUBLISHER
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE FORMAT: 360
DEVELOPER: XX PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2
NEW
3
1
WII FIT Wii
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE PS3
4
5
CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: DARK ATHENA PS3
ATARI
5
2
CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: DARK ATHENA 360
ATARI
6
3
THE GODFATHER 2 360
7
6
PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE DS NINTENDO
8
RE
RESIDENT EVIL 5 PS3
9
RE
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2009 PC
10
RE
MARIO KART Wii
£311M RIGHTS ISSUE CONFIRMED BY DSGi DSGi confirmed to the Financial Times that a £311m rights issue is imminent, with the retailer saying the funds raised from it will go towards its store refit programme and alleviating cash flow problems being caused by credit insurers. It said that the move had been forced by its net debt rising quicker than it had anticipated, blaming it on credit insurers withdrawing backing for its purchases. 3D RESIDENT EVIL 5 COMING TO PC EA Sports may be turning its back on boxed PC releases, but rival publisher Capcom has announced that it will be releasing both boxed and digital versions of some of its biggest titles on PC this year. The headline title is next-gen hit Resident Evil 5, which will be released on the platform ‘later in the year’. It will be enhanced with support for Nvidia’s GeForce 3D Vision technology, which will require the use of 3D glasses.
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MCV POLL CAN GAMES CONTINUE TO BE A STRONG PERFORMER ON THE HIGH STREET?
82%
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD NINTENDO
YES
EA
CAPCOM SEGA NINTENDO
Charts compiled by Game Guide/Complete EPOS Solutions. For more information about Complete EPOS Solutions call 01543 370002. For more information about the Game Guide call 01606 836347.
8% NO
10% MAYBE
The industry remains optimistic in MCV’s latest online study, as an overwhelming majority believes games will continue to spell success for bricks and mortar retailers, with only a few naysayers and undecided participants disagreeing.
Take part in MCV’s next poll at www.mcvuk.com
ble at a l i a v All A
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NINTENDO DS, IS A TRADEMARK OF NINTENDO.
“With one blockbuster release now halved in terms of potential impact, there is now more room for the other summer movie titles to dominate retail over the coming months.”