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NEWS
[LEADER] DON’T IGNORE WADA’S WARNING WHEN MCV broke the story that Square Enix was sniffing around Eidos a year ago, it was admittedly a strange rumour. We said as much at the time. But a savvy £80m swoop later has proven Square Enix to be one of the most cunning and surprising companies operating on the global games stage. So CEO Yoichi Wada’s comments to us this week about the potential death of the home console should not to be dismissed as outlandish. He says the trade’s bread and butter sales and distribution forces will be hit hard by the oncoming tidal wave of browser games and online distribution. That’s a given. The many discussions we’ve had in these pages over the last few months – and at the London Games Conference - certainly prove that the power and scope of online forces are clearly not to be underestimated. But will the industry make an absolute transition towards social games and streamed titles? No one is really sure – Wada himself told me that the specific timeline is a bit wooly, and said that there is never a perfect solution where an industry ‘switches cleanly from A to B’.
“Wada isn’t saying we’re doomed. He’s asking how we rise to the challenge.” However a vision where ‘any terminal’ is a games platform isn’t unbelievable. The opportunity for the industry lies during the switch over to that potentially purely digital era. So the lion’s share of the industry in 10 years could be occupied by a TV with built-in Xbox Live, that disc-drive-less PlayStation Phil Harrison once fondly talked about, or a Wii HD – where the HD doesn’t mean hi-def, but a ten terrabyte hard drive. Each would be served by a big, fat internet pipe – and maybe some memory stick-based purchases bought in-store at a GAME download kiosk. Alternatively there’s plenty of scope for the smaller, scrappier upstarts to drive changes at the top level. Only this week, GameStop bought UK-based Jolt to drive its digital strategy, after all. And arguably new streaming services OnLive and Gaikai generate headlines on consumer sites because they are new and exciting and challenge the establishment. Wada himself admits it – and on our cover isn’t saying the industry is doomed, more asking how we rise to the challenge. And I bet he isn’t alone amongst industry CEOs in wanting to find (and maybe buy) businesses that pioneer online gaming who are, in his words, based anywhere in the world. Just look at the big money swoop EA made for Kensington-based Playfish on the same day it said it couldn’t afford 1,500 of its workforce. So while leaders like Wada can forewarn us of the potential broad trends, when it comes to many other things about how the industry harnesses online, all other bets are off. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
Sega kick-starts ‘biggest Publisher sponsors Winter Wonderland and GMTV 250,000 units by Christopher Dring SEGA’S BIGGEST ever marketing campaign, for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, has kicked up a gear in the build up to Christmas. The firm has sponsored the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park with a branded ice rink and a game sampling area – with a total of two million visitors expected to play the game at the event before it closes on January 4th. Mario & Sonic is also sponsoring GMTV/Toonattik until January 10th 2010 with a series of ads between shows. This joins Sega’s main threemonth TV campaign, which features extensive advertising around high rating shows including The X Factor, Coronation Street and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. On top of this the publisher has begun a shopping mall advertising blitz that will run up until Christmas, which includes posters and HD digital screens in key locations. The firm’s cinema campaign is also still on-going, with 30second spots set to appear before upcoming kids
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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games has sold through over a quarter of a million units to date. John Clark, Sega
blockbuster Where The Wild Things Are. “We are delighted with the success of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, which has sold through over a quarter
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of a million units to date,” Sega’s UK MD John Clark told MCV. “Last week saw sales increase 24 per cent week-onweek as our Christmas campaign launched and with
ELSPA applauds new Digital Bill ELSPA HAS come out in support of the Government’s new Digital Economy Bill, which was ushered into Parliament with the Queen’s Speech last week. The Bill officially recognised PEGI as the new ratings system for video games in the UK. It also looked to crackdown on file-sharing. ELSPA director general Michael Rawlinson (pictured) told MCV: “We are happy with the content of the DEB where it refers to the games industry. We are delighted to see the
government including its commitment to PEGI as a single classification system for games. “We are also pleased with the commitment made by the Government via the Bill to tackle the widespread problem of online copyright infringement
through more effective legal action and consumer education. “In principle we support the Government’s efforts to address IP theft through the Bill and we are pleased to see it finally taking the issue seriously. However we understand that there are technical difficulties and consumer sensitivities around the solutions proposed. We hope the Government thinks carefully and listens to all stakeholders while debating this to ensure that creativity is not curtailed and consumers respectful of IP are not punished.”