mcv580 friday 26th march 2010

OUTNOW!OUT

NOW!

IT’S OFFICIAL: supermarketsare the fastest growing gamesretailers in the UK.

According to TNS datapublished by ERA this week,supermarkets took up 17.7 percent of revenue earnedthrough video game software

sales in 2009 – a whopping£328 million. That figure wasjust £210m, 10.1 per cent ofthe market, the year previously.

Online retail also grew itspresence in games slightly –but specialists such as GAMEand Gamestation saw theirmarket share marginally fallfrom 35 per cent in 2008 to33.9 per cent in 2009.

The latest data from TNSalso revealed that supermarketsare now the biggest DVDretailer with 35.7 per centshare of the video sector.They’re also the second largestin music, accounting for 29.3per cent of CD sales last year.

ERA director general KimBayley told MCV the loss of

Woolworths has propelled thegrowth of supermarkets – andshe reckons they will growtheir share in games further.

“Woolworths sales prettymuch migrated either tosupermarkets or online,” shesaid. “Games trends tend tofollow music and DVD, andsupermarkets have beenramping up their games

offering – it wouldn’t surpriseme to see their market share ingames continue to increase. IfI were a supermarket, I wouldbe thinking that if I can get a35 per cent share in DVD, Ican also get that in games.

“But there is a lot morecompetition in the gamesmarket, so supermarkets willprobably not quite reach thesame market share as they doin other entertainment sector.”

But supermarkets are not thecheapest retailers, says ERA.

The average price of softwaresold by the likes of Asda, Tescoand Sainsbury’s was £23.23,much more than generalretailers (£22.44), online(£19.29) or specialists (£20.96).

The overall average price ofa game in 2009 was £21.34,down from £22.99 in 2008.

There has also been a drop inthe total number of gamesoutlets, from 7,609 in 2008 to6,770 last year, due to the fall ofWoolworths and Zavvi.

04 Block not ‘bustedUK MD breaks silence – saystroubled rental chain will notclose down.

04 New ‘3D’ DS announcedNintendo releases first details of DSsuccessor, featuring 3D displays.

06 Batman – 3D’s killer appNew Game Of The Year Edition coulddrive 3D uptake with new technology

REBRANDING ELSPA to thenewer, more accessible UKInteractive EntertainmentAssociation ‘reflects the evolvingnature of the industry’according to director generalMichael Rawlinson.

The UK games industry tradeassociation last week confirmedit will rebrand this summer after20 years as ELSPA.

“We’ve got to move withthis world if we are to remain

relevant to it,” Rawlinson toldMCV. “What is a publisherthese days? It hasn’t been forsome time someone who

commissions someone else tomake games for them – manyof our members own games

developers now, and manydevelopers know they don’thave to go to a big corporationto get their content out. All of

that is blurring. We are nolonger talking about justconsole and PC any more –

people play with mobile apps,in browsers and online.”

Switching from the ELSPAname has been in the workssince September.

Rawlinson said theorganisation will maintain itsthorough stance on piracy,online safety, proactive politicaldialogue and defending gamesfrom unwarranted criticism –but all will be tuned towardsthe new era our industry faces.

UK Interactive Entertainmentcould also get closer to social

issues around games, theimpact the medium has on itsaudience, and might ramp upits services and events.

And yes, UK IEA will have amore diverse membership.

Added Rawlinson:“Announcing the new name isjust the start of a consultativeand open process where wefacilitate the evolution of theindustry’s trade association.

“ELSPA is signalling that it isbecoming inclusive to thewhole industry.”

INCORPORATINGEVERY BUYER � EVERY BRANCH � EVERY INDIE � EVERY WEEK

PERSONNEL 24 RETAIL BIZ 25 NEW RELEASES 32 HIGH STREET 34 CHARTS 36

Issue 580 Friday March 26 2010 £3.25

14 Arts’ attackEA’s Rob Davey discusseshow the publisher is growingits market share

17 Winning FormulaCodemasters’ Jeremy Wigmore talks F1,Bodycount and International Cricket

21 CopycatsWe look at the copy protection andduplication sector’s latest hurdles

THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES

Grocers are now the third-biggest games retailers, accounting for £328m of the market in 2009, says ERA –but it is specialist and online retailers that are pushing the average price of a game down to £21.34 per unit

by Christopher Dring

by Michael French

International Media Partner

Supermarket sweep

Meet the new, ‘inclusive and evolutionary’ UKIE

”Michael Rawlinson

Announcing the newname is just the start.We will be inclusive tothe whole industry.“

”Kim Bayley, ERA

It wouldn’t surprise meto see supermarkets’market share in gamescontinue to increase“ GAMES VS MOVIES VS MUSIC

In its annual yearbook ERA has totalled up the UK sales for thebiggest album, DVD, Blu-ray and game releases of 2009 – and keyvideo games trump major music and movie releases...

1. COD: Modern Warfare 2 Activision 2,926,637 (Game)

2. Harry Potter: Half-Blood Warner 2,193,700 (Video)

3. FIFA 10 EA 2,155,697 (Game)

4. Quantum of Solace Fox 2,040,229 (Video)

5. Twilight E1 Ent. 1,815,543 (Video)

6. I Dreamed A Dream (S.Boyle) Sony 1,714,369 (Album)

7. Wii Sports Resort Nintendo 1,488,797 (Game)

8. The Fame (Lady GaGa) Universal 1,458,289 (Album)

9. Slumdog Millionaire Fox 1,383,838 (Video)

10. Transformers: Fallen Paramount 1,362,020 (Video)

BLOCKBUSTER UK is notclosing any stores and is aprofitable business, insists MDMartin Higgins.

The firm broke its silenceafter news emerged that its USparent could face bankruptcy.

MCV also reported last weekthat Blockbuster is looking tosell its UK arm.

However, Higgins has deniedanalyst statements that the firm

is closing stores in order to helpfacilitate a sale.

“There is no major store-closing programme going on,”Higgins told MCV.

“I don’t have any stores inthe UK right now losing moneyto the extent that it is worthclosing them.

“In the normal course ofevents, we have closed somestores. In 2006 we had 700stores, and we now have just

over 640. With a store portfolioof this scale you will alwayshave some shops lose moneythat you sell to someone else,or isn’t right for you.”

Following news thatBlockbuster has appointedsomeone to sell its UKbusiness, MCV was contactedto say a deal was at an‘advanced stage.’

Higgins says that although heis not directly involved in thesale of the business, news of an

imminent sale is not somethinghe is aware of.

“Someone is making it up,and if they’re not making it up,it’s news to me,” he added.

“The company has stated itwants to dispose of itsinternational businesses andhas decided to sell them.

“This is a good company, itis profitable, it doesn’t have anydebt and is robust. Our profitsare up nearly 18 per cent, and

there are not many retailers inthe UK able to say that.

“We run a separate legalentity over here. If our parentcompany does go intobankruptcy we would trade onas normal.

4 MCV 26/03/10 WWW.MCVUK.COM

UKIE OKAY?Does the new name sound funny?At the moment, for sure.

Does it mean anything? Not yet.But it could do. And that, of course,is the challenge for any re-brand.

“We’ll just have to make sure thateveryone refers to us solely as UK

Interactive Entertainment and not UKIE if we can,”said one wise but worried owl at ELSPA’s last supper.

Yeah, right…I would suggest a more pragmatic attitude. UK

Interactive Entertainment is perfectly acceptable asthe new name. UKIE? People will get used to it.

After all, we dealt with Nintendo choosing Wii as aconsole name and that was proper mental.

There are a variety of very good reasons for thegames trade body to switch its name.

Strategically, the powers behind the ELSPA thronerealise that the games business is changing. Linesbetween development and publishing are blurringand routes to market are widening. Now is theperfect time for a re-think.

Practically, a change is needed to aid universalrepresentation to Government and basic funding.

Post-Byron Review, we are firmly on Westminster’sradar. I was wedged between Culture, Media andSport secretary Ben Bradshaw’s longtime politicaladvisor and a trusted DCMS worker bee at theBAFTAs last week.

It used to be a pissed-up PR and a bored financedirector. Things have changed.

COME MANY, COME ALL?Whoever wins the next election, Government isclearly prepared to get a lot closer to games and, ifit can, even help the industry.

But it would prefer one trade body, and is a littleuncomfortable that ELSPA, whilst being efficient andintelligent, would appear to only have a remit toserve the interests of traditional publishers.

A more inclusive UKIE could also see off the threatof companies from the app or social media spacesetting up their own body. It’s frustrating enoughthat TIGA likes to paddle its own canoe.

And if a single trade body is going to provide theservices required by a £4 billion sector (such asresearch and training, let alone political liaison) thenit needs more cash, which means more members.

Studios, retailers, services, media, distributors andhardware makers… your voice may be about to get alittle louder in the corridors of power.

[email protected]

[LEADER]

NEWS

Business as usual atRental giant insists no UK stores will be closed � ‘We are a profitable


“A more inclusive UKIE couldsee off the threat of companiesfrom the app, browser or socialmedia games space setting up

their own body.”

”Martin Higgins, Blockbuster

This is a good company, it isprofitable, it doesn’t have anydebt and is robust. It’sbusiness as usual for me.“

A true successor to theNintendo DS is on theway – the 3DS.

Nintendo announcedthe new device just asMCV went to press.

The firm said: “Gamescan be enjoyed with 3Deffects without the needfor any special glasses.”

The new handheldconsole will bebackwards compatiblewith older DS games andis due to be launchedbefore March next year.

More details will berevealed at E3 2010 inLA this June.

NEW ‘3D’ DSANNOUNCED

0

5

10

15

20

25

30 Total UK Software SalesSource: ELSPA/ChartTrack and Intent Media

Week Ending March 5th Week Ending March 12th

£22.8m967,040Units

Week Ending March 19th

1,043,211Units

£26.5m

� This week’s UK software sales dropped 24 percent to £20m, while total units were down 19 percent to 841,092.

� The market was driven by Sony’s flagshiprelease God of War III, which took No.1 in the AllFormats chart. Other new releases Metro 2033,Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening and Commandand Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight also debutedhighy in their respective format charts.

� A whole host of big new titles hit UK storestoday (Friday, March 26th), including PokémonHeartGold and SoulSilver, plus Just Cause 2,Red Steel 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTYEdition, which should drive sales over thecoming week.

Your weekly guide to the UKgames software market…

[WEEKLY MARKET VALUE]

GOD OF MORE: Sony’s third God of War title reached No.1

841,092Units

£20.0m

Week Ending March 19th 2010

£20.0m

WWW.MCVUK.COM MCV 26/03/10 5

NEWS

Blockbusterbusiness without any debt,’ says UK MD

UK SOFTWARE SALES MONITOR

SUPER STREETFIGHT IV+ T-SHIRTPS3, CAPCOM

[PRE ORDERS]

2. JUST CAUSE 2: LIMITED ED360 ................................SQUARE ENIX

3. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT360 ......................................CAPCOM

4. JUST CAUSE 2: LIMITED EDPS3 ................................SQUARE ENIX

5. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION + T-SHIRT360 ......................................UBISOFT

6. RESONANCE OF FATEPS3 ..........................................SEGA

7. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION + LONG T360 ......................................UBISOFT

8. POKÉMON HEARTGOLDDS ......................................NINTENDO

9. POKÉMON SOULSILVERDS ......................................NINTENDO

10. FORMULA 1 2010PS3 ..............................CODEMASTERS

Week ending: March 19thSource: SHOPTO.COM

TOP 10

� Turn to page 35 for morepre-order charts fromleading online retailers

Slim Xbox 360 to bebundled with Natal?

MICROSOFT is rumoured tobe readying an Xbox 360 slimunit that could launch withProject Natal this year.

The trimmed-down modelwould arrive to help prolongthe lifecycle of the console,and could be released as abundle at retail with Natal.

Reports over a redesignedXbox 360 surfaced last weekwhen pictures of a newmotherboard appeared online,as well as rumours of Xbox360s becoming compatiblewith external hard drives.

Analyst Nick Parker toldMCV: “The slim version willprobably include otherimprovementsin a move toprolong thelifecycle of theXbox 360 as abrand.

“Likeanything itssuccess willdepend on itsprice, but ofcourse it doesmake sense forMicrosoft tooffer a bundlewith Natal.”

When asked about thepossibility of an Xbox 360slim, a spokesperson said:“Microsoft does not commenton rumour or speculation.”

2010 is set to be a majoryear for Xbox, with severalnew titles such as Halo:Reach, Fable III andCrackdown 2 scheduled forrelease alongside the firm’sProject Natal.

Microsoft’s European bossChris Lewis previously toldus: “2010 is set to be thebiggest in Xbox history and amajor year for the gamesindustry, where we willwitness a fundamental changein the way we experience andshare entertainment with

each other.”The

computer gianthas alsoconfirmed thatProject Natal willbe availablebefore Christmas,and is likely to goon sale duringNovember orDecember 2010.

MCVunderstands itcould be sold foras little as £50.

by Dominic Sacco

“At Blockbuster it’s businessas usual for me.”

Blockbuster US revealed lastweek its concern that“increasingly competitiveindustry conditions” meansthere is “substantial doubt

about our ability to continue asa going concern”.

The firm reported a $434.9mloss in Q4 last year. Its US armis said to have debts of $1bn.Blockbuster:

01895 258866

Blockbuster’s UK boss MartinHiggins has dismissed reportsthat the firm is closing storesin preparation for a sale


NEWS

NINTENDO will ramp up itsmarketing efforts this weekendfor new DS titles PokémonHeartGold and SoulSilver.

The company has alreadyrun an extensive pre-launchcampaign for the two remakes,which releases today (Friday,March 26th).

Now the platformholder is set tobegin the secondphase of itspromotionalpush, and aretrying to engagewith both

newcomers and former fansthat have strayed from thepopular franchise.

“Our marketing activitykicked off two weeks beforethe games’ release, buildingpre-launch awareness amongstthe established fanbase,” saidNintendo’s marketing assistant

Vanisha Kavia.“There will befurther TV andonline support fromlaunch through tothe end of April thatwill be targeted atlapsed fans and

those that have never playedPokémon games before.”

The renewed burst of TVactivity will feature kids agedeight to 14 years old and 16-to 24-year-old lapsed fansdiscussing their favouritePokémon memories. Thesesoundbites will form twoseparate 20-second TV spots.

Online ads will continue torun across numerous specialistgaming sites, dropping thefocus on pre-orders in favour ofa more general ‘available instores now’ message. Nintendo: 01753 483700

Post-launch Pokémonmarketing burst begins

NINTENDO ISN’T the onlycompany eyeing innovativenew 3D games technology.

The firm behind the 3Delements in today’s re-release ofBatman: Arkham Asylum saysits cheaper technology candrive rapid acceptance ofgames with added on-screendepth elements.

Batman: Arkham AsylumGame of the Year Edition hitstoday, and includes a set ofnew challenge maps on thedisc – but most importantly itfeatures an integrated 3D modewith two pairs of colour-tintedglasses in the box.

The game uses French studioDarkworks’ TriOviz’s 3D SDK.Unlike other 3D systems it

doesn’t require an expensiveTV – one of the currentbarriers around 3D content inthe home.

The team behind the techsay it’s a decent compromisebetween consumer demand for3D content and what gamersand the industry can afford.

“There are all types ofpeople wanting to get into3D,” said Grady Hannah,

business development directorat the studio.

“Currently we are interestedin working with those extendingtheir brand. But once we’vedone that and got over theperception issues around 3D,the industry can start thinkingabout original content.”

Darkworks’ product andinnovation manager Alexis

Arragon added: “Hardly anyconsumers have those expensive3D TV sets – this is a good firststep before that.

“For publishers, developersand players, Batman: ArkhamAsylum will be the first easystep into 3D. And once moreand more people start playingin 3D and watching content in3D, they will want more.”

TriOviz’s glasses featurepatented magenta and greentint lenses in order to minimisecolours being washed out on-screen. Cardboard versions canbe manufactured to insert ingame boxes.

But Darkworks is alsolooking at producing moredurable plastic pairs that can bereleased and bundled withDLC codes.

“That’s a great way forpublishers and retailers to earnmore and make extra revenue,”said Hannah.

“Our 3D functions can beeasily patched into a game viadownload so there are lots ofways the industry andconsumers can experience 3D.” games.trioviz.com

Can Batman be 3D’s killer app?by Michael French

MIYAMOTO, UNCHARTED 2 ANDBATMAN SWEEP GAME BAFTAS

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, Uncharted 2 and Batman: ArkhamAsylum were the stars of this year’s GAME British Academyvideo game awards.

Uncharted 2 picked up four awards for Action, Story, Scoreand Use of Audio, while Batman: Arkham Asylum was namedBest Game. Miyamoto received the BAFTA Fellowship Award.

Firm behind new tech in Game of the Year SKU says game can drive 3D uptake � Retail 3D bundles next?

”Alexis Arragon, Darkworks

Hardly any consumers havethose expensive 3D TV sets –this serves as a good firststep before that.“

Batman’s new technology could prove to be a key factor in drivinginterest and consumer attachment in the emerging 3D market


NEWS

505 GAMES’ Americanfootball title Backbreaker is tobe sold exclusively via GAMEon Xbox 360 and PS3.

And the iPhone edition ofthe game – Backbreaker:Tackle Ally – features a link socustomers can instantly pre-order the console version fromGAME websites.

The iPhone game is alreadyavailable and marks the firsttime a mobile title has beenused to encourage pre-sales ofits console counterpart.

Kathryn Hinton, head ofthird party buying at GAMEsaid: “We are pleased to be

working with 505 Games asthe exclusive retail partner anddelighted to promote it via theiPhone version.

“It’s a perfect example ofhow we intend to embracenew digital technology inorder to inform and engagewith our customers.”

The console edition ofBackbreaker is developed byNaturalMotion, and makes useof its Euphoria engine, whichsimulates realistic movementin player animations.

The technology has alsoappeared in GTA IV and TheForce Unleashed.

“Backbreaker is a trulygroundbreaking title that 505Games are proud to bring tothe UK market,” said 505Games’ commercial directorRalph Pitt-Stanley.

“The tech demos alone havecaused quite a stir when theywere first released and we arepleased to add Backbreaker tothe library of successful 505Games titles.”

Backbreaker will go on saleon May 28th for Xbox 360and PS3, and will be availableexclusively at GAME stores.505 Games:

01908 607772

GAME secures Backbreaker exclusive

PUBLISHING giant Sega hasdefended PC gaming, calling ita strong and vital market forthe games industry.

Physical retail sales of PCgames are continuing to slidein 2010, but Sega’s UK MDJohn Clark says that isn’t a fairrepresentation of the market –

with digital sales nowaccounting for a largeproportion of revenue.

“The PC market is third interms of its year-on-yearperformance with a decline of26 per cent, but this doesn’treally reflect the full picture,”said Clark.

“The PC digital downloadbusiness is now a viable sectorbut somewhat invisible as it’snot yet covered by Chart-Track.The PC market overall is

actually performing muchbetter than is currentlyreported and remains a vitaland strong sector to beinvolved in.”

Sega was the second biggestUK PC publisher in 2009, with12 per cent share of the market.

Meanwhile, year-to-date in2010 the company has a 12.8per cent share of the PC games

sector. This wasboosted bythe strongperformancelast month of Aliensvs Predator, Napoleon: TotalWar, as well as continued salesof Football Manager 2010.

“Last month’s PC chartillustrates Sega’s position withinthis sector,” added Clark.

“Napoleon: Total War,Football Manager 2010 andAliens vs Predator are three

different styles of game fromthree different genres. Theycan all drive a strong,community fan base with theability to consistently deliver

endless hours of gameplay.Incidentally, they are alldeveloped in the UK.

“For 2009, Sega was rankedthe second biggest PC

publisher in the market. In2010 year-to-date, we are onceagain ranked second. Long mayit continue.”Sega: 020 8995 3399

Sega backs PC games market‘PC sales are much stronger than reported,’ says UK boss � AvP and Football Manager sell big in February


Backbreaker is the first title to drive pre-sales via an iPhone game

Sega maintains the PC market is still viable when the success of digital downloads is taken into account

”John Clark, Sega

The PC market is actuallyperforming much better thanis currently reported andremains a vital, strong sector.“


NEWS

VIDEO GAMES are to play akey role in HMV’s upcomingEaster campaign, which willpromote a wide range ofentertainment products.

The retailer is gearing up forwhat it considers to be animportant sales period withstrong advertising in the worksfor its high-profile activity.

“Easter is very much upthere now with the likes ofChristmas, Valentine’s andhalf-term as a key trading

period for us,” said HMV’shead of games Tim Ellis.

“As ever, customers will belooking for great-value deals,but I think they’re also lookingto be engaged by retailers, soour campaign is purposefully

fun, playful and family-focused, with some great offersin there as part of the mix.”

All ads will bear the tagline‘Have a cracking Easter’, andfeature several iconiccharacters, stars and artists in

egg form, includingrecognisable faces from thegames industry such as Marioand Sonic.

HMV’s advertising willencompass a mixture of in-store and window POS, aswell as online and press adsdriving consumers to stores.

Games will also be stronglyrepresented in the product andprice promotions, such asPokémon HeartGold andSoulSilver. The DS games willbe highlighted as lead titles in

the campaign, with HMVoffering buyers an exclusivefree DS carry case.

The Easter push will arrivehot on the heels of its currentsales campaign: ‘Boom –smashing prices’. Thispromotion has seen a range ofreductions across films, musicand games, such as DJ Heroretailing at £49.99.

The ‘Boom’ campaign willcontinue to run through Easterand beyond.HMV: 020 7432 2000

by James Batchelor

F1 game to drive Codies’ 2010 game plansCODEMASTERS expects F12010 to follow the success ofits 2009 Wii and DS racingtitle, F1 2009.

The game leads a string ofupcoming titles from theBritish publisher includingDiRT 3, International Cricket2010, FPS Bodycount and anew Race Driver: GRID overthe coming years.

Codies presented the gameto specialist, general and sportsmedia at a showcase event inLondon last week.

Journalists and critics hadthe chance to preview some

new features and play throughsome early tracks, as well asspeak to developers.

F1 2009 spent 17 weeks inthe Wii Top 10. The publisheris hoping the latest entry in itsrecently-acquired F1 licencewill deliver further success atretail for the company.

UK general manager JeremyWigmore said: “I was quotedin MCV saying that I was‘gobsmacked’ by the quality ofF1 2009.

“I also said to retailers thatthis was going to sell. And itdid. But I think moving F1

2010 to next-gen formats isthe right decision.

“What we learnt from DiRT2 is that there is definitely a

cannibalisation of a certaintype of product on the Wii.”

F1 2010 adds a sprinkling ofnew features to the franchise

including real-time weathereffects, revised driver AI,access to specialist F1 steeringwheel buttons and the abilityto make decisions as a driverthroughout their career.

F1 2010 is expected to bereleased on Xbox 360, PC andPS3 this September, towardsthe end of the F1 season.� Read MCV’s full interviewwith Codemasters’ generalmanager Jeremy Wigmore andF1 brand director HayleyHolland on Page 17.Codemasters:

01926 814132

HMV pushes games inEaster ad campaignEntertainment retailer draws on iconic games characters for April promotional push

”Tim Ellis, HMV

Our campaign is purposefullyfun, playful and family-focused, with some greatoffers in there.“

Codemasters showcased F1 2010 to key media on next-gen consoles

Indies hailDisney’snew line-upDISNEY’S 2010 gamesline-up has been widelypraised by retailersattending CentreSoft’sIndependent Retail Event.

The showcase took placelast month, and featuredupcoming Disney productsToy Story 3 andSplit/Second: Velocity.

“The Disney retailer daywas a fantastic insight intothe new Disney vision andalso a great opportunity tosee their strong line up,” saidShopTo’s James Rowson.

“With Split/Second,Epic Mickey, Toy Story 3and Tron amongst the standout titles it was the perfectchance to take advantage ofthe benefits of being in theDisney Retailer Scheme.”

Xbite’s Nick Whiteheadadded: “Disney gave a verygood insight for theirproducts for the up andcoming year. They certainlyseem to be taking thegames industry seriouslyand have a diverse range ofproducts to add to theirsolid back catalogue.”Centresoft:

0121 625 3822

A CRACKING EASTER:HMV’s advertisingcampaign will featuresome famous eggheads

GAMESTOP: Like-for-likesales for fiscal 2009 fell by7.9 per cent, but still ranks asthe retailer’s second bestyear ever. Total sales wereup 3.1 per cent at $9.08bn,but net earnings were down5.3 per cent at $377.3m.

SONY: The God of WarCollection has beenconfirmed for a UK release.The PS3 compilation ofrevamped PS2 titles willarrive on April 30th andbear an RRP of £24.99.

SQUARE ENIX: FinalFantasy XIII has become theseries’ fastest-selling gamein the UK, as well as thefastest-selling game of theyear in Germany and France.The franchise has sold morethan 96m units globally.

ROCKSTAR: The PS3 andPC editions of GTA IV:Episodes From Liberty Cityhave been delayed fromtheir original March 30threlease to April 16th.

EA: Battlefield: BadCompany 2 sold more than2.3 million units in its firsttwo weeks on sale. Thepublisher also claims it’s thebest-selling March release onrecord in Western countries.

WARNER BROS: The Lordof the Rings: War Of TheNorth will be released forXbox 360, PS3 and PC, as aco-operative action RPG.


NEWS

Brits spend £195m on MMOs

UK PLAYERS of MassivelyMultiplayer Online gamesspent £195m on them lastyear, a report has found.

The Today’s Gamers MMOFocus Report also revealed thatthere are over four millionMMO players in Britain, andthat UK gamers spent morethan any other Europeancountry on the genre last year– despite the fact thatGermany has almost sixmillion MMO gamers.

World of Warcraft andRuneScape were found to bethe most popular online MMO

games in the UK, with threequarters of a million playersbetween them.

Head of communications forJagex, Adam Tuckwell toldMCV: “The MMO market isbecoming increasingly popularand we feel confident it will

continue to grow both in theUK and globally.

“RuneScape is popular inthe UK for the same reasons itis popular elsewhere. Thegame is free-to-play, instantlyaccessible on low-spec PCs andmost importantly has

thousands of hours ofcompelling gameplay.”

The report also revealedBrits spent an average £10.60per month on MMOs. Morethan 90 per cent of this budgetis spent directly online.

Despite these vast sums,only 38 per cent of UK gamerspay to play, with the majorityopting for free online games.Of the total £195m, £95m wasspent on monthly or annualsubscriptions, £75m on virtual

items, currency or other micro-transactions and the remaining£25m on boxed products andonline downloads.

Total spending figures forGermany and France followedclose behind the UK with£165m and £145mrespectively. However Americaled with a whopping £2.55bnfrom 46m gamers, bringing thetotal worldwide MMOconsumer spending to £3bn.www.todaysgamers.com

by Dominic Sacco

LATEST NEWSSTRAIGHT TO YOUR MOBILE

Bookmark us in your phone:MOBILE.MCVUK.COM

Sponsored by

UK gamers spent more on MMOs than any other European country, claims new report

Blue Ocean DSiXL packs sell outTHE FIRST batch of BlueOcean DSi XL accessory packshave sold out in just a week.

The range first launchedless than 18 months ago andhas already established itself inthe GfK Chart-Track top tenfor Nintendo third partyaccessory labels.

Distributor KochMedia’s new mediamanager Ben Jones said:“We are forecastingstrong sales of both DSiXL hardware and thirdparty-related accessories

up until Nintendo releasestheir next portable machine.”

Blue Ocean is theaccessories division of KochMedia, and produces licensedperipherals based on brandssuch as Peppa Pig, withproducts available at retailers. Koch: 0870 027 0985

Skyskraper launchesseeding ad experimentDIGITAL AD agency Skyskraperhas launched an experimental‘seeding’ campaign to show thebenefits of using all forms ofmedia in games marketing.

The company is calling onpublishers to register a name,email and Twitter account atGrowmythoughts.com.Registering will plant a ‘seed’ ina virtual landscape.

Skyskraper will then simulatea wide-reaching campaign thatuses a mix of online ads andsocial media. As the campaigngenerate more hits, the ‘seed’

grows into a variety of differentplants, depending on which adsprove to be more effective.

The seeding campaign willlast for four weeks.Skyskraper: 020 7252 3288

”Adam Tuckwell, Jagex

The MMO market is becomingincreasingly popular and wefeel it will continue to growboth in the UK and globally.“

Skyskraper will present firmswith stats on the seeds’ growth

The UK has the largest European market share of MMO gamers

NEWS


TV/MEDIAThere will be a ten-dayprimetime TV sponsorshipcampaign appearing onDave and Bravo, featuring30-second promotionalspots and bumpers.

High-profile footballmatches will include a 60-second Just Cause 2 TVspot on Sky Pub. This willrun across two Manchester

United games, againstLiverpool and Chelsea.

Video-on-demandservices have also beentargeted, with advertisingscheduled across 4OD,Demand 5 and Perform.

RETAILJust Cause 2 will have extraexposure in store, withwindow ads, extensive

racking and a range of POSretail material.

PRINTSquare Enix will continue torun advertising across printtitles, following on from afour-month ‘tease andreveal’ campaign whichbegan in December andintroduced gamers to newinformation about the game.

ONLINEA two-month web campaignwill reach IGN, following onfrom adverts whichpromoted the release of theJust Cause 2 demo at thestart of March.

High-impact homepagetakeovers will also appearon specialist gaming sitesincluding Eurogamer, CVGand Games Radar.

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Action extravaganza JustCause 2 gets acomprehensive marketingcampaign courtesy ofSquare Enix…

JUST CAUSE 2

Released 25th June 2010

15 days © 2010 dtp entertainment AG. All rights reserved. Developed by House of Tales. Distributed by Lace Mamba Global Ltd. All company names, brand names, trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.

For sales contact:Glenn Hayes t: 07919 415 728e: [email protected]

“Perfect sound combined with a good story results in a great atmosphere. 15 days is an excellent adventure for fans of the genre”

- GamingXP

RELEASED: OUT NOW

FORMATS: PS3, XBOX 360, PC

PUBLISHER: SQUARE ENIX

DEVELOPER: AVALANCHE STUDIOS

PRICE: £34.99 – £49.99

DISTRIBUTOR: CENTRESOFT

CONTACT: 0121 625 3818

UK MONTHLY CHARTS: FEBRUARY


[SOURCE]

(c) ELSPA, Compiled by ChartTrack

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY COMPANY (VALUE)

1 1 – ELECTRONIC ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.5%2 5 � SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.3%3 3 – NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.0%4 2 � UBISOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3%5 8 � TAKE-TWO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.0%6 7 � SONY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9%7 4 � ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7%8 6 � THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7%9 9 – MICROSOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5%10 12 � DISNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY COMPANY (UNITS)

1 1 – ELECTRONIC ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4%2 2 – UBISOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.8%3 5 � SEGA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4%4 3 � NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4%5 8 � TAKE-TWO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2%6 7 � SONY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1%7 4 � ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8%8 6 � THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1%9 9 – MICROSOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3%10 11 � DISNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3%

THIS MONTH

LASTMONTH

THIS MONTH

LASTMONTH

ALL FORMATS TOP 501 ALIENS VS PREDATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC, 360, PS3

2 JUST DANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UBISOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII

3 BIOSHOCK 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TAKE-TWO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC, 360, PC

4 CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PC, DS

5 HEAVY RAIN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SONY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3

6 FIFA 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PS2, WII, PSP, DS, PSP

7 WII SPORTS RESORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII

8 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII

9 MASS EFFECT 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PC

10 WII FIT PLUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII

11 DANTE’S INFERNO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, PSP, 360

12 MARIO & SONIC AT THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES . . . . . . SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII, DS

13 JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR: THE GAME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UBISOFT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, WII, PSP, DS, PC

14 FORZA MOTORSPORT 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MICROSOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

15 LEGO BATMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WARNER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, WII, DS, PSP, PS3, PS2, PC

16 MARIO KART WII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII

17 ARMY OF TWO: THE 40TH DAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC, 360, PS3

18 BAYONETTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, 360

19 MAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SONY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WPS3

20 ASSASSIN’S CREED II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UBISOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, DS

21 PEPPA PIG: THE GAME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UBISOFT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS

22 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROCKSTAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PC

23 VANCOUVER 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PC

24 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS

25 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC, PSP

26 UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SONY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3

27 MX VS ATV REFLEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PSP, DS

28 BORDERLANDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2K GAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PC

29 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KONAMI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, 360, PC

30 SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEGA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, WII, DS, PC

31 THE SIMS 3: DESIGN & HIGH-TECH STUFF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC

32 WII PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII

33 MADDEN NFL 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, WII

34 DARKSIDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3

35 PURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DISNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PC

36 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, WII, DS

37 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SPIRIT TRACKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS

38 UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, WII, DS, PS2, PSP, PC

39 NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, 360, PC, PSP

40 DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PC

41 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACTIVISION BLIZZARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WII, PS3, 360, PC, DS

42 LEGO INDIANA JONES 2: ADVENTURE CONTINUES . . . . . LUCASARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS, WII, 360. PS3, PSP, PC

43 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PS3, 360, WII

44 GTA EPISODES: LIBERTY CITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROCKSTAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

45 ASSASSIN’S CREED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UBISOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, DS, PC

46 THE SIMS 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC

47 OPERATION FLASHPOINT: DRAGON RISING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CODEMASTERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360, PS3, PC

48 MARIO KART DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NINTENDO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS

49 STAR TREK ONLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ATARI/NAMCO BANDAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC

50 LEGO INDIANA JONES: ORIGINAL ADVENTURES . . . . . . . . LUCASARTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DS, WII, 360. PS3, PSP, PS2, PC

February favouritesSega’s Aliens vs Predator ripped up the charts last month, but it was also a great month for EA, Ubisoft,Sony and Take-Two. MCV takes a closer look at the winners and losers during February...

THE BIG games of February may havebelonged to Sega, Ubisoft and Take-Two,but it was EA that emerged as thebiggest publisher last month.

The publisher’s vast back cataloguedrove sales, with FIFA 10, Mass Effect 2and Dante's Inferno the key products.

Sega was the highest riser in thepublisher rankings, courtesy of February'sbiggest seller: Aliens vs Predator.Continued sales of Vancouver 2010,Bayonetta and Mario & Sonic were alsoa boost for the Japanese publisher lastmonth. Meanwhile, Just Dance,

BioShock 2 and Heavy Rain helpedUbisoft, Take-Two and Sony increasetheir market share.

However, there were small falls forNintendo, Codemasters, Activision andTHQ, with no new titles from the threepublishers breaking into the Top 50.

In terms of units of games sold lastmonth, Wii was the most popularplatform. However, with many Wii gameson sale at budget prices (including JustDance and Wii Fit Plus), Xbox 360 wasthe most successful platform in terms ofthe value of games sold last month.

For sales contact:Glenn Hayes tel: 07919 415 728email: [email protected]

How do EA’s numbers for 2010compare to 2009?From a UK sell-through perspective upto and including week 10, it’sfavourable. The latest Chart-Tracknumbers put us growing our share from15.5 per cent to 19.1 per cent, a 3.6per cent year-on-year points growth.

That’s a very pleasing performance inthe first quarter of the year, in whatcontinues to be a very challenging localmarket. What is particularly pleasing isthat this is a continuationof the share growth thatwe saw throughout lastyear – over the last 12months, we managed torecapture the No.1 UKpublisher position growingour share by 3.1 per centpoints to 17.9 per cent.

Some have predicted another yearof annual decline in 2010. Did youpredict EA’s year-on-year growth inlast year’s forecasts?I don’t think anyone thought the marketwould be as challenging as it turned outto be in 2009. We were confident inour release schedule, go-to-marketstrategy and the quality of relationshipswithr key retail partners to re-establishourselves as the UK’s No.1 publisher,which we succeeded in doing. Andeveryone’s really pleased with that.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 shot toNo.1 when it was released, and isthe second best-selling game of theyear so far. How does this compareto your expectations?In the current climate, game quality,heritage and consumer awareness arekey to success. A high-impact marketingcampaign allowed us to build on thereal confidence we had internally onfantastic game quality which wasreflected in the pre-order and demo

download numbers we saw. Battlefield:Bad Company 2 exceeded our weekone forecast and the word of mouth ongame quality helped us hold up theweek two numbers to a much greaterdegree than many other Q1 titles.

What other titles have performedfor you this year so far?Mass Effect 2 was a fantastic game thatdelivered to the top end of ourprojections. The guys at BioWaresucceeded in delivering a superb gamingexperience that has again proven thatquality really counts.

What about your new IP, Dante’sInferno?The current market makes theestablishment of new IP challenging asconsumers are perhaps more risk-aversethan they otherwise would be. ButDante’s Inferno proved itself with solidperformance for a new IP, which givesus a firm platform to continue to engageand excite consumers via PDLC. Ourstudio, Visceral, are very credible in thehorror genre – building on a reputation

for high quality which theyestablished with DeadSpace and continued withDante’s Inferno. Their nextoffering, Dead Space 2, isshaping up to be a realcrowd-pleaser.

Do you think you can keep the paceup throughout the rest of the year?What will be your key releases?2010 is shaping to be a continuation ofthe strong and varied line up welaunched in 2009. Football will again bea core focus for us, both on the mainproduct and in the form of the WorldCup SKUs that we will launch in April.Need for Speed is in a strong place andwith the development sitting in theCriterion team and their fantasticheritage in the Burnout series, I thinkthat’s reason for huge optimism. Medalof Honor is a welcome return and we

MCV INTERVIEWROB DAVEY, EA UK SALES DIRECTOR


New numbers from GfK Chart-Track show that EA was the number one UKpublisher in February. Ben Parfitt spoke to EA’s UK sales director Rob Daveyon the publisher’s strong start to the year and what it plans for retail in 2010…

Top at the shops

COMING SOON….EA has an extensive line-up of games due over the next couple of years, including new titles in The Sims, Skate and Battlefield franchises. Below is a selection of

2010 FIFA World Cup South AfricaPS3, PSP, Xbox 360April 30th

FIFA reached new heights with FIFA 10last year, and the franchise is back aftersix-months with this World Cup tie-in.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11PS3, Xbox 360, WiiJuly

Tiger Woods returns in July. The golfsim’s popularity has risen after reachingNo.1 in the All Formats Charts last year.

FIFA 11Various formatsOctober TBC

EA’s football behemoth will returnbefore the end of the year. Expectationsare high following FIFA 10’s success.

Need For SpeedVarious formats2010

Little is known about EA’s next consoleNeed For Speed other than itsdeveloper, Burnout’s Criterion.

”Rob Davey, EA

We’re confident of our strongline-up but are mindful of acompetitive field, so we’re byno means complacent.“

have high hopes that the franchise canre-establish itself within a verycompetitive genre – the success of BadCompany 2 augers well for this.

There’s a significant opportunity totake EA Sports Active to a new levelthis year with authentic keep-fithardware such as a heart-rate monitorand a new wireless control system.Tiger Woods 11, we’ve announced, willfeature the Ryder Cup licence for thefirst time, iwith the addition of RoryMcllroy. This gives us the opportunity towork with high profile local talent.

The Sims 3 will of course be aconsistent focus for us – furtherdevelopments will be announced in duecourse. Calendar Q2 will also see uslaunching Skate 3, a title that has wonover consumers in that genre throughits incredible authenticity and quality.

There are many moreannouncements to come on our 2010line up, some of which will be made atour EA Showcase at the end of April.We’re really confident we have a strongline-up, but we’re mindful that we havea strong competitive field, so we’re byno means complacent.

Do you think boxed product cankeep on growing as the digital agedescends ever more heavily uponretailers and consumers?Digital offerings are growing rapidly, butwe need to recognise that much of thatgrowth still begins with a disc sold instores. People still go to their favouritegame store and buy a copy of FIFA forPS3, then go home and download greatcontent, like FIFA Ultimate Team. Theonline growth is important, but werecognise that the consumer experiencebegins with a disc bought in a store.

MCV INTERVIEWROB DAVEY, EA UK SALES DIRECTOR


the biggest games due over the next 12 months…

Medal of HonorPC, PS3, 360Q4 2010

EA will re-boot its popular Medal ofHonor series by taking it into themodern age with EA LA and DICE.

Crysis 2PC, PS3, Xbox 3602010

The sequel to 2007’s popular FPS is dueon multiple platforms and makes use ofCrytek’s new CryENGINE 3.

EA Sports Active 2.0Wii, PS3, iPhoneTBA

The second in EA Sports’ fitnessfranchise comes bundled with acompletely new wireless control system.

Dead Space 2PS3, 360, PCTBA

Dead Space 2 is set to continue theoriginal’s critical and commercialsuccess, adding a multiplayer mode.

EA’s Rob Davey mulls overthe difficulties of 2009,the publisher’s keysuccesses and thechallenges ahead

Looking back on 2009,Codemasters had a bit of a roughstart to the year before Ashes andDirt 2 helped turn things around…Jeremy Wigmore: I think that’s a fairassessment. We had a difficult first halfof the year because of the products thatwe didn’t have. But we always knewthat we had Ashes, Flashpoint, Dirt 2and F1 towards the latter half of theyear, and we were gearing towards that.

Hayley Holland: In terms of strategywe shifted our focus towards ourinternally-developed titles. We are stillgoing to have some externallydeveloped products as well, but as abusiness we decided we had to slowdown and take our time.

Ashes came out just before Dirt 2,and went straight to No.1. Were youworried that the game’s delay [itdidn’t arrive until mid-way throughthe series] was going tohurt sales of the title?JW: We were quitecomfortable when it cameout. The country was on anup because of how the serieswas going and it turned outwe had released the game atthe ideal time. Ashes Cricket 2009came out when the country was on apeak. Sometimes in life things happen insync that you don’t necessarily plan forbut works out well in the end. If thegame had come out after the series, thatwould have been a different matter.

What about Operation Flashpoint?That game must have been anexpensive project, was delayedseveral times, and didn’t arrive until

weeks before Modern Warfare 2.Were you concerned about how thetitle was going to perform?JW: I can’t comment on developmentcosts. But at the end of the dayeverybody knew that Modern Warfarewas going to do what it was going to

do. The difference between Flashpointand Modern Warfare was thatFlashpoint was more strategic and morereal war. There are so many FPSes in

the market place that nomatter when you releaseit you are going to comeup against something.

To be honest, wewere extremely pleasedto be out before ModernWarfare 2 and we

enjoyed consistent sell-through all theway to Christmas.

HH: From a marketing position weweren’t trying to compete with ModernWarfare. We set out to be unashamedlyhardcore, and it worked.

After a positive finish to 2009, Codemasters now plans to focus on a fewer number of mostly internally-developed games. Christopher Dring speaks to general manager Jeremy Wigmore and F1 brand directorHayley Holland on last year’s successes and what retail can expect from the firm’s upcoming line-up…

A new Formula for success

”Hayley Holland, Codemasters

We have shifted towardsinternally developed titles. Asa business we decided toslow down and take our time.“

MCV INTERVIEWJEREMY WIGMORE AND HAYLEY HOLLAND,

UK GENERAL MANAGER AND BRAND DIRECTOR, CODEMASTERS


Hayley Holland (left) andJeremy Wigmore (right)say Codemasters is nowfocussing on internally-developed games

Codemasters’ final game of 2009was F1, which came out on two ofthe hardest platforms to succeed on– PSP and Wii. How did they do?JW: I was quoted in MCV saying that Iwas ‘gobsmacked’ by the quality of F12009, and I said to retail that this wasgoing to sell. And it did.

Retail didn’t believe it would get towhere we said it would, but it didn’tjust reach our expectations, it exceededthem. We’ve spent 17 weeks in the WiiTop 10. We had terrific support fromNintendo, but for a third party title tospend that much time in the Top 10 justgoes to show the quality of that game.

The strategy for that product was todeliberately make a serious game forWii, and not another big-head racer.

So what learnings have you takenfrom the success of Ashes, Dirt 2,Flashpoint and F1 that you will tryand replicate this year?JW: I think moving F1 to next-genformats is the right decision. What welearnt from doing Dirt 2 on Wii is thatthere is definitely a cannibalisation of acertain type of product on that platform.

The strategy of fewer products at ahigher quality is the right strategy forCodemasters. Everything we are doingcompany-wise is geared towards that.

International Cricket 2010 is outthis summer but there’s no Ashesseries. Are you confident theproduct can still deliver numbers?JW: It is a challenge. But this year weare focussing on the quicker cricketgames – the 20/20 and one-dayers.What we are delivering is a qualitycricket product with a new angle. Weare committed to cricket fans.

HH: We’ve also got thefootball World Cup this year,which means football is goingto get a lot of attention. But atthe same time that’s going toget a lot of people interestedin sport as well.

JW: We are the alternative to football.Bored with the World Cup? Play cricket.

F1 2010 is your big game of theyear. Can we expect a bigmarketing push for that release?HH: Yeah, totally. We are planning the

campaign now. We are working withthe platform holders and globally weexpect to make quite a mark with thisgame. F1 2010 is what consumers wantand we need to make sure that weshowcase what a great game we havebefore it arrives.

The next major releaseafter F1 is Bodycount in

early 2011. Why do a first personshooter in what is such a congestedmarket place?HH: Why not? We are applying thequality we have achieved in our racinggames to other genres. We did it withFlashpoint, so why not keep doing it?

Flashpoint was a successful FPS, butgo back a little further andCodemasters released TurningPoint: Fall of Man, which didn’t dowell at all. What makes you feelBodycount will be different?JW: If you go back to Turning Point andRise of the Argonauts, these weren’tCodemasters games. They came fromexternal sources. We have the quality inour own studios to deliver great games.There are only so many genres outthere. If these guys feel that they cancreate a quality FPS, then let’s let themmake one.

It is about fostering our own talent andalso keeping things in-house so we canhave more control over the game anddeliver the right messages about them.

HH: That doesn’t mean we are going toreject external development, but wewill cherry pick the right games. Whatwe do now is benchmark the quality ofthe external products against what weare doing internally.

What about Dirt and Race Driver:GRID. When can we expect to hearmore about the next entrees inthese franchises?HH: Keep talking to us. These brandsare evolving internally all the time andwhen we have something to say we’llbe in touch to talk about them.

With the sale of Eidos last year,Codemasters became the last bigBritish games publisher. What areyour thoughts on the publishingsector in the UK?JW: It is tough. Everybody knows ittakes a long-time to create a qualitygame, and that’s what we are trying tocreate. Everybody is having a difficulttime with the worldwide recession. Butthe games industry as a whole is stillvibrant and obviously has a tremendousamount of appeal.

The success of Codemasters istestament to what people believe in. Weare extremely proud of being British and we will keep striving to deliverquality products.

HH: There is a huge amount of prideworking for a UK company. And there isjust so much talent at Codemasters. Wejust need to make sure we protect andgrow that.

MCV INTERVIEWJEREMY WIGMORE AND HAYLEY HOLLAND,UK GENERAL MANAGER AND BRAND DIRECTOR, CODEMASTERS


”Jeremy Wigmore, Codemasters

Codemasters’ success istestament to what peoplebelieve in. We are extremelyproud of being British.“

THE BIG THREE:International Cricket(top), Bodycount(middle) and F1 2010(bottom) are the threekey titles coming fromCodemasters

For sponsorship information contact:Katy Grant on 01992 535647 or email [email protected]

For delegate booking information contact:Jodie Holdway on 01992 535647 or email [email protected]

Wednesday, May 26th • BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London

How to make mobile apps pay their way

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JULES EHRHARDT head of biz dev, Ustwo

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Monetising Mobile is a new kind of conference hosted by Mobile Entertainment

1. Andrew Fisher 2. Russell Buckley3. Juan Lopez-Valcarcel4. Jules Ehrhardt5. Nicholas Lovell6. Patrick Mork 7. Ray Anderson

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THERE’S NOTHING like an economiccrisis to inspire change. As the worldrecovers, every industry is starting toreflect on the new opportunities theyhave discovered during darker times,adopting a more optimistic approach tothe year ahead.

The games industry is no different,particularly in the duplication and copyprotection sectors. Already under threatfrom the rise of digital distribution beforeany fiscal troubles even arose, firms inthis space have worked hard to emergestronger than ever.

“The economy has been shrinking,which has led to customers reducing,delaying or scrapping projects,” says UK-based Dischromatics’ MD Gareth Spencer.

“Nevertheless, there is still businessto be obtained, and companies mustpull together to meet new challenges.”

Some companies even reached greaterheights in the face of adversity. ReplicatorOK Media Group reports that it achievedits best ever results in 2009, thanks

primarily to the vigour of its homemarket of Germany, and continuedgrowth in other sectors.

Meanwhile, other firms have takingadvantage of the drop in business tostrengthen their established offerings.

“We have experienced less frequentsoftware releases,” says Replication MDPhillip Hall.

“But this has been auseful time to increaseour portfolio of added-value solutions,embracing new forms ofcopy protection, contentdelivery and distribution– and even 3D production.”

Several companies in the sector –including duplicators CD Team, CD-Writer and Microboards – have adaptedto introduce additional practises to copewith consumers’ changing taste inmedia. These businesses have now gonebeyond traditional disc replication toincorporate high-capacity dual layer

DVDs and new services ranging fromBlu-ray replication to USB and flash-based copy protection.

Microboards’ senior sales executiveAndy Lee explains: “The past year hasbeen tough going, but we havemanaged to cope by focusing on lookingafter our customers well and bringing

new products like our MultiWriter Blu-ray duplicator to market.”

CD Team managing director Jo Foneadds: “By ensuring our services arealways flexible and reliable, we canoffer practical solutions for today’sbusiness requirements.

“The challenge for us is always to tryand foresee what market demands will

be and to diversify our offering ahead ofthe curve.”

PROFITING FROM PIRACY

In addition to expanding their portfolios,companies have actively hunted for newopportunities. Perhaps the greatestexample of how this is that they are

harnessing one of the greatestthreats to the industry: piracy.

With illegal downloadingstill an ever-present problem,publishers have been grabbingheadlines throughout the pastfew months with their renewedefforts to thwart IP theft.

Subsequently, copy protection firms –such as Metaforic and Starforce – havebeen granted the ideal opportunity topush their own anti-piracy solutions,gaining valuable business from piracy-stricken publishers – although this hasbeen tougher than first thought.

“Actually, one of the greatest problemswe face is to get publishers to actually

As the industry continues to see significant shifts in the balance between physical and digital product, firmsresponsible for the duplication and copy protection of retail discs must adapt to survive. James Batchelortalks with the sector’s leading figures about how such firms can ensure a prosperous future…

Disc assessmentDUPLICATION & COPY PROTECTION


”Douglas Kinloch, Metaforic

One of the greatest problemswe face is to get publishersto believe any form of anti-piracy protection is possible.“

Duplication firms arenow looking beyondphysical discs in orderto maintain profitability

believe that any form of anti-piracy or IPprotection is even possible,” saysMetaforic’s VP of business developmentDouglas Kinloch.

“Piracy is an obvious opportunity forus in that we have tools to help mitigateand manage its effects.”

Starforce marketing director deputyDmitry Guseff agrees, adding that it isalso crucial to address consumerattitudes to piracy.

With so many horror stories of overlyprotective measures punishinglegitimate gamers – such asEA’s Spore DRM debacleand Ubisoft’s controversial‘always-on’ system –Guseff’s team facesobstacles on both sides ofthe retail counter.

“The main challenge forthe whole anti-piracy sector is that DRMhas been compromised,” he says.

“Consumers assume that DRM isinvasive, unsafe and a totally redundantsolution. We need to show publishersthat properly implemented software

DRM measures bring zero trouble fortheir users and allow them to createserious obstacles for pirates.”

Fone adds: “We have always takenthe threat of piracy very seriously. It isimperative we are stringent in oursecurity processes and procedures andthe customers using our hardware toproduce their own pre-release titles in-house can be too.”

As in-house copy protection becomesincreasingly common, primarily out ofthe need for cost effectiveness, specialists

are urging their clients to take evenmore care during the process in order toprevent intellectual property theft.

“As the industry changes, so too doesthe marketplace,” says CD-Writerfounder Nic Ranshaw.

“Customers that relied on replicationto produce large runs of discs are nowfinding that using their own in-housesolution can be much more flexible andultimately profitable.”

ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES

Interestingly, piracy has pushed thesecompanies towards what was once –and to some, still is – considered thegreatest threat to physical product.

Just as illegal downloads have, digitaldistribution has become the surprising

source of brand newbusiness opportunities.Duplication firms are nowembracing the medium.

“Well-managed digitaldistribution of securelyprotected applications thatis easy to use and customer

friendly is one of the best ways to helpmitigate piracy,” says Kinloch.

“In fact, the same techniquespioneered by the pirates are starting tobe recognised and utilised to actuallycreate a legitimate channel.”

Ranshaw adds: “The big problem fortoday’s content creators is that theyounger generation of consumers expectto be able to get product for free. It isimportant for publishers to look at theopportunities afforded by these viraldistribution channels.”

Some firms have even used thedramatic reduction in demand for discreplication to further enhance theirservices, strengthening their positionwithin the sector. Publishers’ dwindlingproduction needs could lead to theclosure of such companies, so onlythose with holistic offerings will earnenough business to survive.

“In a bizarre twist, digital distributioncould actually be beneficial to ourbusiness,” says Spencer.

“As the volumes required for physicalproduct drop to less-than-suitable levels,only duplicators with the right equipmentwill pick up more business.”

Guseff adds: “Digital distribution isour bright future. It’s the most comfortableway to make a purchase, and offersfaster delivery and a wider choice. It is

DUPLICATION & COPY PROTECTION


”Gareth Spencer, Dischromatics

In a bizarre twist, digitaldistribution could actuallyprove to be beneficial to ouroverall business.“

DUPLICATION & COPY PROTECTION


also much easier to effectively protect IPthat is brought via a digital channel thana retail one.”

That’s not to say these firms havegiven up on physical disc duplication.Many companies believe that boxedproduct will still have a firm grip on themarket for years to come.

“Digital distribution is not a one-size-fits-all delivery solution,” says Hall. “Webelieve that the purchase of creativelypackaged product at retail and onlinewill remain a strong driver.”

Lee adds: “Consumers are demandingmore and more from their content, ascan be seen with recent Blu-ray releases

and the extras that can be found on thediscs. This is only possible with aphysical disc at the moment and this isa significant advantage for us.”

RETAIL HARMONY

Most companies, however, believe theymust adapt to cater for both the digitaland physical needs of their customers.With more digital releases boosting retailproducts – and vice versa – firms standto profit either way.

“A major challenge is convincing thegaming sector that physical and digitalcan live side-by-side, rather than onereplacing the other,” says Garfunkel.

“While digital distribution has had aneffect on the volume of physicalproduction required, it has not beennearly as high as people perceive.”

CD-Writer’s Ranshaw observes thatdigital distribution has been seen as athreat to physical product for more thana decade, having started with softwareand music. This does not mean ourindustry will follow the same patternthat others have.

“Today, content publishers really haveto look at the digital mix, and I wouldsuggest that physical product – be it Blu-ray, USB, DVD or CD – should beconsidered a fundamental part of the

digital distribution concept, he says.“In future, publishers will then be

able to supply premium product to acustomer base that values thepermanence and security offered byphysical media.”

While the replication sector boasts afar lower profile than that of gamespublishing, development and retail, itnonetheless retains its importance.

More than that, it is a market that isto be congratulated for its hardiness.These companies truly show what canbe achieved by embracing new businessmodels and doing whatever it takes tochange with the times.

COPYCATS: (Pictured from left) Microboards’ Lee, Starforce’s Guseff, Ok Media’s Garfunkel, Metaforic’s Kinloch, CD Team’s Fone, CD-Writer’s Ranshaw, Replication’s Halland Dischromatics’ Gareth Spencer have all sought new opportunities for their firms during the recession, including the surprising benefits of piracy and digital distribution

PERSONNEL


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“When it comes toAmerican racing games, EdMartin is the man,” saidEutechnyx COO DARRENJOBLING. “His experienceand enthusiasm for the sport ofcompetitive racing are

absolutely second to none, andhe’s going to be an invaluableasset to Eutechnyx as we enterour most exciting year yet.”

Martin added: “The passionand independence ofEutechnyx are incrediblyexciting and certainly uniquein the gaming world today. I’mthrilled to become part of thatteam in what will no doubt bea defining year in our history.”

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bitComposer MD OLIVERNEUPERT said: “Veronica isthe perfect person to fill therole of international salesmanager and we are confidentthat her experience andcontacts will make a significantcontribution to the continuedsuccess of our company.”

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STAINLESS GAMES � Thedevelopment studio hasbolstered its seniormanagement team withDARREN BARNETT.

Barnett previously workedat Eidos as developmentdirector, where he orchestratedthe publisher’s globaldevelopment efforts. Heworked on establishing new IPsuch as Just Cause, as well assuccessful franchises TombRaider and Hitman.

Stainless’ productiondirector BEN GUNSTONEsaid: “Darren brings with himover 15 years of industryexperience of working on

million-selling triple-A titles.We’re looking forward to himworking on console downloadtitles we have in the works.”

Barnett added: “Theopportunity of working withold friends in a hands-on rolewas just too good to miss.”

HERO’S RETURNSam Fisher is back in the latestchapter of Ubisoft’s stealth seriesP26

RECOMMENDED GAMES � PRICE CHECK � CHARTS � NEW RELEASES

RETAILBIZ

SAMURAI SHODOWN SEN P28SNK’s latest sword-based fighter makes its

UK debut on the Xbox 360

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON P30Multiformat movie tie-in aims to grab fans

of the film with a new story and multiplayer

BATMAN: GAME OF THE YEAR P31Square Enix returns to Arkham Asylum with

new challenges and 3D compatibility

MATA HARI P31World War spy, seductress and dancer

fronts this 3D point-and-click adventure

HIGH STREET P34MCV interviews Andy Harris of Seventh

Heaven and checks prices in Poole


RETAILBIZ: SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION

LIKE ITS RUTHLESS protagonist, TomClancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction hasspent more time in the shadows than ithas in the spotlight since it was firstannounced back in 2007.

The game was a different beast backthen, swapping the series’ trademarkempty darkened cornersfor populated urbanlocations. It looked totake the franchise in anew direction, but thenmysteriously disappearedunder a shroud ofdevelopment troubles.

Last June, a new-look Conviction wasunveiled to much acclaim at E3 – and itcertainly looked like it had been worththe wait.

Still aiming to take a fresh approachto the popular Splinter Cell formula, thegame returns to the darkness but givesplayers even more control over how

they complete their mission andterrorise their enemies.

“We’re going to reinvigorate thestealth genre with Splinter Cell:Conviction,” says Ubisoft brandmanager Matt Benson.

“We’ve opened up the experience sothat the player has more choice in howthey approach each situation.

“There are also new gameplay toolssuch as the ‘Mark and Execute’ and‘Last Known Position’ features thatallow player to gain a key tacticaladvantage over their prey, bringingintense bursts of action and makingplayers feel like a predator, rather thanforcing them to lurk in the shadows.”

Gamers once again grip the silencedpistol of Sam Fisher, formerly a USsecret agent and now on a mission ofpersonal vengeance to find out whokilled his daughter.

THE SPYING GAME

Since Fisher no longer answers to UncleSam, players can take a much more

brutal approach to dealingwith their enemies as theycontinue his determinedsearch for answers.

Two new gameplay toolsin particular given them arange of new tactical options.‘Mark and Execute’ allows

them to scope out a room, identify keytargets and unleash a whirlwind attackbefore their enemies are even aware oftheir presence.

Alternatively, the ‘Last KnownPosition’ indicates where players’pursuers will be searching for them,allowing wannabe spies to reposition

Ubisoft finally releasesthe latest instalment inTom Clancy’s popularstealth franchise, set togive the popular series ashot in the arm…

by James Batchelor

”Matt Benson, Ubisoft

Brand awareness is high forSplinter Cell, but we want tobroaden the audience andappeal to new consumers.“

RETAILBIZ: SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION


themselves for surprise attacks or makea more effective escape.

The publisher is also proud of themultiplayer elements. Splinter Cell nowfeatures much more extensive optionsfor multiple gamers than previousinstalments have, including thecomprehensive Prologue co-operativecampaign and customisable DeniableOps mode.

“Brand awareness is high for SplinterCell, but we want to broaden theaudience and appeal to those who mayhave never considered purchasing it,”says Benson.

“Splinter Cell has been an extremelysuccessful franchise to date, but theteam wanted to focus on Sam Fisher’spersonal motives this time round, ratherthan solely on a geopolitical conflict.

“This has allowed the team to bring awhole new level of action, presentationand storytelling to the game experience.We feel that the team has delivered onthat expectation and we ensure that

we’ll take this through into ourmarketing as well.”

The publisher is certainly workinghard to achieve this, with a broadcampaign that looks set to engage awider audience than any previous entryin the series (see ‘Splinter Sell’). Ubisoftis even targeting fans of other TomClancy franchises with access to theGhost Recon: Future Soldier beta.

Splinter Cell: Conviction has been along-time coming but the wealth offeatures and scenarios that appeal tofans of both tactical stealth games andmore intense action titles ensures that itwill be a strong performer when it stalksonto shelves next month.

SPLINTER SELL

Ubisoft has drawn up an extensivemarketing campaign to promote thelong-awaited arrival of Conviction,not only attract long-time fans butalso to those who have yet toexpeience the series for themselves.

� TV advertising will form the coreof the overall campaign, with TVspots driving mass awareness andattempting to engage potentialbuyers with the cinematic elementsof the main game.

� The first phase of the TV campaignwill see brutal teaser ads runningafter 9pm, before broadening outcloser to the game’s release with 20-to 30-second TV spots, which will beshown throughout the day. This willrun from launch until the end ofApril and beyond.

� Specialist print ads have beenrunning throughout March and willcontinue into April, pushing both thesingle-player and co-op experiences.

� This will expand into the lifestylepress closer to launch, with adsfocusing on the single-playercampaign appearing in sport,technology and men’s lifestyle print publications.

� Online ads will be primarilypromoting the co-op and multiplayeroffering across all major gamingsites in order to boost awareness ofthese features among the hardcoregaming market.

� This will also be expanded at alater date to run across mainstreamnews, men’s lifestyle, sports andtechnology sites.

� There will be a dedicatedadvertising push across key video-on-demand services, includingSkyPlayer and 4oD.

� In-store POS will be available, andwill be designed to help drive pre-release awareness and Ubisoft’svarious pre-order incentives, such asexclusive downloadable weapons.

� A viral Alternate Reality Gamebegan on Boxing Day. It was organisedthrough Xbox Live and ran throughto the end of January. Participantswere rewarded with an exclusivemultiplayer skin code.

RELEASED: APRIL 16

FORMATS: XBOX 360, PC

PUBLISHER: UBISOFT

DEVELOPER: UBISOFT MONTREAL

PRICE: VARIOUS

DISTRIBUTOR: GEM

CONTACT: 01279 822800

Splinter Cell: Conviction boasts newgame mechanics and more intensegameplay to give players a greaterfeeling of being the predator


RETAILBIZ: SAMURAI SHODOWN SEN

SWORD-FIGHTING game fans will bepleased to discover Rising Star ispublishing the latest instalment of SNK’sclassic beat em’ up series in the UK.

Samurai Shodown Senis the newest title in the16-year-old franchise andan exclusive to the Xbox360. Publisher Rising Starbelieves it can be asuccess at retail and a hitwith European gamers.

Marketing manager Raul Nieto Garciasays: “We are delighted to bringSamurai Shodown Sen to Europe inhand with SNK Playmore and havemany reasons to be excited about it.

“As Rising Star Games’ first Xbox 360exclusive title, as well as the SamuraiShodown series’ first on a high

definition home console, we have hopesfor it to become the number one swordfighting title of the year.”

The game offers players the biggestroster of selectable fighters in the historyof the series with over 20 new and

familiar warriors, and Xbox Liveconnectivity brings the whole arcade-style multiplayer experience to consoles.

Every character boasts their ownunique story, stats sheet, moves andsword stances. These include Koreanspear fighter Kim, Gallows the axe-wielding Viking and J, an afro samurai.

Old favourites include Haohmaru,Kibagami, Nakoruru and Ukyo.

Gamers also have access to the PowerSlash, a powerful vertical and horizontalweapon attack, Rage Explosion, whichincreases attack power and Guard

Shatter moves, to weakenopponents’ defences.

THE ELEVENTH SAMURAI

The Samurai Shodown serieswas originally released inJapanese arcades, but thisdoesn’t mean Sen is without

a captivating single-player story. Theeleventh game takes place in Japan inthe year 1791, during the twilight of theturbulent Edo period, and promises tobe the most brutal and visceral chapterin the history of the series.

Samurai Shodown Sen follows ayoung girl named Suzu, a European

The 11th title in SNK’sclassic weapons-basedfighting game makes itsHD debut in the UK as anXbox 360 exclusive…

by Dominic Sacco

”Raul Nieto Garcia, Rising Star

Samurai Shodown Sen is themost realistic sword fightingtitle out there and Xbox 360owners are in for a treat.“

Samurai Shodown Senfeatures the biggestcollection of fighters inthe series, with over 20new and familiar faces...

RETAILBIZ: SAMURAI SHODOWN SEN


princess kidnapped by Japanese officialsand raised as a samurai.

She later rescues martial arts masterTakechiyo from a sinking ship, but thenmysteriously goes missing herself.Takechiyo pledges to find his missingrescuer and the game begins.

Despite ten previous chapters in thefighting series including three versionsmade in 3D, Rising Star Games isconfident that Samurai Shodown Senstands out from earlier titles.

“The Samurai Showdown seriesmade its debut on the Neo Geo over 16years ago and now, ten instalments later,Samurai Shodown Sen introduces newcharacters and fighting skills, whileremaining loyal to existing favourites,”adds Nieto Garcia.

“It gracefully stays close to its roots,featuring varied sword styles,contemporary, artistic techniques, the

devastating Power Slash andunstoppable Rage Explosion which willmake gamers want to unsheathe theirpads immediately.”

FAMOUS FIGHTERS

Samurai Shodown Sen was picked upby Rising Star Games earlier in the year,who saw a strong market for the title inEurope. It’s the publisher’s first gamedeveloped by SNK Playmore, which iswell-known in the industry forspecialising in fighting games. Both firmshope the game will expand their marketshare in the UK.

It’s no surprise that Rising Star isgoing after fighting game fans withSamurai Shodown Sen, and believes itcan pull in interest from those whoaren’t already followers of the series.

Nieto Garcia says: “A title with suchhighly regarded and long standing

heritage can only mean great news forall fans of the fighting genre acrossEurope, whether they are familiar withit or not.

“Samurai Shodown Sen is the mostrealistic and violent sword fighting titleout there and Xbox 360 owners are infor a treat.”

As the franchise’s first foray into theworld of high-definition gaming in theUK, it’s set to attract fighting gamersand hardcore players alike.

Samurai Shodown Sen will bereleased for the Xbox 360 in April.

MARKETINGSHOWDOWN

Rising Star Games is planning acomprehensive print and onlinemarketing campaign for SamuraiShodown Sen.

� Print advertising will make its wayinto specialist gaming magazines,scheduled to hit the shelves beforethe game’s release.

� An Xbox Live dashboard spot willfeature excusive content from thegame, as will gaming websites.

� Rising Star Games’ own digitalchannels will play a big part in thepromotion of the game. Its HoshiClub will provide a steady flow ofnews, assets and exclusive contentto its subscribers

� Fans of anime and manga will betargeted with a web campaignconsisting of MPUs, banners,skyscrapers and homepagetakeovers on a range of theirfavourite websites.

RELEASED: APRIL

FORMATS: XBOX 360

PUBLISHER: RISING STAR GAMES

DEVELOPER: SNK PLAYMORE

PRICE: £39.99

DISTRIBUTOR: MASTERTRONIC

CONTACT: 0845 234 4242


RETAILBIZ: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

WITH THE RELEASE of Dreamworks’3D animation film How to Train yourDragon, Activision Blizzard is givinggamers the chance to take part in thestory with a video game adaptation.

The publisher is hoping themultiformat release will be a success atretail, in particular with the fim’s targetaudience – children and families.

Players of the third-person action-adventure game can take control ofhumans Hiccup or Astrid and embarkon an epic quest to become the ultimatedragon trainer.

The film follows the story of Hiccuphimself, a young Viking who aspires tohunt dragons but ends up becoming theunlikely owner of one, forcing him tostep back and take another look at themistaken species.

Activision Blizzard promises a larger-than-life adventure game, set after theevents of the film, where players canexplore environments and train dragonsbefore taking part in battles andprestigious dragon tournaments.

The game is set on the vast island ofBerk which features a range ofexpanded locations from the film,including Vikings’ Village, the WildZone, Training Zone and Fight Arena.

It also boasts a talented voice castfrom the film, with Jay Baruchel asHiccup and T.J. Miller as Tuffnut.

YOUNG’UNS AND DRAGONS

How to Train your Dragon features amultitude of game modes and features,such as a “Create Your Dragon” option.This allows players to customise sixdifferent types of dragons in order tocreate and tweak their own uniquemonster.

In an interesting RPG element,gamers can develop their dragon’s skillsand level up its speed, power, fire andother abilities to make it strong enoughto enter the Viking challenge and turnthem into the ultimate dragon trainer.

A key feature is How to Train yourDragon’s multiplayer mode, which pitsgamers against each other in a series ofdragon battles. Players can select four oftheir customised dragons or choose from

a flight of pre-trained dragons to form adream team.

Each dragon has its own strengthsand weaknesses, from The Gronkcle’spowerful fireballs to Night Fury’s speedand agility.

This competitive aspect promises toadd an extra layer of depth to the game,as well as adding extra playablecharacters to the mix – Tuffnut T,Ruffnut T, Fishlegs and Snotlout, withthe winner becoming the game’sultimate dragon hero.

On top of the single-player adventureand multiplayer mode, there are also avariety of mini-games for players toenjoy. These include ice sculpting,dragon races and memory puzzles.Successful completion unlocks extraexperience points, special items andnew skills for the player’s dragon.

Activision Blizzard’s decision toinclude a range of options extends thelifespan of the game, offering the targetchild audience more to come back toand replay.

How to Train your Dragon is one ofthis season’s biggest kids’ films and thehype is sure to drive sales at retail.Activision Blizzard has also publishedsimilar titles including Kung Fu Panda.

The game will be released for Xbox360, PS3, Wii and DS on March 26th,one week before the film’s UK launch.

Movie tie-in How to TrainYour Dragon looks set tobecome a bigmultiformat release forActivision Blizzard…

by Dominic Sacco

RELEASED: MARCH 26

FORMATS: XBOX 360, PS3, WII, DS

PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

DEVELOPER: ETRANGES LIBELLULES

(CONSOLES) / GRIPTONITE (DS)

PRICE: VARIOUS


CONTACT: 0121 625 3388‘Activision Blizzardpromises a larger-than-life adventure game setafter the film’s events.’


RETAILBIZ: BATMAN/MATA HARI

BATMAN: Arkham Asylum was oneof the biggest and most surprising hitsof 2009. It was considered a criticaland commercial success for licensedgames, for British development and forits publisher Eidos.

The game held on to the top spot ofthe ELSPA GfK Chart-Track All FormatsCharts – to date, the biggest success inEidos’ history – and fared just as welloverseas. Within less than a month ofrelease, Arkham Asylum had shiftedmore than 2.5 million copies in the US alone.

While the world waits with baitedbreath for the sequel, Square Enix isnow offering fans a chance to fall inlove with Rocksteady’s seminal actiongame all over again.

Batman: Arkham Asylum – GameOf The Year Edition offers more thanjust new packaging. The original gamehas now been remastered and is now

playable in full 3D, thanks to theTriOviz glasses that come included inthe box. This mode now adds depth-of-field to the game, making Gotham’snotorious nuthouse more immersivethan ever before.

In addition to the full game, fanswill find the disc also contains all sixpreviously released downloadable packsfor the Challenge Mode, includingScarecrow Nightmare, Crime Alley andNocturnal Hunter.

The Game Of The Year Edition isperfect for those looking to experiencea fresh take on Batman: ArkhamAsylum, and will also appeal to thosewho never played the original release.

One of the biggest hits of 2009 returns to shelvesin the form of a Game Of The Year Edition thatbrings players even closer to the action…

by James Batchelor

MATA HARI, the iconic Dutch dancer,seductress and spy makes her way tothe PC in a 3D adventure game setduring 1910.

Publisher Mamba Games is targetingpoint and click players and fans ofadventure titles with a story of powerbattles, espionage, love and betrayal, aswell as giving them the challenge ofpreventing Mata’s imminent execution.

The game promises hours of puzzles,dozens of atmospheric 3D locations theability to charm others into revealingmilitary secrets.

It begins with Mata Hari performingdances at lavish parties and attractingnumerous political leaders, but soonspirals into a world of secrecy after theSwiss secret agent Oscar Samsonet hiresher as a spy.

Mata soon finds herself caught up inthe arms race between the Entente andthe Mittelmachte, with the first WorldWar looming on the horizon.

There is a selection of spy mini-gamesto confuse Mata Hari’s pursuers,including exotic dancing sequenceswhere the player must follow the beatby moving the mouse cursor intomusical notes at the right time.

As players lead the life of famousMata Hari across Europe and the BelleEpoque, their level of skill is tested andrecorded, ultimately determining whichending the gamer unlocks.

The game has been developed byCranberry Production with the help ofexperienced designers Hal Barwood andNoah Falstein, who have worked on anumber of classic adventure titlesincluding 1992’s Indiana Jones and theFate of Atlantis on the PC.

Mamba Games allows players to discover thesecrets of seductive World War I spy Mata Hari in anew point and click adventure…

by Dominic Sacco

RELEASED: MARCH 26

FORMATS: XBOX 360, PS3, PC

PUBLISHER: SQUARE ENIX

DEVELOPER: ROCKSTEADY

PRICE: VARIOUS


CONTACT: 0121 625 3388

RELEASED: APRIL 23

FORMATS: PC

PUBLISHER: MAMBA GAMES

DEVELOPER: CRANBERRY PRODUCTION

PRICE: £19.99

DISTRIBUTOR: LACE MAMBA GLOBAL

CONTACT: 01273 202 220

TITLE FORMAT GENRE PUBLISHER TELEPHONE DISTRIBUTOR

Released: April 2

Format: Xbox 360

Publisher: Microsoft

Distributor: Gem

Contact: 01279 822800

The ladies of Tecmo Koei’s Dead Or Alive series make their PSP debut, while Microsoft expands its karoke franchise.Also due for release are new offerings from Splinter Cell, Dead To Rights, Monster Hunter, FIFA and Street Fighter...

Girls and Lips headed for shelves

Microsoft continues to growits answer to SingStar withthe newest edition of Lips.Older consumers are sure toappreciate this iteration,which features more than 40hits from the ‘80s. Playerscan now croon along to DuranDuran, Madness and more.

Check out MCVUK.COM/RELEASE-DATES for more

Casual Mania DS Casual Foreign Media Games 020 7240 2645 OpenDubai Airport: Gateway To The World PC Simulation First Class Simulations 01869 338833 OpenGamehits DS Casual Foreign Media Games 020 7240 2645 OpenMystery Tales of Time Travel DS Casual Foreign Media Games 020 7240 2645 Open

Dead Or Alive: Paradise PSP Mini-games Tecmo Koei 01462 476 130 OpenLips: I Love The 80s XBOX 360 Music Microsoft 01279 822800 Gem

Borderlands Add-on Pack PC / XBOX 360 FPS 2K Games 01279 822800 Gem

Dead To Rights: Retribution PS3 / XBOX 360 Action Atari 0121 506 9585 AdvantageHurricane vs Stuka PC Simulation First Class Simulations 01869 338833 OpenTom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction PC / XBOX 360 FPS Ubisoft 01279 822800 Gem

Ballerina Wii Simulation Deep Silver 0870 027 0985 KochBeat City DS Platformer THQ 0121 506 9585 AdvantageDancing on Ice DS Simulation Ghostlight 01376 555 333 OpenMonster Hunter Tri Wii RPG Capcom 0121 625 3388 CentresoftNier PC / XBOX 360 Action/Adventure Square Enix 020 7324 5200 OpenOk! Puzzle Stars DS Puzzle Ubisoft 01279 822800 GemProject Runway Wii Casual Atari 0121 506 9585 Advantage

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa XBOX 360 / PS3 / Wii / PSP Sports EA 0121 625 3388 CentresoftBlack Mirror 2 PC Casual/Adventure Mamba Games 01273 202220 LaceIron Man 2 PSP / DS / Wii / PS3 / XBOX 360 Action Sega 0121 625 3388 CentresoftSuper Street Fighter IV XBOX 360 / PS3 Fighting Capcom 0121 625 3388 CentresoftWarioWare DIY DS Mini-games Nintendo 0870 027 0985 Koch

Classic Games DS Casual Foreign Media Games 020 7240 2645 OpenThe Treasures of Montezuma DS Casual Foreign Media Games 020 7240 2645 Open

All Star 5-A-Side Football DS Sports Oxygen 0121 625 3388 CentresoftSin & Punishment 2 Wii Action Nintendo 0870 027 0985 Koch

3D Dot Game Heroes PS3 Action/Adventure South Peak 0121 625 3388 CentresoftMiniclips' Sushi Go Round DS / Wii Mini-Games South Peak 0121 625 3388 CentresoftLost Planet 2 PC / PS3 / XBOX 360 Action Capcom 0121 625 3388 Centresoft

Alan Wake XBOX 360 Adventure Microsoft 01279 822800 Gem

APRIL 1st

MUSTSTOCK ............DEAD OR ALIVE: PARADISE

APRIL 2nd

APRIL 9th

APRIL 16th

APRIL 23rd

APRIL 30th

MAY 1st

MAY 7th

MAY 14th

MAY 21st

RETAILBIZ: NEW RELEASES


The latest babe-focused spinoff from Tecmo Koei’s beat‘em up series. Dead Or Alive:Paradise invites gamers toenjoy an exotic holiday withthe franchise’s hottest ladies.Engaging in activities suchas volleyball and gamblingdevelops their relationships.

Released: April 2

Format: PSP

Publisher: Tecmo Koei

Distributor: Open

Contact: 01462 476130

MUSTSTOCK ...................LIPS: I LOVE THE 80S

13 -15 JULY 2010

be inspired

Organised byMedia SponsorMedia SponsorMedia Sponsor

gamesindustry.bizInternational Media Sponsor Member Discounts In Partnership with

The Main Event for European Developers13 - 15 July 2010

www.developconference.com

Top Name Speakers. Great Networking. Top Location.

Gamification: How Games are EverywhereDavid Helgason - CEO, Unity Technologies

"I have been attempting to free the gamesindustry from the shackles of bricks andmortar and democratizing music games inthe process. I'm looking forward to sharingmy experiences at Evolve."

"I'll be talking about how games are everywhereand, more importantly, how we can use them toconquer untapped markets. I'm looking forwardto coming to Evolve and sharing some of thediscoveries we've made with Unity."

KEYNOTE

Evolve

KEYNOTE

Evolve

Traditional Games Breaking into SocialNetworks: A View from the FrontlineLouis Castle - CEO, Instant Action Inc.

Develop in Brighton is back for its fifth year with over 80 quality sessions given by international development experts and around 1200developers getting together to share ideas, learn from each other and network.

Evolve will open the conference again on Tuesday 13 July. It will focus on how to develop games for new platforms including mobile,iPhone, XBLA, and new markets like social and casual gaming.

Find New Content: Hundreds of game developers in one place - this is a great opportunity to source original content.Stay One Step Ahead: Get up-to-date with new trends, learn about new technologies and meet innovative companies at the ExpoMake New Contacts: Meet new people and catch-up with colleagues at the many social and networking events.

WILL THE PLAYSTATION MOVE SUCCESSFULLYCAPTURE THE WII AUDIENCE?

The unveiling of Sony’s PlayStation Moveat this year’s Game Developers Conferenceoffered the industry a valuable insight intothe platform holders plans to expand thePS3’s demographic.

However, a little under 70 per cent ofvoters in the latest MCV online survey arenot convinced that Move will enable Sonyto engage with the broader audience. This

includes non-gamers and those whoalready own Wii consoles.

Only 15 per cent think PlayStation Movewill accomplish this, while the rest arewaiting on more details such as the launchline-up before they pass judgement on theheadline-grabbing peripheral.� Take part in MCV’s next poll atwww.mcvuk.com

POLL

REVIEW SCORES

MCV provides the most important average review scoresof the last few days – all sourced from Metacritic...

*Metacritic scores correct at the time of going to press

DoW II: Chaos Rising,PC, THQ

86%Dragon Age: Awakening,

PC, EA

82%Metro 2033,

360,THQ

82%Infinite Space,

DS, Sega

76%

MARGIN MAKER

87%

FINAL FANTASY XIIFORMAT: 360 DEVELOPER: SQUARE ENIX PUBLISHER: SQUARE ENIX1

LAST WEEK TITLE/FORMAT PUBLISHERTHIS

WEEK

2 FINAL FANTASY XIII PS3 SQUARE ENIX

3 1 BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 360 EA

4 3 HEAVY RAIN PS3 SONY

5 2 BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 PS3 EA

6 FINAL FANTASY XIII: LIMITED EDITION 360 SQUARE ENIX

7 FINAL FANTASY XIII: LIMITED EDITION PS3 SQUARE ENIX

8 7 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS Wii NINTENDO

9 4 ALIENS VS PREDATOR 360 SEGA

10 9 JUST DANCE WII UBISOFT

Charts compiled by Game Guide/CompleteEPOS Solutions. For more information aboutComplete EPOS Solutions call 01543370002. For more information about theGame Guide call 01606 836347.

PokémonHeartGoldDS Nintendo

1 2 3 4 5

INDIE CHARTS - ALL FORMATS

DEAL OF THE WEEK

Antigrav is distributing Power A’s range ofPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilveraccessories for fans of the monster-catching series, with two new bundles.

The Basics Kit features trifold gamestorage cases, collectible charm stylus

pens and a custom-printed themedcleaning cloth.

The Essentials Kit also includes acleaning cloth, three character-basedstylus pens and a Pokémon-branded zipcase, which stores up to three game cards.

67%No

18%Let’s wait and see

Sponsored by

& Power Supply

& Starter Pack

A step in the right direction

For more information on our full range of products please contact your distribution account manager or our sales team on [email protected] | www.hubbaccessories.com

RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET


NEW

15%Yes

Zavvi customers can save £40when they pick up an Xbox 360Elite, HDMI cable and a copy ofTHQ’s post-apocalyptic FPS Metro2033 for £219.95.

NEW

NEW

SUPER STREETFIGHTER IV + FREE T-SHIRTPS3, CAPCOM

[PRE ORDERS]

2. SUPER SF IV + T-SHIRT360 ..................................................................CAPCOM

3. JUST CAUSE 2: LIMITED EDITION360 ............................................................SQUARE ENIX

4. JUST CAUSE 2: LIMITED EDITIONPS3 ............................................................SQUARE ENIX

5. SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION + T-SHIRT360 ..................................................................UBISOFT

6. RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED ED.360 ................................................................ROCKSTAR

7. RED DEAD REDEMPTION: LIMITED ED.PS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR

8. ALAN WAKE: LIMITED EDITION360 ..............................................................MICROSOFT

9. POKÉMON SOULSILVER - 3D CASE EDDS ..................................................................NINTENDO

10. POKÉMON HEARTGOLD - 3D CASE EDDS ..................................................................NINTENDOWeek ending March 19thSource: SHOPTO.COM

TOP 10

[PRE ORDERS]

2. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS – AWAKENINGPC ............................................................................EA

3. POKÉMON SOULSILVER – 3D CASE EDDS..................................................................NINTENDO

4. POKÉMON HEARTGOLD – 3D CASE EDDS..................................................................NINTENDO

5. C&C4: TIBERIAN TWILIGHTPC ............................................................................EA

6. METRO 2033360 ........................................................................THQ

7. GTA: EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITYPS3 ................................................................ROCKSTAR

8. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS – AWAKENING360 ..........................................................................EA

9. JUST CAUSE 2: LIMITED EDITION360 ........................................................................360

10. METRO 2033PC ..........................................................................THQWeek ending March 19thSource: AMAZON.COM

TOP 10GOD OF WAR IIIPS3SONY

Sponsored by

IN STORE: POOLE

ONLINE

£29.99 £29.99 £29.99 £24.99 £39.99

£29.99 £29.99 N/A £24.99 £44.99

£24.99 N/A N/A £19.99 £39.99

£25.00 N/A £15.00 N/A N/A

£23.95 £16.95 N/A £17.95 £34.95

£22.97 £17.97 N/A £17.97 £35.97

£24.99 £17.99 £24.99 £17.99 £36.99

£24.85 N/A N/A £19.85 £34.65

Dawn of War II: Chaos RisingPC, THQ

Resident Evil 5: GoldPS3, Capcom

RETAILBIZ: HIGH STREET


How has 2010 been for you so far?Average. Just ticking over. We started offwell just after Christmas, but it’s tailed offa bit since. We obviously get busier on aFriday when the big new titles come out,but it’s often dependent on what thesupermarkets are pricing them at. Wewere lucky with Final Fantasy XIII, we didwell off that, because the supermarketsdidn’t knock it right down. We were only acouple of quid dearer than Tesco so wewere able to make money on that game.

What do you think aboutsupermarkets’ plans to enter the pre-owned space?I can’t see it working. Who is going towant to trade games in with them? Ifthey’re sticking out new £30 releases at£15, what are they going to give you whenyou trade in a full-price game? 50p?

What do you think will be big sellersthis summer?I reckon Alan Wake will do pretty well –that one’s shaping up nicely.

God of War III should keep things tickingover through summer, as should the newPokémon games. Splinter Cell andSplit/Second are taking everyone’s fancyat the moment.

There’s a lot of great games comingout this year, although there doesn’t seemto be quite as many triple-A titles as therecould be.

This week we speak to AndyHarris from Peterborough’sSeventh Heaven…

Ben 10: Vilgax Attacks360, D3P

FROM THE FRONTLINE

PRICE CHECK

Sonic Classic CollectionDS, Sega

Yakuza 3PS3, Sega

“I can’t see pre-owned working in

supermarkets – whois going to trade?”

NINTENDO DS [FULL PRICE]THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK TITLE PUBLISHER

2 4 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS NINTENDO

3 6 SONIC CLASSIC COLLECTION SEGA

4 2 SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING SEGA

5 3 MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER’S INSIDE STORY NINTENDO

6 9 STYLE BOUTIQUE NINTENDO

7 5 ZELDA: SPIRIT TRACKS NINTENDO

8 8 MARIO KART DS NINTENDO

9 7 DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING NINTENDO

10 10 MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS SEGA

WII [BUDGET PRICE]THIS WEEK


JUST DANCEDEVELOPER: UBISOFT (FRANCE) PUBLISHER: UBISOFT


GOD OF WAR IIIFORMAT: PS3 DEVELOPER: SONY PUBLISHER: SONY

PC CD-ROM [FULL PRICE]THIS WEEK


2 DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS – AWAKENING EA

3 1 BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 EA

4 3 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 SEGA

5 2 DAWN OF WAR II: CHAOS RISING THQ

6 4 NAPOLEON: TOTAL WAR SEGA

7 METRO 2033 THQ

8 5 THE SIMS 3 EA

9 13 LEFT 4 DEAD 2 EA

10 9 THE SIMS 3: WORLD ADVENTURES EA

[ENTERTAINMENT - ALL PRICES]

OFFICIALUKCHARTS[1]

[2]

[3]

C&C4: TIBERIAN TWILIGHTDEVELOPER: EA LA PUBLISHER: EA

WII [FULL PRICE]THIS WEEK


NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WIIDEVELOPER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO

2 3 MARIO KART WII NINTENDO

3 2 SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING SEGA

4 4 BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE – VILGAX ATTACKS D3P

5 5 MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS SEGA

6 8 F1 2009 CODEMASTERS

7 9 TOY STORY MANIA DISNEY

8 13 JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR UBISOFT

9 6 ALICE IN WONDERLAND DISNEY

10 10 FIFA 10 EA

[5]

RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS


Check out RETAILBIZ at WWW.MCVUK.COM

THIS WEEK

PROFESSOR LAYTON & PANDORA’S BOXDEVELOPER: LEVEL 5 PUBLISHER: NINTENDO

1

2 2 WII FIT PLUS NINTENDO

3 3 WII SPORTS RESORT NINTENDO

4 4 WII PLAY NINTENDO

5 21 LEGO INDIANA JONES: ORIGINAL LUCASARTS

6 5 MONOPOLY EA

7 7 CARS: RACE-O-RAMA THQ

8 6 EA SPORTS ACTIVE EA

9 12 PEPPA PIG: THE GAME P2 GAMES

10 MADAGASCAR KARTZ ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

1

[4]

2 2 BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 360, PS3, PC EA

3 1 FINAL FANTASY XIII 360, PS3 SQUARE ENIX

4 3 JUST DANCE Wii UBISOFT

5 METRO 2033 360, PC THQ

6 5 WII FIT PLUS Wii NINTENDO

7 4 HEAVY RAIN PS3 SONY

8 9 WII SPORTS RESORT Wii NINTENDO

9 7 SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING PS3, 360 Wii, DS SEGA

10 6 COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 360, PS3, PC, DS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

11 DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS – AWAKENING 360, PC EA

12 C&C4: TIBERIAN TWILIGHT PC EA

13 11 FIFA 10 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS, PC, PSP EA

14 13 BEN 10: VILGAX ATTACKS 360, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2 D3P

15 10 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WII Wii NINTENDO

16 8 ALIENS VS PREDATOR 360, PS3, PC SEGA

17 12 BIOSHOCK 2 360, PS3, PC 2K GAMES

18 19 FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 360 MICROSOFT

19 16 JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PC UBISOFT

20 17 LEGO BATMAN PC, DS, PS3, 360, Wii, PSP WARNER BROS

1 1

1TOP 40ALL

NEW

NEW

NEW

NEW

NEW

NEW

PC CD-ROM [BUDGET PRICE]THIS WEEK


Highest New Entry

GOD OF WAR III tops the charts this week, racking

up the second No.1 of the year for Sony after

Heavy Rain’s success three weeks ago.

God Of War III outperforms the launch of its

PS2 predecessor by 2.65 to 1 and knocks Final

Fantasy XIII down to third place after the Square

Enix RPG saw an 80 per cent fall in sales.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 holds onto second

place – only 1,000 sales behind God Of War III.

THQ’s Metro 2033 is the second-highest new

entry and the only other title to debut in the Top

10, taking fifth place.

EA’s Command & Conquer 4 and Dragon Age:

Origins – Awakening just miss out on Top 10

positions, debuting at No.11 and No.12 respectively.

Capcom’s MotoGP 09/10 is the only other new

entry in the Top 40 at No.21.

[email protected]

[ANALYSIS]

SIMS 3: DESIGN & HIGH-TECH STUFFDEVELOPER: THE SIMS STUDIO PUBLISHER: EA

2 2 ASSASSIN’S CREED FOCUS

3 3 VAMPIRE SAGA: PANDORA’S BOX FOCUS

4 RED FACTION: GUERRILLA THQ

5 4 HIDDEN EXPEDITION: DEVIL’S TRIANGLE FOCUS

6 7 MYSTERY OF THE CRYSTAL PORTAL GSP/AVANQUEST

7 12 WOW: BATTLE CHEST ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

8 9 MYSTERY CASE FILES: DIRE GROVE FOCUS

9 6 HIDDEN MYSTERIES: TITANIC GSP/AVANQUEST

10 SNIPER: ART OF VICTORY CITY INTERACTIVE

PS3 [FULL PRICE]THIS WEEK


GOD OF WAR IIIDEVELOPER: SONY PUBLISHER: SONY

2 2 BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 EA

3 1 FINAL FANTASY XIII SQUARE ENIX

4 3 HEAVY RAIN SONY

5 4 COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

6 7 UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES SONY

7 MOTOGP 09/10 CAPCOM

8 5 ALIENS VS PREDATOR SEGA

9 9 FIFA 10 EA

10 16 ASSASSIN’S CREED II UBISOFT

XBOX 360 [FULL PRICE]THIS WEEK


BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2DEVELOPER: EA DICE PUBLISHER: EA

2 METRO 2033 THQ

3 1 FINAL FANTASY XIII SQUARE ENIX

4 3 COD: MODERN WARFARE 2 ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

5 6 FORZA MOTORSPORT 3 MICROSOFT

6 DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS – AWAKENING EA

7 4 ALIENS VS PREDATOR SEGA

8 7 FIFA 10 EA

9 5 BIOSHOCK 2 2K GAMES

10 13 BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE - VILGAX ATTACKS D3P [SO

UR

CE

](c

) E

LS

PA

, C

om

piled

by C

har

tTra

ck

RETAILBIZ: RETAIL CHARTS


WEEK ENDING20/03/10

21 MOTOGP 09/10 PS3, 360 CAPCOM

22 15 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV 360, PS3, PC ROCKSTAR

23 20 MARIO KART WII Wii NINTENDO

24 25 ASSASSIN’S CREED II 360, PS3, PC UBISOFT

25 18 PROFESSOR LAYTON: PANDORA’S BOX DS NINTENDO

26 21 MARIO & SONIC: WINTER OLYMPICS Wii, DS SEGA

27 28 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS DS NINTENDO

28 35 SONIC CLASSIC COLLECTION DS SEGA

29 30 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 PC SEGA

30 LITTLEBIGPLANET PS3, PSP SONY

31 NEED FOR SPEED: SHIFT PS3, 360, PSP, PC EA

32 22 MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER’S STORY DS NINTENDO

33 31 RESIDENT EVIL 5 360, PS3, PC CAPCOM

34 LEFT 4 DEAD 2 360, PC EA

35 26 UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES PS3 SONY

37 27 TAKE A BREAK’S PUZZLE MASTER DS UBISOFT

36 LEGO INDIANA JONES: ORIGINAL Wii, DS, PS3, 360 LUCASARTS

38 PEPPA PIG: THE GAME Wii, DS P2 GAMES

39 33 PES 2010 360, PS3, PC KONAMI

40 BAYONETTA 360, PS3 SEGA

1

PSP [FULL PRICE]THIS WEEK


BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE - VILGAX ATTACKSDEVELOPER: PAPAYA STUDIOS PUBLISHER: D3PUBLISHER

1

12 2 LITTLEBIGPLANET SONY

3 3 FIFA 10 EA

4 6 JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR: THE GAME UBISOFT

5 4 GRAN TURISMO SONY

6 5 ASSASSIN’S CREED: BLOODLINES UBISOFT

7 7 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010 SEGA

8 8 DISSIDIA: FINAL FANTASY SQUARE ENIX

9 F1 2009 CODEMASTERS

10 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010 KONAMI

FORMATS 1

RE

RE

RE

RE

NEW

NEW

NEW

NEW

NEW

NEW

RE

RE

RE

RE

sourcebookcreative and promotional SErvices

3DITel: 0845 4582898www.threedi.net

AN.X Ltd.Tel: 020 7785 7156www.anxagency.com

Ark VFX Ltd.Tel: 0114 268 4999www.arkvfx.net

Barrington HarveyTel: +44 (0)1462 456780www.bhpress.co.uk

BastionTel: +44 (0)20 7421 7600www.bastion.co.uk

Gfk Chart-Track LtdTel: +44 (0) 20 8741 7585www.chart-track.com

Dilute RecordingsTel: 01483 306834www.diluterecordings.com

Eye-D Creative LtdTel: +44 (0)20 7407 1440www.eye-dcreative.co.uk

FEREFTel: +44 (0)207 292 6330www.feref.com

FINK Creative LtdTel: 01480 302350www.finkcreative.com

FluidTel: +44 (0)121 212 0121www.fluidesign.co.uk

Freeform.LondonTel: 020 7183 6664www.freeformlondon.co.uk

FrontroomTel: 020 7384 5400www.frontroom.com

Game Frontier LtdTel: 0870 420 2424www.gamefrontier.com

Indigo PearlTel: +44 (0)20 8964 4545www.indigopearl.com

JR DESIGNTel: +44 (0) 7824 506436www.joeryandesign.co.uk

Media Safari PRTel: +44 (0)1225 471 202www.mediasafari.co.uk

More CreativeTel: 020 7561 6010www.morecreative.co.uk

MultiplayTel: +44 (0)20 7100 1337www.multiplay.co.uk

Parker Consulting LtdTel: 07771571639www.parkerconsulting.biz

PMA MarketingTel: 020 7483 0568www.pmamarketing.com

RAINBOW PRODUCTIONSTel: +44 (0)20 8254 5300www.rainbowproductions.co.uk

RealtimeUKTel: 01772 682 363www.realtimeuk.com

Richard Jacques StudiosTel: 07831 756977www.richardjacques.com

Shorewood.BlueprintTel: 020 7183 9666www.shorewood-blueprint.com

SideTel: +44 (0) 207 631 4800www.side.com

SKYSKRAPER®

Tel: +44 (0)20 7252 3288www.skyskraper.net

Studio CO2

Tel: +44 (0) 1483 414 415www.studioco2.com

The Audio Guys LtdTel: +44 (0) 1788 565230www.theaudioguys.co.uk

The PixelTel: 0800 043 1040www.thepixel.com

ÜberTel: 0114 278 7100www.uberagency.com

uk distribution and logistics

DiscstributionTel: + 44 (0) 845 4308735www.discstribution.com

EntaTechTel: 0333 101 1000www.entaonline.com

GemTel: 01279 822822www.gem.co.uk

Meroncourt Europe LtdTel: +44 (0) 1462 680060www.trade.meroncourt.co.uk

Trilogy Logistics LtdTel: 0845 456 6400www.trilogy-uk.com

international distribution

ComputerLand dooTel: +381 11 309 95 95www.computerland.rs

CURVEBALL LEISURETel: 01792 652521www.thegamecollection.net

FuntasticTel: +61 3 9419 5444www.funtastic.com.au

GameStreamer, Inc.Tel: 001-813-527-0383www.gamestreamer.netLO

TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS

WWW.INTENTMEDIA.CO.UK/SOURCEBOOK

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SERVICE COMPANIES

In association with

Tel: +44 1 480 210 621www.usspeaking.com

LOCALISATION QA AND TESTING

4-Real Intermedia GmbHTel: +49 (0) 69809088 - 0www.4-real.com

Absolute QualityTel: +44 (0)141 220 5600www.absolutequality.com

ANAKAN GmbHTel: +49 (0) 30531420450www.anakan.de

BabelTel: 01273 764100www.babelmedia.com

Cenega Poland Sp.Zo.oTel: +48 22 574 2578www.cenega.com

Enzyme LabsTel: +1 (450) 229-9999 ext.312www.enzyme.org

Orange StudioTel: +39 051 588 04 50www.orangestudio.it

PartnertransTel: +44 1753 247731www.partnertrans.com

PlayableGamesTel: 020 7421 6487www.playablegames.net

Testronic Laboratories LtdTel: +44 (0)1753 653722www.testroniclabs.com

Universally SpeakingTel: +44 1 480 210621www.usspeaking.com

U-TRAXTel: +31 30 293 2098www.utrax.com

GUIDE PLEASE CONTACT: [email protected] OR 01992 535647

manufacturing services

Arvato digital servicesTel: 0121 502 7800www.arvatodigitalservices.com

DISCHROMATICS LTDTel: 01495 243222www.dischromatics.co.uk

MPO UKTel: +44 (0) 20 8956 2727www.mpo-international.com

Multi Media Replication LtdTel: +44(0) 1264 336330www.replication.com

OK MediaTel: +44 (0) 20 7688 6789www.okmedia.com

TechnicolorTel: 0208 987 7829www.technicolor.com

The Producers LimitedTel: 0845 234 2444www.theproducers.co.uk

Total Console Repair LtdTel: 08719 181 721www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk

recruitment

Aardvark SwiftTel: 01709 876877www.aswift.com

AmiqusTel: 01925 252588www.amiqus.com/games

Game Options LtdTel: +44 (0)1382 731909www.gameops.co.uk

Specialmove Consultancy LtdTel: +44 (0) 141 585 6491www.specialmove.com

legal services

Harbottle & LewisTel: +44 (0)207 667 5000www.harbottle.com

Marriott HarrisonTel: +44 (0)20 7209 2000www.marriottharrison.co.uk

software development

ChaYoWo GamesTel: +1 917.650.0010www.chayowogames.com

Crytek UKTel: +44 115 949 0808www.crytek.com

Data Design InteractiveTel: +44 0 1384 44 79 00www.datadesign.uk.com

xaitment GmbHTel: +49 (0) 6897-600 80-0www.xaitment.com

gaming accessorieS

AntiGrav Media LtdTel: 01932 454929www.antigrav-media.co.uk

Hubb AccessoriesTel: 01642 204343www.playwithhubb.com

I-Globe Accessories LtdTel: 01332 756610www.i-ga.co.uk

Logic3 plcTel: 01923 471000www.logic3.com

Pebble Entertainment GmbHTel: +49 (231) – 477 927 0www.pebble-entertainment.com/en

Pinpoint Consumer Elec.Tel: +44 (0) 1606 558 428www.pinpointce.co.uk

International Distribution Guide

TO ADVERTISE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION GUIDE PLEASE CONTACT [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION


AUSTRALIAAll Interactive.................Helensvale Town Centre

AUSTRIAKoch Media GmbH...............................Rottenmann

Play Art Multimedia Handels GmbH....Rankweil

BELGIUM

CLD DISTRIBUTION S.A.ZI Noville les Bois, Rue de la Tour,

2b 5380 FERNELMONT, Belgium

Phone: 0032 81 83 02 07

Fax: 0032 81 83 02 09

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.cld.be

Wholesaler Gaming products

Official Benelux distributor for

Horelec S.A. ...........................................Bruxelles

BENELUX

GAMEWORLD Cornusbaan 1, 2908 KB Capelle A/D IJssel

Tel: +31 10 298 3838

Web: [email protected]

EBS BeneluxLorentzweg 1

3752 LH Bunschoten-Spakenburg

The Netherlands

Phone: +31 (0)33 201 21 00

Fax: +31 (0)33 201 21 01


Website: www.ebs-benelux.com

CYPRUSGibareio.............................................................Nicosia

GOODTONESGREAT GAMES LTD1 Alkaiou Street / Office 1 /

Engomi / Nicosia 2404 / Cyprus

tel. +357 22 666612

www.greatgames.com.cy

DENMARK

GATEWAY DISTRIBUTION APSGateway Distribution ApS

+44 1279 408 665 (UK)

+45 7026 0870 (DK)

[email protected]

www.gatewaydistribution.dk

ESTONIAAndrico ..............................................................Tallinn

FINLANDPanvision Oy.......................................................Turku

FRANCEEMC GROUPE CASINO..........Croissy Beaubourg

INNELEC MULTIMEDIA45 rue Delizy,

93692 PANTIN Cedex, France

Email purchase: [email protected]

Email export sales: [email protected]

Tel: 00.33.1.48.10.55.55

SUPREME FACTORY439 avenue de la Gare

84470 Chateauneuf de Gadagne

Email : [email protected]

Phone : 0033 432 751 165

Fax : 0033 432 751 160

GERMANYGroß Electronic .......................................Rohrnbach

Otto Group...................................................Hamburg

Playcom Software Vertriebs .......................Erfurt

Vitrex Multimedia Großhandel.....................Erfurt

GREECECentric ...............................................................Athens

Nortec Multimedia.........................................Athens

Zegetron S.A....................................................Athens

HUNGARYAntec .............................................................Budapest

ICELANDSena ................................................................Reykavik

INDIA

ISRAELHed-Arzi......................................................Or-Yehuda

ITALYCidiverte Spa ...............................................Gallarate

Coop Italia..........................................Sesto F.NO (FI)

Digital Bros spa................................................Milano

Leader Spa.................................Gazzada Schianno

Newave Italia...................................................Firenze

Promovideo SRL ...........................................Senago

NETHERLANDSEBS-Benelux...........................................Bunschoten

Gameworld BV............................Capelle A/D Ijssel

Micromedia BV...........................................Nijmegen

Favour Games..................................................Tilburg

Rigu Sound B.V. ...............2153 GB Nieuw Vennep

NEW ZEALANDGamewizz..........................................................Albany

NORWAYPan Vision Norway.....................................Trollasen

MPX.no.......................................................Sandefjord

Platekompaniet....................................................Oslo

Massemedia AS...........................................Notteroy

Pan Vision Norway..............................................Oslo

POLANDCD Projekt Sp. z o.o......................................Warsaw

TECHLAND Sp. z o.o. ul. Jana Szczyrki 12,

54-426 Wroclaw, Poland


Web: www.techland.pl

Phone: +48 71 354 46 10

Fax: +48 71 354 46 10

PORTUGALecofilmes...............................Sao Joao Da Madeira

RUSSIAHitzona.............................................................Moscow

Noviy Disk .......................................................Moscow

Soft Club..........................................................Moscow

Vellod...................................................................Mitishi

SERBIA

COMPUTERLAND DOOKumodraska 45

11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Tel:+381(0)11 309 95 95

Fax:+381(0)11 309 95 96

mail:[email protected]

website:www.computerland.rs

SINGAPOREReplay Interactive....................................Singapore

SOUTH AFRICAMidigital ..............................................Johannesburg

Nu Metro Interactive ......................Johannesburg

SPAINArdistel. S.L..................................................Zaragoza

Distribuciones Videográficas Digitales....MADRID

Lamee Software S.L. .....................................Madrid

PLANETA DEAGOSTINI INTERACTIVE

Diagonal, 662-664, 3ª planta D, 08034,

Barcelona, Spain,

Tel: +34 93 492 08 89

[email protected]

www.planetadeagostini.net

DistribucionesVideográficas Digitales ....Madrid

Distribuye Palmera................................Las Palmas

JC Distribuciones .............................................Getxo

Shine Star, S.A...........................................Barcelona

SWEDENBergsala AB............................................Kungsbacka

GAME OUTLET EUROPE AB

PO Box 5083

S-650 05 Karlstad, Sweden

Phone: +46 54 854750

Fax: +46 54 854759


Website: www.gameoutlet.se

Panvision....................................................Stockholm

SIBA AB ...................................................Gothenburg

The International DistributionGuide is dedicated to promotingcompanies outside of the UK. Ifyou are looking for new customersoverseas, then look no further...

UPCOMING FEATURESA glimpse at some of the special features coming up in MCV, the onlytrade publication that covers all sectors of the video games market...


SWITZERLANDABC Software GmbH.......................................Buchs

TURKEYARAL Import..................................................Istanbul

Nortec Eurasia...............................................Istanbul

UNITED STATES

BASCO, INC.VIDEO GAMES DISTRIBUTOR

Tel: 1-917-627-3000

Fax: 1-718-228-4401

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.bascodistribution.com

U.S. GAMES DISTRIBUTION, INC.16700 Schoenborn St.

#2 North Hills, CA. 91343

Tel: +1 818 920 9393

[email protected]

www.usgamesdist.com

UAE

ALESAYI UNITED COMPANYVideo 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

E-Mail: [email protected]

U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae

Group Website: www.alesayi.com

PLUTO GAMESPO Box 10705, Office 103-104

Emirates Islamic Bank Building, Dubai, UAE

www.pluto-games.com

Tel: +971 4261 8111

Fax: +971 4261 8112

Modern Pluto Trading LLC...............Saudi Arabia

NXT Global LLC .................................................Dubai

Pluto Derinton Games LLC............................Egypt

Red Entertainment Distribution ..................Dubai

FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: [email protected]

EDITORIAL PLANNER

FRIDAY APRIL 2nd

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALANDTERRITORY REPORT

Australia has regularly made the headlines in recentmonths, with many of the biggest adult games having tobe edited before they can be released Down Under due tothe region’s lack of an 18 certificate. MCV investigates thestate of the Australian and New Zealand games markets,speaking to suppliers, key industry personnel and analysts.

FRIDAY APRIL 16th

CHINA TERRITORY REPORTOne of the biggest markets in the Far East, China is alsoone that bears the most differences when compared toWestern territories. We explore the challenges gamespublishers and format holders alike face in the regionwith an in-depth look at China’s growing games market.We also take a look at the major trends sweeping theregion such as the rise of online gaming.

SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND NON-GAMES SOFTWARE

The success of Wii Fit Plus proved that there is still significantdemand for self-improvement software and this has been

further underlined by Electronic Arts’ efforts to bring itsbest-selling EA Sports Active brand to new platforms thisyear. So join MCV as we take a look at one of theindustry’s least traditional, but fastest-growing genres.

FRIDAY APRIL 30th

MCV AWARDS

Find out who emerged victorious from this year’s Awardsceremony. MCV brings you a full report on the biggestnight in the games industry calendar, which rewards themost deserving companies and the attending representativesfor industry excellence.

FRIDAY MAY 14th

TOP 20 INDIESIndependent retail remains a thriving sector in the UK,whch chains such as Grainger Games continuing to grow.MCV gives a run-down of the 20 best independent gamesretailers in the UK.

FRIDAY MAY 21st

AFRICA TERRITORY REPORT

With civilisation spread thinly around this gargantuancontinent, largely found on the northern and southerncoasts, Africa may seem an unlikely territory for gaming.MCV details the major players and retailers in this region,as well as the unique processes by which games arepublished and released here.

GAMING ACCESSORIES

...bringing you all the right lines

General enquiries: 01606 558 428or email: [email protected]

Road One, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 3QGwww.pinpointce.co.uk Part of the Pinpoint Group

Classic DiscRepair System

WWE DSi Crystal CaseDS Lite / DSi / DSi XL

Stylus Pack

LCD / PlasmaCleaning Mitt

Wii Charge Station Quad 360 IntercoolerTS Black

PINPOINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01606 558428 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinpointce.co.uk

TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR

KEY CONTACTS

DIRECTORYDESIGN STUDIOSFink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 302352

DISC REPAIRElm-Digitalia UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0845 643 6021Total Disc Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01202 489 500

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTIONGreen Man Gaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 7193 6910

DISTRIBUTIONBDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0777 192 7688Creative Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8664 3456Curveball Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01792 652562Discstribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0845 430 8735Gem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800GLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01708 725742Ideal Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01767 689720Logic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471 000Meroncourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01462 680060USD Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01933 227220

GAMING ACCESSORIESPinpoint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01606 558428

GAMES CONSOLE REPAIRTotal Console Repair Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 087 19 18 17 21

LOCALISATIONPartnertrans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01273 229030Testronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01753 653 722Universally Speaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 210621

RETAIL SERVICESComplete Epos Solutions Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . 01543 370002

STORE FITTINGSAMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0113 2311030UK Shopfitters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0844 257 8800

DISTRIBUTION

IDEAL SOFTWARE . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1767 689720 . . . . . . . . . . www.idealsoftware.net

DISTRIBUTION

THE NEW FORCE IN ENTERTAINMENT

DISCSTRIBUTION

www.discstribution.comDistributors of DVDs, Blu-Ray, Music CDs and Video Games

Over 100,000 Different Items to Order Online

Accepted Payments - Paypal - Google Checkout - Credit Cards - Bank Tranfers and 30 Day Credit Accounts

Call Kevin, Ashley, Richie or Pete+44 (0) 845 430 8735

DISCSTRIBUTION . . . . . . . +44 (0)845 430 8735 . . . . . . . . . www.discstribution.com

[email protected]

DISTRIBUTION

MERONCOURT . . . . . . . . . . +44 (0) 1462 680060 . . . http://trade.meroncourt.co.uk

DISTRIBUTION

CURVEBALL LEISURE . . . . . . 01792 652526 . . . . [email protected]

DISTRIBUTION

GLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01708 725742. . . . . . . . . [email protected]

DISTRIBUTION

CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION . . . . 0208 6643456 . . . . www.creativedistribution.co.uk

DISTRIBUTION

GEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01279 822800 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.gem.co.uk

TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ROB BAKER ON: 01992 535647 OR

STUDIOS

Epic Games ...................................................+1 919 870 1516

nDreams...........................................................01252 375754

Razorback ...........................................www.razorback.co.uk

Realtime Worlds ...............................+44 (0) 1382 202 821

Stainless [email protected]

TOOLS

Blitz Games Studios ......................+44 (0) 1926 880 000

bluegfx ..............................................+44 (0) 1483 467 200

Crytek ........................................................+49 69219 77660

Dolby...........................................................(0) 1793 842 922

SERVICES

amBX UK Ltd. ...............................................www.ambx.com

Ian Livingstone..................................+44 (0) 1483 421 491

Imagination Studios..............................+46 (0) 18-106930

Onteca................................................+44 (0) 151 709 0028

Partnertrans ......................................+44 (0) 1273 229030

TC Associates.................................+44 (0) 7768 883 808

Testronic Labs ..................................+44 (0) 1753 653 722

Universally Speaking.......................+44 (0) 1480 210 621

Xaitment............................................+49 6897 - 600 80-0

COURSES

University of Hull.............................+44 (0) 1482 465 951

To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Developand every week in MCV) contact [email protected]. All subscription requests should go to [email protected]

Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK andEuropean games development community. It reaches over8,000 request-only subscribers every month.

DISTRIBUTION

BDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0777 192 76888

[email protected]

DISTRIBUTION

LOGIC 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 471000 . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION

GREEN MAN GAMING. . . . . . . 020 7193 6910 . . . . . . . . [email protected]

LOCALISATION

TESTRONIC LABORATORIES . . . +44 (0) 1753 653 722. . . . www.testroniclabs.com

LOCALISATION

UNIVERSALLY SPEAKING . . . . . . . 01480 210621 . . . . . . . . . . . www.usspeaking.com

LOCALISATION

PARTNERTRANS . . . . . . . . . . . 01273 229030 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.partnertrans.com

GAMES CONSOLE REPAIR

TOTAL CONSOLE REPAIR . . . . . . . 08719 181721 . . . . . www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk

DESIGN STUDIOS

finkcreative

Design/Branding/ Advertising/ Packaging/Web

[email protected]

01480 302 352

FINK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01480 302352 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.finkcreative.com

DISTRIBUTION

USD LIMITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01933 227220. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.usdlimited.com

From the MCV Awards to our GamesDeveloper Conference, here are all theessential industry dates to put in your diary…

DIARY DATES

MARCHMCV AND XBOX 360 PUB QUIZWednesday, March 31stSway Bar, [email protected]

APRILMCV INDUSTRY EXCELLENCEAWARDS 2010Thursday, April 22ndThe Brewery, [email protected]

MAYMONETISING MOBILEWednesday, May 26th BAFTA, [email protected]

MCM LONDON EXPOSaturday, May 29th –Sunday, May 30thExCeL, Londonwww.mcmexpo.net

JUNEE3 2010Tuesday, June 15th –Thursday, June 17thLos Angeles Convention Centrewww.e3expo.com

JULYDEVELOP CONFERENCE 2010July 13th - July 15thBrighton, UKwww.develop-conference.com

DEVELOP INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010July 14thBrighton, UKwww.develop-online.net

CASUAL CONNECT SEATTLETuesday, July 20th –Thursday, July 22ndBenaroya Hall, Seattle, USseattle.casualconnect.org

AUGUSTGAMESCOMWednesday, August 18th -Sunday, August 22ndCologne, Germanywww.gamescom-cologne.com

MCV INDUSTRYEXCELLENCE AWARDS2010Thursday, April 22ndThe Brewery, [email protected]

The biggest night in the UKgames industry’s calendarreturns to The Brewery in2010, and will once againfeature awards split acrossthree main categories;Retail, PR and Marketing,and People and Industry.

A whopping 650representatives from allcorners of the UK gamestrade will be attending thisessential games industryevent that gives credit tothe industry’s mostdeserving execs.

MCV/XBOX 360 PUB QUIZWednesday, March 31st Sway Bar, [email protected]

The MCV/Xbox 360 PubQuiz gives retailers,suppliers and the mediathe chance to show offtheir general knowledgeskills in an appropriatearena for our industry –the local pub.

There will be thousandsof pounds’ worth of prizesup for grabs to the bestperformers on the night, as well as loads of top-notch booze and food.

The quiz is free to enterfor retailers and the media,and serves as a greatnetworking opportunity.

STORE FITTINGS

AMA DISPLAYS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0113 2311030 . . . . . . . . . . . www.ama-displays.co.uk

RETAIL SERVICES

COMPLETE EPOS SOLUTIONS LTD . . . . 01543 370 002. . . . . . . . www.ggepos.com

UK SHOPFITTERS

UK SHOPFITTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . 0844 257 8800 . . . . . . . . . www.ukshopfitters.com

GAME FACESThe industry was out in forcefor last week’s GAME BritishAcademy video game awards.

Among the many peoplewe accosted with a cameraat the after party was GAME’sLisa Morgan, Eidos’ IanLivingstone, Activision’s DavidTyler, ELSPA’s Andy Payneand Michael Rawlinson, Sega’sJohn Clark, Codies’ ChrisDeering, BAFTA’s Kelly Smith,Warner’s Spencer Crossley,and Future’s James Binns.

We even snapped thestars of the red carpet suchas host Dara O’Brian, CharlieBrooker, Dom Joly and – ofcourse – Shigeru Miyamoto.

A snap-happy OTR this week, with shots from the BAFTAs,

Codies’ F1 reveal and a photo request of our own...

Managing Editor: Lisa [email protected]

Editor-In-Chief: Michael [email protected]

Deputy Editor: Christopher [email protected]

Staff Writer: James [email protected]

Staff Writer: Dominic [email protected]

Online Editor: Ben [email protected]

Contributors: Andrew Wooden, WillFreeman, Rob Crossley, Colin Campbell

Advertising Manager: Lesley [email protected]

Advertising Executive: Rob [email protected]

Art Director: Stuart Moody [email protected]

Design: Adam Butler [email protected]

Production Manager: Suzanne [email protected]

Business Development: Dave [email protected]

Contributing Editor: Samantha [email protected]

Circulation & Marketing: Hannah [email protected]

EDITORIAL: 01992 535646 � ADVERTISING: 01992 535647 � FAX: 01992 535648

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS United Kingdom £150 l Europe £175 l Rest of the World £250To order your subscription via Visa, Mastercard, Switch or AMEX or to make changes to your subscription details, contact [email protected] or call 01580 883848.

SAXON HOUSE, 6A ST. ANDREW STREET, HERTFORD,HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND SG14 1JA Intent Media specialises in trade-dedicated print and

digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets.As well as MCV, Intent publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews,Mobile Entertainment, MI Pro, Audio Pro International

and BikeBiz. It also has two online-only brands:CasualGaming.biz, dedicated to the growing mass marketvideo game sector, and Licensing.biz, for everyone in theglobal licensing industry. It also runs a number of events

including the MCV Industry Excellence Awards, theLondon Games Conference and the Games Media Awards.

www.intentmedia.co.uk

MCV has an exclusive media partnership withFamitsu - Japan’s leading video games analyst

and news source

ISSN: 1469-4832 Copyright 2008

MCV is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation and the Periodical Publishers Association. Membership of the ABC and PPA provides our advertising partners with confidence in our circulation statements. For the 12 months ending December 2009, MCV had an average weekly net circulation of8,045. MCV’s circulation is 100 per cent named and zero per cent duplicated.

Please address all enquiries to:

MCV, Intent Media, Saxon House,

6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford SG14 1JA.

Managing Director/Publisher: Stuart [email protected]: 01992 535688

Finance Director: Hilary Cole Finance Manager: Michael Canham [email protected]

Printed By:Pensord, TramRoad,PontllanfraithBlackwood, NP12 2YA

Send your pictures to

[email protected]

WWW.MCVUK.COM MCV 26/03/10 49SIX DEGREES OF ACTIVISIONIt’s almost rude not to know someonewho once worked there. This week,we start with...

Paulina Bozek, who wasSony’s SingStar queenuntil she left to join herold boss and fellowdevelopment pin-up...

Phil Harrison, at Atari,which was the lateststopping off point in acareer that started atSystem 3, run by...

Mark Cale, who has abrother called...

Adrian Cale, whoused to work atGametek where thetop Euro bod was...

Kelly Sumner, who wroteone chapter of his successstory whilst on the boardof Red Octane, thecompany founded by...

Kai and CharlesHuang, who soldtheir company to,and still work for...ACTIVISION

Lisa Morgan,GAME

Duncan Cross,Asda

Martyn Gibbs,Gamestation

Don McCabe,CHIPS

Tim Ellis,HMV

Keith Sharpe,play.com

Sarah Jasper,The Hut

Jon Biggs, Morrisons

Azeem Sadiq,Comet

Graham Chambers,Amazon

Peter Willis,DSGi

Igor Cipolletta,ShopTo

Anthony Stocker,Argos

Stephen Staley,Gameseek

Joanna Hunt,Tesco

Gurdeep Hunjan,Sainsbury’s

Phil Moore,Grainger Games

MCV takes soundings from its Retail AdvisoryBoard on the biggest issues of the day. Thecurrent members are...

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For the next four weeks, OffThe Record will be dedicated tothe Wii’s greatest karaokegame. Simply send a picture ofyou, your staff, your customersor any combination thereofusing We Sing in your store,and Nordic Games will mail youa brand new copy by return,complete with mics.

The overall winner with the verybest picture will win 50 copiesfor their store. Yep, 50 – that’sover £2,000 worth of new stock.

Simply log on towww.wesinggame.com, uploadyour picture – and we’ll print thevery best here next week.

SINGYou love the Wii, you love to sing, you love We Sing, right? So, show us.

(Terms: competition open to all retailers, including on-line stores. You can enter as many pictures as you like.Limited promotion, first-come-first served, one two-microphone+game pack per store, no cash alternative)

Don’t be shy: get We Singing!

GAMES OF LIFE

>>>>>> JAMES BEAVEN, DIRECTOR, INDIGO PEARL

What’s the first game you remember

playing and really loving?

Berserk on the old Atari 2600 was

probably the first game to give me

pointy-pants and Rickets

Which game are you currently playing

the most?

Until I’ve found all 45 of those bloody

intel items, it’s going be Call Of Duty:

Modern Warfare 2.

Favourite game of all time?

Super Mario Bros games on the

NES and C&C Red Alert for the

PC. Both impacted heavily on

my social development.

Which upcoming game are

you most looking forward to?

APB and SBK X – both are utterly,

utterly brilliant (even though you

only asked for one. Again.)

ON YER BIKE

Hats off to ELSPA’s Andy

Payne and Nintendo’s David

Yarnton, who successfully

finished their Sports Relief

cycle from Rosslare, Ireland to

Murrayfield, Edinburgh in just

over a week.

They’ve raised a whopping

£962,000 (though they expect

to collect £1m by the end),

and Payne only fell off his

bike six times.

GEARED TO GO

Codemasters recently showed

off their upcoming racer F1

2010 to an assortment of

retailers, and gaming and

sports journalists. Attendees

got to try out the game,

enjoy a quick pit stop and

chat with the developers.

Various members of the

Codies crew oversaw the event

including Jeremy Wigmore

and Rod Cousens (right).

OUTNOW!OUT

NOW!

mcv580 friday 26th march 2010

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