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CHIEF IS BACK IN ACTION ON THE XBOX ONE P14

PLUS THE STORY OF HEARTHSTONE TUNING INTO PLAYSTATION TV

by Christopher Dring The UK games industry is spending a huge £107m on marketing this Q4.

It’s a drop on last year’s £128m, but that fi gure was skewed by the launch of three new consoles: Xbox One, PS4 and 2DS. The better comparison will be with 2012’s fi gure of £99m.

The vast majority of this money is being spent on TV ads, which are up almost 50 per cent this year in the games sector. Digital and internet spending is also rising – driven by video and live streaming platforms such as Twitch. Across the board, print, outdoor, radio and cinema advertising has declined this year, according to media planning fi rm Generation Media.

That £107m is mostly made up of spend from the usual suspects of Activision, Ubisoft, GAME, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, but there are also new big-spenders this year in the mobile space. Estimates from MCV and Generation Media suggest that the likes of Supercell, King and Gameloft may be spending upwards of £10m combined on advertising this Q4.

“Digital continues to take market share from traditional media avenues such as press, radio and outdoor,” said head of AV investment at Generation Media Jonathan Chambers. “But TV has enjoyed a resurgence in 2014, demonstrating the largest year-on-year gain of all the media channels.

“In spite of wide and varied claims that video on demand services such as Netfl ix will spell the end for TV viewing, the average

adult still consumes three hours and 52 minutes of TV per day and 88 per cent of this is viewed live. This means there are still plenty of viewers to reach in a cost-

effi cient manner, and many brands have again been making this work to their advantage this year.

“Most noticeable has been the rise of mobile games. With over 92 per cent of the UK population seeing an ad from King this year, and Supercell reaching over seven million individuals during one England football game, one would have been hard-pressed to have missed their presence on our screens this year.”

The £107m fi gure comes from a survey of major games publishers and estimates from marketing agencies.

HALO REMASTERED

Spend drops £21m year-on-year with no new hardware to promote Mobile TV advertising expected to spike

UK GAMES INDUSTRY SPLASHES £107M ON MARKETING THIS CHRISTMAS

Publishers are spending big money on TV ads for the likes of Call of Duty (top) and FIFA (above)

THE BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES

ISSUE 812 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7TH 2014

Most noticeable this year has been the rise of mobile games. Over 92 per cent of the UK saw a King ad this year.

Jonathan Chambers, Generation Media

CHEAT SHEET

04November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com

THE WEEK IN VIDEO GAM

Ok, so as it turns out, even a quiet year for Call of Duty can be

quite noisy.The mainstream media

all popped up with big news articles about the game. MCV even conducted two radio interviews to mark the game’s arrival.

Yet this was a quieter year for Call of Duty. The franchise has been steadily declining over the last three years, and this time there was no lavish blockbuster launch party, and the midnight openings were even muted – possibly due to the duel launch days (gamers could access the title a day early if they pre-ordered. Only this ‘Day Zero’ edition was in plenty supply, so anyone could buy one by walking in off the street).

It’s a shame because this year’s Call of Duty is actually very good, according to the critics. ‘The best Call of Duty in years’ appears to be the common consensus.

And you can see why, Advanced Warfare took some three years to make, which is longer than any other Call of Duty. It was built by new studio Sledgehammer Games. And Activision likes to tell the press that this was a ‘brave’ decision, but I put that in inverted commas because I’m not convinced giving the game to a studio that has not only helped make a Call of Duty before, but is also staff ed my some of the fi nest game makers in the land, is especially brave.

No, what would have been brave is if Sledgehammer

Games had said: ‘You know what we haven’t made for a while? A WWII shooter.’

This industry loves to chase trends. It was WWII shooters once, and then everyone (and I mean, everyone) abandoned that to make modern shooters, and then everyone gave up on those to build ‘near future’ games. Since the launch of Xbox One and PS4, we’ve had four of these titles. Two Call of Dutys, Battlefi eld 4 and Titanfall.

They’re all great titles. But why are all these talented, brilliant creators making eff ectively the same games? DICE, Treyarch, Infi nity Ward, Respawn and Sledgehammer... the fi nest triple-A shooters studios in the land have all been spending their time competing with each other over the same sub-set of the same genre. Call of Duty has lead the genre for years now. Where it went, others followed. Maybe, if Activision really wanted to be brave, it’s time it went somewhere else next time. cdring@nbmedia.com

THE EDITOR

This industry loves to chase trends. Why are DICE, Treyarch, Infi nity Ward and Sledgehammer eff ectively making the same game?

MUTED LAUNCH FOR CALL OF DUTY

Market DataEight new releases in the All Format Top 40 helps the games market rise week-on-week

Week EndingOctober 20th

Week EndingOctober 27th

Week EndingNovember 3rd

£20m

£10m

£0m

£13.6m438,666 units £16.3m

534,183 units

£16.6m493,041 units

BBC: WE’RE BRINGING OUR BIGBRANDS TO XBOX ONE AND PS4

CHEAT SHEET

05www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014

DOWNAfter a great

month, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor falls out of the Top Five

TOP ONLINE STORIES THIS WEEKOur biggest stories for the week ending Nov 4th

1 Sony investigating PS4 update complaints as DriveClub PS+ edition is put on hold

2 Nintendo announces Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire bundle

3 Women play more PC games and RPGs than men

4 Amazon admits it got the Fire Phone price wrong

5 The most successful Doctor Who game you’ve probably never heard of

MES

UPFIFA 15 scores

its sixth consecutive

No.1, the most of any title this year

UK RETAIL TOP 10

FIFA 15 EA12 Sunset Overdrive Microsoft

3 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition Sony

4 The Evil Within Bethesda

5 WWE 2K15 2K Sports

6 Destiny Activision

7 Forza Horizon 2 Microsoft

8 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Warner Bros

9 Skylanders: Trap Team Activision Blizzard

10 Minecraft: Xbox Edition Microsoft

HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION (XO) MICROSOFT

PRE-ORDER TOP 10

12 Grand Theft Auto V (PS4) Rockstar

3 Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One) Rockstar

4 Dragon Age Inquisition (PS4) EA

5 Super Smash Bros + GameCube Adapter (Wii U) Nintendo

6 Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 (PS4) Konami

7 Assassin’s Creed Unity Special Edition (PS4) Sony

8 Far Cry 4 Limited Edition (PS4) Ubisoft

9 Dragon Age Inquisition (Xbox One) EA

10 Super Smash Bros (Wii U) Nintendo

SPONSORED BY

EXERTIS Home is giving away £50,000 worth of Xbox prizes to UK retailers.

Throughout November and December, every £50 spent with Exertis on Xbox products (including hardware, games, accessories and points) will give them 2,500 scratch cards, and 600 of them will unveil a prize.

Prizes include Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles, accessories, games and more. All customers participating in the promotion will also enter a prize draw, with a top prize of £10,000.

The off er starts Thursday, November 6th and ends on Friday, December 12th.

For more information call 01279 822 822.

XBOX AND EXERTIS GIVING AWAY£50K WORTH OF PRIZES TO UK RETAILThe commercial arm of the BBC

said it is working on bringing the likes of Doctor Who and Top

Gear to Xbox One and PS4.And the business has vowed not to

repeat the mistakes from before, where the fi rm signed poor quality games, including the critically mauled Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock for PS3.

“We have plans in place for further releases on consoles for our major brands next year,” said Rikesh Desai, Digital Entertainment and Games director at BBC Worldwide.

“Both mobile and console are important for us as each allows for experiences that appeal to diff erent audiences in diff erent situations.”

He added: “It is about identifying partners that are passionate and have a track record of delivering quality. We cannot be complacent because we have popular IP and that wouldn’t be fair to our loyal fans.”

BBC Worldwide’s recent output includes mobile hit Doctor Who Legacy, and partnerships with Forza 5 (with Top Gear) and Minecraft (for Doctor Who).

Sony is riding a wave of success at the moment.

Its latest hardware, the PlayStation 4, has surpassed one million units sold in its first nine months on sale in the UK, and has sold over 13m consoles worldwide. It’s comfortably outselling rivals Xbox One and Wii U. And next week the platform holder is bringing a new console to market. But this one is just a little bit different.

It’s a micro-console called PlayStation TV. The hardware originally launched in Japan as the PlayStation Vita TV last November and sold 42,172 units in its first week, according to Media Create data.

“PlayStation TV is a brand new micro-console. I’d describe it as a bit of a Swiss Army Knife of a product, but predominantly its main feature is to stream your PlayStation 4 games to another room in the house,” PlayStation UK senior product manager Ben Law explains.

“Placing your PlayStation TV in a study or bedroom and letting you stream PlayStation 4 games via Remote Play is pretty cool.“

This functionality has informed the PlayStation TV’s branding. Gone is the ‘Vita’ present in the hardware’s name as it was in Japan.

“Sony announced this product originally just before Tokyo Game Show 2013, and it was released in Japan a few months prior to the launch of the PlayStation 4. Because

they don’t have PlayStation Now or a similar streaming service they called it PS Vita TV,” PlayStation UK PR boss David Wilson explains.

“But we have a different take at this point in time because the PlayStation 4 is very well established and has done very well. So we see the device as more of an extension of the PlayStation 4. You can play Vita games, not every single Vita title because PlayStation TV doesn’t have the touch screen and back panel, but compatible games can play on it.

“It still has the functionality that was outlined in Japan, but the PlayStation Vita TV title was to reflect what the product meant in Japan when it launched. That’s the distinction.”

DEEP POCKETS The ability to stream games from your PS4 to another screen is all well and good. But a PlayStation 4 is still setting consumers back £350, and the accompanying

PlayStation TV costs £84.99. But Law is confident that core gamers will buy this. “PlayStation TV is the perfect accompaniment for current PS4 owners, who have potentially owned the console for nearly 12 months,” he says.

“PlayStation TV is the most cost-effective route of getting access to your PS4 games in another room in the house without having to change the set up in the main room.

“The device also offers a wider range of features on top of this functionality. We’ve already seen the impact on PS Vita when Remote Play functionality was added and we’ve seen from research consumers want this kind of solution.”

ENTRY LEVELThe Remote Play functionality may be a big selling point, but PlayStation TV is actually a console in its own right.

SONY’S ‘SWISS ARMY KNIFE’

The PlayStation TV micro-console launched in Japan last year and has been a slow seller. But now Sony is readying the hardware for the West with a new

message for a different audience. Alex Calvin reports

PlayStation TV launches on November 14th with an RRP of £84.99

PlayStation TV has been developed by the biggest game company. We’re the first major gaming brand to make a micro-console.

Ben Law, PlayStation UK

06November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com

PLAYSTATION TV

PlayStation TV is a bit of a Swiss Army Knife product. But its main feature is to stream to your PS4 games to another screen.

Ben Law, PlayStation UK

“It does a lot of other stuff as well. In addition to that main feature, you can play compatible PlayStation Vita games on a television for the first time, which is a nice feature if you’re a big Vita fan as well,” says Law.

“And also using the PlayStation Store you have access to old PlayStation One and PSP titles and play those on a TV. It sets itself up as a micro-console as well as a streaming platform for the PlayStation 4. As you also have access to the PlayStation Store, you can use the video services through that. You can also play Vita games from a Memory Card.“

Indeed, it may not play high-end PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 games (yet) but it does play a range of top PlayStation titles.

And at the sub-£100 price point of £84.99, it has the potential to speak to a mass and younger market. Maybe even the same audience that picked up the Wii all those years ago.

“It definitely stacks up as entry-level hardware. It streams PlayStation 4 games, but you

can also play games through the PlayStation Store,” Law says.

“It could actually be someone’s entry into console gaming. And you also have movies, too.”

CONSOLE COMPETITIONThe PlayStation TV launches at a time when a number of big companies are launching micro-consoles. Amazon recently released its Fire TV – which has game functionality – while Google has plans to bring similar hardware to stores with the Nexus Player. They have similar price points, have the same TV and film streaming capabilities, but Law believes PlayStation TV’s gaming heritage gives it an edge.

“PlayStation TV is created by PlayStation, the biggest game company in the world,” Law says.

“We’re the first major gaming brand to develop a micro-console, and the ability to play PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PSP, PlayStation One and indie games makes it a really different proposition to anything else out there.”

PlayStation TV has been on a journey. It was originally positioned as a means to play some Vita games on the big screen in Japan. Now it’s coming to the West, it’s about playing PlayStation 4 titles in a different room of your house.

And this position will change once again next year when streaming and game rental service PlayStation Now rolls out in the UK, which will include PS3 games.

“The nature of the product is that it is going to evolve over time,” Law says.

“People will be able to stream or rent PlayStation games from PlayStation Now. Once that service comes to the UK, it’ll open up a lot of opportunities. There’s no firm date on PlayStation Now in the UK yet, but there will be a beta here.

“We’re really excited about that proposition. It will change what we can communicate on PlayStation TV. Bur first and foremost it’s about streaming your PlayStation 4 games.”

PlayStation TV uses the exact same user interface as the PS Vita

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014

PLAYSTATION TV

07

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com08

LONDON GAMES CONFERENCE

The London Games Conference is less than two weeks away. The schedule

is already nailed down and the delegate list is filling up.

The event, which looks at the rapidly changing face of video games marketing, kicks off on Wednesday November 19th with a new all-day format. An impressive line-up of experts are set to speak to more than 250 delegates.

Here are the eight main reasons you should attend:

1. NEW DAYTIME FORMATWe’ve changed from being

an evening event to a daytime one – this gives more time, for more speeches and even better networking opportunities.

2 LEARN HOW TO SELL MORE GAMES

LGC 2014 will reveal how you can get your games in front of the right audiences. With more games fighting for market attention than ever before, we’ll focus on the marketing challenge.

3 FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT NATIVE CONTENT MEANS

The hot marketing trend today is around creating commercial messaging that can be integrated into editorial content and promoted. Buzzfeed does that better than anyone else, and Will Hayward, BuzzFeed’s vice president of Europe, will reveal the firm’s unique approach, using real life examples from the games market.

3 GET BETTER AT SOCIAL MEDIA

We’ll have Rick Kelly, Global director of gaming sales at Facebook, on the stage. Sara May Wellock, lead community manager at Sony Xdev Studios Europe will also speak on building thriving communities that play, create and share.

5 DISCOVER THE VALUE OF LIVE EVENTS

Rupert Loman, CEO of Gamer Network, will share the experience the outlet has gained from building EGX into Europe’s premier live

gaming event. Loman will deliver detailed data about the benefits of live engagement with gamers. He’ll also discuss changing trends in UK gamers, mapping direct feedback against Metacritic scores, examining changes year-on-year and detailing console ownership expectations.

6 FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH YOU SHOULD BE

SPENDING ON MARKETINGNick Parker, CEO and founder of Parker Consulting, will share marketing investment levels across mobile, PC and console – and the results they are delivering.

7 GET A GLOBAL (AND A UK) PLAN

Nathan Lindberg, vice president of global sales at Curse Gaming, will reveal the firm’s research on how to speak to global game communities with local sentiment.

8 AND THAT’S JUST THE START

We’ll also have IGN, Ubisoft, Green Man Gaming and others on the

stage; expect a packed room full of games market senior execs, marketers and more, too.

We already have delegates confirmed from across the games business, including: Hauppauge Digital SARL, Nordic Games, Rocket, Green Man Gaming, Arvato/Sonopress, Testology, Heaven Media, Twitter, Brand Gulture Sport & Ent, Indigo Pearl, Drum, 101 London, Carbon Digital, Future Games of London, Plan of Attack, Wikia and Team Dignitas.

You need to be there. For the full LGC 2014 agenda, speakers list and ticketing details, visit londongamesconference.com. For more information on the event, email smather@nbmedia.com or call on 020 7354 6001. For information on sponsorship opportunities email ctallon@nbmedia.com or call 01992 535 647.

London Games Conference is sponsored by Twitch, IGN, Curse, Respondez, Google and OPM Recruitment.

EIGHT REASONS TO ATTEND LONDON GAMES CONFERENCE 2014

Here’s why you should sign up for this month’s conference on the changing face of video games marketing

Over 250 games industry figures attend the annual LGC event

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEKTHIS WEEK: FAR CRY 4

[INFO]Released: November 18th

Publisher: Ubisoft

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Distributor: Exertis

Contact: 01279 822 800

UBISOFT is focusing on TV to market Far Cry 4. The publisher has bought spots against sports, fi lms and comedy watched by the 18 to 34-year-old male audience.

Ads will also appear on video on demand services. And the game also has ads in cinemas alongside new blockbuster fi lm Interstellar as well as a radio campaign, aimed

at the same 18 to 34-year-old male demographic.

Promotion for Far Cry 4 will also be appearing on digital outlets such as Spotify and The Lad Bible.

In store Ubisoft has front of store positioning for the game, and is going to be working closely with Sony to ensure a greater presence at retail in the build up to Christmas.

WAYNE GREENWELL Brand Manager, Ubisoft

WE saw great success with Far Cry 3 when

it launched in November 2012. It went on to be the No.1 rated shooter of 2012 according to Metacritic and continued to sell strongly through into 2013 by which point Far Cry had established itself as a new contender in the FPS market.

Building on from its award-winning predecessor, Far Cry 4 delivers the most expansive and immersive Far Cry experience ever and introduces a host of new features and gameplay mechanics to improve the gameplay and enjoyment in every direction. Far Cry 4 has been received incredibly well amongst press and consumers alike. There is a real eagerness amongst gamers to get their hands on the fi nal product and explore the beautiful environments of Kyrat on both new and old consoles alike.

AS we approach the Christmas retail period, games TV market ad pressure has rapidly increased.

Between July and September, the number of brands on air has increased by 75 per cent, correlating with an 82 per cent rise in individual TVRs in the market.

Q4 is a time for the traditional players to build TV presence to capitalise on Christmas spending.

This year, the mobile sector is proving that it will battle to maintain a share of voice on TV.

King and Supercell occupied 35 per cent of the Top Ten games TV

ad campaigns in September 2014 (individual TVRs), which placed them fi rst and third respectively.

Sony has ramped up its support with its fi rst dedicated PS4 campaign since January, with just short of 200 individual TVRs in three weeks. And Microsoft is supporting

their recent exclusives: Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive make up 25 per cent of the Top Ten games TV ads in September 2014.

If TV market ad pressure continues to rise at the current rate, brands will need to shout even louder to cut through the competition.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: GAMES TV AD MARKET HEATS UPThis week GameTime looks at game advertising going into the Q4 period

MCV GameTime is provided by Generation Media0207 255 4650 | www.generationmedia.co.uk

Indi

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VRs Brand Count

Individual TVRs

21 23

29

22

17

27

16

25

28

Brand Count

0 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

3,000

2,500

Nov ‘13 Dec ‘13 Jan ‘14 Feb ‘14 Mar ‘14 Apr ‘14 May ‘14 Jun ‘14 Jul ‘14

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014 09

MARKETING

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com10

MARKET MOVES

REZZED | Former Official Xbox Magazine editor-in-chief JON HICKS has taken a

position at PC and indie game show Rezzed. Hicks departed Future at the end of September as all of the publisher’s print publications were moved to Bath. “I’ve joined Rezzed to work on some new ways we can support independent developers,” Hicks told MCV.

“The huge success of EGX and EGX Rezzed, combined with Gamer Network’s international advertising reach, means we’re uniquely placed to help creators get the exposure they need

to make their games successful, and I’m going to be developing the best ways we can do that.

“I’ve long been an admirer of Gamer Network’s work, apart from that regrettable misstep when they hired Mike Channell, and I think we’re in the best place in the UK, if not the world, to help developers find success. It’s a shame to be parted from Master Chief, obviously, but I’m hoping I can persuade 343 to release him for some arcade work.”

IGN | Popular video journalist GAV MURPHY has moved to IGN.

Here he will be working as a video producer.

Murphy is best known for his work at Future’s gaming website CVG. After leaving the site in July he started working at Gamer Network.

“For me, IGN has always been responsible for producing the best videos across games, movies, TV and just about any other media you can consume,” he said.

“To be a part of a team that puts its audience first beyond all else is exciting and I can’t wait to start getting my videos out there.”

Murphy can now be reached at IGN at gmurphy@ign.com.

FUTURE | JOE SKREBELS has departed the publisher.

He has been at Future for two years, starting as a staff writer on Official Nintendo Magazine, before being promoted to news editor. Following the closure of that publication, he went to OXM in the same role.

“After two almost sickeningly entertaining years at Future I am, unfortunately, being made redundant,” said Skrebels.

“In the coming months, I plan to begin a regime of exercise and freelance games writing. Please hire me for your outlet/spot me while I bench press this car.”

NEW ROLES FOR FORMER FUTURE WRITERS Hicks takes role at Rezzed Murphy swaps Gamer Network for IGN Skrebels departs the publisher

APPOINTMENTS

NCSOFT | The publisher has cut a number of roles in its US and European divisions. This is due to a restructuring within the organization. The firm said in a statement that it is looking to move into mobile and tablet gaming areas.

“Today we announced a restructuring of key operations within NC West,” the company said. “As a result of this restructuring, we are implementing staff reductions across our Western operations with the exclusion of ArenaNet.

“While decisions like this are always hard, they are necessary as we begin the implementation of a new strategy designed to strengthen our footing as a leader in global entertainment.

“Moving forward, we will continue to focus on our core development capabilities and the IP that have made NCSoft

what it is today. However, we are looking to move into new business segments like mobile and tablet games as well as explore emerging technologies.

“Again, the decision to reduce staff was not an easy one, and we sincerely wish everyone well in their next endeavours.”

BIG HUGE GAMES | Brian Reynolds has bought back the name of the studio he co-founded, and plans to release its first mobile title next year. Big Huge Games was acquired by THQ in 2008, but was sold a year later. The dev was bought by 38 Studios, but that company went bankrupt. Its assets were sold at auction last November. It was here that Reynolds bought the rights to the name. The studio is focusing on mobile development, starting with strategy title DomiNations, which is set for iOS and Android.

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

EDITORIAL CONTACTS

Publisher: Michael Frenchmfrench@nbmedia.com

Group Sales Manager: Alex.Boucheraboucher@nbmedia.com

Account Manager: Conor Tallonctallon@nbmedia.com

Production Manager: Alice Sanzasanz@nbmedia.com

Designer: Sam Richwoodsrichwood@nbmedia.com

Special Projects: Lisa Carterlcarter@nbmedia.com

Head of Operations: Stuart Moody smoody@nbmedia.com

Circulation: Lianne Daveyldavey@nbmedia.com

Finance Manager: Michael Canham mcanham@nbmedia.com

Head of Design and Production:Kelly Sambridgeksambridge@nbmedia.com

US CorrespondentErik Johnsonejohnson@nbmedia.com

THE RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014 11

EDITORIAL CONTACTS

MCV has an exclusive media partnership with Famitsu – Japan’s leading video

games analyst and news source

ISSN: 1469-4832

Copyright 2014

Please address all enquiries to:Newbay Media, MCV, Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, SG14 1JA.

Printed By: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith,Blackwood, NP12 2YA

Newbay Media specialises in trade-dedicated print and digital publishing for entertainment and leisure markets. As well as MCV, Newbay publishes Develop, PCR, ToyNews, Music Week, MI Pro, Audio Pro International and BikeBiz. It also has two online-only brands: Mobile Entertainment, dedicated to the growing mass market smartphone sector, and Licensing.biz, for everyone in the global licensing industry. It also runs a number of events including the MCV Industry Excellence Awards, the London Games Conference and the Games Media Awards.

Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England

SG14 1JA

© Newbay Media 2013All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The contents of MCV are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems.

MCV is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association. For the 12 months ending December 2009, MCV had an average weekly net circulation of 8,045. MCV’s circulation is 100 per cent named and zero per cent duplicated.

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 mcv.subscriptions@c-cms.com or call 01580 883848.

Editorial: 01992 515303 | Advertising: 01992 535647 | Fax: 01992 535648

WE ARE PLAYING...I’ve tried to put down Sunset Overdrive in favour of Civilisation and Alien. But I can’t. It’s just the most bonkers fun you can have on Xbox One right now.Christopher Dring, Editorcdring@nbmedia.com

Still mostly Forza Horizon 2, although I’ve sampled a little Lords of the Fallen and Sunset Overdrive. Still missing Dark Souls 2.Ben Parfi tt, Associate Editorbparfi tt@nbmedia.com

I’ve been out of this world this week, enjoying my holiday by conquering planets in Civ: Beyond Earth and hiding in cupboards in Alien Isolation.Matt Jarvis, Staff Writermjarvis@nbmedia.com

MCV takes soundings from its Retail Advisory Board on the biggest issues in the industry. The current members are...

Charlotte Knight GAME

Steve Moore Simply Games

Jon Hayes Tesco

Ketu Patel Amazon

Sarah Jasper The Hut

Phil Moore Grainger Games

Igor Cipolletta ShopTo

Dermot Stapleton Get Games

Niall Lawlor GameStop

Phil Browes HMV

Craig Watson Dixons Retail

David Firth Shop Direct

Don McCabe CHIPS

Gurdeep Hunjan Sainsbury’s

Steve Thomas Xbite

Simon Urquhart Microsoft

Robert Lindsay Games Centre

Stephen Staley Gameseek

Robert Hennessy John Lewis

Paul Sulyok Green Man

James Cooke Argos

This week I’ve been playing Freedom Wars, if only because it’s the closest thing we have to an Attack on Titan game in the West. Alex Calvin, Staff Writeracalvin@nbmedia.com

Full-day conference and networking event featuring expert advice from

Event Partner Event Partner Event Partner

Event Partner Livestreaming Partner

www.londongamesconference.com/buy-tickets

or contact smather@nbmedia.com or call 020 7354 6001

Discounts for UKIE, TIGA and Game Republic members

Wednesday, November 19th One Wimpole Street, London

2014

BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW

Full-day conference Starts 10amTickets Cost £349

MONTHLY CHARTS

TITLE FORMAT PUBLISHER 01 FIFA 15 360 EA 02 FIFA 15 PS4 EA 03 FIFA 15 PS3 EA 04 FIFA 15 XO EA 05 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor PS4 Warner Bros 06 Forza Horizon 2 XO Microsoft 07 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor XO Warner Bros 08 Super Smash Bros 3DS Nintendo 09 DriveClub PS4 Sony 10 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS4 Sony 11 The Evil Within PS4 Bethesda 12 Forza Horizon 2 360 Microsoft 13 Alien Isolation PS4 Sega 14 Destiny PS4 Activision Blizzard 15 Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel 360 2K Games 16 Minecraft: Xbox Edition 360 Microsoft 17 Destiny XO Activision Blizzard 18 Alien Isolation XO Sega 19 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS3 Sony 20 The Evil Within XO Bethesda 21 Destiny 360 Activision Blizzard 22 Skylanders Trap Team 360 Activision Blizzard 23 The Sims 4 PC EA 24 Alien Isolation 360 Sega 25 Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel PS3 2K Games 26 Disney Infi nity 2.0 360 Disney 27 Bayonetta 2 Wii U Nintendo 28 Destiny PS3 Activision Blizzard 29 NBA 2K15 PS4 2K Games 30 Tomodachi Life 3DS Nintendo 31 The Last of Us Remastered PS4 Sony 32 The Evil Within 360 Bethesda 33 The Evil Within PS3 Bethesda 34 Alien Isolation PS3 Sega 35 F1 2014 360 Codemasters/Bandai Namco 36 Grand Theft Auto V 360 Rockstar 37 Skylanders Trap Team Wii Activision Blizzard 38 Mario Kart 8 Wii U Nintendo 39 Watch Dogs PS4 Ubisoft 40 F1 2014 PS3 Codemasters/Bandai Namco

INDIVIDUAL FORMATS TOP 40: OCTOBER (SEPT 28TH - OCT 25TH)

THIS MONTHS UPS AND DOWNS

REVENUE generated from software sales

fell by one per cent year-

on-year

FEWER games were

sold this month than last – but FIFA 15

did launch in September

HORROR games Alien Isolation and

The Evil Within push Sega and

Bethesda up the publisher

rankings

THE PS4 SKU of

Minecraft helps the

construction title rise up the

charts

October was not a kind month for UK video games retail as game sales are tracking behind when compared to the same period last year. Alex Calvin looks at the charts for the month

THE video games market for October is looking remarkably disappointing. 2.23m units were sold, a reduction of seven per cent year-on-year. Month-on-month, the number of units sold is down 21.5 per cent. What’s even more disappointing about these numbers is the fact that last October the market was in something of a lull before the launch of the PS4 and Xbox One. There are a few reasons for this. The install base

on the PS4 and Xbox One is well below that of the PS3 and Xbox 360. And sales of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games have fallen sharply. FIFA 15 is No.1 for the second month running. Not only was it the single best-selling game, it also takes the top four spaces in the individual charts.

And Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor takes second place, and makes Warner Bros No.2 in the publisher rankings.

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com12

DATA OCTOBER

TITLE FORMAT PUBLISHER 01 FIFA 15 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, Vita, PC EA 02 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor PS4, XO, PC Warner Bros 03 Forza Horizon 2 XO, 360 Microsoft 04 Destiny PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard 05 The Evil Within PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda 06 Alien Isolation PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Sega 07 Super Smash Bros 3DS Nintendo 08 Minecraft: PlayStation Edition PS4, PS3 Sony 09 DriveClub PS4 Sony 10 Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel PS3, 360 2K Games 11 Skylanders: Trap Team PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii Activision Blizzard 12 Minecraft: Xbox Edition 360 Microsoft 13 Disney Infi nity 2.0 PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360 Disney 14 NBA 2K15 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 2K Games 15 F1 2014 PS3, 360, PC Codemasters/Bandai Namco 16 Call of Duty: Ghosts PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Activision Blizzard 17 Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA 18 The Sims 4 PC EA 19 Watch Dogs PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft 20 The LEGO Movie Videogame PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, DS, PC Warner Bros 21 Grand Theft Auto V PS3, 360 Rockstar 22 Bayonetta 2 Wii U Nintendo 23 Frozen: Olaf’s Quest 3DS, DS GPS/Avanquest 24 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita, PC Warner Bros 25 Wolfenstein: The New Order PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC Bethesda 26 Tomodachi Life 3DS Nintendo 27 The Last of Us Remastered PS4 Sony 28 Sleeping Dogs: Defi nitive Edition PS4, XO, PC Square Enix 29 Terraria PS3, 360, PC 505 Games/Merge 30 Battlefi eld 4 PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC EA 31 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag PS4, XO, Wii U, PS3, 360, PC Ubisoft 32 Mario Kart 8 Wii U Nintendo 33 The Borderlands Collection 1+ 2 PS3, 360 2K Games 34 Diablo III Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edn PS4, XO, PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard 35 Sniper Elite III PS4, XO, PS3, 360, PC 505 Games 36 Fantasy Life 3DS Nintendo 37 Titanfall XO, 360, PC EA 38 Skate 3 PS3, 360 EA 39 Disney Infi nity Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS Disney 40 Hyrule Warriors Wii U Nintendo

ALL FORMATS TOP 50: OCTOBER (SEPT 28TH – OCT 25TH) LM TM TITLE MARKET SHARE 01 01 EA 31.4% 06 02 Warner Bros 10.0% 02 03 Activision Blizzard 8.3% 03 04 Nintendo 7.8% 07 05 Microsoft 7.6%04 06 Sony 7.1% 10 07 Take-Two 5.1%13 08 Sega 4.8% 14 09 Bethesda 4.7% 05 10 Ubisoft 2.7%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY PUBLISHER [UNITS]

LM TM TITLE MARKET SHARE 01 01 EA 36.5% 06 02 Warner Bros 11.3% 02 03 Activision Blizzard 8.6% 07 04 Microsoft 7.6% 07 05 Nintendo 7.0% 05 06 Sony 5.8%14 07 Bethesda 5.4% 15 08 Sega 5.1% 10 09 Take-Two 4.4% 04 10 Ubisoft 1.9%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY PUBLISHER [VALUE]

LM TM TITLE MARKET SHARE 01 01 PlayStation 4 25.9% 02 02 Xbox 360 24.5% 03 03 Xbox One 18.1% 04 04 PlayStation 3 15.0% 06 05 Nintendo 3DS 6.4% 05 06 PC 3.7% 07 07 Wii U 2.7% 08 08 Wii 1.6% 09 09 Nintendo DS 1.2% 10 10 PlayStation Vita 0.8%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT [UNITS]

LM TM TITLE MARKET SHARE 01 01 PlayStation 4 30.4% 02 02 Xbox One 22.4% 03 03 Xbox 360 22.3% 04 04 PlayStation 3 13.1% 06 05 Nintendo 3DS 5.5% 07 06 Wii U 2.4% 05 07 PC 2.2% 08 08 Wii 0.8% 09 09 PlayStation Vita 0.5% 10 10 Nintendo DS 0.4%

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT [VALUE]

01 0302

PRESENTS5 SECOND FACTS

PDP design & manufacture the Afterglow Communicator PlayStation

europesales@pdp.comwww.pdp.com

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

13.5mSony has sold 13.5m PlayStation 4s as of

September 30th, according to the fi rm’s Q2 2015

fi nancial report

6mUbisoft expects Far Cry 4 to

sell six million units in its fi rst year on sale,

according to the publisher’s fi nancial reports

£19.99The fi rst round of DLC for Destiny – The Dark Below

– is to launch in December, and will set consumers

back £19.99

6 yearsBethesda’s VP Pete Hines has confi rmed that Prey 2

has been cancelled six years after it was

fi rst unveiled

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014 13

OCTOBER DATA

If you’ve never played Halo before this is a really easy way to catch up before Halo 5 comes out.

Dan Ayoub, 343 Industries

The Halo universe is expanding.

With new Ridley Scott-produced digital feature Halo: Nightfall, a Steven Spielberg-produced Halo TV series, the Halo Channel digital programming network and a brand new entry in the core franchise – Halo 5: Guardians – all on the way, it’s an exciting time for fans of Microsoft’s massive sci-fi IP.

It’s an impressive state of health for Xbox’s flagship franchise, too. Of the games to debut on the original Xbox, only Fable and Halo spring to mind as series that have gone on to span all three generations of Xbox hardware. In fact, the success of 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved is arguably responsible for the existence of the Xbox 360 and Xbox One to begin with.

This year Halo returns to the platform it helped to build, with

remastered versions of Xbox titles Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 and Xbox 360 staples Halo 3 and Halo 4 compiled together in one package – Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

PRESERVE THE PASTTaking a franchise with a 13-year legacy and millions of fans is an obviously delicate task; change too much and you lose what made the games popular, change not enough and you fail to justify the need for a re-release.

“With any of these anniversary titles our goal is to make the game look better, to make it sound better and play as much better as we can,” says Dan Ayoub, executive producer at 343 Industries, which has handled Halo duties since the departure of Bungie after Halo Reach. “However, we want to make sure that that gameplay

is exactly the same as people remember, because people have very powerful memories of these games.”

Ayoub adds that creating a carbon copy of the gameplay even required ignoring the temptation to fix issues found in the original games.

“In the first anniversary [2011’s Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary] we maintained two bug lists, to make sure that we didn’t accidentally fix a bug that shipped in the original game,” he explains. “Those are the lengths we went to in order to ensure that the game played the same as people remember. It’s a fine line to walk.”

While many will be hankering after a completely revamped edition of the games they loved a decade ago, many will just be looking for a way to play the same game but on a new platform.

REMASTER CHIEFXbox’s biggest icon is back, and looking better than ever. Matthew Jarvis talks to

Dan Ayoub and Kiki Wolfkill, executive producers at developer 343 Industries, about Halo: The Master Chief Collection

HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION

Release Date: November 18th Formats: XO Publisher: Microsoft Developer: 343 Industries

THE BIG GAME HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com14

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014

HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION THE BIG GAME

15

343 hopes to cater to both; 2011’s Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, released on Xbox 360 exactly a decade after the original game hit the Xbox, saw the addition of a button dedicated to instantly swapping between the original game’s visual and audio style and the remastered version. The button makes its return in The Master Chief Collection.

“We focus on areas where we can make very material changes without changing the game,” explains Ayoub. “One of the reasons we had that switch button – the ability to swap the graphics back and forth – is so that you could have the game look exactly as it did when you originally played it, and then swap back and see the new graphics, the new audio; all of those things.”

It’s not just the single-player elements of the original Halo games that are being resurrected for life on a new platform; Halo 2’s multiplayer, which defined the early years of Xbox Live, is returning.

However, while Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary merely supplemented Halo: Reach’s multiplayer framework with seven redesigned maps, Halo 2’s online modes are being included just as players remember them.

“With Halo 2 the challenge for us is really around the multiplayer, because that’s what people really associate when they think of Halo 2,” Ayoub recalls. “That fantastic multiplayer was really the genesis of all of these multiplayer games that exist for us today.

“That’s the reason we’ve actually shipped the multiplayer exactly as it was ten years ago. Beyond that, we’ve added six new maps so we have a bit more fun, while still maintaining that classic experience that everyone remembers.”

THE ROAD AHEAD343 may be reviving Halo’s history in The Master Chief

Collection, but it’s also crafting the future of the series in Halo 5: Guardians.

Ayoub says that returning to the past work of Bungie and 343 itself has helped the team to retain the franchise’s legacy in the upcoming game.

“What’s interesting when you look at Halo: The Master Chief Collection is that you can really see the evolution of the multiplayer gameplay from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 4,” he explains. “And that leads into Halo 5: Guardians with the beta that we’re going to have at the end of December.

“What’s been interesting for us while doing this, is that you do see our own genesis at the same

time; you can see where our own multiplayer began with

the work that we’ve been doing with Halo 2.

“As for how it’s going to inform what we do with

Halo 5, what’s going to be fascinating for

Halo 2’s multiplayer was really the genesis of all multiplayer games that exist for us today.

Dan Ayoub, 343 Industries

Fans can switch between the original and updated graphics in the Master Chief Collection

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.comJ16

THE BIG GAME HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION

us is that, really for the first time, people are going to be voting with their gameplay. We have a lot of internal bets as to where we think people are going to spend most of their time in The Master Chief Collection, but it’s going to be very informative for us to be able to see the gameplay styles people are using, what game types people are really playing, and that’s obviously going to be huge for us down the line.”

OLD AND NEW So with existing fans to excite and refresh before the release of Halo 5, and newcomers to the series yet to enter the expanding universe, who is the Master Chief Collection primarily for?

“The answer is really both,” replies Ayoub. “What we saw with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary was that we had those people who can remember Halo as their first gameplay experience. What was interesting to me when meeting fans and talking to them

was talking to someone that was like 18 or 19 and realising: ‘Wow, this guy was nine when the first game came out, and never actually got to play it.’ So what we see is that there’s both, and we customise and make the game appealing to both types of people.

“For the people that have played it before, that’s where we go heavy on the nostalgia and make it so they can relive their experiences and remember what it was like the first time they played that game. Whereas for the person that’s never played before, that’s why we’ve taken these games and made them feel and look and play like next-gen games.

“It’s a way for people who’ve never played these games before to experience them for the first time, while still feeling like a next-gen game. As a whole, that was one of the core goals of this collection – if you’ve never played Halo before, here’s a really easy way to get in and catch up before Halo 5.”

Halo 2’s entire multiplayer component is included in this Halo collection

HALO 5 may be the IP’s next game, but with a new TV series, digital feature and hours of live gameplay and eSports footage, fans aren’t lacking Halo content.

In steps the Halo Channel, a digital network for Xbox One and Windows 8 devices that aims to tie all of these into a single portal.

“We look at the Channel as a single destination for Halo,” says Kiki Wolfkill, executive producer at 343 Industries.

“The idea is: How do we take programming and make it more than just about narrative content, but also add in all the Twitch programming and the games, and have people explore through those organically? It’s not so much ‘I’m going to go do this over here, then I’ll do that over here’, it’s more like players enter the universe and choose what they feel like doing at any given moment.”

CHANNEL CHIEF

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014

HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION THE BIG GAME

17

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com18

THE BIRTH OF HEARTHSTONE

Blizzard is a developer famed for the epic.

World of Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft... the studio’s biggest IP are giants in their genres, with triple-A production values.

Hearthstone, the firm’s first free-to-play foray, is different. It’s a collectible card game that doesn’t require any high-end processor or graphics card. It even plays perfectly well on tablets.

Yet Hearthstone, in many ways, is the quintessential Blizzard game.

“I look at this one picture to remind myself of why we are making Hearthstone,” says Yong Woo, the senior producer on the game, which launched in March to much critical acclaim.

“It’s a picture from 15 years ago of our CEO Mike Morhaime and Bob Fitch, Heartstone’s lead engineer. They’re sitting on the carpet playing a collectible card game on the floor.

“When we created the Hearthstone team, our vision was to prove that a small team could still make epic Blizzard-quality games. Maybe not in terms of scale, but in terms of fun. When we thought about what game we wanted to make, we asked ourselves: “What games do we enjoy?” and as that picture suggests, that genre is collectible card games.”

Collectible Card Games, or CCGs, are mostly associated with the über-nerdy. They are deep, complex, strategic and not for the casual player. But Blizzard has a reputation of creating games in complex genres and redeveloping them for a broader audience.

“CCG is a misunderstood genre,” he adds. “A lot of people think

about CCGs and go: ‘Oh, that’s too complicated.’ We wanted to have a shot at changing that, whilst maintaining the strategic core, and apply very intuitive and visceral art and effects to make the game easy to understand and fun to watch.”

STREAMING SUCCESSThe ‘fun to watch’ aspect turned out to be crucial. The firm felt the title was going to be successful, but they were shocked at how fast it spread. This, says Woo, was largely down to livestreamers.

“Whenever any of us would play Hearthstone, the entire team would gather around to watch,” says Woo.

“It had this social element to it. But we didn’t know what would happen once this game made contact with the internet. When streaming exploded with Twitch, we were surprised. Streaming is really just you playing in the office, with all your mates behind you watching, multiplied by the internet. In retrospect, we shouldn’t have been so surprised that it

got picked up so well and really exploded into a streaming and eSports phenomenon.”

GOING BEYOND THE COREBlizzard is actively supporting its dedicated card battlers. It is giving away $250,000 in an eSports event at this weekend’s Blizzcon. It has also released an expansion called Curse of Naxxramas to offer new ways for existing fans to play.

Yet Hearthstone wasn’t a game built purely for hardcore card enthusiasts. The company wanted to make a card game for everyone. That’s part of the reason why it’s free-to-play. Woo says the game didn’t start off as a free title, Blizzard, he says, only thinks about business models after a game is finished. But free-to-play was the most sensible option when trying to attract non-seasoned CCG fans.

And it’s worked. Hearthstone received widespread coverage. Woo and his team appear to have done the impossible thing that Blizzard has built its reputation on: making a nerdy genre more accessible, whilst not alienating the hardcore.

“There is a false notion that a game needs to be really complicated to be strategically interesting,” he concludes.

“We often bring up the example of chess. Chess is an elegantly simple game, but its strategic depth is enduring centuries of mastery. That’s been our approach with Hearthstone, take away unnecessary complexity so it is easy to understand, but retain the depth. I think that is what makes Hearthstone different from the other CCGs that are out there.”

THE STORY OF HEARTHSTONE

Forget Warcraft, Diablo and Starcraft, the most talked about title from Blizzard right now is a free-to-play card game. Christopher Dring speaks to the sensation’s senior

producer Yong Woo about the birth of Hearthstone

Collectible Card Games are misunderstood. A lot of people think they are too complicated. We wanted to have a shot of changing that.

Yong Woo, Blizzard

Streaming is one reason for Hearthstone’s success, says Woo

Call our specialist sales team01279 822 822

store.exertisgem.co.ukwww.exertisgem.co.uk

ERP£49.99

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com20

INTERVIEW CONTACT SALES

Excalibur is celebrating its tenth birthday. How has the simulation market changed in that time? Robert Stallibrass, MD, Contact Sales: To start it was largely an uncharted territory, mostly left to Microsoft with Flight and Train Simulator. Then someone came up with Farming Simulator, we released it, then suddenly there was this massive market of people who want to play real simulation products. We backed lots of horses like everyone does, but we picked a lucky one. On the back of that, that market has expanded. The trouble is there is a hell of a lot of products now. Loads of people have jumped in and done ‘me too’ type products and that has watered the market down.

You’ve invested in a number of new IPs such as European Ship Simulator. Why decide to do this? Richard Barclay, head of marketing, Contact Sales: We want to invest in new IP because you just have to be working on your own IP. There are fewer licensing deals to be had. We originally weren’t developing any titles ourselves, we were just doing licensing deals. Developers – particularly with digital distribution now – can just get a Steam account and start delivering products themselves. So we haven’t had a choice but to invest in new IP. And we want to turn European Ship Simulator into an IP the size of Euro Truck Simulator.

What’s the break down of physical and digital like for Contact Sales? Stallibrass: In August it was 25 per cent digital, 75 per cent boxed.

That makes sense. The simulation market has an older audience. In the past you have told us that 65 per cent of your customers are over 50.Stallibrass: Funny you should say that – our YouTube stats now show that 70 per cent of our viewers are between 18 and 35. A year ago, most of our viewers were over 35. Now we’ve moved into the mass market with our views. Why’s that? Is it because simulation is becoming more mainstream? Is it because the old people don’t want to play our simulation games now? We honestly don’t know.

How has YouTube changed the way you market your games?Barclay: Social media has completely turned the importance of the press on its head. As with any social media campaign it’s all about what people say to each other about relevant products. We don’t get any interest from IGN or GamesRadar, but we get a lot of the smaller guys and YouTubers interested. On a product like Post

Master, we had 100 Let’s Plays on YouTube and that product went on to sell really well. Very often that’ll include a link to the Steam page as well.

What impact do you see VR having on the simulation genre? Stallibrass: I was lucky enough to try the Oculus Rift back in one of its earlier machinations. I was staggered how realistic it was. Whether it will become mass market, I don’t know. If they sell 1m units at $200 then they have their cost of manufacturing down, which means the next version will be cheaper and they’ll sell more. Eventually it’ll become a mass market product. The team behind Euro Truck Simulator think it’s fantastic as it’s very immersive. I’m sure if it becomes a large enough proportion of the market, then our simulations will follow it.

What’s next for Contact Sales?Stallibrass: We’re very lucky with our distribution partnerships at Dovetail and Merge, and we hope to continue working with them. We’re not looking for more distribution work, but what we are looking for is to increase our own IP. That is the way forward, you have to own your own IP. Look at some of the businesses that have gone bust recently. They haven’t owned their own IP, and a lot of people have moved into the console market. In that sector, if you don’t sell every single unit that you make you are likely to lose money. The cost of goods is so high. Console isn’t here for the long term. PC is so much more flexible. Everyone has a PC.

SIMULATION SUCCESS

As its Excalibur label celebrates its tenth anniversary, Alex Calvin catches up with Contact Sales’ MD Robert Stallibrass and marketing boss Richard Barclay

about the sim market, owning its own IP and virtual reality

Contact Sales wants European Ship Simulator to become an IP the size of Euro Truck Simulator

Contact Sales marketing boss Barclay (top) and MD Strallibrass (above)

Call our specialist sales team 01279 822 822

store.exertisgem.co ukwww.exertisgem.co.uk

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Roll7 is one of the hottest indie studios in the UK right now.

It was behind the popular and infuriately addictive skating title OllIOlli, which launched on PlayStation Vita in January of this year. It was a smash hit, and garnered a cult following.

But the studio wasn’t always producing indie smash hits.

“Roll7 has been going since 2008, when we started out making educational games,” the studio’s director Tom Hegarty says.

“We did client-based games. There was a title for kids with ADHD, another about knife crime for Channel Four. As we developed as a studio we wanted to work on our own IP. The idea was to save up enough money that we could make our own games.

“We then made Gets to the Exit, which released on various app stores. It wasn’t financially successful, but it received some great reviews.”

ROUGH AND SMOOTHIndeed, mobile development was a mixed bag for the firm.

“There is no gatekeeper on mobile, so you can put something out there, you can test it, you can work on it,” Hegarty explains.

“But it’s very hard to get traction in the mobile space and you need to be good at marketing to get your name out there. It is a great place to put ideas out and get people playing your game and see what works.

“After we released Gets to the Exit we realised that we needed to move to console or Steam. The kind of games we make are hardcore, twitchy score attack games. We were limited by the touch screen with our mobile games.”

So the team set to work developing test versions of various games, one of which was OlliOlli.

“In 2012, in our rush to get towards console and PC development, we produced a load of prototypes,” he says. “OlliOlliOlli – as it was called back then – was one of them. It quickly became mine, creative director] John Ribbins and [director] Simon Bennett’s go-to game.

“We took the iOS prototype around to various events. We went to Develop in July 2012 and ended up speaking to [FuturLab boss] James Mardsen who really liked it, and recommended we speak to Sony.

“We had an email introduction to Shahid Ahmad [PlayStation Strategic Content], met with them but they weren’t very impressed with the prototypes we showed. Then we decided to show them OlliOlli and Shahid picked it up and couldn’t put it down. He handed the meeting over to the other people there. They signed it right

then. We wanted to move towards consoles and they were looking to get some exclusive Vita content. It was a no brainer for us.”

DIFFICULT SECOND GAME And now, around one year after the first OlliOlli was completed, the team is hard at work on OlliOlli 2, which Hegarty refers to as the ‘difficult second album’.

“We started working on OlliOlli 2 before the first game came out,” Hegarty says.

“We finished the game in October. Because of various QA issues with Sony, and then the Christmas period, we decided to hold off until January, so it was three months before the game came out. We deconstructed it in that time.

“By the time the first OlliOlli game came out we thought the game was terrible. OlliOlli 2 was a completely different game then OlliOlli came

out and it was really well received much to our surprise and delight. We went back to the drawing board. We looked at what people liked about the first game and decided not to tear it all apart.

“Everything comes under so much more scrutiny the second time around. And you

do worry so much more about every minor decision. We get lost in so much tiny

detail, but it’s very hard to know what to focus on and

what to put aside.”He concludes: “Overall it’s a

really nice problem to have, that there are fans and expectation out there, but that’s countered by the

worry that we did something really well received last

time. We’re trying not to mess it up.”

ROLLING WITH THE TIMES

Roll7 director Tom Hegarty tells Alex Calvin how the studio went from developing educational games to making one of the most popular indie hits of the year

OlliOlli was Roll7’s fi rst console game

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com24

INDIE INTERVIEW TOM HEGARTY, ROLL7

Full-day conference and networking event featuring expert advice from

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Wednesday, November 19th One Wimpole Street, London

THE CHANGING FACE OF VIDEO GAMES MARKETINGBUILDING ENGAGEMENT & REACH

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Full-day conference Starts 10amTickets Cost £349

THE CHANGING FACE OF VIDEO GAMES MARKETING

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com26

MARKETPLACE

How has business been for you recently? It’s been pretty good. We have launched a website recently, gamesconnection.co.uk, that stocks a lot of retro and pro-gaming items. Business has been booming on the online side of things, as well as the brick and mortar store. The website has been going for about a month and a half and the feedback has been fantastic so far.

Why did you decide to open a retail website?The main reason is it’s just good to be able to sell retro consoles and games, as well as some professional gaming items online. It’s great to do it in store, but there aren’t many places selling that kind of stock online. We do repairs, too, which is quite unique online. We also get a lot of collectors looking for rare items online.

Have the recent blockbuster launches been a boost to business? Yes, FIFA and Destiny were huge for us. And there’s a lot of buzz around Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry 4 and especially Grand Theft Auto V. They should be great for business.

Have you been doing any events or midnight launches for some of the bigger games? Yes, we’ve been doing some

Av Kandola of West Drayton’s Games Connection tells MCV about why he’s decided to open a website to sell games, the retailer’s in-store events and customising older game hardware

SHELF LIFE

TOP 10 PRE-ORDERS

PRE-ORDER CHARTS

1. CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFAREActivision, PS4

2. Halo: The Master Chief CollectionMicrosoft ..................................................................XO

3. Call of Duty: Advanced WarfareActivision .................................................................XO

4. Football Manager 2015Sega ...........................................................................PC

5. Grand Theft Auto VRockstar ................................................................PS4 6. Dragon Age InquisitionEA .............................................................................PS4 7. Xbox One + Assassin’s Creed Unity, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, COD: Advanced WarfareMicrosoft ..................................................................XO

8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2015Konami ...................................................................PS4

9. Grand Theft Auto VRockstar ...................................................................XO

10. Far Cry 4 Limited EditionUbisoft ....................................................................PS4

PRICE CHECK: GLASGOW

ONLINEIN

-STORE

ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG

Ubisoft, XO

THE LAST OF US REMASTERED

Sony, PS4

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2014

Sega, PCFIFA 15EA, PS4

N/A £39.99 £49.99 £9.99

£54.99 £39.99 £45.99 £16.99

£23.99 £39.30 £38.30 £6.99

£46.85 £34.85 £36.85 £22.85

£24.97 £39.99 £42.99 £27.99

UPLOADINGThe latest digital releases coming

to market

FREEDOM WARS

Sony’s Japanese action RPG has launched onto PlayStation Vita

This Wii U-exclusive platform title is on the eShop now

Kojima’s stealth title is coming to PC in time for Christmas

STEALTH INC 2: A GAME OF MGS V: GROUND ZEROES

OUT NOW OUT NOW OUT DECEMBER 18TH

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014 27

MARKETPLACE

events for the bigger games. We have a LAN section of the store, so while people are waiting we have the game running on there so consumers can give it a go while they are waiting for midnight to come around.

Have you been diversifying what you sell to draw people into the store? We do all the standard gaming stuff , new stock, pre-owned titles, accessories.

We also sell a lot of retro stock, as well as digital codes. The PlayStation and Xbox points are really popular. We also sell a lot of pro-gaming items. Apart from that we’re running out of room. We even do custom consoles. We pimp up NES and SNES consoles. There’s a lot of demand for that. People love their hardware dressed up in a Mega Man or Zelda theme.

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

Games Connection4 Station Road,

West Drayon, UB7 7BY

Phone: 01895 422 322Website: gamesconnection.co.ukEmail: sales@gamesconnection.co.uk

INCOMING We’re just weeks away from new Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games coming to stores, as well as Grand Theft Auto V for Xbox One and PS4

TITLE FORMAT GENRE PUBLISHER TELEPHONE DISTRIBUTOR

November 7th

Football Manager 2015 PC Management Sega 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Planes: Fire and Rescue Wii U, Wii, 3DS Kid Bandai Namco 01215 069 590 Avantage

The Wolf Among Us PS4/XO/PS3/360 Adventure Avanquest 01480 359 403 Open

Tiers to Tiara 2: Heir of The Overlord PS3 RPG NIS America 020 8664 3485 Open

November 11th

Halo: The Master Chief Collection XO Shooter Microsoft 01279 822 822 Exertis

November 13th

Assassin’s Creed: Rogue PS3/360 Action Ubisoft 01279 822 822 Exertis

Assassin’e Creed: Unity PS4/XO/PC Action Ubisoft 01279 822 822 Exertis

PES 2015 PS4/XO/PS3/360 Football Konami 020 8987 5730 Open

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor PC MMO Activision Blizzard 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC Shooter Activision 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

November 14th

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham PS4/XO/Wii U/PS3/360/3DS Action Warner Bros 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Tales of Hearts R Vita RPG Bandai Namco 01215 069 590 Avantage

November 18th

Far Cry 4 PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC Shooter Ubisoft 01279 822 822 Exertis

Grand Theft Auto V PS4, XO Action Rockstar 020 7751 2565 Open

November 21st

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor PS3/360 Action Warner Bros 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Dragon Age: Inquisiton PS4/XO/PS3/360/PC RPG EA 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Escape Dead Island PS3/360 Action Deep Silver 01256 385 200 Koch Media

Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Editon Vita Construction Sony 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric Wii U Platformer Sega 0121 625 3388 CentreSoft

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com28

ASSASSIN’S CREED

All in all there’s plenty on off er for retailers to make a killing from Assassin’s Creed.

ASSASSIN’S CREED is truly Ubisoft’s killer franchise.

Since the original game snuck onto the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2007, the Assassin’s Creed series has sold more than 73m units as of April 2014, according to Ubisoft. That’s 25m units more than the publisher’s second-biggest franchise, Just Dance.

Having leaped onto handhelds, mobile and browsers since then, this year marks the first time the core series will be split into two

games – Unity and Rogue. The latter lands on PS3 and Xbox 360, while the former is built specifically for the PS4 and Xbox One.

“Unity and Rogue are very different games: the storylines, the settings, the key features and mechanics will provide players with two completely different experiences,” says Ubisoft senior brand manager Ombeline Marcus.

“Like any game in the franchise, both titles also add to the overall story of the war between

ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY FIGURINE – ELISE, THE FIERY TEMPLAR

Modelled after the Templar from Unity, this offi cial UBIcollectibles PVC sculpture is the fi rst female fi gurine in the collection. The model can be assembled with the Arno, The Fearless Assassin fi gurine to create a diorama. Additional digital content is also included.

SRP: £34.99Manufacturer: UbisoftDistributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

Ubisoft’s historical stealth-action series returns with not one, but two, new entries this year. Matthew Jarvis takes a stab at the latest merchandise

ASSASSIN’S CREED UNITY: PRIMA OFFICIAL INITIATE EDITION

This limited-edition collector’s guide includes artifacts and a hardcover strategy guide, encased inside a weathered box embellished with the Assassin crest.

SRP: £74.99Manufacturer: Prima GamesDistributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG DUVET SET

Fans can sleep tight in this duvet and pillow case set printed with Black Flag protagonist Edward Kenway.

SRP: £21.99 (Single), £33.99 (Double)Manufacturer: DreamtexDistributor: DreamtexContact: +44 (0) 844 499 8465

ASSASSIN’S CREED: ARENA BOARD GAME

For those looking to assassinate with less mess and legal ramifi cations, this board game challenges Assassins to fi nd the perfect mark.

SRP: £36.94Manufacturer: Cryptozoic EntertainmentDistributor: Cryptozoic EntertainmentContact: hobby@cryptozoic.com

ASSASSIN’S CREED

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 201429

ASSASSIN’S CREEDSponsored by

gamingmerchandise uk

Assassins and Templars. It’s possible some of our fans will be interested in picking up both games in their quest to find the truth.”

Now is the ideal time for retailers to stock a range of related merchandise – and there’s plenty of choice. This includes products from a range of third-party vendors, as well as Ubisoft’s own officially-licensed UBIcollectibles line.

As a series built on historical realism and heavily stylised characters, products such as

books and clothing are particularly effective at complementing the Assassin’s Creed universe.

The iconic hidden blade is a particularly popular product, with a range of replicas available for the eight main games, while branded Mega Bloks based on characters from the games provide an alternative for younger fans – who may not even be old enough to play the games themselves.

All in all, there’s plenty on offer for retailers to make a killing.

THE ART OF ASSASSIN’S CREED UNITY

This 192-page book collates artwork, sketches and images from the PS4, Xbox One and PC title. Over 300 images are in this tome, including sketches and concept art, accompanied by commentary from the artists and creators behind the work.

SRP: £29.99Manufacturer: Titan BooksDistributor: Littlehampton Book ServicesContact: 01903 828 500

ASSASSIN’S CREED MEGA BLOKS: GUNBOAT TAKEOVER

Young Assassins can live out their seafaring fantasies with this Mega Bloks kit based on the naval combat of the series. Includes four fi gures and multiple accessories.

SRP: £51.99Manufacturer: Mega BloksDistributor: Mega Brands United KingdomContact: +44 (0)1844 350 033

ARNO’S PHANTOM BLADE

This UBIcollectibles life-size replica of Unity hero Arno’s weapon includes a functional hidden plastic blade and retractable crossbow arms, and can fi re a soft dart.

SRP: £34.99Manufacturer: UbisoftDistributor: Gaming Merchandise UKContact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY MESSENGER BAG

Unity fans should be hoping that no one is looking to kill the messenger while they’re wearing this branded shoulder bag.

SRP: £34.99Manufacturer: Bioworld MerchandisingDistributor: Gaming Merchandise UKContact: hello@gamingmerchandiseuk.com

30

HOT PRODUCTS

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com

Sponsored by

HOT PRODUCTS

XBOX ONE CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE LIMITED EDITION WIRELESS CONTROLLER

Fans racking up killstreaks in the latest Call of Duty can do so in style.

This limited edition Xbox One controller features a custom design inspired by Advanced Warfare’s high-tech Sentinel Task Force.

Elements of the new design include a metallic chrome D-pad and Xbox button, as well as features already found on the standard Xbox One controller like Impulse Triggers.

The controller also includes exclusive Supply Drop DLC, which provides players with a variety of new in-game content.

CHERRY G80-3850 MX-BOARD 3.0 KEYBOARD

For those PC gamers who prefer the feel of a keyboard under their fi ngers instead of a gamepad, Cherry has a new mechanical keyboard on off er.

The G80-3850 MX-Board 3.0 is a full-size 17.5-inch QWERTY-layout keyboard with 104 keys that connects via USB 2.0. The USB cable can be detached for portability and storage.

This sturdy professional maximum-precision keyboard is available in a selection of four diff erent key switch types – Cherry MX Red, Blue, Black or Brown.

The switches used within the peripheral are designed for gaming use as they are light to touch and provide fast and precise input.

Underneath the switches are Cherry’s gold crosspoint contacts, which provide increased accuracy and responsiveness.

The hardware also allows the operation of 14 keys at the same time, with no key-ghosting eff ects. And with the Win-lock key, the Windows button can be disabled.

[INFO]

RRP: £54.99Release Date: Out NowDistributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

[INFO]

RRP: £59.99Release Date: Out Now Distributor: ExertisContact: 01279 822 822

MCV takes a look at the best accessories heading to UK retail. This week, we check out a militarised Xbox One controller and sit down with a pro keyboard from Cherry

Call our specialist sales team01279 822 822

exertis.co.uk/homeexertis.co.uk/home/store

TO LIST YOUR COMPANY HERE AND ONLINE EVERY WEEK PLEASE CONTACT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM OR CALL 01992 535647

DIEGO MANCA MURATel: +44 (0) 2032909246 (UK) +39 328 2730697 (Italy)www.diegomancamura.com

........................................................................................................

PRESSXTRA.NET(Part of the Indigo Pearl Group)Tel: 0208 964 4545http://PressXtra.net

........................................................................................................

PERFORMANCE DESIGNED PRODUCTS LTDTel: 01628 509047www.pdp.com

........................................................................................................

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

GAMING ACCESSORIES & MERCHANDISE

CREATIVE & PROMOTIONAL STUDIO DIVATel: 0117 214 0404www.studiodiva.co.uk........................................................................................................

BRIDGE MEDIA GROUPTel: 020 3283 8466www.bridgemediagroup.com........................................................................................................

FLUIDTel: +44 (0)121 212 0121www.fl uidesign.co.uk........................................................................................................

GAME ROOMTel: +44 (0) 20 7729 3033www.gameroom-agency.com........................................................................................................

BY FRONTROOM

CLD DISTRIBUTIONTel: +32 81 83 02 02www.cld.be........................................................................................................

GAMING MERCHANDISE UK LIMITEDTel: 0207 167 6997www.gamingmechandiseuk.com

........................................................................................................

SOUNDING SWEET LTDTel: +44 (0) 1789 297453www.soundingsweet.com........................................................................................................

STUDIO CO2Tel: +44 (0)1483 414 415www.studioco2.com........................................................................................................

SUPERHEROTel: +4020 3031 6180www.superheroscreen.com........................................................................................................

THE AUDIO GUYS LIMITEDTel: +44 (0) 1934 710024www.theaudioguys.co.uk

........................................................................................................

ÜBERTel: +44 (0)114 278 7100www.uberagency.com

........................................................................................................

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT LIMITEDTel: +44 203 137 3781www.click-entertainment.com

........................................................................................................

Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories

DEAD GOOD MEDIATel: +44 (0)7780 600 728www.deadgoodmedia.com........................................................................................................

KENNEDY MONKTel: 020 7636 9142www.kennedymonk.com........................................................................................................ MANUFACTURING

OK MEDIA LTDTel: 02076886789www.okmedia.biz........................................................................................................

KEYWORDS STUDIOS GROUPTel: +353 1 902 2730www.keywordsstudios.com

........................................................................................................

U

LOCALISATION, QA & TESTING

LOCALSOFTTel: +34 952 028 080www.localsoftgames.com........................................................................................................

POLE TO WIN EUROPE LTDTel: +44 (0) 20 8607 7900www.poletowineurope.com

........................................................................................................

Localization Services

UNIVERSALLY SPEAKINGTel: +44 (0) 1480210621www.usspeaking.com

........................................................................................................

VMCTel: +44 (0)1753 849 700 (UK)www.vmc.com........................................................................................................

MONETISATION & PAYMENT

MILLENNIAL MEDIATel: +44 (0) 207 151 3320www.millennialmedia.com........................................................................................................

KEY CONTACTS:

Adam Hopkinson, Commercialahopkinson@ign.com

Dan Kilby, Marketingdkilby@ign.com

Alex Simmons, Editorialasimmons@ign.com

Adam Doree, International Developmentadoree@ign.com

ADDRESS:Ziff Davis InternationalFirst Floor, 93 Newman StreetLondonW1T 3EZ

IGN is the world’s leading destination for gaming, fi lm and fan culture, attracting 55m unique visitors in June 2014 with offi ces all over the globe. Written and video content is in local language in 60 countries and is available on all screens, from IGN.com to YouTube, iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox and more.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS COMPANY AND MANY MORE ONLINE NOW AT:

COMPANY PROFILE / IGN

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDETO INTERACTIVEENTERTAINMENTAGENCIES AND SERVICE COMPANIES

AMIQUSTel: 01925 839700www.amiqus.com........................................................................................................

RECRUITMENT

MEDIA & MARKETING

LIS WELSH SEARCH & SELECTION LTDTel: +44 (0) 7968 114812www.liswelsh.com

........................................................................................................

SPECIALMOVE CONSULTANCY LTDTel: +44 (0) 141 530 4555www.specialmove.com

........................................................................................................

WAYFORWARD RECRUITMENT LIMITEDTel: 020 7734 4664 (London) 0117 966 6038 (Bristol)www.way-forward.com ........................................................................................................

CURSE, INC.Tel: +1 415 856 0056www.curseinc.com........................................................................................................

IGNTel: 0203 701 5682www.ign.com........................................................................................................

DIRECTORY

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com34

CREATIVE Fink ................................................................. info@fi nkcreative.com

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

DISTRIBUTION Click Entertainment ............................ +44 (0) 203 137 3781

Creative Distribution ......................+44 (0) 20 8664 3456

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

Enarxis Dynamic Media ............................. +302 1090 11900

Sony DADC ............................................ +44 (0) 207 462 6200

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

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

MCV DIRECTORY KEY CONTACTS

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

TOTAL DISC REPAIR DISC REPAIR

Tel: +44 (0) 1202 489500 Web: www.totaldiscrepair.co.uk

DIRECTORY

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 201435

ENQUIRIES

CONOR TALLONTel: 01992 535647ctallon@nbmedia.com

SONY DADC DISTRIBUTION

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

www.sonydadc.com

Empowering your creative business

Tel: +44 (0) 207 462 6200 Web: www.sonydadc.com

CLICK ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0)203 137 3781 email: sales@click-entertainment.com

FINK CREATIVE

Artworking Mastertronic Brand Identity Ukie Localisation Rising Star Games Advertising BBFC Website Design Deep Silver Exhibition Bethesda Illustration Appynation Digital Media IntentMedia Charity GamesAid Banners & Takeovers Konami Packaging Design Just Flight

Email: info@fi nkcreative.com Web: www.fi nkcreative.com

CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 208 6643456 Web: www.creativedistribution.co.uk

CURVEBALL LEISURE DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +44 (0) 1792 652521 Web: www.curveball-leisure.com

ENARXIS DYNAMIC MEDIA DISTRIBUTION

Tel: +302 1090 11900 Web: www.enarxis.eu

DIRECTORY

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com36

L3I GAMING ACCESSORIES

Tel: + (0)1923 471 020 Web: www.logic3.com

VENOM GAMING ACCESSORIES

Web:www.venomuk.com

Phone:+44 (0)1763 284181

Email:darren.scott@venomuk.comsam.phipps@venomuk.comtom.hodge@venomuk.com

Venom UK Gaming

@VenomGamingUK

w w w. v e n o m u k. c o m

Rechargeable Battery Pack

Hurricane Steering Wheel

New officially licensed products

Fully recharges the DUALSHOCK®4 wirelesscontroller for up to 20 hours of gameplay.

Take racing to the next level

“ ”, “PlayStation” and “DUALSHOCK” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Also, “ ” is a trademark of the same company. All rights reserved.

Tel: +44 (0)1763 284181 Web: www.venomuk.com

WANT TO ADVERTISE IN OUR DIRECTORY?

ADVERTISE WITH US

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

37www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014

INSIDER’S GUIDE

Tell us about your company.We supply high-definition 3D facial image capture and 4D facial performance capture systems, software and services.

What is your biggest success to date? Our movie and TV projects include the facial performance captures of Vincent Cassel for La Belle et la Bête and Academy Award-winning actor Adrian Brody for Houdini, and capturing facial animation for characters in the BBC’s Atlantis and Merlin.

Our biggest success to date is Remedy Entertainment licensing our 4D software for facial performance capture in the highly-anticipated Xbox One title Quantum Break.

What projects do you currently have in the works? As well as continuing to develop and improve our 4D tracking and processing software, we are also continuing to develop, test and refine our DI4D Head Mounted Camera (HMC) system.

What are the biggest challenges you face? The biggest challenge we faced until recently was the growing demand from the industry for full performance capture solutions, which our ‘sit down’ DI4D Pro system was not able to deliver.

None of the HMC solutions on the market were able to deliver the resolution and quality of image required by DI4D, which

prompted us to develop our own HMC solution.

Now that we have our own HMC solution, and have proven its capability, our biggest challenge is to keep up with the demand that this is creating.

Tell us something about your company no one knows. We were the first company in the world to use passive stereo photogrammetry technology commercially in our 3D solutions, allowing us to compute dense HD 3D scan data from a single stereo pair of images.

Colin Urquhart of Dimensional Imaging tells MCV about the firm’s facial capturing technology

Specialism: Facial performance capture systems, software and servicesLocation: 1 Ainslie Road, Glasgow, Scotland, G52 4RU

Contact:T: +44 141 585 6481W: www.di4d.comE: info@di4d.com

INSIDER’S GUIDE

THIS MONTH’S DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT:

DIMENSIONAL IMAGING

Epic Games .................................................. www.epicgames.com/careers

To be included in the Develop Directory (which appears every month in Develop and now every week in MCV) contact aboucher@nbmedia.com

WWW.DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET

Develop is the only dedicated publication for the UK and European games development community. It reaches over 8,500 subscribers every month.

DIRECTORY WHO?

FOR GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT ALEX BOUCHERABOUCHER@NBMEDIA.COM

PLEASE CONTACT MJARVIS@NBMEDIA.COM OR CALL 01992 515 303

WANT TO FEATURE YOUR COMPANY IN INSIDER’S GUIDE?

We were the first company in the world to use passive stereo photogrammetry commercially.Colin Urquhart, Dimensional Imaging

Sponsored by

Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com38

DESPITE low consumer uptake of console and PC in Thailand, digital and mobile are continuing to boom.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimates that the total Thai games market was worth $145 million in 2012. This is almost double the $76 million generated in 2008. PwC adds that the Thai games industry will exceed $226 million in value by 2018.

According to the Board of Investment of Thailand, the total value of digital games content produced in Thailand during 2011 was $294 million.

The Board adds that of the six dominant subsectors in the Thai games market, online gaming is the most prevalent, with a 48 per cent share of the market. Following this is mobile, with a share of 23 per cent. Console and handheld gaming are less popular, with a combined 14 per cent share.

The popularity of mobile gaming is driven by the ability to buy in-app purchases directly through network operators – a necessity given the dearth of credit card ownership in Thailand.

PwC estimates that mobile games revenue – produced by initial app costs and micro-

transactions – reached $73 million in 2012, and is set to increase at an annual rate of 10.5 per cent to hit $120 million by 2017.

As a result of the growing market, PwC also believes that mobile companies will promote their presence in the region. The firm states that Thai games advertising revenue will almost double from $4 million in 2012 to $7 million in 2017, at a rate of 14.6 per cent annually.

The games industry also provides a number of jobs in Thailand. More than 3,000 Thai workers are employed in the games and animation sector.

The Thai games industry will exceed

$226 million in value by 2018.

FACTFILE THAILAND

FACTFILE: THAILANDPopulation: 66,720,153Capital CIty: BangkokCurrency: BahtGDP (Per Capita): $5,675

KEY RETAILERSItem Gameshop, Nadz, New Era Interactive Media, MangPong TOP DISTRIBUTORSActive Boeki, CD Gamer, Maxsoft, Nadz, Playinter, Sicom

TOP DEVELOPERSDebuz, Sanuk Games, Novaleaf, Sandbox Global, Games Square, Extend Interactive, Kiragames

PUBLISHERS IN THE REGIONAsiaSoft, Activision, Ini3 Digital, Microsoft, NC True (NCSoft), Sony

INTERNATIONAL

MEANWHILE IN... THE WEST

THERE will be no Western release for the New Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL this year, due to slow growth of the original 3DS.

That’s the news from Nintendo CEO and president Satoru Iwata, who recently told investors that the fi rm’s latest handhelds would not expand globally until the original 3DS reaches its full potential in the West.

“The overseas markets are diff erent from the Japanese market in their stages of popularisation of Nintendo 3DS and market characteristics,” he explained.

“Neither of the cumulative sales fi gures of Nintendo 3DS in the US nor

Europe is more than that in Japan despite, based on the historical performance, bigger sales potential.

“In short, 3DS is still at an earlier stage of popularisation in these two markets.”

Iwata added that sales of 3DS software also diff er in the two regions, with software enjoying a steady sales cycle in America and Europe, while games in Japan quickly peak and fade.

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has said that the New 3DS and 3DS XL will not hit Western shores this year due to a current lack of potential

www.mcvuk.com November 7th 2014

THAILAND FACTFILE

39

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

POLAND

TECHLAND SP. Z O.O.ul. Jana Szczyrki 12, 54-426 Wroclaw, PolandEmail: business@techland.plWeb: www.techland.pl Phone: +48 71 354 46 10Fax: +48 71 354 46 10

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CONTACT CTALLON@NBMEDIA.COM

MCV WORLDWIDE

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORSIF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OVERSEAS,

THEN LOOK NO FURTHER

SWEDEN

GAME OUTLET EUROPE ABPO Box 5083, S-650 05 Karlstad, SwedenSales dept: ali.manzuri@gameoutlet.seSales dept: andreas.lindberg@gameoutlet.sePurchase dept: hamed.manzuri@gameoutlet.sePurchase dept: david.nilsson@gameoutlet.seWeb: www.gameoutlet.se

AUSTRALIAAFA Interactive, Bluemouth Interactive, Five Star Games, Mindscape, Namco Bandai Partners, Turn Left DistributionBENELUXCLD Distribution, Koch Media, Gameworld Distribution B.V.CANADAE One, Importel, Just4Games, Solutions 2 Go, VidéoglobeCYPRUSAccess, Gibareio, Zilos, Nortec MultimediaCZECH REPUBLICCenega, Conquest, Comgad, Playman, ABC DataDENMARKBergsala, Elpa, Impulse, Koch Media, Nordisk Film Interactive, Nordic Game Supply, PAN VisionFRANCEBig Ben, Innelec, Koch Media, SDO, SodifaGREECEZegatron, CD Media, Namco Bandai Partners, IGE, Nortec, Enarxis, BeaconHUNGARYCNG.hu/Cenega Hungary, CTC Trading, Magnew, PlayON, StadlbauerICELANDSena, Myndform, Samfilm, OrmssonINDONESIAMaxsoft, Uptron, Technosolution IRELANDMSE Group, BaumexJAPANAjioka, Happinet, JesnetNORWAYBergsala, Game Outlet, Koch Media, Nordic Game Supply, Nordisk Film, Pan VisionPOLANDCD Projekt, Cenega, Galapagos, LEMPORTUGALEcoplay, Infocapital, Koch Media, Namco BandaiROMANIABest DistributionSERBIAComTrade, Computerland/Iris Mega, Extreme CCSPAINDigital Bros, Koch Media, Namco Bandai Partners, NobilisSWEDENBergsala, Koch Media, Namco Bandai, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision, Wendros, Ztorm (digital)UAERed Entertainment Distribution, Pluto Games (LS2 Pluto), Viva Entertainment, Gameplay Entertainment, Geekay Distribution

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 5960Fax: 00971 4 883 5175Email: marketing@alesayi.ae U.A.E. Website: www.alesayi.ae Group Website: www.alesayi.com

NORDIC

WENDROS AB SWEDEN, NORWAY, DENMARK & FINLANDJakobsdalsvägen 1712653 HägerstenSwedenPhone: +46 8 51942500Fax: +46 8 7466790Email:HM@wendros.seLM@wendros.seWeb: www.wendros.se

CYPRUS

G3 GREAT GAMES LTD4 Gregoriou Papafl essa Street, Offi ce 101, Engomi, Nicosia 2414, Cyprus.Tel: +357 22 666612 Web: www.greatgames.com.cy

BELGIUM

CLD DISTRIBUTIONRue du Grand Champs 14 , B 5380 Fernelmont BelgiumTel: +32 81 83 02 02Fax: +32 81 83 02 09Email: infos@cld.beWeb: www.cld.be home of www.dragonwar.eu & www.mawashi.eu

NETHERLANDS

SOEDESCO B.V.Koddeweg 13, 3194 DH RotterdamThe NetherlandsTel: +31 104722462Fax: +31 104722893Email: info@soedesco.comWeb: www.soedesco.com

IRAN

DC GAMES GROUPNo.9, Hemmatian St.,Takestan St., SattarkhanTehran, IranTel: +98-912-1014090 +98-21-44228670Email: Bahizad@Doostan-Co.comWeb: www.Doostan-Co.com

WWW.MCVPACIFIC.COM

Editorial: + 61 (0)424 967 263Leigh.Harris@mcvpacifi c.com

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

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OFF THE RECORD

We all know FIFA 15 has plenty of crazy fans, but this guy takes the half-time orange.

GamePointsNow’s Chris Cook this week played FIFA 15 for 48 hours to break the Guinness World Record for ‘Longest Game Marathon Playing a Football Game’ and raise money for games charity Special Eff ect.

And you can donate here: www.justgiving.com/FifaWR

As 2K’s WWE 2K15 pile-drived onto PS3 and Xbox 360 last week, GAME Preston managed to snag a few celebrities from the sport.

Former Tag Team Champions Brian Kendrick and Paul London, as well as ex-WWE Superstar Chris Masters, showed up to perform a suplex on unsuspecting customers.

That or they arrived to perform an in-store signing.

OFF THE RECORD This week more industry folks are getting up to crazy shenanigans to raise money for charity, and as the busy release period roles around so do GAME’s in-store events

FOOTBALL CRAZY

TAGGED IN

@smcowley Call of Duty Day Zero? Can we expect COD Day Minus One next year? In fairness online retail already has a Day Minus Two edition anyway

Simon Cowley, NCSoft, Sunday November 2nd

@MrJonty Just remembered I’ve got a Prey 2 promo T-shirt. Surely the ultimate gaming hipster apparel. You could only top that with a Fez 2 one.

Jon Hicks, Rezzed, Sunday November 2nd

THE WEEK IN 140 CHARACTERSThe Tweets you might have missed in the last seven days

@GAMENewcastle For most people its Xmas when the Coke advert comes on TV. For us its when #COD comes out! less that a week to go! #CODND

GAME Newcastle, retailer, Tuesday October 28th

@GAMEKeighley Who’s ready for a spooky Halloween? We recommend Outlast, or if you want a freebie P.T. We take no credit for any scares you may face XD .

GAME Keighley, retailer, Friday October 31st

@_wotta PS4 sales now at 13.5 million. pretty amazing. Should easily surpass 15 million before the year is out.

Joe Anderson, ShopTo, Friday October 31st

@MckKirk Just seen a guy tweet that he’s been in a queue for CoD: AW since 10AM yesterday. 13 hours to go. Should have just ordered from SimplyGames. Kirk McKeand, freelance journalist,

Sunday November 2nd

@kezamacdonald Seeing a lot of adverts for the British Army/Navy across games websites today. I WONDER WHY

Keza MacDonald, Kotaku UK, Monday November 3rd

@djbteamsters Facts. Worms launched on the 17th, Team 17 born on the 7th, digital console fi rst download launched on the 7th, Guess it’s better than 666

Deborah Bestwick, Team 17, Monday November 3rd

@Mr_CHIPS When is a release date not a release date? Ask Activision #CODAdvancedWarfare #ballsup

Don McCabe, Chips, Monday November 3rd

@TheSteveBurnio Guys: COD is out everywhere before launch. There were so many copies in the wild I’m surprised Attenborough didn’t do a documentary on it.

Steve Burns, Videogamer, Monday November 3rd

OFF THE RECORD

November 7th 2014 www.mcvuk.com42

ADVANCED QUEUING

The launch of Call of Duty is a big event when it releases every year, even if Activision did confuse everyone with this year’s Day Zero Edition.

And of course, GAME stores across the country opened their doors for the launch (well, one of the launches), including the fi rm’s fl agship store at Stratford. Look at these happy gamers, grinning with delight. And they haven’t even had a go on their super special freebie yet (see right).

BOY TOYS

Amongst the mad insomniacs queuing up to get their hands on Call of Duty before anything else was sex toy brand Hot Octopuss, who gatecrashed midnight launches across London to off er those waiting free ‘guybrators’.

Yup, those are EXACTLY what they sound like. The sex toy brand seems to believe that

gamers are all single loners who are unable to get or keep girlfriends, especially now Call of Duty is out. It even calls them “soon-to-be-dumped fanboys”.

Because all gamers are men. And lonely. Hot Octopuss should really move out of the 1990s.

Loud Goat @VladmirPoopin

Deadpool. Alas Disney and Activision already made sure to hose us out of that opportunity for the foreseeable future.

Eval(‘Nzall’) @realnzall

GOOD Iron Man game. The last one was complete crap. I hope they can *cough* borrow from Batman.

AMAZING MARVEL NEWS THIS WEEK! DOES THIS MOVIE LINE-UP MEAN

MARVEL GAMES ARE ON THE HORIZON? WHAT CHARACTER DO YOU WANT TO PLAY AS?!

#GMGASKS

Alan Dang @alanwdang

DANCE DANCE GROOT

Luke Wood @LukeAWood

The obvious answer is a Black Panther game with Arkham-style mechanics, but I’d like to see a Captain Marvel game.

Akimbo Slice @randompasserby

Moon Knight in a Devil May Cry style character action game.

Jason @JayRubel

Black Panther.

Joe T @BoyInABarrel

I’d love another Captain

game was actually pretty good.

NYTESHAD517@Nyteshade517

Obviously the answer is a game where you dance as Groot

Michael@hellnagel

I want to play as Magneto. Like Watch Dogs with magnetic manipulation.

Max Ubachs @Maxubachs

Black Panther, amazing agility, fast paced combat with some vibranium weaponry later on.

NOVEMBER

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