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MCV 17/09/10 7 NEWS
UKIE adds low-end £500 membership
Trade organisation’s new entry point package targets emerging video games firms in online, casual, social and mobile markets
by Michael French
AS PART OF its new strategy to widen its membership, trade association UKIE has introduced a £500 membership package. It’s hoped the low-cost fee will help attract the emerging wave of online, casual, social and mobile games that the organisation formerly called ELSPA wants to reach. The trade body rebranded from ELSPA to UKIE (the association for UK Interactive Entertainment) at a special Westminster event last week, attended by a number of prominent industry execs. Membership of UKIE provides access to UK sales information and research, discounts for industry events, and contribution to member taskforces and working parties addressing industry issues.
But the lower fee – which has been introduced beneath the higher-level packages such as a £2,500 associate industry
UKIE’s Michael Rawlinson is keen to support emerging businesses
member price – will help widen the pool of people contributing to the organisation.
UKIE director general Michael Rawlinson said: “Whilst the physical product market remains strong, the boundaries between traditional developers and publishers are blurring and new business models are emerging. “Our new lower membership fee shows that UKIE welcomes
these exciting new businesses and is committed to representing and supporting them.
“I’d urge anyone interested in joining UKIE to get in touch with us and take advantage of this new membership fee.” UKIE: 020 7300 6143
Read what the UKIE board thinks of the organisation’s transformation on page 17
Strategic ads key to Sniper triumph
MASTERTRONIC claims Sniper: Ghost Warrior proves smaller publishers don’t need a massive marketing budget to make their game a success. The City Interactive FPS has sold over 60,000 units since July, and is still present in the Top Five of the Xbox 360 chart – no small feat for a new IP on Microsoft’s console.
Mastertronic believes this has been driven by highly targeted marketing. In addition to print and online ads, the firm also ran an extensive London Underground poster campaign.
London Underground posters and more have driven sales for Sniper
“Sniper has been a slow burn title,” said Mastertronic’s group sales director James Cato. “It shows that it is not the amount you have to spend but
where and how you spend it that is key to a longer shelf life and strong sales.” Mastertronic: 0845 234 4242
Super Mario’s star- studded marketing push goes live
NINTENDO celebrated the 25th anniversary of Mario earlier this week with a high- profile marketing campaign. A 90-second TV ad ran
during Coronation Street on Monday, September 13th, featuring a collection of stars including Jonathan Ross, Ant and Dec, and Patrick Moore. This will be backed up by 30-second, 60-second and 90- second TV ads running for three weeks, while a 60-second spot will be shown in cinemas to around 1.7m movie goers. Nintendo is also encouraging gamers to play Mario games at 19 live dates running until September 19th, offering players 106,400 trials at six different UK locations.
There is also a huge range of special 25th anniversary POS
New Super Mario Broson the DS is now the largest-selling Mariotitle ever released in the UK, as well as the biggest- selling platform game ever.
available to retailers, as well as editorial takeovers and special features appearing in mainstream and specialist publications. On top of this Nintendo has a
YouTube takeover planned with a dedicated Mario channel, plus a micro-site at
Nintendo.co.uk that will house videos submitted by the public about why they love Mario and his games. “Mario embodies everything that is great about video games,” Nintendo’s marketing manager Rob Lowe told MCV. “We wanted to celebrate what he has done for Nintendo over the years, evolving with the company whilst also staying true to his values.
“He is a true hero for many people young and old, and this is what we tried to showcase.” Nintendo: 01753 483700
SUPER RECORD BREAKER The title has sold over 2m
copies since its release in June 2006, and has clocked up a total of 173 weeks in the All Formats Top 40 so far.
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