4 MCV 24/09/10 NEWS [LEADER]
HEAD-TO-HEAD WE LOVE a good old fight in the games industry. After all, the core mechanic in most games is competition, friendly or otherwise. So to hear EA finally place down
its spoonful of humble pie, and plainly acknowledge that, no, it won’t let Call of Dutylead the pack
is fun to hear. Fun for us journalists – and fun for the rest of the industry. Because for a minute there we were all starting to think that our lead core gaming genre – the shooter – was starting to get predictable and dull. Another year, another record-breaking Halo–and another top flight Call of Duty. How predictable. That’s not to undermine the successes of those
(we talk Halobelow), but EA’s bid to disrupt the FPS party can only be good for everyone. It’ll serve to keep consumers piqued during the Christmas peak. And it gives retailers and the media (guilty as charged…) something fresh to talk about. Of course, there’s a long way to go to take out Call of Dutyand even EA isn’t bullish enough to say it will do it in one fell swoop. But the firm’s complement of shooters, Hollywood-
styled Medal of Honorand the more tactical Battlefieldseries, does give it a pincer that CoD doesn’t have yet. And the bitter rivalry between FIFA and PEShas shown that no one stays on top forever.
“There’s a long way to go to take out Call of Duty. Even EA isn’t bullish enough to say it will do it overnight. But the rivalry between FIFA and PES shows no one stays on top forever.”
AMBITIOUS REACH £28.7 MILLION is a great result. The amount made by Halo: Reachat retail last
week may pale in comparison to the £103.1 million retailers raked in during the Modern Warfare 2 launch week last year, but it’s a start. And one retail sorely needed. Of course we’ve been here before. Red Dead Redemption, Battlefield: Bad Company 2,Splinter Cell: Conviction. Brief moments of success in 2010 followed by weeks of decline. But this time it’s different, right? Yes, is the
answer. For a start games are actually coming out that can continue the momentum started by Halo. There’s Guitar Herotoday, next week there’s FIFA, the week after PES,the week after that Medal of Honorand Just Dance 2. No one is sure retail can make quite as much as it managed in 2009 – even Chart-Track’s expert mathematics plot a year-on-year decline of almost 10 per cent – but there’s every reason to believe we can come close. And with Call of Dutyand Kinect coming out within days of each other this November, anything is possible.
Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
Who needs ads? Dead ‘more effective’ than
Capcom says Case Zero proves downloads can drive awareness by James Batchelor
The Dead Rising downloadable game has the same marketing impact as a big budget TV ad campaign, says Capcom. Case Zero was released earlier this month for 400 Microsoft Points and has been downloaded half a million times in just two weeks. The game acts as a prequel
to Dead Rising 2, which is available for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC today (Friday, September 24th). It provides consumers with an original zombie adventure based on the full game, rather than a traditional demo. “It’s the most dynamic sales weapon we have ever had in our arsenal, giving us the equivalent exposure of a multi-million pound TV campaign,” said Capcom’s UK product manager Karl Reader. “We foresee other publishers will follow suit. With increasing development budgets and increased risk, several smaller
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Capcom’s Karl Reader believes Case Zero shows highlights the powerful interplay between DLC and discs
projects is only sensible. What we are seeing is a precursor to episodic gaming with Capcom at the helm.”
Reader says that the DLC can act as the catalyst to drive
consumers in-store in time for Dead Rising 2, more so than traditional marketing. “This style of digital distribution is a win-win scenario for all parties,” he said.
Sony predicts more from Move
PLAYSTATION MOVE got off to a flying start when it launched last week, but Sony says there’s much more to come from the motion controller.
The firm expects sales to pick up as we head towards Christmas, with a string of high profile games still to arrive from the platform holder. Move will be part of Sony’s blockbuster Christmas campaign, which will once again highlight the varied functionality of the PlayStation 3. “We’re excited that Move is finally in consumers’ hands, and are looking forward to
hearing about their experiences,” SCE UK marketing manager Adam Boita told MCV. “And with the release of other high profile titles such as The Fight, The Shoot and TV SuperStars over the next few months, we’re confident that we’ll build upon a successful
launch, in the run up to Christmas and beyond.” Move hit shelves last week and its flagship launch title – Sports Champions – achieved second place in the charts, only beaten by the blockbuster arrival of Halo: Reach. Other Move titles in the Top 40 included Start The Party in 29th place and Racket Sports, which managed No.32. Move-compatible titles Tiger
Woods and Resident Evil: Gold Edition also performed well. Sony told MCV that it spent £750,000 on launch marketing. Sony: 020 7859 5000
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