NEWS market recovery l Square Enix RPG to trigger pre-Christmas rush
Deus Ex is a huge game for us and the marketing campaign is ready to ramp up.
“ Paul Benjamin, Square Enix Human Revolution marks the start of a blockbuster season for games
choice and consequence RPG masterpiece.” Ads will take over YouTube and run across game
websites to achieve over 50m page impressions. There will be Deus Ex-branded LoveFilm envelopes to attract film fans, while an on-pack promotion
with food brand Rustlers will get the shooter in view of supermarket shoppers. The press has heavily
praised Human Revolution, with GamesMastersaying “this has ‘game of the year 2011’ written all over it”. Square: 020 8636 3000
keep things on track year’s racing game trumps F1 2010’s 2m+ sales
“And I think that’s the platform to build upon now. This is more than we have ever spent on a marketing campaign before. We always want to do better with F1. And if we do, we get a bigger marketing campaign, and a bigger marketing budget.”
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A mosaic-style print ad – consisting of 3,000 pictures of fans – will run in The Daily Star, Sportand Metro. On top of this, a TV campaign running on mainstream channels will help drum up further interest in F1 2011. Codemasters: 01926 814132
LEADER THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
OUR THREE leading stories this week paint a pretty clear picture of the flux gaming currently finds itself. The traditional retail market continues to shrink. It’s been long predicted, but that makes it no less pleasant to live through. Nothing is filling the £50m year-on-year shortfall. Not even Zumba. Meanwhile, another publisher is ramping up its plan to offer free- to-play games, supported by online ads and microtransactions. No part for retail to play there. To cap it all off, some of the most respected entertainment firms warn the next generation of gamers won’t be ‘gamers’ at all. Hopeless, right? Certainly, retail faces some serious challenges. The road to recovery requires us to pin our hopes on a Q3/Q4 comeback. We’ve got to assume that the games coming don’t just deliver, but add to the market. Battlefieldmust widen the genre, not cannibalise Modern Warfare; Assassin’s Creedmust grow again; the dance genre bubble must balloon, not burst.
But these hopes are the same as we have at this point in every cycle – be that generational or a yearly trading one. What isn’t the same is that the market is in the midst of some huge changes. And most of them are irreversible.
ALL ABOUT THAT NEW-LOOK MCV SITE ON THE topic of major changes, regular
MCVuk.comreaders will have noticed we’ve revamped the site and added new features. Along with a customisable and clearer look, the much-watched comments are back. The backbone is a new user registration system that advocates real names and industry profile. In this day and age, people expect nothing less – this system is already proving more transparent and conducive to debate and reaction. MCV Reports, meanwhile, adds a raft of new
market data for you. From GameVision’s individual brand maps of 20 key game franchises through to reports on emerging areas like tablets, this is a key part of the site for those who need to know everything… and need to know it now. We’ve also added an MCV Pacific news feed. This is a news service covering the always-important Australia and New Zealand territory. This region is a genuine market with its own dynamics and personalities. MCV Pacific is staffed with its own
editor, offering daily updates on this sector ahead of an October launch of a fully-fledged site.
Plans are also afoot for other territories that need their own voice in an increasingly varied industry to get similar treatment – watch this space. Michael French
July 15th 2011 5
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