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Asda takes aim at Amazon UK
Supermarket joins the fray as online stores prepare for Xmas face-off Grocer plans to be aggressive on price Downloads will follow
by Christopher Dring
FORGET THE High Street price war, the biggest battle this Q4 will take place online. Asda has relaunched its
entertainment site in a bid to win over consumers this Christmas, and says it will compete better on price with market leader Amazon. It follows a string of etailer
shake-ups in recent weeks.
Play.com – which was last week bought by Japanese giant Rakuten – relaunched its site this month, as did GAME and Gamestation. Asda’s move follows the arrival of
GameStop.co.uk, which has also promised to be aggressive on pricing. The grocer has split from white label experts The Hut Group to go it alone. “We’re in charge of our own destiny,” Asda’s online head for music, video and games Frazer Locke told MCV. “It’s great for customers as we will be replicating the same prices online as we are in-store, if not cheaper. “Our new infrastructure gives us the ability to be a lot more competitive with the likes of Amazon and Play.”
IN THIS ISSUE
04 3DS MARKETING BLITZ We detail Nintendo’s outdoor promotional plans for its new red 3DS
10 BATMAN’S BACK Warner reveals the huge marketing push that heralds Batman’s gaming comeback
24 ONLIVE IS LIVE The death of consoles? Or a concept ahead of its time? MCVtakes a closer look
27 UBISOFT’S DIGITAL PLAN Chris Early talks us through the publisher’s mobile, social and free-to-play strategy
56 DVD & BLU-RAY Our new section looks at the biggest new movie releases ideal for games retailers
Asda Direct’s new entertainment website has been 18 months coming, with downloads and pre-owned still to be added
“
Our new web infrastructure lets us be more competitive with Amazon.
Frazer Locke, Asda
Asda’s new site boasts 300 games as well as 2,000 CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays. It
is run by a dedicated online music, video and games (MVG) team led by Locke, and key personnel include online trading manager Alastair Islip, online marketing manager Ally Mackie and MVG web designer Bryan Roberts. The firm also has a dedicated MVG Contact Centre and on-site self service facility for customers.
Digital downloads and pre-owned will also be added to the new website. “We will do more with digital downloads and pre- owned, but that’ll come next year. Right now we are trying to get the basics right,” added Locke.
Issue 657 Friday September 30th 2011 £3.25
Games market steps up a Gear
by Christopher Dring
CHRISTMAS CAME early for UK retail last week: physical game sales rose to its highest point since the first week of the year. UK stores generated £27.7m from game sales for the seven days ending September 24th, 136 per cent up over the week before. Renewed market
momentum came thanks to the concluding part in Microsoft’s smash hit Gears of Warseries. Gears of War
3enjoyed the biggest launch sales of any game this year. It’s the seventh largest launch for an Xbox 360 game. “Gears of War 3, the biggest console exclusive of the year, has got off to a flying start,” Xbox director Stephen McGill told MCV. “Xbox 360, without doubt, continues to be home for the best triple-A games.” The market’s recovery
wasn’t all down to Gears of War, Codemasters F1 2011 also contributed a chunk of revenue to the sector.
SONIC JOINS THE SIMPSONS
SEGA’S SPENDING big on Sonic this Christmas, with the hedgehog’s next adventure sponsoring The Simpsons. Sonic Generationswill appear around the hit series across Sky 1, Sky HD and Sky Anytime. It’s the longest Sonic campaign ever, running from October 1st to December 31st. “It’s on air every single day of the week and at a perfect time of day for dads and sons to watch TV,” said Sega’s UK marketing director Amanda Farr. “40 per cent of boys will see the idents over 60 times, an incredible frequency.”
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