This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
2012 HIGHLIGHTS 39


WHAT VALVE DOES NEXT


The talented developer and retailer will launch two new games this year in the digital space – shooter Counter Strike: Global Offensiveon PC and Xbox 360 and strategy title Dota 2. There have also been rumblings of a Half-Life 3 announcement. Could this be the year the firm’s most famous franchise returns?


40


ANGRY BIRDS FLOCK TO RETAIL Focus Multimedia’s PC budget range of Angry Birds games, plus a plethora of soft toys, have been big sellers on the High Street and at stores such as GAME. This year, more products are coming to retail shelves, including full console games, plus tie-in accessories and merchandise.


41


MORE MOVE Sony is continuing to support its PlayStation Move controller with TV advertising. And there’s a number of high-


40 WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO?


Doug Bone UK General Manager, Square Enix


Starting the year with a bang courtesy of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Beyond that? As a gamer, Street Fighter X Tekken, Mass Effect 3 and Halo 4, and as a movie fan, it’s a toss-up between The Dark Knight Risesand Prometheus.


22 January 6th 2012


Spencer Crossley UK Marketing & Sales Director WBIE


Sensibility and stability in traditional retail, rapid advancement of digital, success of new platforms and having the slightest opportunity of buying Olympic tickets. I won’t tempt fate by mentioning England and the Euros.


Steve


Perlman President, OnLive


Top-tier triple-A games developed specifically for OnLive. OnLive’s launch library was built out of PC and console games, which are great, but don’t take advantage of the far higher CPU/GPU performance achievable in the cloud.


Tim Ellis Head of Games, HMV


It’s got to be GTA V, which I’m sure will be accompanied with a huge amount of media hype. It will be good to see if the Olympics have the galvanising effect for the country, and personally I’m hoping Leeds can land a spot in the Premiership.


John


Galloway UK VP,


Namco Bandai


My hopes and thoughts for next year? First for the office hangover to go away. I’m too old for this stuff now. Second, for consumers to come back to the world of buying.


Igor


Cipolletta CEO, ShopTo.net


I’m looking forward to the abolition of LVCR [Low Value Consignment Relief in the Channel Islands] so we all can be on level playing field.


48


end games for Sony’s accessory. These include the platform holder’s own Sorcery, Valve’s Counter Strike, 2K’s BioShock Infinite, CCP’s MMO Dust 514, plus a string of sports titles.


42


MINECRAFT ON CONSOLES


The PC (and mobile) cult smash hit of 2011 returns this year on Xbox 360 – developed by 4J Studios and featuring Kinect support. It even allows cross-platform play between the Xbox 360 and PC.


43


IPAD VS KINDLE FIRE Apple’s third iPad will likely arrive later this year, but not without some serious competition. Budget Android tablets are starting to flood the market, inviting more consumers into the space. And Speakers at last year’s London Games Conference tipped Amazon’s Kindle Fire as the platform to watch in 2012. Could this be the next big gaming portable?


THE RETURN OF… 44


DEVIL MAY CRY Later this year Capcom will reboot its Devil May Cry series, with Cambridge- based developer Ninja Theory at the helm. But first, the publisher will launch a HD collection of the first three games in the series.


45


TOMB RAIDER Square Enix will reboot the Tomb Raiderseries this year. The new title challenges a 21-year-old Lara to survive the horrors of a mysterious island.


45 46 43


METAL GEAR The hit stealth series is back, with a HD collection on 360 and PS3 this February, followed by Snake Eater 3Dfor 3DS. Konami and developer Platinum Games is also hard at work


on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.


47


MAX PAYNE The third game in the bullet-time shooter series arrives in March from Rockstar, some nine years after the last one.


48


GRAND THEFT AUTO Even the mere


announcement of a new GTAtrailer sent the internet into a frenzy late last year. It’s not confirmed for 2012, but Rockstar’s blockbuster sequel could well be this Christmas’ biggest video game. Call ofwhat?


49 SSX


It’s been five years since we last saw SSX, but finally EA’s gravity-defying snowboarding racer returns on February 17th.


50 HITMAN


Square Enix and Eidos’ other hit franchise has been missing from release schedules since 2006. Now developer IO Interactive is bringing Agent 47 back in Hitman Absolutionthis year.


www.mcvuk.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52