INDUSTRY VOICE MATURES YOUR EYES do not deceive you, that definitely is EA and Activision on the cover of MCVagreeing on something about their rival FPS games for a change. No swinging punches, no spats, or crossed words. It’s just one example of a week in which the games media and the industry it uses showed remarkable maturity in dealing with sensitive issues and each other. From VG247’s smart live chat picking apart the ‘Lara Croft rape scandal’ to elsewhere in this issue of MCV– where support for Wii U is praiseworthy and committed, and comments by Origin about Steam are characteristically aggressive yet highly sensible. The industry seems to have suddenly made a proactive choice in being taken seriously and being heard.
“There are all sorts of companies vying for attention as legitimate games firms. And to be one, you need to sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
I didn’t expect to beat Steam in the first year. But we’ve built the foundation.
“ David DeMartini, EA
and now we are starting to add value to the service off of that foundation.”
On Newell talking about Origin, DeMartini added: “If 12 months ago you would tell me we’d be in the conversation, I would have been pretty happy. And when you look at the fact
GamesAid handing out cheques to its charities. Also due are the Games Media Awards (October 18th) and Future’s Golden Joystick Awards (October 26th), before MCM’s London Comic Con (October 26th to 28th) closes the month-long celebration. “There is no better way to
bookend LGF 2012 than with high-profile consumer shows,” said event director Kirsty Payne.
that over 12m people have downloaded Origin, we have over 50 partners that have flocked to the service in less than 12 months, and we did over $150m in revenue, which represented 400 per cent growth over the previous year – those numbers show we are making huge progress. “EA is in a really interesting place. We have this bar that is set so high, so that whether it is any of our games or services, we want to be 90 plus Metacritic at everything. “Origin is moving in that direction. We are not there yet. We understand that. But we are going to get there soon.” EA: 01483 463000
events announced
“These are just the start – we have some wonderful activities planned to celebrate the culture of gaming in unique ways. We’ll be launching the full website soon where people will be able to begin planning their London Games Festival. We’re sure it’s going to be a tremendous success.” For further information on LGF 2012, please contact kirsty.payne@ukie.org.uk
And that’s because things are more competitive than ever. As we cover on pages 8 and 14, the massive mobile and PC markets really did show up the core console market at E3 this year. There are now all sorts of companies vying for attention as legitimate games firms. And to be a legitimate games company, you need to sound like you know what you’re talking about.
CAN THINGS GET ANY WORSE
FOR UK GAMES RETAIL? IT’S BECOME such a depressingly predictable headline that we can barely muster the energy to write it. But this last weekend wasn’t strong for games retail. It wasn’t the worst weekend ever for games retail, no – but it was the second worse.
With few games out – and the ones that are being predictable sequels – plus customers having more options than ever to spend their time and gaming efforts elsewhere, this is no surprise. We all know that for now, the next two months will be simply biding time until the good stuff comes along. But in the meantime: The Amazing Spider-Man, LEGO Batman 2: Super Heroes, and Spec Opsreally do need to deliver something amazing, super or special to give retailers some hope before the summer drought kicks in. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk