“I don’t look at Medal of Honor and Battlefield as individual brands.” MCV talks to EA Games marketing boss Laura Miele p18
Codemasters plots ‘landmark’ campaign to get F1 Race Stars off the starting grid
Ambitious Formula One spin-off designed for a ‘huge untapped’ F1 audience Family game due in November by Christopher Dring
A MAJOR campaign is in the works for Codemasters’ latest racing concept, F1 Race Stars.
The publisher believes its new cartoon racer can attract a ‘massive’ family audience not currently catered for by its hardcore F1 racer. “F1 Race Stars provides a new entry point for racing fans and there’s a huge, as yet untapped part of the F1 fan base that fit into the family demographic,” F1 Race Starsbrand director Hayley Holland told MCV.
“Given the reach of F1, it has the potential to entertain a massive international audience on a huge scale. “We fully intend to deliver F1 Race Starswith a major campaign and make it a landmark arrival in the winter at launch and through the holiday season. We want to capture the hearts and minds of the primary target audience, get on that Christmas wish list and make it easy for the parent gatekeeper to purchase.” Codemasters first unveiled Race Stars last week, showing off remixed licensed tracks and toonified
Codemasters’ Holland (inset) wants to get F1 Race Stars on Christmas wish lists
iconic drivers and cars. It is akin to Mario Kart, and Holland believes the fact it stars real racing heroes gives it an edge over rival products.
End of Nations marketing blitz by James Batchelor
TRION WORLDS’ MMORTS End of Nationswill be backed by the biggest campaign ever created for a free-to- play title, the publisher says. The game is due this autumn. Consumers will be able to purchase advanced units and additional options via microtransactions or by signing up for a VIP subscription. “We plan to market End of Nationsaggressively throughout the summer,” Trion Worlds’ SVP and European general manager John Burns told MCV. “We believe our campaign
for End of Nationsis the largest ever for a free-to- play game and it’s also the most comprehensive in terms of retail partnerships.
6 July 20th 2012
“Whereas many kart-style games feel like an unnatural fit in terms of characters and environments not relevant to racing, F1 Race Starsis a natural fit,” added Holland.
“Our drivers are everyone’s F1 racing heroes.” F1 Race Starswill launch in November for 360, PS3 and PC. Codemasters: 01926 814132
Gioteck: We’re defying the market
Our End of
Nations campaign is the largest ever for a free-
“
to-play game. John Burns, Trion Worlds
“Our plan is to build excitement at a variety of European consumer events, particularly Gamescom.” A closed beta kicked off earlier this week, giving select gamers a chance to try out the game ahead of release. An open beta is planned for later this summer. Trion Worlds: 01483 549547
THINGS may look bleak for most of the games industry, but some firms claim their sales are going from strength to strength. In response to ‘Games retail analysis: The only way is up’ (MCV 695 06/07/12 ), peripherals specialist Gioteck told MCVthat it is defying the overall market decline. It says sales have grown
by 41.8 per cent for the first half of the year to £2.5m. “In a challenging
environment exacerbated by the end of a format cycle, the demographics and buying behaviour of consumers have changed,” said general manager Alan Jones (pictured).
“Companies must respond quickly and decisively to meet the needs of both the trade and end user. “The industry is going through a challenging time, but there will always be room for companies who place a focus on innovation and the needs of their consumer.” Gioteck: 07748 807617