MCVquizzes over 100 retailers from around the UK – from nationwide specialist chains to independent stores – about the highs and lows of 2012 and their hopes for the games market in 2013
WHAT IS YOUR HIGHLIGHT OF 2012? FIFA 13 12% Skylanders 6%Halo 4 6%
Opening/Changing Stores 4%
Mass Effect 3 2%
Black Ops II 41% OTHER 19%
Dishonored, GTA V, Hitman, 3DS XL launch, Loss of competitors, E3 2012, LBP Vita, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Midnight openings, Vita, Less stock coming in, Forza Horizon, Voice actor events, Sniper Elite V2, Winning an MCV Award
Wii U 2%
Assassin's Creed III 2%
Technology trade-in 2%
Max Payne 3 2%
Borderlands 2 2%
OTHER 69% Price
deprectiation, George Osbourne, Uncooperative publishers
End of console cycle 2% Bugs in games 2%
THERE MAY be debate as to whether the series is losing its edge, but there’s no doubt Call of Duty is still No.1 with retailers. Black Ops IIwas championed by 41 per cent of our surveyed stores, far outperforming the second favourite FIFA 13, which got 12 per cent of the vote. And it wasn’t just new releases that pleased retailers this year. Many reflected fondly on opening new stores, midnight launches and other events and branching into technology trade-ins. Wii U only garnered a modest slice of the vote. However, the survey was conducted before the consle’s release, so retailers had no time to judge. Instead, this is based on pre-orders and anticipation.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS FACING GAMES RETAIL? Supermarkets 24%
Economic Downturn 9% Online 30%
Digital downloads and F2P 6%
Profit margins 4%
Footfall 4%
Stock levels 3% Lack of new IP 3% Street dates 2% Rates/business costs 2% Second hand codes prevention 2%
ONCE AGAIN, the greatest challenge retail faces is... retail. More than half of the High Street decried the increased competition between specialists, supermarkets and online retailers.
Interestingly, the number of store managers citing supermarkets as their biggest problem remained flat at 24 per cent – the same response as last year. But online retailers have clearly upped the game in the past 12 months, going from eight per cent in our 2011 survey to 30 per cent this year. One participant specifically referred to “the power of Amazon”. Elsewhere, the finger of blame pointed to the financial climate, as well as the growing popularity of both download games and the free-to-play sector.