RETAIL INTELLIGENCE Head to www.mcvuk.com for daily market data and news. This week our Recommended section starts on p39
NEWS
Free games could make PlayStation No.1 again
By Christopher Dring
MAJOR DEVELOPERS believe Sony can be the No.1 platform holder once again, thanks to its ambitious move into the free-to-play market. The firm has just
released a free version of SingStar,with customers having to pay for the music. Meanwhile, developer CCP is creating a free PS3 FPS called Dust 514, which also adopts the microtransaction model. “Sony making that game is a great step forward, and they should be applauded,” said Cevat Yerli, the boss of Crysis developer Crytek, which is now building free games.
“If Sony embraces free-to-play as a major way for PlayStation, that could be the key console.” CCP marketing boss David
Reid agrees: “It’s natural that the console challenger is going to be more ambitious and take more risks than the leader.
“ 1 2 3 LEADER LAND OF THE FREE
IT’S VERY EASY to be heard these days, thanks to the internet. Online disruption has offered amplification to every voice. This is very true in video games, where web platforms have liberated most-follow faces and rule-defying businesses. The most recent, most aggressive movement? The one that says free-to-play is the only way forward. Advocates will hear no argument, they are resolute: free will destroy all the traditional models. True, these days free permeates everything. From games apps to magazines, transactions now aren’t transactions, they are relationships. Games don’t just ‘launch’ any more. We’ve let the issue permeate a huge chunk of this week’s MCV as part of an in-depth investigation. We’ve spoken to most of the free-
Sony making free-to-play games is a great step forward.
Cevat Yerli, Crytek
“Last generation I was at Xbox and we were having our arses handed to us. And Xbox was the one that was trying to do crazy things with Xbox Live and so on. “Five years later, things have changed and now Sony is being more aggressive. It is a cyclical business and it feels like we’re coming around to another big turn again.”
PRE-ORDERS TOP10
1. HALO 4 Microsoft ............................................................360
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops II Activision.......................................................................................360
3. Football Manager 2013 Sega.....................................................................................................PC
4. Need For Speed: Most Wanted EA.......................................................................................................360
5. WWE ‘13 THQ...................................................................................................360
to-play businesses that matter. We’ve quizzed the experts. Our digital edition is even free on iPad and PC this week only as part of the theme. We’ve uncovered some raw home truths along the way. Free-to-play is a growing force. But it turns out that there is still an underbelly of resistance towards it in the UK. Can you blame them? This is a business model built out of crappy games – it’s only as those games got better, and more polished, that free-to-play started to prove its legitimacy. Plus, those touting this revolution say that a few hundred thousand people clicking a link and installing a Facebook game or sampling an app are more important to you than a smaller amount of people pre- ordering a game from Amazon or visiting GAME once in a while. But let’s not totally succumb to the wisdom of crowds just yet. Crowds are as often dumb as they are smart. Free isn’t a fad, but some of the posterchildren for this new era might just be.
Lastly, actual facts paint a better picture of the market opportunity in the UK than any of my posturing. Data supplied to us shows free is not necessarily a UK giant yet. Sure, the digital tipping point is coming. But it hasn’t happened yet, even in the worst year ever for UK retail sales of video games. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
November 2nd 2012 5
“Free-to-play is a growing force. But it turns out that there is still an underbelly of resistance towards it amongst UK trade and consumers. Can you blame them?”