Online retailer Amazon is preparing to open its very first bricks and mortar outlet in Seattle, reports suggest.
‘Amazon sources’ say the store could open in a matter of months, selling books, Kindle devices and Amazon exclusives. It’s part of an initiative to test whether opening a chain of stores would be worthwhile, reports Good e-reader.
Amazon, whose headquarters are in Seattle, is set to open a smaller boutique-style shop as opposed to a large retail outlet. If plans go ahead, customers will be able to sample e-books via WiFi at the store.
It’s not clear if Amazon would sell video games in the store. MCV has contacted the retailer for comment.
Last year eBay opened a temporary Christmas Boutique store in London which allowed customers to browse items and buy products online.
Angry Birds developer Rovio also opened its first merchandise store in Finland last year.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/amazo...t-store/090852 ...

Digital distribution is the future in the UK -- for the sake of a lot of jobs, it had better be. UK game industry trade organization TIGA issued a new census report today, revealing a heavy focus on downloadable or social games.

71% of UK game company startups between 2008 and 2011 are "focused exclusively on network gaming," the report indicates. Taking all of the UK industry in consideration (not just new companies), 67% work on digitally distributed games.

"For too long developers have laboured under the traditional 'give your IP away, never see royalties' model," said TIGA Self-Publishing Committee Patrick O'Luanaigh. "So TIGA strongly supports the trend towards online gaming and self-publishing. Online gaming can deliver greater company stability and revenue sustainability for studios. This is because studios can circumvent traditional publisher business models and build relationships directly with customers. Network gaming businesses can create original games, retain their IP and attain greater financial stability."

We suspect this boost in digital gaming involves two major factors: the rise of iOS and Android games, and the end of large UK game companies like Bizarre Creations.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/06/ti...-distribution/ ...

FIFA 12 has finally been knocked off the top of the UK software chart by Japanese RPG Final Fantasy XIII-2.

In fact the new entry heralded a Japanese invasion of the charts, with fellow new releases Metal Gear Solid HD Collection debuting at 2, and Soulcalibur V arriving at 5.

Battlefield 3 moved up to third place from 5, with FIFA 12 dropping to 4. Last week's big new entry, Resident Evil: Revelations, fell from 6 to 19.

Last Week This Week Title
New entry 1 Final Fantasy XIII-2
New entry 2 Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
5 3 Battlefield 3
1 4 FIFA 12
New entry 5 Soulcalibur V
9 6 Assassin's Creed: Revelations
2 7 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
3 8 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
4 9 Just Dance 3
8 10 Saints Row: The Third
7 11 Zumba Fitness
11 12 Rage
10 13 Zumba Fitness 2
14 14 Football Manager 2012
Re-entry 15 Need For Speed: The Run
16 16 Super Mario 3D Land
13 17 Mario Kart 7
12 18 Rayman Origins
6 19 Resident Evil: Revelations
19 20 Cars 2

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...2-topples-fifa ...

Our lead stories this week are on face value about very contrasting companies. But together they spell out a dismal message about what the UK market is offering British games firms.
So what does the ailing boxed game retailer have in common with the small publisher finding an audience on the Japanese PSN? It’s this: The games market in the UK is now such a struggle it’s forcing many to run away and find other oil wells to tap into.
Sometimes that’s not just figuratively – HMV focusing its efforts on technology or System 3 cracking Japan is in the same vein as Rising Star Games going to America and Mind Candy turning Moshi Monsters into a phenomenon through merchandise, not more software. What’s driving these firms to look further afield? Maybe it’s diversification, or other bollocksy buzzwords that only work to describe something after it’s happened.
Here’s hoping it’s not just because they think the local market is in the gutter – because there’s more to this market than just a Chart-Track statistics telling us that games were worth ‘just’ £1.42bn in 2011.
And next week, I am going to bloody prove it.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/opini...r-games/090779 ...

Younger smartphone users identify difficult Iranian art films using their BlackBerry Curves.
Research from Dres Consulting for Odyssey Mobile revealed the extent to which smartphones are now influencing real-world purchasing behaviour.
It found, for example, that 58 per cent of these users are likely to click on a banner to watch a movie trailer they are interested in on their device, compared to the market average of 23 per cent.
It also revealed:
* 81 per cent want more film information available to view on their smartphones
* 70 per cent of users are interested in seeing trailers on their devices
* 67 per cent spend at least one hour per day surfing the web on their smartphone
* 53 per cent have used their device to follow up on a TV ad while 42 per cent have done the same for a poster ad
* A quarter of these users have downloaded a specific app for researching new movies
The study looked at smartphone users in the UK, Germany and France.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...-movies/016933 ...

Operator support and a vast app selection helps Google beat Apple.
As phone manufacturers and operating systems battle for supremacy, analyst NPD says first-time smartphone buyers prefer Android compared to iOS. More than half chose the Google OS, compared to 34 per cent that elected iPhones.
Together the OSs accounted for over three-quarters of smartphones sold during Q4 2011, according to the report. Additionally, smartphones made up over 68 per cent of all mobile phones sold in the US during the same period, rising by 18 per cent year-on-year.
Ross Rubin, exec director of connected intelligence, NPD, said: "Android has been criticised for offering a more complex user experience than its competitors, but the company's wide carrier support and large app selection is appealing to new smartphone customers.
"Android's support of LTE at Verizon has also made it the exclusive choice for customers who want to take advantage of that carrier's fastest network."
However, those that chose iPhone 4S did so because of processing speeds, an improved camera and virtual assistant Siri, which helped become the best-selling device of the quarter, beating the iPhone 4 by 75 per cent.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...android/016938 ...

Today our Amazon DCEmu site has been revamped with the new SEO features and improved overall look, now because of these features anyone can see the site and visit all the pages on the site.

Amazon DCEmu is our site that gathers all the new gaming and gadget releases from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com and feeds them all into one place for you to browse.

Check out the site here --> http://amazon.dcemu.co.uk ...

Video games has become the second fastest growing TV advertising market in the UK, behind office equipment.
We saw last week that games and consoles TV advertising had kicked off 2012 brightly. Growth in the market has accelerated to 62 per cent year-on-year.
It also puts it well ahead of total TV advertising, which is currently experiencing a slight decline of one per cent. Ubisoft’s Just Dance 3 campaign has been responsible for a large proportion of the growth, achieving 118 individual TVRs year-to-date. This means it’s the largest campaign of 2012 thus far with a 13 per cent share of voice.
Nintendo’s campaign for the 3DS is the only other campaign to break the 100-TVR barrier. With 108 TVRs, this campaign has a 12 per cent share of voice for the year-to-date.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/games...-sector/090725 ...

This is perhaps the best op-ed I've read about the whole SOPA/PIPA controversy. The author challenges Hollywood to re-think their entire business model. It will undoubtedly fall on deaf ears, for now. But sooner or later, they will have no choice but to adapt. From the article: 'Now that the SOPA and PIPA fights have died down, and Hollywood prepares their next salvo against internet freedom with ACTA and PCIP, it's worth pausing to consider how the war on piracy could actually be won. It can't, is the short answer, and one these companies do not want to hear as they put their fingers in their ears and start yelling.'"

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/02/...er-kill-piracy ...