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