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by Published on May 14th, 2012 23:40- Categories:
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The UK games retail market was down a third in a tough April for the trade.
Retailers made £45.8m from software sales last month, a 34.1 per cent drop over the same period last year.
Just over 2m games were sold at UK retail, a year-on-year decline of 33.2 per cent.
However, there were significantly more games released in April 2011, including hit titles Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat.
Last month’s highest charting new release was Microsoft’s Kinect Star Wars, which reached No.2. Activision’s Prototype 2 managed No.5, despite only being on sale for two days when this data was collected.
EA was the No.1 publisher once again, with FIFA Street established as the month’s biggest selling game. EA had five titles in the Top Ten.
Xbox 360 was the leading platform. Nintendo enjoyed its own success as Wii, 3DS and DS grew in market share.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/2m-ga...t-april/096009 ...by Published on May 14th, 2012 23:34- Categories:
- DCEmu
UK games stores have applauded Activision’s ‘risky’ new direction for Call of Duty.
Black Ops II thrusts the series 13 years into the future, and introduces non-linear gameplay to the franchise.
“I sense that there's a real commitment from Activision and Treyarch to raise the bar once again for the Call of Duty franchise, and the setting and weapon details that have been released are the first big step in driving the series further,” said HMV’s head of technology and games Ewan Pinder.
“The return of zombies is also a great announcement and one I think fans of the series will welcome."
Play.com games buyer Keith Sharpe added: “It’s testament to Activision that they continue to push the boundaries and once again offer gamers a refreshing new take on the genre. I think it’s great to see that in the current economic climate, publishers are prepared to keep taking risks and not sell the consumer short by taking the safer option.”
Pre-orders are already tracking ahead of every Call of Duty released so far. Amazon revealed last week that its day-one pre-order total is three times higher than the original Black Ops.
“Activision has to be commended for trying to offer gamers more content for their money, and I am especially excited about the non-linear gameplay,” said Asda’s head of games Andrew Thompson.
“Asda went live with online pre-orders for Black Ops II at 3am on the day of announcement, and for the first time ever, we announced this on Twitter. We feel that social media will play a big part in sharing all the news on this year’s big releases.”
The Hut Group’s business development head Sarah Jasper added: “The new direction seems like a logical step, and depending on how this is implemented the non-linear gameplay should make it even more accessible to the wider gaming market.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches on November 13th.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/retai...of-duty/096010 ...by Published on May 14th, 2012 23:28- Categories:
- DCEmu
Sniper Elite V2 remains at the top of the UK all-formats chart for a second week, despite a 38 per cent drop in sales.
Starhawk is the week's only true new entry, but Sony's PS3-exclusive shooter debuts in a lowly 17th place. Telltale's Back To The Future: The Game, published by Deep Silver, enters the chart at number 38 in its second week on shelves thanks to a 39 per cent jump in sales.
The top ten remains fairly static, with Prototype 2 sliding from two to four, swapping places with FIFA Street. The only other change isAssassin's Creed Revelations' re-entry at number ten, knockingCall Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to eleven and beating it by fewer than 100 sales.
01. Sniper Elite V2 (505 Games)
02. FIFA Street (EA)
03. FIFA 12 (EA)
04. Prototype 2 (Activision)
05. Mass Effect 3 (EA)
06. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (EA)
07. Kinect Star Wars (Microsoft)
08. Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
09. Battlefield 3 (EA)
10. Assassin's Creed Revelations (Ubisoft)
http://www.edge-online.com/news/snip...chart-top-spot ...by Published on May 14th, 2012 00:32- Categories:
- DCEmu
US retail results have arrived for April.
NPD’s latest report states hardware sales accounted for $189.7m, accessories brought in $148.6m, and software sales contributed $292.1m. In terms of year-over-year, accessories saw a very marginal increase, while hardware and software sales saw dramatic drops.
Microsoft continued to dominate the US hardware chart, finishing ahead of the pack for the 16th consecutive month. 236,000 360 systems were sold during the period, with the Kinect Star Wars bundle helping to drive the average selling price up for hardware in general.
Prototype 2 claimed the top spot in software sales, with Kinect Star Wars finishing in second as the number one selling exclusive.
The industry as a whole brought in $630.4m, down 32 per cent from last year’s $930.9m (though the NPD did add that the ‘total consumer spend’ on games including digital is estimated at $1bn).
Here is the full list of April’s top sellers:
Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms including PC)
- Prototype 2 (360,PS3)
- Kinect Star Wars (360)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
- Tiger Woods: PGA Tour 13 (360, PS3)
- NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
- The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (360, PC)
- Mario Party 9 (Wii)
- Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)
- Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
- MLB: The Show (PS3, PSV)
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/april...er-year/095840 ...by Published on May 14th, 2012 00:23- Categories:
- DCEmu
The money generated from overall game sales in the US during April has been estimated at a whopping $1bn.
This figure from The NPD Group includes sales of hardware, accessories, new and used physical games at retail, rentals, digital downloads, add-on content, subscriptions, mobile games and social network titles.
It’s the first time the entire US games market has been taken into account during a single month. Previously, the data only included sales of boxed product.
Prototype 2 was the best-selling game in the US last month, and boxed sales made up $630.4m. Read the April 2012 NPD salesnews story for more specific details.
NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier said: “I think the new physical retail content sales reflect a very light release schedule in terms of the amount of compelling new games.
“Last April, the top seven titles outsold the top-selling title this year, and, simply stated, there were notably fewer new market introductions. I think it’s a simple as that because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever – we just saw a lot less this April as compared to last.
“For some insight into digital purchasing of content, we can look at the performance of points and subscription cards which were up 75 per cent in units over last April. These could very well have been last minute additions to Easter baskets early in the month."
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/npd-o...n-april/095917 ...by Published on May 12th, 2012 23:21- Categories:
- DCEmu
Sega has declared it will "streamline" its operations in the U.S and Europe after poor sales of its new titles last year.
In its financial results for FY2012, the publisher reported total sales of packaged games had dropped to 17.2m units, a year-on-year decline of eight per cent.
Sega said sales of new titles were weak "primarily in the U.S. and Europe", attributing this to "adverse market conditions".
6.1m games were sold in the US during the twelve months ended March 31st, 2012, while 8.3m titles were sold across all of Europe in the same period.
"In the consumer business, we have decided to carry out streamlining of the organization responsible for the packaged game software field in the U.S. and European markets in a bid to establish a structure that can consistently generate profit, as part of the strategies to restore growth as well as improve profitability," the company said.
"Due to the cost of this move, we have posted ¥345 million for impairment loss and ¥6.3bn for restructuring loss. From here on, we will endeavor to shift our business structure with a view to adapting to the changes in the business environment, including further focus on the development of the field of digital games."
The company's renewed focus on the digital games sector follows the success of smartphone titles such as Kingdom Conquest, which passed the 2.5m download mark after three months on sale.
Comparatively Sonic Generations, Sega's second best-selling title of the financial year, sold 1.8m units in just over four months. Mario & Sonic 2012 led the publisher's sales with 3.2m units sold to date.
The entire Sega Sammy Group, which also operates arcade and Pachinko slot machines, reported net sales of ¥395.5bn, almost the same as that of last year. However, net income fell by nearly 50 per cent year-on-year to ¥21.8bn.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/weak-...or-sega/095932 ...by Published on May 11th, 2012 23:26- Categories:
- DCEmu
Far Eastern supply chain gossips have claimed that Amazon is set to launch colour display e-book readers in the second half of the year.
Basing the claims on the sorts of components ordered in the supply chain for Amazon's contract manufacturers, the unannounced devices will move to multi-touch capable capacitive touch panels instead of the infrared variety in the current Kindle touch.
Quoted by Taiwan-based industry site the DigiTimes, the samesources reckon that this is evidence that the world's largest bookseller will adopt E-Ink's new colour display. E-Ink has fallen somewhat on hard times given the popularity of colour LCD displays such as the Kindle Fire.
The E-Ink display has some key advantages, chiefly using no power until the display changes and visibility in bright sunlight. Drawbacks such as a slow update speed and, of course, the lack of colour, are all being addressed.
That said, the second half of the year is also expected to see a raft of new, cheaper, Android-based tablets - possible even a Google-branded device.
Is it too late for E-Ink or will a new Colour Kindle storm back onto the scene? We imagine that this also opens the door for other sorts of content on the e-readers such as magazines.
It's a colour world after all.
http://www.pcr-online.biz/index.php/...-kindle/028335 ...by Published on May 9th, 2012 23:18- Categories:
- DCEmu
John Riccitiello outlines his four major rules for the mobile games market
EA chief executive John Riccitiello was a keynote speaker today at CTIA Wireless in New Orleans, where he outlined the future of the mobile landscape as he sees it and how game publishers and mobile firms will become great partners in the years ahead.
"Games, more than any other type of application or function, are driving dramatic growth in the mobile industry. Mobile games will co-exist and even interoperate with games on consoles, PCs, and cable television," he began.
Riccitiello noted that 67 percent of all revenue generated on the App Store comes from games. He added that there are ten times the number of mobile devices as there are game consoles, and so "the inescapable conclusion is that mobile has become a game platform - it's a peer to PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo systems."
The thrust of Riccitiello's presentation was an overview of his four major insights or "rules" about the evolving mobile games industry.
Rule #1 - "When a CPU is introduced to a consumer electronics device, gaming quickly becomes the dominant application."
Riccitiello stressed that games were never projected to be the number one sales generator on iPhone but that consumers spoke with their wallets. "History shows that whether it's a PC or a tablet or a phone, when people are allowed to choose their preferred content, games win," he said.
Although this doesn't apply directly to mobile, he said the rule easily translates to television. Riccitiello anticipates big things for IPTV and gaming.
"You're about to see what happens again, this time on television. IPTV holds tremendous promise and some very unique opportunities for our combined industries. I'm biased but I'm betting that when cable consumers have the option to play games, TV will become less popular and gaming will go through the roof," he said, which is an interesting comment in light of our recent op-ed from Mark Sorrell. "The point is games win every time."
Rule #2 - "This is a branded world."
Riccitiello pointed out that out of the many hundreds of thousands of apps on the App Store, about 75,000 are games. The sad fact for many game creators, though, is that most of these don't make money. Riccitiello says that's due to game quality and brand recognition.
"What's interesting is that precious few of these games are ever played, and fewer still generate revenue. We call many of these 'lunch boxes' - colorful graphics that sit on top of a poor application. What's inside is often a disappointment," Riccitiello observed. "But gamers are very smart consumers... they gravitate towards games with the best reputation and highest quality."
He noted that dramatic improvements in mobile technology and top developers flocking to mobile platforms, with many creating versions of core IPs that are as good or better than what's on a PS2. "You're going to see the game brands known for quality rising up in the charts," he said, reflecting on the success of EA's own Dead Space for iOS.
26 of the top 100 games on App Store are brands that come from other media. The bottom line, according to the EA boss, is that mobile gamers are actually willing to pay if the content is very good. "Consumers want and expect to pay for quality; they really expect to pay." He noted that there will always be room for quirky independents with breakout hits, but "the trend is going to benefit publishers with globally recognized brands - some will be new like Angry Birds and some will have been tested by time like The Sims and Plants vs. Zombies."
Rule #3 - "The platform wars won't be an A or B or C, it's going to be A and B and C."
For Riccitiello, all the talk of mobile and social gaming ruining the hardcore console business is hogwash. He sees all the platforms ultimately widening the audience and complementing one another.
"Frankly, I compare this to predictions in the 1950s when people said television was going to destroy motion pictures... TV didn't destroy movie box office, YouTube didn't destroy TV and mobile games are not going to wipe out the console business; quite the opposite," he said.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...nsole-business
...by Published on May 9th, 2012 23:12- Categories:
- DCEmu
RPG Dark Souls has sold 1.19m copies to become Namco Bandai’s most popular 2012 release across the US and Europe.
The sales figure was revealed in the publisher’s financial report for its fiscal year ending March 2012. It reported a year-on-year profit increase of 20 per cent.
Dark Souls was released on Xbox 360 and PS3 last October. It leads Namco Bandai’s top-selling games released during its 2012 financial year.
The best-selling games are as follows:
- Dark Souls (US, Europe) – 1.19m sales
- Ace Combat Assault Horizon (Japan, US and Europe) – 1.07m sales
- One Piece Kaizoku Musou (Japan) – 940,000 sales
- Tales of Xillia (Japan) – 770,000 sales
- Dragon Ball Ultimate Blast (Japan, US and Europe) – 700,000 sales
- Soul Calibur V (Japan and Europe) – 690,000 sales
- Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs (Japan) – 570,000 sales
- Ben 10 Racing (US and Europe) – 460,000 sales
A PC version of Dark Souls, the Prepare to Die Edition, will arrive on August 24th.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/dark-...m-units/095740 ...by Published on May 9th, 2012 23:01- Categories:
- DCEmu
Nintendo products dominated sales in Japan during the nation’s Golden Week holiday period.
Mario Party 9 retained the top software spot for the seven days ended May 6, selling close to 150,000 copies for the second week running, which was almost three times as many as second-placedResident Evil Operation Raccoon City managed.
There were no new entries in a top ten which included six 3DS and two Wii games, Andriasang reports.
On the hardware front, 3DS and Wii both saw holiday sales boosts. 3DS moved 91,868 units, PS3 23,478, PSP 20,033, Wii 15,789, and Vita 10,583. No other system managed to top 1,700 sales.
01. Mario Party 9 (Nintendo, Wii)
02. Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City (Capcom, PS3)
03. Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo, 3DS)
04. Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo, 3DS)
05. Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo, 3DS)
06. Kid Icarus Uprising (Nintendo, 3DS)
07. Monster Hunter 3G (Capcom, 3DS)
08. Mario & Sonic At The London Olympics (Nintendo, 3DS)
09. Conception Please Give Birth To My Children (Spike Chunsoft, PSP)
10. Wii Sports Resort Wiimote Plus Pack (Nintendo, Wii)
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