Specialist retailer GAME has warned that this year's big software releases, which include new Call of Duty and Battlefield titles, will not improve the video game retail market in the short term.

The company reported that at E3 this year it was impressed with Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, FIFA 12, Assassin's Creed Revelations, Just Dance 3 and Mario Kart 3D - but it highlighted a gloomy outlook for the rest of the year.

"Although impressive, we now believe that this year's software releases are unlikely to improve the market materially in the short term, given where we are in the hardware cycle," said GAME in a trading update this morning.

Longer term, the launch of the PlayStation Vita and Wii U "bodes well for 2102 and the subsequent years," added the retailer.

The company said that overall GAME store sales for the 19 weeks to June 11 were down 11.3 per cent on last year, and like-for-like sales down 9.4 per cent.

Despite the sluggish sales for 2011, the retailer is slightly outperforming the markets in which it operates, where revenue is down 12.8 per cent, hardware down 10.3 per cent and software down 14.1 per cent - lower than consensus industry forecasts.

The group now expects total sales to be between 0 and -3 per cent compared to last year. "This reflects expectations that the total market will be down around -10% year on year, compared to the previously anticipated revenue decline of -5 per cent."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...rket-this-year ...

Isn't it curious how you always crack open a beer before settling in for some GTA? Or how you tend to put an anxious hand over your wallet when logging onto PSN? No soldier, it is not curious. Not at all. But this is: Researchers at North Carolina State University claim they've found a way to predict your in-game behavior with "up to 80 percent accuracy." After analyzing the decision-making of 14,000 World of Warcraft players, they noticed that different players prefer different types of achievements. These preferred achievements clump together into statistically significant groups, known as "cliques", even if they have nothing obvious in common. So a WoW player who likes to improve their unarmed combat skills also, for some psychological reason, tends to want points for world travel. What's more, the researchers believe that clique-spotting can be exploited outside the rather specific world of WoW, in which case their method could prove lucrative to game designers, online retailers and pretty much anyone with an interest in predicting your next move. Want to know more? Then we predict you'll click the PR after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/14/s...e-predictable/ ...

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has admitted that "complex technical points" are behind the ongoing delay to legal implementation of PEGI age-ratings for video games in the UK.

"We are working to put the scheme into implementation as soon as possible," a DCMS spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz, without offering a revised timetable.

Negotiations between the Government – overseen personally by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey – UKIE, the Video Standards Council, and current statutory ratings body the BBFC, are understood to be at a "delicate" stage. But sources familiar with the matter said there was optimism that the system could still be passed into law "by Christmas".

The DCMS added: "There have been a number of complex technical points where detailed work has been needed to reach a solution that works for all sides.

"Clearly, we want to have a scheme that works for industry but it must also work for regulators, for those involved in enforcement and especially for consumers."

As revealed by GI.biz in January, a complicated debate over packaging regulations had thrown a spanner in the works, with the BBFC's role in particular requiring definitive clarification.

The main sticking point remains the issue of "linear" (i.e. trailer) content, which regulations require is rated by the BBFC, though there is growing confidence that resolution is finally in sight.

Once proposals are agreed on all-sides, European ratification will then be required, which is expected to take a further three months.

The delay has been a source of ongoing frustration for the games industry, with the PEGI scheme part of the Digital Economy Act, which passed in April 2010, while calls for a change to the system stretch back to recommendations made in the 2008 Byron Review.

But as one source close to PEGI put it: "There's no sense in forcing the issue at this stage. What matters is making sure we get it absolutely right first time for the industry and consumers."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-law-this-year ...

In our last Mailbox, Adam Cafolla put forward the notion that games are no longer providing the challenge they once did.

This time Samuel Matley suggests that it's often not difficulty new titles are missing but fun. He gives his thoughts on the balance between graphics and gameplay, and how too much attention to detail is sometimes missing the point.

To have your letter featured on CVG's Mailbox, drop us a line.

Recent releases like Gran Turismo 5, to point out the most obvious, have got me wondering whether games are now geared towards simulation and figures more than fun and enjoyment.


For example, did the developers of Gran Turismo 5 or Killzone 3 ever step back from measuring the distance between each stitch on a Lotus dashboard or the shadow length of each individual rain drop on Helghan to look at the bigger picture of 'is it actually fun to play'?

Don't get me wrong: I do think that the attention to detail many developers take should be applauded. However I don't think this should come at the expense of other more critical parts of the final game... like gameplay, for example.

Games like Bulletstorm have managed to find a balance by delivering great visuals and attention to detail, while still focusing on the core gameplay to deliver a highly enjoyable adventure. So, to conclude,
I think developers sometimes need to step back to make sure that we aren't just buying a piece of interactive art that's no fun to actually play!

PSM3 says:Fair point, although GT5 is perhaps a bad example - despite its huge mainstream appeal it's always been a hardcore, no-nonsense simulator. It's an oddity, really.

Killzone, meanwhile, has always been a graphical showcase for Sony consoles - and has always been an old-fashioned, extremely linear corridor shooter underneath. Don't believe the hype, is what we're saying here (read our reviews instead).

That said, Bulletstorm is a very different game to either GT5 or K3, not least in that it doesn't take itself incredibly seriously. Perhaps just avoid the humourless games in future?

CVG saysWe have to agree, it's all about collaborating your choosing cortex. There are plenty of gamers that go crazy for the condensation physics on a car's windscreen but if that's not your bag then there's plenty more to go at.

Names like Just Cause, Motorstorm and, as Samuel points out Bulletstorm are clearly based on a core principle of over-the-top, action-packed fun.

We absolutely agree Mr. Matley, realism seems to be on the up in video game design and a balance is needed. We still think there's plenty out there to provide nothing but simple, unashamed fun when it's needed.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

Forget all those publishers, who won the E3 press conference showdown - Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony?

"Nintendo won, hands down," EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich told Eurogamer. "They had great content and a well-executed presentation. No celebrities, no famous rock bands, just straight gaming."

"Nintendo won with a very cool console innovation and great 3DS software," Michael Pachter, Wedbush Morgan analyst, told us.

"People are still skeptical about core Kinect," Pachter went on, "and with good reason. I had them in third place from a hardcore perspective, first from a business perspective."

Which leaves Sony "in the middle". "PSN apology was great," said Pachter. "Vita price also great." But otherwise "nothing to get excited about".

Piers Harding-Rolls, analyst at Screen Digest told Eurogamer that "they all had their strengths".

Harding-Rolls elaborated: "Nintendo showed its strong ability to innovate and to take home entertainment into new directions; Sony showed its openness to adopting new business models and online games services and delivered on PS Vita pricing; Microsoft delivered a leading mass market content and non-games media message which positions it strongly for this stage of the Xbox 360 cycle."

"I wouldn't say any of the platform holders won."
Doug Creutz, analyst at Cowen and Company
Doug Creutz, analyst at Cowen and Company, gave Eurogamer a different take: "I wouldn't say any of the platform holders won."

"Nintendo got their new console out there and people are interested. But the response was somewhat muted (and their stock price certainly didn't react enthusiastically)," Creutz expanded.

"Sony addressed the network outage elephant in the room forthrightly and didn't botch the pricing on the PSVita, but I'm not sure they realise that the dedicated handheld platform market is essentially dying due to smartphones."

"Microsoft seems content to rest on their laurels for now, which is probably fine, but didn't generate a lot of incremental excitement."

Creutz said the "big winners" were gamers and shops "with the incredible amount of high quality games coming to retail over the next six to 12 months".

"Also of note is the fact that none of the 'new order' of gaming (Zynga Popcap etc.) bothered to show up at all."

You'll probably say, "Oh they don't know what they're talking about." That's why we want to ask you, Eurogamer reader, which of the Big Three you think 'won E3'. Catch-up with our Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo press conference reports if you're not sure.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-e3-hands-down ...

Gears of War man says industry should embrace the hacking community
Epic Games’ design director Cliff Bleszinski has encouraged the games industry to embrace the hacking community.
The Gears of War man was talking about the chances of seeing more user generated content options appearing in Gears of War 3. His comments come following the security breaches of Sony's PSN and the Square Enix and Codemasters websites.
“I was on a panel with Kudo [Tsunoda, Kinect creative director], and we were talking about Kinect Fun Labs, and he was saying they’re embracing a lot of the homebrew and hacker stuff that’s going on with Kinect,” he said.
“Generally speaking when it comes to hackers, you want to embrace a lot of what they are doing instead of fighting it. I think the industry is slowly learning that.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/44835/Clif...k-with-hackers ...

A new report by the Entertainment Software Association, which runs E3, has shown a continued increase in the market share for digital software, alongside a slight market shrink and a rise in the adoption of casual gaming.

The report begins with a quote from ESA president and CEO Michael D Gallagher, setting the report's somewhat biased stall out early.

"It is critical that we support economic sectors that create jobs, develop innovative technologies and keep America competitive in the global marketplace," writes Gallagher.

"The video game industry is one of those important, high-tech economic drivers. Our industry generates over $25 billion in annual revenue, and directly and indirectly employs more than 120,000 people with an average salary for direct employees of $90,000."

The report shows the North American market has shrunk marginally, from $16 billion in 2009 to $15.9 billion in 2010, but last year $5.8 billion of that was made up of 'other delivery formats' as opposed to $5.4 billion in 2009. Those other formats include, not just digital downloads, but casual, social, mobile and subscription titles.

$2.94 billion was spent on peripherals in the territory last year, with a further $6.29 billion on hardware.

Much of the data suggests the market is broadening considerably, off-setting a reduced spend by core markets with increased penetration into demographics with more money but less time, who are more likely to indulge in Facebook Scrabble than Call of Duty deathmatch.

72 per cent of US households play games
The average age of a North American gamer is 37
In 2010, 29 per cent of North American gamers were over 50
58 per cent are male
55 per cent play games on phones or handhelds
The average adult gamer has played for more than 12 years
68 per cent of American parents believe "game play provides mental stimulation or education"
59 per cent believe "that computer and video games provide more physical activity now than five years ago"
98 per cent are confident that ESRB ratings are accurate
The trends in the report are continuing ones, but the data, sourced from NPD, reflects an increased importance being placed upon the digital market, thanks to an improved tracking of download titles. Nonetheless, a lack of input from leading online PC download service Steam means that there are certainly gaps in the figures, despite a conscious split of computer (PC) and video (all other) games in the paper.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...f-gaming-in-us ...

Over the years we have seen many homebrew sites come and go, but worryingly over the last few years homebrew and hacking sites have been brought by Millionaire owners as a way of getting major sites under their belts and often without the user even knowing.

If you look around all the Hacker and Homebrew sites now youll see that a heck of a lot of them are owned by Mega rich outside owners with funds way above most of our dreams.

Id like to know what people think about this, is it a good thing ?, with the recent hackings here at DCEmu and the struggle to bring back all the old site content i wish i had a lot of cash to buy the best. But is the taking over of hacking and Homebrew sites the start of sites losing their ability to say what they like and post what they like.

Today i read on a site that was started by a webmaster who said he would never sell out that they indeed sold out, im not mentioning any names but it stunned me, has the homebrew scene changed so much ? ...

A new study from the Entertainment Software Association suggests that the average age of today's gamers is between the 37 and 41 years old. If true, does this mean that game studios should be adjusting their demographics accordingly? Is Generation X the next 'baby boomer' market for the gaming industry?

http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/0...s-37-Years-Old ...