Brought to you by Every week: The UK games market in less than ten minutes Issue 5: 7th - 13th July WELCOME ...to GamesRetail.biz, your weekly look at the key analysis, news and data sources for the retail sector, brought to you by GamesIndustry.biz and Eurogamer.net. THIS WEEK ...we look at how to measure the impact of press coverage on a game's popularity, and what kind of activity is most effective. Plus - all the latest news, as well as highlights of an interview on Heavy Rain... not to mention charts, most-anticipated and downloadable stats as well. JUST HOW DOES COVERAGE IMPACT POPULARITY? The Impact of E3 2009 on Selected Titles #1 The art of PRing videogames has evolved well E3 online now - mostly - but how do different types of activity impact a game's popularity? #10 Here we can see a selection of four titles and their relative popularity though the month of June on Eurogamer.net - in particular the impact that an event like E3 can have on generating buzz around games. Diving in with #100 more detail, the second graph picks out the Eurogamer.net Popularity (Ranked) notable jumps in interest. Although the Eurogamer.net gamespace for Forza 3 existed the previous day, at point A we see the official #1000 Jul announcement of the game's existence with a Jun '09 FIFA 10 Alan Wake Forza Motorsport 3 Gran Turismo PSP news story, along with the first screens. But it's the first hands-on of the game at point B that produces the game's highest peak - and Impact of Coverage on Title Popularity B that's the same for GT PSP as well, propelling #1 E3 the latter title all the way to become most popular game on Eurogamer.net. Point C is C E interesting, as that spike is a news story relating to them both, while point D was another news #10 D item on Forza 3 detailing the game's tracks and A F modes. Probably the most telling point on the graph, #100 however, is Point E - a batch of GT PSP Eurogamer.net Popularity (Ranked) screens showing the user interface and menus for the first time ever, and evidence of the latent interest in the title. Finally point F #1000 relates to new screens for Forza, but just more Jul Jun '09 car shots - arguably less interesting than the Forza Motorsport 3 Gran Turismo PSP detailed GT shots from a few days previously. Tickets for Eurogamer Expo 2009 are now on sale at expo.eurogamer.net. Page 1 Brought to you by Every week: The UK games market in less than ten minutes Issue 5: 7th - 13th July THIS WEEK IN RETAIL HEAVY RAIN "ON TIME, ON BUDGET" Quantic Dream co-CEO praises Sony, believes dev-pub relationship is THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW maturing. Following the success of Team 17's foray into self-publishing with Worms, other ACTIVISION TO DELAY STARCRAFT 2 - ANALYST independent publishers in the UK are Blizzard title to appear in 2010, says Sterne Agee's Arvind Bhatia. looking at it closely... Is LittleBigPlanet 2 on the way? The whole TAKE-TWO BRINGS IN FOURTH STUDIO FOR BIOSHOCK 2 Media Molecule team is working on LBP- French developer Arkane Studios joins development of highly anticipated related stuff, says co-founder. sequel. The Age of Conan MMO - revamped one AVERAGE TOP 10 APP STORE GAME SELLS FOR UNDER $2 year after launch - is seeing a steady trickle of users returning to try the game. While new IPs make up half the chart, Electronic Arts fails to make the top twenty with full price releases. The latest Dragon Quest title is selling massively in Japan - but user reviews on MONSTER HUNTER FREEDOM UNITE BREAKS RETAIL RECORDS Amazon show mixed reactions to the game. Capcom title becomes the first on PSP to ship over 3.5 million units. THE BIG INTERVIEW: CATCHING THE RAIN Quantic Dream's Guillaume de Fondaumiere spoke to GamesIndustry.biz recently - here are the key things he said: - Heavy Rain will release in early 2010, with no delays expected, to avoid pre-Christmas rush. - Quantic Dream's structure has doubled to cope with next-gen development. - The company used over 500 man-hours of outsourcing - and was pleased with the results. - Heavy Rain will have a longer lifespan than other games, because it has no competition. - The developer-publisher relationship is maturing - plus plenty of praise for Sony's attitude. MOST-ANTICIPATED GAMES MOST-READ ARTICLES 1. Alan Wake Microsoft 1. Battlefield 1943 Review 2. Final Fantasy XIII Square Enix 2. Age of Conan Review 3. Final Fantasy Versus XIII Square Enix 3. Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal 4. God of War III SCEA Review 5. Gran Turismo 5 SCE 4. Dragon Age: Origins 6. Heavy Rain SCEE 5. The Conduit Review 7. Splinter Cell: Conviction Ubisoft 6. 1000 free copies of Age of Conan! 8. Halo 3: ODST Microsoft 7. Aion: The Tower of Eternity 9. Dragon Age: Origins Electronic Arts 8. Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits Review 10. BioShock 2 2K Games 9. BioWare's Dr Greg Zeschuk 10. Hitting the Brakes List based on traffic for Eurogamer articles dated 7th - 13th July. The GamesIndustry.biz Network now has over 6500 registered industry users! Page 2 Brought to you by Every week: The UK games market in less than ten minutes Issue 5: 7th - 13th July RETAIL DATA PRICE-CHECK DATA Tiger Woods (360) Fight Night Round 4 (PS3) The Conduit (Wii) HMV £39.99 £39.99 £29.99 Amazon £37.96 £35.37 £28.45 ASDA £37.91 £39.71 £29.91 Play.com £39.99 £39.99 £29.99 GAME £39.99 £39.99 £29.99 Tesco £37.96 £38.96 £29.96 Cheapest Online £37.49 £29.85 £28.45 UK ALL-FORMAT CHART EVENT CALENDAR Title Publisher 14th - 16th Jul 2009 1. (2) Tiger Woods Pga Tour 10 Electronic Arts Develop Conference Brighton, UK. 2. (1) Fight Night Round 4 Electronic Arts 3. (3) Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen Activision Blizzard 14th Jul 2009 4. (10) Harry Potter & The Half-blood Prince Electronic Arts GamesAid Charity Poker Tournament Grosvenor 5. (6) Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood Ubisoft Casino, 9 Grand Junction, Brighton, UK. 6. (4) Wii Fit Nintendo 10th - 16th Aug 2009 7. (9) Virtua Tennis 2009 Sega 8. (7) The Sims 3 Electronic Arts Edinburgh Interactive Festival Edinburgh, UK. 9. (12) Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Activision Blizzard 19th - 23rd Aug 2009 10. (8) [prototype] Activision Blizzard gamescom Cologne, Germany. 11. (5) UFC 2009: Undisputed THQ 12. (11) Grand Slam Tennis Electronic Arts SELECTED GAMES INDUSTRY JOBS 13. (14) EA Sports Active Electronic Arts 14. (16) Mario Kart Wii Nintendo UK PR Manager - Contract 15. (13) Call Of Duty: World At War Activision Blizzard UK & Europe. 16. (15) Professor Layton And The Curious Village Nintendo UK PR Mgr (6 months) 17. (17) FIFA 09 Electronic Arts London, South East, England, UK & 18. (20) Pokemon Platinum Nintendo Europe. 19. (25) Guitar Hero: World Tour Activision Blizzard 20. (21) Wii Play Nintendo Community Manager - FIFA Guildford, South East, England, UK & Europe. © ELSPA, compiled by Chart Track European Brand Manager - MMO / Online REVIEW SCORE COMPARISONS Games South East, England, UK & Europe. Metacritic UK average Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures (PC) 80 77 Marketing Manager - Rare Opportunity Battlefield 1943 (360) 84 85 Shanghai, China, Rest of World. Guitar Hero: Smash Hits (PS3) 75 70 Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii) 71 65 Swords & Soldiers (Wii) 84 82 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (360) 83 76 The UK score is the mean average of the most read UK-based videogame websites and magazines. You can reach key UK retailers by advertising with GamesRetail.biz. Page 4 Brought to you by Every week: The UK games market in less than ten minutes Issue 5: 7th - 13th July TOP 10S PLATFORM TOP TENS PS3 PSP 1. (1) Fight Night Round 4 1. (1) Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite 2. (3) Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood 2. (3) Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen 3. (2) Tiger Woods Pga Tour 10 3. (2) FIFA 09 4. (7) Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen 4. (5) Harry Potter & The Half-blood Prince 5. (9) Virtua Tennis 2009 5. (4) Resistance: Retribution 6. (4) UFC 2009: Undisputed 6. (6) Football Manager 2009 7. (8) Infamous 7. (8) Ben 10: Alien Force 8. (5) Ghostbusters: The Video Game 8. (7) Need For Speed: Undercover 9. (10) Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 9. (-) X-men Origins: Wolverine 10. (6) [prototype] 10. (9) Rock Band Unplugged WII DS 1. (1) Wii Fit 1. (1) Professor Layton And The Curious Village 2. (2) Grand Slam Tennis 2. (2) Pokemon Platinum 3. (3) EA Sports Active 3. (14) Harry Potter & The Half-blood Prince 4. (4) Tiger Woods Pga Tour 10 4. (6) Mario Kart DS 5. (5) Mario Kart Wii 5. (5) Transformers: Revenge - Autobots 6. (8) Harry Potter & The Half-blood Prince 6. (7) Lego Battles 7. (6) Virtua Tennis 2009 7. (3) Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force 8. (-) The Conduit 8. (4) Dr Kawashima's Brain Training 9. (11) Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games 9. (8) New Super Mario Bros. 10. (9) Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen 10. (32) Rhythm Paradise XBOX 360 PC 1. (1) Fight Night Round 4 1. (1) The Sims 3 2. (6) Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood 2. (3) Football Manager 2009 3. (4) Tiger Woods Pga Tour 10 3. (2) Arma II 4. (3) Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen 4.