Crash Team Racing was the UK's best-selling game in August

September 6th, 2019, 21:10 Posted By: wraggster

Activision Blizzard triumphed in the UK last month with Crash Team Racing outperfoming every other title at retail.
The revamped kart racer's success was highlighted in the monthly retail charts compiled by UKIE, which shows the title sold 17% more units than the next biggest selling game, Super Mario Maker 2.
The PlayStation 4 version led the way, accounting for 61% of all copies sold. Crash Team Racing was also No.1 in two out of the five weekly charts for the month.
Nintendo was the top-selling publisher of the month, shifting more than double the units of the next highest, Warner Bros Interactive, and generating almost four times the revenue of Activision Blizzard, which was second in terms of sales value.
In fact, Nintendo accounted for 22.6% of all boxed games sold, and 32.2% of all revenue generated. Half of the ten best-selling games were developed and published by the platform holder.
However, in terms of unit sales, more PlayStation 4 games were sold than those of any other platform, with Nintendo Switch a distant second. Nintendo's console trumped Sony's in terms of sales revenues.
Overall software units sales for the month were down 13% from July, and down 16% when compared to August 2018.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...game-in-august

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Supermassive Games' The Dark Pictures tops EMEAA chart

September 6th, 2019, 21:06 Posted By: wraggster

Supermassive Games' The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan was the best-selling game in EMEAA territories last week.
The Bandai Namco published title topped the combined retail and digital chart. Two other new entries also performed well: Platinum Games' Astral Chain, which debuted at No.3, and Remedy Entertainment's Control, which entered the chart at No.4.
The Dark Pictures also performed well in the digital only chart, coming second after only Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V in terms of unit sales. In the retail chart, Astral Chain was the best-selling game in terms of units, with The Dark Pictures in second place, and Control in third.
The only other major new entry just missed out on the combined top ten: Square Enix's Collection of Mana, which ended the week at No.11. However, Collection of Mana did finish at No.9 in the retail chart.
Outside of the new releases, the most striking trend was the rapid ascent of Bugbear Entertainment's Wreckfest, which climbed more than 3,650 positions to place at No.5. The THQ Nordic-published racing game was already available on PC, but this was the week it launched on consoles.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ps-emeaa-chart

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

UKIE launches UK diversity census

September 4th, 2019, 21:47 Posted By: wraggster

Trade body UKIE has begun a comprehensive study to identify imbalances in the nation's industry workforce.
The UK Games Industry Diversity Census will ask professionals across development, publishing and more about their current roles, their backgrounds and their diversity profile in a short online survey.
This has been created in partnership with the University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield, with the latter offering experts to independently administer and analyse the results.
All responses will be anonymous and used to create a detailed look at the diversity of the UK games industry, which can then be be shared with both games firms and the government to help "drive positive transformation."
UKIE is partnering with various games firms to ensure their employees all take part. Supporters so far include Sega, Creative Assembly, Jagex, Ustwo Games, Mediatonic, Dovetail Games, Coatsink, NaturalMotion, nDreams and Hutch Games.
Industry organisations POC in Play and Women in Games are also offering support.
Larger games companies can contact edidiversitycensus@ukie.org.uk to request the legal and process documentation needed to fill in the survey and become a partner.
Smaller games firms and individuals can fill in the survey online.
"This new Census will give us for the first-time a crucial understanding of the diversity make-up of the games industry and we're calling on everyone who currently works for a UK based-games businesses to complete it," said CEO Dr Jo Twist.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...versity-census

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

PSA: Brickers Abound

September 3rd, 2019, 20:23 Posted By: wraggster

• <article>
  Just a short Public Service Announcement for our users, particularly the ones who like their Homebrew on Nintendo platforms. The Homebrew community tends to be positive and participating in it is a recipe for a good time, but no group of people is free of bad actors with too much time on their hands. We have reason to believe that in the near future we'll see a lot of suspicious uploads of innocent-looking applications that are actually concealed console brickers and viruses. We came across a disconcerting threat against our site, among others, made by a Wii malware creator.
  
  The safety of our users is our number one priority, so we strongly urge forum-goers to be weary of applications uploaded to the site recently, particularly if they come from relatively new accounts. We apologise for this inconvenience, but sadly there is little we can do besides staying vigilant and dealing swiftly with any and all suspicious content.
  
  Stay safe, and keep on Tempin'!
  
  https://gbatemp.net/threads/psa-brickers-abound.547270/
  </article>
  
  
  

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Yu-Gi-Oh is the best-selling boxed game in EMEAA charts

September 2nd, 2019, 20:29 Posted By: wraggster

Konami's latest Yu-Gi-Oh tie-in outsold all other retail games across EMEAA territories this week, and was the third best performing title overall.
The lengthily-titled Yu-Gi-Oh Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution is exclusive to the Switch and was the only new entry in the Top 50 of the boxed charts.
There's no telling how well it truly sold overall since Nintendo does not share digital data, meaning the game is absent from the download charts. As such, Yu-Gi-Oh had to settle for No.3 in the combined physical and digital sales rankings.
In a not-even-vaguely-shocking turn of events, Grand Theft Auto V is No.1 in both the combined and digital charts. FIFA 19 was the combined No.2, but actually appears as low as No.15 in the download-only charts.
Instead, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands takes second place in the digital charts, up 157 places since last week -- no doubt thanks to discounting.
There were a couple of notable new entries in the digital Top 10, including PlayStation-exclusive FMV thriller Erica at No.3 (No.13 in the combined charts), and Life Is Strange 2: Episode 4 at No.6 (No.26 overall)...

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...n-emeaa-charts

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

PlatinumGames scores first UK No.1 with Astral Chain

September 2nd, 2019, 20:27 Posted By: wraggster

In one of the most competitive battles for No.1 in UK charts history, Astral Chain has emerged as this week's physical UK best-seller.
The disc version of the game is the first time Japanese developer PlatinumGames has scored a No.1 in the UK charts. It is the firm's fourth most successful launch, and its second biggest new IP launch since Bayonetta all the way back in January 2010. Platinum's last highest charting game was Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance in 2013, which reached No.2.
It's the sixth Nintendo Switch game to reach No.1 this year.
It's worth noting digital sales are not included and publisher Nintendo does not share download data, so we'll never truly know how well the game really did. Or if the other games would have beaten it with digital sales included.
Astral Chain actually beat three other new releases to No.1, with just 1,500 units separating all four on them. Missing out on the top spot by 1,100 units is another new IP, Wreckfest, published by THQ Nordic. Wreckfest was developed by Bugbear Interactive and is viewed as a successor to the FlatOut series.
Another new IP is at No.3 in The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan by Bandai Namco and Supermassive Games. The story-driven horror game was a mere 250 copies behind Wreckfest and follows in the footsteps of Supermassive's BAFTA-winning Until Dawn.
The final new IP is at No.4 in the form of Remedy's new action game Control, which was just 300 units behind Man of Medan. The game was published by 505 Games and is Remedy's first release following a period of making games for Xbox.
Last week's No.1, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, has been pushed down to No.5.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...h-astral-chain

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

UK Charts: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe takes No. 1 (but it should be Minecraft, again)

August 27th, 2019, 23:51 Posted By: wraggster

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has robbed Minecrat of the top spot in the UK charts this week, despite selling less copies overall.


The anomaly is a repeat of last week, which saw Minecraft positioned at No. 7 in the charts rather than No. 1, a result of it's various platform versions having different publishers.


This week Minecraft once again edged ahead of Mario Kart by a slim margin. However, it's also worth noting that Nintendo doesn't report digital sales figures, which also creates problems with the data.


Meanwhile, Super Mario Maker 2 held onto the No. 2, with a modest sales increase of 9%, while Crash Team Racing sales were down 19%, putting it at No. 3.


Mortal Kombat 11 came crashing back into the charts for the first time in weeks, with a sales increase of 262% to land at No. 4 this week ahead of new DLC.


Super Mario Odyssey sales increased 76%, placing it at No. 5, and marking Nintendo's third entry into the top ten.


The Switch release of Minecraft inched up a spot this week to No. 6, and is currently the best-performing version of the game.


Though down 13% this week, Grand Theft Auto V continues its unwavering presence in the charts, placing at No. 7.
+
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...inecraft-again

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Grand Theft Auto V is back on top in the EMEAA charts

August 26th, 2019, 23:12 Posted By: wraggster

Another week of relative stasis in the European games market allowed Grand Theft Auto V to dominate the EMEAA charts for yet another week.
There was nothing to compare to the astounding 1,000 place pogo-jump made by Capcom's DuckTales: Remastered last week. Instead, Rockstar's commercial behemoth topped the combined physical and digital chart in terms of both units sold and value.
Grand Theft Auto V was also the No.1 game in the digital chart for both units and value. The only part of the market where it wasn't dominant was retail, where Activision Blizzard's Crash Team Racing Nitro Fuelled was the top title for units sold, and Nintendo's Super Mario Maker 2 was top in terms of value.
In the combined units chart, there were four re-entries into the top ten: Ubisoft's The Crew 2 climbed from No.16 to No.5, Assassin's Creed Odyssey was up from No.11 to No.6, Activision Blizzard's Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy rose from No.18 to No.8, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was up from No.20 to No.10..

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...e-emeaa-charts

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

ISFE: EU games industry worth over €21bn

August 26th, 2019, 23:11 Posted By: wraggster

The EU games market is worth €21 billion, according to data from the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE).
In the first edition of its new annual Key Facts publication, the ISFE found that in the four leading EU markets (France, Germany, Spain, and the UK) console gaming accounted for 47% of revenue.
Mobile came second with 34% of the €12.3 billion revenue from those combined regions, followed by PC with 18%, and handheld with 2%.
The ISFE data also shows that 46% of EU gamers are women. While mobile is the most popular platform among women (63%), PC and console gaming weren't far behind with 54% and 44% respectively.
Additionally, the ISFE data found that 54% of EU citizens play video games, and put the average of players in the EU at 31.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...orth-over-21bn

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Restoring trust in Star Wars Battlefront II

August 26th, 2019, 23:08 Posted By: wraggster

"Not a week goes by without us thinking, 'Imagine if we hadn't launched with loot boxes the way we did.'"
It's hard not to join Dennis Brännvall, design director for Star Wars Battlefront II, in his speculation. During our interview at Gamescom, he suggests that both the reviews and the consumers for the 2017 shooter would have focused on the content of the game "rather than the system that connected it."
"We would have been a different place, that's for sure, because we truly believe the game is a worthy sequel to Battlefront 1 and lives up to the legacy of the Battlefront franchise," he tells GamesIndustry.biz.
Sadly, that's not how things panned out. Complaints about the loot boxes that threatened to unbalance the multiplayer beta escalated to the point where EA pulled them from the game just 24 hours before launch, and then later removed the premium versions completely.

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

What will be the biggest video games of Christmas 2019?

August 20th, 2019, 20:51 Posted By: wraggster

This year's Christmas release slate is an unusually quiet one.
Some of the blockbusters that have historically dominated the Q4 sales window are absent. EA has no blockbuster multiplayer shooter this year, and instead has a single-player Star Wars adventure to plug the gap. Ubisoft has just the solitary AAA release this quarter, and it's not Assassin's Creed or Watch Dogs. And although they're not always a Christmas fixture, there is no Fallout or Elder Scrolls or GTA, either.
Yet what may look like a weakness to games retailers is an opportunity for everyone else. Christmas 2020 will likely be dominated by another new console showdown, with major first and third-party games trying to achieve decent market share on consoles with a smaller install base.
This Christmas there will be well over 150 million console owners in the market, and with some of the big players absent, it's a real chance for everyone else to capitalise.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...christmas-2019

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

NPD: Nintendo sweeps July, though Madden takes the crown

August 19th, 2019, 22:21 Posted By: wraggster

As its hardware continues to dominate the competition in a year of waning console cycles, Nintendo also scored a victory in July with six platform-exclusive titles in the top-ten best-selling games for the US.
The NPD Group reports that overall games spending in July reached $762 million, only a bit higher than July of last year thanks to top-selling Madden NFL's movement into July offsetting declines in all other segments.
Hardware's decline was 22% year-over-year to $169 million, with only the Nintendo Switch seeing gains -- a trend that's been going on for months now that seems likely to continue through the end of the year as the PS4 and Xbox One wind down their release cycles. The Switch remains the best-selling hardware platform both for the month and year-to-date.
Accessory and game card spending was also down, dropping 12% year-over-year to $254 million. The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller was the best-selling accessory of the month.
Finally, software gains brought sales to $340 million in July, up 34% year-over-year thanks to Madden's movement. In second place was Fire Emblem: Three Houses, seeing the best-selling US release of a Fire Emblem game of all time, overtaking Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia on the 3DS.
Alongside Fire Emblem, five other Nintendo Switch exclusives took the top ten with Super Mario Maker 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Those numbers do not include digital sales.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...akes-the-crown

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

DuckTales makes a staggering last-minute comeback in EMEAA charts

August 19th, 2019, 22:20 Posted By: wraggster

Life is like a hurricane in the EMEAA charts as one title pogo jumped up the combined physical and digital rankings by more than 1,000 places.
That title is DuckTales: Remastered, Capcom's 2013 remake of the classic 8-bit Disney platformer. With the license set to expire, the publisher knocked 75% off the price before the game was delisted -- and fans have flocked to it.
DuckTales was the third biggest selling game of the week in the combined charts -- last week, it was No.1,191 -- and No.2 in the digital rankings, up from No.709. Being a download-only game, it naturally doesn't feature in the retail charts.
Sadly, Scrooge McDuck's last hurrah wasn't enough to unseat Grand Theft Auto V. Rockstar's evergreen seller is yet again No.1 in both the combined and digital charts, and third in the retail rankings.
Nintendo holds on to the top spot in physical sales. While Fire Emblem: Three Houses drops to No.5, Super Mario Maker 2 is up one place to No.1.
Elsewhere in the combined charts, there's a new entry in the Top 10 as Paradox's Age of Wonders: Planetfall debuts at No.7. This has been driven entirely by digital sales as, despite having a boxed released, the game does not appear in the Top 50 physical charts. It's No.3 in digital.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...n-emeaa-charts

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

UK Charts: Crash Team Racing still No.1 (but it should be Minecraft)

August 19th, 2019, 22:19 Posted By: wraggster

An oddity of the charts system means Crash Team Racing appears to have robbed Minecraft of its place as UK No.1.
Since Minecraft's various editions have different publishers, they are ranked separately in the overall charts. But if you combine the sales for the Nintendo Switch version (listed as No.7) with the PlayStation edition (No.10), the hugely popular creation game outsold Activision's remastered racer -- albeit by just a handful of copies.
The Switch edition saw its sales remain relatively flat, with a 1% increase week-on-week, while the PlayStation version shifted 17% more copies than last week.
However, under the official GfK Chart-Track listings, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled scored a second consecutive No.1, marking its fourth week at the top of the charts since it launched earlier this summer.
The game enjoyed a comfortable lead on the next best-selling game -- Super Mario Maker 2, another non-mover -- shifting 21% more copies than the platformer. Nintendo also holds onto No.3 with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe -- again, for the second week running.
Crash Bandicoot actually makes a second appearance in the Top 10, with a 27% week-on-week sales boost lifting the N Sane Trilogy from No.13 to No.8.
In terms of unit sales, Crash Team Racing was the best-seller, but thanks to their higher price points, both Super Mario Maker 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe generated more cash.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...d-be-minecraft

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

US delays tariff on game consoles

August 14th, 2019, 18:37 Posted By: wraggster

The United States is pushing back plans to impose additional tariffs on video game consoles coming from China. The Office of the US Trade Representative today announced that certain types of electronics and toys would not see a 10% tariff imposed on them until December 15.
Previously, that tariff would have gone into effect September 1. A wide array of products coming from China (everything from cameras and clothes to food and construction materials) are still scheduled to see a 10% tariff imposed on that date. Arcade games and their replacement parts are among the items still on that list.
In remarks to the press today, President Donald Trump explained the delay was taken to minimize impact on the holiday shopping season.
"We're doing this for Christmas season, just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on U.S. customers, which, so far, they've had virtually none," Trump said. "The only impact has been that we've collected almost $60 billion from China - compliments of China. But just in case they might have an impact on people, what we've done is we've delayed it so that they won't be relevant for the Christmas shopping season."

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...-game-consoles

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Over half of Chinese consumers prefer free-to-play or ad-monetised games over premium

August 12th, 2019, 21:32 Posted By: wraggster

Over half of Chinese consumers prefer free-to-play or ad-funded games over premium titles.
That's according to research commissioned by Mintegral, an AI-driven, programmatic ad platform, which surveyed 1,007 people and found that 61% prefer non-premium titles.
Additionally, 85% reported that they spend on mobile games, with 3% spending more than $50 (¥330) a month.
The average spending was much lower, however, at $5.80 (¥40) per month. Players aged between 26 and 30 had the highest average spending, at $10 (¥70).
Conducted in partnership with market intelligence firm Newzoo, the research also reveals a high level of brand loyalty among the demographic; 92% of respondents stick with a game for more than a week, with 87% playing fewer than five different games in the previous month.
One of the many challenges facing western developers entering the Chinese market the fragmented storefronts. The research found the App Store is the single most-popular storefront with 30% of the market, followed closely by Tencent's MyApp with 29%, and the Huawei app store, with 26%.
Membership and subscriptions are also popular in China as a means of addressing strict in-app purchase regulations, with 72% of respondents opting-in to such services.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...s-over-premium

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

UK's Video Games Tax Relief has paid out £324m in five years

August 12th, 2019, 21:20 Posted By: wraggster

HM Revenue & Customs have released new statistics that show the impact of Video Games Tax Relief since they were first introduced half a decade again.
A total of £234 million been paid out to 1,110 claims across 1,075 since 2014. According to HMRC's report, this accounts for £2.6 billion of UK expenditure, and £3.7 billion expenditure in total.
The number of claims has been increasing as the years have passed. 345 of the total claims were made in 2018-19, representing 535 games (claims can be made to cover several games).
The past year's claims have paid out £103 million to 170 UK games firms, since multiple claims can also be made for the same game project.
The 2018-19 represent £492 million in UK expenditure, and the HMRC expects this to increase. It notes the large increase this year is "due to a small number of very high budget games."

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...-in-five-years

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

UK spent £1.6bn on video games in the first half of 2019

August 12th, 2019, 21:16 Posted By: wraggster

New figures show that UK consumers spent almost £1.6 billion on video games in the first six months of the year.
The Entertainment Retail Association has released its market report for H1 2019, which shows games remains the highest-grossing sector of the entertainment market.
In total, UK consumers spent £3.3 billion on games, music and video from January to June -- meaning the £1.56 billion taken by games accounts for 47% of all money spent.
Games showed the least growth, with spend only rising by 1%, but remains the entertainment powerhouse.
Digital sales were the biggest driver, with revenues up 2.4% year-on-year to £1.38 billion. That's more than the £1.07 billion spent on both physical and digital video combined.
Physical games revenue, however, slipped by 8.5%, down to £184.9 million. However, this was the least dramatic decline across all entertainment sectors, with music downloads dropping the most, down 26.1%.
Boxed games sales are also still above music's £138.8 million (down 13.8% year-on-year), but fell behind video's £215.8 million (down 23.3%).
Looking again at the overall entertainment market, digital has well and truly over, accounting for £2.76 billion spent (up 9.8%). This includes the £485.9 million from music streaming services. Physical retail, meanwhile, is down 16.3% to £539.5 million.
While games leads the way in revenue, it still falls a little behind in unit sales. Even the top-selling game of H1 2019 -- unsurprisingly, Grand Theft Auto with 361,312 units sold -- doesn't match the best-selling album.
The Greatest Showman soundtrack sold 380,929 units in the same period, although the next biggest seller -- Lewis Capaldi's Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent -- only sold 229,340 units, which is less than the top five best-selling games.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...t-half-of-2019

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

FIFA 19 and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe are best-selling games in Europe this year

August 12th, 2019, 21:15 Posted By: wraggster

New Super Mario Bro. U Deluxe and FIFA 19 are the best-selling physical games in Europe so far this year, according to GfK Entertainment.
That's based on a new cross-platform report from the official charts and market research data supplier.
FIFA 19 performed better in the Benelux countries of Denmark, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the UK, while Mario proved more popular in Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland.
Grand Theft Auto V continues to be a dominant force in the market six years after release, ranking in the top three in five countries.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...rope-this-year

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here

Walmart taking down violent video game demos, displays

August 12th, 2019, 21:14 Posted By: wraggster

Walmart employees are reportedly being instructed to remove signage, demos, and displays for entertainment products (including video games) that include violence or aggressive imagery in the wake of a shooting this weekend that occurred at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
Waypoint Vice reports that a number of employees have taken to social media to share a notice given to them this week instructing them to remove "any signing or displays that contain violent images or aggressive behavior."
One example shared on Twitter specifically mentions "video game display consoles that show a demo of violent games, specifically PlayStation and Xbox units." They are also told to cancel events promoting combat or third-person shooter games, avoid showing violent movies or hunting season videos, and remove any product referencing combat or third-person shooters.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...demos-displays

Join In and Discuss Here

Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here