MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
GAME has both the most envied and reviled position in the UK games industry. As the ward of the two goliath High Street games brands, it isn’t just at the coalface of games retail – it is the coalface. When a new console arrives and the industry takes off, GAME …
Read More »GAME: Digital threat is ‘overblown’
Ian Shepherd has warned that the switch to online content and digital distribution will come much slower than the pundits claim. But, nevertheless, the new CEO of GAME said the retail giant is preparing itself for the digital era by evolving into a ‘multi-channel’ brand. The market is down 17 …
Read More »Pre-owned margins fall at GAME
GAME Group has stated that it suffered a dip in its pre-owned margins in the 26 weeks ending July 30th. Our pre-owned offer remains the most competitive and widespread on the high street,” chairman Peter Lewis stated. Margins in pre-owned were down by 250 basis points as a result of …
Read More »85 GAME stores to be closed by 2013
GAME Group today confirmed that it plans to shave down its store count even further over the next three years. Currently, the firm runs 635 stores across its two brands, GAME and Gamestation – after earlier this year closing 15 stores and 27 concessions. But the firm expects to slim …
Read More »Market dip dents GAME
GAME has reported an expected year-on-year drop in sales and revenue in its half-year financials. For the 26 weeks ending July 31st, revenue was down 9.6 per cent to 624.6m compared to 690.8m the year previously, with like for like sales down 10 per cent. That’s in line with the …
Read More »HMV victorious at Industry Quiz
HMV emerged triumphant at last night’s MCV/Xbox 360 Quiz, fending off stiff competition from Microsoft, GameSpot, Imagine Publishing and Tesco. A mixture of retailers, media, peripheral firms and publishers gathered at London’s Sway Bar to battle to be the biggest brains in games, and win some pretty spectacular prizes, including …
Read More »Wii can still hold its own
Unless Microsoft and Sony move to lower the RRPs of Xbox 360 and PS3 the Wii should still be able to maintain its position in the video games market well into 2011, analyst Michael Pachter has stated. As far as the Wii’s current position, they’re holding their own,” he told …
Read More »Halo gives High Street reason to cheer
The blockbuster arrival of the latest Halo put the UK games market back on track. The 360 exclusive helped retailers make over 28m in sales. It was the best week for games retail all year, and a far cry from the week prior, when the UK market value plummeted to …
Read More »Specialists losing ground to supermarkets
Specialists may have driven the Halo: Reach launch excitement, but new research shows they are still losing ground to supermarkets. According to GfK Chart-Track, mass market grocers sold 29 per cent of all video games purchased during the first 34 weeks of the year. That’s an eight per cent rise …
Read More »Take-Two wants pre-owned participation
Having kicked off its ‘participation’ in the pre-owned market via the inclusion of exclusive DLC for new buyers of Mafia II, publisher Take-Two has said that it will continue to explore ways in which it can generate revenue from second hand sales. Speaking at the G7 Think Equity conference, as …
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