Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 05.10.15

FIFA-16LEGO Dimensions can’t move FIFA 16 from the number one spot debuting at number two followed by NBA 2K16 which has entered the chart this week at number three. Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer comes in at number 6 whilst lower down the chart the apparently bug ridden Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 grinds in to number twelve.

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Week ending 3 October 2015

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 FIFA 16 EA SPORTS 1
2 LEGO DIMENSIONS LEGO DIMENSIONS
3 NBA 2K16 2K SPORTS
4 DESTINY: THE TAKEN KING ACTIVISION 2
5 FORZA MOTORSPORT 6 MICROSOFT 3
6 ANIMAL CROSSING: HAPPY HOME DESIGNER NINTENDO
7 METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN KONAMI 5
8 SKYLANDERS SUPERCHARGERS SKYLANDERS 4
9 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 8
10 MAD MAX WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 7
11 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2016 KONAMI 6
12 TONY HAWK PRO SKATER 5 ACTIVISION
13 LEGO JURASSIC WORLD WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 10
14 DISNEY INFINITY 3.0 DISNEY INFINITY 12
15 SUPER MARIO MAKER NINTENDO 11
16 RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015 BIG BEN 18
17 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 13
18 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS ACTIVISION 9
19 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 14
20 GEARS OF WAR: ULTIMATE EDITION MICROSOFT 16
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Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2015 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 27.04.15

Mortal Kombat xAnother week, another chart. This week all is very quiet with Mortal Kombat X remaining at number one. The only new game is Kalypso Medias Tropico 5 which has entered the charts down at number eighteen.

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Week ending 25 April 2015

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 MORTAL KOMBAT X WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 1
2 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 2
3 BATTLEFIELD HARDLINE EA GAMES 3
4 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 9
5 FIFA 15 EA SPORTS 4
6 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 8
7 CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION 7
8 DYING LIGHT WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 10
9 BORDERLANDS: THE HANDSOME COLLECTION 2K GAMES 11
10 WWE 2K15 2K SPORTS 12
11 FAR CRY 4 UBISOFT 6
12 BLOODBORNE SONY COMPUTER ENT. 5
13 DISNEY INFINITY 2.0 DISNEY INFINITY 15
14 HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION MICROSOFT 14
15 TERRARIA XBOX 360 CLASSICS 16
16 LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 18
17 FORZA HORIZON 2 MICROSOFT 13
18 TROPICO 5 KALYPSO MEDIA
19 DARK SOULS II: SCHOLAR OF THE FIRST SIN BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT 17
20 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 20
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2015 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 12.01.14

GTA VThe second chart of the week and no new games have entered this week but we do have an old favourite at number one. Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V has retaken the number one spot pushing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare down to number two.

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Week ending 10 January 2015

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 2
2 CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION 1
3 FIFA 15 EA SPORTS 3
4 FAR CRY 4 UBISOFT 4
5 THE CREW UBISOFT 6
6 ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY UBISOFT 5
7 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 11
8 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 10
9 DESTINY ACTIVISION 7
10 MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 13
11 ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG UBISOFT 19
12 DRIVECLUB SONY COMPUTER ENT. 9
13 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
14 THE EVIL WITHIN BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 15
15 FORZA HORIZON 2 MICROSOFT 14
16 HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION MICROSOFT 18
17 WWE 2K15 2K SPORTS 8
18 SUPER SMASH BROS. NINTENDO 20
19 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION EA GAMES 18
20 ASSASSIN’S CREED: ROGUE UBISOFT 19
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2015 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News Great British Winter Game Jam

Great British Winter Game JamLondon games studio Space Ape Games, have announced the Great British Winter Game Jam.

Held on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November 2014, the Game Jam is a team-based event taking place at Space Ape’s studio’s in Soho Square, London. The competition is open to anyone, and teams of up to 5 participants can enter via http://tgbwgj.eventbrite.com. There are a maximum of 50 tickets up for grabs, which means that 10 teams can get through to the weekend session.

Space Ape Games are very excited to confirm the judging panel for the Jam, industry veterans David Gardner OBE and Miles Jacobson OBE, along with award winning scriptwriter Rhianna Pratchett. The theme for the Game Jam will be revealed on the first day of the competition, and judging will take place on the afternoon of Sunday 30th November.

The winning team will take home Unity 5 Pro licenses for each member of the team, with additional prizes being announced over the coming weeks. More importantly, everyone that takes part will get to spend time with the judges and have their games showcased to the London Indie community. Teams will need to bring their own equipment such as laptops, mobile devices and phones.

London is host to an impressive game dev community. Space Ape is pleased to bring them together for a weekend of fun, collaboration and healthy competition in the spirit of previous Game Jams such as The Great British Summer Game Jam earlier this year
For more information about The Great British Winter Game Jam, check out the Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/GBWGameJam. Information about Space Ape Games as well as career opportunities at the studio are available at www.spaceapegames.com

Train2Game News Halo 5 Multiplayer Beta

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343 has announced new details for the Halo 5: Guardians beta, which will launch in December.

The beta will contain three modes, 11 weapons, seven maps and seven armour sets. The focus is apparently on classic 4v4 arena gameplay, and the maps are thus tailored for smallscale infantry combat rather than epic battles. All players will have the same loadouts to begin with.

You’ll be able to carry over certain content from the beta to the final game.

Additionally, the beta will receive dedicated coverage on the newly announced Halo Channel, a dashboard hub for Halo multiplayer, TV programming and community features.

You can enjoy the trailer below

Train2Game News GTA V devs on rich brits list

GTA VDan and Sam Houser have been named among the 1,000 wealthiest Britons, along with a number of other notable games industry names.

The list was compiled and published in The Sunday Times, as spotted by Polygon. The Houser brothers, best known for co-founding Grand Theft Auto firm Rockstar Games, were ranked at No.947, with a combined fortune of £90m ($151m).

However, the richest games industry entry to the list is Mel Morris from Candy Crush Saga creator King. Morris reached No.238 on the list with wealth of £407m ($684m).

This is the first time in six years that The Sunday Times has run its wealthiest Brit list, raising the minimum value of entrants from £80m to £85m.

The Housers’ latest title Grand Theft Auto V made $1bn after just three days on sale when it was released in September.

The games industry is ever growing and I imagine we will see more and more UK games industry personal appearing on the list in the future.

Source: Develop

Train2Game News Halo 5 announced

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The next Halo game has officially been announced as Halo 5: Guardians.

“Any time you transition to a new platform, there is the opportunity to look at things with a new perspective,” wrote 343’s GM Bonnie Ross in a post over on Xbox Wire. “For us at 343 Industries, the launch of the Xbox One was an opportunity to think about what stories we wanted to tell, how to tell them, and how best to push the Halo franchise to showcase the platform. And maybe, most importantly, combining our passion for Halo with the vocal and informative input from our fans.

“Halo isn’t simply a perennial game franchise, it’s a part of the Xbox platform itself,” she continued. “In terms of innovation and ideation, it’s sometimes important to people who might not even play Halo. In the past, Halo games have pushed the Xbox forward, showcasing the console and its ecosystem in entertaining and innovative ways. Making a Halo game that runs at 60 frames per second, on dedicated servers, with the scope, features and scale we’ve been dreaming of for more than a decade, is non-trivial. It’s a task that we, at 343 Industries, are taking very seriously to ensure we deliver the Halo game that fans deserve, and a game that is built from the ground up for Xbox One.

“I’m happy to reveal that Halo 5: Guardians, the next installment in the legendary saga of the Master Chief, will launch on Xbox One in fall of 2015. In the tradition of every Halo game since its debut in 2001, it is a massive and exciting project.”

Ross promised to give further details on the game, and the Halo TV series tie-in, at the Xbox E3 Media Briefing next month in LA, but she did say that Halo 5: Guardians was “a bigger effort than Halo 4. That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine. Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen.”

2015 is a bit of a way off though, so to keep us on our toes, 343 also hinted at more, “extra special” Halo news coming at E3 this year. It said that the new Halo franchise endeavors are a “journey,” and that that journey begins in 2014.

Train2Game News Unity introducing multiplayer tools

unity-logoUnity is developing an array of new multiplayer tools and services for developers using its game engine.

The first phase of the new UNET project will include features such as a high performance transport layer based on UDP to support all game types, a matchmaker service and a relay server to help solve connectivity problems.

The new multiplayer tools will be introduced when Unity 5 is released later this year.

You can find more details on UNET here.

Unity’s announcement comes as indie developers have aired mixed opinions on whether multiplayer games are viable for small teams What are your thoughts?

Train2Game News: GamesAnalytics report assess GTA Online

GTA VPredictive analytics specialists GamesAnalytics, has today published a special report which explores the Free-2-Play (F2P) potential of Grand Theft Auto Online.

The latest release of the game took Rockstar’s blockbuster franchise in an ambitious new direction, with a multiplayer world and in-game economy and the Benchmark report assesses whether GTA Online would also make a successful standalone F2P game.

The report has been produced using GamesAnalytics’ evidenced based research methodology, where 50 game design aspects across six main categories including Monetisation, Retention, Engagement and Virality are assessed against industry best practice F2P game design from over 80 F2P titles.

The report found that GTA Online surpassed the best in genre scores for categories including Retention, Game Mechanics and Engagement. However, if the game was released as a standalone F2P title then the report identifies mechanics that it would benefit from improving key mechanics to achieve high levels of Monetization and Virality.

Based on the reporting findings, GamesAnalytics highlights five recommendations in the report to help achieve best practice F2P design:

1. Improve the currency structure with first / second payment structure
2. Introduce a VIP structure to fast track progress and reward members
3. Develop a trading mechanism to help increase community aspects
4. Utilise no lose gambling mechanics
5. Build in reward mechanics for social sharing

Mark Robinson, Co-founder and COO GamesAnalytics, commented on the report: “GTA Online is clearly a quality bestselling premium game and this Benchmark report shows its F2P potential as a standalone game. The assessment does however highlight when designing F2P games all areas of Player Relationship Management need to be taken into consideration in particular mechanics that maximise virality, monetization and retention.

F2P game design is evolving across multiple platforms and genres. GamesAnalytics’ tools and services help publishers and developers understand best practice game design and integrate learnings upfront in the design and development process.”

These could be helpful suggestions to bear in mind for your own F2P game if you choose to take that route.

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 30.09.13

FIFA 14I am surprised to announce there is a new number one this week in the game charts. After GTA V made over a billion dollars in just three days it has already been knocked off the top spot by FIFA 14.

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Week ending 28 September 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 FIFA 14 EA SPORTS
2 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 1
3 MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 6
4 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2014 KONAMI 2
5 THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 3
6 DISNEY INFINITY DISNEY INFINITY 8
7 TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST UBISOFT 5
8 SAINTS ROW IV DEEP SILVER 4
9 DIABLO III BLIZZARD 7
10 RAYMAN LEGENDS UBISOFT 16
11 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 12
12 KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 REMIX SQUARE ENIX 10
13 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 11
14 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 13
15 MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR 15
16 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 17
17 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS
18 ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES SEGA 9
19 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX
20 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO
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Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE LtdThese charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.