The site is headed up by GMA-winning EG and Edge good guy Christian Donlan, EG and Guardian freelancer Simon “8/10″ Parkin, ex-PC Zone editor Will Porter and Guardian games editor Keith Stuart.

“With games like Shadow Complex, Super Crate Box, Triple Town, Alchemy, and Drop7 out, this is something we’ve wanted to do for ages,” said Donlan on the opening of the new site.

“We want to help separate the signal from the noise. There are countless downloadable games being created by companies big and small, and we want to single out the ones that truly deserve the attention of busy people with hectic lives,” added Porter.

Check it out here. All the very best, chaps.

The EA Partners-published, 38 Studios/Big Huge Games RPG is the first new RPG series to debut at number one in nearly 12 years since Pokemon Red, and is the first new IP altogether to debut up top since Dead Island last September.

Other new entry The Darkness II came in behind Final Fantasy XIII-2 in third. We’ve a piece on the Digital Extremes shooter going up soon.

The top five is rounded off by Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and FIFA 12.

Atlus romantic thriller Catherine, published here by Deep Silver, came just inside the top 20, while EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2 debuted at 26.

Here’s the top ten for the week ending February 11. Last week’s data is here.

1. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
2. Final Fantasy XIII-2.
3. The Darkness 2
4. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
5. FIFA 12
6. Battlefield 3
7. Modern Warfare 3
8. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
9. Skyrim
10. Mario & Sonic: London 2012 Olympics

As with the NPD charts in the US, the lack of new releases was a contributing factor to UK’s decline, where as in January 2011 the month was bolstered by the releases of Dead Space 2 and LittleBigPlanet 2.

FIFA 12 was the best-selling game for the month in the region, followed by Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3. The only new release in the top 50 was Resident Evil: Revelations which released in Europe on January 27.

In total 2,781,786 games were sold at UK retail in January, which is a 27.7% decline compared to the year prior.

The organisation’s Crowd Funding Report is aiming to change legislation, where people can fund a project or company.

The news comes after Double Fine’s staggering $1.2 million and climbing Kickstarter project yesterday.

“Double Fine’s Kickstarter project has today shown the huge potential of crowd funding to benefit games and interactive entertainment businesses,” said UKIE CEO Jo Twist.

“We need the UK to be able to take full advantage of crowd funding and UKIE’s Crowd Funding Report, due next week, will outline exactly what needs to be done for this to be possible.”

More details here.

Speaking with CVG, Hill said it was “definitely” the powers-that-be in the UK started supporting its games studios in order to stop the “talent drain.”

“A lot of my friends have moved abroad to get work; there’s a real talent drain,” he said. “Montreal is a central place for development and it’s mainly because the tax breaks they give are so phenomenal. It’s a real shame… we have some of the best talent in the world in this country. That situation is rapidly changing and it’s such a shame.

“We have great developers here but those numbers are dwindling. You just think about quality developers like Bizarre Creations, Black Rock – people who are making really good games and going out of business. Those guys were so talented so how can that happen?

“I just think that we could have been in Montreal’s position with that backing from the government. It’s such a big industry now and we could be world leaders. Britain’s home computing history is just incredible.”

Hill isn’t far off in his opinion on tax breaks, as a Tiga study published in January reported that 41% of laid off UK developers moved overseas between 2009 and 2011, and the country’s overall games development workforce has fallen 10%.

Various UK trade bodies have been trying to implement change in the sector for ages, something the UK government has been dragging its heels on for ages.

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Full list is after the break.

• Batman: Arkham City
• Battlefield 3
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• FIFA 12
• L.A. Noire
• Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Minecraft
• Portal 2
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception

The Vodafone 3G PS Vita in the UK will feature WipEout 2048 and a 4Gb memory card as part of the bundle, the telco said today.

You get the game when you top up with £5 of data. The pack will set you back £279. You can only buy it in a Vodafone store.

Vodafone was announced as Sony’s preferred partner for Vita’s mobile internet connection in November last year.

In the US, AT&T was announced as Vita’s 3G partner last E3. At TGS in September, Sony unveiled NTT Docomo as its partner for Japan.

Vita launches in the US and Europe on February 22. It released in Japan in December.

Brain in a Jar specializes in racing simulation and said it would be making “significant contributions to a large-scale development project” in the works at Eutechnyx.

“We’re very excited to be working with Eutechnyx on one of its biggest projects this year, as we’re keen to demonstrate the two pillars on which our company is founded on – great technology and intelligent staff scaling” said Brain in a Jar founder Carl Dalton

Brain in a Jar has previously released Euro Rally Champion, IndyCar Series, Sprint Car Challenge and Ultimate Racing Collection. Eutechnyx is a well-known British developer, responsible for System 3′s Ferrari Challenge, Test Drive: Le Mans and many more.

The job losses follow speculation on the company’s future in the past week. The chain is reportedly going through credit insurance problems that have affected buying stock, and the company has said it’s looking at selling its international arm.

“The proposed restructure will result in around 46 fewer roles at our central support centre in Basingstoke,” said a statement from GAME (via MCV).

“Our proposed new structure will change the way that we operate and will enable us to be significantly more efficient in our relationships with suppliers and customers. We are giving our full help and support to the colleagues who are affected by these proposed changes.”

As well as the lay-offs, GAME’s announced a new restructure for its UK team.

Tricia Brennan wil step up from her current role as commercial strategy director to become chief commercial officer. UK managing director Tom Devine becomes channel director. Brennan and Devine’s new roles are effective today.

Dave Hughes, who was recently behind the redesign of the GAME website, will leave in March.

All the best to those affected today.

A survey TIGA conducted with a reported three-quarters of all UK developers found just 33% continued to produce only games destined for sale as physical releases.

Other data suggests the retail market will shrink by 3%, while digital and social games will grow by 21, every year until 2015.

“TIGAs new research shows that in the UK digital distribution is in the ascent and retail is in sharp decline,” TGA CEO Richard Wilson said, as reported by Develop.

“TIGA wants to see a flourishing developer and digital publisher sector, with rising numbers of start-ups and growing sustainable studios and declining business mortality rates. The rise in network gaming offers the opportunity to achieve these objectives.”

The report also noted that only 10% of new developers focus on retail, and 80% are independent.ckaged retail software. Some 80 per cent of these start-ups are labelled independent.

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FIFA drops to fourth thanks to the release of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection in second and Battlefield 3 gaining two spots in third.

Other new entry Soul Calibur V came in fifth. The rest of the charts are otherwise movers and shakers.

Top ten for the week ending February 4 is below. Last week’s data is here.

• 1 – Final Fantasy XIII-2
• 2 – Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
• 3 – Battlefield 3
• 4 – FIFA 12
• 5 – Soul Calibur V
• 6 – Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
• 7 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• 8 – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• 9 – Just Dance 3
• 10 – Saints Row: The Third

In order to continue operating, the firm has agreed to do so within the “lower limits of its existing facilities than was previously available.”

With the new plans in place, the board, stockholders, and lenders are “confident” GAME will meet financial tests when the next meeting occurs on February 27. It will also need to provide an updated plan covering all aspects of its business including overseas operations, but the plan will need to be approved by lenders before being put into place.

The firm expects to post losses of £18 million for the year, which is lower than analyst speculation.

“We’re pleased to reach agreement with our lenders, but should be under no illusions about the challenges in our market or the hard work that is required to deliver our strategic plan,” said CEO Ian Shepherd in a statement.

GAME operated 665 stores in the international market – 573 in continental Europe, and 92 in Australia – as well as 610 in the UK and Ireland.

Thanks, MCV.

Speaking during the call, CEO John Riccitiello said the firm was “concerned with the financial condition of one of our major European retail partners,” which according to Riccitiello, could lead to both “increased bad debt and lost sales” for EA.

He never mentioned GAME by name specifically, but the UK retailer is obviously the one he was discussing.

Adding further color to the matter, CFO and EVP Eric Brown called the situation “isolated,” but agreed a negative outcome for the retailer “could adversely impact our Q4 results.”

Brown said other factors which led the firm to revise its Q4, were shipping more units than initially planned for for Star Wars: The Old Republic due to “strong” demand for the game; “moving an important social game launch from Q4 F’12 to Q1 F’13, and with it the associated profit”; and increased marketing spend in Q4 in order to take advantage of SWTOR momentum.

Riccitiello said GAME’s financial woes and the rest of these issues weren’t “material or consequential” for fiscal ’12, but taken together, may impact EA’s Q4.

“All in, we’ve delivered another strong quarter and expect to finish the fiscal year consistent with our original and our recently raised guidance,” he said.”

A report yesterday stated GAME’s credit insurance was in jeopardy, and today the firm confirmed it’s in talks with lenders to secure more funds.

GAME is in serious trouble, and it’s likely it will cease to exist in the near future. It may have negotiated stock for releases this week, but what about next week? And the week after that? It will be difficult for GAME to be able to navigate these problems quickly enough to survive.

Don’t pretend you’re shocked. In the past two days, a report of GAME’s difficulty in maintaining credit insurance has been backed up by a statement confirming the UK retailer is in talks to secure lending. The well-known high street chain has also said it may sell off overseas concerns.

Questions are now being raised as to whether GAME has a future at all. If a retailer’s credit insurance fails, it will ultimately mean it’s unable to stock new products. This would have a serious affect on GAME being able to operate in any way.

Speaking to MCV yesterday, GAME moved to assure that it’s working with separate publishers to ensure flow of stock. But while Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V will be sold in GAME stores tomorrow – the games vanished from the firm’s website yesterday – there can be no doubting the company is facing a serious test of its ability to remain viable.

To illustrate the seriousness of the matter, EA said in its Q3 earnings call last night that it was concerned about the situation, as it’ll lead to decreased sales and increased debt if GAME’s trouble becomes terminal.

The larger question is whether or not time is finally up for specialist high street games retail. GAME is not the only one under potentially fatal pressure. HMV admitted in six-monthly results at the end of 2011 that general economic malaise “may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern in the future,” reporting both wider losses and a double-digit revenue drop.

While it may be comforting for stores like HMV and GAME to blame international depression on what’s happening to their businesses, anyone with even a passing professional interest in media retail knows it’s not the whole story. And in the games space specifically, it may very well be that time for the specialist brick and mortar boys has finally run out.

Those with loaded guns, and those who dig

The problem is hardly revelatory: people are shopping in increasing numbers on the internet. We are in a transition period between a man walking into a shop and buying a video game, and a man buying a video game from a website. This has nothing to do with whether or not discs have a future in games going forward; it’s about where people are buying discs right now. There’s no question: the internet is winning.

Total retail sales in the UK were up 3.65% last year, while online sales grew 14%. While the trend is general, the situation in the games trade has clearly become untenable for GAME.

GAME is now apparently unable to offer publishers credit insurance. By way of explanation: when a store like GAME stocks a product, the publisher of that product is normally insured. Soul Calibur V is out tomorrow, for instance. If GAME cannot offer Namco credit incurance on the stock it intends to sell, that means Namco has no guarantee it will be paid for its games. If GAME goes bust next week, and the credit on Soul Calibur V’s GAME stock isn’t insured, Namco will lose a great deal of money.

The issue of credit insurance in games retail is of particular importance for two main reasons. Firstly, there are the license fees publishers have to pay platform holders, such as Sony and Microsoft. Secondly, developing a triple-A video game is extremely expensive. If, for example, HMV can’t supply credit insurance on stock of a music CD, the risk to the publisher is nowhere near as acute as it would be on a video game. As such, any sign that a retailer has failed to secure credit insurance will stop supply of games stock very quickly. Especially in the current climate, risk on a stock large enough to supply 600 UK stores could easily kill a mid-range publisher, and even the very biggest – EA, Activision, etc – will take a very dim view.

Show me the exit

No stock, no business. GAME does have some options, although they’re essentially futile. It could close stores and fire staff. This is only a short-term solution that could be made in an effort to balance books, and doesn’t fix the fact that it’s clearly failed to manage the transition from high street to internet. While the packaged goods business is declining and online sales are increasing, GAME.co.uk has failed to gain enough market share to prop up the business. GAME faces particular difficulty in this area as it doesn’t ship from Jersey, as do Play and Amazon, meaning its consumer-facing costs are generally higher.

Merging GAME and GameStation into one brand? This is basically the same as closing shops and firing staff.

In short, GAME is in serious trouble, and it’s likely it will cease to exist in the near future. It may have negotiated stock for releases this week, but what about next week? And the week after that? Publisher have known GAME’s been experiencing difficulties for months, but it’s only in recent days that the severity of the situation has hit the press wholesale. It will be difficult for GAME to be able to navigate these problems quickly enough to survive.

Is this is end for games on the high street? Of course not. Many people still want midnight launches, and they want to be certain of games on day one, but specialists like GAME are being bullied out of relevance in the “event” release space by massive general stores like Sainsbury’s and Tesco. GAME’s niche as a shop which stocks a wide variety of games has traditionally kept people walking through the door for all their gaming needs, but the whole concept is failing. If you want an historic game, do you go to your local store and find it’s almost certainly not in stock, or do you buy it online? You buy it online. GAME’s business of being a catalogue retailer is becoming void. Day-oners will almost certainly go to a supermarket for the next Call of Duty: it’s cheaper and there’ll be more stock. So you go to Sainsbury’s for your triple-As to ensure you get them on time, and you buy Assassin’s Creed II and Halo 3 from Play.com.

And where does that leave GAME?

Someone once told me that for an business to succeed it must be one of three things: faster, cheaper or better. GAME can’t be faster. Day one is day one. It can’t be cheaper on the high street because it’s competing against multi-national giants, and it doesn’t have the set-up to stay below competitors online. A games retailer that doesn’t insure stock will find it difficult to be “better,” to say the least.

Watch the clock. It’s starting to tick at double-time.

“In response to press speculation the GAME Group plc confirms that it is in on-going dialogue with its lending syndicate to reach agreement on revised terms for its facilities,” said the company.

“As part of these discussions, the lending syndicate is reviewing a strategic plan of the company which includes a review of its overseas operations. A further announcement will be provided once discussions with its lending syndicate have concluded.”

It was seen yesterday that both MGS HD and NeverDead had been pulled from the GAME website.

MCV reported behind-the-scenes worries as the store chain is facing “challenges” with its credit insurance. NowGamer posted a similar story yesterday.

“This week’s big releases are currently all being processed through our system ready for launch on Friday as planned, including Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V, which will all be available in stores and online,” said a GAME spokesperson in a statement.

VG247′s discovered that both MGS HD and NeverDead have been pulled from the GAME website when searched, though. SC5 and FFXIII-2 is still available to order. Konami’s declined to comment.

It comes as MCV reported behind-the-scenes worries it’s facing “challenges” with its credit insurance after an initial a NowGamer report earlier in the morning.

The trade site has said GAME’s financial outscape since the start of the year has “changed significantly,” and is in the midst of working with publishers to help solve its current woes. But the retailer said it has upcoming promotions planned for several upcoming titles.

“We are continuing to work closely with our industry partners and have big plans for further exciting launches.”

The NG report also suggested that staff wages would be held back “in an attempt to boost the retailer’s year end figures.” GAME has said staff who get monthly pay were given their wages yesterday.

“Claims regarding colleagues not being paid are untrue: all colleagues who are paid monthly were paid yesterday (31 January).”

Thanks, Engadget.

“Currently we won’t be publishing this on 360 – just on PC. No one else is bringing the game to retail,” Kalypso’s PR head Mark Allen told MCV.

The boxed PC version will arrive as expected on February 24.

The game is available on Xbox Live, alongside iDevice, PC and PlayStation Network versions, and received full retail release on Xbox 360 in the US.

Thanks, CVG.

Vita launches on February 22. Thanks, MCV.

PS3 320GB – £79.99 (Wi-Fi), £129.99 (3G)
Xbox 360 250GB – £79.99 (Wi-Fi), £129.99 (3G)
Xbox 360 4GB – £149.99 (Wi-Fi), £199.99 (3G)
Nintendo 3DS – £99.99 (Wi-Fi), £149.99 (3G)
Nintendo DSi – £169.99 (Wi-Fi), £219.99 (3G)
Nintendo Wii (White) – £189.99 (Wi-Fi), £239.99 (3G)
PSP Slim & Lite – £179.99 (Wi-Fi), £229.99 (3G)
PSP 3000 – £179.99 (Wi-Fi), £229.99 (3G)

This is the second hire announce in the past week from the Brink developer following the news it hired ex-FIFA director Griff Jenkins as its new director of production.

“We’re hugely impressed by Marc’s combination of insane technical ability and project management skills,” said studio boss Paul Wedgwood. “In particular its Marc’s obsession with fun gameplay and his personable nature that makes him the perfect person to lead our army of awesome programmers.”

Fascia will now become the studio’s new technical director, overseeing the upcoming projects SD has planned.

“I’m really happy to be trusted with this incredible responsibility at Splash Damage,” he said. “We’re working on some great things, and managing such a big and talented programming team, across multiple varied and challenging projects, is a wonderful opportunity. I love multiplayer and Splash Damage suits my passion perfectly.”

The Capcom 3DS horror entered at sixth following its release last week.

The rest of the line-up is all movers and shakers, with last week’s number nine Rayman Origins shunted out of the top ten. It’s now found itself in 12th.

The top ten for the week ending January 28 is below. Last week’s data is here.

• 1 – FIFA 12
• 2 – Modern Warfare 3
• 3 – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• 4 – Just Dance 3
• 5 – Battlefield 3
• 6 – Resident Evil: Revelations
• 7 – Zumba Fitness
• 8 – Saints Row: The Third
• 9 – Assassin’s Creed; Revelations
• 10 – Zumba Fitness 2

The top 150 stores will include a dedicated Interactive Display Unit the coming weeks. Every store manager has been sent a Vita unit to “enable them and their staff to demonstrate first hand just what makes the new PlayStation handheld so special.”

This activity coincides with the current PlayStation Vita Rooms in Glasgow which is currently open until January 29. The next Vita Rooms event in London runs February 17 – 22.

Both the event and the store samplings will off demos of titles such as WipEout 2048, Uncharted Golden Abyss, ModNation Racers: Road Trip, Reality Fighters, Little Deviants and Everybody’s Golf.

PS Vita launches in Europe and the US February 22.

With Vita’s UK launch less than a month a way, the Sony hype and marketing campaign – the largest it has ever conducted – is in full swing. You can see it nearly everywhere now; on TV, in full-blown newspaper promotions and enough online ads to make you think Sony bought the internet. Sony’s also trying something a little different this time, in the form of the PS Vita Rooms, inviting consumers to try out their new device in three cities around the UK; Manchester, Glasgow and London.

Glasgow’s Vita Room is being held on Sauchiehall Street, a prime location for shoppers and tourists. Fitted out with a white and cool blue exterior, it was turning the heads of most people walking past. The inside has been decked out with Playstation Vita’s attached to different sections of the interiors walls, each showing off a different launch title. A DJ was positioned in the middle of the ground floor. Nearly all of the excellent team and helpers behind the floorshow at the Eurogamer Expo were on hand to provide help on any Vita-related questions, hand out snacks and just generally chat.

But I wasn’t there just to mingle with the Vita crew and the WipEout girl – Vita has games, too, and four in particular are really worth considering for launch.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

It’s pretty evident that Nathan Drake’s portable debut is Vita’s first system-seller. The queue to reach the Uncharted stand at the back of the room was constantly around 80 people strong.

Two chapters taken from the final game were on display. “Why’s the building on fire?” drops the player into the rather warm boots of Drake as he attempts to escape a blaze. The second section was from chapter 11, and featured sniping gameplay involving motion controls.

Both levels showed off new features only capable on Vita, such as using touch gestures on the very responsive OLED screen to cut through fabric, moving along pipes and physically tilting the console to find targets to snipe. Graphically, while a little jaggy at times, it’s pretty amazing: near PS3 quality in your hands was only a pipe dream even a few years ago; now it’s the reality.

WipEout 2048

With no Gran Turismo game spotted for the near or even distant future, it falls on Sony’s other long-running racing series to step up as Vita’s launch racer. The demo on show had four tracks available and a special unit pitting a Vita user against a PS3 user to show off cross-platform capabilities. The graphics are as fast and fluid as anything you’d expect from a WipEout title; highly polished and beautiful. The other stand-out point would be the controls; piloting the exceptionally fast ships is a breeze, whether you’re using the Vita’s analog stick or the accelerometer. It definitely doesn’t feel like the sort of portable experience of past generations.

MotorStorm RC

This gem will be available on the PSN Store at launch or very soon after. Developed by Evolution Studios, it adds a fun twist to the MotorStorm series. The cars of the PS3 counterpart have been replaced with remote control versions of the same vehicles, making it quite the pint-sized affair. Locations are based on all four MotorStorm games to date, meaning you get dusty desert circuits from the first in the series, all the way up to the apocalyptic city circuits from MotorStorm Apocalypse. It’s played from an isometric, top-down perspective, making it really feel like a throwback to games like Micro Machines. Quite a bit of emphasis has been placed on the competitive leaderboards and challenging friends, and when you buy it you get it for both PS3 and Vita, allowing you to play wherever you are. I found myself getting quite into it very quickly; it seems like the perfect pick-up-and-play game for Vita’s launch.

The game marks an interesting new line of business for Evolution Studios, who’s been able to put MotorStorm RC together quickly with a relatively small team.

“The game has been in development roughly nine months by a small dedicated team of 15 people within Evolution Studios,” art director Alex Perkins told me.

“All DLC is based on the performance of sales; if it does well it’s something we’ll have to think about.”

Super Stardust Delta

The other notable is Super Stardust Delta, the latest version of Housemarque’s frantic shooter. It follows the same formula as Super Stardust HD on PS3, but has been updated with features only available on Vita; it’s a Vita exclusive. If you haven’t played any of the games in the Super Stardust series, it has a similar style gameplay to the old Atari classic, Asteroids. Shaking the device deploys bombs that shatter everything on screen and the player is able to use the front and back touch panels to deploy missiles or smash asteroids. It’s a very polished experience that seems sure to continue the high standard of the series.

But you don’t have to take my word for it; get down to a Vita Room for yourself. The Glasgow affair is open every day until January 29, with the final event held in London, venue TBA, from February 17 to 23.

PlayStation Vita launches in the UK on February 22.

MCV has more details.

“The recent store closures in Northern Ireland are part of our plan, announced six months ago, to exit the UK market from a brick and mortar perspective,” commercial director Michael Finucane told MCV.

“We started this process last year closing our Birmingham, Stockport and Belfast locations. The stores in the Republic of Ireland are not affected at this time.”

Finucane said the online side of the business was going smashingly.

“Correspondingly, we have experienced tremendous sales growth on our UK ecommerce site,” he said.

“Our go forward plan is to serve the UK market with enhanced digital and online offerings.”

The basic chart will be made public with more detailed figures available to companies which share the data with UKIE.

“UKIE is committed to measuring the size of the digital games market and is delighted to announce that it will be launching a public beta of the UKIE PC Download Chart in February,” said UKIE CEO Jo Twist.

“Having this digital data alongside our UKIE Games Charts for boxed products, will allow the games industry to lobby government even more effectively, and allow our members to make informed and fact based commercial decisions.”

UKIE will continue to provide boxed game sales figures with GfK Chart-Track, and a chart featuring PSN and Xbox Live sales is the works. You can view the full press release here.

Thanks, MCV.

Congrats, Kristan!