Low prices across Britain have led to increased imports in foreign countries, which has damaged local sales throughout EMEA regions. This is having a further knock-on effect as foreign independent stores are buying stock in bulk from the UK in order to undercut the larger stores.

Amongst other countries, retailers and distributors in Egypt and the Czech Republic have seen a sharp increase of low-priced UK stock in their region.

Mohammed El Masry of Egyptian retailer Gamesword told MCV:

“A widespread phenomenon in Egypt is that several small business owners now import games from the UK, and this is how we work. We have been able to make contact with large UK suppliers offering us good wholesale prices.”

While Lukáš Karel at Czech retailer JRC added:

“As one of the biggest retail chains in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we definitely feel impact of low UK prices.

“Not only do some customers order straight from the UK, but many smaller retailers import games from UK, which can result in violating street dates, lower prices than local RRP, or selling products which they shouldn’t.”

The impact on global distribution is proving massive as retailers are forced to lower prices in order to match the UK.

To counteract the problem MCV reports that some global publishers are reducing the amount of boxed game stock put into the UK, thus leaving less stock to be imported into Europe.

The new PS3 game will improve on the huge roster of Gran Turismo 5 to bring the overall garage total to over 1,200 vehicles. The amount of tracks to race on has also been increased to 33, including Britain’s very own Silverstone circuit.

Adding more isn’t just the only aim for GT6, with improvements to the cumbersome user interface and a new engine to improve game operation. There’s going to be a big push with social features so players don’t just have to be on their PS3 to connect with the racing world. The developers also confirmed that downloadable content will help to keep the game fresh with cars and tracks added periodically.

Gran Tursimo creator Kazunori Yamauchi went on record to say:

“I am very pleased with everything about the new game and the new additions, but the launch will only be the beginning for GT6. The game will continue to develop throughout its life. I already have many ideas for things I want to achieve in the next 15 years of Gran Turismo!”

Although the timing of this title for the PlayStation 3 may seem somewhat at odds with the fact that the PlayStation 4 is due out at the end of this year, it appears that the developers are keeping Sony’s next generation console in mind. In an interview with IGN Kazunori has said that: “we actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind, but for this holiday season, we thought it would be best for users to release on PS3 for now.”

Further announcements are expected throughout the year.

Price drops allow Call of Duty: Black Ops II to leap to second from sixth with a 60% gain in sales. Tomb Raider (-17%) sticks to third for a second week ahead of Injustice: Gods Among Us (-36%) at fourth. FIFA 13 (-19%) stays in the top five as the football season draws to a close.

Bioshock Infinite (-10%) is the only other title to hold top spot for three consecutive weeks, and it now lies at sixth. Now a cut-price title, Assassin’s Creed III (+20%) takes four places to strike at seventh. Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins (-24%) maintains eighth for a third week. The award winning The Walking Dead from Telltale Games launches on disc at ninth after a successful digital release.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 (-12%) drops one place to tenth ahead of new entry Persona 4 Arena at eleventh.

GFK Chart-Track

UK All Format Top 10 – 11/05/2013

1. Dead Island: Riptide
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
3. Tomb Raider
4. Injustice: Gods Among Us
5. FIFA 13
6. Bioshock Infinite
7. Assassin’s Creed III
8. Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins
9. The Walking Dead
10. Luigi’s Mansion 2

Chart-Track All Format Top 40

GAME Chief Executive Officer Martyn Gibbs expects the chain to make the earnings over a twelve month period ending on 31st July 2013.

In accounts filed with Companies House and obtained by Telegraph, the company stated:

“The outlook for the business is positive with a strong line-up of AAA releases and the launch of the new Wii U available to support a healthy Christmas trading period. In 2013, there is much anticipation around the release of Grand Theft Auto V and the company looks forward to further new hardware releases from Microsoft and Sony in coming years.”

Capitex Holdings, who brought the chain out administration last March, is still owed £103 million by GAME having paid £2.6 million thus far.

However that hasn’t stopped GAME from looking to expand on the 300 stores that survived the administration process, as it told the Telegraph it plans to open eighteen new stores by 31st July.

The MCV award-winning chain plans to increase its stores from seven to ten, with more stores planned should the expansion prove successful.

Managing director of Game Centre Robert Lindsay highlighted that the high street is still very much in their plans:

 “The High Street is still very important to the future plans of Games Centre. We operate from seven stores at the moment with three more to come in the next calendar year,”

Games Centre also plans to increase the reach of its online business:

“Online will see a major focus over the coming months as a full rewrite will make the Games Centre website as attractive to consumers as our stores are”.

Game Centre currently only operates in Scotland and doesn’t plan to expand into England in the near future, with Lindsay stating the chain would have to “saturate” the market before it considered a move further south.

So yes, get ready for FIFA 14, FIFA 15, FIFA 16 and, well, you get the idea. 

The announcement of a new decade-long extension to the pre-existing agreement comes following EA’s recent earnings report.

The company’s financial results highlighted that the latest in the long-running footie series, FIFA 13, accumulated more than fourteen million sales since launch last October.

Such strong sales clearly make the extension of this highly lucrative contract something of a no-brainer for EA.

Andrew Wilson, Head of EA Sports commented on the deal:

“EA Sports released the first FIFA-branded soccer game in 1993, and 20 years later our partnership with FIFA continues to be very strong. Our franchise has become the benchmark for quality and innovation in the sports videogame genre, and we look forward to many more years of connecting with consumers around the world with our games carrying the prestigious FIFA name.”

FIFA 14 is expected on consoles (along with every other machine imaginable) later this year.

Injustice: Gods Among Us (-40%) similarly remains at second as Tomb Raider trades places with Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (-41%) at third and fifth respectively. FIFA 13 (+13%) is up three places as the football season nears its end for another year.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (+34%) accepts a sales push to leap five places to sixth, dropping Bioshock: Infinite (-17%) to seventh. Two 3DS titles occupy eighth and ninth in the shape of Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins (+7%) and Luigi’s Mansion 2 (-5%).

Finally, Star Trek (-52%) remains in the top ten as Into Darkness hits cinemas this week.

The only new release this week is Soul Sacrifice on the PS Vita at twenty-sixth.

GFK Chart-Track

UK All Format Top 10 – 04/05/2013

1. Dead Island: Riptide
2. Injustice: Gods Among Us
3. Tomb Raider
4. FIFA 13
5. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
7. Bioshock Infinite
8. Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins
9. Luigi’s Mansion 2
10. Star Trek

Chart-Track All Format Top 40

Last weeks number one, Injustice: Gods Among Us, drops to second, ahead of another newcomer Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, which includes the original that also managed third at its launch.

The game running alongside the incoming movie, Star Trek becomes the best selling launch of the franchise at fourth. Tomb Raider completes the top five this week.

Bioshock: Infinite falls four places and lands ahead of FIFA 13, with the latter at seventh. The prequel to the recently released WiiU title Lego City Undercover, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins takes eighth solely on the 3DS.

Defiance drops four places to land at ninth, ahead of Luigi’s Mansion 2 as it completes the top ten.

Other new releases this week are found near the bottom of the Top 40, with Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut on the PS3 finishing at thirty-eighth.

GFK Chart-Track

UK All Format Top 10 – 27/04/2013

1. Dead Island: Riptide
2. Injustice: Gods Among Us
3. Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
4. Star Trek
5. Tomb Raider
6. Bioshock Infinite
7. FIFA 13
8. Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins
9. Defiance
10. Luigi’s Mansion 2

Chart-Track All Format Top 40

Fire Emblem: Awakening hits at third along with the new 3DS XL Blue, the latter takes 31% of 3DS XL sales with a 49% overall increase over last week. Tomb Raider and Defiance drop two and one place respectively to complete the top five this week.

FIFA 13 falls down the pecking order as it drops three places ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops II at seventh. Luigi’s Mansion 2 also drops three places and stops the drive of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 during The Masters. Far Cry 3 is the only title to remain unchanged as it rounds off the top ten.

GFK Chart-Track

UK All Format Top 10 – 20/04/2013

1. Injustice: Gods Among Us
2. Bioshock Infinite
3. Fire Emblem: Awakening
4. Tomb Raider
5. Defiance
6. FIFA 13
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
8. Luigi’s Mansion 2
9. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
10. Far Cry 3

Chart-Track All Format Top 40

Guildford-made Curiosity launched for iOS and Android last November, offering players one shared goal: work together to chip away at a massive cube. The catch being that onlyone person will have the privilege of tapping that final cube, revealing the prize within — something Molyneux claims is both “amazing” and life changing.

However, the latest update brings the ability to add multiple cubes back onto the big box. Players can cough-up 69p to add 10,000 boxes, £4.99 to add 100,000 or £7.49 to toss in 500,000. Yup, it may sound cruel to those who are still tapping away patiently, but on the flip-side those same amounts can also be paid to remove cubes.

Developer 22Cans described the update as a “war of attrition” with those wanting to reach the games core scrapping with those wanting to prolong the experiment (read: trolls).

At launch in November last year the cube was comprised of 69 billion little cubes, it now stands at just under four billion. The end is in sight, but for how long…