Mindscape returns to UK

Mindscape has returned to the UK publishing scene, MCV can reveal.

The firm is currently based in Leicestershire and is looking for a new office dedicated to handling its titles in the UK after a successful spell working with Koch Media.

While Koch remains the distributor, Mindscape UK general manager Mark Stanger (pictured) will oversee direct relationships with retail.

The UK is obviously a huge games market, and therefore it’s very important that we are appropriately represented here,” Stanger told MCV.

The UK has an appetite for many of our products. This has been proven with the success of the ‘As Seen On TV’ range and more recently by the stunning performance of U-Sing.”

The creation of the new office is the first step in a long-term plan to re-establish Mindscape as a UK publisher.
Originally formed in the 1980s, Mindscape has taken on many forms in its 20-year history and is now headquartered in Paris, France.

Stanger said that the company will be taking a determined but cautious approach as it reaches across Europe: Koch has been a fantastic partner for us in recent years and have played a major part in our success in the UK. This latest move reflects our approach to grow conservatively during this testing period in our market and the wider economy.”

The firm is also on the look out for new titles to publish, he said: I plan to make this a small but profitable and extremely efficient operation. We know that we cannot reach all of our objectives on our own, so we will actively seek the right partnerships with which we can grow.”

Meanwhile, Mindscape UK’s French parent is busily beefing up a digital strategy as well.

Its Paris studio Punchers Impact is working on three new IPs – two to be delivered via Steam and one for PSN/XBLA – that will hit between the end of 2010 and Q2 2011.

Our aim is to develop new IPs with a strong multiplayer aspect,” studio head Guillaume Descamps told MCV.

With a digital game you can touch all markets without partners such as a US distributor – even if you are only present in Europe.”

Additional reporting by Michael French