Herman Gets M.A.D with Mastertronic
Following the successful launch of the PC Gamer Presents range, The Mastertronic Group announce that industry vet Frank Herman as Chairman.
Herman's experience is seen as key in the sustained growth of its phenomenally successful PC Gamer Presents range, and will also oversee the launch of a new label - entitled M.A.D - which will launch in May.
Echoing the origins of the original Mastertronic label, which originally spawned the M.A.D companion range, the new £9.99 series will mimic the PC Gamer label's criteria of only games that score over 80% in the acclaimed Future publication are considered, insomuch that only games that have sold is excess of 100,000 units will be considered for the M.A.D range. In the run-up to launch, Herman will pursue a more active role within Mastertronic will work closely with Managing Director Andy Payne and UK Sales Director Adam Prichard to further develop both labels.
Herman is legendary within the video game industry, and brings with him a wealth of success that covers a 21 -year career. In his career, he has closed deals involving Mastertronic, Sega, Virgin, GT Interactive and Probe. Of his new role, Herman is stresses that 2004 will be a year where Mastertronic will seize the budget sector and provide retail with a one-stop shop for quality, affordable titles.
"Most retailers have neither the shelf space nor the resources to focus on multiple vendors," says Herman. "It is clear that the space available for budget offerings will reduce significantly this year. The only winners will be those companies that can focus more effectively on delivery and distribution of their titles, a service Mastertronic can undertake on their behalf."
He continues: "The launch of the PC Gamer Presents range has been incredibly successful. We are in all the major outlets we targeted and the range will see further significant growth this year. This is because we had a very simple message, 'Yyou know it's a must when it's 80% plus.' The credibility of the PC Gamer score works for both retail and consumer alike. However, retail buyers indicated that there were other titles that had sold very well that they would like to stock. In order to service their needs we had to develop a second distinct and tightly-defined offering - consequently, in May we will be launching the M.A.D range (Mastertronic Added Dimension) with our slogan '100,000 gamers can't be wrong'."
"Andy Payne has managed to secure product from a number of key publishers with some long term deals already agreed, he is confident he can bring even more on board," Herman adds. "The PC Gamer Presents range has shown what can be achieved and M.A.D will further add to our success. Publishers should view Mastertronic as a low cost engine to maximise market share, prolong their titles' shelf life and deliver profits from a sector that would otherwise not be cost-effective for them . Full price is their skill set: Mastertronic's area of expertise is in the budget games sector. That is a fact".
Echoing the origins of the original Mastertronic label, which originally spawned the M.A.D companion range, the new £9.99 series will mimic the PC Gamer label's criteria of only games that score over 80% in the acclaimed Future publication are considered, insomuch that only games that have sold is excess of 100,000 units will be considered for the M.A.D range. In the run-up to launch, Herman will pursue a more active role within Mastertronic will work closely with Managing Director Andy Payne and UK Sales Director Adam Prichard to further develop both labels.
Herman is legendary within the video game industry, and brings with him a wealth of success that covers a 21 -year career. In his career, he has closed deals involving Mastertronic, Sega, Virgin, GT Interactive and Probe. Of his new role, Herman is stresses that 2004 will be a year where Mastertronic will seize the budget sector and provide retail with a one-stop shop for quality, affordable titles.
"Most retailers have neither the shelf space nor the resources to focus on multiple vendors," says Herman. "It is clear that the space available for budget offerings will reduce significantly this year. The only winners will be those companies that can focus more effectively on delivery and distribution of their titles, a service Mastertronic can undertake on their behalf."
He continues: "The launch of the PC Gamer Presents range has been incredibly successful. We are in all the major outlets we targeted and the range will see further significant growth this year. This is because we had a very simple message, 'Yyou know it's a must when it's 80% plus.' The credibility of the PC Gamer score works for both retail and consumer alike. However, retail buyers indicated that there were other titles that had sold very well that they would like to stock. In order to service their needs we had to develop a second distinct and tightly-defined offering - consequently, in May we will be launching the M.A.D range (Mastertronic Added Dimension) with our slogan '100,000 gamers can't be wrong'."
"Andy Payne has managed to secure product from a number of key publishers with some long term deals already agreed, he is confident he can bring even more on board," Herman adds. "The PC Gamer Presents range has shown what can be achieved and M.A.D will further add to our success. Publishers should view Mastertronic as a low cost engine to maximise market share, prolong their titles' shelf life and deliver profits from a sector that would otherwise not be cost-effective for them . Full price is their skill set: Mastertronic's area of expertise is in the budget games sector. That is a fact".