News Archive
In this section you can look back on older stories that have appeared either recently as listed in order of most recent below, or using the calendar to navigate and look at certain dates.
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30th May, 2008
TIGA welcomes Scottish knowledge sharing facility
TIGA welcomes opening of facility at Abertay University and Scottish support of the 'Dare to be Digital' competition
Still a significant single-player market, says Mattes
Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes says that there are still things developers can only do in single-player games
Ubisoft dev boss slams UK government on tax breaks
Lack of support has "split" community, says head of global development studios
Dutch Game Garden to go live June 19
Government-backed group to provide business and educational advice to developers and students
Patapon, Echochrome directors to speak at Develop
Brighton event gets sessions from acclaimed Japanese designers
Hirai: I was surprised by Harrison's departure
Sony CEO didn't know worldwide studios boss would join Atari and Infogrames
Nordic Game reveals record breaking attendance
Now the largest event of its kind in Europe with nearly 1200 attendees
Valve announces Steam Cloud
New feature allows for remote storage of game data such as save files and screenshots at no charge to players
Digital overtaking retail for Valve
Valve's president says the company will soon be making more money from downloads than from retail sales
Valve not concerned about piracy in PC market
Steam platform and service provided to its customers protects Valve from piracy, says Gabe Newell
29th May, 2008
NCsoft appoints North American VP of sales
Lisa Bell-Cabrera, the company's national sales manager, is promoted to VP of sales
Convergence of film and games is coming, says Kojima
Metal Gear Solid's creator talked to Reuters about his final game in the series and the coming convergence with film
THQ delays Saints Row 2
Analyst adjusts estimates to reflect back-half weighted year after THQ moves title from Q2 to Q3
Wii Fit tops Australian charts
Wii Fit remains the best-selling game for the third week in a row according to Gfk Australia data
Gamecock announces European distribution deal
Grants cdv Software Entertainment AG rights to license, market and distribute Gamecock's titles in Europe
Playlogic and Virgin Play announce joint venture
Playlogic Entertainment and Virgin Play have formed PlayV - a sales, marketing and distribution business
Consumers don't want single-player games, says Harrison
Infogrames' president claims "I don't think the industry is going to make many more."
Wii's Nintendo Channel set to launch
Service debuts in Europe and Australia tomorrow, offering videos, downloadable demos and user recommendations
Football Manager to get in-game ads
SEGA, Sports Interactive and IGA sign deal for forthcoming titles
360 consoles outselling PS3 since GTA IV launch
Despite 360 hardware sales boost, Sony's console is still ahead this year according to Chart-Track
Nintendo dominates Japanese software charts
Wii and DS titles occupy nine of the top ten positions with three new portable titles making their debut
Activision-Vivendi merger motivated by WoW, says Kotick
CEO Bobby Kotick says the deal was motivated by a desire to aquire Blizzard and buy into the MMO market.
PS3 BioShock confirmed for October
2K Games' critically acclaimed FPS will come out on Sony's console later this year with extra content and features
Smaller games benefiting from a renaissance
Avalanche's Oskar Burman thinks it is a good time to be independent, with different ways to enter the games business
28th May, 2008
PS3's profitability curve mildly catastrophic, says Stringer
Sony's Chairman and CEO says that the PS3 is now in good shape, despite being on "life support" for a while
GameTap shuts down editorial department
Turner Broadcasting System's subscription service is laying off the editorial staff hired less than a year ago
Guillemot confirms 3D games development at Ubisoft
3D Avatar collaboration with James Cameron due next summer, says CEO
Tom Clancy series tops 55 million units sold
Assassin's Creed shifts six million, Rayman titles hit 22 million units
Ubisoft relies on old favourites at Ubidays event in Paris
Handful of new titles revealed, but top-selling franchises take centre stage
EU is second largest videogaming territory
A Nielsen study found that the European Union is second only to Asia in the revenue generated from videogames
Asylum Entertainment purchases Q Wii engine
The London-based studio is the first to make use of the engine, intending to use it on two upcoming titles
Tiga calls for tax breaks for UK developers
'Games Up?' campaign urges policy makers to help halt the decline of the UK's games industry.
Wii Fit in stock "as soon as possible"
"We're doing everything we can" says Nintendo, following the title's plummet down the UK chart
New Nintendo titles announced for Japan
Seven new titles for the Wii and DS have been confirmed to come out over the summer
New subscribers will counter profit fall, says NCsoft boss
Geoff Heath insists the company doesn't need any new titles this year and its existing portfolio will improve on Q1 43 per cent fall in profit
Sega extends Unreal Engine 3 license
The new deal will see the engine used on an unannounced, cross platform title
Home platforms are segmenting multiplayer market - Capcom
With consoles unable to talk to each other, multiplatform titles aren't reaching their full multiplayer potential, argues Boyes
27th May, 2008
GTA IV stays put as Wii Fit drops off UK charts
GTA IV tops the UK sales charts for the fourth consecutive week as Age of Conan enjoys a strong debut
Music Video Games company formed
Realtime Associates and TDK Mediactive vets form music-based game company
In-game ads not very effective, says St John
Despite pioneering in-game ads, Wild Tangent has found them ineffective and switched to a different model
St John: Games will be differentiated by input controllers
Wild Tangent's CEO says the Wii proves the point that games will be differentiated by input, not graphics
Square Enix FY07 profits down 20%
Square Enix has reported a 20 per cent year-to-year decline in profits and decreasing sales in North America
Lane confirms GamePlan event postponed
Clash with big publisher event sees retail showcase pushed back to July
Research shows growing videogame popularity in Europe
A survey by the ISFE reveals the attitude and trends towards gaming from Europeans between the ages of 16 and 49
1m Japanese PS3 owners sign up to PSN
Sony to give away 1000 PSN vouchers for use in the Store, each worth JPY 1000, in celebration
GTA IV's grip on the European charts founders
Rockstar's game retains the top German chart position, but falls in Spain.
Resident Evil series hits 34.5m units sold
Capcom's best-selling game of all time is Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo
Age of Conan nets 400,000 players
Funcom announces large numbers of players taking up its new MMO since launch
Future reports fall in profits and revenues down
Financial results for the half-year show a fall in revenue and profit, but a rise in advertising revenue
Data Design Interactive opens new US office
Based in Florida, the company will operate as a separate US registered business
id Software latest to quit ESA
Doom and Quake studio joins Activision, Vivendi and LucasArts in abandoning trade body
Disney adopts Pokemon-style expansion plan
Thierry Braille, managing director of Europe, has detailed plans to use content developed for games in other media
23rd May, 2008
Growth will come from bite-sized pieces, says Vrabeck
EA Casual Entertainment's president sees the future of gaming in bite-sized pieces supported by ads and microtransactions
The last generation of consoles?
Wild Tangent's CEO thinks we are looking at the last generation of consoles, with PCs leading new economies based upon advertising and microtransactions
Encryption chip will end piracy, open markets, says Bushnell
Industry pioneer Nolan Bushnell says the TPM chip will allow for increased revenues in Asian and India
Nintendo opts out of Leipzig GC 2008
Nintendo has decided not to attend Leipzig, preferring to focus on smaller events and national tours
Halcyon plans games based on Philip K Dick novels
Two titles in production based on work of acclaimed sci-fi author
Capcom reveals new Hollwood deals
Publisher wants to do for videogame movies what Marvel did for comic book movies
GameHorizon partners with GamesIndustry.biz Network
Attendees invited to make new contacts through business networking tool
Interactive Nordic recruitment agency launched
The new initiative is the first dedicated games industry recruitment agency in the area
PSP takes top spots in Japan
Sony's portable device continues to outsell its platform rivals while Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable is the top selling game
BBFC: Industry shouldn't forget we're pro-games
The censors' director, David Cooke, complains that people forget the BBFC is a pro-games institution
ArchLord exceeds half a million players
Codemasters attribute the surge in numbers to making the MMO free-to-play
Microsoft to axe underperforming Xbox Live titles
Games with an average score of 65 per cent or less face delisting from download service
Bushnell sees inefficiencies in game advertising
Nolan Bushnell thinks that advertising support for the videogames industry can be about 25-30 times greater
22nd May, 2008
Games industry becoming a broadcast model, says St John
Wild Tangent CEO Alex St John sees the games industry evolving into a more mass market broadcast model
THQ has time to contemplate hypothetical loss of Pixar license
Should THQ lose the rights to produce games based upon Pixar films, the impact would not be felt until FY 2014
PSP is "gateway drug" to consoles, says SCEA
SCEA's John Koller says that PSP owners are transitioning to the PS3 as they move along the adoption curve
Ubisoft reports $173 million FY 2008 net profits
Ubisoft's net profits more than doubled between 2007 and 2008, boosted by the sale of its stake in Gameloft
Wii beat PS2 software record, says Nintendo
Nintendo claims that its Wii console has broken the PS2's record by selling 50 million games during its first 18 months
Bethesda and Splash Damage announce partnership
The studios behind Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Fallout 3 have signed a long-term development deal
GameStop reports $62.1 million net earnings for Q1
Videogame retailer GameStop has reported a record $62.1 million in net earnings and $1.8 billion in sales for Q1
Qube Software pursues Indian developers
Hopes to provide its game engine to the emerging market as Sony pushes the PS2
Videogames sales boost retail
The Office for National Statistics has acknowledged the games industry's role in slowing the decline in consumer spending
Conspiracy reports $7m loss despite growth
The company saw its operating revenue rise but was hampered by a large expense associated with its stock price
Castlevania, Tekken movie producer nets $200m financing
Cash to be used for Konami adaptation and movie based on Pac-Man
BBFC targets net downloads
BBFC.online is designed to provide a voluntary online classifciation for downloadable content, but won't interfere with online gameplay
Koei's Warriors Orochi ships 1.5m worldwide
Success of crossover franchise prompts North American release for sequel
Capcom targets China for online growth
Publisher to extend big franchises to capture lucrative online market?
Riccitiello buys $1 million of EA shares
Electronic Arts CEO makes purchase following extension of Take-Two offer
Cultural barriers can hinder outsourcing, says Devine
Ultizen's Michael Devine says that cultural barriers create issues in outsourcing that must be overcome
EA acquires Hands-On Mobile Korea assets
EA has acquired the assets of the mobile developer and publisher, who will be renamed EA Mobile Korea
21st May, 2008
Madden NFL PSP entertainment pack coming in August
SCEA has announced a limited-edition metallic blue PSP bundled with Madden NFL 09 for North America
GRID demo downloaded more than 1 million times
The demo for Codemasters' upcoming racing title has already been downloaded more than a million times
Pipeline lets Microsoft take its time, says Kim
A full pipeline relieves the pressure of Microsoft having to rush titles such as Halo Wars and Alan Wake
Voice of GTA IV's Niko Bellic wants more respect
The voice actor who portrayed Niko Bellic is unhappy with the wage disparity between traditional and electronic media
Playlogic welcomes new IR and corporate PR officer
Robert A Van Duivenbode has joined Playlogic as the company's investor relations and corporate PR officer
EA Mobile licenses Taito catalogue for Europe
Taito has signed an agreement giving EA Mobile the distribution and licensing rights to its catalogue across Europe
Resident Evil helps profits climb 33 per cent for Capcom
Devil May Cry also singled out as videogames business performs well for Japanese publisher
GAME unable to fulfill Rock Band pre-orders
Retailer working closely with EA to bring in new stock post-launch
Kim denies motion-sensing 360 controller, but reiterates commitment to new hardware
Microsoft VP promises to "continue to push innovation in a whole bunch of different places"
Games must avoid film mistakes, says Control producer
Media financier Eckert believes "videogames have the potential to be the world's dominant medium"
Microsoft kicks off Xbox Live Community Games beta
Premium members invited to take part in Xbox games creation initiative
3D Xbox 360 games up and running at Ubisoft
Movie director James Cameron reveals adaptation of 3D movie working on home consoles
Management delayed Killzone 2, not dev problems - SCEA
Publisher conscious of crowding retail during Christmas period
Capcom warns developers: sell-out and you'll get buried
Publisher says that when it comes to pitching projects, a studio needs to stick to its original idea or risk being trampled
20th May, 2008
CGS announces 2008 schedule
Championship Gaming Series has announced its official 2008 schedule of events culminating in the World Final on July 28
Epic acquires Chair Entertainment
Epic Games has acquired Chair Entertainment, developer of the XBLA title Undertow
Nintendo fights $232 million EU penalty
The publisher contends that the fine - for colluding to raise prices in the 1990s - was unjustified
THQ's family games legacy "second to none," says DreamWorks
DreamWorks Animation's new partnership with THQ is a great opportunity, but company values its relationship with Activision
Wired publisher acquires Ars Technica
Conde Naste plans to merge tech news site with print publication
Ubisoft "immune to slowdown" as it seeks 900 new employees
Economic problems won't affect industry says Splinter Cell publisher as it begins massive global recruitment drive
Vivox adds VP of consumer strategy
Online game and virtual world voice service provider Vivox has added Matthew Bellows as VP of consumer strategy
GTA IV still tops in Germany and Spain
Grand Theft Auto IV - the PS3 version - remains atop the sales charts in Germany and Spain
Sierra to attend MCM London Expo
Ghostbusters and Bourne Conspiracy playable for consumers at the event held over May 24 - 25
Frontier pleased with "exceptional" LostWinds success
Braben overjoyed with critical and user feedback for WiiWare launch title
N-Gage to distribute Metal Gear Solid Mobile
Konami has announced Solid Snake is to make his debut on Nokia's gaming platform
Greenpeace calls for toxic-free consoles
Environmental group says there's no excuse for using hazardous materials in hardware production
Sony to take action over 'Uncharted' replica gun sales
Air gun sold using Drake's Fortune branding not officially sanctioned or licensed, says SCE
WiiWare launched in Europe
Six games avaliable to download from the Wii Shop Channel for European launch
Square Enix reveals plans to invest in rivals
Wada plans to take stakes in other businesses to combat increased competition
Microsoft: User created games will help us leapfrog WiiWare and PSN
Xbox Live Arcade portfolio planner says XNA games will be the distinguishing factor for downloadable services on home consoles
19th May, 2008
AMD pushes gaming hardware
Chip maker AMD is labeling PCs with new logos in order to highlight gaming systems for the public
Santa Monica E3 relocation cost ESA $5 million
Last year's move to Santa Monica cost E3 organisers more than $5 million in event cancellation fees
Texas governor to keynote E3
The ESA has announced that Texas governor Rick Perry will be delivering a keynote at this year's E3
UK charts: GTA IV still on top
Despite a significant decline in sales, GTA IV and Wii Fit remain in first and second place atop the UK sales charts
PS3 outsells 360 in Australia Q1, says Sony
Sony's Ephraim thinks it is only a matter of time before the PS3 surpasses the 360's installed base in Australia
New CTO at Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games has promoted VP of technology Laurent de Segur to the position of Chief Technology Officer
Take-Two digs heels in over EA acquisition
Following extension to offer, Zelnick and Feder continue to dismiss deal as undervaluing the publisher
EA: Activision, Vivendi ESA exit shows "lack of leadership"
Brown accuses rivals of "stepping away from responsibility" but calls for ESA to prove membership benefits to the industry
EA extends Take-Two offer until June 16
Price remains at USD 25.74 per share for publisher of Grand Theft Auto
Tiga: "Playing field continues to be tipped against UK developers"
Wilson says UK government needs to react following recent tax cuts in the US
HMV offers 1000 Live points for Ninja Gaiden 2 pre-orders
Entertainment retailer rolls-out promotion ahead of June 6 release
Funcom reveals record Age of Conan pre-orders
700,000 copies of the game shipped to stores due to strong demand
EA to extend Take-Two offer again?
Report suggests Electronic Arts will continue to pursue acquisition target
GCAP announce dates and call for speakers
The event will take place in Brisbane, Australia and its organiser has started accepting submissions for talks
Games influencing young male culture more than music, claims author
"The violence and nihilism that everyone thinks is in hip-hop is pumped up about 18 times in videogames" - Nelson George
O'Connor leaves Bungie for Microsoft
The former content manager leaves the company to join Microsoft and continue work on the Halo franchise
PS3 to adopt YouTube functionality
Upcoming and past PS3 games will allow gamers to capture and upload videos from their games
Moore: Leaving Microsoft "broke my heart"
EA Sports president Peter Moore has spoken of his pain at quitting his former role as Xbox boss, revealing: "It broke my heart leaving Microsoft."
16th May, 2008
LucasArts leaves ESA
LucasArts is the latest company to announce it will not renew its ESA membership, although it will participate in E3
SCEA announces remaining 2008 lineup
SCEA has officially announced its lineup of PlayStation platform titles for the remainder of the year
Levine to keynote PAX 2008
The organisers of the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo have announced that 2K Boston's Ken Levine will keynote the event
Georgia's Governor passes videogame tax credits
The state offers at least a 20 per cent tax credit for entertainment productions, including videogames
Nintendo dominates Japanese software charts
This weeks sales figures reveal the company takes nine of the ten top spots
PSP tops Japanese hardware charts
Sony's handheld continues to sell strongly as the Wii closes the gap
Konami to take on Rock Band and Guitar Hero
Publisher reveals Rock Revolution as it targets growing music genre
Konami reveals $2.8bn in revenues for '08
Japanese company shows growth in revenue and operating income
Tretton: April software was a "one-two punch" for Sony
Software sales leap 410 per cent from last year, GTA IV and GT5 lead 2 million games surge
GamesAid charity launched
A new fund-raising body has been set up - and the whole industry is invited to take part
Casual classification is tenuous, says Harrison
EA Mobile's European marketing director thinks that the term "casual games" is more complex
Yoshida named president of SCE worldwide studios
Shuhei Yoshida, senior VP of SCE US studios, has been appointed president of SCE worldwide studios
15th May, 2008
Wii US sales reach 9.5 million
Nintendo sold more than 714,000 Wii consoles in the US in April, rapidly closing in on the Xbox 360's installed base
April US game sales up 47% to $1.23 billion
Three titles sold over 1 million copies, led by the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV which sold 1.85 million units
No better place than Microsoft Game Studios, says Tsunoda
Kudo Tsunoda, now a GM at Microsoft Games Studio, says there is no better place for a creative person to be
Shane Hensley to lead Superstition Studios
Shane Hensley, a writer behind City of Villains, has been named studio head of FireSky's Superstition Studios
NCsoft net profit down 43% on write-off
NCsoft has released Q1 financial results, reporting a drop in net profit of 43% related to a write-off of development costs
CBS purchases CNet for $1.8 billion
CBS Corporation has agreed to purchase CNet for $1.8 billion - a 45 per cent premium on its most recent share price
SEGA signs deal with Platinum Games
A multi-game publishing agreement has been reached with ex-Capcom developers
77 Currys.digital stores set to close
Almost half of the branches will be closed as part of an effort to cut £50m
The London Games Festival returns
Week-long celebration of gaming culture and business will take place this October
PS3 price cut unlikely this year
Analysts say the company has moved away from fighting for market share to focus on profitability
MS games not suitable for handheld, says Kim
Microsoft Game Studios' corporate VP Shane Kim says he is "very happy" it hasn't made a handheld games console
Court orders Nintendo to pay $21m
Company found guilty of patent infringement while designing a range of controllers
14th May, 2008
Vivendi Games Q1 revenue down 24.1 per cent
Vivendi Games' Q1 revenue - 86.8 per cent coming from Blizzard - was down 24.1 per cent from Q1 2007
SOE titles to offer real money trading
Live Gamer is partnering with SOE to offer real money trading in the upcoming titles The Agency and Free Realms
Xbox 360 reaches 10 million mark in US
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 has sold 19 million units worldwide - with more than half sold in the US
Registration opens for Austin GDC
The organisers of the 2008 Austin Game Developers Conference have opened registration for the event
Too Human developer not concerned with timing
Denis Dyack thinks it will be possible to release the trilogy on the Xbox 360, but is prepared for console's successor
NORDIC: 3 Lives Left awarded $125k grant
The Denmark developer was awarded the sum at the Nordic Game Conference for its title The Ark
RedBedlam appoints Hasson as executive director
The former TIGA CEO joins the developer as it attempts to focus on commercial projects
NCsoft announces new MMO "starter packs"
The new retail product will serve as two week introductions to the publisher's online franchises
Sega reports international sales growth
Figures reveal that overseas markets account for 23.5 per cent of the company's net sales
Sega Sammy reports $499m loss
The company has released results for the financial year showing plummeting revenues
NORDIC: Children badly served by games, says Lego Star Wars boss
Jonathan Smith reveals how player feedback is crucial to the design process at TT Games
Europe becomes Sony's biggest market
North America and Japan see slight shrinkage year-on-year, while Europe and other territories show significant growth
Sony expects games business to edge towards profit
Reduction in manufacturing costs to play a crucial part in the next financial year
PS3 sales topped 9 million in fiscal 2008
PSP sales also strong, although software for the handheld remained flat year-on-year
Sony sees revenues and profits rise
Full year financial results shows increased sales and the videogame business halved its loss over last year
2008 will be a landmark year, says Kim
Microsoft's Shane Kim thinks that 2008 will be an even better year for the Xbox 360 in a tight horse race
EA Mythic: WoW has made it easier to develop MMOs
Josh Drescher, senior designer, talks about developing Warhammer Online and how World of Warcraft made a "larger" and "more tolerant" market
13th May, 2008
Sony platforms dominated EA fiscal Q4 2008 sales
Publisher numbers reveal that the PS2 and PS3 accounted for 61 per cent of all console revenue generated
EA reports 15 double platinum titles in 2008
Company also confirms that it was the number one publisher across all platforms
EA's Q4 revenues up, but losses widen
Publisher posts financial results noting USD 1.13 billion in Q4 revenues, and USD 3.67 billion for the year
Virtual Worlds Expo dated for September 3-4
Registration is open for the second annual event, taking place at the LA Convention Center
Shane Kim Gears up for War sequel
Microsoft Game Studios boss is looking ahead to "biggest" first party title of 2008
GTA IV smashes Guiness World Record
Rockstar's game takes the accolade for highest-earning entertainment product in the first 24 hours of release
Image Metrics appoints Dave Rolston to board
CEO of Forterra Systems joins the facial animation specialist's board of directors
Blizzard's Rob Pardo to keynote Paris GDC
The senior VP of game design will be interviewed on a variety of topics in a Q&A style format
Age of Conan attracts 1 million beta sign-ups
Funcom's forthcoming MMO is generating huge interest, the company claims, while the European release date slips 3 days
Xbox 360 in GTA IV 2-to-1 sales advantage over PS3
US retailer GameStop claims Microsoft's platform has claimed around 64 per cent of the title's total sales
Funcom posts cautious Q1 figures
Publisher's financials are on track, but the company notes risks ahead of huge Age of Conan launch
PS3 GTA IV beats 360 in Europe
Sony platform version of the title comes out on top of the Xbox version in both the Spanish and German charts
Black Rock confirms platform parity for Pure
Game director Jason Avent explains how the studio's relationship with Sony helped its arcade racer to run just as well on both consoles
Tiga consortium wins Creative Industries bid
Developer body hopes to spread knowledge on "technological practice and innovation" throughout the industry
EA changed under Riccitiello, says Cousins
DICE's executive producer talks about the company's relationship with the big publisher
12th May, 2008
Dates set for BlizzCon 2008
Blizzard has announced that the third annual BlizzCon will take place on October 10-11 in Anaheim, California
GTA IV retains top spot on UK charts
Despite a significant decline in second week sales, Rockstar's GTA IV remains atop the UK charts
Japanese developers tend not to take risks, says Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto said that Japanese publishers tend to make conservative games over taking risks
GamesIndustry.biz launches Network
GamesIndustry.biz has launched a networking tool allowing industry professionals to connect with each other
No problem becoming a smaller fish, says Houser
Rockstar's Sam Houser says he has no problem becoming a smaller fish in a bigger pond under EA
