Archive (Page 4465)

Gran Turismo 4: Prologue took the top spot in Japan during the week encompassing the New Year holiday, but much of the rest of the top ten in this major sales week was dominated by Nintendo's titles.

EA has maintained its unbroken streak at the top of the UK charts, as Need For Speed: Underground held on for its third straight week at number one despite a strong challenge from Rockstar's GTA Double Pack.

Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach has announced that Microsoft hopes to have one million Xbox Live users by June this year - but new plans from Sony may give the PS2 an innovative edge in the online gaming arena.

Infinium Labs has announced the first list of publishers and software which will be available for its Phantom game system, with over 500 games and edutainment titles from over 60 publishers in the line-up.

One of the most public faces of the Xbox project, Microsoft Game Studios boss Ed Fries, has left the company in order to pursue new opportunities, with COO Shane Kim taking over his role in an interim capacity.

The new head of Microsoft Japan's Xbox division, Yoshihiro Maruyama, has commented on the company's plans for its next-generation console, stating that the hardware will be smaller and is due to launch in 2006.

New comments made by recently promoted Sony Europe president Chris Deering regarding the PlayStation Portable have hinted at a price point in the £250 range, while Japanese retail sources quote figures in a similar range.

Infinium Labs' proposed console, the Phantom, has made a showing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as announced by the company earlier this week, but only in the form of a box which was not switched on.

Leading UK videogames retailer GAME Group has announced details of its trading over Christmas, with the chain outperforming the industry average once again to deliver a 9 per cent sales increase during the period.

The last Japanese charts of 2003 have been released, showing Nintendo clocking up major success in terms of both software and hardware sales, with Mario Party 5 the best selling game and the GBA back on top in the hardware ranking.

The Xbox is set to be integrated with Microsoft's Windows XP Media Centre Edition operating system, thanks to a new piece of software announced by Bill Gates at CES which allows remote media playback on the console.

Several of Japan's biggest software companies are committed to supporting Sony's PlayStation Portable at or near its launch, according to an article in Famitsu - which also casts doubt on the planned November global launch.

Following an incredibly successful Christmas period, leading publisher Electronic Arts has updated its release schedule for the first quarter of the year, giving firm dates for the first time to titles including Final Fantasy X-2 and The Sims 2.

Nintendo is on target to meet its sales estimate for the GameCube in March 2004 following a strong Christmas period in all major territories, with company president Satoru Iwata restating his confidence in the six million unit figure.

The PlayStation 2 console has arrived in China at last - but only just, with the major launch Sony had hoped for fizzling out following weeks of delays brought about by pricing concerns and unexpected legal problems.

Florida-based start-up company Infinium Labs has stated that it is to show its Phantom games "console" in public for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show tomorrow in Las Vegas.

Major US videogames retailer EB Games has announced that it expects price cuts to the Xbox and PS2 within the first half of 2004, with CEO Jeffery Griffiths telling a conference call that the drops will come by early Q2.

The launch of Sony's all-in-one DVD recorder, digital video recorder and games console, the PSX, has boosted the company's sales in the last quarter of 2003, with the system selling 100,000 units in the first week.

New figures from publisher association ELSPA reveal that 2003 was another record year for the videogames market in the UK, with software sales growing by 7.1 per cent to reach a massive £1.26 billion (€1.8bn).