UK culture minister Ed Vaizey was incorrect when he said at Develop today that the games industry had failed to present a compelling case for the introduction of development tax breaks, according to TIGA CEO Richard Wilson.
Triple A development too risky for most developers, says vice president of Bioware.
"Striving to do triple A game development right now is the wrong goal for most developers," said Bioware vice president and group creative officer Greg Zeschuk, during his keynote speech at Develop in Brighton. “For my generation it was the one thing we wanted to persue, but the opportunities are getting narrower and narrower.”
Famitsu has published a list of the top 100 selling games in Japan during the first half of 2010.
According to the respected gaming magazine, 2009 release New Super Mario Bros. Wii leads the way with over 1.4 million copies sold, ahead of Square Enix DS titles Dragon Quest VI: Realms Of Reverie and Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2, which achieved 1.29 million and 1.19 million sales respectively.
Culture minister Ed Vaizey says he will continue to champion the UK games industry, but that a more realistic case for a development tax break needs to be put forward to the treasury if the sector is to receive the subsidies it is lobbying for.
Vaizey was speaking at the Develop conference in Brighton in response to a question from TIGA CEO Richard Wilson, who asked whether Vaizey would argue the industry’s case for tax relief if a new proposal was put forward.
Many industries want games in their products, says Unity CEO David Helgason.
In a keynote in which he spoke about the ‘gamification’ of the world - the way in which game technology and design is being absorbed into many other fields - David Helgason said that many companies are coming to Unity, the 3D engine maker, to ask how they can embed games in their products.
Marketing and advertising industry veteran Eric Hirshberg has been named as the new CEO of Activision Publishing.
Effective September 7, he’ll oversee Activision Publishing's operational management including its studio, product development functions and consumer marketing activities, reporting to Thomas Tippl, Activision Blizzard’s chief operating officer.
Codemasters’ Bodycount is shaping up to be a very special kind of shooter. Made by many of the brains behind Criterion’s Black, not to mention veterans of the Medal Of Honor series and the Dirt and Grid series, it speaks primarily in the voice of director Stuart Black. Its E3 demo was an uncompromising affair, squeezing in more of his ideas for a 'pure and focused' FPS than it left out.
Amazon’s German site is carrying a listing for a new Xbox 360 SKU set for release on August 20, slap bang in the middle of trade fair Gamescom.
[Update: New app will only be available during the Summer of Arcade promotion]
Microsoft says there are no plans to launch the new Xbox Live Arcade interface, dubbed Destination Arcade, outside of the States.
“Happy trouble” and arguing is key to any creative endeavour says iPhone publisher founder Alan Yu.
During a Develop panel on trends in iPhone gaming, discussion turned to whether the panellists had signed with publishers for a platform that’s relatively easy on which to self-publish.
GodFinger developer Wonderland says iPhone market is not unique - marketing and PR is crucial to success.
Speaking during a Develop panel discussion about trends in iPhone gaming, Wonderland co-founder Matthew Wiggins, downplayed the notion that the App Store is totally different to any other in the game industry.
“All gaming, from casual to premium, has been or will be disrupted by internet technology,” said InstantAction CEO Louis Castle, kicking off this year’s Evolve conference in Brighton. Castle, co-founder of Command & Conquer creator Westwood Studios and a former vice president of creative development at EA, used his keynote speech to examine the current plight of big-budget videogames, and what developers could learn from social media.
ELSPA director general Michael Rawlinson has been appointed vice chairman of the Alliance Against IP Theft.
The Alliance Against IP Theft is a UK-based coalition of 20 trade and enforcement organisations that share an interest in protecting intellectual property rights. Rawlinson has served as treasurer for two years.
Hello Games has said that it didn’t release race-platformer Joe Danger on Xbox Live Arcade because it views the service as a "slaughterhouse" for small developers.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown has delivered the state's initial written argument in support of a proposed law that would ban the sale of violent games to minors.
Despite being deemed unconstitutional at federal court level, the Supreme Court said in April that it will review the law - signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger five years ago - during its next term beginning in October.
Caris & Co. analyst Sandeep Aggarwal thinks Kinect could bring in $1 billion for Microsoft in its first year on the market.
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Game industry analysts have weighed in with sales forecasts for June 2010 ahead of the release of US market data from the NPD Group this Thursday.
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter expects software sales to come in at $575 million, down eight per cent compared to last June’s $627 million. Cowen and Company’s Doug Creutz and Lazard Capital Markets’ Colin Sebastian are less optimistic, forecasting year-on-year declines of 17 and 15 per cent respectively.
Emotion in games is a popular topic right now, but JTroughton thinks we’ve been going about it in the wrong way. Arguably, games most commonly evoke anger or frustration, and there’s no better way to draw those emotions out than by taking away something we’ve worked hard on. This, he feels, is the real reason that the death of Aeris in Final Fantasy VII resonated with players so much.
Citing retail contacts, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson has said that pre-orders for Call Of Duty: Black Ops are tracking ahead of last year’s series entry, the record breaking Modern Warfare 2.
Leading UK games industry trade bodies TIGA and ELSPA have teamed up as part of a renewed push to bring about tax breaks for the UK games industry.
The two bodies have formed a steering committee led by TIGA and consisting of members of each, plus professional advisors in the areas of law, tax and public affairs.
The fifth Develop conference will begin tomorrow, running from July 13–15 at Brighton’s Hilton Metropole.
The event boasts a wide range of keynotes from senior figures at Bioware, Rare and Jagex, among others, plus a UK exclusive Fable III demo from Peter Molyneux and a first public games address from Ed Vaizey, who was appointed Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries in May.
Ubisoft expects to report sales of €160 million (£133.9m / $201.1m) for its first quarter ended June 30, up 93 per cent compared with the €83 million (£69.5m / $104.3m) generated in the same period in 2009.
Final sales figures for the first quarter will be released when the Paris stock exchange closes on July 22. The company says it won’t be holding a conference call following the publication of the results.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said that the company is actively planning to expand its digital distribution business, despite mixed results in the area to date.
Speaking during the firm’s 70th annual general meeting of shareholders late last month, the executive said DS and Wii consumers haven’t been buying as many products online as Nintendo would like.
Government officials from Nova Scotia will head to the UK next week in an attempt to convince game firms to relocate to - or set up business in - the Canadian province.
The move comes after the UK government opted to shelve plans for tax relief for domestic game developers. In contrast, Nova Scotia offers a competitive digital media tax credit that enables qualifying companies to claim 25 per cent of total expenditures.