Contrary to some reports today, Bungie community director Brian Jarrard has told us not to expect any details on the developer’s new game any time soon.
Asked about reports that the studio might be preparing to properly unveil its new franchise at E3 in June, he said:
Bungie’s not the first core Microsoft developer to break away from the fold to go multiplatform with Activision. Bizarre Creations made the jump too, but Bungie has taken a step further, retaining its precious independence, its creative control and its ownership of the IP it’s going to spend the next ten years developing with the publisher.
Boy Scouts of America has introduced videogame awards for the first time.
The awards fall under the Cub Scouts Academics and Sports Program, which focuses on the development of physical, mental and emotional fitness.
Scouts are required to complete three tasks to earn a belt loop, while advanced skills are recognised by pins.
Monster Hunter Tri debuts to strong internet chatter acclaim.
With 56 per cent of its mentions online being positive, and only 10 per cent negative, Capcom's bid to break its Monster Hunter series in the west on Wii appears to be going well so far, though its total count of mentions can hardly touch Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction and, of course, Modern Warfare 2.
Rock group No Doubt has won the latest round in its ongoing legal battle with Activision.
In November 2009, the group filed a lawsuit against the publisher over the use of its name and likeness in Band Hero, alleging that it had been transformed “into a virtual karaoke circus act” because players can perform songs using No Doubt avatars that weren’t approved by the band.
Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins says the global market for virtual goods was worth $8 billion in 2009, but he believes that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s estimated that only $1 billion worth of virtual goods were sold outside of China last year. Hawkins suggests that, with 8.5 times greater gross domestic product than China, the western world’s share of the market should increase massively in the coming years.
7,500 online shoppers signed over more than they bargained for when they failed to opt out of an "immortal soul clause" added to the terms and conditions of retailer Gamestation’s website.
The company updated the terms of service on April Fool's Day as a joke, but did so to prove an important point, reports news:lite.
A new mobile gaming study conducted by research firm ComScore suggests that the number of mobile gamers in the US has declined by 13 per cent over the past year.
This company says the overall decline was driven by a 35 per cent drop in mobile gaming among feature phone (non-smartphone) users, who represent approximately 80 per cent of the market.
Sega parent Sega Sammy Holdings has revised its fiscal projections for the business year ended March 31, 2010.
The Japanese company lowered its revenue projection, partly due to “weak” overseas game sales, but raised its profit forecast on improved margins in its pachinko and arcade operations.
Format: 360 (version tested), PC
Release: Out now (360), April 30 (PC)
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
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Namco Bandai has partnered with SCE Japan to bring Demon’s Souls to Europe on June 25.
The acclaimed PS3 RPG, which has already released in Japan and the US, will be available as part of an exclusive limited edition retail pack featuring a soundtrack CD, an art book and strategy guide.
PSP-3000 returned to the top of the Japanese hardware chart during the week ended April 11.
In a slow week for sales, Sony’s portable moved just shy of 30,000 units. It was closely followed by PS3, which dropped one spot to second with 29,000 units sold, 3,500 more than third placed Wii.
DS was again the bestselling platform in terms of combined unit sales, its three models racking up over 36,000 sales.
Nintendo platforms dominated hardware sales in the US marketplace during March, according to data released by the NPD Group.
DS broke 700,000 sales for the first time in a non-holiday month since June 2009, and Wii experienced its best non-holiday sales month since March 2009, shifting 557,500 units.
While PS3 recorded its eighth consecutive month of year-over-year increases, its 313,900 sales total wasn’t enough to overhaul Xbox 360’s 338,400.
At the foot of the chart, PSP narrowly outsold PS2.
Sony’s God Of War III was the bestselling individual software SKU in the US during March, shifting 1.1 million copies, according to data from the NPD Group.
Total sales of Pokemon SoulSilver and HeartGold, which placed second and fifth on the chart respectively, came in 1.781 million units.
US videogame industry sales rebounded in March as the market recorded its third best non-holiday month on record.
Following two straight months of year-over-year declines, combined hardware, software and accessory sales rose six per cent on March 2009, from $1.44 billion to $1.52 billion.
Hardware sales fell four per cent to $440.5 million, but software sales jumped ten per cent to $875.3 million and accessory sales leapt eleven per cent to $206.8 million.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward has reportedly lost two more key members of staff.
Lead animator Mark Grigsby, who has been with the studio since 2005, and lead character animator Paul Messerly, who was present at the studio’s inception, have both walked, according to Kotaku.
Sony has axed plans to launch PlayStation Room, the PSP social networking space announced at last year’s Tokyo Game Show.
In closed beta at the time of its cancellation, PS Room let users design 3D avatars and personal spaces that they could invite friends into to "enjoy real time communication”. Users could also make blog posts and share pictures.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii returned to the top of the Japanese software chart during the week ended April 11.
Fist Of The North Star, a non-mover in second, wasn’t far behind with 34,000.
The PSP and PS3 versions of Pro Baseball Spirits 2010 occupied the next two spots with 31,000 sales apiece, while Friend Collection moved up one place to fifth.
CDV Software Entertainment AG has confirmed reports that it filed for preliminary insolvency on Monday.
The company said that the insolvency currently only applies to CDV Software Entertainment AG. That means subsidiaries and affiliated companies such as CDV Software Entertainment USA and CDV Software Entertainment Ltd are not affected.
The action was taken following the non-payment of a settlement arising from a recent successful lawsuit against SouthPeak Interactive.
Activision Blizzard has raised its outlook for the current fiscal quarter.
The publisher said that revenues and earnings per share for the March quarter are tracking ahead of its prior outlook due to "strong global demand" for World Of Warcraft and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
In February, the company provided an outlook for the March quarter of $1.1 billion in GAAP net revenues and GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.20.
David Gosen, VP of strategic marketing within Microsoft Europe’s interactive entertainment business, is leaving the platform holder “to explore new opportunities outside of the company”.
The former Nintendo Europe MD and I-Play CEO has headed up Microsoft’s casual games movement for the past two years.
Format: PC (version tested), 360
Release: Out now
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Gas Powered Games
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With no new entries in the latest UK top 40 sales chart, internet chat maintains the status quo.
Perhaps due to the continuing intrigue over the fortunes of developer Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 2 has recorded a rise in mentions from last week's 16,237 to 18,895, and that's the only significant change.
UK Sales Chart April 12
Sony will bundle stereoscopic 3D PS3 games with all of its 3D TVs in Europe.
The company made the announcement as it unveiled its 3D TV launch model, the Bravia HX800. It’s set to release this June and will be followed within weeks by additional models.
The TVs are built upon Sony's latest 200Hz high frame rate technology, which enables viewers to view 3D in full high definition.
