Game Developer Research has revealed results of its third annual Game Developer Census, which monitors North American developers and publishers, that show a slight increase from 44,400 to 44,806 employees.
The small rise in North American game industry employment was attributed to “an unusually high number of new studios, particularly in social and online gaming, springing up to counterbalance the many closures that occurred throughout the rest of the industry.”
The Futuremark YouGamers Forums have been updated to report that a number of layoffs have recently hit the Shattered Horizon developer.
Take-Two Interactive has signed a deal to sell its Jack of All Games distribution business to Synnex Corporation, a business process services company that deals in the distribution of IT systems and software.
An investor relations note explains that the transaction is expected to be valued at around $43.25 million, which includes $36.50 million in cash and up to a further $6.75 million based on the achievement of certain items. The deal is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2010.
It emerged yesterday that an advert had appeared in the UK press for a third party LittleBigPlanet peripheral pack which listed PSP 4000 as a compatible platform. The company who placed the advert has since issued a statement saying it was a mistake.
Final Fantasy XIII sold over one million copies in Japan during its first 24 hours of availability, according to estimates from publisher Square Enix.
The title is only available on PS3 in the region, and the sales estimate doesn’t include copies sold as part of hardware bundles, reports GameSpot.
Electronic Arts is reportedly planning to invest millions of dollars in a new development and support centre as it seeks to relocate work from high-cost areas like California.
The publisher is eyeing possible locations in Atlanta, Louisiana and Florida for the new studio, company spokesperson Jeff Brown told the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Scrolling beat ‘em ups are one of gaming’s longest-serving genres – not yet in retirement but teetering on the pensionable as each blundering Final Fight: Streetwise turns up to undo the good work of an Urban Reign. One-on-one scrappers have settled down into a stable domestic relationship with gamers, but the dedicated scrolling beat ‘em up still remain marginalised. The art of one-on-many thumping has moved on: absorbed into myriad action games, it’s always the bridesmaid and never the bride.
Los-Angeles-based independent developer Heavy Iron Studios will reportedly lay off up to 70 per cent of its workforce before Christmas.
Sources told Kotaku that 60-70 of the studio's 100 or so staff members are to be let go this week.
Quantic Dream co-CEO David Cage has once again done his best to explain the nature of Heavy Rain, suggesting that the term videogame is no longer an accurate description.
A survey distributed by IPSOS Online Research may have outed details of upcoming PlayStation Network premium services.
Forwarded to Kotaku, the questionnaire outlines four potential PSN subscription packages, ranging from $29.99 to $69.99 a year (£18.60 - £43.40), featuring premium services including hour-long game trials, free access to PSone classics and PSP minis, and the much requested cross-game voice chat.
Tools provider Unity Technologies has announced the opening of a UK studio headed by former EA Criterion man Graham Dunnett.
Having spent seven years at Criterion running the support team for the RenderWare middleware technology, Dunnett takes on the role of director of testing, support and docs at Unity’s new Crawley-based location.
The UK studio is currently recruiting with ten positions to fill including test, support and development engineers.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has secured the Christmas number one spot on the UK all formats chart.
The record breaking shooter enjoyed its sixth consecutive week at the top of the chart as sales rose three per cent.
A 24 per cent jump in weekly sales saw FIFA 10 up three places to second, Wii Fit Plus moved up one to third, while Wii Sports Resort and Assassin’s Creed II were both down two spots, to fourth and fifth respectively.
Japanese Wii sales jumped significantly during the week ended December 13, ensuring the console continued to comfortably outpace its nearest rival.
Last week we reported that the Classification Review Board received an application from Sega to review the classification of Aliens vs Predator, which was classified RC (Refused Classification) by the Classification Board on December 3, 2009.
Sega Australia has now successfully appealed the ban on Aliens vs. Predator and the title has now received 15 rating meaning it can be released.
Electronic Arts’ senior vice president of European publishing, Jens Uwe Intat, has said the publisher is “disappointed” with the market’s performance in 2009.
“I have to say we’ve been a little bit disappointed,” Intat told UK trade publication MCV. “When we were planning 2009 we were looking at market growth of around 5 per cent in packaged goods, but what we’ve seen is a decrease of about 10 per cent."
Business Insider reports that multi-platform casual game developer Oberon Media has fired 100 employees with Chief operating officer Don Ryan leaving the company.
Ryan is reported to have confirmed the report, saying that he left Oberon to start his own company in New York. No further details were given about the direction or focus of the new company, with Ryan saying it was too early to discuss specifics.
Mad Catz Interactive has expanded its relationship with publisher and developer Capcom to produce branded videogame controllers and accessories based on Tatsunoko VS. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars videogame for Wii.
“We are delighted with our partnership with Capcom, and we are excited to expand the relationship with this new license,” said Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz.
An advert for a third-party LittleBigPlanet peripheral pack has appeared in UK trade paper MCV, which seems to confirm a new version of Sony’s PSP may soon be announced.
The advert can be found in issue 568 of the trade publication, which was placed by peripheral firm Accessories4Technology. The foot of the page clearly shows a list of compatible PSP models, which includes the long rumoured but as yet unannounced PSP 4000 model.
According to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter, the music-game category pulled in $1.4 billion in revenue last year. But by the end of 2009, Pachter says the category will make half that with around $700 million.
Format: DECsystem-10
Release: 1978
Publisher: MUSE (Multi-User Entertainment Ltd)
Developer: Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle
Christmas isn’t a time for playing free games. It’s a time for watching Chevy Chase movies while wearing questionable sweaters, or for thumb-tacking tinsel into the roof lining of your Fiat 500. The only games you should play, in fact, are the new, expensive ones under the tree that you’ve been waiting for since early November. So instead of pointing you towards a no-budget marvel today, I thought I’d gather together a few vague thoughts on the past year (and perhaps one or two on the year to come).
Sony opens new action MMOG space in its social world as user numbers reach new high.
Developed by UK studio Outso, the space, called Sodium, has players piloting customisable tanks in both multiplayer and singleplayer arena combat. The first section of the game, called Salt Shooter, consists of 50 stages is now live. It will be followed by a space-set section early next year.
Earlier today Take-Two reported a loss of $137.9 million for its fiscal year ended October 31. The publisher said that Q4 sales were led by Borderlands, NBA 2K10, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony and Grand Theft Auto IV.
Take-Two Interactive has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year end (October 31, 2009).
Net loss for fiscal 2009 was $137.9 million compared to net income of $97.1 million for fiscal 2008. Net revenue for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2009 was $968.5 million compared to $1,537.5 million for ‘08, which included the GTA IV launch.
A survey released by PR firm Waggener Edstrom reports that word of mouth is the biggest influencer when it comes to consumers buying a new game.
According to the study, friends’ opinions are three times as likely to influence a consumer’s buying decision as advertising and promotions. Retail, demos, reviews and advertising and promotion follow word of mouth as the most important factors influencing a purchase, reports Gamasutra.