US retailer GameStop has posted sales of $3.02 billion for the nine weeks ended December 31, 2011.
The total represents less than one per cent growth year-over-year, with the “solid sales performance of new high-def console software… offset by weak Wii software sales and hardware sales”, according to chief executive officer Paul Raines.
The UK game industry made 13 per cent less revenue in 2011 than the year before, according to figures from sales monitor GfK Chart-Track.
Software, hardware and accessory sales totalled £2.52 billion, with boxed game sales accounting for £1.42 billion, down seven per cent from 2010.
Industry trade body UKIE dubbed 2011 a “challenging” 12 months for the market, but said boxed software sales were "actually slightly ahead of earlier forecasts for a year where consumer spending on leisure activities and leisure goods has been put to the test”.
Beloved web gaming show Consolevania is now available for free on iTunes.
The first two seasons of the show, the brainchild of Burnistoun's Robert Florence, are available for free as video podcasts at the source link below.
Beloved web gaming show Consolevania is now available for free on iTunes.
The first two seasons of the show, the brainchild of Burnistoun's Robert Florence, are available for free as video podcasts at the source link below.
If you haven't heard of it before, Desktop Dungeons is a forthcoming puzzle-cum-Rogue-like by QCF Design. It's excellent, and you can play its alpha version for free here. Since it's essentially a quick-play dungeon-crawler, it doesn't really have any end, other than the informal one that comes as players slowly tire of it.
Sony has moved to deny reports that Kaz Hirai is to replace Howard Stringer as company president in April.
Epic Games says it does not support "the current form" of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) despite its membership of the Entertainment Software Assocation (ESA), the US trade assocation which is a confirmed supporter of the controversial bill.
DJ Shadow became a household name on the strength of his debut studio album, Endtroducing. That was all the way back in 1996, but the record is still considered influential for being comprised almost entirely of samples from other works. Here, he reminisces about how being a regular at his local arcades made him the man he is today.
Swedish developer Mojang has admitted it midjudged fan expectations with the release of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, the mobile version of its PC smash.
Video streaming service Lovefilm has responded to the launch of rival service Netflix by reducing its subscription costs.
As we reported this morning, Netflix is now available on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii - as well as tablets, smartphones, PCs and smart TVs - in the UK and Ireland for £5.99 a month, the same Lovefilm charges.
FIFA 12 is the UK all-formats number one for a third week in succession despite a decline in sales of 63 per cent.
Only one game in the entire top 40 saw its sales increase from the previous week, with the nation's collective downward gaze at its post-Christmas paunch helping 505 Games' Zumba Fitness climb 13 places to number six.
FIFA 12 is the UK all-formats number one for a third week in succession despite a decline in sales of 63 per cent.
Only one game in the entire top 40 saw its sales increase from the previous week, with the nation's collective downward gaze at its post-Christmas paunch helping 505 Games' Zumba Fitness climb 13 places to number six.
A new service has launched which helps indie developers keep track of reviews on over 600 websites.
As well as a Metacritic-style average score, Promoter automatically tracks and archives press reviews of a developer's game, sending an email notification when a new one is published. A timeline displays reviews, mentions and special events - such as release date announcements or holiday sales - to enable developers to gauge the success of promotions.
A new service has launched which helps indie developers keep track of reviews on over 600 websites.
As well as a Metacritic-style average score, Promoter automatically tracks and archives press reviews of a developer's game, sending an email notification when a new one is published. A timeline displays reviews, mentions and special events - such as release date announcements or holiday sales - to enable developers to gauge the success of promotions.
Format 360, PC, PS3 Publisher THQ Developer Kaos Studios
Facebook has relented on its insistence that developers use its standard virtual currency, Facebook Credits, in in-app offers.
The move, announced in a blog post, means developers can offer their own virtual currencies as rewards to users for completing advertiser offers, such as signing up for a subscription service or buying from an online store. Developers can now use either their own currency, Credits, or both at once.
Troubled retailer HMV reported more bad news today after revealing that sales over Christmas fell by over 16 per cent.
Sales at retail in the five weeks to December 31 fell 16.9 per cent, with revenue across the group as a whole falling 16.6 per cent despite a 13 per cent increase in revenue from its HMV Live ticketing business.
With its many contact points, the traditional videogame controller is like a violin: great for adepts but unwelcoming to newcomers. As business models go, ‘impregnably arcane’ can fare poorly in the open marketplace. How do you convince somebody’s grandparents or little sister to master the violin for the privilege of playing Halo? With Kinect, Microsoft ingeniously answered: “You don’t.
Activision's Call Of Duty series occupies the top three slots in Microsoft's chart of last year's most played games on Xbox Live.
Microsoft has moved to insist that its Xbox Live service hasn't been breached, and that the ongoing glut of account thefts are the result of phishing attacks.
Nintendo's 3DS handheld has set a new record for monthly sales in Japan, selling more in December than any system has managed since Enterbrain began tracking data in 1997.
Kaz Hirai is to replace Howard Stringer as president of Sony Corporation, according to reports.
Japan's business daily Nikkei reports that Hirai, the 51-year-old who currently occupies several roles at Sony - representative corporate executive officer and executive deputy president of Sony Corp, president of the Consumer Products And Services Group, and chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment - will assume his new position in April.
US video streaming service Netflix has launched in the UK and Ireland.
The service, to be available on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii as well as tablets, smartphones, PCs and smart TVs, offers movies and TV shows for £5.99 a month to UK customers, and €6.99 to those in Ireland. A free, one-month trial is also available.
You can keep up to date with news you might have missed by subscribing to the News round-up topic using My Edge. Visit the Charts topic page to see the UK, Japanese and Nordic charts for the week, and the Daily Links topic page to see our adventures in the more obscure corners of the internet. You might also be interested in our weekly recruitment round-up.