Report suggests that PS3 is crucial to uptake of the format, though DVD still leads.
After a rocky start for Sony’s Blu-ray format, which saw a muted launch of the PS3, but the rise and fall of HD-DVD, a new report from research firm Centris has some buoyant statistics regarding US uptake since its debut in 2006.
Two new appointments indicate a fresh direction for the company’s internet and gaming strands.
Following the departure of division president Steve Wadsworth on September 24, Disney has appointed new co-presidents to spearhead its Interactive Media Group, which made large losses last quarter.
The New York Times reports that the division lost $65 million in the most recent quarter
Some great publicity for Learning and Teaching Scotland and the Consolarium in the Scottish Times Educational Supplement on the 1st October 2010.
Gillian Macdonald provides a great write up of Derek Robertson’s Games Based Learning in the Early Years presentation from the 2010 Scottish Learning Festival.
The article covers some of the work that we have been doing with the Sony Eye Pet for the PS3, Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS and some of the work that we will be starting shortly with The Land of Me.
You can read the full article on the TES website if you missed the paper copy.
Microsoft’s US bid to increase its smartphone sector presence is imminent.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the company has slated Windows Phone 7’s launch for some time next month. A reveal event in New York City on October 11 will unveil three devices, manufactured by Samsung, LG and HTC, on which Windows 7 will run.
Phone maker’s stats suggest strong takeup of its version of Apple’s App Store.
The company has revealed that over 200,000 users are signing up to the service each day, and that downloads from the Ovi Store have reached a daily figure of 2.3 million.
Format: Xbox 360 (Version tested), PS3
Release: Out now
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Ninja Theory
Screenshot gallery
With just two weeks to street-date, executive producer Greg Goodrich announces change that “should not directly affect gamers”.
“You’ve got to take responsibility for the words you say”, explains the Double Fine founder.
Speaking to us at a publicity event for his studio’s upcoming XBLA release, Costume Quest, the industry veteran alluded obliquely to his recent public war of words with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.
Parent company Sega Sammy raises expectations to the tune of $186 million.
Sega Sammy – the holding company of Sega – has raised its forecast for the financial year April 2010 to March 2011, refreshing it from $264 million to $450 million.
It comes after quiet months for the publisher, with few high profile releases on shelves.
Texas indie Spacetime Studios to launch first MMOG that will play across multiple mobile platforms.
The developer’s proprietary Spacetime Engine will unite iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android and Windows PC users playing Pocket Legends over 3G, Edge, and wireless internet for what the company says is the first time for the industry.
Visceral violence, satanic imagery and that chainsaw - id Software's Doom wasn't exactly family friendly. Wolfenstein's concerted Nazi extermination, too, was for grown-up kids only. But similarly incompatible with family life were the hours that id co-founder and graphics guru, John Carmack, invested in his work - setting industry standards with his engines and technology - and extra-curricular rocketry hobby.
Doctor Who and iPlayer champion Simon Nelson will not be directly replaced.
During 14 years with the corporation, Simon Nelson pushed the boundaries of the BBC’s multimedia operations. From iPlayer precursor Radio Player, to the recent Doctor Who games for PC and (soon) Wii, Nelson has been crucial in the drive for the BBC to maintain a presence in the digital age.
With 30 per cent of its workforce cut this year, and CEO Mark Kingdon recent resignation, Linden Lab’s year of change continues.
Solipskier is a little game that will take up a lot of your time. It’s slight but moreish, and sparse yet stylish. Solipskier’s just full of contradictions, actually, the biggest being that, although it’s almost entirely built from different shades of grey - except for an occasional blast of rainbow stripes whenever you start to chain bonuses together - it still manages to deliver a level of joy that, if I’m being honest, living on the south coast of England, I have no real means of processing.
Format: PS3 (Version tested), Xbox 360, PC
Release: October 8
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Screenshot gallery
Valve has added an in-game store to its online shooter, which will stock both officially- and community-made items.
Do you want to work for Edge? We're looking for an experienced games editor to oversee our reviews and previews.
The successful candidate will be in charge of the preview and review sections in both the magazine and this website, writing and commissioning content for them. To that end, you'll be on top of every move in the game calendar, liaising with contacts in publishing and development while representing Edge at international industry events.
Pre-orders for Medal Of Honor have hit a franchise record, according to publisher EA.
“This milestone positions Medal Of Honor alongside EA's top pre-selling action games, and there is still one week remaining until the game hits retails shelves on Oct 12,” the company said in a statement, without offering any actual pre-order figures.
DS retained the top spot on the Japanese hardware sales chart during the week ended September 26.
The DS line of handhelds moved 89,199 units, with first placed DSi accounting for more than half of the sales.
Denmark Street in scruffy Camden, north London, isn't the first place that springs to mind when you think of game development. Lined on both sides by guitar and drum shops, and having hosted recording sessions from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles - the Sex Pistols even lived here for a spell - the road is imbued with the spirit of rock 'n' roll and rebellion, not score multipliers and extra lives.
Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro says he’s working on multiple game projects with publisher THQ.
"We're working together," he told MTV. "Hopefully everything will come together in the next few days and we can formally announce it and so forth. But we are talking about huge games, huge world creation and long deadlines.
Yesterday publisher SouthPeak Interactive delayed the US release of Two Worlds II until January, saying it wanted the game to be "absolutely flawless" when it launches, but the suggestion that it’s in an unfinished state hasn’t gone down well with co-developer TopWare Interactive.
Format: DS, PS3, PSP, Wii (version tested)
Release: October 29
Publisher: Warner Bros
Developer: Headstrong Games
On balance, Tolkien turns out to be a better storyteller than Samwise Gamgee. Tolkien's stolid mix of prose and verse may not be to everyone's taste, but from it was born a modern myth, the grandeur of which had not been seen since the Viking sagas. Sam's retelling of it in Aragorn's Quest, meanwhile, is largely about hitting things. Hitting things and trying to stop your attention from drifting.
Pokémon Black & White held the top spot on the Japanese software chart during the week ended September 26.
Fresh from moving over 2.5 million copies to set a new first week sales record in Japan, second week sales came in at 828,580 units.
Sega’s Black Panther Yakuza New Chapter was a new entry in second place, shifting 174,213 copies in its debut week, according to Media Create sales data (via Andriasang).
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata yesterday pledged to help third parties succeed on 3DS.
Addressing concerns that only first party software can sell well on Nintendo platforms, the executive said: "It is true that the third party software sales ratio on Nintendo platforms are comparatively smaller in Japan. Wii's third party software ratio is especially low."