Social games firm Zynga has appointed former Allen & Co. managing director Dave Wehner as its new chief financial officer.
He replaces Mark Vranesh, who becomes chief accounting officer at the FarmVille maker, reporting to Wehner, VentureBeat reports.
Digital entertainment services firm RealNetworks has posted a five per cent drop in sales for its games unit during the second quarter ended June 30.
At the same time the company announced that it has promoted chief revenue officer of the division, Matt Hulett, to the position of games CEO, replacing John Barbour.
Roberto Bolaño’s posthumously published novel, 2666, is a masterpiece that deliberately tries the reader’s patience. The fourth of the five ‘books’ that make up the work is called The Part About The Crimes, and consists of a relentless catalogue of murders of women, written mainly in the unemotional, empirical style of police reports: the body of the next victim was discovered in such-and-such a location, in such-and-such a state of undress; the following witnesses were interviewed, the case was shelved; and so forth.
Ex-GRIN members have formed a new development studio called Whiteout.
The developer intends to focus on digital markets and currently has a CryEngine 3 project in the works, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
Microsoft are hoping to carve out an entirely new space for themselves with Kinect, a device with the potential to change the game landscape drastically. Revolutionary hardware is all very well, of course, but even the most distinct experience will eventually flounder without quality titles to support it.
StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty debuted atop the UK all formats chart during the week ended July 31.
The game is the first PC exclusive to hit the all formats top spot this year. It sold more copies last week than the 1998 original managed during its entire lifetime in the UK (only boxed product is accounted for), according to sales monitor Chart-Track.
Koch Media CEO Dr. Klemens Kundratitz has refuted claims that his company is €1.7 million in debt to troubled Dutch publisher Playlogic.
He also said that, contrary to statements made by the Fairytale Fights publisher, the two companies aren’t engaged in legal proceedings over the matter.
Nexon America has reported second quarter revenues up 26 per cent year-over-year.
The free-to-play specialist behind MapleStory told VentureBeat that June sales alone were up 36 per cent from a year earlier, although it doesn’t disclose actual financial figures.
Introducing our latest issue, looking at Microsoft's bid to revitalise its console and revolutionise the gaming landscape.
Sega parent Sega Sammy posted a profit and increased sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2011, but continued losses for its games division means the company will increase its focus on content geared towards social networking services and smartphones.
A newly signed deal between Lovefilm and streaming technology provider Widevine will enable the European film rental service to offer movies on demand via game consoles and other devices.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) spent $1.1 million lobbying on behalf of US game publishers and developers in the second quarter of 2010.
The figure is down five per cent on the trade association's spend in the second quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of this year, the Associated Press reports.
Haden Blackman, executive producer and writer of the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series, has resigned from LucasArts.
Blackman had served at the studio for over 13 years and is credited on games including The Force Unleashed, Star Wars: Galaxies and Star Wars: Force Commander. He also helped write and produce a number of Star Wars books and comics.
Format: C64
Release: 1985
Publisher: Activision
Developer: In-house
Once upon a time, in a less cynical age, we weren’t afraid to call successful videogame designers geniuses. Indeed, it was a tag thrown at many of the young people wrestling with 8bit console and computer hardware in the early ’80s (and doing very nicely out of it, thank you very much), often by exciteable journalists seeking to romanticise the Silicon Valley dream beyond its already dizzy visage. Some, however, were more deserving than others.
PSP-3000 remained the bestselling gaming hardware in Japan during the week ended July 25, while the DS line of handhelds continued to lead overall platform sales.
PSP Slim & Lite shifted 28,747 units, ahead of DSi XL’s 24,189, but combined DS sales came in at over 47,000, versus total PSP sales of 29,500.
Zynga has partnered with telecommunications and media firm Softbank to develop and distribute social games across Japan.
The new joint venture, Zynga Japan, was officially announced as Softbank completed a $150 million investment in the San Francisco headquartered Farmville maker.
The deal marks the developer’s first foray into the Japanese market, for which it will create social games out of new Tokyo-based studio Zynga Japan.
Ultima and Tabula Rasa creator Richard Garriott has been awarded $28 million following a lawsuit looking into his departure from MMO publisher NCsoft.
Toy Story 3 climbs to the top of the charts, while Dragon Quest IX debuts at ninth.
Toy Story 3 has climbed four places to top the charts in its second week, while Modern Warfare 2 has slipped two to eleventh, leaving the top ten altogether. Dragon Quest IX debuted - fittingly - at ninth, just above last week's chart topper, Crackdown 2.
UK Sales Chart July 26
Wii Party returned to the top of the Japanese software chart during the week ended July 25.
Nintendo’s mini-game compilation sold 99,000 copies in its third week on sale, topping the 72,000 sales achieved by the week’s highest new entry, Marvelous' Fate/Extra for PSP, which debuted in second place.
Chipsworld ltd has gone into liquidation, closing 12 company-owned stores and laying off 29 staff this week.
However, the retailer’s website and 13 franchised outlets will remain operational, the company told MCV.
APB developer reveals project which combines social media and traditional 3D gaming .
Realtime Worlds, the developer behind Crackdown and APB, has unveiled its latest project. Project: MyWorld combines social networking with traditional gaming genres.
Gameloft has reported sales of €33.6 million ($44m / £28.1m) for the second quarter of 2010, up 15 per cent year-over-year.
Europe and North America both represented 34 per cent of the French publisher’s sales during the quarter, while the rest of the world accounted for the remainder.
Sales for the first half of the year now stand at €66.6 million ($87.2m / £55.7m), up 11 per cent year-over-year.
Xbox Live Arcade revenues for the first six months of 2010 came in at $46.1 million, representing year-over-year growth of 13 per cent, according to a new report from analyst firm Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment (FADE).
The company said that it expects full year XBLA revenues to reach $130-$140 million.
Annual Xbox Live revenues topped $1 billion for the first time last year.
FADE Top 10 Estimates for H1 2010, by revenue:
Lionhead’s exuberant founder Peter Molyneux knows something about making big promises. And now, with Fable III, he has made a game all about how difficult they are to keep. The third instalment in the genre-blending fantasy adventure is a game of two halves – as the first part unfolds, you find yourself begging support for your bid on the throne of Albion. And then later, you discover that those who’ve helped you take the crown expect you to return the favour.
