Sony is expected to report a return to profitability when its first quarter financial results are announced on Thursday.
As a result of aggressive cost-cutting Sony will likely post a company-wide operating profit of 30 billion yen ($342 million) for the three month period ended June 30, compared with a 25.7 billion yen loss a year earlier, according to Nikkei (via AGP).
Joshua Caulfield will step down as executive director of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) this August.
UK Trade & Investment is offering a week-long trip to Japan for the Tokyo Game Show, with event pass and other services bundled as part of a £750 package.
Aimed at new game development companies and those with limited experience of the Japanese market, the package features an exhibitor pass for September’s event as well as expert briefings, game company visits, British Embassy reception, networking events and meeting room access.
UK indie games retailer Chips has shut all 12 of its company-owned stores today.
However, Chips joint-MD Don McCabe told MCV that the retailer’s 14 franchised outlets are unaffected by any developments at Chipsworld ltd.
“We are not in administration but we are doing some bits and pieces. I am in meetings right now to try and sort some things out,” he said. “Franchises are not affected. Shops are shut but we are not in administration.”
Back in 2004, the strategy RPG world must have seemed a difficult one to break into with any kind of meaningful impact. Advance Wars, plus its sequel, provided a heady zenith not just for fans of turn-based warfare, but also anyone who treasured the GBA. Any forum thread that touched upon the genre would elicit heartfelt praise for established greats: various strains of Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics. The template was already well represented, and well realised.
Capcom and Namco Bandai will bring renowned fighting series Street Fighter and Tekken together in two new games.
Street Fighter X Tekken is in development at Capcom, while Namco Bandai is working on Tekken X Street Fighter, the companies announced at Comic-Con over the weekend. Capcom's title will reportedly launch first, in two years' time, and both games are Xbox 360 and PS3-bound.
Disney’s Toy Story 3 climbed four places in its second week on the UK all formats chart to take the top spot.
Crackdown 2 dropped from first to tenth, while Dragon Quest IX was the only new entry in the week ended July 24, debuting at nine.
Atari has posted revenues of €19.3 million for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, down 65 per cent year-over-year.
The decrease, which the firm said was “in line with expectations”, was mainly due to a smaller number of releases during the quarter compared to the previous year. Atari launched Sandlot Sluggers during the three month period, compared to Ghostbusters: The Video Game in the US and The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena in the same quarter last year.
The Daily Star has issued an "unreserved apology" to publisher Rockstar for running a story falsely claiming that the publisher was working on a new Grand Theft Auto game based on the recent incidents involving killer Raoul Moat.
As a big fan of sci-fi I have always been particularly taken with some stories but particularly those that depict a dystopian vision. Particular ones that struck me form my school days were The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury and The Fun They Had by Issac Asimov as well as the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still with the classic, "Klaatu, barada nikto!" call to Gort the intergalactic policeman.
My exposure to sci-fi stories was enhanced in the late seventies when I and many many
others became seduced by the magical sci-fi stories that featured in the 2000AD comic. Featuring favourites such as Judge Dredd, Flesh and Strontium Dog I would get totally lost in the amazing future worlds that were beautifully depicted in this comic but the one theme that always used to make me think was Tharg's Future Shocks. Tharg was the alien editor of the comic and he would occasionally throw in a story that always had a quirk or that would kick you right in the backside and make you think.
This blogpost is about one such 'Future Shock' called The Fourth Wall. Published in Prog 85 in October 1978 this cautionary tale warns of the inexorable march of advancements in technology, and in particular technologies for entertainment. In the story we see the young boy, Chris, very excited about nis new TV experience. The Fourth Wall is an experimental televisual experience and works only when you close the door. It then immerses the viewer in a very 'lifelike world' with terrible consequences...
The Fourth Wall from Derek Robertson on Vimeo.
I remember a few years ago when the NIntendo Wii first came out that I couldn't help thinking just how prescient Tharg was. Here, 30 years ago was a short story predicting immersive technologies so lifelike and involving that you didn't just consume the visuals, you participated in them.
Now with the PS3 Move and the Kinect system from Microsoft coming out the future of immersive gaming is getting very to close to The Fourth Wall. However, I am very excited about the prospect of what both these technologies will have to offer and how they can enhance game play but I do have some concerns too. For example, imagine a system that measures the player's body movements and efficiency to score, for example, how well you placed the plastic bag over the hoodlums head in Manhunt and held it just so and just tight enough to dispatch him! Now that would be immersive gaming but with some sensationally dubious outcomes....maybe not as severe as the boy in the Fourth Wall's but one for us to carefully consider...
LittleBigPlanet 2 will launch on November 16 in the US, Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced.
The Media Molecule developed PS3 platformer is the follow-up to 2008’s excellent LittleBigPlanet, which has now sold over three million copies. The sequel has yet to be given a European date.
Indian human resource development minister unveils $35 touchscreen device aimed at students.
India's human resource development minister, Kapil Sibal, has unveiled a touchscreen computing device that will cost just $35 (£23).
The device, which more closely follows the form of a tablet than a laptop, has been designed with students in mind. The minister has revealed that his department is currently in talks with global manufacturers to discuss mass production of the unit and a 2011 roll out.
Gaikai CEO Dave Perry will keynote the upcoming Entertainment Merchants Association GamePlan Summit.
He'll discuss how game retailers and publishers can embrace digital technology to increase their reach and engagement with customers.
“Retailers and publishers are looking to implement digital strategies that will position them for the future,” Perry said. “Gaikai will be part of that future and I’m looking forward to sharing our vision.”
Format: 360, PS3
Release: Out now
Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Artificial Mind And Movement
Screenshot gallery
The Standing Committee of Attorneys-Generals has delayed a meeting at which members will discuss the issue of Australian videogame classifications.
Originally set to take place this month, the meeting has been pushed to November, Kotaku reports. One of the topics up for debate will be the proposal of introducing an R18+ rating for games.
EA’s chief operating officer John Schappert has lavished praise of Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS.
"The 3DS is just incredibly cool. The 3DS is magical. You put that in your hand, you look down, and all of a sudden it’s in 3D without glasses. That’s an amazing experience. I’m a huge fan," he told IndustryGamers.
EA Los Angeles has announced the formation of a new studio, Danger Close, which is currently developing the single player component of Medal Of Honor.
Format: iPhone
Developer: Nine Pound Studios
Direct App Store link
North Carolina governor Beverly Perdue has signed a new law offering companies economic incentives for interactive digital media productions.
From 2011, firms will receive a 15 per cent tax credit on compensation and wages for employees involved in digital media production, “or the creation of a platform or engine that runs such digital media”.
Media and entertainment conglomerate Disney is reportedly close to acquiring social games firm Playdom.
That’s according to TechCrunch, while VentureBeat claims the buyout price could be in the region of $600 million.
PSP-3000 was the bestselling system in Japan during the week ended July 18, according to data from Media Create.
Sales of the handheld were up 2,000 units week-over-week, while sales of the second and third placed DSi LL and Wii declined by a similar amount.
Combined DS sales made Nintendo’s platform the clear frontrunner overall, while PS3 narrowed the gap between itself and Wii.
Hardware sales week ended July 11 (previous week):
PSP - 26,786 (24,421)
DSi LL - 25,884 (28,916)
Microsoft has reported a giant leap in full year profits at is Entertainment and Devices (EED) division, which covers the Xbox 360 and Zune platforms as well as PC and online games.
While annual revenue remained flat at $8.058 billion, profit leapt 529 per cent to $679 million in the fiscal year ended June 30. That’s despite full-year Xbox 360 shipments falling eight per cent to 10.3 million units.
The TV lights come on, illuminating the faces of two warriors about to do battle. The excited chatter between fans dies away, and the hundreds in the audience hush spontaneously. At home, tens of thousands more are watching eagerly as their TV screens cut to a very familiar sight: a pixellated map of alien terrain, two small bases and a few worker units standing idle next to a stash of minerals. Yes, it’s StarCraft, Blizzard’s genre-defining realtime strategy game from 1998, but it’s no longer the game we knew.
Crackdown 2 remains at the top of the charts, whilst Dance On Broadway ascends to second.
Crackdown 2 has paralleled its vertiginous gameplay by remaining at the top of the UK all formats chart. It sees off Dance On Broadway which repeats last week's two place ascent putting it in second place. Toy Story 3, the only new top 40 entry, has entered the charts at number five.
UK Sales Chart July 19
