French publisher Ubisoft has posted a full-year loss and a significant decline in sales for the financial year ended March 31, 2010.
The company ended the year with a €43.7 million ($55.5m / £37.6m) net loss, compared to a profit of €68.8 million ($87.4m / £59.1m) a year earlier.
UK trade body ELSPA has welcomed the recent appointment of Ed Vaizey as culture minister for the Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition government.
ELSPA said that games industry advocate Vaizey is “one of the few politicians” to show a comprehensive understanding of the sector and the challenges it faces.
Belgian broadband provider Belgacom has taken a 2.6 per cent stake in cloud gaming venture OnLive.
Following a similar move by BT in the UK market announced last week, Belgacom now owns the exclusive rights to bundle the service in Belgium and Luxembourg.
OnLive is due to launch in the US this summer, while details of its European rollout will be made available later this year.
Sony has announced that Australian PS3 sales stand at 850,000 units, while PSPgo has sold less than 25,000 units since launch.
Sony Computer Entertainment Australia head Michael Ephraim revealed the updated sales figures to GameSpot at an Australian launch event for the PSN video delivery service, also confirming that 150,000 of the PS3 sales came from consoles given away with Sony Bravia TV deals.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe [SCEE] has partnered with movie streaming service MUBI to offer PS3 owners access to a range of independent, international and classic films beginning this autumn.
Announced at the Cannes Film Festival, the PS3 MUBI service will house “festival gems, classics, famous independent releases and art-house flicks” from names like the Coen brothers, Godard, Kitano, Almodóvar, Tarantino and Van Sant.
SouthPeak has reported a decline in revenues but a reversal of losses for its third financial quarter ended March 31, 2010.
Net revenues declined year-over-year from $13.5 million ($9.1m) to $7.5 million ($5.1m), but income swung from a loss of $692,000 (£468,000) to a profit of $192,000 (£130,000).
Square Enix has reported an impressive set of financial results for the year ended March 31, 2010.
Company-wide net sales were up 41.7 per cent to 192,257 million yen ($2.1b / £1.4b), while profits jumped 50.1 per cent to 9,509 million yen ($102.9m / £69.6m).
The publisher said that Final Fantasy XIII, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Dragon Quest VI became new million selling titles during the 12 month period.
Dutch independent publisher Playlogic has reported a significant net loss for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Despite a 23 per cent increase in annual revenues to $11.1 million (£7.5m) on the back of the launch of Fairytale Fights for PS3 and Xbox 360, the firm suffered a net loss of $20.3 million (£13.7m), compared to a loss of $9.5 million (£6.4m) the previous year.
The company said that the loss included a one time impairment charge of $4.75 million (£3.2m) in 2009.
Chinese online game operator Perfect World has acquired an $8.4 million majority stake in Seattle-based developer Runic Games.
The news came as Runic announced that its first title, Perfect World-published singleplayer action RPG Torchlight, had sold 500,000 copies in six months.
Microsoft's Aaron Greenburg has dismissed earlier reports of Natal's £130/$200 pricing as "purely speculation".
Microsoft's motion sensing camera picked up a £130/$200 price tag on a number of Swedish retailers earlier - a rather steep ask compared to the sub-$100 expected price.
Square Enix has confirmed that Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for PSP will be on UK shop shelves on September 10, and in US on September 7.
"A prequel to the mega-hit series, this pivotal installment takes you back to the beginning of the Kingdom Hearts saga, where you will explore iconic Disney worlds through the perspectives of three different main characters: Terra, Ventus and Aqua," explains Square.
Warner Bros. Interactive has lifted the lid on the sequel to its DS-exclusive word-crunching puzzle platformer, entitled Scribblenauts.
Out in Autumn this year, Super Scribblenauts promises to "expand the innovative elements from the acclaimed first title" with improved controls, heaps of new puzzles and "new features".
Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimota has reaffirmed Capcom's plans only to use its western studios for ports and sequels, confirming that all new IP will now only be developed internally in Japan.
Nintendo of America has announced details of a new strategic partnership with the American Heart Association to promote healthy lifestyles through physically active play.
The two organisations said that they will work together on multiple fronts to help consumers discover how “active-play” videogames contribute to healthy living.
Sony is reportedly planning to unveil plans for a premium, subscription-based PlayStation Network service at its E3 conference next month.
A “highly-placed source” told VG247 that the service will be available for under £50 per year and that it won’t impact currently free PSN features, which include online gaming.
Subscribers will apparently get access to one free PSN game per month from a choice of two to four.
Sony’s unannounced PSP successor will launch in 2011, according to “multiple British sources”.
A leaked image indicates that Nintendo is testing a new DS – most likely the 3DS - with the US Federal Communications Commission.
The squires of the gallant Sir Arthur know that to master Ghosts ’N Goblins, you first have to master yourself. Haste, imprecision, hubris and fear: all must be slain if you’re to cross the realms between graveyard and throne, past chasm and grasping claw, into the arms of Princess Guinevere. Of all the quests in gamingdom, few can be as perilous as to make so many jumps with such scientific accuracy, even the smallest hop a commitment from which there’s no escape. Few, that is, beyond making a fully 3D sequel.
Multiple listings for Project Natal emerged on Swedish retail websites this weekend, all of which hint at a potentially high price point for Microsoft's upcoming “controller free gaming experience”.
When it comes to accessing entertainment, today's consumer is spoiled for choice. Whether it’s gaming, social media, music and films, or broadcast and print, the options are plentiful and far reaching. And, thanks to the internet, content is never more than a click of a mouse away.
Sega Sammy swung to a profit in the financial year ended March 31, despite underwhelming international game sales.
Its consumer business segment, which houses its videogame operations, saw sales decline 7.5 per cent to 121.8 billion yen ($1.3b / £892m), but operating income came in at 6.3 billion yen ($68.2m / £46.1m), compared to a loss of 941 million yen ($10.2m / £6.9m) the previous year.
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa retained the top spot on the UK all formats chart during the week ended May 15.
The football title made it three weeks at the chart summit despite competition from a host of new releases - Alan Wake debuted in second place, Lost Planet 2 in third, and Skate 3 in fifth.
Just Dance fell two spots to fourth, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 one to sixth, and Modern Warfare 2 four to seventh.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says console manufacturers could make their consoles upgradeable, but are deterred by the prospect of allowing pirates to easily insert mod chips into their machines.
"I think that one of the problems with upgradeable consoles is that anything that would be an upgrade would have to be external."
Rockstar could be gearing up to unleash the first glimpse of Grand Theft Auto V at next month's E3 show.
That's according to EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich, who confidently predicts that the next GTA will show up in non-playable form in preparation for a 2011 release.
Rockstar could be gearing up to unleash the first glimpse of Grand Theft Auto V at next month's E3 show.
That's according to EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich, who confidently predicts that the next GTA will show up in non-playable form in preparation for a 2011 release.