IN BRIEF: What’s Happened Today (August 8th 2012)

It’s a tough time in the games industry, as is evidenced by some shocking numbers from the UK High Street.

Still, the news is quite different for digital retail, with Minecraft developer Mojang enjoying soaring profits and digital-only release NASCAR flying off the virtual shelves.

Here’s a roundup of the last 24 hours:

• Boxed retail continues to struggle as the UK High Street posts its lowest ever numbers – LINK
• The phenomenon that is Minecraft drives developer Mojang to record numbers – LINK
• Free-to-play title Star Trek: Infinite Space succumbs to a breach in the space-time continuum as developer GameForge cancels title – LINK
• Eutehchnyx’s self-published NASCAR game (yes, the one Activision decided against releasing in Europe) tops the UK PSN charts – LINK
• Microsoft says that it wasn’t talking about the New Xbox when it talked about the New Xbox – LINK
• Codemasters’ finally reveals new racer Grid 2 – LINK
• Mafia 3 is being developed as a next-gen title, according to reports – LINK
• Sony plans to release both God of War and Infamous bundles on the High Street – LINK
• EA can literally not contain its excitement as gamers stop slating it for a few cherished moments – LINK
• Did you know you can make $10,000 by selling digital axes on Diablo III? – LINK
• The man with the silliest name in the world (Kim Dotcom) reckons he got beaten up by the police when arrested in January regarding Megaupload.com – LINK