Game industry business news

Zelda ‘can be played by five-year-olds’

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is so accessible that a five-year-old can play it, claims Nintendo. It’s part of the format holder’s bid to ensure the Wii exclusive is the first Zelda game for everyone” when it hits UK shelves this Friday, November 18th. Nintendo has already succeeded in …

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Capcom titles go live on EA Origin

Electronic Arts has added another company to the list of rival publishers selling its games through EA’s Origin download service. Capcom’s Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition and Dead Rising 2: Off The Record are now available to but through Origin, according to Capcom Unity. The games are priced at …

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100Mbps broadband arrives from BT

Fibre-to-the-home service offers 100Mbs downstream and 15Mbps upstream for a lucky few. The new BT Infinity Option 3 consists of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) package which will, surprise surprise, be available on a limited number of exchanges. Options 1 and 2 offer speeds of up to 40Mbps. The telco is aiming to …

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Vivendi reduces Activision Blizzard stake

Media conglomerate Vivendi has divested 35 million of its shares in Activision Blizzard, the company said yesterday. The communications giant said it remains committed to being the principal shareholder of Activision Blizzard.Vivendi, based in Paris, sold off about 3 per cent of its shares to bring its total stake down …

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Skyward Sword achieves perfect score in Famitsu

The latest Legend of Zelda title has been award 40/40 by Japanese gaming bible Famitsu. Skyward Sword is the 16th game to achieve this score in the magazine’s history, and the first 2011 title to do so, according to Andriasang. It is also the third entry in the series to …

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X-Factor’s Kitty Brucknell to appear at We Sing event

She’s only going to be famous for around another eight days, so if you want to see X-Factor’s Kitty Brucknell live and in person you need to act now. Kitty, who was booted out of this weekend’s X-Factor by the judges, is to sing at a Nordic Games event that …

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Next Final Fantasy could be an action RPG

Square Enix has suggested Final Fantasy XV will move away from its turn-based nature and further embrace the action of Western RPGs. Final Fantasy XIII-2 producer Yoshinori Kitase described the increasing popularity of action RPGs – such as Dragon Age and Skyrim – as a trend you ignore at your …

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Vita pre-orders begin on November 30th; Free Gift Packs offered

Sony has announced that those who pre-order the PlayStation Vita at selected retailers will have the choice of two freebies. The pre-order process will begin in Europe on November 30th. Consumers can at the time of pre-order choose between a free pair of PlayStation Vita Blue headphones or a Vita …

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Activision "misspoke" about possible COD Elite PC no-show

Publisher Activision has backtracked on a statement that appeared to suggest that Call of Duty Elite may never get a dedicated release on PC. Though the PC version of the service has already been delayed, its official Twitter feed threw the community into panic last night with the following tweet: …

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GAME downgrades full year revenue target

The GAME Group has admitted that the 2011 video games market has performed below its expectations”. The retailer had previously predicted a full year like-for-like sales decline of between -3 per cent and flat. It now expects a best-case scenario of -7 per cent which, as the retailer now routinely …

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