Game industry business news

UPDATE: Asda has confirmed that it will have free stock of both the solus Kinect SKU and the Kinect hardware bundle for the launch of Microsoft’s motion device tomorrow. "After working hard with Microsoft to ensure day one availability we have reached a position where we will have stock for …

The XBLIG rack quietly returned to the front of the shop

As well as the celebrity-driven official Call of Duty: Black Ops launch party at Battersea Power Station last night, UK retailer GAME held the official retail launch gathering at its Oxford Street store in central London. Around 300 Call of Duty fans were at hand to be the first to …

Leading global games retail GameStop has predicted that Kinect will emerge as the winner in the fight of the next-gen motion controllers. However, senior VP or merchandising and marketing Bob McKenzie has confirmed that early sales of Sony’s Move have exceeded the chain’s expectations. I’d say right now Microsoft’s Kinect …

It’s finally here. As midnight struck around the world last night retailers opened their doors to usher in the arrival of what many in the industry is hoping will be the best selling game ever made – Call of Duty: Black Ops. The official Activision launch event, held at Battersea …

Watch out Play and Amazon – Asda wants a slice of your market share. The retail giant told MCV that improving its online offer is key to its plans for 2011. This ties in with Asda’s bid to grow its games market share, which the firm says is already in …

There’s no doubting that Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the two major players in the music games market. However, speaking to MCV Alex Rigopulos, the boss of current Rock Band developer and Guitar Hero creator Harmonix, has claimed that battling with the franchise his studio created doesn’t rouse him. …

Asda has declared Call of Duty: Black Ops will be its biggest games launch of all time. The supermarket claims it has an unprecedented level of stock for the imminent FPS, which it says far outstrips that of any previously released video game. We are putting more stock into store …

The Symbian Foundation has announced plans to "transition the role of the non-profit organisation". Which means… what? According to its announcement, the Foundation will become "a legal entity responsible for licensing software and other intellectual property, such as the Symbian trademark". That means Nokia will take on development of the …

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has sold $1.3 billion of shares in the firm, a move he says should not be construed as a lack of faith in the software giant. Ballmer claims the move, which is his first sale of Microsoft stock in seven years, is about diversifying his …