Game industry business news

A new board has taken control of Brit studio HotGen, following Fergus McGovern’s decision to take a break from the games industry. The Croydon-based outfit is best known for its huge-selling TV games published via toy giant Jakks Pacific, but has also had success on iPhone and traditional consoles. Terry …

Only 40 per cent of players have finished Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed II. That’s according to stats tracked by the publisher’s Uplay online service and was revealed to Joystiq by Gaelec Simard, mission director for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Despite the fact that 60 per cent of players have yet …

A new report has emerged which challenges the belief that the need to wear glasses to watch 3D content is a barrier to entry, particularly in the games market. A study by the U-Decide Initiative, reported by Industry Gamers, claims that 80 per cent of gamers are willing to wear …

The press have been making excitable noises about Def Jam Rapstar, but sales of music games are generally in decline. Aren’t you a little worried that this niche has already reached saturation point? No, Def Jam Rapstar is a complete breath of fresh air, and it’s going to reinvigorate the …

Exciting 3DS crossover Professor Layton Vs Ace Attorney is currently only scheduled to be released in the Japanese market, co-developer Capcom has revealed. The game was announced by Japanese powerhouse Level-5 yesterday and will bring together the popular handheld IPs of Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. I’m both …

Facebook â??data leakâ?? suddenly sees lawsuit at Zyngaâ??s doorstep

Violent and adult-themed games have been thrown a lifeline in the potentially lucrative Middle Eastern market after a new alliance was formed that hopes to take on the task of editing titles to suit local sensibilities. English language Abu Dhabi news portal The National reports that media firm Rubicon Group …

Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Dsilets has for the first time spoken about his decision to head up THQ’s new Montreal development studio. As you may know, last May, I made the difficult decision to leave Ubisoft after 13 incredible years,” he said in a letter to Kotaku. I felt that …

Phil Spencer, the corporate VP of Microsoft Game Studios, has labelled the current 3D games market as nothing more than a science experiment” and argued that it’s too early for his company to commit itself to the space. As an entertainment company, we’re trying to do things that millions of …

The London MCM Expo, the UK’s largest entertainment consumer event, is now firmly established as London’s Comic-Con. This is a genre-spanning showcase of cult entertainment and popular culture that gives visitors the chance to play, watch and preview the latest games, sci-fi shows, anime, manga and comics. But gaming will be a key …