Game industry business news

Industry veteran Geoff Heath has told MCV that he believes 4mm’s upcoming addition to the music genre, Def Jam Rapstar, can prove that there’s life left yet in the sector. Heath, who is currently acting as an advisor to emerging publisher 4mm – which set up its first UK office …

Mark Lawrenson will not be on commentary duties in PES 2011, publisher Konami has confirmed. The former Liverpool defender and current Match of the Day pundit is a recognisable name to football fans, but has previously been criticised for what some called his wooden delivery in previous PES titles. We’re …

Having confirmed its intentions to reward new PSPgo buyers with an impressive ten free titles to MCV last week, Sony has now revealed the complete list of games that it will be offering. Making good on the claim that it has worked with third parties to deliver some really good …

Call of Duty: Black Ops will get its own line of branded peripherals after Mad Catz announced a deal with Activision today. The gaming accessories manufacturer gets global rights to a range of Black Ops products, following its range of Modern Warfare 2 controllers last year. We are honoured to …

Expansion packs for The Sims have proved a highly lucrative business for publisher EA in the past, and a host of new URL registrations point to a possible new direction for the series in the future. As spotted by Superannuation, the likes of simsmedieval.com and thesimsgetmedieval.com suggest that a future …

UK retailer GAME has rubbished speculation that it has fallen out with publisher Activision. Talk of a rift was rife over the weekend following multiple reports of various GAME and Gamestation outlets either not carrying stock of new racer Blur or only stocking the title in limited quantities. We have …

Publishers EA and Warner Interactive have announced that, much like the upcoming film based on JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, its licensed video game tie-in will come in two separate, full-length parts. Furthermore, the publishers have pledged a darker, more action-orientated take on the series that it …

In an interview about the PSP version of LittleBigPlanet, a producer for Sony has let slip that the company is currently at work on a second iteration of its PlayTV technology. When asked by Spong what Studio Cambridge is currently working on, senior producer Mark Green replied: As a whole …

Having once again promised a radical overhaul for its series when it first revealed PES 2011 last month, Konami’s famed designer Shingo ‘Seabass’ Takatsuka has admitted that his team weren’t prepared” for the arrival of the next generation of machines five years ago. Konami recently flew several members of the …

With early iPad sales indicating that Apple could have another global tech success on its hands, one industry notable has issued the most damning verdict yet of Nintendo’s future prospects in the handheld space. As noted by Kotaku, Masato Kato, the writer behind cult RPG classics such as Final Fantasy …