Game industry business news

LittleBigPlanet Game of the Year edition will finally reach UK shores this month. The game will be available from Friday, April 16th and includes the full LittleBigPlanet game, all Metal Gear Solid packs, a selection of non-licensed DLC and 15 exclusive levels. MCV discovered the SKU last year, but the …

Microsoft has announced a revised release date for Xbox 360 exclusive Alan Wake in May – one week earlier than expected. The game will hit retail on May 14th rather than its initial May 21st date, which, incidentally, is the day Red Dead Redemption and Split/Second: Velocity are released. Director …

Games trade association seeks to promote industry-related education in the national curriculum

Warner Bros has announced LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1 – 4 will be released in the UK on June 25th. The game was originally slated for a vague May launch, but the publisher’s latest release schedule shows that it has been pushed back by a month. LEGO Harry Potter is …

Nintendo’s Wii accounted for 47 per cent of the global home console market in 2009, according to a report from Ibis Capital. Gamasutra reports that of the remainder, Xbox 360 claimed 35 per cent of the market and PS3 just 18 per cent. Total global console revenues hit $30bn. Looking …

EA’s browser-based title Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online has gone live following its beta trial. The online game still includes a free-to-play option which grants access to featured courses, but the full version costs players 6.99 per month or an annual fee of 49.99. Paying adds group tournaments, friend-to-friend messaging, …

The Xbox Live update that enables 360 owners to use USB flash drives as storage devices for their console has now gone live. Microsoft confirmed that today’s mandatory update introduces USB support and allows gamers to configure their memory sticks to hold profiles, game saves, downloadable content and more. Third-party …

Britain’s largest independent music publisher Chrysalis is to focus on the games industry following the completion of an 11m acquisition of First State Media Group. The deal sees it win the rights to some 45,000 songs from a diverse range of artists, and Chrysalis says it hopes to make its …

The decision to change the cryptic, artistic PS3 ads of the past to the more straightforward design of the present – lead by the new ‘It Only Does Everything’ message – has seemingly delivered the goods for Sony. Speaking at the MI6 marketing conference in the US, SCEA’s head of …

Rising Star has announced that No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle will be released throughout Europe on May 28th. The game is a sequel to critically acclaimed 2008 cult hit No More Heroes, and pits gamers against a league of assassins as they maim their way to the top. It …