Game industry business news

Rebranding ELSPA to the newer, more accessible UK Interactive Entertainment Association ‘reflects the evolving nature of the industry’ according to director general Michael Rawlinson. The UK games industry trade association last week confirmed it will rebrand this summer after 20 years as ELSPA. We’ve got to move with this world …

Not shy of speaking his mind, the latest outburst from games industry analyst Michael Pachter has seen him condemn PSP to a last place finish in the current handheld war. I think Sony is running into a brick wall, trying to compete in the handheld sector,” he stated in the …

Microsoft is to phase out both the 120GB Xbox 360 hard drive and its range of branded memory cards, the platform holder has revealed. Larry ‘Major Nelson’ Hryb confirmed the news to Joystiq, saying that the channel is being drained” of both SKUs. The decision follows the confirmation that Microsoft …

Today is the day three main political parties head to BAFTA’s London HQ to discuss the game industry’s most pressing issues. Hosted by ELSPA, the Videogames Industry Pre Election Question Time 2010 will host a panel of three key MPs: Labour’s Tom Watson, Conservatives’ Ed Vaizey and Lib Dem’s Don …

It has emerged that consumers hoping to upgrade from their existing DSi to the all-new super-sized DSi XL have no way of transferring over any existing DSiWare purchases stored on their old machines. The situation echoes that suffered by Sony when it unleashed its digital-only PSPgo, leaving owners of older …

The next firmware update for PS3, which will be released on April 1st, will remove the ability to install a third party operating system onto the console. The move is designed to dampen the ongoing efforts of pirates to hack into the currently secure machine. It’s thought that the decision …

In claiming number one in the ELSPA GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40 this week, Just Cause 2 succeeds in justifying Square Enix’s loyalty to Avalanche’s high-octane free-roaming IP by achieving what the first game could not. The original Just Cause, upon its release in September 2006, managed just second …

Tropical action outing Just Cause 2 has become the tenth game to claim the top spot in the ELSPA GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40 since the turn of the year. What’s all the more impressive is that Square Enix’s title had to fend off some very high-profile opposition to …

Best Buy will finally enter the UK this May with a new store in Thurrock, Essex. The US retail giant was originally due to open in the UK last year, but delayed the openings to wait for better sites. Further Best Buy stores will open in Hedge End (Southampton) and …

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