Game industry business news

Activision’s wealthiest competitors are preparing themselves for a ‘Modern Warfare 2 Christmas’ – forecasting that the game will hit a record-breaking 1.7m UK sales in its opening week. According to sources close to top rival publishers, the figure has been estimated as the game secures 500,000 pre-orders at retail. If …

Nintendo has this morning revealed that its DS console has topped 113 milion sales worldwide, as part of its six-monthly fiscal results. 11.7m DS units were sold in the six month period to September 30th, taking the console’s global installed base to 113.48m worldwide. 13.7m were sold in the previous …

Nintendo has confirmed that the DSi XL will launch in Europe in Q1 2010. The system boasts two 4.2-inch screens, an extra large stylus and three DSiWare titles. "Nintendo today confirms that a new Nintendo DSi XL console is launching in Europe in the first quarter of 2010," said a …

It’s clear the recession has finally caught up with Nintendo – despite being initially immune to the effects of the economic downturn, the firm has today confirmed a profit slump in its half-year financial report. The firm said net profit fell over half year on year to YEN69.4bn in the …

Nintendo has unveiled a new iteration of the DSi. The DSi LL boasts an extra large 4.2-inch screen, which is 93 per cent bigger than the DS Lite’s screen size. It is set to hit Japanese shelves on November 21st and is priced at 20,000 yen ($220). There is currently …

UNITE '09: Building relationship with platform holder is vital for exposure and revenue generation, say devs

Disney’s new Epic Mickey – a Wii title that effectively ‘reinvents’ Mickey Mouse – was finally announced today. Confirmed at a London event after almost a year of speculation – and a long tease through US consumer site Game Informer – the title has been revealed as an action platformer …

Trade body ELSPA has praised the commitment pledged by the Conservative party’s Shadow Culture Minister Ed Vaizey at last night’s London Games Conference to explore ways to help the UK video games industry should his party win next year’s general election. We welcome much in Ed Vaizey’s speech,” ELSPA director …

Blaze will release a motion-sensing controller for PlayStation 3, MCV can reveal. The Blaze PS3 Motion Freedom 3D Controller boasts a design similar to Nintendo’s Wii Remote, but features a directional D-pad, analogue stick and a full selection of controls found on the traditional PS3 pad. The Blace PS3 Motion …

Both LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition will be released in November. Activision’s latest release schedule gives a street date of November 20th for LEGO Indy 2 and November 6th for Ultimate Sith. LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues …