Game industry business news

The Government is keen to implement a 6 annual tax on households for broadband before the next election, a prominent Minister has revealed. Stephen Timms, the Treasury Minister in charge of managing Labour’s Digital Britain plans, said today that a 50p a month levy on all UK phone lines will …

A retail source has told MCV that the UK will shortly unveil a brand new Wii hardware SKU that will replace the current bundle incorporating Wii Sports. The source has not, however, been lead to believe that the new bundle will be any cheaper than the current offering, meaning that …

Namco Bandai has told MCV its will spend in excess of 1 million on marketing for its upcoming beat-‘em-up, Tekken 6. The company has prepared an extensive campaign, incorporating print, online and TV advertising, as well as the use of social media and sampling to drive sales for the game …

Though Nintendo remains stoically quiet on the subject, the industry is preparing for the anticipated announcement of a Wii price cut very shortly – but question marks remains concerning the platform holder’s UK intentions. Further evidence of a North American price cut emerged overnight with tech blog Engadget claiming to …

ELSPA’s fight to have PEGI instated by law has been singled out by a prominent Labour MP as one of the ‘greatest lobbying campaigns of all time’. Tom Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, has nominated the campaign to be included in Public Affairs Magazine’s prestigious Top 50 Best Ever …

Netflix has revealed it aims to bring its service to all formats in future, expanding on its successful partnership with Xbox 360. While the rentailer currently provides downloadable films through Microsoft’s console, the company’s CEO Reed Hastings has stated it hopes to arrange similar deals for Wii, PS3 and more, …

Speculation is mounting that THQ is to be the subject of an acquisition bid in the next few months – with insiders suggesting that Warner is readying an offer. Shares in THQ soared 13 per cent on Tuesday amid rumours that the publisher – which holds the lucrative WWE game …

The recommended retail price of an Xbox 360 Elite has been cut by AUS $100 in Australia. The high-end version of Microsoft’s console will now retail for AUS $449 in all stores throughout the territory, according to IGN. The Arcade’s RRP will remain at AUS $299, while the last units …

Casual leader PopCap has announced intentions to bring two of its major IPs to both DSiWare and US retail. Word puzzle Bookworm, which is one of PopCap’s most successful properties, will be released on Nintendo’s digital delivery platform some time in October. This will be followed by a boxed retail …

Both digital and boxed versions of Bookworm and Bejeweled Twist coming to DS