Game industry business news

In its biggest statement of intention to date, platform holder Sony is to spend a massive 82m on its European marketing push for its RRP reduced and redesigned PS3 Slim. The UK spend in isolation will total 6m. The campaign will be fronted by a brand new TV ad, created …

Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort has sold one million units across Europe. The game has also exceeded one million sales in Japan and the US, bringing worldwide sales to over three million units. Wii Sports Resort is the sequel to Wii Sports, and comes bundled with Nintendo’s new MotionPlus accessories. Excluding …

SCE global boss Kaz Hirai has revealed that part of his job description is to promote ‘PlayStation thinking’ throughout other Sony divisions. Hirai also manages Sony’s Networked Products & Services Group, which includes PlayStation, as well as personal computers and electronics, as well as their relevant design and development arms. …

SCE worldwide president Kaz Hirai has confirmed that the PS3’s motion control system – dubbed ‘the magic wand’ – is set for launch in spring next year. Speaking at Gamescom in Cologne last week, Hirai said that Sony required some great software” in order for a successful launch. We are …

Some have been quick to peg the high number of releases slipping from Q4-09 to Q1-2010 as the ‘Call of Duty effect’, but publisher Ubisoft has stated that it’s confident that Activision’s shooter will have no negative impact on sales of the forthcoming Assassin’s Creed II. The first game we …

Racing game enthusiasts certainly have much to look forward to over the next 12 months, with a huge range of innovative products and returning franchises set to hit shelves. Christopher Dring speaks to the specialists at Codemasters about their never-ending quest to create the world’s greatest racer… The racing genre …

Californian game maker Blizzard has announced it’s working on a third expansion package for the world’s most popular MMORPG. The project, entitled World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm, was announced at the fourth annual BlizzCon event. The announcement confirmed that Blizzard is not yet ready to focus its core workforce on new …

International gym giant Fitness First has increased its presence in the ‘healthy gaming’ sector with a new range of official peripherals. In May, the firm put its name to Black Bean and Ubisoft’s Wii fitness title New-U, due for release next month. The publishers claim that NewU is the first …

SCEE developer relations doc explains submission process behind new handheld micro games

The new slimline PS3 and its price cut could boost sales of the console by 60 per cent in the US, NPD reports. The firm made the statement to Information Week, but warned that price alone won’t see Sony narrow the gap between the PS3 and its rivals, citing the …