Game industry business news

GDC Europe 09: Finnish studio's boss details the 'key pillars' for originality

Perfect Dark and Blast Corps developer hints at Natal-compatible re-releases

With the industry bracing itself for an RRP drop for the top-end Xbox 360 Elite SKU this week, it now looks as if the entry-level Arcade hardware could be in for a price increase. At the end of last week it seemed that all the evidence was pointing to an …

Hilton looks to the studio's future with projects such as Crysis 2 and, just maybe, TimeSplitters 4

Exspect has signed a major deal with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to launch officially licensed PSP accessories, MCV can reveal. The Gem-owned peripherals specialist will release its first line of products next month, which includes stylish cases and screen protectors designed for PSP Go and PSP 3000. We have developed …

Another Japanese firm is looking to Europe in a bid to grow its sales. Zen United, a new consortium representing developers from Asia have signed a co-publishing deal with UK logistics firm PQube to bring a number of Japanese games to the European market. The initial line-up covers anime-styled titles, …

One of the highest-profile names in the free-to-play browser-based games market, Quake Live, is to turn its back on the in-game advertising model after its lead developer admitted that its returns to date have been limited. As a result, developer id has now admitted that it intends to turn to …

Company files patent for an application that detects player sounds and expressions

Realtime Worlds has confirmed there will be no subscription fees for APB. An FAQ on the game’s official website states: The actual price for the game itself is still under discussion. We can confirm that APB will not require a monthly subscription.” VG247 reports that the studio’s founder Dave Jones …

Hive Entertainment has signed a deal with Together Plus to distribute its range of Nintendo toys and stationary into the UK market. Products in Together Plus’ range includes a Mario Bros. chess set, Mario Kart and Mario Galaxy branded stationary as well as mugs, figures and key rings. We are …