Game industry business news

Woolworths administrator Deloitte has revealed that the retailer will start slashing prices on products by over 60 per cent in the lead-up to the New Year. The firm’s Neville Kahn today revealed that over 50 million new stock items – including entertainment and toys – were being shipped into stores …

EUK administrator Deloitte has refused to confirm the amount of money that Zavvi owes the distributor – but has said that it will actively chase up” the entertainment retailer’s debt. EUK and Woolworths joint administrator at Deloitte Neville Kahn said: Zavvi is one of the major customers that owes money …

The administator in charge of Woolworths has revealed that over 500 suppliers to Woolworths and EUK – including many games publishers – stand to lose money on products sold into both companies. However, joint administrator of Woolworths at Deloitte Neville Kahn said that EUK’s warehouses – which still hold millions …

Online retail giant Amazon has refused to rule out the possibility of video games downloads becoming available on the site in the New Year. Amazon launched its online music downloads service – a direct rival to iTunes – on December 3rd. Amazon MP3 sells tracks from 59p and albums from …

The death knell has rung for Woolworths – with administrators Deloitte confirming that all 807 remaining stores will be closed down by January 5th. The first stores will close on December 27th – and in more sad news for the firm, all 27,000 permanent and temporary staff will lose their …

Update adds compressed audio playback, optimisations

Harmonix has announced the Wii version of Rock Band 2 will be released in the US on December 18th, and apologised to its community for the delay in the process. A member of the development team posted the news on the official forums, saying: We want to apologise for the …

US electronics chain Best Buy has reported its 2009 Q3 fiscal results, with revenues jumping 16 per cent to $11.5 billion for the week ending November 29th 2008. The revenues jump follows the opening of 181 new European stores over the past 12 months, however, earnings have plummeted year-on-year from …

Atari president Phil Harrison has told MCV that he wants to leave Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick red-faced for dumping the Ghostbusters game. The title, which Atari announced it had picked up this month, was originally on Vivendi’s release schedule before the ‘merger’ between the company and Activision in December …

Nintendo has once again dominated the UK’s festive online shopping searches, with the Wii and DS Lite becoming the first and second most searched for products online in November, according to date from retail analysts Hitwise. The pair overtake October’s leader Wii Fit, though that remains the most searched for …