Game industry business news

October is nearly here, and along with the official arrival of autumn and the hideousness of travelling home from work in the dark, it also means that Q4 has arrived – and with it comes an explosion in the activity in the games release schedules. At least that’s the plan. …

Disney Interactive Studios CEO Graham Hopper has said that consumers may be put off buying rhythm action games by the prospect of using an additional peripheral. Disney’s Ultimate Band, due out next year, doesn’t use a Guitar Hero-style accessory. For the full story, visit MCV sister site CasualGaming.biz

Deal with 300 and Watchmen director echoes creative pact with Spielberg from 2005

Retailers beware: a massive batch of stolen PS3 software is AWOL in the UK. According to The Sun, thieves made away with seven pallets of PS3 titles, including 16,000 copies of Ubisoft’s Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway – worth 600,000 in total. The haul was originally found by police in …

Nintendo will release a new model of its DS handheld later this year that can take pictures and play music. That’s according to a report in the Japanese business daily Nikkei (via Reuters), which says the system will also be equipped with advanced wireless communications functions. The price for the …

EA studio responds to criticism; develops online staff roll for both Warhammer and previous projects

The Xbox 360’s Japanese resurgence is seemingly far from over with news that the machine has outsold Sony’s PS3 for the second week running in Japan – though both consoles are still lagging far behind the handheld market. Edge Online reports that 360 shifted 13,777 units in the week ending …

Halo developer Bungie has finally lifted the lid on the much-delayed announcement of its new project , revealing a brand new gameplay expansion for Xbox 360 global hit Halo 3 – and sparking a little controversy in the process. A countdown concluded weeks of build-up on Bungie’s site yesterday to …

Lawyer Jack Thompson, a long time enemy of the video games industry, has been banned from practising law by the Florida Surpreme Court. According to a news release rom Thompson himself posted on Kotaku, the ‘disbarment is in retaliation, among other things, for Thompson’s Tyndale House book Out of Harm’s …

Following a spate of aggressive promotions from the likes of Morrisons, Woolworths and Asda, leading industry figures have urged retail to hold fire on further cuts to new release pricing. With fears over the economy at an all time high, ultra-crowded release schedules and retailers fighting for supremacy, many are …