Game industry business news

Blizzard’s World Of Warcraft and its expansion The Burning Crusade have both finally seen a release in Russia. The titles have been fully localised and allow consumers to begin playing on dedicated realms with the benefit of a Russian-language customer-support team. The release is the fifth European-language version of World …

‘Sensational’ sales of Metal Gear Solid 4 pushed Konami’s Q1 net profits up 32 per cent year on year, the company has reported. Net income stood at 5.7 billion Japanese Yen ($52.57m) for the three-month period to June 30th – which compared favourably with last year’s post of 3.9 billion …

Mike Bilder leaves for another Chicago-based studio; two more leave from publishing side

It may be embroiled in political controversy and concerns over pollution, but the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is set to be the biggest sporting event of the year. At Athens in 2004, more than 300 TV channels provided 35,000 hours of Olympic coverage to 3.9 billion people in 220 countries. …

It seems that barely a day passes without EA CEO John Riccitiello hitting the headlines – and this time the outspoken boss has lashed out at below-par license-based games. Though Riccitiello admits that EA has churned out some poor licensed titles in its time, he also states that things are …

Microsoft shoot ’em up Gears of War 2 will come with a parental control facility when it’s released for Xbox 360 on November 7th. The game, which was earlier given an ‘M’ rating by the ESRB, will attempt to placate concerned parents by giving them an option to substitute blood …

THQ has confirmed it has cancelled Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed for the PSP. The move comes as a surprise considering the title had been long in development and was one of the more anticipted PSP titles of recent times. A spokesperson for THQ told IGN: "Basically, the PSP …

Midway has posted a 2Q08 loss of $34.8 million compared to losses of $14.3 million in 2Q07. The company, which handles Unreal Tournament and Stranglehold, also saw its revenue fall by 26 per cent to $23.4 million. Notably activity during the quarter included the release of NBA Ballers: Chosen One …

Microsoft was coy about its Rock Band 2 exclusivity deal when it was unveiled at E3 recently – but now it seems that its agreed deal to see the game locked out from PS3 could last for just one month. Eagle-eyed Spong has noticed that a handful of North American …

Speaking at a US event entitled the Pacific Crest 10th Anniversary Technology Leadership Forum, THQ president and CEO Brian Farrell has stated that the traditional console cycle as we know it is no more. MTV Multiplayer quotes Farrell as stating: We used to always think of this industry as ‘the …