Game industry business news

Activision Blizzard to suffer job cuts

Following the completion of the Activision and Blizzard merger, the publisher’s CFO Thomas Tippl has revealed to MCV that it is now creating an all-star team” from the staff of the two companies – but admitted that overlaps” will lead to redundancies, and hinted that the sales teams could be …

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INTERVIEW – Thomas Tippl

What are the key brands for Activision Blizzard going forward – and will you be concentrating more on picking up licences or launching your own new IP? As a result of this combination we probably now have by far the strongest intellectual property portfolio in the entire industry. Look at …

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E3 08: Trophies on the way to PSP?

Some had speculated that a PSP Trophy announcement was on the cards for E3 – but whilst that didn’t materialise, the possibility of the achievement-like system migrating to Sony’s handheld has now been hinted at. GameSpot reports that in an E3 presentation about Sony’s PSP title Buzz! Master Quiz, producer …

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E3 08: Miyamoto confirms new Pikmin

Not content with developing new instalments to its Mario and Zelda franchises ( we think ) and announcing a brand new Animal Crossing title for Wii, Nintendo has now let it slip that a brand new Pikmin adventure is on the way. Eurogamer reports that at an E3 developer roundtable, …

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E3 08: Ubisofts I Am Alive on show

Ubisoft revealed details of its brand new IP titled I Am Alive at E3 this week. Set for release in spring 2009, the survival-adventure title will be available on current generation consoles. The debut of the trailer took place at the LA event. Set in a devastated Chicago, players have …

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E3 08: Gran Turismo TV for August 1st

SCEE boss David Reeves has confirmed that the upcoming Gran Turismo TV will be released in Europe on the same date it arrives in North America – August 1st. That’s also the date that retailers will begin selling PS3 Platinum titles. Pleasingly, it follows Home beta’s lead in maintaining parity …

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E3 08: Euro PS3 Platinum range confirmed

SCEE boss David Reeves last night confirmed that the European version of the firm’s PS3 budget software range, dubbed the Platinum Range in this territory, will arrive on store shelves on August 1st. Games will cost just 19.99 (€29.99 in mainland Europe) – significantly less than the 39.99-49.99 RRP carried …

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1C snaps up Russian publisher

1C Company has acquired BUKA, one of the largest Russian publishing and distribution firms. The new agreement will see both companies develop side-by-side, with no current plans for a merger. "BUKA is one of the oldest players on the Russian game market. I always admired the company, its corporate culture, …

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E3 08: No PS3 video store for Europe this year

Sony’s new PS3 and PSP movie and TV download and rental service was possibly the biggest announcement of the platform holder’s E3 conference , but European console owners will seemingly have to wait until next year to get access to the now-live-in-the-US content delivery system. David Reeves confirmed the news …

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