Game industry business news

The iPhone/iPod Touch App Store is officially open for business and the leading lights in mobile games are falling over themselves to put their wares in the shop window. In no particular order: Gameloft has released Diamond Twister, Platinum Solitaire, Platinum Sudoku, Bubble Bash (all $7.99), Brain Challenge and Chess …

Future is tapping into a rapidly growing online gaming phenomenon with a free monthly magazine, What MMO. As the name suggests, the 16-page title focuses on MMO games and will be inserted into 150,000 copies of Future’s PC computing and games magazines – including PC Gamer, PC Format, PC Zone …

Following this morning’s MCV story , online retailer SimplyGames.com has stopped selling R4 cards. The indie told MCV that it justified selling the devices as larger rivals, such as Amazon, were also selling them, but has now called on other retailers to also stop stocking the items. SimplyGames.com only started …

As the ink dries on the Activision Blizzard deal , the firm has released details of its new management structure, complete with its eleven-strong gamg of Board members. The new structure is as follows:Robert Kotick: President and Chief Executive Officer of Activision BlizzardMike Griffith: President and Chief Executive Officer of …

Newly-anointed Activision Blizzard chairman Rene Penisson has stated that the publisher is perfectly positioned to lead the way across North America, Europe and the growing Asian market, having just finalised the deal. We are delighted that the merger has been completed,” said Penisson. We are very excited about the opportunity …

The ‘deal that shook the industry’ has finally been rubber stamped – and Activision Blizzard has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the publishing community by stating that the merger has formed the world leader in online and console games.” President and CEO of the new powerhouse publisher …

Second in-game advertising firm added to PS3 ecosystem

Midway has announced its full product portfolio for E3 next week. Exciting new entertainment experiences such as Wheelman, proven franchises like Mortal Kombat, the next instalment in the million plus selling Blitz the League franchise and new games for the casual market make this Midway’s most diverse and powerful line …

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has gone on record to talk about why his company left the Entertainment Software Association in the US – and he’s put the blame on difficulties caused by the firm’s merger with Vivendi. Speaking to Variety’s Cut Scene blog, Kotick said that he viewed Activision’s retraction …

A video of a prototype for an Xbox 360 motion-sensing pad has been discovered on the official site of hardware developer Motus. However, it is not made clear whether Motus is planning to release the peripheral as a third-party product, or if Microsoft has done a deal with the company …