Game industry business news

As predicted by MCV’s sister site Licensing.biz , The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) and show producer Advanstar has confirmed that the Licensing International Expo, better known as the Licensing Show, is to move to Las Vegas. The show’s first non-New York City edition will be in June next …

Net revenues for the third quarter ended December 31st 2007 show that the publisher’s net revenues were down year-on-year to $41.1 million from $47.3m the year before. While publishing net revenues were also down from $46m to $35.2m, Atari’s distribution network earned the company $5.9m for the quarter, up significantly …

It just gets worse for HD-DVD in North America – leading national retailer Best Buy has now said that it is to encourage the uptake of Sony’s hi-def Blu-Ray disc format in its stores. The news comes just a day after giant US rental firm Netflix declared that it is …

Though it’s arrival has always been anticipated, EA has only today confirmed that BioWare’s epic Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect is heading to PC, with its arrival expected in May. The game will be optimised for keyboard control, with things such as the lock-encryption minigames getting a complete overhaul. EA …

One of the most highly anticipated PC games of all time, Will Wright’s Spore, will be released in Europe on September 5th – and the shock news is that the DS incarnation will arrive alongside the PC and Mac releases. Also surprising is the fact that European gamers will be …

EA has confirmed the extension of its exclusive licensing agreement with the National Football League and NFL players. The agreement allows the company to develop, publish and distribute American football video games, and provides EA with the rights to NFL teams, stadiums and players until the end of the 2012 …

Consumers who illegal download games will be cut off from the internet under new Government proposals, according to the front page of The Times. Internet Service Providers will be required to adopt a three-strike system. An email warning will be sent the first time a user illegally download copyrighted media …

Epic's engine licensed by Take Two internal developers

The first fruits of Electronic Arts’ collaboration with Hasbro have been unveiled, with games based on Littlest Pet Shop, Nerf, Yahtezee, Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk, Operation, Trivial Pursuit, Pictureka due throughout the year. EA’s Casual Entertainment label has said it is targetting games for console, mobile and PC – with a …

Devil May Cry has made it to the top spot of the ChartTrack All Formats Top 40, something it hasn’t done in the franchises’ history. The ex-PlayStation exclusive has managed it with a little help from the Xbox 360, which accounted for 61 per cent of the game’s sales. Mario …