Game industry business news

Supermarket giant Tesco plans to build a chain of department stores in town centres across the country, designed to rival the likes of Debenhams, Marks and Spencer and BHS, according to a document obtained by Property Week. The shops will concentrate on non-food ranges such as clothing, homewares and toys. …

High Street entertainment giant Zavvi is looking to snatch more online market share than ever in 2008 – but has ruled out taking part in price wars to achieve its aim. Speaking exclusively to Mcvuk.com as part of our Opinion section, Zavvi MD Simon Douglas said: With everything going on …

Douglas on… Rebranding "We basically took a brand that’s been on the High Street for 30 years – one of the strongest brands in the UK and the world – and changed it overnight. Of course we had our concerns that putting up Zavvi signs may have put people off. …

A problem with the bundled microphone accessory has delayed the launch of Sony’s Skype bundle for PSP in Japan. Kotaku reports that some of the components in the PSP accessory failed to meet Skype’s certification standards, and preferring not to launch without an official peripheral, Sony has placed its release …

Having just passed the 9 million milestone in November, MMO giant Blizzard has now announced that its global phenomenon World of Warcraft has accrued over 10 million users worldwide. Of those users, 2 million are based in Europe, 2.5 million in North America and 5.5 million in Asia. Blizzard CEO …

NPD Group figures confirm that the franchise as a whole has raked in a cool $1 billion in North America alone. Since its initial release in 2005, the Guitar Hero franchise has sold in excess of 14 million units in North America alone, according to The NPD Group. In ten …

Japanese sales for Nintendo’s Wii have broken through the five million barrier, reports MCV’s exclusive media partner Enterbrain . The research company announced that, as of January 20th, the console has sold an estimated 5,019,337 units in just over one year. Also revealed in the data were approximate sales figures …

UK publisher SCi has seen plenty of ups and downs over the last few years – from successfully fighting off US giant Elevation Partners in 2005 to last week’s managerial clear-out. With a comprehensive knowledge of the publishers’ history and circumstances, Lovell offers unparallelled insight into SCi’s successes and struggles …

In April 2005, the games industry was gripped by a David-and-Goliath battle with Eidos as the prize. In the red corner stood Elevation Partners, the investment fund led by John Riccitiello, who had secured the backing of Eidos’s management for a takeover. Mike McGarvey and his team were unpopular with …

Are you getting enough? A quick scan of MCV’s guide to what you should be earning will tell you whether you’re getting paid your dues – or whether you should have a serious chat with the boss. And why not have a peek at the MCV jobs board if you’re …