Game industry business news

Microsoft ups 360 back-compat support

Some has suspected that in the light of the upcoming Xbox Originals service on Xbox Live, Microsoft’s support of its ongoing backwards compatibility efforts on 360 might wane – but next month’s ‘Fall Update’ will bring with it a renewed roster of compatible Xbox games. Newly-functioning titles will include FIFA …

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US: Wii and DS sales surge

Leading platform holder Nintendo is celebrating success on two fronts after announcing that both its home console the Wii and its portable machine the DS have racked up huge sales over the Thanksgiving weekend and through the month of November as a whole. The Wii sold 350,000 units throughout Thanksgiving …

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Blu-Ray bossing European hi-def market

Whist it remains too early to predict if one format will emerge victorious in the ongoing battle to capture the hi-def disc format crown, Sony’s Blu-Ray standard appears to be winning the European war, having recently broken the one million unit sales barrier. This number represents just under 75 per …

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Zelnick: Take 2 is in growth mode

Despite the recent troubles that have seen a management reshuffle and a European ban for its controversial stealth sequel Manhunt 2, chairman Strauss Zelnick has insisted that he has no intention of selling the publisher, and instead expects it to grow going forwards. "I’m much more interested in growing the …

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DS demos arrive on Wii

A new channel, dubbed Everybody’s Nintendo, has arrived on the platform holder’s Japanese Wii network allowing console owners to download DS demos and game footage from Wii titles, CVG reports. In much the same way as DS downloads game information for multiplayer gaming, the demos remain accessible on a user’s …

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Kutaragi wins Lifetime Achievement award

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences is to award its prestigious Lifetime Achievement award to the ‘Father of PlayStation’, Ken Kutaragi, at next February’s D.I.C.E. summit , Gamespot reports. Kutaragi will be only the third ever person to receive the accolade, following in the footsteps of Nintendo’s Howard Lincoln …

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Gender differences in gaming

One of the things we try to do is carry out research from the perspective of the player. In one of our more recent studies we did a very in-depth survey of about 400 gamers and examined the structural characteristics of gaming. The main variables we examined were sound, graphics, …

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Mystery Shopper

GAME A double thumbs-up to the knowledgeable, friendly staff in GAME, who helped MCV around the store to discuss the merits of each platform and title. Ubisoft will be pleased to hear that Assassins Creed had been ‘selling like crazy’, alongside fellow new release Super Mario Galaxy – which was …

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Nintendo dubbed least green platform holder

The latest update to Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks the top 18 global electronics manufacturers, has named Sony as the top performing platform holder when it comes to ecological awareness – and blasted Nintendo as the worst company it has ever rated. Nintendo scored zero out of 10 …

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Dixons and Venom to take new peripherals around the world

Parent of Dixons the DSG International Group has set up a new range of gaming peripherals in tandem with accessories specialist Venom. The 22 lines will be released under the Swordfish label, which is already used within the DSGi business for computer peripherals. The international OEM range hit shelves last …

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