Game industry business news

Square Enix is relying almost completely on the power of online marketing to shift copies of its latest Final Fantasy MMORPG. Final Fantasy XI Online: Wings Of The Goddess is the fourth expansion pack in the series, following on from Rise of Zilart, Chains of Promathia and Treasures of Aht, …

PC peripherals specialist Saitek has told MCV that it is eager to use its relationship with its new owner to gain a handle on the Xbox 360 market. MadCatz, which is an official Xbox 360 licensee, acquired Saitek for $30 million last week, following its swoop for fellow peripherals giant …

The MD of Eurogamer network, Rupert Loman, has been named as the ‘Media One to Watch’ business figure in the Courvoisier Future 500, a list of top figures from a wide variety of industries. Printed in the Observer at the weekend, Loman got the nod for his entrepreneurial skills in …

Following a recent overhaul, GAME’s online retail arm has enhanced its site with a set of new features – including customer product reviews – which it hopes will maximise sales in the run-up to Christmas. The new Gift Selector is designed to give specialist guidance when buying for others, while the …

Entertainment retail chain Zavvi has teamed up with Nintendo to create a dedicated in-store area designed to promote the publisher’s consoles plus first and third party titles. The format holder’s devoted section has been set up in Zavvi’s flagship store in Oxford Street, London. The set-up is part of the …

Dubai International Capital, an investor acting on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, has purchased an estimated $500 million worth of Sony shares, or around one per cent of the company, Bloomberg reports. "The combination of Sony’s truly global brand, its leadership position in product design and its global footprint …

Next-Gen reports that leading global MMO firm NCsoft is looking to expand the internet technology side of its business on the back of a recent dip in the firm’s share price. NCsoft owns some of the most popular names in the MMO business, and has backed the recent expansion of …

Despite already proving a solid commercial success, the critical reception to Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has been mixed – and now lead developer Shingo ‘Seabass’ Takatsuka has admitted that he has gone back to the drawing board for the development of PES 2009. Speaking to Future’s PSM3 magazine, the …

After struggling to meet the high demand for its machine shortly after it launched last year, Nintendo has once again found itself in the middle of a global hardware shortage as demand for its machine reaches a new high in the UK in the build up to Christmas. CVG reports …

MCV sister site Develop reports 2008 sees the release of Pivotal’s first next-gen Conflict game, which sees the brand move into the FPS genre – but the team is taking aim at the staples of the shooter category to devise something new. Conflict: Denied Ops is being built for PS3, …