Game industry business news

Sony will sell around $2.9 billion worth of shares from its insurance unit, freeing up a huge amount of capital that commentators have asserted could be injected into its game business, possibly precipitating a PS3 price cut. Sony could use the funds for various options to strengthen its electronics and …

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has jumped two-footed into the debate on violent video games – promising to review new rules for the advertising and sale of software to children. According to the Daily Mirror, Brown said he was ‘aware of growing concern about the effect of screen violence on youngsters’, …

After this morning’s confirmation that the UK publisher is in preliminary talks with a third party in relation to a possible offer for the company, Thisismoney.co.uk has claimed that EA, Warner and Ubisoft are in the running for the company. Shares have already jumped from 37.5p to 375.5p in the …

According to Games Industry , online gaming revenues in Asia are predicted to reach $2.5 billion by the end of next year, a growth of around 20 per cent on last year’s figures. ‘Online Game Publishers in Asia’, a new report by Pearl Research, states that ten online publishers crossed …

The man who replaced Doug Lowenstein as president of the US Entertainment Software Association has called on the wider industry to raise the profile of video games amongst politicians and mainstream opinion formers. Michael D Gallagher told The Washington Post that: Video games are not getting the type of recognition …

There’s no doubt that Sony dominated the headlines at Leipzig – it was, to be honest, the only platform holder to truly embrace the new-found importance of Leipzig in the wake of E3’s dramatic streamlining. Taking centre stage was David Reeves, who, despite a couple of autocue issues, put in …

Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai has said that developers should focus their activity around the PS3 when making multi-platform games. Hirai was speaking about the trend for companies to develop games for multiple platforms in an interview with Japanese website ITMedia +D Games. Translated by MCV sister publication Develop, …

SCi has issued a statement to the City to confirm it has been approached to discuss a possible offer for the business. The statement reads: Following the recent speculation in the press, the Board of SCi Entertainment Group plc confirms that it has received an approach and as a result …

Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’08 racked up 42 per cent of sales on Xbox 360 and 32 per cent on Nintendo Wii in its first week on sale, and comes in at number two this week behind Bioshock, which claims its second week at the top. Other highlights include a …

The latest hardware sales figures from Japan suggest that Sony’s PS3 is gaining ground on the hugely successful Nintendo Wii. According to Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, Nintendo sold 245,653 Wiis in the four weeks to August 26th, compared with 81,541 units for Sony’s PS3. Xbox 360 sold 11,288 units in the …