Publishing

Publisher Activision says it will use the learnings of the Modern Warfare 2 launch for future releases. The game has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, and was backed by a huge retail campaign – making Modern Warfare 2 the biggest game launch in the industry’s history. "This unprecedented achievement …

Falling PS2 game sales is to blame for a ten per cent decline in the software market in US and Europe last year, says Activision. The firm’s publishing boss Mike Griffith made the claim during Activision’s conference call following its financial report – and added that he expects game sales …

Activision-Blizzard insists that the game industry can still grow despite the global economic gloom – just as long as the market sees more hardware price cuts. Speaking at Activision-Blizzard’s earnings call, Blizzard president Michael Morhaime said that the more affordable consoles were key to improving the industry’s health. If you …

No matter what lengths publishers and platform holders go to when protecting their titles from illegal duplication, the proponents of piracy almost always find a workaround. From cracked and downloadable PC titles to the DS R4 cards, it’s an issue that has dogged the industry for decades and is unlikely …

Game development training school bolstered by former SCEE third-party relations manager

Starcraft II, World of Warcraft and iPhone to drive digital growth in 2010

Activision Blizzard has once again bucked the downward trend in the games industry by detailing better than expected Q4 and full year 2009 earnings. In fact the firm reckons 2009 was the most profitable year in the history of the company. For the full year Activision Blizzard’s GAAP net revenues …

Disney Interactive suffered an expected 29 per cent decrease in sales during the final three months of 2009. The Disney arm reported revenues falling to $221 million, while operating profit results showed a $10 million loss. Those losses, however, represent an improvement for the business, with last year’s losses as …

Disney Interactive Studios will cut down on the number of PS3 and Xbox 360 games it invests in, as the group shifts its focus to embrace more casual platforms. CEO Bob Iger said that there remains a huge opportunity” for Disney to enjoy healthy revenues in the game market, but …

Bob Iger adds that the iPad could be a game-changer for the group