Publishing

Most publishers are accustomed to their titles hitting the pirate network the very moment they’re shipped out to retail, but Bethesda has suffered an early blow with news that Fallout 3 has already hit illegal file sharing networks. The game, which isn’t due out in the UK until October 31st, …

Toy giant Tomy Corporation is to publish its own video games in North America and Europe this month. Visit MCV sister site CasualGaming.biz for the full story.

Sony has confirmed that all of its future UMD PSP titles will be released simultaneously for download on the upcoming PSP Store – which, incidentally, has been given a Japanese launch date of October 15th. CVG reports that SCEJ’s Destroy All Heroes 2 will be the first title to be …

Microsoft has unveiled a new chapter in the Halo franchise set for touchdown in autumn ’09, entitled Halo 3: Recon. The Bungie-developed title, which has for weeks been teased on Bungie’s official website (courting a little controversy in the process) will take the form of a standalone expansion set before …

The Wii edition of Capcom’s Zombie classic Dead Rising is set to hit the UK market in March next year. Based on the Xbox 360 classic, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop was first unveiled back in July, and has been built using the Resident Evil 4 Wii engine. Capcom …

Giant publisher Electronic Arts has named Rod Humble as EA’s executive vice president and new head of The Sims label, replacing Nancy Smith who will manage special new Sims projects before moving into a new as yet unnamed role. Humble has been with EA and The Sims label since 2004 …

Ahead of tomorrow’s Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft has spoken of its partnership with acclaimed Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest publisher Square Enix which will see the two showcase product side-by-side at the event. Microsoft sees its close ties with Square Enix as key to future success in the Japanese games …

THQ’s executive vice president of worldwide studios Jack Sorensen has left the company, sparking a reshuffle of its product development management – all part of an overall bid to improve the quality of titles coming out of its internal studios. Sorensen joined THQ as head of studios in 2001, after …

Credit crunch? What credit crunch? Wall Street worries aren’t stemming the flow of cash into the games industry – I-Play onwer Oberon Media has just scored a $20m boost from a Chinese investor. The Infinity I-China Fund has stepped up to help Oberon with its push into the Chinese gaming …

But without backroom staff or buying muscle, how do you expect Asda – which has 12 months to go on a two-year EUK deal – to handle Christmas alone? Same goes for Sainsbury’s, Zavvi and Morrisons. Some publishers say they’re waiting for Woolworths to collapse and take EUK with it. …