Publishing

Ubisoft has sold off its stake in developer Gameloft to investment bank Calyon. The move comes as Ubisoft looks to focus on the expansion of its publisher/developer business. Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer of Ubisoft, commented: "The video game market offers numerous internal and external growth opportunities. We have therefore …

Executive vice president of THQ Kelly Flock has told the New York Times that the publisher is aggressively” searching out Wii titles – and applauded the low cost of developing for the format in comparison with PS3 and Xbox 360. Flock revealed that a Wii game can be created in …

Nintendo has reportedly approached two Taiwanese manufacturers with a view to outsourcing supply of Wii components, in a bid to increase the amount of hardware hitting the High Street. Third-party companies SunPlus Technology and Wistron Corp are both expected to be announced as new partners of the platform holder, according …

Speaking to MCV, Jetix Europe’s Michael Wolstenholme has said that the kids’ video game market is undergoing a ‘mini-revolution’, and that the success of formats like Wii and DS should ensure that the current momentum is maintained. Most developers now seem to be looking at platforms such as DS, PS2 …

UNITS UK MARKET (Weeks 1 – 26 2006 vs. Weeks 1 – 26 2007) Total Excl. Non Games Total UK MarketUnits (m) 2006 2007 Change % Total Games Software 21.87 26.01 +19 Gameboy Advance 1.00 0.52 -48 Microsoft Xbox 1.73 0.43 -75 Microsoft XBox 360 1.36 3.14 +131 Nintendo DS …

Leading Australian retailer EB Games has stopped selling premium Xbox 360 consoles following a recall. The systems are reportedly carrying a hard disk fault. Kotaku reports that sources within the firm have said that store managers were asked by EB’s headquarters to test every unit it had in stock a …

The line-up of speakers at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival continues to grow, with Second Life and EVE Online creators the latest to join the roster. Linden Lab’s Jim Purbick will explore the intricacies of developing for Second Life in the festival’s aptly-titled ‘Developing for Second Life’ strand on Tuesday August …

TV personality Keith Chegwin will host a quiz game from Oxygen for the PS2, Wii and PC, following a licensing deal set up by AT New Media. Cheggers’ Party Quiz will be released in November this year and will feature thousands of questions based on entertainment. Who doesn’t love Cheggers?” …

President of Nintendo Satoru Iwata has predicted that sales of Wii could end up eclipsing those of PlayStation 2. Iwata said that the wide appeal of the console gave it a chance to catch PS2 – which has shipped over 120 million units to date. "Sony’s PS2 sales of 100 …

SCEA has ruled out any suggestion of it phasing out the 60GB model of the PS3 in North America. The news comes after a SCEE spokesperson appeared to suggest that stocks of the lower-end system would dry up by the holiday season” earlier today – leaving the more expensive 80GB …