Retail

The US video games market managed to reverse a run of losses in February by posting year-on-year growth of three per cent. In total the sector was worth $1.36bn in the period thanks mainly to a ten per cent jump in hardware sales that NPD says was driven by strong …

The Home Retail Group has warned its profits won’t reach its previous estimates. The firm said its pre-tax profits for its financial year will be between 250m and 255m, down from its 263 to 293m forecast. The ‘weak’ video game market and ‘challenging’ audio sector have been blamed for the …

Warner Bros is running a UK Mortal Kombat tournament to promote the upcoming game. Kicking off on Monday, March 14th, the competitions challenges fans to compete at various GAME and Gamestation stores around the country. The finalists with battle in a special Fight Arena at this year’s The Gadget Show …

Media firm Computec is offering one million Euros of investment to the winner of its Make The Game competition. The German company has challenged UK studios to design an innovative new browser game, with up to €250,000 offered in royalty fees alone for the best title. Winning developers will also …

The official 3DS launch will take place at HMV’s flagship Oxford Street store at midnight on March 25th. Nintendo has partnered with the High Street entertainment retailer to open a total of 100 stores at midnight, while a separate VIP event – complete with a HMV pop-up shop – will …

The rise in digital distribution won’t bring an end to PC games retail – it will just change its function, according to NCsoft. The MMO publisher – whose titles include City of Heroes, Aion, Lineage and the upcoming Guild Wars 2 – claims bricks-and-mortar stores will always serve a purpose …

UK video games retailer GAME has begun offering pre-orders for pre-owned versions of the latest titles, MCV understands. It’s the first time that a UK retailer has allowed customers to pre-order a used version of a game before its released on the High Street. News of the offer has cropped …

Cliff Bleszinski has claimed that any middle class games” released are doomed to failure in the current market. Speaking to developers at GDC 2011 in San Francisco, he said that only triple-A or indie titles can hope to see success because they stand out, according to Eurogamer. I’m going to …

Entertainment giant HMV will refurbish its 150 Oxford Street and Trocadero stores this year. The firm will use some of the 13.7m it has generated from the sale of its 360 Oxford Street to pay for the refit and upgrades. 360 Oxford Street was opened in 2000, but HMV – …

A class action complaint has been filed against GameStop after the US retail giant was accused of recording the personal information of its customers. The suit was filed by California resident Melissa Arechiga, who claimed a GameStop store kept her name, credit card, and other personal identification information after she …