Retail

HMV has stated that despite what it describes as a very challenging year” for the video games market that saw it decline 25 per cent year-on-year, the retailer has gained market share in the sector – thanks in part to an increasing contribution” from its pre-owned offer Re/Play. Overall sales …

It was named early on as one of the big sales hopes of 2010, but Take Two’s BioShock 2 has not met the expectations placed upon it by the publisher, chief executive Ben Feder has admitted. We’re in an entertainment business. The surprise factor is always going to be there. …

The growing trade in pre-owned games is the driving force behind the High Street’s struggle to combat year-on-year declines in video games sales, according to a report by analyst group Cowen and Company. The study compares the current hardware userbase of the PS3 and Xbox 360, which it claims at …

Reports from the US say Hasbro is in early-stage buy-out talks with a private equity firm. Financial scuttlebutt says the firm is in talks with Providence Equity Partners to take the company private in a leveraged buy-out – a way for private equity firms to finance large acquisitions through debt, …

The second hand games reseller believed to be behind Best Buy’s fresh tirade on the US pre-owned games market has filed an S-1 for common stock offering as it looks to boost the mass-market credentials of the sector. Game Trading Technologies is a fast-growing business that deals with the acquisition, …

Big box retail specialist Best Buy is to take the commitment it has shown to pre-owned games in the UK and roll-out a second hand games offer to all of its US stores from the end of the summer. As a result, shares in rival games specialist GameStop fell over …

New research from US stats body The NPD Group claims that in 2009 US consumers spent a total of $4.5-4.75bn on pre-owned games, game rentals, subscriptions, digitally downloaded games, DLC and mobile apps. That’s around a third of the estimated $15bn US spend on video games last year. The numbers …

Brink will not be released until 2011. VG247 reports that a Bethesda PR claimed the sc-fi shooter has been pushed back from its original autumn 2010 release window – a date given after an earlier delay. No reason was given for this setback, The game is being developed by Splash …

GAME has released its trading update for the year-to-date in 2010 and it shows that the retailer continues to struggle in the face of what it describes as a continental High Street that continues to be challenging”, though it does claim to have outperformed the wider market. In the UK …

The search is over. GAME has found its replacement for former CEO Lisa Morgan. Former Vodafone UK commercial director Ian Shepherd has stepped in as permanent replacement for Morgan. He takes over properly from June 28th – four months after he departed Vodafone for new opportunties. At Vodafone he’s credited …