Retail

Gamescom’s plans to offer 100 retailer reps free flights to its August trade fair in Cologne borders on genius. Yes, I’m sure the offer will be over-subscribed, and leave a number of applicants disappointed – but as a statement of intent it says a lot about how seriously the show …

Click here for the RETAIL BIZ Previews section, where you’ll find an in-depth guide to some of the biggest titles heading to the High Street. This week, we jump into the driver’s seat of Disney’s Split/Second: Velocity, the explosive new racer where players activate deadly enviromental traps to obliterate the …

Organisers for the second annual Gamescom event are stepping up efforts to draw in the global gaming market. The next phase in that plan was announced today at a press conference in London, where it was announced that UK specialist retailers can fly to this year’s event for free. Event …

Best Buy’s arrival in the UK comes at an ideal moment. The UK’s market value is in the gutter – albeit temporarily – driven down by a mix of a weak release schedule, post-recession caution, a lack of new hardware and the distraction of an election. Games’ heartland UK retailer …

Best Buy says its games offering can compete with anything HMV and GAME has to offer. The chain’s first UK shop is based in Thurrock, Essex and has been opened early for the Bank Holiday weekend. Best Buy Thurrock boasts a huge area dedicated to games – complete with new …

HMV’s group sales are up 1.8 per cent per cent for its financial year ending April 24th, the firm revealed in a pre-close statement. Sales for its HMV stores have risen 4.3 per cent, while Waterstone’s sales are down six per cent. The Group expects its year-end debt to be …

From the first moment Wii was revealed it’s the game that we all envisioned – a motion sensitive lightsaber simulator where players could take on the likes of Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi. There have been titles that have promised to fulfil the dream, but none – perhaps due …

Best Buy arrives in the UK this Friday with the grand opening of its Thurrock store – and it has been confirmed that the retailer will be selling the black version of Nintendo’s Wii for just 99.99. The price will run from April 30th to May 3rd. Other offers include …

Games publishers are getting behind Facebook as a major marketing tool, enabling them to interact with millions of consumers directly. The social network is becoming increasingly important to publishers’ marketing plans, from Nintendo directing traffic through a Monster Hunter Facebook hub to Ubisoft inviting fans to befriend the Prince of …

First he was positive that the Conservatives would introduce game tax breaks, now Ed Vaizey – shadow spokesperson for the game industry – is vehement. Yet the Tory MP, speaking in response to criticisms earlier today, couldn’t promise that a game industry ‘mini-manifesto’ would be released before the general election. …