PlayStation Vita can warm up a bitter start to the year for games retail. The games trade is upbeat about the new hardware launch, with specialists and mainstream outlets ramping up pre-orders, launching micro-sites and preparing midnight launches. In a period of market decline it’s a great opportunity to drive …

Our lead stories this week are on face value about very contrasting companies.But together they spell out a dismal message about what the UK market is offering British games firms. So what does the ailing boxed game retailer have in common with the small publisher finding an audience on the …

Green Man Gaming, NCsoft, ShopTo and OPM are the latest firms to lend their names to the 2012 MCV Industry Excellence Awards. The tenth annual Awards take place on April 19th at new venue the London Lancaster Hotel. It will be hosted by comedian and The Inbetweeners star Greg Davies. …

Just ten per cent of start-ups focus solely on packaged games, Tiga research shows

GameStop has issued a ‘no comment’ on rumours it is amongst the bidders for GAME’s overseas business. GAME is in the process of selling off its international operations – which includes stores in France, Spain, Scandinavia, Australia and the Czech Republic. GameStop already has stores in Australia, France and Spain, …

Five hours. That’s all you have left to nominate for this year’s MCV Industry Excellence Awards. This is your last chance tohighlight the work done by your colleagues, suppliers, customers, or even a rival, for their biggest achievements of the past year. And don’t forget to vote for your own …

February brings the first big wave of new releases for the year, including a new Soul Calibur and Final Fantasy. Namco Bandai’s weapon-based beat ’em up series returns with Soul Calibur V, featuring a fresh roster of characters and special guest appearance from Assassin’s Creed star Ezio. Meanwhile, Square Enix …

The Saints Row publisher has posted its financial results for its third quarter, showing a 275 per cent rise in net losses since the same period in 2010. THQ posted a net loss of $55.9m for the three months ended December 31st, 2011 – up from just $14.9m in the …

The UK games retail market remained steady with 12.1m generated from video game sales – the same as the week prior. Unit sales rose marginally with 571,229 games sold. But with little new releases on the shelves, there wasn’t enough to give the market a much-needed kick. EA’s FIFA 12 …

Hours of speculation about GAME’s survival are hopefully over as the retailer has brokered a new deal with its lenders. The Board of GAME Group this evening announced it has ‘concluded discussions with its lending syndicate and agreed revised terms for its facilities’. While GAME has agreed to ‘operate within …