Games critics didn’t like Aliens: Colonial Marines. The game’s Metacritic score was just 49. But despite the critical mauling it reached No.1 during its launch week and is the fastest selling game of the year so far. Meanwhile, last year’s XCom: Enemy Unknown was loved by game reviewers. And although …
Read More »HMV strikes new sales agreements with key suppliers
Key new releases in film, music and games will still be sold in the remaining HMV stores after an agreement was reached with suppliers. Crucially, this will mean that Monday’s James Bond release Skyfall will be available on DVD and Blu-ray. We are pleased that these agreements are now in …
Read More »Future of video games at HMV in doubt as it decimates team
The UK games trade is concerned over the latest round of redundanciesat beleaguered retail giant HMV. The firm has cut down the group of ten games buyers and merchandisers down to just two. Amongst the redundancies were head of technology and games Ewan Pinder and games category manager Andy Pinder. …
Read More »Average price of video games tumbles Down Under
Average prices in Australia have been falling significantly in 2012, now representing an all-time highest drop for the industry. NPD Group first started tracking market data in 2000, and this year’s average price is the lowest on its records. The average price in 2012 for the total market (not just …
Read More »Wii U tracking 38% behind Wii in US as Xbox 360 continues dominance
The Xbox 360 has started 2013 in much the same way as it ended 2012 in the US. And sadly, so did the Wii U. NPD’s numbers for January 13 actually show a rare thing for the US games market – year-on-year gains. Nine per cent, in fact. However, as …
Read More »GameStop lobbying platform holders over pre-owned block rumours
Global games retailer GameStop has been lobbying platform holder Microsoft to try and persuade it to abandon its rumoured plans to block pre-owned software on the Next Xbox. "Sony has said publicly that they don’t intend to block used games on their next console. Microsoft has not commented on the …
Read More »Bleszinski: Digital transition will lead to rebirth of horror genre
EA isn’t to blame for the decreased focus on horror in Dead Space 3, the market is. That’s according to former Epic and Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski, who argues in an extensive blog post that out-and-out horror is simply not compatible with modern gaming business models. What will …
Read More »GamesGrabr seeks retailer partnerships
A new social network built around direct links to retail has launched this week. GamesGrabr is a pinboard-style network where users share content such as videos, links and screenshots about games. Every post or ‘grab’ includes a link to buy, play or download the title in question. Grabs about console …
Read More »Digital Distribution: Dealing with discoverability
Variety is the spice of life, but there’s precious little to be had at games retail at the moment. A cursory glance at the charts in any given week will show the usual franchises scuffling over positions in the Top 10: FIFA, Call of Duty, Just Dance, Need For Speed …
Read More »Journey wins eight nominations at games BAFTAs
This year’s British Academy Games Awards nominees have been revealed, with Sony’s Journey leading the pack. The Thatgamecompany developed title has eight nominations, leading Telltale’s The Walking Dead, which has seven. Far Cry 3 wins six and indie hit Dear Esther five. A total of 53 games feature across 17 …
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