Edge Online - Interactive Entertainment Today

GameStop: PS3 Sales Very Strong, PSPgo Sees “Slow Build”

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:45:23 +0000

Leading US retailer GameStop has said that sales of Sony’s PS3 Slim have been “very strong” over the past month, in contrast to the “slow build” of the platform holder’s latest handheld, PSPgo.

Modern Warfare 2 Tipped To Break Entertainment Launch Records

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:44:17 +0000

Activision’s upcoming shooter Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is being heavily tipped to break entertainment launch records following its release on November 10.

Konami Predicts Sharp Drop In First Half Profit

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:33:22 +0000

Konami expects to report sharp revenue and profit declines for the six months ended September 30, 2009, citing a relatively weak release schedule during the period.

Revenues for the first half of the publisher’s business year are forecast to total 114 billion yen ($1.3b/£770m), down 22.5 per cent year-on-year, while net income is predicted to come in at 2.2 billion yen ($24.4m/£14.9m), down 81.6 per cent.

OneBigGame Announces First Non-Profit Game

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:47:37 +0000

Non-profit publisher OneBigGame will release its first title, a puzzle music game called Chime, this winter on Xbox Live Arcade.

Created pro bono by developer Zoë Mode, it’s a block puzzle game fused with music creation elements and features contributions from artists including Moby and Orbital.

Microsoft Explains Revised Sky Player Rollout

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:41:37 +0000

Microsoft has explained its revised rollout plans for Sky Player on Xbox 360 following last week’s botched launch.

"As you may know, we have been experiencing some technical issues with the Sky Player on Xbox 360 since launch last Tuesday morning. It is important to both Sky and Xbox that we give customers as much information as possible about why the service is not working and when we expect this to be resolved,” the Xbox EMEA community manager wrote on the Xbox forums.

Playful

Alex Wiltshire — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:29:42 +0000

Playful was billed as a day of cross-disciplinary frolicking, and that description for this day of talks from various game designers, thinkers, drawers and makers was about right. Eclectic and all about videogames’ fringes, Playful, organised by games consultancy Pixel-Lab, was held in Conway Hall, near Holborn, on the last day of the London Games Festival and had the air of the optimism of a bushy bearded gathering of philanthropists.

Sony Details Euro PSN Video Delivery Service

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:01:14 +0000

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced a list of content partners and movie offerings for its upcoming PlayStation Network video on demand service.

Set to launch later this month in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, with other markets to follow in 2010, the video delivery service will enable users to download content straight to PS3 and PSP.

Microsoft Launches Xbox Live Rewards Programme

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:53:49 +0000

Microsoft has launched its previously rumoured Xbox Live Rewards programme in the US.

Designed to encourage use of Xbox Live services, the pilot scheme rewards active users selected to participate with free Microsoft Points.

New Partners For US PSN Video Service

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:20:11 +0000

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced a number of new content partners for its PS3 and PSP video on demand service.

Lucasfilm, Cinetic FilmBuff, ContentFilm International, Image Entertainment, MPI Media Group and New Video have all signed up to provide content.

New offerings include films The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Powder Blue and Management, and TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Leverage.

Community Spotlight

Alex Walker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:15:03 +0000

The 8bit era is usually viewed with dewy-eyed affection, but as EvilRedEye discusses, it also produced some games that are probably best left there. Reacting to Arkedo’s Jump, made for Xbox Indie Games, he questions its lack of a save system – for if you run out of lives, you have to start over from level one. Making a game hard as a nod to nostalgia doesn’t seem to be the right approach.

World Of Warcraft Rejected By Chinese Regulator

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:01:28 +0000

China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has terminated NetEase's application seeking approval to operate Blizzard’s World Of Warcraft.

The government agency said that NetEase should suspend charging users to play the game and not allow new account registrations.

Britain’s First Gaming Addiction Clinic Opens

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:51:09 +0000

The UK’s first rehab centre for gaming addiction has opened in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

Broadway Lodge treats around 400 patients annually for issues including, drink, drug and gambling addiction, and has adapted its Minnesota Method Twelve-Step abstinence programme for gamers.

Future Nintendo Handhelds Could Offer Free Internet Access

Tom Ivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:08:54 +0000

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has voiced his interest in the business model Amazon has adopted for its Kindle electronic reader, which offers consumers a free connection to a 3G mobile phone network to download new books.

The service doesn't have a monthly fee as it’s included in the device's upfront cost.

Interview: Technology Strategy Board

Edge Staff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:04:13 +0000

While the UK games industry trade body TIGA continues to lobby hard for videogame tax relief, a government-backed organisation is actively courting the development community. Originally established in 2004 and funded by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has a remit to promote innovation within UK industry.

PS3 Caused Sony To Lose PSP Focus

Tom Ivan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:30:50 +0000

SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida has said that it is a challenge trying to balance software support for multiple platforms, acknowledging that Sony’s previously PS3-heavy focus lead to a dearth of PSP software.

Twelve and OG Resolve IP Rights Dispute

Tom Ivan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:30:46 +0000

Italian developer Twelve Interactive has announced that it has reached “an amicable compromise” with UK distribution firm OG International over the rights to the CID The Dummy franchise.

Japan: PSPgo Sells 28,275 On Day One

Tom Ivan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:36:01 +0000

PSPgo sold 28,275 units during its first day of availability in Japan, according to data from Famitsu publisher Enterbrain.

The new Sony handheld went on sale in the country yesterday, a month after launching in Europe and the US.

Wii Sports Surpasses 50 Million Sales

Tom Ivan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:41:40 +0000

Nintendo has revealed global lifetime sales figures for first party Wii and DS titles that shifted over a million copies between April and September.

Topping the list is Wii Sports with over 50 million copies sold, including those bundled with hardware.

Wii Play stands at 24.4 million lifetime sales, Wii Fit at 22.5 million and Mario Kart Wii at 18.4 million.

Football Manager Debuts Atop UK Chart

Tom Ivan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:12:21 +0000

Football Manager 2010 has debuted atop the UK all formats chart during the week ended October 31.

The latest edition to the football franchise held off competition from Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus, which entered in second place.

PlayStation Losses Since PS3 Launch Near $5 Billion - Report

Tom Ivan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:21:01 +0000

Sony’s games division has reportedly suffered almost $5 billion in losses since the company launched the PS3 in November 2006.

According to VG247, figures from Sony’s investor relations website show that total PlayStation division losses since the console’s release stand at $4.7 billion.