Tag: Business - Page 6
News Worldwide Hardware Sales Put PlayStation 3 On Top
When it comes to the console wars, worldwide sales are nearly always a point of contention
Sony's PlayStation 3 often comes off second-best in regions such as North America and the UK. Conversely, the PlayStation 3 does much more spectacular numbers in parts of continental Europe and Japan. Unfortunately, we're not often privy to those numbers,...
News EA Ships Over 10 Million Copies Of Battlefield 3
Well, it's not Call Of Duty numbers
But bloody nora, Battlefield 3's early sales figures are still mightily impressive all the same. EA has announced at the company's Q2 sales briefing that it has shipped 10 million copies of Battlefield 3 (which launched this week in North America and Europe). The company as a whole was bolstered by strong sales in...
News Sony Buys Out Ericsson For A Tremendous Wad Of Cash
As previously rumoured, Sony has purchased Ericsson's 50 percent stake in Sony Ericsson, giving the PlayStation platform holder full control over the mobile unit
Sony swooped in with a deal worth 1.05 billion (or $1.45 billion). So a real hunk of change, then. "We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets...
News CCP Scales Back To Focus Development On EVE Online And Dust 514
The developer of upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive DUST 514 has admitted to making "mistakes" and taking on more than it can handle, prompting a major shake-up within the company and resulting in the redundancies of around 20 percent of its current workforce
"We have come to the conclusion that we are attempting too many things for a company...
Feature Gamers Are Far Too Influenced By Sales Figures -- 'Twiggy' The Push Square Opinionator
A game is only as good as its sales figures
At least, that appears to be the mentality of some forum posters, unevenly illustrating their opinion in forums across the Internet. The NPD group released sales figures for the North American market this week, ranking Resistance 3 in seventh position for the month of September. "Reasonable," I...
News Team Bondi Owed Lots Of Money To Lots Of People
L
A. Noire</a> developer Team Bondi owed debts to the tune of AU$1,425,156 ($1.4 million USD / £900k) before it was closed. EDGE reports that more than a million dollars were owed to staff, with executives claiming up to $100k a pop. Unbelievably, Team Bondi closed owing $150k to Depth Analysis, the company that created the MotionScan facial...
Rumour Sony Readying Ericsson Buyout?
Not strictly gaming related this one, but interesting none-the-less
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Sony is planning to buyout Ericsson from its joint mobile venture. The move — which would cost between $1.3 and $1.7 billion — would see Sony take sole control of the business, allowing the company to better integrate its smartphone...
News Sony Highlights The Importance Of Physical Media For PlayStation Vita
The PSPgo was an experiment
It came about at a time when players clamoured for digital media on their handheld platform. Such enthusiasm quickly vanished, and the PSPgo concluded a failed experiment. But Sony's learned from that experience, and subsequently its not shunning packaged media for its new handheld platform. We believe, for some...
News UK Developers Investing More Heavily In PlayStation Network
The PlayStation Network is two-times more popular than XBOX Live Arcade for UK developers, concludes a report published by Develop
The figure comes from new data collected by Tiga in a survey of 100 British studios. The numbers showed that while approximately 30 developers are working on new PlayStation Network content, only 16 are developing for...
Sony drummed up the hype last week
A mysterious teaser appeared on the platform holder's YouTube channel, laced with fan service and tempting us to "look beyond the door on October 5th". The video went on to spark massive conversation within the gaming community, with more than two million fans speculating about the imminent announcement...
News FIFA 12 Scores Killer Debut Week
FIFA 12 has enjoyed the largest first-week sales than any other sports video game to date
Electronic Arts estimates that the soccer sim scored an impressive 3.2 million sales between September 27th and October 2nd. The company added that sales are up 23 percent over last year, and that October 1st was the busiest day for online gaming in EA Sports...
News Sony Predicts Financial Gloom Due To Falling Euro
Sony never gets much luck
This year alone it's been a hit by an Earthquake, widely publicised hack-attack and riots. Now it's predicting financial trouble due to the falling Euro and its inability to protect itself from the changes. Without diving too heavily into an unbelievably dry Bloomberg report — many of Sony's exports are to European...
News Sony Confirms PS2 Titles For European PlayStation Store
Do you want the good news or the bad news? We'll start with the bad
SCEE's decided not to promote its PSN exclusive titles as heavily in Europe as in North America. "'The Only On PlayStation Network programme is for the SCEA region only," a Sony spokesperson revealed when asked by Eurogamer. Silly idea? We think so. We don't really...
News Sorry Battlefield: Modern Warfare 3 Tops Nielsen's Christmas Video Games Wishlist
Strike one to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Nielsen's published its "top twenty" Chistmas video games wishlist, with Modern Warfare 3 the most coveted by 5,000 active North American gamers. Modern Warfare 3 was on the list of 27% of participants, while Battlefield 3 was on the list of just 12%. PlayStation 3 exclusives Uncharted 3:...
News TGS 11: SCEJ Gaffer Not Concerned About 3DS Nor Smartphones
SCEJ president Hiroshi Kawano has told Reuters that he doesn't believe the Nintendo 3DS nor burgeoning gaming compatible smartphones are a threat to the PlayStation Vita
Kawano considers that the devices are different. Kawano believes that the Nintendo 3DS has a different look, target audience and price-point. All true. Moreover Kawano believes that...
News Updated PlayStation Network Terms And Conditions Protect Against Class Action Lawsuits
Sony's updated the PlayStation Network's Terms & Conditions to protect itself from class action lawsuits similar to those that emerged earlier in the year after the PlayStation Network outage
A new section in the terms — discovered by Eurogamer — includes a "Class Action Waiver", which in non-lawyer language means that no class...
News Dead Island Ships One Million Copies In North America
Dead Island publisher Deep Silver announced that it's shipped one million copies of its open-world survival horror RPG in the US -- in just one week
Moreover, the publisher expects to have shipped two million copies worldwide by the end of this week. "The critical 'first week' of game sales has been an enormous sales success for Deep...
News Worldwide PlayStation 3 Sales Hit 51.8 Million Units, PSP At 71.4 Million
Sony's updated its sell-through numbers for both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable
The platform holder has confirmed that the PlayStation 3 now has an install base of 51.8 million units worldwide, while the PSP has an impressive 71.4 million. Sony revealed the numbers during its Tokyo Game Show press event this morning, which saw...
News Online Pass Justified: Quantic Dream Lost Nearly ?10 Million From Used Sales Of Heavy Rain
Quantic Dream's CEO, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, has revealed that his company lost an estimated 10 million from used sales of Heavy Rain
But the executive didn't blame the consumer, more the recent recession which he believes has lessened spending in the video game sector: I would say that the impact that the recession had, especially on AAA...
News August NPD: US Sales Dip Again, While Deus Ex Tops Charts
The North American video game industry has shrunk by 23 percent year-over-year during the month of August, according to data released by the NPD group
Analyst Anita Frazier explained, "the bulk of the decline can be attributed to the shift of the annual Madden release from August to September". Gaming hardware actually saw an increase...
News Sony Steps Up Security, Hires Former US Homeland Security Official
During the frenzy of this year's PlayStation Network outage, Sony said it was looking to hire a 'Chief Information Security Officer' in order to further bolster the protection of its user's information
That post has now been fulfilled by former US Homeland Security official Philip Reitinger. In addition to the 'Chief Information Security Officer'...
News Sony Points The Gun At Microsoft's Content Policy
Last week, Microsoft admitted that it reserved the right to decline the release of XBOX Live Arcade titles if they release on the PlayStation Network first
In an interview with IndustryGamers, Sony's VP of public relations, Rob Dyer, pointed a loaded gun at the policy, accusing Microsoft of "protecting inferior technology". Meow. Dyer went...
News Split/Second Developer Black Rock Studio Closes Its Doors
Black Rock Studio is no more
The developer behind ambitious racing titles such as Split/Second and Pure confirmed the sad news on Twitter yesterday. Disney Interactive made the decision to close down the studio earlier in the year. Very best of luck to the unemployed.
News More Than 40 Staffers Dropped From 2K Czech
Two studios under the 2K Czech banner have been hit by a redundancy initiative, according to information obtained by Develop Online
According to the website more than 40 of the developer's staff has been cut from its studio at Brno, with "less than ten" cut from its Prague studio too. Before the redundancies, 2K Czech had a work force of...
News PlayStation 3 Hardware Sees A Small Bump In Japan On The Back Of Its Price-Cut
News of the PlayStation 3's lowered price-point saw the system receive a 50 percent sales boost in Japan last week
According to Media Create statistics , Sony's home system sold 29,666 units compared to 20,239 units the week prior. The boost will probably continue into next week as awareness of the altered price-point spreads. In spite of the boost,...
Sony's Worldwide Studios' gaffer (and general down-to-earth exec) Shuhei Yoshida has told Eurogamer that the platform holder is committed to supplying the PlayStation Vita with a "continuous" stream of content
Many feel that the PlayStation Portable didn't reach its maximum potential because Sony shifted its attention to PS3 development. But Yoshida...
Report PlayStation 3 Sales Up 65% Post-Price Cut
The effects of last week's PlayStation 3 price-cut have already had an impact on UK retail according to a report by MCV
The website notes that sales of Sony's premier home system jumped by as much as 65 percent week-on-week following the decision to reposition the system's base model at an RRP of £199.99. It's promising news, especially seeing as...
News Sony Prices PlayStation Vita Development Kits Surprisingly Low
If you didn't think Sony was serious about making development on the PlayStation Vita as straight-forward as possible, then perhaps this will change your mind
The platform holder's announced that Vita development kits will be available for as low as 1,900 — a staggeringly low price considering PlayStation Portable kits cost 15,000. The PS...
News Updated PlayStation Vita Specifications Discredit RAM Rumours
Earlier in the year the Internet went mad with stories that Sony had cut the PlayStation Vita's on-board RAM in order to meet a more approachable price-point
But according to new system specifications released this evening, those rumours were wrong. The updated specification sheet [posted on NeoGAF], denotes that the PlayStation Vita includes 512MB...
GamesCom 2011 Sony Cuts PlayStation 3 Hardware To $249
Sony closed out its GamesCom press conference earlier this evening with a price-drop, revealing that the 160GB PlayStation 3 will now be available globally for $249
99 / 249.99 / ¥24,980. The price-drop is effective immediately. As in right now. Sony last cut the price of the PlayStation 3 at GamesCom in 2009, dropping the price of the then...
News PushSquare Service Announcement: Sony & EA GamesCom 2011 Press Conferences Today
Despite the anticipation being nowhere near E3, we always enjoy the muted build-up to the GamesCom press conferences
You're never going to see a megaton announcement at GamesCom, but because the anticipation is lower, those muted surprises are all the more impactful. The PlayStation 3 Slim announcement in 2009 was huge, and we'll never forget the...
News SCEE Confirms February/March Release Date For PlayStation Vita In Europe
It's not the most impressive news of the year: we already knew that the PlayStation Vita was scheduled to release 'early 2012' in Europe
But a paragraph of text on the Swedish PlayStati
News UK Sales Charts: Yup. Zumba Fitness.
We're starting to wonder if any game will ever dethrone Zumba Fitness
Deus Ex: Human Revolution? Maybe. Resistance 3? Possibly. Dead Island? We hope so. It has to happen at some point, right? This is Zumba Fitness' ninth week at the top of the UK sales charts. It's outrageous. Catch the full top-ten after the hop. There's nothing to talk about,...
News Analysts Predict PlayStation Vita To Shift 2.5 Million Units By March 2012
Nikko Securities analyst Kazuharu Miura has predicted that the PlayStation Vita will sell about 2
5 million units by the end of March 2012, adding that software sales are likely to hit around 7 million units. The PlayStation Vita is due to release in Japan later this year, with a Western release due before the end of the fiscal year. In a report...
News Sony And LG Are No Longer At Loggerheads Over Patents
Cast your minds back to March and you might remember that Sony and LG were not getting along
In fact, LG even halted a shipment of PlayStation 3 consoles, claiming a patent dispute in Sony's Blu-ray technology. According to a report on Reuters, the two companies have now kissed and made up, signing a cross-licensing deal. Hopefully this puts a stop...
News THQ Dumps MX vs ATV Franchise
Clearly not content with ditching the Red Faction franchise, THQ has also announced that its dropped the MX vs ATV franchise
The studio had lofty expectations for budget release MX vs ATV Alive, but the title failed to set the sales charts alight leading the publisher to drop the series. The publisher's shut down three internal development teams as...
We always knew it was a likely scenario, but we chose to believe otherwise
Sony never officially said the PlayStation Vita would get a worldwide launch this year, only ever really committing to a Japanese launch. "Phased global rollout" was the textbook buzzword Sony used. But we believed because it made sense. How could Sony not put the...
Breaking PlayStation Vita Not Launching In US Or Europe Until 2012
Sony Computer Entertainment gaffer Kaz Hirai has just confirmed that PlayStation Vita will not launch until 2012 in the US or Europe
Japan will get the device before the year is out. The news comes via an Associated Press report on MSN Money, which states that the anticipated device "won't be going on sale in the US or Europe in time for...
News PlayStation Vita Clears FCC Testing
Well, at least you guys in the US have something to be pleased about
After this morning's rumours that PlayStation Vita might be delayed in Europe, Engadget's reporting that the device has passed FCC clearance in North America. Engadget explains that this "is widely regarded as the final step before a consumer electronics device is shipped to...
Rumour PlayStation Vita Not Releasing Before 2012 In Europe
It's the news we've all been dreading, especially after we've had so many indications pointing towards a 2011 release, but NowGamer's citing retail sources that state the PlayStation Vita will not launch in Europe before 2011 is out
Only last week we got a retail flier indicating that Vita could launch on October 28th, but we stated at the time that...
News Sucker Punch: Sony Purchase Won't Change Daily Operations
Sony may have bought inFamous developer Sucker Punch, but it's unlikely to have much of a change on the daily operations at the studio
Having worked closely with the PlayStation platform holder for over ten years, it's back to business as usual for Sucker Punch now that the deal has been made public. I dont think it will have much of an effect...
News Sucker Punch Goes First-Party: Sony Acquires inFamous & Sly Cooper Developer
Wow
What a story to wake up to on a dreary (but strangely humid) Tuesday morning. Sony has announced that it's acquired Sly Cooper and inFamous developer Sucker Punch, adding them to the platform holder's enormous roster of first-party developers. Sucker Punch are actually the 16th development house to join Sony's Worldwide Studios, and will develop...
News Analysts: Nintendo 'Really Feel The Heat' From PlayStation Vita
We spent way too much time participating in NeoGAF's PlayStation Vita thread last night
The forum was debating Vita's chances now that Nintendo's hit the panic button and knocked nearly $100 of its 3DS device. The take-away from most posters was that the Vita was all of a sudden doomed. At E3, forum-goers revelled in the device's price. We were all...
News Sony: PSN Outage Not As Expensive As First Thought
The bill for the recent PlayStation Network outage is "shrinking" according to Sony
The company revealed during its financial call overnight that the costs will "not be as great as originally estimated". In May, Sony predicted that the cost of the outage would be around 14 billion yen (or £105 million). But, "that was the May...
News Ubisoft Gaffer The Latest Exec To Start Banging On About PlayStation 4
Is anyone else getting tired of the constant "next generation" chatter? If analysts are correct and the next PlayStation is not coming out until 2013 at the earliest, does that mean we have to endure another two years minimum of this hypothesising? Urgh
Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot is the latest video games boss to drop the "next-gen is...
News Activision's Not Happy With Modern Warfare 3 URL Gaffe
Remember when we jokingly reported about ModernWarfare3
com</a>? The popular URL was snapped up by a Battlefield fan, and comically redirected to the official Battlefield website. Naturally Activision's not too happy about this. The publisher has filed a $2600 complaint against the domain to the Nation Arbitration Forum, demanding that the...
News Board Up The Windows: EA Purchases PopCap For A Whopping $750 Million
EA executives were clearly hard at work this afternoon
"Damn," one EA employed businessman suddenly declared, "It's such a slow news day, we need to do something about it." "Well we have always courted the idea of purchasing Plants Vs. Zombies developer, PopCap Games," came the response of a stern looking businesswoman,...
News Sony's 'Welcome Back' Plan Actually Boosted PlayStation 3 Sales
Remember all the doom and gloom during the PlayStation Network outage? Many wondered if the PlayStation business was finished for good
Sony desperately tried to claw back goodwill by announcing the PlayStation Network "Welcome Back" package, a plan involving a number of free games as way of apology for the inconvenience caused by the...
News Sony On PlayStation Vita: The Development World Has Changed, So Have We
PlayStation Vita will be the easiest PlayStation platform yet to develop for
That's according to a number of Sony executives quoted by Develop. Sony's thrown-out its old ambition for complicated architecture, and replaced the philosophy with a development environment that's easy for big and small studios to produce content for. In a sense,...
News Sony's Still A Hot Brand In Asia
Sony's still a force in Asia according to a survey published by the Wall Street Journal
The Japanese electronics giant was rated ahead of rival consumer electronics brands as the most valued brand in Asia. Over 3,000 people aged between 15 and 64 were surveyed. Interestingly the survey was conducted after the widely publicised PlayStation Network...
