Tag: Industry - Page 47
News Ubisoft Out For Blood, Wants To Beat EA And Activision
Ubisoft's gaffer Yves Guillemot reckons his company has the oomph to overturn Activision and EA as the world's largest third-party publisher
Fighting talk, yo. Chatting with MCV, the executive said that Electronic Arts' decision to sell off its 20 percent stake in the publisher "changed lots of things for us. We had a competitor owning a share...
News Jack Tretton Says Sony's In 'Growth Mode, Not Cruise Control'
SCEA's gaffer Jack Tretton has said that the platform holder has not peaked yet with PlayStation 3, and that it is still in "growth mode"
The exec told Fast Company that the platform was just getting going with regards to line-up, accessories and new features such as 3D. When you look at all the games Sony still has left to release this year, it's...
News PlayStation UK Boss Departs After 17 Years
Veteran Sony Computer Entertainment gaffer, Ray Maguire, has departed the company after 17 years
Maguire joined Sony back when the original PlayStation launched, and worked his way up to the position of SCEUK managing director during his 17 year service at the company. "Having been here right from the start and after a lot of soul searching, I...
This week the PSP reclaimed its crown at the top of the domestic hardware sales charts in Japan, despite Nintendo's 3DS releasing just a month ago
Numbers for Nintendo's systm were also disappointing across Europe, with exact figures in North America seemingly hush-hush. It's worth stressing that the 3DS represents Nintendo's best ever launch, but...
News Former Capcom Gaffer Keiji Inafune Starts Up Two New Companies
The former Capcom cheif, Keiji Inafune, has announced that he's starting up two new companies: Intercept and Comcept
Intercept will deal with game development, while Comcept handles other areas of media such as books and video. We imagine both companies will work together on similar properties to strengthen brands across different forms of media...
News Sony Conquers Japanese Video Game Market In 2010
It's been a while since Sony was the dominant force in the video game industry, but numbers coming out of Japan show that the platform holder is back on top in its home region as of 2010
The fiscal year — which ended, like, overnight — has concluded with PlayStation 3 on top of the Wii, and the PSP on top of the DS. Enterbrain notes that this is...
The closet fanboys came out of the woodwork last night
The console war literally erupted after months of quiet acceptance from all sides. According to a report filed by data firm Strategy Analytics, the PlayStation 3 has now surpassed the XBOX 360 in "active install base", pushing the Microsoft system down into last place in the console...
News Sony Wins Court Injunction Against LG, Held PS3 Stock Released
The little patent disagreement between Sony and LG has been lifted, freeing some 300,000 PlayStation 3s that had previously been seized in Holland
You may remember LG was granted a preliminary injunction against Sony over an infringement on Blu-ray technology, but reports coming out of InsideGamer state that has now been lifted. Latest reports...
News Kaz Hirai Takes One Step Closer To The Ultimate Job At Sony
PlayStation's boss, Kazuo Hirai, has been promoted to executive deputy president at Sony, and is reportedly inches away from taking the top role at the company
A report on Reuters notes that the current head of Sony's network products and services division (which includes the PlayStation business) will take up his new position on April 1st. The new...
News Peter Dille Leaves Sony Computer Entertainment America
Long-term SCEA marketing big-wig, Peter Dille, has took a sharp stage-right exit from the company
Dille worked with SCEA from 1991 to 1999, and returned in 2006 after a brief spell in charge at THQ. Dille's most recent role within SCEA saw him control marketing and the PlayStation Network. The reason behind Dille's exit is unknown, but the exec...
News Fight The Tears: Bizarre Creations Closes On Friday
Despite releasing the brilliant Blur last year, Develop's reporting that British studio, Bizarre Creations, will close their doors on Friday
The Merseyside team has been behind some of our favourite games over the years, including Metropolis Street Racer and Project Gotham Racing. Despite releasing two good games last year — James Bond 007: Blood...
News Sony's Now Shipped A Whopping 150 Million PlayStation 2 Consoles Worldwide
.. And last generation's leading console continues to see strong sales. Sony's just announced that they've now shipped 150 million PlayStation 2 consoles worldwide, with no signs of the platform slowing down. The console has now exceeded its ten-year lifespan, with Sony anticipating continued demand for the platform in Eastern Europe, South...
News Activision Scraps Guitar Hero Franchise & True Crime: Hong Kong
Activision's just set the Internet on fire by announcing that it has canned development on the almost-finished True Crime: Hong Kong and, perhaps more importantly, completely "disbanded" the Guitar Hero brand
The publisher stated during its 2011 financial report that due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband...
News PlayStation Network Sales Surge By 40%, PlayStation Plus Subscriptions Exceed 100k
Perhaps the most overlooked area of the PlayStation business is the ever-expanding PlayStation Network
Since the PS3 launched we've really watched Sony expand the digital-content service into a fundamental component of the platform, an area they lagged behind Microsoft going into this console generation. With that in mind, digital analysts conclude...
News LG Gets Pissy With Sony, Wants The PlayStation 3 Banned In The US
Korean company LG are not very happy with Sony
In fact, that's an understatement. They're pissed. Really pissed. So much so, they want Sony's PlayStation 3 and Bravia TVs banned in the US. Why? Something to do with Blu-ray patent infringements. According to Eurogamer, LG claims that Sony is infringing four of its patents that relates to...
Report NGP Is A "Developer's Dream", Due In 2011
Eurogamer's managed to unearth the details from a top-secret SCEE presentation that took place in London yesterday
Attended by roughly 20 developers, Sony shared a wide range of information about its Next Generation Portable, including details on launch plans, specifications and marketing. One attendee, who's sensibly keeping himself anonymous,...
News EEDAR Suspects NGP Will "Handsomely Surpass Sales Of" PSP
Now Sony's Next Generation Portable has been announced, the question on most people's lips is "price, price, price"
Analyst group EEDAR predicts that the system will cost "between $299 to $349" for the Wi-Fi only model, adding that it will "not exceed $399 in the United States". The firm furthers that some regions may not see the...
News Shame On You: Enslaved Sales Sit Below The 500,000 Unit Milestone
Ninja Theory's Enslaved: Odyssey To The West was not a perfect game, but it was still a very good one
Above all, it was refreshing to play something unique. While the game clearly took a lot of inspiration from the likes of Uncharted, it was well written and lovingly put together. In short: Enslaved deserved your money. Sadly consumers disagreed...
News PlayStation 3 Sales Rise To 47.9 Million, Within Touching Distance Of XBOX 360
Look, fanboys hat off, we've all known that unless Microsoft's Kinect was a global cultural phenomenon, PlayStation 3 was always going to overtake the XBOX 360 in worldwide sales at one point
While Kinect's success is constantly being rammed down our throats by the American press, we're just not seeing the same story in Britain. Has Kinect flopped?...
News SEGA's Riding High On Next Generation Portable Optimism
One of the challenges many people thought Sony would face with their Next Generation Portable is third-party software support
Despite selling an enormous amount of hardware, software always struggled on the platform outside of Japan. Therefore, t's been refreshing to see publishers — both Western and Eastern — extend words of encouragement about...
News Shuhei Yoshida: "NGP Is Not Going To Be $599"
Our first hint at the NGP's pricing is a reference to Kaz Hirai's infamous E3 '05 meme
With Sony well known for their expensive products, many are wondering just how much the NGP will cost. You can rule out that famous "five-hundred-and-ninety-nine-US-dollars" price point for a start. Its not going to be $599, Worldwide Studios boss...
News Amazon Announces The Acquisition Of LOVEFiLM
Amazon's announced that they've acquired the European-based DVD-rental (and streaming) service LOVEFiLM for an undisclosed amount
LOVEFiLM launched an application on the PlayStation 3 late last year. According to VentureBeat, Amazon went ahead with the purpose because of the company's streaming solutions. Apparently, with 20 percent of the service's...
News Sadly, It Looks Like Bizarre Creations Are Kinda Done
Bizarre Creations might have delivered the brilliant Blur last year, but sadly it sounds like the studio's days are numbered
Last we heard Activision were looking to offload the developer to a potential buyer, but it sounds like talks have fallen through. Activision Worlwide Studios' COO Coddy Johnson told Develop that the publisher
News PlayStation To Expand Into China
A report in the China Daily suggests that Sony Computer Entertainment is to expand into the Asian mainland: China
The article notes that Sony recently signed a letter of intent detailing plans to implement training and R&D facilities in the Guangzhou province. It'll be Sony's first investment into the mainland. In addition to localisation, Sony...
News PSP2 "As Powerful As The PS3" According To Sony, Could Be Out As Soon As October
MCV's reporting that the yet-t0-be-announced PlayStation Portable 2 could be released as soon as October 2011
The site furthers that Sony's been telling licensees that the system is "as powerful as the PlayStation 3". It adds fuel to industry whispers we've already heard, namely that the handheld would exceed the XBOX 360 in terms of...
News THQ Gets A New Set Of Squiggles They're Deeming A "Logo"
THQ's new logo signifies "change, innovation and creative growth" according to the company
The publisher's certainly grown exponentially over the past few years. We're not sure what these squiggles add though. Having said that, THQ's logo was already terrible. This isn't necessarily much worse.
News CES 2011: Kaz Hirai Teases PlayStation-Powered Phones, Tablets, More?
Sony didn't announce the long rumoured PlayStation powered Sony Ericsson phone at their CES press conference last night
Nor did they announce the PSP2. They did however take time to acknowledge the merging of their strongest properties. Taking the stage towards the end of Sony's conference, SCE's Kaz Hirai teased that Sony's "strategy...
News Everyone Keeps Talking About A Masters Of The Universe Video Game
Mattel owns a lot of top toy brands: Hot Wheels, Barbie, Fisher Price, Tyco R/C, Masters Of The Universe
What's more, the company's just teamed up with THQ to make video games based on their properties. While Hot Wheels, Barbie and Fisher Price remain at the forefront of THQ's interest, the video games publisher has expressed interest in some of...
News Rock Band Developers Sold For The Same Price As A Copy Of Rock Band 3
At the time of writing, Rock Band 3 is available for $49
96 on Amazon</a>. The game's developers, Harmonix, are worth a similar amount of dough according to a report on All Things Digital. The site details that Harmonix's independence cost investment group Columbus just $49.99. Of course, it all gets a bit complicated from there on. Harmonix's...
Report Kaz Hirai Poised For Top Job At Sony
Gunning for first
SCE's current boss, Kaz Hirai, looks like he could be "Ridge Racing" his way to the top of Sony Corp, with a Bloomberg report placing him in the hot-seat to take Howard Stringer's president role. He'll face competition from Executive Deputy President, Hiroshi Yoshioka. Stringer took Sony's presidential job in 2009, but at 69...
Boring
Really boring. Look, we accept that the PSP has some issues, but we're really getting tired of the Western games media trying to kick it at every given opportunity. The device has sold over 50 million units, is the top selling device in Japan week-after-week, and remains the only platform to compete with Nintendo in the space they've...
News First Shots Of The PSP2's Development Unit Hit The 'Net, Send Us Gaga
Somehow VG247 has managed to acquire shots of an early version of the PSP2 development kit
It's real folks, these crumby photos prove it. The shots reveal forward and rear-facing cameras, as well as a track-pad on the reverse of the unit. According to VG247 this is not the final form factor of the PSP2 — in fact, the sliding PSPgo case has since...
News Sony To Conquer "Fourth Global Gaming Superpower" Latin America
One of the reasons the PlayStation 3 is doing so well -- despite XBOX 360's marginal lead in both the US and the UK -- is down to Sony's gaming division being a truly global brand
The news might not be occupying the front page of gaming websites, but the PlayStation is still a leading power in many European countries. While the sales aren't being...
News Mercenaries 3 Looked A Bit Like This Before Pandemic Died A Miserable Death
Mercenaries developers Pandemic closed up shop last year
They never got to finish Mercenaries 3, despite it being actively in development before their closure. Kotaku's got hold of a video demonstrating the game in its early form. The game was under the working title of Mercenaries 3: No Limits and was obviously still heavily under development at...
News New Data Shows The PlayStation 3 Trailing The XBOX 360 By Just 3 Million Units Worldwide
The PlayStation 3 is seriously closing the gap on the XBOX 360's worldwide sales total, and it doesn't even look like the marketing clout of Kinect is going to stop Sony's resurgence
New worldwide hardware figures shared by both platform holders detail the PlayStation 3 as having shifted 41.6 million units worldwide. The XBOX 360 (which launched...
News Sony To Announce New PlayStation Portable When "Timing Is Right"
Talking to investors yesterday, Sony has stated that it will announce a new PlayStation Portable product when the "timing is right
" The declaration comes days after Engadget's reports on the PlayStation Phone, as well as countless more rumours on the supposed PSP2. Interestingly — given their leaks all week — it was
News Sony PlayStation Division Records Profit In First-Half 2010, PlayStation Portable Winds Down
That PSP's successor couldn't come sooner according to the picture Sony's financials paint
In their fist-half report, Sony's revealed that PSP sales dropped from 3 million in the second financial quarter of last year to just 1.5 million this year. That's a significant drop in demand. It wasn't all bad for the division which holds the PlayStation...
News End Of An Era: Keiji Inafune Quits Capcom
Remember when Keiji Inafune said he hated his job and that the Japanese games industry was ruined?
Turns out what we interpreted as melodrama was totally real: the mouthy gaffer has revealed this morning that he's set to quit Capcom after 23 years. A managers work means evaluating your subordinates and speaking your dreams. Anyone who can do...
News Blimey: Zenimax Snaps Up Tango Gameworks & Shinji Mikami
Zenimax -- the parent company of Bethesda Softworks -- has just confirmed that it's bought up Tango Gameworks, and with it Resident Evil mastermind Shinji Mikami
Its refreshing to find a publisher who understands, trusts, and supports the development of blockbuster games and works to make it a collaborative effort, said Mikami. The library...
News Legendary Game Developers List Their Favourite PlayStation 2 Games
Furthering the PlayStation 2's tenth Birthday celebrations, a host of legendary game developers have posted about their favourite PS2 title on the PlayStation Blog
The suite of stars include the likes of Sony Santa Monica's Stig Asmussen, Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski and Irrational Games' Ken Levine. We've included the truncated list after the...
Rumour Apple Poised To Buy Sony? Errr...
Apple are a rich, rich company
Gone are the days of the Mac being the technology sector's punchbag; the success of the iPod has made Apple a global success - and they're only getting stronger with follow-up brands such as the iPhone and iPad. Basically, anyone in the technology sector is watching what Apple do next. And it's keeping a lot of...
News PlayStation Move Passes One Million Units In North America, Demand Exceeding Supply
Following the excellent sales numbers for PlayStation Move provided by SCEE earlier this month, many folks in the industry have been looking towards SCEA to comment on the device's launch window sales data
The subsequent silence has led to plenty of scare-mongering from the media; but Sony's finally silenced their critics by stating the motion...
News Hold-Up, What? THQ Announce New Montreal Studio Led By Patrice "Assassin's Creed" Desilets?
THQ means serious business these days
The publisher's just announced a new studio set to open in Montreal next year, and it's employed ex-Assassin's Creed boss (and all around Canadian video game wizard) Patrice Desilets to head the studio. Desilets was a key figure in Ubisoft's catalogue before he left earlier this year. He was responsible for...
News NPD Cans Monthly Hardware Sales Data, Fanboys Retreat Into Hiding
The biggest source of fanboy entertainment every month is the NPD's US hardware sales report
Enter the wilderness of many video game forums and you'll read all about how "the PlayStation 3 sucks because it was outsold by the Nintendo Wii" and "the PlayStation Portable is dead because it sold less than 100k units". Frankly, it's...
News Keiji Inafune, Just Shut Up Already
Keiji Inafune, one of Capcom's leading figures, has revealed he hates his job
His claim comes just weeks after he declared the Japanese video games industry dead, and TGS' lineup as "full of awful games". Apparently, the dude's so jaded he's now revealed that he hates his job too. Cry Keiji a river. Asked whether Dead Rising producer loved...
News PlayStation Portable 2 To Release Holiday 2011 Claims British Source
You have to feel sorry for hardware manufacturers
They have to get their kit out to developers in order for the systems to launch with games — but man, trying to get people to keep their mouth shut is next to impossible. Apparently people just can't miss an opportunity to say they know something about Sony's next handheld. The latest in a string...
News Shock! PlayStation 3 Losing Ground As The US' Dominant Blu-ray Player!
Here's an amazing piece of research Home Media Magazine's carried out: the PlayStation 3 is losing its grip as the most dominant blu-ray player in the US
The report states that 47 percent of people watch blu-rays on their PS3, while 45 percent now watch with standalone players. Apparently six-months ago the PlayStation 3 had a two-to-one advantage...
News How Do You Fancy Another PSP2 Rumour, Yo?!
Develop's reporting that a number of key studios have received PSP2 development kits in time for a "significant launch window line-up"
The site's claims back up industry rumours that have been running over the past couple of months. Those rumours reached a head recently when NetherRealm's Shaun Himmerick blatantly stated that his studio has a PSP2...
News EA: The PlayStation 3 Can Still Topple The XBOX 360
EA believes the PlayStation 3 can still topple the XBOX 360 in terms of sales
The publisher's European senior vice president Uwe Intat made his feelings clear to MCV, "We could certainly see Sony come back in the UK it's still a head-to-head competition between PlayStation and Xbox, but on the continent Sony is traditionally stronger than...
News The PlayStation Network Netted A Cool $5.7 Million In August
The PlayStation Network business is booming with dollar notes according to an industry report by FADE
According to the digital entertainment analysis group, Sony's online network netted a cool $5.7 million during August - with sales lead by Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. According to the group, PSN sales were up 20 percent over July. Scott Pilgrim vs...
