Breaking Gaming Industry News

Tapulous Releases "Riddim Ribbon" iPhone Music Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 12:14pm.
Palo Alto, Calif. - Tapulous, developers of the "Tap Tap Revenge" music-based games for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch, have released a new game, "Riddim Ribbon," with tracks from the Black Eyed Peas and Tiesto. The $2.99 game, which was co-produced by Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am., lets users "create their own unique mixes to hot tracks as they race down a crazy ribbon, pick up pebbles, choose forks in the road and avoid obstacles."

Aussie Man to Pay Nintendo $1.3M for Pirating Wii Mario Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 10:33am.
Sydney - An Australian man has agreed to pay Nintendo $1.3 million in damages and reimburse $87,000 in legal costs, as part of a settlement reached after he was taken to court or allegedly uploading a copy of "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" to the Internet, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Yale Gets $4 Million to Develop HIV Prevention Video Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 9:20am.
New Haven, Conn. - Yale University has received a $3.9 million grant to develop a video game designed to teach young people how to avoid being infected with HIV, GamePolitics reported.

EA to Release Version of "Madden NFL" on Facebook

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 1:01pm.
New York - Video game publisher Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) plans to bring a version of its popular "Madden NFL" football game franchise to Facebook, Bloomberg reports. "We have to make 'Madden' more accessible," EA Sports president Peter Moore told Bloomberg. "You'll see us on Facebook going forward." Moore called the Facebook version of the game, which does not yet have a release date, a "simpler experience" than playing on a console.

Sony's "Free Realms" Online Game Hits 8 Million Users

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 11:27am.
San Diego - Sony (NYSE: SNE) Online Entertainment said on Monday that its free, family-friendly online game "Free Realms" now counts over 8 million unique registered users. The Sims-like online game features social networking elements and also an offline physical trading card game.

Microsoft to End Xbox Live Support for Original Xbox

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 11:53am.
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced on Friday that, as of April 15, its Xbox Live online game service will no longer support its original Xbox console, which first went on sale back in 2002. "We did not make this decision lightly, but after careful consideration and review we realize that this decision will allow us unprecedented flexibility for future features," the company said. The company has sold a total of over 24 million units of the original Xbox, which was discontinued in 2006.

tags: Games | Xbox | Microsoft | Xbox Live |

Kwedit Secures $3 Million for Payment Service for Virtual Goods

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 6:48am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Kwedit, a developer of new payment services for digital content and virtual goods, announced that it has raised $3 million in its first round of funding, from True Ventures, Kapor Capital, Maples Investments, Endeavor Partners, Fenwick and West, and angel investors.

Sega to Release New "Sonic the Hedgehog" as Console Download

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 12:09pm.
San Francisco - Game developer Sega on Thursday announced plans to release "Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1," a new 2D game based on the company's flagship franchise. The game will be released this summer exclusively as a download on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, and WiiWare.

British Columbia Offers Game Developers Tax Credit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 12:08pm.
Vancouver, Canada - The government of the Canadian province of British Columbia has announced changes to its tax credit system that will create an incentive for video game development in the province, as well as sweeten enticements for film productions, the Vancouver Sun reported.

Sony PSP App to Stream Live Football to Arsenal Fans

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 10:46am.
London - Sony (NYSE: SNE) Computer Entertainment has released a new application that will provide live streaming video of English Premier League football team Arsenal to PSP handheld game devices, The Register reported. The Arsenal TV Matchday application, set to become available for download in coming weeks, will let fans attending games at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium watch goal replays during matches. Video will be delivered over a secure Wi-Fi network within the stadium.

Report: Global Video Game Sales Down 8% in 2009

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 8:30am.
New York - Sales of video game software were down 8% in 2009 across the key U.S., U.K. and Japanese markets, according to combined data from market research firms NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain. Video game software unit sales fell 2% in Japan in 2009, 7% in the U.S. and 14% in the U.K. The firms cited the recession, and the shrinking PlayStation 2 game software market, which declined by 57% across the top global markets in 2009.

Movie Gallery Files for Bankruptcy; Will Close 760 Stores

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 7:58am.
Wilsonville, Ore. - Movie Gallery, the operator of some 1,900 movie and video game rental stores in the U.S., announced on Wednesday that it has filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protections, and will immediately liquidate and close 760 of its locations. Oregon-based Movie Gallery "cited the economic and competitive realities facing its business" in the Ch. 11 filing, recounting how its closure of several hundred underperforming stores over the past two years was insufficient.

Russian Casual Games Firm Alawar Secures $3 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 7:43am.
Los Angeles - Alawar Entertainment, a Russia-based casual games publisher, has received a $3 million equity investment from Almaz Capital Russia Fund, which will hold a 23% stake in the company, PaidContent reported.

Vivox Lands $6.8 Million for In-Game Voice Services

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2010 - 8:13am.
Natick, Mass. - Vivox, a developer of voice services for online games, virtual worlds and other applications, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $6.8 million in a third round of equity financing, led by IDG Ventures.

Sony Producing Reality Series for PlayStation Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2010 - 11:45am.
Foster City, Calif. - Sony (NYSE: SNE) Computer Entertainment America on Monday announced plans to release the first reality series produced exclusively for its PlayStation Network, which provides downloadable content for PlayStation 3 and PSP owners. "The Tester" will see 11 gamers compete to win a job as a game tester with Sony and a $5,000 signing bonus. The first episode of the weekly series will become available for free download on Feb. 18.

Microsoft to Offer 250GB Xbox 360 Drive Add-on in Japan

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2010 - 11:41am.
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft plans to release a 250B hard drive accessory for the Xbox 360 next month in Japan, IDG News Service reported. The company told IDG it currently has no plans for the add-on device outside of Japan, where it will sell for about $172 from March 11. The largest on-board drive currently available for the Xbox 360 is 120GB on the Xbox 360 Elite.

tags: Games | Microsoft | Xbox 360 |

Carl Icahn Increases Stake in Game Publisher Take-Two

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2010 - 8:48am.
New York - Activist investor Carl Icahn has purchased an additional million shares of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO), Silicon Alley Insider reported, citing a regulatory filing.

IndustryGamers.com Names Mark Friedler as Publisher

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 28, 2010 - 1:51pm.
San Francisco - Video game industry news site IndustryGamers.com on Thursday named Mark Friedler as publisher. Friedler previously founded Internet technology and advertising firms VCast and Gigex, and most recently was the founder and CEO of GameDaily, which was acquired in 2006 by AOL.

Nintendo Revenues Fall 23%; Earnings Down 9.4%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 28, 2010 - 7:18am.
Tokyo - Nintendo posted a 9.4% decline in earnings and 23% drop in revenues for the first three-quarters of its fiscal year, ended Dec. 31. The decline was blamed in part on the recession, a price cut for its Wii console, and a leveling off of demand for the DS, a platform that is now five years old. Nintendo reported revenue of $13.1 billion for the nine-month period, and earnings of $2.1 billion.
tags: Games | Nintendo | DS | Wii | Retail | Financials |

Report: U.S. Virtual Goods Market to Hit $1.6 Billion in 2010

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 26, 2010 - 10:40am.
San Francisco - The U.S. virtual goods market is expected to surpass $1.6 billion this year, with social gaming contributing $835 million of the total, according to a report from market research firm Inside Network.