News (Page 3856)

Vivendi Universal Games has announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half of the fiscal year, revealing that revenues slid significantly year on year despite the strong performance of key titles.

Beleaguered publisher Acclaim has revealed that it has been threatened with delisting by the NASDAQ stock exchange authorities, as the company's share price and market value dipped below the minimum standards for the exchange.

British electronics retailer Dixons has removed Rockstar's Manhunt title from stores, after newspapers and TV news shows reported allegations that the title had influenced a teenager found guilty of the murder of a younger boy.

Developer Epic Games has signed a three-game contract with Midway which will see the publisher handling forthcoming titles in the Unreal series, beginning with Unreal Championship 2 on Xbox in early 2005.

The low price point of the GameCube console and the launch of a number of key software titles have helped to drive Nintendo's Q1 profits to twice their 2003 level as the firm gears up for the launch of the Nintendo DS.

French publisher Ubisoft has posted results for the first quarter which reveal that sales dropped 6 per cent year on year, but the company remains optimistic over its prospects for the full year, predicting 10 per cent revenue growth.

Japanese publisher Konami saw a 17 per cent decline in net revenues in the quarter leading up to June 30th, while the firm's quarterly net income fell by over 90 per cent despite strong performance in some sectors.

Publisher Midway Games has announced its results for the first half of 2004, revealing a $25.7 million loss during the six month period - although rising revenues support claims that the firm will turn around in 2005.

Following today's surprise acquisition of Criterion by Electronic Arts, we spoke with Criterion CEO David Lau-Kee and EA worldwide studios VP Bruce McMillan about the future of the industry's most popular middleware platform.

Consumer electronics giant Sony Corporation has posted an unexepectedly large profit in its first quarter as the weakness of the Japanese Yen boosted the value of overseas sales, but the company's games division slipped into the red.

Electronic Arts has announced the purchase of British game development studio and leading middleware provider Criterion, giving the top publisher control of the hugely popular RenderWare platform.

Nintendo has unveiled a new look for the Nintendo DS handheld console and confirmed the final product name, with the console is still on track for release in North America and Japan late this year, and Europe in Q1 2005.

The second version of Nokia's N-Gage hardware has arrived at US retail outlets, with its launch in the territory being supported by rebates which bring the price down to $99 and the bundling of Tony Hawks Pro Skater with all units sold.

A new report from the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association in Japan has revealed that despite growth in the number of consumers of games, revenues in the market are falling - but so are development costs.

California-based publisher and developer Conspiracy Entertainment has reached an agreement with German firm SWING! Media AG which will eliminate over $2.6 million worth of debt from its balance sheet.

Activision's movie license Spider-Man 2 has stayed on top of the UK software sales chart for a third week, as a period largely bereft of major new full-price releases saw no movement in the top four titles.

Electronic Arts' report on market outlook following its first quarter results last week has indicated that while further price cuts to the Xbox and PS2 are unlikely in North America this year, new prices may be forthcoming in Europe.

There was some respite for Japanese game retailers from the summer slump last week, as Konami's Jikkyo Power Pro Baseball 11 stormed into the charts, with the PS2 version at number one while the Cube version made number three.