News (Page 3861)

Following on from Square Enix' oft-repeated commitments to focus more strongly on Europe, the firm has formally announced a number of changes to its subsidiary here - most notably the appointment of a new European CEO.

A programmer working for Vivendi Universal Games' Knowledge Adventure division, Neil Aitken, has filed a lawsuit against his employer - claiming that the publisher falsified timesheets to avoid paying overtime to him and his colleagues.

A new report from Banc of America Securities has predicted that Christmas competition in the games market will be much more intense than last year - with even industry leader EA expected to lose 2 to 4 per cent market share.

SCEA has issued a statement reaffirming that the company is on track to launch the PSP on schedule, responding to comments from analyst P.J. McNealy who argued that technical and business problems could cause the launch of the device to slip.

A spate of title cancellations in the massively multiplayer market has claimed its latest victim, with Electronic Arts ceasing development on Ultima X: Odyssey, only weeks after the project was moved to the Redwood Shores campus.

The next-generation Xbox will enjoy stronger local software support in the Japanese market, according to Microsoft's Tokyo game development division boss Norman Cheuk, who said that much of the studio's current work is purely positioning.

Nintendo Europe managing director David Gosen is to leave the company at the end of August after five years with the platform holder, and is set to move to mobile entertainment publisher Digital Bridges as COO.

Technology giant Sun Microsystems has made fresh moves into the games market, signing deals with Nokia and Infinium Labs which will see its Java technology being tied in to the SNAP platform and Phantom Game Service respectively.

A new promotion from Microsoft in the USA is offering Xbox Live users a choice from a selection of free games in return for referring their friends to the online gaming service before the end of July.

One of the final hurdles to Sammy's plans to merge with Sega next October was surmounted yesterday, when Sega's shareholders gave their approval to the 3.8 billion Euro deal at the company's AGM in Tokyo.

The latest annual report from the Consumer Entertainment Software Association (CESA) shows that the games market in Japan declined once again in 2003, leading to an overall decline of some 40 per cent since 1997.

Atari's Driv3r has moved up five places to the number one spot in the UK software charts, recording the strongest sales week so far this year for a PS2 title and bettering the performance of both previous games in the series.

The most visible sign yet of Sega's decision to re-integrate its development subsidiaries back into the main company has come in the form of the closure or stripping down of the studios' individual websites, which is happening this week.

Embattled publisher Interplay is planning to enter the MMORPG market with a title based on the Fallout franchise, according to CEO Herve Caen - despite the fact that the company is apparently unable to repay its existing debts.

Movie studio Paramount Pictures has launched a free videogame for the PC and Mac, which is designed to promote the arrival of its forthcoming movie, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Criterion's Burnout series of racing games, the third of which is set to be published by EA later this year, is to make its way to the PlayStation Portable, according to news reports citing a senior designer at the British studio.

Developer Taldren, best known for its work on the Star Trek licensed Starfleet Command, has reportedly shut its doors - with internet posts suggesting that the US company has closed, but some staff are opening a new firm in South Korea.

Valve Software boss Gabe Newell has revealed a few more details of the forthcoming Half-Life 2 in a post on a popular web forum - including the fact that the company is currently aiming to finish work on the title in August.

The Japanese game software market is in the grip of the summer slump, with sales hitting their lowest point of the year to date last week - even despite the number one debut of Konami's Silent Hill 4: The Room.

Publisher Atari has announced that it has shipped 2.5 million units of Driv3r for the launch of the title this week, as analysts and retailers made largely strong predictions for the title, which is considered to be vital to Atari's future success.