News (Page 3871)

French publisher Ubisoft has announced that it plans to hire some 200 additional staff for its flagship development location in Montreal, Canada, with the bulk of the new positions being in the core skilled roles of programming, design and art.

The incredibly successful Sims franchise is set to take a new direction on console platforms, with EA today revealing details of Maxis' next console title, The Urbz, which is expected to launch towards the end of this year.

Nintendo of America has announced that the company is throwing its weight behind Majesco's GBA Video playback technology in the most tangible way possible - by releasing episodes of the Pokemon TV series for the system.

Trymedia Systems has announced that its 'B' funding round has been closed, with new investment for the digital distribution firm being secured from Intel's Digital Home fund as well as a number of individual investors.

Tecmo's critically acclaimed Ninja Gaiden has been altered to remove certain violent aspects such as decapitations ahead of its European release, investigation of PAL review code of the game today has confirmed.

Yet another new version of the GBA SP hardware is set to be launched in Europe, with Nintendo preparing to kick off summer with a "Tribal" design, influenced by popular tattoo styles, launching on June 18th.

Sources close to British developer Kuju Entertainment have suggested that the company's new first-party title for Nintendo will feature strategy-focused gameplay with some action elements.

Electronic Arts' MVP Baseball was the best selling title in the USA during the month of March across all formats - but very strong sales of Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden and Nintendo's Pokemon Collosseum make them into single-format leaders.

Japanese giant Sony Corp has reported that its profits for the full year ended March 31st were significantly higher than expected, with currency conversion related gains and lower income taxes quoted as the key factors in the re-evaluation.

Sega's Sonic Heroes is back at number one this week, marking a third week at the top for the title some eleven weeks after its launch, while Acclaim's World Championship Rugby also made a strong challenge at the top of the chart.

Japanese publisher Square Enix has adjusted its projected financial figures for the year ended March 31st, with net profit estimates rising 7.4 per cent while the expected figure for consolidated revenues is up 12.5 per cent.

Internet reports suggest that Microsoft is set to acquire Canadian RPG development studio Bioware, with the company planning to announce this latest addition to its developer line-up at the E3 trade show next month.

Square Enix' PS2 remake of SNES classic Dragon Warrior V has retained its position at the top of the Japanese sales charts for a third week running, but it dominates a market which is at rock bottom after a fortnight-long release drought.

Microsoft's Xbox Live online console service will be shut down for 24 hours later this week in order to allow the company's engineers time to install the new Xbox Live 3.0 functionality, codenamed "Tsunami".

A new system for providing information about videogames is set to be introduced in Japan shortly, with the Computer Entertainment Rating Organisation creating nine new ratings covering a wide range of mature or objectionable content.

Shares in US publisher Midway have performed strongly over the past couple of days following an SEC filing from the company's largest shareholder, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone, which suggested that he may buy the firm outright.

Developer Factor 5, which was responsible for the Rogue Leader and Rebel Strike titles for the GameCube, will not be developing any further software for the Nintendo console and has started work on other platforms.

Publisher Take Two has seen its share price fall sharply after chief executive Jeffery Lapin announced his resignation from the company, following the announcement that the firm is facing a surprise loss in the second quarter.

Publisher Interplay has announced a return to operating profitability in its full year figures, but the company still has significant cashflow difficulties which are affecting its ability to meet lease and payroll obligations.

British developer Mobius has been bought out by US publisher Take Two, with the studio - previously responsible for the GBA version of Max Payne - being renamed to Rockstar Leeds but retaining its focus on handheld platforms.

Ubisoft has cemented the success of the Splinter Cell series with an Easter number one spot for Pandora Tomorrow in the UK, marking a third week at the top for the title, while Sega's Sonic Heroes has climbed back up the charts to number two.