Paul Loughrey (Page 16)

Midway has posted its Q4 and 2005 full-year financial results, revealing a decline of almost ten per cent in net revenues for the quarter and a loss of USD 112.8 million for the year ended December 31st.

Ambitious UK independent games studio, FreeStyleGames, has announced the appointment of former Criterion VP and long-term industry veteran Chris Lee, to the role of commercial director.

Major League Gaming, the professional videogame league, has announced that it has secured USD 10 million in series A financing, led by venture capitalist firm Ritchie Capital.

NVIDIA Corporation has announced that its USD 52 million acquisition of core logic developer and ATI partner, ULi Electronics, has now fully completed, strengthening the company's presence in Asian markets.

Game Faction, a new British independent videogames developer and online publisher, has announced its entrance into the market, founded by two industry professionals with over 17 years experience.

Games publisher Playlogic Entertainment has announced the signing of an affiliate agreement with Macrovision's Trymedia Games division, for the digital distribution of a range of Playlogic's titles.

US industry trade bodies the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association and the Video Software Dealers Association have contracted lobbyist Stuart Spencer to jointly represent them before Congress and federal agencies.

Despite the repeated failure of proposed legislation to prohibit the sale of violent videogames to minors, yet another US state has introduced a remarkably similar bill to its House Judiciary Committee for review.

Following the appointment of two liquidation firms earlier this month, creditors of Gizmondo Europe are being sought for a meeting to assess the value of the remaining company assets and complete the dissolution of the firm.

Publisher Oxygen Interactive has shaken up its internal infrastructure, creating three distinct publishing labels to facilitate its new strategy of targeting specific audiences within the PC, console and handheld markets.

France-based middleware development solutions provider, AtOnce Technologies, has announced the launch of its next-generation videogame development solution based on the newly created Neova CoreEngine.

The Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) has announced the finalists for its fourth annual awards ceremony, which will take place in San Jose this March as part of the 2006 Game Developers Conference.

Microsoft's director of programming for Xbox Live, Larry Hryb, has revealed the latest info on the most popular Xbox Live games for its next-generation console, with original Xbox title Halo 2 taking a prominent lead.

The latest attempt at imposing strict legislation to prevent the sale of violent videogames to minors has come under fire from constitutional law experts at the Pennsylvania Centre for the First Amendment.

News posted on Japanese consumer website Dengeki Online reports a change in Japan's Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) system which includes a new Adult Only style category for graphic/violent videogames.

London to host second annual Games Market Europe conference

Graphics processor technologies firm NVIDIA has released its Q4 and fiscal 2006 full-year financial results, revealing a strong performance in the fourth quarter and record year-on-year revenue increases.

The official website for the 2006 Tokyo Games Show has been updated to announce the dates and venue of this year's event, for which organisers are expecting a record attendance from both national and international trade members and consumers.

A new study by ABI Research predicts a doubling in size of the videogames market by 2011, estimating revenues of USD 65.9 billion and highlighting a rapid increase in online and mobile gaming.

Software publisher Valve and in-game advertising firm IGA Worldwide have reached an amicable agreement in the dispute over fast food adverts placed in online game Counter Strike by the Engage In-Game Advertising service.

Organisers of the forthcoming 2006 Game Developers Conference have confirmed that the final keynote will be delivered by Sony Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison, entitled "PlayStation 3: Beyond the Box".

The Japanese software charts are littered with new releases this week, although the almost total market dominance of the Nintendo DS remains unchecked, the handheld accounting for more than half of the all-formats top ten.

The intricate web of litigation against software publisher Take-Two just got a little stickier, with the news of two new class-action lawsuits accusing the firm of fraudulent activity and insider trading.

Troubled publisher Atari has missed a regulatory filing deadline for its quarterly report, causing more concern for industry watchers and directly impacting on the share price for its French parent company, Infogrames.

Utah republican representative David Hogue's controversial amendment to the state obscenity law, which now includes videogames in the same felony category as pornography, has been passed by a vote of 7-2.