Rob Fahey (Page 103)

Electronic Arts' hugely anticipated sequel The Sims 2 has gone in at number one in the UK software charts, knocking another EA title, Burnout 3, from the top spot and becoming the second fastest selling PC title of all time.

The launch date, price and software line-up for the Nintendo DS in Japan look set to be confirmed early next month, with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata set to take the stage at a press conference in Tokyo on October 7th.

Sammy and Sega have announced their projections for growth over the coming years, with the companies, who will merge at the start of next month, hoping to increase profits by 40 per cent by FY 2007.

A representative of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the company tasked with fabricating the chips being used in Microsoft's next Xbox console, has told the media that the development of the console is proceeding to plan.

Digital Polyphony's long-awaited PS2 racer Gran Turismo 4 has apparently suffered another slippage - with the date for the game changed from Autumn to Winter in Japan, raising fears that it may not launch until early 2005.

Following on the heels of a similar price cut in the United States earlier this month, Nintendo of Europe has today announced that the GBA SP is set to drop to UKP 69 from September 24th, giving the handheld a pre-season boost.

Sony Computer Entertainment is set to hold a strategy conference in Tokyo next Tuesday, where division president Ken Kutaragi will outline the firm's plans for the second half of the fiscal year which runs to March '05.

Developer Valve Software has delivered a release candidate disc for Half-Life 2 to Vivendi Universal Games, and hopes to have a final release date for the hugely anticipated game in the near future.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has backed the age rating system used for videogames in response to a question in the House of Commons, but has pledged to re-examine the question of videogame violence.

Following hot on the heels of its recent sweeping price cuts to the PSX range, Sony has announced two new models which will arrive in early December, boasting new software features and minor updates to the hardware.

A redesigned version of Sony's PlayStation 2 console, dubbed PStwo, could launch in the USA next month alongside GTA: San Andreas, according to a report in the US entertainment press citing industry analysts and retailers.

Development work on the next-generation CELL microprocessor is nearly complete, according to Toshiba president Tadashi Okamura, whose company is working on the chip along with partners Sony and IBM.

British publisher Eidos, which is currently in talks with a number of parties over takeover bids, has announced its preliminary results for the full year to June 30th, revealing that the firm slipped into loss last year on declining turnover.

UK-based mobile games publisher Telcogames has announced the formation of a new subsidiary which will extend the company's reach into the Japanese market, with two games industry veterans to head up the operation.

It was the battle of the NFL titles in the USA last month, as both EA and Sega/Take Two released annual updates to their American Football titles - and while Madden came out a clear winner, Sega's title made up significant ground.

The Xbox 2 rumour mill has turned over once again, after a Silicon Valley start-up boasted that a new piece of software emulation technology would allow the next-generation console to play original Xbox games.