Rob Fahey (Page 108)

Major US videogames retailer Electronics Boutique has announced its results for the quarter ended July 31, revealing a rise in revenue of almost 20 per cent and a profit figure which more than doubled over last year.

Publisher Konami has taken the wraps off its recently-announced collaboration with UK developer Kuju - with the title in question being The Regiment, a team-based FPS title based on the British SAS special forces unit.

Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 has held the top of Japan's software charts for a second week, but Nintendo's latest batch of Famicom Mini (NES Classics) titles has proved to be its most successful yet.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has told investors that he doesn't believe that the PSP will launch in North America until Q2 2005, prompting fresh fears that the arrival of Sony's forthcoming handheld console will slip once again.

A new report based on interviews with key videogames industry executives has called for further price cuts to the Xbox and PS2 ahead of the Christmas sales season, in the hope of "jump starting" sales of software.

Leading US videogame retailer GameStop has announced its financials for the second quarter, ended July 31, revealing strong growth in sales and revenue but cautioning of ongoing hardware shortages of PS2 and Xbox.

A patent granted to Nintendo earlier this month, describing a device that would add hard disc, online and TV functions to a console, has sparked rumours about the company's plans - but is actually related the ill-fated 64DD peripheral.

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox are set for European price cuts in the coming days, with Sony to cut its price to UKP 104.99 this week while sources in Germany indicate that Microsoft is to announce a UKP 99.99 price this afternoon.

New legislation which would require video game retailers to clearly display signs notifying purchasers of game ratings has been voted in by the senate in California, and is set to be signed by Governor Arnold Schwarznegger.

Electronic Arts has maintained its position as the number one publisher in the USA in July, holding on to 26 per cent market share as NCAA Football 2005 sold over half a million units on PS2 to become the top-selling game of the month.

Videogames took their place in the heart of Scotland's capital city once again last week, joining the many other major events which make up the famous Edinburgh Festival; <b>gi</b>.biz was there for all the fun of the festival.

Last week saw the Edinburgh International Games Festival return to the Scottish capital for a second year, with an extended programme of events that staked a claim for videogames as part of the Fringe. <i>Rob Fahey</i> assesses the festival.

According to unconfirmed reports which emerged last night, developer Valve has been hit by another embarrassing leak - with the complete script to Half-Life 2, including the "surprising" ending, being released on the web.

id Software's Doom 3 has stormed to the top of the UK software chart in its first week on sale, racking up stronger first-week sales than former incumbent Spider-Man 2 and becoming the first PC game to take the top spot in 2004.