Rob Fahey (Page 111)

Consumer electronics giant Sony Corporation has posted an unexepectedly large profit in its first quarter as the weakness of the Japanese Yen boosted the value of overseas sales, but the company's games division slipped into the red.

Electronic Arts has announced the purchase of British game development studio and leading middleware provider Criterion, giving the top publisher control of the hugely popular RenderWare platform.

The second version of Nokia's N-Gage hardware has arrived at US retail outlets, with its launch in the territory being supported by rebates which bring the price down to $99 and the bundling of Tony Hawks Pro Skater with all units sold.

A new report from the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association in Japan has revealed that despite growth in the number of consumers of games, revenues in the market are falling - but so are development costs.

California-based publisher and developer Conspiracy Entertainment has reached an agreement with German firm SWING! Media AG which will eliminate over $2.6 million worth of debt from its balance sheet.

Activision's movie license Spider-Man 2 has stayed on top of the UK software sales chart for a third week, as a period largely bereft of major new full-price releases saw no movement in the top four titles.

Electronic Arts' report on market outlook following its first quarter results last week has indicated that while further price cuts to the Xbox and PS2 are unlikely in North America this year, new prices may be forthcoming in Europe.

There was some respite for Japanese game retailers from the summer slump last week, as Konami's Jikkyo Power Pro Baseball 11 stormed into the charts, with the PS2 version at number one while the Cube version made number three.

Videogame publisher and developer LucasArts has announced the appointment of a new marketing chief, with marketing industry veteran John Geoghegan set to take on a vice president role at the company.

Leading independent publisher Electronic Arts has recorded exceptionally strong results in its first financial quarter, with net revenues rising 22 per cent and net income up 32 per cent as three new titles sold over a million units.

Software giant Microsoft has announced strong results for the fourth quarter and full year ended June 30th, but the growth of the company's Xbox business continues to lag behind other divisions despite increasing console shipments.