Rob Fahey (Page 117)

Publisher Acclaim has been granted a 45-day extension to its existing credit agreement with GMAC Commercial Finance LLC, which will see the company being given until August 4th to finalise negotiations with a new lender.

A document purporting to be the currently planned specification for Microsoft's next-generation console has been leaked onto the Internet, and information in it tallies with what the company has told development partners, <I>gi.biz</I> has learned.

Sony Computer Entertainment America president Kaz Hirai has told an American senate body that cheaper and more widespread broadband will be essential if the next-generation consoles are to reach their full potential.

Noritaka Funamizu, best known for working as producer on the seminal Street Fighter II, has left his role as boss of Capcom's Research and Development Division 1 unit to found a new independent development studio.

Following the news that Blizzard's StarCraft: Ghost has been pushed back to 2005 in order to give the developer more time to polish the title, it has now emerged that Nihilistic Software is no longer working on the high-profile title.

An annual report into the games industry published by Wedbrush Morgan Securities has suggested that added media functions in PlayStation 3 could push its launch price up to $500, alienating many consumers in the process.

Rockstar's Red Dead Revolver on PS2 was the best selling game in the USA last month, with the old west action title leading the chart ahead of EA's Fight Night 2004 and Midway's NBA Ballers.

Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow has taken the top spot in the UK sales charts this week, moving up one place to unseat EA's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban thanks to strong sales of its recently released PS2 version.

Media empire Viacom is investigating the possibility of making money through advertising and product placement in videogames, according to a presentation given by CFO Richard Bressler at the Global Digital Summit.

Vivendi Universal Games has announced that 350 staff have been laid off as part of the firm's restructuring efforts, representing some 40 per cent of its US workforce - with the toughest cuts coming at the Sierra operation.

British tabletop gaming firm Games Workshop has cancelled work on Warhammer Online, the massively multiplayer game which was being developed by Climax based on its best-known role-playing property.

Sources close to Microsoft's senior Xbox executives have confirmed that the company does not intend to make its next-generation console, which is set to be launched by late 2005, backwards compatible with existing Xbox software.

French publisher Infogrames has announced details of a new financing deal which will see the firm receiving $28.2 million in return for 10.6 million shares in subsidiary Atari Inc, which will effectively serve as collateral for the funds.

Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will not feature any online play when it launches on PlayStation 2 later this year, according to Rockstar creative director Dan Houser, who claims that it would be "impossible" to implement GTA online.

Rental chain Blockbuster is to be separated from parent company Viacom in a split-off exchange financial deal which will see the media giant relinquishing its 81.5 per cent stake in the group of stores.

Microsoft Japan has demonstrated the Xbox Live Video Chat system, revealing that the system will support up to five simultaneous users and will launch in the Far East at the end of the year - with no US or European date mentioned as yet.

Sammy's Pachinko Slot! Fist of the North Star title topped the Japanese charts once again last week as the market continued to decline into the start of summer - but software sales remain higher than the same period last year.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair may host a reception for key games industry figures during the European Games Network trade show this September, according to reports which have emerged this morning.

The latest publishing deal to be signed by Electronic Arts' EA Partners division will see the company handling the release of Oddworld Inhabitants' next game, tentatively named Stranger, on Xbox and PS2 next year.

British publisher Eidos has warned that it now expects to post either a break even or a small loss for the full year to June 30th, after the company decided to move its final major title of the financial year back to September.