Rob Fahey (Page 135)

UK development house Argonaut has signed publishing deals with XIM Inc's new publishing arm Evolved Games which will see finished titles Malice and Powerdrome being released by the company in the second quarter.

Publisher association ELSPA is to engage in discussions with government departments in the UK regarding the problem of software counterfeiting and piracy, following a successful meeting with senior officials.

Publisher Acclaim has proposed a package of stock-related measures including plans to offer 50 million new shares of common stock at a discount price, in a move which is designed to raise new capital for the publisher.

Nintendo's newly announced console is likely to cost under £100 (€148) at launch, according to an analyst report, while further details of the Dual Screen device's hardware configuration continue to emerge.

Electronic Arts' Need for Speed Underground was the best selling game in the USA during the key month of December, with three other EA titles in the top ten and continuing strong performance for Nintendo's Mario Kart.

Brendan McNamara, the director of SCEE's multi-million selling London gangster title The Getaway, has set up a new development studio in Sydney, Australia, which will work on titles for new Sony game hardware.

British publisher Eidos has warned that revenues for the first half of its financial year will fall slightly short of market expectations following the underperformance of certain titles, but expects to make up the difference by the end of the year.

Nintendo Europe has followed last week's announcement of a major global boost in GameCube sales over Christmas by announcing specifics for the European market, revealing that the console's installed base is approaching 3 million.

Mobile games developer IOMO has recorded a significant victory in the burgeoning sector, with half of the games in the top ten of the latest Vodafone Live chart being created by the company.

America's law enforcement agencies are treating the theft of Half-Life 2 source code and assets from developer Valve very seriously, it has emerged, with a dawn raid being carried out on the home of one suspect last week.

Sony's Gran Turismo 4 Prologue is still the best selling game in Japan this week, driving the PS2 to the top of the table in hardware sales terms once more as the market declines overall following the busy New Year period.

Allen Adham, a co-founder and vice president of successful development studio Blizzard, has resigned from the company to pursue a career in finance, although a spokesperson claims that he has not cut ties completely.

Leading publisher Electronic Arts has acquired the rights to the next instalment in Criterion's highly regarded Burnout series of racing games, and plans to make it into one of its key titles for 2004.

The line-up of sessions and events for this year's Game Developers Conference has been revealed, with keynote speeches from industry luminaries including John Carmack, Dave Perry and John Gaeta on the bill.

US development studio Legend Entertainment is thought to have been shut down by publisher Atari, with almost all staff being laid off on Friday and only a small number remaining to oversee the shut-down.

Nintendo came out on top in the crucial December sales period last year, according to the Japanese company, with a massive 70 per cent year on year increase in worldwide sales of the GameCube console.

Event organisers London EventCo have revealed that the forthcoming Game Stars Live consumer videogames show is set to play host to a huge multiplayer gaming tournament, billed as the largest of its kind in the UK.

Japanese publisher Konami is set to become the first third-party publisher to release a game for the PS2 in China, with Winning Eleven 7: International being unveiled at the China Joy expo in Beijing this week.

Game developer Monolith has announced that Samantha Ryan will be stepping up to the role of CEO at the company following the departure of co-founder Jason Hall, who is heading up Warner Bros' new games division.

Following on from the success of last year's event, the Edinburgh International Games Festival is set to make a return to the Scottish capital this August, with a significantly expanded program of events.

US comic publishing giant Marvel Enterprises has announced the formation of a new group within the company which will focus specifically on the development of video games based on its wide range of character franchises.

Two new versions of the Xbox console are set to arrive in Japan in the coming months, with limited editions being created to commemorate the second anniversary of the Xbox launch and the arrival of Dead or Alive Ultimate.

Media giant Warner Bros has announced its intention to become a major player in the games market, with the foundation of a new Interactive Entertainment division representing a move away from its current licensing model.