Rob Fahey (Page 144)

British development studio Computer Artworks, whose games included The Thing and Evolva, has become the latest UK studio to be forced to shut down, with the company entering receivership this week.

Japanese entertainment giants Bandai and Nintendo have both moved to play down merger and acquisition rumours which have surrounded the companies since Nintendo purchased a minority shareholding in Bandai last week.

Leading publisher Electronic Arts has announced a strong set of second quarter figures, showing rises in both turnover and profit, and expects the current quarter to be its biggest ever holiday sales season.

Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia has released its first set of sales figures for the N-Gage since the device launched earlier this month, claiming that the device sold some 400,000 units worldwide in its first two weeks on sale.

Eidos is celebrating twin successes for its mobile adaptations of the Tomb Raider franchise, as Lara Croft's handheld adventures top both the N-Gage software chart and the Vodafone live! games chart.

Former 3DO boss and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins has announced his latest venture following the collapse of 3DO earlier this year, with new company Digital Chocolate set to focus on the wireless gaming sector.

Magazine publishing giant Future Network plc has extended its dominance of the games magazine market in the UK by acquiring Computec Media UK, whose titles include PSW and Xbox World, for £3.2 million.

Nintendo has stated that it has no plans to release the iQue console, a secured system with strong anti-piracy measures which it announced earlier this month, outside of the Chinese marketplace.

Microsoft is claiming a victory for the Xbox in South Korea, as its initial shipment of Xbox Live starter kits sold out in less than ten minutes in the online gaming obsessed nation.

An independent market research firm has released sales figures for Nokia's N-Gage in the USA, revealing that the game deck has sold under 5,000 units across both videogame and mobile phone retailers.

Publisher THQ has announced its financial results for the three months ended September 30, revealing significantly better than expected profits despite the delay of two key titles into the third quarter.

One of Activision's biggest titles for Christmas this year, True Crime: The Streets of LA, has come under legal fire from a popular American author who claims that its central character is based on one of his creations.

A report in a marketing magazine suggests that Microsoft is preparing to spend up to £3 million on Xbox promotions in Europe over the coming months, including tie-ins with companies such as MTV and Interbrew.

Spike's Way of the Samurai 2 lifted the Japanese software sales chart this week, debuting with over 110,000 sales in its first week, but otherwise the market was stagnant, with few new releases.

Japanese publisher Sega has revised its financial forecasts for the first half of the current financial year and for the year as a whole, citing improved sales of both arcade and home console products as reasons.

The first official statement from Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia on the launch of its N-Gage game deck has claimed that the device is sold out at many retailers following a "very positive" consumer response.

Japan's largest game publisher, Nintendo, has purchased a significant amount of stock in toy and media giant Bandai, causing many Japanese media sources to speculate that a buy-out may be on the cards in the near future.

A group of key staff from the Silicon Dreams development studio, which was shut down last month, have formed a new company - Gusto Games - which will focus on developing online, community-driven titles.

Scottish developer VIS Entertainment has revealed details of its new funding vehicle for forthcoming title State of Emergency 2, which it says will enable it to complete the project and negotiate good terms with a publisher.

Videogame publisher Konami has announced plans to expand its operations to a new office in Los Angeles, which will become the base for the company's global videogame business.

French newspaper Les Echos has reported that Vivendi has refused a substantial new offer for the Vivendi Universal Games business unit, and is still hoping to realise a billion dollars from the sale of the division.