Rob Fahey (Page 50)

Online gaming software and community services provider Xfire has been acquired by Viacom in a $102 million deal which will see the firm and its four million registered users joining the MTV Networks group of properties.

Key elements of the technology for PlayStation 3 - including the PlayStation Network Platform and the software to enable back-compatibility with PS and PS2 games - are being worked on at Sony's UK studios, <i>GamesIndustry.biz</i> has learned.

The planned online service for the PlayStation 3 continues to take shape, with sources close to the Royal Bank of Scotland telling <i>GamesIndustry.biz</i> that the bank is working with Sony in the UK on trials of an online payment mechanism.

The growth of the mobile games industry has been stalled by a widespread failure to invest in customer satisfaction, Digital Chocolate marketing VP Jason Spero has told <i>MobileIndustry.biz</i> in an exclusive interview.

The price of the PlayStation 2 has been officially cut to $129.99 by Sony Computer Entertainment America, down from $149.99, in a move designed to further boost sales of the market leading console as the hype builds for its successor.

Japanese game designer Keita Takahashi, creator of cult hit Katamari Damacy, has expressed reservations regarding Nintendo's new controller for the Revolution console - and stated that he's "not really interested" in developing for it at present.

Contract electronics manufacturing firm Winstron Corp has announced that it aims to boost its production of Xbox 360 consoles to 1 million units a month by the end of the year in order to meet Microsoft's requirements.

Platform holders Sony and Nintendo have once again taken the largest stands at the E3 trade show, with the two firms set to exhibit their next-gen consoles directly opposite one another in the West Hall of the LA Convention Centre.

A report in the British newspaper the Mail On Sunday has alleged that Kevin Maxwell, the son of the late media tycoon Robert Maxwell, was involved in a failed bid to rescue collapsed mobile gaming company Gizmondo.

Celebrated PC developer Firaxis is "not at all" concerned about the prospects for the platform in the face of the arrival of the next-gen consoles, director and senior producer Barry Caudill has told <i>GamesIndustry.biz</i> in an interview.

Nintendo's Revolution console will be supported by around 20 software titles when it launches later this year, with a third of them being first-party games, according to Nintendo of America senior VP George Harrison.

This week's acquisitions of Sports Interactive and Lionhead by Sega and Microsoft respectively couldn't be more different, as business deals and situations go - but both firms have one key thing in common, says <i>Rob Fahey</i>.

Responding to slow sales of the Xbox 360 in Japan, Microsoft has announced that it will increase the software library for the system to 80 titles in the region by the end of the year, over three times the current number of titles on offer.

French publisher Ubisoft has signed a deal with VIZ Media, the North American license holder for the wildly popular Naruto manga franchise, to develop an Xbox 360 game based on the series for release in 2007.

A new program being pushed by Microsoft and retailer Best Buy in the USA will see Xbox 360 branded wristbands being sold to raise money for charity - and to raise parental awareness of age ratings on videogames.

Comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment France boss Georges Fornay which appeared to indicate the price point for PlayStation 3 have been misinterpreted and do not allude to the price of the system, the company has told <i>GamesIndustry.biz</i>.

Guildford-based developer Lionhead has become the latest addition to the Microsoft Game Studios group, with the studio behind Fable and Black & White being sold to the US platform holder in a deal announced today.

Britain's top videogames website publisher, Eurogamer Network, has announced its plans for extensive video coverage of the E3 show in May, with the initiative being spearheaded by new hire Johnny Minkley.

Sony Computer Entertainment France president George Fornay has revealed that the PlayStation 3 will be sold for between 500 and 600 Euro when it launches in November, in the clearest indication yet of Sony's pricing strategy.

Networking technology firm Lucent has reignited a patent battle with Microsoft over the use of a specific video decoding technique in the Xbox 360 console, which Lucent claims infringes in a patent that it has held for over a decade.