Rob Fahey (Page 57)

Nintendo capped off a hugely successful 2005 in the Japanese market by reaching sell-through of five million units for the DS handheld in the region, with four titles on the platform now recording over a million shipped units.

It's been a tremendously successful year for GamesIndustry.biz, and we hope it has been for you also; our offices are now closed for the Christmas and New Year holiday, and updates will resume on January 3rd, 2006.

Top publisher Electronic Arts has confirmed what many have suspected for weeks; sales of videogames in the holiday quarter have fallen far below expectations, and may see a year on year percentage decline in the double digits.

Sony Computer Entertainment America appears to have confirmed that the company is still on track to ship six million units of the PlayStation Portable console to retailers in North America by the end of the year.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted has held on to the number one spot in this week's UK charts, holding off a strong performance by Ubisoft's King Kong to take the coveted Christmas No.1 position for Electronic Arts for the third year in a row.

Only weeks after the launch of the Xbox 360 console, a Dutch hacker group has worked out how to "dump" the contents of game discs for the system, allowing them to be copied and examined - but as yet, there is no way to run copied games.

Publisher THQ has become the latest firm to partner with Massive Inc to bring in-game advertising to its titles, with multiple upcoming titles from the publisher set to feature dynamic advertising within the game worlds.

The leaders of the "super-developer" created by the acquisition of Bioware and Pandemic Studios by former EA president John Riccitiello's Elevation Partners may be considering an IPO for the firm, according to a New York Times report.

The latest Japanese charts, covering the week in which the Xbox 360 launched in the Far East, show Nintendo's DS console far out in front in the hardware sales ranking, thanks to the arrival of Mario Kart DS.

In an interview published today on GamesIndustry.biz, Tack Jin Kim, president and CEO of Korean MMOG publishing giant NCsoft, has said that he believes that the market for online games will outgrow the information services market online.

The charismatic head of Korean massively multiplayer gaming firm NCsoft discusses his hugely bullish forecast for the global growth of online gaming - which he believes will change the face not only of gaming, but of the Internet.

Sony Computer Entertainment America boss Kaz Hirai has dismissed claims that Xbox 360's significant headstart on the PlayStation 3 will give it a serious advantage in the console battle, arguing that content is far more important.

Microsoft has reshuffled the management of its entertainment businesses into four distinct sections, with Peter Moore moving into a new role where he will oversee the entire interactive entertainment sector for the firm.

In an exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, has discussed the firm's future plans for the PlayStation family and its delight with this year's successes.

The first independent figures regarding the launch performance of the Xbox 360 in North America have been released by the NPD Group, revealing that 325,902 consoles were sold by the end of November.

Top publisher Electronic Arts looks set to take the coveted Christmas number one spot in the UK, with Need for Speed Most Wanted well out in front this week, while FIFA 06 steps up one place to number two.

Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison has claimed that Microsoft's Xbox 360 "doesn't have true HD functionality," saying that consumers seeking a HD experience will have to wait for the PS3 to arrive.

The first figures to emerge from Japan regarding the Xbox 360 launch there last week have indicated that almost three quarters of the stock shipped to the region remains unsold, suggesting a tough start for the new console.