U.K.-based trade publication MCV recently posted a story speculating that Sega could be the next video game publisher to make a big acquisition in the wake of the Activision Blizzard merger.
Wii shortage hinders sales, PS3 closing gap on 360
Following the monumental video game sales for November, Jesse Divnich, analyst for prediction market the simExchange has weighed in with some interesting insights.
Although the Wii did sell an impressive 981K units for the month, the total fell short of the prediction market’s 1,060,000, which is probably a direct result of the continued shortage. “Nintendo’s claims of supply constraints likely played a bigger role in hindering sales than originally expected,” noted Divnich.
Wii Shortfall for Christmas (Part Duex)
Nintendo has said that it does not have enough stock to meet the demands of it’s successful gaming console, the Wii. This is the second time it cannot meet demand for the holiday season. Nintendo has said that it has currently increase production, though it won’t be enough to meet the demand.
Gaming giants in $18 billion merger…
The makers of Guitar Hero, Activision, and the makers of World of Warcraft, Blizzard, are set to become one to increase profits; but may leave the gaming world in shock.
They have both said that they will form “the world’s most profitable games business” in a deal worth $18.8 billion. In terms of the companies, Activision has been recently popular and successful with it’s Guitar Hero franchise, and Blizzard has 9 million people paying to play on it’s successful World of Warcraft.
Sony slashes PS3 development kit costs
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) has almost halved the purchase cost for its development-kit hardware for the PlayStation 3, making game creation for the console more affordable for small and independent developers.
No plans for R18+ for games: Labor
Game classification has been a tough debate between those who want the rating and the politicians. Neither political party has said that they will support the classification, even though Labor has invested money into broadband and high definition television.
Top Gear to go to the PS3…
NEWS IN BRIEF: BBC Worldwide (the commercial subsidiary for the BBC) and the creators of Gran Turismo; with 40 episodes from the entire series to be put in a dedicated channel for Gran Turismo TV.
Halo 3 rakes in $170 millon in one day
Halo 3, Microsoft’s Entertainment division’s last hope to get a profit, has raked in $170 million in the US alone on launch day. This puts it as a bigger launch day than the Spiderman 3 movie and the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book.
How much would I need to be a rockstar?
The latest version of the popular Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock have been given a price for the bundles. For the PS3 and 360, the prices are set at $169.95; while the Wii version is $10 cheaper, standing at $159.95. The PS2 version will cost about $149.95.
Arm Wrestling Machine recalled
A Japanese company has begun recalling an arm wrestling arcade game after three people broke their arm when playing it. The game, Arm Spirit, is to be removed in 150 game arcades around Japan.
News in Brief: PS3 “bonus” Bundle offers to end…
Sony Australia has announced that the PS3 “bonus” bundle, which was announced in E3, will end in August 31. The pack cost the same as the original 60GB PS3, but has two controllers and two games. It is unknown what will happen to the 60GB version after the US will no longer have it in production, as well what will happen after the bundle ends.
Atari facing delisting
Atari has revealed that it has been served with a non-compliance notice from NASDAQ and now is facing a delisting. According to the notice, the Paris-based company has not filed it’s yearly earnings report. It has appealed to the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel, which suspends the suspension until the panel has given it’s ruling.
360 Bad Luck…Down Under
According to GameSpot AU, in turn from a insider, about 2 weeks ago all EB Games stores across Australia were told to return all XBOX 360s in stock back to Microsoft. As well, checking the website they had their XBOX 360 product page saying it was sold out. This was also true when GameSpot asked the stores.
Sony: No Price Cut for Europe
Sony has said that the price cut will only effect North America only, and not anywhere else. This has been a blow to all European and Aussie gamers; where in Australia, they pay at AU$999 for the 60GB version. Both markets do not stock the 20GB version. As well, another blow comes from the fact that the 80GB version will not be coming to Europe and Australia.
E3: Sony’s Press Conference
Hey, so sorry for the delay. Anyway, due to network problems we didn’t actually get to the some parts of it, so we have relied on GameSpot to cover some details…