PlayStation 4 Leads Sales in January

FEB. 14, 2014 • Much as was the case in the United Kingdom, the PlayStation 4 leads sales in the U.S. over the Xbox One by a ratio of nearly two to one during the first month of the year, according to Sony Computer Entertainment of America. Neither SCEA nor The NPD Group has publicly disclosed the number of units sold by either of the new systems in January. Cumulatively, the number of PS4s sol.....

Sega PC Games Sales Pick Up

FEB. 11, 2014 • In financial disclosures for the nine months ending December 31 Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. reported that its top selling retail games platform was Sega PC games. In addition, the number of PC titles sold versus the same period the previous year grew from 770,000 to 2.3 million units, an increase of 198%. Football Manager 2014, which was released in October, was the best selling PC title at 680,000 units. On console, the best selling title was Sonic.....

The Rise & Fall of Flappy Bird

FEB. 10, 2014 • The pride of Vietnam’s mobile app development scene, Nguyen Ha Dong, has removed his hugely popular Flappy Bird game from distribution. The free title was released last May and existed in relative obscurity until November when iOS downloads skyrocketed. Soon Flappy Bird was getting between 1 million and 2 million downloads a day on Apple’s App Store, and roared past 50 million. The Android version followed the iOS original on January .....

Classic Electronic Arts MMOs Are Outsourced

FEB. 5, 2014 • Two classic Electronic Arts MMOs, Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot, are being moved from division Mythic Entertainment to a new independent studio, Broadsword Online Games. Broadsword was started by a group of Mythic alumni including co-founder Rob Denton. EA retains ownership of both MMOs along with billing and account services through its Origin online distribution service. Broadsword is partnering with EA and will carry on operation, devel.....

Grand Theft Auto V Boosts Take-Two Financials

FEB. 4, 2014 • Holiday releases led by Grand Theft Auto V led Take-Two Interactive financials to non-GAPP revenue of $767.7 million for the fiscal third quarter ending December 31. That total beat Take-Two’s forecast of $650 million to $700 million, and was a significant increase over the $405 million in revenue tallied for the same quarter the previous year. Take-Two attributed the strong performance to the continued success of Grand Theft Auto V, a recor.....

SCEE Claims PlayStation 4 U.K. Lead

JAN. 30, 2014 • The PlayStation 4 is doing very well in the United Kingdom. At a morning briefing in London, Fergal Gara, Sony Computer Ent. Europe’s (SCEE) vice president and managing director for the U.K. disclosed that his company’s latest console is selling 1.5 units for every Xbox One sold in the country. That ratio is a complete reversal of ratio of the Xbox 360 over the PlayStation 3. The PS4’s strong sales have also seen Sony’s sh.....

Funcom Investigated

JAN. 29, 2014 • Økokrim (the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation, Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime) is investigating Funcom N.V. regarding possible violation of Norway’s Securities Trading Act. At issue is financial information given by the MMO game developer to the market regarding The Secret World from August 2011 until the launch of the game in July 2012, and the two months following the launch. Suspecting market manipulation.....

Microsoft Acquires Gears of War IP

JAN. 28, 2014 • Epic Games’ Gears of War franchise has been acquired by Microsoft Studios. Financial terms were not disclosed but the deal secures the IP for Microsoft including rights to all existing and future games, entertainment experiences and merchandise. Vancouver, BC-based Black Tusk Studios will now be responsible for development of Gears of War product moving forward. In addition, Epic’s former Gears of War director of production Rod Fergus.....

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