NCAA Cancels Electronic Arts Deal

JULY 19, 2013 • The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has notified Electronic Arts that it will not renew their college football contract expiring in June 2014. As a result, EA Sports’ upcoming NCAA Football 14 will be the final installment in the series. The NCAA made the decision in reaction to ongoing litigation with former and current college football stars who want compensation for having their likenesses used in the video games – comp.....

Xbox Live Real Money Beta Worries

JULY 10, 2013 • Microsoft Corp.’s beta test in the United Kingdom of the new real money transaction system for Xbox Live is raising some consumer alarms. Users in the test are reporting that games converted from Microsoft Points to real money are costing more.  The point values are being converted into pounds in real time  however, the conversion ends up costing consumers more for the same points value than was charged previously. For example, a game tha.....

Don Mattrick Goes to Zynga

JULY 1, 2013 • After persistent rumors in recent months that Microsoft president of Interactive Entertainment Don Mattrick was destined to return in an executive capacity to Electronic Arts, the head of the Xbox business has instead taken over the chief executive’s office at Zynga from Mark Pincus. The Zynga founder will continue on as chairman of the company and chief product officer. Much as Peter Moore left Microsoft’s Xbox division soon after E3 .....

Barnes & Noble Pulls Back From Tablets

JUNE 26, 2013 • After posting a $118.6 million loss for the quarter ending April 30th, including a $18.3 million impairment charge on a 34% drop in sales of its tablet hardware, Barnes & Noble has made the decision to cease manufacturing its Nook Color devices. This follows a $133 million fourth-quarter write-down for unsold tablets, and a total $222 million write-down for the entire 2013 fiscal year. Unable to boost sales during the holidays, Barnes & N.....

Machinima Seeks New Funding

JUNE 25, 2013 • Machinima.com, the online site best known for taking videos created by gamers promoting their in-game exploits and then publishing the content on YouTube, is reported to be in the hunt for a sizable new round of funding. According to The Wall Street Journal’s All T.....

Microsoft Prices Xbox One High

JUNE 10, 2013 • The Xbox One will launch this November in North America and Europe, priced at $499, €499 ($661) and £429 ($668). Microsoft Corp. had not detailed pricing or release month when it revealed its new console late last month. The company did receive criticism at the time for a presentation that was heavy on entertainment media content and enhanced voice/gesture interface features, whil.....

Zynga Closes OMGPOP

JUNE 5, 2013 • This week Zynga announced it was cutting 18% of its workforce in the amount of 520 staffers. Part of that restructuring is the complete shuttering of OMGPOP, the mobile studio behind the Draw Something smartphone app that Zynga acquired for $180 million in March of 2012. D.....

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