OCT. 24, 2007 • GameStop opened it store number 5,000 in Jackson, Calif. The retailer expects to end 2007 having opened up to 550 locations worldwide between the U.S. and 16 other markets. Impact: GameStop has clearly become the leading game retailer by consolidating several.....

OCT. 22, 2007 • Languishing in third place behind the Wii and the PS3 in Japan, Microsoft lowered the price of the 20GB Xbox 360 Pro to ¥34,800 ($304)  from ¥39,795 ($348). The Core version was lowered from ¥29,800 yen ($261) to ¥27,800 yen ($243).  The reduction follows Sony’s similar move with the PlayStation 3 earlier in the month. As it was struggling to meet demand for the Wii, Nintendo said a price cut for that system  was out of the question. The Wii sells for ¥25,000 (.....

OCT. 22, 2007 • After paying over $800 million in cash and stock to acquire VG Holdings (BioWare and Pandemic Studios) on Oct. 12, at a promotional event in South Mumbai 10 days later,  Electronic Arts reveals that a potential future development studio in India is being considered. The same week EA  told investors that it planned to close some facilities and reduce staff by about 350 employees throughout its divisions. On Nov. 6 EA closed down its Chicago studio, citing costs at the locat.....

OCT. 18, 2007 • Confirming reports in the Japanese business press, Toshiba agreed to acquire controlling interest in Sony’s Cell processor fabrication facilities, as well as another line that produces image processing chips – both of which are used in the PlayStation 3. The deals provide Sony with cash, reported to be ¥100 billion ($856 million) for the Cell business, and and additional ¥30 billion ($257 million) for the image-processing production unit. Toshiba also takes on the .....

OCT. 17, 2007 • Autodesk was founded in 1982 by John Walker in Marin County, Calif. On a corporate level Autodesk is one of the largest U.S. based software solution companies in the world with total revenue of $1.8 billion in 2007. Carl Bass, the current President and CEO of the company, took over in 2006 from Carol Bartz who remains the Executive Chairman. Marc Petit is the Senior VP of the company’s Media and Entertainment Division. Ten years ago, the total net revenue for Autod.....

OCT. 16, 2007 • Nintendo confirms that Wii Music is in development and will ship in 2008. The game is slated to use the Nunchuk and Wii mote to control up to four musicians simultaneously, with the CPU controlling additional band members in single-player mode. Up to four players can work together, with 40 instruments to ch.....

OCT. 10, 2007 • Thanks to it line-up of accessible games and lifestyle titles, Nintendo Co. Ltd. said that in Japan  51% of Wii users and 53% of DS players are women. Five days later the gamemaker attained market valuation of ¥10 trillion ($85 billion), almost triple the value since launching the Wii a year ago. Nintendo is now Japan’s third-most valuable listed company behind automaker Toyota Motor Corp and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Im.....

OCT. 9, 2007 • The San Jose Mercury News reports that production Xbox 360s will not receive another motherboard upgrade until the third quarter of 2008. At the time, a more efficient graphics chip from ATI, plus smaller memory chips, will be used. The changes are expected to further reduce heat issues, plus lower the production cost of the console. Impact: Given the heat problems generated by the original Xbox 360 design, and the multi-stage a.....