Archive for Business

  • Online game rental service expanding

      No, this isn't the service you American gamers are thinking of, but instead the UK's biggest online game rental service.  That would be WhyBuyGames.co.uk.  So how are they expanding?  By adding Blu-ray discs to their selection. So, isn't this kind of a weird blurring of line...

  • Video game currencies converted to dollar value

    Exactly how much is a rupee in The Legend of Zelda?  Apparently $3 in US currency.  How is this useful or practical to anyone?  It isn't, of course.  In an article that only a nerd could love, Maxim has taken seven video game currencies and converted them to US dollars. Whi...

  • Game sales up 40% in February over last year despite sluggish economy

    The general economy may be down, but video game sales are up in a big way. Compared with the same period last year, games sales are up 40%. This is obviously a very good sign for the industry's ability to weather an economic downturn. Of interesting note among the numbers, the PlayStation 3 toppe...

  • Midway bleeds nearly $100 million in 2007

    If you happen to own Midway stock, now would be a good time to sell it. In fact, about a year ago probably would have been the best time. Despite a huge loss in 2006, Midway could not course correct in 2007 and bled another $97.4 million. Things do not look good for the house that Mortal Kombat b...

  • Sega spurs talks of a potential takeover

    How the mighty have fallen. Then gotten back up, dust themselves off, and fallen again. But yet, gotten up again. That's basically the story of Sega over the last seven years or so as the once mightily publisher has flipped and flopped about, eventually merging with Sammy. Yet, despite all of th...

  • Recession might lead to cancelled titles

    To be technical, the USA is not quite in a recession yet. However, many indicators show it a time of economic down turn, even if it does not technically fit the definition of a recession. What's the most important question during these tough economic times? How will this affect video game sales? ...

  • In-game advertising to over double in next five years

    The dread of many gamers is the eventual arrival in mass of in-game advertising. They're about to get a lot more of it if one analyst prediction is correct, with expected in-game advertising spending to double in the next five years. While product placement is nothing new in games (you can find it...

  • Harrison takes the money and runs to Atari

    Sony has announced that Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, is leaving the company at the end of February. While an executive departure isn't usually that big of news, it is when it's such a high level executive. Such departures can cause quite a shakeup with...

  • Electronic Arts to acquire Take-Two for $2 billion

    When it was rumored the other day that Epic might be acquired by Microsoft, Epic's Vice-President Mark Rein joked that they should start the bidding at $2 billion. Apparently Electronic Arts thought that price sounded about right for another big time company, Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two is the ...

  • Sega cuts 400 jobs; play doom and gloom theme

    Sega is one of the great tragedies of gaming. Just a console generation ago the Dreamcast was flying high with high quality arcade ports and original titles. Now, just one generation later we see what may be the end to one of the great names in gaming as they are hit with 400 layoffs. The downfal...