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Posts Tagged ‘UK’
Sniper Elite V2 holds UK chart top spot
Posted by Ben Maxwell on May 14th, 2012
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Posted in Articles 
Tags: 505 Games, Charts, PC, Playstation 3, Shooter, Sniper Elite V2, Software sales, UK, xbox 360 
Comments OffUK government to enforce PEGI age ratings
Posted by Ben Maxwell on May 11th, 2012
Dual rating system to be abolished in July; retailers who don't comply could face prison terms. The UK's videogame rating system has been revised by the government to bring it in line with European standards from July.As such, gam…
Sniper Elite V2 tops UK chart
Posted by Nathan Brown on May 8th, 2012
In a slow week for new releases, the top ten is largely unchanged, and the sole new entry in the entire top 40 is the Vita release of Mortal Kombat, which enters the chart at number 33. 505 Games' Sniper Elite V2 is the new UK all-formats num…
Posted in Articles Tags: 505 Games, Charts, PC, Playstation 3, Shooter, Sniper Elite V2, Software sales, UK, xbox 360 Comments OffKeith Vaz renews attack on violent games
Posted by Nathan Brown on May 3rd, 2012
Parliament's most vocal videogame critic slams PEGI and calls for tighter restrictions after Breivik's Modern Warfare reference. UK MP Keith Vaz has again hit out at games, calling on government to "provide for closer scruti…
Posted in Articles Tags: Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Government, Keith Vaz, Shooter, UK Comments OffFive senior execs to leave Game
Posted by Nathan Brown on May 2nd, 2012
In a statement passed to GI.biz, new CEO Martyn Gibbs confirmed the departures, which form part of the retailer's restructuring drive following its exit from administration last month. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-05-02-mana…
Free Radical founder: "pretty much every FPS loses money"
Posted by Nathan Brown on May 2nd, 2012
High dev costs mean risk-averse publishers are afraid to stray from the Call Of Duty template, says Crash Lab's Steve Ellis. Steve Ellis, co-founder and former MD of Timesplitters developer Free Radical Software, has given a damning a…
Posted in Articles Tags: Crash Lab, Crysis 2, Developers, Free Radical Games, Shooter, Start-ups, Steve Ellis, UK Comments OffPrototype 2 UK number one
Posted by Ben Maxwell on April 30th, 2012
Activision's Prototype 2 debuts at the top of the UK all-formats chart for the week ending April 28, keeping FIFA Street and FIFA 12 in positions two and three respectively. http://ukie.info/content/ukie-week-17-2012-uk-video-games-charts…
Posted in Articles Tags: activision, Charts, Playstation 3, Prototype 2, Software sales, UK Comments OffFable Heroes’ creative origins
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 27th, 2012
Lead designer Ted Timmins on how Lionhead's XBLA brawler was born. Next week's XBLA release is Fable Heroes, a fourplayer brawler made by a 15-man team at Lionhead. It was born at the studio's annual Creative Day, a two-day ev…
Posted in Articles Tags: Action, design, Fable Heroes, Lionhead, Ted Timmins, UK, XBLA, xbox 360 Comments OffNintendo launches location-based download service
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 25th, 2012
Users can access the service using one of 25,000 WiFi hotspots across the UK, which can be found by visiting hotspot.nintendo.co.uk; the Nintendo Zone icon will then flash when it is in range of a WiFi signal. Nintendo has announced the launch of…
Make Something Unreal Live report
Posted by Ben Maxwell on April 25th, 2012
We look back at the Fighting Fantasy game jam's Gadget Show finale with Ian Livingstone, Steve Jackson and the event's organisers. This year’s Gadget Show Live 2012 saw the culmination of nearly six months' work for the…
Posted in Articles Tags: Armies Of Death: Rise Of Agglax, Citadel Of Chaos: Dire Consequences, Commando Kiwi, Deathtrap Dungeon, Derp Studios, design, Digital Mage, Ian Livingstone, Indies, Indigo Jam, iOS, Mike Gamble, Myra Smallman, Programming, Steve Jackson, The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain: Lost Chapters, UK Comments OffFrench games tax break extended
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 25th, 2012
Two months on from reports that negotiations had run aground and the European Commission was preparing to scrap the relief, weeks of concerted pressure by the European Games Developer Federation (EGDF) have resulted in an extension being approved by…
Posted in Articles Tags: france, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, Quantic Dream, Richard Wilson, Tax, TIGA, UK, Western Europe Comments OffThe making of the ZX Spectrum
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 23rd, 2012
We look at the creation of a fondly remembered 8bit gaming platform as it celebrates its 30th birthday. With the 1982 launch of the ZX Spectrum, Sir Clive Sinclair became the happy father to the UK game industry. The birth, unsurprisingly,…
The Witcher 2 tops UK chart
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 23rd, 2012
The updated Xbox 360 version of CD Projekt Red's PC RPG, published by Namco Bandai, knocks FIFA Street into second spot. EA's five-a-side football game had topped the chart for four of the previous five weeks. The Witcher 2: Assassins O…
Posted in Articles Tags: CD Projekt, Charts, Namco Bandai, RPG, Software sales, The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings, UK, xbox 360 Comments OffRare appoints new creative director
Posted by Tom Ivan on April 17th, 2012
Former Sega West design boss Simon Woodroffe has been appointed as creative director at Microsoft-owned Kinect Sports developer Rare. Former Sega West design boss Simon Woodroffe has been appointed as creative director at Microsoft-owned Kinect S…
Find your future working with Peter Molyneux
Posted by Ben Maxwell on April 17th, 2012
Building AMD's next generation or expanding charity the Wellcome Trust's reach. 22Cans, the new studio founded by Peter Molyneux, is looking for a number of interns and graduates from mathematics and computer science backgrounds …
Posted in Articles Tags: 22 Cans, AMD, design, Guildford, London, Programming, Recruitment, Scandinavia, UK, United States, Wellcome Trust Comments OffFIFA Street reclaims UK top spot
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 16th, 2012
EA's five-a-side football game retakes top spot despite sales falling 22 per cent week on week. Sales fell across the board; Kinect Star Wars' were down by 55 per cent. FIFA Street is once again number one in the UK all-formats software…
Game Group secures EA stock
Posted by Tom Ivan on April 15th, 2012
Game Group appears to have mended its relationship with Electronic Arts and is now stocking March releases and former chart-toppers Mass Effect 3 and FIFA Street online. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ea-re-boards-the-game-train/094462 M…
Posted in Articles Tags: electronic arts, FIFA Street, Game Group, Mass Effect 3, Retail, UK Comments OffGame sells off Iberian operation
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 13th, 2012
MCV reports that the buyer is Cherrilux Investments which, like Baker Acquisitions, the company that bought Game's UK stores out of administration, was set up by private equity firm OpCapita for the purpose of the deal. http://www.mcvuk.c…
Game Group secures Nintendo stock
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 13th, 2012
Game Group appears to be back on good terms with Nintendo, and is stocking the Limited Edition of Wii RPG Pandora's Tower. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-04-13-nintendo-returns-to-game-with-pandoras-tower-limited-edition Eur…
TIGA proposes Games Tax Relief criteria
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 11th, 2012
TIGA's proposed structure for tax relief sensibly draws inspiration from similar, existing schemes, including those for the UK film and French videogame industries. It will apply to any interactive product, regardless of platform or distributio…
Joe Danger announced for iOS
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 10th, 2012
The Guildford-based studio unveiled the project at last weekend's PAX East conference in Boston. Speaking to Gamasutra, Hello Games MD Sean Murray said that, far from being a shoe-horned port, the game had been built from the ground up for its …
Posted in Articles Tags: Announcements, Hello Games, Indies, iOS, Joe Danger, Platformer, Sean Murray, UK Comments OffKinect Star Wars tops UK chart
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 10th, 2012
Xbox 360 exclusive Kinect Star Wars is the new number one in the UK chart. LucasArts' game ends FIFA Street's three-week reign atop the chart, despite sales of EA's five-a-side football title climbing three per cent week on week. X…
Posted in Articles Tags: Charts, Kinect, kinect star wars, microsoft, Software sales, UK Comments OffOpinion: Great British games
Posted by Tadhg Kelly on April 5th, 2012
By pandering to the global market, Tadhg Kelly warns, British developers are forgetting their roots. When someone calls me ‘an IT geek’ it triggers one of my pet hates: being labelled a technology worker. It says that mak…
Game saved?
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 3rd, 2012
Peter Molyneux, Jas Purewal and Nick Parker on where the UK's largest videogame retailer goes from here. With Game Group, the UK's largest specialist retailer, now seemingly saved – rescued from administration by Baker Acquisition…
Posted in Articles Tags: Download, Game Group, Jas Purewal, Management, Nick Parker, Peter Molyneux, Retail, UK Comments OffFSA formally delists Game stock
Posted by Ben Maxwell on April 3rd, 2012
Following yesterday's request from UK retailer Game Group, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) this morning delisted the company from the London Stock Exchange. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-03-game-stock-formally-delis…
Game requests Stock Exchange delisting
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 2nd, 2012
UK retailer Game Group has delivered a blow to shareholders this afternoon by requesting that its shares be removed from the London Stock Exchange. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/game-shares-to-be-written-off/093751 MCV UK retailer Ga…
Worms creator returns to Team17
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 2nd, 2012
Andy Davidson, creator of beloved turn-based strategy game Worms, has returned to developer Team17 more than 14 years after he left. "I left Team17 feeling I hadn't finished what I wanted to achieve, but for professional reasons I knew I h…
Posted in Articles Tags: Appointments, Developers, Strategy, team17, UK, worms revolution Comments OffEx-Gamestation chief named Game CEO
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 2nd, 2012
Martyn Gibbs, former MD of Gamestation, has been named the new chief executive of Game Group, the nation's largest videogame retailer following its successful exit from administration yesterday. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/martyn-gibbs…
FIFA Street tops UK chart for third week
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 2nd, 2012
FIFA Street is the UK all-formats number one for a third successive week. EA's five-a-side football game retains top spot despite sales falling 44 per cent, ahead of Mass Effect 3, which rises one place to number two. Another EA title, the newl…
Posted in Articles Tags: Charts, electronic arts, FIFA Street, Namco Bandai, Playstation 3, Retail, Ridge Racer: Unbounded, Software sales, UK, xbox 360 Comments OffOpCapita saves Game
Posted by Nathan Brown on April 2nd, 2012
Private equity firm advises on deal to rescue retailer from administration, saving 333 UK stores and almost 3,200 jobs. Private equity firm OpCapita has struck a deal to safeguard the future of beleaguered UK retailer Game Group, keeping 3…
Administrators reactivate Game reward cards
Posted by Nathan Brown on March 29th, 2012
Game's reward card scheme has been reactivated by its administrators PWC. In a series of tweets, the retailer confirms that the loyalty scheme, which was shut down on Monday, is back online – giving a glimmer of hope to the retailer's pros…
Report: Game Group rescue deal "incredibly close"
Posted by Nathan Brown on March 29th, 2012
Ailing UK retailer Game Group could exit administration before the week is out, according to reports. Sources close to negotiations have told MCV that a deal is "incredibly close" and the retailer could be saved as early as tomorrow. …
Videogames the UK’s largest entertainment category in 2011
Posted by Tom Ivan on March 27th, 2012
UK videogame software sales surpassed video sales for the first time in 2011, according to data released by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). http://www.eraltd.org/news/era-news/games-overtakes-video-as-uk%27s-biggest-entertainmen…
Posted in Articles Tags: Download, Entertainment Retailers Association, Retail, Software sales, UK Comments OffTeachers criticise parents who ignore game age restrictions, call for industry legislation
Posted by Ben Maxwell on March 27th, 2012
The association's general secretary Mary Bousted has said that students are being allowed to stay up till early morning, playing games inappropriate to their age, and are becoming desensitised to aggression and bloodshed. She also raised a more…
Posted in Articles Tags: Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Education, Mary Bousted, UK Comments OffGame Group closes 277 stores, cutting 2,100 jobs
Posted by Tom Ivan on March 26th, 2012
Administrators say regrettable cuts will place the company in a stronger position while it continues to seek a buyer. Administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers has confirmed the closure of 100s of Game Group's underperforming stores in a m…
Posted in Articles Tags: Closures, England, Game Group, Ireland, Layoffs, Northern Ireland, Retail, UK Comments OffGame Group clarifies how customers will be affected by adminstration
Posted by Ben Maxwell on March 26th, 2012
Confirming that Game will continue to trade while administrator PwC attempts to find a buyer, the retailer has warned that many of its services have been altered or suspended. http://www.facebook.com/notes/game/important-news-about-game/101507…
Game Group enters administration
Posted by Ben Maxwell on March 26th, 2012
CEO steps down warning of imminent store closures. As expected, ailing UK retailer Game Group has today entered into administration.Professional services firm PwC is handling the process, and remains hopeful that a buyer for the business c…
FIFA Street maintains UK number one spot
Posted by Ben Maxwell on March 26th, 2012
Electronic Arts tally of all format number ones rises to nine – across five different releases – for the year to date. http://ukie.info/content/ukie-week-12-2012-uk-video-games-charts UKIE FIFA Street has maintained its position at th…
Report: RBS tables Game recue bid
Posted by Tom Ivan on March 25th, 2012
Royal Bank of Scotland has tabled a bid to buy Game Group out of administration, The Sunday Times reports. Royal Bank of Scotland has tabled a bid to buy Game Group out of administration, The Sunday Times reports.Game’s British operation wi…
Tax breaks won’t lure Avalanche to UK
Posted by Nathan Brown on March 23rd, 2012
Just Cause 2 dev admits tax relief makes the UK "more attractive" but says supply of talent amid intense competition remains a concern. The newly announced tax relief for UK videogame companies is expected to bring a rush of over…
Posted in Articles Tags: Avalanche Studios, Christofer Sundberg, Montreal, new york, Recruitment, Stockholm, Tax, UK Comments Off"Five or six" firms keen on Game Group buyout
Posted by Nathan Brown on March 22nd, 2012
A number of companies are being linked with a buyout of Game Group after the nation's largest specialist videogame retailer filed for administration yesterday. Retail Week (via MCV) reports that "five or six" companies are circling Ga…
Brain In A Jar snaps up Indy 500 rights
Posted by Nathan Brown on March 22nd, 2012
Cheshire studio Brain In A Jar has been awarded the EU rights to a simulation based on the Indianapolis 500 race for Xbox 360. The Indy 500 is, together with the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours Of Le Mans, part of the 'triple crown of motors…
Posted in Articles Tags: Announcements, Brain In A Jar, Carl Dalton, Indianapolis 500: Evolution, licensing, Racing, UK, xbox 360 Comments OffUKIE hails "fantastic" tax relief
Posted by Nathan Brown on March 21st, 2012
UK trade body UKIE has described the chancellor's announcement of tax relief for the UK videogame industry as "fantastic news." While rival trade association TIGA has tirelessly campaigned for Games Tax Relief, and was quick to claim …
Games Tax Relief: the industry reacts
Posted by Nathan Brown on March 21st, 2012
Hot on the heels of news that the UK government is to introduce tax relief for videogame companies, trade association TIGA has sent over quotes from leading industry figures welcoming chancellor George Osborne's announcement. Hot on the heel…
Posted in Articles Tags: Andrew Eades, Blitz Game Studios, Bossa Studios, Colin Anderson, Crytek, Denki, Gareth Edmondson, Government, Jagex, Jason Kingsley, Mark Gerhard, Rebellion, Relentless, Tax, TIGA, UK Comments OffUK games tax relief confirmed
Posted by Nathan Brown on March 21st, 2012
UK chancellor George Osborne pledges to support "our brilliant videogame industry" with targeted tax relief. UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has said in his Budget announcement this afternoon that government is to i…
Game Group files for administration
Posted by Ben Maxwell on March 21st, 2012
Trading to continue amid ongoing discussions with lenders. Following its suspension of share trading this morning, UK retailer Game has filed for administration."Further to this morning's announcement of the suspension of trading …
Report: Game to close, new company to open Monday
Posted by Ben Maxwell on March 21st, 2012
Game Group rescue packages detailed. Game Group's board has presented interested parties with four potential next steps for the retailer after a period of consultation with Game's major suppliers and a financial specialist. http://ww…
Game Group share trading suspended
Posted by Ben Maxwell on March 21st, 2012
Shares close at 2.39p as further store closures loom. Ailing UK retailer Game Group has suspended trading of its shares pending "clarification of the company's financial position".In a statement, the board said that the compa…
