Microsoft has said that games aimed at the hardcore consumer are much easier to sell than those intended for a more casual and social player.
The company believes that next year's release of motion device Project Natal will appeal to both audiences, but the core titles for Natal will help it quickly find an audience while Microsoft markets to the more fickle casual consumer.
"The core are going to buy the games, we don't have to focus on marketing those - well, we do, but those games in a lot of ways will sell themselves because they're such immersive and intense experiences that the core is going to buy, and buy disproportionally for the Xbox," spokesperson David Dennis told GamesIndustry.biz.
Despite a drop in reported property crimes the theft of games consoles in the US has risen 285 per cent since 2007 according to new FBI data.
The disproportionate rise is likely to be due to the increased popularity of portable games consoles which are easy targets for theft, FBI representative Anthony Weiner told USA Today.
"They seem to become bigger targets for theft," he said. "It's the omnipresent, miniature electronics crime paradox: Even as crime goes down, when you have more electronics, you have more theft."
id Software parent company ZeniMedia has called for the removal of several non-official versions of id games from the Android Market.
A Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaint has been filed with Google, according to Android and Me, requesting that 11 applications in total are removed from the marketplace. The applications are all unofficial versions of Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein.
One developer affected by the cease and desist order stated that, "Although the Doom source code was open sourced, and the application was based on a port of the PrBoom engine, the application is still suspended. My mistake was allowing the download of the Plutonia and TNT WADs. At least that is what I suspect."
The games business grows and evolves because of persistent fads, which entice new consumers and bring new money into the industry, while a loyal core base of players can be relied on to buy and support more traditional blockbuster games.
That's the view of EEDAR's Jesse Divnich, who sees Microsoft's Project Natal as the next in a line of fads during the current generation that have included Nintendo's Wii, fitness games, casual gaming and the music genre.
"Our industry works off persistent fads. I say the word 'fad', and some publishers hate it, but fad shouldnt have this negative connotation. It's a good thing," said Divnich, in an exclusive interview published today.
Zenimax Media has announced that it has acquired the rights to id Software's new IP RAGE.
The game will be published by Zenimax label Bethesda, after acquiring the developer of Doom and Quake earlier this year.
Electronic Arts has originally signed RAGE before the acquisition of id Software. The new first-person shooter was originally scheduled for 2010, but Bethesda's short statement to the press did not mention any release window.
GamesIndustry.biz has learned that Gerhard Florin, long-standing executive at Electronic Arts and current general manager of international publishing, is to leave the company at the end of its financial year.
The move comes at a time when the publisher is undergoing significant changes to deal with a shifting business environment, with studios and staff cutbacks set against the USD 300 million acquisition of social network developer Playfish.
Florin has been with the publisher since 1996 when he was appointed MD of the German-speaking territories, and was promoted in 2001 to company VP and MD for Europe.
Five digital companies in the North have been awarded GBP 10,000 each to develop prototypes in the second annual Get In The Game commissioning project.
Initiated by Northwest Vision and Media and with support from Sony Computer Entertainment and Pixel-Lab, Get in the Game is designed for companies from the digital and games sectors to collaborate and improve pitching projects.
Liverpool firms Milky Tea and Pixinworks, Manchester companies Savvy Productions and Connect2Media, and Leeds based Grant Midwinter will each receive grants to develop prototypes to be pitched to Sony, Blitz and Channel 4 for full funding in Spring 2010.
Sega has applied to have the Australian classification of the forthcoming Aliens vs. Predator reviewed, after the company stated it would not censor the game to ensure a release.
The game was initially refused a 15+ age rating, the highest available in Australia for videogames, essentially banning the game from release. Unlike other titles, such as Valve's Left 4 Dead 2, developer Rebellion has indicated it has no intention of censoring the game to achieve the lower rating.
However, website Refused Classification has found evidence that Sega intends to have the ruling reviewed, with the ratings board due to convene this Friday to consider additional submissions.
New data from research firm NPD shows that the best-selling videogame title in America so far this year has been the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with 4.2 million units sold to the end of November.
In information released to website IndustryGamers the rest of the top ten for the year so far was dominated by Nintendo titles, with six first party titles performing strongly - representing more than 50 per cent of sales in the top ten.
The second biggest seller of the year has been 2008's Wii Fit with 3.5 million unit sales, followed by new title Wii Sports Resort on 2.4 million. Also originally released in 2008, Mario Kart Wii was still the fourth biggest seller of the year on 2.2 million units, followed by hardware bundle Wii Play on 2.1 million.
Sony has once again hinted at plans to charge for online services via the PlayStation Network, specifically mentioning the prospect of monthly fees - although for exactly what products remains unclear.
In an interview with Nikkei Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment executive vice president and chief technology officer Masayuki Chatani was asked how Sony was managing the high costs associated with running a service such as the PlayStation Network.
"We would face difficulties if our business depended solely on the sell-and-forget model. After we sell the hardware, though, we continue to sell products such as content and services," he said.
The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (iGEA) has released a statement welcoming the news of a public consultation in Australia over the need for an adult 18-rating for videogames.
The Attorney-General's department finally agreed to issue a submission paper on the matter, following a long line of key titles that have either had to be heavily edited for content or not released in the country at all - something which the publisher association believes is out of step with public opinion and demand.
"We've had the unusual situation that the debate was initially stifled by South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, who has been a long-standing opponent to this classification," said Ron Curry, CEO of the iGEA. "We are pleased that the Commonwealth has decided to champion the issue and has agreed to move forward with a formal and structured public consultation process. We will be calling on Mr Atkinson to genuinely consider the range of views that are expressed over the next two months and reconsider his position on the matter.
The ELAN Awards will take place in San Diego, USA, next year - moving south from their original home in Canada for the first time.
Now in its fourth year the event - previously hosted by William Shatner, Seth MacFarlane and Tom Kenny - will feature two nights of parties before the ceremony itself, which will take place on Monday July 19.
"The best show producers in Los Angeles and San Diego will be involved in the staging of the 2010 ELAN Awards, promising an entertaining and technically advanced show," said the event's founder Holly Carinci. "The thirty awards given out on the evening will include new convergent categories never before awarded and game clips never before seen in North America all of which will combine to create the crowning touch for audience members of the 2010 ELAN Awards."
The Australian government has begun a period of public consultation concerning the possible implementation of a mature 18+ age rating for video games, with citizens being asked to submit their views on the subject.
The Attorney-General's Department has issued a submission paper featuring a short questionnaire, whose statements participants are able to agree or disagree with on a five point scale.
A sample statement reads: "Computer games should be treated differently from films given the specific, negative effects of interactivity on players, particularly their participation in violent and aggressive content".
Around 30 fulltime jobs are to go at Sony Computer Entertainment America's quality assurance group in Foster City, California, according to SCEA spokesman Patrick Seybold.
Speaking to U.S. website Gamasutra, Seybold stated that the move was made in order to reduce costs and streamline the group. Remaining staff from Foster City will move to the company's second QA department in San Diego, California.
The story first emerged at blog site Kotaku, which also indicated that 100 contract positions would go at the same time - although SCEA has not confirmed this directly.
Labour MP for West Bromwich East and founder of videogames pressure group Gamers' Voice, Tom Watson, has told GamesIndustry.biz that he would like to see the BBC look at ways to use its market presence to help small games developers.
The corporation, which is funded in the UK by the public license fee - currently GBP 142.50 for every household using its services on TV, radio or online - could allow developers to showcase applications or games on the BBC website, with the studio then able to look at commercial routes as well.
"I'd like it reflected in their output and in the way they procure games and digital content," said Watson on the subject of cultural equality between film, TV and videogames. "The BBC have spent GBP 1 billion on their website since 1994 - they could have breathed life into a lot of gaming companies if they'd got their contracts right and been generous with their licensing.
The Scottish Digital Media Industry Advisory Group has unveiled a strategy which it believes would result in the country's revenues from the digital sector doubling in the next two years to GBP 6.3 billion.
The body, chaired by Channel 4 exec Stuart Cosgrove, has submitted proposals to significantly enhance Scotland's global reputation in the digital industries - including the videogames business - which have been welcomed by Scottish Enterprise.
"Many of the simple things we do every day are being transformed by digital technologies - from online news and digital photography, to music downloads, multiplatform television and social networking," said Cosgrove. "These markets offer huge potential for Scotland and we want to ensure that our companies are able to act on these opportunities. To achieve a step-change in Scotlands global reputation in digital media, we need to increase the number of companies, encourage them to leverage, own and exploit the platforms on which they operate, and extract more value from intellectual property rights."
Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has remained the best-selling title in the UK all formats chart for a fifth week, despite an 11 per cent drop in sales.
In one of the last weeks before Christmas there are few new releases, the fastest mover being Ubisoft's Just Dance for Wii at number eight, rising up from its debut last week at number 30.
Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for Nintendo DS was one of the few genuine new entries of the week, coming in at number 12.
The PlayStation 3 is still being sold at a small loss according to the latest estimates from market research firm iSuppli, with Sony predicted to be able to break even in the near future.
iSuppli's analysis of the 120GB PS3's internal components has lead it to put a figure of USD 336.27 on the cost of parts and manufacturing for the console. The hardware sells for USD 299.99 in North America and the equivalent of USD 438 in the UK and USD 318 in Japan.
The falling cost of components is likely to see the cost of manufacturing continue to fall in 2010, with iSuppli analyst Andrew Rassweiler commenting: "In light of these factors, the PlayStation 3 probably is already at or near the tipping point for profitability."
