TeamCTF » Gaming Business

News: Viacom earnings fall, Harmonix dispute blamed

Salat — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:12:39 +0000

The latest figures from Viacom show a 65 per cent fall in net earnings compared to the previous year, a fall it at least partly attributes to its on going dispute with Harmonix.

For Q1 2012 the company showed net earnings of $ 212 million for the quarter ending December 31 2011. This figure showed a $ 398 million drop from the previous year’s $ 610 million.

It was a drop that James W Barge, chief financial officer, blamed on the recent legal battle with Harmonix.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

News: THQ needs partner to bring Warhammer MMO to market

Salat — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:12:39 +0000

THQ is currently looking for a partner to bring its MMO Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium to market.

In a conference call to investors following the release of the company’s third quarter results, CEO Brian Farrell confirmed that the high costs of development are putting a burden on the project.

“While the game in development promises to be a high-quality consumer offering, because of the large financial commitment and associated risks, we are being realistic about our resources and we are actively seeking a partner for this compelling MMO,” he said.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

News: New chief strategy and talent officer for Activision

Salat — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:12:47 +0000

Activision Blizzard has appointed Humam Sakhini to the newly created role of chief strategy and talent officer.

“Bringing together our strategic planning and worldwide human resources responsibilities under Humam’s leadership underscores our commitment to talent recruiting, development and retention as a principal focus of the company,”said CEO Robert Kotick.

“This move will enable us to more closely link our strategic planning and business development initiatives with talent development to ensure we remain the preeminent destination for the most talented people working in interactive entertainment.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

News: Digital Capital ready to fund digital games

Salat — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:12:55 +0000

Swiss company Digital Capital has launched itself as a “funding vehicle” for digital games, offering funding to mobile, console and PC developers.

“With the growth of digital distribution there are so many opportunities for investors,” said co-founder and veteran business advisor Todd Tribell.

“Our focus will always be on quality, with the sole aim of bringing success to all of our partners – both developers and investors.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

News: Konami Europe gets new president

Salat — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:12:42 +0000

Konami has appointed Shinji Hirano as its new president of Europe.

Hirano was most recently president of the US business, and now overseas all European operations from headquarters in Germany.

“I am proud and delighted to have been given this challenge,” offered Shinji Hirano. “I am keen to support the diversity the European territories offer, and looking to ways our business can best support the different tastes and opportunities they possess.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

News: THQ threatened with Nasdaq delisting

Salat — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:12:39 +0000

Saints Row publisher THQ has been threatened with delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The company has until July 23 for bid price of its stock to rise above $ 1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive days. Stock is currently valued at 70 cent per share and has fallen over four years from a high of $ 36.

The struggling company said last week that it intends to focus on the core gaming audience and shelved future ambitions in the kids’ market. Over the past two years it has canned numerous projects and cut staff significantly.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

News: Report: Facebook IPO filing set for this week

Salat — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:12:45 +0000

Reports from America suggest that Facebook could be filing the S-1 for its $ 10 billion IPO as early as today,with an expected valuation somewhere between $ 75 billion and $ 100 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal Facebook is aiming for the IPO between April and June, and papers will be filed this week.

The filing will reveal some of the financial workings behind the social networking giant.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

News: UKIE sponsors Blitz students

Salat — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:12:44 +0000

UKIE will fund the travel of selected students attending the Blitz Games Studios 2012 Student Open Days in March.

“We are delighted to be supporting the Blitz Games Studios Open Days as part of our commitment to the Livingstone Hope Skills review recommendations to help the UK’s games industry access the high quality graduates it needs to grow and innovate,” said UKIE CEO Jo Twist.

“We are long-standing admirers of Blitz’s policy of supporting games education and aspiring developers, and it’s a pleasure to be able to add our support in this way. We hope that this fund enables even more students to benefit from attending a Blitz Open Day.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

News: Registration opens for GameHorizon 2012

Salat — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:13:32 +0000

Registration has opened for this year’s GameHorizon, taking place June 27-28 at The Sage Gateshead.

Mills from app developer ustwo, Darren Jobling of Eutechnyx, Thumbstar’s Gareth Edmondson and Atomic Antelope’s Chris Stevens are all confirmed for the event, with more to be added over the coming months.

“The theme for 2012 is GameHorizon is about Entertainment, Technology and Games,” said Nina Cliff, conference producer. “We’re seeking out unique thinkers and pioneering businesses for this year’s line up.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News

Editorial: Talking Loud, Saying Nothing

Salat — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:13:23 +0000

It’s an understatement to say THQ is in a mess. This week it axed staff from its publishing and administration teams, and confirmed that it is no longer working on games aimed at the younger audiences, including the shelving of a recent Disney project. That’s not because games for kids aren’t doing the business anymore, it’s just that THQ hasn’t been able to follow the audience as it got hooked on monsters and online penguins.

Concentrating on the core audience is a solid plan if that really is your intention, but THQ is a company without confidence, axing projects and staff before they’ve taken their first steps. Look at its activities last year and a familiar pattern emerges – because its exactly what it did in 2009 when it first acknowledged that the kids’ market was shrinking, when it closed Big Huge Games and let Heavy Iron and Incinerator go, when CEO Brian Farrell said the company would focus on fewer titles, when internal studio Volition lost its QA staff, the International business was shuttered and 600 staff let go. And previously in 2008 when it spoke of a new direction and sacked 250 staff with the closure of five studios.

But back to 2011, to really ram the point home. Three internal development teams were shut down in September at a cost of 200 jobs, and the MX Vs ATV franchise was canned – a series Brian Farrell hoped would usher in a mid-priced revolution for the company. The recently rebooted Red Faction series was briefly full of hope before being canned in July after a lacklustre launch and tepid reviews for Red Faction: Guerrilla. A month earlier, THQ Warrington (a digital-focused studio) was closed, alongside the Homefront team at Kaos, and Saints Row spin-off Drive By didn’t even get shown publicly before being snuffed.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz – News