As 2009 kicked off the UK High Street was still in the grips of what some are calling the worst recession in living memory. Retailers were going under, we lost Woolies from the High Street and a lot of people were getting annoyed by EUK’s warehouse.
On top of that we had the industry in uproar about the government’s Change4Life Campaign, Nintendo were making worrying noises about the Japanese market, Sony was losing money and Microsoft… well, things weren’t so bad for Microsoft, with Xbox 360 sales up year-on-year.
JANUARY
When we look back at the early 21st century recession, many will regard the passing of UK High Street stalwart Woolworths as the most symbolic victim
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Nintendo starts the year by revealing that it has beaten its own record – Wii Sports surpasses Super Mario Bros to become the world’s most popular game
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From zero to hero – Microsoft’s huge investment in its Xbox brand seems to be paying off with news that the 360 has passed the 28m unit sales mark
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Sony starts 2009 hoping to forget the troubles it suffered in 2008, but SCEE president David Reeves’ first job of the new year is to ‘fess up to the mounting financial woes at the platform holder
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It may not have the brand recognition of Woolworths, but Zavvi’s slow demise into nothingness points to a very tough 2009 on the High Street for entertainment retailers
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After a long and successful relationship, developer Neversoft and skateboard legend Tony Hawk part ways in a move that signifies the end of an era and the reaching of a crossroads for one of gaming’s most profitable ever series
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Talk of Eidos’ buyout intensify, with Warner touted as the likely candidate
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There’s no sign of the turbulent waters that surround Take Two abating with news that COO Gary Dale is to depart the publisher
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In a speech that would later this year come back to haunt him, one of MCV’s favourite publisher bosses John Riccitiello says that creativity and new IP are the key to future profits
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The number of job loss stories is getting rather depressing at this point, with SCEE forced to issue a statement assuring its employees that their jobs, at least, are safe
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The news isn’t as good at Microsoft, however, with the combined effects of the global recession and seismic changes in the PC software market leading to 5,000 job losses
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One of modern gaming’s most successful franchises makes the bold decision to start over with news that EA has radical plans in place for its Need for Speed series
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FEBRUARY
Can we really keep kidding ourselves that the games industry is recession proof? Maybe. After all, the global market was up 11 per cent year-on-year in 2008
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Another major movie giant turns its attentions to gaming with the appointment of John Kavanagh as the head of Paramount’s video games division
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Job losses at EA are now estimated to reach 1,100 as the former global publishing leader faces up to some serious restructuring
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More bad news comes from THQ, which admits that 600 jobs are to be lost ahead of what it expects to be a ‘significantly worse’ Q4 than had been previously expected
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Whilst major successes such as Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5 will make for a good 2009 in the end, Capcom’s year gets off to a shocker with a year-on-year decline in income of 95 per cent
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It’s game over at Zavvi, with the closure of the retail chain leading to a painful 1,000 job losses on the UK High Street
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When Nintendo boss Saturo Iwata claims there’s “something wrong” with the Japanaese video games market, you know there’s something wrong with the Japanese video games market
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There’s something wrong with Wii Music, too, as Iwata admits that Miyamoto’s latest has failed to hit the mark
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As if the job losses resulting from the demise of EUK aren’t bad enough, a whole new world of pain is about to ensue as administrator Deloitte sells off 1.1m games from EUK’s warehouse
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The Eidos buyout is real, but it’s not Warner making the move – instead, the games industry is shocked by Japanese publisher Square Enix’s decision to swoop for the home of Lara Croft
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Midway can no longer hide its troubles and is forced to beg the Bankruptcy Court to protect the publisher from the circling creditors
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The war on piracy reaches a major milestone as the four men behind Swedish filesharing portal Pirate Bay are taken to court
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Sony never wins format wars, right? Wrong. Blu-ray is not only here to stay, but it’s actually doing rather well
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Buoyed by its successes elsewhere, the dormant power that is Sony finally wakes up and screams the words “The PSP will not die!” at the top of its voice with a slew of major IP announcements for the handheld
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At times it feels like a futile struggle, but for what it’s worth Japanese retailers effectively ban the DS piracy tool R4 from their shelves
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It’s all change at Sony as CEO and chairman Howard Stringer is appointed Sony president, with Kaz Hirai tasked with overseeing its PlayStation operations
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MARCH
Zavvi lives on, but the real news is the entry into the market of a very serious and determined new competitor – The Hut
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Capcom gets its highest profile backer yet as the BBFC wades in to defend Resident Evil 5 against accusations of racism
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Sony fanboys rejoice as the platform holder’s answer to Xbox 360 Achievements arrive in the form of PlayStation Trophies
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The warning sirens are blazing a full volume as Midway’s then owner Mark Thomas admits that the publisher is “haemorrhaging cash at an alarming rate”
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The High Street’s monopoly on trade-ins is threatened with news that the North American arm of Amazon has began allowing its customers to swap their old games for credit
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The government’s Change4Life campaign annoys pretty much everyone in the UK games industry with an ad that pairs gaming with early death
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In a totally unprecedented move, Nintendo opts to increase the trade price of the Wii in the UK, though it refuses to take any responsibility for the possible affect it might have on the High Street price
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The platform holder’s plans go further than simply charging more for its consoles – now Nintendo wants a serious piece of the digital download market
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Another platform holder thinking digitally is Sony – it has plans to release its future PSP titles on both UMD and as a download simultaneously
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It’s 50m sales and counting as Wii’s success seemingly knows no bounds
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Can the PS3 outsell the Wii? Don’t be daft – it can barely outsell the Wii balance Board!
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To COD or not to COD? The hype machine turns over its starter engine as the world debates whether or not Activision will ion fact drop the Call of Duty name from the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
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Square Enix’s acquisition of Eidos is complete in a move that ushers in a new era on both sides of the globe
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50m global Wii sales may be impressive, but Xbox 360’s passing of the 1m sales barrier in Japan is truly a notable achievement
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