Event News

Many are predicting that publisher Square Enix will later this morning at a Tokyo press event announce the release date of the massively hyped Final Fantasy XIII in Japan. Furthermore, an ad that went live on Square Enix’s Japanese website yesterday suggests that December 17th will be the day the …

MTV Games has told MCV that a ‘Beatles Microphone Bundle’ could be released at European retail this Q4. As reported yesterday, MCV believes that the pack will carry SingStar branding. The publisher did not confirm if this was the case, but reiterated its support for third-party music video game peripherals …

Gamers who register their PSPgo between October 1st and October 10th will get a free download of Gran Turismo PSP. The announcement was made by SCEE president Andrew House during the Sony Gamescom press conference. House said it is the full game, and not a demo, and will be available …

NCsoft is expected to reveal major details for the highly anticipated Guild Wars 2 at this year’s Gamescom. The official website and Twitter feed for the sequel to one of the publisher’s biggest hits are now active, while the developer has teased that the first glimpse of the game is …

American publisher Graffiti Entertainment has shrugged off the threat of consolidation by expanding its presence to Europe. The firm has set up a new office in London, and hired former CDV and Jester man Terry Malham as head of business development. Malham will aid the San Francisco-based publisher in its …

The reign of Wii Sports Resort has ground to a halt earlier than expected at the top of the ELSPA GfK-ChartTrack All Formats Top 40 with Codemasters’ Ashes 2009 stumping Nintendo’s title after its first weekend of release. In doing so Codemasters becomes the first UK publisher to claim the …

Hot on the heels of Nintendo releasing a brand new piracy-fighting patch for its DSi console, Nintendo’s anti-piracy efforts have been further bolstered by the successful prosecution of a high-profile DS pirate in Japan. Kotaku reports that 38 year old Yoshiaki Asagiri has been handed a two and a half …

Electronic Arts took the title of June’s biggest-selling publisher, after The Sims helped it generate almost a quarter of all UK software revenue in the month. The firm dominated publisher tables in terms of both unit sales and revenue. EA’s share of units sales grew 3.9 per cent in the …

Another UK studio unhappy with the increasingly risk-averse nature of big publishers has turned to self-publishing. Indie firm Icon Games this week announced intentions to self-publish five digital titles for the likes of PSP, DS, iPhone and consoles before the end of they year. These include Arcade Darts (WiiWare/PSP), Stuntcars …

US publisher Mamba Games is to begin releasing titles in the UK, following a sales and distribution deal with Lace Digital Media Sales. The US company began co-publishing with European firms after being founded by former THQ commercial director Robert Neilsen last year – but will now enjoy direct distribution …