PC World - Sales of video game hardware and software were down by around one-third in June compared to the same month last year, according to data released late Thursday. After initially showing positive growth as the U.S. slid into recession, the latest figures mark the fourth month of declines and the largest year-on-year decline in almost 9 years.
More: continued here
PC World - Whether you’re calling it The Great Video Game Crash of 2009, or just another speed bump on the road to recovery, NPD Group’s June 2009 retail games sales were a little unsettling.
More: continued here
NewsFactor - The one segment of consumer entertainment that analysts believed would be recession-proof is proving otherwise. Sales for the video-game industry plunged to a nine-year low for June, according to NPD Group.
PC World - China will allow popular online game World of Warcraft to be relaunched for some players in the country after weeks offline, but it will still require changes to objectionable game content.
PC World - Nothing like flipping through the US patent office’s online text and image database and discovering someone’s tried to lock up the way we play squad-based, split-screen shooters. Tried and succeeded, it seems, since such a patent was filed on behalf of Microsoft by James R. J. York on December 2, 2002 and apparently granted on July 14, 2009.
More: continued here
AFP - US videogame sales in June slid for the fourth consecutive month as the previously recession-defying industry yielded ground to tough economic times, according to NPD Group.
More: continued here
PC World - The relaunch of the popular online game World of Warcraft in China, where it has already been offline for six weeks, still faces an indefinite delay as it awaits government approval for its content.
More: continued here
PC World - Microsoft promised games-on-demand for the Xbox 360 at last monthâs E3 show, and now itâs ready to launch the service on August 11.
More: continued here
AFP - French videogame star Ubisoft made its debut in the online social scene by unveiling a gaming portal at world-leading social-networking website Facebook.
More: continued here
PC World - It’s just a matter of time before a mobile Xbox device becomes available. That’s the word from Microsoft corporate vice president Shane Kim, who dropped the bombshell in an interview with game-enthusiast site Kikizo.
More: continued here