via Games Industry


In a presentation at the Mobile Games Forum, the latest statistics revealed by research company M:Metrics points towards a continued slow growth for mobile phone game downloads.

While 87.7 per cent of the UK population owns a handset – around 46.5 million people – only 4.8 per cent of them download games, and that figure drops to 3.3 per cent in the US.

However, while almost a quarter of people do play mobile games on a monthly basis, the vast majority are pre-loaded titles.

The presentation, by the company's senior analyst Paul Goode, also noted that there was steady growth in 3G service take up across Europe, and also in the penetration into the market of Symbian or Windows-based smartphones.

Additionally Sony Ericsson handsets were the most popular game-playing devices, something that he noted could be down to the demographic that chooses that brand – although only 20 per cent of mobile phone gamers are under 24 years old.

The research, taken from a sample size of around 15,000 in the three months to November 2007, also found that female customers were narrowly more likely to purchase games while male users were more likely to download, and far more likely to trial games.

Action and sports titles accounted for 70 per cent of mobile games represented on carrier decks, despite only taking 30 per cent of actual consumption.

Goode pointed out that this indicated more needed to be done on researching which titles should be placed prominently on the decks, although he did concede that it may be partly due to some other genre titles that significantly over perform, as well as franchise and promotional activity.

The most popular titles for female gamers included quiz games, arcade puzzles and strategy games, while males were more drawn towards sports and shooter titles.

The trend for consolidation in the industry has continued in the past twelve months, with key publishers taking a higher proportion of industry revenues then previously, with EA Mobile, I-Play, Gameloft and Glu Mobile among the top companies by market share.

The Mobile Games Forum 2008, organised by Osney Media, is taking place from January 23-24 at the Sofitel St James hotel in London. ...

via Computer and Video Games


It looks like Pandemic's tardy explosion-em-up Mercenaries 2 has been delayed yet again, this time to the end of the year in August 2008.

That of course, is if we can believe the word of internet retailers Amazon and Game Stop, which have both coincidently opted for an August 25 ship date for Pandemic's free-roaming action-fest.

The sequel, which is in development for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and PC, was delayed before from its Christmas 2007 release date into 2008.

Now that it's probably been pushed back again, we're really hoping it manages to impress more than the initial hands-on we had last year.

We've left a message with EA's PR department and hopefully they'll be able to shed some light. Otherwise, the wait is on. Again... ...

via Computer and Video Games


It looks like Pandemic's tardy explosion-em-up Mercenaries 2 has been delayed yet again, this time to the end of the year in August 2008.

That of course, is if we can believe the word of internet retailers Amazon and Game Stop, which have both coincidently opted for an August 25 ship date for Pandemic's free-roaming action-fest.

The sequel, which is in development for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and PC, was delayed before from its Christmas 2007 release date into 2008.

Now that it's probably been pushed back again, we're really hoping it manages to impress more than the initial hands-on we had last year.

We've left a message with EA's PR department and hopefully they'll be able to shed some light. Otherwise, the wait is on. Again... ...

via Eurogamer


Ubisoft's latest financials reveal that Prince of Persia is to return during the company's 2008-2009 financial year, which begins in April.

Apart from Prince of Persia Classic on Xbox Live Arcade, we haven't seen much of the Prince since he went out on last-gen consoles with a healthy bang in the shape of The Two Thrones.

However, the new game has evidently been in development for some time, having featured in the leaked September 2006 documents some bright spark at Ubisoft uploaded to a public FTP. Back then, the concept artwork and other files were labelled "POP0", so perhaps it's a prequel.

Either way, we look forward to his return - if Ubisoft can marry the evolved platforming of Assassin's Creed to the brilliant characters and puzzles of the original revamp, Sands of Time, then it will be a game to remember.

No word on platforms of release date specifics, but we'll let you know when we do.

Ubisoft's latest financials also echo reports that new Anno and Shaun White snowboarding games are in development somewhere in the publisher's globe-spanning network of studios. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Rockstar Games has finally answered assumptions that PlayStation 3 development trouble was the reason behind GTA IV's 2008 delay, admitting that it "definitely" contributed to the slip.

Speaking to MTV's multiplayer blog, Rockstar's Jeronimo Barrera said: "It's really no surprise to anybody that the PS3 was definitely a contributing factor to that." Now though, he says, "we're neck and neck".


When it was revealed that GTA wouldn't make its original October 2007 date, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told investors that "technological problems" were the reason behind the slip.

Those techy niggles were widely assumed to be PS3 dev troubles, after a summer of delays plagued multiplatform PS3 releases including Stranglehold, Rainbow Six Vegas and others.

Thankfully, Barrera says it's "not an issue anymore", and an international release date of April 29 has been set for both versions.

Hopefully then, Rockstar will come good and give us a near-identical game on both platforms - something we expect to see much more of in multiplatform releases this year. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Yesterday our jaws were left stuck to the floor after watching the Far Cry 2 tech demo showing off the incredible capabilities of the engine. Today, we've been granted five new screens.

Better-looking than Crysis? Take a look at those shots and decide for yourself.

It also begs the question of course, what kind of PC hardware will you require to get the game running at that level of detail? But then it is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 too, which Ubisoft confirmed at the start of the year.

Should you have missed yesterday's tech demo trailer, you can find that here. You'd be mad to miss it.


Screenshots ...

via Eurogamer


A new demo for Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is now available for download from Xbox Live Marketplace, weighing in at 1.2GB.

Turning Point is a first-person shooter set in an alternate 1950s New York. At the start of the game, the Third Reich launches an attack on the US by blowing up the Statue of Liberty.

You play as construction worker Dan Carson and your first mission is to not die when the skyscraper you're working on gets hit. Then there are incoming paratroopers to contend with and the task of saving the rest of New York from Nazi invasion like that episode of Seinfeld with the soup.

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this "quarter". For a full preview, pics and videos, visit the gamepage. ...

via Joystiq


The PS3 pricing structure is like a really wily monkey. You may think you have him, you've got your stun club and net all ready and then ... poof! He loses you, leaving behind only a monkey-shaped cloud of dust. In what appears to be its latest juke, the 80 GB version of the PS3 will apparently go closeout (read: no new shipments) at Best Buy stores, according to an internal memo sent to PS3 Fanboy.

What does this mean for the PS3 exactly? We've checked with our team of experts and are now able to report that we have absolutely no clue. It's worth noting that in Japan, the 20 and 60 GB SKUs of the system were dropped to focus all efforts on the 40GB model, but we don't know if that's what's happening here. The only facts now seem to be that something is up, and Sony's saying it's business as usual. We'll let you know when we hear more. ...

via Computer and Video Games


It's being reported on a few European-based websites that SCEE has finally dated Gran Turismo: Prologue.

Update: Sony's finally made it in and has told us the following: "We have yet to confirm a European release date for GT5 Prologue, and will be making an announcement in due course." Now before you go crying into your cornflakes, or bacon butty, that doesn't mean it won't be out in March. it just means they're not saying. Yet. Update out

We'd still wait until the official press release drops into our laps, or at least wait until Sony gets into work and give them a bell, but March sounds about right to us.

Some reports claim the date has been set as March 28, but we're hoping that's wrong because it's clearly the wrong side of the month we're hoping for. All of this is coming from a reported SCEE website update.

We do know that Sony's been making moves to PR the game across Europe, which doesn't take a marketing analyst to figure out that a launch window has been set. Especially when you consider that the Japanese version was out before Christmas.

While we wait for Sony to get off the Tube and into work, hit this link and check out our exclusive, direct feed movies that you may have missed a while back. More soon. ...