Bidness

News

Epic Exec Says ‘Stupid Acquisitions’ Lead To Studio Closures

5:00AM July 17, 2011 | Owen Good

Noting the string of studio closures lately, the chief of European operations for Epic Games says there’s a pretty simple cause for them. More »


News

Internal Memo Addresses Madden Losses, Lays Out EA Sports’ Expansion Plans

8:00AM June 30, 2011 | Owen Good

In an internal memo obtained by IGN, a senior EA Sports executive says the label will soon open a third studio in Texas, and addresses the departures of key developers from its flagship Madden NFL product. More »


News

Gamefly Triumphs In Postal Service Dispute

11:30AM April 21, 2011 | Owen Good

The US Postal Service gave an unfair advantage to competitors like Netflix and Blockbuster Video, a regulatory board said Wednesday, awarding game rental service GameFly a victory in a two-year dispute over the postage, breakage and sorting of its disc mailings. More »


News

GameStop’s Holiday Was A $3 Billion Disappointment

1:30PM January 7, 2011 | Owen Good

GameStop’s stock lost almost 6 percent today even though it saw greater sales in the 2010 holiday season than it did a year ago. That wasn’t enough, apparently. More »


News

Forbes Lists Gabe Newell As A Name You Should Know

9:00AM November 14, 2010 | Owen Good

Being video gamers, you likely are familiar with the Valve co-founder and president. But Forbes, business list-maker extraordinaire, has taken notice and looks to feature Gabe Newell in a December magazine roundup of influential people and concepts. More »


News

Should The 360 Form Its Own Corporation?

4:00PM October 7, 2010 | Owen Good

Goldman Sachs’ analysts punked Microsoft’s stock rating and archly suggested that the company spin off the Xbox 360 division, saying such a sale could unlock hidden value within the unit and free it from the company’s more sluggish performance. More »


News

What Your $US60 Really Buys

1:30PM February 25, 2010 | Owen Good

Seven dollars of a $US60 video game purchase covers expenses for games never even sold. That’s according to a breakdown of retail game cost by an on-demand games service. More »


News

Back Pay Is Hell: Viacom Wants Refund From Harmonix

3:30PM February 12, 2010 | Owen Good

I’m just a simple caveman lawyer, and your world of finance frightens and confuses me. However, it sounds like Viacom wants a refund on a substantial bonus it paid to Harmonix’s founders. More »


News

Electronic Arts Scaling Back Third Party Distribution Plans

3:00PM February 10, 2010 | Owen Good

Top-flight titles like Rock Band and Left 4 Dead are distributed by Electronic Arts but the association doesn’t mean as much to the company’s bottom line. The publisher will be moving away from distributing third-party titles in the coming year. More »


News

Atari Gets A New Money Man

11:00AM September 16, 2009 | Owen Good

Atari found its new chief financial officer from TheLadders.com. Not that they went literally advertising on the service, which promises careers paying more than $US100,000 annually. They got the guy who was its veep for finance. More »