Event News

Activision Blizzard has filed a countersuit against No Doubt’s breach of contract allegations. The rock band issued a complaint against Activision allowing gamers to play other groups’ music using No Doubt avatars – an act the artists claimed that this downgrades them to being a virtual karaoke act”, according to …

The countdown to next year’s MCV Awards has begun – with date, venue and categories announced. Over 600 retailers and execs from all sectors of the business will attend what is the single biggest and most prestigious event on the UK games industry calendar. Sponsors already include Nintendo, Codemasters and …

The UK government has again rejected calls for tax breaks in the game development sector. Making what was clearly a coarse pre-budget speech for tough times, Chancellor Alistair Darling declared that his budget is one that would "secure the [economy’s] recovery and promote long-term growth." But Darling’s pre-budget speech – …

Warner Bros is delighted that LEGO Batman is enjoying a new lease of life, racking up sales that put it head to head with the likes of Forza 3, GTA and Mario & Sonic. Despite being released back in September 2008, the game has seen renewed success thanks to its …

Things might not be going quite as smoothly for the Pro Evolution Soccer series in Europe as publisher Konami would have hoped, but the series is showing no signs of lagging in its homeland of Japan. Kotaku reports that PES 2010 was the best selling game throughout November in Japan, …

Globally recognised pro skateboarder Tony Hawk has spoken in defence of Activision’s Tony Hawk: Ride, accusing many critics of failing to give the game the credit he feels it deserves. Most snarky critics had their minds set before ever seeing/playing the game,” Hawk said on his Twitter profile. I’m proud …

Nintendo may have weathered a mixed 2009 – particularly in Japan – but new sales numbers from Japan suggest that its iconic mascot Mario remains as popular today as he ever was. According to Andriasang, upon its release last week New Super Mario Bros Wii shifted an impressive 422,000 units …

Woolworths’ former development boss has told MCV he will open up to 200 Alworths stores throughout the UK – and games will be stocked in all outlets. Andy Latham – MD of the new retail chain – launched the first five Alworths stores last month. He has hired a team …

The UK Film Council is staying silent on the possibility of incorporating video games into its remit. The notion of games being integrated into the Council’s responsibilities was suggested last month by Shadow Culture Secretary Ed Vaizey. In his address at this year’s London Games Conference, he described the Film …

On Monday, U.S. president Barack Obama unveiled an education campaign designed to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in children’s education. A raft of companies and charity foundations announced their support including Time Warner, Discovery, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Sony Computer Entertainment America. The games firm …