Swedish software firm Global Gaming Factory (GGF) is in the process of acquiring controversial file-sharing site The Pirate Bay for $7.8 million (£4.7 million).
The company has also purchased file-sharing technology firm Peerialism, and intends to turn The Pirate Bay into a legitimate website that offers compensation to the creators of the content it hosts.
"We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site," said GGF CEO Hans Pandeya.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expects Xbox 360’s home console market share to fade to third by 2015, largely due to a lack of penetration in Japan.
“We expect the dominant console at the end of the this cycle to be the Wii, as we think that the console’s low price point, innovative control mechanism, and compatibility with standard definition televisions will provide it with a competitive advantage over the next two years,” he said, noting that he still expects the company to introduce a high definition Wii.
Sony Computer Entertainment has expanded its official licensing business, inviting third parties to create new PlayStation peripherals and accessories in a bid to “further expand the PSP, PS3 and PS2 platforms."
Third parties entering into a licence agreement with SCE will receive access to technical documents “necessary for designing and creating” products for Sony gaming platforms, and their creations will be able to carry an official licensed product logo.
Resistance: Fall of Man is currently the only Sony published PS3 title to have topped one million sales in the US, according to NPD data.
The Chinese government has reportedly moved to ban gold farming by outlawing the trading of virtual currency for real goods or services.
It estimates that trade in virtual currency exceeded several billion yuan last year, a figure believed to be growing by 20 per cent annually. One billion yuan currently equates to about $146 million, reports Information Week.
HMV has reported its financial results for the year ended April 25, 2009.
Pre-tax profits were up 11.5 per cent to £63 million, while total sales rose 4.4 per cent to £1.94 billion.
The company’s games and technology offerings were a key factor in the annual growth, accounting for 24 per cent of UK and Ireland sales, up from 14 per cent two years ago.
The retailer also counted the successful UK rollout of its pre-owned games initiative, branded Re/Play, among its operational highlights.
The NPD Group says that the number of female gamers is on the rise in 2009 compared to last year, “significantly” among console gamers.
Females increased by five percentage points among console gamers, from 23 percent in 2008 to 28 percent in 2009, according to the company’s Gamer Segmentation 2009 report. The jump is attributed largely to the popularity of Wii, which saw a 19 percent increase in usage over 2008.
