NOV. 18, 2009 • Both Finland and Spain announce similar universal Internet access programs. In Finland, the government mandated 1Mbps universal service be instituted by July 1 of this year, with an emphasis on access in rural and sparsely populated areas. The Spanish government announced a si.....

NOV. 17, 2009 • As part of a pledge to trim 1,500 jobs by April 2010 in order to cut costs, Electronic Arts shut down its Westwood-based Pandemic Studio. Around 25 of Pandemic’s 225 employees were to be relocated to the nearby EA Los Angeles facility. EA acquired Pandemic and BioW.....

NOV. 17, 2009 • Eleven individuals accused of writing Trojan virus code to scam online gamers were sentenced to up to three years by a Chinese court. The group was found guilty of stealing 5.3 million user names and passwords – access that was used to steal virtual goods and curre.....

NOV. 17, 2009 • One of the biggest issues facing subscription games is keeping gamers around for the long haul.  The success of Activision Blizzard’s World of Warcraft has been due to the fact that gamers have been surprisingly loyal to the product for five years.  Other major MMOGs have not fared so well and there are numerous consumers that have tried the product but are no longer current subscribers. DFC Intelligence re.....

NOV. 13, 2009 • Six Degrees Games, Inc. raised $7 million in equity financing, with Time Warner Inc. investing along with current investors including Clearstone Venture Partners and Prism Venture Works. Six Degrees is known for publishing online  sports entertainment including the tween and teen sports site ActionAllStars.com. The additional funding will used to  expand development capabilities. In other financing news, social gaming company Playdom raised $43.....

NOV. 12, 2009 • GameStop will start testing a novel variation on micro-transactions starting in 2010. The concept is to combine in-store customer service with digital ordering. If a consumer learns of a game upgrade while visiting a store, they can order the item before.....

NOV. 12, 2009 • Following Microsoft Corp.’s decision to ban from its Live online service those Xbox 360s that have been modified to run pirated titles, large numbers of the modded consoles have begun showing up for sale on eBay. As many as 600,000 of the devices have been banned so far. The policy affects specific systems, not Live account holders, so there is incentive to offload the consoles. .....

NOV. 11, 2009 • Former SCE boss Ken Kutaragi has started a new firm, Cyber AI Entertainment Inc., according to The Nikkei business daily. Cyber AI is capitalized at ¥20 million ($222,000), with Kutaragi owning 90% of the new firm, and serving as president. Former Sony engineer Takashi Usuki, holds the other 10% stake and is a board member. Cyber AI will focus on research and development relating to information processing and cutting-edge networking with an eye .....