JULY 23, 2007 • With Viacom’s re-entry into the gaming industry comes a lot of buzz and great expectations. Clearly such a media giant could have a profound effect on the gaming landscape. In other words, some caution is in order. Briefly summarized the largest branch on the Viacom tree, MTV Networks, has recently completed an $800 million shopping spree of gaming properties. In the last two years the company acquired the in-game messenger program Xfire, GameTrailers.com, Neopets, .....

JULY 23, 2007 • In recent years there has been a great deal of buzz over the “casual games business.” To an outside observer of the game industry it may seem as if there has suddenly been discovered a wide swath of consumers with different playing habits. In fact what is referred to as casual games have always been a large portion of the game industry. What is often defined as the casual game industry in today’s market is simply describing new ways to generate revenue from product gen.....

JULY 19, 2007 • Japanese publisher Enterbrain reports that more than 3 million Wii units have been sold in Japan as of July 15, followed by 1 million PS3s, and 421,000 Xbox 360s. The publisher also said more than 18 million Nintendo DSs had been sold at retail by the same date. Impact: The rea.....

JULY 18, 2007 • Five days following the close of E3, Microsoft Games corporate vice president Peter Moore leaves the company to become the label president of EA Sports. Moore explains the change as a family-related return to the San Francisco Bay area, with no linkage to the future prospects of the Xbox 360 platform. Don Mattrick, former president of EA’s worldwide game studios, was named by Microsoft as senior vice president of its interactive entertainment business, and responsible .....

JULY 14 , 2007 • In recent years, a great deal of lip service has been paid to the Eastern Asian markets, most notably China and South Korea. Yet it is important to realize that the game market in East Asian countries have as many unique attributes as similarities. This is especially true of comparisons with the market in Japan. This article will present East Asian markets in a larger context, and put each country in perspective by comparing it with other markets to draw parallels and cont.....

JULY 13, 2007 • On the last day of the E3 Business & Media Summit, SCEE president David Reeves throws cold water on the American division’s PS3 price cut – calling it a temporary measure to clear excess inventory in anticipation of the $599 80GB unit. After SCE president Kazuo Hirai confirms in.....

JULY 7, 2007 • After a slew of rumors regarding an impending price reduction, Circuit City stores begin selling the 60GB PlayStation 3 for $499 early after print circular advertised the console at that price effective July 15. On July 8, Sony Computer Entertainment of America officially announces t.....