Commenting on recent speculation that Microsoft may buy Unreal Tournament and Gears of War developer Epic Games for $1 billion this summer, Epic Games VP Mark Rein quipped that such an acquisition would be much more costly.

A recent editorial in GamePro suggested that Epic would be purchased by Microsoft for $1 billion by the summer. In a response emailed to Develop, Rein did not comment directly on the rumors of an acquisition but noted that his company was much more valuable than the suggested amount.

"I have not seen the actual GamePro article but if they're going to make predictions about us selling Epic we would prefer if they started at $2 billion because we don't want anyone thinking that we're cheap," joked Rein. A smiley affixed on the end of the statement was omitted in several reportings of the quote, leading ... Read more

Electronics manufacturer Toshiba announced today that it will discontinue production of its HD DVD players and recorders, prompting many to sound the end of the format war in favor of Sony's Blu-ray disc.

Rumors began circulating last week that Toshiba, one of the largest backers of the HD DVD format, would discontinue support after retail giant Wal-Mart announced its decision to only sell Blu-ray discs in its stores.

"We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called 'next-generation format war'," said Toshiba CEO Atsutoshi Nishida. "[We] concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop."

Sony's PlayStation 3 is currently the only gaming console equipped to play Blu-ray movies out of the box. Microsoft recently cut the price of its Xbox 360 HD DVD player, but would not comment directly on rumors that it would release a Blu-ray player add-on as early as May.

"It is premature to speculate about Blu-ray," a Microsoft representative told Shacknews. "But we do know from market data that HD movie playback is not a primary purchase driver for consumers buying video game consoles."

The Chinese government has announced details of its plan to target internet cafes, illegal computer markets and specific online games to reduce juvenile crime, the Associated Press reports.

The plan, dubbed "Operation For Tomorrow", is aimed at restricting access to online games that the Chinese government considers violent or undesirable for young people. The announcement clarifies a statement released in January in which officials condemned online gaming as a "spiritual opium."

The government intends to close several unlicensed internet cafes and increase regulation on legal ones, citing the presence of readily-available access to online gaming as breeding grounds for internet addiction.

As a means of regulating the industry, China has enacted laws barring anybody under the age of 18 from entering internet cafes, and mandated time restrictions on adult players. Recent figures released by the state-owned Xinhua News Agency estimate that over 40 million people in China play online games.

ZeniMax Media, the parent company of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks, today announced the formation of its first European office, ZeniMax Europe.

The new branch will focus primarily on publishing titles within the European market under the Bethesda Softworks brand. Previous, ZeniMax had partnered with other companies, including Ubisoft and 2K Games, to publish its titles in Europe. However, ZeniMax noted its intent to continue working "with strategic European distribution partners."

"We want to establish direct relationships with retailers and distributors throughout Europe and the UK as we bring exciting titles like Fallout 3 and Rogue Warrior to gamers worldwide," said ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman. "This is an important step for us as we look to expand our presence in markets outside of North America."

Helmed by industry Sean Brennan, ZeniMax Europe is already up and running in its London office. One of its first publishing efforts will be Bethesda's post-apocalyptic action-RPG Fallout 3, which hits North America and Europe in PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 iterations this fall.

Several marquee companies are teaming up to keep the PC gaming platform alive, according to the Mercury News.

Dubbed the PC Gaming Alliance, the group is made up of several companies with an interest in sustaining PC gaming, including Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia and AMD. The alliance aims to keep PCs competitive with consoles in drawing game developers to the platform.

The consortium hopes to expand the efforts of Microsoft's Games for Windows program, which sought to standardize the platform and improve consumer experience. The PC Gaming Alliance is expected to be formally announced in advance of next week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Silicon Knights received $500,000 in funding from the Canadian government to develop a prototype game, reports Yahoo.

The funding comes by way of the Ontario Media Development Corporation, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Culture that works to stimulate economic development opportunities for the province's cultural media industries. The ODMC also announced its intention to invest in fellow Ontario-based developer Digital Extremes, which produced the first Xbox entry in Epic's Unreal Championship series.

The prototype game is said to be an action-based psychological thriller, tentatively scheduled for completion in 2010 for all next-gen systems, but no further details were mentioned. The prototype may be the next game in the Too Human... Read more

Law firm Greenberg Glusker announced today that Ubisoft Entertainment won a $13.2 million judgment in its copyright and trademark infringement dispute against toymaker MGA Entertainment, owner of the Bratz property.

The company acquired the rights to create and publish video games based on the Bratz license in 2002. A surge in popularity of the Bratz line prompted MGA Entertainment to seek renegotiation of the contract by terminating the license and filing suit against Ubisoft. The publisher counter-sued, alleging breach of contract.

"We are thrilled with the result, and we feel completely vindicated," said Ubisoft's general counsel Cecile Russeil in a statement released today. "We could not have achieved this outcome without attorneys who mastered every aspect of the case, and thoroughly understood our video gaming business."

As it begins shopping its first title to publishers, Tyrant Studios has revealed its existence to the world. While no further details were available regarding its first project, the company issued a lengthy list of its staff's past experiences.

Said to be made up of "top game industry talent," the developer has collected seven core members with experience on a number of prominent titles. Fourteen-year industry veteran and Halo designer Hardy LeBel will serve as the company's executive producer, with Battlefield 2: Modern Combat lead designer Anders Hejdenberg fulfilling that role at Tyrant as well.

"It has been fantastic to see the results of bringing together such a passionate, creative, and highly motivated team of this caliber," Hejdenberg noted. "We've managed to create a concept that we believe will become a trendsetter--not only in games, but in mainstream media culture as well."

In all, the studio's collective experience includes work on the following titles: Halo, Halo 2, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Battlefield 2142, Jade Empire, Dungeon Siege 2, SOCOM 3, SOCOM Fireteam Bravo, Futurama, Interstate '76, Vigilante 8, Spider-Man, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Midnight Club 2, Alter Echo, the original PC Crimson Skies, Cel Damage, and Viva Piñata: Party Animals.

The sales-tracking NPD Group will soon begin reporting on game-related subscriptions in North America, the firm announced today.

Issued quarterly, the Video Game & PC Game Subscriptions Report will be based on data collected from over 3 million survey participants aged 13 and older. Among other details, it will chart the market size and title shares of subscription-based massively multiplayer games, sites, and services such as Xbox Live.

At present, it is unknown what portion, if any, of the Video Game & PC Subscriptions Report will be released to the public. Though NPD releases some of its collected data to the public--mostly in the form of monthly console sales, top-ten software lists, and year-end industry reviews--the bulk of its information is reserved for paying clients.

While NPD has yet to begin tracking digital distribution, today's news marks the beginning of its attempts to better understand the changing PC gaming... Read more

Blizzard Entertainment announced its plans to hold its fourth Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France on June 28 and 29.

Similar to previous years, the event will feature invite-only tournaments for StarCraft, Warcraft III and World of Warcraft, as well as discussion panels, artist and developer signings, and wallet-destroying merchandise. Blizzard's upcoming StarCraft II and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will also be available for hands-on demonstration.

Blizzard officially announced StarCraft II at last year's Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea. Though news of the sequel was the first and only major announcement to come out of the Invitational's three-year history, the studio currently has at least one unannounced title in development—perhaps another surprise is forthcoming.

Tickets for the Worldwide Invitational will go on sale in the next few weeks, priced at 70 EUR or roughly $102. More details on ticket booking, events and other information will be released on the Invitational's official website.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has admitted the company made serious mistakes in integrating several well-known developers, including Bullfrog and Westwood, into its corporate structure, Game|Life reports.

"We at EA blew it, and to a degree I was involved in these things, so I blew it," Riccitiello said at this week's DICE Summit in Las Vegas. "When I talked to the creators that populated these companies at the time, they felt like they were buried and stifled."

EA acquired Bullfrog Productions, creator of the Populous and Theme Park series and former home of industry veteran Peter Molyneux, in 1995. Two years later, Molyneux had left the company. "The command and conquer model doesn't work," noted Riccitiello. "If you think you're going to buy a developer and put your name... Read more

London-based developer Splash Damage announced that it plans to double its studio and fill positions in art, design, and programming.

The studio's careers page on the studio's website has been updated with new listings for some of the available positions, with the company also planning to recruit at the Game Developers Conference later this month.

The expansion comes as part of preparations for Splash Damage's next project, an unannounced multi-platform title. The developer most recently completed work on the PC version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, released in the fall of 2007, and has since provided continual patch updates and support of the title.

A recent study shows that the addiction and obsession centers of the male brain are more reactant to video game play than those in women, the Detroit News reports.

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine studied brain imagery of 22 young adults—11 women and 11 men—while subjects were playing a simple computer game in which gaining territory was the objective.

Published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the research found that while the entirety of the group experienced activity in parts of the brain associated with addiction and reward, this activity was much greater in men than in women. Additionally, levels of activity increased in men's brains proportional to the amount of territory that was gained in-game—an increase not experienced by female participants.

The study also noted that males were more aggressive than their counterparts, and quicker to gain more territory in the game. "These gender differences in the brain may help explain why males are more attracted to, and more likely to become hooked on video games than females," said lead author Dr. Allan Reiss.

Publisher Take-Two Interactive Software may be the target of a $1.5 billion buyout offer from entertainment conglomerate Viacom, according to "industry rumors" reported by MCV.

If true, the move would mark the latest in the recent rash of video game buyouts and mergers, the most notable of which was Activision Blizzard, the unexpected $18.9 billion combination of major publisher Activision with Blizzard Entertainment owner Vivendi Games.

The Take-Two umbrella encompasses multiple successful franchises and their respective developers, including the crime-life simulator Grand Theft Auto, underwater story-driven shooter BioShock, turn-based city builder Sid Meier's Civilization, along with the Midnight Club and Carnival Games properties.

The company also publishes titles based on the Go, Diego, Go! and Dora the Explorer brands, which are owned by Viacom subsidiary Nickelodeon. The varied... Read more

Rockstar has denied recent allegations that a Grand Theft Auto film adaptation starring rapper Eminem was nearly complete before the developer backed out.

Variety's gaming blog reported Monday that a deal was all but finalized between a major movie studio and Rockstar, but fell apart before plans could be firmed up. In response, Rockstar creative development VP Dan Houser has stated that his company never seriously considered any such proposal.

"Some movie producers were trying to put something together to entice us to make a movie," Houser told MTV Multiplayer. "This proposal was no more interesting than the numerous others we receive. We never entertained proceeding with the project." Houser added that Rockstar currently has no intentions of green-lighting a GTA picture anytime soon.

The GTA series has sold over 65 million units in total, making the license an extremely attractive property for interested film studios. The series is receiving a boost in attention due to Rockstar North's upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, X360), due out on April 29.

Ignition Entertainment is preparing to merge its operations with Florida-based Artificial Studios, creators of Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia (PC, X360), the Gainesville Sun is reporting.

Artificial, which has operated in Gainesville for two years, was in talks with England-based Ignition for full production of a prototype title when the companies decided to merge. Artificial founder Jeremy Stieglitz would not divulge too many details concerning the studio's latest project, but revealed that it was an action game for the current console generation.

"It's using physics in a way few action games have before, the way you can interact with the environment and use the environment as a weapon," said Stieglitz.

Ignition is renovating a new office in downtown Gainesville to accommodate the 65 to 70 employees it plans to hire as part of the merge. A PlayStation 3 port of Monster Madness, retitled Monster Madness: Grave Danger, is being developed by Psyonix and is expected for release this summer.

A deal over rights to develop a film adaptation of Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto series came very close to completion but fell apart at the last minute, says Variety's Ben Fritz.

Writing in a blog post, Fritz says that a deal between one of the six major US film studios and Rockstar was "virtually in place" to begin developing a Grand Theft Auto film, and Eminem was considered for the starring role. But before any plans could be firmed up, the deal dissolved.

"I'm told [Rockstar parent Take Two Interactive] couldn't finalize terms with the studio," wrote Fritz. "I'm not sure if it was a purely financial issue or if, in the end, the publisher got cold feet about giving away rights to its baby."

Fritz speculated that the deal came about as a result of corporate restructuring at Take Two. After former Take Two CEO Paul Eibeler was outed during an investor coup last year, Strauss Zelnick—once a CEO at BMG Music— was installed as his replacement. Zelnick's ties to the film and entertainment industries were the likely grease on the proverbial wheels of the GTA film project.

Colin Slade will serve as new executive vice president and CFO of THQ, the company announced today. His term will begin on February 29th.

Slade has previously served as senior VP and CFO of Tektronix, a test and measurement company. The newest addition to the THQ executive roster fills a role abdicated late last year when former CFO Edward Zinser resigned for "unspecified reasons."

Recent shake-ups in THQ's corporate structure may have been a result of lower than expected third quarter financial results. In its quarterly report, THQ announced a $40 million drop in expected earnings for the fourth quarter, the closure of Concrete Games, and the cancellation of two unannounced titles.

Gamer-driven charity Child's Play announced that a grand total of $1.3 million dollars in video games, books, toys and other items was raised in its 2007 fundraising drive, according to the charity's website.

The charity approached and eventually toppled its 2006 $1 million record in December, and was only recently able to account for the flood of donations sent in.

Founded in 2003 by Penny Arcade creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the organization provides over 40 hospitals around the world with the means to better entertain sick children.

Longtime LucasArts employee and current president Jim Ward has resigned from the company and will leave his post in two weeks.

Ward cited "personal reasons" for his resignation. President of Lucas Licensing Howard Roffman will be stepping in while the company searches for a new president.

Shacknews contacted LucasArts for further information, but representatives could not comment further on Ward's resignation.

"I am so proud of all people and the work we've done together at LucasArts over the last four years," Ward wrote in an email to Kotaku, which broke the story. "It's been an incredible experience. Together we've rebooted the company and set LucasArts on a path to even greater success. This is a fantastic team and they are positioned for their best year ever."

LucasArts PR director Margaret Grohne said that Ward's departure from the company will not affect the studio's release schedule or development plans. "We have a really strong line up for 08," she said. "[Ward] is leaving us in a very good place."