Carl Yankowski, onetime Sony Electronics COO and later a senior o...
Carl Yankowski, onetime Sony Electronics COO and later a senior officer at Reebok and Palm, was tapped as the new CEO at Majesco, the N.J.-based videogame publisher. Majesco said Yankowski would help its expansion plans for Europe and play a key role in nurturing its proprietary Game Boy Advance Video product line. “Majesco is entering an exciting growth period and we are confident that under Carl’s additional guidance, the company will reach its full potential,” said Jesse Sutton, the previous CEO who remains president. Among Yankowski’s missions at Majesco will be to expand the company through acquisitions or partnerships, the company said in a statement. Majesco carved out a lucrative niche in the 1990s by acquiring licenses and then manufacturing the Sega Genesis hardware and Genesis and Nintendo SNES cartridge-based software. The company has evolved into a full-fledged game publisher with original licenses such as BloodRayne. ----
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Many U.S. videogame renters clearly remained focused on football the week of Aug. 23 as Rentrak’s top 10 videogame rental chart again featured 3 pigskin titles in the top 5. Rentrak said its preliminary Home Video Essentials data showed the PS2 version of Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL 2005 was the top-renting title for the 2nd straight week, earning $529,457. Activision’s PS2 version of Spider-Man 2 held tight to the 2nd spot with $378,027 in earnings, while the Xbox version of Madden moved one step up to #3 ($254,558), switching places with the PS2 version of Atari’s DRIV3R ($237,836). EA’s NCAA Football 2005 for the PS2 stayed at #5 ($205,885), while RockStar Games’ Red Dead Revolver for the PS2 remained #6 ($192,113, for a 16-week total of $4.1 million). Rounding out the top 10 were the Xbox version of Spider-Man 2 ($152,258), UbiSoft’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3-Black Arrow for the PS2 ($145,243), EA’s PS2 version of Need for Speed: Underground ($121,679 in its 40th week) and the Xbox version of DRIV3R ($107,116). ----
Nintendo of America (NOA) unveiled its 4th-quarter software lineup, saying it will release 31 titles for GameCube and 52 for Game Boy Advance. Among the key releases are first-party GameCube titles Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Oct. 11 release date), Mario Tennis (Nov. 8), Metroid Prime 2 Echoes (Nov. 15) and Mario Party 6 (Dec. 6). Expected to be strong-selling GBA games are Nintendo’s own Kirby: The Amazing Mirror (Oct. 18), Donkey Kong Country 2 (Nov. 15) and Mario Party Advance (Dec. 6). NOA also trumpeted the anticipated Jan. releases of Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 for GameCube and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap for GBA and later 2005 games such as Star Fox, Geist and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. NOA also said adding the Metroid Prime bundle boosted GameCube hardware sales by 48% during its first week of release; the bundle accounted for 80% of GameCube system sales at top retailers, NOA said. ----
Console systems finally have overtaken PC gaming in the number of households playing, according to a Ziff Davis Media survey. The poll, conducted May-June, estimated 54.5 million households now play console games, compared with 52.3 million playing PC games. It also found games are cutting into TV viewing time; 26% of respondents said they watched less TV the past year directly because of gaming, while another 20% said they expected to reduce TV watching the next 12 months. The study also said the number of U.S. households playing cell phone games more than doubled in 2004 to 16.3 million. Nearly 70% of the video gamers questioned own a cell phone and 50% of those play games on their mobile device, spending an average $19 the past 2 months on cell phone titles. The study said online distribution of game content continues to rise, with 12% of those surveyed buying games online, while nearly 70% of gamers said they purchase used titles and 16% said they have participated in online auctions of used games. “Not only is mobile gaming strongly on the rise, but consumers’ interest in media and advertising in general has begun tipping towards digital games and game-related channels,” said Dale Strang, Ziff-Davis senior vp-Games Group. ----
Mobile Gaming: Mforma Group acquired mobile games developer Blue Beck for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2001, Blue Beck has developed mobile titles for Electronic Arts, Jamdat and THQ. The companies said Blue Beck will become a subsidiary of Mforma and continue to operate from its U.K. hq. ----
New Games: Midway Games announced the development of LA Rush, a new street racing game set for release next spring for PS2 and Xbox. The title will feature more than 50 licensed and concept cars. Midway also said it would release the latest installment in its Mortal Kombat franchise, Mortal Kombat: Deception, for the GameCube in 2005’s first half… Konami of Europe said it signed European soccer superstar Thierry Henry as cover star for its upcoming Pro Evolution Soccer 4 game for the PS2, PC and Xbox.