Games industry trade body ELSPA has announced it is to change its name to the UK Interactive Entertainment Association, a re-brand that it says will help it to better reflect the industry it is representing. The name was agreed by ELSPA members at an Extraordinary General Meeting held today Visit link: News: ELSPA to become UK Interactive Entertainment Association Bookmark It Hide... 

Charity GamesAid has made a call for a new wave of ambassadors to help organise new events and expand the organisation’s visibility. After organising a number of charity events, including its third annual golf day in January, organisers have made a call for new ambassadors to help “maximise fundraising efforts, spread the word throughout the industry to get more GamesAid’s members and... 

Blockbuster UK has dismissed rumours that the company will be adversely affected by the potential bankruptcy of Blockbuster in the US insisting that its business is in “very good shape”. Although the parent company in the US has suffered years of declining sales and is currently rumoured to be close to bankruptcy, subsidiaries in other countries are generally run as separate companies See... 

A slow week of sales has seen Pokemon Ranger: Tracks of Light on the Nintendo DS remain at the number one spot for a second week, as DS and PSP hardware sales go neck and neck. The third in the Pokemon Ranger spin-off series sold 63,355 units in its second week, for a lifetime total so far of 100,306. The rest of the top three was composed of even older titles, with Friend Collection for the DS at... 

The release of GTA IV episodes The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on PlayStation 3 and PC has been delayed following last minute requests made by Sony. Both games – to be made available as downloads and as a retail package – will now be released on April 13 in North America and and April 16 in Europe Read more here: News: GTA IV episodes delayed on PS3 and PC Bookmark... 

Bill Mooney, the general manager of FarmVille and vice president of publisher Zynga, has been announced as a speaker at the forthcoming GDC Canada 2010 event in May. Mooney’s talk is entitled “Building Social Games: Games at the Speed of Light” and will see him discuss the rise of the social gaming market, viral propagation and the market’s low barriers to entry. Mooney will... 

Rumours suggest that Microsoft may be planning a new firmware update that would allow external USB hard drives to be used with the Xbox 360. The rumours began with website Joystiq, which claims to have received Microsoft documentation describing the new feature, having subsequently confirmed the details with other unnamed sources. The document purports to have been authored by a senior software development... 

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has become the best-selling March release on record in North America and Europe after shifting over 2.3 million copies. According to EA’s DICE, over 2.9 million hours have been played online in one 24 hour period, and the game has logged 230,000 peak concurrent-users View post: News: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 sets new March sales record Bookmark It Hide... 

MAG will receive its first piece of downloadable content next week, for free. Zipper’s Jeremy Dunham gave word on the PlayStation Blog that the “Trooper Gear Pack” is due out next Thursday, March 25. The pack will add a flashbang grenade, new light machine guns, and additional uniforms for each faction of PMC (above). To celebrate the occasion, Zipper is kicking it off with a Double... 

Been holding out for Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City on PC or PlayStation 3? You’re going to have to wait just a bit longer. Go here to read the rest: Grand Theft Auto Episodes Delayed on PC, PlayStation 3 Bookmark It Hide Sites  Read More →

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has been pretty well-received by critics and fans alike, but is that positive buzz translating into sales? Visit link: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Sales Top 2.3 Million Bookmark It Hide Sites  Read More →

James from Wedotech writes: “The news that 20% of IGN’s staff were to be looking for new jobs had a ripple effect across the entertainment industry. Original post: IGN Layoffs Good for Games Journalism? Bookmark It Hide Sites  Read More →

GameStop COO Paul Raines has responded to initiatives such as EA’s ‘Project Ten Dollar’ aimed at deterring consumers from buying used games, saying that publishers should participate in its pre-owned business by releasing DLC for popular titles rather than try to restrict it. Speaking during a call to investors following the release of GameStop’s Q4 financials earlier today,... 

Codemasters has appointed Koch Media as a distribution partner in Europe, handing marketing and distribution duties for its console and PC titles to the company. The agreement has arisen following a company review of distribution arrangements in readiness for a refined portfolio of titles for FY 2011, it said today Read more: News: Codemasters appoints Koch as European distribution partner Bookmark... 

Sony and game designer David Jaffe have prevailed in a court battle against screenplay writers who claimed that God of War infringed on their copyright. Jonathan Bissoon-Dath and Jennifer Dath said that they conceived the idea behind the game God of War, having submitted two treatments and two screenplays based on a story involving a Spartan attack on Athens and the resulting effort by the Greek Gods... 

Sony has launched a new section of PlayStation.Blog where users can submit new ideas and feature suggestions for PlayStation products. PlayStation.Blog Share allows users to post their own ideas and also vote on the suggestions of others, with Sony promising to monitor and act upon the most popular. Read this article: News: Sony launches ideas submission blog Bookmark It Hide...