Gameplay rejig in store
Gameplay is shedding 275 staff and has closed the eight high street stores it picked up late last year. (The shops were owned and staffed by Dixons.) In the restructuring, Gameplay is being divided into two divisions: technology and boxed software. Although the company is best known for its online service, which includes what was BT's Wireplay, the latter generates most of the company's income.
French kiss
Bruno Bonnell's Infogrames, Europe's biggest games company, says its quarterly revenues have grown by 26% to $325.5m. The company made a profit of $16.5m, compared to a loss of $118.0m for the same period last year. Driver 2 was a particular success, selling more than two million copies.
Ubi Soft, another French games giant, reported that its sales jumped by 49% to € 114.4m. Growth was fuelled by the acquisition of Italy's 3D Planet and America's Red Storm. Successes included Disney Dinosaur and Donald Duck: Quack Attack.
Game over
CNet is closing its GameCentre website, which has been online more than four years. It has lost out to its rival, ZD Net's GameSpot, which CNet acquired along with the Ziff Davis publishing empire. The zine's last issue includes the games of the year for 2000 with comments from GamerX ("but don't worry - he wrote them before he found out he'd been fired"). Staff who had been anonymous are finally given credits with each brief bio being followed by a shopper-friendly "Add to your cart" symbol.
Group therapy
British video game developers have formed TIGA, The Independent Games Developers Association (the D is silent). The aim is to share opinions on things like mobile gaming, and to co-ordinate actions, such as lobbying for government support.
Smashing
Virtua Tennis is already one of the best games on the Sega Dreamcast, and the sequel will pack a much bigger promotional punch: Venus and Serena Williams have signed up to endorse it. The game is expected to appear in November. The inferior competition includes Anna Kournikova Smash Court Tennis on the Sony PlayStation. Martina Hingis, who recently beat both Williams sisters, remains without a videogame to her name.
