Tag Archives: hmv

HMV said today it’s to close 60 UK stores, following confirmation yesterday that British retail was 13 percent year-on-year, GamesIndustry reports.

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Def Jam Rapstar, in association with Atlantic Records UK, has announced it will offer a record deal to the winner of Def Jam Rapstar’s nationwide search for Britain’s best new Rapper.

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Maybe this didn’t work out quite as planned.

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After ten years working on the IP, Bungie says farewell to Halo with the launch of its final game, Halo: Reach, at midnight tonight.

Want to know about the openings? Planing on getting it with a fresh loaf down at the supermarket in the morning? We’ve got you covered.

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Konami has announced that Hideo Kojima and and art director Yoji Shinkawa will be in London for two days, as part of their World Tour promoting the release of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

They’ll be signing things too.

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UK retailer HMV has outed what appears to be the name of the oft rumored Bond racing game from Bizzare, and it’s listed as James Bond: Bloodstone.

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Amazon.fr’s posted a listing for a 250Gb God of War III PS3 bundle, priced at €350. The interesting bit? The retailer reckons it’s out on March 17.

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Look at this, Radiohead.

Originally retailing for £225, HMV has cut the price of the PSPgo to £148.99 on its website.

This is only for the black SKU though: the white PSPgo is £199.99, which is £25 cheaper then RRP. But if you want one, black is the way to go.

Thanks, Detale.

Our invitation for the November 9 London Modern Warfare 2 launch turned up yesterday. See pictures of the invite and wrist band after the break.

There’s going to be a Leicester Square cinema screening following by a midnight opening at HMV Trocadero, which starts at 9.00pm.

The invite includes the words “camouflage carpet” three times. And it only includes an Xbox 360 logo – no other platform information.

Take a look.

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Admit it. You’ve always wanted a Tekken hat. Fortune smiles on you this morning, then, thanks to the announcement of Tekken 6′s pre-order bonuses for the UK.

For the early fight adopters in the audience, Game has special collector cards (PS3, 360); HMV has t-shirts (PS3, 360); Play.com has lapel pins (PS3, 360); Blockbuster has Tekken baseball caps (only on PS3, apparently; and Gamestation has an indispensable Tekken Calendar (again…).

You cannot say fairer than that. It’s out on October 30.

HMV has revealed that UK and Ireland sales were up by 12.5 percent and like-for-like up 1.7 percent, for the 18 weeks leading up to August 29 with sales up 4.4 percent across the whole group.

“In a tough consumer environment, the Group has made a solid start to the new financial year,” said CEO Simon Fox. “Our plans for the peak selling period are in good shape, and with a strong line-up across all product categories our focus is on providing our customers with the very best offers for Christmas.

“The strategic initiatives that comprise our three-year plan are on track, and beyond this we are continuing to drive new initiatives for further growth.”

HMV also revealed plans to acquire 50 percent of 7digital £7.7 million. 7digital will now become “the sole supplier of HMVs digital operations, with its catalog of over six million digital music tracks as well as video entertainment,” reports GI.biz.

“Combining our experience in digital and HMV’s brand, customer base and wealth of experience in music, video, games and book retail, we are creating a powerful force in digital entertainment,” said Ben Drury, CEO of 7digital.

“With consumer adoption of legal digital media now reaching the mass-market, this joint venture partnership is great news for our customers and suppliers.”

More through the link.

Play.com’s now listing DJ Hero at £90, a significant climb-down from initial pre-order levels of £108.

HMV’s still punting the game for £100, while GameStation’s got it up for an amazing £110. So has Game.

Still no word at all on the Renegade Edition‘s pricing.

HMV’s priced the Modern Warfare 2 Prestige edition at £120.

Yep: this is the one with the night vision goggles.

It’s out on November 10. Why would you not want it?

HMV has reported sales of £1.95 billion for fiscal year ending April 25, with profits up £63 million.

Escalating profits were attributed to its Re/Play branding, and Gamerbase concessions in the Trocadero, with more pay-to-play locations planned for the next fiscal cycle.

“At the end of the second year of our three-year transformation plan the Group has delivered further profit growth, despite the challenging retail environment. We are continuing to adapt to meet the changes in our markets and, whilst there is still much to do, our plans for the third year of our program are on track,” said HMV chief executive Simon Fox.

“We are also looking at further growth opportunities available to us, and are very pleased with the recently announced joint venture in live music and partnerships for film and mobile. I am confident that we have the right strategy in place to continue to build a strong and vibrant business for the future.”

Growth in games and tech in the UK and Ireland garnered 24 percent of sales, with the same category netting 12 percent of sales for HMV,  which also stocks DS titles and hardware in its  Waterstone’s chain.

More through GI.biz.

HMV-sponsored GameOn! London has been postponed to November 14-15.

The show was originally planned to run this weekend.

The event has been moved so it can be “bigger and better,” explained a HMV spokesperson, and will now be held at the London Earls Court Arena, a far bigger venue than the originally intended Olympia National Hall.

More from MCV.

HMV today announced that the gaming expo and eSports event Game On! London will be held at the Olympia Exhibition Centre June 20-21.

It’s expected to draw more than 25,000 attendees.

“Game On! London represents a superb opportunity to create a memorable landmark event that will enable us to get even closer to the game-playing customers that we value so much,” said HMV games chap, Tim Ellis.

An announcement regarding ticket availability and prices will be made shortly.

Read on for more details.

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The senior games buyer for HMV says the chain has received “substantial pre-orders” in-store and online for DSi, and expects more over the weekend.

“We’re all really excited about what we can do with this product in store and are working closely with Nintendo on some great launch day plans”, Toby Burton told GamesIndustry.biz.

“The price will sit very well with consumers, and we’ll be communicating the key benefits of the DSi to our customers to reinforce the excellent value of this product.”

Burton said he felt that despite having two Nintendo handheld models, there is plenty of room for both on the market.

“I think the price difference is enough to really give the consumer two clear options when deciding on purchasing a console.

“Those that want the core gaming experience but are worried about spending too much money will still come out and pick up the DS Lite as it represents excellent value for money.”

Of all the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King launch events in the UK, we’re pretty sure we picked the right one.

According to a report by Eurogamer, the midnight launch at HMV’s Oxford Street location was the most jam-packed ever seen – smashing the UK’s previous record of 1,500, held coincidentally by WoW: The Burning Crusade’s launch event last year.

At this point, HMV reps estimate that roughly 2,000-2,500 people attended last night’s blowout, though official numbers haven’t been tallied. Even so, however, HMV has a good feeling about this one.

More through the link.

By Nathan Grayson

HMV has announced that as of Friday 24 October trade-in service, Re/Play is launching meaning you will be able to trade in your games for credit for anything the store has to offer, writes MCV.

“Re/Play will launch in 160 stores across the UK and Ireland, including regional flagships in London’s Oxford Street, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin, before being rolled out to the rest of the chain in the New Year,” says the piece.

More through the link.

By Mike Bowden

HMV has acquired multiplayer gaming outfit Gamerbase, with plans to expand its in-store gaming concept across the UK.

Gamerbase has been running as a concession in HMVs Trocadero store in London’s Piccadilly Circus since late last year.

“Where we roll them out, we’ll be looking to locate the Gamerbase centres next to our games departments to bring the whole offer together for our customers – so if someone’s enjoyed playing a game online, they can pre-order or purchase it there and then,” said HMV games boss Tim Ellis.

More on GI.