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In what could turn out to be one of the most high-profile lawsuits in the electronic entertainment industry, the man who created the very first Madden-inspired football video game is now suing the game’s publisher for nearly 20 years of unpaid royalties, in addition to every cent of profit the company has earned from the series over those years.
Don’t hit that pause button just yet. Despite the tanking economy and an increasing number of video game-industry layoffs, many believe 2009 will be a year of evolution for games. The combination of innovative new titles, long-awaited franchise follow-ups and desire for escapism could spawn a gaming renaissance.
Nintendo’s dominance of the console gaming market continued in December, according to sales figures collected by the NPD Group. The Wii set a new monthly record as consumers picked up some 2.15 million consoles in December alone. The good news continued for Nintendo; its portable gaming platform, the DS, also set a one-month sales record with more than 3 million units moving off of store shelves.
Microsoft announced Monday that 2008 was the best year ever for its Xbox 360 video game system, despite a year-long U.S. recession that has seen consumer spending plummet. The company’s worldwide lead over rival Sony’s PlayStation 3 widened by 8 million units in 2008, while its total number of 360s sold since the device hit the market three years ago expanded to 28 million.
Sony has drastically reduced the production costs associated with its PlayStation 3 video game console by 35 percent, according to information technology researcher
iSuppli. The latest generation of the PS3 costs just under $450 per unit to produce, down 35 percent from the prior generation’s production cost of nearly $700 per unit, iSuppli said.