Helping fund relief efforts for those affected by Haiti's devastating earthquake earlier in the month, many MMO and social gaming studios have raised money through virtual goods sales for donations. The latest companies to launch campaigns and contribute to Haiti aid include Outspark, Frogster, and Tall Trees. Free-to-play MMO publisher Outspark is selling "Help Haiti" in-game bundles in four of its popular titles -- Fiesta, Secret of the Solstice, Wind Slayer, and Project Powder -- ...

Organizers of the Game Developers Conference 2010 have unveiled this year's 24-page magazine-style Preview Guide, detailing essential information about the premier game development industry trade show. Now freely available online in a digital format, the guide provides a plethora of easily digestable information on the event, which is being held March 9 to 13 in San Francisco's Moscone Center. This includes pass specifics, overviews of featured speakers, session and summit highlights, specifics on parties, receptions, ...

As Electronic Arts reveals FIFA Online, a free-to-play PC version of the company's popular soccer franchise, EA Sports head Peter Moore says the company will likely consider buying more social gaming studios like recently purchased Pet Society developer Playfish. Designed for gamers with broadband internet connections and "average spec" laptop and desktop computers, FIFA Online will offer 30 licensed leagues, 500 clubs, and over 15,000 player. The downloadable title will enable players to acquire players, ...

Despite the media frenzy that surrounded the announcement of Apple's latest product announcement, its touch-based iPad tablet device, Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata was less than enthusiastic. "There were no surprises for me," Iwata told the Associated Press, deriding the iPad as a mere repackaging of existing Apple products. "It was a bigger iPod Touch," said Iwata, whose company has seen massive success with its own touch-based product, the Nintendo DS. Neither was Iwata ...

Unit sales of all current video game platforms declined in Japan for the week ended January 24, following software-driven hardware sales spikes, Media Create reported Friday. Sony's PSP-3000 led unit sales for the third week in a row with 52,909, down from the prior week's 71,186. The PSP-3000 saw a weekly sales peak at 145,682 units recently, following the release of Square Enix's commercially-successful PSP role-playing game Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. Meanwhile, its newer ...

In this round-up, Gamasutra highlights some of the notable jobs posted in its industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from 38 Studios, Vicarious Visions and more. Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly. It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, ...

[IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor Tim W. rounds up the week's top free and commercial downloadable and browser-based indie games from his sister 'state of indie' weblog.] This week on 'Best Of Indie Games', we take a look at some of the top independent PC Flash/downloadable titles released over this last week. The delights in this edition include an action game that redefines rocket jumps, a platformer that will test your patience and skills, a first-person ...

BioWare's Mass Effect 2 has shipped 2 million units, says publisher Electronic Arts, which claims the "first blockbuster of 2010" in its announcement today. "Mass Effect 2 is poised to be one of the biggest games of 2010," says BioWare co-founder and general manager Ray Muzyka. "We could not be more proud of the game's universal acclaim and early commercial success." The game averages a 96 review score on Metacritic, one of the highest on ...

The game industry had a down year in 2009, and softer hardware sales alongside the rise of mobile and digital revenue streams have left many investors leery of investing in traditional game publishers. This means weaker stock for leading companies as mixed messages abound on the fate of the core market; companies like Electronic Arts have reacted to missed estimates by reducing the prices of certain console SKUs and stressing new digital revenue pipelines, while ...

Advertising and entertainment metrics firm Rentrak has revealed that Bethesda's Fallout 3 for Xbox 360 was the top title in 2009 among video game rentals, based on spending. In fact, 17 out of the top 20 spots were Xbox 360 games, says Rentrak. It measures rental charts through a proprietary system that tracks rental transactions from over 65,000 proprietors, including video stores, online services and kiosks. THQ's UFC Undisputed was the second most popular rental, ...