"Our launch into pre-played games and the acquisition of gamerbase.com underlines HMV's long term commitment to games as it becomes an ever-increasing part of our overall product mix," said HMV managing director Simon Fox.

An interesting development, but I've always felt that trade-in programs work better in video game-specific retail stores. Many electronics and entertainment chains in the states have tried this and failed miserably. Remember MediaPlay? Yeah, we were such dorks back then.

HMV enters pre-owned market with Re/Play launch [GamesIndustry.biz]

Music is in our DNA and we are totally committed to it. But the fact is, the market is moving away from music — so we are giving more space in our stores to games... In games, we grew by just over 50 per cent, ahead of the market. And looking forward to Christmas... Within the next 12 to 18 months, it’s possible games will be bigger than music for us.

What happens when digital game distribution fully takes off? What then?

Game over [The Sun]

Reported the UK Independent:

HMV said its pre-tax profits rose by 25.2 per cent to £56.6m and total sales grew by 11.3 per cent. Simon Fox, the chief executive, said: "A year ago, we said this would be a year for stabilising the business, but actually it turned into a year of growth. We are only one year into the three-year turnaround strategy, but we are definitely ahead of schedule."

Fox also laid out exactly how much improving game sales had helped:

Mr Fox said HMV increased its share in the booming market for video games and technology products. These accounted for 21 per cent of total UK and Ireland sales over the year, up from just 14 per cent a year ago. Mr Fox added: "[The] games [market] is cyclical, but people expect it to be longer and stronger than previous cycles. The Wii [Fit] is a fantastic product and is still in short supply."

The revenue boost will help HMV renovate 10 to 15 more of its stores to a "next-generation" format, which will include multiplayer games and kiosks, over the coming year. The retailer says its trial stores have shown promising results thus far.

HMV pushes ahead with roll-out of new-style stores after profits soar 25% [The Independent]

While I suppose it would be much more appealing to have them signing copies of the game on launch day, it is nice to see Kojima and Shinkawa taking the time out of what is sure to be an extremely busy early June schedule to show the UK some MGS lovin'.

MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN TO HOST VIDEO GAME SIGNING AT LOCAL HMV World Famous Super Hero To Appear and Sign Copies of Spider-ManTM: Friend or Foe on Friday, 26 October, 2007 London, U.K. - October 25, 2007 - In support of his newest video game adventure, Marvel's legendary web-slinger will appear to meet fans and sign copies of Activision Inc.'s Spider-Man™: Friend or Foe on Friday, 26 October, 2007 at the HMV London store, located at Oxford Street.

An all-new adventure where a defeated arch-enemy can become an invaluable ally, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe challenges players to defeat and then join forces with notorious movie foes from the Marvel Universe including Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Venom and Sandman, as well as others from the classic Spider-Man family of characters. In the game, players will embark on a global quest to overcome an evil threat, by controlling Spider-Man and one of many Super Hero or Super Villain sidekicks, as they master unique fighting moves and styles while switching between characters to execute team combos and defeat foes.

For the first time ever in a Spider-Man game, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe features a unique co-op mode in which a friend can join the game at any time and take control of Spider-Man's sidekick as they battle through the game side-by-side and replay favorite levels. As the gaming experience unravels, Spider-Man and his sidekicks unlock a variety of arenas and secret areas containing special tokens which allow players to revisit previously explored levels at any time as well as fortify their cache of collectables, power upgrades and mini-games. Gamers can also replay levels as Spider-Man's darker, more mysterious persona, Black-Suited Spider-Man, and experience a robust Versus mode, with multiple arenas, where players match up any two characters and battle it out to see who wins.

"In his enthusiasm, one of our online games team indicated that hmv.co.uk would start taking pre-orders for MGS4 on Xbox 360, when, in fact, he simply meant to ask customers if they wished to receive an alert in the event of this title one day coming out on this platform," admitted the retailer to GamesIndustry.biz

'MGS4 for Xbox 360' a mistake, admits HMV [GamesIndustry.biz]

HMV takes MGS4 360 pre-orders [CAG]
[Thanks to everyone who sent this one in]

UK retail powerhouse HMV tells Games Industry that the Playstation 3 is exceeding sales targets.

"Sales remain in line with expectations, occasionally even exceeding them," commented Tim Ellis, head of games for the entertainment specialist.

"We're looking forward to further games releases, and when the time's right, a suitable price revision to take the console to its next level of sales."

Both the Xbox 360 and Wii are also helping to contribute to a lucrative summer for the chain, Ellis added.

"Supply is stabilising and Nintendo is doing a very good job of keeping us updated on key developments," said Ellis. ... "The (Xbox 360) continues to hold its own and I'm sure Microsoft will know when to consider stimulating sales further via pricing," he offered. "From a retail and customer perspective it's great to have three games heavyweights relatively matched and vying for market domination. This creative tension is leading to fantastic innovative technology and brilliant games."

Translation: Three healthy consoles equals very happy gamers. Brian Crecente

Next-gen console sales healthy at HMV [Games Industry]

A Games Radar forum poster who goes by the handle Alpha eX snapped this great pic of a Manhunt 2 pre-order box in UK store HMV. It seems we here in the States aren't the only ones amused by "He who must not be named"'s antics. Some employee of HMV obviously has a saucy sense of humor, although I wonder how long that will actually stay up on the shelves. Of course, being on the internet there's always the possibility that it's a fake, but even if it is, it's still pretty damned funny. Flynn De Marco

Burning question: So when will the Xbox 360 Elite hit Europe? No clue, but Tim Ellis, head of games at retailer HMV, says:

All we understand is that it's at some point perhaps around the late summer...I feel sure that there'll be demand for this product, and Microsoft now enjoys the level of brand penetration and player loyalty for it to be successful... There should be quite a few core gamers out there that may want to upgrade or who will at least want the extra capacity now on offer.

Feels sure there will be demand? Enjoying brand penetration and player loyalty? Geez... Does this guy moonlight in Microsoft PR or something? Brian Ashcraft

Elite Hitting Europe This Summer, Perhaps [Games Industry]

"The stunt of giving away over 200,000 worth HDTVs, though great for the fans that managed to get one, struck me as being slightly unnecessary in the greater scheme of things - especially as it may have encouraged some of the more cynical media to think of it as a last-minute attempt to bolster queues and PR coverage."

Oh my god, he could be onto something here. Could giving away $480,000 worth of hi-definition televisions been something other than Sony demonstrating their Oprah-level philanthropy, or am I just a member of the more cynical media?

Why even bother commenting? Could HMV be miffed at having been passed up as the official launch venue for Virgin Megastores, or just feeling a bit inadequate for only offering free copies of Virtua Tennis 3? Uh oh, there goes that cynical media again. Michael Fahey

HMV questions PS3 TV "stunt" [GamesIndustry.biz]

HMV's deal is up to them at the end of the day, but it's not the sort of thing we'd offer our customers because we're trying to keep things simple on PS3. We wouldn't want to risk confusing our customers over any product — let alone one of this expense.

Eh... People aren't really going to buy this silly HMV bundle, are they? Brian Ashcraft

Retailers Hate PS3 Bundle [MCVUK via QJ.NET]

A Sony spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz, "This is just one of a number of value added incentives that retailers will be offering to mark the launch of PS3.

HMV refuses PS3 pre-orders unless consumers agree to buy PSP too [GamesIndustry.biz]

While the sight of retailer HMV UK or HMV Japan selling video games should be normal for some, HMV Canada doing so is not. Until now. An insider sends word that the Canadian outlet will be giving EB and Best Buy a run for their money by selling games. Starting in August, video games will be carried at the "flagship" megastores in Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver and Montreal. After that, titles will start magically appearing in the smaller shops. This seems like a logical step, filed in the no duh department. So what's been holding HMV Canada back?

No Games Here [Amazon HMV Canada]

Nintendo continues to pimp their fantastic non-game Nintendogs. This time London s the target with UK multimedia store HMV hosting a sweet promotion on Friday at their Oxford Street location in London.

The store plans to open early and the first 50 people to buy a copy of Nintendogs will get a second copy (hopefully of a different breed) free and a "Doggy Bag" which includes another as-yet-unnamed DS game and some "doggy treats."

Nintendogs News: Special HMV London Opening [Cubed3]