The leading video games publisher, Ubisoft has forecasted that half of all new games sold by 2012 will be primed for 3D.

The high profile publisher had recently reported a rise in sales again after a disappointing slump in the demand for video games. Now, Ubisoft has declared that around 15 to 20 percent of video console games will be 3D-enabled over the coming year. (more…)

This year has been rather poor so far when it comes to video game sales. The industry has been beset by falling volumes and with that impacting on their profits, and so it needed something to get it out of the doldrums again. Well, now this has arrived in the form of good news that games developers and publishers are starting to notice signs of a turnaround.

Last week yet another big name publisher reported that its revenues had been boosted within the past three months and that the future now looks a whole lot rosier than before. Ubisoft, the company in question, revealed that its latest titles had scored well with gamers.

Business restructuring and cost cutting measures may have been the order of the day for publishers as they attempted to stay afloat during the recession, with entertainment and recreational activities giving way to the needs of consumers to cope with the economic crisis.

A string of high-profile games which have been well received by gamers have seemingly proved that the trend is now turning back again. People are snapping up the latest titles and with further blockbusters set to be released over the summer; things are certainly looking a lot better than a few months ago.

If you find you can’t always afford the latest video games you can turn towards free online games which are a great way to have fun without costing you a penny, apart from your Internet connection.

Despite posting strong results in game sales, this was not enough to prevent the outlook for the video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts being lower than first expected.

EA has quite a portfolio of titles when it comes to games and has still made a profit this quarter thanks to a high demand for new titles such as the sequels Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. However, shares in the company slumped by 4.2 percent to $18.01 following after hours trading.

The leading games company had announced that its revenue had risen from $860million to $979million, a change of 14 percent, surpassing the expectations of Wall Street. But this rise obviously was not enough for traders who were concerned at the earnings forecast for EA.

EA has made its name in the release of its popular FIFA football games, long-running titles like Medal of Honor, Need for Speed, The Sims and more recently Rock Band. The international games pioneer offers titles across all formats including PCs, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The company has found the going tougher over the past few years as it attempts to focus on the lucrative online games markets and is also keen to include downloadable content within its video game releases.

Jake Gyllenhaal, the star of the forthcoming video game-turned-blockbuster-movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has revealed that he rekindled his love for the original game while he got into character in preparation for the film.

The Prince of Persia franchise first began in 1989 on a number of computer and video game formats. Due to its immense popularity, the game has spawned numerous adventure sequels. Now the game has been made into a Jerry Bruckheimer action movie and Jake decided to take his role very seriously.

The 29-year-old actor had been a fan of the Prince of Persia game as a youngster, and he decided to go back to the various versions of the game to capture the essence of Prince Dastan, who he plays in the film.

Jake wanted the character to be as authentic as possible and really worked hard to bulk up for the film. He explains:

“I used to play the side-scrolling version of The Prince of Persia on the first Mac computer in elementary school. And then I took a 20 year hiatus from the game. I got back into it for this film. It’s a very difficult form of research. Playing the game three or four times a day and getting paid to exercise - it was really tough.”

For fans of the popular PS3 platform game, here is the news you have been waiting for. Sony has finally announced LittleBigPlanet 2 is to be released later this year. Get your requests in now for the most anticipated Christmas present of 2010 as the game returns this winter.

3 million copies of the original Playstation 3 game were sold and now Sackboy is back in an expanded adventure as he attempts to rescue the world of LittleBigPlanet. A wide range of environments have been planned and his new grappling hook attachment will make things even more interesting.

The developer Media Molecule describes it as a ‘platform for games’ rather than just a bog standard platform game. One of the main draws of the game was of course the editing feature allowing users to create their own levels and publish these online for other gamers to play. There is some positive news on this front as the editing suite will be even more expansive allowing you to make games from an assortment of genres and invent your own challenges.

There will also be backwards compatibility on all previous LittleBigPlanet content to keep fans of the original happy. A trailer has now been released by Sony displaying a glimpse of its next big project in gaming. If you get chance to see it let us know what you think.