Round-Up: Steele Buys GameRoom, Namco Networks Inaugurates, Nintendo Issues Apology

Today's round-up includes a new home for the arcade-oriented GameRoom Magazine, the official establishment of wireless arm Namco Networks, and an apology from Nintendo for being so successful, as well as the latest GameSetWatch posts and today's product news and Gamasutra job postings. - Steele Publishing, publisher of RetroBlast, has acquired GameRoom Magazine, a publication geared toward pinball and coin-operated arcade collectors. The publisher intends to expand the magazine to include retrogaming news and articles, in addition to the magazine's existing coverage of the modern-day scene. The magazine will also receive a paper upgrade and more color pages, for a more professional look. "The home arcade and game room movement has expanded dramatically over the past several years, as has the retrogaming market," says Kevin Steele, owner of Steele Publishing and founder of the RetroBlast web site. "The merger of GameRoom Magazine and RetroBlast creates a unique opportunity to provide unparalleled coverage of home arcade news and reviews." - Namco Networks has formally inaugurated, announcing its own status as a mobile games subsidiary for Namco Bandai Holdings, a move also announced in a recent Gamasutra interview. "While the wireless content division of Namco America has always been heavily involved in the publishing and development of mobile games, the establishment of this mobile-dedicated company allows us to concentrate exclusively on mobile content and be a leader in this rapidly growing and changing industry," said Namco Networks president and CEO Kenji Hisatsune. - Following a shortage of systems in Japan, Nintendo has taken the unusual approach of apologizing to consumers seeking a Nintendo DS, after the post-New Year's frenzy left most retailers sold out. Gamasutra briefly mentioned the statement recently, but a more complete translation posted by Wired blogger Chris Kohler reads in part, "Over the New Year season, demand for our portable game system 'Nintendo DS' has vastly exceeded our predictions. It has gone out of stock, which we know has caused a great deal of trouble to our honored customers and retailers. For this we apologize from our hearts. We will begin to ship our product by air mail, as this will help it get to retailers a bit faster. We are shipping product every week, but as supplies will not be fully replenished until the end of January, we humbly supplicate ourselves before you and beg your favor." - Posts made today at Gamasutra sister weblog GameSetWatch include news of a British television show broadcast within online community Second Life, an academic journal studying games and culture, and what might be the greatest scarf ever created. - Also updated today: product news including AutoDesk's release of Pro Booleans for 3ds Max subscribers, as well as the latest Gamasutra job postings from companies including Blizzard Entertainment, Epic Games, Hybrid Graphics, Irrational Games, 7 Studios, and Rockstar San Diego.