Alexey Pajitnov launches Marbly on iOS, his first game designed exclusively for mobile devices.

Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov has launched the match-three game Marbly on iOS (via CNET), the industry veteran's first game designed exclusively for mobile devices.

Marbly is available now as a free download for both the iPhone and iPad. It is published by WildSnake Software and is said to be the first of a series of mobile titles to be released with Pajitnov.

According to its official description, Marbly is a match-three-type game that challenges players to remove all marbles from a board to solve a puzzle. The game features more than 180 puzzles and a series of modes, including Time, Score, and Move Challenges.

It is not clear if Marbly will be made available for Android devices.

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Downloadable version of id Software's seminal first-person shooter now available for $5.

Bethesda announced today that a downloadable version of id Software's seminal first-person shooter Wolfenstein 3D is now available to download on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

The game is available on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Steam for $5 in North America, with a PSN launch in Europe "coming soon."

The game originally came to XBLA and PSN through Activision in 2009, though the new rerelease is by way of Bethesda, which acquired id Software later that year.

Wolfenstein 3D puts players in the boots of B.J. Blazkowicz, a spy agent who must escape from Castle Wolfenstein by laying waste to hordes of Nazis, including Hans Grosse and Mecha-Hitler.

Bethesda and MachineGames are currently working on the all-new Wolfenstein: The New Order, which will launch later this year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and next-generation consoles.

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PlayStation maker reportedly hires financial companies Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to assist in exploring possibility of splitting company apart.

Sony has brought on financial firms Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to help the PlayStation maker consider a proposal to split the company apart, Bloomberg reports.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb--who owns a 6 percent stake in Sony worth about $1.1 billion--has proposed that the company spin off its entertainment business by selling as much as 20 percent of its assets in an initial public offering.

This move would allow Sony's electronics division--which includes the PlayStation business--to thrive, according to a letter Loeb and Third Point LLC sent to Sony earlier this month.

"To maximize Sony's overall success, we believe the Company should change the structure of its ownership of Sony Entertainment," Third Point said at the time. "Doing so will strengthen Sony by reducing its burdensome debt, thereby providing additional resources and capital to focus on revitalizing the resurgent Sony Electronics."

Sony CEO Kaz Hirai has said the company is considering Loeb's plan, though "it's only a start."

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Government group says it has received thousands of pages of documents that will help inform debate over paying debt related to Curt Schilling's failed company.

A Rhode Island House panel is launching an inquiry into Curt Schilling's failed game company, 38 Studios, which has stuck the state with millions in debt.

Image credit: Steven Senne, AP

The Providence Journal reports today that the government group has received thousands of pages of documents this week as a result of a public information request. The committee is now ready to launch a hearing process that could help the state understand how best to tackle its debt.

"The perception out there is that we haven't been doing anything," House Oversight Committee chairman Michael J. Marcello said. "But the fact of the matter is we've gathered a ton of documents and we haven't had a hearing because we just got the documents."

The documents shed light on contractual records related to 38 Studios and others that applied to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation's Job Creation Guaranty Program. This is the group that granted 38 Studios the controversial $75 million loan in 2010 that brought the developer from Massachusetts to Rhode Island.

Marcello explained that the committee will focus on two issues concerning whether or not the state should pay the debt owed to bondholders now that 38 Studios has gone under. The first is finding out if the state's bond insurer will cover the debt--estimated at $113 million. The second is examining whether or not Rhode Island officials did their due diligence in making sure the financial standing of 38 Studios was periodically assessed.

Rhode Island lawmakers--and governor Lincoln Chafee himself--have explored the financial costs of defaulting on the loans. However, Chafee has said he wants to pay the bonds to fulfill a "moral obligation" to taxpayers.

Chafee's latest state budget proposal includes a $2.5 million payment made to lenders, followed by $12.5 million each of the following seven years. The budget must be approved by July 1.

Separately, Rhode Island is suing Schilling and other former 38 Studios executives. At the same time, the state is attempting to sell the defunct company's assets, which it acquired when the outfit went bankrupt last year.

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