We recently caught up with Wizards of the Coast CEO Greg Leeds to get his thoughts on the state of the market and the implications of the WizKids shutdown, where he expects to find growth for Magic and D&D , and how licensed and new properties fit into the company’s strategy.

R.A. Salvatore’s The Pirate King , the second book in his Transitions Trilogy, set in the Forgotten Realms , debuted at #3 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Hasbro announced earnings of 89¢ per share, with contributions in the quarter from CCGs, board games, Iron Man, Star Wars, and Transformers.

Board games and the big launch for Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition kept the game category steady to up a little in the hobby channel in the second quarter.

Wizards of the Coast announced today that it is restructuring “to focus on key growth strategies for core brands,” which will result in job eliminations.

Gen Con Indy, North America ’s largest game show, went off without a hitch last weekend despite the challenges posed by a weak economy, high gas prices, and the Chapter 11 filing of the show’s organizer.

WotC has announced a decision to refocus its publishing program on its two core brands.

Retailers will receive their WotC Pre-Release product in the same way that they normally source MTG .

The general malaise that has afflicted the American economy has had only “limited impact” on the games business.

Wizards of the Coast is effectively opening up Pre-Release tournaments to retail locations.