Wellington's Sidhe on winning streak

Wellington computer-games maker Sidhe Interactive says it is on a winning streak that has seen it hire 20 more staff this year, taking employee numbers to close to 120.

Founder and managing director Mario Wynands says Sidhe will this month release a new version of its downloadable "brick-breaking" game, Shatter (above), for personal computers, priced at US$9.99 (NZ$14).

It has sold 70,000 copies of the game since it was released on the PlayStation3 in August. It was named best downloadable game at the Game Developers Association of Australia awards.

The PC version will include new modes, including a multiplayer mode. Speaking from the Games Developers Conference in San Francisco where Shatter was up for an Independent Games Festival award for its soundtrack, Mr Wynands said it was an exciting time for Sidhe, which earns most of its revenue making games for United States publishers.

It had a couple of projects under way that it could not yet announce and its iPhone business - created last year - was performing well.

- © Fairfax NZ News