MCV’s Daily Must Reads (Jan 25th 2012)

Here at MCVuk.com we spend all day reading the internet. Hundreds of sites. Millions of words. But if we were to recommend, say, five stories to read, what would they be? Funny you should ask that, because they would be these:

Interview: GAME and the state of retail (Spong)

Much of the reporting surrounding GAME on non-trade sites (i.e. anyone except MCVuk.com, really) can be an embarrassment, dogged down by ignorance and fanboy-esque bias. The under-rated Spong proves that doesn’t need to be the case with this informative report.

Develop Salary Survey 2012: The results (Develop)

Our sister site has got a ton of data about the global development sector, sourced from the survey responses of 975 developers from around the world. For instance, did you know that the average dev salary is 34,457?

Disconnected? Gaming and the Egyptian revolution (VG247)

VG247 tries to add a bit of political gravitas to games reporting. One could ask if the disturbed gaming habits of Egyptian nationals due to the social upheaval of last year is somewhat besides the point, but the analysis of its affect on the overall games market is interesting.

Toy Fair 2012 – NDA Transformers news leaked (Full Metal Hero)

In many ways the hardcore toys and figures scene is much like the hardcore games scene. Take, for instance, the attention Full Metal Hero got for being the first site to break ranks about Hasbro’s new Transformers toy range that will arrive alongside Activision’s Transformers: Fall of Cybertron later this year.

How do Australian respond to shark attacks? (BBC)

Australians are sickening, what with their outdoor lifestyles, barbeques, tans and beaches. But allow yourself a moment of smugness when you learn that they’ll soon all be wiped out in a horribly violent fashion by multiplying shark numbers.