MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Electronic Arts was comfortably the UK’s top physical games publisher of 2012. The firm enjoyed a successful year thanks to record-breaking sales of FIFA 13, which sold through 2m units two weeks faster than its predecessor. Other games that helped propel the publisher to the top of the rankings included …
Read More »Console sales down by a third in 2012
Sales of video games consoles in 2012 fell 33.1 per cent year-on-year. Handheld sales dropped 31.3 per cent, despite the arrival of PlayStation Vita and 3DS XL. The portable sector is a market potentially hit by the booming sales of tablets and smartphones. Home console sales were down by 34.1 …
Read More »OPINION: New Year’s Revolution – 2013 is the year where everyone is a retailer
Fresh data this week suggests the worst: selling video games in the UK during 2012 was a storm of recession and poor momentum. Total software sales were down 17.6 per cent overall. Modest gains in digital sales, up 7.7 per cent to 552m, was not enough to cover the 26.4 …
Read More »New Year, new start despite 2012 washout
The UK games industry is hoping for a brighter 2013 after last year’s software sales fell by almost 400m. 39.5m physical games were sold over the last 12 months, 15m fewer than in 2011. This generated 1bn, a drop of 26.4 per cent year-on-year. According to IHS?Screen Digest, UK?digital game …
Read More »PS4 pre-owned block backlash – GameStop stock falls but analysts cast doubt
Shares in global video games retailer GameStop fell seven per cent on news that Sony may be moving to block pre-owned games on the PS4. A patent was unearthed yesterday showing freshly filed tech that would see Sony consoles tagging game discs as used. Thus when they are put into …
Read More »Sony increases price of 500 GB PS3 in India with new bundle
It’s not a great start to 2013 for potential PS3 buyers in India. Sony has increased the price of the 500 GB PS3 console bundle from Rs 19,990 to Rs 22,990. In addition to the price rise, the previous bundle that included Gran Turismo 5 Academy Edition and Uncharted 3 …
Read More »Analyst: GameStop’s Wii U sales were "below expectations"
Sales of Wii U hardware and software failed to meet expectations at leading US games retailer GameStop, an analyst has claimed. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia claimed that the disappointment was despite an abundance” of stock, GameSpot reports. Software attach rates are also said to be low. Bhatia adds that …
Read More »Citadel Investment Group buys 6% of Take Two
Billionaire Ken Griffin eyes publisher in run-up to GTA V
Read More »UK boss Peter Hepworth leaves Activision
Activision’s UK and Ireland MD Peter Hepworth has left the Call of Duty publisher, MCV can reveal. Hepworth joined the company in 2005 and he replaced Andrew Brown as UK MD in August 2011. But he has decided to leave the firm to pursue new opportunities. Brown will now take …
Read More »Portal dev Kim Swift urges action to tackle industry sexism
Airtight Games creative director Kim Swift has called on women developers to tackle sexism in the game industry. In a newblog post, the Quantum Conundrum creator admitted that sexism is a common occurrence for many women in the game industry, and said that the recent furore over twitter on the …
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