MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Video gaming merchandise has become big business, but both retailers and publishers are still learning what works. James Batchelor details the possibilities and pitfalls of bringing video game brands to new markets… Video games-branded products are no longer just the impulse buys found in the corner of HMV or specialist …
Read More »EA "not weakened" by Zynga staff poaching
Electronic Arts has not been weakened by the departures of key personnel to rivals such as social gaming outfit Zynga, CEO John Riccitiello has said. The publishing giant has had numerous head staff exit the company during the last year, with former COO John Schappert and exec VP of EA …
Read More »FEATURE: Licence to sell
Video games themselves can of course be a form of merchandise. Most major movie releases and popular kids programmes are complemented by new games, from straight-up tie-ins like The Adventures of Tintin and Namco’s popular Ben 10 series to derivative works like LEGO Harry Potter. Such licensing deals can be …
Read More »FEATURE: Games merchandise powers up
Walk into any GAME or HMV store and you’ll find an abundance of officially licensed toys and other products positioned at the point of sale. And why not? Lewis Tyler looks at how games brands are branching out… Everyone knows we’ve reached a watershed in terms of mainstream acceptance of …
Read More »FEATURE: Activision’s new $1bn franchise
Forget Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, Activision Blizzard has a new superbrand on its hands.Christopher Dring speaks to VP of marketing John Coyne to discover how the publisher is taking Skylanders from its new kids IP to this year’s biggest toy franchise… If there’s one thing Tony Hawk …
Read More »UPDATE: GAME.co.uk "down for maintenance"
The websites for both GAME and Gamestation have this morning been taken down. GAME.co.uk is down for maintenance,” a message on the site currently reads. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.We hope to be back up and running very soon. If you require assistance with an existing order …
Read More »FEATURE: Toy Views
More than 384 million toys were sold during 2011, with the total market up three per cent year-on-year to 2.96 billion. The editor of MCV’s sister publication ToyNews, Samantha Loveday, gives us an overview of the business… IS THE toy industry really recession proof?” is a question I’ve been asked …
Read More »Pachter thought Riccitiello "was a complete moron"
Beginning a guest presentation by calling your chief speaker a moron” isn’t a typical approach. But then, Michael Pachter isn’t your typical analyst. I’ve been doing one-sentence intros, but I have a couple of sentences for John Riccitiello,” Pachter said at the start of his Q&A with EA boss John …
Read More »Riccitiello: Staff departures have not weakened us
EA CEO suggests Zynga moves financially motivated
Read More »900k sales for Mass Effect 3 in first 24 hours
EA has confirmed that it sold 900k copies of BioWare RPG Mass Effect 3 during its first 24 hours of availability. That’s a US sales figure. We don’t know the UK sales figure, but with the game shooting straight to the top of the listings – and breaking the combined …
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