MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Japanese publisher Sega Sammy has reported a net income of $189.5m for the nine months ending December 31st. The news is all the sweeter for the firm as in the same period a year before it suffered a $121.3m loss. There were also sharp increases in operating income, which hit …
Read More »XBLA revenues hit $100m in 09
An annual report from Forecasting and Analysing Digital Entertainment (FADE) claims that Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade download service generated revenues in excess of $100m in 2009 – a new record for the digital outlet. More precisely, FADE reckons XBLA made $103.4m worldwide in 2009, representing a 34 per cent year-on-year …
Read More »JAPAN: Strong debut for Dragon Quest VI
Square Enix’s cherished RPG series Dragon Quest has once again lived up to the hefty expectations placed upon it in the publisher’s homeland with news that Dragon Quest VI sold nearly 1m copies on its first week of release. The title is actually a remake of the mid ‘90s SNES …
Read More »Yakuza 3 CE is only UK SKU
Sega has confirmed that the Collector’s Edition of upcoming Japanese gangster title Yakuza 3 will be the only SKU released in PAL regions. Kotaku reports that, despite the extras, the game will carry a standard RRP. Included in the package will be a copy of the PS3 game on Blu-ray, …
Read More »RETAIL BIZ: Price Check
MCV’s vital weekly retail digest, RetailBiz, is available to view online and download now. MCV visited Romford for our regular price check, where Tesco has undercut specialist retailers GAME and HMV, as well as rival supermarket Asda, on our selected titles of the week. However, of the five titles we …
Read More »Square spends millions to fulfil Fantasy
Millions of pounds will be spent on the marketing campaign for Final Fantasy XIII, MCV understands. The publisher plans to make the game’s launch a true event” with a heavyweight TV campaign that will kick off on March 1st and run through Easter and into April, including spots during football …
Read More »Bosses cautious about end of recession
The UK may be out of the recession – but publisher bosses are mindful of a slow recovery for video games.UK GDP rose just 0.1 per cent during Q4 2009, and industry heads are wary of the prospect of a ‘double dip recession’ – where the UK economy re-enters a …
Read More »Fable II, Halo Wars join 360 Classics range
Microsoft has announced Fable II and Halo Wars have been added to the Xbox 360 Classics range. The two titles go on sale today with a lower RRP of 19.99 and new packaging that repositions them as part of Microsoft’s budget range. The Classics edition of Fable II includes the …
Read More »Original Xbox losing Live
In scenes grimly reminiscent of a doctor turning of a long-forgotten patient’s life support, Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox Live services for the now nine-year-old original Xbox console will be turned off on April 15th. The move affects both games played on the 2001 machine, Xbox 360-compatible Xbox titles and …
Read More »US: GameStop investigation
New York General Attorney Andrew Cuomo says he has issued a subpoena to 22 leading online retailers, including GameStop, as part of an investigation into ‘deceptive practices’ which lure buyers into making unwitting purchases. In a statement issued last week, reported yesterday by Kotaku, the Attorney General said that, "when …
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