MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Stephen King, author of horror classics such as The Shining and Carrie, has come out in strong defence of violent video games. In an editorial opinion for Entertainment Weekly, in which King admits that he’s not a gamer, the novelist forthrightly attacks HB 1423 – a bill pending approval in …
Read More »Saints Row II dated
Gamespot reports that THQ has confirmed the release of Saint’s Row II – and given it an official release date of Tuesday, August 26th for North America. Another THQ title, de Blob has also been dated for September. The news comes from last week’s THQ Gamers’ day in San Francisco, …
Read More »Wii to push Hudson profits up 400%
HudsonSoft is expecting to increase profits to 10 billion Yen by March 2011, a growth of nearly 400 per cent. According to Bloomberg, The Bomberman studio plans to increase focus on Wii, with eight new games due this year. Two years from now will be the time when game-software developers’ …
Read More »Rockstar snaps up new studio
Rockstar Games has made a significant acquisition ahead of the release of GTA IV on April 29th – Massachusetts-based Mad Doc Software. The deal comes amid EA’s hostile bid for Rockstar parent Take Two – a saga which isset to be concluded later this month. Massachusetts-based Mad Doc recently worked …
Read More »Warner and Ubi back in for SCi?
SCi’s share price has jumped by over 20 per cent off the back of heavy speculation that it has reopened takeover talks with potential suitors. The rise of 10.5p per share – to 60.5p – has set the tongues of investment market experts wagging, with Ubisoft, Time Warner and Infogrames …
Read More »THQ: We can be more aggressive than bigger firms
Speaking to Reuters, THQ’s Brian Farrell has outlined the publisher’s M&A strategy – to grow organically. "We are seeing some opportunities in the marketplace given the two transactions going on," Farrell said. "It’s going to create some opportunities because we are actively looking at every developer, every license out there …
Read More »PEGI not pleased by Byron proposals
The Byron Review’s proposal to increase the BBFC’s responsibilities has caused disappointment at PEGI HQ – but the classification body has stressed that its strength online will show the industry the way forward. EU affairs manager at PEGI parent ISFE Jrgen Bnsch told MCV that the BBFC system is ‘decades …
Read More »Zavvi offers free Live access with GTA IV
For two weeks from 4th April, all GTA IV pre-orders made with Zavvi will include free Xbox Live Gold membership for three months, plus a collectable GTA IV-themed limited edition pre-order card. MCV already revealed Zavvi’s pre-order card offer in January, but with the new addition of free three month …
Read More »BBFC rated games may take longer to process
Manufacturing specialist The Producers is concerned that games may take longer to arrive at retail, but insists the manufacturing process will not be affected. It was feared that if the majority of new releases have to go through the BBFC, then games will take longer to receive certification and more …
Read More »HMV to ramp up commitment to Blu-Ray
HMV has revealed that it will be stepping up its commitment to Blu-Ray significantly as the format continues to go from strength to strength. After the demise of HD-DVD, the entertainment chain will be increasing Blu-Ray’s in-store presence through out the Summer and Autumn. It can only be a positive …
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