MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Limitations HAVE been imposed on book publisher Hachette on Amazon, the retailer has admitted. It was reported yesterday that Amazon had removed pre-order buttons, increased prices and extended delivery times on the publisher’s products in an attempt to exert pressure in a contract dispute. We are currently buying less (print) …
Read More »Royal Mail to trial Sunday deliveries
Sunday deliveries are to be trialled by the Royal Mail later this year. The recently privatised service has confirmed plans to open around 100 offices on Sunday afternoons some time this summer in a response to increasing demand for goods ordered online. Offices that deal in the highest volumes of …
Read More »Amazon criticised for book publisher pressure tactics
The neutrality of Amazon has come into question after claims the retailer is pressurising publishers by fiddling with their product listings. The New York Times reports that Amazon is currently in the midst of a contract dispute with book publisher Hachette and has as a result removed pre-order buttons, raised …
Read More »Half-Life 3 ‘is being worked on’, former Valve employee asserts
I mean, of course it’s being worked on, right? But if it’s being worked on, then where the hell is it? Etcetera etcetera. On what side of the fence you fall will completely dictate whether the following does or does not qualify as news. Nonetheless, here it is regardless: Former …
Read More »Worms to make its next-gen debut this month
Team 17’s Worms Battlegrounds will be released on Xbox One and PS4 later this month. It will arrive both in boxed and digital form on June 30th, although the digital PS4 release in the US will arrive a tad later – June 3rd. The game is one of the first …
Read More »Buy something at GAME for a chance to get some ‘virtual loyalty shares’
We’re used to retailers giving away free store credit, but virtual shares? That’s a new one. GAME yesterday announced that as part of its proposed flotation it would be offering 20,000 Reward Card customers some virtual loyalty shares” worth around 1.8m. As part of this, 2,000 customers who are not …
Read More »PS4 outsells Xbox One for fourth successive month in US
Sony’s early dominance of the next-gen hardware race in the US shows no sign of abating. NPD has revealed that PS4 outsold Xbox One in April – that’s the fourth month in a row that Microsoft’s had to settle for second place. PS4’s actual monthly sales weren’t revealed, although Microsoft …
Read More »NBA 2K Online hits 19m registered users in China
Take-Two and Tencent collaboration NBA 2K Online has garnered 19m registered accounts in China. Joystiq reports Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed the milestone during the company’s most recent call with investors. "Usage and player engagement with NBA 2K Online continued to gain momentum, and it’s now the number one PC …
Read More »Free downloadable Pokemon game announced; Championships character giveaway confirmed
A free Pokemon game called The Band of Thieves & 1000 Pokemon is on the way to 3DS. Eurogamer reports that the game, which thus far is only confirmed for Japan, allows users to collect sticker shaped versions of Pokemon via Streetpassing with others before taking the beats into battle. …
Read More »CeX Glasgow to trial Bitcoin for three days
The upcoming vote on Scottish independence has lead to a pioneering experiment in the Glasgow branch of CeX. Retail Week reports that the store is for three days only accepting purchases made with digital currency Bitcoin. It will also pay out for trade-ins in the currency. Apparently it’s an effort …
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