MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The wide-spread efforts by publishers to earn extra money from pre-owned games hasn’t dented GAME’s second-hand game business. This year EA, Sony and THQ have introduced new measures that mean owners of games like Mass Effect 2, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 and UFC Undisputed 2010 must pay for an extra …
Read More »Asda rolling out pre-owned nationwide
A total of 234 Asda supermarkets in the UK will accept video games trade-ins from next week, MCV can reveal. That number represents two-thirds of the supermarket giant’s total store count, and is a significant factor in the massive growth pre-owned games are now enjoying on the High Street. MCV …
Read More »Rock Band downloads hit 75m
Looking at Rock band’s boxed retail sales really is only half the story – Harmonix owner MTV has confirmed that over 75m purchases have been made through the game’s in-game digital portal. Each download on Xbox Live costs between 80 Microsoft Points (around 69p) and 240 MSP (2.06), with a …
Read More »Tesco UK’s non-food profits up 2.5%
Tesco’s non-food sales for H1 2010 have increased 2.5 per cent year-on-year in the UK. The supermarket giant made 4.4bn in non-food for the 26 weeks ending August 28th, 2010. The firm says the growth in non-food is slowing because the ‘important’ electrical and entertainment categories struggled during the second …
Read More »BT seeks file-sharing stand down
Leading internet provider BT wants to temporarily halt the requirement for ISPs to hand over details of its customers accused of file-sharing copyrighted material online. The demand follows a recent data-breach at London law firm ACS:Law that saw thousands of customers’ details from a number of ISPs published online. The …
Read More »HMV: Pre-owned supports new releases
One of the UK’s leading retail execs has claimed that the vast pre-owned video games market is vital to the sale of new release titles. HMV’s UK & Ireland CEO and MD Simon Fox adds that while he understands the militant position some publishers have adopted toward the pre-owned market, …
Read More »Super-indies still going strong
Not all independent retailers are struggling, with Grainger Games and Alworths opening new stores this week. Grainger Games will open its 40th store today (Friday, October 1st) in Liverpool. The new outlet can be found in the City Centre on Lord Street, and the opening day is being attended by …
Read More »Small stores pushed out by VAT rise
Independent retailers say they will struggle to stock new games when the VAT rise comes into effect next year. The already troubled indie sector says it will have to fight harder against High Street chains and supermarkets in order to break even or make a profit from the latest releases. …
Read More »Naka wants to make Dreamcast 2
The man behind some of Sega’s most cherished brands has confessed that he still harbours aspirations to make a return to the hardware sector by creating a successor to the Dreamcast. Yuji Naka’s CV is a treasure trove of riches. As well as creating Sonic the Hedgehog, he also produced …
Read More »GAME’s two-pronged plan
Video games retailer GAME has a two-pronged plan to help grow its business, CEO Ian Shepherd told MCV. The first is the slow morphing of the business into a ‘multi-channel’ one with a much stronger online business that accounts for more than just a tiny two per cent of its …
Read More »