MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
GAME CEO Lisa Morgan has pledged to spend 5 million on the retailer’s increasingly successful web offerings this year. In an interview with financial news site Cantos, Morgan revealed that FY online sales hit 58 million for the financial year ended January 31st, 2008. The retailer revealed this morning that …
Read More »French trade show opens doors to UK retail
The organisers of France’s IDEF expo have told MCV the show will be perfect” for any European retailer that feels shunned by E3 – and that it is the only expo to offer previews of Q4 titles with plenty of time for UK buyers to purchase stock before Christmas. IDEF, …
Read More »Chinas The9 buys into Korean developer
Chinese online game operator The9 has acquired a minority stake in Korean developer G10 in exchange for an investment of approximately $38 million. G10 is best known for Audition, a hugely popular online title in Korea and China. The9 owns the licence for titles such as World Of Warcraft and …
Read More »Report: Non-gaming kids at bigger risk of being anti-social
A new research book into the global video games industry, which was produced with $1.5 million of US Government money, has concluded that video games actually help give young people ‘social confidence’. Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Video Games And What Parents Can Do, penned by Lawrence Kutner …
Read More »Tesco to offer games downloads
Supermarket giant Tesco will introduce games to its new entertainment media download service, Tesco Digital. The portal will launch next month, and will offer 3.3 million songs to consumers from day one. According to Brand Republic, the site is all part of Tesco’s plan to take on Apple. The site …
Read More »Blockbuster makes $1bn offer for Circuit City
Blockbuster has launched a bid for US retailer Circuit City worth more than $1 billion, with the entertainment retailer suggesting that the move would help it compete more efficiently with the likes of Best Buy and Apple’s retail operations. Blockbuster’s chief executive James Keyes claimed that the combined company, which …
Read More »CHINA: Warcraft hits one million unique users
World of Warcraft enjoyed a record peak of one million simultaneous users in China last month, according to publisher The9. The figure was the title’s highest ‘concurrency’ since its commercial launch back in June 2005, and came after the territory’s release of expansion pack The Burning Crusade, in September last …
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 …
Read More »PEGI: Were the future
The parent of PEGI has told MCV that it has the ‘leading edge’ over the BBFC when it comes to online games ratings. However, the body has backed a collaborative future between the two classification bodies to ensure adult online games do not fall into the wrong hands. EU affairs …
Read More »