MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry

Mario Kart 8 has topped the weekly Japanese charts and boosted sales of the hardware in Nintendo’s home country. It may not have sent Wii U sales rocketing 666 per cent as it did in the UK, but the game’s arrival did double weekly Wii U sales to over 19k …

New numbers suggest the boom in eSports is showing no sign of abating. Gamasutra reports that IHS Technology data suggests 2.4bn hours of eSports were viewed throughout 2013. That’s nearly double the 1.3bn watched in 2012. Furthermore, it estimates that this will have climbed to 6.6bn hours by 2018, by …

Nine years on from Nintendogs, Sony has today finally entered the handheld virtual space. PlayStation Vita Pets, from Liverpool studio Spiral House, will later today be available to download now on PSN for €29.99 (UK price TBC). It will arrive at retail on Friday. Players can take control of one …

Crowdfunding website Kickstarter has simplified its rules for project submissions down to three basic principles in an effort to make the platform easier to use. The rules now state that projects must create something to share with others, projects must be honest and clearly presented, and that projects cannot fundraise …

UK QA firm Universally Speaking has been approved to join Microsoft’s Authorised Xbox Test Program. The scheme allows companies to test games on all the firm’s platforms – Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows Phone. "This is a very exciting opportunity that reflects our position as one of the most …

New CEO Don Mattrick continues company restructuring

Sequoia Capital backs studio with share of new $530m fund for India and Southeast Asia start-ups

You have until midnight to save money on Tandem's Brighton conference

Yes, it’s that time of year again – E3 2014 kicks off on Monday June 9th. MCV will be both on the ground in LA and glued to the feeds in the UK to keep you up to date with all the news as it happens. Nintendo may not be …

First game set to be released later this year