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

Activision will for the first time offer in-game purchases in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Starting tomorrow, what are being called Micro Items will be available that Activision’s Dan Amrich describes as either personal customizations or nice little luxuries”, none of which affect gameplay” and are simply small, specific …

Retailer GameStop has revealed some impressive numbers for its first PS4 promotional campaign. 600,000 consumers have signed up to its ‘First To Know’ service, which offers notifications of any new PS4 news and updates to pre-order options. It is restricted to GameStop PowerUp Rewards members. ‘First To Know’ went live …

Forever dubbed the destroyer of the High Street, could the supermarkets be about to save one of the High Street’s most iconic brands? The Sun‘s chief business reporter claims this morning that Walmart-owned Asda has entered the bedding race for HMV. It is claimed that talks with administrator Deloitte have …

Nintendo is readying a set of Pikmin animated shorts for 3DS, with Shigeru Miyamoto personally overseeing the production. Polygon reports Miyamoto is currently working with an external animation studio. The Nintendo legend apparently created mock-ups using the 3DS Fliptnote Studio, and sent them over to the animation director to discuss. …

EA has registered Plants vs Zombies Adventure” under multiple domains. Superannuation spotted the registrations, which were all made by the publisher earlier this month. The term likely has nothing to do with Popcap’s upcoming sequel to its hit casual game, as its to bear the name Plants vs Zombies: Garden …

Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion creator Rob Gilbert has left Double Fine. Gilbert announced his exit on his blog, stating that his work with Double Fine had concluded with the recent launch of their adventure game collaboration The Cave. Now that The Cave is done and unleashed on an unsuspecting …

Next-gen could be more expensive, but TV-style pilot's could minimise risk

The ESA has announced a new national public awareness campaign to educate American parents further regarding the tools and info available to help manage their families’ entertainment choices. The effort will encourage retailers to display more info on game ratings and parental controls on their websites and storefronts. The campaign …

Preorder bonuses for NetherRealm Studios’ superhero brawler Injustice: Gods Amongst Us will be exclusive to one offline and one online retailer in India. The preorder bonus is the Arkham City DLC skin pack, which includes character skins for Batman, Joker and Catwoman as seen in Batman: Artkham City. This DLC …

Trade body plans to educate public on ESRB ratings and games for all ages