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

The seemingly unending sales onslaught of Minecraft has brought the title to another major milestone. The indie sandbox block-builder blockbuster has surpassed 20m units sold across its four available platforms, according to Mojang’s Jens Bergensten via Twitter. The company went on to reveal some key numbers for last year, announcing …

Sega, Take-Two, Ubisoft, Crytek and Koch Media purchase studios and IP after bidding war

Time is sadly up for THQ today. Reports from the US, and a letter from CEO Brian Farrell and president Jason Rubin sent to all employees, has confirmed Sega, Koch, Crytek, Take-Two and Ubisoft have all stepped in to buy some of the most prized assets of the bankrupt firm. …

Rovio discusses why it used the game engine to develop its new IP

A partnership has been signed between this year’s E3 video game trade show and MCV. The agreement is part of E3’s ever-growing reach, with its aim being to attract more accredited retailers and media from outside the US. The show returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center and surrounding sites …

Nintendo plans to introduce a massive catalogue of retro game downloads to the Wii U, starting with a special offer on cheap classic titles. The spring software update for the Wii U will add Virtual Console software to Nintendo eShop, with a selection of NES and Super NES games, with …

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the NES console, Nintendo will sell a bunch of games for 30p each starting this month. Although the anniversary promo is designed to acknowledge the firm’s 30 years of hardware heritage, the low cost will help attract more to Nintendo’s sometimes nascent download offer. …

Annual developer conference heading to Vancouver

Nintendo plans to launch two big system updates for the Wii U and add a range of new features to Miiverse. During its Nintendo Direct broadcast today, the format-holder outlined a range of new activity for the online service. Two significant system updates are due – one in spring to …

Nintendo today announced it will add verified accounts to its online Miiverse service to help single out brands, Nintendo VIPs and celebrities. Like the blue tick that celebrities and major brands have on social network Twitter, the Miiverse verified avatars will have a green tick to distinguish them from other …