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

MCV runs through the biggest releases and events that will grow the industry over the next 12 months. 1. Grand Theft Auto VWatch out Call of Duty, the previous ‘biggest entertainment launch of all time’ wants its crown back. Rockstar has drip fed information about its next game to the …

Rick Gibson asks whether PlayStation Mobile is a worthy platform for your games

Electronic Arts was comfortably the UK’s top physical games publisher of 2012. The firm enjoyed a successful year thanks to record-breaking sales of FIFA 13, which sold through 2m units two weeks faster than its predecessor. Other games that helped propel the publisher to the top of the rankings included …

Sales of video games consoles in 2012 fell 33.1 per cent year-on-year. Handheld sales dropped 31.3 per cent, despite the arrival of PlayStation Vita and 3DS XL. The portable sector is a market potentially hit by the booming sales of tablets and smartphones. Home console sales were down by 34.1 …

Fresh data this week suggests the worst: selling video games in the UK during 2012 was a storm of recession and poor momentum. Total software sales were down 17.6 per cent overall. Modest gains in digital sales, up 7.7 per cent to 552m, was not enough to cover the 26.4 …

The UK games industry is hoping for a brighter 2013 after last year’s software sales fell by almost 400m. 39.5m physical games were sold over the last 12 months, 15m fewer than in 2011. This generated 1bn, a drop of 26.4 per cent year-on-year. According to IHS?Screen Digest, UK?digital game …

Shares in global video games retailer GameStop fell seven per cent on news that Sony may be moving to block pre-owned games on the PS4. A patent was unearthed yesterday showing freshly filed tech that would see Sony consoles tagging game discs as used. Thus when they are put into …

It’s not a great start to 2013 for potential PS3 buyers in India. Sony has increased the price of the 500 GB PS3 console bundle from Rs 19,990 to Rs 22,990. In addition to the price rise, the previous bundle that included Gran Turismo 5 Academy Edition and Uncharted 3 …

Sales of Wii U hardware and software failed to meet expectations at leading US games retailer GameStop, an analyst has claimed. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia claimed that the disappointment was despite an abundance” of stock, GameSpot reports. Software attach rates are also said to be low. Bhatia adds that …

Billionaire Ken Griffin eyes publisher in run-up to GTA V