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

This week’s MCV isnow available to view online – and it features a detailed investigation of the eSports craze. We also discuss the potential of Wii U, the call for global release dates, and review last week’s LGC. We’ve listed the contents in full below. Download our iPad app now,which …

Exec admits users should be able to use all the console's functions straight out of the box

Third party support is crucial to any console launch, and Nintendo has done a sterling job of rallying publishers behind Wii U. The new console will arrive with a day one line-up that includes Call of Duty, FIFA, Batman, Mass Effect, Skylanders, Tekken – the list goes on. No publishers …

Amazon has opened its Android Appstore for business in Japan. The world’s largest digital retailer has been on a drive into the mobile sector in recent months with the launch of its own Appstore and the release of its Kindle Fire line of tablets. Amazon has also made the Kindle …

Industry charity GamesAid has added some rare and special items to its eBay store as part of its annual Christmas auction. The organisation has already been selling games, merchandise and other goodies in the run-up to Christmas to raise money for its partner charities, but not its upping the game …

Tomorrow’s launch of Far Cry 3 is arguably the last big multi-format release of the year and the usual suspects are pulling out all the stops to try and win market share. HMV will again be offering the game for nothing when gamers trade in two of the following – …

Specialist games retailer Game4u recently launched its digital game distribution service – downloads4u. Since this service is the first of its kind in India and not many Indian gamers may have purchased games digitally before, we caught up with Zarik Nabi, business head of publishing and digital services at Milestone …

The developer behind a Kickstarter game designed for Kinect has blamed the gamers’ ‘hatred’ of motion controls for the project’s imminent failure. Kung Fu Superstar was pitched as a narrative led fighting game which as well as accurately utilising Kinect’s technology could also help players learn authentic kung fu techniques. …

Finnish startup Boomlagoon has secured financial backing and will soon launch its first game. Former Angry Birds developers Antti Stn, Tuomas Erikoinen, and Ilkka Halila formed the studio in April but have only now secured a deal with Jari Ovaskainen and London Venture Partners to make their official debut. Stn …

Punters who buy a Wii U this weekend face a sizable day one patch if they want full functionality – a fact Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has apologised for. "Personally I think that users should be able to use all the functions of a console video game machine as soon …