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

Merchandising deals can make Sonic the Hedgehog as iconic as Hello Kitty. Sega is knuckling down on its four major IPs as part of its recent restructure, with priorities to push into digital and licensing. For Sonic, the latter means signing up more third parties to make associated toys, clothing …

Mars Rover Landing is currently available for free on Xbox Live for owners of Kinect. The game is a joint project between NASA and Smoking Gun Interactive. It sees players guide the Mars Rover through the Martian landing sequence using a gesture-controlled interface. It can be found as part of …

Portal 2 has become the latest video game IP to storm the fan-lead LEGO Cuusoo process. Cuusoo allows fans to vote on proposed LEGO projects. Once a proposal hits 10,000 votes it is officially presented to a panel of LEGO adjudicators who either green light or veto its move into …

Lionhead’s creative director Gary Carr has confessed that the internet backlash to Microsoft’s E3 2011 reveal of Fable: The Journey had a bit effect on the Guilford studio. It destroyed them,” Carr told CVG. You get very excited when something is very embryonic, and when you’re building something at its …

It’s only $45,000 off the magic $5,000,000 mark, but the questions hanging over the Ouya console project are only getting bigger. Last week Ouya founder Julie Uhrman told MCV’s sister site Develop that the company would be seeking funding outside of Kickstarter. This is a really big undertaking and it’s …

Over 50 companies are already listed in Intent Media’s must-read directory of interactive entertainment agencies. And you’ve got just two weeks left to join them. Sourcebook is the ultimate directory for agencies and support businesses working in games, technology and entertainment fields. It is published on July 27th as both …

Develop’s ranking of the world’s most successful game developers is back. Nowlive in the App Store, the 2012 edition of the Develop 100 features a list of the top 100 developers in the world based on the revenues generated by their games. It is available only for iPad, and costs …

The Ratchet & Clank Collection has at last been given a release date for North America. The collection has been dated for release stateside on August 28th through retail and PSN, according to the US Playstation blog. It will run $29.99 and includes HD updates of the first three Ratchet …

Valve has confirmed it is working on a Steam client for the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system, adding that Left 4 Dead 2 will be the debut title for it. The new team of 11 made the announcements by introducing themselves on Valve’s new Linux blog Steam’d Penguins. Currently there aim …

A couple of new titles featuring comic superheroes make their way to mobile devices this month. DC has announced Justice League: Earth’s Final Defense for iOS. The title will be developed by Netmarble according to AppAdvice, and features JL leading members Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Flash. …