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

Online independent games retailer Hitari has added a raft of new services after partnering with Royal Mail and DPD. It says doing so has allowed it to process orders and dispatch video games to its customers quicker than before. Parcel delivery firm DPD has been assigned as Hitari’s ‘preferred courier …

Retail, specialist press and the PlayStation Access team have been recruited to push Sony’s latest PS3 shooter Starhawk. The main focus of the campaign so far has been pre-orders, with various special bundle packs available at specific retailers. The platform holder has booked in-store marketing and ads in lifestyle and …

The summer is almost upon and that means a drought for games retailers. With only a handful ofbig releases to keep us going until late August, sales are expectedto dry up. But many retailers, from supermarkets to online stores and general entertainment stores like HMV, have a bright summer ahead …

Indie publisher Nicalis has said that WiiWare sales are in decline and have reached the stage of being almost non-existent”. The company had planned to release new side scrolling title La-Mulana on the service but has now cancelled the game as it is "near impossible to sell sufficient units on …

Hopes of a more permanent relaxation of Britain’s tough Sunday trading laws appear to have been dashed. The coalition Government had previously announced plans to relax Sunday trading regulations throughout the London Olympics. Some had hoped that the changes would be preserved permanently if proved successful. However, Retail Week quotes …

Customers told Eliminate will close on May 25th; no reason for cancellation given

The owners of Toys R Us are expected to appoint the finance firm Cairn Capital to help in the restructuring or refinancing of debts of 400 million, according to The Sunday Times. The toy specialist is considering its options, including adding new equity and extending debt repayment deadlines. The current …

Average fund pool for successful game projects put at $27k

'The window for release and success of software on the platform ended in 2009', claims indie publisher

The pejoratively branded 'b-team' could now become series' driving force