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

Nintendo 'to put a bigger focus' on downloadable content and digital distribution

The average games industry TV campaign has increased over the past five years from 2.58 weeks in 2008 to 2.97 in 2010 and now 3.39 weeks in 2012. The average length of a console ad campaign has grown marginally since 2008, from two to 2.33 weeks. The PS Vita was …

The Force is remarkably strong with Microsoft this week as its new Xbox 360 title Kinect Star Wars debuts at No.1 in the UKIE GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40. In this case you should trust your eyes – Kinect is now fully operational. Despite not being the game that …

RealtimeUK's Dave Cullinane looks at how external art asset creation must adapt to fit the future

Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Rockstar owner Take-Two, has claimed that rival publisher THQ won’t be around in six months”. "THQ’s strategy was licensed properties, first and foremost," Zelnick told an audience at the MIT Business in Gaming conference, as reported by Joystiq. License stuff from other people, whether it’s …

Publisher EA has received some very public backing over the weekend from two very high profile celebrities – Stephen Fry and Charlie Brooker. Their vocal backing comes as EA faces increased criticism from anti-gay protestors (mainly in the US and mainly from religious groups) over the ability of Mass Effect …

Infinity Ward co-founders and defunct Activision employees Jason West and Vince Zampella will be taking their former publisher to court next month. The trial date for the case, originally set for May 7th, will now take place on May 29th according to GameInformer. The date was moved back at the …

Around 10,000 jobs will be axed across Sony’s worldwide operations over the next 12 months. The number represents six per cent of the company’s total workforce. Although unconfirmed as of yet, the report comes from The Associated Press and arrives only two days ahead of Kaz Hirai’s strategic update” on …

Xbox 360 owners will net themselves new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 DLC later today, so long as they’re premium members of the franchise’s Elite program. This month’s content offers up two new maps: Sanctuary & Foundation. The official CoD Twitter account has posted a screenshot of the former. …

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has rolled out his notes and predictions on console hardware sales, including the possibility of price cuts for the PS3 and Xbox 360 as soon as E3. The price reduction predictions stem from lagging sales from both consoles; and even with the cuts, Pachter expects …