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

The loss of 277 GAME stores is not a reason to abandon the High Street. Retailers admit they must accelerate plans for the social, download and mobile sectors. But publishers should not use the collapse of GAME – this week saved by Comet-owner OpCapita – as a reason to leave …

The problem posed by a large operation like GAME Group was the shadow it cast over everyone else. GAME was a hefty beast. With two major High Street brands, over 600 UK stores, almost 6,000 employees-cum-hardcore gamers, no wonder it was looked at with both awe and scorn. It used …

The UK games market could be as much as 158m worse off due to the closure of 277 GAME stores. However, that number will be reduced if neighbouring GAME shops and other rival stores step in to attract impulse buyers. The 158m figure was reached by looking at Kantar Worldpanel …

The current games retail model is not working, says Tesco’s entertainment chief. Mass market retailers have told MCV they are finding it hard to justify giving shelf space to games because they are high-risk and low margin products. But Tesco’s Rob Salter says that this situation can be changed if …

Rumours suggest that GameStop in North America has begun accepting and selling pre-owned Skylanders figures. Pixelitis claims to have word that the figures have a trade-in value of between $2 and $8 depending on wider availability. Re-sale values are said to range between $4.99 for something like Gill Grunt all …

Consumer site IGN has gone live with what it believes are some quite specific early specs for Sony’s PS3 successor, PlayStation Orbis. It reckons the console will use custom chips based on AMD’s A8-3850 CPU and Radeon’s HD 7670 GPU – a rebranded version of the HD 6670 rumoured to …

Hirokazu Yashuhara, one of the co-creators of Sonic the Hedgehog, has joined Nintendo’s software technology division. While Yashuhara’s title has yet to be revealed, it has been confirmed by the corporation (via Gamasutra) that the move will have him heading to the US for his new role. Some of the …

Microsoft has quietly registered a batch of domains containing phrases ‘Halo Infinity’ and ‘Halo Infinity Multiplayer’. Fusible reports URLs HaloInfinity.net and HaloInfinityMultiplayer.comare registered through domain manager MarkMonitor, who handles Microsoft.com as well. Other domain names that were also registered include: HaloInfinity.org, HaloInfinity.co.uk, HaloInfinity.mobi, HaloInfinityMultiplayer.net, HaloInfinityMultiplayer.org, and HaloInfinityMultiplayer.co.uk, to name just …

Mac users will get a crack at a fully loaded version of sci-fi action RPG Deus Ex: Human Revolution this month, Square Enix has announced. The ‘Ultimate Edition’ will contain the base game, the Missing Link DLC, and the Mission and Tactical Enhancement packs. Along with the content, the edition …

Blizzard has announced the 2012 Arena Pass for their MMO World of Warcraft. The pass will offer exclusive rewards, a new title, and even more for those who upgrade to the Mists of Pandaria expansion. The studio has also put together a dedicated arena sandbox for the festivities. Sign-ups begin …