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

Australia and New Zealand have fared well in the global recession, due in part to our proximity to Asia and relative economic isolation from the US. This has driven consumers to import their games directly from the US to take advantage of the exchange rate, and several websites to set …

Video games retail in the Pacific region is not unlike that of Europe. The market faces many of the same hurdles, such as the digital transition and decline of boxed sales. Challenges unique to the area include the rise of grey importing, a harsh disparity on both price and release …

In a piece published on the Playtime.co.uk blog, long-term indie games retailer Gareth Rowbotham shows that he knows how it feels to be downed by the quarterly rent bill. Here he highlights the similarities between what happened to his chain and yesterday’s events at GAME, and also discusses the problems …

Retail naysayers would have you believe the good ship ‘boxed product’ is sinking, and salvation lies in the new world of digital games. But this strange land has perils of its own. It is a realm of different rules and unfamiliar seasons, where developers become publishers and publishers become retailers. …

Have you noticed that the number of annualised franchises in games is actually shrinking? As the mid-tier of boxed games essentially vanishes off of High Street shelves and top publishers knuckle down solely on triple-A, retailers have been banking on fewer hits to see them through. A total decrease in …

Sony DADC is building an ‘enhanced’ distribution centre in Enfield after the original was burnt down during the London riots last year. The CD and entertainment goods manufacturer and distributor will construct the building on the same site in North London, which it says will boast ‘more capacity, technology investment …

Independent games stores are beaming after receiving exclusive content for the new Resident Evil. Capcom and CentreSoft is providing the in-game Power Weapons and Elite Weapons packs only for indies who order copies of Operation Raccoon City. The game hits stores today (Friday, March 23rd) for Xbox 360, PS3 and …

Hackers say certain games can be manipulated to provide access to handheld's core

Sony has removed PlayStation Vita compatible PSP game Everybody’s Tennis from the PSN Store after reports that it had allowed pirates to crack the new handheld. The Sixth Axis reckons that Sony previously removed MotorStorm Arctic Edge from its download portal for exactly the same reason. Members of the PlayStation …

Staff staging a sit-in protest at GAME’s now closed Monaghan store have posted a number of pictures of their exploits on Facebook. They are demanding compensation for both the lack of notice of their job termination and PwC’s advice that they should pursue the Government for redundancy compensation. Staff member …