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

Social doodler nearly as popular as Cityville and Words With Friends combined

UK games retail generated 14.1m last week – a dip of 21.2 per cent from the 17.9m made during the week prior. Unit sales also dropped 11.2 per cent to 570,969 forthe week ending March 17th. EA continued its chart dominance last week with four games in the Top Five. …

Following the phenomenal success of Nintendo DS was always going to be a tall order. The handheld has sold 13m units in the UK alone since its 2004 debut, making it the largest-selling games machine to hit the market. One year ago this coming Sunday (March 25th), Nintendo’s answer to …

Choice is down to the developer, publisher claims

Digital downloads now represent more than half of all PC games sold in the UK and the US. Sony DADC, which powers the download services of over 25 retailers and publishers like Metaboli and EA, says this figure will only rise. The firm’s Matthew Hatton, who looks after sales for …

UK games industry trade body UKIE wants to cover 100 per cent of the digital market with its charts. The first ever PC download chart was issued earlier this month, with EA’s Star Wars: The Old Republic crowned No.1 for January. The data is compiled directly from publishers and currently …

Activision’s action sequel Prototype 2 will be promoted during a Champions League semi-final football match next month. It’s part of a three-week TV campaign including 30-second and 20-second adverts running on a variety of channels. The first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals will take place on April 17th …

Rovio returns to App Store summit

Tesco has appointed Nick Cooke as the supermarket’s new head of games. He replaces former games boss Sarah Kaye who has left the retail giant for family reasons. Cooke (pictured) has been at Tesco for six years and has held several buying and commercial roles within the company’s toys category, …

GameStop exec says a market without second-hand sales is 'unproven'