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

There are fewer stores than ever selling games, ERA and Chart-Track says. Last year 6,644 stores sold games, down 1.7 per cent year-on-year. It means since 2007 there are now 1,000 fewer shops selling video games. A reduction in entertainment specialists and electrical retailers are the main reason for the …

Growth in digital has seen video games overtake movies as the most lucrative entertainment medium in the UK. The figures published in the ERA Yearbook 2012 shows that despite faltering physical sales, digital downloads and apps meant UK games market sales reached 1.92bn in 2011. That’s well ahead of video …

Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have stalled in their bids to become the next major players in video games, ERA reports. Based on Chart-Track figures, supermarkets accounted for 27.3 per cent of all games sold last year – that’s down 0.2 per cent from the previous year. In terms of …

Consumers who pre-order Far Cry 3 will get two extra missions and a weapon, Ubisoft has revealed in a new game trailer. The Far Cry 3: Lost Expeditions Edition will include two exclusive single-player levels – Forgotten Experiment and Ignition in the Deep – promising an ‘additional 40 minutes of …

Move over, Mickey – the Angry Birds will be far bigger than anything Walt ever created. At least that’s creator Rovio’s goal, according to chief managing officer Peter Vesterbacka. Speaking to Business Insider, he claimed the company is aiming to become "much bigger" than Disney, a $24bn company. The Rovio …

It might surprise you that the one point I was called out for most last week wasn’t our contentious cover – but my implication that GAME had given up fighting. That, of course, is not the case. While MCV stands by its widely-discussed cover last week, I should make clear …

Media firm to consider all platforms and budgets ranging from £50,000 to £500,000

Keith Ramsdale, the boss of EA UK, has predicted that a new-look GAME will rise from the ashes of the current company. "I do hope and believe there will be a phoenix rising from the flames,” Ramsdale told an audience at today’s Westminster Forum event. GAME is full of good …

A Gamescom press roadshow will head to eight countries this year to promote the trade and consumer event in August. Italy and Turkey are the newest additions to the 2012 tour, which will consist of press conferences and background discussions with members of the media, trade associations, exhibitors, sales organisations …

Consumers across UK, Germany and France spent over a billion dollars on non-new physical games in the last three months of 2011. According to new data from NPD looking at ‘all monetization methods outside of new physical retail sales’, used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, …