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

Sony Computer Entertainment UK has established a temporary PlayStation showcase on Oxford Street. The outlet can be found in the technology section on the fifth floor of department store John Lewis. It gives shoppers the chance to try out both PlayStation Vita and PS3. The pop-up stand has been created …

Every spring since 2005 the BBC has geared up for its seasonal Easter debut of a new Doctor Who TV series. For anyone that monitors the kids’ and family media and entertainment market, this is a pretty serious moment – merchandising, magazines and book markets are primed to release their …

Los Angeles based journalist Erik Johnson has been hired as MCVuk.com’s new North American correspondent. The appointment allows MCV to offer coverage around the clock and will appeal to MCV’s strong and growing US and Canadian readership. Johnson is a graduate and up and coming young writer whose work has …

One week remaining for super early bird tickets

Games publisher EA says it has seven games on Apple’s top 25 paid and top 25 free most downloaded app charts. Apple recently announced the top 25 all-time most-downloaded paid and free apps for iPhone and iPad. EA owns Chillingo and PopCap, meaning games like Angry Birds and Plants vs …

As publishers bemoan difficult game launches, Chart-Track has warned them to stop talking down retail. In an interview with MCV following its split from UKIE, the stat-tracking firm says the trade mustn’t forget the power of boxed retail, as it still accounts for 70 per cent of the UK software …

'Former employees' claim unannounced console in the works

Sales of triple-A video games have reached an all-time low. The UK games retail market is 25 per cent down compared with last year. And publishers are aghast by the performances of major sequels. One prominent analyst told MCV that sales are half of what they should be”. According to …

Dozens of customers at food chain Taco Bell received codes saying they’d won PS Vitas but failed to receive their prizes. Taco Bell told CBS 13 that someone ‘tampered’ with their competition, which means winning messages were incorrectly sent to entrants who hadn’t actually won. They later received emails informing …

Strategy Analytics has predicted that PlayStation Vita will sell 12.4m units around the world this year – as long as Sony cuts the price of the hardware. The prediction is based on the belief that Sony will – most likely in Q4 – cut the cost of the Wi-Fi console …