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

Sony Computer Entertainment America has invested around $50 million in its campaign for PlayStation Vita. Marketing for the new handheld will span across TV spots, billboards, online ads, Twitter and Facebook, according to The New York Times (via V247). The central slogan will be Never Stop Playing, and targets avid …

Mario-themed decorations for camera app sold at 81p

John Broomhall talks to audio director Stefan Strandberg about his work on Battlefield 3

GAME’s lenders have asked PwC to assess the firm’s medium and long-term future. The firm will look to understand how much of GAME’s issues are down to structural decline facing games retail and how much is down to the console cycle, reports The Telegraph. GAME is currently working on a …

It is ‘absolutely nuts’ online retailers can avoid tax so easily, says HMV. The Government is closing down the Channel Island tax loophole from April, but HMV CEO Simon Fox says this doesn’t go far enough. He believes that HMV’s big name online rivals such as Play, The Hut and …

Rockstar Games may plan to follow the success of L.A. Noire with a sequel. Despite the closure of the developer Team Bondi following allegations of employee mismanagement, the franchise could see a follow up in the future. "We’re all very pleased with how that game turned out and are considering …

The Scottish dev hub has moved on from the collapse of Realtime Worlds

Rental giant Blockbuster has called for more publishers to give it exclusive DLC. It comes after the firm secured a deal with EA for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. Blockbuster customers who pre-order the game will be able to get two additional downloadable packs. One pack contains four playable Premier …

Digital retailer Metaboli is an acquisition target for major video game firms. MCV has been told twice that distribution giant Arvato is set to buy the company, but twice Arvato has strenuously denied it. We are not currently in discussions with Metaboli about purchasing the business,” a spokesperson told MCV. …

Fallout: New Vegas developer receives 1000 hits a second in response to twitter query