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

Accelerator Program to bring ten promising projects under the nose of investors

When Play.com took advantage of the Channel Island tax relief back in 1998, it changed UK online retailing overnight. Low-Value Consignment Relief (LVCR) meant that any goods sold from the Channel Islands under 18 didn’t have to pay VAT. That included DVDs, CDs and budget games. And with Play.com based …

The key to rejuvenating the 3DS in the market place could be a return to the mainstream markets, Nintendo has said. Much of the 3DS’ pre-launch hype centred around the many hardcore-centric IPs that would be arriving on the system. This in itself was a direct response to the perceived …

CEO delight at 'incredible' early figures for My Horse

The makers of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 have moved to ban more than 1,600 players for using known exploits to cheat in the military first person shooter. "Any attempt to cheat, hack, or glitch in #MW3 will not be tolerated. 1600+ bans issued," tweeted Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling. …

Is the Apple halo slipping? Although the firm sold4m unitsof the iPhone 4S in its opening weekend, there is evidence of some disenchantment with its devices. Mobile phone comparison site www.GoodMobilePhones.co.uk claims 22 per cent of UK iPhone users wish they had chosen a different device. Almost half of iPhone …

One of the most surprising turns in this year’s X Factor wasn’t the show’s inevitable slide into mediocrity. It was a Blockbuster ad promoting games. This was a once-in-a-lifetime performance. The curtain lifted, to reveal a retailer, paying for prime space in a Saturday night TV show. Even better: it …

Struggling platform holder hopes to recreate the Brain Age craze

Forget Online Passes – renting is the new weapon for the war on pre-owned. Publishers have backed Blockbuster’s marketing push for its rental business as it ‘takes away from trade-ins’, the entertainment giant has told MCV. Consumers renting a game for 5 for five nights is a better option than …

Jonathan Goddard, Jeff Pabst and Simon Bull are the latest names to join MMO specialist Trion Worlds. Goddard joins as head of European PR. He previously worked at EA Games for four years as senior international PR manager, and most recently was global PR and marketing manager at Polish publisher …