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

LONDON GAMES CONFERENCE 2011: Growth for the industry can only be good for retail, GameStop boss says

Global retail giant GameStop predicts the digital games market will hit $35bn by 2014. The firm says the current value is around $20bn, so will grow by 75 per cent over the next two years. It also expects points card sales to double by 2014, rising by 110 per cent. …

Perfect World Entertainment has confirmed the day on which it will flick the free-to-play switch for Star Trek Online. The game will be free and available to all on January 17th, Videogamer reports. Since its launch in 2010 the MMO has operated using a standard subscription model. However, the exodus …

Ubisoft has decided not to bundle its controversial always-on DRM with upcoming release Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. The confirmation was issued to PC gaming blog Rock Paper Shotgun, which goes on to speculate that the decision could indicate a strategic withdrawal from the system. Always-on DRM has become somewhat of a …

MCV's Live Blog will keep you up to speed with this essential event

The London Games Conference returns today, and MCV will have the most comprehensive coverage in the internet. LGC takes place at One Wimpole Street. The event kicks off at 4pm for four hours of incisive keynotes and talks about the digital issues the games industry faces, with perspectives from retailers, …

Nintendo’s 3DS was given a welcome boost in the Japanese charts last week thanks to the arrival of Super Mario 3D Land. Sales of the console more than doubled from 65,041 last week to 145,271, according to Andriasang. That’s more than every other console combined. PSP came second (27,952) followed …

MCV has lost count of the number of review roundups in the last few weeks that have reported astronomical scores for a new release. And here we are again. Just moments ago the review embargo for Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which is released worldwide tomorrow, lifted to reveal the …

Publishing giant posts third-quarter income of $148 million

UK games industry charity GamesAid has announced a date and venue for its next Darts Night. It will take place on November 23rd at The Horseshoe pub, 24 Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0AG. MPG Universal have signed up as the event’s sponsor. The competition will take place in pairs, and …