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

Tubby Games has signed a distribution deal with Koch Media for its first release, Now! That’s What I Call Music: The Game. The Wii exclusive is a hybrid dancing and singing game, produced with EMI. Now! has been ubiquitous for over 30 years,” said Koch MD Craig McNicol. We are …

Blizzard has dismissed fears that PC?MMO World of Warcraft is on the wane. The developer and publisher reported 11.4m subscribers in its last financial report, a drop of 600,000 since its 2010 high when the expansion pack Cataclysm was launched. But the company believes it can still ‘build and sustain’ …

The man responsible for getting more games on Facebook wants it to start hosting core crowd pleasers like shooters and footy sims. In an interview with MCV, Facebook’s global head of game partnerships Sean Ryan said he wants the site to have as broad a selection as that found on …

Publisher Konami is using social networks to win back PES fans. The firm enjoyed a positive” Gamescom for its flagship football franchise, which has suffered in the face of a resurgent FIFA in recent years. Konami is ramping up its PR and marketing investment in social networks, and plans to …

Consumers can go hands on with Dance! It’s Your Stage at the UK Street Dance and World Street Dance Championships. The latter event runs from August 26th to August 28th at the Opera House & Winter Gardens in Blackpool while the former takes place in Harrow on November 12th. Attendees …

The GamesMaster Golden Joystick Awards has been revamped for 2011. Future Publishing’s editorial co-ordinator George Walter explains to MCV what has changed for this year’s event and what companies need to do to win… What’s different about this year’s Golden Joysticks? This year, the Joysticks’ 29th, the awards are in …

SNK’s King of Fighters wants to lay the smackdown on its ‘dominant’ beat ‘em up rivals. SNK has teamed up with Rising Star to release King of Fighters XIII this October. The series is now 17 years old. King of Fighters is one of the most respected brands in the …

Well, close enough. At the show, some said to me that Gamescom lacked the ‘media bang’ you’d get at an E3 or TGS. There was no big message from Microsoft at the show, and Nintendo’s one announcement – a new Wii SKU for Europe – was tacked on the end …

The Age’s ScreenPlay blog has Stephan Shutze as a guest writer today, delivering a very positive outlook for the Australian game development scene. Shutze, who is the director and sound designer of Australian company Sound Library, says the benefit of the studio closures over the last 18 months frees developers …

Price Waterhouse Coopers’ (PwC) Megan Brownlow spoke recently about the growth in Australia and New Zealand and how it pertains to its geographic ties to Asia. At the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA) industry briefing, Brownlow highlighted growth in mature (EU/NA) territories as being at 3.9% (2011-2015), while Asia …