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

Ireland’s leading entertainment rental and retail chain Xtra-vision is back from the brink with new funding. The retailer’s parent firm Birchall Investments has agreed to provide up to €8m to open new stores, relocate others and fund digital initiatives. Xtra-vision was under examinership between April 29th and July 29th – …

The digital games market has kept the ageing Stronghold series alive, says publisher 7Sixty. And this of course bodes well for next month’s Stronghold 3, the first new retail game in the franchise since 2006. Global PR manager Rob Burman told MCV: Thanks to the release of Stronghold games on …

Publisher SouthPeak Interactive is battling the retail market decline by setting up digital firm 7sixty. General manager Felix Bradshaw tells MCV about striking the balance between downloads and boxed sales: Why establish a digital download publishing label? Over the past few years, I think the industry has seen a massive …

Jeff Karp, an executive at the centre of EA’s social games output, is in the process of leaving the company to join Zynga, Develop understands. A US source, who engages with EA at senior levels, said Karp has signalled his intention to leave and will imminently join the San Francisco …

This Friday marks the arrival of the anticipated 3DS price cut – but online retailer GameStop has kicked off its discount early. GameStop.co.uk is currently selling the device for just 134.97 with free delivery. This puts it some way ahead of its online competitors. Amazon is selling the handheld for …

A brand new colour for the 3DS will hit US retailers on September 9th, the platform holder has announced. It’s called the Flame Red edition, and it will be launched alongside the release of first party shooter Star Fox 64 3D. To date only the Aqua Blue and Cosmos Black …

ZeptoLab partnership with Chillingo 'still strong'; Significant funding round expected

Farmville creator to hire Jeff Karp following its John Schappert swoop

Amazon has announced that pre-orders for EA’s Battlefield 3 are currently tracking at 2,302 per cent above Battlefield 2. It’s an early vindication of the time and money EA has already put into its marketing activity. It seems that the risk of going so early with the hugely expensive FA …

Enhanced player control? More online options? Bah, forget it. What we want from FIFA 12 is better hair. And what we want, EA delivers. Following his high-profile hair transplant (yes, this is Britain – a high-profile” hair transplant) Man United striker Wayne Rooney has gone from ‘balding’ to ‘thinning’. And …