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

Electronic Arts has decided not to include former Sky Sports presenter Andy Gray in FIFA 12’s commentary team. Ex-Arsenal player and TV pundit Alan Smith will instead lead the charge alongside Martin Tyler, who has previously commentated in EA Sports’ FIFA games. Andy Gray was sacked by Sky Sports in …

Europe’s biggest games show has tied up with MCV to provide a dedicated UK trade meeting space for the first time. A large area of 48 square metres will be called The UK Buyers Lounge: Powered By MCV. It will be free to use for visitors within the Business Hall …

The number of specialist games retailers is in free fall as the crisis on the High Street deepens. And the situation is only going to get worse over the summer, warn analysts, with many expecting a significant rise in the number of empty High Street units. MCV can reveal that …

Accessories firm Impact Global Solutions is setting up in the US. The company is opening an office in Los Angeles and a warehouse in California. Commercial director Angus Boyd will head up IGS in the US, and he will work with a four-man-strong sales team. Divisional sales director Chris Malone …

Notorious hacking groups may be retreating from games, but the damage is already done. Network breaches have put a big dent in consumer confidence results of an MCV survey show have shown. And the biggest blow? Over a half of download-loving gamers say their faith in games publishers has plummeted. …

HMV swung to a loss of 121.7m from a profit of 49.2m the year before. Total Group sales fell by 7.4 per cent, while like-for-like sales fell 11 per cent. Pre-tax profits sit at 18.8m. HMV’s total debt now sits at 170.7m, a significant increase from the 67.6m the year …

Creative Assembly studio director Tim Heaton offers a frank view of his teamsâ?? recent history, and gives sage advice on keeping your studio successful in tough times

John Broomhall speaks to Splash Damage's audio director Chris Sweetman

From Nintendo to Bethesda and BioWare to Epic, LulzSec hit some of the biggest names in our industry. Not only were websites and forums brought to their knees, but the games themselves and the players within them, too. Popular online titles such as Minecraft and EVE Online were taken down …

New online retailer Hitari has been shortlisted in the Nectar Business Small Business Awards 2011. The games specialist is in the running for Start-Up of the Year. Founder Kamal Hitari set up the business so he could work from home and look after his son who was born with a rare …