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

An American lawsuit filed this week alleges that Sony laid off a number of staff in charge of maintaining the security of its online networks. It also claims that the company invested more in securing its corporate information than it did in protecting the details of its customers. Reuters reports …

Japanese gamers are still none the wiser as to when the PlayStation Network will be fully restored in their country where the PS Store still remains offline. When PSN was eventually reactivated last month, the Japanese government stepped in to block its restoration in Japan saying that it wanted further …

A supposed member of LulzSec has claimed that Ryan Cleary, the man arrested and charged by the MET earlier this week, is not a member of the organisation. Although concrete information on the subject is sparse, many believe that Cleary is indeed the mastermind behind LulzSec. Not so, an anonymous …

David Braben reflects on the console cycle, and wonders if things are about to change

Everyone thought Play.com or Amazon would do it first. Even The Hut Group talked about it last year. But it’s emerging online retailer Bee.com that has taken the bold step onto the High Street. The website launched a shop in the Manchester Arndale Centre last weekend. The new outlet is …

The lucrative dancing game genre shows no signs of slowing down. Over 1m dance games are sold globally every month, according to MCV research. That includes 12m Just Dance games, over 3m copies of Michael Jackson, 2.5m copies of Microsoft’s Dance Central and 2m units of 505 Games’ Zumba Fitness. …

After the glitz and the glamour of E3, the UK games trade came crashing back down to earth when it returned to work last week. E3 offered plenty of reasons to believe in a successful future. Kinect was proven more than a fad, Vita literally shows life in PlayStation portables, …

Best of all it is followed next by a new Resident Evil. Then there’s that line-up for Christmas – Star Fox, Mario Kart, Metal Gear Solid, Super Mario and Kid Icarus. 3DS is one of those machines that will benefit from word of mouth, and unique features such as Street …

Tesco has hired another games retail veteran. HMV’s games commercial manager Jonathan Hayes, has joined the grocer as buying manager. He will report to senior buying manager for games Sarah Kaye. Hayes has worked for HMV for seven years. He joined in 2004 following a six-year stint at distributor EUK. …

Sony is planning another Gamescom barnstormer – with a PlayStation 3 price cut on the cards. An announcement is expected at the August event in Cologne. Trade insiders told MCV the RRP will be 199.99, with retail prepared to go to 179.99. But Microsoft might have to act in response …