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

Sony’s 3.61 firmware patch for PS3 – which was released as parts of its efforts to plug the gaps caused by the PSN breach – may be bricking older machines. That’s the claim of a customer services rep at developer Rockstar. The statement was made in reply to claims that …

Washington studio won't demonstrate new projects

Tecmo Koei’s first social game hits Facebook tomorrow. JollyWood is a new wildlife habitat-themed game that lets users create unique sanctuaries that can feature jacuzzi’s to amusement parks. The game is in development at Tecmo Koei’s Singapore studio, which has been tasked with building social games aimed at a global …

Microsoft has announced that Gears of War 3 has passed the 1m global pre-order mark. It’s the fastest title to manage the feat in Xbox 360 history. In addition, 1.29m people from 145 countries have taken part in the game’s Xbox Live beta, racking up 249 years worth of matches …

It would be easy to think that Formula One isn’t as popular as, say, football. But it is a truly massive sport, with millions of avid UK fans. And last year Codemasters proved that this audience can be just as profitable as that of FIFA or PES. The game rocketed …

British dev unit becomes finalist for 'Top 100 Europe' prize

In-app payments, near field communication, virtual items and Facebook Credits will be some of the topics at the Monetising Mobile conference in just under two weeks’ time. Monetising Mobile: Exploring Opportunities in Mobile Payments is hosted by MCV’s stablemate Mobile Entertainment. It will take a close look at this topical …

Nintendo will support next week’s Wii price drop with the biggest marketing campaign it has ever run for the format outside the Christmas period. The firm announced last week that it is cutting the trade price of the current Wii Sports Resort pack and introducing a low cost Mario Kart …

Loading – a specialist gaming caf and bar – wants to hold special events for games publishers. The independent outlet has already secured support from EA, which has supplied promotional software. But the company now says it can run events in support of upcoming games, to help publishers reach consumers …

Undisclosed 'flying game for major US publisher' adopts the tech