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

Echoing analysts predictions yesterday that Sony and Microsoft are preparing hardware price cuts, Activision boss Bobby Kotick has claimed that such a move is pending. We’ve more confidence in consumer spending," he told the Financial Times. "We feel like some of that has stabilised and there are price cuts on …

Thirteenth acquisition in twelve months as the Farmville group expands further

A host of independent retailers have told MCV they want to sell downloadable games. Retailers such as ShopTo, MyMemory and Barkman Computers are eyeing up moves to digital, although how they go about launching in this space is not clear. We’re looking at getting involved in the digital games market …

Several UK games publishers have signed up to support Pixwoo, a new gamer-centric social network. The site launched in February and is designed to bring platform holders, publishers and developers closer to consumers through dedicated company and game-specific profiles. UK firms that have already registered with the site include Codemasters, …

Bethesda is backing Brink with a premium ad spot during the FA Cup final on May 14th. TV activity will run throughout May and June. The Xbox 360, PS3 and PC shooter will also target movie goers before blockbusters such as X-Men and Hangover Part II. Outdoor ads will appear …

Publisher 'frustrated and upset', bemoans business loss due to ongoing PSN woes

Trade bodies to join forces for two-day event

Jason Holtman, the chief of Valve’s digital distribution network Steam, has said that the success of the service is nothing but good news for retail. Last year MCV learnt that a number of key chains were considering a boycott of any Steam enabled games as they feared once purchased, the …

But the studio is unsure if it could apply MotionScan tech to its own content

Valve’s PC download service Steam is often championed, sometimes controversial – but it’s eternally popular. Rob Crossley visited the service’s chief Jason Holtman and marketing head Doug Lombardi in Seattle to find out more about the leading force in digital distribution… There are now 1,700 games on Steam. Has its …