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

The organisers of Gamescom have announced a number of key exhibitors that have already signed up for the increasingly prominent show’s 2011 iteration. EA, THQ, Konami, Capcom, Namco Bandai, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are to have a presence at the event, which last year attracted over quarter of a million …

Big name studios and publishers sign up to this year's show in Cologne

Having topped the Japanese hardware charts since its launch in late February, Sony’s PSP this week managed to recapture its former place at the top of the listings. The device, which was the best selling console in Japan in 2010, shifted 57,379 units in the week ending April 3rd, according …

Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect will take a small step in the traditional heartland of gaming later this year when the device receives it’s first adult-rated title. Sega’s Rise of Nightmares has been granted an M (mature) certificate in North America. It has already been granted a BBFC 18 rating in …

App developer puzzled by 'disturbance' in rankings system

Work-Family Standard to be enacted across local businesses; Frima bids to be the first

UK consumers will be able to rent digital PC games from Direct2Drive later this year. The service lets gamers download and play their chosen PC game for five hours. Once the trial has finished, the full game is offered at a lower price. The company – owned by IGN – …

Trion Worlds’ ambitious online RPG Rift will be digitally distributed across Eastern Europe. TripleACodes will handle the game’s downloadable client and subscriptions. Eastern Europe is PC dominant and it’s hungry for MMOs right now,” said TripleACodes’ sales director Marcus Whitney. Rift is a perfect fit for our markets. It further …

While the MCV team is handling the official liveblog of tonight’s awards, we’re also tracking all the Twitter chat. Anything using the hashtag #MCVawards will show up below, including tweets from this morning. So use the tag to take part and get seen.

Tonight’s MCV Awards promise to the usual evening of fun, networking, drinks and celebration for attendees. And now you can experience all the action via our liveblog. Hosted below, it goes live at 6pm and features commentary, pics and updates on the winners direct from The Brewery, our venue for …