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

The popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter has seen the sector overtake entertainment – a category that includes adult entertainment and pornography – in the online popularity tables. TechWatch reports that a new report from Experian Hitwise shows that social networks attracted 2.4bn visits in the …

Is Real Racing 2â??s outlay and success proof that triple-A works on mobiles?

Half-Life studio Valve has shown off its TV advertisement for Portal 2 for the first time. The developer created the spot in-house after questioning the value of external ad agencies. Portal 2 is a first-person-puzzler that hits shelves on April 21st on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. EA is distributing …

3DS and Wii platform holder Nintendo has said it will embrace the independent developer, but draws the line” with less-established garage outfits. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime he would separate out the true independent developer versus the hobbyist". We are absolutely reaching out to the independent developer,” he said …

Some indies are more equal than others, says Reggie Fils-Aime

Platform holder Microsoft has once again defended what many see as the inflated prices it charges for full games downloads on its Xbox Live Games-On-Demand service. The fresh outcry comes after Halo: Reach arrived on the service at a full RRP of 49.99. "No one retailer has the lowest pricing …

Gun Loco, a title that was described by publisher Square Enix as a unique sprint-action shooter” with all-new approach to the third-person shooter genre” has been cancelled. No reason has been given for the decision, with Square Enix simply announcing the move via its website (as translated by Andriasang). The …

Electronic Arts has lost its bid to be cleared from a bitter and expensive lawsuit between rival Activision and axed Infinity Ward staff. EA’s argument, that accusations thrown at it were without merit, was dismissed this week by a California judge. Activision is suing EA for surreptitiously recruiting two men …

Social network giant Facebook says its fast-growing global games platform comes from one thing: a focus on people. Speaking to MCV, engineers at the firm said Facebook’s social layer has helped reboot industries for the better. The higher level of what we are doing is working with industries to reimagine …

But the reality of the fast-emerging model that ditches consoles and traditional publishers has stretched established studios in unexpected ways and will distort others further. Where once they talked creativity, now it’s creativity… plus marketing. And monetisation. And market data.Our cover lead story in this week’s MCV hinges on how …