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

Redundancies expected across three British studios

Atari Europe has announced that former COO Jack Emmert has been appointed as the new CEO of developer Cryptic Studios. Former Cryptic CEO John Needham has chosen to leave the company to pursue new games-related opportunities. "It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to work with Cryptic these past several …

Ahead of this year’s Gamescom 2011 in August, the executive VP of organiser Koelnmesse has told MCV of his hopes for this year’s gathering. "With Gamescom 2010 we certainly reached a new level for a games and entertainment trade fair," Oliver Kuhrt stated. "This is confirmed by the overwhelming feedback …

What has been the reaction to last year’s Gamescom?With Gamescom 2010 we certainly reached a new level for a games and entertainment trade fair. This is confirmed by the overwhelming feedback on the part of exhibitors, trade visitors, retailers and consumers. 505 exhibitors from 33 countries showed innumerable new products, …

MCV offers an insight into each of the following video game distributors. Koch Media Established: 1994Members of staff: 330 (around 66 in the UK)Based: Basingstoke, HampshireKey territories: UK, Benelux, NordicContact: 01256 385200Website: www.kochmedia.co.uk Koch has a lot more strings to its bows than a traditional distributor. The firm has its …

'If we had just kept iterating we would be irrelevant' says Gibeau

A whopping 850,000 has been invested in promoting new PS3 racer Motorstorm Apocalypse. Sony has pulled out all the stops on its action-packed game – set in an earthquake-ravaged city – which is out March 18th. Marketing highlights include idents as part of the firm’s year-long sponsorship of Channel 5 …

Despite the current market slump and the rise of digital downloads, distribution remains the lifeblood of the games industry. Without suppliers, the route from product manufacturer to retail is blocked, and High Street stores are still vital to the video game consumer. But with VAT now at 20 per cent …

Distributor Realtime will now deliver Blaze accessories to retail. The company will handle products such as Blaze’s range of Sega-licensed consoles. Realtime Distribution’s purchasing director Julie Darrington said: The growing popularity of ‘old school’ titles, coupled with the increasing demand for portable gaming, means that we expect the Blaze Mega Drive …

Media firm Computec is offering one million Euros of investment to the winner of its Make The Game competition. The German company has challenged UK studios to design an innovative new browser game, with up to €250,000 offered in royalty fees alone for the best title. Winning developers will also …