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

The shock alliance between Nokia and Microsoft nearly never happened, with the Finnish company admitting that it gave serious consideration to switching to Google Android mobile OS as opposed to Windows Phone 7. "We spent time with our colleagues at Google," CEO Stephen Elop confessed. "It’s an attractive ecosystem, but …

This week we look at a wider reach of renowned studios, from Zynga to Starbreeze

Travis Boatman, EA Mobile VP of Worldwide Studios, claims there is huge market potential for core-focused mobile games. Speaking at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, the man who helped to bring Dead Space to the iPhone and iPad claimed the notion that mobile games are for casual consumers is …

As hinted at earlier this week, Activision has announced a major crossover between the toy and video games sectors with a brand new title featuring the iconic Spyro the Dragon. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, which is due out the autumn, will target the 6-12 year old market with a game that …

Activision’s decision to sell Guitar Hero as a product as opposed to a content platform was the ultimate cause of the IPs downfall, GamesBrief analyst Nicholas Lovell has told MCV. "I wasn’t surprised by the news," he stated. "Sales peaked at $1.7bn for music games in 2008, fell by 50% …

Enslavd: Odyssey to the West should never have been released during the busy pre-Christmas season. That’s according to Namco Bandai’s marketing VP Charlson Choi, who told Siliconera that poor timing was to blame for the game’s disappointing sales of less than 500,000 units. It launched in the midst of a …

Rumours fly that the likes of Rockstar and Irrational could join Call of Duty publisher

Despite the fact that most gamers play MMOs on a PC, almost half of all DC Universe Online owners play it on a PS3. The Sony MMO – which hit shelves last month – is available on both PC and PS3. And 45 per cent of users play it on …

Engine outfit to present series of sessions at San Francisco event

The nominations process for the 2011 Industry Excellene Awards is drawing to a close. All nominations must be sent to AwardsLobbying@intentmedia.co.uk by 12pm today. Be sure to include a brief summary of why your chosen candidate should be considered. A full guide to the awards can be found by clicking …