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

Sony is expected to unveil key details regarding its Next Generation Portable at Gamescom 2011. The latest details from the leading European games trade show, which will take place in August, suggest the headline-grabbing device could have a major presence at this year’s event. Given that the NGP is due …

When Sir Clive Sinclair launched the ZX Spectrum in 1982, affordable computers were eagerly purchased for the homes of a creative nation. At the same time, the BBC Micro was adopted as the computer platform of choice for most schools and became the cornerstone of computing in British education in …

Given that the new online world is being transformed by creative technology companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google and video games companies, it seems incredible that there is an absence of computer programming in schools. The UK has gone backwards at a time when the requirement for computer science as a …

The Performing Rights Society has bamboozled retailers this week by saying indies must pay to cover music licence fees for game pods. PRS polices the use of copyrighted music in public places and now thinks demo pods running games that play licensed music will also come under its remit. Several …

iPhone and Android catalogue 'drives value of games down'

People Can Fly’s cheeky marketing stunt for its upcoming shooter Bulletstorm has hit a significant milestone online. As confirmed via the Bulletstorm Twitter feed, Duty Calls has now hit 1.25m downloads since its release last week. The game is an unashamed spoof of Activision’s Call of Duty and is full …

Developer lauds simplicity of new handheld; PS3 compatibility 'possible'

With the 3DS looking to hike the accepted High Street RRP of handheld gaming software when it launches in the UK next month, Nintendo of America president has attacked the low-price mentality promoted by Apple’s App Store. I actually think that one of the biggest risks today in our industry …

Dead Space 2 has topped the Chart-Track All Formats Top 40 games chart for the second week in a row. It’s the fourth No.1 of the year for EA which sees success again this week with four games in the Top Ten. FIFA 11 rises one position to No.2 while …

Despite a drop of revenues across every territory for EA in its Q3 2011, Europe has emerged as the most resilient region for the publisher. Net revenues for Europe were down just two per cent year-on-year in Europe. By contrast, Asian revenues were down 21 per cent and North American …