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

EDUCATION WEEK: Encouraging signs as schools minister Gibb praises Livingstone-Hope Review

The Pro Evolution Soccer series has sold roughly 69 million units worldwide. This achievement was revealed in Konami’s latest financial results, in which the publisher reported a decrease in the losses it had suffered across the board. The report highlighted PES 2011 as one of the company’s key sales drivers, …

Martyn Brown, the co-founder of Leeds studio Team 17, has announced his departure from the studio. He had front-run the studio for around 20 years, and said he’s leaving the group in great shape”. Team 17 recently turned its back on third-party publishers in favour of digital distribution – a …

'I had an amazing 20-year ride' the former studio boss says

UK publisher Codemasters has announced that Dirt 3 will release globally in all territories on may 24th for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. This will mean a somewhat unusual Tuesday release in the UK, much as is traditionally seen in North America. The game promises "more cars, more locations, more …

Amazon is looking to recruit games retailers to join its Marketplace sector and help them boost their online offering. The firm has always worked with third parties, but is now looking to seriously strengthen its network of sellers in key categories, including video games. A spokesman for Amazon said: In …

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero was the most successful Xbox Live launch in 2010. Week one sales for the downloadable Capcom title outperformed all other XBLA games released last year, including the critically acclaimed Limbo, the first digital-only Lara Croft title and Case Zero’s own follow-up Dead Rising 2: Case …

Hurry! There is only one week left to make your voice heard. Lobbying for the 2011 MCV Industry Excellence Awards is currently open but the deadline is approaching. All nominations must be sent to AwardsLobbying@intentmedia.co.uk by 12pm on Friday, February 11th. A full guide to the awards can be found …

Publishing giant Electronic Arts has indicated it will throw more weight behind the Facebook games platform. Speaking at an earnings report this week, where the publisher reported a $322 million net loss, an EA exec said Facebook remained integral to the firm’s future. We’re seeing an increase in game traffic …

Virgin Gaming is braced for the big time in Europe after signing a deal with EA Sports. The tournament provider expects a surge in users when it is integrated into the publisher’s FIFA titles. It has already seen almost 40,000 new gamers sign up after running a similar scheme on …