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

Retailer GAME has this week informed staff members of 19 stores that it intends to close in the coming weeks. The move comes as part of the store closure plan outlined back in April 2010. "You will remember that last April we announced plans to close 85 UK stores over …

Despite promising a NGP launch in 2011 at its Tokyo press event yesterday, Sony has warned that its unlikely that consumers in the three major markets – the US, Japan and Europe – that a launch this year in all three territories is unlikely. "I know [our launch date] is …

Some of PopCap’s most popular casual games are making their way to UK retailers thanks to Mastertronic. The titles will arrive as boxed releases on Xbox 360 and DS for the first time in Europe, with Mastertronic responsible for publishing and distributing the titles. PopCap Hits – which includes Bejeweled …

Enslaved, one of the most talked about products of 2010, may yet evolve into a franchise, according to publisher Namco Bandai. The game received excellent reviews and was backed by a high profile marketing and PR campaign, but failed to achieve strong sales. The market saw it as something of …

Xbox 360 and Windows platform holder Microsoft has reported its best ever quarterly earnings for the three months ending December 31st. Total company revenues came in at $19.95bn for the period with profits reaching just over $8bn. It was the Entertainment and Devices Division, which is the home of Xbox …

This week we focus on the US, and a little bit of Canada, for the best job openings

Imagine Publishing has announced it has given every member of staff a free iPad. The company is celebrating the end of its first full year of publishing iPhone and iPad digital editions of its magazines. It is one of the first publishing firms in the world to make its entire …

Bethesda has announced release dates for its 2011 games Brink, Rage and Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. FPS Brink will arrive on May 20th – three days after its North American release on May 17th, while fantasy action title Hunted is due out on June 3rd in the UK and June …

Eye-opening graphics set new benchmark for handhelds; broad control range in play

US analyst Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets has questioned whether Sony’s high-end Next Generation Portable will be able to penetrate the mass market that defines the modern games industry. "At launch, Sony expects to have a strong lineup of games for NGP, including Activision’s Call of Duty as well …