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

Koch Media has hired Ronnie O’Sullivan to front an official Xbox 360, PS3 and PC snooker game. World Snooker Championship Real 2011 – set for a Q2 release in the UK – is developed and published by Dark Energy Sports. Koch is handling distribution duties for the title. O’Sullivan will …

Landmark likely to be passed this month

Almost 10 billion apps have been downloaded through the App Store worldwide. To celebrate this milestone, Apple is holding a competition to reward whoever downloads the 10 billionth app. The contest is only open to the firm’s US customers, with the winner receiving an iTunes Gift Card worth a whopping …

$99 engine sale launched to mark occasion

Vince Zampella agreed to delay Call of Duty DLC so EA could release a game unchallenged, an internal email has alleged. The unverified claim brings new details to Activision’s previous allegation that two ousted Infinity Ward bosses had been dismissed due to acts of ‘insubordination’. Zampella was discharged from Infinity …

Former Infinity Ward boss eased the commercial climate for rival EA Battlefield game, unconfirmed memo claims

Ubisoft is making the game based on the upcoming Smurfs movie. The game is set for Nintendo Wii and DS and will launch alongside the live action/ CG-animated movie, which is scheduled for Wednesday, August 3rd. Commenting on the announcement, Mark Caplan, VP of consumer products at Sony Pictures Consumer …

Virtua Tennis 4 will launch on Wii and Kinect, Sega has announced. The game was already announced for PlayStation 3 at Sony’s Gamescom press conference in August last year. It features PlayStation Move compatibility and 3D technology. The Wii edition will make use of the Wii MotionPlus. Virtua Tennis 4 …

Frontier Developments makes 17 staff redundant

Smartphones are usurping traditional games hardware, says Capcom. The firm told MCV that more and more gamers are leaving PCs and handheld consoles for smartphones, and as a result Capcom Interactive has invested in a number of upcoming titles due for release on iPhone this year. The casual gamer that …