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

Activision’s Guitar Hero series is in hot water with news that Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose is suing the publisher. The Hollywood Reporter reports that the rock star is angry about Activision’s inclusion of former guitarist Slash in Guitar Hero III. Rose claims that his agreement with the publisher …

After what has felt like an eternal wait for the millions of fans of the franchise, the first reviews of Gran Turismo 5 are currently appearing online following the lifting of Sony’s reviews embargo at 8:00am. The overall picture is positive, with plenty of eights, a nine from Eurogamer and …

With year-on-year comparison continuing to paint a picture of gradual decline in the home console games sector, analyst Cowen & Company has named the high RRP of console hardware as the chief cause. We believe that the hardware manufacturers have left unit sales on the table by not reducing price …

No doubt many readers will already have their hands on that long-awaited copy of Gran Turismo 5, which launches in the UK today. But for those who haven’t, new High Street deals on the game are still emerging. Supermarlet Asda has confirmed that it will sell the game for jusy …

How Unreal Engine is breathing new life into â??80s dungeon crawl games

High Street stores are holding special midnight openings for Sony’s long-awaited Gran Turismo 5 tonight. Around 125 GAME shops will open shortly before midnight across the UK as will 38 Gamestation stores. The latter is offering one lucky buyer per store the chance to buy the GT5 Signature Edition for …

After five long years, Gran Turismo fans will be able to pick up the eagerly awaited fifth instalment in the racing series for just under a quid. Blockbuster is offering GT5 for a shockingly low 99p if gamers trade in any two titles from a select range of games. They …

Next year’s iteration of Codemasters’ F1 racing franchise will build upon the success of this year’s game, with the publisher promising more than just some incremental updates to keep it up to date with the latest F1 season. CEO Rod Cousens told MCV that F1 2011 will definitely not be …

Two events have dominated Codemasters’ year to date.In April, the seriously big Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA bought a 50 per cent share in the company, becoming the publisher’s co-owner with VC company, Balderton Capital. At the time, CEO Rod Cousens said the future had never looked brighter”. He was proved …

Zavvi.com’s operator has vowed to buy more companies as it looks to widen its product range. The Hut Group – which also runs a string of other business-to-business entertainment websites – recently purchased UK gifting giant Iwantoneofthose.com and health and beauty specialist LookFantastic. And the company’s commercial director said these …