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

There’s nothing wrong with independent retailers buying games from supermarkets and selling them at a premium, say UK distributors. Indies told MCV last month that stocking new games will be extremely difficult when the VAT rise comes into effect next year. And with some grocers lowering prices to below cost, …

From today GAME’s Moonbase in PlayStation Home will begin offering users the chance to order physical game from the retailer directly through the game world. Using any one of the Moonbase terminals customers will be able to browse a selection of PS3 and PSP games for home delivery. In addition, …

Ambitious games streaming service subtly goes into open beta with Mass Effect 2

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has received rave reviews, making it one of the most critically claimed games available this Christmas. At the time of writing, the game boasts a Metacritic average of 91 per cent for the PS3 edition and 90 for the Xbox 360 version – currently outranking all …

The process of porting otherworldly MMO Final Fantasy XIV from PC to PS3 is complete, according to a report on Andriasang. The game has been 100% ported from the PC to PS3 and is in a moving state,” it claims. While there are some slight differences in textures, you won’t …

Ubisoft has at last confirmed that it is to release HD versions of its last gen Splinter Cell trilogy, which was first rumoured in September. IGN reports that the confirmation came from CEO Yves Guillemot as part of the publisher’s recent earnings call. Details concerning platforms or the release date …

With the last of the 2010’s big releases making their way to retail over the next couple of weeks, attention is already turning to next year – and THQ’s Homefront has become one of the first big hitters to get a solid 2011 release date. Speaking via Twitter the publisher …

With firm sales figures still unavailable, US analyst Michael Pachter has said that he believes Sony’s PlayStation Move controller has sold 400k units in the US since its launch in the territory in mid-September. The comparisons with Kinect are inevitable, of course. Kinect sold in excess of 1m units in …

UPDATE: Nintendo has issued the following statement to MCV: "We’re still supplying Wii Speak and it’s still very much available should retail want to order it." The product is still listed as ‘discontinued’ on both the US and UK Amazon websites. ORIGINAL STORY: Wii Speak – which allows gamers to …

Notable developer Dave Perry has announced that Gaikai entered open beta on Sunday. The game-streaming service is being launched gradually, with 1,000 invites sent out to consumers at the weekend, and more being issued in waves of 10,000. Everyone will be getting invited in batches and if you are too …