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

Wii owners will be able to download demos of key WiiWare titles through a new service that launches this week. Nintendo announced that the first demos would be made available this Friday, and new ones will be added on a regular basis. However, the demos will only be available for …

Development work to be sent back to Japan, firm says

Square Enix has lowered sales forecasts for its six-month fiscal period ending September 30th, 2010. The Final Fantasy and Lara Croft publisher now expects to receive net sales of YEN 68bn (527m), down from YEN 76bn (589m). It predicts a decrease in profit from YEN 2.4bn (18.5m) to YEN 1.7bn …

Anger as Microsoft moves its indie game store to the back

Namco Bandai’s US arm is planning to lay off up to 90 of its staff. These job losses have been attributed to the company’s recent restructuring in which it combined its online game and mobile businesses to form single division, according to VentureBeat. The layoffs were confirmed by Namco’s vice …

Yves Guillemot – Ubisoft, CEO The new [motion sensing] machines are very good because they provide a chance for more people to play. Nintendo showed that it could make lots of money and also serve lots of customers, so now everybody wants that part of the cake.So that’s what we …

The first DLC pack for Microsoft shooter Crackdown 2 will be available to download on Xbox Live later this month. ‘Deluge’ features a new four player co-op mode where users are pitted against increasingly challenging waves of enemies in Pacific City. There is also a ‘Capture the Orb’ mode which …

David Miller has left Namco Bandai Partners to join up-and-coming online gaming firm Samvo. He takes up the role of marketing executive and will be responsible for driving communications about Samvo’s online gambling platform. While the firm is popular in Asia, this appointment is part of its strategy to raise …

Moshi Monsters predicts merchandise sales surge

Ubishop customers will find a special edition glove bundled in with their Wii copy of Michael Jackson: The Experience. The garment is a replica of the familiar glove that the late King of Pop wore during some of his most famoust performances. It is exclusive to Ubisoft’s online store and …