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

Epic Mickey isn’t all about the world’s most famous cartoon mouse – with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit taking a central role in the game’s marketing. The character is Mickey’s long-forgotten predecessor – the original Disney mascot – and the villain in the upcoming Wii adventure Epic Mickey. And Disney is …

In a fascinating admission to PSM3 magazine, the developer behind The Last Guardian has stated that the game originally had a female lead character – until a bizarre complication lead to a change of heart. The Trico is a very powerful creature,” Team Ico boss Fumito Ueda stated, as reported …

Ghost of Sparta studio cites â??do or dieâ?? attitude needed for successful indie development

Despite the sharp drop in sales that Wii has endured throughout 2010, US analyst Michael Pachter still expects Nintendo’s machine to be the best selling home console over the crucial Christmas buying period. Last month MCV reported that GAME has to date this year experienced a 40 per cent year-on-year …

The developer behind PC and console MMO Kingdom Under Fire II has confirmed that the game is unlikely to be released anytime in the near future. The reason? The very same issue that has dogged both potential Xbox 360 MMO releases Champions Online and Final Fantasy XIV – Microsoft’s closed-wall …

Analyst cites in-app payments as driver of â??$10 billion mobile marketâ??

Virtual goods purchases to be streamlined with new online payment utility

The HD re-make of No More Heroes will be a PS3 exclusive in the US, publisher Konami has confirmed. No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise is a 720p revamp of the original 2008 Wii title and has already been released on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in Japan. However, in the …

The level of piracy endured on PSP has rendered it an obsolete platform for developers, according to the developer behind the upcoming God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Speaking to VG247 creative director Ru Weerasuriya said of piracy that: I’m not very familiar with how it is on the DS, …

New images back ongoing rumours of a Sony Ericsson PlayStation