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

Square Enix has announced Crysta, a new online payment method for Europe. The billing system is already used in Japan and allows consumers to pay for subscriptions and security tokens in the publisher’s online games. The first title to use Crysta in Europe will be Final Fantasy XIV, which launches …

Nintendo’s cult gaming IP Pokemon continues to endure in Japan with news that the latest release in the series has set a new sales record for the brand. Andriasang reports that between them Pokemon White and Pokemon Black sold a massive 2,637,285 copies in their first week of release in …

Paul Gascoigne has becoming addicted to casual title Angry Birds, according to The Sun. The tabloid claims the Geordie football star bought an Apple device purely to play the smash hit game, though he also plays arcade hits Pacman and Tetris. A pal (apparently) said: "Gazza is hooked on Angry …

A growing number of corporate giants from America’s leading entertainment industries have joined forces to fight a proposed law that would for the first time illegalise the sale of violent games to minors in the US. Activision is amongst the growing number of voices arguing that the law, which was …

UK publisher Codemasters has announced that this Friday’s release of the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions of F1 2010 will be the largest in the company’s history. 2m copies of the console game have been shipped to retailers in Europe and North America, and it will also be available …

ShiVa Advanced Editor promo lengthened as Mac-supported iteration release pushed back

Popular game engine outfit partners with middleware specialist

As millions of gamers continue to plough millions of hours into Bungie’s Halo Reach, Microsoft has praised the staggering” achievements that the game has already celebrated. The title shot straight to the top of the ELSPA GfK-ChartTrack All Formats Top 40 yesterday, selling 300k copies in the UK alone on …

The next update to Sony’s PS3 digital TV peripheral PlayTV will be a premium download from PSN and not a free firmware upgrade. Later this year a host of new features will be added to the PVR device including social networking platform Chat TV, a seven-day programme guide, new listings …

Guinness World Records has suggested that the next edition of its Gamer’s Edition will bring with it a new swearing champion. Having compiled a video chronicling 200 instances of the f-word it could find in 2K Games’ Mafia II, Achievement Hunters has, according to Kotaku, received an email from Guinness …