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

US online publisher THQ*ICE has closed. The firm was a collaboration between THQ and Shanghai-based I.C.E Entertainment to handle MMO Dragonica Online. It was formed in September 2008. According to Gamasutra, THQ sold its interest back to ICE in March 2010, and now ICE has ended its US operations entirely. …

Apple has released the iOS 4.1 firmware upgrade for iPhone owners giving them access to Game Center. The Xbox Live-rivalling service allows users to invite friends to play games together, track and unlock achievements as well as compare high scores on the leader boards. So far reception for Game Center …

New online retailer Gametail is already preparing aggressive expansion across the continent – just a week after making waves with cut-price promotions Gametail generated a lot of buzz this week with one-day-only bargain deals (including Halo: Reach for 31.99) used to trail its brand before official opening. The company doesn’t …

North East office adds to the groupâ??s three other UK bases

Nintendo has improved its protection against piracy on Wii and DS with new firmware updates. The downloads were released earlier this week and are said to block consumers from using many of the more common flash carts and software modifications that allow pirated games to be played. Official release notes …

Slow sales of video games and aggressive competitor discounting has seen HMV’s profits slow for the 19 week period ending September 4th. HMV’s UK and Ireland figures are down 14.9 per cent, while the entire Group’s performance – which includes HMV International and Waterstones – has seen sales slide 10.6 …

Former head of Atari's ill-fated London outfit comes back with a social studio of her own

PopCap boss Jason Kapalka shares secrets of the social groupâ??s success

Sony is spending 750,000 to ensure PlayStation Move is embraced by mainstream audiences when it launches next week. But the ad spend dodges specialist media and games retail to favour a supermarket tour, lifestyle press promotions and ads around major TV shows such as Big Brother, X-Factor and Premier League …

Studio behind Plants vs Zombies still turning down â??crazy numberâ?? buyout offers