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

From next year the Advertising Standards Authority will see its remit widened to include the regulation of online advertising, the organisation has confirmed. The ASA already polices paid-for ads and promotions but from March 1st 2011 this will grow to include all marketing communications online including on social networks such …

It appears that the movement to oppose Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mature games bill in the US is proving successful with confirmation that no new states have signed up to the proposal since July. Law.com reports that only 11 states have pledged support for the measures, which would see the sale of …

Sam & Max developer Telltale Games has recruited Christopher Lloyd – the man who played the iconic Doc Brown in the Back to the Future films – to lend his voice for its series of episodic games based on the franchise. USA Today reports that original screenplay writer Bob Gale …

Unreal vendor to â??work with licensees directly to find best fit in each situationâ??

Earlier this week Microsoft announced that it is to increase the price of some Xbox Live subscription packages – but Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter thinks the platform holder is preparing to take things much further. The extra $10 translates to around $100-150 million per year inadditional revenue for Microsoft,” …

Developers offered cash prizes for building netbook specific games

MAIET Entertainment and WeMade Entertainment both licence Autodesk Kynapse

Summer is traditionally the most quiet trading period in the games industry, and last month was no different, with sales down 13 per cent compared to July 2009. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom – Harry Potter: Years 1-4 enjoyed a place at the top and gave Warner Bros a boost, …

As was speculated yesterday, Sony is to launch an iTunes-rivalling digital music service for a number of its home entertainment products. Though technically it sounds impressive the branding could perhaps do with a little work – it’s called ‘Music Unlimited Powered by Qriocity’. Nonetheless, the European PlayStation Blog reports that …

Phil Harrisonâ??s new VC firm to offer talk on Britainâ??s £2m game fund