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

The unyielding level of authority Zynga has over its paying customers was exposed this week, as fans of social network game Street Racing continue to protest an unexplained decision to abolish the game. Those fans, having together invested untold amounts of real money into the Facebook game, have been told …

The UK anti-games piracy movement is enjoying a major victory today with news that the London High Court has ruled that the importing, advertising or sale of R4 cards is now officially illegal in the UK. UK games trade body ELSPA has welcomed the decision, which comes as a result …

Trade leader MCV has unveiled plans for its biggest ever presence at Gamescom in Cologne. As part of a special agreement between Europe’s biggest trade news source and the premier games show, MCV will be distributing an extra high circulation print edition, whilst also running a dedicated online newswire. The …

The long-awaited arrival of Google in the games sector could almost be upon us with claims that the search giant is in talks with major publishers about game content for a new contender in the social networking space. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is negotiating with EA’s Playfish, …

Apple has confirmed that the iPhone 4 will be launched in 17 new countries this Friday, July 30th. The countries on the list include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The iPhone 4 arrived in key …

The budget games sector has seen its sales soar at key UK supermarkets. Leading grocers have doubled their market share in games over the last 12 months, which has had a positive impact on value PC publishers, such as Focus, Mastertronic and Avanquest. Supermarkets have become a key destination for …

Once upon a time there was a very clear line between full price and budget releases – basically, anything under 20 was a budget title, and generally these were republished outings.1 But today more and more companies are blurring the line between full price and budget. In the last year, …

Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Tecmo Koei, Capcom and Namco Bandai have all signed up for the next MCM Expo in October. The Q4 event, which takes place as part of London Games Festival, will host games including Marvel vs Capcom 3, Enslaved, Majin: The Forsaken Kingdom and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja …

Recruitment specialist Specialmove has a brand new website and mascot: AKA-Maru. The robot (pictured) was created by Hawaiian artist and designer Leo Blanchette, and has been created to coincide with the firm’s new site. The website now allows job hunters to find employers through a search engine that matches jobs …

Develop Award nominated outsourcer on board for San Fran-themed sequel