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

For all the doom and gloom, the six months’ figures for the UK games industry weren’t all bad news. The likes of EA, Sony and Take-Two had plenty of reasons to cheer. Traditional game sales are actually on the increase. And gamers, your customers, have been spoilt by a great …

The value of the UK games hardware market for year-to-date is 2010 has dropped a disappointing 32 per cent compared to 2009, representing a total value loss of 122m. Mirroring what was seen in the US, portables were the biggest offender thanks to a 40 per cent decline. Home consoles …

Ronimo Games' Swords & Soldiers heading to PSN

Activision has today officially confirmed the existence of James Bond Blood Stone, a brand new game based on Britain’s favourite secret agent currently in development at British developer Bizarre. The game is primarily an action title though will feature plenty of driving action. Joss Stone is set to star as …

Bloomberg is reporting that American publishing giant EA has sold its 15 per cent stake in rival company Ubisoft, ending a sometimes uncomfortable business partnership that has lasted almost five years. The deal should make EA, who was until this point Ubisoft’s largest shareholder, in the region of $122m. As …

The Xbox 360 S landed on UK shelves today and the device’s price is already beginning to fluctuate. Online retailers have the upper hand as ShopTo.net lists the cheapest price at 184.85, followed closely by Zavvi.com (189.95) and Amazon (189.99). Other key online retailers are holding closer to Microsoft’s suggested …

The Xbox 360 S has officially gone on sale in the UK, marking an historic first for platform holder Microsoft. Hundreds of GAME and Gamestation stores opened their doors at midnight as eager gamers rushed to become the very first UK owners of the redesigned machine. At midnight, over 400 …

Peter Lorenz hired as award-winning studio's management expands

Nintendo’s critically adored platformer Super Mario Galaxy 2 is matching its warm reception from critics with an equally warm reception from consumers, having now sold over 1m units in the US. The game sold 548k units in June, brining lifetime sales in the territory to 1.1m. Six of the US …

Blending the gameplay of Mario Party 8 with the Mii characters of Wii Play has paid off for Nintendo – Wii Party went straight to the top of the Japanese charts this week. The game sold 235,000 copies putting it one place ahead of White Knight Chronicles on PS3 with …