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

Peter Mandelson was voted as the Internet Villain of the Year at this year’s Internet Service Providers Association Awards. According to Mac World, the former cabinet minister was given the award for his role in pushing through the heavily criticised Digital Economy Act, currently the focus of a legal challenge …

MCV understands that from next week GAME will increase the price of its GAMECare hardware insurance cover from next Monday (July 12th). It is believed that the retailer will be adding 5 to each price band, meaning that two year’s cover (that includes the standard manufacturer’s one year warranty) for …

Publishing brand 2K has axed some 20 staff from Civilisation studio Firaxis, citing the need to cut costs. Firaxis has realigned its development resources in order to streamline its development process, reduce costs and maximize the overall performance the studio," read a 2K statement sent out to news group Kotaku. …

In less than seven weeks our trade fair grounds will once again be transformed into the world’s most impressive interactive arena. After the final whistle is blown in the World Cup, Europe will be looking forward to the kick-off of Gamescom 2010, the world’s largest trade fair for video games. …

EA has announced that the PC version of football title FIFA 11 will at last boast the same sort of visual fidelity as the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. Recent versions of the sports outing on PC had lagged behind their console counterparts, having been based on older versions of …

Publisher Capcom has released some exciting pictures of a special edition version of zombie action title Dead Rising that will hit retail alongside the standard SKU on October 1st. Called The Outbreak Pack, the bundle includes a 12” zombie figurine and a number of accessories as well as a host …

Tech firm counters claims it is pulling away from game creation

In a surprise move, online retail giant Amazon has begun offering groceries on its website. The move is bizarrely reminiscent of an April Fools’ story posted by MCV earlier in the year where we joked that GAME was breaking into the fruit and veg market in an effort to fight …

EA has announced a new downloadable Dead Space game that will bridge the gap between the 2008 original and next year’s Dead Space 2. Dead Space Ignition will be available on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network this autumn, and challenges players to survive the initial Necromorph outbreak. It …

Sony explains how it pulled off a PS3 rescue operation with the help of, who else, the developers