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

Frontier Developments chairman warns against hardcore gaming pretensions

Norwegian studio purchases minority stake in Stunlock Studios AB, agrees to publish first title

SpecialEffect, the charity dedicated to helping young people with disabilities play video games, has recruited journalist Johnny Minkley and PR Kirsty Payne as its new vice presidents. The charity previously developed eye-control gaming technology, online service gamebase.info and supports hospitals, specialist schools and hospices to find the right equipment for …

NPD’s stats for the month of April made for grim reading in the U.S late Thursday. Game sales plunged 22 percent on the same period last year. Hardware sales were down 37 percent. Overall sales were down from over $1 billion a year ago, to $766 million. So far this …

A pre-E3 ‘Level Up’ event in Barcelona showcased some major new releases from Namco Bandai for Q3 this year. The third in the publisher’s popular Family Trainer series will launch for Nintendo’s Wii this autumn. Entitled Family Trainer: Treasure Island, the game features 70 missions, a party mode for up to …

A leading South African distributor has told MCV that many of the country’s major retailers refuse to stock Xbox 360 consoles due to reliability concerns and the infamous Red Ring of Death (RROD). The Xbox360 has had a rather rough time in South Africa,” Apex Interactive director Quinton Davie stated. …

Owners of the latest Sony’s IPTV will be able to stream classic World Cup footage direct to their TV via the Bravia Internet Video service. The content is compatible with its most recent TV sets, including the 3D-ready HX803, and many of the firm’s high-end Blu-ray players. It is not, …

Sony has announced it will release a range of handheld titles next month under the new label of PSP Essentials. The launch will see the re-release of some of the PSP’s biggest titles at the low price point of 9.99. The first 10 titles will be available on June 4th, …

Former Offworld.com editor takes reigns of popular indie event

EA has revealed first details of its upcoming Overlord DLC pack for Mass Effect, which will be available to download in June. The add-on features new vehicle-based gameplay, combat missions and a story which follows a dangerous AI which has been created by fusing a human with a Geth. Mass …