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

An in-depth look at the Oxford-based AvP studio

In the history of video games, there are few games business brands that can raise as many mixed emotions as LucasArts. Having released over 160 games as both a developer and publisher (it signs external products, but lets partners like Activision handle the actual box shifting), on paper it should …

Best Buy arrives in the UK this Friday with the grand opening of its Thurrock store – and it has been confirmed that the retailer will be selling the black version of Nintendo’s Wii for just 99.99. The price will run from April 30th to May 3rd. Other offers include …

Ubisoft hopes this summer’s World Cup will help it crack the ‘polarised’ football game genre. The publisher will launch Pure Football for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in May, which is fronted by former England captain Steven Gerrard. And Ubisoft brand manager Phil Brannelly believes that the association with Gerrard …

Games publishers are getting behind Facebook as a major marketing tool, enabling them to interact with millions of consumers directly. The social network is becoming increasingly important to publishers’ marketing plans, from Nintendo directing traffic through a Monster Hunter Facebook hub to Ubisoft inviting fans to befriend the Prince of …

Best Buy is the latest UK retailer to enter the used games market. The firm has a range of pre-owned titles in-store already for all formats, and consumers can trade-in their games against anything in-store, such as a Blu-ray disc or a TV, and vice versa. Pre-owned is an important …

In its report of the recent turbulence at UK retailer GAME, one analyst has predicted that the chain has become an increasingly likely target for a takeover – though this in turn should help protect its share price in the near term. The real shock with the results was the …

The ongoing disturbance at Activision’s Modern Warfare studio has left the publisher with a plummeting workforce but a strong brand in Infinity Ward. Yet an analyst has come out to suggest that the studio will soon close, with the Modern Warfare franchise moving to other studio brands. Janco Partners’ Mike …

APB studio among big-name speakers at Dundee-based education conference

The Entertainment Software Association has vowed to fight Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed legislation that would illegalise the sale of violent games to minors in the US. Though it might seem strange to UK readers, it is currently not illegal to sell mature games to kids in the US. Previous attempts to …