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

The PlayStation 3 has officially arrived in the Philippines in a move that highlights Sony’s growing aspirations in the fractured Asian market. VentureBeat reports that the 120GB version of the console will cost 18,999 PESOS (280) with the 360GB SKU costing 20,999 PESOS (310). The PSP, meanwhile, will retail for …

The key three political parties unanimously call for game education progress

Future Publishing has teamed up with Square Enix for next week’s launch of FirstPlay, Europe’s first on-console interactive show. The show will be exclusively available to PS3 owners through the PlayStation Network Store, with the launch episode due for release on Thursday, April 8th. Each weekly episode will deliver high-definition …

Though it insists that its half-year financials (which are due to be published on May 20th) should meet its previously published expectations, Future has issued a cautious pre-close trading update. Games, which comprises 30 per cent of group revenue, continues to experience a very tough market and difficult comparatives,” a …

The inaugural ELSPA Question Time event at BAFTA HQ last night saw the three key political parties debate some of the biggest issues surrounding the game industry. Labour’s Tom Watson, Conservatives’ Ed Vaizey and Lib Dem’s Don Foster each had a chance to respond to questions surrounding piracy, game age …

Part 1 of our feature on the usability testing revolution.

Social branding firm Vitrue has launched an official Facebook application for Apple’s App Store, letting people browse its catalogue from the social network, and share recommendations with friends. "To create the page and its custom components, Vitrue worked with the iTunes team at Apple to provide strategic guidance, creative design, …

Apple will not be shipping its latest US iPad pre-orders until April 12th, speculating that the company is having trouble keeping up with demand for the device. Apple originally began taking orders on March 12th, with customers told to expect delivery on April 3rd (the same day the device makes …

The Conservative Party says it will introduce game development tax breaks in its first budget if elected to form a Government, Develop can reveal. The party’s spokesperson for the game industry, MP Ed Vaizey, last night put an end to months of faltering support on the issue by pledging, unequivocally, …

Digital-only multiplayer shooter Battlefield 1943 has become the fastest game to 1m sales on Xbox Live, EA has confirmed. The reception of Battlefield 1943 continues to amaze us, even months after the game was released,” the game’s producer Gordon Van Dyke said in a statement. Being the fastest game to …