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

Publisher Zen United and distributor PQube have announced a special pre-order initiative for upcoming console brawler BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. The game is due to launch on March 19th for Xbox 360 and PS3, and consumers can now advance order a limited edition set for the same price as the standard …

Sony and Microsoft have revealed new online user stats, following both firm’s latest NPD results. Microsoft say that the Live community has grown to 23 million – both Gold and Silver users – marking a high rate of Live adoption from the 39 million 360 consoles sold worldwide. Sony, meanwhile, …

Microsoft has called its January sales result a great start to what will be "the biggest and best year in Xbox history." 332,800 Xbox 360 consoles was sold last month, and combined sales of 360 software, hardware and accessories reached $313 million. $158 million was spent on Xbox games alone, …

EA’s sustained marketing campaign for Mass Effect 2 pushed the long-awaited title sell 572,000 units for Xbox during January – an impressive result that couldn’t quite manage to topple Nintendo’s latest Wii mega-seller. The Mass Effect 2 sales hoard come despite the BioWare title being released in the final four …

Wii has emerged triumphant in the US hardware charts for January, NPD figures have revealed. The machine shifted through 465,800 consoles, while Nintendo DS was the second biggest selling platform of the month, with 422,200 units sold. However, both systems are down compared to the same period the year before. …

The US game market in January fell an anticipated 13 percent year-on-year, NPD figures reveal. Software at retailers made $598 million for the first month of the year, down some 12 per cent on the $683 taken last January. Hardware was down further, falling 21 per cent from $447 million …

Anonymous insiders suggest the company is looking to acquire CrowdStar

MTV Games has partnered with HMV and ticket exchange firm Seatwave on a Beatles: Rock Band promotion. Consumers who purchase The Beatles: Rock Band software or bundle from HMV will receive a 25 voucher for their next ticket purchase at Seatwave. The voucher can be used to purchase tickets for …

Microsoft held its X10 invitation-only press event in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, allowing the media to sample some of the products Xbox 360 has lined up for the year ahead. Pic credit: Kotaku The event didn’t muster much in the way of hard news – most particularly there was …

Activision Blizzard has responded to widespread speculation suggesting that three of the publisher’s studios have been hit by heavy layoffs, and possible closures. In a statement sent to Develop, Activision said it was realigning our resources to better reflect our slate and the market opportunities.” Earlier today, 3D Realms co-founder …