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

Longstanding British studio Codemasters saw in the New Year in a most unfortunate manner as HM Revenue & Customs served an erroneous petition to wind-up the business. On face value that meant the studio would face going into administration, receivership or liquidation, with Codemasters’ banks under threat of being frozen. …

The BBC has revealed that one in eight people logging onto its popular IPTV service iPlayer are now doing so through either the PS3 or Wii, with console usage jumping 74 per cent between November and December. 2009 was a big year for iPlayer, with December brining the total number …

Football Superstars team smitten with satellite team

Questions are being asked about Microsoft’s claim that Xbox 360 console sold over 10m units in North America in 2009. That number comes from a Microsoft statement released in the wake of NPD’s December and 2009 report which reads: In 2009 US Xbox 360 console sales topped 10m units, with …

Threat to close the Dirt 2 studio was revealed to be an HMRC error

A Game Of The Year edition of Eidos’ Batman: Arkham Asylum is currently in production. The title’s existence was revealed by a BBFC listing, which classifies Batman: Arkham Asylum – Game Of The Year edition for release in the UK. According to the listing, the game was passed with no …

PS3’s 1.35m unit sales in North America in December – an 87 per cent year-on-year increase – saw the console finish 2009 by enjoying its best ever month in territory, leaving Sony celebrating what it is calling a turning point in the machine’s fortunes. 4.3m PS3s were sold throughout the …

Prominent industry event returns to Vancouver

The good times are back at Nintendo with the platform holder expressing its delight at smashing two hardware records in NPD’s December and 2009 North American video games market report. Wii’s 3.8m unit sales in December smashes the old single-month record while the DS and DSi combined sold 11.2m units …

Platform holder Microsoft has hailed what it describes as a breakthrough year” for Xbox 360 in North America through 2009. $4.8bn was spent on Xbox 360 hardware throughout the year with $1.1bn spent coming from December’s sales. Software sales value for the year hit $2.7m. Microsoft went on to claim …