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

ELSPA has dubbed PS3 the star console of 2009” following an impressive year-on-year increase in software sales for Sony’s machine. In total 11.9m PS3 games were sold in the UK last year – a 14 per cent increase on the 10.4m units old in 2008. Hardware sales were up, too, …

As part of its announcement today talking about 2009’s down-but-not-disastrous UK software sales, ELSPA and GfK-CharTrack have revealed format-specific data. Nintendo Wii ‘stormed the field’ with software sales of over 18 million units in the UK – meaning it is still number one software format in terms of units sold. …

The official figures from GfK-ChartTrack are in – and the UK games market’s total value for 2009 was down on 2008, but the sector still managed to generate billions in revenue. ELSPA has today revealed that official data pegs the annual sales figures for the UK games market pegs total …

Former GarageGames and IO Interactive vets join fast-growing middleware firm

Rapidly growing UK retailer The Hut has revealed that its network of websites saw a 188 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of orders it received in the six weeks over Christmas. In the same period international revenue soared 240 per cent year-on-year. We are extremely happy with these …

Growing UK publisher Rising Star has signed up sexy starlet Alex Sim-Wise as a writer for its Japanese-orientated games portal Hoshi Club. Sim-Wise shot to fame after winning FHM’s Student of the Year award in 2004. After a spell modelling she went on to work in the media. She joins …

New VC injection adds to a previous $1m round of funding

CCP on why Perforce is essential to maintaining EVE Online's vast subscriber base

Koch Media has announced it has picked up the distribution rights for S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat. Under its new partnership with the game’s publisher bitComposer Games, Koch will handle the game in the UK, Nordic and Italian markets. After the distribution success we saw with S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky, we are …

Sony Europe has confirmed to VG247 that the Collector’s Edition of PS3-exclusive title Heavy Rain will be available exclusively through HMV. A listing for the SKU appeared on the HMV website earlier today, priced at just 40. Included will be a voucher for the game’s first DLC offering, a copy …