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

In the latest in our series of profiles of rule-changing games companies, we look at Franceâ??s largest indie developer, Ankama.

A look at how to convert free players to subscribers

The many fans of popular football franchise Pro Evolution Soccer will be delighted to hear that Konami has released iPES – The Fan App on the Apple App Store. The app works by encouraging users to amass ‘points’ with which can be used to collect virtual PES 2010 trading cards. …

publisher Ubisoft has unveiled a Christmas marketing blitz for Your Shape, designed to fight off stiff competition from Wii Fit Plus and EA Sports Active. The Wii fitness title – which uses a motion sensing camera to monitor body movements – is due for release on December 4th. And Ubisoft …

X-Factor duo reveal they were paid just £50 per day each for QA role in Ireland

The team behind Guitar Hero are busy working on a way to create a game for Microsoft’s Project Natal. The co-founder of RedOctane, Kai Huang, has revealed that the firm is investigating the idea of having a camera track players’ movements – and said the firm is exploring the possibilities” …

After a tremendous run of dominance in the games industry, Wii’s bubble might not have burst – but one analyst is claiming that it is certainly deflating. Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz says that a recent survey from the firm suggests that Wii gamers are buying fewer games for their …

Microsoft has named Peter Klein as its new chief financial officer, as former CFO Chris Liddell prepares to leave the company at the end of the year. Klein joined Microsoft in 2002 and currently works as CFO for the Business Division. Liddell has worked for Microsoft since 2005. He will …

The closure of EA’s Pandemic studio and the layoff of its 200 employees was the talk of the industry last week – but the publisher isn’t quite done with the label’s IP yet. This evening the firm has confirmed the production of Mercs Inc, a new game in the early …

X-Factor twins ‘Jedward’ have revealed that they tested video games for Microsoft before embarking on their new fame-filled career. The bequiffed Irish brothers – real names John and Edward Grimes – became controversial figures on the ITV talent show for their dodgy vocal skills, but won mass public support before …