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

A higher marketing spend can increase a game’s gross revenue three times more than positive review scores. That’s according to new research by EEDAR, presented at the Montreal International Games Summit by the firm’s Jesse Divnich. During the presentation, Divnich explained that poorer quality games will a bigger marketing will …

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has suggested that the company could produce a sequel to Wii Music in the future. The game was met with a disappointing response when released in 2008, selling little more than 2.65 million over the last year. While Nintendo has admitted Wii Music failed to perform, Miyamoto …

With Microsoft’s social media bonanza due to hit Xbox 360 today – bringing with it integrated Facebook, Twitter and Last.FM functionality – Sony has announced a similar upgrade for PS3 via its US blog. The upcoming 3.10 firmware update will introduce Facebook into the XMB. Users will also have the …

Media lawyers Davis and QA and localisation firm Enzyme Labs profiled

Ubisoft, EA, Disney Interactive and SCEA have been named in a lawsuit alleging infringement of a voice recognition technology

Forty-two percent of American adults plan to give or hope to receive video game this holiday season, according to a new report released today by U.S trade body, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). Forty-seven percent of respondents identified women as an intended gift recipient, a 31 percent increase from 2007. …

MIGS '09: Deadline was so tight that mistakes had to be noticed during documentation stage, says lead designer

The new data shows that traditional subscriptions to newspapers and magazines are falling away, but digital subscriptions are holding up despite tough economic times. In August 2009, 81 percent of U.S. households subscribed to a television service and 76 percent paid for Internet subscriptions. Seventeen percent subscribed to an online …

Last week EA’s chief executive John Riccitiello expressed disappointment in Wii’s performance and its weaknesses as a platform for third parties. That’s not the way Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime sees things. He’s disappointed that third parties – particularly those publishing traditional, hardcore packaged games – aren’t showing enough …

Those who insist that 59.99 is too much to pay for Microsoft’s brand new official Wireless-N Xbox 360 internet adapter my want to take a look at a cheaper alternative from Mad Catz that has just hit the market. Priced at 49.99, the Wireless-N Gaming Adapter offers a strong and …