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

Amazon.co.uk has confirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has become the most pre-ordered game in the company’s history, racking up double the amount of interest of former title holder Grand Theft Auto IV. The level of interest in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been unprecedented,” Amazon.co.uk’s …

Avatar to star as conference turns attention to stereoscopic 3D

Square Enix has told MCV that ‘must see’ news about Final Fantasy XIII will be revealed via a video on the game’s official website this Friday afternoon. Little is known about what the video will contain, but insiders at the publisher – which showed the game off at E3 in …

Video games violence and the economic worth of the UK games industry took centre stage at a heated debate in the House of Commons this afternoon, as Labour MP Tom Watson took it on himself to defend the sector from the types of accusations regularly thrown around by the press. …

Playfishâ??s price tag could peak at $400 million

Electronic Arts has confirmed plans to buy social games firm Playfish for over $250m. The news confirms reports from last month that the games publisher was acquiring the Facebook experts. Playfish will operate within EA Interactive, a division of EA focused on the web and on wireless – EA has …

Reports of $250m+ acquisition confirmed after weeks of speculation

In a move designed to strengthen the Japanese firm’s European standing, Namco Bandai has announced a number of top-end management appointments within the business development, international marketing and sales team. VP of marketing, sales and publishing Olivier Comte will head up the new team whilst Alberto Gonzalez Lorca becomes the …

The late Michael Jackson could be making a return to consoles sooner than expected with reports that 16bit Mega Drive release Moonwalker is being prepped for an appearance on Nintendo’s Virtual Console. The news comes from European regulator PEGI, as spotted by Videogamer, which lists the title for the Wii’s …

MCV’s vital weekly digest for UK games retail, Retail Biz, is available to view online and download now. The special mail-out includes today’s full All Formats and single format charts – including PS3, on which EA’s FIFA 10 reclaims the top spot from Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. Other vital …