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

Super-publisher Activision has called its Hero franchise as respected as Harley Davidson and the iPhone. In an exclusive interview with MCV, the firm discusses how Guitar Hero has become bigger than just a video game – with long-term planning key to its success. "Things like Guitar Hero has forced us …

A mid-week release, the postal strikes – all the ingredients are there for a street-date break on Activision’s Modern Warfare 2, but retailer HMV has quashed rumours that it had been the first to move. On Tuesday many HMV customers who had pre-ordered the game received emails from the retailer …

Look out Gem and Centresoft – a new distribution rival has emerged following a deal between The Producers and Trilogy. The two have teamed up under a ‘strategic alliance’ to offer an end-to-end service of manufacturing and logistics, plus white label home delivery, digital distribution and Nintendo products – which …

Unityâ??s Thomas Grové walks us through whatâ??s new in the Unity communityâ?¦

THQ continues to lick its wounds after admitting a year ago that its product line-up needed to be refocused. The publisher this evening announced it saw sales down 40 per cent year on year for the three month period ending September 30th, 2009. Net sales were $101.3 million, down from …

Just a month after the firm was blasted (inaccurately, it turned out) by Courtney Love, Activision’s Guitar Hero franchise is subject of another celebrity lawsuit. This time rock band No Doubt is up in arms over an appearance in Band Hero, which the group allege contravenes their licensing deal by …

HMV has invited games publishers to display their wares at the retailer’s new cinema venture.The firm believes that HMVCurzon which opened in Wimbledon, London last month can help turn the heads of would-be games consumers if used to show game demos. In an exclusive interview, HMV CEO Simon Fox told …

Developers can remove the â??lame PR shitâ?? if they take command

Part two of Develop's interview with Robert Bowling covers the changing landscape of developer-led PR

HMV has introduced a movie cinema above its Wimbledon outlet, dubbed HMVCurzon – yet another sign of its rapidly evolving strategy. Tim Ingham catches up with the firm’s boss, Simon Fox…How do games companies stand to benefit from HMVCurzon?The cinema features the latest digital technology and has wireless capability, so …