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

Electronic Arts believes Need For Speed: Shift will see the franchise reclaim its crown as king of the racers, after a disappointing showing in 2008. The company is preparing a major marketing plan to support the title when it hits PS3, Xbox 360, PSP and PC on September 18th. Shift …

European distributor EBS Benelux has acquired independent rival Favour Games. The takeover comes as EBS moves to strengthen its position as a distributor of home and portable entertainment products in the Benelux region. We are very excited and proud to welcome Favour Games into the EBS family,” said EBS Benelux …

THQ has declared WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 the biggest release of its financial year – and said that its release will cement its place as the fighting genre’s No.1 publisher. The firm will unveil the game this weekend at WWE event Summerslam – a show it says emphasises the crucial importance” …

The world’s largest BitTorrent site has been ordered to remove all Copyright files on its site or face a fine of up to €5 million (4.4m). A Dutch Court has given the site three months to complete the order, say reports. The Utrecht District Court agreed with Stichting Brein, a …

Okay, so it’s really being sold for 2.51, given there’s a ‘transaction fee’ added into the mix, but it’s still the lowest ever price for a new game release. It’s not strictly an original move – misery rock band Radiohead did a similar thing with its 2007 album In Rainbows …

Publisher to release digital PSPgo games; Minis a possibility

Retailers have seen the open availability of Xbox 360 hardware brought to an abrupt halt in the UK as Microsoft begins to manage its current stock ahead of its Xbox 360 SKU reshuffle. Retail sources have confirmed to MCV that all 360 models have been pulled from open availability, with …

Last month developer Bungie suggested that the still mysterious Halo: Reach will likely be the last Halo game the studio ever produces – but a fresh admission from the company indicates that might not necessarily be the case. The clarification is we just don’t know at this point,” Bungie’s community …

Developer claims that Halo: Reach wonâ??t necessarily be its last project in the franchise

Harmonix, Ubisoft, THQ and more to attend the upcoming Philadelphia show