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

The combination of a UK bank holiday and Microsofts £30 reduction in the cost of an Xbox 360 Elite lead to a 43 per cent week-on-week sales increase for the next-gen console last week, ChartTrack has told MCV. Those who were expecting a more significant upturn should, ChartTrack added, note …

The boss of Sony-owned developer Polyphony Digital has stated that his upcoming racer Gran Turismo 5 is likely to get a simultaneous worldwide release – with many still tipping the title for an arrival in 2009. Thegame is still under development but itsrelease is not too far,” Kazunori Yamauchi stated, …

In what we’re already comfortably predicting will be the oddest gaming news of the week, Cherie Blair has become a director of an e-sports games company. The wife of ex-PM Tony, 54, and son Nicky, 23, have joined the board of Magnitude Gaming – a semi-professional outfit that play video …

Japanese games giant Namco Bandai wants to be one of Europe’s top five publishers within five years by releasing a string of new Western-specific IP. The firm’s ambitious plans follow the acquisition of Atari’s European distribution business in July, and a series of new game announcements at last week’s Gamescom …

Codemasters believes its Operation Flashpoint sequel will benefit from fellow publishers moving major rival game releases from Q4 to Q1 next year. The firm has revealed that it will be backing the title withan ‘explosive’ Christmas marketing blitz, which will concentrate on exposure in nationwide cinemas. Brand manager Dan Robinson …

Activision Blizzard has underlined the importance of retail in the success of Guitar Hero 5. The publisher has arranged to have a strong in-store presence, as well as some appealing pre-order incentives to drive customers to retailers on September 11th. Retailers are absolutely crucial to every Guitar Hero launch,” senior …

Platform holder Nintendo has stated that its highly anticipated fitness sequel Wii Fit Plus will be released in North America on October 4th. In addition, the hardware manufacturer is also brining some new colour options to both its handheld and home console range. All the details are over on CasualGaming.biz.

Sony has announced plans to release retooled versions of its God of War PS2 games for the PS3 – and has signed up US independent studio Bluepoint to help with the conversion. The games were originally developed by SCEA’s Santa Monica Studio. The new versions of God of War 1 …

Future Marvel video games may be produced in-house at Disney, the firm revealed during an investors conference call. The news follows Disney’s $4 billion buy-out of Marvel, which would give the media giant access to Marvel’s 5,000 characters. Currently THQ, Activision, Sega and MMO firm Gazillion Entertainment publish games based …

Batman: Arkham Asylum is this week’s UK number one. According to GfK-ChartTrack data for the week ending August 29th, the Eidos-published and Rocksteady-developed game has toppled Wii Sports Resort from its throne. Batman was the only significant release of last week – the new Wii Sports had to make do …