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

Yoshinori Kitase, the producer of Square Enix’s upcoming RPG sensation Final Fantasy XIII, has stated that the game will be released simultaneously on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe. Furthermore, he dated its arrival for spring next year. We don’t have the actual month down yet, but in Japan …

THQ is to publish Focus Home Interactive’s fantasy-themed football strategy game Blood Bowl on September 18th. The game is based on a tabletop board game created by Games Workshop, which sells Warhammer products. It mixes turn-based strategy with football, pitting teams of fantasy creatures, such as orcs and goblins, against …

MTV has revealed plans to challenge Activision’s goliath Guitar Hero franchise this Christmas by pushing Rock Band to new audiences – something MCV’s predicted Singstar-branded mic pack would certainly offer. In his first interview since taking over, new MTV Games VP Scott Guthrie explained the firm’s strategy for retail and …

Canadian iPhone developer Frima strikes deal with Sony for PSPgo game

Eidos has unveiled plans for the promotional blitz backing upcoming kids title Mini Ninjas. The IO Interactive action adventure is due for release on September 11th, and has already been backed by a summer pre-awareness campaign, including 60-second cinema ads in front of family movies and dedicated TV sponsorship. This …

Rising Star Games is preparing a comprehensive marketing campaign for Happy Party with Hello Kitty & Friends. The game is the latest entry in the best-selling Hello Kitty franchise, which the publisher believes will become a long-tail retail success. Hello Kitty has an evergreen formula and, whatever the season, this …

Spain’s Virgin Play has gone into a form of liquidation in the firm’s home country. The firm’s financial advisers told MCV the company asked a Spanish Court in June for a three month period to seek a solution with its creditors due to a lack of liquidity. However, if more …

Majesco will bring Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel to Wii and DS in December. Developed by ImaginEngine, Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel will hit shelves ahead of Twentieth Century Fox’s theatrical release of the same name on Christmas Day. The first Alvin and The Chipmunks film was a …

The team behind GameOn has formed a new digital media unit ahead of the event’s November debut. Under the name Creative Games Media (CGM), the new team incorporates online, video and events planning and is a division of Creative Ventures Group. The business manages X-League TV and several web properties, …

Warner and Centresoft have hailed their joint Independent Retail Showcase held in Birmingham on Wednesday August 5th ‘an outright success.’ A wide range of indies attended the demo, which featured full presentations for Warner’s forthcoming titles, including Scribblenauts, Scooby Doo: First Frights, Queen Teen: The Clique, Lord of the Rings: …