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

Will we see a cessation in rampant price-cutting from UK retail this year? That was the question from trade experts this week, as the High Street began to contemplate its reaction to Argos’ bold step of raising – not dropping – prices in its new catalogue. Leading outlets have told …

The deal will include tracks from the likes of Elton John, Girls Aloud, The Police, Cher, Snow Patrol and The Killers join the already bulging line-up of classics available to download off Sony’s in-game portal. For the complete list of upcoming tracks, including a new date for Jackson Five classic …

It has emerged that Dan Wagner, the man behind Shiny Media investor Brightstation Ventures, is the ‘minority shareholder’ stalling the current salvage plans of the troubled internet publisher.

 Brightstation owns 50 per cent of Shiny Media following its 2007 investment of 2.7m – though Shiny co-founder Chris Price has since …

Head over to the RETAIL BIZ Previews section, where you can find our take on the hottest games heading to retail in the next few months. This week, we take a look Codemasters’ Ashes Cricket 2009, a title the publisher hopes will reinvigorate the cricket genre. With the public’s interest …

Another UK studio unhappy with the increasingly risk-averse nature of big publishers has turned to self-publishing. Indie firm Icon Games this week announced intentions to self-publish five digital titles for the likes of PSP, DS, iPhone and consoles before the end of they year. These include Arcade Darts (WiiWare/PSP), Stuntcars …

Rumoured Microsoft division confirmed as Frank Oâ??Connor talks Halo anime

The Government is to create an all-new ‘video games committee’ – in which cross-departmental representatives will be tasked with considering changes in policy to help the industry. The decision was a result of ELSPA’s first formal meeting with new Minister for Creative Industries Sin Simon last week. ELSPA director general …

The inaugural Gamescom this August is proving to be an ambitious event, supported by everyone who is anyone in the industry – and open to all. But don’t just take our word for it. Here, Oliver Kuhrt of organiser Koelnmesse runs through the plans for the event… In less than …

More than one million levels for LittleBigPlanet have been published since the game’s launch. Media Molecule announced LBP players have passed this milestone nine months after the title launched, calculating that a new level has been published every 21 seconds. It also revealed that the game’s user-created levels have been …

Ministers from Culture, Business and Health departments form after ELSPA meeting