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

US retail giant Best Buy is to roll out video games ‘vending machines’ as it moves into the pre-owned market. The firm is trialling the kiosks in its Dallas and Austin stores in the US – but MCV understands that the strategy will be expanded across the US if successful. …

Leading MMO publisher NCsoft has finally confirmed the release date of the impressive looking Aion: Tower of Eternity. European retail will welcome the PC title on September 25th. Aion tries to distinguish itself from the opposition by its use of flight. Not only is aerial manoeuvring key to traversing the …

Another notch on the digital-only bedpost of console gaming arrives next week with the North American release of Zen Studios’ The Punisher: No Mercy. Based on the gritty Marvel license of the same name, The Punisher is a PlayStation Network exclusive title and will cost $9.99 in the US. European …

The rise of the web-based casual (and sometime not so casual) game has certainly been a quick one, but one of the sector’s leading execs believes bigger things lay ahead – indeed, he thinks global dominance is just around the corner. James Currier, the CEO of social games outfit WonderHill …

The organisers of August’s Gamescom started the official countdown to the inaugural event for European retail, publishers and the consumers at a special press conference in Germany today. There are just 58 days to go until the event which runs from August 19th to 23rd in Cologne, Germany at the …

Mike Griffith, the president and CEO of Activision Publishing, has told MCV that his firm is in its strongest ever position – partly due to the fact that it’s competitors aren’t currently up to scratch. This is arguably our best competitive position that we’ve ever had,” Griffith stated. Our titles …

Activision was out in force at E3. How does your line-up compare to the other publishers that attended? This is arguably our best competitive position that we’ve ever had. Our titles are strong, and competitive titles are a little sparser than in the past. The expansion of our Guitar Hero …

Sony has announced that hugely popular multiplayer action RPG Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G is to be bundled with the PSP-3000 in two packs heading to Japanese retail. Available in both red and blue flavours, the packs will include a copy of the game and the current version of Sony’s …

Facebook maestro Playfish and ex-Edge editor Robertson providing speaker sessions

Games Convention Online organisers announce the former SCEE CEO as a keynote speaker