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

Sony’s Jamie MacDonald is to leave the company at the end of this month. SCEE this morning confirmed to Develop that the Sony World Wide Studios VP and London Studio boss will exit on May 29th – however both MacDonald and the format-holder have chosen not to comment further on …

Mastertronic has offered to throw former Empire staff a ‘wake’ – in response to a request from an ex-employee in today’s MCV magazine. A venue is yet to be decided, but the non-formal event will take place next week on Thursday, May 21st. One of the 49 employees made redundant …

Atari’s European operation will be history within weeks, as Namco Bandai swoops to complete its acquisition of the business, MCV understands. Atari Europe’s sales and marketing staff will be safely transferred to newly-formed business Distribution Partners – which will handle all Namco Bandai product in Europe, Asia, Australia and New …

A new batch of features has been added to the RETAIL BIZ previews section, where you can find MCV’s guide to some of the crucial titles due for release over the next month. Leading the pack this week is EA Sports Active, the dedicated exercise game that seeks to improve …

Sony’s PS3 has proven its naysayers wrong by increasing its annual sales by 10 per cent for the year ending March 31st, with sales for the year passing 10m units. However, the ever-popular PS2 is seemingly in a sharp state of decline, with sales of the console plummeting by 42 …

Concluding Develop's focus on the Yorkshire development community, we bring you the first of five profiles on key studios in the region.

Games accounted for a large slice of the PowerPoint pie at HMV’s annual presentation to suppliers and partners last week. Held at the recently re-branded HMV Forum in Kentish Town, the event saw the entertainment retailer in good health and a confident mood as it discussed the ways in which …

PlayStation platform holder Sony has reported losses of $1.04bn for the year ending March 31st – a stark dip compared to the $3.7bn profit seen in the same period in 2008. It is the company’s first annual loss of 14 years, though it’s not as bad as the previously predicted …

SCE WWS VP and London Studios chief departing on May 29th

Game Path announces 2009 Game Education Summit