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

EA studio reveals game is built on same engine as traditional retail releases

F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton will make his video game debut this autumn, MCV can reveal. Codemasters will launch F1 2009 for PSP and Wii this year, which will feature official tracks, cars, teams and drivers, including Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel – and UK world champion Hamilton. This will be …

National entertainment retailer HMV is the star games performer in a new comparison of the nation’s leading retail websites, according to survey conductor The Retail Bulletin. HMV was one of the star performers, with the technical performance and functionality improvements seen on its website seeing it jump 49 places to …

Nintendo’s entry into the video on demand service will hit Japan on May 1st, though in typical Nintendo style the ‘Wii no Ma’ channel is set to be far more than simply a video portal. Andriasang reports that the channel will take the shape of a virtual living room where …

Ahead of the release of new casual games IP Plants vs. Zombies on May 5th, publisher PopCap has told CasualGaming.biz that the game could be set for an arrival on both the iPhone and console networks such as Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and WiiWare. Click here to see the full …

Japanese developer and publisher Square Enix has revealed some global lifetime sales figures for its biggest owned IPs – and unsurprisingly it’s Final Fantasy that leads the charge. The acclaimed RPG series, whose 13th instalment is due to be released in Japan later this year and in the West some …

Though it has no plans right now, publisher hints at iPhone and console port of upcoming casual title

Tonight is the biggest night in the UK games industry as all the people who matter descend on London’s The Brewery for the 2009 MCV Industry Excellence Awards – and if you’re a Twitter member you’ll be able to get the news as it happens. As long as you have …

Tiga slams Darlingâ??s budget, saying the Chancellor has â??missed a trickâ? in neglecting the game business

Team working on WiiWare, XBLA and iPhone titles