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

Cambridge is often overlooked as a development hub, but its steady growth looks set to continue. Ed Fear caught up with some of the cityâ??s studios to find out what makes it a good place to base a game company and their views on education in the industry.

Gamespot reckons it is the UK’s biggest games site – and has ABCe figures to back up the claim. An ABC Electronic audit from December 2008 has shown a significant increase in monthly unique users, the site’s parent CBS Interactive has revealed to MCV. GameSpot’s readership has risen from 3.5 …

MP Keith Vaz, an outspoken critic of mature video games, has once again raised the issue in parliament, pressing deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman in yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions. In a survey published last week, 74 per cent of parents said that they were very concerned about the increasing level …

Xbox 360 platform holder Microsoft has cut the price of Gold membership to its Xbox Live service in both Europe and North America in what it is describing as a limited time” deal The North American price has dropped from $49.99 to $39.99 whilst the UK price has fallen 5 …

Fresh details on unnamed game from Parisian developer, and more on Adrift

Nintendo has told MCV that it will "let the market decide" whether or not to phase out the DS Lite following DSi’s launch. In an exclusive guide to the new system, we asked Nintendo’s UK general manager David Yarnton if the company was looking to end DS Lite’s presence in …

With French independent Dontnod preparing to announce a new title, we spoke to Oskar Guilbert, the studioâ??s managing director, producer and technical director.

BETTER SOUNDThe device has enhanced sound and volume quality for those using either headphones or playing with audio for all to hear. Users can also use the DSi as a music playback device – although it supports AAC files rather than MP3s. The DSi Sound software (for more details see …

INCLUDING THE Game Boy and its various iterations, from the 1989 Game Boy through the GBA right up to the DS Lite, the Nintendo DSi is the tenth upgrade for the format-holder’s line of domineering games handhelds. But that doesn’t mean this latest version, which hits the UK in April, …

NEW WII RPG Little King’s Story arrival on April 24th is a rare thing – a Japanese-developed game that launches in Europe before being released in its home territory. Dubbed by the publisher as ‘one of the first new IPs of 2009′ the game is now being backed up with …