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

The sad news of Steve Jobs’ departure has been quickly forgotten at Apple as the leading lifestyle technology company reported record results for the three months ending December 2008. Apple sold 7.3bn worth of products in the period, making 1.1bn of profit in the process – both results were all-time …

Internet auction giant eBay has revealed that revenues for Q4 2008 were down seven per cent on the same period in 2007, reaching $2.04bn – far lower than analysts had predicted. Worse still, revenue for Q4 was down a hefty 31 per cent on the quarter before. We’ve been operating …

PC World and Currys parent DSGi has launched a trial store combining both brands. The site, based in Surry, is understood to be 15,000 square foot and contains a product mix incorporating both retailer’s portfolios. This is in line with a general revamp across all brands MCV’s sister site PC …

SCE has confirmed to MCV that it has no plans to reduce the headcount of its European operations as part of Sony’s worldwide cost-saving restructuring efforts. The assurance follows the news that Sony has revised its earnings forecast and increased its predicted losses for the year ending March 31st. It …

A source close to MCV’s sister site CasualGaming.biz has indicated that Sega is working on Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics. Based on the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010, the game looks to follow the success it has enjoyed with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which was …

THQ, Southlogic and DATAcrea sign up for foliage tech

EA Maxis has confirmed it will be releasing four new titles in the Spore series before the end of 2009, including expansion packs and standalone products and, for the first time, a Wii iteration of the franchise. Spore senior producer Morgan Roarty revealed the four releases will be spread across …

Sony has revised its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31st. The firm is now expecting a net income loss of 150 billion YEN ($1.68 billion), with an operating income loss of 260 billion YEN ($3 billion), which is more than the $1.1 billion loss predicted earlier in …

Arsenal fans may be able to watch instant replays of goals and tackles on their PSP while attending matches at the team’s Emirates Stadium. The club’s commercial director Adrian Ford said a Sony-developed application will enable PSP owners to watch near-instant replays, view data and statistics and receive live streaming …

LONDON FOCUS: Today Develop looks at SCE London Studio and Partnertrans