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

Video games website 1UP has been acquired by UGO Entertainment – a unit of the giant Hearst Corporation. UGO also picked up associated properties including GameVideos.com, MyCheats.com and GameTab.com. The deal is structured as an asset purchase between UGO Entertainment and the Ziff Davis Games Group. Since we started UGO …

The official figures are in and – as we predicted just before Christmas – 2008 was a record year for video games sales in the UK. In total, the games market was at an all time high last year according to ELSPA/GFK Chart-Track figures with the total software and market …

While 2008’s 4bn market boom comes thanks to the overall wider demographic served by the industry, ELSPA/GFK Chart-Track say that it was Nintendo which ‘led the way’ in growth during 2008. Unit sales of games for the format-holder’s Wii and DS platforms amounted to 40m in total. Wii games sales …

ELSPA MD Michael Rawlinson has singled out the popularity of family-based gaming as the key force behind 2008’s market growth. Game sales in 2008 leapt 23 per cent compared to 2007, and Rawlinson believes the popularity of titles such as Wii Fit has opened the market up to an entirely …

While the official figures from ELSPA/GFK Chart-Track point out that Nintendo led the way as part of last year’s record-breaking 4bn market value, it’s clear that both Sony and Microsoft formats made considerable gains as well. According to the data today, The PlayStation 3’s first full year of software sales …

Yesterday we heard how Climax restructured its business around outsourcing and flexibility.

EA and Hasbro have announced that they are to launch a branded channel on Xbox Live Arcade under the Hasbro Family Games Night banner. The move mirrors similar deals struck by Sony on its recently released PlayStation Home service, and is the first of its kind to emerge since the …

A new report has dispelled rumours that Microsoft will be laying off a significant portion of its workforce, claiming the company has other cost cutting measures in mind. Following rumours that Microsoft was considering dismissing thousands of employees, CNBC reports that the company will be reducing its outgoings through attrition …

The worsening conditions on the UK High Street could lead to a record number of vacant retail outlets by the end of the year, analyst Experian has predicted. Ongoing retail administrations, disposals and rationalisations are expected to see the vacancy rate climb from its current seven per cent to ten …

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has named Lionhead’s Xbox 360 RPG Fable II in its 6th Annual Proggy Awards, naming it the year’s most animal-friendly video game”. The organisation said of the game: Fable 2 is a vegetarian’s dream come true. Why? In this virtual fight …