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

Atari president Phil Harrison has told MCV that he wants to leave Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick red-faced for dumping the Ghostbusters game. The title, which Atari announced it had picked up this month, was originally on Vivendi’s release schedule before the ‘merger’ between the company and Activision in December …

Users of Microsoft’s Xbox Live service will be able to log in and download a free Live Arcade title called Dash of Destruction today – thanks to a Doritos competition held last year. Doritos Unlock Xbox was won by Mike Borland, and his prize was to see experienced XBLA developer …

New Game Design, Production and Business & Management track sessions announced

Nintendo has once again dominated the UK’s festive online shopping searches, with the Wii and DS Lite becoming the first and second most searched for products online in November, according to date from retail analysts Hitwise. The pair overtake October’s leader Wii Fit, though that remains the most searched for …

Japanese publisher and developer Konami has finally revealed the meaning behind its Metal Gear teaser earlier this month – and as predicted by one eagle-eyed reader, it is indeed a new iPhone and iPod Touch outing. Metal Gear Solid Touch is an original title based on the characters and events …

Midway has unveiled a new cost reduction plan which will see it reduce its headcount by 25 per cent – which amounts to some 180 developers. The publisher will close its Austin, Texas studio and also see lay offs at its San Diego office. Click here to see the full …

25 per cent of US studio staff gone; Austin team shuttered; but 'cost-reduction' method leaves firm strong says CEO

Kesa Electricals has revealed that its UK chain Comet made a half-year loss of 8.1m for the period up until October, with the retail chain blaming deteriorating market conditions for the results. That was in stark contrast to its 10.6m profit for the same period in 2007. MCV’s sister publication …

When Atari’s new CEO David Gardner and president Phil Harrison this summer told MCV that they were planning to rebuild the company around online games and not boxed product, there must have been a large contingent of readers who thought that this effectively meant the restructuring publisher was cutting its …

It has been claimed that Sandi Isaacs, Paramount’s senior VP of interactive and mobile, is to leave the firm, according to Variety . Paramount has to date focused its efforts on licensing its film IPs to mobile and casual games developers, though it has previously expressed its intentions to move …