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

A report showing that EA’s PC hit Spore is suffering from unusually high numbers of illegal downloads has been blamed on the fact that EA has implemented stern digital rights management restrictions on its game. Spore’s DRM prevents the game being installed more than three times – a problem for …

China isnâ??t just the country with the higest population, itâ??s also a major player in the games industry. Lai Ke Yan offers up a glimpse into the marketâ?¦

According to Chinese research firm Niko Partners, Chinaâ??s 46 million gamers spent $1.7 billion on online games in 2007, up 71 per cent from 2006.

The will they/won’t they dance is over – Electronic Arts has decided to end its $2bn bid to acquire Take Two. EA CEO John Riccitiello’s decision to move away from the chance to combine businesses with the Rockstar Games parent comes after "careful consideration, including a management presentation and review …

Riccitiello's acquisition attempt aborted, but Take-Two is still considering "strategic alternatives" with other parties

German studio's Crysis titles on Valve's download service

How would you categorise the current relationship between the games industry’s PR community and the specialist press? Richard Eddy, Codemasters : At its best and most professional there’s an understanding and respect between both sides. We both strive to deliver the best story, the best assets and the best feature, …

Frustrated global sales analysts, rejoice; the leading charts authorities in the world are close to agreeing a new monthly report that will offer definitive sales data for ‘the whole planet’. The news comes after GFK-ChartTrack, NPD and Enterbrain launched the Top Global Markets Report last month – bringing together monthly …

Namco Bandai’s investment in Infogrames’ European and Asian distribution business will create an entirely new spin-off firm that could bring up to a quarter of the European trade’s games to market. That was the message from Infogrames CEO David Gardner as he revealed his company’s intentions to MCV. Namco Bandai …

It looks as though there’s going to be another wave of Xbox 360 price cuts in time for Christmas in the UK – at Woolworths, at least. According to a leaked scan of the new Woolworths magazine by a cheeky employee, the Xbox 360 Arcade will be put on sale …