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

The bosses of FunOrb owner Jagex and casual network SPILL Group have put a price on what it takes to develop a top-selling online casual game – and it’s less than you might think. Speaking to a crowd of games industry execs at the GameHorizon Conference in Newcastle this morning, …

SCE starts to fill the public in on Trophies and the like after recent disclosure of details to developers

Lobbying from SCE WWS VP comes as Games Up campaign says 95 per cent of games degrees 'not fit for purpose'

The rise and rise of user generated content is set to play a similar role in games as it has in music – but traditional boxed publishers are excited, not scared, by its prospects. That’s according to the head of Xbox community developer service XNA, Chris Satchell, who this morning …

The head of Xbox community developer service XNA, Chris Satchell, has said that user generated content can be responsibly rated by an audience of its creators’ peers – and doesn’t need any intervention from the BBFC or PEGI. In his keynote at the GamesHorizon Conference in Newcastle this morning, Satchell …

A story about UK games development posted this morning on the BBC seems to claim that the now Ubisoft-owned developer Reflections is working on a brand new instalment to its Driver franchise. The BBC video interview begins with a shot of a Reflections dev playing a driving game, over which …

Sony has now officially confirmed that its latest PS3 firmware update, versions 2.40, will indeed include both access to the in-game XMB and Sony’s take on Xbox 360 Achievements – known as Trophies. The XMB (or cross-media-bar) is essentially the PS3’s user menu. Currently, users are forced to quit out …

Nickelodeon’s Kids and Family group has formed a new Games and Virtual World division, designed to provide more gaming and virtual world experiences. The new group will handle all current subscription games as well as CD-ROM, handheld and console software. It will also look after Nickelodeon’s casual game sites Shockwave …

Runescape developer reveals ambitious release plan for its casual offer

XNA chief Chris Satchell says console-focused peers took some convincing about community dev service