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

It’s the cattiest ding-dong between two games companies for years – the sort of old-fashioned, furious set-to that would have messrs Riccitiello and Zelnick cowering in their board room. In the red corner, the Entertainment Software Association; US publisher body and organiser of E3. In the blue corner, games news …

Electronic Arts has officially acquired social network for gamers ThreeSF, as well as its Rupture service. San Francisco-based ThreeSF was founded by Shawn Fanning, best known as the creator of file-sharing service Napster. According to the LA Times, a person familiar with the deal said EA had paid approximately $30 …

ThreeSF to join the Electronic Arts stable - system presumably used for online games

Inspired by his transition from gunplay to pie fights, Caspar Field examines how the industryâ??s new future in social and casual games was sparked by the very origins of games developmentâ?¦

Capcom believes its 2008 line up will let it to compete at the top end of the market and will surprise the industry. The firm celebrated its 25th anniversary at Captivate in Las Vegas last week, and showed off some of its big upcoming releases including Resident Evil 5, Dark …

Kwari, the ‘cash for kills’ online FPS which offered players the chance to win money by betting on their performance, has closed just a year after it launched. The company behind game, designed in the UK but managed by Australian web firm Micro Forte, has reportedly gone into receivership. For …

Home, Sony’s virtual world on PS3, is still on track for a 2008 release, according to Wired . However, it’s likely that the platform will remain in Beta mode. PlayStation Network’s Susan Panico noted that the "rollout will be similar to Gmail," describing what will launch this year as an …

An exclusive agreement between Future and SCEA will see a new monthly digital program become available through the PlayStation Network as of Thursday (June 5th) Entitled Qore: Presented by The PlayStation NEtowrk, the program is set to include playable demos, game previews, guides and interviews with developers and other key …

PopCap co-founder sounds off on the challenges of making standard-bearing casual games

The co-founder of online casual games provider PopCap has questioned EA’s potential in the sector – telling MCV sister site CasualGaming.biz that the Redwood publisher doesn’t know how hard it’s going to be”. In an exclusive interview, Vechey likened developing a best-selling casual game to writing a great novel – …