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

US citizens spent $1.23 billion on video games, hardware and accessories in April, up 47 percent from a year earlier – despite the financial pressure from soaring prices of food and gasoline. According to NPD data, software sales were up 68 percent, fuelled by Grand Theft Auto IV – by …

Nintendo’s Wii was the biggest selling console in the US last month, according to NPD Data – as the format hit 9.5 million lifetime sales in the territory. ShackNews reports the Wii ranked as the month’s top-selling hardware with 714,000 units sold. Nintendo’s DS was the second biggest seller with …

Phil Harrison’s successor as president of Sony’s worldwide studios operation has been named, with the company choosing SCEA studios boss Shuhei Yoshida to run the format-holder’s global games teams. Yoshida joined Sony Computer Entertainment Interational in 1993, and was one of the initial members in establishing the PlayStation business. Later, …

Shuhei Yoshida, SVP of SCEA studios, takes up the post as president of global studio operation, replacing Phil Harrison

The stock price of Eidos owner SCi Entertainment has fallen by over five per cent today, down to 46.25p. The 5.61 per cent drop represents a fall of 2.75p-per share at today’s close. However, no firm indiciation of a reason for the drop has arisen. MCV has contatcetd the firm …

Electronic Arts will not be creating any more MVP NCAA baseball games. That’s according to the Sports Business Journal in the US, which reports the publisher has declined to renew its two-year deal with the league. EA’s rival 2K Sports currently owns the exclusive third-party rights to Major League Baseball …

Sega has unveiled three new titles as part of a four game deal with Platinum Games, a Japanese studio made up of some of the personnel and talent behind hits like Devil May Cry, Resident Evil and Steel Battalion. The studio will produce Bayonetta on 360 and PS3, Mad World …

UK Prime Minister's suggested employment and training overhaul 'does little to help the UK games industry'

US television giant CBS Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire CNET Networks – the parent of specialist games media portal Gamespot – for $1.8 billion. The move was announced today by Leslie Moonves president and CEO of CBS Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, CBS will make …

Laurent Fischer, managing director of marketing and PR at Nintendo of Europe, has joined the chorus of executives at core games firms which say they don’t like the name of ‘casual gaming’, yesterday telling MCV sister site CasualGaming.biz that the games audience consists of people who are either a gamer …