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

EA’s Pandemic studio has announced The Lord of the Rings: Conquest – an action-packed ‘blockbuster’ created by the same team behind the Star Wars: Battlefront games. Set in The Lord of the Rings universe depicted by Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning films, EA says that players will enjoy ‘epic battles’. The publisher …

TV production giant Endemol has told MCV sister site CasualGaming.biz that it has retained licences for its biggest franchises so that it can use them in the casual space to full effect”. The Dutch multi-national has previously farmed out the likes of Deal Or No Deal to third-parties, but says …

Thanks to some technological tinkering akin to witchcraft, we’ve just posted a wee snippet of last night’s MCV/Xbox 360 Pub Quiz – complete with winners GAME’s celebrations. There’s also a plug in there for the next event, which is set for September 10th at the industry’s favourite Pub Quiz hang …

After THQ announced its new deal with Marvel for up-and-coming kids’ franchise Super Hero Squad , Variety’s games blog is reporting that the two firms are set to make their partnership a long-lasting one. The Cut Scene interviewed both THQ CEO Brian Farrell and Marvel’s head of videogames Simon Phillips …

Dreamworks’ exclusive five-year contract with Activision will be coming to an end in 2010 – and it looks like the movie animation firm won’t be renewing the deal. According to Variety, THQ has successfully pitched for the game adaptation of Dreamworks’ autumn 2010 movie release, Master Mind. Activision has published …

THQ and Marvel Entertainment have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement to create video games based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad franchise. The multi-year agreement sees THQ obtain the exclusive, worldwide rights to publish content for all current and next-generation consoles, handheld systems, as well as Windows PC. The …

The former chairman of Nintendo Hiroshi Yamauchi is the richest person in Japan, according to Forbes. Yamauchi topped up his personal wealth with more $3 billion in the past year alone, mainly from Wii’s success. According to the article, Japan’s 40 wealthiest businesspeople are worth $89.9 billion, up $10.7 billion …

Austin-based developer reacquires rights to space-opera universe

Best Buy – the massive US electronics retail chain with a large games selection – is set for a massive expansion into the UK and the rest of Europe next year. The news follows a deal between the chain and The Carphone Warehouse, which has sold 50 per cent of …

Could you explain what Martin’s recent change of role will entail, and what it means for the European market’s relationship with you? Martin Spiess: You’ll have to ask Matt. After all, he promoted me… Matt Booty: We would really like for Martin to get more involved worldwide – not just …