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

Nintendo might have enjoyed fanfare this week as it unveiled the Wii’s new ability to handle BBC iPlayer , but it looks as though the application will soon be made available on PlayStation 3 as well. The head of BBC digital media technology, Anthony Rose, has confirmed on his official …

Ray Maguire: What you were asked to do, you’ve delivered on. But actually we have something that’s not the best system in the first place that we couldn’t sort out in the European territory. So to have a system where we’ve kind of got one bit with another and ticked …

"Within five years the global games market will comprise just four or five major publishers and a handful of struggling independents."

Supermarket giant Tesco will introduce games to its new entertainment media download service, Tesco Digital. The portal will launch next month, and will offer 3.3 million songs to consumers from day one. According to Brand Republic, the site is all part of Tesco’s plan to take on Apple. The site …

Ubisoft has added another studio to its large and growing global development empire, having agreed to buy Gameloft’s Pune, India-based studio. Opened at the end of 2006, the studio employs 120 developers and testers. At first they will initially port titles to handheld consoles and support Ubisoft’s other testing teams. …

Midway’s European managing director Martin Spiess has been promoted to the position of international executive VP for Midway Games Ltd. And Spiess isn’t the only Midway employee to be granted a new role – Miguel Iribarren has become senior VP of publishing for parent Midway Games Inc. Former VP of …

French publisher to buy Gameloft's Pune-based studio, with plans to employ 500 staff - move follows new teams in Japan and China

Opinion piece by our executive editor examines the state of play for independent games studios

RETAIL CATEGORY Independent Retailer: Grainger Games Specialist Retailer: GAME Entertainment Retailer: HMV Online Retailer: Play.com Star Store: Zavvi, Oxford Street PR & MARKETING CATEGORY PR Team: Nintendo Game Campaign: Halo 3 (Microsoft) New Games Brand: Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft) Trade Marketing Team: Electronic Arts Marketing Team: Nintendo PEOPLE & INDUSTRY CATEGORY …

Blockbuster has launched a bid for US retailer Circuit City worth more than $1 billion, with the entertainment retailer suggesting that the move would help it compete more efficiently with the likes of Best Buy and Apple’s retail operations. Blockbuster’s chief executive James Keyes claimed that the combined company, which …