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

LucasArts has named its new president – current COO of Electronic Arts Los Angeles Darrell Rodriguez. Rodriguez will officially join LucasArts in mid-April. Rodriguez, who LucasArts describes as an ‘avid gamer’ has previously contributed work to EA franchises such as Medal of Honor, The Lord of the Rings: Battle for …

COO of Los Angeles studio steps in to replace recently departed Jim Ward

The New York Comic Convention, which will run in The Big Apple later this month, will include an airing for Gears Of War 2. In what will presumably be a rolling demo, Kotaku reports that Epic Games president Michael Capps and Gears of War scriptwriter Joshua Ortega will be offer …

Despite eye-catching rumours to the contary, Microsoft has insisted that Lite-On will not be manufacturing Blu-ray drives for its Xbox 360. According to TechRadar.co.uk, a Microsoft rep stated: Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360. As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game …

A report send out by games market monitor The NPD Group claims that 72 per cent of citizens living in the United States played a video game across 2007, representing an 8 per cent increase from 2006. According to NPD, 40 per cent of United States residents played an online …

The parent of PEGI has told MCV that it has the ‘leading edge’ over the BBFC when it comes to online games ratings. However, the body has backed a collaborative future between the two classification bodies to ensure adult online games do not fall into the wrong hands. EU affairs …

Whilst Japanese gamers have been able to rumble along with their PS3 games since November, the Western market has to date had to make do with the rumble-less Sixaxis – but it’s all change from next week. Sony has announced via its US blog that the Dualshock 3 pad will …

Anybody who researches in the area of childhood Internet use and videogaming will not have been surprised by the report co-ordinated by Dr Tanya Byron. As someone that has been researching in this area for over 20 years, there was little in the conclusions that were reached and the recommendations …

In an exclusive opinion piece for MCV , Professor Mark Griffiths has told of his concern that the British Government will not take suitable action over Dr. Tanya Byron’s Review. Griffiths, a professor at the International Gaming Research unit at Nottingham Trent University, was an advisor on Byron’s report – …

Breathe a sigh of relief – Ricky Butcher and Bianca Jackson are back in Albert Square . More importantly to erstwhile actors Sid Owen and Patsy Palmer, they’ve reclaimed a BBC salary after a sustained period of… let’s say ‘niche’ acting work. The sort nobody watches. Or pays any money …