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

The co-creator of the hugely popular Dungeons and Dragons game, which has become a seminal franchise in video games history, has died age 69 at his Lake Geneva Home. Gary Gygax’s death was confirmed by his wife, reports the Associated Press. Along with fellow D&D creator David Arneson, Gygax kicked …

Next-gen.biz has a full report from media research firm Interpret, which throws up some fascinating facts and figures on the rise and rise of casual gaming. According to figures from Interpret’s Gameasure service, casual games reached over 145 million people aged 12-65 in 2007. Of that figure, over 71 million …

Take Two executive chairman Strauss Zelnick has claimed that his business model will see the publisher remain independent – unless his shareholders tell him otherwise. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in a wider interview about Zelnick’s own ZelnickMedia, he reiterated his previously stated view that he expects consolidation in the …

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in California, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has spoken of his firm’s newfound MMO ambitions following its merger with Blizzard-owning publisher Vivendi-owned. After again stating that it would take a huge financial effort to usurp World of Warcraft from its global MMO throne, Gamespot …

Dave Perry-founded site leaves beta phase

New voice-controlled Tom Clancy game uses VoiceIn

Digital Chocolate and others use the likes of Facebook to avert sales slump

Electronic Arts CFO Warren Jenson has said that EA is keen to add key Take Two creative personnel – whom he terms diamonds” – into the publisher’s global distribution system. IGN reports that Jenson talked at length on EA’s desire to buyout Take Two whilst speaking to industry analysts at …

2008’s impressive staff recruitment drive at Atari and parent Infogrames shows no sign of stopping – as Mathias Hautefort is promoted to head of global distribution. Hautefort, who MCV enjoyed an exclusive interview with earlier this year, will look after distribution in the US, Europe and Asia. He moves up …

The Wii version of one of the most beautiful games of recent times, Capcom’s Okami, has seen its US release delayed by three weeks, CVG reports. Now scheduled to arrive on April 15th, Okami first appeared on PS2 in 2006. Its heavy use of a play mechanic called the Celestial …