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

Showtime TV drama to get game treatment

MCV has it on very good authority that Microsoft is planning an Xbox 360 price cut later this month, which will allow its lower-spec Arcade model to compete with Nintendo’s Wii on price. In what is being seen as a significant move to attract the family market, that would mean …

New report shows 85 per cent would rather view ads than pay

Dungeons and Dragons creator mourned by industry

IGN has appointed Brad Ramsey as senior vice president of marketing for its new marketing group. Ramsey joins the company from Yahoo, having worked as vice president of marketing. Ramsey has also worked at eBay. I’m delighted to announce that on March 17th, Brad Ramsey will fill that role and …

THQ has won a legal dispute with Jakks Pacific over royalty payments. The case regarded delays in reaching an agreement over the royalty rate that the US publisher would pay Jakks for use of the WWE licence. Under the terms of the original partnership, a royalty rate would have begun …

HMV.co.uk is offering two exclusive weapons for anyone who pre-orders Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. The two guns can be unlocked by using a code. The content is available for the PC, 360 and PS3 versions of the game, and includes the TAR21 Assault Rifle and the M486 Assault Rifle. Vegas …

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 …