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

Nintendo has revealed at GDC that its online service Nintendo WiFi Connection will soon grow with a subscription and payment-based ‘Pay & Play’ extension. Nintendo’s Takashi Aoyama explained that players will use Wii points to pay for content and services online. To read the full story, head over to sister …

SCE worldwide studios boss resigns - but will announce his return to the industry shortly

Rising Star Games is about to release a fistful of Hudson Soft games based around the Bomberman and Dungeon Explorer franchises. And to mark the occasion they are offering you the chance to win every single one of them. Up for grabs are copies of Bomberman Land Wii, Bomberman Land …

Brand Atari has taken quite a beating in the last few years – but it still holds a special place in the industry’s collective mindset. Even if you have no personal experience of working with the likes of Bruno Bonnell, there’s still fond gaming memories to fall back on – …

Harrison has been immersed in the creativity, technology and business of game development for more than 20 years. In September 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment unified its regional product development operations under a global structure, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, and appointed Phil to serve as President of the new organization. …

Take Two’s pre-market stock valuation enjoyed a huge 46.9 per cent increase this morning, following news of EA’s bid for the firm . Shares of Take Two rose to $25.50, up from Friday’s Nasdaq close of $17.36. MCV broke the news of EA’s bid yesterday, which totalled $1.9 billion. Optimism …

As part of its freshly announced intentions to snap up Rockstar (and thus Grand Theft Auto) owner Take 2, EA has launched a new website dedicated exclusively to the news. The main text of the open letter from EA CEO John Riccitillo can be found here. Elsewhere on the site, …

Following Toshiba’s decision to cease development and production of HD-DVD equipment, Microsoft has now confirmed that manufacturing of its HD-DVD add-on for Xbox 360 is also to end. A statement from the firm read: ”As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to …

The Australian Government says it is considering introducing an R rating for video games, which would allow the sale of more explicit titles in the country, according to ABC news. Debate has been ongoing that an 18 or R rating should exist for more adult software, which was reignited following …

We’ve issued a press release that explains why the deal is attractive for the shareholders of both Take Two and EA. Now I want to share some perspective on why it would be good for the people who make Take Two’s games and, just as important, the people who play …