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

Atari parent Infogrames has told MCV it is to double the number of games in development and build up a 30 strong network of partner studios as it looks to recover from a difficult few years. The group received a €150 million financial boost last week courtesy of BlueBay Asset …

Microsoft’s Xbox games team has announced an operating profit of $357 million for its 2008 second fiscal quarter – up from a $302 million loss the year before. According to Next-Gen, Operating income within the Entertainment and Devices division primarily increased because of increased revenue, decreased cost of revenue and …

Franchise fusion Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games takes the number one spot in the Australian software charts for the second week in a row, reported Next Generation. Elsewhere, DS titles perform particularly well, taking four of the top ten spots, led by The Simpsons Game at number two. …

A fresh batch of anti-games bile came from a columnist in The Times, and follows some cheeky comments about games causing obesity from (drumroll, please…) McDonalds’ UK boss . And even Prime Minister Gordon Brown got in on the action, linking knife crime to games in a recent Sun story. …

Publisher System 3 is currently driving support for the game, due to arrive in spring this year. The PS2 version will feature 50 different models of Ferrari and the full compliment of racetracks in the PS3 version. A six-page preview of the title will appear in the issue of Official …

MCV RETAIL ADVISORY BOARD SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD Who is eligible for this award? Any UK-based company or individual active within the interactive entertainment industry that has had dealings with the stores represented by the MCV Retail Advisory Board over the past 12 months. Judges will consider the following criteria: ● …

The Metro reports this morning that after the Video Appeals Committee took the Manhunt 2 case to court to finally get it released – but Mr Justice Mitting yesterday ruled that the committee must reconsider its decision. During the hearing, the BBFC – which rejected the game in the first …

Second French Game Developers Conference moves to French capital [UPDATED: June date not confirmed say organisers]

The prologue to the fifth Gran Turismo is due to hit shelves on the 28th March, and will be priced at 24.99. A downloadable version of the game is also due. GT5 Prologue is set to contain ten tracks, 37 vehicles, and four game modes, and is one of the …

PlayStation 3 is set to overtake Xbox 360 in Europe by the summer of this year, despite launching well over a year after its rival. That was the bullish claim of SCEE president and CEO David Reeves this week, who revealed that PS3 has already outsold 360 in certain territories …