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

Julian Brazier MP has presented a bill to create a new industry body, which will work alongside the BBFC in handling age ratings and hearing appeals. Publishers association ELSPA has reacted to the news by requesting a meeting with the MP to discuss the proposal. We note with interest the …

After the emergence of Activision Blizzard this week, industry rumour-mongering has gathered pace over which rival publishers could make the next move. Analyst and Gameshadow boss Nicholas Lovell believes that EA must act fast to move into the MMO space – and a move for NCsoft would be the best …

PlayStation platform holder Sony recently launched its brand new PSP Store , which closely follows the lead successfully laid down by its PS3 cousin, and whilst the service remains PC-only for the moment the company has confirmed it is looking to bring it directly onto its portable machine. Speaking to …

The American arm of Japanese games publisher Namco Bandai is to team up with Koch Media label Deep Silver to bring a trio of titles to Europe and other non-US territories – and it marks Koch’s first foray onto Microsoft’s format. Leading the way is Warhammer: Battle March on Xbox …

Sega has already twice professed ( here and here ) its belief that recent Wii release Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games can be a global smash hit for the publisher, and it certainly looks to be gaining momentum by dominating all in this week’s ChartTrack Wii Top Ten. …

Throughout the month of November the Nintendo Wii was the most searched for product by UK internet shoppers, far outstripping the demand for the most searched for mobile phone (Apple’s iPhone), competitive intelligence company Hitwise claims. In total, 13 times as many searches were made for ‘Nintendo Wii’ as there …

LEADING CASUAL games specialist Popcap is to bring its hit titles to the High Street, having signed a significant new agreement with UK value specialist Focus Multimedia. PopCap enters the retail market with a range of well-known titles including Bejeweled 2, Chuzzle and Zuma, which are set to hit shelves …

Leading distributor Just has showcased its full range of games-related gift ideas, all of which are set to hit retail in time for Christmas. Just’s range of toys is based on some of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, including the likes of Mario Kart, Nintendogs and Pokmon. The Gacha Capsule Toy …

AI middleware sees performance and memory optimisations

Yoichi Wada, the CEO of Japanese games giant Square Enix, has claimed that Microsoft is the only current platform holder who remains dedicated to selling in the games market, that the Wii is being bought as a toy and that Sony is unsure about what its machine really is. In …