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

MCv sister site Develop reports that Microsoft is looking to compete much closer with the Nintendo Wii and its wider, family audience by creating more family-focused video games, according to a story on the Dow Jones Newswires. The story mirrors comments made by Euro Xbox boss Chris Lewis to MCV. …

The US games software market saw sales of $1.1 billion in October, a huge 73 per cent increase on the same month last year, according to NPD figures. And it was Activision’s Guitar Hero III that spearheaded the massive drive, selling 1.4 million units across all platforms and capturing four …

IT’S BEEN an eventful few months for Microsoft, to say the least. After cutting the price of the Premium 360 to 250, the platform holder launched its killer app, Halo 3, and a few short weeks later introduced 360 Arcade – a new SKU indicative of Microsoft’s desire to widen …

Plans to complete with Wii using Rare-developed games and by introducing new casual titles

Time is running out to secure your spot for one of the year’s most important events for games marketeers. Organised by Tandem Events, the Games Marketing Forum in London promises to offer both the opportunity to learn from established marketing experts and to network with the cream of the UK …

Retail is preparing for two of the busiest Fridays of the year – as over 15 serious Christmas contenders fight for space on their shelves. Both today and next Friday see the release of a host of Triple-A titles gunning for the festive number one spot, with publishers keen to …

Next Friday sees the release of Need For Speed ProStreet – the latest in the world-beating racing series – and publisher EA is confident the title will be first to cross the finishing line in the race for Christmas number one. A Need for Speed game has been Christmas number …

Euro Xbox boss Chris Lewis has revealed that Microsoft has looked ‘very closely’ at Wii-style controller-based gaming – and that a karaoke title could be introduced ‘at the right time’. As Microsoft gears up for Xbox 360’s second Christmas, it is increasingly looking to widen the console’s appeal out to …

Our latest sector guide looks at the state of the game AI field

Former Instinct, Microsoft and THQ man joins motion sensor controller firm