Global retail games sales will drop by a full 20 per cent over the next three years – and publishers will be forced to explore non-traditional distribution methods in order to afford increasing development costs. That’s according to Codemasters chairman – and MCV Legend – Chris Deering who told attendees …

Microsoft says there is ‘no question’ that the sale of downloaded games will overtake the sales of games at retail in the coming years. According to David Gosen, Xbox Europe’s VP of strategic marketing and Live, There’s no question digital will overtake physical. It happened in music and will happen …

Nintendo has responded to reports in national newspapers that it is set to ‘run out’ of Wii Fit stock, telling MCV that it is bringing in units every week”. Both The Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph this morning reported that the popular fitness game would be unavailable in the festive …

SPECIAL REPORT: High Street giant to help small studios possibly ignored by big publishers

Following this morning’s MCV story , online retailer SimplyGames.com has stopped selling R4 cards. The indie told MCV that it justified selling the devices as larger rivals, such as Amazon, were also selling them, but has now called on other retailers to also stop stocking the items. SimplyGames.com only started …

Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter has said that this year’s E3 is ‘virtually useless’ for the retail and investor sectors it has previously served so well. Speaking to The Street.com, Pachter said: "The conference used to offer retail, media and investors an early look at games and an opportunity to speak …

The annual Which? Awards, announced today, have seen Play.com win Best Online Retailer”, the first time the category has been included. The awards, which celebrate good practice and good products, surveyed more than 5,700 members with Play.com praised for unbeatable ordering process and delivery. While Play.com won the overall award …

UK-based distributor Pinnacle Software is expanding its business to offer development teams a ‘third way’ to get their products to market – and removing the need for a traditional publisher. In tandem with its traditional business as a supplier, Pinnacle now offers studios funding, as well as marketing and manufacturing …

Underage children are able to buy violent video games through auction websites, says the UK Trading Standards Institute. Reported in the national press and on the BBC this morning, 44 children as young as 12 were recruited by Welsh Trading Standards in order to buy 18 rated games online via …

Retailers have asked publishers to stick to Friday release dates in the wake of increased mid-week releases. Blockbuster titles Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV enjoyed Wednesday and Tuesday releases respectively, and Metal Gear Solid 4 was released this week on a Thursday. Yet UK retailers fear that if these …