MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Sega has announced what should be a concrete release date for its much-wanted platform sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The game, which is getting only a digital release, will debut on iTunes for download on iPhone and iPod Touch on October 7th. This will then be followed by release on …
Read More »NBA Elite 11 delayed
Publisher EA has confirmed that NBA Elite II, which was due for release next month, has been pushed back to 2011. In what’s quite a notable event in the ever-reliable annual release roster of EA’s sports line-up, the move could conceivably mean that the game may never see a release, …
Read More »EA responds to Kotick attack
Publisher EA has retaliated in the war of words that was reignited by Activision boss Bobby Kotick yesterday. Kotick said in an interview yesterday that EA has been struggling for a long time”, adding: The most difficult challenge it faces today is great people don’t really want to work there. …
Read More »Great games ‘will defeat Zynga’
PopCap CEO Dave Roberts has blasted social gaming giant Zynga, claiming that the Peggle company’s quality of product ultimately betters the FarmVille outfit’s business model. Speaking at the WTIA TechNW forum in Seattle, Roberts suggested that the days of making ‘easy money’ from social games is drawing to a close, …
Read More »Shepherd on digital, online retail
As GAME continues to ride the increasingly turbulent waters of UK High Street retail, chief executive Ian Shepherd has explained how he intends to tackle two of the biggest challenges facing his chain – digital game sales and online retail. There is no doubt that there is going to be …
Read More »Shepherd Speaks
In the short time I have been with GAME, my reasons for joining the business have been strongly reaffirmed. There are few products which evoke the passion and excitement of video games, and it’s a great honour to join a team which is so connected to customers and which excels …
Read More »Digital claims just 4% of UK market
The rise of digital games sales is destroying High Street and ruining an entire sector. Or not. According to numbers from GAME’s half-year financial report, digital video games revenues accounted for just four per cent of the total market for the first half of the year. The statistic comes from …
Read More »Pre-owned margins fall at GAME
GAME Group has stated that it suffered a dip in its pre-owned margins in the 26 weeks ending July 30th. Our pre-owned offer remains the most competitive and widespread on the high street,” chairman Peter Lewis stated. Margins in pre-owned were down by 250 basis points as a result of …
Read More »UK Wii revenues decline 40%
Following dips in both sales and revenue at leading UK games retailer GAME, the chain has pegged Nintendo’s hardware duo of Wii and DS as one of the main drivers of the dip. Specifically, GAME and Gamestation stores have seen a 40 per cent decline in hardware sales of the …
Read More »FOCUS: Brand Licensing
Brand Licensing Europe kicks off on Tuesday, September 28th at London’s Olympia and runs to Thursday, September 30th. Free registrations are available at www.brandlicensing.eu.Licensing has become a crucial part of the video game industry in several ways. First off, games based on licences account for at least half of all …
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