MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The ever-popular Wii Fit has proved that it’s far from out of steam this week by returning to the top of ELSPA Gfk-ChartTrack All Formats Top 40 for the fifth time, knocking last week’s number one, EA’s FIFA 09, back to number four. Nintendo’s exercise outing has never held onto …
Read More »AUSTRALIA: MadWorld granted release
MadWorld, Platinum Games’ ultra stylised and ultra-violent title heading to the Wii later this year, has surprisingly survived its submission with the famously strict Australian OFLC and has been granted a release in the territory. Granting it an MA 15+ rating, the strictest available for video games in the country, …
Read More »CANADA: Annual games market soars
Following last week’s news that the North American video games market grew by 19 per cent to hit $21.33bn last year, NPD figures have also shown that the Canadian industry in isolation also enjoyed significant growth, CBC reports. Sales of consoles, games and accessories in the region totalled $2.09bn in …
Read More »Bobby Kotick comes under the Forbes spotlight
Leading US business journal Forbes has published a detailed tribute to the personal success of Activision and Blizzard CEO and president Bobby Kotick, explaining how the entrepreneur used the EA publishing model to build the now biggest games publisher in the world. The article reads: When Kotick stumbled across his …
Read More »Hitman developer unveils Mini Ninjas
In a stark sign of the times Eidos-owned Danish developer Io Interactive, the studio behind ultra-violent assassination series Hitman, has unveiled it’s latest title – super-cute adventure outing Mini Ninjas. For the complete story, click here to head over to MCV’s sister site CasualGaming.biz.
Read More »Sony blocks Ericsson PSP phone pitch
Sony has refused to grant its Sony Ericsson joint venture permission to use its PlayStation branding on phones, according to Mobile Today . The decision was apparently made in December following a series of pitches on the grounds that the troubled handset maker couldn’t guarantee a good enough user experience. …
Read More »Square Enix: FFXIII release yet to be determined
Japanese developer and publisher Square Enix has told MCV that the European release date for Final Fantasy FXIII has yet to be decided. The comments come after a Forbes interview with Square Enix president Yoichi Wada in which it is claimed that the exec stated that the game would be …
Read More »NPD: Games industry already being affected by the recession
The latest stats from NPD show that 2008 was a record year for the video games industry in North America – but signs that the worsening global economic climate is beginning to hit the games market are now materialising. 2008’s annual market value of $21bn was 19 per cent up …
Read More »NPD: Sony hails continued momentum for PlayStation brand
Sony is labelling 2008 as a year of ‘continued momentum’ in North America as NPD stats showed that total PS3 hardware sales for the territory were up 40 per cent on 2007, with software sales climbing 115 per cent year-on-year. However, PS3’s December sales of 726,000 units, up an impressive …
Read More »NPD: Xbox 360 enjoys its biggest ever North American December
In a carbon copy of the festive sales success the firm saw in Europe at the end of 2008, Microsoft is celebrating both a record month and record year for Xbox 360 in North America. Xbox 360 sold 1.4m units in December according to NPD stats, with sales climbing 38 …
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