MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Nobody buys licenced kids and casual games anymore, right? Particularly for ageing platforms like Nintendo DS. But Avanquest has built a business out of it, and surprised many last year by performing admirably in the publisher rankings. MCV speaks to MD Steve Powell… What drove your sales in 2012? The …
Read More »Konami plots ambitious European expansion as it opens Windsor office
Konami says its new European office in Windsor will help it prepare for changes in the games market The Metal Gear Solid publisher has moved its HQ from Germany to the UK, with the new office officially opening on April 1st. It is a 7,000 ft location, based near publisher …
Read More »Supermarkets now the cheapest place to buy games; Average game price climbs
The average selling price of video games last year was 26.45, a rise of 3.2 per cent year-on-year. Chart-Track data published by ERA shows another year of game price rises. Supermarkets are now the cheapest games retailer, with an average selling price of 25.50, an increase of two pence over …
Read More »Consumers spend on booze and holidays, not video games and books
Consumers are spending money – just not on video games. According to the Leisure Industries Research Centre in Sheffield, people spent 227.5bn on leisure activities in 2012. A rise of 3.7 per cent over 2011. The biggest risers were for holidays and tourism, which rose 4.1 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, …
Read More »Saving retail: Supermarkets, GAME and Tomb Raider in the latest MCV
This latest MCV– which isnow available to view online– reveals the latest changes happening to games on the High Street. We discuss new shops, the rise of indies, the power of the supermarkets and consumer spending. The issue also features an interview with Paramount and we reveal Konami’s new European …
Read More »High Street SOS: Asda, GAME and indies plot games retail rescue
Major retailers have pledged to fill the gap left by Blockbuster and HMV. UK publishers told MCV that they’re concerned by the lack of games retailers on the High Street. But we can reveal that chains and indies will open new outlets to plug the hole on the High Street. …
Read More »Dixons wants its Gaming Bunker to be London’s destination for PC gamers
Computing giant Dixons wants to build a community of gamers with its new London games zone. The firm’s Currys/PC World Gaming Bunker on Tottenham Court Road features ten networked PCs in a 500 sq ft space, and each computer is loaded with free-to-play and boxed PC games, and a range …
Read More »FIFA 13 fell just 70k units short of Black Ops II in 2012
Call of Duty: Black Ops II and FIFA 13 are the two biggest entertainment releases of the year at UK retail. Both titles comfortably outsold The Dark Knight Rises, the third best selling entertainment product of the year. Call of Duty: Black Ops II shifted 2.67m units, while FIFA 13 …
Read More »Ubisoft: Assassin’s Creed IV gives pirates the ‘HBO treatment’
Ubisoft wants to ‘redefine piracy in modern entertainment’ with Assassin’s Creed IV. The new title features a new pirate assassin, but this is a far more serious take on the pirate story than Treasure Island and Pirates of the Carribean – something that’s new to video games and Ubisoft hopes …
Read More »Miyamoto: Pikmin 3 should have been a Wii U launch title
Nintendo’s creative mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto says Pikmin 3 ought to have been a Wii U launch title. He told Time Magazine, that the line-up was not ‘as robust’ as he’d have liked, and a triple-A, high quality game like Pikmin would have helped He said: "If you look back at …
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