MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Angry Birds creators Rovio says it is crucial that parents are made aware of the costs in free-to-play games. The firm’s comments come after an OFT investigation, which found that developers and platform holders must ensure users – particularly parents and children – are made aware of in-game costs. Rovio …
Read More »How do you sell a ‘menace’ like Dark Souls II?
A game like Dark Souls has no right to be talked about in the same breath as Skyrim. An incredibly difficult Japanese RPG sounds as niche as it gets, yet Namco Bandai’s series has become a hit. The spiritual successor to PS3 favourite Demons Souls, Dark Souls launched in 2011 …
Read More »Football Manager 2014 breaks PC chart record despite crack
Football Manager 2014 has broken the record for the most consecutive No.1s in the PC charts. The title has racked up 16 No.1s in a row. If the game can hit 22 No.1s in total (not necessarily consecutively) it will beat the record for the most No.1s of any PC …
Read More »Free supply of PS4 expected by April
PS4 will remain in short supply until around April, predicts Sony. The new console has been a huge success for the platform holder. According to UK retailers, PS4 is the best-selling games machine this year so far, and since January has sold around double the number of units of its …
Read More »New retail games agency Sold Out signs Mastertronic
A new retail sales business has launched, and has signed Mastertronic as its first publisher, MCV can reveal. The new company, Sold Out, is a spin out of the former retail sales team at Mastertronic, led by Garry Williams and James Cato. It will handle the packaged good sales of …
Read More »Evolve or die: Turtle Rock’s bid to move out of Valve’s shadow
There’s a good chance that you’ve never heard of Turtle Rock Studios. For a long time the Californian outfit has lived under the shadow of Half-Life creators Valve. It worked on the Counter Strike series before launching one of the biggest new IPs of recent times, Left 4 Dead. Valve …
Read More »Why don’t analysts believe in Take-Two?
Do shareholders know something we don’t? Last year was a triumph for Take-Two. Critically, it was named the No.1 games publisher by review aggregator Metacritic. Commercially, it was the biggest boxed games firm in the US and No.2 in the UK. GTA V’s launch was the largest in entertainment history. …
Read More »Take-Two: We don’t need to release GTA yearly
Publishing giant Take-Two has told MCV it has no plans to increase the number of Grand Theft Auto games it releases. The firm launched GTA V last year, which instantly became the fastest selling game in UK history. But Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says it is important not to over-saturate …
Read More »Gamesaid comedy night set for April
GamesAid patron Imran Yusuf will host the second annual Stand Up for Gamesaid on April 14th, 2014. The comedy night will take place at the the Comedy Store in London, and tickets are available now for 12.50. Former games industry exec-turned-comedian Yusuf will lead the night (he is also GamesAid …
Read More »"We don’t need publishers in a traditional sense": The new age of publishing
Why do we need games publishers? In today’s digital market, the game makers and their fans are running the show. Community managers on Twitter and Facebook are doing the jobs of PRs, video bloggers via YouTube are doing a better job of marketing games than any carefully constructed TV ad, …
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