MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Electronic Arts has lost its bid to be cleared from a bitter and expensive lawsuit between rival Activision and axed Infinity Ward staff. EA’s argument, that accusations thrown at it were without merit, was dismissed this week by a California judge. Activision is suing EA for surreptitiously recruiting two men …
Read More »EA praises Fox News coverage
While MCV and others lines up to cry foul over Fox News’ reactionary coverage of Bulletstorm last month, the boss of EA Games has praised Fox for its editorial policies and described controversy as a marketing tool. "We love Fox News," Frank Gibeau told Industry Gamers. "When you’re building new …
Read More »300,000 PS3s stuck in Holland
The ongoing patent disagreement between PS3 platform holder Sony and Korean electricals manufacturer LG has hit the courts today, revealing the true extent of the debate. Dutch site InsideGamer reports that as many as 300,000 machines are currently being held by authorities, with 250k being seized at the ports of …
Read More »Activision fined 1m for price fixing
The European Court of Justice has fined Activision Blizzard €1m (845,000) for raising the price of games. Nintendo and seven distributors were originally fined €167.8m (1.4m) collectively for fixing console and game prices between 1991 and 1997. One of which is Activision Blizzard Germany – formerly known as CD-Contact Data. …
Read More »File-sharing court case withdrawn
An ongoing UK court case against 27 individuals accused of illegal file-sharing has been withdrawn by prosecuting lawyer Andrew Crossley after he claimed to have received threats. Working on behalf of client MediaCAT, Crossley sent out thousands of letters to the accused ordering them to pay a 500 fine or …
Read More »Rapper takes Rockstar to court
A lawsuit has been filed against Rockstar and parent Take-Two for allegedly using a musician’s likeness without his consent. Michael ‘Shagg’ Washingston, previous backup singer of rap group Cypress Hill has filed a legal complaint against the firms over Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’ central character. Washington claims Carl ‘CJ’ …
Read More »LimeWire forced to shut down
The makers of popular file-sharing service LimeWire have been forced by a US federal court to shut down its peer-to-peer software. LimeWire is one of the largest sources of illegal free music downloads on the internet and is especially popular in the US. However, a notice on the LimeWire website …
Read More »Brazil looks for global GTA recall
In what comes across as a somewhat ambitious move, a Brazilian court is seeking an injunction that looks to not only block global sales of GTA IV expansion Episodes from Liberty City but also recall all previously sold units in every country around the world. Kotaku reports that the dispute …
Read More »Supreme Court to rule in games violence case
The US Supreme Court will deliver the final verdict in the increasingly feverous storm that is enveloping the US games sector that sees Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to illegalise the sale of violent games to kids. California hopes to become the first US state to successfully introduce legislation that bans …
Read More »Modern Warfare brand under threat
Much about the acrimonious split between Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella and publisher Activision remains unknown, but one lawyer has speculated that the inevitable court battle that is on the way could conceivably result in future releases in the Modern Warfare series being vetoed. On Tuesday it …
Read More »