MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Minecraft developer Mojang has announced the Block by Block program, an initiative in partnership with the UN to encourage youth to join in the planning process of building local environments. The development studio explains the collaboration on its blog as similar to the program implemented in Sweden. A reconstruction of …
Read More »Total number of US gamers drops in 2012
The total number of US gamers has seen a significant reduction in 2012, according to an NPD report. USA Today reports the group’s Gamer Segmentation 2012: The New Faces of Gamers report estimates there are currently 211.5m gamers in America, a five per cent decline from 2011. The report specifies …
Read More »GAME OF THE DAY: Retro/Grade
After some four years of development, indie studio 24 Caret Games finally released its startlingly unique downloadable PS3 title Retro/Grade last month. Described as a rhythm-based backwards sidescrolling shooter, Retro/Grade sparkles with polish as soon as the main menu and loading screens appear.The game has players starting out literally at …
Read More »Galaxy S III becomes top selling US smartphone, overtaking iPhone 4S
Apple’s iPhone 4S has not finished first in monthly smartphone sales for the first time since its launch eleven months ago. Apple Insider reports that the recently released Samsung Galaxy S III won out in August, though the trend is not expected to continue. Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley expects …
Read More »iPhone 5 announcement incoming
Apple has all but declared the iPhone 5 announcement will come next week. Reported by ars technica, The company has sent out invitations for a media event in San Francisco on September 12th. While the invite doesn’t explicitly state what Apple plans to reveal, the image on the invitation (pictured) …
Read More »Techland working on Dead Island spinoff ‘Project Hell’
Techland, the studio responsible for Dead Island, has announced a new game currently entitled Project Hell. The company’s blog explains over several posts that the title is a spinoff of Dead Island originating as an ‘internal weapon mod’ made by a Techland staffer. Thoughts of DayZ immediately sweep in. The …
Read More »Schafer/Wolpaw: Minecraft, DayZ experiences nail the promise of games
Veteran game writers Erik Wolpaw and Tim Schafer believe titles that push player-driven experiences such as Minecraft and DayZ are the future of the general gaming medium. Speaking at a panel in Seattle over the weekend (and passed on by Kotaku), the pair waxed poetic on what the two titles …
Read More »Microsoft reveals first wave of Windows 8 Xbox titles
Microsoft has announced the first pool of Xbox titles coming to Windows 8. PlayXBLA reports Wave one will include 29 titles from Microsoft Studios, a handful of which being exclusive to Windows 8. Non-Microsoft standouts include Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride, and BlazBlue Calamity Trigger. Some will be available …
Read More »Valve ‘jumping in’ on the computer hardware business
Valve has finally admitted the company’s plan to enter the hardware market. A job listing spotted by The Verge for an ‘industrial designer’ position on Valve’s website clearly reveals the firm’s intentions. Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as …
Read More »Steam top ten sellers chart: August 26 – September 1
Valve has released Steam’s latest top ten products chart, and once again Counter-Strike: Global Offensive takes the top spot. The list is full of doozies this week, including Borderlands 2, Dark Souls, The Walking Dead, and of course the seemingly ever-present ArmA II/DayZ all duking it out on the top …
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