MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Retailer GAME has announced that it has rolled out its in-store digital games offering to 1,200 stores across the world. The move follows a successful trial of the scheme in the chain’s UK stores. The new territories now in on scheme are Ireland, France, Spain, Scandinavia and Australia. The range …
Read More »Inafune and Suda 51 sign with social gaming firm
Several of Japan’s high profile ‘traditional’ games developers have signed a defining contract to build content for the social and mobile platform Mobage. The Mobage network, owned by industry giant DeNA, will be supported by games from the likes of ex-Capcom boss Keiji Inafune and Grasshopper chief Goichi Suda.Also on …
Read More »Disney appoints former Blizzard man as Marvel VP
Following its acquisition of Marvel in late 2009, Disney has placed a former Blizzard executive to head up its Marvel gaming strategy. Bill Roper, the former VP of Blizzard North and CCO of MMO specialist Cryptic Studios, is to assume the role of vice president of the Marvel franchise. He …
Read More »MCV GameTime (week ending July 22nd)
In the third instalment of this weekly feature, we look at the overall advertising activity for video games on TV this year up to July 4th. This is provided by specialist communication firmGeneration Mediawhich focuses on the entertainment and leisure industries. This week we take a look at the year-on-year …
Read More »PopCap lands Sony Ericsson deal
Casual games firm PopCap has announced a global deal with Sony Ericsson to pre-load ‘Games by PopCap’ onto its Xperia mini and Xperia mini pro models. Puzzle game Chuzzle will be embedded in its entirety, while other popular games such as Plants vs. Zombies and Peggle will be included as …
Read More »Sony: Some 3D games are poor quality
Integrating 3D visuals into a game without ensuring that the functionality adds something to the gameplay experience is potentially damaging, Sony’s 3D chief Mick Hocking has stated. And sadly, some games which have released with 3D compatibility have not hit the mark, he believes. If people see great quality 3D …
Read More »Analyst: Nintendo trumps Microsofts first party offerings
One US analyst had rubbished Microsoft’s belief that its first party Xbox 360 titles are superior” to the catalogues offered by either Nintendo or Sony. In fact, Michael Pachter thinks that Nintendo is the clear leader when it comes to the quality and success of first party console software. I …
Read More »Filmic games like "bastard half-children"
A game narrative expert has urged studios to stop forcing human drama into established game templates, claiming the approach has consistently proven to be flawed. Alexis Kennedy, the ‘chief narrative officer’ at the award-winning digital fiction company Failbetter Games, pulled no punches in his analysis of games such as LA …
Read More »Colin Campbell joins IGN
Long-serving games journalist Colin Campbell has been appointed as IGN’s new head of news and features. Campbell has a vast history in the games space, with former employers including both the UK and US arms of Future Publishing and MCV publisher Intent Media. Most recently, and having relocated to the …
Read More »7sixty goes digital with SouthPeak
SouthPeak Interactive has teamed up with a new publishing label to drive its digital business forward. Publisher 7sixty has been established today which will focus on downloadable and boxed console, PC, smartphone and tablet games. It is based in Texas but has also opened an office in the UK in …
Read More »