MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Data obtained by MCV from official UK industry monitor ChartTrack shows that Rockstar’s GTA IV has become the fastest selling game ever in a 24 hour period. The figures – based on EPoS sales data and estimated retail transactions – show that total online and High Street sales for the …
Read More »Croydon stabbing ‘had nothing to do with GTA
A Gamestation source has responded to reports that a customer was stabbed as he waited in a queue to buy GTA IV in Croydon on Monday – claiming that the victim had categorically not pre-ordered the game”. According to the source, the incident was likely to have been caused by …
Read More »Sims Online closing
EA-Land, formely known as The Sims Online, is to be closed on August 1st. Next-gen reports that news was announced in an EA blog post, which said EA would be focusing its resources elsewhere. Subscription billing ends immediately, which means the game will be free for its final 60 days. …
Read More »Peter Moore: EA Sports is a league apart
EA Sports president Peter Moore has likened the marketing strength of the label to that of Hollywood movies – calling it the only real brand in video games”. In an interview with GameDaily, Moore said that EA Sports division has the opportunity to touch more people than hardcore sports gamers” …
Read More »Matt Damon dislikes violent games
The developer of Sierra’s upcoming movie adaptation The Bourne Conspiracy has revealed why actor Matt Damon refused to lend his voice and likeness to the title: because he dislikes violent video games. High Moon director of business relations Meelad Sadat told MTV that Damon was in negotiations to contribute but …
Read More »PC Gamer Showdown set for September
The PC Gamer Showdown will boast tournaments on titles including Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2 and will take place at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire over the weekend of September 27th and 28th. Future is hoping to attract more the 500 gamers to the event, offering cash prizes for victorious gamers – …
Read More »Ubisoft opens studio in Ukraine
Ubisoft has announced plans to open its third studio in Eastern Europe, this time picking Kiev, Ukraine to host its next development office. Its the fifth new studio Ubisoft has opened in recent months, following new offices in China and India. Ubisoft said that it had now expanded to Kiev …
Read More »Koch Media expands into US
Koch-owned multi-format publisher Deep Silver has today announced the opening of a new US office in Los Angeles. The office will serve as headquarters for sales and marketing activities, as well as North American developer relations. "The opening of our United States office represents an important milestone in the development …
Read More »Analysts have underestimated GTA, says Take Two
Take Two CEO Ben Feder believes that analyst projections for sales of GTA IV don’t do the title’s retail potential justice. A ‘bullish’ Feder told Reuters: "Our expectations are very high, higher than analysts give the game credit for. All the analysts had a [sales] number, give or take, and …
Read More »DSGi to introduce own age rating system
DSGi-owned electrical retailer Currys is planning to place its own age ratings on video games sold through its stores, according to Sky News . The chain wants to ‘establish a customer panel who will rate the games on how fun, suitable and challenging they are’. Sky reports that the sticky …
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