MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Senior VP of Global Brand Management at Activision Will Kassoy has admitted that sales through digital distribution have not taken off as the publisher expected. In an interview with Gamedaily.biz, Kassoy said that despite the fast-extrapolating success of downloadable content for games, boxed titles are still swamping digital sales. I …
Read More »GameSpy incorporated into Unreal Engine 3
GameSpy has signed a deal with Epic to incorporate its multiplayer and community technologies into Unreal Engine 3, making them immediately available to all UE3 licensees. The technology suite offers matchmaking, community features and advanced statistic tracking, all with full cross-platform support for the PC and PlayStation 3 platforms. The …
Read More »ABCs: 360 and Nintendo mags up, PlayStation decline continues
A mixed set of results for this years’ Audited Bureau of Circulation figures, as the rise of Nintendo and continued strength of 360 see considerable rises for single format magazines, counterbalanced by some significant reductions in PlayStation magazine circulations. PC magazines including PC Gamer and PC Zone also saw declines, …
Read More »AUSSIE CHARTS: Singstar 90s debuts in top spot
The PlayStation 2 still dominates the GfK All Formats software chart in Australia this week – as the solus version of Sony’s Singstar 90’s enters straight in at number one. PS2 titles make up 60 per cent of the chart, alongside three DS titles and one Wii game Mario Party …
Read More »Virtual worlds, real research
My colleagues and I have been doing research in virtual worlds for many years (particularly on games like Everquest), and I would agree with Dr. Bainbridge that doing research in online environments has lots of advantages over offline research at the very least in terms of cost-effectiveness. What’s more, online …
Read More »Brash makes new publishing move
Recently established US start-up video games firm Brash Entertainment has announced that it is to publish a game adaptation of 20th Century Fox’s upcoming movie of Alvin And The Chipmunks. The rhythm title is slated for release on Wii, PC, PS2 and DS during the Christmas period in the US …
Read More »Miyamoto: We need more fun, less difficult games
In an interview in the latest issue of Famitsu, Shigeru Miyamoto has spoken about how he intends to balance difficulty and accessibility in Super Mario Galaxy. At last June’s E3 conference, Miyamoto said that Nintendo intended to break down the wall separating hardcore and casual games. When asked by Famitsu …
Read More »Rockstar Leeds boss: Manhunt ban is an attack on industry
Founder and current boss of Rockstar Leeds Gordon Hall has warned other video games firms that they should rally behind the developer against the BBFC’s decision to ban Manhunt 2 – or face similar prohibition in the future. Hall told MCV sister magazine Develop that the outlawing of the title …
Read More »New titles step up Warners Euro assault
Warner Bros has revealed the first of several new titles to hit retail in the UK, having set up its London office last month, as previously revealed by MCV. Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment plans to release Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal on 360, Wii and PS2 this Autumn, with Looney Tunes: …
Read More »Microsoft allows consumer use of IP
After announcing the 2.0 version of XNA Game Studio during Gamefest’s keynote, XNA general manager Chris Satchell also revealed that the company had made an "unprecedented" move to allow consumers direct, legal access to game content from a number of Microsoft-owned IPs. Effectively immediately, Microsoft has granted consumers "a personal, …
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