MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
By introducing real money auctions for virtual items in Diablo III Blizzard has upped its game in the fight against illegal ‘gold farmers’. For online games such as World of Warcraft where it can take months or even years to forge a strong character, time is money. Forget monthly subscriptions …
Read More »FIFA the star as digital grows at EA
The traditional gaming sector’s current digital crusader, EA, has reported a stellar digital performance for its fiscal Q1 ending June 30th. Overall digital revenue for the period jumped 24 per cent year-on-year to $209m. Revenues for free-to-play and micro-transaction content climbed 32 per cent to $70m. Mobile and handheld content …
Read More »F2P Resistance game goes live
Sony has not just surprised fans with the announcement of a new free-to-play game set in the Resistance universe – it’s also made the game live. Called Global Resistance, the game was revealed this weekend at the Comic-Con event in San Diego. It’s completely free-to-play but unlike its console cousins …
Read More »More EA titles suffer online multiplayer chop
Publisher EA has announced the names of a fresh bunch of titles that will see support for their multiplayer components cut in the coming weeks. August 11th will see shut-offs for the likes of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat on Xbox 360, Medal of Honor duo Airborne and Heroes on PSP …
Read More »GMA 2011: Online and broadcast
The nominations are flooding in for this year’s Games Media Awards, with over 800 journalists, broadcasters, PRs, readers and viewers nominating their favourite mags, websites and more for one of the sector’s top accolades. If you haven’t lobbied, you have until Monday July 25th to make your views count. Simply …
Read More »Call of Duty Elite is "the best free games service ever made"
Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg is supremely confident in the Call of Duty online service the publisher is launching with Modern Warfare 3. In fact he thinks Call of DutyElite’s mix of community features, content updates and competitions will make it the best free gaming service available. At E3 we …
Read More »Develop Online shatters records again
Develop Online, the fastest growing games industry website, has shattered online traffic records in two successive months. According to Google Analytics, online readership for www.develop-online.net soared to 303,696 unique users for the month of May. The unique user milestone more than doubles Develop-Online’s previous all-time record, which was set in …
Read More »Wii U will have "flexible online system"
Reggie Fils-Aime has said the upcoming Wii U will have a "flexible" online system. In an interview with Forbes, the Nintendo president addressed questions about the difference between Wii’s online service and those of its competitors, such as Xbox Live. "We’ve seen what our competitors have done, and we’ve acknowledged …
Read More »Microtransactions hit DC Universe Online
An in-game microtransaction-based Marketplace has been introduced to Sony Online Entertainment’s PS3 and PC MMO title DC Universe Online. Massively reports that the store is a little sparse at the moment, with only Proto Repair-Bots and Vault Tickets available. There’s been little indication of what else is to come, but …
Read More »Indie up for business award
New online retailer Hitari has been shortlisted in the Nectar Business Small Business Awards 2011. The games specialist is in the running for Start-Up of the Year. Founder Kamal Hitari set up the business so he could work from home and look after his son who was born with a rare …
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