MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The game heads of two of the UK’s largest retailers have joined MCV’s Retail Advisory Board. Amazon’s software and video games category leader Russell Jones (pictured, right) has come on board, alongside Tesco senior buying manager Alison Mair (pictured, far right). Mair replaces buying manager Jon Hayes, who moved to …
Read More »Over 1,300 new UK stores sold video games in 2015
The number of physical stores selling video games jumped up in 2015. 6,609 stores sold games in the UK last year, a rise of 1,337 over 2014. The data comes via GfK and retail trade body ERA. Every store type increased last year, including electrical chains (up by three stores), …
Read More »Tesco video games boss Hayes departs for Activision
The games buying manager at UK supermarket behemoth Tesco, Jon Hayes, has left the firm. He will be replaced by Alison Mair, who is buying manager of newspapers and magazines. She has been in the entertainment team for five years having previously worked with DVDs. Hayes has left Tesco to …
Read More »600 GAME, Asda and Tesco stores set for Star Wars Battlefront midnight openings
UK games retail is preparing for the Force of one of this year’s most anticipated shooters. More than 300 GAME stores will be opening at midnight tonight (November 18th) in time for the launch of Star Wars Battlefront. The retailer will also be holding a nationwide cosplay competition, as well …
Read More »Games outpace films and music as decline in UK physical entertainment market slows to 3%
The ensuing popularity of boxed video games has helped to slow the retraction of the UK’s physical goods market. The physical entertainment business (that’s games, films and music) shrank by three per cent during Q2 of 2015, ending July 5th, according to market tracker Kantar Worldpanel. That’s quite a significant …
Read More »Tesco prepares week-long E3 promotion
Fans can pre-order two E3 blockbusters for 80 from Tesco. The offer is available for just the week of E3, Monday, June 15th to Friday, June 19th, and will be available via the Tesco website. The retailer says the deal will include the standard editions of ‘key software releases’ that …
Read More »PlayStation promotes £279.99 PS4 Witcher 3 deal
The upcoming release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has brought with it another cut-price deal, this time for PS4. PlayStation UK’s Twitter account itself promoted a code that allows customers to order a PS4 console and the upcoming RPG for just 279.99. The item will be available next Tuesday …
Read More »Tesco reports £6.4bn pre-tax loss
The nation’s largest retailer Tesco has reported one of the largest annual losses in UK corporate history. The company says that for the year ending February it endured a pre-tax loss of 6.4bn. That compares to a pre-tax profit of 2.26bn the year before. It’s by far the worst annual …
Read More »UK retail expects toys-to-life growth as LEGO enters the fray
Leading UK games retailers expect the toys-to-life genre to get even bigger this year with the arrival of LEGO Dimensions. Warner Bros’ game will unite LEGO characters such as Gandalf and Batman, and is coming to Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U on September 29th. The title …
Read More »Tesco to close 43 stores, scraps plans for 49 new stores
Britain’s largest retailer Tesco is to close 43 stores amidst a number of restructuring plans. A significant proportion” of the closures will come from its local convenience stores and are targeted on its unprofitable outlets. It has also scrapped plans to open 49 new large supermarket stores. The company also …
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