MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Facebook has lost a substantial amount of its game users since altering its notification system, with FarmVille alone recording a dip of 4.4 million players. Gamasutra first reported the story, noting that 18 of the top 25 Facebook games lost players in April – with 12 of those games losing …
Read More »CVG posts record audience growth
Over 2m gamers visited Future’s CVG.co.uk last month, a year-on-year rise of 68 per cent. Future said 2,265,823 people visited the consumer website last month, while UK unique users rose 26 per cent to 639,424. The results take in the entire CVG network, which also includes the Official Xbox Magazine …
Read More »XBL addresses gay rights complaints
Microsoft has confirmed a change to its terms and conditions that will allow users to more freely express themselves in their online gamertag. The move comes amidst criticisms that Microsoft had unfairly discriminated against users of minority or ethnic groups by blocking the use of terms or names that can …
Read More »Sony: PS3 will pass Xbox 360
The PS3 will eventually outsell Xbox 360 – that’s the prediction of PlayStation Network boss Peter Dille, who claims that Microsoft’s machine is unlikely to enjoy the same ten-year lifecycle that Sony has planned for PS3. I’m confident PS3 will be around in ten years and I can say that …
Read More »Home is a sticky experience
Despite widespread scepticism concerning Sony’s virtual world Home, the service continues to track record user levels and is making a profit for the platform holder, PSN boss Peter Dille has confirmed. We had the highest traffic in December since we launched with 10m users worldwide,” the exec told IGN. The …
Read More »Steam membership jumps 25% in 09
Valve’s popular digital distribution network Steam now has over 25m members, the Half-Life 2 and Left 4 Dead developer and thriving distribution platform owner has revealed. Member numbers surged 25 per cent in 2009. Of the registered members, 10m are described as having profiles in the Steam Community. The peak …
Read More »360 passes 9m sales in Europe
The Xbox 360 has now sold over nine million consoles across Europe, Microsoft has revealed to MCV. In an exclusive interview, EMEA VP Chris Lewis claimed that 360 was the only format to see positive sales growth during 2009 – as both Sony’s PS3 and Nintendo’s market-leader Wii saw hardware …
Read More »Stringer: PS3 and PSP install base passes 60m
Howard Stringer, the CEO of Sony, told the audience at the firm’s Consumer Electronics Show presentation in Las Vegas that the combined global userbase for its PS3 and PSP consoles now stands at 61.3 million. Edge Online also reports that SCE CEO Kaz Hirai added that $1m worth of virtual …
Read More »Sony integrates PSN with PlayStation.com
Sony has followed in the footsteps of Microsoft by integrating its online games network into it PlayStation internet homepage. Users of eu.playstion.com will now be able to log into the site using their PlayStation Network details and access things such as their Friends Lists and account details. It is also …
Read More »US: Wii install base races ahead of 360
New stats from North American firm NPD and Deutsche Bank show that Nintendo’s Wii console has overturned the Xbox 360’s 12 month start on the marketplace to lead the installed hardware race by nearly two million units. GameDaily reports that the Wii has now sold 13.4 million units in North …
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