MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Mike Fethers has joined HMV’s games team as its games peripherals and digital buyer. His previous roles include games peripherals buyer for Tesco. He replaces Gavin Howes who recently left HMV to accept a role at Carphone Warehouse. "I’m delighted to welcome Miketo HMV, not just for thegreat experienceand fresh …
Read More »Slight decline in UK games store numbers
There are fewer stores than ever selling games, ERA and Chart-Track says. Last year 6,644 stores sold games, down 1.7 per cent year-on-year. It means since 2007 there are now 1,000 fewer shops selling video games. A reduction in entertainment specialists and electrical retailers are the main reason for the …
Read More »Video games now bigger than movies
Growth in digital has seen video games overtake movies as the most lucrative entertainment medium in the UK. The figures published in the ERA Yearbook 2012 shows that despite faltering physical sales, digital downloads and apps meant UK games market sales reached 1.92bn in 2011. That’s well ahead of video …
Read More »E-tail topples supermarkets in 2011
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have stalled in their bids to become the next major players in video games, ERA reports. Based on Chart-Track figures, supermarkets accounted for 27.3 per cent of all games sold last year – that’s down 0.2 per cent from the previous year. In terms of …
Read More »US bill wants cigarette-style warnings on game cases
An astonishing new bill proposed in the US argues that video games should carry similar warning labels to those found on cigarettes. TheHill.com reports that The Violence in Video Games Labelling Act is a reaction to what the two members say is increasing evidence that playing violent games can have …
Read More »Triple-A trend "a cancerous growth"
The push for enormous scale and cutting edge graphics in triple-A games is a ‘cancerous growth’ for the industry, says Assassin’s Creed creative director. As reported byGamespot, Alex Hutchinson, speaking at his session ‘Designing Games to Sell’, said that if developers don’t push to entertain and take an artistic approach, …
Read More »Now US reports drastic video game market falls in February
The latest numbers from sales tracker NPD show that the US video games market suffered a 20 per cent year-on-year decline to $1.06bn in February. The news comes after MCV revealed yesterday that the UK market suffered a 29 per cent decline last month. Back in the US, software suffered …
Read More »Minecraft creator to get BAFTA Special Award
Indie development legend and millionaire Markus ‘Notch’ Persson is to be awarded with the Special Award at the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards on March 16th. The Swedish creator of Minecraft shot to fame through his first independent project – Minecraft. Initially released in beta form in 2009, the …
Read More »UK CHARTS: No.1 debut for SSX
EA’s SSX series has made a triumphant return after five years in the wilderness to claim No.1 in the UKIE GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40. It’s the sixth game in the series date yet the first to debut at the top spot. It enjoyed around twice the sales of …
Read More »GAME to offer Gaikai demo streaming
Streaming games provider Gaikai has partnered with GAME to offer a streaming demo service on the retailer’s website beginning this spring. GAME says that the move forms a significant part of our strategy to grow revenues from its web and digital business”. There’s no sign, though, of GAME trying to …
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