MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The Department for Culture, Media And Sport has revealed that it is to fast-track a Bill through Parliament that will close the loophole in the Video Recordings Act 1984 that meant it was no longer illegal to sell adult movies and games to children. Dubbed The Video Recordings Bill, the …
Read More »Activision signs Zhu Zhu Pets
The first game based on popular kids brand Zhu Zhu Pets will be released on DS in spring 2010 thanks to a new agreement between publisher Activision, GameMill Publishing and licence holder Cepia LLC. Black Lantern Studios is currently handling development duties. Zhu Zhu Pets success in 2009 speaks for …
Read More »US: MW2 tops 2009 best-sellers list
Sales tracker NPD has released its 2009 software sales chart for North America and, unsurprisingly, it’s Activision Blizzard’s world-conquering Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that tops the pile. With sales of 4.2m, the Xbox 360 version currently stands as the best selling game in North America for the year-to-date …
Read More »Games vending machines roll out
Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Blockbuster have rolled them out across the US, and now video game vending machines are starting to crop up in the UK too. POP247 kiosks are already appearing in the top 150 UK cinemas, as well as airports, railway stations, major High Street retailers, shopping centres …
Read More »AUS: Mature games to be discussed
The Australian government has at last opened up the debate on whether or not its classification system should be restructured to accommodate adult or mature video games. The strict Australian classification system has been in the news again recently thanks to its decision to ban Rebellion’s Aliens vs Predator – …
Read More »UK retail more aggressive than US
EA boss John Riccitiello has singled out the UK High Street for its exceptionally aggressive pricing strategies as retailers looks to use video games as a tool to expand their market share. The UK is the place where retailers freelance and do their own things – particularly those that are …
Read More »New Transformers game rolls out
The latest issue of US games mag Game Informer has revealed that Activision will next year release a brand new game based on the cherished kids’ franchise Transformers. While the series’ recent Hollywood rebirth has brought with it two commercially successful video games, you have to go all the way …
Read More »IGN launches new look
IGN, one of the largest consumer websites in the world, has gone live with its brand new look and comprehensive site redesign. Along with the new logo, the site also boasts new functionality, a revised layout and an increased focus on localised content. Users will also find an increased amount …
Read More »Riccitiello hails 1bn gamers
With a market as disparate as video games, hard stats are always tough to come by – but EA boss John Riccitiello reckons that the global audience for gaming now stands at a massive one billion. Conservatively, if I add up mobile users that play games, social network people that …
Read More »Full report details Chancellor dev snub
The Chancellor’s pre-budget report may have made no mention of the UK games industry, but the complete report explains exactly why the government has refused to help developers. Of the 216 pages in the pre-budget report, the UK games sector was only mentioned once. That citation can be found below, …
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