MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
THQ has poured cold water on weekend speculation that it had closed down production on games due for 2014. Yesterday, a US analyst claimed on Twitter that the firm had canned its ’14 slate, ditched its long in the making Games Workshop MMO, relinquished control of Disney kids’ games licences, …
Read More »Analysts: 3DS is ‘clear of the woods’
It may have suffered from a slow start, but analysts are confident the Nintendo 3DS has "turned the corner". Industry experts believe the price cut and release of key first-party titles have dramatically improved the handheld’s prospects for 2012, according to Eurogamer. "It’s very successful, but ran into a headwind …
Read More »Old Republic has ‘up to 1.5m’ players
It’s been live less than a week but Star Wars: The Old Republic could have as many as 1.5m users signed up already. EA’s subscription-based PC MMO went on sale in UK retailers today, although customers who pre-ordered it early have been able to log in and play it since …
Read More »Analyst: "Little risk of failure" for Old Republic
Bobby Kotick may have his doubts, but analysts are confident that Star Wars: The Old Republic is on course to attract millions of subscribers. Activision boss Kotick spoke out against the EA MMO earlier this week, claiming that George Lucas will be the only one to benefit from the game’s …
Read More »iPhone 4S tops 3m pre-orders
Around 3m customers have pre-ordered the upcoming Apple iPhone 4S in less than one week. Bloomberg Businessweek reports 3m units of the new smartphone may be sold in its first weekend on sale, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky. That would be almost double the number of iPhone …
Read More »Battlefield 3 pre-orders top 1.5m
Recruitment is going very well for EA’s blockbuster shooter, according to reconnaissance by research firm Sterne Agee. Arvind Bhatia, one of the company’s analysts, revealed that the publisher is reporting pre-orders in excess of 1.5m for Battlefield 3. Industry Gamers reports that Bhatia believes this is due in part to …
Read More »Can MMOs make more money with F2P?
Gamesbrief director and industry analayst Nicholas Lovell says publishers of subscription-based MMOs could be denying themselves additional income. His comments come as several MMO publishers shift to a free-to-play business model. Everyone knows that subscriptions are a barrier to adoption, but what fewer people realise is that they are also …
Read More »Wii 2 set for E3 reveal?
Nintendo could reveal the first details of a successor to the Wii at this year’s E3 Expo. That’s according to Stern Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia, Gamasutra reports, adding that Nintendo needs to catch up to the more advanced hardware used by its rivals. We would not be surprised if Nintendo …
Read More »NPG: Lazard questions mass market credentials
US analyst Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets has questioned whether Sony’s high-end Next Generation Portable will be able to penetrate the mass market that defines the modern games industry. "At launch, Sony expects to have a strong lineup of games for NGP, including Activision’s Call of Duty as well …
Read More »Analyst questions PSP Phone strategy
Games Investor analyst Nick Gibson has warned that PlayStation’s expected foray into the world of mobile telephony via a new handset coming from Sony Ericsson could damage cherished gaming brand. With PSP2 SDKs currently being deployed to developers and PSP still selling at surprisingly robust levels (given the miniscule size …
Read More »