MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Over four times as many games have been banned in Australia in the last four months as were banned in the entirety of the period between 1994-2014. ABC reports that around 220 games have been banned since March, the majority of which are mobile titles. By contrast only 50 titles …
Read More »Watch Dogs outsold GTA V and Destiny in Australia last year
The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association has revealed that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was the best selling game in Australia last year. What’s more surprising, however, is the game that came second – Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs. In doing so it beat heavy-hitters such as EA’s FIFA 15 (3rd), Rockstar’s …
Read More »Bethesda establishes Australian publishing office
ZeniMax owned Skyrim publisher Bethesda has set up camp in Sydney. ZeniMax Australia Pty Ltd will oversee all sales, marketing and distribution activity for the publisher in the region. The company already operates out of Tokyo and Hong Kong. Simon Alty has been named as MD of the new office. …
Read More »UPDATED: Saints Row IV refused Australian classification for a second time
Deep Silver’s Saints Row IV has once again been blocked from release in Australia. A three-member panel of the Classification Review Board has unanimously determined that the computer game Saints Row IV is classified Refused Classification,” a new statement from the Australian Classification Board confirmed. In the Review Board’s opinion, …
Read More »Aussie Parliament OK’s R18+ classification
Adult-themed games look set to finally get an official route into the Australian market. After three years of deliberation, Australia’s Federal Parliament has finally passed legislation that will allow video games to be classified as R18+. Currently the maximum rating available is MA15+, meaning games with content not suitable for …
Read More »Australian retailer apologises for bungled sale
Electronics retailer Dick Smith has apologised to customers after running a sale with little stock, by slashing the price of its games. The Australian company angered gamers with its sale – which offered Xbox 360s for as little as AUD$99 and PS3s for AUD$199 – after many discovered its stores …
Read More »Anomalous Interactive launch Slingshot Justice for iOS
Anomalous Interactive, an indie developer from Melbourne, has announced the release of its first game: Slingshot Justice. The title is a point and click arcade shooter which sees a schoolyard vigilante doling out comeuppance to local bullies, and retails on the App Store for $0.99. Ryan Keable, co-founder of Anomalous, …
Read More »I Am Alive is alive
It looks like Ubisoft’s console title I Am Alive could be closer to release than expected. With little heard about the title since it missed its spring 2009 release date, some had presumed the game had been scrapped, though Ubisoft has always insisted that its production has continued. However, an …
Read More »Aussie devs halted by floods
The thriving game development cluster in Queensland has been severely disrupted by widespread flooding across the Australian state. Fruit Ninja developer Halfbrick has temporarily closed, the studio said, while its staff take time off to help friends and family”. Digital content agency Hoodlum, meanwhile, has evacuated its Paddington-based offices after …
Read More »AUS: PS3 hits 850k sales
Sony is beating its chest after hitting a brand new sales milestone in Australia. The next-gen console has now hit 850k sales in the region, and SCE Australia head Michael Ephraim told GameSpot that he believes that the console will pass the 1m sales barrier by the end of 2010. …
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