MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Games retail might be tougher than ever but one independent retailer is flourishing. Mad 4 Gamez – which has stores in Hackney and Hornchurch – has just acquired supplier Universal Games Distribution and Portugal-based indie Extreme Gamer. I decided to buy Universal Games because all I think of is how …
Read More »There’s life after GAME
An ambitious ex-GAME employee has big things planned for her local area and plans to open her own store. Vicki Life lost her job last month as store manager for the Welwyn Garden City branch. The shop was one of 277 which closed after GAME Group went into administration. Now …
Read More »Minecraft makes High Street debut
The five-million selling PC download sensation Minecraft will make its retail debut in GAME next month. Like other downloadable Xbox 360 content, such as extra maps in Halo and Call of Duty, shoppers will be able to purchase Minecraft in-store in the form of a digital download code, which they …
Read More »Games and consoles TV advertising at five-year low?
This week we review the current state of the games and consoles TV advertising market in 2012 so far, in comparison to the previous five years. The lines represent TV activity, benchmarked against 2008. The bars represent the year-on-year percentage change in activity (2012 vs 2011).The analysis does not make …
Read More »Brand Map: Prince of Persia
This week GameVision takes a look at the Brand Map for Ubisoft’s long-running action franchise Prince of Persia. We asked 6,848 gamers about this brand. 1,315 had played within the last six months and of these we asked 379 to tell us about the game in detail. The Prince of …
Read More »Microsoft confirms E3 2012 press briefing
Microsoft will hold its pre-E3 media conference on June 4th, the platform holder has confirmed. The Monday press briefing will take place at The Galen Center in Los Angeles. Attendees are being asked to arrive by 9am PST (5pm UK time). Sony’s E3 2012 press conference will take place later …
Read More »Microsoft reports UK growth for Xbox Live
Paid-for Xbox Live games and content are enjoying good growth” in the UK year-on-year, says Microsoft. In an interview with MCV, Xbox Live’s UK product manager Pav Bhardwaj said this includes Arcade releases, Games on Demand titles and extra add-on content. We don’t have any particular numbers as such, but …
Read More »INTERVIEW: Pav Bhardwaj, Xbox Live UK
Microsoft’s Xbox Live UK product manager talks Minecraft, Arcade Next and the future of the Xbox 360 online platform. Tell us about the Arcade Next promotion – why group a bunch of new games under that tagline? How effective have past promotions been? Yeah I think we’ve been quite fortunate. …
Read More »Xbox Live apps free for four days
Microsoft is letting Xbox 360 owners access entertainment apps such as Netflix for free from April 20th until April 23rd. No Xbox Live Gold membership will be required during this time either – anyone with a 360 will be able to access all of the online service’s features. As part …
Read More »Sony DADC ups B2C offering
Distributor Sony DADC will increase its business-to-consumer services when it opens its new warehouse. The firm already supplies retailers with games, and plans to offer ‘enhanced B2C services’ when its Enfield facility is built this summer. Sony DADC is extending its product and services capability portfolio to support the evolution …
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