The Gaming News Thread [Archive]

TevashSzat

10-14-2008, 23:44

So...how about a thread containing gaming news? There have been a couple lately that have caught my attention.

Potential Half Life 2 Episode 3 News

Essentially, the wait for Episode 3 will be longer than the wait from Half Life 2 to Ep 1 and Ep1 to Ep 2 which may not be good news. Valve may give a general release date at the end of the year:

Interview with Valve's Dough Lombardi (http://games.kikizo.com/features/valve-doug-lombardi-left-4-dead-interview-p3.asp)
Kikizo: When are we going to start to hear about Episode Three? Because the gaps seem to be quite long based on the first couple of episodes.

Lombardi: Yeah, the next time you play as Gordon will be longer than the distance between HL2 to Ep1, and Ep1 to Ep2.

Kikizo: Won't you announce or show anything on Episode 3 this year?

Lombardi: We may at the very end of the year.

Kikizo: What do you think about the distance between the episodes, though? Is there a benefit to having a longer wait?

Lombardi: I think our philosophy was that, we spent six years on Half-Life 2 and upwards of $40 million, and basically 80% of the company ended working up on it for a good chunk of that time. And that was just too much; nobody wanted to do that again. There was this trajectory with Half-Life 1 costing a lot less than that, and taking two years or whatever it took. HL2 was six years and a lot more money, so if we were to keep going down that path it was going to get more expensive, and take even longer. And what we wanted was an alternative to that. We wanted to deliver the games more quickly, and we didn't want to be taking the risk of $40 million or $50 million to make the thing, because at that point you're like, "oh my god we have to sell 2 million copies or else we're having non-consensual sex", right? [laughs]

So I think we were successful in that it's been less than four years since Half-Life 2, and we've gotten two episodes out; each of them had new technology, each of them had new gameplay - arguably Ep2 had more new gameplay than Ep1, but I think that we were successful in giving players more time with Freeman, more time with Alyx, giving them new experiences, telling them more of the story, in a much quicker fashion. I mean, "episodic" conjures up this notion of television where it comes once a week for 12 weeks or whatever, and so maybe there's a better word for what we're doing! You know what I mean? But I think the goal is to get away from that 'half a lifetime, mountains of money' to produce the next thing, and we've succeeded in that - and maybe we could have chosen a better word to describe what we were doing.

Kikizo: In fairness though, these episodes are kind of five to ten hours each, depending on how bad you are...

Lombardi: And I mean to be truthful, games that aren't calling themselves "episodes" are kind of getting around the same [length]!

Kikizo: Exactly.

Lombardi: So I think while we maybe didn't choose the right word, our intentions were... we were trying to be honest, and saying we're not giving you the fifteen plus hours that we gave you in Half-Life 2; we're giving you a little less and we're going to give it at a more rapid pace, and we're going to move the price to be more according.

Kikizo: I think people are happy with that. Well, we could talk all day, because you know I'm a fan, but we'll leave it there. Thanks for your time Doug.

Starcraft 2 Trilogy

Thats right, starcraft 2 will be a trilogy. Essentially, there will be one game for each race. Each game will have a full campaign of like 35 missions and will feature one faction. Unfortunately, it seems like each campaign will be just different views of the same event...

I don't know what to think of this. I'm grateful that Blizzard is attempting to polish the game slowly rather than rush it out, but I'm kinda thinking that they're trying to milk Starcraft 2 for as much money as possible

Blizzard's Rob Pardo reveals sci-fi RTS will now be three separate products; Terran campaign Wings of Liberty will arrive first. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6199172.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;14)
ANAHEIM, California--For many, this morning's keynote address from Blizzard president Mike Morhaime was a bit anticlimactic. After revealing Starcraft II, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, and Diablo III at three consecutive events, Blizzard had nothing new to report on a new game from the company. That changed during the Starcraft II panel, as Blizzard's Rob Pardo revealed that rather than a single real-time strategy game, Starcraft II will now be released as a trilogy.

After bemoaning the fact that Starcraft II was shaping up to be an undertaking far larger than the previous game, Pardo said the first game in the series--subtitled Wings of Liberty--will focus on the Terrans. Specifically, it will seek to resolve the conflict between Jim Raynor and Kerrigan, which was the crux of the original Starcraft. The second game, Heart of the Swarm, will focus on the Zerg, while the final game, Legacy of the Void, will be devoted to the Protoss.

Pardo noted that each release will be a fully fledged campaign, featuring 26 to 30 missions apiece. The celebrity World of Warcraft designer also noted that while the ending of each game will be set, the middle of the game will play heavily to player choice, allowing for branching storylines. Pardo also said that the second two releases could be considered expansion packs, but that "we really want them to feel like stand-alone products."

Unfortunately, Pardo did not reveal when the first game in the trilogy will arrive. For more on Starcraft II--now the Starcraft Trilogy--check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Diablo III's new class

Well....its a wizard. Don't really know why they wouldn't just keep the sorceress, but whatever...
Wizard Gameplay Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2azMHCaO_k)

In its first panel, Blizzard explores in depth the newest class as well as the top-level skill system for third installment of seminal dungeon crawler. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6199156.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=hot-stories&tag=hot-stories;title;1)
ANAHEIM, California--Blizzard president Mike Morhaime didn't have much to reveal during his opening remarks this morning. However, what news he did have to offer pertained primarily to Blizzard's newest game, Diablo III. Of note, the developer took the lid off of the third of five classes that will appear in the final version of the game: the wizard.

As shown during the brief trailer for the class earlier this morning, the wizard will resemble in large part the sorceress from Diablo II. Area-of-effect magic that damages multiple enemies at a time appears as if it will be the wizard's specialty, and the teaser cinematic highlighted damage spells that radiate out from the player as well as ones that jump from one monster to the next.

Not skipping a beat, Blizzard returned to the stage in Hall A of the Anaheim Convention Center to give eager attendees a look at Diablo III's class design. The session offered deeper looks at the newly unveiled wizard, as well as the previously announced barbarian and witch doctor. Lead designer Jay Wilson, lead technical artist Julian Love, and technical game designer Wyatt Cheng began with what everyone wanted to know: Who is the wizard?

Wilson, Love, and Cheng.

In short, the wizard class is an iteration on the sorceresses from Diablo II, according to Cheng, who said that her specialty lies in channeling the powers of the universe to wreck destruction from afar. One of Blizzard's primary challenges in creating this class, noted Cheng, was creating a class that was familiar to those who enjoy playing the role of "blaster cannon," but also bringing some innovation to the ranged-damage class. Blizzard's answer here was to invoke a caster class that was rooted in pen-and-paper-style wizards, one that draws power from the universe, as opposed to aligning with good or evil, summoning, or pure elementalism.

Cheng also expounded on the wizard's character philosophy. "She's super ambitious, smart, and powerful," said Cheng. "She's the kind of person that would drop out of college to start a dot com."

The first of the wizard's spells shown was one that Dungeon & Dragons acolytes will know well: the magic missile. Functionally, it acts similarly to the firebolt in Diablo II. However, Cheng noted that giving players a raw-power spell as their first introduction to the wizard sets the tone of universal power. The technical designer then explained electrocute, which is an elemental spell in the vein of chain lightning.

Next up was slow time, which Cheng said would be a component of the reality-control kit. Slow time presented numerous challenges to Diablo III's design, he said, noting that it could really wreck multiplayer matches. The solution, then, became to implement the spell as a bubble effect emanating outward from the wizard.

Cheng then introduced the disintegrate spell, which he described as "a real face-melter." Again a callback to pen-and-paper forerunners, the disintegrate spell was actually a failed experiment with the barbarian class. It uses a charge mechanic in which players hold down a button and then sweep their mouse across the screen to aim the ray of power. The longer an enemy is targeted by the spell, he said, the more damage it will do.

Cheng then handed the presentation over to Jay Wilson, who spoke at length about Diablo III's skill system. Wilson began by explaining Blizzard's process in arriving at the skill system as it is in its current state. That process involved analyzing what worked in the original Diablo and Diablo II, as well as World of Warcraft. From Diablo, Wilson noted that skills were obtained from books, and though that system was exciting, it presented a number of challenges, including low class differentiation and character customization.

Moving on to Diablo II's skill tree, Wilson said that though it resolved the problem of class differentiation, it forced players to focus on only a few skills that were often unimportant. He also bemoaned the lack of a re-spec option, which would let players easily reset how they had divvied up their skill points. As for World of Warcraft's system, itself an evolution of Diablo II's skill tree, it didn't create the immediate impact on a character that Blizzard sought for DIII, among other detriments.

So as for what Blizzard sought to do with Diablo III, Wilson said that such a system must be simple to understand, compelling for both the early game and when players move on to hard difficulty modes, allow for a large variety of character-build options, and support six active skills. Those being the top-level goals, Wilson then regaled the audience with failed ideas, ranging from skill rings, to radial beads, to a skill wheel, to the Horadric skill cube.

"A lot of these turned out to be different ways to do the same thing," Wilson noted. "Different, but worse isn't better; better is better." From these experimentations, Wilson said that the folks at Blizzard arrived on two ideas they liked: randomly dropped skills, and modifying skills through item drops.

As it stands today--and to be clear, Wilson noted that this system is far from final--Blizzard is currently leaning toward a skill system that is an evolution from Diablo II that incorporates active and passive skills, synergies, skill runes, and the ability to re-spec a character. This system has several issues that have yet to be resolved, he said, bringing up such challenges as the intimidating number of choices and skills. Likewise, assigning skills is still unintuitive, and there is no way to enhance skills beyond their initial power level.

Wizard concept art.

Returning to the idea of modifying skills through item drops, Wilson unveiled the rune system. This will represent a deviation from how runes worked in Diablo II; randomly dropped runes will enhance spells in Diablo III. As one example, Wilson said that the witch doctor's base skull of flame spell lets players toss a flaming head at enemies. With a rune of multistrike, the skull will bounce instead of explode on impact, hitting more foes. If you add a power rune, the skull explodes and leaves a burning flame pit on the ground to do additional damage.

Finally, Julian Love described how special effects will factor into character skills. From an art perspective, the formula is divided into two components: "stuff you do, and then what monsters do as a result." In the case of the wizard, they wanted the class to be a light show in which all of her abilities create screen-illuminating effects. As for how monsters react to these skills, Love said that monsters can die in several different ways, and those include being eaten alive by the witch doctors' swarm or exploding after what he called a "critical death." Diablo III will also feature hand-crafted deaths along the lines of what was seen in Diablo II.

Kekvit Irae

10-14-2008, 23:54

So...how about a thread containing gaming news?

*stupid political impersonation*
I'm Kekvit Irae, and I approve of this message.

:tongueg:
Seriously, though, we do need this kind of thread. Kudos on the initiative.

Veho Nex

10-15-2008, 02:59

Well I now am adding blizzard to my black list, for sucking as much mula outa the starcraft croud as possible. :/ Stupid game companies... cant they be content with just making good games with out making them rentals or 3 seperate mini games that cost 50$ a peice. Rage end.

Other than that I like the new idea of a news thread.

Hope to see some good stuff come out of it.

Mailman653

10-15-2008, 03:23

Sure makes sense to have a thread like this than dig up old threads just to add an update.

Husar

10-15-2008, 11:11

Well I now am adding blizzard to my black list, for sucking as much mula outa the starcraft croud as possible. :/ Stupid game companies... cant they be content with just making good games with out making them rentals or 3 seperate mini games that cost 50$ a peice. Rage end.

From what I hear each one will cost less than 50$, perhaps 30 or so, overall that would still make the game more expensive though, but if the content fits the price one might forgive that.

Sjakihata

10-15-2008, 14:06

World of Warcraft: 3.0.2 Wrath prepatch released today (15/10/08)

Mailman653

10-15-2008, 16:55

Microsoft Offers Memory Upgrade (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/articles/919/919886p1.html)

Mailman653

10-16-2008, 18:42

Some odd news.

Killer Instinct Characters Appear in Viva Pinata (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/920/920531p1.html)
Sounds odd that they would put them (hidden) in a whats generally a kids game.

Decker

10-16-2008, 19:30

This was posted in the Backroom:
Basically, you're either a pirate... OOOOOR.... a stupid person who got caught up in the fun :2thumbsup:
EA CEO bein crazy :yes: (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=108694)

TinCow

10-16-2008, 20:27

Bioshock 2 will be called The Sea of Dreams. A 15 second teaser trailer is avaiable.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/10/16/bioshock-2-the-sea-of-dreams-teaser-images/#more-4243

TevashSzat

10-16-2008, 23:56

Dragon Age comes to 360 and PS3 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6199512.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Game Informer names unnamed consoles that will host BioWare's spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate next holiday season; PC version still on track for "early 2009."

In 2004, Canadian developer BioWare unveiled its all-new fantasy role-playing franchise, Dragon Age. The game was assumed to be PC-only, until 2005, when studio heads Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka told GameSpot that "there will be other versions that will be on other platforms." However, it wasn't until Electronic Arts' presentation at this year's E3 Media & Business Summit that the game was officially confirmed as coming to consoles.

Now, BioWare has revealed exactly which consoles Dragon Age will arrive on--and when those versions will ship. The November issue of Game Informer lists the game as arriving on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in "holiday 2009," several months behind the PC edition. As first revealed in June, the original version of the RPG, now called Dragon Age: Origins, will arrive in the first quarter of next year.

When asked for comment, BioWare reps confirmed the GI story's accuracy and that it had not previously named consoles for Dragon Age, but they declined to comment further. However, the article flatly states that the console editions of the game will reflect the "core PC experience" with some interface tweaking and will not be watered-down console ports.

Dragon Age: Origins is also notable for being BioWare's first PS3 project. Its confirmation also raises the possibilities that other upcoming BioWare titles--such as Mass Effect 2--may find their way onto Sony's console. The first Mass Effect was initially an Xbox 360 exclusive published by Microsoft Game Studios but was ported to the PC after IP-holder BioWare was bought by EA, which is ardently console-agnostic.

Well, yep apparently a few months after Dragon Age comes out in June 09, it will seem that the console versions are coming in "holiday" 09.

While, I don't look more and more what should be PC exclusive titles becoming multiplatformed, at least PC will get it first and not a couple moths late like GTA IV among others

Veho Nex

10-17-2008, 00:07

From what I hear each one will cost less than 50$, perhaps 30 or so, overall that would still make the game more expensive though, but if the content fits the price one might forgive that.

I put a single copy on reserve at my local Game stop. I went in and asked if i was still only reserving one copy or if it went to 3 seperates. They said only one copy and I would need to fork up some more cash if I wanted to reserve the other two. I said heck to the no and asked for my 10 bucks back. It bought me lunch

TinCow

10-17-2008, 00:29

While I like BioWare products, I must admit that I'm getting really sick of the Aurora Engine in all of its incarnations. I don't find it to be a very user-friendly engine.

Mailman653

10-20-2008, 17:53

LittleBigPlanet Recalled (http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/media-molecule-ps3-game-/921155p1.html)

TevashSzat

10-20-2008, 19:43

LittleBigPlanet Recalled (http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/media-molecule-ps3-game-/921155p1.html)

Yea, IMO that is really just ridiculous. I suppose they don't want the Muslim population to get outraged like they did with that one Danish cartoon, but seriously.....its the soundtrack for a GAME and had no intention of being religiously provocative...

Kekvit Irae

10-20-2008, 20:08

Yea, IMO that is really just ridiculous. I suppose they don't want the Muslim population to get outraged like they did with that one Danish cartoon, but seriously.....its the soundtrack for a GAME and had no intention of being religiously provocative...

Not to turn this into a backroom topic, but I don't believe that having quotes in the Qu'ran in music pieces is the same as having a picture of Muhammad (something that is expressly forbidden by Islam) published. I believe this is just yet another move to "political correctify" games. Make everyone happy, and all that.

Husar

10-20-2008, 20:32

Many companies employ people whose sole job is to make sure that the company products are cfine with the different religions and customs of the countries they are released in. :shrug:

Ramses II CP

10-20-2008, 23:56

Err, what exactly is offensive about quoting the Koran and who was going to be offended? Do I even need to list any of the games Sony has published with unimaginably nasty rap lyrics in them?

What a load of... words Sony wouldn't do a recall over.

I wasn't buying the game anyway, but if I can find a source for that music track I'll give it a listen. Anyone got a link handy?

:egypt:

Kekvit Irae

10-21-2008, 00:19

You can please some of the people all the time, or all the people some of the time, but you cant please all the people all the time. (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55450)

Mailman653

10-21-2008, 23:45

KotOR MMO (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/bioware-mmo-project/922270p1.html)

TevashSzat

10-22-2008, 01:33

KotOR MMO (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/bioware-mmo-project/922270p1.html)

If Bioware wanted the news to be a surprise, they should've been like Blizzard with Starcraft 2 and Diablo III and actually stayed quiet instead of having all those people blabber about it everywhere....Seriously that must be one of the least kept secrets....

ElectricEel

10-22-2008, 17:41

... I believe this is just yet another move to "political correctify" games. Make everyone happy, and all that.

You know what the verses included - heard in the game's background music on a jungle level - are? I quote (http://kotaku.com/5065076/littlebigplanet-faces-worldwide-recall-for-quran-references):

1- In the 18th second: "كل نفس ذائقة الموت" ("kollo nafsin tha'iqatol mawt", literally: 'Every soul shall have the taste of death').

2- Almost immediately after, in the 27th second: "كل من عليها فان" ("kollo man alaiha fan", literally: 'All that is on earth will perish').

Hearing that chanted in the background, in what's supposed to be a sappy, family-friendly game? That would have raised more than a few eyebrows, Qur'an verses or not. Add the whole media hubbub around Islam and this could've really blown up in their faces, PR-wise. I can't really fault them for the recall.

Apparently the person who chose that song for the background music didn't know arabic, and mistook the verses for generic jungle chants, resulting in a ridicously inapproriate choice for background music.

Ramses II CP

10-22-2008, 18:40

Ahh, so now it makes a bit more sense. The offensive part is that the clown who picked the lyrics didn't know they were lyrics, he just figured they were amusing noises made by foreigners. :laugh4:

Still, the right way to save face here is to out him and fire him, and maybe a member or two of your editorial oversight staff as well. Sony was in a no win situation, but IMHO they made it worse rather than better.

:egypt:

Husar

10-22-2008, 23:11

Yes, let's fire everyone who makes a small mistake because he doesn't speak every language on earth. ~:rolleyes:

Mikeus Caesar

10-23-2008, 04:22

Yes, let's fire everyone who makes a small mistake because he doesn't speak every language on earth. ~:rolleyes:

Or at least have the foresight to find out what it says.

It's like those muppets you see with Chinese tattoos, and they don't understand why Chinese people always laugh at them.

I'd laugh at you if you'd written 'i am an utter muppet' on your body...

Husar

10-23-2008, 10:57

I thought when you have a lack of foresight in your job you get a huge government bailout? :inquisitive:

Mailman653

10-23-2008, 18:31

E3 09 Details (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/922/922909p1.html)

TevashSzat

10-24-2008, 03:09

E3 09 Details (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/922/922909p1.html)

Good thing E3 is becoming a bit bigger in 09, because from what I heard, E3 08 was a real downer and not a spectable as it was previous years, which may be a good or bad thing depending on how you think of it.

Mailman653

10-24-2008, 19:00

E For All Is Dead (http://pc.ign.com/articles/923/923477p1.html)

Marc Ecko Star Wars Collection (http://gear.ign.com/objects/142/14285727.html)

Zombies Invade Grand Theft Auto IV (http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/923/923198p1.html)

TevashSzat

10-24-2008, 19:46

Fallout 4 due by 2011? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26646889)

What we heard: It's been all of 10 years since Interplay and Black Isle Studio's Fallout 2 arrived to rapt critical reception for the PC. And if executive producer Todd Howard has his way, fans of the franchise shouldn't have to wait another decade after Fallout 3 for another postapocalyptic role-playing fix.

Speaking to Reuters, Howard addressed the franchise's long absence from the gaming scene, saying the latest installment has been too long in coming. "I think it's good for people to miss things," he said. "Ten years between Fallout is a bit long, but I think there's this nostalgia factor."

And then things get a little screwy. Seemingly unaware of the average gamers' excitability factor, Reuters then floated mention of "Fallout 4," and paraphrased the game's executive producer as saying, "he believes three years is a good time frame between games." Not unexpectedly, this one-two combo exploded with its own atomic ferocity across many a gaming Web site, with the common consensus being that Howard had confirmed Fallout 3's successor as being a mere three years off.

The official story: "He wasn't trying to say anything about how long it will be between the Fallout 3 and the next one," said a Bethesda Softworks representative. "Rather, it was a comment about the fact that 10 years was too long between the last Fallout games and Fallout 3. We aren't setting any kind of timeframe or timetable for the next Fallout. We haven't even released this one yet, though at least we're now very, very close."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus...that a date is officially confirmed. However, given the massive hype, decade-long anticipation, and amount of critical praise Fallout 3 has already received, a sequel looks likely. Keep in mind, though, there was a four-year gap between Elder Scrolls III and IV.

Well, it looks like Fallout 3 is going to be pretty awesome so I think it would be excellent for the series to keep on going

Martok

10-26-2008, 07:29

This could be interesting to see where it goes:

Stardock working on non-invasive copy protection for other publishers. (http://www.edge-online.com/features/stardocks-copyright-security-solution)

On Friday, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell revealed to Edge that his company is developing a non-intrusive copyright security solution for external publishers.

The initiative came in the wake of The Gamer's Bill of Rights, which implores game makers to ditch obnoxious copy protection methods. Stardock has been an advocate of non-intrusive copy protection for years, selling commercially successful games such as Galactic Civilizations and Sins of a Solar Empire that have no copy protection.

But as Stardock approached major publishers to agree to the terms of the Bill, they were still unwilling to go DRM-free.

Wardell said, "While Stardock doesn't put copy protection on its retail games, the fact is that most publishers are never going to agree to do that.

"So the publishers are telling us, 'Put your money where your mouth is. Why don't you guys develop something that you think is suitable that would protect our IP, but would be more acceptable to users?'

"We're investigating what would make users happy to protect their needs, but also provide some security for the publishers. ... We're actually developing a technology that would do that."

Wardell didn't divulge which piracy-fearing publishers had suggested Stardock take on the task.

He did say that one goal of Stardock's security solution would be when a consumer buys a PC game, that game, or technically the license to play it, belongs to the consumer. Often, DRM methods only allow a certain amount of installs on a certain amount of machines. "We want that license to be yours, not per machine. ... It's not your machine buying the game. It's you."

Wardell said he's exploring a system in which if a customer loses the physical copy of a game, he or she would be able to re-download the game by simply matching up a previously-registered e-mail address. "If my license is attached to my [e-mail] account, let me go online and download the whole game later."

Wardell argued that if a publisher wants a user to jump through a security hoop, that user should get something in return.

He steered away from the idea that Stardock is developing a DRM solution (presumably because of the baggage the term carries with gamers). Asked if Stardock is creating a method of "DRM," Wardell replied, "The problem with 'DRM' is that it's so loosely defined. ... Stardock's products use activation, and I wouldn't say that it's DRM. We're just verifying if you're real customer."

The CEO said that Stardock has looked to its community to ask what kind of security measures are acceptable and which ones are not. "It should be completely invisible to the user."

DRM has been a hot topic as of late, the most recent case being EA's highly-anticipated PC game Spore, which implemented protection technology from SecuROM. One customer filed a class-action lawsuit against EA over the game's DRM.

Despite Wardell's distaste for intrusive DRM, he said that filing a lawsuit is going a bit overboard. "Publishers should have the right to be stupid if they want. That's their right. And it's the right of the consumer to choose not to buy."

He vouched for the huge faceless corporations that sometimes seem to be oblivious to the plight of the DRM-afflicted gamer.

"It's not that these publishers are DRM-happy. They're not completely in love with it. It's just that there aren't very many alternatives."

Mailman653

10-26-2008, 08:30

Caius

10-29-2008, 00:42

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2008/10/28/thq-sues-activision-over-packaging-artwork

I don't see the similarity.:beam:

TevashSzat

10-29-2008, 02:58

World of Warcraft hits 11 million (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200145.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Blizzard's monstrously popular MMOG reaches new subscriber milestone two weeks before launch of second expansion.

Blizzard Entertainment is just over two weeks away from releasing the second expansion pack to its genre-dominating massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King. And despite increased competition this year from the likes of Funcom's Age of Conan and EA Mythic's Warhammer Online, Blizzard has managed to continue to stave off WOW fatigue to usher in that expansion's arrival.

Today, the Irvine-based developer said that its worldwide subscriber base had exceeded 11 million. Adding a little color to that number, WOW's citizenship would rank just higher than the total population of Greece, according to the Central Intelligence Agency's World Fact Book.

As revealed in Blizzard parent company Vivendi SA's recent financial reports, World of Warcraft has been on the cusp of hitting 11 million subscribers since July. Today's milestone comes just over 10 months since Blizzard touted WOW's 10 millionth subscriber in January.

As Blizzard uses a variety of payment plans in different countries, the publisher defines "subscriber" thusly: "World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last 30 days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules."

World of Warcraft subscribers hail from a number of countries and regions, including North America, Europe, China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, Argentina, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Most recently, WOW was launched in Russia and Latin America.

That is simply crazy......11 million without including those who have stopped. The thing is, WOTLK will probably be bringing alot more people back into WoW so 12 million might not be far off

Martok

10-29-2008, 18:48

That's quite a task they set out for themselves, if they pull it off they would become the champion of gamers and silence their critics. If they fail, they would be the laughing stock of other publishers and probably lose some cred with gamers.
Indeed. Hence, why I said it would be interesting to see how it all turns out. ~;)

In other Stardock news, Brad has said (http://forums.galciv2.com/328245) they're going to officially announce their new fantasy strategy game next Tuesday (Nov. 4). Can't wait! :jumping:

TevashSzat

10-29-2008, 20:17

PS3 sales near 17 million as Sony profits sink (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200208.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Electronics and financial services drag down Japanese company; game losses narrow as PS3 outpaces 360 in July-Sept.

Sony wasn't joking when it said last week that it was in for a grim fiscal year 2008. As a portent of things to come, the Japanese electronics company revised its profits projections downward an additional 39 percent for the year, which runs April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009, in all putting them off a full 59 percent from last year's performance.

Keeping in line with those expectations, Sony said today that net profits for the July-September quarter slid 72 percent, falling to ¥20.8 billion ($213 million) from ¥73.7 billion ($755 million) a year ago. Total revenue stood at ¥2.07 trillion ($21.3 billion), off half a percentage point from last year. Operating income skidded 90 percent year-over-year, falling to ¥11 billion ($113 million) from ¥111.6 billion ($1.14 billion).

Sony's bread-and-butter electronics segment, which accounts for the bulk of the company's revenues, saw a .6 percent decline in sales for the reporting period, dipping to ¥1.7 trillion ($17.4 billion). The decline comes despite stronger sales of the Bravia LCD TVs and Vaio PCs. As the company noted last week, the yen's strengthen in the global market as well as tighter profit margins due to increased competition contributed to the company's lackluster performance in this area.

Gamers will be pleased to know that Sony's games segment actually saw some gains during the period. For the quarter, Sony's games arm generated ¥269 billion ($2.76 billion), a 10 percent increase year-over-year. Naturally, the publisher attributed its performance to rising sales of the PlayStation 3 and PSP, with the former shifting 2.43 million units and the latter moving 3.18 million systems. PlayStation 2 sales continued to dwindle during the quarter, falling to 2.5 million units.

Of note, PS3 sales stood 200,000 units higher than those of the Xbox 360 over the same stretch. Last week, Microsoft said that the Xbox 360 sold 2.2 million units during the comparable period of time, which was a 20 percent increase year-over-year. To date, the PlayStation 3's global lifetime sales stand at 16.85 million units.

Though the game's unit saw increased revenue for the quarter, it remained in the red. Sony's games arm posted a ¥39.5 billion ($405 million) operating loss for the July-September period, an improvement over the ¥96.7 billion ($991 million) deficit it posted for the same period last year. Sony noted that this tightening of losses was due to a decrease in production costs on the PS3, an increase in software sales for its flagship console, and strong hardware sales of the PSP.

Not unsurprising considering the global economic crisis, Sony's financial services segment took a significant hit during the quarter, seeing an operating loss of ¥25 billion ($256 million) and falling revenues of ¥100 billion ($1.02 billion). Conversely, the movie business performed quite well--with sales increasing 3.4 percent to ¥196 billion ($2.00 billion)--on the strength of Hancock, Step Brothers, and Pineapple Express.

You know, I find it really hard to understand people all yelling about the doomsday of the PC gamer when consoles have not made ANY money for their producers(Microsoft and Sony here, I don't consider Nintendo's Wii as really a "hardcore" gaming console) A loss of 405 million dollars is nothing to scoff at and its only three months, making the yearly loss easily 1 billion plus. This is only after a ton of improvement too as manufacturing costs have gone down significantly as technology improved. Microsoft doesn't face much better at all and is consistently losing money too. The only reason that consoles have done so well relatively is because their companies are willing to lose billions to prop up their product. If EA tried to waste that much money, their shareholders would kill the board of directors...

Veho Nex

10-30-2008, 00:22

Husar

10-30-2008, 11:27

So here we have two companies who actually take deep cuts into their overall profits (not losses) to please their customers and now that is a bad thing. And EA who just look for their own profits are bad as well so whatever a big company does is bad? Commie!

Mailman653

10-30-2008, 18:44

Beatles video game, 09 (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/articles/925/925450p1.html)

Atari might pick up Ghostbusters game (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/925/925439p1.html)

frogbeastegg

10-30-2008, 20:33

You know, I find it really hard to understand people all yelling about the doomsday of the PC gamer when consoles have not made ANY money for their producers
Console makers lose money on hardware and make a killing on games and peripherals. It's been the case for generations. A console like the PS2 having sufficient success and lifespan to end up cheap enough to build at a profit is a relatively recent development.

Praxil

10-30-2008, 22:28

Something ugly is going on over here...

Your forum account will be directly tied to your Master EA Account, so if we ban you on the forums, you would be banned from the game as well since the login process is the same. And you'd actually be banned from your other EA games as well since its all tied to your account. So if you have SPORE and Red Alert 3 and you get yourself banned on our forums or in-game, well, your SPORE account would be banned to. It's all one in the same, so I strongly reccommend people play nice and act mature.

Seems to me that this "act" will brake some laws. Unless this is clearly informed on the game cover before the product is bought.

Martok

10-30-2008, 22:36

That is disturbing.... :no:

Husar

10-31-2008, 01:26

Well, if people cannot behave... :hide:

naut

10-31-2008, 03:07

Ha, doesn't bother me. Since I wouldn't buy an EA game anyway.

Veho Nex

10-31-2008, 04:25

EA just wants us to hate them huh?

TevashSzat

11-01-2008, 00:38

You know Veho, your wishes may just get answered...

EA laying off 6% of workforce (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200329.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;5)

[UPDATE 2] Despite 40% jump in quarterly revenue, losses lead megapublisher to pink-slip more than 500 employees; Madden sells 4.5 million, Spore 2 million; Warhammer subscribers hit 800,000.

It's been a rough year for Electronic Arts. Last Halloween, the Redwood City, California-based publisher had a share price of $61.12 and was riding high on the acquisition of superdeveloper BioWare/Pandemic. Today, the company's stock ended at $27.73, after a steady decline accelerated by the past month's economic bloodbath on Wall Street.

Unfortunately for many EA employees, 2008 is about to get a whole lot rougher. Today, Electronic Arts announced that it is laying off six percent of its global workforce as part of a company-wide cost-reduction plan. With a payroll of about 9,000 worldwide, the layoffs will affect approximately 540 people. In a conference call this afternoon, executives said the layoffs will come from EA's publishing and corporate divisions, as well as from its various studios and labels.

Today's battery of pink slips may not be the last. Executives also said that EA "will manage head-count decisions aggressively going forward." The company plans to reduce hiring in high-cost territories, and will expand operations in "lower-cost locations."

By EA's own estimates, the layoffs announced today will save it more than $50 million annually--money the company sorely needs. Today, EA announced a greater-than-expected $310 million loss, or 97 cents per share, during the July-September quarter. During the same period last year, the company lost $195 million, or 62 cents a share.

The loss is doubly harsh because it comes in the face of a 40 percent surge in quarterly revenue for EA. For the quarter, the second in the company's fiscal year, earnings totaled $894 million, up $254 million from the same quarter in the prior year. Best-sellers for the period include Madden NFL 09, with 4.5 million copies sold worldwide, and Spore, with 2 million units sold worldwide. Another high point was the launch of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, which now boasts 800,000 players on 1.2 million units sold. NCAA Football 09 sold 1.8 million copies, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 sold 1.9 million--the same number as Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Combined, Rock Band and Rock Band 2 moved 1.5 million units during the quarter.

In a statement, EA CEO John Riccitiello put a brave face on things. "Considering the slow down at retail we've seen in October, we are cautious in the short term," he said. "Longer term, we are very bullish on the game sector overall and on EA in particular. The industry is growing double-digits on the strength of three new game consoles and increases in the number of homes with broadband Internet connections. EA is well-positioned to benefit from these technology drivers due to the strength of our creative studios and our broad collection of game properties."

Unfortunately, the markets were not as upbeat as Riccitiello. As of press time, EA stock was down nearly 14 percent in after-hours trading.

[UPDATE] In the conference call, Riccitiello and other executives laid out the reasons for the major shortfall. One major factor was the postponement of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which was slated for a late summer release to lead up to its film tie-in's November debut. When that film was suddenly delayed until summer 2009, EA was forced to sit on a nearly finished game it had already spent million marketing. As a result, EA had to move $120 million of revenue into its next fiscal year. Of that, roughly $48 million was expected in the July-September quarter, when the game was slated for release.

[UPDATE 2] Besides international exchange rate issues, which cost EA 12 cents a share, the other big reason for the shortfall is EA's lavish investment in future ventures. The company spent over $100 million in expanded development costs, and invested a further $150 million in building a direct-to-consumer download business. The company also spent $35 million in upfront expenses for its EA Partners deals. Those include the recent publishing agreements with Epic Games, id Software, and Grasshopper Manufacture, as well as the just-announced agreement to distribute MTV and Harmonix's rhythm game based on the music of The Beatles.

Analysts sour on EA (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200382.html?tag=text-related-content;2)

Lazard Capital Market's Colin Sebastian downgrades publisher's stock as industry-watchers take management team to task.

Analysts never like to hear bad financial news from the companies they cover, but yesterday's glum quarterly report from Electronic Arts seems to have hit a nerve. A flurry of investor notes this morning weighed in on the publisher's results, and there was little sympathy to be found, starting with Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian lowering his rating on the stock from "Buy" to "Hold."

Sebastian noted that EA has been stagnant at a point in the console cycle where it should be ramping up for significant growth. With time running out before publishers have to start investing in software for the next generation of consoles, he noted EA is becoming less likely to generate strong profits before the downturn of the cycle starts. The publisher's recent stated emphasis on quality might not be paying off either, according to Sebastian.

"While we are encouraged by improving quality ratings of several annualized EA Sports titles, as well as recently released Dead Space, we continue to believe the improving product execution is coming at a high cost," Sebastian noted, "and EA's margins are ramping more slowly than we originally expected at the beginning of the year."

Some analysts were clearly frustrated with the publisher's malaise. Pacific Crest Securities' Evan Wilson said the firm had become bored writing investors notes about EA lowering its profit expectations.

"The justification for the delay in profits is always heaped into 'digital investments for the future,'" Wilson wrote. "While it was a different management team singing the tune, the commentary was the same in 2005 as we entered this cycle. The investment needs to be justified eventually, but as of yet it has not been. Today's negative reaction to the delay in profitability is not surprising, but management's continued insensitivity to investors' desire for profit growth in the fourth year of the video game cycle is. ... EA is positioning itself as a victim of its circumstances--that the best is yet to come as the company makes its way through these difficult times. However, we continue to believe that its actions exacerbate the negatives that the videogame industry is facing. EA's results have been mediocre for too long."

In his own investors note, Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter was similarly unhappy with management's approach to its quarterly report.

"EA management was somewhat aloof during the earnings call," Pachter said. "With the stock hovering near a seven-year low, management continued its recent history of disappointment, and spent an inordinate amount of time sowing seeds of fear about the potential for a tepid holiday sales season."

Despite lowering his 12-month guidance on EA stock from $53.50 to $38, Pachter retained his "Strong Buy" rating on the publisher. He noted that the company has been producing better games, has been maintaining "robust sales" of new games, and has a number of big releases in the pipe.

"However, management has demonstrated an uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the eyes of investors," Pachter wrote, "and we think that these old habits will take a long time to die."

As of press time, EA stock was trading at $22.98, down more than 17 percent from yesterday's pre-quarterly-report closing price of $27.73.

Kekvit Irae

11-01-2008, 04:26

Barack Obama and Sarah Palin kill people and blow stuff up. And no, I'm not talking about the presidential race. (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-1803-Barack-Obama-and-Sarah-Palin-in-Mercenaries-2.html)

Martok

11-01-2008, 06:54

That is both funny and disturbing on multiple levels....

seireikhaan

11-01-2008, 07:45

ROFL

:laugh4::laugh4::laugh4:

Veho Nex

11-02-2008, 03:53

Husar

11-02-2008, 07:16

I got to say, looking at the picture of the CEO makes me feel trusting, while the picture of EA's CEO makes me think of a wolf in sheeps clothing, is this normal?

It's called a prejudice.

Veho Nex

11-02-2008, 07:28

prejudice how? they're both white.

naut

11-02-2008, 12:12

prejudice how? they're both white.
Um, prejudice:

1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.
4. such attitudes considered collectively: The war against prejudice is never-ending.
5. damage or injury; detriment: a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.
Prejudice doesn't specifically apply to racism.

Veho Nex

11-02-2008, 18:22

But it's not... well anyways. Lets get sum new news up in har

TevashSzat

11-04-2008, 12:37

EA stocks feels burn, Universal stokes inferno (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200555.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

Wall Street Journal muses a Disney takeover of share-price-challenged publisher as Variety reports movie studio has landed rights for unannounced game set in depths of hell.

Last week, Electronic Arts made headlines for posting a $310 million quarterly loss and laying off 6 percent of its workforce. As a result, its stock took a drubbing on Wall Street, dropping over $3 per share in after-hours trading to end the week at $22.78, just above its one-year low of $21.91. As a result, the publisher, which recently was poised to acquire rival Take-Two Interactive, has become the subject of takeover talk itself.

In a piece this past weekend (subscription required), Wall Street Journal columnist Martin Peers mused that media giant Disney might buy EA outright. He points out that the Redwood City, California-based publisher's market capitalization is now just $7.2 billion, down from $19 billion "a few years ago." Peers believes that, given the near-certainty its value will rebound, EA is a great bargain for a larger media company to scoop up, and that Disney--with its better-than-average stock performance--would be an ideal suitor.

But while the Journal article is purely speculative, Variety had more concrete news involving EA. Namely, that the publisher has struck a deal with Universal Studios to make a film based on yet another of its games. According to the Hollywood trade, the agreement came after a brief bidding war which had Paramount, MGM, New Regency, and Warner Bros. all interested.

More remarkably, the game in question hasn't even been announced yet. Titled Dante's Inferno, it is reportedly about "a journey from the depths of hell" and would presumably be inspired by medieval author Dante Alighieri's book The Divine Comedy. No developer or platforms were mentioned, though Variety did say it was set for release next year.

The Universal-EA deal comes just over a week after the pair inked an agreement on a big-screen version of Army of Two. EA has also sold the film rights to The Sims to 20th Century Fox, while producer Avi Arad holds the movie license to Mass Effect, made by EA subsidiary BioWare. The production status of those two projects is unclear.

As of press time, EA reps had not returned requests for comment about either the Journal or Variety articles.

It looks like gaming is not recession proof after all and several companies are being affected by this recent global problem.

Although most do not love EA at all, I doubt anyone would want to see Disney in control of such a big piece of the gaming industry...:end:

Game bill will go to the Supreme Court (http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26660256&tag=latestheadlines;title;3)

Last week, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard the state of California's case in defense of its overturned violent game restriction law. While a ruling on that case might not come for months, the author of the bill thinks the judge's decision won't settle anything.

Earlier today, California State Senator Leland Yee visited GameSpot's offices for an appearance on Tuesday's HotSpot podcast. During more than a half-hour of conversation about the disputed law and the state's role in parenting, Yee said he doesn't believe either the state of California nor the Entertainment Software Association would accept defeat at this point.

"However the Ninth Circuit's going to rule on this matter, I think either side is going to appeal this," Yee said. "It's going to go to the Supreme Court. Hopefully what we're going to end up [with] in California and throughout the nation is a balance. How do you protect the first amendment and ensure there's not going to be limitations on the free expression of individuals' desires and wants and creativity when developing these games but at the same time protecting our kids and the general public?"

As for whether a flood of constituent complaints could persuade Yee to drop the matter, the politician suggested this was one issue where voter outcry would not change his mind.

"There is an organized effort to let me know very clearly that a lot of the gamers are not supportive of what I'm doing," Yee said. "I'm not trying to be arrogant or disrespectful toward them, but I am a legislator myself. And I need to look at what is also right. Leadership is sometimes not about simply putting your finger in the political wind and seeing how everybody feels. Rather, it's having some hard, core values as to what you think is appropriate and right and trying to do the right thing."

The full interview will be included in this week's edition of The HotSpot, scheduled to go live Tuesday evening.

So, let me get this straight......your constituency even doesn't like the bill, but you don't care about them and still defends your bill?.

An appropriate follow piece here:

New study sees tenuous likes between violent games, aggression (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081103-new-study-sees-tenuous-link-between-violent-games-aggression.html)

Yet another study that looks into the relationship between violent games and aggressive behavior in children has caught the attention of the press, appearing everywhere from CNN to the Washington Post. Once again, the study is being offered as conclusive evidence that violent games are bad for kids; the Post quotes its lead author as stating, "we now have conclusive evidence that playing violent video games has harmful effects on children and adolescents." But the study itself is far less decisive than that statement would imply, and some aspects of its methods have already been criticized by others in the psychology community.

It appears to be generally accepted within the research community that real-world violence and, to a lesser extent, violent media, can promote aggressive behavior in children. Violent games have attracted attention because their immersive environments and personal involvement appear to place them somewhere between real violence and passive media consumption. To date, however, there hasn't been clear evidence that games are any worse than other forms of media consumption. More generally, connections between aggression as assayed in studies and real-world violence have also been tenuous.

Analyzing the literature is made more challenging by the fact that the studies that address the topic rarely use standardized study populations or measurements of aggression or violent content. Trying to identify reasonably equivalent papers in order to perform a meta-analysis leaves most of the field's literature on the cutting-room floor. Unfortunately, the new paper, available as an open access publication in the journal Pediatrics, doesn't appear to improve the situation.

The authors perform a single analysis that incorporates three longitudinal studies of aggression and gaming, two performed in Japan, and one in the US. Students were surveyed on the types of video games they played, and then a follow-up survey determined their levels of aggressive behavior several months later. Unfortunately, almost everything else involved in the studies was different. The three surveys targeted different age groups with essentially no overlap, used different measures of violent game content, different measures of physical aggression, and performed the follow-up surveys at different time periods.

The results suggest that, even in the two very different cultures, there was a significant correlation between the use of violent games and physical aggression. The authors correctly note that the persistence of this correlation across ages and cultures suggests it is significant.

Unfortunately, the authors attempt to treat the data as a single, unified body when they perform a pathway analysis in an attempt to demonstrate a degree of causality; given the differences described above, their decision to do so doesn't appear to be well justified. Regardless, when evaluated for its predictive power, playing violent games came in a distant third behind two well-known predictors of aggressive behavior: gender (boys are more aggressive) and current instances of aggressive behavior. Controlling for those two did reveal that violent games had a statistically significant predictive value.

To be clear: I wouldn't be shocked if these results were replicated in a better-designed study. I just don't think that the authors' conclusion, that "frequent playing of violent video games is an important causal risk factor for youth aggression," is actually well-supported by this work. I'd be equally skeptical if other psychological studies lumped nine-year-olds with people in their late teens and used different measures of behavior.

Husar

11-04-2008, 18:06

Can't wait for that "The Sims" movie. :laugh4:

Mailman653

11-05-2008, 18:07

New Xbox Experience Trimmed Back? (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/articles/926/926742p1.html)

Kekvit Irae

11-06-2008, 06:51

Veho Nex

11-06-2008, 06:56

Ohhh lol, I know I should be sad but imagine the stupidity that must have been felt after the parents are like.... Dont worry he'll come back.

Martok

11-06-2008, 08:24

This is what happens when your mentally-unstable kid runs away from home because you wouldn't let him play with his XBAWKS.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/11/05/hunters-make-tragic-discovery-in-brandon-crisp-disappearance.aspx

ORO-MEDONTE, ONT. -- After an exhaustive search that lasted more than three weeks, Ontario Provincial Police on Wednesday recovered a body they believe to be that of missing teenager Brandon Crisp in a wooded area near Barrie.

Barrie Police Sergeant Dave Goodbrand delivered the news to a crush of reporters on a narrow road not far from the cornfield where hunters reportedly came across the body.

“We are definitely moved by this. This is obviously a very tragic day,” Sgt. Goodbrand said.

On Thanksgiving Day, Brandon, 15, had packed a backpack with some clothing and a toothbrush and angrily rode his bicycle away from the family home in Barrie, about 10 kilometres south of here, after his parents took away his X-Box.

Uff da. That's rough.

I admit I'm a little torn, however. On the one hand, any 15-year-old that flips out like that over losing his/her console privileges needs to get a grip.

On the other hand, he almost surely had to have been having problems before this, which begs the question: Why/how did his family not realize he was in trouble? I realize that sometimes the warning signs can be hard to spot, especially in teenagers, but I still can't help but wonder.

Mailman653

11-06-2008, 17:40

SEGA Unveils Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/927/927511p1.html)

TevashSzat

11-08-2008, 03:09

Fallout 3 ships 4.7 million in first week (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallout3/news.html?sid=6200678&mode=news)

Bethesda proclaims that postapocalyptic role-playing game for 360, PS3, PC topped $300 million in sales at launch.

Last week's launch of Bethesda Softworks' after-the-bomb role-playing game Fallout 3 was, appropriately enough, explosive. The publisher took a victory lap today by announcing some early statistics for the game. Bethesda said that it shipped roughly 4.7 million copies of Fallout 3 around the world last week. Sales of that massive stockpile surpassed the $300 million mark.

Both of those figures stack up reasonably well with last year's release of Halo 3. Microsoft's heavily hyped first-person shooter posted sales of $300 million in its first week on analyst-estimated shipments of 4.2 million. It's worth noting that Halo 3 was an Xbox 360 exclusive, whereas Fallout 3 is available on the 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, and the installed user bases of those platforms have increased significantly in the intervening year.

Fallout 3 was released on October 28 in North America and October 31 in Europe. It may receive another sales boost in the near future, given that Bethesda has planned a Japanese launch for the game on December 4.

Okay, that is just crazy......I guess this means that Fallout 4 will come out sooner or later if there isn't an expansion or something like that

Mailman653

11-10-2008, 22:40

Ubisoft Acquires Massive Entertainment (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/articles/928/928491p1.html)

Kekvit Irae

11-11-2008, 19:13

Epic Games President Michael Capps says that Gears of War II is not coming to the PC because of piracy and, surprise surprise, used game sales. (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/michael-capps-part-two)

Q: Do you see an enemy in this equation? Is it the retailer, or the purchaser of second-hand games?

Michael Capps: I'd hate to say my players are my enemies - that doesn't make any sense! But we certainly have a rule at Epic that we don't buy any used games - sure as hell you're not going to be recognised as an Epic artist going in and buying used videogames - because this is how we make our money and how all our friends in the industry make money.

I think a little bit of it is education so people realise that the reason there's no PC market right now is piracy. I mean, Crytek just put out some numbers saying the ratio was 20:1 on Crysis, for pirated to non-pirated use. So guess what? That's why there's no Gears of War 2 on PC, because there's no market, because copying killed it - and that's gruesome to a company like ours that's been in the PC market for so long.

We're trying to fix it, there's a new alliance of companies trying to make PC gaming work again. But if people are playing games without buying them, then the games aren't going to keep coming.

Martok

11-11-2008, 20:59

Yeesh. :no:

I think it was just yesterday I read about a scheme to eliminate used games being resold: Someone with another developer (Frontier?) recently proposed a business model in which games could be rented for $50.00, while a "permanent" copy could be purchased for a mere $160.00. (I'll see if I can find the actual article in a bit here.)

I don't know what that guy's smoking, but I want some. :laugh4:

Xiahou

11-11-2008, 21:48

So, Crysis sold over 1 million copies (http://www.incrysis.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=612)- that means over 20 million people pirated it? Pardon me for doubting his numbers...

Regardless, I guess what Michael here is saying is that he'd rather throw away 1 million additional sales on the PC than risk having people who probably wouldn't have bought it anyway pirate it? Add to this his suggestion that he thinks those who play his game are the "enemy" and it's not hard to see what's wrong with his business model. :sweatdrop:

I do sympathize with him on the used game market though. Should people be able to trade and swap games? Absolutely. But what EBGames/Gamestop are doing is despicable, imo. They rip people off, paying people a fraction of what they bought their games for and rip you off even more if you don't agree to take store credit instead of cash (thereby forcing you to give them back the money they gave you). Next, they sell the same games back to rubes for as little as a couple bucks off the "new" price. Gamestop pockets all the money and the people who actually make the game, the developers, get nothing. Really sleazy, imo. :no:

The game publishers should demand to get a cut of used game sales, or just stop selling Gamestop new copies of games.

Martok

11-11-2008, 23:17

Aha! I found the article (http://www.avault.com/news/developers-crying-for-more-of-your-money/) I mentioned earlier:

David Braben, founder of Frontier Developments, is plenty upset. He joins the ranks of the likes of EA and other high profile developer/publishers that are mounting the beginnings of a massive offensive towards “retailers that buy used games”. Mr. Braben threatens that because of this practice the single player experience may be seeing its last days. Multiplayer only or multiplayer heavy games seem to be immune to this dastardly deed. The crime? Gamers play the short-lived single player game and then wish to trade it in for credit towards another game – imagine that!

Developers don’t get a dime when a game gets traded. The end result, retail outlets make a good penny for marking up old games while developers see nothing. In truth, being that the margins are so low in initial sales it would be impossible to run a business with the low returns on brand new games. In short, there is no profit in selling new games at retail stores and the used game market exists to fill a need.

We’ve all heard this story before, developers and publishers want a piece of the action. Solution? Give folks downloadable content to entice them to keep the games longer. Whether or not this solution has improved the situation has yet to be determined. Games like GTA IV, although selling well in its initial release phase, have seen massive returns to game retailers for store credit in part due to lackluster game play, even though downloadable content looms over the horizon.

Braben’s solution is a bit more radical. He suggests offering a two tier price entry: a not for resale version of the game and a rental version. The not for resale copies would be priced at roughly $160 dollars, and the rental version at around $50. The idea? Gamers won’t trade a game they spent their life savings on.

Be vigilant gamers! Game publishers and developers produce fun products; however they are in business to make money. There is no such thing as a compassionate, loving and caring conglomerate. Keep your wits about you and while you have fun playing, don’t lose your rights, or your wallets. Corporate greed is corporate greed and their insatiable appetite for your dollars may not only do away with the single player game, but games as a whole. Sadly the industry is maturing and the days of “doing it for the love” are gone.

Kekvit Irae

11-12-2008, 01:26

If there's anything that will encourage people to pirate, it's 160 dollar games. :wall:

Martok

11-12-2008, 03:00

Piracy? Hell, there would be almost no games left to pirate. If titles become that expensive, the gaming industry would all but disappear. :no:

Tratorix

11-12-2008, 03:01

Braben’s solution is a bit more radical. He suggests offering a two tier price entry: a not for resale version of the game and a rental version. The not for resale copies would be priced at roughly $160 dollars, and the rental version at around $50. The idea? Gamers won’t trade a game they spent their life savings on.

That is one of the stupidest things i've ever heard. His idea to increase sales is to raise prices? Does he not realize high prices are one of the main reasons people buy used games? :dizzy2:

TinCow

11-12-2008, 14:59

Kekvit Irae

11-12-2008, 20:21

TinCow

11-12-2008, 21:27

The problem is that piracy of console games does exist. However, it's curbed by the fact that not everyone has a DVD or a Blu-Ray burner, or ownership of a modded console.

Yep, but indications are that the next-gen consoles will allow for direct download of software via platforms similar to Steam. Once games are distributed to consoles via soft-copy alone, the ease of console piracy will increase significantly.

TevashSzat

11-12-2008, 22:05

The hillarious aspect is that as consoles become more advanced, they also utilize more direct computer components. This makes it far easier to hack them or otherwise make them capable of playing pirated discs. The devs are in for a rude awakening when piracy makes the full-scale jump to consoles in the near future. We'll see what excuses they can come up with then.

Well the only reason that console pirating hasn't gone crazy already is because you need to mod your console and not everyone is competent enough to do so without breaking something important.

If you do have a modded console, piracy is just as rampant. In fact, almost every major console release (especially for 360) was released by pirates a week or so before the actual release date. Thats because the companies are so focused on computer piracy that they're being more lax with security features to stop their console games from falling into pirate hands early

Mailman653

11-12-2008, 23:31

Blizzard: We're Not Milking StarCraft II (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/starcraft-2/929340p1.html)

TevashSzat

11-13-2008, 00:30

Garriott exits NCsoft as profits plunge (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200947.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4)

Space tourist and Tabula Rasa creator wipes slate clean by resigning position at MMOG studio to pursue "new interests"; publisher reports net income down 50 percent year over year.

Whether it was a spiritual experience or alien abduction, something happened to Richard Garriott in outer space. Less than a month after returning from a 12-day, $30 million stay aboard the International Space Station, the legendary game designer has abruptly resigned his position at NCsoft.

"Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space," he mused in an open letter on the Tabula Rasa Web site. "Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests." He then apologized and thanked the game's developers, support staff, and subscribers.

Garriott had been involved with the Korean publisher since 2001, when, after leaving EA-owned Origin Systems, his startup Destination Games was bought and renamed NC Interactive. There, as CEO, he presided over development of the sci-fi massively multiplayer online role-playing game Tabula Rasa, which launched in late 2007 to decent reviews--and widespread technical problems. "I am very grateful to you loyal players for sticking around through what I think we can all honestly say was a rough launch," he said in his sign-off.

Garriott's move is the latest chapter in a decades-long career, which began with his creation of the single-player role-playing series Ultima in the 1980s and into the 1990s with his first MMORPG, Ultima Online. While sudden, his exit from NCsoft was not totally unexpected. Despite six years of costly development, Tabula Rasa failed to achieve critical mass, selling just over 61,000 copies at US retailers as of September 30, 2008, reports the NPD Group.

According to an earnings report released today, Tabula Rasa accounted for only 2 percent of NCsoft's revenue, or 1.76 billion Korean won ($1.3 million) last quarter. For the July-September period, NCsoft saw profits fall 50 percent to 5.0 billion won ($3.7 million) on sales of 78.3 billion won ($58.0 million).

Curiously, Tabula Rasa's monthly subscriber figures were omitted from NCsoft's report, which included figures for most members of the MMORPG specialist's portfolio: Lineage (881,979), Lineage II (857,531), and City of Heroes/Villains (124,939). To date, 5.59 million people have activated accounts for the Seoul-based publisher's free-to-play MMORPG Guild Wars.

Square Enix orders Supreme Commander 2 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6200952.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Japanese role-playing publisher partners with Gas Powered Games on sequel to epic-scale real-time strategy game.

Last month, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada appeared on a Tokyo Game Show panel about the waning influence of Japanese game makers. He said Japan was no longer the leader in the worldwide gaming industry, having lost too much ground to rising markets in the US and Europe.

If Wada can't lead them, he'll apparently join them. Square Enix today announced a strategic partnership with Gas Powered Games that will see the creation of a sequel to the Redmond, Washington-based studio's large-scale real-time strategy game Supreme Commander. Square Enix didn't specify what its role in the game's creation would be, nor did it reveal any details on platforms, release windows, or gameplay features.

Square Enix did say that the collaboration is a step toward the goal of boosting its Western development for global audiences. This also appears to be just one of numerous upcoming partnerships, as Square Enix described such collaborations as "a new cornerstone of its strategy to create games targeted primarily at consumers in Europe and North America.

Wow that is really wierd.....Never pictured the Final Fantasy makers go into RTS....

TevashSzat

11-14-2008, 04:25

October Sales Defy Market Plunge (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6201094.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

US gaming industry sees 18 percent year-over-year growth to $1.31 billion; Fable II tops software, Wii retains hardware crown.

Remember when January 1, 2008, rolled around and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was hanging around 13,000? Yeah, that was nice. And then, after months of steady decline, October arrived, and stock markets around the world walked hand-in-hand off a cliff.

So how did US gamers react to having the value of their 401(k)s noisily deflate like an unknotted balloon? Surprisingly, they barely batted a lash, according to the NPD Group's measure of October gaming hardware, software, and accessory sales. In sharp contrast to September's negative growth, the NPD reported today that the gaming industry pulled in $1.31 billion in October.

While that figure represents an 18 percent climb from a year ago, NPD analyst Anita Frazier notes that not all segments experienced the boon equally. "The sales results are mixed this month, however," noted Frazier. "The console portion of the market made significant gains at 26 percent across hardware, software and accessories, while the portable side of the market stalled, declining 14 percent. Year-to-date the portable segment of the market is still up 7 percent."

As for those hardware sales, the console and handheld segments brought in $495 million for the month, a 5 percent year over year increase. Nintendo, to the surprise of no one, retained its seat atop both the console and handheld markets. Not wasting any time ramping up to holiday-level sales figures, the Wii made its way into 804,000 more living rooms in October, a tally Frazier said represents the single best month for the console outside of November-December 2007. The Nintendo DS put up respectable numbers of its own, logging 491,000 units sold for the month.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 continued to see a sales bump in relation to price cuts made in September, with the console selling 371,000 units across its three SKUs. "The price reduction on the Xbox 360 is paying dividends at retail as the platform realized a 7 percent unit sales increase over September," said Frazier. "Keeping in mind that September was a five-week month while October had four, the sales pace increased 33 percent."

While it didn't achieve sales on par with its archrival, Sony's PlayStation 3 experienced a win of its own, as unit sales grew 57 percent over October 2007's results. In total, Sony moved 190,000 units of its flagship console, just 3,000 shy of the PSP's 193,000 systems last month. PlayStation 2 sales rounded out the pack with 136,000 units.

The single largest contributor to October's $1.31 billion total haul was software, which landed at the top-end of analysts' estimates at $698 million, a 35 percent increase. Microsoft and Lionhead Studios' Xbox 360-exclusive role-playing game Fable II topped a list of mostly new entrants, selling 790,000 units despite launching toward the end of the month. The critically acclaimed title nearly doubled Nintendo's returning kingpin Wii Fit, which slotted into second place this month with 487,000 units sold.

Of the 4.7 million units shipped worldwide for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, Bethesda Softworks' Fallout 3 sold 375,000 on Microsoft's console in the US, securing it third place in October's charts. Bethesda's postapocalyptic RPG was followed by the the remaining two titles to chart in both September and October, Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii (290,000 units sold) and Wii Play (282,000 units sold).

THQ may be going through a bout of upheaval, but the internally developed Saints Row 2 is doing its part to keep the publisher upright. The Xbox 360 edition of the game secured the sixth spot in October's retail results, selling 270,000 units. Two PS3 exclusives ran neck-and-neck for the seventh and eighth slots, with Slant Six's online-only multiplayer shooter SOCOM: US Navy SEALS Confrontation outselling Media Molecule's user-generated content paradise Little Big Planet 231,000-to-215,000.

Take-Two's NBA 2K9 was the only basketball sim to chart in October, selling 202,000 units on the Xbox 360 and earning it the ninth slot on the list. EA's all-new survival horror shooter Dead Space snuck into the final spot in October's top 10, thanks to the 193,000 units sold for Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Conspicuously absent from the NPD's October recounting was the seemingly unstoppable rhythm game genre. Activision Blizzard's Guitar Hero World Tour failed to place on the top 10 at all, even if it was available in 12 different SKUs. For comparison, when Guitar Hero III went on sale in September 2007, bundles for the game landed in second, third, fourth, and eighth place, with all selling more than 230,000 copies apiece. Also absent were Nintendo's Wii Music, which went on sale October 21, and MTV Games' Rock Band 2, which arrived first on the Xbox 360 in September and followed on the PS3 last month.

Other notable absences include Sony's MotoStorm: Pacific Rift, Take-Two's Midnight Club: Los Angeles, and Ubisoft's Far Cry 2. Of the latter, the publisher said earlier this month that the game had achieved 1 million in sales worldwide.

US VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY - OCTOBER 2008
Software: $697M (+35%)
Hardware: $495M (+5%)
Accessories: $120M (-8%)
Total Games: $1.31B (18%)

TOP-SELLING HARDWARE - OCTOBER 2008
Wii--803,000
Nintendo DS--491,000
Xbox 360--371,000
PlayStation Portable--193,000
PlayStation 3--190,000
PlayStation 2--136,000

TOP-SELLING SOFTWARE - OCTOBER 2008
Title / Publisher / Units*
1) Fable II (Xbox 360) / Microsoft / 790,000
2) Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (WII) / Nintendo / 487,000
3) Fallout 3 (Xbox 360) / Bethesda Softworks / 375,000
4) Mario Kart Wii w/ Wheel (WII) / Nintendo / 290,000
5) Wii Play w/ Remote (WII) / Nintendo / 282,000
6) Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360) / THQ / 270,000
7) SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation (PS3) / Sony / 231,000
8) Little Big Planet (PS3) / Sony / 215,000
9) NBA 2K9 (360) / Take-Two Interactive / 202,000
10) Dead Space (360) / Electronic Arts / 193,000

* Figures include Collector's Editions and non-hardware bundles.

Some fairly interesting stuff here. It seems like the console gaming market is at least somewhat recession proof. It seems as if the PC market wsan't accounted by the figures here, but I'm not too confident of how high they would be.

Praxil

11-14-2008, 09:19

Epic Games President Michael Capps says that Gears of War II is not coming to the PC because of piracy and, surprise surprise, used game sales. (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/michael-capps-part-two)

I think that it will come out eventually on this so "far much much better platform" everybody are shouting :yes:, it is only a matter of time. The answers to "when" is Microsoft, the franchise owner and publisher.

TevashSzat

11-14-2008, 20:44

ESRB Adds Game Summaries to Ratings (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334742,00.asp)

The ESRB has added more detailed summaries of games to its content descriptors on the ESRB Web site (via a report from Joystiq). For example, Wrath of the Lich King -- which launches today -- is described in detail this way:

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) role-playing game set in the imaginary world of Azeroth. Players complete quests to 'level up' their customized characters, while gaining powers and better equipment along the way. Quest objectives sometimes involve using magic and hand-to-hand combat to defeat various creatures, enemy soldiers, and occasionally other characters such as innocent villagers. Some attacks can result in splashes of red blood, while collateral damage also includes bursts of flesh and bone falling to the ground. Certain quests require the player to drink alcohol, resulting in the character's impaired vision (blurry screen, pink elephants) and movement. Players can interact with scantily clad characters, listen to provocative dialogue (e.g., "Is that a mana wyrm in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"), or view sexually suggestive dance routines performed by elves and other player-characters.

This is bound to lead to some game leaks or misunderstandings due to lack of context, but this should go a long way towards alleviating concerns over the ESRB's supposed lack of effectiveness. With such detailed descriptions, there can really be no excuse for parents not to know exactly what content is in the games their kids are playing.

Senator Hillary Clinton, who has historically been outspoken against the ESRB, has already spoken up in support of the move according to a report on the MTV Multiplayer blog.

"This new supplement to the ratings is a real gift for parents as we head into this holiday season," she said. "Parents need all the information they can get to make more informed decisions about what's appropriate for their children. These new rating summaries offer more helpful information than ever before to help parents get involved and get informed." Now, we just have to wait and see if parents really do use the tools available to them to get informed and involved. Otherwise, the criticism against the ESRB will come back, deserved or not.

I really love how there may be really huge spoilers within the description which they don't tell you at all....

Valve Steams $99 Complete Pack (http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26673584&tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

Stumbling across even one zombie is probably enough for any normal, healthy human being to have an intense and immediate reaction. But really, when is it ever going to be just one zombie?

With Turtle Rock Studios' Left 4 Dead going gold yesterday, Valve is honoring the occasion with a combo deal to rival last year's Orange Box. Dubbed the Valve Complete Pack, the package contains 22 titles in all, spanning the breadth of Valve's 12-year development history.

In addition to the aforementioned zombie shooter, the Valve Complete Pack includes all of the game maker's premiere titles, including Half-Life, Half-Life 2, its first two expansions, Portal, and Team Fortress. Also packed in are a number of Source engine-powered spin-offs, including Counter-Strike, Half-Life: Blue Shift, the original Team Fortress, and Day of Defeat, to name a few. For good measure, PopCap's Peggle Extreme is also party to the proceedings.

The Valve Complete Pack is available through the game maker's online distribution service Steam for $99.99. By Valve's tally, that's a $134.82 savings over buying each of the products individually.

Wow, that is really a great deal. 22 games for the price of two brand new games...... I'd probably get it if I didn't have the Half Life 2 and its episodes already since I get really nauseous while trying to play the original Half Life

Xiahou

11-14-2008, 21:29

doh!

Xiahou

11-14-2008, 21:30

ESRB Adds Game Summaries to Ratings (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334742,00.asp)I guess that "mild violence, suggestive themes, and use of alcohol" isn't good enough any more? If parents didn't pay attention to the ratings and those descriptors, I don't see them reading lengthy descriptions either....

Kekvit Irae

11-16-2008, 23:53

Not gaming related, but amusing none-the-less for us gamers:

Turkish inmate escapes via cardboard box. (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/11/15/turkish-inmate-escapes-jail-in-cardboard-box-solid-snake-style/#comments) The La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo are not amused.

Martok

11-18-2008, 07:23

Stardock Talks Star Control, Master of Orion Sequels (http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/43030/Stardock-Talks-Star-Control-Master-of-Orion-Sequels).

Brad Wardell of Stardock tells Gamasutra that his company would be interested in making follow-ups to Master of Orion and Star Control:

"I actually pitched Atari on a whole idea for a true successor to Star Control," CEO Brad Wardell tells Gamasutra, noting that the game would follow original series developer Toys for Bob's Star Control II rather than the Legend Entertainment-developed Star Control 3 ("We just pretend that never happened," the CEO says of that release).

The exploration-driven space strategy game is said to have influenced Stardock's Galactic Civilizations series as well as Ironclad Games' Sins of a Solar Empire, also published by Stardock.

Novato, California-based Toys for Bob has actually floated the idea of making its own Star Control II sequel, with co-creator Paul Reiche III indicating he has tossed potential design ideas around, but with the company now owned by publisher Activision the proposal seems to be stuck in limbo.

Wardell also mentioned Simtex's Master of Orion as a franchise he would like to see Stardock continue. Like Star Control, its third entry was developed by a different studio -- in this case, Quicksilver Software -- and was not as well-regarded as the original games.

"We'd like to do a Master of Orion 4," said Wardell, noting that those rights are owned by Atari as well. "It would be an updated Master of Orion 2. There would be more to it, but that would be the basis of it."

I'm not sure it qualifies as news per se, but it's certainly intriguing....

Praxil

11-18-2008, 18:16

Surprise!

I was able to forge this deal with the [Pro Football Hall of Fame] that provides them with 400K per year (which is significantly below market rate) in exchange for the HOF player rights. EA owes me a huge favor because of that threat was enough to persuade Take Two to back off its plans, leaving EA as the only professional football videogame manufacturer out there.

...The per player price for most of these guys was tens of thousands of dollars less than what they were guaranteed by Take Two Interactive so it’s a real coup that we were able to pull this off so cheaply. You have to remember that EA’s total cost is only $200,000 per year. We know that Take Two offered six figure deals to several former NFL players so the total cost is millions below market prices...http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/11/17/28-million-nflpa-verdict-reveals-details-ea039s-madden-monopoly

Muahaha, EA is THE baller in this industry!

Veho Nex

11-18-2008, 23:54

YAY EA IS DIEING!!! LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF THE LEMUR!!

Veho Nex

11-19-2008, 04:06

DNF still alive? One might hope

So reading through the most recent issue of game informer, I saw that DNF(Duke Nukem Forever) might still be alive. When you complete all the achievements and challenges for Duke 3D you unlock two new screens for DNF

Martok

11-19-2008, 07:16

Stardock Talks Star Control, Master of Orion Sequels (http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/43030/Stardock-Talks-Star-Control-Master-of-Orion-Sequels).

It turns out that wasn't the whole article (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20998), by the way. My bad. :oops:

Brad actually had quite a few interesting things to say:

Stardock's recently-announced Elemental: War of Magic is the developer's own internal creation -- but it's no secret that the Michigan-based company originally intended to secure the sequel rights to Microprose's 1995 game Master of Magic.

As it turns out, that's not the only lapsed property the Stardock team dreams of getting its hands on -- and not the only one currently owned by Atari, for that matter.

"I actually pitched Atari on a whole idea for a true successor to Star Control," CEO Brad Wardell tells Gamasutra, noting that the game would follow original series developer Toys for Bob's Star Control II rather than the Legend Entertainment-developed Star Control 3 ("We just pretend that never happened," the CEO says of that release).

The exploration-driven space strategy game is said to have influenced Stardock's Galactic Civilizations series as well as Ironclad Games' Sins of a Solar Empire, also published by Stardock.

Novato, California-based Toys for Bob has actually floated the idea of making its own Star Control II sequel, with co-creator Paul Reiche III indicating he has tossed potential design ideas around, but with the company now owned by publisher Activision the proposal seems to be stuck in limbo.

Wardell also mentioned Simtex's Master of Orion as a franchise he would like to see Stardock continue. Like Star Control, its third entry was developed by a different studio -- in this case, Quicksilver Software -- and was not as well-regarded as the original games.

"We'd like to do a Master of Orion 4," said Wardell, noting that those rights are owned by Atari as well. "It would be an updated Master of Orion 2. There would be more to it, but that would be the basis of it."

He took the opportunity to deliver some stern words to those entrusted with a series they did not create: "If you're making a game that ends with '3,' or Something: The Sequel, it should be similar to the original game," he claimed.

Wardell noted: "Don't go off and say, 'I have my own artistic vision.' Okay, good -- so call it something else. Don't ride the coattails of the people who came before you to launch your own artistic vision."

And Elemental, influenced by Master of Magic but not officially based on it, is not the first time Stardock has developed its own property inspired by a best-case hypothetical scenario.

"I would never have done those Galactic Civilizations games in the first place if someone had made a Civilization-in-space game," Wardell laughed. "If [Sid Meier's] Alpha Centauri had been in space [rather than on another] planet, I never would have made it."

The CEO told Gamasutra that Stardock is building up a second full internal development team, and is tossing around various project ideas. "We'd like to do a roleplaying game too," he said, pointing to BioWare classics like Baldur's Gate II and Knights of the Old Republic as examples of the route he would like to take.

It would be "the same style of isometric gameplay -- not first person -- where I have a party that I'm interacting with," he explained, even calling out a specific Baldur's Gate II character.

"I think there are a lot of people who want that. They want to have a party again. They want to have a Minsc-type character in there. You can't have that interesting banter if it's just one guy running around."

"Someone's going to have to do it," he said, tossing out the idea of Demigod collaborator Gas Powered Games as a theoretical example. "If it's not another studio, it's got to be Stardock."

I love the part highlighted in bold. Take that, Quicksilver and Legend Entertainment! :whip:

Alexander the Pretty Good

11-19-2008, 16:29

Or Bethesda, for that matter.

I really liked the open-source version of Star Control 2. (http://sc2.sourceforge.net/) Stardock seems to be a good choice to make a sequel.

TevashSzat

11-19-2008, 21:13

National Geographic Charts Game Division (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6201329.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;6)

Media company follows up Namco Bandai Panda game partnership with full-fledged publishing and development label.

Considering the amount of horse, monkey, and kitten games flooding the handheld market, it wasn't all that surprising when Namco Bandai announced in April that it would be developing a Nintendogs-esque Nintendo DS title devoted to pandas. What was surprising, however, was that the venerable anthropological media company National Geographic Society would be funding the game.

As Namco Bandai's Panda game lumbers onto retails shelves this month, National Geographic Ventures is ready to make game development a full-time gig. The entertainment arm of the National Geographic Society announced today the formation of National Geographic Games, a division created to develop and publish games on all gaming consoles and handhelds, as well as online and mobile platforms.

Current NGV senior vice president Paul Levine will head up the company's game label. National Geographic has tapped former Take-Two and Bethesda Softworks exec Chris Mate to serve as the label's general manager, overseeing the daily operations at the studio.

In its first order of business, NGG said today that it has partnered with Namco Bandai and Sony Computer Entertainment to publish and distribute games for the Wii, DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, PC, and mobile devices. The Namco Bandai partnership presumably entails the aforementioned National Geographic: Panda. NGG's Sony collaboration will begin with National Geographic: Africa, due out for unspecified platforms this month.

NGG also announced Herod's Lost Tomb, a cross-promotional title that ties in to the December 2008 issue of National Geographic magazine as well as a feature broadcast on the National Geographic Channel. The game will be available this month for the PC, Mac, and iPhone. A free Flash version can be had through the media company's Web site.

As the last order of business, NGG also provided a brief look at its upcoming slate. The gamemaker expects to publish Sudoku Traveler: China in December, with Rainforests, Green City, and From the Bottom Up all expected to arrive sometime in 2009 for unspecified platforms.

Not too excited about any games that may come out of them.....If your company isn't based off partially in gaming and you don't have a ton of money to invest in it, please don't try and save some face...

TevashSzat

11-20-2008, 23:02

Lich King Claims 2.8M souls in 24 hours (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6201418.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;1)

Second World of Warcraft expansion officially fastest-selling PC title of all time following beyond-brisk day-one sales.

As only the second expansion to an 11 million-player massively multiplayer game, there was little doubt that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King would sell well. Today, developer-publisher Blizzard Entertainment told the world exactly how well, announcing the add-on had sold a staggering 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours on the market. GameStop reported that the expansion is already their top-selling PC title of 2008.

Wrath of the Lich King's launch was heralded by 15,000 midnight launch events worldwide. Whether they were in the US, UK, or Australia, all events were mobbed by fans whipped into a frenzy by a steady drumbeat of hype. The fact that it has been nearly two years since the first WOW expansion, The Burning Crusade, also played a large part. That game, too, shattered records when it sold 2.4 million copies in the 24 hours after its launch on January 17, 2007, back when WOW only had 8 million subscribers.

Surprise surprise......WOW expansion beats other WOW expansion for #1 selling PC title....

Grand Theft Auto IV DLC Due Feb 17 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6201417.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=topstory&tag=topstory;title)

Rockstar delays, dates, and details 360-exclusive "Lost and Damned" add-on to crime-action blockbuster, which will follow all-new biker-gang protagonist.

The bad news: Rockstar Games has officially confirmed that the Grand Theft Auto IV expansion will not arrive in 2008. The downloadable add-on, which will be exclusive to the Xbox 360, is now set to launch on Xbox Live worldwide on February 17, the same day as Street Fighter IV in the US. No price has been set, but the expansion will require the original game to play and will presumably share the same hard M for Mature rating.

Now, the good news. The expansion won't be a smallish bit of DLC, like Mass Effect's single-mission Bring Down the Sky. Titled "The Lost and Damned," the add-on will leave Niko Bellic behind in the Manhattan doppelganger of Algonquin and focus on an all-new protagonist. According to USA Today, Liberty City's newest antihero will be Johnny Klebitz, member of the biker gang known as The Lost. Based in the New Jersey clone of Alderney, the Sons of Anarchy-esque motorcycle club had some run-ins with Bellic--who will make a cameo appearance--in the middle section of GTAIV.

"Johnny is a very different character than Niko, with a very different background," Rockstar vice president of creative development Dan Houser told USA Today. "I can't go into too much detail on the story, because we try not to give away too much plot before the game is released. But I can say that the story will show you a different side of Liberty City."

In addition to the new storyline, The Lost and Damned will also sport new weapons, vehicles, and multiplayer modes that have yet to be detailed. In an official press release, Rockstar said the add-on will also feature a whole new soundtrack, with new types of music being added to GTAIV's myriad radio stations.

Last but not least, the expansion will be the first of two 360-exclusive episodes Rockstar North is making for GTAIV. "Making these episodes has enabled us to expand the narrative and the experience of interacting with a game world in really innovative ways," said Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser, brother of Dan, in a statement. "We hope fans of the game enjoy the new way of experiencing life in Liberty City contained in this first episode." No details on the second episode have been announced.
I hope that this content will at least get to the PC sooner or later...

Praxil

11-21-2008, 08:49

I hope that this content will at least get to the PC sooner or later...

If this will ever happen, then it makes me wonder for what did Microsoft paid 50 millions...

Husar

11-21-2008, 13:33

Maybe so we PS3 players don't get it, apart from that: Link or it didn't happen. :inquisitive:

TevashSzat

11-21-2008, 20:41

Midway served NYSE delisting notice (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6201525.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Besieged publisher threatened with stock exchange removal after failing to meet minimum $1 per share average for 30 consecutive trading days.

Wall Street has always been known as a fickle mistress, and game companies across the board are grappling with keeping on its good side. Some, of course, aren't doing as well as others.

Midway said today that it has received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange due to its failure to reach a minimum average closing price of $1.00 per share for the last 30 trading days. Midway has six months to raise its stock price--which is up 16 percent to $0.29 as of press time--before the NYSE takes further delisting action. For its part, the publisher said that it "plans to notify the NYSE that it will seek to cure the deficiency."

Earlier this month, Midway continued its extended period of decline, posting a $76 million loss on revenues of $36.7 million for its July-September quarter. Shortly before Midway reported its quarterly results, Shari Redstone, daughter of medial mogul Sumner Redstone, resigned her position as chairperson of the publisher's board. She was appointed to the position in 2004, after her father's company, National Amusements, bought a controlling stake in the publisher.

For the current holiday quarter, Midway hopes to shore up some of its losses, projecting a per-share deficit of $0.20 on revenues of $105 million. Key releases during the period include Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and Blitz: The League II, and the publisher also expects to see continued sales of recent releases such as TNA iMPACT!, Mortal Kombat Kollection, and the Xbox 360 edition of Unreal Tournament 3.{/SPOIL]

$76 million loss on revenues of $36.7 million

Okay......that is simply crazyily bad there. I don't see how Midway is going to be able to stay on the NYSE, a 300%+ investment is pretty hard in this economy

Praxil

11-21-2008, 22:46

Maybe so we PS3 players don't get it, apart from that: Link or it didn't happen. :inquisitive:

What, are you seriously asking this?

Alright then...

Take 2 has refused to clarify comments from chief financial officer Laine Goldstein that suggest the publisher received USD 50 million (EUR 37.3m / GBP 25.2m) from Microsoft for exclusive GTA IV episodic content. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/take-2-refuses-to-clarify-50-million-gta-iv-deal

Husar

11-22-2008, 01:06

Praxil

11-22-2008, 18:40

Well, in a way it's nice that Microsoft invests 50 million so it's customers get some nice extras, I'm sure Sony has paid some people as well to support their products a bit more. The only problem is when you're the wrong kind of customer as in don't want to buy everything twice... :sweatdrop:

Actually, Microsoft has been pushing the release of that new content. Seems like they want to rush no matter how finished and polished the content will be. This must be some kind of first law in Microsoft's bible or something like that, code of conduct.

I think that it has been revealed that there will be exclusive content for each platform GTA IV is released on. Content you will not see on other platform, I guess. Now this still leaves the question not being answer. If all platforms will get something on the same level, what for Microsoft paid them?

Mailman653

11-24-2008, 19:53

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Defective Rock Band Kick Pedal (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/rock-band-special-edition/933135p1.html)

TevashSzat

11-24-2008, 20:55

Tabula Rasa shutting down Feb. 28 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6201550.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;3)

Following Garriott departure, NCsoft's troubled MMORPG will join Auto Assault on sci-fi scrap heap in three months.

This century, NCsoft is 0-for-2 with sci-fi massively multiplayer online role-playing games. (Unless you count City of Heroes/Villains.) More than a year after Auto Assault headed for the scrap yard, the Korean publisher announced its latest foray into the future, Tabula Rasa, is also being decommissioned. In a post on the game's official Web site, the developers behind the project today announced its imminent end.

"Last November we launched what we hoped would be a ground breaking sci-fi MMO," the post read. "In many ways, we think we've achieved that goal. Tabula Rasa has some unique features that make it fun and very different from every other MMO out there. Unfortunately, the fact is that the game hasn't performed as expected. The development team has worked hard to improve the game since launch, but the game never achieved the player population we hoped for."

As of January 10, 2009, Tabula Rasa will be free to play to its remaining subscriber base, much like the soon-to-be-shuttered Hellgate: London. However, as of February 28, the game's servers will be switched off forever. "We can assure you that through the next couple of months we'll be doing some really fun things in Tabula Rasa, and we plan to make staying on a little longer worth your while," the post concluded.

Though saddening to its subscribers, Tabula Rasa's demise wasn't completely unexpected. After going online last October one day before Hellgate's Halloween launch, the game struggled with a variety of technical issues and lukewarm reviews. Despite over six years in development--and several delays--the game never caught fire in the World of Warcraft-dominated MMORPG market, selling just over 61,000 copies in the US. In its most recent earnings report, NCsoft said the game--which cost a hefty sum to developer--accounted for just 2 percent, or $1.3 million, of its overall annual revenue.

Tabula Rasa's chief designer, Richard Garriott, went so far as to promote the game during his recent $30 million jaunt to the International Space Station. However, the writing appeared to be on the wall when Garriott abruptly resigned last week to pursue "new interests." In his departure message, the Ultima creator conceded the MMORPG's sailing had not always been smooth, saying, "I am very grateful to you loyal players for sticking around through what I think we can all honestly say was a rough launch."

It must really be awful for Garriot seeing all of this happen. He really invested a lot of time/energy into this game only to see it die off

Martok

11-25-2008, 01:32

Meh; he'll get no sympathy from me. That's what he gets for being a pretentious blowhard IMO. The only people I feel sorry for are the TR players themselves.

Veho Nex

11-25-2008, 02:02

I was a tr player and Im suprised it died, There was never a shortage of players and it was imho by far the superior to WoW in just content and fun for the low levels I never got high enough before they announced shutdown

Martok

11-25-2008, 06:17

Eidos tried to prevent sub-80% reviews for Tomb Raider Underworld from being released until today. (http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/11/21/uk-tomb-raider-underworld-reviews-under-810-silenced-until-monday/)

Eidos UK PR firm Barrington Harvey has confirmed that British sites are being asked not to post Tomb Raider: Underworld reviews with scores lower than 80 percent until Monday.

The game releases today for 360 and PS3.

Gamespot UK journalist Guy Cocker revealed the tactic in a Twitter post on Wednesday that said: “call from Eidos–if you’re planning on reviewing Tomb Raider Underworld at less than an 8.0, we need you to hold your review till Monday.”

Said a Barrington Harvey rep on the phone this afternoon: “That’s right. We’re trying to manage the review scores at the request of Eidos.”

When asked why, the spokesperson said: “Just that we’re trying to get the Metacritic rating to be high, and the brand manager in the US that’s handling all of Tomb Raider has asked that we just manage the scores before the game is out, really, just to ensure that we don’t put people off buying the game, basically.”

British site Eurogamer has already gone live with a 7/10 score, an act the rep said had caused “problems”.

OXM UK has also posted a 7.0 score.

The news is unlikely to go down well. Eidos’s efforts at controlling review scores are still fresh in the mind: it was a row over Gamespot’s 6/10 review of Kane & Lynch that cost popular US journalist Jeff Gerstmann his job.

Tomb Raider: Underworld’s Metacritic average stands at 78 percent.

What's bizarre is that, when questioned on the matter, they pretty much admitted it straight out. Yes, there's something to be said for honesty, but still.... :inquisitive:

TinCow

11-25-2008, 14:48

http://www.destructoid.com/g-e-c-k-creation-kit-and-first-fallout-3-dlc-announced-112650.phtml

Release of the Fallout 3 modding tools and first 3 DLCs have been announced:

There will be three downloadable packs (detailed below) available for both Xbox 360 and PC, release across the first three months of 2009. There's no word on pricing.

* Operation: Anchorage. Enter a military simulation and fight in one of the greatest battles of the Fallout universe – the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska from its Chinese Communist invaders. An action-packed battle scheduled for release in January.
* The Pitt. Journey to the industrial raider town called The Pitt, located in the remains of Pittsburgh. Choose your side. Scheduled for release in February.
* Broken Steel. Join the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel and rid the Capital Wasteland of the Enclave remnants once and for all. Continues the adventure past the main quest. Scheduled for release in March.

The official modding tools for Fallout 3 have been revealed as well. Cleverly called G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation) kit, the tools will allow players to modify the game in almost any way they desire by creating modifying, or editing any data for use in the game.

Praxil

11-25-2008, 22:35

What's bizarre is that, when questioned on the matter, they pretty much admitted it straight out. Yes, there's something to be said for honesty, but still.... :inquisitive:

That's right, this is the same Kane & Lynch drama all over again. Surprise, by same publisher.

I thought about Kane & Lynch "thing", that's just unprofessional. Now this, this is just plain stupid.

I'm throwing this publisher in to a garbage can, good night.

TevashSzat

11-26-2008, 00:53

Is the video gaming industry recession proof? (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10107412-52.html)

It would be tempting for those in the video game business to take some recent news -- for instance, that October sales were through the roof, or that the latest World of Warcraft expansion broke the all-time record for single-day PC game sales -- as proof that their industry may be immune from the deep despair confronting the global economy.

And indeed, that seems to be exactly what many people in the industry are choosing to believe: that in rough times, people always spend money on entertainment, and that as entertainment goes, video game software and hardware offer much higher value than other options. In other words, the theory goes, the video game industry is recession-proof.

But people holding to that notion may yet want to consider getting their resumes ready or holding off on buying that Porsche, since all optimism aside, the future may not be so bright. It's true that sales may be up in the short term, and look good for the holidays, but Wall Street doesn't appear to be impressed.

Still, many in the industry contacted for this article say they think the sector could in fact turn out to be one of the few winners as general economic conditions get darker and darker.

"Nobody's got a crystal ball, but we remain cautiously optimistic" about the future, said David Dennis, Microsoft's corporate Xbox 360 Group PR manager. "All the signs we see point to continued strength for the industry and for the Xbox."

For example, Dennis explained, a recent survey conducted by the National Research Center indicated that 46 percent of consumers expect to purchase a video game system of some kind on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. At the same time, he said that NPD Group, a leading retail analyst firm, reported that video games came in at the bottom of a list of what kinds of products they expect to cut back on in the coming months.

NPD has other data as well showing signs of strength in the business. In its report for October, the firm revealed that for the video game industry as a whole, sales were up 18 percent for the month, to $1.31 billion from $1.12 billion a year earlier. Software was up 35 percent in October, from $514.5 million in 2007 to $696.8 million in 2008, while hardware had a more modest 5 percent rise in the same period, from $470.5 million to $494.8 million.

And on November 13, its first day on the market, Blizzard Entertainment's Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion to the mega-hit, World of Warcraft, broke the all-time record for one-day sales for a PC game, moving 2.8 million units of the $40 upgrade and surpassing the record of 2.4 million units set in 2007 by The Burning Crusade, the first WoW expansion.

The rationale for projected growth, even in the face of a looming and deep recession, is simple.

"There are a couple of reasons," said Ron Meiners, director of community for the Hollywood Interactive Group. "One is the traditional value of entertainment during tough economic times. Like the great fantastic musicals in the 30s. Movies did great, because they took people's mind off of the troubles they were facing. (And) video games have great value as entertainment. The number of hours of solid entertainment that comes from a video game purchase is much greater than a movie, for example, for very comparable cost."

At the same time, Meiners added, video games today offer consumers a much higher degree of interactivity and engagement.

"They're not just passive," he said. "It's a much more involving activity, which helps make them more valuable."

The industry is also blessed with a steady flow of blockbuster game franchises that seem primed to deliver huge paydays: Fable, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Grand Theft Auto and many others.

Trouble on Wall Street
But the publishers of those games, and even a leading retailer, have seen their stock prices hammered in recent weeks, beyond even what has happened in the general market crash.

While the Dow's value dropped 28.16 percent from September 2 through November 17, and Nasdaq dropped 36.91 percent in the same time frame, six game industry companies (Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Take Two, THQ, Gamestop and Nintendo) saw their share prices fall an average of 52.53 percent.

And EA, the world's largest publisher of video games, was not on the better-performing side of that group. Its stock fell 60.1 percent, from $48.97 to $19.30 in that time period.

EA did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but in its most recent quarterly earnings release, in which it reported a net loss of $310 million--compared with a net loss of $195 million during the same quarter a year earlier--CEO John Riccitiello did his best to sound optimistic.

"Considering the slowdown at retail we've seen in October, we are cautious in the short term," Riccitiello said. Longer term, we are very bullish on the game sector overall and on EA in particular. The industry is growing double-digits on the strength of three new game consoles and increases in the number of homes with broadband Internet connections."

For its part, Nintendo, which saw its stock drop 36.77 percent between September 2 and November 17--almost exactly the same drop as the Nasdaq--also is making the point of putting on a brave face even as the phrase "the worse economic crisis since the Great Depression" becomes a cliche.

"We do believe that the continued popularity of our products, even during these tough economic times," said Denise Kaigler, the vice president of corporate affairs for Nintendo America, "are evidence that consumers are judging us as a good value and a great way to engage in social interaction."

In October, according to NPD, Nintendo sold 803,000 Wiis, up from 617,000 in September and 453,000 in August, and the company has said it plans to increase supply of the console by 50 percent over last year in order to ensure that consumers have an easier time getting a hold of one.

This would suggest, of course, that Nintendo isn't being disingenuous when it says that it has a strong value proposition that is likely to attract consumers this holiday season and perhaps beyond.

Microsoft, too, looks like it has some evidence to back up its reasoning for, as Dennis put it, being "cautiously optimistic."

In October, Microsoft sold 371,000 Xbox 360s, up from 347,000 in September and 195,000 in August.

But these sales numbers all come from before the economic crisis really kicked in. Now, job losses are mounting daily, the stock market is plunging--though it has risen considerably since Friday--and the government is faced with a more difficult job of pulling us back from collapse.

The pricing game
And for those who think that the video game industry can keep up record sales numbers even in the face of such a bleak atmosphere, some have sobering news.

"Video gaming is not immune," said Gartner analyst Van Baker. "It's certainly been robust over the last couple of years, and it's gotten much more popular, and a much broader install base of users, but they're certainly not immune, especially if it's a deep recession."

Baker acknowledged that video game hardware and software is likely to perform better than, say, plasma TVs, but still, he said, in an environment where jobs are scarce and people are losing their homes, "$50 (for a game) is $50."

And while Baker suggested that Nintendo and Microsoft may be able to continue moving the Wii and the Xbox, respectively due to those consoles' low prices ($249 for the Wii and $199 for the lowest-priced Xbox), he said Sony might have a harder time.

"Sony is the one that stands to get hurt the most," Baker said, "because they've got the most expensive" console. The lowest-priced PlayStation 3 costs $399.

The front lines of the video game wars, of course, are at retail, and that is one place to look for clues as to what lies ahead.

According to Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets, leading retailer Gamestop could represent a sign that, indeed, the video game industry can weather the coming economic storm, despite its stock dropping 49.87 percent between September 2 and November 17.

In an alert Sebastian sent out last week by email, he recommended buying Gamestop's stock, citing not only strong October sales, but also sales growth of 20.5 percent during the first two weeks of November compared to last year.

Driving that growth, Sebastian wrote, was quick sales of games like Wrath of the Lich King, Gears of War 2, from Epic Games and the latest edition of Call of Duty, from Activision.

But Sebastian's optimism about bellweathers like Gamestop aside, there are those who see deep structural flaws in the mainstream video game industry's business model, flaws that could wreak havoc down the line, even if things stay solid in the short term.

To Corey Bridges, a co-founder of the virtual world platform developer The Multiverse Network, the problems facing the industry have more to do with how its biggest publishers design and distribute their games.

"I do think that the video game industry is going to do reasonably well in this time of recession because video games are a pretty damned efficient use of time," said Bridges. "That said, the...industry has some other problems that it has been ignoring for awhile and that are creeping up on it."

Essentially, Bridges explained, he thinks that the dominance of giant publishers like EA and their general reliance on physical, in-the-box, units, can't hold up. Instead, he said, new tools, ubiquitous broadband and hungry independent developers are going to all combine to eat away at the continued supremacy of the $60 big-name title. And that could spell big trouble for the industry.

Still, he said, that kind of shake-out could take a few more years.

"I think the global macroeconomic climate will adjust itself before the video game industry hits the upcoming chaos," Bridges said.

In the short term, then, there is ample evidence that the video game business may well prove to be stronger than most others. No one is going to do better than companies producing cheap liquor, of course, but in the technology world, it may be tough to identify a sector that could better persevere than video games.

Even Baker, who said it's unlikely the industry will avoid getting hit by the recession, thinks there's room for optimism.

"We'll have to wait and see how consumers respond," Bake said, "but I don't think it's unreasonable to see some growth (though) it's certainly not going to be double-digit."

I've found this article to be quite interesting

Mailman653

12-01-2008, 19:02

Resident Evil Create won't play RE5 (http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/resident-evil-5/934392p1.html)

Midway Sold for $100,000 (http://www.gamespy.com/articles/934/934408p1.html)

TevashSzat

12-01-2008, 21:03

Reuters is reporting that media mogul Sumner Redstone of Redstone's National Amusements Inc has sold his controlling stake of Midway Games Inc to private investor Mark Thomas for roughly $100,000, or $0.0012 per share. Thomas will assume $70 million of senior secured and unsecured debt.

Wow.....that is crazy.....Midway's future looks shaky at best....

Martok

12-02-2008, 11:04

Dungeon Keeper MMO coming (http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/43283/Dungeon-Keeper-Goes-Massively-Multiplayer/p1/c2):

NetDragon Websoft Inc., a leading game developer and operator in the People's Republic of China announced a new licensing agreement with Electronic Arts Inc. on the development of the Group's first 3D massively multi-player online role playing game based on Electronic Arts' "Dungeon Keeper" line of games - including themes, characters and other game content. As part of this agreement, NetDragon will develop the game and obtains the exclusive license to operate and distribute Dungeon Keeper Online throughout the Greater China region, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.

"We are delighted to enter into an agreement with EA in the development of our first 3D MMORPG. Our partnership with this internationally renowned game developer is proof of our capabilities in game operations and development as well as a reflection of our market reputation," said Mr. Liu Dejian, Chairman and Executive Director of NetDragon. "Capitalizing our strength to create a strong gaming experience, powerful operating platform and unmatched expertise within China's online game market, we are confident that Dungeon Keeper Online will not only become successful in the Greater China region but also achieve remarkable results overseas."

Jon Niermann, President of EA Asia Pacific said, "The partnership marks a significant milestone for EA as it will enhance our intellectual property and extend our product reach throughout the Greater China region. It will also further enhance our intellectual property with differentiated, high-quality games, particularly in the field of MMORPGs."

Hmm. Not sure what I think about this.

Kekvit Irae

12-02-2008, 13:47

*facepalm*
I would rather see DK3 than ANOTHER MMO saturate the market.

Martok

12-02-2008, 20:42

That's more or less my thinking as well. I'll concede that a DK MMO could possibly succeed -- there's not many that focus on the "bad guys", after all -- but overall I too would prefer to see another strategy incarnation.

Veho Nex

12-03-2008, 04:38

Not going to play just because EA is involved

Mailman653

12-03-2008, 23:38

EA Acquires Developer J2M (http://www.gamespy.com/articles/935/935191p1.html)

Veho Nex

12-04-2008, 04:43

DAMN YOU EA!!!.... ohh well. Now we know they are monopolistic(monopolistic is probably spelled wrong[guess what.... it wasn't]) hounds

Mailman653

12-04-2008, 18:38

Activision Blizzard Confirms Big Sequel Slate for 2009 (http://www.gamespy.com/articles/935/935412p1.html)

Martok

12-05-2008, 08:09

Irony, thy name is Valve. (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081203-valve-calls-drm-stupid-microsoft-still-doesnt-get-it.html)

Valve is a wonderfully open company—in many cases, direct questions sent to the publisher will be answered by a member of the creative team within hours. One gamer recently e-mailed Valve and asked why he saw EA's logo on a commercial for Left 4 Dead: he bought the game via Steam but didn't want to support EA after the Spore DRM debacle. He got a reply from a managing director at the company, Gabe Newell, that was to the point: EA only handles distribution for the physical product, and Valve thinks most DRM is "just dumb."

"Left 4 Dead is developed entirely by Valve. Steam revenue for our games is not shared with third parties. Around the world we have a number of distribution partners to handle retail distribution of our games (i.e. make discs and boxes). EA is one of those partners," Newell wrote. In other words, if you buy Left 4 Dead through Steam, EA doesn't see any of your money. This should be good news for gamers who want to slaughter some zombies but don't want to break their EA boycott.

Newell doesn't have kind words for the use of digital rights managements. "As far as DRM goes, most DRM strategies are just dumb. The goal should be to create greater value for customers through service value (make it easy for me to play my games whenever and wherever I want to), not by decreasing the value of a product (maybe I'll be able to play my game and maybe I won't)," he wrote. "We really really discourage other developers and publishers from using the broken DRM offerings, and in general there is a groundswell to abandon those approaches."

Buying Left 4 Dead on Steam supports Valve, not EA

It's easy for him to say; Steam is its own form of DRM, one that makes programs like SecuROM redundant. "You'd have to ask Valve for specific numbers," PC Gaming Alliance President Randy Stude told Ars, "but I believe piracy on Steam is very low." You can add games you obtained at retail to the Steam service to take advantage of its social networking features, but you need your CD key to do it; cracked games are out of luck. Don't assume that buying a game via Steam means escaping SecuROM however, as EA has included the program on some its own games that it has released via Steam, such as Crysis: Warhead.

If we don't kick you in the gut, can we punch you in the face?

Newell's take attracted the attention of others in the gaming industry. "I think the problem with DRM is not so much the particular method used, but the attitude behind it. It makes us feel like we're all being punished for the sins of the few," Microsoft's Games for Windows Community Manager Ryan Miller wrote on his blog. "It is also pretty clear that most DRM is not a problem for the pirates, just for the legitimate consumers. These two factors combine to make a ton of bad feelings on the consumer side."

This is an arguable sentiment: gamers do care about the method of DRM that is used. Programs such as SecuROM (which don't uninstall along with the game) and limits on the number of installations allowed anger PC gamers. When we reported on the use of SecuROM in Grand Theft Auto IV on the PC, many of our readers pledged not to buy the game on principle.

Miller addresses that controversy directly. "Rockstar has put an interesting twist on the much-maligned software by removing the install limits that have plagued other games, though the software still installs components that can be very difficult to remove should you want them off your hard drive," he wrote. "It seems like a reasonable compromise to me, but what do you think? Is the lack of install limits enough to overlook the installation of code you can't remove?"

This is the sort of question that may sound reasonable from Miller's point of view, but will enrage PC gamers. SecuROM serves no purpose other than to annoy legitimate customers, and a version of the game that lacks the program (and is superior for that) will be available to pirates as soon as the game is released, if not before. The fact that Rockstar won't limit installations, a new twist on DRM that has drawn bile from gamers and seemingly given pirates the high ground, doesn't excuse the use of SecuROM in the game.

While Steam is a step in the right direction, giving gamers the ability to play games on multiple systems without having to worry about losing discs or CD keys, some gamers have reported issues getting their games to work in offline mode, and worry about Valve shutting down the servers at some point in the future. Piracy is a complex issue with no easy answer, but what's clear is that gamers are less and less willing to put up with intrusive DRM technology in their games, but there doesn't seem to be much of a movement to lessen its use among game publishers.

What the industry has to understand is that gamers have the upper hand, as they can simply go to the torrents for a free version of each game that includes no DRM. Until publishers do more to welcome their legitimate customers as friends instead of treating them as potential pirates, piracy will continue to eat at profits and morale.

Martok

12-05-2008, 08:12

Atari planning sequels for both Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. (http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/12/03/new-baldur-s-gate-neverwinter-nights-planned/1)

Given that A.) Bioware isn't around to develop them anymore, and B.) the folks at Atari don't seem to know how to make decent PC/video games to save their lives, I'm not optimistic.

TevashSzat

12-05-2008, 21:04

GTAIV PC Problems Spark Game Outcry (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6201971.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;3)

Complaints of experience-ruining frame rates, small draw distances, crashes, and more plague Rockstar's port of top-rated action adventure.

When it launched in April, Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 was greeted with a chorus of approval from gamers and critics alike. With the PC edition of the game arriving in stores earlier this week, the reaction has been notably different.

"Maybe after the patch... things will be different."

Forum threads on GameSpot, Steam, and elsewhere online are lighting up with complaints from gamers about a host of performance issues. Poor frame rates even on powerful rigs, short draw distances, crashes, and missing textures are among a slew of stated issues gamers have with the title.

Not content to vent on forums, disgruntled GTAIV PC gamers have taken to Amazon.com and panned the port with negative user reviews. In addition to complaining about the game's performance, the Amazon reviewers have taken exception to its use of SecuROM DRM technology. Of the 56 reviews on the retail site as of this writing, 46 of them have issued a 1-star-out-of-5 rating, with the customer average now sitting at 1.5 stars.

The technical support section of Rockstar's official site acknowledges a host of known issues. For instance, Rockstar tells gamers with Nvidia 7900 series cards that a driver issue is causing the game to not render anything in the distance, leading to functionally unplayable performance. According to Rockstar, "NVidia is working on releasing a new driver as soon as possible."

The Rockstar tech support site also suggests that missing texture issues could be caused by driver tuning programs, and includes a list of dozens of possible error codes players may have encountered. Additionally, ATI card owners are advised to set the game's "MipMap Detail Level" slider to "quality" or they will see blacked-out textures, while the ATI 1900 series specifically has problems with flickering shadows. A patch for the shadow issue is underway, according to the developer.

As for performance issues on high-end rigs, Rockstar's tech support documentation contained the following explanation: "Most users using current PC hardware as of December 2008 are advised to use medium graphics settings. Higher settings are provided for future generations of PCs with higher specifications than are currently widely available."

Hmmm.....more 1 star Amazon review here....Its ridiculous how many driver incompatabilities there are here. When you make a game or port it, you should optimize the game to the drivers, not release it first and then wait for the GPU manufactures to optimize their drivers for the game

Edit: Another Interesting Thing:

Nvidia Desktop & Mobile GPUs Renaming (http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-desktop--mobile-gpus-renaming/6238.html)

It appears Nvidia is carrying out the rebranding of their GPUs on both desktop and mobile front as VR-Zone has learned from the recent releases of the Forceware drivers. On the desktop front, there are GeForce GTS 150 based on G92, GeForce GT 130 based on G94, GeForce GT 120 based on G96 and GeForce G100 based on G98. On the mobile front, there are GeForce GTX 180M and GTX 170M based on G92, GeForce GTS 160M based on G94, GeForce GT 130M and G 110M based on G96 and GeForce G 105M based on G98.

Great......even more confusion here.

Basically, the average buyer will just get fooled into thinking that they're getting all new videocards when they mights just get stuck with a crappy 9200M or something like that....

Seriously, its bad enough that the Geforce9 series is just basically Geforce8 series card that are overclocked or have a smaller manufacturing die, but this will just make things worse....

Husar

12-06-2008, 12:48

The problem is a lack of standardisation. It has pros and cons and among the cons is that it's much harder and more expensive than developing for a console which is completely standardised and thus easier to develop for. The obvious conclusion for R* is to stop developing for non-standardised systems because obviously they aren't good at that, focus on the core competences of your company. ~;)

seireikhaan

12-06-2008, 16:35

Ubisoft plans to make a game adaptation of the movie Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Which is an adaptation of the game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. :inquisitive: Linky (http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/06/prince-of-persi.html#previouspost)

Try to wrap your head around this: Ubisoft is planning a game adaptation of the film adaptation of the game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

It's not enough that we're getting a brand spanking new cel-shaded next-gen Prince of Persia and even spinoff titles for the Wii and DS.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has revealed that next year's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time -- that's the Bruckheimer-produced, Jake Gyllenhaal-starring film adaption set for release in 2009 -- will get its own game adaptation.

The film itself features a script by the original game's creator Jordan Mechner. We still know very little about the game adaption of the film, but it's interesting to note that the movie is itself based on the plot of one of the games.

Even a week after their Ubidays media event, Ubisoft is still all over the news. The latest covers the studio's expansion into other media productions, including word of a new animated series.

Furthermore, Guillemot has also revealed that the company is sitting on a $1.2 billion war chest, to be used in potential acquisitions.

It's probably a good time to be a Ubisoft share-holder right now, although Prince of Persia fans are probably confused as all hell."

Martok

12-07-2008, 23:06

:dizzy2:

My head hurts.

TevashSzat

12-08-2008, 21:11

NCsoft exits ESA (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202060.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;3)

Korean MMOG publisher opts out of membership, taking wait-and-see approach to industry body's newly rejiggered E3.

In a sense, this year's E3 Media & Business Summit was defined not so much by those who were at the Entertainment Software Association's annual trade show, but by those who weren't. Leading up to the one-time premier US industry event, game makers such as Activision Blizzard, LucasArts, id Software, and Crave opted out of their memberships with the ESA. Others, such as NCsoft and Foundation 9, said that though they planned to remain in the industry body, they'd be skipping this year's show.

Today, both NCsoft and the ESA have confirmed for GameSpot that, for the time being at least, the game maker will not renew its membership in 2009.

"While we appreciate what the ESA does for our industry, we can confirm that NCsoft has elected not to keep membership with the ESA for 2009," said an NCsoft representative. "There have been many changes in the gaming industry over the past couple of years and, like other developers and publishers, we have decided to wait to see how related industry events and organizations further develop before rejoining. We will be reviewing our membership status on an annual basis."

"We can confirm that NCsoft decided not to renew its ESA membership," said ESA senior VP of communications and research Rich Taylor. "We respect their decision and remain committed to serving the public-affairs needs of the computer and video game industry."

E3 has begun to face mounting competition from a variety of industry events in recent years. In addition to overseas trade shows such as the Leipzig Games Convention and Tokyo Game Show, E3 has seen domestic challengers from the likes of the Penny Arcade Expo as well as dedicated events put on by individual publishers.

Furthermore, E3 itself has been on the ropes since 2006, when the ESA said that it would be drastically downsizing the event and moving it out of the Los Angeles Convention Center to a more intimate Santa Monica venue. As a result, crowds were cut from their 2006 high of roughly 60,000 to an invite-only crowd of 5,000 by 2007. The new format was not to the liking of a number of top-line publishers--namely EA and Ubisoft--and the ESA has continued to tinker with the format in the subsequent years, moving the show back to the LACC in 2008 and rescaling the event upward for 2009.

For NCsoft's part, the South Korean publisher has fallen on hard times of late. In the face of dismal profits, NCsoft said last month that it would be parting ways with celebrity game designer Richard Garriott as well as shutting down his commercial flop Tabula Rasa at the end of February.

So...Activision-Blizzard, LucasArts, id Software, and now NCsoft have left. The only big players left that do some major PC games are EA, Ubisoft, and Eidos...

Mailman653

12-08-2008, 21:32

300 New Exhibitors Featured Among 2700 at the 2009 International CES (http://www.gamespy.com/articles/936/936556p1.html)

Mailman653

12-09-2008, 18:37

Atari Gets Cryptic (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/936/936823p1.html)

TevashSzat

12-09-2008, 20:48

Analysts leery of EA, Guitar Hero (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202103.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4)

Colin Sebastian believes poor showing of Mirror's Edge could lead to more layoffs and cancellations; EEDAR's Jesse Divnich thinks Activision's rhythm game has "peaked."

With November 2008 US sales figures from industry-research firm the NPD Group expected later this week, the top game-industry analysts have released their own estimates for the month. The consensus is that the traditionally frantic holiday season was subdued somewhat by the surging recession, with game sales enjoying only a modest year-over-year increase. Though he believes all three consoles sold in record numbers, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter thinks that overall, domestic game revenue was $1.4 billion, up just 7 percent from $1.31 billion in 2007.

While cautiously optimistic about the industry as a whole, analysts gave unusually downbeat assessments of two pillars of the game industry. First, Pachter estimates that Electronic Arts will see a 16 percent year-over-year decline in revenue, thanks to poor showings of the new property Mirror's Edge (300,000 units for the month) and Need for Speed Undercover (350,000 units). Though it enjoyed better reviews, Rock Band 2 also sold a disappointing 350,000 units during the month on two platforms--the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. (PlayStation 2 and Wii versions are due out next week.)

Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Group, the firm helping Midway stave off bankruptcy, went one step further. He thinks the underperformance of Mirror's Edge, Rock Band 2, and Need for Speed Undercover might lead to more layoffs and Tiberium-esque cancellations. "We believe EA is continuing to review its cost structure and franchise base, and it is possible that management will announce further cuts in headcount and the development pipeline (including existing franchises) over the coming quarters," he summarized.

While EA's woes are likely pure schadenfreude to Activision Blizzard executives' ears, this week also saw Pachter predict its sales would slip 14 percent year on year. This slide is in large part due to one of the megapublisher's top franchises hitting market saturation. "Probably the most talked about issue this month is the lack of sales for Guitar Hero: World Tour," declared Jesse Divnich of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR). "Currently, we expect unit sales to decline by more than 50 percent series-over-series for November. This is coming off the October month where series-over-series units declined by more than 60 percent."

Divnich also pointed out that, rather than command a premium like Wii Fit, Guitar Hero World Tour is beginning to sell under its suggested retail price on the eBay auction service. "It is pretty clear that the series has already reached its peak among the mass-market audience," he explained with the following caveat. "Of course, we are not suggesting that the Guitar Hero (or Rock Band) franchise will be disappearing anytime soon."

I suppose the anti-EA people are pretty happy about this.....

Veho Nex

12-10-2008, 06:39

You hit the nail on the head.

Mailman653

12-12-2008, 05:40

Disney to Buy EA? (http://www.gamespy.com/articles/937/937856p1.html)

TevashSzat

12-13-2008, 01:29

EA Abandons Vancouver Studio Plans (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202277.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4)

Canada's Globe and Mail says beleaguered publisher halts aims to build out 20,000-square-foot facility; cuts at Black Box, EA Canada already under way.

Like so many other companies, Electronic Arts continues to face the cold, hard realities of an economic recession. The Globe and Mail reports this week that the publisher has decided not to proceed with plans to expand its operations in government-subsidy-rich Vancouver, Canada, due to sagging holiday sales in North America and Europe and overarching global economic instability.

EA reportedly entered planning stages for the 20,000-square-foot facility about a year ago, though the studio's purpose was not revealed. EA currently maintains two development outfits in the Vancouver area: EA Black Box, which develops the publisher's Need for Speed and Skate franchises, and EA Canada, home to top sellers such as the FIFA and NCAA sports simulations.

"These are challenging times, they're uncertain times for our industry and across the board," EA spokesman Colin Macrae told The Globe and Mail. "We continue to be firmly rooted in Vancouver." Macrae also confirmed that EA's Vancouver-based studios would see some staff reductions, though he declined to go into further detail.

On the back of a greater-than-expected $310 million loss during its second fiscal quarter, EA said in October that it would eliminate 6 percent of its workforce--or approximately 600 positions. Earlier this week, the publisher said that the current hostile market conditions will force its hand in executing another round of layoffs, as well as consolidating facilities and scaling back its SKU count next year.

Meh, more bad news for EA

NPD: Wii sales top 2M during $2.9B a month (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202243.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

[UPDATE] Nintendo's console reigns supreme in hardware, more than doubling Xbox 360; Gears 2, COD: World at War top software; top-20 games.

Recession may be on the tip of everyone's tongues, but consumers' appetite for the interactive medium continues largely unabated. Industry stat-tracking firm The NPD Group today released its assessment for US gaming retail sales in November. Industry sales were up 10 percent year-over-year. Domestic sales of hardware, software, and accessories reached $2.91 billion for the month, pushing 2008's total just over the $16 billion threshold.

2,040,000 units in one month.

November 2008's 10 percent sales growth is especially impressive, considering that last month's tally contained seven fewer post-Thanksgiving shopping days compared to a year ago. One huge reason for the surge was the Wii. With an analyst-noted surge in supply, Nintendo's console more than doubled its 2007 numbers, selling more than 2.04 million units. The Nintendo DS also proved staggeringly popular, shifting 1.57 million units on the month.

While lodged firmly in third place in hardware sales for November, Microsoft made huge gains over rival Sony last month. Xbox 360 sales more than doubled those of the PlayStation 3, with Microsoft's console outselling Sony's system 836,000 units to 378,000. Sony's depth bolstered the company's performance, however, with PSP sales hitting 421,000 units and the aging PlayStation 2 managing 206,000 systems.

On the software side, Microsoft and Epic Games' sci-fi third-person shooter Gears of War 2 took the gold, reaching sales of 1.56 million units in November. That figure represents just over half of the title's global haul, which Microsoft pegged at 3 million earlier this week. Activision's Call of Duty: World at War, which also debuted last month, fell just shy of Gears 2's tally on a platform-by-platform basis, with the Xbox 360 edition seeing sales of 1.41 million units and the PS3 game selling an additional 597,000 copies.

Nintendo's Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Mario Kart Wii had another commendable month at retail, snagging the third, fourth, and fifth slots in November's chart with a respective 796,000, 697,000, and 637,000 units. While the rhythm genre was decidedly underrepresented in October, Activision's Guitar Hero World Tour for the Wii and Wii Music both surged in November, logging respective sales of 475,000 units and 297,000 copies.

Other strong performers for the month include the Xbox 360 edition of Valve's Left 4 Dead (410,000 units) and Insomniac Games' flagship PS3-exclusive shooter Resistance 2 (385,000 units).

Though the NPD Group does not include PC titles in its monthly report, Frazier also noted that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King enjoyed stellar sales for the month. "We would be remiss not to point out the strength of PC game sales this month as lead by the release of the latest World of Warcraft expansion pack," said Frazier. "Wrath of the Lich King sold over 1.4 million units in the US during its debut month at retail." Worldwide, the game sold more than 2.8 million copies in just 24 hours.

[UPDATE] On Friday, NPD expanded its list of the top console and handheld software sold in November to include the 20 best-selling games. Of note, October's top title--the Xbox 360-exclusive Fable II--saw a substantial drop in sales, falling to 19 on the chart. Another big drop came by way of Bethesda's Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360, which fell nine spots to 12.

US VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY - NOVEMBER 2008
Software: $1.45B (+11%)
Hardware: $1.21B (+10%)
Accessories: $255M (+7%)
Total Games: $2.91B (10%)

TOP-SELLING HARDWARE - NOVEMBER 2008
Wii--2.04 million
Nintendo DS--1.57 million
Xbox 360--836,000
PlayStation Portable--421,000
PlayStation 3--378,000
PlayStation 2--206,000

TOP-SELLING SOFTWARE - NOVEMBER 2008
Title / Publisher / Units*
1) Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) / Microsoft / 1,560,000
2) Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360) / Activision Blizzard / 1,410,000
3) Wii Play w/ Remote (WII) / Nintendo / 796,000
4) Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (WII) / Nintendo / 697,000
5) Mario Kart Wii w/ Wheel (WII) / Nintendo / 637,000
6) Call of Duty: World at War (PS3) / Activision Blizzard / 597,000
7) Guitar Hero World Tour (Wii) / Activision Blizzard / 475,000
8) Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360) / Electronic Arts / 410,000
9) Resistance 2 (PS3) / Sony / 385,000
10) Wii Music / Nintendo / 297,000
11) Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii) / Nintendo
12) Fallout 3 (Xbox 360) / Bethesda Softworks
13) Rock Band (Wii) / MTV Games
14) Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (DS) / Nintendo
15) Guitar Hero World Tour (Xbox 360) / Activision Blizzard
16) Mario Kart (DS) / Nintendo
17) Guitar Hero World Tour (PS2) / Activision Blizzard
18) WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2009 (PS2) / THQ
19) Fable II (Xbox 360) / Microsoft
20) Madden NFL 09 (Xbox 360) / Electronic Arts

* Figures include Collector's Editions and non-hardware bundles.

That is simply insane.......and I thought Nintendo would never be strong in the console industry again after Gamecube.....

PlayStation Home Beta Opens (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202161.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;6)

[UPDATE] Public trial for the PS3's avatar-based social-networking service has gone live in the EU and US.

[UPDATE] Via its PlayStation Blog, PlayStation Home director Jack Buser has announced that the PlayStation Home beta is now live. Newcomers can now access the virtual world via a PlayStation Home button in the PlayStation 3's borderline dyslexic XrossMediaBar. Yesterday's original story of the beta launch announcement is below. [END UPDATE]

Since being announced back at GDC 2007 by Phil Harrison, PlayStation Home has been the subject of a lot of expectation. Originally planned for a 2007 release, Home has had several delays and setbacks pushing it back to late 2008.

Earlier this week, The Times suggested that the release was coming "within the next 10 days." As it turns out, gamers won't have to wait even that long, because Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and America today jointly announced that the Home beta will be open to all on December 11.

Dog, string vest, and shotgun not included.

PlayStation Home will let users interact and communicate via unique avatars in real time using text or voice. Within Home there will be a variety of minigames, videos, and clubs--areas where users can come together and share similar interests. Each aspect of Home will be customisable, and players will be able to buy new clothes, furnishings, and even whole new apartments direct from the PlayStation store. Clubhouses will also be available for those wishing to create clubs, though for a price--how much was unclear. Sony simply stated that "to be a Clubhouse owner, user will need to buy the entitlement to run the club."

There will also be regional game-related content. Users accessing PlayStation Home in the SCEE regions will have a Far Cry 2 space to explore at launch, with spaces for MotorStorm, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, and SOCOM promised soon in the region. SCEE and SCEA also confirmed that they are working with EA and Ubisoft, among others, with a view to creating more such spaces. The Far Cry 2 space will also be available to those in SCEA territories, and Resistance and Guitar Hero spaces are promised for the region.

Companies will, as expected, also get the opportunity to use Home as a marketing space. Sony has detailed plans involving both Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures, which will involve "dedicated spaces, sponsorship of in-world events, virtual items and exclusive media viewings in the PlayStation Home Theatre."

The first such event was confirmed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and will be centred around the upcoming movie of acclaimed graphic novel Watchmen. It will feature a selection of virtual Watchmen merchandise as well as a chance for some to virtually meet members of the film's cast and crew in a Watchmen-themed environment in 2009.

Ligne Roset joins Diesel among Home's earliest retailers.

The Watchmen promo accompanies two previously announced sponsorships with fashion label Diesel and energy drink Red Bull. The latter will offer the opportunity to take part in a virtual version of the Red Bull Air Race, a stunt-flying championship around Red Bull Island. Ligne Roset will provide contemporary furniture, and users will be able to customise items before they buy them.

PlayStation Home will be available as a free download starting December 11. It should install automatically after rebooting the PS3 once the update becomes available, after which a PlayStation Home icon will simply appear in the XrossMediaBar (XMB).

Has anyone tried this out yet???

johnhughthom

12-13-2008, 01:35

Martok

12-13-2008, 08:27

PlayStation Home Beta Opens (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202161.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;6)

[UPDATE] Public trial for the PS3's avatar-based social-networking service has gone live in the EU and US.

[UPDATE] Via its PlayStation Blog, PlayStation Home director Jack Buser has announced that the PlayStation Home beta is now live. Newcomers can now access the virtual world via a PlayStation Home button in the PlayStation 3's borderline dyslexic XrossMediaBar. Yesterday's original story of the beta launch announcement is below. [END UPDATE]

Since being announced back at GDC 2007 by Phil Harrison, PlayStation Home has been the subject of a lot of expectation. Originally planned for a 2007 release, Home has had several delays and setbacks pushing it back to late 2008.

Earlier this week, The Times suggested that the release was coming "within the next 10 days." As it turns out, gamers won't have to wait even that long, because Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and America today jointly announced that the Home beta will be open to all on December 11.

Dog, string vest, and shotgun not included.

PlayStation Home will let users interact and communicate via unique avatars in real time using text or voice. Within Home there will be a variety of minigames, videos, and clubs--areas where users can come together and share similar interests. Each aspect of Home will be customisable, and players will be able to buy new clothes, furnishings, and even whole new apartments direct from the PlayStation store. Clubhouses will also be available for those wishing to create clubs, though for a price--how much was unclear. Sony simply stated that "to be a Clubhouse owner, user will need to buy the entitlement to run the club."

There will also be regional game-related content. Users accessing PlayStation Home in the SCEE regions will have a Far Cry 2 space to explore at launch, with spaces for MotorStorm, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, and SOCOM promised soon in the region. SCEE and SCEA also confirmed that they are working with EA and Ubisoft, among others, with a view to creating more such spaces. The Far Cry 2 space will also be available to those in SCEA territories, and Resistance and Guitar Hero spaces are promised for the region.

Companies will, as expected, also get the opportunity to use Home as a marketing space. Sony has detailed plans involving both Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures, which will involve "dedicated spaces, sponsorship of in-world events, virtual items and exclusive media viewings in the PlayStation Home Theatre."

The first such event was confirmed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and will be centred around the upcoming movie of acclaimed graphic novel Watchmen. It will feature a selection of virtual Watchmen merchandise as well as a chance for some to virtually meet members of the film's cast and crew in a Watchmen-themed environment in 2009.

Ligne Roset joins Diesel among Home's earliest retailers.

The Watchmen promo accompanies two previously announced sponsorships with fashion label Diesel and energy drink Red Bull. The latter will offer the opportunity to take part in a virtual version of the Red Bull Air Race, a stunt-flying championship around Red Bull Island. Ligne Roset will provide contemporary furniture, and users will be able to customise items before they buy them.

PlayStation Home will be available as a free download starting December 11. It should install automatically after rebooting the PS3 once the update becomes available, after which a PlayStation Home icon will simply appear in the XrossMediaBar (XMB).

Has anyone tried this out yet???

Well the guys at Penny Arcade are definitely not impressed (http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/12/12/).

Husar

12-13-2008, 14:20

Tried to start Home last night but couldn't login, whether it was just too busy I don't know. Think I'll give it a go now.

Edit:Two hours of trying and couldn't get on, kept telling me connection with server was lost.

Same here yesterday, but I got in early today when most of Europe and America was probably asleep. ~D
It's...well, didn't do a whole lot, just created a char and ran around for 10mins before I had to go to work. But I can say it offered me one sofa, one chair, no lamps and not much else to put in my appartement, either you have to buy everything else or they didn't include a lot in the beta for that aspect. And here I was hoping I could let my inner architect out but I guess I will have to use LBP for that. :sweatdrop:

TevashSzat

12-14-2008, 04:13

Pennsylvania Task Force Says NO to Video Game Legislation (http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/12/12/pennsylvania-task-force-says-no-video-game-legislation)

There is good news out of Pennsylvania today, as the commonwealth will apparently not pursue video game legislation.

A working group assigned by the Pennsylvania legislature to study the video game violence issue has strongly recommended that no laws regarding video game content should be enacted.

The Task Force on Violent Interactive Video Games began meeting in November, 2007 and has just released its findings. The group emphatically recommends that the Pennsylvania General Assembly not pursue video game content legislation. Indeed, the language used by Task Force leaves no room for doubt as to its view:

The General Assembly must avoid enacting restrictive legislation similar to those that have been invalidated by the Federal courts.

The Task Force also called for more research into the effects of games on young people and suggested that legislators fund a program to educate consumers about video game issues.

Among those who testified before the Task Force are some familiar names:
Patricia Vance, ESRB
Cheryl Olson and Lawrence Kutner, authors of Grand Theft Childhood
Dr. Patrick Markey, Villanova University

Task force members included Markey, as well as a pair of well-known First Amendment lawyers, Clay Calvert and Robert Richards. Representatives from the ESA, MPAA and RIAA also participated. Asked about his impressions of the task force and its work, Markey told GamePolitics:

The task force members had extremely different backgrounds -- experts on First Amendment issues, social science, clinical psychology and members of the game industry, law enforcement, and parents. I was the only member who was a social scientist. My main job was to discuss violent video game research (pros and cons).

Although there were disagreements at times, I think the members of the task force worked together extremely well and came to a fairly "common sense" conclusion.

So it took them a year to figure out what everyone knew already????

Rumor: EA Sending Need for Speed to Junkyard (http://kotaku.com/5109351/rumor-ea-sending-need-for-speed-to-junkyard)

The Electric Playground's show on Friday reported that Electronic Arts has cancelled development of new titles in its Need for Speed franchise. An EA spokesman gave a generic response that did not dispel the rumor.

Electronic Playground did not name its source. Reached for comment, EA said: "We're working through a process on people, products, and facilities at EA and don't have any announcements today." That's no defense for a franchise that goes back to 1994, so, it sounds like something's up.

Need for Speed: Undercover released to very unenthusiastic reviews, to put it charitably. It was one of the titles named by analysts in this week's news that holiday sales would be sharply lower than expected, news that sent the publisher's stock into a dive. EA CEO John Riccitello said the company would cut titles from its "bottom levels of profitability," which exempts EA's sports catalogue.

EA-owned Black Box Studios is the home of NFS. But it also develops FIFA, NBA Live, NHL and others for EA. Correction, that is EA Canada. EA Black Box makes Need for Speed and Skate. Killing NFS would be a serious blow.

Okay, I actually like the NFS series regardless of its dubious quality after Most Wanted. Sigh.....another reason to hate EA I guess

Mailman653

12-15-2008, 20:36

Time Warner to Acquire Eidos? (http://www.gamespy.com/articles/938/938332p1.html)

Veho Nex

12-16-2008, 03:46

Is it just me or are media corp's taking over the gaming world? I mean Disney for EA and Time Warner for Eidos.

drone

12-16-2008, 16:52

The media companies have realized that people are spending more time gaming than watching their crap movies, so now they want a piece of the action. Movies from video game IP and vice versa are just the start. Soon, we can look forward to the same quality in video games as we are getting in the theaters. Yeah! ~:rolleyes:

Mailman653

12-16-2008, 20:30

Midway Announces Layoffs (http://pc.ign.com/articles/938/938790p1.html)

Veho Nex

12-17-2008, 00:59

Martok

12-19-2008, 06:00

EA/Maxis releases de-authorization tool for Spore. (http://www.spore.com/patch/deauthorization)

Wow. That's smarter than I'd have given them credit for. It still doesn't change the fact that they went with the restrictive SecuROM in the first place, but at least this could potentially alleviate its effect(s).

drone

12-19-2008, 17:30

I'm pleasantly surprised. Although from the short description, it looks like you are stuck if you suffer a drive crash or OS reinstall without deauthing first. Did they (Take2, I guess) ever release one for Bioshock?

TevashSzat

12-20-2008, 19:32

Wow, even more bad news for EA. I guess the EA hater crowd is having a blast this fall

EA layoffs hits 1,000, Black Box "consolidated" (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202573.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

[UPDATE 2] Publisher widens staff reductions to 10 percent, will reap $120 million annual savings; Need for Speed Undercover studio moving in with EA Canada, label will remain intact.

The day before Halloween, Electronic Arts spooked its staff by announcing it was laying off 6 percent of its workforce. Last week, it alarmed analysts by announcing--without revealing any specifics--that its annual earnings would fall below expectations. As a result, it was expanding its layoffs and canceling future projects.

Today, the company announced an expanded restructuring that will see EA increase layoffs to include 10 percent of its worldwide workforce. The 1,000 pink slips will be sent out by March 31, 2009, and will encompass the "consolidation or closure of at least nine studio and publishing locations," according to EA.

The restructuring will both cost and save money. After incurring charges of $55 million to $65 million as a result of severance packages and other reorganization-related expenses, EA anticipates an annual savings of $120 million.

Analysts blamed EA's troubles on the underperformance of several games, such as Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, and Need for Speed Undercover. Little surprise, then, that one affected location is Undercover developer EA Black Box, which will be closing its office facilities. (In an ironic footnote, Black Box's official site still bears the tag line "Growth...and lots of it!") The staff of the Vancouver-based shop, which is currently working on Skate 2, will be relocated to EA Canada's offices in the nearby suburb of Burnaby. However, an EA representative told GameSpot that the studio name will remain.

"This does not mean that the Black Box studio is closing," said the rep. "The studio is moving to our Burnaby campus to share the facility with EAC and other EA teams that operate out of our state-of-the-art facility. We will operate two distinct studios, each with their own distinct culture and teams, out of our Burnaby facility."

EA said that Black Box's expected move date is June 2009. The rep also said that the studio's games would follow as well, but declined to comment if any were being considered for cancellation. "[We've made] no announcements regarding franchises," stated the rep.

In the initial news release, EA also issued the following blanket statement outlining how it will examine each of its series' viability: "EA is implementing a plan to narrow its product portfolio to focus on hit games with higher margin opportunities. The company remains committed to taking creative risks, investing in new games, leading the industry in the growing mobile and online businesses, and delivering high-quality games to consumers."

Its a shame that Dead Space or Mirrors Edge didn't sell well. They actually seemed like decent games

Mailman653

12-21-2008, 03:42

I think EA might be a nesesary evil, if they were to shut down, there would be a huge void in the game industry, not to menttion several titles going into the wind if other publishers don't pick them up.

Alexander the Pretty Good

12-21-2008, 04:48

TevashSzat - I think part of the problem was the saturation of "decent games" at the time of their release...

As usual, Penny Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/10/31/) explains the situation well. (Link is rated G, somewhat of a rarity for PA :P).

Crazed Rabbit

12-23-2008, 20:04

EA is going to strip starforce DRM from some of its games and release them on steam.

http://store.steampowered.com/news/2116/

So only Steam DRM for Mass Effect now -
http://forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=660050&forum=22&sp=128

CR

Husar

12-24-2008, 00:45

I think they had SecuROM, but it's a nice move anyway.

TevashSzat

12-29-2008, 22:43

Mailman653

12-29-2008, 23:49

I know nothing about patent law but it might be a good time to find a job with Worlds.com because if all those MMO companies have to pay royalties, Worlds.com will have more money than they will know what to do with.

Crazed Rabbit

12-30-2008, 02:39

Worlds.com Files Suit Against NCsoft - Every Other MMO Company To Follow? (http://kotaku.com/5119944/worldscom-files-suit-against-ncsoft-+-every-other-mmo-company-to-follow)

90's virtual world developers Worlds.com has fired the first shot in what could be a game company-spanning battle as they file suit against NCsoft for infringing on their patent for multiplayer virtual environments.

The patent at question is 7,181,690, "System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space", which was file in August of 2000 and finally issued in February of last year. Reading over the patent, it basically covers the client/server-based system every single MMO on the market uses to allow multiple players to view and interact with each other in a virtual world. The suit, filed on Christmas Eve, claims that NCsoft has infringed on this patent across all of its MMO titles, from City of Heroes to Guild Wars to Dungeon Runners. After reading over the patent, it looks like they've actually got a pretty solid case on their hands.

Worlds seeks damages from NCsoft, as well as assurances that the MMO publisher will not infringe on their second patent, 6,219,045 - "Scalable Virtual World Chat Client-Server System".

Mark my words here - NCsoft is just the beginning. Their patent pretty much covers every instance where users with avatars interact in a virtual space. From Second Life to World of Warcraft, PlayStation Home to Anarchy Online; everything massively online and multiplayer falls under this patent. This should be interesting, folks.

Okay......this is bad, very bad.

I think its BS - or at least it should turn out that way. They patented a architecture of 3d MMORPGs (see here for indepth patent info (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7181690.html)), filing the patent in 2000 - after some 3D MMORPGS had already been released, of course.

Basically, they've patented a game's structure (when a player enters a room, load various things from the server) not a actually end product. We'd need an expert in software patent law, but this seems stupid - worlds.com [which has basically done ****-all since filing that patent] is suing because NCSoft had a game where info on objects and players are loaded from servers. Now if NCsoft was stupid enough to copy actual code (of which there is relatively little in the patent) that'd be one thing. But this looks like some parasite company trying to make bank on a shady patent.

CR

Kekvit Irae

12-30-2008, 03:23

I recently patented breathing. Does that mean I can now sue every living being on this planet?

Tratorix

12-30-2008, 08:22

I recently patented breathing. Does that mean I can now sue every living being on this planet?

Unfortunately, yes. :shame:

Jolt

12-30-2008, 18:15

I recently patented breathing. Does that mean I can now sue every living being on this planet?

No, because I patented patenting. Therefore, you will be the sued one.

Kekvit Irae

12-31-2008, 04:30

No, because I patented patenting. Therefore, you will be the sued one.

Fine, but I patented suing and the judicial system. :tongueg:

Veho Nex

01-01-2009, 20:44

I patened forums. Now get off till I get my royalties. :whip:

drone

01-03-2009, 05:35

I recently patented breathing. Does that mean I can now sue every living being on this planet?

Prior Art, you lose. ~;)

If Worlds.com goes after Blizzard, I expect their stock ticker symbol (currently WDDD) will be changed to FAIL.

Crazed Rabbit

01-04-2009, 07:05

Penny Arcade's take on the patent thing:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/1/2/

[NOTE: SWEARING!]

CR

Kekvit Irae

01-04-2009, 07:29

Penny Arcade's take on the patent thing:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/1/2/

[NOTE: SWEARING!]

CR

PA never seems to lose its flair. :tongueg:

TevashSzat

01-08-2009, 03:23

Gone, baby, gone: 1up sold, EGM killed, staff promptly fired (http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2009/01/07/gone-baby-gone-ugo-1up-sold-staff-promptly-fired)

It's been no secret that Ziff Davis has been looking to sell 1up.com and its associated video game publications for quite some time. Rumors that the magazine publisher was shopping its video game publications around have been circulating for approximately two years; at one time it was even reported that Dell would be acquiring 1up.com. While that turned out to be false, Ziff Davis finally succeeded in unloading 1up to Hearst-owned UGO Network, whereupon things took a definite turn for worse.

The sale, it was announced, would bring 1UP.com, Mycheats.com, Gametab.com, and GameVideos.com under UGO's control. In the official announcement, UGO CEO J Moses made it sound like his company wouldn't actually be changing too much about 1up: "The acquisition of 1UP, with its authentic voice, tenured editorial personalities and bustling user community, allows us to expand our base of quality content and represents a major step forward in UGO's mission to become the leader in the games space." The announcement also stated that 1up would, "stand beside UGO as a flagship brand." A few hours later, though, it was revealed that this was far from the truth, as Ziff Davis seemed intent on thoroughly gutting its online publications before it changed hands.

Even though Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young claimed—via an internal e-mail sent to his employees shortly after the sale was announced—that, "many of our employees will travel with this business and become part of the UGO team," it seems that this was not to be. Gamasutra received some inside information that, at roughly the same time, a large percentage of Ziff Davis' Game Group suddenly found itself unemployed. According to various reports, 30 members of the editorial, podcast, and video production staff was promptly told that it was fired. The detailed list of those who are now jobless is rather staggering: this is well beyond a corporate bloodbath, it's a scorched-earth policy with only a few survivors.

Adding another nail to the coffin was the simultaneous announcement that Ziff Davis would be shutting down production on its popular Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine, which has been in production for nearly twenty years: this month's issue will be its last. "With demand for print continuing to decline amongst both advertisers and readers," Young said in his email, "and the content being produced by 1UP no longer available for use in the publication, it simply did not make sense for us to move forward with this business any longer."

When asked about the massive layoffs, 1up site director Sam Kennedy told MTV Multiplayer the answers lay with his former bosses. "Honestly, questions like that have to go to Ziff Davis at this point," said Kennedy. "All I can say to that is UGO held onto as many people as they could to run the business going forward and [kept] a lot of all-star key players."

To say this news is staggering is to put it lightly. 1up has been one of the major players in the industry of video game journalism since it was launched in 2003, and it managed to survive for quite some time in spite of the deaths of several excellent sibling magazines like GMR, Official U.S. Playstation Magazine, and Computer Gaming World. Meanwhile, the fact that Ziff Davis is resorting to cost-cutting measures like these implies that things may be far worse at the magazine publisher than has been let known: while no one expected things to be pretty after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it seems safe to say that no one saw this coming, either.

EGM RIP. Yet another gaming magazine dies off.

I can't believe Ziff Davis would do something like this....

Martok

01-08-2009, 07:05

FTC to hold town meeting on DRM woes (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090106-feds-note-gaming-drm-woes-ftc-to-hold-town-hall-meeting.html)

2008 may become known as the year of digital rights management, thanks in no small part to EA's bringing the issue front and center with Spore and the ensuing backlash. These days gamers want to know what kind of DRM a game employs before they make a purchase, and for many people the inclusion of SecuROM means a lost sale. All of the sound and fury surrounding the issue has gotten the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, and the government agency is planning on holding a town hall meeting devoted to the subject of DRM on March 25.

The official page describes the meeting and its aim. "Digital rights management (DRM) refers to technologies typically used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, and copyright holders to attempt to control how consumers access and use media and entertainment content," the FTC explains. "Among other issues, the workshop will address the need to improve disclosures to consumers about DRM limitations."

The agenda includes demonstrations of DRM-related technology, panel discussions about how these technologies affect consumers, legal issues surrounding DRM, and discussions on the potential need for government involvement to protect consumers.

You can get involved, as well. "The Commission invites interested parties to submit requests to be panelists and to recommend other topics for discussion. The requests should be submitted electronically to drmtownhall@ftc.gov by January 30, 2009....The Commission will select panelists based on their expertise and on the need to represent a range of views." If you would simply like to have your voice heard you can submit comments or original research as well. This is an excellent opportunity to make your voice heard on this matter, and to explain your feelings on the state of DRM in the gaming industry.

Is this a matter that deserves government attention? Absolutely. Having standards for disclosure of what exactly you're installing with your software, along with easily available tools to remove those programs, would go a long way toward keeping publishers honest about what is shipping with our games.

A recent class-action lawsuit filed against EA is indicative of the problem: "Consumers are given no notices whatsoever that the FREE trial version of [Spore] includes Digital Rights Management technology... Consumers are given no control, rights, or options over SecuROM," the suit alleges. "The program cannot be completely uninstalled." The suit lists some of the potential side-effects of having the program installed on a system, including disruption of fire walls and "complete operating system failure."

Too often, customers have no clear picture of what else they may be installing onto their computer when they buy a game, or how those programs could affect the day-to-day use of that computer. There is no disclosure, no accountability, and very little education going on around the issue of DRM and its related technologies.

It's likely the discussion will be lively, with both publishers and consumer rights associations weighing in. The core issue is a simple one, however: consumers deserve to know what they're installing, and exactly what it does. It's looking increasingly likely that consumers may need the FTC's help to make sure what happens during software installations becomes as transparent and open as possible.

The town hall meeting will take place at the University of Washington School of Law, and will be free and open to the public, no registration required.

TevashSzat

01-11-2009, 23:42

Haven't been much news recently, but anyways heres some

Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008" (http://kotaku.com/5128881/looking-at-the-mmo-crash-of-2008)

Hellforge posits that 2008 was the worst year on record for MMOs. But the "collapse" had nothing to do with the genre's viability, and everything to do with hubris and poor decisions by game-makers.

The wreckage includes three titles whose names are either punchlines by now or dangerously close: Hellgate: London, Age of Conan, and the dumpstered Tabula Rasa, joined by the patched-too-late Pirates of the Burning Sea, as examples of how not to run an MMO railroad.

Hellgate cratered thanks to bad management, bad decisions and their reversals, and its bastard sibling Tabula Rasa was so awful Lord British decided to leave Earth rather than deal with the mess. Pirates of the Burning Sea patched its problems, but way too late to save itself. Age of Conan, as discussed before, stopped trying after you got past level 20. Bottom line, Hellgate and Tabula Rasa's servers are shutting down entirely (or already have) and the other two have merged or closed many of theirs too.

The lessons? Listen to beta testers; get the launch right, because patches won't save your asses, and if you're innovating some new gameplay mechanic, do it like you mean it. A successful MMO depends on a huge investment of a gamer's time. The investment on the development/publishing end should be total, too.

And the huge behemoth that is WoW keeps on rolling through everyone....

Neversoft off Tony Hawk Series (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203035.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Studio president Joel Jewett tells hometown newspaper that "it's time for someone else to add fresh ideas" to skating franchise; Chicago-based Robomodo top suspect.

Following months of speculation, Neversoft Entertainment co-founder and president Joel Jewett has confirmed his studio is no longer developing Tony Hawk games. Speaking with his hometown newspaper the Great Falls Tribune, the Montana native confirmed the studio has bid farewell to the series that put it on the map.

"It's probably best for the franchise … it's time for someone else to add fresh ideas to it," Jewett told the Tribune. Located in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, Neversoft is now squarely focused on the Guitar Hero franchise, which it took over after original developer--and current Rock Band studio--Harmonix was bought by MTV games in 2006.

A of press time, Activision reps had not officially confirmed that Tony Hawk and Neversoft have parted ways. However, the separation had been long rumored. Last year, refugees from the EA Chicago and Studio Gigante closures formed an all-new studio, Robomodo, to work on "a high-profile extreme sports title for Activision Blizzard."

The aforementioned game was long suspected to be Tony Hawk Adrenaline, a name first heard last June via an infamous mega-leak by the market-research firm Intellisponse. The unauthorized info dump, which preemptively revealed Xbox Live Avatars and Guitar Hero World Tour's neckslide, said the new game would urge PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC owners to "put down the controller, step on the board, and feel the sensation of going big. ... Shift your weight to turn and balance grinds, kick back on the tail of the board to ollie, and lean into airs to pull off huge spins."

Though Activision remained conspicuously silent about the Intellisponse leak, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith announced last May that the forthcoming game "won't be your father's Tony Hawk. … We're very bullish on the kind of innovation this will bring." Last month, an Activision presentation confirmed players would not use their hands to play the next Tony Hawk title. Finally, Hawk himself dropped a major hint, telling GameSpot sister site CNET that the next console games to bear his name would incorporate accelerometer technology sometime later this year

Meh, never liked the series anyways

Tomb Raider sales tank, Eidos shares plummet (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202953.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

Underworld's 1.5 million units sold worldwide fails to meet publisher's expectations; stock price drops 30 percent in response.

Eidos' troubles continued today, as the publisher formerly known as SCi announced that sales of Tomb Raider: Underworld have failed to meet its forecasts, selling only 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Eidos said difficulties in the North American market were to blame, with "retailers restricting inventory levels and triple-A products being price discounted above expectation." Due to the drop in demand and worries of ongoing price discounting in the US, Eidos has lowered its full-year revenue forecast by £20 million ($30.39 million).

The news caused shares in the company to plunge 5.25p ($.08) to 12p ($.18) in early trading this morning. Shares in the group skyrocketed at the tail end of 2005, reaching highs of 500p ($7.59), but have been in steady decline since; the company has lost 74 percent of its value in the past year.

The games industry, generally expected to weather the recession better than many sectors, has seen a multitude of job losses and bailouts, despite strong sales at retail. EA announced the layoffs of more than 500 staff back in October of last year (later doubling that figure), while Midway is still trying to settle its $150 million debt. More diversified companies, such as Sony and Microsoft, have also felt the pinch, embarking on vast restructuring plans, though the effect of these changes on these firms' gaming businesses is not yet clear.

Despite the gloom, Eidos remained positive about 2009 with the launch of the forthcoming game Batman: Arkham Asylum, stating, "We are working closely with DC Comics and Warner Bros. and through our strategic partnership we are benefitting from cross-promotional opportunities including the first video trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum featured on all DVDs of the movie The Dark Knight this Christmas."

Okay, now this is wierd. For a PC Game, 1.5 million copies is nothing to laugh at. How high were their expectations?

frogbeastegg

01-12-2009, 15:34

Okay, now this is wierd. For a PC Game, 1.5 million copies is nothing to laugh at. How high were their expectations?
It's on every platform known to mankind. 1.5 million is the combined sales of all platforms; that's still more units than most multiplatform games shift in their total lifespan. It seems the expectation was 3 million, an unreasonably high figure for a series which is no longer ultra-high profile and which was released during one of the busiest Christmas periods gaming has seen.

TevashSzat

01-12-2009, 20:51

Guitar Hero III Becomes Highest-Grossing Game Ever (http://kotaku.com/5129064/guitar-hero-iii-becomes-highest+grossing-game-ever)

Guitar Hero's big business. Multiple versions, multiple consoles, it's a big hit. But are you prepared for just how big a hit it is, or for how important it is to publishers Activision?

Well, according to Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith, Guitar Hero III has become the first single game in the history of the world to top $1 billion in sales.

That's $1,000,000,000. Spend just on Guitar Hero III.

Sure, it's more expensive than your average game, but do you think that's going to stop the high-fiving and cork-popping going right now in the deepest, darkest depths of Castle Activision?

Nope.

Wow, and I thought the Sims franchise made a ton of money. The amount of money that WoW makes probably even pales in comparision to a billion dollars

TinCow

01-13-2009, 13:06

Okay, now this is wierd. For a PC Game, 1.5 million copies is nothing to laugh at. How high were their expectations?

The production costs of most A-list games are very high these days. These aren't being made by 10-20 people living on ramen. They're made by 100-200 people (though still living on ramen) and have massive tech requirements, voice acting, etc. This adds up to much, much higher costs, which requires a much higher return on income to be successful. Hence the increasing adoption of multi-platform releases.

Kekvit Irae

01-13-2009, 23:37

So there was someone within Sega that had common sense AND a conscience? No wonder he got the boot.
http://www.tssznews.com/2009/01/05/the-blog-sega-doesnt-want-you-to-read/

As it turned out, according to Mr. Andac, after Sega had restructured itself to re-integrate external development houses like Smilebit and AM2 back in to the main Sega offices, Sonic Team was kept external strictly as a sweatshop to milk the Sonic cashcow, assembly-line style. Sega of Japan had intended NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams as a brief rest from the never-ending onslaught of Sonic game after Sonic game. In Ben’s own words: “There’s no doubt that Sonic Team have lost their quality touch. They are worse than talentless: they are without passion. Bored, weary, closed-minded and out of touch with any sense of what makes games good anymore.” Quite simply put, after making so many of them, Sonic Team is tired of Sonic games - something Ben cites as a reason for Yuji Naka’s resignation in 2006.

Kekvit Irae

01-13-2009, 23:47

Wow, and I thought the Sims franchise made a ton of money. The amount of money that WoW makes probably even pales in comparision to a billion dollars

The Sims franchise definitely tops Guitar Hero, but it is spread out over many expansion packs, while the profits of Guitar Hero 3 is just a single game.
Also of note is World of Warcraft. Even though a few months worth of fees (10 million users) completely destroys GH3's profits, the sales of actual units are quite dismal as most can download the client for free or buy it for around five dollars on CD.

TevashSzat

01-14-2009, 03:04

Report: Sony to post first loss since '95 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203085.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Japan's Nikkei business news says beleaguered electronics giant will end fiscal year with $1.1 billion operating deficit.

Dour economic tidings continue to pile up for PlayStation 3 purveyor Sony. Citing Japanese business news service Nikkei, Reuters reports today that the besieged Japanese electronics company is girding itself to post its first full-fiscal-year operating loss since 1995, and only the second since the company went public in 1958.

According to Nikkei's report, Sony's operating loss for its fiscal year ending March 31 is expected to settle at around ¥100 billion ($1.1 billion). The figure stands in marked contrast to the company's forecasted operating profit of ¥200 billion ($2.2 billion). Nikkei notes that Sony's losses may soar to as high as ¥200 billion ($2.2 billion), depending on the company's performance from now until the end of its fiscal year.

The clearest indication of Sony's turbulent economic situation came in December. At that time, the Japanese company announced that it would slash up to 16,000 jobs as well close about 10 percent of its manufacturing facilities to save approximately $1.1 billion by the end of its fiscal year. Sony also said that it planned to cut investment by as much as 30 percent in its core electronics operations by withdrawing from unprofitable and noncore businesses.

Last week, The Times of London reported that Sony would soon implement "sweeping" and "sacred-cow-slaying" changes in the lead-up to its third-quarter fiscal report, which is expected January 29. Citing "company sources," The Times said that Sony was likely to expand upon the previously announced staff reductions, though no specific divisions were named as targets. Sony later refuted this report, saying that it had no plans to enact any further cost-cutting measures this month.

As noted by Nikkei, Sony's previous full-year operating loss came during its fiscal year ended March 1995, when the company took a substantial one-time charge related to its film business. As such, the expected loss would be the first attributable to the company's mainstay electronics division.

Wow, that does not seem good at all. I guess this speaks more to the dire economic situation we're in than rather a decay of the gaming industry, but alot of these big gaming companies haven't been faring well. Looks at EA:end:

TevashSzat

01-17-2009, 00:04

Final Fantasy XIII exclusive to Japan in 2009 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203284.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Square Enix's highly anticipated JRPG won't be released outside of island nation until sometime after April 2010 on PS3 and Xbox 360.

At this year's Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix debuted a new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII, its highly anticipated role-playing game slated to arrive for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Aside from the eye candy, Square Enix's trailer also offered the tantalizing promise of a 2009 launch date.

Unfortunately, that promise of a 2009 release apparently applies only to Japan, given that the game isn't going to make it to the US or Europe until the second quarter of 2010 at the very earliest. The news emerged as Square Enix, the game's developer, delivered projections for the remainder of its current fiscal year, which ends March 31.

Square Enix president Yoichi Wada told Reuters that the game was on track for a 2009 PS3-exclusive launch in Japan, with international launches for the Xbox 360 and PS3 coming "in the business year from April 2010 or later."

Final Fantasy has been one of the most successful franchises ever to hit the console market. Since its first incarnation on the NES, the series has sold upward of 85 million units worldwide, with numerous spin-offs and even a feature-length movie adding to its success.

Despite the delay in the launch of Final Fantasy, Square Enix has remained optimistic about its financial outlook for 2009 with a small dip in operating profit of 2.4 percent to 21 billion yen ($236 million) forecast for the year. The company also reported healthy sales for the tail end of 2008 and said "demand has been generally brisk," with key titles such as Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest IV and Final Fantasy VII prequel Crisis Core all hitting shelves throughout the year.

I suppose I'd care more about this had I ever played the Final Fantasy series. Its a shame none of them except for 7 is available on the PC.

Analysts bullish on 2009 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203298.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

Gaming industry watchers expect the business to continue growing this year despite economic concerns.

While 2008 was a record-breaking year for the US retail gaming industry, a handful of industry analysts are expecting 2009 to be even better.

In a Lazard Capital Markets investors note covering technology themes for the coming year, analyst Colin Sebastian this morning said that the industry's success was tied more to the console generational hardware cycle than to the economy at large. While the US retail gaming industry posted gains of nearly 19 percent last year, Sebastian sees that growth "slowing to more modest mid-single-digit growth in 2009" due to tough comparisons with the explosive growth of 2008 and "potentially fewer hit titles."

While Janco Partners' Mike Hickey didn't put a growth range in his note for the European retailer GameGroup (operator of GAME and Gamestation stores) today, the analyst seemed more optimistic about the product lineup than Sebastian.

"We expect continued video game market growth in 2009, fueled by an exceedingly strong 2008 hardware sell through and a powerful 2009 game slate," Hickey said.

Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter was likewise encouraged by recent hardware sales, pointing to them as a leading indicator of strong software sales in 2009.

"As Nintendo increases Wii supply further, Sony markets Blu-ray, and Microsoft fully benefits from its price cuts, we expect hardware sales to show year-over-year increases for the first half of 2009," Pachter told investors in a note regarding NPD's 2008 totals, adding, "a strong release schedule early in the year [will allow] the industry to sustain double-digit sales growth for the full year."

Pachter also returned to the notion that the gaming industry's financial fate isn't tied to that of the larger economy, although gamers might find his reasoning on that point to be rather unflattering.

"It is important to note that the bulk of purchases between January and October are driven by the user of game software," Pachter said. "In our view, this indicates even greater recession-resistance ahead, as most hardcore video game consumers are either ignorant or apathetic about current economic conditions."

Pacific Crest Securities' Evan Wilson didn't commit to a growth projection, but shared some of his peers' guarded optimism.

"2009 has difficult comparisons due to the release of GTA 4, MGS 4, Mario Kart, Wii Fit, Super Smash Bros., and a few other big titles," Wilson told GameSpot. "It also saw tremendous pent-up demand for big holiday titles like Guitar Hero 3 and Call of Duty 4 as well as Wii hardware. We could very well see industry growth continue, even with the current recession in consumer spending, but the comparisons in the first half of the year may make the growth rate below what many have become accustomed to."

TevashSzat

01-21-2009, 22:53

America's Army 3 deploys in 2009 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203436.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;6)

US Army to bring new free-to-play wargame recruitment tool to PCs later this year.

What's the easiest way to have a new first-person shooter stand out among the glut of competing games on the market? Make it free, of course. Picking back up the strategy proven by the original America's Army, the US Army has announced that America's Army 3 will be available for free on the PC in 2009.

Like previous installments in the franchise, America's Army 3 will primarily serve as a recruitment tool for the armed forces, offering an authentic look at the US Army's training, technology, and career tracks. The game also highlights the US Army's value system, including rules of engagement and the warrior ethos.

Still very much a game, however, America's Army 3 features a host of weapons, gameplay missions, and career archetypes. Initially, recruits begin the game as infantry soldiers, capable of specializing as a rifleman, an automatic rifleman, a designated marksman, and a grenadier. The Army plans to augment this list with more career paths in the future, with the combat medic and combat engineer slated to be among the first new classes.

Like the original game and its sequel, America's Army: Special Forces, America's Army 3 will receive a steady stream of updates. The game/recruiting tool will also be powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3. That fact is unsurprising, given that Epic's president, Mike Capps, spearheaded development of the original America's Army, released in 2002.

The wargame franchise also saw several console spin-offs, most recently Ubisoft's less-than-stellar America's Army: True Soldiers.

Never took any interest in the series. How has the first 2 games been?

Video Games Are One Of The 10 Things We're Still Buying (http://kotaku.com/5136429/video-games-are-one-of-the-10-things-were-still-buying)

Financial publication Forbes takes a look at some of the things people are still willing to spend money on in the face of the recession, and of course, our favorite hobby makes the cut.

The economy might be tanking, but we still need our stuff. Without our stuff, what would we be? Stuffless...and no one wants that. Forbes details 10 of the stuffs that people are still willing to hand over their precious, precious money for. Video games were the second item on their list, right after smart phones.

Consumers today desire affordable escapism, and video games fall into that category. Two top-selling games—"Madden NFL '09" and the "Wii Fit"—sold 5 million units combined in the third quarter of 2008, according to NPD.

Other items that made the list include toy building sets, car maintenance items, and personal hygiene items. I never thought I would see video games in the same list as personal hygiene items, but there you go.

SEGA Staff Cuts Confirmed (http://kotaku.com/5135979/sega-staff-cuts-confirmed)

The rumor that SEGA of America made thirty of its employees redundant is not a rumor.

Confirming the lay-offs, a SEGA rep. stated, "Sega of America has grown at pace with the booming videogame industry, but at this time of economic recession, harsh retail landscape, and the reality of business challenges to profitability, we must take steps to reduce our cost structure and ensure long-term success... The decision to lay off staff was a difficult one, and we thank these employees for their contributions and wish them well in their future endeavors."

According to the SEGA spokesperson, "about thirty" employees were laid off. We wish them luck in their job search and future endeavors.

This is somewhat of a paradox: More and more economic anaylysts are coming to say that the game industry is faring well in the recession, but we keep on hearing more about these huge layoffs like EA and now Sega

TevashSzat

01-22-2009, 20:54

Even more bad news......

Microsoft deleting 5,000 jobs after profits slip (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203503.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Software giant letting go 1,400 employees today following lower-than-expected $4.17 billion in quarterly profit; Xbox division's income rises 14% to $3.18 billion.

For many employees in Microsoft's headquarters outside Redmond, Washington, today began with a coffee-spit-take worthy shock. Following disappointing October-December quarter earnings, the company announced it will eliminate 5,000 jobs from its worldwide payroll of nearly 90,000. The cuts will be made in the marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, IT, and Research and Development departments over the next 18 months, with 1,400 pink slips being sent out today.

"While we are not immune to the effects of the economy, I am confident in the strength of our product portfolio and soundness of our approach," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in statement. "We will continue to manage expenses and invest in long-term opportunities to deliver value to customers and shareholders, and we will emerge an even stronger industry leader than we are today."

Ballmer's confidence was partly justified by the fact that, although Microsoft's earnings were below expectations, the company remains immensely profitable. For the three months ending December 31, the company's net income--aka profit--slipped from $4.70 billion, or $0.50 per share, in 2007 to $4.17 billion, or $0.47 billion per share, in 2008.

A survey of analysts conducted by the Thomson Retuers news service had been expecting between $0.49 and $0.50 per share. The fact the decline came despite quarterly earnings increasing $260 million to $16.63 billion year-on-year caused Microsoft's stock to drop sharply. As of press time, Microsoft's share value had fallen around 10 percent, trading near its 52-week low of $17.50. Immediately after the announcement, the stock sunk even lower to $17.19 per share.

Despite the mass-layoffs and profit dip, there were some bright spots in today's Microsoft announcement. One of them was the Entertainment and Devices division, which makes the Xbox 360 console and includes Halo 3, Fable II, and Gears of War 2 publisher Microsoft Game Studios. Bill Koefoed, general manager of investor relations for Microsoft, broke down the sector's earnings in a conference call with analysts.

"[The] Entertainment and Devices division revenue grew 3 percent [year on year] to $3.2 billion," explained the executive, rounding up the actual $3.18 billion figure. "A record 6 million consoles were sold in the quarter, growing [the user base] by over 41%. In Europe, Xbox 360 sales nearly doubled those of the previous holiday season. Based on US NPD numbers released last week, Xbox 360 outsold PS3 two to one. We continue to lead the industry with our software attach rate ratio of 8 to 1."

Koefoed also mentioned that, thanks in large part to the Netflix-enabled New Xbox Experience launched in November, Xbox Live memberships have skyrocketed 70 percent year over year. The Xbox 360's online service is now tied with the PlayStation Network--which includes PlayStation 3 and PSP users--at 17 million members.

Chris Liddell, Microsoft's senior vice president and chief financial officer, played up the 360's performance during the analyst call. "The Entertainment and Devices division delivered revenue above the high end of our guidance, driven by a record number of consumers purchasing Xbox 360 consoles during the holiday season," he said.

However, the CFO also warned that there could be clouds on the horizon for the game industry. "The Entertainment and Devices division is highly dependent on consumer spending and while we feel good about the first-half results, a shrinking consumer spending environment would weigh on the segment's results in the second half," cautioned Liddell. He went on to say that "console revenue will likely decline as a result of our earlier pricing actions," referencing the fall price drop of the lowest-end 360 model, the Arcade, to just $199--$50 less than the previously-cheapest Wii.

Sony announces restructuring, $2.9 billion loss (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203468.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

[UPDATE] PlayStation 3-maker says it will cut TV division by 30% worldwide as operating margins plummet; expects to post first loss since 1995.

That Sony will be cutting a significant portion of its workforce is a certainty. The Japanese electronics giant announced the move in December, saying that it would eliminate approximately 16,000 part- and full-time jobs in a bid to save $1.1 billion through its next financial year, which ends March 31, 2010.
However, what remains to be seen is which divisions these reportedly "sweeping" and "sacred-cow-slaying" cuts will impact. The Financial Times reports today that Sony plans to announce the specifics of its restructuring efforts sometime this week.

As previously revealed, CEO Sir Howard Stringer has faced stiff resistance from entrenched Sony management, who oppose the company's first British-born executive's plan. The FT notes that Stringer believes the stalwart electronics company should shift its focus toward the software market, whereas dissidents maintain the value of its hardware-creation business. Another reported cause for tension between Stringer and upper management is his belief that Japanese staff should be subject to head-count reductions.

Japanese financial news service Nikkei (subscription required) corroborates the FT's report. Nikkei notes that Sony will announce on Thursday that it plans to close one of its two television-manufacturing facilities in Japan by the end of its current fiscal year, which runs through March 31. Along with the factory closure, Sony will reportedly announce that it plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs in Japan, as well as lower its fiscal-year earnings outlook. However, as with Microsoft's reported cost-cutting measures, Sony will eliminate the 2,000 jobs by way of natural attrition, or employees leaving the company of their own accord, according to Nikkei.

The Japanese factory wouldn't be the first that Sony plans to shut down. After Sony's restructuring announcement in December, Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell confirmed that Sony's flat-screen television-manufacturing facility located in his state will close, leaving approximately 560 employees out of work. In total, Sony said that it plans to close 10 percent of its 57 manufacturing facilities.

Sony's cost-cutting measures have been spurred by the PlayStation 3 maker's grim fiscal outlook. Earlier this month, Nikkei reported that Sony will post its first loss since 1995, only its second since the company went public in 1958. Sources told the Japanese news service that Sony's net losses for the current fiscal year will hit ¥100 billion ($1.1 billion), a figure that could double depending on the electronics company's January-March retail performance.

[UPDATE] As expected, Sony's restructuring announcement has come to pass. The electronics company today confirmed much of Nikkei's initial report, saying that it will close one of its TV-manufacturing facilities in Japan, as well as reduce its global headcount across the division by 30 percent during its next fiscal year, ending March 31, 2010.

In a further effort to cut costs, Sony said it would be substantially reducing executive bonuses for the current fiscal year, introduce an early retirement plan, and outsource more of its software development. In all, the publisher expects its cost-cutting measures to amount to a savings of ¥250 billion ($2.8 billion) by the end of its next fiscal year, more than doubling the target it set out in December.

Along with the restructuring announcement, Sony drastically lowered its current fiscal-year earnings forecast. Coming in significantly lower than already dismal projections, the company said it now plans to post a ¥260 billion ($2.9 billion) operating loss for the year ending March 31, 2009. Previously, Sony had expected to make a ¥200 billion ($2.2 billion) profit for the year. For the year, Sony now expects to post a ¥150 billion ($1.7 billion) net loss on ¥7.7 trillion ($86.5 billion) in revenue.

EA sacks Madden, NCAA staffers (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203478.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;3)

Orlando Sentinel reports not even cash-cow farm EA Tiburon has escaped the megapublisher's payroll reductions; football franchises and Tiger Woods PGA to remain at studio.

When Electronic Arts announced that it was laying off 1,000 employees--or 10 percent of its staff--many presumed that its Tiburon studio would be untouched. Located in plush offices outside Orlando, Florida, the developer makes the Madden NFL and NCAA Football series, EA Sports' exclusive--and lucrative--professional and college football sims. It also crafts Tiger Woods PGA Tour, the popular and feature-laden pro golf series.

Unfortunately, according to the Orlando Sentinel, not even EA Tiburon has escaped its parent's cost-cutting unscathed. This evening, EA government-affairs chief Craig Hagen told the newspaper that a number of the studio's 650-700 employees had been laid off. Much like recently downsized Sega's tight-lipped reps, Hagen declined to disclose the scale of the cuts, saying only that it would not overly affect the studio's productivity.

"The economy is affecting every industry, including ours, and we need to tighten our belts and reduce our operating costs," Hagen told the Sentinel. "Tiburon remains one of the flagship studios for EA Sports and will continue to be the home base for the leading sports franchises like Madden, Tiger, and NCAA Football."

Kekvit Irae

01-22-2009, 21:06

What a great way to open up a new year: LAYOFFS!
Kinda makes one think twice before going into the gaming industry.

TevashSzat

01-23-2009, 21:52

And the bad news keeps on coming.....

Confirmed: Microsoft Flight Sim studio closing (http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/rumor-control/909119209/26756726/microsoft-cuts-slice-xbox-division-fatally-stab-flight-sim.html?tag=rumor-control;title;1&tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Source: See below.

What we heard: Yesterday, the other shoe dropped on long-speculated head-count reductions at Xbox 360 creator Microsoft. With early speculation indicating that as many as 15,000 jobs were in danger, Microsoft confirmed that it would cut its workforce by 5,000 over the next 18 months, with the marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, IT, and R&D departments being called out as target areas.

Starting the layoff train with a strong push, Microsoft said that 1,400 of the 5,000 total jobs would be eliminated immediately. And according to ZDNet (a division, like GameSpot, of CBS Interactive), sources within Microsoft claim that the bulk of those immediate cuts were made to Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, responsible for such products as the Zune, Windows Mobile, and the Xbox 360.

ZDNet's sources did not explicitly state whether the E&D reductions would be across the entire division or targeted at specific operations. The site also notes that it was unclear if these cuts would have any material impact on Microsoft's upcoming releases.

That being said, evidence suggests that Microsoft's profitable games group is not being spared. Gamasutra reports today that it has received word from a number of development sources that Microsoft has dismissed "a large portion" of its internally owned ACES Studio, which is responsible for the venerable Flight Simulator PC franchise. 2006's Flight Simulator X for the PC has sold more than 1 million units through December in the US, according to the NPD Group, making it far from an unsuccessful outing.

According to the industry trade site, some of its sources claim that the entire Flight Simulator team has been served walking papers. The site claims that these reports have been corroborated by a number of Twitter posts by unspecified ACES Studio employees confirming that layoffs have indeed occurred.

As part of its most recent fiscal report, encompassing the July-September period, Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division posted an operating profit of $178 million on sales of $1.81 billion. Nevertheless, the publisher has already proven that no studio within its stable is safe, a fact best highlighted by its decision to shut down heralded Age of Empires developer Ensemble Studios in September.

It is also worth noting that as of last week, Microsoft's marketing-run GamerscoreBlog announced that it would be closing up shop. "We made the decision to retire GamerscoreBlog, and focus our community outreach through Xbox.com and through the Xbox dashboard," the site said in a farewell message last Friday. Twitter posts by former GamerscoreBlog contributors Chris Paladino and Nelson Rodriguez confirmed that they were two of the "casualties" of Microsoft's recent layoffs.

The official story: [UPDATE] Shortly after publication of this article, Microsoft confirmed that it has indeed decided to close ACES Studio.

"I can confirm the closure of Aces Studio," a Microsoft representative told GameSpot. "Following our annual strategy-review process, IEB is making adjustments within our business to align our people against our highest priorities, and the closure of Aces Studio is one of those changes. You should expect us to continue to invest in enabling great Live experiences on Windows, including flying games, but we have nothing additional to announce around Flight Simulator specifically at this time."

As for other cuts in the Entertainment and Devices division, the Microsoft rep declined to comment, saying only that the company had no plans to expound upon information announced yesterday.

Bogus or not bogus?: Unfortunately, it appears as if Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division's payroll was on the chopping block.

Ubisoft stock slides (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203583.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;3)

Publisher "rewarded" for beating sales projections despite troubled economy with 15 percent drop in share price.

Investors in gaming companies had a bit of a rough day yesterday, as gloomy earnings reports from Sony and Microsoft sent the console makers' shares down significantly. The trading doldrums even followed Ubisoft's quarterly report, which had the French publisher beating analysts' expectations and featured nothing more negative than slow sales of Prince of Persia and a delay for I Am Alive.

Shares of Ubisoft closed the trading day at €11 ($14.28), down more than 15 percent from the €13 ($16.89) mark it closed at yesterday before releasing its quarterly sales report. As bad as the tumble was, it could have been worse. Ubisoft stock actually hit a low of €9.66 ($12.56) during the trading session before rallying to recoup some of the day's losses.

Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft are experiencing rebounds of their own. After losing more than 15 percent of their value after yesterday's earnings report, Sony shares are up nearly 6 percent today, trading at $20.43 as of press time.

Microsoft's bounce back is decidedly milder. After shedding 12 percent of its stock price yesterday, the Xbox 360 maker's shares are trading up a little less than 2 percent today at $17.39.

Shaun White, Far Cry 2 boost Ubisoft (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203535.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

French publisher's holiday quarter earnings rise 12.9 percent to $736.6 million; Snowboarder scores 2.3 million copies, savanna-survivor bags nearly 3 million; Prince of Persia's 2.2 million-unit start deemed "slow."

Earlier today, Microsoft and Sony announced alternately disappointing and gloomy earnings reports. As the first-party publishers bound their financial wounds, third-party game publisher Ubisoft revealed that its revenues have bested analysts' expectations. For the three months ended on December 31, 2008, the Paris-based company reported that sales grew 12.9 percent year on year to €508 million ($736.60 million).

For the last nine months of 2009, Ubisoft racked up €852 ($1.24 billion) in sales. That was an impressive 19.8 percent increase from the €711 million ($1.03 billion) that it scored during the same period in 2007. How impressive is hard to say, though, because Ubisoft did not make its net income public in its earnings release.

What Ubisoft did make prominently public were the sales milestones hit by its holiday best-sellers. Leading the pack was Far Cry 2, which has sold a combined 2.9 million units worldwide on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Right behind the Africa-set survival-actioner was another game with sandbox play in a chillier climate, Shaun White Snowboarding. Despite middling reviews, the X-Games and Olympic Gold Medalist-endorsed shredding sim sold 2.3 million copies on the Wii, PC, PSP, DS, PS3, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360.

Eating Shaun White's icy spray was the latest reboot of the Prince of Persia series, cryptically titled Prince of Persia. After receiving critical kudos for its innovative cel-shaded graphics and intense gameplay, the PS3 and 360 game sold 2.2 million copies internationally. But though such a number would be considered a hit by most publishers, it apparently wasn't enough for Ubisoft, which credited other games for "offset[ing] the impact of a slower takeoff for Prince of Persia." One game that Ubisoft said was specifically picking up the slack was the posterior-playable Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, which sold 1.5 million units on the Wii and DS.

For the January-March quarter, Ubisoft expects sales between €190 million ($275.50 million) and €210 million ($304.50 million). For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, the company estimates that it will generate revenue between €1.04 billion ($1.51 billion) and €1.06 billion ($1.57 billion). The revised figure means that Ubisoft could exceed its previous estimate of about €1.05 billion ($1.52 billion).

Looking to the fiscal year that begins on April 1, 2009, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was bullish. "[The year] 2009-10 looks very promising," said the executive in a statement. "Our lineup comprises several potential blockbusters with the launch of seven franchises, including Assassin's Creed [2], Splinter Cell [Conviction], and Ghost Recon [Advanced Warfighter 3], as well as four license-based games including James Cameron's Avatar, three new brands, and a further-enhanced casual-games portfolio. Although we have to be cautious in light of the current economic environment, we expect Ubisoft to once again be one of the most dynamic and profitable publishers in the games industry in [calendar year] 2009."

Okay, let me get this straight: even though the publisher did reasonably well especially in this bad economy, its stock still goes down?

TevashSzat

01-27-2009, 00:33

Smash Bros. dev pounding out new TMNT (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203662.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Ubisoft signs on Game Arts for new turtles-in-a-half-shell fighter for release on unspecified platforms this fall.

Fighters aren't typically known for topping the sales charts, but Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a rare exception. The well-reviewed game mopped the floor with the competition in 2008, placing just behind Wii Fit as the US's fourth best-selling title with 4.17 million units.

Undoubtedly hoping lightning will strike twice, Ubisoft revealed today that it had scooped up Super Smash Bros. Brawl's developer to work on a similar fighter themed around its top kids' brand, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A marked departure from other TMNT games, TMNT Smash Up will be an all-new property that isn't rooted in a movie, TV show, or comic book.

Aside from naming Game Arts as developer, Ubisoft did not offer much by way of details for TMNT Smash Up, aside from saying it would be a four-player fighter. The publisher did release a pair of screenshots for the game, though. The TMNT shots show two Brawl-like arenas--one a dank sewer, the other a dark rooftop--where two turtles are battling. Players will apparently be able to toss their weapons, and the screenshots appear to indicate a strong aerial component.

Ubisoft expects to launch TMNT Smash Up as part of the franchise's 25th anniversary later this fall.

HanbitSoft To Continue Hellgate: London - No Really (http://kotaku.com/5139365/hanbitsoft-to-continue-hellgate-london-+-no-really)

Despite news to the contrary back in November, Korean publisher and developer HanbitSoft still plans to maintain Hellgate: London as a free-to-play title on a global scale after Namco Bandai's January 31st server shutdown.

HanbitSoft first announced plans to relaunch the game back in early November of last year, after Namco Bandai announced that servers would close on January 31st, 2009. Namco Bandai then dismissed the announcement, claiming the company did not own the IP for the US and Europe.

Now HanbitSoft is once again asserting that they own the worldwide rights to the Flagship Studios title, and will be maintaining it as a free-to-play game, with a large-scale patch coming soon, combining Hellgate's two play modes and unifying the community.

The question we should really be asking ourselves at this point, is does anyone really still care? I suppose we'll find out come February 1st.

Hmm....thats good I suppose. I may actually think of getting the game now that its probably really cheap. I hope the community for the game is still alive though

Windows 7 Beta Performance Preview (http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/windows_7_gaming_performance/)

Article is too long for me to post, but its a pretty good read.

Xiahou

01-28-2009, 09:25

Smash Bros. dev pounding out new TMNT (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203662.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)Huh? Gamespot needs to get with the times. I read about this last month in Nintendo Power. It's confirmed for the Wii, but they won't talk about other platforms yet. Here's an interview question with the producer Chris Ferriter:

NP: Are there any other TMNT games-such as a DS version-planned to tie into the Wii title?
CF: I can't talk about that just yet, but we have some really exciting plans for TMNT.

Frankly, it looks like SSBB with turtles to me at this point. Already having SSBB, I can't see any reason why I'd want this game unless it offers some unique features to set it above Brawl- time will tell.

Windows 7 Beta Performance Preview (http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/windows_7_gaming_performance/)

Article is too long for me to post, but its a pretty good read.Well, that sounds promising. Now they just need sane package options/pricing. :yes:

TevashSzat

01-29-2009, 15:07

US retail PC game sales down $210 million in '08 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203825.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

NPD reports store-bought computer-game sales decreased 23 percent to $701 million; ESA plays up overall game-industry total of $22 billion.

The PC gaming market is currently in flux, with digital distribution and subscription-based gameplay making it harder and harder to judge exactly how big--and how healthy--it is. On one hand, World of Warcraft is among the most profitable PC games of all time, with nearly 12 million people shelling out each month to explore the massively multiplayer game's realms. Valve Software's Steam service is also on the rise, with its roster of download PC games past and present expanding daily.

On the other hand, sales of PC games at brick-and-mortar stores are down--way down, in fact. One week after announcing a recession-bucking $21.3 billion in non-PC game industry sales, the NPD Group revealed that US PC software sales had plummeted 23 percent to $701.1 million dollars at retail. The drop to 29.1 million units was pronounced, given the trend of the previous several years: In 2007, the figure was $911 million, down $59 million from 2006's $970 million haul, which was itself a 2 percent increase from the year prior. Thanks in large part to WOW's launch, US PC game sales hit an all-time high of $1.1 billion in 2004.

The selection of PC games may have had something to do with 2008's decline. Two of the year's highest-profile offerings were expansions: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and Crysis Warhead. Lich King required players to own 2007's Burning Crusade expansion--which itself needed the original WOW to play. Crysis Warhead could be played as a stand-alone game, but its entire story is based on the events of the original Crysis, also released in 2007.

Will Wright's highly anticipated Spore also hit stores in 2008, although sales have thus far not measured up to the famed developer's previous phenomenon, The Sims. After racking up 1 million in worldwide sales during its first week on the market, the game went on to sell more than 2 million units worldwide. By year's end, the game had moved more than 720,000 units at US retailers.

Interestingly, the NPD Group did not issue its own year-end PC total, as it has in previous years. Instead, the information was disseminated via an Entertainment Software Association announcement touting 2008's combined game sales, which total $22 billion when PC revenues are included.

"Even in difficult economic times, the video game industry continues to support our country's local, state and national economies with record-breaking sales figures and rapid technological innovation," declared ESA president Michel Gallagher in a statement. "Our industry's exceptional creators, artists, and storytellers, coupled with a commitment to providing unparalleled entertainment, have fueled high-octane growth, turning video games into the most sought-after medium on the market today."

UC Berkeley offering Starcraft course? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/rumor-control/909119209/26762549/uc-berkeley-offering-starcraft-course.html)

Source: University of California Berkeley students can get credit for learning about Starcraft, according to a report on the blog Tumeroks, which points to another Web site specifically set up for the class.

What we heard: As gaming becomes a larger part of our culture, it's only natural that the subject would eventually become the subject of academic dissection. Still, a college course dedicated to high-level gameplay theory for Starcraft? That could be a bit of a leap. Then again, if Starcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment can help kids get into college with the World of Warcraft SAT primer, who's to say the studio can't help get them through college as well?

While the Tumeroks blog and the home page for the course contained plenty of specifics about what would be taught (including a full syllabus), the home page was noticeably not hosted on the University's own servers. The official Berkeley Web site didn't list the Starcraft class on its course schedule, either.

However, the Berkeley site did note the school's DeCal program (Democratic Education at Cal), a selection of student-run, faculty-sponsored courses offered on topics of sometimes debatable merit. However, even this semester's DeCal course listings contain no mention of the Starcraft course.

The course would fit right in to the DeCal program, which is currently offering courses on photography, Cantonese, the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, the ethics of Star Trek, and advanced speed techniques for solving the Rubik's Cube. Gaming has been the subject of DeCal programs in the past, with courses offered in Counter-Strike level design, the history of games, and storytelling in interactive entertainment with a focus on Silent Hill, Portal, Chrono Trigger, and the Monkey Island series.

Courses are only offered pass/no pass, and they count toward graduation but not toward any major requirements. There is also a cap on how many DeCal credits students can claim toward their graduation requirements.

The official story: A DeCal representative told GameSpot that the Starcraft course--titled Game Theory With Application in Starcraft--had been submitted for approval, but not yet given the final go-ahead. If approved, the course would take place during the current semester.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not finalized quite yet, but very likely not bogus.

North Carolina mulling digital distribution tax (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203834.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;5)

State lawmakers may demand a cut of games, books, music, and all other downloadable purchases.

As digital distribution of entertainment becomes more common, the effects of its popularity are impacting more than just the people who buy and sell it. Now, state governments are looking into the practice as a way to bolster tax revenues.

News 14 Carolina is reporting that North Carolina legislators have established a commission to investigate the possibility of taxing online transactions, including those of digitally distributed products. The taxes would apply to all manner of purchased downloaded content, from music and movies to books and games.

The report claims that such taxes would bring in an estimated $12 million over the state's next fiscal year. Although substantial, that figure would need to be bolstered by a variety of other state taxes and spending cuts if North Carolina is to make up for a projected revenue shortfall of $2 billion.

New York Governor David Paterson proposed a similar tax for his state last month, whereas federal legislators considered taxing sales of in-game items and other virtual goods back in 2007.

Extremely stupid and I would think almost impossible to properly enforce. Also, 12 million is nothing compared to a 2 billion deficit.

TevashSzat

01-30-2009, 21:49

EA readying Need for Speed threesome (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203924.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Q&A: Publisher trifurcating its street-racing franchise into trio of new properties: the MMOG NFS World Online, the Nintendo-only NFS: Nitro, and NFS: Shift for the PS3, 360, PSP, and PC.

Given the upheaval surrounding Black Box, many gamers have been pondering the fate of the Electronic Arts' subsidiary's signature series. Today, EA announced that one of the partially shuttered Canadian operation's franchises, Need for Speed, will continue to be developed.

Indeed, not only will the street-racing series carry on, it will be expanded and split into three different franchises. The first, Need for Speed: Shift, is a hardcore racing simulation in the works for the PC, PSP, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It is being developed by a hybrid team of internal and external developers in the UK, including Black Box executive producer Michael Mann and EA Games Europe senior vice president--and Digital Illusions CE cofounder--Patrick Soderlund. The outside help comes from Slightly Mad Studios, which was cofounded earlier this month by former GT Legends developer Ian Bell.

The second NFS franchise to rise from Black Box's ashes is Need for Speed Nitro (working title), an arcade racer being crafted by the Boogie-makers at EA Montreal. Set for release exclusively on Nintendo's Wii and DS, the game will sport a "unique visual style" and, like Need for Speed Shift, will sport many real-world automotive licenses. Also like Shift, it will ship in North American this fall.

Finally, six years after EA shut down its first car-based massively multiplayer game, Motor City Online, the publisher is backing the auto MMOG genre out of the garage again. Jointly developed by Black Box and EA Shanghai, Need for Speed World Online is a PC-only, free-to-play game set to launch in Asia this coming summer. A North American release is scheduled for "winter 2009," which could potentially mean an early 2010 release.

With NFS being challenged for racing gamers' dollars by Microsoft's Forza Motorsport, Take-Two's Midnight Club, and EA's own Burnout series, why did the publisher decide to mix up its winning formula so drastically? Keith Munro, Electronic Arts' vice president of marketing, laid down some informational rubber with GameSpot in an exclusive interview.

GS: Need for Speed Undercover performed below expectations, selling less than 940,000 units in the US according to NPD. That's about half the 2.1 million units ProStreet sold since 2007, one third Need for Speed Carbon's nearly 3.1 million units, and just a fraction of Need for Speed Most Wanted's 3.9 million units and Need for Speed Underground 2's 4.5 million units. What makes EA think it can turn it around?

Keith Munro: We need to compare apples to apples over a similar time frame, and in fact, globally Need for Speed Undercover sales are comparable to ProStreet on a week-to-date basis. That's pretty impressive, especially given the economic environment and the heavy competition we saw last fall. As we move forward with the franchise, we are confident that the new brand strategy around three specific genres will keep the game fresh and players entertained. As the market leader in the racing category, we are talking with gamers on a regular basis.

For years, we've understood that even though our flagship action-driving games, such as Undercover, Carbon, and Most Wanted, have tremendous appeal, there are still lots of other players who craved something different. Our new Need for Speed development strategy has us building different racing experiences for different players, reflecting their needs and wants from this category. This is really about putting consumers first and continuing to provide the best racing experiences for them on all platforms.

GS: Will the three series be annual franchises like NFS is currently?

KM: We're listening to players and will deliver the games on a schedule that makes the most sense for the franchise. Currently, players demand a new Need for Speed property in the market each year.

GS: Will EA be expanding or shrinking the NFS development team as a result of these changes? If the former, which studios will be expanding, and will they be getting staff from other EA studios which are being streamlined?

KM: We are expanding, and this means growth in studios that are new to Need for Speed. We are focusing on creating quality experiences across multiple racing genres; as such, we are using studios to develop games suited to their specific strengths. Need for Speed Shift is an authentic simulation racer, and is being built in the UK by a collaborative team.

EA Montreal has a strong track record in developing for Nintendo platforms. This team is bringing a new visual style to the game, as well as a distinctly "Need for Speed" take on racing as they evolve the arcade-racing genre.

Black Box is still playing a large role in the development of Need for Speed Shift and Need for Speed World Online. Also, we wanted to give the team at Black Box an extended development window so that their next Need for Speed action game could really blow the doors off the category.

GS: Shift development is being overseen by EA Games SVP Europe Patrick Soderlund and EA Black Box's Michael Mann--where is it being developed?

KM: Shift is being developed in the UK by a collaborative team including Slightly Mad Studios, senior vice president Patrick Soderlund from EA Games Europe, and exec producer Mike Mann from Black Box. Slightly Mad Studios includes developers that worked on highly acclaimed PC simulation racing titles GT Legends and GTR 2.

GS: You say the game is "built by racers for racers." Does that mean this game will be EA's Gran Turismo or Forza?

KM: There are a couple of levels to this. First, we have a number of people working on Shift that have real racing and motorsport backgrounds. We'll get into more details on this later, but as an example, Patrick Soderlund is a driver and part of the racing team that recently competed in the 4th edition of the Toyo Tires 24H Dubai 2009, the first major race event of the year. His team ranked 5th in this high-profile race. He is very passionate about and committed to bringing the on-the-track experience to players around the world.

Second, regarding other games in the sim racing genre. We see Shift joining the ranks of the world's top simulation racing games with authentic cars and tracks, but it definitely offers its own signature look and feel. Shift represents the true driver's experience. Traditional simulation driving games tend to focus on replicating a car's performance, Shift moves beyond that by combining a player's unique driving style with accurately modeled cars to really drive home what it feels like to be behind the wheel.

We're also bringing the built-by-racers authenticity via core technology. Need for Speed is renowned for capturing speed and a unique style of racing. Shift continues that through an all-new sophisticated visual interface. For example, there is a three-dimensional HUD that mimics driver head movement, inertia, and G-forces. The depth of field also adjusts based on the speed of the car; so when the car is traveling at high speeds, the perspective will shift to the distance, putting the car/cockpit out of focus.

And we're bringing a brand-new perspective to the action with a cockpit view. This view highlights the authenticity and lavish detail on the vehicles and provides a more realistic and immersive vantage point of the action. This "first-person mode" also comes with a free-look camera on the right thumbstick so the player can really appreciate their surroundings and also get the lowdown on their on-track competition.

GS: Will it take any cues from the new Burnout series, in terms of crashes and damage?

KM: There will be crashes and damage, yes. A realistic simulation racing experience should include the consequences involved when things go bad on the road, so incorporating realistic damage is definitely a critical aspect of this game. There will be a slight impact on your car's performance, but the real consequence for collisions will not be the damage to the car but rather our all-new crash dynamic. This crash dynamic will disorientate the player similar to a real-life impact, but it will not hinder the experience, and it is represented in an exciting manner.

GS: Will the game be open-world or more event-based like Pro Street?

KM: Shift is about competition rather than exploration, featuring a mix of street and track locations. We have some of the world's most recognizable tracks designed to appeal to the most hardcore driving enthusiast. We're not disclosing the complete track list right now, but we have over 15 immersive real-world locations including a London street course and the world-famous Brands Hatch circuit.

GS: What kind of race events will the game feature?

KM: We're not revealing all the race modes and details at this time, but I can say that every maneuver a player performs on the track is a reflection of their driving skill and style--precise, stylish, or aggressive. The evolution of these skills will determine how a player navigates through the game.

GS: Any new car licenses we should know about?

KM: We are not discussing specific licenses, yet but the car list currently represents numerous decades and car styles. Players will be tasked to select cars that are suited to the race event and their overall driving style. We have definitely created a car list that will appeal to everyone. It spans the spectrum of performance vehicles from domestics, exotics, imports, muscle, and everything else in between.

GS: I noticed the game is coming to the PSP--has the platform been successful for the NFS series?

KM: We have had excellent results on the PSP with Need For Speed, and with the continued global growth of that platform, we have high expectations for Shift PSP.

GS: What Wii expertise from the Boogie series will the EAM team be bringing to Nitro, in terms of motion-based Wii Remote control?

KM: The EA Montreal team has learned a ton from developing Boogie and SSX Blur regarding the Wiimote. They will be applying this expertise to ensure that Need for Speed Nitro takes full advantage of the controller in an organic manner that doesn't feel forced. We will be offering a number of control schemes to ensure that gamers of all types can use the Wiimote to their liking while racing through Nitro.

GS: The release says that arcade racing fans "will be exhilarated by [NFS Nitro's] deep and challenging gameplay." What exactly does that mean? Will there be an all-play option and a deeper mode? If so, will that work like EA Sports' All Play?

KM: What that means is that we want to ensure that Nitro is a game that stands up to the tenets of the Need for Speed brand and offers gameplay depth and a variety of modes. We do not want to fall into the trap of creating a "Need for Speed Lite." Instead we are building a game that core Nintendo gamers and casual players alike can enjoy, that's easy to get into but more difficult to master.

GS: Now that NFS Wii games will no longer be versions of the PS3/360 console game, how much will they differ from the main franchise? Will they feature any of the hardcore racing elements of Shift?

KM: Nitro and Shift will be very distinctive offerings. For each, we are taking full advantage of the platform's capabilities and unique qualities, and also crafting experiences that reflect these platforms' varied consumers. At their core, one is an authentic simulation, and the other is an arcade racer, and from there we've let the teams get creative in this expression. But both games will offer challenge, depth, and high replayability.

GS: The announcement said that the game will have a "fresh and unique visual style." Will said style be like the NASCAR Kart Racing series announced in December?

KM: The EAM team is taking a unique look at Nitro's visual style and tone, and it will be quite differentiated from the NASCAR game. It will feel very Need for Speed, but in a more mischievous, Nintendo way. We'll be revealing more, including imagery, soon!

GS: Will this game be part of the Freestyle label?

KM: Need for Speed Nitro will be in EA's Games Label.

GS: Will the game be set in an all-new locale or return to a previous NFS location?

KM: The setting for Nitro will be all-new and will also push the creative vision for Need for Speed environments to new levels.

GS: Given EA's history with Motor City Online (2001-2003), why did it feel like it should return to the massively multiplayer racing genre?

KM: Need for Speed World Online is more about exploration into the free-to-play model that is growing at a fast pace, rather than a straight-up MMO persistent world such as Motor City Online.

GS: What lessons from Motor City Online's failure is EA bringing to the new game?

KM: From a game perspective, the largest difference is that where Motor City Online featured American classics and muscle from the '30s to the '70s, Need for Speed World Online is steeped in modern car culture, featuring many of the vehicles familiar to our fans from the past few years. But the business model and player interaction is also very different--unfortunately, I can't discuss details on these aspects yet.

GS: Why is this launching in Asia first?

KM: Asia has proven itself as a rich market for online-only games. Once Need for Speed World Online has been successfully deployed in Asia, we will expand the game's reach by offering the service to PC gamers around the world.

GS: Will this game use licensed vehicles?

KM: Yes, that is core to Need for Speed. In fact, Need for Speed World Online will give fans the most licensed cars, parts, and game modes ever in Need for Speed's history.

Jolt

02-02-2009, 16:45

The NFS MMOG will suck so badly it will bankrupt EA. :P

TevashSzat

02-03-2009, 00:26

The NFS MMOG will suck so badly it will bankrupt EA. :P

Exactly my first thought.....

Activision, LucasArts return to E3 (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203979.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4)

Prodigal publishers commit to showing up at this year's revitalized gaming expo as organizers at the ESA release initial exhibitor list.

After experimenting with downsized trade shows for two years, the Entertainment Software Association wants to restore the Electronic Entertainment Expo to its glory days. Today, the ESA announced a slate of exhibitors that will help usher in the newly supersized E3 2009, including a number of companies that had previously left the ESA and its trade show entirely.

Two of the highest-profile ESA defectors--Activision Blizzard and LucasArts--have both signed on to participate in E3 2009. Other companies that left the trade group--including NCsoft, Codemasters, Crave, and id Software--are not currently among the listed exhibitors. The full list of exhibitors includes more than 70 companies spanning all aspects of the industry, from the "big three" of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to joystick manufacturer CH Products and Taiwan-based light-gun maker ZeroPlus.

E3 2009 will take place June 2-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The official E3 Web site touts a complete exhibitor list, although it lacked some confirmed attendees as of press time. For more on the ESA's new approach to E3, check out GameSpot's interview with ESA CEO Michael Gallagher.

Bourne license surfaces at EA (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6203972.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

Publisher enters long-term development deal to create games based on Robert Ludlum's novels; first project handed off to Starbreeze Studios.

Many of the high-profile licenses orphaned after Activision and Vivendi's multibillion-dollar merger took some time to find new homes. Not so with the Bourne license. Not a week after being let go, the Ludlum family reacquired the video game rights to the works of Robert Ludlum, though it did so with the intention of finding a new steward "capable of fully exploiting the multiplatform potential of the Ludlum content and storylines."

Today, the Ludlum family has done just that. Electronic Arts has announced a multiyear, worldwide licensing agreement to create games based on Robert Ludlum's acclaimed novels. The publisher also announced that the first game in this deal will be based on the author's popular rogue spy Jason Bourne. Neither platforms nor an expected launch window were revealed.

Bourne fans hoping for a quality entertainment experience may be heartened to hear that Swedish outfit Starbreeze Studios has been tasked with the game's development. Starbreeze made a name for itself in 2004, partnering with Vin Diesel's Tigon Studios on The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, the highly acclaimed film-to-game spin-off adaption of Diesel's Pitch Black antihero.

The upcoming Jason Bourne game marks the second in-development collaboration between EA and Starbreeze. About this time last year, the publisher announced that it had tapped Starbreeze to "reinvent a classic EA franchise." The game, operating under the code name Project RedLime, is in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

TevashSzat

02-04-2009, 20:46

Crytek metabolizes Free Radical (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204109.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

PC first-person shooter developer acquires the remnants of studio behind TimeSplitters and Haze, redubs it Crytek UK.

The fate of the studio behind Haze is finally clearing up. German developer Crytek today announced that it has acquired all remaining assets and business of Free Radical Design, which was placed into administration in December after sweeping layoffs. At the time, it had reportedly been working on Star Wars: Battlefront III.

"The combination of this team, the Crytek network and our CryEngine technology will be a foundation for outstanding gaming experiences and a magnet for the best talent in the UK," said Crytek managing director Avni Yerli in a statement. Crytek has said it will integrate Free Radical into its own network (which includes studios in Ukraine, Hungary, Bulgaria, and South Korea), turning the outfit into Crytek UK.

In addition to Haze, UK-based Free Radical is best known for its work on the cult-favored franchise TimeSplitters. The studio had been prepping a the fourth installment of the first-person shooter series for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii before its collapse. Crytek is also an FPS specialist, and its two most famous titles--Crysis and Far Cry--have been solely for the PC. (After acquiring the Far Cry license, Ubisoft brought the series to the 360, PS3, and Wii.)

Last April, though, Crytek director and founder Cevat Yerli declared the Electronic Arts-allied developer would develop future projects for multiple platforms. The company has already shown demonstrations of its CryEngine2 running on both the 360 and PS3 behind closed doors.

EA suffers $641 million Q4 loss, increases layoffs to 11% (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204059.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4)

Publisher posts disappointing holiday quarter, increases job cuts; game delays pull down full-year guidance to $4.2-$4.25 billion.

Electronic Arts may have had one of the most robust lineups of new intellectual property in 2008, but the publisher continues to struggle to turn a dime. Today, the Redwood City, California-based publisher announced third-quarter earnings for the all-important holiday period, and in the words of EA CEO John Riccitiello, the results were "a clear disappointment."

For the October-December quarter, EA posted total net revenues of $1.65 billion, up $151 million from the year-ago period. That figure is substantially tempered by EA's total losses for the period, which grew to a staggering $641 million compared to $33 million from the year prior. As noted by EA, the publisher was heavily weighed down by a goodwill impairment charge of $368 million related to its wireless business as well as a $244 million charge pertaining to deferred tax assets.

"Our holiday quarter came in below our expectations, and we have significantly reduced our financial outlook for fiscal 2009," said Riccitiello in a statement. "We delivered on game quality and innovation in calendar 2008, with 13 games rated 80 or above, more than any third-party publisher. We expect to build on this great-quality record in the year ahead while delivering more profitability."

EA also announced today that it plans to reduce head count beyond its previous 10 percent estimate. EA now expects to cut its workforce by 11 percent, or 1,100 employees, as well as close 12 facilities, "narrow its product portfolio," and eliminate certain other costs. The publisher has already enacted a number of these cuts, with such studios as Skate 2 and Need for Speed developer Black Box and Madden NFL office EA Tiburon both having confirmed layoffs in the past month.

As a result of the grim holiday quarter, EA said that it would once again be lowering its full fiscal-year outlook. For the year ending March 31, EA now expects to pull in between $4.2 billion and $4.25 billion in fiscal 2009, with a loss per share of between $3.29 and $3.56.

In news that would also impact the publisher's lowered forecast, EA said that it would be bumping a trio of games out of fiscal 2009. The Sims 3, which had previously been expected on February 20, is now expected to arrive on June 2. BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins, which had been penciled in for a PC launch before the end of March, is now slated for the back half of 2009. Finally, Godfather II will move beyond its announced February 24 date, though no updated release window was revealed.

Even with the unsettling performance, EA had a number of wins to tout during the quarter. Despite continued pressure by Activision Blizzard, EA claimed the title of top North American publisher for the quarter, capturing a 20 percent share of sales according to data provided by the NPD Group. The publisher also said that MTV Games and Harmonix's Rock Band (which EA distributes through its EA Partners program) was the best-selling cross-platform game in North America during calendar-year 2008, according to NPD.

The publisher's best-selling game for the quarter was the well-rated FIFA 09, which logged global sales of 7.8 million. Need for Speed Undercover was another top performer, selling 5.2 million copies worldwide. That figure is slightly off from Undercover's predecessor, ProStreet, which had sold 5.5 million units during the same period last year. The publisher also provided a disheartening update on EA Mythic's Warhammer Online, saying that the massively multiplayer online role-playing game's subscriber base has dwindled to 300,000 through the end of December. In October, the game boasted more than 750,000 registered users.

Sims 3, Dragon Age, Godfather II delayed (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204057.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;5)

Maxis' life sim now set for June 2, BioWare RPG pushed to back half of 2009, and open-world crime game cooling heels until at least April.

One might think that the slumping economy would have publishers pushing games out of the door to boost revenues in the near term, but Electronic Arts is pushing a trio of big game releases into its next fiscal year, lowering its expectations for the current one in the process.

Today, the publisher revealed that a trio of games that it had previously expected in its fiscal year 2009 (which ends March 31) have been pushed at least to April. The affected games include the open-world crime game The Godfather II, BioWare's fantasy role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins, and the much-anticipated The Sims 3. No explanation was given for any of the delays.

Previously announced as a February 20 release, The Sims 3 has been pushed back to June 2. Dragon Age: Origins' "early 2009" PC debut will now instead coincide with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, reportedly due in Q4. EA's delay for the game has moved it to the back half of the year, "coinciding with the release of the console versions of Dragon Age: Origins." As of press time, the company had not offered any updated release window for The Godfather II, which had been set for release on February 24.

[UPDATE]: In a conference call with analysts after announcing the delays today, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello provided some light on the reasons for the postponements.

In the case of The Sims 3, Riccitiello said, "We see this as being one of the most important launches in our company's history, and certainly in the upcoming fiscal year." He added that the delay was called in the interest of investing more time and effort to make the marketing campaign for the game more innovative.

As for The Godfather II, Riccitiello said that it was set to ship in a competitive environment cluttered with the last wave of games selling at discounted prices. EA felt that by pushing it back a bit, The Godfather II would have better luck in the market.

Finally, Riccitiello admitted that the rationale for delaying Dragon Age may sound a bit odd, but said, "Too much quality can make you reassess your options." The game was shaping up to be so epic in scale, quality, and innovation--according to Riccitiello--that EA thought it would make for a stronger launch to have the console versions of the game arrive at the same time as the PC edition. Additionally, the time would allow for extra polishing of the content.

Game researcher: 90-95% of psych studies flawed (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204069.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;6)

Texas A&M International University professor talks about the problems with tying violent games to aggressive behavior.

With the flood of gaming legislation in recent years, the battle between the gaming industry and the states that want to outlaw sales of violent games to children has boiled down to one question: Do violent games hurt children? If the states can scientifically prove that they do, the constitutional protection that such games currently enjoy evaporates.

Ferguson says it's difficult to measure the impact games like Grand Theft Auto IV have on children.

To answer that question, the states point to studies that show that children who play violent games subsequently engage in aggressive behavior. Meanwhile, the gaming industry and its allies tout studies that show no such link.

Recently, Texas A&M International University's Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, author of the latter type of study, spoke with GameSpot to discuss some of the background issues that impact not only the battle over gaming legislation, but also all scientific research. Ferguson said that people need to be more skeptical of information presented to them as scientific research. For instance, Ferguson bemoaned the number of times that he's seen studies presented and promoted with conclusions that the research doesn't actually support.

"I'll be honest with you, the quality of research in psychology generally is not very good," Ferguson said. "Maybe 90 to 95 percent is very bad. The way that we study questions, the way that we support our hypotheses are not very scientific, quite frankly. And social science is kind of an oxymoron, to some extent."

Regarding the study of violent games and aggression in particular, Ferguson was unconvinced that there was a good way to assess the effect that one has on the other. He noted that existing studies have tested a subject's willingness to annoy others with bursts of noise after gameplay as an example of aggression. As Ferguson emphasized, there is a big difference between such an action and the sort of school shootings or other violent outbursts that concerned groups try to pin on violent games.

"The sad answer is it's really hard to measure aggression in the lab. We really don't have any real good measures of aggression," Ferguson said. "We can't have kids knifing each other or punching or beating each other up, of course. So we have that ethical constraint on one hand, and is it possible to create an aggression measure that functions well and is valid? I haven't seen one yet."

frogbeastegg

02-05-2009, 11:38

Stardock opening second studio with plans for a cross platform (PC included) RPG (http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?story=57090)

Helped in part by generous Michigan tax breaks, developer/publisher Stardock (Sins of a Solar Empire, Demigod) is planning a $900,000 expansion of its headquarters to accomodate development of a new PC roleplaying game.

The expansion will create some 53 jobs, pushing the company's workforce to well over 100 employees--an impressive number for the once-modest Plymouth, Michigan based studio.
Any new RPG in development is great news IMO :balloon:

TevashSzat

02-06-2009, 03:39

Lots of Bad News.....

Axe drops at Warhammer dev as subs sink to 300K (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204136.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;6)

With MMORPG's subscriber base shrinking rapidly, Mark Jacobs confirms his studio is "resizing"; rumors put cuts at up to 130.

As part of its grim earnings report yesterday, Electronic Arts announced that it lost $641 million during the October-December quarter of last year. One reason behind the shortfall was the declining subscriber base of the Mythic Entertainment-developed Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Though the game hit 750,000 subscribers three weeks after the game's launch in September, EA said yesterday that the North American and European base had fallen to just 300,000.

Now, it appears as if Warhammer Online's dwindling user base is having an adverse effect on its developer. In a post to Warhammer Online's official Web site, Mythic studio GM Mark Jacobs confirmed that his studio is undergoing a measure of downsizing, maintaining that the head-count reduction is a product of the game's life cycle.

"Mythic has always been committed to maintaining a high level of development and customer service to our MMO players," said Jacobs. "Though we are resizing the team to move from a prelaunch to a postlaunch size, we remain fully committed to creating and delivering the best WAR experience."

Jacobs went on to say that staff reductions in the customer service, quality assurance, and play-testing departments were a result of decreased demand, now that players have become acclimated to the massively multiplayer online game. "Staffing numbers will always map to consumer needs--it goes up when we launch new products and expand popular ones, and comes back down as players become familiar with the game," said Jacobs.

The Mythic GM did not specifically say how much lighter his studio is running. However, game blog Joystiq asserts that the total layoffs ranged between 60 and 130, with a number of senior designers among those served their walking papers.

EA expects to drop head count across its many studios by 1,100 in the coming months. The publisher has already enacted a number of these cuts, with such studios as Skate 2 and Need for Speed developer Black Box and Madden NFL office EA Tiburon both having confirmed layoffs in the past month.

24% of THQ staff cut after $192 million Q4 loss (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204135.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;3)

More than 600 workers pink-slipped after 30% revenue decline; Saints Row 2 ships more than 2.6 million, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 tops 4 million.

Anyone hoping that the Bataan Death March of gloomy game-publisher earning reports would end soon saw their prayers go unheeded this week. The day after Electronic Arts reported a $641 million loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, THQ turned in its financial numbers for the same period.

The three months saw the Saints Row 2 publisher suffer a net loss of $191.8 million ($2.86 per share), way down from the $15.5 million profit ($0.23 cents per share) that it reported during the same period in 2007. Overall, THQ's October-December revenue fell 30 percent year-on-year from $509.6 million (2007) to $357.3 million (2008).

As a result of its financial shortfall, THQ plans to lay off 24 percent of its worldwide workforce, or 600 people. The announcement comes three months after THQ closed five internal studios and streamlined another two. Just 10 days later, it announced that it was trimming back its release schedule to just one or two games for the hardcore market each year.

"We delivered high-quality games to market this holiday season, but fell short of our revenue and profit targets in this challenging environment," said Farrell in a statement. "We are taking highly targeted actions with the objective of investing in games with the highest franchise potential and returning to profitability. We have executed on our previously announced plan to reduce our cost structure by $120 million. Given continued economic weakness, we plan to reduce costs by an additional $100 million."

THQ's losses came despite what looked like solid numbers for some of the holiday releases to which Farrell referred. The decently received WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 shipped--not sold--more than 4 million units, followed by the better-regarded Saints Row 2 with 2.6 million units. The critically praised de Blob shipped some 700,000 units.

And Some Good......

Metal Gear Solid 4 hits 4.5 million, Konami posts $195 million profit (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204195.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Solid Snake continues to inject liquid currency into Japanese publisher, which saw sales rise to $2.56 billion for last nine months of 2008; full-year outlook lowered, however.

Solid Snake continues to get it done for Konami. Today, the Japanese game maker reported its results for the April-December period, saying that total revenues for the first nine months of its 2009 fiscal year grew 5.1 percent to ¥234 billion ($2.56 billion). Konami's profit margins also continued to outpace the year-ago period, given that net income rose 17.3 percent to ¥17.8 billion ($195 million).

Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which was released exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in June, continued to be one of the company's top performers. The top-rated action adventure sold more than 4.5 million units in 2008, shifting approximately 500,000 additional copies in the October-December quarter.

For the first nine months of its current fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009, Konami has sold 22.35 million software units across its various franchises. In addition to Metal Gear's gains, the publisher has been bolstered by the success of its Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, which has sold more than 7.41 million units during the nine-month period. Other top performers for the game company include Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS, as well as installments in its perennial Dance Dance Revolution rhythm franchise.

Despite Konami's positive growth during the period, the publisher provided a warning to investors that the global economic downturn will have a negative impact on its full-year returns. Citing slower consumer spending and a strengthening of the yen, Konami revised its full-year revenue and profit outlook downward. The publisher now expects revenues to rise 3.2 percent to ¥307 billion ($3.36 billion) during the year, with profits now projected to grow a mere .3 percent to ¥18.5 billion ($203 million).

Stardock opening new studio (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204143.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;5)

Sins of a Solar Empire publisher expands Michigan operations thanks to state tax incentive; reveals new RPG in development.

Yesterday, EA announced that it would be extending its head-count reduction to include 1,100 positions, thanks to mounting losses that tallied $681 million during its October-December quarter. Today, THQ followed up that news with word that 24 percent of its workforce--or 600 staffers--were on the outs due to a 30 percent slip in revenue. So, isn't it high time somebody announced some good news?

Today, Sins of a Solar Empire publisher Stardock Entertainment said that it plans to open a second studio in Michigan and in the process hire up to 50 new employees. The game maker's new studio will focus on creating an unannounced role-playing game, which Stardock plans to self-publish. The new studio was made possible thanks to tax incentives and communication-infrastructure upgrades approved by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority.

"We're very pleased with the support we've received from Wayne County and the state of Michigan," said Stardock president and CEO Brad Wardell in a statement. "We think Michigan is well placed to become a hub for technology companies thanks to new programs from the state to make Michigan more competitive to do business in. We look forward to continuing our strong growth with additional development projects over the next couple of years."

Stardock is currently at work on a number of projects. The independent game maker is signed on to publish Gas Powered Games' role-playing/real-time strategy hybrid Demigod this spring. In November 2008, Stardock announced its fantasy RTS Elemental: War of Magic for the PC, which is currently slated to be released in February 2010. Though long under the radar, Stardock is also building the massively multiplayer real-time strategy game Society, which was first announced in 2005.

Beyond the game spectrum, Stardock also hosts the digital delivery platform Impulse and creates a range of Windows custom-interface software utilities

Caius

02-07-2009, 05:32

We will not let you experiment our games, says GameTap (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/19/gametap-removing-97-free-games/)

This Thursday, GameTap will remove 97 games from its gratis lineup, making them available only to Gold subscribers. The current free lineup consists of 145 titles, making this a 67% reduction in games. Of course, quality is more important than quantity in this situation, and there are several noteworthy titles (Tomb Raider: Legend, Deus Ex, Psychonauts) being removed.

Alexander the Pretty Good

02-07-2009, 07:55

The crysis people bought the Haze people? More unimpressive shooters coming up, I guess.

Martok

02-07-2009, 09:59

TevashSzat

02-09-2009, 20:40

Capcom, Konami shack up with Home in Japan (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204361.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

Game Watch lists Koei, Tecmo, Ubisoft, and Activision as among 24 companies putting down stakes in PlayStation 3's virtual world.

If there's one overlying complaint about Sony's PlayStation Home open beta, it's the lack of options of things to actually do. Sony has no intention of leaving Home barren, however, as the PlayStation 3 maker revealed 24 developers and publishers who have signed on to create content for the service at a press conference in Japan.

As reported by Japanese-language site Game Watch, the new partners range from the obvious to the obscure. Big-name players include Activision, Konami, Capcom, Sega, and Ubisoft, as well as the previously announced Electronic Arts. However, Sony also said that smaller Japanese game makers such as Acquire, AQ Interactive, Genki, and Irem have also enlisted to create content for the service.

One of the first games to take advantage of Home will be Capcom's Resident Evil 5. As detailed by Sony Global Home Division director Junji Shoda, Capcom is creating a Resident Evil 5 lounge for Home that will integrate with the game. As players progress through the survival horror shooter, new minigames will unlock in the Resident Evil 5 area, Shoda reportedly said.

A full roster of current Home licensees is listed below.

Acquire
Activision
AQ Interactive
Atlus
Capcom
D3 Publisher
Disney Interactive
EA
Game Republic
Genki
Gungho
Hudson
Irem
Koei
Konami
Namco Bandai
Nippon Ichi
Paon
Q Entertainment
Sega
SNK Playmore
Spike
Tecmo
Ubisoft

Square Enix shares circle six-year low (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204297.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4)

Just months after it made a $200 million bid for Tecmo, RPG giant's share price slides 11 percent after earnings report delay.

The past week saw a series of game company earnings reports from Electronic Arts, THQ, Capcom, and Konami. Today, it was supposed to be Square Enix's turn, but the Final Fantasy XIII publisher decided yesterday to delay its earnings announcement until February 12.

Whatever the factors behind it, the announcement delay had an immediate impact on Square Enix's share price. On Thursday, its value plummeted on the news, closing at ¥1,972 ($21.45) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. That was its lowest closing price since May of 2003, shortly after one-time competitors Square Co. and Enix Corporation merged. The stock rebounded somewhat on Friday, ending the day at ¥2,080 ($22.62).

This week's Square Enix troubles stand in stark contrast to last August, when the publisher's financial position allowed it to make a $200 million offer for Ninja Gaiden publisher Tecmo. Though Tecmo opted for a now-consummated union with Dynasty Warriors-maker Koei, Square Enix vowed it would look for other acquisitions. Whether it is still in the financial position to do so will be made clear by next week's earnings report.

TevashSzat

02-11-2009, 00:32

Sega Sammy cuts 560 jobs (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204455.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Sonic house solicits voluntary retirement from 18 percent of workforce, plans to close 110 arcades; full-year earnings revised downward.

Another day, another massive round of layoffs for the gaming industry. In tandem with grim fiscal results earlier this year, third-party publishers such as Electronic Arts and THQ as well as first-party hardware makers such as Microsoft have cut head count in bids to staunch hemorrhaging losses. Today, Sega Sammy stepped up to the plate, announcing as part of its disappointing nine-month earnings report that it will cut 560 jobs, or 18 percent of its workforce.

Sega Sammy plans to enact its head-count reduction by calling for an early retirement of the specified number of employees. The company expects to issue this call in two weeks, and plans to conclude its cuts by March 31, 2009, the end of its current fiscal year. It also plans to close an additional 110 amusement facilities, as well as scale back its research-and-development expenditures by 20 percent compared to last year.

Sega Sammy's deep cuts come in the face of slipping revenues and mounting losses. For the first nine months of its current fiscal year, Sega Sammy posted shrinking revenues of ¥309 billion ($3.41 billion), which was down from ¥342 billion ($3.78 billion) during the year-ago period. Losses hit ¥10 billion ($119 million) for the nine-month period, which was actually an improvement over the ¥15 billion ($174 million) Sega lost during the same period last year.

"During the first three quarters of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, the Japanese economy faced more severe hardships as pressure on corporate earnings from the ongoing and sharp rise in the yen, the country's worsening job picture, and other factors amid continued turmoil in the global financial markets, raised concerns that the real economy would slow further," Sega Sammy said in a statement.

Though Sega Sammy's primary area of business remains its profitable pachinko machines, the company also draws a significant amount of its revenue from its less-than-profitable video game division. During the reporting period, the segment posted an operating loss of ¥5 billion ($62.4 million) on revenues of ¥96 billion ($1.06 billion) for the period. Sega Sammy said that game sales were led by current fiscal-year releases Sonic Unleashed and Football Manager 2009, as well as continued sales of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.

Sega Sammy doesn't expect its fiscal fourth quarter to prop up flagging financial results for the full year. As part of its earnings announcement today, Sega Sammy revised its full-year sales outlook downward 7.4 percent to ¥435 billion ($4.77 billion), with losses expected to total ¥26.5 billion ($290 million).

Nintendo opening new $141M R&D facility (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204485.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

Kyoto-based Wii maker plans to consolidate product development efforts in 40,000 square foot campus near current headquarters.

As part of its nine-month earnings report in January, Nintendo severely disappointed investors by revising its full-year earnings downward 9 percent and cutting its profit projections by an onerous 36 percent. The thing is, even despite the hit, Nintendo still expects to pull in a record-setting gob of cash for the year, to the tune of ¥230 billion ($2.54 billion) on revenues of ¥1.82 trillion ($20.1 billion).

Sufficiently flush with money, the Kyoto, Japan-based game maker has revealed plans to build a new research and development office near its current headquarters. As reported by Japanese financial news service Nikkei Net, the facility will be constructed in close proximity to its current headquarters on a 40,000 square meter lot Nintendo purchased for ¥12.8 billion ($141.6 million) in December.

After a poor showing from the GameCube, Nintendo's R&D department turned the tide during the current hardware generation, thanks to the innovative input methods of the Wii and DS. Through December, Nintendo's console had sold 44.96 million units globally since launching in late 2006, while the DS had sold 96.22 million units over the course of its three iterations since the original system launched in 2004.

Nintendo representatives informed Nikkei that the new facility will be devoted to creating new game consoles as well as software for the Wii and DS. Previously, Nintendo's R&D department operated out of two different facilities, and the new setup is intended to help the teams more effectively collaborate, a Nintendo representative said. Nikkei notes that Nintendo has not yet determined when it plans to integrate the two facilities.

Nielsen: US game marketing tab = $823 millio (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204479.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;5)

According to an oft-quoted--and oft-abused--axiom, one has to spend money to make money. Given that the US gaming industry posted record retail sales of $22 billion last year, it stands to reason that tens--if not hundreds--of millions of marketing dollars were spent to reach that figure. However, given that historically no study has quantified the game-industry's overall advertising expenditures, it has remained a mystery exactly how much publishers and platform holders spend hawking their wares.

Today, that changed. The Nielsen Company, the industry research firm best-known for issuing the television ratings that make or break shows, revealed its estimate of US expenditures on advertising and marketing games. The company puts the figure at $823 million for 2008, a little less than 4 percent of the total game-industry market.

Nielsen was assisted in its calculations by the game-industry intelligence firm Electronic Entertainment Design and Research. The figure was announced as part of a new collaboration between the two companies which will integrate Nielsen's Monitor-Plus advertising-tracking service with EEDAR's Game DNA historical database of game features. Information gleaned from the joint effort will be available in subsequent studies from both companies

Wanted dev: Multiplayer hurts games (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204470.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;6)

Executive producer Pete Wanat says studios spend too much time and money shoehorning feature into games that don't need it.

When Wanted: Weapons of Fate arrives for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC next month, gamers who pick up the interactive sequel to last year's action film will get the chance to try out their bullet-curving technique on the game's many assassin adversaries. However, they won't be able to twist lead into one another, given that the third-person shooter lacks a multiplayer mode.

During an appearance on the latest installment of GameSpot's HotSpot podcast, Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group's Pete Wanat--the executive producer on Weapons of Fate--explained the reasons behind that decision. Wanat said that most people who play multiplayer games just play the best of the bunch, and that developers spend too much effort putting multiplayer modes into games that don't need them.

"For the most part, we waste our money and our time building multiplayer levels," Wanat said. "And why do we do this? Because a couple years ago the press was all about saying, 'This game has to have multiplayer, there's no replayability.' F*** that. That's a bad joke."

Wanat added that oftentimes the pressure to make a multiplayer version of a game comes from a publisher's marketing department. Just having that feature on the back of a box, the argument goes, makes it easier to sell a game.
"What it does is it hurts the single-player game," Wanat said. "You don't get to add multiplayer [at] no cost. If you're going to make a multiplayer version, you take people, time, and money away from the single-player experience. And that all goes to hurt the single player. ... Not everybody is Bungie. Not everybody can have 100 guys working on their multiplayer. The Call of Duty 4 guys? If they want to do multiplayer, then do multiplayer. We'll play the f*** out of multiplayer in Call of Dut

TevashSzat

02-12-2009, 20:52

Activision Blizzard posts Q4 loss despite record revs (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204549.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;4)

[UPDATE] Call of Duty: WAW, Guitar Hero World Tour, and Wrath of the Lich King help mint $2.3 billion in three months; megapublisher still loses $72 million but rules out "mass layoffs"; Wii DJ Hero confirmed for this year, Starcraft II beta coming in "next few months."

The past several weeks have seen a steady stream of dreary financial results, with THQ, Sega, Sony, and Electronic Arts all announcing losses and layoffs. However, several companies have issued positive earnings reports, including Ubisoft, Take-Two, and Nintendo.

Today, the biggest third-party publisher of them all, Activsion Blizzard, weighed in with an earnings announcement that's both good and bad. On the one hand, the company's record $2.3 billion in October-December net revenue beat the $2.15 billion a Thomson Reuters survey of analysts had predicted. On the other, the company posted a $72 million loss during a quarter when it launched new entries in its three biggest franchises: Guitar Hero World Tour (October 26), Call of Duty: World at War (November 10), and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (November 13).

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick played down the loss with a backhanded dig at staff-cut-beset competitors. "We won't be distracted by layoffs and restructuring and things that other companies are going to be distracted with," Kotick told Reuters. "We don't respond to managing our operating expenses because there's a financial crisis, we do it all the time."

Despite Kotick's upbeat tone, the markets reacted swiftly and negatively. In after-hours trading, Activision Blizzard's stock was down over 5 percent, trading at $9 as of press time.

Speaking with analysts in a conference call, Activision Blizzard CFO Thomas Tippl said that the company may take advantage of the dismal economic climate to add talent to its internal roster. "A long, challenging economic environment may provide acquisition opportunities due to strong cash position," he said. According to Kotick, Activision Blizzard currently has over $3 billion in cash reserves with zero debt load.

[UPDATE] Looking ahead, Activision predicts revenues of $4.2 billion for the full 2009 calendar year (not the current fiscal year, as was initially reported). The company said that figure included $600 million in downward revisions--$400 million due to a stronger-than-expected US dollar and $200 million "from the company's lower margin distribution and the co-publishing businesses."

In a conference call with analysts, executives noted the $200 million revision was in part due to the delay of the next James Bond game. The title, rumored to be a driving-centric game from Bizarre Creations, is being pushed back into calendar year 2010 "to avoid head to head competition with Call of Duty: [Modern Warfare 2.]"

[UPDATE] Highlights from the conference call are listed below:

--DJ Hero reconfirmed as coming out in 2009 on a variety of platforms, with the Wii specifically mentioned; no price point yet.

--2009 will see a new Tony Hawk game on the Wii. It is unclear if the game will be the widely rumored skateboard-peripheral-based Tony Hawk's Adrenaline.

--Upcoming Tony Hawk again described as being radically different. "We said we would reinvent this franchise from the ground up and we've developed an interactive approach for Tony that should allow us to broaden the appeal of skateboarding beyond the core to mass market audiences," Activision Publishing president Michael Griffith told analysts. "More details later for competitive reasons."

--Yet another Guitar Hero game coming to DS. No word on whether it will use the Game Boy Advance slot, which the forthcoming DSi does not have.

--New Greatest Hits Guitar Hero games for 360, PS3, and Wii, which will feature full-band renditions of top songs from earlier, guitar-only GH titles.

--Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is now officially official.

--New racing game from Activision-owned Bizarre Creations confirmed by year's end. Again, no details for now "due to competitive reasons."

--Starcraft II beta test will begin "in the next few months." No launch date yet.

--Guitar Hero "installed base" now tops 32 million worldwide. Executives later clarify that this figure is the total number of Guitar Hero units sold worldwide and doesn't take into account multiple guitars and games owned by the same person or in the same household.

--Guitar Hero outsells Rock Band 4 to 1 in terms of overall series sales, say executives.

--The PS2 edition of Guitar Hero: Metallica will trail the other versions, due in March, by several months.

--Activision says its continued support of the PS2 will depend on whether Sony cuts the console's price down the line.

--Tippl admits Activision "could've done better on the cost front in terms of the launch of Guitar Hero World Tour." Says production issues raised the per-unit cost, and Activision is making adjustments to prevent the same problems occurring in the coming year.

--The sinking cost of petroleum--which is used to make the plastic in the guitars and drum kits--will also improve Activision's profit margins on Guitar Hero hardware in the coming year.

Midway bankrupt (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204585.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1)

Faced with $240 million debt deadline, the once-mighty Mortal Kombat-maker files for Chapter 11 protection; Mortal Kombat vs. DC shipments near 2 million.

After months of slowly twisting in the financial wind, Midway Games has finally filed for bankruptcy. The Chicago-based publisher today submitted a petition in a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware to seek protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The company blamed the move on last November's "change in ownership," when then-majority stockholder Sumner Redstone sold off his 87 percent stake in the company--valued at $30 million--for $100,000.

"This was a difficult but necessary decision," Midway Chairman, President, and CEO Matt Booty said in a statement. "We have been focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution, and this filing will relieve the immediate pressure from our creditors and provide us time for an orderly exploration of our strategic alternatives. This Chapter 11 filing is the next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure."

Today's move will allow Midway to reorganize to pay off its creditors, to which the company owes $240 million--or $72.5 million more than the company's $167.5 million in total assets as of September 2008. Currently, the company's worth is substantially more, as it has now shipped (not sold) nearly 2 million copies of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The publisher also played up the fact that its TNA Impact! title also shipped over 1 million units, with its Game Party franchise selling over 3 million units as of the end of 2008. Its overhead has been drastically decreased as well, with the company announcing plans to lay off 25 percent of its workforce last December.

Though today's filing might sound final to the layman, Midway's bankruptcy is actually a beginning, not an ending. "These filings tend to be fairly drawn out and slow-moving, and business can take place normally while the bankruptcy proceeds play out, so I would expect any games coming out over the next 2-3 months to be safe, so that would include the Wheelman launch," Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald told GameSpot. "As for whether the company can recover long-term, I certainly hope so, but can’t say with any certainty. The fact that Eidos is getting a bid from Square Enix is potentially a good sign, though. "

Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter was similarly upbeat about Midway's ultimate fate. "The creditors will decide, but my guess is that Midway recapitalizes (the creditors turn debt into stock), and gets some new financing so that it can either recover or be sold," he explained. "A going concern is worth a lot more than a liquidation, given that the key talent will leave if the company is liquidated. Look at Acclaim, 3DO and Interplay, where there was nothing left after liquidation, and contrast with Eidos, which has a bid for £84 million on the table. The creditors have to realize that they can collect $100 million plus if they can get this thing turned around."

Square Enix bids for Eidos (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204564.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2)

Tomb Raider publisher's board accepts £84.3 million offer, unanimously recommends deal to shareholders.

The identity of the company with which Eidos Interactive--formerly known as SCi Entertainment--entered takeover talks in January has been revealed. Today, the board of the beleaguered publisher revealed that it has come to an agreement with none other than Japanese role-playing game giant Square Enix.

Talking about the deal, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada said: "Eidos' products are highly complementary to our business and will accelerate our aggressive expansion into Western markets." In the announcement of the offer, the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Hitman, Thief, Championship Manager, and Just Cause franchises were called out as being among "the world's leading video game properties."

The Japanese publisher's offer of £84.3 million ($120 million) is being unanimously recommended to Eidos shareholders by the firm's board. That total represents an offer of 32 pence ($0.46) per share, which is more than triple the company's value when the approach was made, and double its share price when the London Stock Exchange closed yesterday. Since the announcement this morning, Eidos shares have climbed further, peaking at 31.25p ($0.45)--a 123 percent rise from the opening bell.

The announcement follows the news in January, shortly before Eidos announced that it had received and was considering a takeover approach, that sales of Tomb Raider Underworld had failed to meet expectations. Last year, the company shed 20 percent of its workforce, and its CEO admitted that the company needed "immediate change" to deliver appropriate returns to its investors.

Square Enix has been looking for acquisition targets to expand its global reach for some time, with Wada saying that his firm was "talking with quite a few companies in and outside of Japan," with a view to acquisitions. The move follows the Japanese publishing house's unsuccessful $200m move for Tecmo, and comes as its own share price is in the doldrums, nearing a six-year low. The company also released its delayed revised financial projections for the current financial year, downgrading its expected net income by 62.5 percent, blaming conditions in the arcade and offline gaming segments of its business.

Crandaeolon

03-27-2009, 17:45

Monk

03-28-2009, 11:23

No mention of Onlive yet?

News article:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-10202688-235.html

One-hour video presentation from GDC 2009:
http://www.gamespot.com/shows/on-the-spot/?series=on-the-spot&event=on_the_spot20090324

OnLive looks incredibly promising and at the same looks like it could be incredibly hard to implement. Imagine how many people are going to sign up on day one. Imagine the :daisy: :daisy: that will occur if the developers of this new community/distribution system do not have the hardware in place to cater to demand. All one has to do is recall the launch of steam. For an idea of what may be to come.

Personally? I hope OnLive works. It sounds amazing, but I won't go throwing roses at the feet of those responsible until we get the system ourselves. That way we can see, without a shadow of a doubt or flashy promos, what works and what doesn't.

Husar

03-28-2009, 12:48

My thoughts on OnLive:

- works ONLY online, meaning the whole data of everything is on their server and you depend even more on their server than you do with Steam
- even if you have a 100Mbps connection and their servers are lightning fast, there can be lag and I seriously doubt that there will never be lag between your input and the picture, unless you live next door to their server farm, perhaps
- you will pay quite a bit more for your games, you may not have to upgrade your own PC but you pay for them to upgrade their servers
- I'm european
- they're american
- you get the point

Jolt

03-29-2009, 16:12

Let me see if I get this right (I had heard about this, but didn't really care as I don't think it'll have that much success): Even with my graphics card (Something close to GeForce 2), I can buy Crysis and ETW and play them in the highest graphics without any lag (Other than Internet lag)? Even so, with a 4 MB broadband, I doubt it could bring in enough information at enough speed to run it laglessly.

Crandaeolon

03-29-2009, 16:58

According to their claims, you could play in standard definition with a 4Mbit connection. HD would require 5Mbit.

TinCow

03-31-2009, 13:28

EA strips all DRM from The Sims 2 except for serial numbers:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7972677.stm

Looks like they've finally learned their lesson.

Veho Nex

03-31-2009, 15:40

Tincow, you are the torch bearer to our anti EA drm Olympics. Good news i say!

TinCow

03-31-2009, 15:55

It is a good day for PC gaming. First the EA thing, and now this:

New Syndicate game in the works. (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/03/31/dont-call-it-a-comeback-syndicate-rumours-renewed/)

Veho Nex

03-31-2009, 15:58

I think syndicate might be before my time. :shame:

Fragony

04-13-2009, 09:37

It is a good day for PC gaming. First the EA thing, and now this:

New Syndicate game in the works. (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/03/31/dont-call-it-a-comeback-syndicate-rumours-renewed/)

Now that is great news.

Less good news, Fatal Frame for the wii was cancelled :no:

Silent Hill game sounds good though, should fit on the wii like a glove

http://wii.ign.com/articles/971/971316p1.html

pevergreen

04-13-2009, 11:15

Don't know if it should be here, but one of the original creators of D&D has passed away, on the 7th
http://dnd4.com/

**RE-UPDATE** Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, has officially passed away. Dave created the first campaign called Blackmoor and later worked with Gygax to create the original Dungeons and Dragons.

Here is a message directly from Dave’s family:

“Shortly after 11pm on Tuesday, April 7th, Dave Arneson passed away. He was comfortable and with family at the time and his passing was peaceful.

Veho Nex

04-13-2009, 17:10

Edit: Didnt see the word Co-Creator

Spino

04-16-2009, 21:15

THIEF 4 RUMORS!!!

http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/rumor-control/909119209/26849223/thief-4-rumors-reignited-by-eidos-montreal-teaser.html

:2thumbsup::yes::beam::2thumbsup:

Thief 4 rumors reignited by Eidos Montreal teaser
Posted Apr 15, 2009 12:08 pm PT By thorsen-ink 107 comments Source: The official Web site of two-year-old developer Eidos Montreal.

What we heard: When Eidos Montreal announced that it was working on Deus Ex 3 in November 2007, many fans of the thought-dead sci-fi series rejoiced. Five months later, the same studio sparked rumors that it was working on a new version of Thief, another classic franchise created by now-defunct Looking Glass Studios and continued by the later-closed Ion Storm.

Now, one year after Eidos Montreal declared that its "AAA project" would begin with the letter "T," the soon-to-be-Japanese-owned British publisher's French-Canadian shop has posted a new teaser banner for the game. On the lower-left of its official site, the studio posted a small black-and-white notice that promises "Eidos Montreal's second project to be revealed soon."

Though no further details--such as a date--are available, the info vacuum was filled by a theory reminscent of The Onion column Fontly Speaking. One diehard fan on the dieharder Through the Looking Glass forums noticed that the font used in the teaser banner (center) is very similar to that used in previous Thief games (bottom).

The official story: Eidos reps have not responded to requests for comment.

Bogus or not bogus?: Though the font is a tenuous link at best, the not-so-subtle hints that the remake-happy Quebecois studio has dropped aren't exactly Garrett-level stealthy. Throw in the fact that Eidos' new corporate master Square Enix name-checked Thief as one of "the world's leading video game properties," and a fourth Thief is looking not bogus.

I humbly beseech the gaming gods, PLEASE let it not suck!

Husar

04-17-2009, 18:23

Apparently only 18000 of 120000 people playing Demigod actually bought the game! :inquisitive:

link (http://forums.demigodthegame.com/346815/)

I just found that quite interesting, such a high ratio.

Alexander the Pretty Good

04-17-2009, 20:02

Wasn't a (small) part of that troubling start due to Gamestop releasing the game early?

TinCow

04-20-2009, 15:24

Veho Nex

04-20-2009, 16:08

You know... Im getting tired of the United States, I wonder what Fallout in other countries would look like.

frogbeastegg

04-20-2009, 16:26

Next Fallout game announced. (http://kotaku.com/5219584/new-fallout-announced)

Fallout: New Vegas
Not a sequel to FO3, just a different story set in another part of the US.
Being developed by Obsidian (KOTOR2, NWN2), not Bethesda.
This is very exciting RPG news! Obsidian has members of the Fallout 1 and 2 teams, including the lead director. They're also a team which excels at rich story and strong characters - the major aspects I found lacking in Fallout 3.

johnhughthom

04-20-2009, 16:30

This is very exciting RPG news! Obsidian has members of the Fallout 1 and 2 teams, including the lead director. They're also a team which excels at rich story and strong characters - the major aspects I found lacking in Fallout 3.

I agree, lets just hope they can release a more polished game than some of their more recent efforts.

TinCow

04-20-2009, 16:43

This is very exciting RPG news! Obsidian has members of the Fallout 1 and 2 teams, including the lead director. They're also a team which excels at rich story and strong characters - the major aspects I found lacking in Fallout 3.

Based on conversations with my Bethsoft friends, I think Bethsoft is still working in the FO universe, but their next release is going to be on their next-gen engine. I expect we'll see ES5 released by Bethsoft next on a new engine, followed by FO4 on the same engine. The Obsidian FO release is a stopgap game to keep interest in the universe alive while Bethsoft works on their new technologies.

frogbeastegg

04-20-2009, 17:56

Based on conversations with my Bethsoft friends, I think Bethsoft is still working in the FO universe, but their next release is going to be on their next-gen engine. I expect we'll see ES5 released by Bethsoft next on a new engine, followed by FO4 on the same engine. The Obsidian FO release is a stopgap game to keep interest in the universe alive while Bethsoft works on their new technologies.
I'm far more excited about the stop gap than the next 'proper' game in the series. Bethesda are good at making worlds; they're not so good at making those worlds fun to be in. Plot, character, smart quests - these are the things I crave in RPGs. ES5 and FO4 I shall play when they turn up because there aren't so many RPGs of that style, but I don't care how long I'm waiting.

Bethesda's world inhabited by Obsidian's characters and plot - it's a match made in heaven! Or it had better be! Obsidian plus KOTOR should have been equally glorious; publisher greed ruined it.

TinCow

04-20-2009, 18:13

Bethesda's world inhabited by Obsidian's characters and plot - it's a match made in heaven! Or it had better be! Obsidian plus KOTOR should have been equally glorious; publisher greed ruined it.

I agree, and I don't think we've got much to worry about. Bethsoft are the publishers, and despite the many complaints about their games, I've never seen "unfinished" being one of them. The odds of Bethsoft forcing Obsidian to push out an unfinished game seems pretty low to me, especially since Bethsoft will want to keep critical opinion on the FO universe high for their own FO4 sales.

Fragony

04-21-2009, 10:30

Xiahou

04-23-2009, 04:53

Bethesda's world inhabited by Obsidian's characters and plot - it's a match made in heaven! Or it had better be! Obsidian plus KOTOR should have been equally glorious; publisher greed ruined it.
Not to be a party pooper, but Obsidian doesn't really have a good track record does it? They kind of have a reputation for getting farmed out sequels to games and turning them into disappointments....

KOTOR2 was a good game, but unfinished and ultimately disappointing compared to the first. NWN2, to me at least, was an unplayable mess when it first came out. Two expansions later and I hear its finally starting to come together, but I've stopped caring. :shame:

I'd love to be proven wrong, but when I hear Obsidian is getting to do another sequel to a different devs game, its more likely to elicit a sigh from me than excitement. :sweatdrop:

Lemur

04-23-2009, 05:27

I'd love to be proven wrong, but when I hear Obsidian is getting to do another sequel to a different devs game, its more likely to elicit a sigh from me than excitement. :sweatdrop:
They need to negotiate a lot harder before accepting deals, that's obvious. Since they can't fund their own development the way Valve and BioWare can, they need to get guarantees of development budget and post-release support budget before they sign another contract, or their reputation will be forever destroyed. More than it is. Now.

frogbeastegg

04-23-2009, 11:32

Not to be a party pooper, but Obsidian doesn't really have a good track record does it? They kind of have a reputation for getting farmed out sequels to games and turning them into disappointments....

KOTOR2 was a good game, but unfinished and ultimately disappointing compared to the first. NWN2, to me at least, was an unplayable mess when it first came out. Two expansions later and I hear its finally starting to come together, but I've stopped caring. :shame:

I'd love to be proven wrong, but when I hear Obsidian is getting to do another sequel to a different devs game, its more likely to elicit a sigh from me than excitement. :sweatdrop:
KOTORII was shoved out early by LucasArts. I doubt any company could have made a success out of that. Even so, the game is more famous for what it wasn't than what it was.

NWN2 is less excusable. It seems they made some changes to the engine after people complained the game wasn't pretty enough, and those changes caused a raft of problems they weren't able to purge before release.

Obsidian is not so hot at technical stuff. This was true of their earlier, pre-Obsidian games too. Planescape: Torment had a lot of problems, so did the Fallouts, so did Icewind Dale. This announcement gives me hope - this is a mature, well made engine with mature, well made tools, and Bethesda are supporting Obsidian on the technical side. The development won't be rushed, the game won't be shoved out, and, as Tincow said earlier, I can't see Bethesda allowing a dodgy game to rain on the name they are working so hard to build back up.

Please, please do give NWN2 another go. In its current form the game easily stands next to the classic Infinity Engine titles; it's the closest thing we have to a modern Baldur's Gate 2. I played the game at release and hated it; I gave it a second go because I kept seeing people talking about how good it had become. I'm so happy I did.

I made a dedicated topic (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?p=2218916#post2218916) for the game as the discussion here is starting to take over the news thread.

FactionHeir

04-28-2009, 19:15

Yesterday (http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=pl&tl=en&u=http://polygamia.pl/Polygamia/1,95338,6546572,Konsolowy_Wiedzmin_skasowany_.html&prev=_t&usg=ALkJrhgKWtk1Z0GAjgYyZ8jF4xLFYmkFNw) a Polish Gaming News site reported just after office hours that The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf (http://become.thewitcher.com) was cancelled on short notice.

ShackNews (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58373) today confirms the same story, in English along with the statement of a CD Projekt RED PR Manager who stated that a comment would be forthcoming soon (http://www.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?topic=23707.msg505490#msg505490) in an ominous turn of events, though the actual fate of the game has yet to be revealed.

TinCow

04-28-2009, 20:19

Wow, that's strange. Didn't The Witcher sell pretty well?

FactionHeir

04-28-2009, 20:32

Yeah, it did quite well, and the EE too, considering it is coming from a previously unknown dev team from Poland. It did suffer somewhat from being less well known abroad from what I know. CDPR wanted to expand into the console market for this one particular game at least to share the experience with non PC users and to further improve on the PC version I imagine. Considering the amount of work put into it and the regular news updates on the console port, I am rather surprised to even read such rumors and certainly hope for the best.

FactionHeir

04-28-2009, 20:43

Gamebanshee has more (http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/static/EkupAuuElEaevQKOPt.php) to say and announces cancellation of Rise of the White Wolf but all production now being focussed on a multi-platform The Witcher 2.

TinCow

04-29-2009, 14:18

Ah, then I don't particularly care. Rise of the White Wolf was just the console port of the first game, right?

frogbeastegg

04-29-2009, 14:30

Console port with revamped combat to take advantage of the controller, plus small extras and tweaks here and there. Enough changes that I would have brought it even though I own both the original release and the boxed EE release. Sad news.

Sadder still is the loss of the 3rd project and the large staff cutbacks at CD Projekt. The Witcher was a damn fine PC RPG; any new RPG put out by this team gets my immediate interest, regardless of platform or theme. I don't want to watch them go under, as so many RPG studios have in the past.

TinCow

04-29-2009, 14:42

Sadder still is the loss of the 3rd project and the large staff cutbacks at CD Projekt. The Witcher was a damn fine PC RPG; any new RPG put out by this team gets my immediate interest, regardless of platform or theme. I don't want to watch them go under, as so many RPG studios have in the past.

I agree with you heavily on this. I'm actually seeing Eastern Europe as the savior of PC gaming. I predict that in about 5 years there will be massive PC gaming profits in that region, and all of the US companies that have abandoned the market will suddenly be asking themselves why they did it.

frogbeastegg

04-29-2009, 15:19

I agree with you heavily on this. I'm actually seeing Eastern Europe as the savior of PC gaming. I predict that in about 5 years there will be massive PC gaming profits in that region, and all of the US companies that have abandoned the market will suddenly be asking themselves why they did it.
:yes: A lot of the PC game types I like are now predominantly made in eastern Europe. Coupled with the famous eastern Europe difficulty level (Here in the east, the game beats YOU!), the whole experience is subtly - vitally - different to that you get with western European and American PC games. It's something I've come to look forward to; PC gaming was becoming a bit too homogenous in feel to me.

Husar

04-29-2009, 16:36

I agree, and actually thought White Wolf would be a good addition to my PS3 library, especially since i never bought the PC version.
Though I must say not all western RPGs are bad if you consider Germany western european and not eastern european. :sweatdrop:

Concerning CD Projekt, they still have GOG.com so maybe we should hurry and buy a few more games from there to support them. :sweatdrop:

FactionHeir

04-29-2009, 18:54

Depends on if the cutbacks were generally ordered by RED staff or the main CD Projekt, as GOG is not directly tied to RED.
Makes you feel great to be an unpaid appointment - there's no reason to fire you :grin:

Btw, official CD Projekt statement:
http://www.vg247.com/2009/04/29/confirmed-witcher-suspended-thanks-to-cd-projekt-failing-to-meet-payment/comment-page-1/#comment-67964

Has not even been posted on the forum yet.

frogbeastegg

04-29-2009, 19:02

Another, slightly different version of The Witcher story has cropped up.

The console versions of highly-anticipated RPG The Witcher have been put on hold by developer Widescreen Games after over a year of work, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

French studio Widescreen had been developing Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the PC game, complete with new exclusive material, for Polish developer CD Projekt since March 2008, but a lack of payment has left Widescreen with no other option but to suspend development, claims CEO Olivier Masclef.

"Basically, after a few months of not being paid, we stopped," said Masclef speaking to GamesIndustry.biz. "We've not been paid for a few months and we had a very nasty broken payment. We had no choice but to put the product on hold. We've not been able to find a solution."

Masclef claims Widescreen was also kept in the dark and not informed of new milestone dates for the project, along with added features, which publisher Atari was expecting following discussions with CD Projekt.

"We were not involved in discussions with Atari and CD Projekt. The financial situation seems to have grown more and more difficult," he said.

The game, The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf, was due to go alpha in June, but work stopped three weeks ago. A frustrated Mesclef told GamesIndustry.biz that the troubles have also harmed Widescreen's relationship with distributor Namco Bandai, after early indication that the title would sell well at retail.

"It's unfortunate because we have very nice technology, we've replicated all the features of The Witcher," he detailed. "Atari has validated the product and seen that our tech is working. And we've heard that the distributors have been committing a very high volume for the title, and it was extremely promising. It's a very silly situation. I can't disclose the budget, but it would be a profitable title if it hit the shelves. But at this stage it will not."

He added: "I really don't like the situation because we've also had a good relationship with Namco Bandai, and it's a huge chunk of their portfolio. Historically we've always had extremely good relationship, we really respect them and we've worked with them in the past, they have a lot of time for developers. I feel sorry for them because they're not going to have this title."

CD Projekt told GamesIndustry.biz that it would not comment on the situation.

In the comments thread on that article there's a copy of a quote from vg247:

It is sad that we cannot talk with WSG in normal business way, but communicate through media. It is absolutely not our style of making business, and we answer here as we feel forced to do this to clarify the unclear information:
1. All payments were done on time according to milestone plan.
2. Truth is that payments were later than originally planned but this was solely due to delays in production. The delays were growing in the project due to WSG continued to miss the deadlines.
3. Delays and risks of further development by WSG were unacceptable by CD Projekt (this happened even though CDProjekt RED was constantly increasing main team involvement to help in the production). The most important fact is that development process didn’t make planned release date possible and moreover propositions of the new release date were changing few times. Besides the schedule, technical incapability created a risk of missing planned quality which is absolutely unacceptable. And this brought an end in our cooperation with WSG.
4. Currently the works are on hold. We are evaluating all possible options to continue the production.
Making this decision was extremely difficult and sad as we know that many people are waiting for this project. We do our best to find a way out of this situation. But final decision must guarantee high quality of the product, otherwise we won’t continue the production no matter what consequences it will bring. We are committed to the highest quality of all our games, and this is unnegotiable for us.
So no matter what the final decision or solution we will find, please be sure that it will be the best for the game quality, and satisfaction of gamers, which is the most important for us!
Michal Kicinski
Joint CEO
CD Projekt Group
This is beginning to look messy.

FactionHeir

04-29-2009, 19:05

See my edit above yours :wink:

frogbeastegg

04-29-2009, 19:16

The first of my quotes is different to the one in your link, and I thought since I was posting that I might as well post CD Projekt's side of the story too. Fairness, and all that.

Alternately I delete both your posts and no one will ever know :evil laugh:

TinCow

05-01-2009, 15:01

Two interesting stories today.

1 - Next STALKER game announced (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/01/official-call-of-pripyat/). STALKER: Call of Pripyat will be released this autumn and takes place immediately after the first game. The player works for the military this time.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat announced
30 April 2009

GSC Game World is glad to announce a new project in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series – S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (working title) for PC.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat will become a third stand-alone game in the highly-acclaimed Survival FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. The project is slanted for release in autumn 2009.

The events of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat unfold shortly after the end of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Having discovered about the open path to the Zone center, the government decides to hold a large-scale military “Fairway” operation aimed to take the CNPP under control.

According to the operation’s plan, the first military group is to conduct an air scouting of the territory to map out the detailed layouts of anomalous fields location. Thereafter, making use of the maps, the main military forces are to be dispatched.

Despite thorough preparations, the operation fails. Most of the avant-garde helicopters crash. In order to collect information on reasons behind the operation failure, Ukraine’s Security Service send their agent into the Zone center. From now on everything depends on the player.

Key game features:

* Photorealistic exclusion Zone – Pripyat town, Yanov railway station, Jupiter factory, Kopachi village and more, recreated by their true-to-life prototypes.
* New story, a number of unique characters.
* Extended system of side quests.
* New monsters: Chimera and Burer. New behaviour and abilities for all monsters.
* New A-Life system, created using the players’ best-liked elements of the first two games in series.
* Emissions considerably influence the world of the Zone.
* Sleep function added into the game.
* New player’s interface.
* Possibility to continue the game after completion in a freeplay mode.
* The game is developed on X-Ray engine v.1.6

2 - EA Sports is abandoning "physical media" for PC games (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/01/ea-sports-abandon-physical-media-on-pc/). All of their future releases will be download-only, and will likely have funky payment systems.

Fragony

05-04-2009, 07:35

First footage from feel for the Wii, looks scary!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBo9lpjqeeE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamert.nl%2Fnieuws%2Feerste_beelden_feel_the_grudge.html&feature=player_embedded

Xiahou

05-05-2009, 06:00

Apparently, there's a leaked trailer on YouTube for RedSteel2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGhnEafXKfc). The graphics look amazing- so good, in fact, that it actually makes me suspicious as to whether or not it's actual in-game footage.

Well, here's hoping.... :sweatdrop:

TinCow

05-05-2009, 13:38

Wow, EA seems to have reformed itself somewhat. First The Sims 2 was announced to be DRM free, now they're doing the same thing for Bioware's Dragon Age:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/05/draconian-dragon-slain-dragon-age-drm-free/

"We’re happy to announce that the boxed/retail PC version of Dragon Age: Origins will use only a basic disk check and it will not require online authentication. In other words, the retail PC version of the game won’t require you to go online to authenticate the game for offline play. We have chosen not to use SecuROM in any version of Dragon Age that is distributed by EA or BioWare.”

Xiahou

05-05-2009, 18:33

Wow, EA seems to have reformed itself somewhat. First The Sims 2 was announced to be DRM free, now they're doing the same thing for Bioware's Dragon Age:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/05/draconian-dragon-slain-dragon-age-drm-free/That's awesome. I'll definitely be buying it then. :2thumbsup:

I doubt it's due to any altruism on EA's part- they probably concluded that draconian DRM doesn't help sales and generates a pile of bad publicity. A simple disc check will keep "casual" pirates honest, and no DRM scheme will stop the hardcore ones anyway....

TinCow

05-06-2009, 14:06

More news from EA, and this is... startling...
http://www.vg247.com/2009/05/06/ea-the-pc-is-rapidly-becoming-the-largest-gaming-platform-in-the-world/

The CFO of EA believes that PCs will become the dominant gaming platform in the near future due to digital distribution. Apparently profits from that area have been growing exponentially for a long time.

I guess PC gaming isn't as dead as we were lead to believe.

Ramses II CP

05-06-2009, 14:46

"...while CEO John Riccitiello said digital revenue in total had risen to $400 in the last fiscal year."

I have a feeling there is a word missing from there, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

I'm not going to say I predicted this, but I've been saying that the PC would not fade away as a gaming platform. There's just too much flexibility in it, too much broad based utility beyond games, to kill it's appeal to developers. Maybe fewer people buy a PC for gaming, but more people own one they're willing to use for gaming, which is exactly why easier distribution methods and less consumer hassle will result in more profitable PC games.

:egypt:

TinCow

05-07-2009, 13:33

3D Realms itself becomes vaporware:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/07/3d-realms-closure-confirmed/#more-11254

The dev has closed and all staff have been laid off. I'm guessing this means another delay for DNF?

Jolt

05-07-2009, 14:42

:laugh3: DNF is becoming the modern legend of our King Sebastian I (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastianism).

Vladimir

05-07-2009, 19:06

Warluster

05-08-2009, 06:46

Call of Duty 6 (Sigh) Modern Warfare 2 is now officially announced, not that it needs a announcement since its obvious a new one would come, with the release of a short trailer and even (By the looks of it) a release date?

Call of Duty 6: Modern Warfare 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj7rowpplXk&feature=fvsr)

It does make me wonder when they'll stop? While they'll obviosuly won't as its such a big series, I think it would be nice if Infinity Ward at least veered off CoD and tried something diffrent, even another war game, just to get out of the CoD name.
Edit: Also, the official site: Official Site (http://modernwarfare2.infinityward.com/#/?zoom=1&x=179.5&y=96&time=5.384920634920634)

Husar

05-08-2009, 12:42

Warluster

05-09-2009, 22:13

Uhm, that's the teaser trailer which is like two weeks old.

Also afaik it won't be Call of Duty, instead I read they want to make Modern Warfare it's own series, so it would just be Modern Warfare 2.
So they did exactly what you want because they are not working on yet another Call of Duty, they are working on Modern Warfare 2.

Oh:embarassed: I saw it in my gaming mag and assumed it was new.

As for the name change: :wings:. Though the name doesn't mean that much its still a minor relief.

Did anyone see the news on Duke Nukem Forever? 3D Realms has offically closed down due to lack of funding (And I am sure no one will want to buy the Duke Nukem name... unless they're sure they can turn it from a joke into something real.) This is a shame as the trailer released in 2001 (:laugh4:) didn't look bad.

Warluster

05-11-2009, 07:01

Sorry to spam this thread with Call of Duty news but someone over at the TWC found this new video IW has released actually showing MW2 gameplay!
http://planetcallofduty.gamespy.com/fullstory.php?id=158161
If that isn't all bad movie stuff (Forgot the name) its looking pretty good so far, even from that minute of gameplay. Apparently a full on un-cover gameplay movie will be released on the 24th.

frogbeastegg

05-11-2009, 14:40

Thief 4 is real (http://eidosmontreal.com/en/games.html).

frogbeastegg

05-19-2009, 16:02

On the day I finish the Fallout DLC, yet more is announced (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/bethesda-doing-more-fallout-3-dlc).

Warluster

05-28-2009, 23:41

The complete MW2 trailer is now released. Rather then snatches of gameplay it completely shows off the game; it feels more like a movie trailer then one for a game!
Modern Warfare 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiFSSpYdPuc)

Looking really good so far. From a quick look at this trailer they might've put some more effort into the story and characters!

TinCow

06-01-2009, 17:57

frogbeastegg

06-01-2009, 19:15

!!!!!

Lucasarts is re-releasing the original Secrets of Monkey Island with improved graphics, interface, and voice acting. As if that weren't awesome enough, they are also making 5 new mini-Monkey Island games called Tales of Monkey Island.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/06/01/lechuck-me-monkey-island-returns/

That's the second best Monkey Island news I've ever heard! :skull:
Monkey 1-3 are some of my favourite games ever :loveg: Monkey 4 shall not be mentioned lest it destroy my fragile mental illusion that the game didn't exist and was really nothing more than a bad dream.

Remake! :balloon: Looks great - Guybrush's voice actor is back, the graphics are exactly how I'd imagine a higer res version of the original graphics. I am so buying this on day 1.

New ones ... er, um. Yeah. That's some downright ugly character design in that trailer; the existing designs had so much more charm. I hate that new Guybrush; he looks like Rincewind from the Discworld point and clicks. It wasn't funny either.

Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!

The final bit of the announcement needs to be here:

These efforts are just the start of LucasArts’ new mission to revitalize its deep portfolio of beloved gaming franchises. In addition to these new Monkey Island projects, LucasArts recently revealed that the classic adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (originally released in 1992) is included as an unlockable bonus in the Wii™ version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, set to be released on June 9. Additional announcements are forthcoming.
More! I want Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, The Dig, Monkey Island 2, Indy, and Full Throttle to get the same treatment as Monkey 1, now, in fact yesterday if not sooner.

TinCow

06-01-2009, 20:36

More! I want Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, The Dig, Monkey Island 2, Indy, and Full Throttle to get the same treatment as Monkey 1, now, in fact yesterday if not sooner.

Thanks for pointing that out, I was skimming by the time I reached the end and didn't notice it. I'm pleased to see this work on updating and re-releasing old games. There are tons of great old games out there, and it's a shame that newer gamers don't get to experience them. Old graphics and interface systems are legitimately so bad by modern standards that they can be frustrating to play, so it's wonderful that they're being given a new lease on life by converting them over to (relatively) modern standards.

I'm particularly happy that it's Lucasarts that is doing this, because it means my dream of playing a high-graphics version of TIE Fighter may actually come true.

Ramses II CP

06-01-2009, 22:26

Left 4 Dead 2 has been announced:

http://store.steampowered.com/news/2552/

I will be buying it.

:egypt:

Xiahou

06-09-2009, 04:27

This really isn't "new"- it was announced a while ago, but I don't think I've seen it mentioned here and they released a new trailer at E3.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-silent-hill/50852)
It's supposedly a re-imagining of the original, as retold by the main character to his therapist. Looks promising.

Edit:
Also, Muramasa: The Demon Blade (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-muramasa-the/50913), from the makers of Odin Sphere, looks to be shaping up quite nicely.

Crazed Rabbit

06-20-2009, 07:23

Have you ever wanted to club baby seals and hippie environmentalists? No?

Well now you can. (http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/06/18/overlord-ii-demo-probably-wont-win-any-gaming-awards-from-peta/)
https://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8469/overlord.jpg

CR

Martok

06-23-2009, 03:30

I'm a bit surprised froggy or one of our other Brits here didn't already post this:

BBFC stripped of rating powers for UK video games (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article6550177.ece)

Three men in Borehamwood will become solely responsible for rating computer games in the UK, after a plan sponsored by Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, to have titles examined by the film censor was abandoned last week.

Digital Britain, the communications White Paper, concluded last week that game publishers could keep their controversial rating system, which has been criticised by some as weak and lenient when it comes to violent games.

Critics of the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system used by computer games makers had called for the British Board and Film Classification (BBFC) to rate 12, 15 and 18 computer games. Last week’s decision, however, means that the film censor will lose its existing legal power to censor games that feature “gross violence” — such as Grand Theft Auto — and apply an 18 rating.

Advocates of the PEGI system say that it has been strengthened and its standards match those of the film censor. Against this, the BBFC has said repeatedly that the PEGI system is weak and that it does not have enough staff to handle the number of games being produced. David Cooke, the BBFC director, said that he believed the film body “satisfies the requirements [of age rating] better” than the PEGI system.
Related Links

* Games classification to be a real shoot-’em-up

* Computer games to get cigarette-style health warnings

The BBFC has ten examiners, who cover about 3 per cent of the games released each year in the UK. In contrast, under the PEGI system, games makers fill in a tick-box questionaire.

Their answers are checked by a body called the Video Standards Council, which is based in Borehamwood and until recently consisted of a former policeman and a music industry lawyer. A third staff member has been added recently.

There are several examples of unusual or contradictory games classification decisions. Manhunt 2, a game in which players perform “executions” to eliminate opponents, was passed uncut as an 18+ game on the PEGI system, but was rejected in its original form by the film censor. Rockstar, the publisher, eventually cut it and released it with an 18 certificate last year.

A 2006 game based on The Sopranos television programme, The Sopranos: The Road To Respect, was rated 16+ by the games body, but rated 18 by the film censor because it involved what was described as “sadistic violence”. The German regulator banned the game.

The BBFC discovered an apparent recipe for the manufacture of the drug crystal meth at the heart of Grand Theft Auto IV, prompting crisis talks with Rockstar, the game’s maker. After checking that the recipe was inaccurate, it remained in the game.

Last week’s decision to back the PEGI system represents a turnaround by ministers and other critics of the games classification system. Tanya Byron, the television doctor and Times writer — asked by Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, to review children’s safety in games and online — had initially called for the film censor’s remit to be expanded to cover 12, 15, and 18 games.

She said that the PEGI system was poorly understood by parents and that many parents thought its 3+ to 18+ ratings referred to the game’s difficulty. This could mean that parents, who believed that their children were advanced, were at risk of buying inappropriate games.

Dr Byron has since said that the existing PEGI system had been “strengthened”. Siôn Simon, the Creative Industries Minister, justified the new thinking, saying that “the new system of games classification” would match the “high standards” of the film industry.

For the first time, games ratings would be backed up by law, placing them on a par with film ratings. That means that shops can legally refuse to sell shoot-em-up games to children under age. Shop owners can be prosecuted for turning a blind eye to such transactions.

PEGI is ultimately owned by the computer games industry trade body and some fear that it may not feel able to ban games that are submitted.

However, Mike Rawlinson, the director-general of ELSPA, the trade body that represents the computer games industry, said that standards had been toughened up. He said that the three people in the Video Standards Council were “very skilled in their work”. ELSPA said that of 50 games rated by PEGI as 18+, the film censor downgraded 22 of them.

My question is: Is this good news overall for UK gamers? Or will PEGI likely be even more restrictive?

Crazed Rabbit

06-23-2009, 04:43

She said that the PEGI system was poorly understood by parents and that many parents thought its 3+ to 18+ ratings referred to the game’s difficulty. This could mean that parents, who believed that their children were advanced, were at risk of buying inappropriate games.

Whaa...? Any evidence to support that? (EDIT: This is of course directed rhetorically at that woman)

I'm guessing the PEGI is better for gamers, just because the "violent games are destroying our youth! oh noes!" folks don't like the system.

CR

Meneldil

06-23-2009, 12:34

What a load of BS.

frogbeastegg

06-23-2009, 13:37

I'm a bit surprised froggy or one of our other Brits here didn't already post this
I avoid censorship and ratings discussions as a rule. Too many differing opinions going round and round in circles with little changing between revolutions.

Besides, I'm still trying to decide where on the scale of stupidity this falls. Scraping the system people do understand in favour of one many don't is supposed to help parents how exactly? I can't see it as anything other than a knee-jerk reaction in response to the vocal, misguided wailing certain groups have been making about games. The Byron report was supposed to declare them a public hazard and provide excuse to crack down on them, blaming them for society's ills. Thankfully she used her eyes and her brain and said nothing of the sort.

The decision has also got an element of cost cutting in it IMO. The BBFC needs government funding; PEGI doesn't. I think it was 7 jobs the BBFC cut in response to the announcement. 7 very well paid people, and and no further need to buy consoles etc.

PEGI is used in a lot of European countries and works successfully. The difference is that - as far as I understand it - none of those countries had an equivolent to the BBFC before adopting PEGI. Germany, the only country I know of with a similar system, still uses its own system. That's why Germany and, to a much lesser extent, the UK are considered to be more censorship oriented.

My question is: Is this good news overall for UK gamers? Or will PEGI likely be even more restrictive?

Whaa...? Any evidence to support that? (EDIT: This is of course directed rhetorically at that woman)
Both of these tie together.

PEGI is fine ... for a gamer like me. I understand what those symbols mean, and I don't mean in the sense that I know the fist represents violence. I mean I understand what violence in games can be. I understand that a game which is ok for a 12 year old might be unsuitable for a 7 year old for reasons like more detailed violence, an atmosphere of tension or fear, and so on. As a gamer I rather like PEGI; once you understand it and have the context to place it in you can get a good idea of what’s in a game.

I've worked with a couple of non-gamer parents with young children. Both made an effort to understand their child's hobby and to provide games which fit in with the boundaries they felt appropriate. Both of them spent a bit of time now and then watching the games their child played so they had some knowledge of what games are. Both very smart people. While they understood the concrete BBFC age ratings the PEGI ones left them confused. What is sexual content in a 12 rated game? Are we talking chaste kissing or nudity with the interesting parts obscured? What makes a 12 rated game with a scary icon milder than a 15 rated one with a scary icon? How is 12 rated language worse than 7 rated language? Why is Lego Star Wars' violence badge different to Overlord's? How are these ratings decided on anyway? I don't understand what particular content the discrimination badge is awarded for, and what on earth does "mild peril" mean?

The appearance of the PEGI age rating logo itself is a major stumbling block. The British public is trained to look for the BBFC logos and understands them because they are used on other media. The PEGI logos resemble the optional badges put on toys to show what age they are suitable for - in terms of mental advancement and choking hazards. So some parents are under the belief that little 6 year old Billy can play 12 rated games because he's so advanced for his age, and it's a good thing. Buying a game rated 3+ for your 6 year old is tantamount to admitting they are a very slow developer! That's why our new PEGI age ratings have had coloured backgrounds added; it's an effort to make it resemble the BBFC labels.

There's a larger factor in the PEGI=mental advancement misconception. BBFC is a brand. It's widely recognised. For decades this has been our age rating system; everyone understands it. If an entertainment product needs to be rated it will have a BBFC logo on it. If it doesn't then it won't. Simple as that. Remove the BBFC 18 from the box of a game and leave the PEGI one on it and hand it to a random person in the street, and ask if it's suitable for young children. Unless they know something about PEGI they will answer that it's not been rated so it must be ok. The BBFC doesn't rate games with lower ages; there's nothing below 15 because the bulk of games fall below 15 and the BBFC doesn't have the resources to assess games expected to come in at 12 etc. A PEGI 15 sat side by side with a BBFC 15 has a good chance to get the point home that PEGI is a rating too; a lone PEGI 12 doesn't, especially when films can be rated with a BBFC 12, PG and U. So PEGI is up a creek without a paddle until you reach 15, and when you reach 15 people are looking for something else anyway.

Quite aside from label recognition, lots of non-gaming adults don't fully understand why a rating has been given out. Because they haven't played a scary game they don't know how much that can affect the player. Blood, violence, bad language - well a game is a toy, isn't it? It's just going to be like one of Timmy's cartoons. Perception of video games is shifting, slowly but surely. Each generation has more gamers in it, and more people who grew up with games. There's still a wide spread view that games are aimed at children or are all silly harmless fun like Rockband. That's where most of the hysteria over games like GTA4 comes from. Games are for children and this game is full of adult content; next we'll be handing out porn at primary schools! Some people cannot get it through their thick skulls that games can be aimed purely and squarely at adults.

To stir up more confusion, games have had multiple rating systems in my lifetime. We swap from one to another with little warning and less explanation as to why. The BBFC has been the only constant; it's been the source of context for the new ratings, and a means to bridge the gap between the old ones. People hold on more tightly to what they are familiar with when things change frequently.

So what does this changeover mean? It means that people who already struggle to understand what game ratings mean are now going to be lost. No BBFC label on the box will be taken to mean that the game doesn't need an age rating. It means that a medium which isn't always taken seriously is now even more 'for children'. It means there are going to be many sales assistants who get fined for breaking the new law; it's hard enough to tell if someone looks over 18, let alone over 12. The bulk of those of us who do understand it all, and who do know what it all means, are too old for the ratings to apply to, and so the change doesn't affect us one jot unless we have children, in which case we will continue as before.

The initial press release I saw further muddied matters by declaring that selling a 12 rated game to a minor will now be a finable offence. A minor is someone under 18. :dizzy2:

In order for this to work at all a major effort needs to be made to make the general public aware of the ratings and their meanings. Frequent TV spots, pages in newspapers, big fat posters behind the till in all shops selling games, leaflets, more. Heh, in some cases a guy with a megaphone shouting the meaning right down the person's ear wouldn't go amiss.

When PEGI first appeared it had little fanfare and little effort was made to explain it to people; you had to seek the information for yourself. ELSPA had little explanation when we used that. The BBFC as it applies to games had little explanation. Why should I believe the new PEGI will be different? It won't be sufficiently explained because the government doesn't care to put full weight behind it. Further, the timing is dreadful. A major effort would cost a lot of money. Our economy is ailing and people won't like money being spent on such a 'trivial' thing. Who cares about ages on toys when people are losing their jobs by the thousands?

Case in point, I only know about the changeover because I saw a news blip on the Eurogamer website. So they're already failing to inform the people who need to know.

I'm worried about the fallout of this. A system people don't understand and new laws which will inevitably be broken - I can see the anti-games faction whipping up a storm with the ammo this move will provide. That store broke the law and sold a 12 rated game to a child! What purveyors of vileness they are! Ban this sick filth! And why are we following a European system anyway?! Who are they to judge what is appropriate for a British citizen?!

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As far as restriction goes, under our current dual system PEGI is less restrictive. The BBFC can demand cuts and ban products; PEGI can't. PEGI is based on the developers filling in a tick list to declare what content their games has; the BBFC is based on a game being taken out of the developer's hands and played. Self regulatory versus outside regulation. Developers know exactly what to include in order to obtain a certain PEGI rating.

Once PEGI takes over completely I'm not sure what will happen. Theoretically at least, any game which goes above whatever their 18 rating is will be banned because unrated games cannot be sold and there's no equivolent to America's AO. I don't know if it's even possible to exceed their 18 rating.