The Gaming News Thread

[drone]

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]

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

[NOTE: SWEARING!]

CR

[Kekvit Irae]

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.

[TevashSzat]

Gone, baby, gone: 1up sold, EGM killed, staff promptly fired

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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]

FTC to hold town meeting on DRM woes

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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]

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

Looking at "The MMO Crash of 2008"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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

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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

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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]

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]

Guitar Hero III Becomes Highest-Grossing Game Ever

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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]

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]

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/t...t-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]

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]

Report: Sony to post first loss since '95

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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

[TevashSzat]

Final Fantasy XIII exclusive to Japan in 2009

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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

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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]

America's Army 3 deploys in 2009

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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

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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

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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]

Even more bad news......

Microsoft deleting 5,000 jobs after profits slip

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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

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[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

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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]

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

[TevashSzat]

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

Confirmed: Microsoft Flight Sim studio closing

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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]

Smash Bros. dev pounding out new TMNT

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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

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

[Xiahou]

Smash Bros. dev pounding out new TMNT

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

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.

[TevashSzat]

US retail PC game sales down $210 million in '08

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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]

EA readying Need for Speed threesome

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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]

The NFS MMOG will suck so badly it will bankrupt EA. :P

[TevashSzat]

The NFS MMOG will suck so badly it will bankrupt EA. :P

Exactly my first thought.....

Activision, LucasArts return to E3

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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

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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]

Crytek metabolizes Free Radical

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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%

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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

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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

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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]

Stardock opening second studio with plans for a cross platform (PC included) RPG

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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

[TevashSzat]

Lots of Bad News.....

Axe drops at Warhammer dev as subs sink to 300K

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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

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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

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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

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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]

We will not let you experiment our games, says GameTap

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]

The crysis people bought the Haze people? More unimpressive shooters coming up, I guess.

[Martok]

Stardock opening second studio with plans for a cross platform (PC included) RPG

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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

Holy crap. I'd no idea this was in the works.

I knew Stardock was planning on *eventually* making an RPG in the spirit of the Baldurs Gate series, but I didn't think it would happen this soon. Outstanding news.

[TevashSzat]

Capcom, Konami shack up with Home in Japan

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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

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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.