Official Video Game News

[Jagi]

GameSpy Multiplayer tech integrated into Unreal Tournament 3 for PC and PS3

PRESS RELEASE: GameSpy And Epic Games To Integrate Gamespy Multiplayer Technology Into Epic's Unreal Tournament 3 On PC And PlayStation 3

IGN Entertainment’s GameSpy, a leader in multiplayer and online gaming technology, and Epic Games today announced a licensing deal to incorporate GameSpy’s multiplayer technology into Epic’s Unreal Tournament 3, the immensely popular first-person shooter franchise. This partnership comes on the heels of a recent announcement between GameSpy and Epic Games that included a licensing deal to incorporate GameSpy’s online technology into Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 and GameSpy joining Epic’s Integrated Partners Program.

Under the terms of the agreement, GameSpy’s multiplayer technology - including multiplayer matchmaking, in-game and out-of-game messaging, deep player statistics, Voice over IP (VoIP) communication and a robust leaderboard and ranking system - will be incorporated into both the PLAYSTATION®3 and PC versions of Unreal Tournament 3. The new agreement expands on GameSpy’s current relationship with Epic Games, which created a one-stop solution for game developers by incorporating GameSpy’s online technology into Unreal Engine 3, one of the world’s most popular game engines.

“GameSpy is excited to expand our existing relationship with Epic Games and align ourselves with Unreal Tournament 3,” said Jamie Berger, senior vice president of consumer products and technology for IGN Entertainment. “As our technology continues to expand and evolve with next-generation consoles, we will continue to work with developers to provide an ease and expertise when it comes to online gaming technology.”

“Partnering with GameSpy for the second time and expanding on our IPP relationship furthers our commitment to including the highest level of online technology into our video games,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, Inc. “Unreal Tournament 3 is a leader in online gaming, and we will continue to push boundaries and technology to develop a game that satisfies the high expectations of our franchise fans.”

Unreal Tournament 3 marks the return of the industry's premiere first-person shooter franchise. In the latest installment of the award-winning Unreal franchise, players assume the role of a futuristic warrior engaged in contests of intense warfare against dedicated and skilled opponents, controlled either by human contestants online or by A.I. These brutal contests are fought with the most powerful military weapons and vehicles known to man. In Unreal Tournament 3, players can go face-to-face with devastating close quarters weapons like the flak cannon and rocket launcher, or pick off their enemies from a distance with a high-caliber sniper rifle. Players will also be able to fully access the universe's most capable and advanced set of vehicles in their quest to dominate and overwhelm opponents. Unreal Tournament 3 will also be the first game to feature robust user-generated content on PLAYSTATION®3 including multiplayer maps, custom game modes and much more. Unreal Tournament 3 is scheduled for release November 19 on the PC and is coming soon for the PLAYSTATION®3.

 

[Jagi]

More people waiting for DMC4 on PS3 than on 360 at Japanese show

Gamers lined up for between 60 and 80 minutes to play Devil May Cry 4 for the PS3 at the Games Festa Japan. While the wait in line for the 360 version was much shorter as the line ballparked between 6 and 8 people throughout the day.

Just like at TGS, gamers lined up in droves for Devil May Cry 4. That is, for the PS3 version. The way ballparked between 60 and 80 minutes throughout the day. What about for Xbox 360 version?

That line ballparked between 6 and 8 people throughout the day. Do people here even know it's multiplat?

http://kotaku.com/gaming/games-fest...-for-dmc4--on-ps3-than-on-xbox-360-321360.php

 

[Jagi]

Atari bows out of development race, CEO quits​

By Frank Caron | Published: November 14, 2007 - 11:39 CT

Two big announcements from Atari today, as the company has announced that it will be stepping out of the game development business to focus solely on publishing. CEO David Pierce has also stepped down from the company.

Atari has been suffering for a while now, as a dwindling stock price and subpar fiscal performance have left the company a tattered version of what it once was. Seeking to resolve its financial difficulties, the company is hoping that the switch to publishing alone will allow for a more streamlined and profitable business model.

The statement sent out by the company explains that "Atari will no longer provide production and quality assurances services to [Infogrames]. Rather, Atari plans to transfer certain employees and contract other staff on a project basis for a limited period of time." Moreover, as "part of the company restructuring, Atari, Inc. will reduce its current workforce in order to re-align the Company's cost structure with its on-going business base." In addition, Infogrames will gain the license to one of Atari's more successful franchises, Test Drive.

As for former CEO David Pierce, the statement notes that Pierce "has resigned his position as Atari's Chief Executive Officer under the terms of his employment agreement" and says that the Board of Directors "[appreciate] David's support and commitment through a difficult period in the Company's history and wish him well in his future endeavors." This marks yet another change for the company's management in recent months.

http://66.225.202.210/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/11/14/atari-bows-out-of-development-race-ceo-quits

 

[ThaBurgerPimp]

looks like it wont be a movie after all

Game Informer's December Cover Revealed!
by Billy Berghammer
POSTED: 11/14/2007 12:23 PM

While you’re probably busy being buried by this year’s holiday releases, we’re busy bringing you the biggest world exclusives in Game Informer Magazine. Today, we’re dropping the bomb on our December world-exclusive cover story – Ghostbusters!

Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd are getting back together and revisiting their roles to make a sequel to Ghostbusters 1 and 2 – in video-game form, and we’ve got the first details. Both Aykroyd and Ramis are teaming up for scriptwriting duties and are going far beyond just the typical licensed add-your-voice-to-the-game-you-had-nothing-to-do-with formula. And no, this has nothing to do with the Ghostbusters Zootfly video demonstration that floated around the internet in January.

The December Issue also features our Holiday Buying Guide 2007, an in-depth hands-on with Super Smash Bros. Brawl and all the reviews that’ll get you all set for your holiday gift list.

Plus, for Game Informer subscribers, Game Informer Unlimited hits this Friday with loads on Ghostbusters and much more!


damn looks like Ernie Hudson wont be back as Winston

 

[Jagi]

Two teens beat the crap out of a guy for his PSP

Joseph Morales was watching a movie on his PSP when two teenagers beat the sh*t out of him and stole his PSP. The kids grabbed for the PSP and when Joseph didn't let go, they beat him down to the ground. It took about ten minutes before someone came by and scarred off the teenagers. The 16-year-olds were both caught shortly after the attack and have been charged with two counts of felony robbery and a misdemeanor count of assault.

Moral of the story: A PSP is not worth getting your ass kicked over. A DS is totally worth going down in a fight though ... OH SNAP!

http://www.destructoid.com/two-teens-beat-the-crap-out-of-a-guy-for-his-psp-54266.phtml

 

[Jagi]

Halo 3, the reason for reduction in PC online play?

Recent statistics show that online PC game play time dropped during October. Xfire's senior director of marketing has suggested that Halo 3 could well be a reason for this fall in activity as a lot of Xfire users are console gamers too. However, with the release of titles such as Call of Duty 4, things seem to be picking up again for November as they experienced a 10 percent increase in traffic in comparison to October.

quote:

Possible reasons for this fall may be down to the release of marketing phenomenon Halo 3 for the Xbox 360, according to Xfire's senior director of marketing, Frederic Descamps.

"We think that the most reasonable explanation is the release of major console titles - Halo 3 came out September 25th - which shows that a lot of Xfire users are console gamers too.

"However with the release of the widely anticipated titles Hellgate: London (October 31) and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (November 5), we have seen a 10 per cent increase in daily gameplay for November as compared to October.

"Call of Duty 4 is already the top first-person shooter, and second game overall on Xfire."



http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=30657

 

[Jagi]

EB Games: only enough Rock Band units for preorders, no more until 2008

EB/Gamestop staff are canceling midnight launch parties at a number of stores according to staff. Many locations are only going to get enough units to cover their preorders with no more units expected until next year.

quote:

I preordered Rock Band the day before Guitar Hero 3 was released, and that has turned out to be a good move. I called up my local EB (staffed by cool people, defying the stereotype) to check and see if they were doing a midnight release. Apparently EB/GameStop corporate has canceled the midnight launch parties at a number of stores. Many locations are only going to get enough units to cover their preorders and then...

...no more units until next year.

When I contacted another local GameStop, they told me the same thing and informed me that they were only allowed to sell four preorders for the whole store. They, as well, are expecting no additional Rock Band bundles until next year.

We made a few more calls in other areas of the country and there are still some stores having midnight launches, but everyone expressed doubts about restocks. If you're serious about getting the game, make the calls to your local stores, and get there early.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thu...er-to-acquire-than-the-wii-was-last-christmas

 

[Jagi]

looks like it wont be a movie after all

Game Informer's December Cover Revealed!
by Billy Berghammer
POSTED: 11/14/2007 12:23 PM

While you’re probably busy being buried by this year’s holiday releases, we’re busy bringing you the biggest world exclusives in Game Informer Magazine. Today, we’re dropping the bomb on our December world-exclusive cover story – Ghostbusters!

Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd are getting back together and revisiting their roles to make a sequel to Ghostbusters 1 and 2 – in video-game form, and we’ve got the first details. Both Aykroyd and Ramis are teaming up for scriptwriting duties and are going far beyond just the typical licensed add-your-voice-to-the-game-you-had-nothing-to-do-with formula. And no, this has nothing to do with the Ghostbusters Zootfly video demonstration that floated around the internet in January.

The December Issue also features our Holiday Buying Guide 2007, an in-depth hands-on with Super Smash Bros. Brawl and all the reviews that’ll get you all set for your holiday gift list.

Plus, for Game Informer subscribers, Game Informer Unlimited hits this Friday with loads on Ghostbusters and much more!


damn looks like Ernie Hudson wont be back as Winston

First pic of the game

 

[Jagi]

Ghostbusters on Wii catered towards the family

According to Variety, the Wii, DS and PS2 versions of the newly announced Ghostbusters game will be focused towards the family, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will be catering more towards the hardcore action loving gamer.

quote:

Some more details on the Ghostbusters game have popped up through a Variety article. Unfortunately there are some disturbing bits. Apparently the Wii, DS, and PS2 versions of the game are going to have more of a family focus, while the 360 and PS3 versions cater more to the “core” gamer.

I am happy that the game is coming to the Wii, but I don’t know what to expect with this information.

http://gonintendo.com/?p=29554

 

[Chitown]

First pic of the game

This was prototyped earlier this year before they had the go ahead to make the game. Here are some videos... it looked ok in its early stages.


[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/rM4cuKgGNvg&feature=related[/FLASH]


[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/hl6KvdTOIjM[/FLASH]

 

[Jagi]

This was prototyped earlier this year before they had the go ahead to make the game. Here are some videos... it looked ok in its early stages.


[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/rM4cuKgGNvg&feature=related[/FLASH]


[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/hl6KvdTOIjM[/FLASH]

ahhhh the memories

 

[Jagi]

simExchange: Xbox 360 will outsell PS3 by 2 to 1​

According to the simExchange October review report, the Xbox 360 will outsell the PS3 in the US market by a ratio of almost 2 to 1 between now and the end of the year. It is expected that the Xbox 360 will sell over 2 million units while the PS3 will struggle to shift over 1 million units in the respective period.

quote:

The simExchange October review report, based on information taken from the online prediction market simExchange, believes that the Xbox 360 will outsell the PlayStation 3 in the US by almost 2-to-1 between now and the end of the year.

According to analyst Jesse Divnich the Xbox 360 will sell just over 2 million units, while the PS3 will sell just over 1 million - although the Wii and DS will trump them both handsomely, shifting 3.28 million and 2.86 million units respectively.


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=30703

 

[Jagi]

Xbox 360 to be used as the lead platform for Bethesda's Fallout 3

Bethesda's Pete Hine has revealed that Fallout 3 which is scheduled for a release in Fall 2008 on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms, will be using the Xbox 360 as the lead platform. Why is this the case? Simply because the team feels more comfortable with the development tools on the Xbox 360.

quote:

Are all three versions of the game at the same stage of development?

Hines: For the most part. 360 is our lead platform. Our devs are just big fans of the dev tools available on the 360 and so that's our lead. But PC, PS3, 360 - they're all chugging along.


http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=175852

 

[Jagi]

Not enough Wii this Christmas in UK, Amazon sells 1,400 in 10 minutes

Just a few days ago the BBC reported about the lack of Wii's to satisfy the festive demand in the UK retail channel and now The Telegraph is running a similar story. Dixons online reportedly sold out of thousands of them on Wednesday within hours and Amazon is believed to have sold 1.4k Wii's in just ten minutes last week.

quote:

Dixons.co.uk, the website, sold out of thousands of consoles within two hours of them going online on Wednesday. Amazon, another online retailer, is believed to have sold 1,400 machines in a 10-minute period last week. The consoles are being sold on auction sites such as eBay for almost twice their £179.99 retail price.

Trevor Bish-Jones, the chief executive of Woolworths, said the supply of Wiis will not be enough to satisfy demand this Christmas.

"There is a steady flow of Wiis into the country between now and Christmas. It will not be enough to meet all consumer demand but is sufficient for retailers to enjoy good levels of sales in the run-up to Christmas," he said.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/11/18/cnwii118.xml

 

[Jagi]

PREVIEW: Devil May Cry 4​

Hell is looking even more heavenly as Nero fiddles and Dante’s inferno burns.

Devil May Cry 4 is brash, beautiful, and a huge amount of fun to play. It’s also a little disappointing, seeming like little more than a cosmetic upgrade from DMC3.

Playing through an entire level as Nero in a recent demo, areas are cordoned off by familiar red glowing walls, enemies drop in, and fighting begins. It’s the same as always, with a few new moves, and knocking foes around and racking up combos is easy for a DMC veteran (or, frankly, even for a newcomer).



The locations are beautiful, of course, but seem very narrow in scope – as you pass through a wrecked town with demons merrily jumping on cars and running through the streets, you can’t leap over the two-foot barrier to fight them (despite executing a 100-foot jump in the previous room), but have to merely watch the animations play out.





This sequence showed another of the game’s problems – after clearing the previous section, Nero enters a door, a loading screen appears, and the cutscene showing demons and cars begins. It ends, you move Nero past the balcony and about ten steps, and then there’s another door and loading screen. It’s highly disjointed in this sense, moving from the smooth and stylish fighting to needless cutscenes and frequent loading screens.



But overall the combat is why DMC works, and it works as effectively as ever in this iteration. It looks great, plays well, and will no doubt sell loads of copies. You just wish Capcom would address a few pacing and inconsistency niggles.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7862&Itemid=2

 

[Jagi]

Rock Band suffering from high instrument defectives

Various forum boards across the web are filled with hundreds of reports that Rock Band instruments are defective. The majority are complaining that their necks of the guitars are breaking off while others are indicating that the strumming wears out after a couple hours of hard song play.

quote:

For the most part it’s the guitars having their necks falling off and for others the strumming wears out after a couple hours on hard songs. Some have even reported their drums being busted in pieces. Here are some of the hundreds of reports on the Official forums and NeoGAF.

I got mine at 12:01am on Tuesday morning and raced home to play it only to find the guitar controller doesn’t work. Link

The guitar for this game is horrid. I thought that maybe I was doing something wrong when I played the guitar portion of this game, then I plugged in my xplorer (thank you hmx for doing something right) and it worked like a charm. I’m debating on either taking the entire pack back to walmart and getting a refund or just throwing the new guitar away and staying with the old, RELIABLE, guitar.


http://www.gamebrink.com/blog/2007/11/22/broken-rock-band-instrument-rate-extremely-high

 

[tapdatass]

This was prototyped earlier this year before they had the go ahead to make the game. Here are some videos... it looked ok in its early stages.


[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/rM4cuKgGNvg&feature=related[/FLASH]


[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/hl6KvdTOIjM[/FLASH]

almost peed my pants when i saw this...... cant fukin wait

they are makin a ghostbusters movie but its gonna be cgi cuz bill murray dont wanna do it live action...

 

[Jagi]

Eidos announces Deus Ex 3, Warren Spector facepalms

Speaking with Gamasutra, Eidos Montreal's general manager Stéphane D’Astous has revealed the studios' first project -- Deus Ex 3. According to D'Astous, the in-house development team "has just passed proof of concept" for the title, but revealed no further details.

"The game was very highly rated at its release in 2000," he says, "and we have this great huge mandate to do the third one, and everyone is very excited."

Depending on your level of commitment, the original futuristic first-person shooter/RPG is considered by some to be the best in the genre. So why not leave well enough alone? The series' lead-designer, Warren Spector seems content to move on -- his studio, Junction Point Studios, was acquired by Disney Interactive earlier this year. He is, by all accounts, likely not working on anything that resembles Deus Ex.

Here's to hoping Eidos Montreal has the talent and vision to do the series justice. And here's to a new generation of people not being able to say "Deus Ex" properly.

http://www.destructoid.com/eidos-announces-deus-ex-3-warren-spector-facepalms-55947.phtml

 

[Jagi]

Deus Ex 3 Teaser Trailer
[FLASH]http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?umid=135782[/FLASH]

 

[ThaBurgerPimp]

Deus Ex 3 Teaser Trailer
[FLASH]http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?umid=135782[/FLASH]

damn already?? well hopefully like the last two games in the series DE3 will be

 

[Jagi]

Heroes' Producer to Talk at GDC​

Jamil Moledina, the executive director of the annual Game Developers Conference, kicked off his GDC blog last night by announcing that Jesse Alexander, the executive producer of TV show Heroes, will be giving a talk on creating each season of the show.

How Heroes Are Made: A Collaborative Approach to Serialized Content in a Transmedia World will look at how Alexander uses game development processes to manage the writing on Heroes. Sounds pretty interesting.

Moledina also unveiled in his blog that Tim Bennison and Eric Holmes will be talking about their upcoming game Prototype and how they are trying to produce gameplay that mimics true behavior.

Sounds like this GDC will be as much a must see as ever year's is.


http://kotaku.com/gaming/heroes/heroes-producer-to-talk-at-gdc-327287.php

 

[Jagi]

The worlds largest multigame home arcade ($3999)​

The Dreamcade Vision 120 is a $3999 arcade center boasting a 120 inch screen and 145 pre-installed games. The DLP projector features over 2000 lumens, 2000:1 contrast and 1024 X 768 native resolution. You can hook up your 360/PS3/Wii up to it and it comes with a wireless Wii adaptor.

quote:

Control Panel Overview:
-2 Player control panel with 6 buttons per player, 2 pairs of side pinball -buttons and numerous utility buttons
-Integrated spinner
-3-inch lighted trackball
-Free wireless Nintendo® Wii Adaptor
-Authentic arcade controls
-Complete ready to play arcade, not a kit.
-Built with CNC router precision

Special Features:
-High output DLP projector featuring over 2000 lumens, 2000:1 contrast and 1024 X 768 native resolution (1400 X 1050 max.)
-120-inch portable projection screen
-Removable control panel
-High end PC with AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+
-Programmable Ultimarc interface card
-Pre-configured software for easy setup


This arcade includes all the following titles, plus you can add even more:
Atari® Game Pack
Asteroids®
Asteroids Deluxe®
Battlezone®
Black Widow™
Centipede®
Crystal Castles®
Gravitar®
Liberator™
Lunar Lander™
Major Havoc™
Millipede®
Missile Command®
Pong®
Red Baron™
Super Breakout®
Space Duel™
Tempest™
Warlords®
- Plus 60 Atari 2600 games

Digital Leisure Game Pack
Dragon's Lair®
Dragon's Lair II®
Space Ace®
Midway® Game Pack
Spy Hunter®
Defender®
Defender II®
Gauntlet®
Joust®
Joust 2®
Paperboy®
Rampage®
Robotron 2084®
Smash TV®
Bubbles®
RoadBlasters®
Blaster®
Rampart®
Sinistar®
SuperSprint®
Marble Madness®
720®
Toobin'®
SPLAT!®
Satan's Hollow®
Vindicators®
Root Beer Tapper® Namco Museum® Pack
PAC-MAN®
MS. PAC-MAN®
Galaga®
Galaxian®
Dig Dug®
Rally-X®
Pole Position®
Pole Position II®
Xevious®
Dragon Spirit®
Bosconian®
Rolling Thunder®
Mappy®
Sky Kid®

Capcom® Game Pack
1942®
Commando®
Ghost'n Goblins®
Sidearms®
Vulgus®
Street Fighter®
Street Fighter II CE®
-House of the Dead III





http://www.dreamarcades.com/120inch.shtml

 

[Chitown]

[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/qOhnn18bLIQ[/FLASH]

 

[Jagi]

[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/qOhnn18bLIQ[/FLASH]

could be interesting


i wonder if they will get bobby brown to do the theme song

 

[Jagi]

GTA IV is benefiting from delay says boss, will exceed expectations​

Take-Two plans for growth, not sale​

By Scott Hillis and Gina Keating

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Chairman Strauss Zelnick, head of a new management team, said on Monday he prefers to run the publisher of the hit "Grand Theft Auto" video game series rather than sell it.

"I'm much more interested in growing the business than in selling it, to be clear," Zelnick told the Reuters Media Summit. "I would say for the next five to seven years this is a terrific time to be in the video game business."

There has been much talk among industry analysts this year that Zelnick, who led a group of investors in ousting Take-Two management in March, could be preparing to sell the company to a larger publisher such as Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research).

Zelnick said Take-Two was "a very efficient enterprise now" as a result of recent divestitures, such as the sale of its gaming accessory business.

"I imagine we will try to find greater efficiencies but they probably won't be through headcount. I imagine headcount will grow. This is a growth business. We are in growth mode," Zelnick said.

Zelnick, who has a reputation as a turnaround artist for ailing companies, said he tried to time his entry into video games ahead of an expected growth spurt as more consumers buy new home gaming systems like Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3.

But fancy new systems also mean higher production costs for game makers, and Zelnick believes four to six publishers will end up dominating the gaming side of an industry set to hit $40 billion in global sales of hardware and software this year.

"From a general point of view I think you'll see some industry consolidation. It's hard to imagine that you wouldn't," Zelnick told the summit in New York.

Take-Two would seek growth by developing original games such as "BioShock", a spooky underwater shooter that turned into a sleeper hit, rather than by seeking licenses for movies or other properties as other publishers have done.

"From a specific point of view, what we find most compelling is building up our collection of our intellectual property. I'm not really interested in scale for scale's sake," Zelnick said.

Zelnick said the next installment of "Grand Theft Auto" was benefiting from a delay in its release date from October to next spring.

"I believe this release, 'Grand Theft Auto IV,' is going to be vastly better than those expectations -- vastly better -- and that's hard to do when expectations are so high," he said.

Shares in Take-Two fell 1 percent to $14.58 on Nasdaq amid a broad market slide. Over the past year, the stock has fallen 17 percent, compared with a fall of 8 percent for Electronic Arts and a rise of 11 percent for Activision Inc (ATVI.O: Quote, Profile, Research).


http://www.reuters.com/article/indu...ageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10003&sp=true

 

[ThaBurgerPimp]

[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/qOhnn18bLIQ[/FLASH]

it would be stupid for them to NOT have that song in the game..perhaps ray parker jr could even re-record it

 

[Jagi]

Soldier of Fortune: Payback



GameSpot Score
4.5
poor
​

The Good

* It looks pretty.



The Bad

* Terrible, frustrating, painful gameplay
* Falls well below standard set by previous two games
* Lousy artificial intelligence and gunplay.







http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/soldieroffortunepayback/review.html

 

[Jagi]

Blacksite was Calamitous, says Creative Director


Blacksite: Area 51 creative director Harvey Smith has described the game’s development process as "so f***ed up" in a frank post-mortem.


Speaking at the Montreal International Game Summit 2007, Smith admitted to numerous problems during Blacksite’s development, reports Wired.



Smith, who explained that he "wasn't excited about this Area 51 game" when he joined the project, said that "with a year to go the game was disastrously off rails".



"Everyone was forced to share tech. It took eight months to get one thing working." Once it was up and running, "it went straight from alpha to final", leaving hardly any time to polish the game, something Smith labelled "completely reprehensible".



Smith said that the relatively low review scores for Blacksite: Area 51 were "no surprise", noting that it “deserved” the hammering it received from critics.



Although Smith’s comments won’t go down well with the game’s publisher Midway, he didn’t blame corporate pressures for Blacksite’s failings. "I believe in personal accountability," he said in response to a question about his openness.



http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/11/montreal-2007-h.html

 

[Jagi]

Burnout producer: We've loved PS3 from the start, it pays to lead on PS3

Paradise's producer Nick Channon has commented that the team has loved the PS3 from the start and feel very strongly that it is a fantastic machine. Historically the company has always led on Sony platforms and they didn't want things to be any different with their next Burnout instalment. He also remarked that they have had no problems and the Xbox 360 version is exactly the same. So in that respect, leading with the PS3 can pay dividends.

quote:

Everyone seems to be leading on Xbox 360. Why did you decide to make the PS3 your main SKU for Burnout?

Channon: We've always led on the Sony platforms. Historically at Criterion we've always done that and we didn't want this year to be any different. We've always loved Sony machines and we've loved PS3 from the start, we think it's a fantastic machine. We felt very strongly about that.

So from the beginning we were always going to lead on PS3 and our transition between the two machines has been really seamless and straight-forward, where as other people have lead on 360 and found it hard to get on PS3.

We've had none of those problems. We really like 360 and if you get the opportunity to play it the two versions are exactly the same. I think we've really reaped the benefits of leading on PS3 because of that.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=176610

 

[marvel83]

Burnout producer: We've loved PS3 from the start, it pays to lead on PS3

Paradise's producer Nick Channon has commented that the team has loved the PS3 from the start and feel very strongly that it is a fantastic machine. Historically the company has always led on Sony platforms and they didn't want things to be any different with their next Burnout instalment. He also remarked that they have had no problems and the Xbox 360 version is exactly the same. So in that respect, leading with the PS3 can pay dividends.

quote:

Everyone seems to be leading on Xbox 360. Why did you decide to make the PS3 your main SKU for Burnout?

Channon: We've always led on the Sony platforms. Historically at Criterion we've always done that and we didn't want this year to be any different. We've always loved Sony machines and we've loved PS3 from the start, we think it's a fantastic machine. We felt very strongly about that.

So from the beginning we were always going to lead on PS3 and our transition between the two machines has been really seamless and straight-forward, where as other people have lead on 360 and found it hard to get on PS3.

We've had none of those problems. We really like 360 and if you get the opportunity to play it the two versions are exactly the same. I think we've really reaped the benefits of leading on PS3 because of that.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=176610

Looks like one company EA hasn't spread their hate of PS3 to.

 

[ThaBurgerPimp]

Blacksite was Calamitous, says Creative Director


Blacksite: Area 51 creative director Harvey Smith has described the game’s development process as "so f***ed up" in a frank post-mortem.


Speaking at the Montreal International Game Summit 2007, Smith admitted to numerous problems during Blacksite’s development, reports Wired.



Smith, who explained that he "wasn't excited about this Area 51 game" when he joined the project, said that "with a year to go the game was disastrously off rails".



"Everyone was forced to share tech. It took eight months to get one thing working." Once it was up and running, "it went straight from alpha to final", leaving hardly any time to polish the game, something Smith labelled "completely reprehensible".



Smith said that the relatively low review scores for Blacksite: Area 51 were "no surprise", noting that it “deserved” the hammering it received from critics.



Although Smith’s comments won’t go down well with the game’s publisher Midway, he didn’t blame corporate pressures for Blacksite’s failings. "I believe in personal accountability," he said in response to a question about his openness.



http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/11/montreal-2007-h.html

took that wack game back to Gamestop last week..was like playing thru a SciFi Channel Original movie

 

[Varis]

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/29/cnbc-examines-xbox-360-failures-ms-reports-310-000-units-sold-l/

 

[Jagi]

EA offering free a free game to Rock Band faulty guitar customers​

A number of owners of defective Rock Band guitar controllers are reporting that EA is now offering them a free EA game of their choice as a token of appreciation and understanding due to lengthy delays in receiving the new guitar.

quote:

Greetings Rocker,

Congratulations on your purchase of Rock Band!

After reviewing our records, we see that your recent request for a replacement guitar has been subject to an unacceptably long delay due to a late shipment from our manufacturer.

By the time you receive this, your replacement guitar should be on its way to you. However, the Rock Band team is committed to providing a world-class customer experience and we do not believe we have met this commitment in connection with your request. As a token of our appreciation for your patience and understanding, we will be offering you a FREE EA game. Details will follow shortly.

We are sorry if your first experience with Rock Band has not met your expectations. We hope our gift will show you how committed we are to your satisfaction.

Thank you,

The Rock Band Team



http://community.rockband.com/vbforum/showthread.php?p=163395#post163395

 

[Jagi]

Guitar Hero meets Warcraft in $9.85-Billion Vivendi-Activision deal​

Vivendi announced on Sunday that it will merge its video games unit with Activision in a deal worth that $9.85 billion which will combine the Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft franchises all under one roof. The complex deal with give Vivendi a 52 percent stake in the new giant called Activision Blizzard with annual revenues reaching $3.8 billion which gives some serious rivalry to EA.

quote:

Activision, which is riding high on the success of games such as "Guitar Hero," "Call of Duty" and "Tony Hawk," has lacked an offering in the online role-playing area, which is dominated by "World of Warcraft" from Vivendi's Blizzard Entertainment.

"This turns Activision into an EA-like company. It turns them far more global, puts them in China, where they haven't been, and in (online games), where they haven't been," said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities.

The deal values Activision at $27.50 per share, or a 24 percent premium to its Friday closing price.

Vivendi will contribute its Vivendi Games business, which it valued at $8.12 billion, and provide $1.73 billion in cash for the 52 percent stake in Activision Blizzard. These terms value the combined company at $18.9 billion.

Activision Blizzard will operate as a publicly traded company. The news surprised some given Activision's surging sales and profit.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204600277&subSection=All+Stories

 

[Jagi]

Blizzard Still Cold on Consoles
By Kris Graft Print | Send to a friend | Email the editor
Despite Activision’s strong multiplatform strategy, the PC will remain Blizzard’s focus even following Sunday’s merger.


“We currently don’t have any plans right now on the console side. Blizzard’s focus is on the PC side. If we were to release anything on the console side, that would be managed by the Blizzard side of the business,” said Blizzard president Mike Morhaime during a conference call Monday.

He explained that if it “made sense” sometime in the future, Blizzard would talk to Activision about managing console titles. But he reiterated, “At this point, there are no plans to release any of the Blizzard franchises on console.”

Yesterday, France's Vivendi agreed to buy a controlling stake in Activision, a deal that puts Vivendi Games subsidiary Blizzard and its hit World of Warcraft MMO under the same umbrella as Activision titles, which include Call of Duty 4, Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero. The merger is valued at $18.9 billion and sees Activision re-branded as Activision Blizzard.

Morhaime said that Blizzard will continue to support World of Warcraft, primarily with the release of the upcoming WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. StarCraft 2 is another high-profile title coming out of the Irvine, Calif.-based studio.

Blizzard’s WoW subscription base exceeds 9 million users, and Activision said that it is confident in the predictability and sustainability of that base. Morhaime added that Blizzard expects to grow subscriber bases in current markets, and expand into additional markets such as Russia, Eastern Europe and India.

The combined headcount after the completion of the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games will be around 6,000, Activision CEO Robert Kotick said. About half of that number will be engaged in product development.

“When you think about the growth and the opportunity for market expansion that are taking place today… for the first time you can step back and honestly say that the mass market that we’ve all been looking for in interactive entertainment is arriving," Kotick said, commenting on the timing of the merger.




http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8183&Itemid=2