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Archived News:
Gamasutra
reports Ubisoft's plans to create an MMOG based on the works of Tom Clancy,
announced at a conference call this evening to follow-up on today's news that
Ubisoft has purchased rights to make games in the name of the thriller author
( story). It seems Ubisoft is ready to begin development on the
game as soon as a team is in place, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is quoted saying
they have been interested in such a project for a while, but have been daunted
by the prospect of paying exorbitant royalties. Royalties notwithstanding they
are estimating the game will have a budget between 40 and 50 million dollars.
RageofWar.NET now offers a new patch for
Galactic Dream: Rage of War, updating Evolution Vault's science-fiction RTS game
to version 1.2. The update incorporates new features as well as bug fixes and
optimizations, and there is also a patch to incorporate these changes into the
game's playable demo as well as an updated version 1.2 demo. The retail patch is
mirrored on AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell. The demo patch is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell. Finally, the new version 1.2 demo is mirrored on
AtomicGamer and
Gamer's Hell.
Gibson frets retailers with Guitar Hero patent suit follows up on news that
Gibson sued Activision over Guitar Hero licensing ( story),
inspiring the inevitable countersuit ( story). The new suit by
Gibson actually targets retailers selling Guitar Hero games. Gibson's statements
about this express regrets that this matter has come to this point, while
Activision's response calls this "a transparent end run around an impartial
court." The story also cuts to the heart of why Gibson is suddenly litigious
after three years of their products being represented in the Guitar Hero games,
quoting Activision saying they were "not interested in renewing its marketing
and support agreement with Gibson."
Valve and Tripwire Interactive announce that Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 has
implemented the Steamworks development tools, adding new server browsing and
matchmaking services to the World War II shooter. The game will be updated
automatically upon logging in to Steam.
The German So Blonde Website offers a
German-language demo for this upcoming girl gone wild adventure, offering the
chance to sample the beginning of the game. The download is available on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, Gamer's Hell,
and
PixelRage. An English edition of the demo is expected shortly.
A new Age of Conan video developer diary offers further insights into the
creation of FunCom's upcoming MMORPG based on Robert E. Howard's literary
barbarian. Word is: "Top designers and directors from the Age of Conan team
invite gamers to learn about what went into the unique real-time combat system
that drives the upcoming MMORPG, along with the latest brutal in-game graphics
and footage." The clip can be found on
FileFront and Gamer's
Hell.
As noted on the
Paradox Interactive Forums a new beta patch for Lost Empire: Immortals is
now available, updating Pollux Gamelabs' 4X strategy game to beta version 1.0.3.
An extensive list of changes are outlined in that post. Also, as
mentioned here, a new in-game trailer is available to show off the game.
Word is: "A brief glimpse of several gameplay elements are demonstrated,
including: The Universe Map, Mission Objectives, Scientific Research,
Colonization, Empire Management, Ship Design and Space Combat." The clip can be
found on AtomicGamer
and Gamer's Hell.
Ubisoft announces they have purchased the name Tom Clancy from Tom Clancy for
the royalty-free creation of future games (so presumably the author won't have
to get new checks printed for his personal life). Interestingly, besides video
games, this also covers "ancillary products including related books, movies and
merchandising products," so we will possibly see movies as a result of this
deal, not to mention more Tom Clancy books not authored by Tom Clancy. The
announcement is intentionally obtuse about financial arrangements, but on the surface it looks like this entails an up-front payment of
around 20 million Euros, with additional payments to follow over the next two
years: SAN FRANCISCO – March 20, 2008 – Today, Ubisoft, one of the
world's largest video game publishers, announces that it has concluded an
agreement with Mr. Tom Clancy to acquire all intellectual property rights to the
Tom Clancy name, on a perpetual basis and free of all related future royalty
payments, for use in video games and ancillary products including related books,
movies and merchandising products.
The price of this all cash acquisition is not currently disclosed. Post
acquisition, Ubisoft expects to have a net cash position of around 130 million
Euros by the end of fiscal 2007-08, compared to a previous expectation of
approximately 150 million Euros. Additional payments will be made as well in
fiscal 2008-09 and fiscal 2009-10.
On the basis of past performance of Tom Clancy branded video games, and
excluding any potential contribution coming from sales of ancillary products,
the royalty savings generated by this acquisition are estimated to have an
average positive impact on Ubisoft's operating income of a minimum of 5 million
Euros per year.
"After ten years of a highly successful collaboration which has seen the
creation of blockbusters that set standards in the videogame industry, such as
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow
Six, today, acquiring the perpetual property rights of the Tom Clancy name for
video games and related projects is a major event,” stated Yves Guillemot, Chief
Executive Officer at Ubisoft. "The future of our industry lies in our capacity
to create and develop brands that captivate consumers and that present a myriad
of opportunities for the full spectrum of entertainment, be it video games,
books, movies or other media. The Tom Clancy brand is recognized around the
world for offering exciting video games, films and books. The most recent
example of such value creation through brand management is the EndWar book,
based on the video game story, which has been in the NY Times top 10 Paperback
Mass Market Fiction bestseller list for the last four weeks. Capitalizing on the
strong franchises that we've built over the past 10 years, we will take the Tom
Clancy game brand to the next level of the global entertainment
industry."
Rock Band
Software Update Finalized on the Rock Band Forums has word on a patch for
Rock Band that will add an in-game store where new songs can be previewed and
purchased, while also addressing some vexing issues in both the Xbox 360 and PS3
editions of Harmonix' music/rhythm game. Changes that have been demanded by the
community are included, such as revised fan caps to allow bands to travel
farther at lower difficulty levels and achieve one million fans in "hard" mode,
fixes for PS3 microphone latency issues, faster loading of downloaded content,
and improved phoneme recognition for singing (which was previously broken at
best). Word is the update as been "finalized," and
this press
release, focusing on the new in-game music store and the fact that the game
has sold six million songs in three months, says to expect the patch this week.
SouthPeak Games and ZUXXEZ now name the fall as the release date for Two Worlds:
The Temptation, the Windows and Xbox 360 RPG sequel that was previously expected
in the "first half" of this year. The announcement also provides a few new
details about the game: Karlsruhe, MARCH 20th, 2008 - SouthPeak Games and
ZUXXEZ Entertainment today announced that it will be releasing a sequel to its
popular open world role-playing game, Two Worlds. Entitled “Two Worlds: The
Temptation”, the game is slated to be available on Xbox 360® and Windows PC this
fall.
Taking place shortly after the events portrayed in the first Two Worlds, The
Temptation takes place in Eastern Antaloor, in the regions surrounding Oswaroh
and the Drak’ar Desert. Featuring as much content as the original, Two Worlds:
The Temptation will feature more intricate missions, improved voice-overs and
animations, retooled horseback riding, completely revamped combat, and a new
game engine that delivers visuals that have to be seen to be believed.
“Our entire development team is now putting their all into making Two Worlds:
The Temptation a game that is far and away better than the original,” said
Miroslaw Dymek, Chief Developer with Reality Pump explained. “We’ve taken to
heart all the comments made by gamers about Two Worlds and we’re going to give
them what they want with the sequel.”
“I’m sure fans of RPGs will be pleased with the vast amounts of new content and
massive improvements to the core gameplay in Two Worlds: The Temptation,” said
Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. “It’s an ambitious, yet refined title that
will surprise a lot of people.”
Lighthouse Interactive and VSTEP announce that the New Horizons add-on for Ship
Simulator 2008 is gold, and due in the UK and Scandinavia on April 4, 2008,
offering unspecified upgrades and Visa compatibility: Haarlem, The
Netherlands - March 20, 2008 - Leading computer software publisher Lighthouse
Interactive and Dutch developer VSTEP are proud to announce that the next
incarnation for their successful Ship Simulator franchise: the official Ship
Simulator 2008 add-on: New Horizons has gone gold.
The Dutch duo confirmed the eagerly awaited game is ready to set sail on retail
shelves on the 4th of April, 2008 in the UK and Scandinavia. Release dates for
other European countries and North-America are to be determined. This new
edition to the popular franchise is packed with upgrades and is Windows® Vista™
compatible.
Erik Schreuder, CEO of Lighthouse Interactive: “The Ship Simulator series has
already generated a large community of Ship Sim fans. They will now be able to
extend their naval experience with the official Ship Simulator 2008 Add-on: New
Horizons. There are so many improved elements to the game that make this a
challenging true-to-life experience – everyone interested in simulator games
should really check this out."
VSTEP’s CTO Pjotr van Schothorst: “After months of intensive development and
testing, we are proud about New Horizons reaching gold status. With its brand
new features, improved visuals and added gameplay options, New Horizons provides
an exciting addition to Ship Simulator 2008 and will surprise Simulation fans
worldwide. New Horizons is the next step in creating an even more immersive
experience for our Ship Simulator fans.”
Videogaming247 reports learning from Codemasters that Operation Flashpoint
2: Dragon Rising is slated for release this "winter" (thanks Gamer's Hell). They quote a
spokesperson as saying "launch timing is to be revealed as a countdown over next
couple of months." The original Operation Flashpoint was released almost seven
years ago, breaking new ground in realism with its military gameplay (though the
sequel is being developed internally, rather than by Bohemia Interactive
Studios, whose own follow-up is ArmA:
Armed Assault).
Ascaron Entertainment and Focus Home Interactive announce Sherlock Holmes:
Nemesis, a US and UK edition of the mystery game released in Europe under the
title Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsčne Lupin. There are some
screenshots on FileFront, and here's word on the game, set for release later
this year: Arsčne Lupin, a renowned French burglar, comes to 19th century
London with one goal in mind – to defy Scotland Yard and Sherlock Holmes. He
will do this by stealing five priceless objects in five days from prestigious
locations, including the National Gallery, the British Museum, the Tower of
London and even Buckingham Palace. Sherlock Holmes must confront his young enemy
and stop a national catastrophe.
In a familiar gaming interface, players will spend hours exploring an
atmospheric 19th century London setting. There are more than 40 characters from
the Victorian era to interact with and hundreds of clues and objects to uncover.
Prepare yourself for a journey into history as you begin a battle of wits
between the literary legends from authors Conan Doyle and Maurice LeBlanc.
“We continue to experience tremendous success with our Sherlock Holmes adventure
series,” said Alan Wild, Global Product Marketing Manager at Ascaron
Entertainment. “Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis promises to be another outstanding
adventure game with the world-famous detective leading the way.”
GamesIndustry.biz has more quotes on the state of PC gaming, this time from
Steve Nix, id Software Director of Business Development. Nix feels some of the
hardcore PC gaming audience is shifting to consoles, something id cannot
ignore: "There are plenty of people who are diehard mouse and keyboard
guys that may never go to console, and also right now, if you have the highest
of high-end PCs, you're generally going to get a better visual experience," Nix
said. "There's no console out there that's as powerful as a God machine right
now, with a Quad-Core and a GeForce 8800 - it's very hard for any console to
compete with that."
"So you still have PC players, and some players are just console guys, but have
players moved over? Absolutely. We love PC gaming, and we continue to support PC
gaming - but you can't ignore the market realities and the size of the console
market these days."
IGG announces, in their signature garbled manner, that Tales of Pirates will
launch in a few days: IGG has announced that their prized 3D MMORPG,
Tales of Pirates ( http://top.igg.com), has
completed the development and will have been officially released on March 24,
2008.
Tales of Pirates started its’ Alpha Test on March 15, 2007 and its’ Open Beta
Test on March 29, 2007 respectively and during the tests they received tons of
encouraging comments while the number of players online climbed significantly.
IGG has promised that they will continue doing their best to perfect the game
and offer the best services. Additionally, to celebrate this important moment,
they have prepared many online and offline events for players.
For more info about these events visit:
http://top.igg.com/info.php?articleId=935.
- StarCraft 2
StarCraft
2 Q&A on IncGamers recaps a press Q&A session with Blizzard discussing
the unveiling of the Zerg race in the upcoming RTS sequel.
- Bionic Commando
A new "Hiking in the Park" trailer for
Bionic Commando shows off this healthy pastime in the upcoming third-person
action game. This six million dollar stroll can be viewed on
ActionTrip,
AtomicGamer, and
Gamer's Hell.
- Race Driver: GRID
Gentlemen, start your engines, as a new
movie from Race Driver: GRID is now available with a look at the coming
racing game in the works at Codemasters. This clip is available from
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, and
Gamer's Hell. Also, some new
Race Driver GRID
screenshots are online, taken from the Xbox 360 edition.
- Mirror’s Edge
The
Mirror’s Edge Q&A Pt. 2 on Gameplayer is a continuation of this
article-format Q&A with Thomas Farrer of DICE about Mirror’s Edge,
discussing a Wii version (or lack thereof), working with the Unreal 3
engine, the game's setting, gameplay, their protagonist, and more.
- Darkest of Days
The
Darkest of Days Q&A
on gry.o2.pl talks with Aaron Schurman of Phantom EFX about Darkest of
Days, an upcoming first-person shooter from this developer whose primary
focus has been more casual games.
Happy sweater day! That's right, the birthday of late children's TV host Fred
Rogers has been dubbed by someone or other to be sweater day, and today would
have been Mr. Rogers' 80th birthday. It's also the first day of spring around
these parts, but that doesn't mean it's too warm for a sweater, so I am
celebrating both occasions simultaneously.
R.I.P.:
Oscar-winning actor Scofield dies.
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