Archived News:
Steam now offers
pre-purchase of their digital distributed edition of Grand Theft Auto IV
for Windows. Those willing to part with their cash in advance of the release of
the game will be rewarded with a free copy of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
to play right now.
The World of Warcraft Website
now offers a way for World of Warcraft owners to upgrade to the Wrath
of the Lich online: "You can now buy account-upgrade keys and download the
game client for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King directly through the
account-management section of
www.worldofwarcraft.com. The direct online upgrade method is the most
convenient way to upgrade to Wrath of the Lich King and join the millions of
players who are already adventuring in Northrend."
The Sins of a Solar
Empire Website has word that a version 1.11 hotfix for the space strategy
game is now available via Impulse: "A version 1.11 hotfix is now available for
registered Sins of a Solar Empire customers via Impulse. This minor update fixes
a resource exploit that was reported to us yesterday (thanks to everyone who
helped us find this!)."
Videogaming247 reports that Eidos UK's PR firm has been asking British
websites to hold off posting their Tomb Raider: Underworld reviews until
Monday if they are giving the game lower than an 80 score, admitting this is an
effort at maintaining a good Metacritic score "to ensure that we don’t put
people off buying the game, basically." The story broke thanks to a Twitter post
by a reviewer at GameSpot UK, which brings to mind the scandal dubbed
Gerstmann-gate, that involved GameSpot, Eidos, and a respected
journalist who lost his job after a lukewarm review for Kane & Lynch: Dead
Men.
VG247 also has a lengthy follow-up statement from the PR firm that stresses
they have no problem with negative reviews, and states that reports of
"problems" with Eurogamer's review of the game were related to accuracy, and not
the game's final score, concluding with this: "Barrington Harvey has been
working hard to ensure the launch scores of Tomb Raider Underworld are in line
with our internal review predictions over the launch weekend - but to suggest
that we can in some way 'silence' reviews of the game is slightly overstating
our influence."
There's a
post by Gabe Newell on Edge Online offering the Valve Managing Director's
pleased reaction to this week's release of Left 4 Dead. He offers some
fascinating insights into the process they've created for developing and testing
games, describing behavioral modeling they do to determine the comfort level of
players in their games, and describing the way this enables them to create a
proper sense of pace. He offers insights on one of their "theories of fun,"
challenges they overcame, and the emphasis they place on testing, testing, and
more testing. Also, the
Left 4 Dead
live interview on Eurogamer transcribes a live chat with Valve's Chet
Faliszek from earlier today. Along the way Chet explains the game's long
development cycle: "That is a common question for people who played it back
awhile back. While many of the core mechanics remain the same - the focus on
co-op from the ground up etc., many of the polish and tweaking levels still
remained. And when Valve was able to supplement the original team of 10 with a
team of 50, we were able to give it a complete graphical overhaul as well. And
that wasn't just to look pretty, but served gameplay elements as well."
Cooking Up A Blockbuster Game on Forbes.com reports some data from
Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR), who do market research on games for
clients like Electronic Arts and Activision. They offer a shocking tidbit,
saying only 4% of released games are profitable: "Only 4% of games that make it
to market actually make a profit, he says. About 60% of a game's budget is spent
reworking or redesigning a game. Armed with all this data, companies can make
those tough calls early in the development process." Thanks
GameDaily.
The
Bethesda Game Studios Forums have a very brief post from Bethesda on plans
for a Fallout 3 patch: "We are currently working on a patch for all three
platforms. When I've got more details, I'll let everyone know." Thanks
ActionTrip.
Soldak
Entertainment now offers new patches for Kivi's Underworld to update
the Windows and MacOS editions of this casual, hack-and-slash action/adventure
game to version 1.001. Word is: "A beta patch means it has been tested, but not
enough to be an official patch. So use at your own risk." The benefits to taking
that risk can be found in the
patch
notes.
Two new movies from the upcoming Windows edition of Grand Theft Auto IV
are now available with more machinima using the open-world action sequel and the
movie editor that will accompany the release of the PC edition. There's a
dialog-free clip titled "Burgatory" with a twilight zone take on Burger Shot on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, and
Gamer's Hell. There's also a clip called "Comrades" on
AtomicGamer,
ComputerGames.ro,
FileFront, and
Gamer's Hell that is some sort of buddy movie.
The All Aspect Warfare Website offers the first in a series of "making of" movies from All Aspect Warfare,
3000AD's upcoming science fiction combat game. Word is: "This first movie, 'The
Gank,' shows the player's night time infiltration of an enemy base in order to
steal one of their vehicles for use in the search of the R.A.N.D.O.M. weapon
that thus far, hasn't gone off." The clip is mirrored on
AtomicGamer,
FileFront, and Gamer's
Hell.
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Update: We've gotten a confirmation that the Windows edition will arrive
in stores on December 9 a week after the release of the console editions.
Original Story:
Ubisoft
announces that Prince of Persia is gold, and off for duplication, saying the
now-complete new installment in the platformer series is expected in stores on
December 2 for all platforms, including Windows. We've previously
seen indications that the Windows edition would be out on December
9, a week after the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions, but our pleas to
Ubisoft for clarity on this have so far met with silence, so we'll just have to
see how this goes. Back to the game itself, the announcement points out there's
still time to preorder the game, which gets you an automatic free upgrade to a
limited edition of the game, which will include the soundtrack, a strategy
guide, special packaging, and more.
Valve announces that Left 4 Dead is now showing up in retail stores
worldwide, following the digitally distributed debut of the multiplayer zombie
shooter earlier this week via Steam. In case the game's
well-publicized $10 million marketing budget has missed you (I actually haven't
seen many mainstream ads for it yet myself), here's a bit on the game: "Set in a
modern day survival-horror universe, the game casts you as one of four survivors
in an epic struggle against swarming hordes of zombies and terrifying mutants.
The four expansive campaigns offer single player and co-operative game modes.
Left 4 Dead also features a Versus mode that allows players to take control of
one of four types of 'Boss Infected,' with each 'Boss' possessing a mutant
ability instead of traditional firearms. In addition, Left 4 Dead offers gamers
the chance to go 'behind the scenes' of the making of the game via the
'Director's Commentary' mode."
Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa Website has a "Message from the Tabula Rasa
Team," saying NCsoft is closing down the science fiction MMORPG at the end of
February 2009, expressing their pride in having created a game with "unique
features that make it fun and very different from every other MMO out there,"
but ultimately admitting that "the game never achieved the player population we
hoped for." In the meantime the game will go free to play as of January 10,
2009, and they say: "We can assure you that through the next couple of months we'll
be doing some really fun things in Tabula Rasa, and we plan to make staying on a
little longer worth your while. For more details about what we are doing for
Tabula Rasa players, please click
here."
Kotaku has a follow-up on this from NCsoft's David Swofford who says there
will be layoffs as a result of this. Tabula Rasa, which means "clean slate" was
designed by Ultima creator Richard Garriott, who recently returned from a trip
to space and announced he was leaving NCsoft to pursue "new
interests." Thanks nin.
Electronic Arts announces
they will release a playable demo for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 on
Monday, offering the chance to sample the recently released new installment in
this alternate-reality real-time strategy series. The single-player demo will
debut GameSpot,
where there's a countdown time indicating 3:00 pm EST is specifically when to
expect the release, and word on content is it includes the game's entire seven
minute opening cinematic, three interactive tutorials and one campaign mission
from each of the Soviet and the Allied campaigns. The announcement also says the
game's first major patch is to be released "later this year," and will include
WorldBuilder for map-making and game modification, enhancements to AutoMatch,
balance fixes and a de-authorization tool to manage the game's DRM
authentications. They conclude promising: "More details on the patch will be
made available soon."
The Rise of
the Argonauts Movies Section has a pair of new movies from Liquid
Entertainment's upcoming mythology-inspired action/RPG. One clip is titled
"Honour the Gods," which shows the pleasure the deities in the game take at your
ass-kicking ways. There is also a related "Levelling Up" movie, where lead
designer Charley Price outlines the game's advancement system, which likewise
rewards you for your battles, though this also has another component influenced
through dialog choices.
Rogue from GotGame is a new web browser
specifically designed to operate properly while playing games.
The announcement about the release explains the reasoning here: "The
application is optimized to impact the gaming experience as little as possible.
Gamers can set the browser’s transparency so the entire game screen is still
visible, even if the browser is open. This means that they can, for instance,
watch online videos overlaying their game at 50% transparency, while at the same
time 'grinding' for experience in Age of Conan." Thanks Ant and
TechCrunch.
Update:
A story on MMA WEEKLY has word that this stick has been followed by a
carrot, as Jon Fitch is back with the UFC, and he and members of the American
Kickboxing Academy are all willing to sign the game contract. Thanks MrBone.
Original Story:
UFC drops Fitch, AKA fighters reports an unusual situation where the
Ultimate Fighting Championship has cut a fighter from their mixed martial arts
league because of his refusal to sign a licensing deal with THQ to use his image
in an upcoming UFC game. Welterweight contender Jon Fitch was cut and UFC
president Dana White further says UFC does not want to deal with any fighters
who are part of the American Kickboxing Academy team in San Jose, Calif. or
those represented by DeWayne Zinkin and Bob Cook. According to Fitch, the deal
he refused was a lifetime contract which would not pay his family in the event
of his death. For his part, White says the fighters, who spend hours a day
training to risk life and limb for this extreme sport, so not understand the
"sacrifices" being made by UFC management. Thanks
GameSpot. The
Impact Wrestling Website has an extensive interview on the controversy with
Dan Lambert, president of American Top Team, another fighting camp involved in
the deal.
Eurogamer
has word that the Battle of Hoth is now being recreated in Star Wars Galaxies,
the MMOG by SOE set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Chapter 11: The
Battle of Echo Base, has launched, adding vehicle combat to recreate the epic
battle scene that opened The Empire Strikes Back. Rebel snowspeeders or Imperial
AT-STs are usable in the battle, which apparently features appearances by Darth
Vader, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2. And if my tauntaun dies before I reach the
first marker? Well then I'll see you in hell!
Midway Gets Delisting Warning from NYSE has the report that Midway has
gotten one of those NastyGrams the New York Stock Exchange sends to firms whose
stock prices remain below the $1.00/share threshold for 30 days. Midway recently
reported
$75.9 Million in third-quarter losses, and the NYSE notification gives them
six months to get their stock values back above that $1.00 mark or risk being
delisted. It's a long climb, though, as Midway was trading at $0.25 a share at
the close of trading yesterday.
PCGH has word from Microsoft that DirectX 11 will be included with Windows
7, clarifying some confusion on the topic spread by the scallywags at
PCGH. Word is DirectX 11 will also be released for Vista, so there
will apparently not be a repeat of the attempt to enforce obsolescence
technological hurdles that prevented Direct X 10 from being released for Windows
XP.
Tomb Raider Underworld is now available in most European territories for
Games for Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and DS, following Tuesday's
North American debut of the latest installment in the platformer series. A
playable demo is available for Windows as well as consoles, and
word is: "Tomb Raider: Underworld™ seamlessly blends exploration, grand scale
puzzle solving and combat, taking players on an archeological journey to the
ancient netherworlds of the Mediterranean, Thailand, Mexico, the Arctic Sea and
more. As fearless adventurer Lara Croft, gamers uncover proof of the existence
of the Norse underworld and the mythical Hammer of Thor, and embark on a
perilous journey towards a forgotten power that, if unleashed, could lay waste
to all of civilization. Lara’s latest adventure introduces scores of new
capabilities and state-of-the-art gear, including an active sonar map,
multi-purpose grapple and an all-terrain motorbike. With fresh moves that are
more intuitive and realistic than ever before, players must master these in
order to navigate through treacherous environments and defeat a range of hostile
enemies."
This press release sheds a little light on Sci Fi Channel's
MMOG/TV show plans, saying former Carbine/Blizzard developer Kevin Beardslee
( World of Warcraft) and television writer Peter Egan will be part of this
game/television hybrid. Details about the project are still scant, but word is:
"This innovative collaboration falls under the aegis of SCI FI Ventures, SCI
FI’s portfolio of media and non-media businesses that extend beyond the
television screen and leverage the SCI FI brand affinity. The business and
creative collaboration model will result in the first-ever truly immersive
cross-media entertainment experience that allows the audience to actively
participate in the developing storyline that will grow simultaneously in both
video game and television form."
The LOTRO: Mines of Moria
Launch Interview with Jeffrey Steefel on Ten Ton Hammer talks with the
Turbine boss about the new expansion for their Tolkien-inspired MMORPG,
discussing the launch, and the daunting task of going head-to-head with the
launch of the new World of Warcraft and EverQuest II expansions, which "just
worked out that way," according to Steefel, who goes on to explain: "A couple
things drive when we release our products: what we think the needs of our
players are and when they need something substantial besides book updates, and
when we think we’re going to have a time frame for when we’re going to be ready
with that content. We really decide our own timeline based on that, and although
there were some thoughts floating around on when the other developers were going
to release expansions, but nobody really knew. I think we – as companies – need
to focus on what we need to do and not get in each others way intentionally."
The
Pirates of the Caribbean Online interview on Massive Gamer Magazine chats
with Mike Goslin about Pirates of the Caribbean Online, their youth-oriented
MMORPG that ties in with the mascara-heavy movie series. Well, at least it was
designed for younger audiences, but Mike says the demographics of their audience
was a big surprise: "We got a lot of older players. We were focusing on young
teenagers as our audience, and hoping for some of their parents. But a large
percentage of players are over 18. Some of them are playing with their kids, but
a lot are just older, more casual MMOG players. We wound up much more in the
competitive space than we thought we would be."
Yup, it's been another year already, so it seems to be my birthday once again.
I'd like to thank the academy, and to say to all you young people out there,
that my example should demonstrate that with enough perseverance, you too can be
old some day, just stick with it.
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