|
|
 |
Archived News:
Shacknews reports that
Activision has announced August 4 as the release date for Raven's Wolfenstein,
confirming the summer release for the first-person shooter revealed
earlier this year.
Kotaku reports "multiple sources" have informed them that widespread layoffs
and office closings are underway at Swedish developer GRIN. The reports are
unconfirmed by either GRIN or Capcom, but they say they hear as many as 30
employees are being laid off at GRIN's Stockholm headquarters, and the company's
Gothenburg and Barcelona-based annexes are being closed, with between 100 and
160 developers impacted in total. GRIN is wrapping up their Bionic Commando
game, and recently shipped Terminator: Salvation, but these rumors
suggest more than normal post-release staff reductions are underway.
Following
Ubisoft's financial reporting of nearly $1.5 Billion in sales and nearly $96
million in profits,
Kotaku has a Ubisoft release schedule, though it doesn't look like there are
any noteworthy changes. The list confirms Assassin's Creed 2 and
Splinter Cell Conviction are still slated for release by the holidays this
year and Ghost Recon 4 and I am Alive are sill due by March 2010.
The list also pins down R.U.S.E. for release by March 2010.
They also have word from Ubi's post-earnings conference call that they
already have plans for post-release DLC for Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell:
Conviction and James Cameron's Avatar.
38 Studios talks Big Huge acquisition on Crispy Gamer has a short Q&A with
38 Studios CEO Brett Close about this morning's news that 38
Studios has acquired Big Huge Games. Brett plays it close to the vest about
terms of the deal and whether or not BHG would return to making strategy games,
but he does confirm that Brian Reynolds "will continue to work with Big Huge
Games in an ongoing consultant role," and he also outlines exactly what it is
they have purchased: The acquisition includes: All rights (including
associated code, development tools, and trademarks) to Rise of Nations, Rise of
Legends, the unnamed RPG and other products in process, and all BHG’s rights and
interests in Catan and Age of Empires III: Asian Dynasties. All BHG IP,
including registered IP, corporate name, and other non-specified development
tools and code. Various software licenses, including Havok , PS3 dev kits, and
Xbox 360 dev kits.
The first two Fallout 3 DLC (downloadable content) packs are now
available as SBC (store-bought content), offering Operation Anchorage and The
Pitt on disc. Thanks Mike Martinez and
LA Gaming News Examiner, where they speak of a bonus poster we can't find
information about.
The first trailer from Natural Selection 2 is on
Kotaku, showing off the new engine Unknown Worlds is creating for their
action/strategy sequel. Word on the
Natural Selection 2 Website is: "The quality there isn't as high as the
regular version but we'll post our own here very shortly."
Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
KAOS Studios reveals
Homefront, an upcoming first-person shooter for Windows, Xbox 360, and
PlayStation 3 where the American Civilian Resistance fights a North Korean
occupation following the collapse of the US economy. If the plot sounds a bit
like Red Dawn, the Cold War Patrick Swayze flick, it is because the game
is being written by Red Dawn screenwriter and Director John Milius, whose
Hollywood credits also include Apocalypse Now, The Wind and the Lion,
and an upcoming Red Dawn remake, of all things. The game does not yet
carry a release date, but they say it will feature "a personal, story-driven
single player campaign and a full suite of multiplayer options," and that more
will be revealed at next week's E3.
38 Studios announces they have acquired Big Huge Games, the RTS/RPG developer
that THQ put on the sales block earlier this year. Terms of the
acquisition by 38 Studios, the MMO developer started by now-retired pro baseball
player Curt Schilling, are not disclosed, but they say this fits their "strategy
to deliver a broad range of entertainment products centered on its original
fantasy IP, codenamed Copernicus." Word is: Maynard, MA, May 27, 2009 –
38 Studios (www.38studios.com), an entertainment and original IP creation
company, today announced the acquisition of Big Huge Games (BHG) from publisher
THQ Inc. The acquisition is a critical step in 38 Studios’ strategy to deliver a
broad range of entertainment products centered on its original fantasy IP,
codenamed Copernicus. The purchase of Big Huge Games includes all of the
company’s proprietary IP, tools, technology, assets, and works-in-progress.
Specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Big Huge Games was founded in 2000 by veteran game developers Brian Reynolds,
Jason Coleman, Dave Inscore, and Tim Train. Award-winning lead designer Ken
Rolston, a 25-year role-playing game designer and co-creator of Oblivion and
Morrowind, is another vital and dynamic component in BHG’s success. Big Huge
Games has developed top-selling games including Rise of Nationsâ, and was built
with the same talent that created Alpha Centauri, and Civilization II. Big Huge
Games is currently developing an unnamed RPG title for the Xbox 360 video game
and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, and
Windows PC.
“The acquisition of Big Huge Games will be tremendously beneficial to the
growth, market position, financial stability, and long-term success of 38
Studios,” said Brett Close, CEO and President, 38 Studios. “BHG’s cross-platform
RTS/RPG engine will accelerate the realization of our Online Entertainment
ExperienceÔ for the Copernicus IP. The acquisition enables us to develop and
deliver top-quality games in multiple genres that are based in a shared world,
ultimately maximizing the value of our Copernicus MMOG and the intellectual
property as a whole.”
“Big Huge Games and 38 Studios share a common vision – to deliver the most
engaging, compelling, original experiences possible,” said Tim Train, CEO of Big
Huge Games. “Joining the 38 Studios family allows us to continue translating our
passions into great games.”
“It’s always about team,” said 38 Studios Founder and Chairman Curt Schilling.
“The highly regarded developers at BHG, including leading role-playing and
real-time strategy design teams led by Ken Rolston, are a perfect complement to
38 Studios’ staggering array of talent. Big Huge Games is a phenomenal team and,
culturally, a natural fit.”
The Big Huge Games team will be integrated into 38 Studios but will remain based
in Timonium, Maryland.
The
Agency interview on MMORPG.COM is a chat with Hal Milton, lead designer
on SOE's upcoming espionage-themed MMORPG. A lot of the conversation covers
designing for the PC and PS3, offering examples like making the UI fit the
reduced screen real estate on a console as the challenges they face. They also
discuss subjects like offline progression, balancing their numerous operatives,
and their business model: "We actually don’t have a robust plan for
microtransactions in place."
The Trine interview on
gry.o2.pl talks
with Lauri Hyvärinen of Frozenbyte about Trine in both English and Polish. They
discuss the action/platformer's freewheeling design method, outline the story,
level design, character classes and abilities, single-player play, puzzles, and
more.
Thanks Mike Martinez.
PlayDevil.com - The future of survival horror as a genre.
However, when you ultimately define what a ‘survival horror’ is like I
have, and thus still include the new RE titles, it at least seems like the
genre as a whole has a bright future. Even if you don’t, games like Dead
Space cross the boundaries of action and survival horror well, and Siren
shows that more niche games can still be a big critical success, and
hopefully be commercially successful enough to the extent that more titles
like this are still made.
Ars Technica - Be a gamer, love your product - Ars' tips for gaming PR.
So it's no coincidence that game writers tend to have an antagonistic
relationship with the PR industry. We're going to throw out all the bad
stories and the stereotypes and focus on the three most important strategies
for good PR. These are simple things that go deeper than simply following
gaming writers on Twitter, and are much more effective. Why isn't everyone
doing them? Well, let's take a look.
Ars
Technica Reports- How Strong Copy Protection on Videogames Promotes Piracy.
While it impossible to know how big the industry would be without piracy,
numbers like these suggest that piracy may be a non-issue. One thing is for
sure, the PC gaming industry is remarkbly healthy... unless they manage to
alienate those who keep the business alive: the customers.
We've been trying to track down a problem on the web server here that's been
causing the site to become non-responsive at times. This is a little mysterious
right now, as it comes out of the blue, so to speak, after months of perfect
operation, but Frans has been looking into it, so hopefully his detective work
will be successful.
|
Twitter 
