Archived News:
THQ's Fiscal 2012 First Quarter Results are now available, which consumes quite a bit of red ink, saying: "For the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2011, THQ reported net sales of $195.2 million, compared with $149.4 million in the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, for the three months ended June 30, 2011, the company reported net sales of $141.2 million, compared with $160.3 million a year ago," and: "For the three months ended June 30, 2011, the company reported a net loss of $38.4 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $30.1 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, in the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, for the three months ended June 30, 2011, the company reported a net loss of $64.4 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, compared with a non-GAAP net loss of $14.4 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in the prior-year period."
The report in part blames disappointing sales of Red Faction: Armageddon for this state of affairs, and Shacknews (thanks nin) quotes THQ CEO Brian Farrell from the post-earnings conference call saying this was a "niche" game and suggesting the Red Faction franchise may have ground to a halt: "I do not believe we went far enough in cutting our portfolio... Only titles we think will be profitable, like Saint's Row: The Third, will be supported in the future." Here's what the company's financial report says about this: "We are disappointed in our first quarter financial performance. Sales of Red Faction: Armageddon and our licensed kids titles were below our expectations, and the late release of UFC Personal Trainer also adversely impacted the quarter," said Brian Farrell, THQ President and Chief Executive Officer. "Despite a light first half, we are looking forward to a strong and profitable second half, including what we expect to be the biggest third quarter, both in revenue and earnings per share, in our company's history, with proven franchises Saints Row, WWE and the uDraw GameTablet, all launching in November."
The Steam Listing for From Dust has details on the DRM in recently delayed PC edition of the upcoming god-game. This suggests that like Driver: San Francisco, this will use Ubisoft's DRM scheme that requires a persistent internet connection while the game is being played, saying: "Ubisoft Online Service" (thanks Bumpy via DSOGaming). We reached out to THQ to confirm the details on this, but have yet to receive a response (perhaps there's a glitch with their internet connection).
An interview with OnLive CEO Steve Perlman on OnLiveFans.com discusses the possible impact ISP bandwidth caps could have on OnLive's streaming games service. He seems pretty blasé about this, though DSLReports notes that Netflix also whistled past this graveyard in the past before they ended up having worse problems with caps than Bababooey (thanks Ant). Here's a bit of what Perlman says about this: “I think that the ISPs have these bandwidth caps, number 1, and they enforce them; some of them enforce them more strictly than others, but also I think some of them don’t enforce them if they see it not happening. They don’t feel like the person is really abusing their network. If they see that it’s a normal user, they are going to have normal patterns of usage, they don’t want to lose you as a customer. I think it just hasn’t come up.”
“The other thing you got to realize, is that the bandwidth requirements for OnLive are actually going down because as our technology improves, the algorithm improves, our bandwidth requirements for a given resolution TV is less. ISP bandwidth keeps going up, and bandwidth caps will keep going up. In the long term, it’s not going to be something anyone even thinks about.”
The Paradox Interactive Forums now offer a new patch for Europa Universalis 3: Divine Wind to bring this strategy sequel to version 5.1. The download is mirrored on AtomicGamer, Gamer's Hell, and The Patches Scrolls. The patch notes are incredibly long, but they offer a Reader's Digest version:
- 11 new mapmodes to give more detailed information to the player.
- Improved AI, for even more challenging gameplay.
- New system to have armies automatically hunt down rebels.
- Lots of new events added to the game, to create more immersion.
- Dozens upon dozens of gameplay tweaks to refine a great game even further.
As noted on ExtremeTech, MS-DOS is 30 years old today, as is was on this date in 1981 that Microsoft purchased the rights for QDOS for a reported $25,000 and launched an empire (thanks Slashdot). There are also two game anniversaries today, as Battle.net notes that it was one year ago today that they launched StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (thanks Ant). Finally, today os the tenth anniversary of the launch of ION Storm's much-loved cyberpunk RPG Anachronox in North America. Tom Hall points the way to an article from last year on The Escapist with a look back at his magnum opus.
Games
Patches
- Beat Hazard on Steam.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops on Steam.
- Dead Horde on Steam. Save 10%.
- Left 4 Dead 2 on Steam.
- Star Ruler on Steam.
- Team Fortress 2 on Steam.
John Carmack tells IndustryGamers that after all these years his enthusiasm for gaming may be at an all time high. "For the foreseeable future, I’m more excited about gaming right now than I have been in really a long time - probably than I have been ever," the id Software Technical Director tells them. "The technology is exciting, we’re doing fabulous things, it’s just great on all sorts of levels. I’m far from burned out or feeling that the genres are tapped out." He describes enthusiasm for Tech 5, mentions they're already doing research on Tech 6, and makes slightly more concrete references to a RAGE sequel than his remarks during E3 to GameSpot that "it's certainly heading that way." This time around he says: "but I’m psyched for what we’re going to do in Rage 2, how we’re going to really play up some of the aspects that it turned out weren’t our bread and butter, previously but added to the game. There’s a lot more we can do here that’ll make it fun."
A new cinematic trailer from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine offers some cut-scenes from Relic's upcoming Warhammer 40,000 action/RPG. The clip features a bit of exposition (in authentic British English accents) and even more explosions, and also touts preorders of the game, saying they plan on a September 6, 2011 release. Thanks Grudgebearer.
The UDK Website now offers the July 2011 beta version of the Unreal Development Kit Beta, updating this free version of the Unreal 3 Engine for use in anything from hobbyist projects to commercial games. The new version includes FXAA and MLAA post-processing, a new landscape gizmo, a tool to simplify skeletal meshes, an iOS Unreal Console, and more. They also offer a profile of Q.U.B.E., a commercial release using the UDK, saying "Q.U.B.E. is a first-person game that presents a series of brain-teasing puzzles, ranging from physics-based challenges and 3D jigsaws to platform-based trials. We wish Toxic Games much success with their first commercial release." The download is mirrored on AtomicGamer and Gamer's Hell.
New version 11.7 Catalyst reference drivers for AMD/ATI graphics cards are now available. The easiest way to find the right set for your system on the AMD Game Downloads Page, where they have links for Windows 7 & Windows Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows 7 & Windows Vista 64-bit, and Windows XP 64-bit drivers. These feature application profiles for a number of game, and also address a lengthy list of issues. Also, for those who favor the bleeding edge, AMD also offers an AMD Catalyst Control Center/AMD Vision Engine Control Center 11.8 Driver Preview for Windows 7 64-Bit Edition, which is an "as is" release to be used at your own risk.
All Zombies Must Die is a newly project just announced by doublesix ( Burn Zombie Burn!) for release this fall for Windows via Steam and on the PlayStation Network. The game appears to be an isometric shooter, and they describe it as a "mix of weapons-based arena combat and light RPG elements," using terms like "quirky" to describe a "bright, comic style" (shown in these screenshots) reflecting the "silly yet sinister nature of the gameplay." According to Jim Mummery, creative director at doublesix: "After the success of Burn Zombie Burn, we’ve been looking forward to dishing up a new serving of undead craziness but this is no straight sequel. All Zombies Must Die! has its own unique ingredients with weapons-based arena combat, weapon crafting, character development, a whole lot of questing and much much more – all mixed in with a huge portion of zombie action." They also offer a trio of trailers, but since they all use the same gameplay footage to execute the same joke three times, we've just posted one of them, which is embedded below. Continue here to read the full story.
Square Enix announces that Deus Ex: Human Revolution is gold, and Eidos-Montreal's now-complete action/RPG prequel will be released as promised in North America on August 23 for Windows, OnLive, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, with the release in other territories set for August 26. The news is accompanied by a new screenshot, as well as word on several related promotions: Augment Your Living Room PowerUp Rewards, a QR Missions Scavenger Hunt, and a Wooster Street Social Club Art Exhibition. Here's word on the game: Telling the story of Adam Jensen, a man cybernetically augmented against his choice who finds himself in the middle of a global conspiracy to which he holds the key, DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION is set in a near-future world where humanity is at a turning point.
By offering players the chance to play the game in multiple and vastly different ways, DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION challenges the foundations of gaming and provides an immersive experience where every choice has a lasting consequence.
A thread on the Steam Users' Forums discusses the disappearance of Dragon Age II from Steam. There is widespread speculation that this is due to the new Legacy DLC for BioWare's role-playing sequel being sold from within the game, a situation similar to the one that has lead to the removal of Battlefield 3 preorders from Steam for the same reason, as this is apparently a violation of Steam policy. Meanwhile, with the new DLC now available for 800 BioWare spacebux, here's a description of what it adds to the game: Targeted by a vicious criminal cartel that are hunting "the blood of the Hawke," you must put an end to their relentless attacks. Leave Kirkwall, and journey to an ancient Grey Warden prison in order to find the source of the aggression and uncover the harsh truth about the Hawke lineage. Playable from any point in the Dragon Age II campaign, face new breeds of darkspawn, forge a powerful new weapon and come face to face with an ancient horror.
• Uncover the harsh truth about the Hawke lineage
• Adventure through several new locations including a prison constructed by the Grey Wardens
• Obtain a powerful class-specific weapon to which you can apply upgrades of your choice
Codemasters announces the release of a new Asia Track Pack for DiRT 3, as their rally racing sequel celebrates the launch of X Games 17. Word is: "The X Games Asia Track Pack extends DiRT 3’s Rallycross content with two multi-surface, mud-spattered circuits set in stunning Shibuya, the neon heart of Tokyo," and they celebrate the news with this trailer, saying the clip shows "how Tokyo is turned into the host of an official X Games event." However, the actual X Games 17 is being held in Los Angeles, not Japan, and so: "The X Games Asia Track Pack compliments existing official X Games content in DiRT 3. Gamers can take on the multi-track, multi-jump and multi-surface X Games event set around the LA Coliseum and test themselves on the snow and ice of Aspen, Colorado in DiRT 3’s Winter X Games event." The pack is available for $4.99 USD from the online store formerly known as the Games for Windows Marketplace.
A tweet from the Driver account by Ubisoft community manager Mathieu Willem indicates that Ubisoft's reviled always-on DRM will be part of Driver: San Francisco, the upcoming crime driving game (thanks Eurogamer). In response to a question about the DRM, he replies: "PC version requires permanent internet connection."
Though not yet posted on the Rulers Of Nations Website a new patch for Rulers of Nations: Geo-Political Simulator 2 is now available to bring the global strategy sequel to version 4.30. A list of changes is not yet available, but the Rulers of Nations Forums have a list of bugs that remain following the patch. You can find the patch on The Patches Scrolls.
Battle.net offers the latest list of hotfixes in World of Warcraft since the release of the version 4.2 patch for Blizzard's MMORPG. Here's the change list for these server-side fixes: Continue here to read the full story.
A new patch for Star Ruler is now available on the Blind Mind Studios Website to update the science fiction strategy game to version 1.0.9.0. The download is mirrored on The Patches Scrolls, and the list of changes follows. Continue here to read the full story.
I got back to my run-through of single-player QUAKE last night, and did something I never usually do, which is have music from my collection playing in the background. The tunes were on shuffle, and it was amusing how random chance kept picking these quiet, mellow songs in contrast to the mayhem of the game. It never once played anything like The Stones, much less The Clash, but things like odd one-hit-wonders from 70s compilations came up repeatedly. The funny thing was it was kind off cool... like that eerie Mad World commercial for Gears of War years back.
As the dust cleared from the NFL work stoppage, the Giants made the move so many were hoping they would, signing BC's Mark Herzlich, whose college career was curtailed by a rare form of cancer. He seems like an exceptional kid and his story is quite compelling, and I am going to be rooting extra-hard for him to succeed.
R.I.P.: Man Who Vowed to Live Forever Has Died.
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