Archived News:
Steam News announces the release of the Ryder White DLC for Dead Island, Techland's zombie game. Here's word: Players have survived the terrors that took place on Banoi, but did they really get all the pieces of the puzzle? Dead Island´s Ryder White DLC lets you re-experience the Zombie outbreak, but this time through the eyes of the villain. Play through Ryder White´s story and understand the motivation behind the acts of this military man.
As noted in this id Software tweet, id Software turns 21 years old today, as the Texas-based developer was formed on February 1st, 1991 by John Carmack, John Romero, Tom Hall, and Adrian Carmack.
A THQ investor report ( Adobe Acrobat format) has a confirmation of recent word of layoffs at the company, saying this will impact as many as 240 "selling, general and administrative personnel." THQ CEO Brian Farrell will also take a one-year 50% pay cut, from $718,500 to $359,250. This follows recent word that the company is exiting its relationships with kids’ licensed entertainment companies. Thanks Edge. Update: The number of layoffs was originally listed as 24 due to a typo. Apologies for the error.
Electronic Arts' Q3 FY12 Financial Results are online. Here's the summary: "Non-GAAP net revenue of $1,651 million exceeded our guidance of $1,550 million to $1,650 million. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.99 exceeded our guidance of $0.85 to $0.95. Non-GAAP net revenue in Q3 fiscal 2012 was higher as compared to Q3 fiscal 2011 driven by digital growth and by the successful launches of Battlefield 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic." This is accompanied by a list of highlights:
- Star Wars®: The Old Republic™ has generated 1.7 million active subscribers and sold through more than 2 million units in a little over one month.
- Battlefield 3™ and FIFA 12 each sold through more than 10 million units. Madden NFL 12 has sold through almost 5 million units life-to-date.
- EA was the number one publisher by segment share in Western markets for the calendar year, where EA segment share grew by 3% to 20% in Europe and by 1% to 17% in North America.
- PopCap — which joined EA in August has grown revenue by 30 percent on a trailing-twelve-month basis.
- EA's Playfish social gaming network released Risk™: Factions in partnership with Hasbro.
- EA was the number one game publisher in the Apple App StoreSM in December. In December, EA's first free-to-play mobile game, The Sims™: FreePlay, reached the number one position on the list of top-grossing iPad® Apps.
- EA's Nucleus registration system now has a database of more than 168 million consumers.
- Origin™ — EA's direct-to-consumer digital service has registered more than 9.3 million consumers and generated more than $100 million in non-GAAP revenue since launch. Origin has publishing agreements with Warner Brothers, THQ, CapCom and recently added 11 new publishing partners including Trion and Robot Entertainment.
- Non-GAAP digital revenue exceeded $1 billion in calendar year 2011 and continues to grow significantly with new subscriptions, micro-transactions and advertising.
In addition to the 1.7 million active subscriber statistic in the story above, EA also announces more figures to demonstrate the success of Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMORPG, saying the games next update will be released in the spring, offering "even more content, new game systems and additional guild features." Here are some stats from the game's first month:
- Over 239 million in-game hours, or over 332,000 months and over 27,000 years of in-game time
- Over 20 billion NPCs killed
- Over 148 billion credits spent
Dev Blog 3 - Role Warfare offers more on MechWarrior Online, the upcoming MMOG BattleTech game from Piranha Games. This update discusses role warfare, outlining the four different gameplay roles the game promotes: Scouting, Defense, Assault, and Command.
Today is the official launch of Kinect for Windows. The Kinect for Windows Website shows where this can be purchased online, and also offers downloads of the Kinect for Windows SDK for engineers to get started on their own applications for the motion control hardware.
Wadjet Eye Games now offers preorders of Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass, along with a playable demo of this indie adventure. The game is due on February 29th, and can now be preordered in downloadable and Limited Edition CD formats. Here's a trailer, and here's word on the game: A nostalgic throwback to comedy games like The Secret of Monkey Island with the feel and pacing of a Saturday morning cartoon, Da New Guys: Day of the Jackass is a point-and-click adventure with humorous dialogue, clever puzzles, and a quirky art style. Under somewhat sketchy circumstances, Brain -- a member of Da New Guys wrestling trio and the worst brawler in Wrestle Zone history -- has won the title belt. (Not even his teammates Simon and Defender can believe it!) When an angry mob shows up to protest, Brain and the precious belt end up kidnapped. Now it's up to wrestling's most eclectic team to get their buddy back and defend his unlikely title -- not to mention Da New Guys' Wrestle Zone reputation.
This new trailer offers an "infomercial" for the DART 6 chip from Syndicate, the upcoming first-person shooter. Word is: "DART 6 is your gateway to the ultimate consciousness. Equipped with a combat ready neural interface, you as an Agent can cause weapon malfunction, induce insanity, and persuade hostiles to switch allegiance. Combined with adrenaline transducers for heightened awareness, there is absolutely no reason to go into the workplace without one." Continue here to read the full story.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Thought- Do We Own Our Steam Games?
Once again drives home a crucial thing to understand. You do not own your games. Whether bought through Steam, Origin, or any other digital download service that requires a live account to play them, you are at best renting those games, with no guarantee that you’ll be able to continue to do so. And those bans can be issued without a stated or proven reason – it’s in the agreements you click “Agree” to when you sign up an account, or buy a new game.
But is that legal? I asked gamer lawyer Jas Purewal about this a short while back, not specifically about Valve, and he explained that the matter is still unresolved. “In fact,” he says, “it’s never been completely resolved for software generally – at best, we have some guidance to follow.” But he explains that the commonly taken position is that when we buy a boxed game, we own the DVD, but only have a license for the software on it. “A ‘licence’,” Purewal explains, “is essentially a limited personal right to use the software on certain terms and conditions – it doesn’t give you the right to e.g. sell/transfer/copy/reproduce the software.”
GOG.com February Promo: Buy at Least 2, Get 10% Off.
- Double Fine Pack on Steam. Save 50%.
- Guilty Gear X2 #Reload on GOG.com. Save 50%.
The TERA Website has word on preorders of TERA, their upcoming MMORPG. They outline bonuses that come with preorders, and say that this also entitles customers to participate in the game's closed beta testing. Preordering should be done with an understanding that there's an unresolved laswuit filed by NCsoft seeking to block the game's launch. Speaking of the closed beta, there's also another post outlining a schedule for it, beginning with a weekend session in under two weeks, and culminating with a head-start period from April 28th-May 1st. In addition to those who have preordered, some testers will be selected from those who sign up on this page.
The Bethesda Blog has word that a new version 1.4 patch for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is now automatically available though Steam. Word is: "Today we’ve taken Skyrim’s 1.4 update out of beta and made it available for everyone on Steam. In addition to bug and quest fixes, 1.4 adds launcher support for the Skyrim Workshop. Currently we’re putting the final touches on the Creation Kit and Skyrim Workshop and will let everyone know as soon as they’re up." Here's a Creation Kit & Skyrim Workshop Preview video, and here's the change list: Continue here to read the full story.
The Gotham City Impostors Website reveals release dates for this first-person shooter based on the word of Batman. The Windows PC edition is expected on February 7th, alongside the game's North American release on the PlayStation Network. The Xbox 360 edition and the PSN version for other territories will arrive on the following day.
A playable demo is now available for Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, the remake of Jagged Alliance 2 that's due for release on Valentine's Day. Word is the demo includes a tutorial mission, a sample level, and a pre-assembled team of mercenaries. The download is available on AtomicGamer, ComputerGames.ro, and Gamer's Hell.
The World of Warcraft Website has news that a new patch is now live in Blizzard's MMORPG to version 4.3.2. This includes a number of new features, tweaks. and bug fixes, covering Classes, Dungeons and Raids, Items, and the User Interface.
Trion Worlds announces the launch of RIFT Lite, which allows anyone with a Trion account to experience the first 20 levels of RIFT for free with no playtime restrictions. Word is: "Players can create a character and experience the first 20 levels in the plane-besieged world of Telara, working their way through the zones of Terminus, Mathosia, Freemarch, Silverwood, and visiting their faction’s capital cities." This will launch alongside the upcoming version 1.7 "Carnivals of the Ascended" update for the MMORPG. This page has details on the version 1.7 update, which is "coming soon," and here are some "quality of life" improvements it will bring:
- PvP Improvements - Smoother advancement and better rewards
- Ascended Weddings - Share eternity with your soulmate, Telara-style
- River of Souls Chronicle - Undead adventure for two
- New Master Mode Dungeon – Caduceus Rise
- Expert Dungeon Overhaul - More options, better loot!
- Better Endgame Equipment - Improved loot for your endgame Ascended
Paradox Interactive will be offer a live demonstration today of Victoria II: A House Divided, showing off the expansion for their grand strategy sequel that's expected tomorrow. This page is where to find deals on the game, as they say big sale is brewing on Gamer's Gate, and the live streaming demo is planned for 2:00 pm EST today on the Paradox Twitch TV Channel, conducted by project lead Dan Lind, who will also be answering questions.
Gaijin Entertainment announces that closed beta testing of Star Conflict will commence "in the near future," and those interested in the prerelease version of this space combat MMORPG should apply to participate. The game is expected to leave beta and go live before the end of the year.
Here's a little speculation to follow yesterday's news that the PC edition of PROTOTYPE 2 is delayed. This was accompanied by word on new content coming to the console editions of the open-world action sequel as part of a season pass. We asked Activision if we were correct in presuming that this additional content was not destined for the PC edition, and received the following reply: "More details regarding the PC version of PROTOTYPE 2 will become available in the coming months." This is complete speculation, but the guess here is that this means the additional "Radnet" content will be included in the Windows edition when it comes in July.
IGN has a trailer revealing the voice-acting cast for Mass Effect 3, their upcoming action/RPG sequel. Word is this will include Seth Green, Ali Hillis, Jennifer Hale, Jessica Chobot, Tricia Helfer, and, of course, the illusive Martin Sheen.
- ASUS DirectCU II Roundup on PC Perspective.
- ASUS RT-N56U Dual-Band Wireless-N600 Gigabit Router on Bigbruin.com.
- Danger Den DD-M6 Waterblock on Ninjalane.com.
- Gigabyte X79-UD5 Motherboard on PureOC.
- HIS Radeon HD 7950 3GB Graphics Card on TweakTown.
- Motorola Droid Razr Maxx (Verizon Wireless) Smartphone on TechReviewSource.
- Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler on circuitREMIX.
- PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W PSU on APH Networks.
- Rasurbo Vort-X U3 Gehäuse on Technic3D. In German.
- Sapphire PURE Black X79N (Intel X79) Motherboard on TweakTown.
- Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 OC Graphics Card on eTeknix.
- Thermaltake Chaser MK-1 Full Tower Case on Bjorn3D.com.
Okay, someone hacked my calendar, as it says it's February. I know that can't be true, as we just rang in the new year the other day, right? Besides, how could there only be seven more weeks of winter if we've only had one snowstorm so far? Nope, there's definitely something wrong with my calendar.
|
Twitter 
