Monthly Archives: April 2009

Final Fantasy XIII’s development team’s feeling the heat, kids.

“There is an unusual sort of pressure on Final Fantasy XIII,” said producer Yoshinori Kitase, speaking in EDGE magazine.

“I’d say we need this game to have ten times the success of these smaller titles.

“But I don’t think that means we’ve compromised in terms of the game design or creativity in any way. Indeed, the development of the game has very much followed in the tradition of the previous titles in the series, welcoming input from the full range of development staff.”

FFXIII’s been in development for five years now. The demo’s out in Japan later this month.

Thanks, D’toid.

Apple Corp said today it’s to release remastered versions of The Beatles music on September 9, the same day The Beatles: Rock Band ships.

Each of the CDs is to be packaged with replicated original UK album art.

Something else to spend hundreds of pounds on. You may as well.

Press release here.

Edge has posted its final format-specific review score graph thing, this one showing categorically that the vast amount of Wii’s games are pretty much terrible.

From Wii’s launch to the end of last year, four percent of the platform’s games have rated over 85 percent on Metacritic. That’s 12 games.

Fifty-four percent, or 155 titles, have rated below 65 percent.

We don’t really need to say anything else. Read loads more words on the matter through the link, should you need to.

Zipper Interactive’s Tony Iuppa has told NowGamer that upcoming PS3 exclusive MAG was never intended to have an offline component.

“MAG is 100 percent multiplayer and has been since day one,” he said.

“This has let us spend all of our development resources on creating a deeper MP experience, which supports tight shooter gameplay seen in games like COD, but that’s just the foundation of our offering.”

Iuppa went on to say that his game is differentiated from the likes of Call of Duty by the fact it’s an online-only title.

“Call of Duty is a great franchise, and we expect them to continue to make great shooters,” he said.

“What really sets MAG apart from CoD and other shooters on the market, however, is our multiplayer focus.”

More through there.

And relax. World of Warcraft is back on top of the American PC charts, following a sterling , three-week stint at the top from Empire: Total War.

Last week’s data here. Get the Direct2Drive chart from Shacknews.

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $33
2. Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $46
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
4. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $33
5. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II / Relic / $47
6. Spore / EA Maxis / $47
7. Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst / Big Fish Games / $19
8. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20
9. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack / EA Maxis / $20
10. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway / Gearbox / $13

A chart posted by SIA jas shown that 12 of the 25 top downloaded iPhone apps are games.

According to the comScore data, an frankly bonkers 32 percent of all iPhone installs are for Tap Tap Revenge.

Go iPhone, go. Can you have a better battery life please, so we can justify getting one?

Unsurprisingly, knickers have been got very much in a twist of Konami’s Iraq War game, Six Days in Fallujah.

The title, announced yesterday, is based on 2004′s Battle for Fallujah, one of the War’s major set pieces.

“Considering the enormous loss of life in the Iraq War, glorifying it in a video game demonstrates very poor judgement and bad taste,” said the father of a British marine killed in the conflict, speaking to the Daily Mail.

“These horrific events should be confined to the annals of history, not trivialised and rendered for thrill-seekers to play out.”

Former colonel Tim Collins OBE, a decorated Iraq War veteran, shared the view.

“It’s much too soon to start making video games about a war that’s still going on, and an extremely flippant response to one of the most important events in modern history,” he said.

“It’s particularly insensitive given what happened in Fallujah, and I will certainly oppose the release of this game.”

More on GamePolitics.

Awesome Games has settled out of court with Bethseda over allegedly selling stolen copies of Fallout 3.

Last year, the British retailer purchased the game from an unknown seller, with owner Ahnes Qureshi claiming he thought the games were imported stock.

Bethesda went ahead with the court proceedings despite the explanation, as it felt Qureshi knew the goods were stolen.

“We take such matters as the theft of our stock very seriously and will rigorously pursue any individual or company who perpetrates such acts,” said Bethesda in a statement.

“While it may be tempting to buy games from unknown sources and to release games early, it’s just not worth the risk, as Mr Qureshi will attest.”

Stipulations of the settlement include not only Qureshi paying monetary damages, but the promise to never do anything so dubious again.

Slap on the wrist really.

Via MCV.

Gametrailers just posted an interview with Jeff Poffenbarger, senior producer on X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in which the developer claims combat in the game is “fast, visceral and authentic”. Watch it after the break.

There’s a ton of gameplay footage in there, and it’s all looking very swish. There’s stuff in there about Wolverine healing in real-time as well.

It’s out on all formats in May.

More »

Blitz has reported a record numbers of student applicants during it’s latest Open Days student and lecturer event, a 30 percent increase over last year.

This year’s program focused on students planning to complete Computer Science and Games Programming degrees, and provided Blitz with an idea of how to move forward for this year’s GamesEdu conference.

“Once again it was a pleasure to host so many enthusiastic students and lecturers,” said Blitz’s Kim Blake. “We really feel that a greater number of students are becoming much more aware of the realities of the games industry and realising that they need to be highly skilled and very well-motivated to succeed in a very competitive market.

“We’re aware that other game developers are also opening their doors to students and we’re really pleased that more would-be developers are getting the chance to see the industry at first hand and gain a deeper understanding of the skills they need.

“Nonetheless, we like to think we’re not resting on our laurels but trying out new approaches every year to try and make our Open Days as productive as possible.”

The annual Open Days are hosted by Blitz to “improve the knowledge base of the future of the industry’s game developers”.

Press release follows the break.

More »

According to a Kotaku tipster, a private Chicago investor, Ubisoft and Warner Brothers are all eying troubled publisher Midway for a possible buyout.

While Midway has refused to comment on these rumors, supposedly it has been in talks with Ubisoft for weeks now. Warner Bros. stopped by for a visit last week, apparently.

Kotaku claims it’s sources are confident Warner Bros. will be the one eventually holding a sales receipt for Midway.

The V1.30 update for WipEout HD will release on April 8, introducing a selection of new multiplayer features.

Update includes an all-new podium that displays the top three finishers after each online race or tournament.

Players will also have the chance of being awarded one of 33 online badges, even if they aren’t part of the top three.

Additional details are after the break.

More »

The first actual sacking of a capital city in Warhammer Online occurred this past Sunday, six months after the game’s release, reports Massively.

Nice.

The Destruction faction on Euro server Karak Eight Peaks breached the capital of Altdorf and beat the final encounter with Emperor Karl Franz.

After that, the king was caged so everyone could throw rotten food at him.

A video of it’s posted after the break.

More »

SingStar players have uploaded over 96,000 videos to the game’s community pages, Eurogamer reports.

The movies have been viewed over 10.7 million times.

Further, Sony has said that new gameplay features can be expected later this year, along with voice controls sometime this month.

Total track downloads for the week ending April 3 were over 10,000, the most popular being Leona Lewis’s Run.

Top ten downloads last week for the UK were as follows:

1. Leona Lewis – Run
2. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
3. The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name
4. Dizzee Rascal feat. Calvin Harris – Dance Wiv Me
5. Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby
6. Billy Joel – Tell Her About It
7. Phyllis Nelson – Move Closer
8. Outkast – Roses
9. Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds
10. P!nk – Just Like A Pill

Raven confirmed during a X-Men Origins: Wolverine demo at GDC last week that, while the game will follow its tie-on movie’s plot, it’ll contain enemies and other aspects not included in the film.

By way of example, Activision demoed a boss battle including a brand new baddie, and what we saw is definitely over-the-top.

The scene showed Wolverine surrounded by a bunch of soldiers trying to kill him. Nothing too shocking there. It got a bit ridiculous when a huge mechanical giant, a Sentinel, came a-calling.

Looking a bit like Iron Man, this chap’s the size of a small skyscraper. The interesting aspect of the demo wasn’t that Wolverine turned him into scrap metal, but how.

As in most boss fights, you perform certain moves a predestined number of times and a cut-scene rolls. In this instance, the robot took off into the sky via rocket propulsion in it’s feet, with Wolverine hanging on for the ride, pounding his claws into it, pulling wires here and there.

Mr Sentinel suddenly started to not feel so good and free-fell to earth.

There was some QTE to avoid debris coming off the boss. At various points Wolverine caught up to it, climbed on board and started ripping it to shreds, before being tossed backwards to start the sequence again, and eventually hit the ground – giving the Sentinel his piece de resistance – to survive a huge explosion.

Very super-action-hero.

Other stuff. Wolverine looks tattered and torn after battles. He can heal himself, so ripped skin showing off bare muscles glues up quickly.

You can expect to see the game sitting on store shelves in May, for all platforms.

Take-Two has settled a shareholder lawsuit over turning down EA’s offer to buy a controlling stake in the company.

Filed by Prickett, Jones & Elliott for shareholder Patrick Solomon during March of last year, Solomon sued over Take-Two refusing to accept the $26 per share offer.

No money changed hands, only an agreement granting Soloman additional disclosure.

Take-Two plans to fight any reimbursement of fees and legal expenses should Soloman decide to file for it.

There’s a teaser video for The Secret World posted after the break. Apparently monsters are not too keen on people drinking shakes.

Massively’s got it, and has loads of extra goodies regarding the game through here.

It’s an action-adventure MMO with a time-line spanning 100 million years ago up to present-day.

Hit the link to find out for yourself.

More »

Want to work? Want to get paid for doing the work? Want to live in Dundee? You should probably look at the press release after the break.

Realtime Worlds is ensuring job applicants they’ll be paid overtime if they take the Scottish plunge.

“The games industry has long depended on getting excessive amounts of free overtime out of its developers, which in the long run just serves to drive them to another field. We want to ensure that Realtime Worlds is always very attractive – both creatively and financially – to our staff, and offering paid overtime is only fair when products of the standards we demand require more effort than is sometimes possible 9-5,” said HR boss John Duthie.

The firm currently has more than 40 jobs listed on its site. Apply. You’ll be given some money if you win.

More »

Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux thinks games will surpass the level of storytelling seen in the Godfather. Bold claims. Not bold enough. He’s told VG247 that games will tell the best story in the world. Ever.

“The greatest story ever told? I think it’s going to be in a computer game,” he said.

“And I think that if I play the greatest story ever told in the same game as you play it, your greatest story is going to be different to my greatest story.

“And that is power.”

Not only will games tell the best story in the world, but if Molyneux has his way it’ll be his team that creates it.

He added: “That ambition to do that, to write that story, or to write that game that allows you to experience that story, is definitely something Lionhead Studios wants to do.”

The best story ever. Hopefully it involves chocolate cake and getting up later than 5.00am.

Nintendo’s told VG247 that DSi sold 92,000 units in the UK in its opening weekend, not 103,000 as previously reported.

Both figures came from Chart-Track. The UK tracking body just revised its figure to the lower amount.

DSi enjoyed the fourth largest hardware launch in British history last week.