Monthly Archives: April 2009

EVE player Dire Lauthris has been working on his fan video for the MMO’s chronicle The Breakout since 2007.

It shows.

The film is set 200 years in the past, and tells a bit about the Caldari-Gallente war, long before the game’s four races discovered pod technology.

Watch below.

Via RPS.

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Valve is extending the matchmaking system in Left 4 Dead for PC.

Additional support for a party system and third-party campaign servers will be added, along with changes to the skill-based auto-match system.

Currently in closed beta, this is part of the L4D SDK rollout, and will be released after the Survival Pack launches.

Get the full thing over on the official site.

Not too impressive of an update we’re afraid. Promised Patapon costumes for LBP weren’t added, but if you were excited about SpongeBob coming to Rock Band, you’ll be happy.

PSP users are the lucky lot this week, getting a Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce demo.

Full thing below, courtesy of Joystiq.

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Peter Molyneux told GI.biz that the reason Lionhead’s escaped layoffs in the current climate is due to professionalism and courtesy.

“We tried to be welcoming. So being professional, being nice to do business with, being super-passionate — when people come to look at saving money and where to direct their resources, it makes their decisions easier to take,” he said.

Being visionaries, creating best-selling franchise like Fable and having Microsoft as a publisher helps too.

“Our mission statement is to be the most respected developer in the world, and to create landmark games. And underneath that, to be the most professional studio in Microsoft Game Studios,” he continued.

“Part of that means that when we want to do something, we can’t throw our creative toys out of the pram and say, ‘Look, we want to do this because we’re really smart people.’ We have to prove it.

“We have to take the internal PR really, really seriously, and be really nice people to do business with,” said Molyneux.

“I know that sounds strange, but it’s so tempting when you’re acquired by another company – and this is what happened at EA, with Bullfrog – it’s so tempting to feel, ‘Well, they’re the big bad bosses, why should we try to open our doors?’

More through the link.

Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary has signed on with Capcom to pen Dark Void’s score.

The upcoming action-shooter’s McCreary first game, and he’s very excited.

“When I got the call from Capcom to work on the music for Dark Void, I jumped at the chance to do it, considering my love for Capcom games,” he said.

“I have been looking for the opportunity to compose a game score for a long time, but I’ve been waiting for the right one. Dark Void’s epic story and unique gameplay drew me in immediately and I have had a lot of fun working on the project.”

Game’s out this year for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Press release posted below.

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Sony has released a list of best selling PSone titles available on PSN since the service opened in 2006.

Here’s the rundown:

1. Street Fighter Alpha – released 2008
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – released 2007
3. Crash Bandicoot – released 2006
4. Twisted Metal 2 – released 2007
5. Spyro the Dragon – released 2007
6. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped – released 2008
7. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back – released 2008
8. Wild Arms – released 2007
9. MediEvil – released 2006
10. Hot Shots Golf 2 – released 2006

Sony said that more PSone titles are expected to be released on PSN this year, and Capcom has shown ample interest in bringing more of it’s classics to the service.

Starbreeze’s Riddick team is to create EA’s upcoming Bourne project.

“It is the same team that’s going to create the Bourne game that did Riddick as well as The Darkness,” Jerk Gustafsson told Eurogamer.

“We’ve already begun work. There are some personnel in a development cycle that are free a little bit earlier than others and those guys have been working on the Bourne project.

“So we’re probably still going to continue creating games the way we do, blending various gameplay elements into a good storyline. I think that’s what we do well.”

Untitled at present, the game is codenamed “P9″, and will have multiplayer capabilities.

SCEA’s just announced that, as promised, an interactive version of the Killzone 2 “Behind the Bullet” TV ad will be released openly on PSN today.

“This demo will provide an inside look at the making of the commercial, enabling you to take control and slow down the action, move the camera axis and pivot, hear audio commentary from multiple selectable sources such as the art director or technical director at Guerrilla Games, and utilize a variety of buffers and filters to see how every single frame of the commercial was created using the game engine technology,” said PlayStation US marketing head, Scott Steinberg, talking on the PS Blog.

Hot shit. All details through the link.

Activision says that Modern Warfare 2 will not only surpass the success of the original, but will become the “biggest selling video game of all time”.

“Each year the Call of Duty franchise goes from strength-to-strength,” brand manager Simon Wells told MCV.

“We want to propel this year’s title to be the biggest selling video game of all time. That may raise some eyebrows, but step back and look at the franchise’s trajectory through preceding launches, and this objective starts to look viable.”

The sequel’s out in November and will be supported by an intense ad campaign.

“We firmly believe we have the potential to be the No.1 entertainment property of the year,” Wells continued.

“The reality for a franchise as large as Call of Duty is that we are competing directly with entertainment propositions outside of the video game space.

“Plans are being developed to deliver one of the most engaging campaigns of the year.”

In response to continuing rumors over a Lord of the Rings MMO for 360, Turbine’s simply reiterated that it’s working on an MMO for “next-generation consoles,” but failed to confirm if it’s LotRO.

“We won’t comment on rumors but it’s no secret that we’ve been deep in development for some time on an MMO for the next-generation consoles,” a company rep told CVG.

“While I won’t discuss specific titles, I will confirm that we are incredibly excited about what we have accomplished and strongly believe that the console market is ready for the massively connected social gaming experience that Turbine provides.”

“The first parties share this belief and have been great partners to work with as we get ready for the next major evolution of the platform.”

Hopefully we will know more soon. E3 sounds about right.

THQ has revealed a tentative release schedule for upcoming titles over the next two years.

Saints Row 3 and an unnamed action game from Relic are to be released in fiscal year 2011, which begins April 1, 2010.

Vigil Games’ upcoming Warhammer 40K MMO is expected during fiscal year 2012, which begins on April 1, 2011, along with Red Faction 4 and Darksiders 2.

Dates for each title are just forecasts at this point, as they were revealed via a slide presentation during an investor’s meeting.

Thanks, Shack.

In a long chat with Kikizo, Nolan Bushnell’s reiterated just how big a fan of Wii he is.

“I’m a big believer in the Wii. I love the physicality of the Wii controller, and how you can get the feeling of throwing a bowling ball or swinging a golf club. Those are the kinds of games I really like,” he said.

“I would be playing first-person shooters with my kid, except that those are games in which you have to have such fast circuits. My kids just whack me, so it’s no fun – I hate to lose. I like games where you can use stealth and guile.

“As you get older, it’s like the difference between playing squash and racketball. Squash is an older man’s game, because if you’re stealthy and wily, you can beat a better-co-ordinated and stronger, younger person.”

Mr Atari also went on to discuss his past, Wolfenstein, and his BAFTA fellowship.

Read on through the link.

DSi’s releasing in the West this week. To celebrate, Nintendo’s announced five DSi launch games you’ll be about to download from the DSi Shop.

Here’s the list:

• Art Style: AQUIA – Colured-block puzzler.

• Bird & Beans – Bean-catching puzzler.

• Brain Age Express – Math: Number-based puzzler.

• Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face – Fiddle with photos.

• WarioWare: Snapped! – Camera-based mini-games.

Don’t forget to connect to the DSi Shop by October 5 to claim your 1,000 free DSi points.

Press release is through the jump.

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According to a report over on CVG, out of 1,130 men surveyed, two-thirds would rather play a new game release than do the mattress mambo with their lady friend.

Seriously?

Thirty-two percent admitted they would rather play a game because partners were “hard to please” or “not as much fun”.

The average climbed to 72 percent when “new videogames” became an option.

The survey failed to mention if any of the men questioned had been with a woman outside of a “self help manual” or “art film”.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix will be landing on XBL next week, on April 8.

The PSN version, however, will not be released on April 9 as you would assume, but will instead land sometime later this spring.

A price point has yet to be revealed for either version.

Konami’s said it wants its SAW adaptation to take a lead over Silent Hill in the horror genre, and has released first screens into the bargain.

“Because we have leadership in the survival horror genre, we’re passionate about it and wanted to find another property on par with Silent Hill,” Konami US marketing boss David Daniels told Variety.

“Saw has grossed over $600 million worldwide and sold over 16 million DVDs, so we felt like it was a great opportunity to align ourselves with one of the most successful horror film franchises in history.”

It’s out this autumn to coincide with Lionsgate’s Saw VI film.

Platforms? PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Hit the link.

NetDevil MMO Jumpgate Evolution will probably run on your computer, if the game’s minimum specs are to be believed.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Minimum Specifications:

Windows XP/Vista, Intel P4 1.4GHz or better (2GHz if using Vista), 512MB RAM (1GB if using Vista), 64MB Graphics Card, Direct X® 9.0c, Broadband connection, 2x DVD ROM Drive, 8GB free hard disk space

• Recommended Specifications:

Windows XP/Vista, Dual-core Intel Pentium D, 2GB RAM, 256MB Graphics card with vertex and pixel shader capability.

Sign up for the beta here. There’s no date on it as yet.

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Funcom is has launched a free trial for Age of Conan.

In an attempt to reel in more subscribers to the struggling MMO, the game’s director has posted an open letter on AoC’s official site, detailing the plan.

Also mentioned was AoC’s new update, expected to land on the test servers sometime this week with the only hints at content being a new gem crafting system and some class changes.

The development team also talked about the possibility of changing the game’s “Combat Combat Combat” scheme to “Content, Conflict, Characters and Community”.

Thanks, IncGamers.

Uh oh. Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux’s dropped a reasonably unsubtle hint that Fable may have an online future. Like, online online.

“Whatever happens in the future of Fable, I don’t want you to think you know exactly what features are going to be in there,” he said to Eurogamer, speaking at GDC.

“Don’t think about this as an RPG franchise – think about it as the world of Albion.

“There’s a niche for Fable as there’s humour in there and there’s a Britishness and I think we’ll keep that side of it. But whether it’s more action or RPG or MMO or some new genre – that’s what we have to do.”

Is this the first-party 360 MMO you’re looking for? If it is, will everyone have their own dog?

Famitsu’s published its Japanese sales figures for 2008, clearly showing an industry in decline.

Hardware and software sales combined were worth ¥552.42 billion in 2008, compared to ¥676.95 billion in 2007.

Hardware sales fell from ¥317.47 billion in 2007 to ¥231.52 billion last year.

Software sales from ¥359.58 billion the previous year to ¥320.91 billion in 2008.

DS was the best selling hardware in Japan last year, shifting 3,983,205 units. PSP came next with 3,230,563 consoles sold.

Wii sold 2,257,575 units, and then came PS3 999,903 machines sold.

Xbox 360 moved 398,633 units, nearly double its 2007 sales.

Lots more on Kotaku.