Monthly Archives: May 2009

Microsoft has announced its to acquire BigPark Inc, a company comprised of industry vets Wil Mozell, Erik Kiss, Hanno Lemke and Don Mattrick who created or had large roles in both Distinctive Software and EA Canada.

BigPark’s founding team has over 80 years of collective experience in the game industry, having produced or overseen titles Need for Speed, FIFA Soccer, Skate, NHL Hockey, NBA Street, and SSX.

The acquisition will meld the developers into Microsoft Game Studios, where the team will continue development on its exclusive Xbox 360 game.

“We are delighted by the opportunity to welcome the BigPark team into Microsoft Game Studios,” said Microsoft Games GM Phil Spencer.

“The team is composed of some of the most experienced and creative minds working in the industry today. The combination of the BigPark and Microsoft Game Studios talent pools will be an accelerant for growth and innovation. We believe BigPark has tremendous potential to create new properties and innovative gaming experiences for our platforms, one of which we’re looking forward to showcasing at the E3 Expo in June.”

Full thing below.

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NHN and Webzen are accepting closed beta sign-ups for the PC version of Huxley: The Dystopia.

The MMO has been in open beta in Korea since 2008, uses Unreal Engine 3, and combines FPS and RPG elements.

But you knew that already.

A release window for PC or Xbox 360 has yet to be announced.

To sign up for the beta, head here.

Natsume has detailed its latest game for family friendly fun, and it’s called Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition.

Set to be released this summer on Wii, players will take on the role of a wildlife photographer on Animal Island. Each day a new task is given and you have to take pictures of the animals doing various things.

Kids like Wii. Kids like animals. Should be fun for ‘em then.

Read onward for the press release.

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Ubisoft will announce it’s Holiday 2009 line-up during a June 1 press conference at E3.

The invitation only event will be broadcast online for the public the next day via it’s official website.

Assassin’s Creed II, Rabbids Go Home, and Red Steel 2 will be demoed, along with an appearance from special guests and the reveal of unannounced titles.

The event will be hosted by comedian Joel McHale who is the host of E!’s entertainment and pop culture show, The Soup.

Press release through the link.

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The latest Blood Bowl screens just released, this set showing the game’s star players.

They look mean. You probably need to be mean if you’re playing a game of football involving physical dismemberment.

Mean. It’s out for PC and 360 in the second quarter.

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Fallout 3′s Broken Steel DLC has been restored and is once again available for purchase on the Games for Windows Live Marketplace.

Looks like the Windows Live DRM install error was fixed.

Thank goodness.

Via Shacknews.

Next week’s SingStore update will arrives in time for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 final, and to celebrate, Sony’s offering a Euro Anthems song pack for £4.49.

The Pack includes “Making Your Mind Up” by Bucks Fizz, “Believe” by Dima Bilan, “My Number One” by Helena Paraizo, “Hard Rock Hallelujah” by Lordi and “Wild Dances” by Ruslana.

Here’s the rest of the list, which will run you £0.99 each:

• Bill Withers – “Ain’t No Sunshine”
• Britney Spears – “From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart”
• Brooks & Dunn – “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”
• Carl Douglas – “Kung Fu Fighting”
• Dashboard Confessional – “Screaming Infidelities”
• Daughtry – “Home”
• Dima Bilan – “Believe”
• Evanescence – “Bring Me To Life”
• Fountains of Wayne – “Stacy’s Mom”
• Johnny Cash – “A Boy Named Sue”
• Johnny Diesel And The Injectors – “Cry In Shame”
• Madness – “It Must Be Love”
• Miss Li – “Oh Boy”
• Poison – “Unskinny Bop”
• Ruslana – “Wild Dances”
• Sarah McLachlan – “Building A Mystery”
• Saves The Day – “At Your Funeral”
• Sinitta – “Cross My Broken Heart”
• US5 – “365 Days” and “Come Back To Me Baby”

Thanks, Eurogamer.

LittleBigPlanet’s getting the Judge Dredd treatment by way of a sticker pack created by graphic artist Jon Burgermann.

Media Molecule approached many graphic artists to create downloadable stickers, some of which include Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and French artist Claire Wendling.

A future update for the game will provide more functionality allowing players to create items using the stickers.

Also of note, GoGamer is offering LittleBigPlanet up for only $24.90 while supplies last. That’s a savings of 58 percent over the regular retail price of $60.00.

The store starts shipping May 15 and it’s a PAL Region Free Edition that will work on any PS3.

Via Joystiq, LA Examiner.

North American PSN-using music-lovers should be pleased with today’s offering of the Rock Legends Quiz Pack for BUZZ! Quiz TV.

There’s a sampling of the DLC’s questions over on the US PS Blog. We hope they get a bit harder, quite frankly.

The Rock Legends Quiz Pack has over 500 new questions covering legendary rock bands, albums and songs from “all time”.

Hit the link for more.

Content for the European PSN Store is a bit sparse this week. Sorry ’bout that.

However, there should be something on the list to occupy you – a demo of Savage Moon, DLC for HAWX, LBP, Trivial Pursuit, Wheelman and LocoRoco for PSP.

Full thing after the break, courtesy of Joystiq.

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New York-based Zoo Publishing has purchased the rights to games previously owned by UK publisher Empire Interactive.

The company now holds the rights to create, distribute, license, port, publish and re-release Empire titles under an agreement with New World IP.

“I am incredibly excited about the prospects of remaking some of the Empire IP, bringing others online, and generating revenue from the current titles,” said Zoo CEO Mark Seremet. “Empire distributed my first company’s software in the EU back in the 1980s and while I’m sad to see this economic environment take its toll on Empire, I’m grateful for the opportunity to partner with New World IP to continue the company’s franchises.”

Empire went into administration last week, and it’s intellectual properties were sold to New World.

More over on GI.biz.

D3Publisher will bring Imagi Studios’ CG-animated movie adaptation Astro Boy: The Video Game to consoles and handhelds this October, to coincide with the release of the film.

Fans of the classic manga and anime series can choose between DS, PS2, PSP and Wii versions, as you become a young boy robot with incredible powers shouting “Let’s Rocket!”

All of Astro’s weapons and abilities will be usable, and you can expect normal enemies and bosses along with a few never-before-seen surprises.

Press release is below.

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Electronic Arts has appointed Google’s senior vice president of engineering, Jeff Huber, to the company’s board board of directors.

Huber is in charge of technology development and innovation for Google’s advertising systems.

“We’re thrilled to have Jeff on our board,” said John Riccitiello. “His proven track record in technology and engineering will make him a strong addition to the board.”

Prior to joining Google, Huber held managerial positions at eBay and Excite@Home.

Read on for the press announcement.

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EA’s Need for Speed Undercover has been patched for PC.

Included is the free Challenge Series DLC which adds 60 events, two new game modes and three new cars.

A list of inclusions and patch notes are over on WorthPlaying, along with the download and minimum spec requirements.

E3 organizers say the show must go on, despite the State of Emergency issued by ‘governator’ Arnold Schwarzenegger over swine flu concerns.

“The 2009 E3 Expo is progressing as planned,” an ESA spokesperson told MCV. “Public health officials are taking all appropriate steps and we continue to follow their direction on all measures.

“We look forward to a great event, and to seeing you in Los Angeles in June.”

E3 takes place June 2 to 4 in Los Angeles.

Microsoft said today that Pathé movies are to be released on the British Live movie store.

“We’re incredibly excited to be offering our Xbox Live consumers a number of fantastic Pathé titles ranging from critically-acclaimed indie hits to Oscar-winning smashes”, said Microsoft entertainment boss, Steve McGill.

That means you’ll get Slumdog Millionaire, Britons. Probably a good thing.

Terminal Reality doesn’t want consumers to be confused over the constant publishing changes for Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

After changing hands three times within a year, VP Joe Kreiner says the team is frustrated and hoping the alterations do not sully customer expectations.

“It is not the ideal situation for a developer like Terminal Reality as we really enjoy a collaborative relationship when we work with publishers, so that has had to be rebooted every time the game changes hands,” Kriener told GI.biz.

“As a developer these distribution decisions are handled far above our level and is not been something that we would have a say in. We have just focused on keeping the teams attention on making the best game we possibly can.

“We do not want the consumer to be confused as that can hurt sales. Our hope is that this is a transparent change to the gamer and that the desire to play the next authentic chapter of Ghostbusters is a draw that overcomes any complications.

“All I can say from the Terminal Reality perspective is that the game is done on all platforms. We are really pleased with the final result and happy that it is ready for the fans on every platform whenever the decision is made to release it.

It was announced yesterday that Sony would publish the PlayStation versions of the game in Europe, thus pushing the Microsoft and Nintendo SKUs later into the year.

All platform versions in North America will still release on schedule via Atari.

Activision announced it’s music game line-up for the fall this morning, but missing from the press release was confirmation of Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

That information was sent out in a separate mailing, apparently.

According to Shack, the game will be released during “the second half of this year”, and includes hits from Van Halen along with guest acts blink-182, Queen, Queens of the Stone Age, The Offspring and Weezer.

We’ve put a call into Activision requesting more information, so hopefully they will get back with us soon.

The Activision year-end financials conference call to investors is this evening, we may know more then as well.

Ubisoft has released some new screenshots and a trailer for Rabbids Go Home.

In the game, you will help the wacky little critters as they collect junk to build a pile large enough to reach the moon.

The adventure title is expected in the fall.

The video is posted below, and screens can be found on CVG.

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The line-up of keynote speakers has been confirmed for this year’s Develop Conference.

David Jones, Realtime Worlds founder and GTA creator, will provide the main address. Other speakers of note include representatives from Hansoft, Media Molecule, Microsoft Studios, Nokia, Traveller’s Tales, Mythic, and Ubisoft.

Here’s the list so far:

• Evolve Keynotes
  Resetting the Game
  David Perry, creative director, Acclaim Games

• The Long Tail and Games: How digital distribution changes everything. Maybe
  David Edery, Independent Consultant

• Art Keynote
  The Art of LittleBigPlanet – A Big Medley
  Kareem Ettouney and Mark Healey, Co-founders, Media Molecule

• Audio Keynote
  The Runtime Studio in your Console: The Inevitable Directionality of Game Audio
  Guy Whitmore, Director of Audio, Microsoft Game Studios

• Business Keynote
  Out of the Box(ed Product): Thinking for an Online Age
  Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer, Mythic Entertainment

• Design Keynote
  Building LEGO Worlds – online, offline, and everything in between
  Jonathan Smith, Development Director, Traveller’s Tales

• Mobile Keynote
  Moving games to a new beat: The development of Nokia’s Dance Fabulous
  Mark Ollila, Director of Technology & Strategy and Head, Nokia

• Production Keynote
  Bridging The Gap Experiences Learned with Agile Project Management across Multisite, Multicultural and Multilingual Project
  Lisa Charman, Associate Producer, Ubisoft and Patric Palm, CEO and Co-founder Hansoft

Develop 2009 takes place in Brighton from July 14-16.