Monthly Archives: August 2009

FASA Interactive founder Jordan Weisman, has said that after his studio was acquired by Microsoft, it “destroyed” the development culture of the firm and almost did the same to Bungie.

“When Microsoft bought FASA Interactive and incorporated it into Microsoft… the two reasons they bought us was, one, they wanted the catalog of intellectual properties and, two, they felt that we had developed a really good development culture,” Weisman told GI.biz. “And the reality is that, pretty much from the day we moved to Redmond, that development culture was destroyed. I don’t think the studio ever really had a chance. It was destroyed right in the beginning.

“When we were acquiring Bungie, they wanted me to sit down with the owners of Bungie and tell them how well the transition went, and it was like – ‘what planet are you guys on?’ This transition did not go well. And actually I became the lead vocal pain in the ass to get things done very different for Bungie.

“I tried to convince them to leave Bungie in Chicago, but not winning that I did succeed in getting them to put them in a walled off room, which didn’t follow any of the other Microsoft stuff. We were much better able to defend Bungie’s culture than we were FASA’s culture.”

Weisman’s in the process of getting some of his IP’s back from Microsoft, and is currently in talks with Piranha to get a new MechWarrior made.

More through the link.

Cryptic Studios has has sold-out of Lifetime and Six-Month Subscriptions for its upcoming Champions Online.

The special offer was suppose to last until September 1, but unfortunately, Cryptic only allotted for so many in the first place and subsequently ran out. Because of this, many hoping to get in on the deal are quite perturbed.

“We’d like to take a moment and hopefully clear up any confusion regarding our discounted Champions Online lifetime and six-month subscription offers,” read and official statement.

“First, we do sincerely apologize for the rather abrupt end to the promotional offers. It was never our intention to spring that news on our fans or anyone else. In short, we had an allotment of special subscription packages to sell over a fixed time (ending September 1). When we began approaching the offer cap before the date cap, we had to message. Frankly, we never suspected our special offers to be so popular.

“While we did mention that supplies were limited in an announcement post, we definitely should have emphasized our limits more explicitly in all our messaging. Again, we just never expected supply to be any kind of an issue. The community response to our offers has been… amazing.

“It’s hard for all of us here at Cryptic to see outcry in our communities. We work day and night to create the best gaming experiences we can and any missteps – big or small – on the long, winding, and sometimes treacherous path of development are always regrettable.

“We do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and we do sincerely hope you understand and come play Champions Online with us this September. ”

More over on IncGamers.

Looks like BioWare is still staying mum on a PS3 version of Mass Effect.

According to a recent interview with CVG, BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka never gave a definitive answer on the question that has been plaguing gamers since 2007 – why Mass Effect wasn’t released for PS3.

“I think a more accurate way to frame it is to say we’ve announced we’re developing Mass Effect for 360 and PC,” he said. “Right from the beginning we said we wanted to deliver Mass Effect on the 360. Right now all we’ve announced is we’re working on 360 and PC.”

So, will a PS3 version eventually happen then: “We haven’t announced anything on that front,” said Muzyka.

Maybe not giving a yes or no is BioWare’s way of keeping its options open should it decide to release the game for that platform in the future. Who knows.

More through the link.

According to a report over on MCV, Microsoft will reveal its intentions for the Xbox 360 tomorrow.

The announcement is expected to include the discontinuation of the Pro and a price drop for the Elite as well as the changes rumored for the Arcade.

Microsoft has yet to confirm or deny reports relating to the new pricing for its SKUs, but it looks like tomorrow is D-day.

More over on MCV.

Looks like Beyond Good and Evil 2 is definitely on hold, according to a tweet from Gamersyde.

According to the site, confirmation of this came from Ubisoft which said that the game was “on hold for now.”

Last month, Ubisoft’s North America’s president Laurent Detoc, said that a team has been working on some BGAE “stuff” and despite the Ubidays video and screen leaks, the game’s not coming anytime soon as the series’ future is still up in the air.

We will send off a mail to Ubisoft to see if we can get a response.

Via Joystiq.

The new Game with Fame session this Saturday at 3:00pm PST/6:00pm EST is Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

For those who own the game, you could get a chance to play with Megan Fox.

Fox will be playing the new DLC content during her Game with Fame session and her Gamertag will be “Megan Fox 2009″. If you’re an Xbox Live Gold Member, send a friend request to her and be online half an hour before the session starts.

Who knows, you may receive an invite to play.

More information can be found through the link.

Quantic Dream’s David Cage has told VideoGamer that there’s still more that can be done with PS3.

When asked if Heavy Rain was pushing the limits of the console, Cage explained that there is still much more that can be done with PS3.

“You need to keep in mind that Heavy Rain is our first title on PS3,” he told the site. “It’s not the second or third generation of games on the same platform. We’ve just discovered the platform right now. So yeah, there’s plenty of room for improvement I’m sure.

“At Quantic Dream we know we can do much better than what we do here.”

Game’s out early 2010.

Get a ton of screens and a movie of the second Red Faction: Guerrilla DLC pack after the break.

It’s out on September 17. Hit this for more info.

More »

Update: Epic has confirmed to us the release date for the Gears 2 GoTY Edition. Press release added past the break. We have mailed Microsoft UK for confirmation of the UK release.

Original Story: A Gears of War 2: Game of the Year Edition is coming to retail.

According to reports, the disc will contain the full game with the All Fronts pack which includes Flashback, Combustible, Dark Corners and the Snowblind map packs along with the Road to Ruins campaign.

GameStop has it listed for $40 and Amazon for $37 and both have it listed for a September 1 release.

Sounds good to us.

Via Joystiq.

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Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling has told GamerZines that vehicles will not play a part in Modern Warfare 2′s multiplayer.

“We never put vehicles in multiplayer,” he told the site. “Our focus is on fast-paced infantry combat, where you’re never reliant on transportation. What we do have is expanded Killstreak Rewards now, some of which are user-controlled.

“For example, where you previously could call in UAV, Airstrikes, and Helicopter Support but had no control on how helpful they were, there are many more options which allow you to take control of the gunner or control its success a bit more for a limited time. Such as the AC130 gunship where you can fire any of the three weapons on it during its limited time in the air.”

More from this interview is expected to land on GamerZines tomorrow.

Modern Warfare 2 is out November 10.

The IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey demo’s been posted on PSN, as confirmed by the EU PS Blog.

The flight combat thing’s out for 360, PSP and PS3 on September 4.

Smash Cars will release on August 27, the EU PS Blog just confirmed. That’s tomorrow, calendar fans.

The PSN RC racer will cost a sizeable €14.99/£11.99. Worth it? There’s a video after the break to help make your mind up.

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Someone’s got a PS3 Slim, taken it to bits, taken pictures of the entire process and put it all on Ifixit.

That’s it. The case is full of wires, as you can see. Be sure to probably not do this to yours, assuming you’re buying one.

Thanks, rrod360lol.

Price cut? Imminent? Xbox 360? UK retailers having orders restricted? What do you say, Mr Microsoft?

“We’ve made no such announcements and have nothing to share at this time,” a rep told us this afternoon.

Talk’s now gathering pace that Microsoft is on the verge of dropping Xbox 360′s price, with rumours today pointing to British retail lines drying up.

A UK retail source told VG247 today, simply, “Game on!”

Engadget ran a few shots from a Target ad earlier this week showing pretty clearly that the little white chap’s about to see a drop.

Watch this space. This one. Watch it.

MCV’s reporting that UK retail orders of all 360 SKUs have now been limited ahead of what is now widely tipped to be a hardware price cut this week.

It’s all down to “sources,” obviously, but it is happening. We’ll chase MS for comment.

Forza 3 will be a Puma-branded game, Microsoft said today.

The racer, out on October 23, will be Pumarised in-game as well as being subject to a “series of joint marketing initiatives across Europe and North America.”

PR after the break.

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Southpeak shooter Section 8′s been pushed back a week, according to EG.

“The game is now being released on September 11 not September 4 due to a small delay in the manufacturing process,” said a rep.

The jetpack blaster’s a PC and 360 title.

Aliens and Predators may have been de rigueur back in the 80s, but they’re just as relevant now as they ever were, AvP dev Tim Jones told us at GamesCom.

“I think it’s still very much relevant to the younger audience,” said the Rebellion man.

“The comics and graphic novels still sell well, and the recent movies, the AvP and AvP2 movies, have reached a wide audience in many respects. They reached a bigger box office than the previous movies.

“I think there’s a huge appetite out there for these characters and the universe we’re exploring.”

Sega’s Rob Bartholemew added that the shooter’s setting has been modernised over the classic films.

“The story itself is set 30 years on from Alien 3 in terms of age and timeline, so marine technology’s moved on,” he said.

“It’s still recognisable, but you’ll notice they they’ve got updated armour, slightly updated weapons. We’re making it more contemporary in this game than… the 80s sci-fi that was inherent in some of the films.”

AvP’s out on 360, PS3 and PC early next year. Hit this for multiplayer details from Germany last week.

Sega Europe’s just no-commented a report that Bayonetta’s going to be a region-locked Japanese release.

The firm just told us on the phone that a statement is likely to be release on the matter near the game’s Japanese launch on October 29.

Translated, this probably means it is going to be locked out on both 360 and PS3.

The Platinum actioner’s releasing early next year in the US and Europe.

Bayonetta won’t be a region-free release, according to this Kotaku story.

That means no importing for you, grey market scum.

Just checking whether or not this applies to both 360 and PS3 versions now.