Category Archives: France

Arkane Studios – best known for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic and Arx Fatalis – has confirmed it’s the latest outfit to get to work on BioShock 2.

The Lyon, France-based developer is assisting in level design. In a similar vein, the company recently assisted in creating multiplayer maps for Call of Duty: World at War.

“Under the direction and leadership of 2K Marin, Arkane is assisting in the creation of levels that embody the aesthetic and gameplay ideals that make BioShock such a unique and exciting experience,” said 2K Marin producer Alyssa Finley.

Four developers are now working on the sequel, namely 2K Marin, 2K Australia, Digital Extremes and Arkane Studios.

Microsoft just confirmed via Twitter that 1 vs 100 will launch in he UK on July 10.

French and German versions of 360′s TV-style quiz show will release on July 12.

More soon, apparently.

Update – Here we go. The UK and German sites are now live. There’s info there on the respective betas.

A story doing the rounds last week that claimed French retailers were refusing to stock PSP Go was debunked by SCEE this morning.

The original JeuxVideo piece claimed that “major retailers” had possibly forced Sony to not launch the handheld in France thanks to its lack of physical media – which means no ongoing games sales and no secondhand PSP Go games market.

“No French retailers have refused to stock the Go,” we were told by SCEE. The rep added that the story simply wasn’t true.

PSP Go launched in October, priced €249. We’re still waiting for the UK price.

Thanks for the initial tip, Peter.

The tenth annual Japan Expo is happening now through July 5 in Paris and Nintendo has a stand at the event.

Those attending will get hands-on time with Muramasa: Demon Blade, Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box, Super Mario Bros Wii, and Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

If you are in Paris, or plan on jaunting over for the weekend, head over to the Villepinte Exposition Center and check out over 100 exhibitors featuring everything from traditional Japanese fans and kimonos to the latest in Japanese cinema, manga and technology.

Thanks, GoNintendo.

Microsoft has signed a deal with French TV and satellite network Canal +. The deal is similar to that signed with UK broadcaster Sky last month, meaning that French Xbox owners will also now be able to watch television through their 360′s without the need for a satellite dish or decoder.

According to MCV, “the partnership will initially focus on the on-demand services from Canal+, video-on-demand service Canalplay and specialist football channel Foot+.”

Reuters weighs in, adding that more than “3,000 films, premium dramas and soaps live and subsequently on demand, and French Ligue 1 soccer games.”

You’ll also be to use Xbox Live to reach friends via their avatars and chat during games.

It is also revealed that the deal will extend to other areas of the Canal Plus Group (Scandinavia please) and other Microsoft platforms.

Following news this morning that Sony was to release the Dutch, French, German, Spanish and Italian version of inFamous without English language support, SCEE has just told VG247 that the firm has u-turned on the decision – English is to be patched in at a later date.

“Following feedback from the community, we realise that there is a strong demand for English language on the Dutch, French, German, Spanish and Italian version of InFamous,” said the company in a statement.

“To remedy this situation, we will be providing a patch shortly, which will add English language to the game. As soon as the patch is ready, we will ensure that everyone is informed.”

The PS3 exclusive releases at the end of May.

Sucker Punch has apparently confirmed on its forum that the French, Italian, German, Spanish and Dutch versions of inFamous will feature no English language option.

The English version will only have Portuguese and Russian language settings.

This is unlikely to go down well, as you can see from the responses to the mod post, especially with the Dutch. English is spoken very widely in the Netherlands, a factor the drives a highly buoyant games market in the nation.

The decision to split out languages in this way was made after a Sony request, according to that note.

Asking SCEE for comment on this now. The game’s out at the end of May.

Thanks, TheDutchSlayer.

The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf developer WideScreen has confirmed to VG247 that the game has been suspended as CD Projekt has failed to meet financial obligations.

“After having a payment being broken by CD Projekt – a big payment that we were supposed to receive – and after having committed to the project but not being covered financially on it for three months, I hold no choice but to put the team on hold,” said Widescreen boss Olivier Masclef in a phone interview this afternoon.

Masclef also said CD Projekt’s deal with Atari was out of kilter with Widescreen’s agreement with CD Projekt in terms of milestones.

The suspension came after a meeting between the three parties, called by Masclef.

Staff have not been laid off, said the exec.

“We have be reallocating people onto other projects and work for hire jobs at the moment,” he said.

“I will try to find any solution for the fans. The Witcher on console is an extremely promising title that’s awaited by a lot of people. We have it running here, and I can tell you that if it hits the shelves one day it’s going to be great… I feel sorry for the fans and I feel sorry for Namco Bandai.”

Masclef said he “appreciated” Namco, who has signed a distribution deal with Atari of which Rise of the White Wolf formed a large part, but said he wasn’t sure if the game would ever been completed.

“I don’t know. I can’t find a financial solution by myself,” he said. “I don’t own the IP – CD Projekt owns the IP and Atari owns the distribution rights.”

First news of the game’s cancellation came from Polish site Polygamia yesterday.

Capcom and Xbox 360 are on a quest to find the Street Fighter IV champions in  France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.  When found, the champ will be crowed the European Street Fighter Supreme Master.

Not only will the winner be bestowed with such a long, illustrious title, they will win some prizes too.

To enter the tournament, sign up here or via Xbox Live between now and May 17. Capcom will then track your progress in the automatic Championship Mode leader boards, and all you need to do is win as many matches as possible and build up your score of Grade Points.

The top 30 Grade Points scoring players will be invited to a live final in their respective country on the weekend of May 30.

National champions will be sent on to a secret European location for the Euro final, June 13-14.

Press release is below and more details are through the link.
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Watch for Capcom announcements soon, chaps. CAPTIVATE09, this year’s Capcom games showcase, has been announced on Unity as a Monte Carlo affair.

Hardly anyone’s going from the UK. We’re not. We’re not bitter.

We’re not exactly sure when it’s happening. It may have already taken place, in fact. We were told, but we can’t remember. But according to that post there, you should be watching on April 29 for all the media, and there’s going to be plenty to look at.

Dead Rising 2, Lost Planet 2, Dark Void, Spyborgs and Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles are all to feature in some shape or form, and there’s promise of new announcements.

Full details through there.

SCEE’s confirmed that the EU PS Blog will launch this summer, after announcing yesterday that Three Speech is to close later this month.

“The blog will be launched in English first, with French, Italian, German and Spanish versions to follow soon after,” said a rep.

“There will be a period between the closure of ThreeSpeech and the launch of the EU blog. During this time please check PlayStation.com and the official forums for news and updates on all that is going on in the world of PlayStation.

“We’ll keep you posted with more information about the blog as soon as we have it.”

Sooner the better.

A law’s been passed in Quebec banning games with no French subtitles or VO.

According to the Toronto Star, it’s now illegal to sell an English-only game in the region.

Haig James Toutikian, a Montreal game designer, said delays thanks to the law are now probable.

“I know how much of a pain they can be,” he said. “They take up a lot of bug-tracking time… I don’t think [the new law] will encourage people to buy the French version.”

Surprised? Don’t be. Mr Quebec takes French really fucking seriously.

Thanks, GamePolitics.

Patapon 2′s been released in Europe, as has a demo. So there’s lovely.

Full PSN update for the week below, courtesy of Joystiq.

Playable Content

• Hi-Octane (£3.99/€4.99)
• Street Skater 2 (£3.99/€4.99)
• Wheelman Demo (free)

Add-on Content

• Burnout Paradise “Boost Specials Collection” (£6.29/€7.99)
  
• Burnout Paradise “Carson Extreme Hot Rod” (£3.99/€4.99)
  
• Burnout Paradise “Hawker Mech” (£3.99/€4.99)
  
• Buzz! National Geographic Prehistoric Pack (£6.29/€7.99)
  
• Everybody’s Golf World Tour - Sackboy Character (£0.79/€0.99)
  
• LittleBigPlanet - St Patrick’s Day Costume (free)
  
• Street Fighter IV - Shoryuken Pack (£3.19/€3.99)
  
• Trivial Pursuit Movie Pack (free)
  
• Rock Band DLC (continued)
• Guitar Hero World Tour DLC (continued)

Rock Band DLC

Individual songs:

• “All I Want” – The Offspring (£0.99/€1.49)
• “The Kids Aren’t Alright” – The Offspring (£0.99/€1.49)
• “Losing My Religion” – R.E.M. (£0.99/€1.49)
• “The Way That It Shows” – Richard Thompson (£0.99/€1.49)

Guitar Hero World Tour DLC

Rise Against Track Pack (£4.39/€5.49)

• “Death Blossoms” – Rise Against (£1.59/€1.99)
• “Ready To Fall” – Rise Against (£1.59/€1.99)
• “Audience Of One” – Rise Against (£1.59/€1.99)

Videos

• Pain Fortress Trailer
• Rag Doll Kung Fu Trailer
• Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Night Owl Trailer
• Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Rorschach Trailer
• inFamous High Voltage Trailer
• Flower Remember Trailer

Wallpapers and Themes

• Crash Commando “Mayhem” wallpaper

PSP Content

• Patapon 2 (£19.99/€29.99)
• Patapon 2 Demo (free)
  
• Hi-Octane (£3.99/€4.99)
  
• Street Skater 2 (£3.99/€4.99)

The French government has awarded 45 in-development games tax breaks, cuts likely to generate up to €40 million (£35 million) for local developers.

Around 120 projects were presented for evaluation, but those selected met the “criteria of quality, originality” and contributed to “cultural diversity” in order to receive the cash boost.

“Right from the start, the DG Competition wanted to impose a very strict cultural frame for games to be eligible to any incentive,” said Guillaume de Fondaumière, president of French trade body SNJV.

“After almost two years of argumentation, we had obtained a number of concessions which I hoped would enable a significant number of projects to benefit from this tax credit.”

More on GI.

It’s the launch that keeps on giving. Gamespot’s posted up a report and photos from the game’s launch in Sydney (“According to EB Games Australia brand and PR manager Debra McGrath, Lich King has had the biggest number of preorders for a single platform game in the company’s history”) and Eurogamer France has a nice gallery of shots from the Parisian release.

Kotaku’s posted up another US report, this time from the New York event. There’s pictures and everything.

You can find our UK launch coverage here.

According to this Gamekyo report, GFK’s confirmed that PS3′s hit 1 million sales in France.

There’s little detail there, but apparently “5 million of games and peripherals” have also been sold since the machine launched in the France in 2007.

We’re having trouble getting this to load faster than snail pace, but after the break you’ll find what appears to be the entire E3 Heavy Rain demo, filmed off-screen by Gamekyo at the Micromania Games Show 2008 in Paris.

From the small section we’ve watched, this seems to be the same demo we saw at Games Convention in August, with the game’s journalist protagonist searching the house of a taxidermist pinned as a suspect in a sequence of disappearances.

Quantic Dream boss David Cage is doing the presenting, and it’s all in French, what with the demo being in France and all.

Game’s out next year, PS3-exclusive. Off you go.

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According to this MCV story, GameStop’s sealed a deal to buy French retailer Micromania.

The move gives the US giant 332 stores in France, increasing GameStop’s European store count to 1,077.

“As we have accelerated our growth in Europe over the years, we have kept a close eye on the European retailers whose passion for the business is reflected in the quality of their stores and evident knowledge of their staff,” said GameStop boss R. Richard Fontaine.

“Micromania has been that type of retailer.”

More through the link.

Eurogamer’s put up a no-show on a European SOCOM date from Sony, with a rep saying, “We have yet to announce a release date and price for SOCOM in the UK.”

SCEA confirmed earlier this week that SOCOM Confrontation, the next game in the firm’s popular tactical shooter series, will hit the US on October 14 and will cost $39.99 both at retail and on PSN.

Well, that certainly was a news mega-bombshell wasn’t it? As you can see the site is completely overloaded with Diablo news, so for the lightweights out there who simply can’t handle it, we thought we’d make your life easier and put them all in one place.

So we have done. After the break.

By Mike Bowden

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