Tag Archives: California

California would end up with a hefty bill following its failed attempt at anti-violent game legislation, and it could hit tax payers somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.8 million in attorney fees alone.

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The ESA has announced the state of California will hand over $950,000 to the trade body in order to reimburse it for legal fees incurred from US Supreme Court case against SCOTUS.

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A widespread blackout in California appears to have disrupted service at Sony Online Entertainment.

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The US Supreme Court is to decide if a law that bans the sale and rental of violent videogames towards minors is against free speech.

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EA’s John Riccitiello has told Kotaku that the closure of Pandemic, along with the dismissal of 200 employees, was the direct result of the company’s move towards digital and the Pandemic’s “bloody expensive” California location.

Apparently, it costs “two to three times more” to employ people in California as it does in any other region EA has offices – which includes Montreal, the UK, eastern Europe and China.

“For good or for bad, we are taking down headcount in California because it is really expensive,” he said. “The shift toward fewer titles and the acceleration towards digital is moving faster [than expected]. In a world that used to be all PC, then used to be all console, now it’s neither. It’s not a packaged goods business any more.

“We know the consumer likes the Mercenaries intellectual property, the Pandemic property, some of the key designers and their insights. We’re hoping they’re going to want Saboteur. I think they will. Then we’ll probably sequel that too.

“One of the things I talk to with key people at Pandemic, EALA and Visceral – there’s good and bad… If you’re a capable art director, development director, game designer or producer you can multi-task and have a bigger job than you’ve ever had before, but you’ve got to have the skill of managing teams that are physically not in your neighborhood.

“You can get more done than you’ve ever done before.”

More through the link.

NCsoft has unveiled Paragon Studios, based out of Mountain View, CA.

Formerly known as NCsoft NorCal, the satellite office will continue to work on City of Heroes and other MMOs.

“The renaming of our studio to Paragon Studios represents our devotion to the present and future of the City of Heroes series,” said GM and producer Brian Clayton.

“As pioneers in the comic book-inspired MMO genre, together with our esteemed veteran development team, it is our mission to continually strive for innovation, solidify the strength of our brand, and continue providing high quality experiences for City of Heroes and any future projects that come from Paragon Studios.”

Back in February, NCsoft let over 55 of its Brighton staffers go and planned to move development positions to the States.

Press release through the break.

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A California law inducted in 2008 titled “Assembly Bill 10″ apparently says that game workers in the state are not entitled to overtime compensation from “crunch time” towards the end of development.

The new law applies only to those making upwards of $75,000 per year ($36 an hour).

According to Mark Methenitis, Joystiq’s Law of the Game author: “Practically speaking, that means if you’re a dev with a salary of $75K, you can’t claim overtime during crunch, which means the developer is more likely to use crunch cycles.”

In 2004, a spouse of an EA employee published a report on “abuse of game development team members in the name of meeting publishing deadlines,” which resulted in compensation reform throughout the industry.

Those opposed to the bill are afraid it will reverse that trend.

More through GamePolitics.

Splatterhouse developer BottleRocket Entertainment has gone bust, says an apparently solid rumour.

The company is showing off its horror reboot at New York Comic Con this weekend.

BottleRocket – based in Carlsbad, Calfornia – was formed in 2002 of the core team that created Mark of Kri and its sequel at Sony’s San Diego studio.

Details are non-existent at the moment, but we should have some more for you soon.

We’re sitting in Heathrow’s Terminal 5 about to get on a plane to San Francisco. Why? We can’t tell you. The NDA is strong with this one.

Tuesday night will be worth watching, put it that way. We’ll bring you a schedule for our live coverage of the event on Monday. Mike’s going to be on the day shift for most of next week, so there shouldn’t be any break in the news.

See you on the other side!

WoWInsider‘s got a ton of detail on the schedule for this weekend’s BlizzCon in California, as well as a map of the showfloor.

Want to sit in a World of Warcraft class panel? Now you can. Assuming you were one of the lucky few that actually got tickets.

Hit the link for more.

Blizzard’s sent out a gentle reminder that BlizzCon starts this Friday, so expect plenty of Blizzard-related news this weekend.

“With more hall space, more attendees, and more attractions, this BlizzCon will be our biggest yet,” said Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.

“We’re working hard with our partners to make this an unforgettable experience, and we’re looking forward to meeting players at the show.”

The California event’s completely sold out, so don’t get any fancy ideas. Press release after the break.

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As you can see from the official site, tickets for BlizzCon 08 are now on sale.

The event takes place on October 10-11 in Anaheim, California, and tickets cost $100 each. Go on, buy a flight. It’s only money.

California has had to pay ESA $280k in legal fees after the state lost a court case that would have criminalised the sale of 18-rated games in the region.

This isn’t the first time the ESA has be awarded legal costs in the same situation. In fact, according to Gamespot, “Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota have all been ordered to reimburse the group’s legal fees in recent years, with the Land of Lincoln being hit for $500,000.”

It’s almost as though trying to legislate against the gaming industry with frivolous, unnecessary law suits is a complete waste of time and money.

By Mike Bowden