Tag Archives: chris early

Playing upcoming smartphone game, Assassin’s Creed: Utopia will have no bearing on, or contribute extra content to, your Assassin’s Creed III game, Ubisoft has confirmed. Those that abhor trans-device gaming tie-ins will be pleased, but the move seems to contradict Ubisoft’s “companion gaming” strategy.

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Newly launched Facebook game Ghost Recon Commander isn’t just a shill for Future Soldier, but is expected to stand on its own feet.

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Stace Harman sits down with Ubisoft’s VP of digital publishing, Chris Early, to discuss the future of digital content and what happens when things go wrong.

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“I don’t want to visit my friends. I want to kill them,” is the legendary Brenda Brathwaite’s approach to helming a Ghost Recon social game.

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Ubisoft’s Chris Early has said the firm is ready to take advantage of Nintendo’s Wii U digital strategy – whatever that may be.

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Ubisoft has said it wants to offer enough value to PC gamers that the need for DRM eventually “goes away”, and to do this, the firm’s digital boss Chris Early said a system similar to MMOs needs to be set in place.

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Ubisoft VP of digital publishing, Chris Early, had said the firm’s digital-only offering I Am Alive was one of its “most polarizing” releases ever as review scores for it were all over the place.

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Microsoft has told Edge that it is still committed to PC gaming after appointing Ron Pessner as its Game for Windows head after Chris Early was laid off earlier this week.

“Moving ahead, Microsoft will continue to invest in Windows as a first-class gaming platform through great Windows out of box experiences, our online gaming services including Games for Windows – Live, MSN Games, and Messenger games, and through new games for Windows developed by Microsoft Games Studios,” said the firm.

“Working closely with Ron [Pessner] will be Dave Luehmann, a long time Microsoft games veteran and general manager within Microsoft Games Studios, who will now be overseeing internal development and publishing for all Windows-based games.”

More through the Edge link.

By Mike Bowden

Microsoft’s confirmed general manager Ron Pessner is moving from the Entertainment and Devices Division to lead its Games For Windows program, following news that previous GfWL boss Chris Early had been laid off.

Pessner is joined by Microsoft Games Studios’ Dave Luehmann, who will now oversee internal development and publishing for Windows-based games.

More on Gamasutra.

As part of Microsoft’s restructuring plan to eventually shed five thousand jobs, the highest profile employee to get the chop is Chris Early, general manager of Games for Windows Live.

Venture Beat has contacted Early for comment but only receives an auto-response from his email saying his time as Microsoft has “come to a close.”

This decision obviously raises questions how how much longer the Redwood giant will continue to invest in the Games for Windows Live service.

More through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Speaking to Shacknews, Microsoft’s Chris Early has apparently confirmed that firm has plans to launch a PC digital distribution platform in line with Valve’s Steam.

“Clearly it’s on our road map,” said the Games for Windows Live boss when asked if the firm is to start selling full games over the “innerned”.

There’s a fuller segment of the interview through the link.

Chris Early, general manager of Microsoft’s casual-games program, gave a heavy hint that John Schappert’s GDC keynote today is likely to include content about how Live Anywhere gamimg will link Windows Mobile, Vista and Xbox 360 together.

“If you like that sort of thing, I would strongly recommend you go to Microsoft’s keynote opening GDC, where you’ll see a little bit of this announced for the first time,” said Early. However, he did not go into further detail. “I think I’ve kept it vague enough not to get into trouble,” he concluded.

Early was speaking at yesteday’s Casual Games Summit, ahead of GDC, which starts today. The whole idea of linking up the three Windows platforms was announced in spectacular fashion at E3 2006 in a presentation that included Bil Gates himself. Little has been heard of the programme since.

Schappert’s keynote begins today at 6.30pm GMT.