Archive for October 5th, 2007:
EA Acquires Super Computer International
You might have not heard of Super Computer International, but you have probably played multiplayer games on servers powered by SCI. EA has announced that the company has acquired the server and client provider Super Computer International, for an undisclosed sum. EA will shift assets, technology and employees to the EA Online Technology Group. SCI, founded in 2001 and based in Atlanta, has worked on online gaming technology and software, powering games such as the Battlefield series and America’s Army.
PS3 Gets Price Cut In UK, 40 GB Introduced
GamesIndsutry.biz brings news that Sony will be cutting the price on the PlayStation 3 console in the UK, and issimultaneously introducing a 40 GB version. The new price for the 60 GB version is £349, down from the previous £425, and it will still include two games and one extra controller. The new 40 GB model will only feature 2 USB ports, no memory card slots, and no backwards capability, but it will cost only £299. The price effective October 10.
Compared to the 40 GB , the 60 GB now seems like a great deal: for an extra £50 you get 20 GB more storage, 2 games, extra controller, two extra USB ports and memory card readers. The console war just got more exciting, if only in Great Britain (for now, hopefully).
Gears Of War Movie Canned?
Gears of War is still the best selling Xbox 360 game, as Halo 3 has been on the market for just over a week, and it’s still a popular game on Xbox Live, second only to Halo 3, of course. A movie is, or was, in the works, but details are, or were, sparse. According to movie site IESB.net, the movie is getting over budget for studio New Line Cinema to stick with the production. But according to the screenwriter who is supposed to pen the Gears of War script, Stuart Beattie (who wrote the excellent thriller Collateral), there is still hope;
“[300] was shot completely on green screen, which is amazing when you actually see the film. It’s probably how we’re going to do Gears of War. There’s no way to build that world any other way, really.”
As he puts it, 300 was entirely shot on green screen (for better or worse), but it still didn’t come in cheap – the budget was around $50 million, which is more than New Line Cinema is willing to pay for the Gears of War movie.
No Assassin’s Creed Demo
In an interview with GameTrailers, Assassin’s Creed producer Jade Raymond confirmed that there will be no demo. She pointed out that the game features “sandbox gameplay”, in other words, huge and fully explorable cities, which would be hard to cut down in order to make a demo. The game is scheduled for launch this November on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The PC version will be released some time in 2008.