Archive for February, 2008:
Activision CEO: WoW Killer Would Cost a Billion
The MMORPG market is well saturated with quite a few good titles, but is still dominated by World of Warcraft, the reason for which Activision merged with its owners Vivendi to create Activision Blizzard. This is noted by company CEO Bobby Kotick at an investor meeting where he comments that it would take an investment of almost a billion dollars to create something to rival WoW’s popularity, and even then, success wasn’t guaranteed.
“We don’t think that even if we made the USD 500 million or billion-dollar investment to get a product out [to compete with WOW] that we would even be successful doing it,” he said. “When we first started looking at it, it appeared to us like a game in an insurmountable product category… EA, Microsoft, Sony and scores of venture capital investments had been put to work unsuccessfully in trying to develop massively multiplayer games as a product opportunity.”
He commended the guys at Blizzard, saying that they have a model that is “very well-developed” and that they have a “keen understanding of their audiences.”
Titan Quest Developer Closes
The Iron Lore Entertainment website carries word that the studio is closing down after failing to secure funding for their next project, citing “several unrelated events” as a major reason. The studio has created the famed Titan Quest action RPG which garnered critical acclaim, as well as Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm.
The site notes that the talented employees at the studio are now looking for jobs elsewhere and notifies interested parties that they have their own “powerful and flexible engine and tool set” which are open for licensing.
We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has helped us in the last seven years – our team who moved mountains to create such great games, our publisher THQ who has been a great partner through three product development cycles, and most of all our customers and fans. We owe all of the success we’ve had to you, and our greatest satisfaction has come from creating games that have given enjoyment to the community.
R.I.P. Iron Lore. It was a good run while it lasted.
Wii Outsells PS3 4-to-1
The Wii has been selling like hot cakes since its launch last year. While many have predicted that the sales would subside, interest in the console is still solid and people are still more likely to buy a Wii than its more powerful, expensive cousins. Keeping that in mind, Reuters reports that the Wii is still outselling the PS3 nearly 4-to-1 in Japan in February.
Nintendo sold a total of 331,627 units of the WIi this month, outselling the PS3 by a huge margin. The biggest sellers this month were Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with 1.33 million units sold, followed by Wii Fit, which sold 309,311 units. No numbers were provided for the PS3.
“No Doubt” About It, Guitar Hero III Rocks
The newest set of tracks coming to Guitar Hero III reach back to the long-forgotten days of Ska, when string and brass instruments frolicked together in a peppy, upbeat style of music. “Excuse Me Mr.”, “Sunday Morning” and of course their classic “Don’t Speak” will be available later today on the Playstation Store. All three songs that reach back to an era before Gwen Stefani shed her band and proved that there was some truth behind the “Don’t Speak” music video are already available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for the standard prices. All three tracks are the original master recordings.
RE 0 Wii Port Only For Japan
When it comes to zombie-centric video games it’s hard to beat the Resident Evil series. Just announced on our site is the fact that Capcom is porting Resident Evil 0 to the Wii. Technically you can already play the game on the Wii since it’s was released for Gamecube as well, but this version will have Wii controls if motion sensing is your bag. Unfortunately it’s not going to be coming to anywhere except Japan. Luckily due to the Wii’s lack of region locking on the game discs you can just import it if you’re that jazzed about playing it, but it might be helpful to learn Japanese or get your hands on a translation.
Play Imports on Your Wii
If you owned a Gamecube and were big on imports then Datel’s Freeloader will probably ring a bell. Now Wii owners get the same luxury as Datel has announced that they will be releasing a Wii version of their popular Freeloader software come March. This comes as great news because while there has been the opportunity to play imports on your Wii it usually required opening your console and voiding the warranty. Well no more, because Freeloader is simply a disc that you pop into your Wii before you insert your imported game and voila, a Wii with no regional restrictions. Expect Datel’s Freeloader to hit around March 14th for about $20. You can head over to Gameseek to snag the popular software.
Create A Bionic Commando Level
It might have been over pizza and beer in your adult years or maybe chicken fingers and a tall glass of coke in your childhood, but we’ve all had that conversation with our gamer friends about all of our great ideas for video game concepts and levels. A friend and I often remarked at how certain buildings on our college campus would be excellent places for Counterstrike levels. Unless you’re going to get into the field of game design or put in the time to learn how to make your own flash games, there’s not many chances to put your brilliant ideas to work. Capcom is giving you a chance to let your creative talents shine. Unfortunately this might not be as appealing to some of the younger gamers out there, but if you’re into quality retro games there’s no doubt you’ll at least have a passing familiarity with Bionic Commando. In preparation for the current-gen game Capcom is remaking the original, and one creative fan is going to have a level of their own design put into the “Bionic Commando Rearmed”. Really though, it’s more of a reimagining than a remake as there’s going to be two player co-op, new bionic arm abilities and some other gameplay improvements.
Resident Evil Zero Coming to Wii
In more Capcom news, Japanese magazine Famitsu reports that the publisher is planning to bring a port of Resident Evil Zero to the Wii this Summer. Originally released on the Gamecube back in 2002, Zero chronologically takes place before the original in the series’ timeline.
Unexpectedly, the port will not feature any graphical updates or gameplay tweaks, but will feature some Wii remote functionality, details of which were not provided.
Capcom recently released the Wii version of Resident Evil 4, which was originally released on the Gamecube, but then ported over to PC and PS2.
Capcom Sued Over Dead Rising
The premise of Dead Rising is quite a simple one – a shopping mall infested with zombies. It was also the setting for Dawn of the Dead, a film by George Romero as well as its remake. On that note, film production company MKR Group has filed suit against Capcom alleging copyright infringement by the movie, Reuters reports.
The company claims that the game is an adaptation of Dawn of Dead, for which MKR owns the copyright. Earlier this month, MKR notified Capcom, Best Buy and Microsoft that it plans to file suit if a settlement cannot be reached. Following that, Capcom filed a complaint in the US District Court, seeking an injunction to prevent the suit and asking the court to declare that Dead Rising did not infringe upon MKR’s trademark.
The outcome is yet to be decided.
Dark Sector Multiplayer Detailed
The first details of the multiplayer mode in Dark Sector have been revealed. Developer Digital Extremes has implemented up to ten-player support and a total of five maps that will be available at launch. The game will feature an Infection mode, pitting slow-moving soldiers against one super-powered enemy, while Epidemic mode will have two teams facing off in an attempt to assassinate the other side’s sole super-powered player.
The multiplayer modes will be playable both online and via LAN. Following its release, Digital Extremes hopes to introduce new modes, maps and other goodies through downloadable content.
Dark Sector is scheduled to hit PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 25.
Disgaea 3 This August
Bringing over its popular strategy game Disgaea 3 to North America is Nippon Ichi, who announced that it intends to publish the game for the PS3 this August. The latest entry in the series features gameplay refinements as well as updates including the Geo Block, which lets players alter battlefield terrains to reach previously inaccessible areas.
The game will play similar to previous Disgaea titles and is aimed at hardcore strategy RPG fans. Disgaea 3 will feature sprawling, multi-level dungeons and will mark the series’ first appearance on a next-gen console. It will be localized for the region by NIS America.
Tales Games Coming
Namco Bandai has announced that it will be bringing the two latest entries in its renowned Tales role-playing series to North America. Both Tales of Vesperia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World will be released later this year on Xbox 360 and Wii, respectively.
“The Tales series is one of our most successful and well-regarded franchises, and we’re celebrating its 10th anniversary in a big way with two new games that redefine role-playing on the Xbox 360 and Wii,” said Namco Bandai marketing director Todd Thorson.
Dawn of the New World is a direct sequel to the first Tales of Symphonia, which was originally released on Gamecube; Tales of Vesperia, on the other hand, is a completely new entry in the series.
Microsoft Nixes GoldenEye 007 XBLA Rumors
Microsoft Game Studios has told Eurogamer that it does not plan on releasing GoldenEye 007 on Xbox Live Arcade. Hailed as one of the best first-person shooters of all time, and originally released on Nintendo 64, the Rare-developed game was expected to be released on the service after rumors began to be circulated.
Apparently, the reason for the no-show on XBLA is the fact that Microsoft was unable to acquire the rights to the property from Nintendo, the original publisher. In fact, Rare has already developed a port of the game and Microsoft has gone on record to say that it would “love to release” it in the future if a deal with Nintendo can be reached.
Nintendo, it’s your call! Make people happy, dammit!
May will be Hazy
Originally expected last Holiday season on the three major platforms (PC, PS3 and Xbox 360), publisher Ubisoft today announced that Haze will finally makes its way to the PS3 this May. Now touted as a PS3 exclusive, the game tells the story of a drug-enhanced mercenary as he faces a moral quandary over whether to support his owners or the rebels.
The first current-gen effort from Free Radical – creators of the excellent Time Splitter series – Haze will be fully exclusive to the PS3, as development on both PC and Xbox 360 versions was halted late last year.
Puzzle Quest Galactrix Announced
RPG puzzle-series Puzzle Quest will see another entry this Fall, according to an announcement by D3Publisher of America. Dubbed Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, the game will take the franchise into space, featuring new mechanics that revolve around spaceships and a hexagonal field.
Players will be able to customize the ships of their fleet and will also be able to choose between different classes. This time around, the game will offer a greater variety of skills and attacks , as it allows players to choose between various ships.
The game is expected to hit Xbox Live Arcade, PC and DS this Fall. PlayStation versions may be in the offing, but weren’t confirmed.