• Home
• Archives
• About
• Send news tips

Search:

• All news
• PC
• PlayStation 3
• Xbox 360
• Wii
• DS
• PSP
• Gear
• Featured stories

Subscribe to Newsfeed

Mass Effect, Spore "Draconian" Online Check Removed (Partially)

Unsurprisingly, the revelation of Mass Effect and Spore’s DRM, which was described as being “draconian” by many, caused uproar among fans. The DRM would require online validation every 10 days in order for the games to continue functioning.

Fortunately, that won’t be the case anymore, as EA and BioWare both announced today that it has removed the strict validation, saying that it will only be required when the player downloads new game content or patches.

Spore’s copy protection will similarly be changed to allow for offline play. The publisher additionally notes that the protection will allow users to authenticate each game on up to three computers. Approval of further authorizations will be handled by EA customer support on a case-by-case basis.

EA Gets $1B More for Take-Two Purchase

It seems that monolithic publisher Electronic Arts still haven’t given up its hopes of acquiring Take-Two Interactive, for which it made a $2 billion offer back in March. While the deadline for the offer passed in April, Take-Two is reportedly open to “possible business agreements” and EA is ramping up for it. In fact, they have secured up to $1 billion in financing for a possible takeover of Take-Two, should it acquire the company by January 2009.

This money comes from agreements with multiple banks, including Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, BNP Paribas, and The Bank of Nova Scotia, among others. The whole offer would be increased to $3 billion it seems, though Take-Two has stated its intent to remain independent. The company recently got a major injection of money in the form of the GTA 4 release which brought in $500 million during its first week.

No Tony Hawk Game This Year

Shocking the world, Activision revealed that it will not release a Tony Hawk-branded skateboarding game this year – for the first time since 1999. Instead, the company aims to release a new entry in its next fiscal year, which runs from April 2009 to March 2010. This game, in the words of Activision publishing CEO Mike Griffith, will reinvent the series “from the ground up.”

“It won’t be your father’s Tony Hawk,” he said during a conference call yesterday. “For competitive reasons we’re not going to talk about it today, but we’re very bullish on the kind of innovation it will bring.”

However, this year won’t be completely barren skateboarding wise, as the company noted that a new DS entry, developed by Vicarious Visions, is due out later this year.

Codemasters Gets F1 License, Developing Multiplatform Game

Following up on word that Sony might be ditching the F1 racing license comes word that Codemasters has gotten the license. This means that Codemasters will develop a new F1 game franchise that will be available on multiple platforms and PC, and not just on the PlayStations. The first title from the multi-year deal is expected sometime next year.

Codemasters has quite a few top-tier racing franchises, including the venerable McRae Rally series, TOCA Touring Car and the upcoming Race Driver: GRID. The company is also based in Europe where the sport is far more popular than in North America.

“Codemasters’ success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge,” said Codemasters chairman Chris Deering, adding, “The combination of Formula 1’s new momentum of expansion and Codemasters’ contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen.”

Activision Reveals Massive Profit

With other publishers revealing their revenues, the focus now falls on Activision, who, unlike the others, has posted a net income of $344 million, a significant increase over its 2007 take of $85 million. Their record profits were pulled from total revenue of nearly $2.9 billion; Activision’s fiscal year ends on March 31.

The company attributed profits to strong sales of Guitar Hero 3 and Call of Duty 4, both of which have continued to sell well into the company’s fourth quarter. According to the publisher, a total of 82.8% of income came from console software, with portable games bringing in 10.8% of income. Sadly, the PC brought in a mere 6.4% of income.

NVIDIA to Make Lineup Easier for Consumers

The whole NVIDIA graphics card lineup confuses me. Is the 9600GT faster than the 8800GT? No, it’s not, but then why does it have a higher number? And why the hell are there three-four versions of the 8800GT?!

The company hopes to solve that problem soon in order to appeal to a wider audience. Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz, Roy Taylor, VP of Content Business Development, admitted that the company’s lineup is confusing and overcomplicated for its customers, noting that they need to make their products more friendly for consumers.

“It is a challenge that we’re looking at right now,” he said. “There is a need to simplify it for consumers, there’s no question.”

He didn’t reveal how the company would make its lineup easier for consumers, nor did he provide any date or time period for said changes.

Bethesda: "We Aren’t Dumbing Down Our Franchises"

Apparently there are small but vocal groups of gamers who have accused Bethesda of having dumbed down their franchises for console gamers. Emil Pagliarulo, lead on Fallout 3, disagrees, calling the whole thing “funny”. Talking to Next-gen editors during a podcast, Pagliarulo said: “I look at Fallout when I play it every day, and I sometimes think that there’s a lot of old-school hardcore PC stuff in there too, and part of me thinks, ‘God, is this too inaccessible for console players?’”

He does note that the game contains a lot of dialog, a sophisticated targeting system and other elements that could be a major turnoff for console gamers, but he also think that it’s just the opposite.”I don’t feel like we’re dumbing down the franchise,” said Pagliarulo.

“…I think we’re starting to find that there is a market for [hardcore ‘PC RPGs’ on consoles]. People like myself and some people that work here actually grew up as hardcore PC guys, and now we’re older, we have kids, we don’t have that much time, so we’ve transitioned. We’re console players now.”

While his name may not be popular with gamers, Pagliarulo played an integral role in the development of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, writing the Dark Brotherhood storyline. It should be noted that the game was a major blockbuster, selling millions of units worldwide.

THQ Gets Super Hero Squad

THQ is once again in the news today, as the publisher announced that it has acquired he license to create a game based on Marvel’s Super Hero Squad franchise, one that is dubbed “burgeoning [and] kid friendly”.

Aimed at young children, the Marvel Super Hero Squad teams up Captain America, Hulk, Spider-man and other such classic characters as they go up against supervillains like Galactus and others. No platforms were mentioned for the game, which is due out in Fall 2009, the same time the television show launches. Action figures of the kid-friendly characters are already in stores and a comic book series is planned for this Fall.

THQ Cutting 200

Following posting of huge losses, publisher THQ is reported to be cutting 200 employees across several of its studios. This comes from MCV, who reports that company CEO Brian Farrell was noted to have said that the administration plans to reduce the size of studios focused on last-generation development, noting that it is part of their restructuring, which the company expects will add 300 more to their workforce by the end of its next fiscal year.

As reported earlier, the company posted a net loss of $35 million at a conference call. This was attributed to their underwhelming fourth quarter performance.

Rumor: Sony Ditching F1 License

Sony is apparently set to abandon the license for games based around Formula 1, with increased costs blamed to the culprit. TG Daily claims that, according to their industry sources, there is a pretty wide gap between what Formula 1 wants for the license and what Sony is agreeing to pay.

The site named EA, Ubisoft and Codemasters as possible licensees, though it should be pointed out that anyone can basically get their hands on the license given enough money. However, it has to be noted that while EA and Codemasters both have established racing franchises, Ubisoft is yet to produce any.

Key Nintendo Programmer Defects to Microsoft

Shacknews reports that longtime Nintendo programmer Colin Reed has left the company for a position at Microsoft. Reed worked at Nintendo for 11 years, during which time he served in many key programming roles, including technical lead on Metroid Prime: Hunters (DS) and main system programmer for Pikmin (Gamecube).

According to the site, he will join the team behind Forza Motorsport at Microsoft. Before leaving Nintendo, Reed worked on an undisclosed project with NST.

Shacknews also points out that this marks the latest high-profile departure from Nintendo, whose subsidiary Retro Studios lost three pivotal staff members in April.

GTA 4 Breaks Records, Bags $500M in First Week

We all knew GTA 4 would sell big on release, but just how big? According to our earlier report, the game caused UK sales of the Xbox 360 to rise by 125%, but that’s not the whole story. Take-Two Interactive today announced that their open-ended action game surpassed all-time entertainment records for day one and week one sales by dollar value, selling approximately 6 million units globally with an estimated retail value of more than $500 million in the first week. In fact, the game sold approximately 3.6 million units on its opening day with a retail value of nearly $310 million globally.

“We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player’s experience, with its compelling story line, extraordinary gameplay and action that ranges over a broad urban canvas. Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well. Grand Theft Auto IV’s first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date. We congratulate the entire Rockstar team on creating a must-have experience that takes the legendary Grand Theft Auto franchise to a new level,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two.

GTA 4 was released for both PS3 and Xbox 360. A PC version is rumored to be in the pipeline.

Japan Has a New Richest Man

While its no surprise, considering Nintendo’s success with both it’s Wii and DS consoles, former Nintendo chairman Hiroshi Yamuchi, 80, has recently been knighted Japan’s richest inhabitant.

With a net worth of over $7.8 billion, which grew $3 billion in the past year alone, Hiroshi ousted last year’s rich-man Akira Hori whose net worth, due to being the biggest landlord in all of Japan, stands at an impressive $7.7 billion.

Of course, Hiroshi wouldn’t be worth anything had it not been for Nintendo being worth around $79 billion, of which Hiroshi owns a 10% stake in. Lets see how much both Nintendo’s and Hiroshi’s values rise as the Wii continues to dominate.

Kaz Hirai Still Believes PS3 Will Take The Lead

Apparently Kaz Hirai has failed to receive the memo, that or he strongly believes in the Playstation brand. Along with the usual speil about the ten year lifecycle of the PS3, he believes that the PS3 sales should pick up and eventually this generation it will regain the lead.

“I am very confident that after the 10-year lifecycle we will have the install base that we are looking for and that is obviously to be in the leadership position.”

Instead of a sprint, the race to the finish is actually a marathon, and simply Nintendo and Xbox simply don’t have the legs to keep on going. But then again, apparently he’s never seen a sales chart which are often dominated by year plus old Nintendo software.

Clearly even at this stage it’s impossible to predict the situation in a few years, but certainly the odds right now remain stacked against Kaz.

Misleading PS3 Ad Gets The Boot

It seems that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has recently pulled the plug on a PC World PS3 TV ad that leads users to believe that 60 GB PS3s provide backwards compatibility for all PS2 games.

The phrase causing the boot is, ‘and it plays your PS2 games as well’ leading potential buyers to believe that their shiny new console will play any PS2 game, and breaching CAP TV ASA Code rule 5.1, or ‘misleading advertising’.

While the ASA will allow PC World to continue advertising the PS3, they must alert consumers that the console only has partial backwards compatibility.

Mass Effect, Spore Don’t Trust Their Customers

Revealing that the studio doesn’t trust its audience, BioWare technical producer Derek French has said that the PC versions of both Mass Effect and Spore will make use of copy protection that will require users to validate their games online every ten days to keep playing.

“After the first activation, SecuROM requires that [Mass Effect PC] re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez’d and gets banned),” he wrote in a post on the BioWare forums.

“After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run,” added French. “An internet connection is not required to install, just to activate the first time, and every 10 days after.”

According to French, Spore, created by Maxis, will also make use of the same scheme. He also notes that this requirement will be clearly printed on the games’ packaging.

Xbox Partners with Ibiza Rocks Hotel

Microsoft has been quite aggressive at placing their console in hospitals throughout the nation, but what about commercial places such as hotels? Nintendo has dominated such places, as the company is now present in cruise ships, as well as five star hotels. The Xbox 360 isn’t too far behind either, as Microsoft today proudly announced itself as the official music partner to the Ibiza Rocks Hotel – a collaboration which will see a campaign of music activity taking place on the White Isle throughout the Summer.

Inside the new Ibiza Rocks Hotel, guests will enjoy the ‘Xbox Social’, the place to experience the latest games, music and movies available on the console. The place will be furnished with couches and ‘quirky’ extras. There will also be Xbox 360 kiosks throughout the hotel, allowing guests to play all the latest games. Guests will also be subject to a concierge serve where the Xbox team will set up complimentary consoles and games in guests’ rooms.

Additionally, there will be an ‘Xbox Penthouse’ on the top floor of the hotel – a premium quality apartment complete with sunset balcony. This is where all the bands playing at Ibiza Rocks will stay during their time on the island.

THQ Posts $35m Loss, Sales Led by PS2

Following huge losses of Midway, publisher THQ today posted a net loss of $35.3 million for its 2008 fiscal year, which concluded on March 31. The company attributes most of its loss to its fourth quarter, where it lost $34.5 million due to lower-than-expected sales of previously released games.

“In fiscal 2008, we did not achieve our revenue and profit targets and we are taking aggressive steps to ensure that we significantly improve execution in fiscal 2009 and beyond,” said THQ president and CEO Brian Farrell.

Despite all that, the company raked in $1.3 billion in revenue, revealing that the PS2 led a quarter of its sales, with the DS games bringing in 22% of the revenue. Xbox 360 and PC brought in 12.6% and 9.1%, respectively, with Wii representing 8.9% and PS3 coming in last at 8.3%.

THQ hopes that its 2009 lineup will bring in better revenue. It currently has Saints Row 2, Red Faction Guerilla, WWE Legends of Wrestlemania and many other titles slated for release.

EA and AOL Sports Partner for GameShow

What happens when two supposedly evil companies team up? This announcement: EA has partnered with AOL Sports to market and promote EA Sports GameShow, an online sports trivia game that can be played for free online.

GameShow is the only live-hosted, interactive online sports trivia game that features programming that is updated daily, with each trivia session broadcast directly from the game’s studio in Orlando, Florida. Under the terms of the agreement, AOL Sports will feature the game as part of its content available to its 10.9 million unique visitors who visit AOL Sports monthly.

“After several months of Beta testing, we’re excited to move to the next phase of EA SPORTS GameShow,” said executive producer Roy Harvey. “This agreement with AOL provides an outstanding opportunity to introduce new sports fans from across the country to ‘live broadcast gaming’, a captivating, innovative form of entertainment.”

A new flash version of GameShow was launched recently; it makes playing as simple as logging onto the website.

MTV Explains 360 HDDs High Cost

Chances are you’ve pondered upgrading your Xbox 360’s harddrive in hopes of unlocking it’s full potential as a home media device. Chances are, you didn’t do it due to the 120 GB harddrive costing a staggering $180.Well, it seems that the ridiculously high price has been picked apart, analyzed, yet still not justified.

MTV Multiplayer has recently contacted hardware analyst iSuppli to find out that several factors go into inflating the price to that far beyond of which you would expect to pay for a regular 120 GB harddrive.

The first price inflating factor is that the HDD comes pre installed with various software, including bits and pieces of the consoles OS itself.

Secondly, the drives are shipped off to another company who then supply casing and retail packaging for the drives, ensuring a perfect fit.

After these procedures are finished, the drives run at an estimated $100 per drive to which Microsoft adds an additional $80 to the suggested retail, leaving us with the infamous $180 MSRP.

While learning this probably won’t make many people run out and purchase the high-priced harddrive (it certainly doesn’t make me want to) it lets us know that Microsoft isn’t exactly as money-crazed as we initially thought. Hell, I’d rather pay $180 for a chrome (or gold) plated harddrive like pictured above.

Next Page »

Latest Headlines

• First Gears of War 2 Gameplay Footage
• Guitar Hero 4 At the Drive-In
• Mass Effect, Spore "Draconian" Online Check Removed (Partially)
• EA Gets $1B More for Take-Two Purchase
• Sonic Youth, Clash, Blondie in Rock Band
• Call of Duty 5 Announced
• No Tony Hawk Game This Year
• Burnout Paradise on PC, First Screenshots
• Bizarre: No PGR4 DLC From Us
• Codemasters Gets F1 License, Developing Multiplatform Game
• Battlefield: Bad Company Demo on June 5
• Bioshock Coming To Big Screen
• Everyday Shooter on Steam
• Vampire Rain Drizzling on PS3
• Activision Reveals Massive Profit
• Party Crashers on Wii
• Wrestlemania Game Announced
• The Mummy Game Announced
• THQ Gets Master Mind
• Coming Tonight: Gears Of War 2

All content Copyright © 2007 DigitalBattle | Privacy Policy | Contact | Log in