Infinity Ward could lose 20 more, still make 'competitive product' - Analyst
Wedbush's Michael Pachter thinks 10 to 20 departures from Modern Warfare 2 developer wouldn't affect its long-term ability to produce high-quality games; maintains "outperform" rating on Activision.
Today, Activision stock lost nearly 2 percent of its value, closing the day down $0.23 at $11.67. The slip came even though the company increased its guidance for the quarter, Largely thanks to massive sales of the first package map Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. According to one theory was that the latest news from the administration of the most talented on the $ 1 billion game 's developer Infinity Ward, made some investors jittery.
Ever seen the movie They Were Expendable?
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter concurs with that theory--and thinks even more Modern Warfare 2 makers are headed for the exit. "We think that recent Activision share weakness has been compounded by additional departures at Infinity Ward which accelerated this week, and we expect another 10-20 employees to depart over the next few months," he said in a note sent out today.
However, Pachter believes that Activision will be fine even if more high-level developers at Infinity Ward jump ship. Commenting on the departure of 11 employees over the past month (with two more exiting today), Pachter said that the brain drain won't be damaging in the long term.
"In our view, the company will likely replace the departed employees with skilled developers, and while increased competition may impact sales of future versions of Modern Warfare, we expect the company to put out a competitive product," he summarized.
Pachter is maintaining his high "outperform" rating on Activision, offering a target share price of $16.
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Preview: Ghost Recon Future Soldier
Gallery: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (E3)
Continue reading Preview: Ghost Recon Future Soldier
Preview: Ghost Recon Future Soldieroriginally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Stereoscopic 3D coming to PS3 tomorrow
What 's Up, June 9? It 's with his friends from Joystiq, comes to you directly from future : June 10th. It's incredible here, what with all the Floatshoes and the Hoverplanes (long story) but the best innovation? Stereoscopic 3D gaming on the PS3 kicked off today, with WipEout HD, PAIN, Super Stardust HD and the MotorStorm: Pacific Rift demo all going three-dimensional.
Sadly, the effect of 's only alarmingly expensive 3D TV , so the unwashed, dimensionally-starved masses have turned on their rich counterparts, starting a bloody class war. As if that weren't bad enough, all those new Bravia owners get the aforementioned games for free, so ... yeah, it's not pretty.
Oh well, at least we've got the 3D-enhanced Move game The Fight: Lights Out and 3D Blu-ray playback to look forward to later this year!
Stereoscopic 3D coming to PS3 tomorroworiginally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Preview: Vanquish
The basic scenario is a future with the world's last two superpowers, Russia and the US, fighting on an American space station designed to harness the energy of the sun (after all of the Earth's resources have already been depleted). Sam Gideon is the game's hero, and it's his job to go into the station with US troops and save the day. Fortunately, he's outfitted with a power suit that allows for all sorts of technological and acrobatic wizardry.
Gallery: Vanquish (E3 2010)
Continue reading Preview: Vanquish
Preview: Vanquishoriginally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Telltale: 'Pilot Program' allows for new ideas at less risk
Additionally, team sizes on the pilot episodes are much smaller, but can be scaled up depending on how the audience responds. "Right now, I think the Grickle[ PA] team is probably about a third of the size of an average team to get this started," Connors said. According to him, 50 percent of the work for a series is done up front -- going into full-scale production on PA would require little adjustment for Telltale. That said, he seems more interested in spitballing ideas for additional pilot games in the meantime, saying that the studio is still "in the idea phase" for more pilots. We'll see just how well that first idea pans out when Puzzle Agent becomes available this June.
Telltale: 'Pilot Program' allows for new ideas at less riskoriginally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 May 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Analysts discuss impact of EA Sports Online Pass
According to Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter, it only makes sense that EA should be compensated for rendering online services. He noted that EA "currently does not get paid" by those who purchase used games and that the pass "is ensuring that second-hand purchasers will pay something for the maintenance of the server network and for access to premium content."
The majority of analysts agreed with Pachter, with EEDAR's Jesse Divnich noting that games now extend far beyond their own physical media. "Seven years ago, when you purchased Grand Theft Auto for $50, the entire experience was encapsulated on a DVD," said Divnich, "in 2010 that is no longer the case." He added that it is "perfectly reasonable" for EA to expect payment for features that aren't included directly on the disc. Also, DFC Intelligence's David Cole expects more companies to pursue similar programs in the future.
Meanwhile, Lazard Capital Markets' Cole Sebastian referred to the program as "a double-edged sword for publishers." While it may lower used sales, said Sebastian, it also diminishes the resale value of games that customers would trade in to purchase new ones.
Analysts and discuss the value of EA Sports Online Pass originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 12 May 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Square: 'All our future games will have multiplayer'
Every future Square Enix game will have some element of multiplayer or social gaming, says the company's boss Yoichi Wada.
Click here to read the full article
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Episode 3: They Stole Max's Brain Impressions
The Sam & Max franchise gets a film-noir twist in the next episode of The Devil's Playhouse.
Contrary to the reports we've been hearing for the last decade, the classic adventure genre isn't dying. In fact, adventure games had a particularly strong showing at E3 2010, thanks in part to the continued efforts of Telltale Games. We stopped by the developer's booth to get a glimpse of the next installment in the current season of Sam & Max.
Who's Making It:Ingenious minds Telltale Games, of course. This is a team for another Sam and Max episodes, and tales Monkey Island, Wallace and Gromit and the upcoming games based on Jurassic Park "and" Back to the Future licenses.
What It Looks Like and What It's About:
What You Do:
The episode goes in a different direction about halfway through, but unfortunately, Telltale Games did not respond to any of our intense interrogation techniques by dropping any tantalizing tidbits about that shift in gameplay.
What They Say: They Stole Max's Brain will be available to download in a matter of days, on June 22, 2010. Two more episodes will round out the current season.
What We Say: At one point during the demo, a character alluded to an itchy sensation in his boxers. If you like adventure games or Sam & Max or just appreciate games that put a smile on your face, They Stole Max's Brain is likely to elicit a similar reaction in your own underpants.
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Def Jam Rapstar distributed by Konami this fall
A tip for the future rappers this game inspires: When trying to appear "hard" amongst your colleagues and the subject of paying dues arises, admitting that you got your start "on the streets of Def Jam Rapstar " probably isn't going to win you any brownie points. And if there's one thing that holds sway in the rap industry, it's brownie points.
Gallery: Rapstar Def Jam
Continue reading Def Jam Rapstar distributed by Konami this fall
Def Jam Rapstar distributed by Konami this falloriginally appeared on Joystiq Wed 8 April 2010 9:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .
New Final Fantasy XIV screens explore Eorzea's metropolitan side
If you 're one of those players who likes to stick to MMO trade security and the development within the bulk of capital strength, you can get an early look at some of your future neighborhood in the gallery below . For even more details about the alliterative municipality, check out the game's official site.
Gallery: Final Fantasy XIV (5-20-10)
New Final Fantasy XIV screens explore Eorzea's metropolitan side originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 20 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Episode 3: They Stole Max's Brain! Impressions
The Sam & Max franchise gets a film noir twist in the next episode of The Devil's Playhouse.
Contrary to the reports we've been hearing for the last decade, the classic adventure genre isn't dying. In fact, adventure games had a particularly strong showing at E3 2010, thanks in part to the continued efforts of Telltale Games. We stopped by the developer's booth to get a glimpse of the next installment in the current season of Sam & Max.
Who's Making It: The witty minds at Telltale Games, of course! This is the team behind the other Sam & Max episodes, as well as Tales of Monkey Island, Wallace & Gromit, and upcoming games based on the Jurassic Park and Back to the Future licenses.
What It Looks Like, and What It's About: They Stole Max's Brain! looks to film noir as its inspiration, from both a visual and gameplay perspective. The fan-favorite narrator returns to guide us through the charming story, which starts with Sam returning from a bathroom break to discover that Max's head has been sawed open and his brain is nowhere to be found. The visuals and dialogue have a fantastic crime-fiction attitude, but are twisted with tongue-in-cheek wit. As he investigates this terrible crime, Sam may launch into melancholy monologues--a habit that inspired a character in the demo we saw to say, "Are you trying to get me depressed?" During another conversation, a rat proclaimed that he "saw something brain-related." Clearly, series fans will love the hysterical dialogue and charming characterizations.
What You Do:
The episode goes in a different direction about halfway through, but unfortunately, Telltale Games did not respond to any of our intense interrogation techniques by dropping any tantalizing tidbits about that shift in gameplay.
What They Say: They Stole Max's Brain! will be available to download in a matter of days, on June 22, 2010. Two more episodes will round out the current season.
What We Say:At some point during the demonstration, the character referred to the itchy sensation in his underpants. If you like adventure games, Sam and Max, or simply to evaluate the game, which put a smile on his face, they stole Max 's brain! may cause a similar reaction in your underwear.
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JBO: Joystiq Box Office, April 26 - April 30
Recommendation of the Week:
Doctor Zhivago(Blu-Ray: $ 35,99 MSRP much lower, at most retailers) How do you follow up Lawrence of Arabia ? If you're director David Lean, you do it by directing a film based on a contemporary popular novel of the same name, that's set in tumultuous Russia in the days of World War I and through the Russian Civil War. Lean also cast Lawrence's right-hand man Omar Sharif as Doctor Zhivago, and this is easily of one Sharif's best performances. My generation has mostly known him as the guy who gets crushed in the car in Top Secret!, and it's high time that this movie put him back where he belongs as a terrific actor ... and not a guy who hosts video games about bridge. Zhivagois a true epic, and Warner Bros. made one of its thorough restoration in this movie and put it in a digipack. The film looks truly magnificent in HD, and there are a ton of additional services, including 8 sampler soundtrack song. Treatment of the film, combined with those from Warner 'has just announced its LL' is what Citizen Kane and Ben-Hur to Blu-ray in 2011, set the bar high for future classic movie releases.
Continue reading JBO: Joystiq Box Office, April 26 - April 30
JBO: Joystiq Box Office, April 26 - April 30 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
E3 10: First look at Spec Ops: The Line
I had ignored Spec Ops: Line When I first heard about it, solely due to the fact that it Spec Ops in the title, and thus made itself sound like the world's most generic military shooter. Then I heard you could drown your enemies under tons of sand. I started paying attention.
So it has come to pass that I swung by 2K Games' booth to check out Spec Ops: The Line. I have to watch a demo of the game to learn about the history, shooting and, of course, tons of sand. Read on for Destructoid 's original look at this dusty turnouts.
The Line is set in the near future, where Dubai has been all but abandoned thanks to a series of destructive sandstorms. In a narrative that takes its inspiration from the short story Heart of Darkness , the plot involves Captain Martin Walker and his two buddies, sent into the sand-blitzed city to track down the trecharous US army colonel John Konrad. Branching story paths leading to alternate endings are in the pipeline for a game that puts a heavy focus on narrative.
with the game 'foundations entrenched in a cover-shooter territory, but fighting looks much more up close and personal, and not hesitate Potshot fighting. Gunfight intense and fast paced, and sundrenched Dubai makes for the unique conditions of violence. Better than the dark gray arrows infests the last generation.
Of course, the sand is the star of the show, and it appears that developer Yager has really worked to make it an integral part of the gameplay. Most of Dubai is covered in the stuff, and it seems to tumble from every building orifice. Its application in combat, however, is what makes it stand out. Shooting windows to let sand into buildings, or blasting a ton of the stuff onto groups of foolish opponents lends a new sense of strategy to more familiar shooting.
In many respects, the sand feels like intertwined in the game 's atmosphere, like water BioShockdoing. Nevertheless, BioShock's water effects were dazzling while the sand in this early stage of the game doesn't feel as breathtaking. Hopefully this is something Yager is working on as the game is still deep in development. I have a feeling the overall success of this game hinges on beautiful and ambitious sand effects. It's going to have to look better than the competition in this regard if it's to stand out.
As well as the sandy chicanery, The Line boasts a choice system. Don't worry, this isn't planned to be more moral choice buillshit, but rather a set of unique dilemmas that are based more around choosing a sensible approach to a situation rather than a "good or bad" black/white deal. I can't say at this stage whether the ambitious plan for more compelling and "grey" choices will work, but I can share the example provided with the demo and let you make your own mind up.
This one choice, for me, was very impressively pulled off, and while I maintain a healthy skepticism that such a feat can be pulled off repetitively over the course of the game, I really like the direction it's going in. So far, Spec Ops: The Line looks like it could become a surprise hit, and may well be a game that deserves more attention than it gets.
The generic name begs an emerging prejudice, but I say give it a chance and keep one eye on this game. It may turn out rather excellently.
