Red 5's Offset-powered MMO still in the cards
Very little is actually known about the project, though Red 5 itself was founded by former World of Warcraft team members. The studio ran into trouble earlier this year, reportedly laying off nearly 30 employees. Shortly thereafter, the majority stake of Red 5 was acquired by The9, the company once responsible for running World of Warcraft in China.
Red 5's Offset-powered MMO still in the cards originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Report: EA retiring NBA Live name, replacing it with 'NBA Elite' =[=update=]=
"We knew it was time to leave the past behind. We have exciting and significant changes coming to our NBA game this year that will usher in the future of basketball videogames. We look forward to releasing information on exactly how we'll be doing that over the next few months."
It's hardly confirmation of the name change, but suggests there's something to this whole NBA Elite business. Anybody have a copy of OXM to confirm this? We'd mightily appreciate it!
Update: A tipster sent in an image of the OXM article in question. It looks like the news is legit: look forward to EA Sports NBA Elite 11 this fall.
Report: EA retiring NBA Live name, replacing it with 'NBA Elite' [update]originally appeared on Joystiq Thurs 27 May 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup, now with Bungivision!
For now though, we'll just keep right on reading these weekly webcomic releases and looking forward to the next pew-pew title, hoping that if we miss any especially fantastic comics, you'll let us know in the comments section below. Bungivision ... Activate!
Untitled (Another Video Game Webcomic)
Lottery (NerfNow)
How a Bill Becomes a Law (Virtual Shackles)
Shifting Gears (2P Start)
A Boy Must Learn, Part Three (Penny Arcade)
Revenge (The Great Indoors)
Akela frowns mightily (Sidescroller)
Continue reading Weekly Webcomic Wrapup, now with Bungivision!
Weekly comic Wrapup, now with Bungivision! originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 01 May 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future Hands-On
The professor and Luke are off on another adventure, one that involves time travel.
The third game in the series, Professor Layton is finally here and will be available in the North America in the autumn. Leighton Professor and unwound the future is part of the first trilogy, but it won 't be the last professor Leighton games we LL' see, given that we have seen in the 3D version works under the name of Professor Leighton and the mask of a miracle.
We learn from the start that Luke has received a letter from his future self and this is just one of the many mysteries that the duo will eventually have to solve. The pair head off to London to see the unveiling and of a time machine, invented by a Dr. Alain Strahngun. Of course the presentation goes horribly wrong, and now Luke must follows directions that were given by his future self to see where it all leads.
Those who are familiar with the series will feel right at home with the game. You still navigate with the stylus by tapping on the shoe in the corner, and you click around the touch screen to find coins, talk to people and solve puzzles. There is now a super hint that costs two hints coins if you want the answer to the puzzle once you've exhausted your three initial clues. This is not a bad option, as long as you have the coins to spare. It will at least save you the time of resetting the game if you're keen on getting the maximum amount of picarats.
The first few puzzles were fairly easy, ranging in the 10 to 20 picarats range. As usual they test your critical thinking ability but really, sometimes it's about reading the question carefully and finding the right approach. We look forward to playing more of Professor Layton and the Unwound Future and we will soon when the game is released September 20.
Read and write comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Dungeon Siege 3 gets cinematic in debut trailer
Obsidian's take on the Dungeon SiegeSeries Dungeon Siege 3, has gotten itself a teasing cinematic trailer, which you can watch right now if you so desire. Go on, treat yourself. You deserve it. Or something.
It looks cool, but to me the best part of the video is how it starts with "From the makers of Fallout: New Vegast "that Hasn t 'was released even more. Aren" you usually have to boast about their previous games, when they' ve received critical acclaim and massive sales? Or at least wait until they become past games instead of future ones?
Still, I can't blame them for using a game that hasn't even launched yet. Obsidian knows as well as I do that "From the makers of Alpha Protocol" just wouldn't sound very good. Obsidian knows what that game is. Obsidian always knew.
Fortunately, the two screenshots that just recently launched alongside the trailer already make this game look more polished than Obsidian's last release. Hopefully there won't be any rushed deadlines or corporate stickybeaking like there was with Alpha, and we'll have a really good game on our hands. Joking aside, I really do hope this is good.
The plot thickens: More on Enslaved's inspired journey to the West
The game 's key aspect is the relationship between its two main characters. Although their names and key individuals were taken from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West Emphasizes that Bosma Enslaved is "very, very loosely based" on the famous tale. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic future where Trip, a fragile 19-year-old redhead, embarks on a perilous journey to return home. In order to survive, she recruits the player-controlled Monkey, a brutish slave, bound to Trip by a deadly, magical headband.
Gallery: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (07/09/10)
Continue reading The plot thickens: More on Enslaved's inspired journey to the West
The plot thickens: More on Enslaved's inspired journey to the Westoriginally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
38 Studios headed to Rhode Island
Former star baseball pitcher Curt Schilling's RPG-centric shop pulling up stakes from Mass. after diminutive neighboring state OKs $75 million in loan guarantees.
When you hear the word "Rhode Island," game is not the first thing that comes to mind. Nevertheless, ministate found that changing. In accordance with Boston Globe report, the New England state's economic development corporation voted eight to one to guarantee $75 million in loans to entice role-playing game developer 38 Studios to relocate. The shop, founded by former all-star baseball pitcher Curt Schilling, is currently based in suburban Boston, Massachusetts.
Kingdoms of Amalur developer 38 studios is getting $75 million in loans to relocate to RI.
Schilling said Globe, "I've invested a significant amount of my life's earnings in 38 Studios, and I will protect the loan guarantee that's been given by the state [of Rhode Island] with the same passion and interest that I'm protecting my own investment in this company. Our paths are very much aligned."
The newspaper reported that under the terms of the deal, 38 Studios could bring up to 450 jobs to Rhode Island by the end of 2012. That would be one year after the shop's first title, the single-player role-playing game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, ships. The Globe notes that the uncertainty of the Electronic Arts-published title's success poses a risk for Rhode Island taxpayers, since they would have to pay off the balance of the $75 million loan should 38 Studios fold.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was shown off at Comic-Con last week in San Diego. Unlike the studios other major project--an unnamed massively multiplayer game--it will be a single-player RPG. In development at Rise of Nations studio Big Huge Games, which was bought by 38 Studios in 2009, the title was cocreated by comic-book artist Todd McFarlane (Spawn) and fantasy author R.A. Salvatore (The DemonWars Saga). Both men helped Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Curt Schilling found 38 Studios--then called Green Monster Games--in 2006 and respectively serve as art director and "executive creator of worlds" at the Maynard, Massachusetts, studio--which may move to Rhode Island in the not-too-distant future.
Read and write comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Kinect bundled with slim 4GB Xbox 360 Arcade for $300, new console for $200 in August
Microsoft also detailed a Kinect bundle, featuring the aforementioned 4GB Xbox 360 along with the Kinect sensor and Kinect Adventures for $ 300. "We believe that this is really crucial," said Greenberg. "We believe that the launch of this product will be driving a brand new range of new consumers in the Xbox 360 family."
Hoping for another game besides Kinect Adventures in the kit? Greenberg noted that Kinect Adventures is it for bundles. "We feel like that's really the perfect title to include [...] It's got the great jump-in, jump-out multiplayer gameplay as well." The $300 Xbox 360 Kinect bundle will be available alongside standalone $150 Kinect sensors at retailers on November 4th.
Update: @ AceyBongos (think Major Nelson, but with an accent) just let Twitter know that the European prices are "149.99 Euro for the camera + Kinect Adventures, 299.99 Euro for the 4GB console bundle." Some quick Google math puts those prices at roughly $200 and $390, respectively.
Gallery: 4GB Xbox 360, standalone and Kinect bundle
Continue reading Kinect complete with 4 GB slim Xbox 360 Arcade for $ 300, the new console for $ 200 in August
Kinect bundled with slim 4GB Xbox 360 Arcade for $300, new console for $200 in August originally appeared on Joystiqon Tues, July 20, 2010 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .
THQ talks Saints Row movie, Red Faction SyFy series
Publishing exec Danny Bilson talks cross-media efforts, teases original IP game and movie in conjunction with major filmmaker.
THQ is a big game tie-in plans for the future and, accordingly, sufficient, since 22 th century sci-fi shooter series Red Faction. Published in conjunction with NBC Universal-owned cable channel SyFy produce two-hour movie pilot called Red Faction: Origins , which will air around the time Red Faction: Armageddon launches in March.
Sources Red Faction will debut as a two-hour TV movie next March but could become much more.
Danny Bilson, executive vice president of THQ's core gaming business, first revealed the publisher's latest trans-media plans in an investor's conference call during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, but recently discussed them in greater detail with GameSpot.
Bilson outlined several key aspects of its various game tie-modules, including Red Faction Origins
While Saints Row worked best as a film (it's a little too R-rated for most TV networks, Bilson said), Sources Red Faction made perfect sense as a TV movie for SyFy.
"The thing with SyFy is they wanted to get in business with us on multiple things. We thought about what would be good for SyFy, and Red Faction felt like a no-brainer for a couple reasons," Bilson said. "One is that it's producible on a television budget. It takes place on a terraformed Mars where people can breathe and a lot of it is natural terrain with vehicles and spaceships and different factions."
Depending on how well Red Faction Origins turns out and performs, it could be expanded into a full TV season of episodes a la Battlestar Galactica. Bilson said the movie will tell a self-contained story, but one that is designed to push the fiction into a regular episodic format.
\\ "All these elements are actually in support of games," Billson said. "They 're not a big revenue driver or something like that. It' is actually about how we can make a world of cool, fans more access points to the game they enjoy, and how we can make game even more important when it comes out. "
One thing that Bilson said separates THQ's efforts from those of its competitors is that announced projects will come to fruition much more consistently. Instead of licensing out its intellectual property or letting other people take it through the film development process, the publisher makes partnership deals with "guarantees to picture." As a result, THQ films should avoid the development purgatory that has claimed game-to-film adaptations like the Halo movie.
Despite that insistence on releasing finished products, Bilson said the company is mindful about the damage done by substandard tie-ins.
"One thing about trans-media is you can't have a bad piece because it ruins the whole thing," Bilson said, adding, "With these partnerships, if it's not good, we can stop it."
While THQ will continue pushing its existing intellectual properties into new media where it makes sense, Bilson said the publisher is also taking another approach to the idea. He said the company is working on a partnership with a "major filmmaker" that will see a game and film project for a new intellectual property developed jointly from the ground up, though specific details aren't yet ready to be announced.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
THQ talks Saints Row movie, Red Faction SyFy series
Publishing exec Danny Bilson talks cross-media efforts, teases original IP game and movie in conjunction with major filmmaker.
THQ has big gaming tie-in plans for the future, and appropriately enough, it is starting with the 22nd-century sci-fi shooter series Red Faction. The publisher has teamed with the NBC Universal-owned cable channel SyFy to produce a two-hour movie pilot called Red Faction: OriginsWho will get on the air around the time Red Faction: Armageddon starts March.
Red Faction Origins will debut as a two-hour TV movie next March but could become much more.
Danny Bilson, executive vice president of THQ 's core gaming business, showed the first publisher' s the last trans-media plans, investor 's conference at Electronic Entertainment Expo , but recently discussed them in greater detail with GameSpot.
Bilson outlined several key aspects of its various gaming tie-ins, including Red Faction Origins, the upcoming Saints Row movie, and a De Blob kids' project with SyFy. Both the De Blob and Red Faction efforts will debut in March, with the Saints Row film expected around the time of the next game in the series next year. That will be the publisher's biggest trans-media effort to date, Bilson said, with the movie and game accompanied by Xbox Live and PlayStation Network content, collectible card games with digital code unlocks for the game, novelizations, apparel, and other tie-in merchandise.
While Saints Row worked best as a film (it's a little too R-rated for most TV networks, Bilson said), Red Faction Origins made perfect sense as a TV movie for SyFy.
Depending on how Sources Red Faction It turns out and performs, it can be expanded to a full TV season episodes of a-la Battlestar Galactica. Bilson said the movie will tell a self-contained story, but one that is designed to push the fiction into a regular episodic format.
"All of these pieces are really to support the games," Bilson said. "They're not big revenue drivers or anything like that. It's really about how we can make the universe cool, give fans more access points to a game they enjoy, and how we can make a game more important when it comes out."
One thing that Bilson said separates THQ's efforts from those of its competitors is that announced projects will come to fruition much more consistently. Instead of licensing out its intellectual property or letting other people take it through the film development process, the publisher makes partnership deals with "guarantees to picture." As a result, THQ films should avoid the development purgatory that has claimed game-to-film adaptations like the Halo movie.
Despite that insist on the release of finished products, Billson said that the company is mindful of the damage from low-quality tie-ins.
"One thing about trans-media is you can't have a bad piece because it ruins the whole thing," Bilson said, adding, "With these partnerships, if it's not good, we can stop it."
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
THQ talks Saints Row movie, Red Faction SyFy series
Publishing exec Danny Bilson talks cross-media efforts, teases original IP game and movie in conjunction with major filmmaker.
THQ is a big game tie-in plans for the future and, accordingly, sufficient, since 22 th century sci-fi shooter series Red Faction. Published in conjunction with NBC Universal-owned cable channel SyFy produce two-hour movie pilot called Red Faction: OriginsWho will get on the air around the time Red Faction: Armageddon starts March.
Sources Red Faction will debut as a two-hour TV movie next March but could become much more.
Danny Bilson, executive vice president of THQ 's core gaming business, showed the first publisher' s the last trans-media plans, investor 's conference at Electronic Entertainment Expo , but recently discussed them in greater detail with GameSpot.
Bilson outlined several key aspects of its various gaming tie-ins, including Red Faction Origins
While Saints Row worked best as a film (it's a little too R-rated for most TV networks, Bilson said), Red Faction Origins made perfect sense as a TV movie for SyFy.
"The thing with SyFy is they wanted to get in business with us on multiple things. We thought about what would be good for SyFy, and Red Faction felt like a no-brainer for a couple reasons," Bilson said. "One is that it's producible on a television budget. It takes place on a terraformed Mars where people can breathe and a lot of it is natural terrain with vehicles and spaceships and different factions."
Depending on how well Red Faction OriginsIt turns out and performs, it can be expanded to a full TV season episodes of a-la Battlestar Galactica . Bilson said the movie will tell a self-contained story, but one that is designed to push the fiction into a regular episodic format.
"All of these pieces are really to support the games," Bilson said. "They're not big revenue drivers or anything like that. It's really about how we can make the universe cool, give fans more access points to a game they enjoy, and how we can make a game more important when it comes out."
One thing that Bilson said separates THQ's efforts from those of its competitors is that announced projects will come to fruition much more consistently. Instead of licensing out its intellectual property or letting other people take it through the film development process, the publisher makes partnership deals with "guarantees to picture." As a result, THQ films should avoid the development purgatory that has claimed game-to-film adaptations like the Halo movie.
Despite that insistence on releasing finished products, Bilson said the company is mindful about the damage done by substandard tie-ins.
"One thing about trans-media is you can't have a bad piece because it ruins the whole thing," Bilson said, adding, "With these partnerships, if it's not good, we can stop it."
While THQ will continue pushing its existing intellectual properties into new media where it makes sense, Bilson said the publisher is also taking another approach to the idea. He said the company is working on a partnership with a "major filmmaker" that will see a game and film project for a new intellectual property developed jointly from the ground up, though specific details aren't yet ready to be announced.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
THQ's Ian Curran on DRM, the Future of the $60 Game
In an interview with Computer and video games , THQ's Global publishing executive VP, Ian Curran, gave his opinions on DRM and the possible future of the $60 retail game.
Speaking about the cost of retail games, Curran said that the industry may move towards a micro-transactional market where the whole game isn't necessarily in the retail box. Citing the free-to-play MMO market as an example, users play the game and then buy additional content they want.
The problem with such an example is that most free-to-play MMO games can be played without ever buying extra content, whereas big publishers will probably charge for features that players consider essential like multiplayer. Of course, with a lower price, consumers might find paying extra for multiplayer more acceptable. Here's a bit from the interview: Read More
More
30 Things We Will Know About Video Games In 30 Years =[=The Future=]=
Minority Report UI designer John Underkoffler talks about the future of gestures
Underkoffler now serves as the Chief Scientist at Oblong Industries, and we spoke with him recently in connection with the now-on-Blu-ray Minority Report, and he talked extensively about the future of computing, how video games are driving technology forward, what in the hell the game Tempest is all about, and why it's time for the mouse to die. Read on after the break for the full interview.
Continue reading Minority Report UI designer John Underkoffler talks about the future of gestures
Minority Report UI designer John Underkoffler talks about the future of gestures originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 May 2010 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Professor Layton's future unwinds on September 12
Unwound future begins with Professor Layton, received a letter from his student, Luke - 10 years in the future. Layton and Luke must go to London for the immediate future of puzzle-related business. Apparently send someone through time is easier than some of the puzzles.
Gallery: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS)
Professor Layton's future unwinds on September 12 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Next Professor Layton doffs hat Sept. 12
Acclaimed puzzle series returns to US DSes with Unwound Future; was previously scheduled for Sept. 20.
The day after Square Enix moved up the launch of Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, Nintendo has revealed one of its higher-profile handheld releases will also arrive a bit earlier than expected.
"Professor, they're cutting our North American vacation by 8 days?"
This morning, the game giant announced that that Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, the third installment in the popular DS puzzle series, will launch in North America on September 12. The game had previously been slated to ship out on September 20, and was originally released in Japan in November 2008 as Layton Kyouju to Saigo no Jikan Ryokou. (See video below.)
As outlined in GameSpot's hands-on previewfrom the Electronic Entertainment Expo , The game sees the front cylinder academic and his faithful friend, the boy Luka investigate another puzzle box puzzle.
This particular caper begins when Luke receives a letter from his future self and the pair head off to London to see the unveiling of a time machine. Naturally, the presentation goes horribly wrong, and the pair must follow a trail of clues left by Luke's future incarnation to see where it all leads.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
Develop: Louis Castle - Future Of Games Is โ€�Discoverable, Shareable And 'Free'โ€�
"All gaming, from casual to premium, has been or will be disrupted by internet technology," said InstantAction CEO Louis Castle , kicking off this year's Evolve conference in Brighton. Castle, co-founder of Command and Conquer creator Westwood Studios and a former vice president of creative development at EA, used his keynote speech to examine the current plight of big-budget videogames, and what developers could learn from social media.
read more
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
[[[Professor Layton and the Unwound Future]]]
Discription : Professor Layton receives a letter asking for help from Luke. The strange thing is that this letter is from 10 years in the future, and the Luke in question is not Professor Layton's young apprentice, but rather his older self. According to the future Luke, the London of the future has been brought to the brink of ruin by Professor Layton's future self, who is the head of the largest crime syndicate in town. It seems the only man who can save London and stop the evil Professor Layton of the future is Professor Layton himself.
More review coming soon.
Buy Here (for discount) Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Activision registers several 'Call of Duty: _ Warfare' domains
These don't all necessarily refer to future Call of Duty games. The fact that all of these were registered makes it likely that Activision is securing domains for potential future projects, even before those projects exist in any form, to avoid having to pay domain squatters later. Or, one of these could be a real game, and the rest a clever smokescreen by Activision, to prevent us from knowing which is real. It would be smart on Activision's part to use at least one of these -- after all, they all have most of the same words as "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," which we understand to have been rather successful.
Superannuation speculates that one of these could refer to Sledgehammer Games' new Sense of duty game, which kind of makes sense -- if it's apparently going to be a drastic change in genre, why not a more fantastic, futuristic setting?
Activision registers several 'Call of Duty: _ Warfare' domainsoriginally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 13 May 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Red Dead Redemption getting free co-op DLC this June
The "Outlaws to the End" Co-Op Mission Pack will feature six multiplayer missions and be compatible with 2-4 players. The free download will also add Trophies and Achievements for players to unlock. (For details on some of the missions, click past the break.)
In addition to the free co-op mode, Rockstar Games plans on offering two additional downloadable content updates "over the summer." It's unlikely that these offerings will be free, however, as the press release carefully notes "pricing" will be announced in the future.
Continue reading Red Dead Repayment get free DLC co-op in June of this year
Red Dead Repayment get free DLC co-op in June of this year originally appeared on JoystiqWed, May 5, 2010 8:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .