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April 02, 2012

Ex-Gamestation chief named Game CEO

Martyn Gibbs, former MD of Gamestation, has been named the new chief executive of Game Group, the nation's largest videogame retailer following its successful exit from administration yesterday.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/martyn-gibbs-is-new-game-ceo/093738
MCV

Martyn Gibbs, former MD of Gamestation, has been named the new chief executive of Game Group, the nation's largest videogame retailer, following its successful exit from administration yesterday.

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Super Meat Boy announced for mobiles

Team Meat has announced Super Meat Boy: The Game for iOS and other, unspecified touchscreen devices. A post on the studio's blog reveals that Tommy Refenes and Edmund McMillen have canned plans for a direct port of their punishingly difficult 2010 XBLA and PC platformer. Instead, they have developed an all-new game from the ground up for mobile devices.
http://supermeatboy.com/119/Super_Meat_Boy_for_iOS__and_more__/#b
Team Meat

Team Meat has announced Super Meat Boy: The Game for iOS and other, unspecified touchscreen devices.

A post on the studio's blog reveals that Tommy Refenes and Edmund McMillen have canned plans for a direct port of their punishingly difficult 2010 XBLA and PC platformer. Instead, they have developed an all-new game from the ground up for mobile devices.

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SimBin CEO quits

Henrik Roos, CEO and co-founder of Swedish racing game developer SimBin Studios, is to step down from his position, the company has confirmed. In a press release, SimBin says Roos, who has handed over the reins to Klaus Wohlfarth of KW Automotive, has decided to go at the close of a 12 month period which has seen significant change at the company.

Henrik Roos, CEO and co-founder of Swedish racing game developer SimBin Studios, is to step down from his position, the company has confirmed.

In a press release, SimBin says Roos, who has handed over the reins to Klaus Wohlfarth of KW Automotive, has decided to go at the close of a 12 month period which has seen significant change at the company.

Significant inward investment - led by Wohlfarth, the company's majority shareholder - has seen the studio take on more staff from all over the world, open new offices, and begin work on several unannounced projects.

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FIFA Street tops UK chart for third week

FIFA Street is the UK all-formats number one for a third successive week. EA's five-a-side football game retains top spot despite sales falling 44 per cent, ahead of Mass Effect 3, which rises one place to number two. Another EA title, the newly released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, debuts in third.

FIFA Street is the UK all-formats number one for a third successive week.

EA's five-a-side football game retains top spot despite sales falling 44 per cent, ahead of Mass Effect 3, which rises one place to number two. Another EA title, the newly released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, debuts in third.

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Rampage film in the works

American film studio New Line Cinema is working on an big-screen adaptation of Midway's 1986 arcade classic, Rampage. As reported by Variety, the studio has signed writer Ryan Engle (who previously wrote and directed East Of West) and producer John Rickard, whose co-production credits include Nightmare On Elm Street and Final Destination 5.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118052121
Variety

American film studio New Line Cinema is working on a big-screen adaptation of Midway's 1986 arcade classic, Rampage.

As reported by Variety, the studio has signed writer Ryan Engle (who previously wrote and directed East Of West) and producer John Rickard, whose co-production credits include Nightmare On Elm Street and Final Destination 5.

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Opinion: Written out

For the good of the medium, asks Leigh Alexander, why can’t game writers and game designers just get along?

I’ve been attending the Game Developers Conference Online in Austin for a number of years now. It’s possibly my favourite game industry event for a number of reasons: all the happy reunions and hobnobbing of the main GDC but on a less gruelling schedule (as in, I actually have time to eat meals!), more time for conversation with the friends and colleagues I only see a few times a year, more space to digest the talks and trends. Plus, they have some fine bars in Austin, let me tell you.

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Skullgirls XBLA dated

2D fighting game Skullgirls will be released for Xbox Live Arcade on April 11, developer Reverge Labs has confirmed. The date was revealed by Peter Bartholow, Reverge's community manager, in a post on NeoGaf, confirming the date and admitting Microsoft had until the last minute been pushing for its release a week earlier. A recent leak on xbox.com suggested the game would be released on April 4.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=36535056&postcount=1632
NeoGaf

2D fighting game Skullgirls will be released for Xbox Live Arcade on April 11, developer Reverge Labs has confirmed.

The date was revealed by Peter Bartholow, Reverge's community manager, in a post on NeoGaf, confirming the date and admitting Microsoft had until the last minute been pushing for its release a week earlier. A recent leak on xbox.com suggested the game would be released on April 4.

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Sega warns of layoffs in the west

Sega Of America has admitted that redundancies are likely across the company's western publishing operations as it restructures in a bid to return to profit. Last week parent company Sega Sammy said it was restructuring its loss-making games business, warning some projects would be cancelled as it focuses on existing IP and digital sales. In a statement passed to Joystiq, Sega's US division warned redundancies could follow.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/30/sega-canceling-games-cutting-jobs-in-us-and-europe-to-restructu/#continued
Joystiq

Sega Of America has admitted that redundancies are likely across the company's western publishing operations as it restructures in a bid to return to profit.

Last week parent company Sega Sammy said it was restructuring its loss-making games business, warning some projects would be cancelled as it focuses on existing IP and digital sales. In a statement passed to Joystiq, Sega's US division warned redundancies could follow.

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OpCapita saves Game

Private equity firm advises on deal to rescue retailer from administration, saving 333 UK stores and almost 3,200 jobs.

Private equity firm OpCapita has struck a deal to safeguard the future of beleaguered UK retailer Game Group, keeping 333 stores open and saving over 3,000 jobs.

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March 31, 2012

Sony shuts Zipper Interactive

Sony has closed Seattle-based firstparty studio Zipper Interactive.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/03/30/sony-closes-zipper-interactive.aspx
Game Informer

Sony has closed Seattle-based firstparty studio Zipper Interactive.

Acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2006, the Socom, MAG and Unit 13 developer is thought to have employed around 80 staff.

The news follows a report last week which claimed the studio had been hit with layoffs and that its closure was only a matter of time

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March 30, 2012

Unhappy Modern Warfare players plan day-long blackout

A group of players unhappy with Activision and Infinity Ward's post launch support for Modern Warfare 3 are calling on the wider community to join them in not playing the game for a day in protest. Revealed in a YouTube video, the campaign urges players to refrain from playing Modern Warfare 3 online for 24 hours on April 20, and lays out a litany of problems with the game that its developer has thusfar declined to fix.

A group of players unhappy with Activision and Infinity Ward's post launch support for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 are calling on the wider community to join them in not playing the game for a day in protest.

Revealed in a YouTube video, the campaign urges players to refrain from playing Modern Warfare 3 online for 24 hours on April 20, and lays out a litany of problems with the game that its developer has thusfar declined to fix.

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Warp review

ET goes home in Trapdoor Inc’s energetic stealth-action blast.

Had EA deigned to generate any noticeable buzz for Warp, there would have been a risk of the game mis-selling itself. First glance suggests a near-top-down stealth game, much like the early Metal Gear Solid titles: your burbling, orange alien outmanoeuvres scientists and soldiers as he attempts to escape from a secret submarine base. But few definitions of stealth leave such a trail of offal and dismembered limbs. While Zero, the cuddly ET in question, is felled by a single shot, he’s not one to shy from confrontation.

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Opinion: Playing the funding game

There are more sources of investment than ever before, but devs need more than great games to secure funding, says Jas Purewal.

Here's some words you might have heard in the last week or so: games tax relief, crowdfunding, SEIS investment, startup loans. What are they? They're all new and popular ways to try to get funding to the game industry. In other words, they're all about trying to solve one of the hardest business problems facing games right now: in an age of increasing innovation and disruption, it's becoming more and more expensive to make successful games. 

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Sine Mora: Reviving the shmup

Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality on bringing East and West together.

Side-scrolling shooter Sine Mora is a truly international production. With a Japanese publisher and Hungarian developer, the game is another good example of how the east and Europe are collaborating to magnificent effect. The game’s unique sights and layered sounds are the result of two distinct personalities. One is Digital Reality’s creative director and journalist-turned-designer Theodore Reiker.

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EMI sues over Def Jam Rapstar rights

Music label EMI is suing 4mm Games and Terminal Reality, accusing the two studios of failing to pay royalties owed from 2010 music game Def Jam Rapstar. According to the Hollywood Reporter, EMI says that the game's developers failed to secure the proper licensing rights for 54 songs either wholly or in part owned by EMI and its subsidiaries.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/emi-def-jam-rapstar-video-game-lawsuit-305434
Hollywood Reporter

Music label EMI is suing 4mm Games and Terminal Reality, accusing the two studios of failing to pay royalties owed from 2010 music game Def Jam Rapstar.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, EMI says that the game's developers failed to secure the proper licensing rights for 54 songs either wholly or in part owned by EMI and its subsidiaries.

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The Friday Game: Mel Gibson The Hedgehog Se Veste De Negro

Punk sensibilities, Mel Gibson and Hulk Hogan collide in this curious arcade game.

I’ve only recently discovered the Brazilian developer Pedro Paiva’s stuff, thanks to the brilliant new Freeindiegam.es site run by VVVVVV designer Terry Cavanagh and Stephen Lavelle, the creator of English Country Tune. Paiva goes by the name of Arcaica, and his games have the closest thing to a genuine punk feel to them that I think I’ve ever seen.

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Mechner to release Prince Of Persia source code

Prince Of Persia creator Jordan Mechner has pledged to release the original source code for his groundbreaking Apple II platformer after his father found it in the back of a cupboard. Writing on his blog, Mechner explains that he had presumed the game's source code lost for ever until his father sent over a box full of games he had found in the back of a closet - which included three 3.5" discs containing the code.
http://jordanmechner.com/blog/2012/03/prince-of-persia-source-code-found/
Jordan Mechner

Prince Of Persia creator Jordan Mechner has pledged to release the original source code for his groundbreaking Apple II platformer after his father found it in the back of a cupboard.

Writing on his blog, Mechner explains that he had presumed the game's source code lost for ever until his father sent over a box full of games he had found in the back of a closet - which included three 3.5" discs containing the code.

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Sega to restructure loss-making games business

Sega Sammy has warned investors that earnings and profits for the year ending March 31 will be hit by its underperforming games business, and is to cancel games and streamline its operations as a result.

Sega Sammy has warned investors that earnings and profits for the year ending March 31 will be hit by its underperforming games business, and is to cancel games and streamline its operations as a result.

The company expects net sales revenue for the fiscal year to be ¥46,000 lower than previously predicted. Overall net income, or profit, will be ¥20 billion (£153m), almost half the ¥40 billion it previously forecast.

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Thatgamecompany's Hunicke quits for Glitch dev

Robin Hunicke, executive producer on Thatgamecompany's Journey, has quit to join Tiny Speck, developer of browser MMOG Glitch. Hunicke, who prior to joining Thatgamecompany in 2009 worked for EA on the likes of Boom Blox, revealed the news in a post on her blog. She was instrumental in Tiny Speck's recruitment last year of Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi.
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/blog/?p=42825
Gewgaw

Robin Hunicke, executive producer on Thatgamecompany's Journey, has quit to join Tiny Speck, developer of browser MMOG Glitch.

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March 29, 2012

118 jobs cut as THQ drops Warhammer 40K MMO plans

Vigil Games and Relic Entertainment suffer layoffs as Warhammer project becomes a single and multiplayer game.

THQ has announced plans to lay off 79 full-time staff at Darksiders II developer Vigil Games and a further 39 at Company Of Heroes creator Relic Entertainment.

The publisher said the cuts are a result of a move to switch Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium from an MMO to a single and multiplayer title.

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Games within games: Racing memories

Tont Coles on being a photographer amid the thunder and gasoline of the racing game.

When can you score a win in a race when you don't cross the line in first place? The answer is when you've taken a lovely photograph during the replay and had it praised on the Internet.

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Ubisoft working on cloud save system for mobiles

Ubisoft is working on a cloud storage system for save games, allowing players of its games to switch seamlessly between devices without losing their progress.
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/45074/ubisoft-cloud-save-system-mobile-games
Pocket Lint

Ubisoft is working on a cloud storage system for save games, allowing players of its games to switch seamlessly between devices without losing their progress.

Speaking to Pocket Lint, Ubisoft's head of digital Chris Early said that lost progress was "a huge issue, and I personally can't stand it [when] I have to do something over again. We have a cloud-based storage system for that data for you."

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Journey shatters PSN records

Thatgamecompany's PS3 adventure Journey has been named the fastest-selling game of all time on the US PlayStation Store. The news was revealed by studio co-founder Jenova Chen in a post on the PlayStation Blog, in which he pays tribute to the players who helped Journey shatter PSN sales records.
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2012/03/29/journey-breaks-psn-sales-records/
PlayStation Blog

Thatgamecompany's PS3 adventure Journey has been named the fastest-selling game of all time on the US and EU PlayStation Stores.

The news was revealed by studio co-founder Jenova Chen in a post on the PlayStation Blog, in which he pays tribute to the players who helped Journey shatter PSN sales records.

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Journey shatters PSN records

Thatgamecompany's PS3 adventure Journey has been named the fastest-selling game of all time on the US PlayStation Store. The news was revealed by studio co-founder Jenova Chen in a post on the PlayStation Blog, in which he pays tribute to the players who helped Journey shatter PSN sales records.
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2012/03/29/journey-breaks-psn-sales-records/
PlayStation Blog

Thatgamecompany's PS3 adventure Journey has been named the fastest-selling game of all time on the US and EU PlayStation Stores.

The news was revealed by studio co-founder Jenova Chen in a post on the PlayStation Blog, in which he pays tribute to the players who helped Journey shatter PSN sales records.

read more


Sine Mora review

Digital Reality pushes the boundaries of scrolling shooters on home consoles.

You can read this review in full in our print edition.

Our May issue, which goes on sale April 11, features reviews, along with Post Script articles, on all the biggest games including Trials Evolution, Ridge Racer Unbounded and Ninja Gaiden 3.

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