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March 29, 2012

Rovio to open Stockholm studio

Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish developer of the Angry Birds series, has announced plans to open an office in Swedish capital Stockholm. The company seeks a general manager for the studio, which is to open its doors later this year and will house between 20 and 30 staff by the end of its first year in business.
http://www.rovio.com/en/news/press-releases/149/rovio-to-open-stockholm-office/
Rovio

Rovio Entertainment, the Finnish developer of the Angry Birds series, has announced plans to open an office in Swedish capital Stockholm.

The company seeks a general manager for the studio, which is to open its doors later this year and will house between 20 and 30 staff by the end of its first year in business.

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Operation Raccoon City tops Nordic chart

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is the new number one in the Nordic chart, which collates sales data from Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is the new number one in the Nordic chart, which collates sales data from Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

A strong debut for Capcom's cooperative shooter means last week's number one, EA's five-a-side football title FIFA Street, slips to number two, ahead of Mass Effect 3 in third.

The only other new entry this week is Kid Icarus: Uprising, Masahiro Sakurai's 3DS debut entering the chart in a lowly 13th place.

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Silent Hill: Downpour review

Delightfully squirm-inducing tension and violence is muted by some poor design decisions.

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

Our May issue, which goes on sale April 11, includes a Post Script article which looks at what other games in the horror genre can learn from Downpour.

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Administrators reactivate Game reward cards

Game's reward card scheme has been reactivated by its administrators PWC. In a series of tweets, the retailer confirms that the loyalty scheme, which was shut down on Monday, is back online - giving a glimmer of hope to the retailer's prospects of a positive outcome from administration.
https://twitter.com/#!/gamedigital
Twitter

Game's reward card scheme has been reactivated by its administrators, PWC.

In a series of tweets, the retailer confirms that the loyalty scheme, which was shut down on Monday, is back online - giving a glimmer of hope to the retailer's prospects of a positive outcome from administration.

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Vanillaware: Dragon's Crown not cancelled

Japanese developer Vanillaware has insisted it hasn't cancelled PS3 and Vita action-RPG Dragon's Crown. Fears were raised over the status of the game earlier this week when Amazon told US customers it was cancelling pre-orders for the game, and removed the listing from its site entirely.
http://andriasang.com/con0ff/dragons_crown_response/
Andriasang

Japanese developer Vanillaware has insisted it hasn't cancelled PS3 and Vita action-RPG Dragon's Crown.

Fears were raised over the status of the game earlier this week when Amazon told US customers it was cancelling pre-orders for the game, and removed the listing from its site entirely. Vanillaware artist Shigatake took to Twitter to confirm that the game was still in the works.

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Molyneux, Bleszinski sign up for Gadget Show game jam

Peter Molyneux, Cliff Bleszinski and Ian Livingstone will help coach the teams taking part in Epic Games' iOS game jam at the Gadget Show Live next month. Make Something Unreal Live will see four teams spend 48 hours making iOS games in Epic's Unreal Engine, based on Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson's Fighting Fantasy novels.
http://www.gadgetshowlive.net/
Gadget Show Live

Peter Molyneux, Cliff Bleszinski and Ian Livingstone will help coach the teams taking part in Epic Games' iOS game jam at the Gadget Show Live next month.

Make Something Unreal Live will see four teams spend 48 hours making iOS games in Epic's Unreal Engine, based on Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson's Fighting Fantasy novels.

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Ono stepping back from Street Fighter

Yoshinori Ono has said he is taking a break from Street Fighter development following his hospitalisation late last week. Ono was rushed to hospital after his condition "rapidly and heavily deteriorated" following the Asian launch of Street Fighter X Tekken.
https://twitter.com/#!/Yoshi_OnoChin
Twitter

Capcom's Yoshinori Ono has said he is taking a break from Street Fighter development following his hospitalisation late last week.

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Eve Online council chair quits

The chairman of Eve Online's player-elected Council Of Stellar Management (CSM) has resigned from his position after he encouraged attendees of last weekend's Eve Fanfest to harrass a suicidally depressed player. Alexander "The Mittani" Gianturco has issued a public apology, resigned from his position of the current CSM and forfeited his right to serve on the upcoming seventh CSM.

The chairman of Eve Online's player-elected Council Of Stellar Management (CSM) has resigned from his position after he encouraged attendees of last weekend's Eve Fanfest to harrass a suicidally depressed player.

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Opinion: Little grey men

Videogame enemies can’t be too alien, says Steven Poole, because deep down we all love killing humans too much.

Has any artist had such a lasting death-grip on modern pop-cultural representation as HR Giger? Ever since his oozily xenobiological designs were made rubber-and-gunk flesh in Ridley Scott’s Alien, his zany vagina-dentata vision has been the biggest game in town when it comes to visualising extraterrestrial life. Random recombination of images from Scott’s film was the limit of the creativity on show in the Daniel Craig sci-fi western, Cowboys & Aliens, whose icky invaders feature a second pair of hands that emerge from a set of meaty chest flaps.

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Kellee Santiago quits Thatgamecompany

Kellee Santiago is leaving Flower and Journey developer Thatgamecompany, the studio she co-founded in 2006 with Jenova Chen. Santiago confirmed her departure to Gamasutra, explaining that she leaves on good terms with her colleagues but felt it was time to take on a new challenge.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/163491/Changes_at_Thatgamecompany_Santiago_departs_new_game_underway.php
Gamasutra

Kellee Santiago is leaving Flower and Journey developer Thatgamecompany, the studio she co-founded in 2006 with Jenova Chen.

Santiago confirmed her departure to Gamasutra, explaining that she leaves on good terms with her colleagues but felt it was time to take on a new challenge.

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Report: Game Group rescue deal "incredibly close"

Ailing UK retailer Game Group could exit administration before the week is out, according to reports. Sources close to negotiations have told MCV that a deal is "incredibly close" and the retailer could be saved as early as tomorrow.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/game-to-exit-administration-tomorrow-rbs-consortium-wins-race/093563
MCV

Ailing UK retailer Game Group could exit administration before the week is out, according to reports.

Sources close to negotiations have told MCV that a deal is "incredibly close" and the retailer could be saved as early as tomorrow. Despite reported interest from private equity firm OpCapita, and US retail chain GameStop, it appears that a consortium led by Royal Bank Of Scotland is closest to sealing a deal to save the company.

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SimCity to use always-on DRM

The upcoming SimCity reboot will require a constant internet connection to play, developer Maxis has confirmed. Lead designer Stone Librande confirmed to Joystiq that, while the game will be available to purchase from a number of digital distribution platforms, players will need to be constantly connected to Origin to play the game.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/28/simcity-requires-internet-connection-to-play-will-be-sold-outsi/
Joystiq

The upcoming SimCity reboot will require a constant internet connection to play, developer Maxis has confirmed.

Lead designer Stone Librande confirmed to Joystiq that, while the game will be available to purchase from a number of digital distribution platforms, players will need to be constantly connected to EA's Origin service to play the game.

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Fez dated

Long-awaited XBLA platformer Fez will finally be released on April 13 for 800 Microsoft Points, developer Polytron has confirmed.
http://polytroncorporation.com/fez-friday-the-13th
Polytron

Long-awaited XBLA platformer Fez will finally be released on Friday, April 13 for 800 Microsoft Points, developer Polytron has confirmed.

It means Phil Fish's 2D/3D game will launch almost five years after it was first announced, and two years after its original target release date of early 2010. This is the second confirmed Friday release for an Xbox Live Arcade title, following South Park: Tenorman's Revenge, which launches this week.

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March 28, 2012

Report: New Sony console, "Orbis", in 2013

Sony will have a new console, dubbed Orbis, on shelves before the end of next year, according to reports. The claim comes from Kotaku, who has been told by what it describes as "a reliable source who has shared correct information with us before" that the console will be released in time for the 2013 holiday season.
http://kotaku.com/5896996/the-next-playstation-is-called-orbis-sources-say-here-are-the-details
Kotaku

Sony will have a new console, dubbed Orbis, on shelves before the end of next year, according to reports.

The claim comes from Kotaku, who has been told by what it describes as "a reliable source who has shared correct information with us before" that the console will be released in time for the 2013 holiday season.

The console will not be backwards compatible with PS3 titles, and will block used games - a feature Microsoft is also reportedly considering for its Xbox 360 successor.

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Kid Icarus tops Japanese chart

Kid Icarus: Uprising is the new Japanese all-formats number one, Masahiro Sakurai's 3DS debut selling 132,526 copies in its first week on shelves. In second place is Yakuza Black Panther 2, Sega's PSP game selling just under 105,000. There are three further new entries in the top ten: Capcom's Devil May Cry HD Collection at number four, ahead of Ninja Gaiden 3 and PS3 RPG Attouteki Yuugi: Mugen Souls.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=468166
NeoGaf

Kid Icarus: Uprising is the new Japanese all-formats number one, Masahiro Sakurai's 3DS debut selling 132,526 copies in its first week on shelves.

In second place is Yakuza Black Panther 2, Sega's PSP game selling just under 105,000. There are three further new entries in the top ten: Capcom's Devil May Cry HD Collection at number four, ahead of Ninja Gaiden 3 at number five and PS3 RPG Attouteki Yuugi: Mugen Souls in sixth.

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Yamaoka admits Japanese industry is "struggling"

Silent Hill composer and Sine Mora sound director says Japanese developers need to better understand foreign cultures to succeed.

Akira Yamaoka, composer of music for the Silent Hill series and sound director on XBLA shooter Sine Mora, admits that the Japanese videogame industry is "struggling" to create games that appeal to gamers worldwide.

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Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City review

A gore-soaked trudge that's almost as lifeless as its antagonists.

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.

read more


F2P Summit: Being unique on mobile

"Where's mobile's Daytona and Street Fighter?" My Horse developer NaturalMotion on mobile gaming's next step.

Speaking today at the F2P Summit in London, NaturalMotion Games’ Struan Robertson discussed the lessons the studio had learned about mobile development from the success of its iOS hit My Horse. Having made console-quality ‘premium’ games like Backbreaker, it saw an opportunity in free-to-play and launched its equine title in September 2011. It's been an unqualified, and unusual, success: has been downloaded eight million times, has 500,000 daily average users, and boasts a 65-35 female-male split.

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Shenmue programmer working on Vita rhythm game

Tak Hirai, lead programmer on Dreamcast classic Shenmue, is working on a rhythm action game for PS Vita. Andriasang brings word from this week's Famitsu that Hirai - who also worked on Space Channel 5 and Meteos - is targeting a summer launch for Orgarhythm, the first release from Neilo, the studio he founded in 2010.
http://andriasang.com/con0ej/orgarhythm/
Andriasang

Tak Hirai, lead programmer on Dreamcast classic Shenmue, is working on a rhythm action game for PS Vita.

Andriasang brings word from this week's Famitsu that Hirai - who also worked on Space Channel 5 and Meteos - is targeting a summer launch for Orgarhythm, the first release from Neilo, the studio he founded in 2010.

read more


Bit Pilot review

Zach Gage’s intelligent take on Asteroids benefits from unusually taut touch controls.

Bit Pilot is an anomaly in conceptual artist Zach Gage’s ever-widening iOS portfolio, being reliant on comparatively traditional mechanics, albeit expressed in a less orthodox manner. Ostensibly a touchscreen take on arcade standard Asteroids, Gage’s latest is distinctive not by virtue of its systems or its appealingly rudimentary 8-bit aesthetic, but by its control scheme.

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Ngmoco: Singleplayer next for free-to-play

The next stage in the evolution of free-to-play is successfully monetising the singleplayer game, according to Ngmoco's Ben Cousins, who believes there will be a free-to-play experience comparable to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim within the next few years.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-03-28-cousins-predicts-free-to-play-equivalent-of-skyrim-in-two-years
Gamesindustry.biz

The next stage in the evolution of free-to-play is successfully monetising the singleplayer game, according to Ngmoco's Ben Cousins, who believes there will be a free-to-play experience comparable to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim within the next few years.

read more


Adobe announces Unity deal

Adobe has announced an official partnership with Unity Technologies that will see the two firms cooperate to help developers target the Flash platform. Unity added a Flash export option to its popular engine over a year ago, and first showed it off at the Unite 11 conference in San Francisco in late September. Speaking to Gamasutra, Adobe's group product marketing manager for gaming solutions, Diana Helander, said the deal would help streamline Flash development in Unity.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167369/Adobe_announces_Unity_partnership_gamingfocused_Flash_features.php
Gamasutra

Adobe has announced an official partnership with Unity Technologies that will see the two firms cooperate to help developers target the Flash platform.

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Ninja Gaiden 3 review

A more immediate entry in the revered fighting series, but also a less accomplished one.

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 Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.

read more


Brian Fargo bemoans publisher influence

Wasteland creator Brian Fargo has hit out at the influence publishers wield over the development process, describing the way creators are treated as "abysmal." Speaking to Ripten following his successful bid to fund a sequel to Wasteland, a top-down, post-apocalyptic RPG first released in 1998, on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, Fargo used FallOut: New Vegas as an example of how publishers can ruin a project.
http://www.ripten.com/2012/03/27/brian-fargo-talks-wasteland-2-abysmal-publisher-treatment-and-having-fun-again/
Ripten

Wasteland creator Brian Fargo has hit out at the influence publishers wield over the development process, describing the way creators are treated as "abysmal."

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Angry Birds Space review

Considerably more ambitious than Rovio's previous tower destruction efforts.

Angry Birds Space initially sounds like an irritating prospect. That’s just standard Angry Birds with the gravity slider moved around a bit, right? In reality, however, Rovio’s latest is an evolution that feels considerably more ambitious than previous updates. The cast of characters has been redesigned 
in fine Duck Dodgers style, a handful 
of new bird tricks exist, and the game’s explosive playgrounds have been extensively riddled with all manner 
of parabola-warping gimmickry.

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