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February 28, 2012

Binary Domain review

A cover shooter from the team behind Yakuza, but can it stand up to western competition?

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

Our April issue, which is on sale March 14, features reviews, along with Post Script articles, on all the most important games including Mass Effect 3, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Syndicate and Journey.

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Android passes 300 million

More than 300 million Android devices have been sold worldwide, Google has confirmed. The news comes from a post on the Google Mobile blog to coincide with the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which began yesterday. Google also claims that 850,000 Android devices are activated every single day, representing growth year on year of over 250 per cent.
http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2012/02/androidmobile-world-congress-its-all.html
Google

More than 300 million Android devices have been sold worldwide, Google has confirmed.

The news comes from a post on the Google Mobile blog to coincide with the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which began yesterday. Google also claims that 850,000 Android devices are activated every single day, representing growth year on year of over 250 per cent.

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Bethesda and Lionhead staff up for next-gen

Skyrim developer Bethesda and Fable studio Lionhead are seeking to fill positions that suggest both studios are preparing for a new generation of hardware. Of the two, Bethesda's intent is the more obvious: it's hiring for a "future generation console programmer ... to work on cutting-edge technology for an unannounced game on future-generation consoles."

Skyrim developer Bethesda and Fable studio Lionhead are seeking to fill positions that suggest both studios are preparing for a new generation of hardware.

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OnLive hosting IGF demos

Cloud gaming service OnLive has partnered with the Independent Games Festival (IGF) to offer 30-minute demos of a selection of games shortlisted for the annual awards ceremony. Sixteen games are playable until March 11 through the OnLive App or the company's Facebook page. Among those included is Dear Esther, which has been nominated for four IGF awards including the $30,000 Seamus McNally Grand Prize.
http://www.facebook.com/OnLive?v=app_100442513383559&sk=app_100442513383559
Facebook

Cloud gaming service OnLive has partnered with the Independent Games Festival (IGF) to offer 30-minute demos of a selection of games shortlisted for the annual awards ceremony.

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February 27, 2012

Hawken devs raise $10 million

Meteor Entertainment, parent company of Hawken developer Adhesive Games, has raised $10 million from investors to help get the game to market. Hawken, a free-to-play online mech game, is being developed by a team of just 23 people and will be released for PC on December 12. VentureBeat reports that investors include Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital - both of whom were early backers of Riot Games' hugely popular League Of Legends, which now boasts around five million daily active users.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/27/meteor-entertainment-raises-10m-to-fund-hawken-online-mech-game-exclusive/
VentureBeat

Meteor Entertainment, parent company of Hawken developer Adhesive Games, has raised $10 million from investors to help get the game to market.

Hawken, a free-to-play multiplayer mech shooter, is being developed by a team of just 23 people and will be released for PC on December 12. VentureBeat reports that investors include Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital - both of whom were early backers of Riot Games' League Of Legends, which now boasts around five million daily active users.

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Unreal Engine 4 confirmed for GDC

Unreal Engine 4 will be revealed at next week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Epic Games has confirmed. The company will not, however, be showing off its new technology to all attendees; only select licensees, partners and prospective customers will be allowed to see the next-generation Unreal Engine, and those that do will be bound by NDA - which makes sense following Mark Rein's admittance earlier this month that UE4 was up and running on "systems I can't talk about by name."
http://epicgames.com/news/epic-games-readies-for-action-at-game-developers-conference-2012/
Epic Games

Unreal Engine 4 will be revealed at next week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Epic Games has confirmed.

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Out There: Do the best games never end?

The value of replayability, great board games, an AI that just wants to play, and much more.

US game academic Eric Zimmerman was recently asked by the Jace Hall show to contribute his thoughts about its 50 favourite game endings list. But rather than coo over Portal 2 or something, the eggheaded killjoy instead took the opportunity to state that his favourite games don't have endings.

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The Last Story review

An entrancing RPG from Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy.

The title is, of course, a playful nod to the pedigree of its director, Hironobu Sakaguchi – the creator of one of the most famous franchises in videogame history and instigator of an entire genre. A title like The Last Story, though, carries a certain weight of expectation. Is this really a game to rival his previous work on the Final Fantasy series? Is it really the last word on interactive storytelling?

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SpecialEffect joins TIGA

SpecialEffect, the UK charity which helps young people with disabilities play videogames, has been confirmed as the newest member of UK trade association TIGA. The charity, formed in 2008, says it is "dedicated to using technology to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities." Director Mark Donegan recently told us about the organisation's work in an interview.

SpecialEffect, the UK charity which helps young people with disabilities play videogames, has been confirmed as the newest member of UK trade association TIGA.

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Region Specific: Texas

A big state with even bigger ambitions for its game industry.

You can read about all of our visits to the world's key development scenes by visiting our Region Specific topic page.

Texas overview How the Lone Star State is setting the pace for the US game industry.

Education overview Texas's world-class education system prepares the next wave of pro developers.

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Game secures Ubisoft Vita stock

UK retailer Game Group has confirmed that it will be stocking Ubisoft's PS Vita launch titles from tomorrow. In a brief statement passed to VG247, the nation's largest specialist retailer confirms the games will be "available in all Game's channels" - the Game and Gamestation chains, their websites, and gameplay.co.uk, the last of which is to be closed at the end of the month - from tomorrow.
http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/27/game-to-offer-ubisoft-vita-launch-titles-from-tomorrow/
VG247

UK retailer Game Group has confirmed that it will be stocking Ubisoft-published PS Vita launch titles from tomorrow.

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Region Specific: Frontier Spirit

How the Lone Star State is setting the pace for the US game industry.

Last July, Texas governor Rick Perry stood behind a podium at EA BioWare’s North Austin offices – flanked by two chuffed EA executives – and announced that the publisher would be expanding its operations in Texas. The plan is expected to create 300 new jobs in the city, spanning across programming, art, and customer support. EA Sports will also be setting up a new branch to complement its teams in Orlando and Burnaby.

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Apple to revamp App Store search

Apple looks set to give a thorough overhaul to the App Store to improve discoverability following the acquisition of Chomp. Chomp's search engine, available on iOS and Android as a standalone app, enables users to search not just by title - which, obviously, requires that users know what they're looking for - but by type.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/23/apple-chomp/
TechCrunch

Apple looks set to give a thorough overhaul to the App Store to improve discoverability following the acquisition of Chomp.

Chomp's search engine, available as a standalone app on iOS and Android, enables users to search not just by title - which, obviously, requires that users know what they're looking for - but by type.

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UKIE calls for improved access to finance

Trade association UKIE has today called on government to improve access to finance for UK game developers. The call comes in a policy paper submitted to government ahead of next month's Budget, in which UKIE makes ten recommendations to better enable UK videogame companies to secure investment and tax relief.

Trade association UKIE has today called on government to improve access to finance for UK game developers.

The call comes in a policy paper submitted to government ahead of next month's Budget, in which UKIE makes ten recommendations for how to better enable UK videogame companies to secure investment and tax relief.

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Opinion: It's what you do with freemium that counts

Still suspicious of free-to-play games? Don't judge them by the first generation, says PopCap's Giordano Contestabile.

Talking about ourselves is one of our favorite occupations in the game industry. Even more so when a trend presents itself that holds the promise (or menace, depending on your point of view) of reshaping the way games are made, consumed and enjoyed. When that happens, the soul-searching, pontificating and resulting debate can become overwhelming, obscured in a cloud of Internet-enabled, knee-jerk rage at the opportunities brought about by 'change'.

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HTML5 startup snubs $100 million Zynga bid

Game Closure, creator of an SDK enabling cross-platform multiplayer in HTML5, has raised $12 million in investment after turning down approaches from Facebook and Zynga.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/24/game-closure-turns-down-facebook-zynga-to-raise-12m-for-html5-mobile-gaming
TechCrunch

Game Closure, creator of an SDK enabling cross-platform multiplayer in HTML5, has raised $12 million in investment after turning down approaches from Facebook and Zynga.

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WiFi Vita dominates at UK retail

Almost eight out of ten people buying PS Vita at UK retail picked up the cheaper WiFi-only model. The figure comes from UKIE's weekly software chart, which suggested Sony's new handheld had enjoyed a strong launch. While hardware sales figures won't be revealed until Sony chooses to make them public, we do know that 79 per cent chose the WiFi model over its 3G equivalent.

Almost eight out of ten people buying PS Vita at UK retail picked up the cheaper WiFi-only model.

The figure comes from UKIE's weekly software chart, which suggested Sony's new handheld had enjoyed a strong launch. While hardware sales figures won't be revealed until Sony chooses to make them public, we do know that 79 per cent chose the WiFi model over its 3G equivalent.

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Ziggurat review

An iOS shooter that delivers the apocalypse in bite sized chunks.

Conventional literary wisdom urges authors to begin in medias res – in the middle of things. Instead of letting your audience dip a toe in the water, decide the temperature's not quite right and retreat to their beach towel, just toss them flailing into the open ocean and watch the survival reflex kick in. Ziggurat – an iOS game designed by Tim Rogers, the polarising author of so much 'publish-now-edit-never' brain spew – has a potentially better idea.

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Uncharted: Golden Abyss tops UK chart

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the new UK all-formats number one in a week which suggests PS Vita has enjoyed a strong UK launch. Almost a third of Vita buyers picked up the Nathan Drake-starring adventure to propel it to top spot, ahead of another Vita game, FIFA Football, which was bought by 18 per cent of new Vita owners.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the new UK all-formats number one in a week which suggests PS Vita has enjoyed a strong UK launch.

Almost a third of Vita buyers picked up the Nathan Drake-starring adventure to propel it to top spot, ahead of another Vita game, FIFA Football, which was bought by 18 per cent of new Vita owners.

Vita's sole other top ten entry is Rayman Origins; while its chart position factors in sales across all platforms, Vita's impact on sales is plain to see as it rises 31 places to number five.

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Pokémon Black and White sequels announced

Sequels to Pokémon Black and White have been announced for Nintendo's ageing DS. The news comes from Andriasang, which reports that Game Freak's Pokémon game director Junichi Mashida announced the games - imaginitively titled Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 - on Japanese TV show Pokémon Smash yesterday.
http://andriasang.com/con03p/pokemon_bw2/
Andriasang

Sequels to Pokémon Black and White have been announced for Nintendo's ageing DS.

The news comes from Andriasang, which reports that Game Freak's Pokémon game director Junichi Mashida announced the games - named Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 - on Japanese TV show Pokémon Smash yesterday.

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Dear Esther sells 50,000

More than 50,000 copies of haunting PC adventure Dear Esther were sold in its first week on sale, developer Dan Pinchbeck has confirmed. Thechineseroom's game, which began life as a Half-Life 2 mod, was released on February 14 and recouped The Indie Fund's £30,000 investment in the game in five and a half hours. In a post on the game's official site Pinchbeck reveals that those strong initial sales continued throughout its first week on Steam.
http://dear-esther.com/?p=657
Dear Esther

More than 50,000 copies of haunting PC adventure Dear Esther were sold in its first week on sale, developer Dan Pinchbeck has confirmed.

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3G beat Wifi at Japanese Vita launch

The 3G-supporting PS Vita was more popular at launch in Japan than the WiFi-only model, according to Media Create data. Andriasang reports that more 3G than Wifi models were sold in the console's first three weeks on sale. Since then sales have been more evenly split between the two, but 3G appears to be ahead overall.
http://andriasang.com/con03o/media_create_stats/
Andriasang

The 3G-supporting PS Vita was more popular at launch in Japan than the WiFi-only model, according to Media Create data.

Andriasang reports that more 3G than WiFi models were sold in the console's first three weeks on sale. Since then sales have been more evenly split between the two, but 3G appears to be slightly ahead overall.

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IHS: Facebook has peaked

The Facebook gaming honeymoon is over, according to market analysts IHS Screen Digest, with a decline in user numbers and increased competition meaning it is now much harder for game developers to succeed on the social network. The claim comes from a new report, Facebook Gaming 2011 Market Monitor, which notes that at the end of 2010, half of Facebook monthly active users (MAUs) were gamers. By the end of last year, that had fallen to just 25 per cent.

The Facebook gaming honeymoon is over, according to market analyst IHS Screen Digest, with a decline in user numbers and increased competition meaning it is now much harder for game developers to succeed on the social network.

The claim comes from a new report, Facebook Gaming 2011 Market Monitor, which notes that at the end of 2010, half of Facebook monthly active users (MAUs) were gamers. By the end of last year, that had fallen to just 25 per cent.

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February 24, 2012

Here's A Thing: Apotheon

Capsized developer Alientrap has announced a new 2D action-RPG sporting stunning art based on ancient Greek pottery decorations.
http://www.alientrap.org/archives/556
Alientrap

Capsized developer Alientrap has announced a new 2D action-RPG sporting stunning art based on ancient Greek pottery decoration.

Apotheon will be an open-world adventure featuring tactical spear, sword and bow combat, featuring a story based on classical Greek mythology. With Hera having overthrown Zeus, he is threatening to eradicate humanity, so a human champion must infiltrate Mount Olympus and stop her.

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Bigpoint: Facebook isn't the only game in town

German browser game company Bigpoint has welcomed news that Facebook is setting up a European office to work with local social game developers, but pointed out that the social network is far from the only route to market. Facebook announced its intent to expand to Europe earlier this week, saying the region was "the most interesting in terms of innovation" in the social gaming space.

German browser game company Bigpoint has welcomed news that Facebook is setting up a European office to work with local social game developers, but pointed out that the social network is far from the only route to market.

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