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February 03, 2012

Opinion: The dangers of gamer entitlement

Outcry over Where's My Water's 69p level bundle and Half-Life 3 highlight the problems of players loving games a little too much, says Alex Wiltshire.

“Rip-off. Why should I have to pay for Cranky levels? You have lost a customer,” reads Coolcoco’s one-star App Store review for Where’s My Water on January 30. “I love Swampy. But having to pay for an update is a bit greedy,” agreed Spence582 the same day, also awarding it just one star.

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Rage launches for Mac

Id Software's Rage is now available for Mac from the Mac App Store and publisher Aspyr's GameAgent store. The belated release - which comes almost four months after its debut on consoles and PC - is dubbed Rage: Campaign Edition, and includes bonus content only previously available in the Anarchy Edition.
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/rage-campaign-edition/id468808410?mt=12
Mac App Store

Id Software's Rage is now available for Mac, from the Mac App Store and publisher Aspyr's GameAgent store.

The belated release - which comes almost four months after its debut on consoles and PC - is dubbed Rage: Campaign Edition, and includes bonus content only previously available in the Anarchy Edition.

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THQ admits defeat and kills uDraw

THQ has said it has no further plans for uDraw after it revealed that the failed expansion of its tablet peripheral to PS3 and Xbox 360 has cost it $80 million in lost revenue. Speaking during an investor call after the publication of its dismal third-quarter results, the publisher said it had shipped a million uDraw tablets to retailers, leaving 1.4 million units of manufactured stock left unsold.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/40078/Just_how_badly_did_uDraw_hurt_THQ_anyway.php
Gamasutra

THQ has said it has no further plans for uDraw after it revealed that the failed expansion of its tablet peripheral to PS3 and Xbox 360 has cost it $80 million in lost revenue.

Speaking during an investor call after the publication of its dismal third-quarter results, the publisher said it had shipped a million uDraw tablets to retailers, leaving 1.4 million units of manufactured stock left unsold.

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6waves Lolapps denies Spry Fox claims

6waves Lolapps has denied Spry Fox's allegation that it breached the terms of an NDA in development of Yeti Town. Earlier this week Spry Fox began legal proceedings against 6waves, claiming that it used information given to it while in negotiations to publish Triple Town on Facebook to essentially clone it with Yeti Town. Speaking to VentureBeat, however, 6waves Lolapps chief executive Rex Ng insisted that wasn't the case.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/02/6waves-lolapps-chief-denies-copying-spry-foxs-social-game-exclusive
VentureBeat

6waves Lolapps has denied Spry Fox's allegation that it breached the terms of an NDA in development of Yeti Town.

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February 02, 2012

THQ posts increased third quarter loss

Troubled publisher THQ has announced a drop in revenue and an increased loss for the third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011, as better than expected performances from core games were offset by poor results for uDraw hardware and software.

Troubled publisher THQ has announced a drop in revenue and an increased loss for its third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011, as better than expected performances from core games were offset by poor results for uDraw hardware and software.

Net sales dropped 2.9 per cent year-over-year to 305.4 million (£193.3m), while the company's net loss widened from $14.9 million (£9.4m) a year ago to $55.9 million (£35.4m).

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Take-Two third quarter profit falls 65 per cent

Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two has reported a significant decline in profit and revenue for its third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011.

Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two has reported a significant decline in profit and revenue for its third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011.

Net profit fell 65 per cent to $14.2 million (£9m), while revenue dropped 29 per cent to $236.3 million (£149m).

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EA games dominate Nordic chart

Battlefield 3 is once again the best-selling title on the Nordic all-formats chart, which collates sales data from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, the EA shooter having held the number one spot since the last week of 2011.

Battlefield 3 is once again the best-selling title on the Nordic all-formats chart, which collates sales data from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, the EA shooter having held the number one position since the last week of 2011.

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New Trials Evolution trailer showcases LBP-style editor

While the construction of fiendish, undulating assault courses will still likely be the main focus of most players, RedLynx has broadened its genre palette with scrolling shooters, pinball and even an FPS.

Finnish studio RedLynx has released a new trailer for its upcoming racer Trials Evolution which shows the game's new LittleBigPlanet 2-style level editor.

While the construction of fiendish, undulating assault courses will still likely be the main focus of most players, RedLynx has broadened its genre palette with scrolling shooters, pinball and even an FPS making an appearence in the video below.

There's also a more fully featured social network in which to share your creations and brag about platinum runs.

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48-player DDR set for US classrooms

Konami is to officially unveil Dance Dance Revolution Classroom Edition, which allows 48 dance mats to be connected to a single PC, later this month. The game will be shown for the first time at the California Association For Health, Physical Education, Recreation And Dance (CAHPERD) State Conference in Pasadena.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/01/48-player-ddr-coming-to-classrooms/
Joystiq

Konami is to officially unveil Dance Dance Revolution Classroom Edition, which allows 48 dance mats to be connected to a single PC, later this month.

The game will be shown for the first time at the California Association For Health, Physical Education, Recreation And Dance (CAHPERD) State Conference in Pasadena.

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EA Origin brings in $100 million

EA's PC distribution service, Origin, has brought in $100 million (£63 million) since its launch last year, the publisher has announced. In addition, 9.3 million users have downloaded and installed the Origin client, with the service reaching a peak of over a million concurrent players.

EA's PC distribution service, Origin, has brought in $100 million (£63 million) since its launch last year, the publisher has announced.

In addition, 9.3 million users have downloaded and installed the Origin client, with the service reaching a peak of over a million concurrent players.

The publisher revealed the figures alongside the announcement of seven new companies who have signed up for the service, taking the total number of publishers whose games are available on the platform to 21.

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Tim Schafer on Happy Action Theatre

The Double Fine founder tells us why working with young children and hot lava results in fertile creative ground.

Since switching to its current Amnesia Fortnight-fuelled model, Double Fine has embraced an ethos of bold ideas, rapid prototyping and smaller games. With Happy Action Theatre, its newly released Kinect mini-game collection, the studio is taking this outlook to perhaps its natural extreme, collating 18 “activities” that strip away the rules and encourage a return to carefree, experimental play.

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IndieCade 2012 calls for submissions

Organisers of IndieCade are calling for submissions ahead of this year's festival, set for October in Los Angeles. Submissions are invited from indie artists and designers worldwide, with works in progress encouraged. In addition to featuring, and being considered for awards at the October festival, those selected will be featured on the IndieCade website and promoted through social media.
http://www.indiecade.com/2012/
IndieCade

Organisers of IndieCade are calling for submissions ahead of this year's festival, set for October in Los Angeles.

Submissions are invited from indie artists and designers worldwide, with works in progress encouraged. In addition to featuring, and being considered for awards at the October festival, those selected will be featured on the IndieCade website and promoted through social media.

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Ngmoco's Cousins to keynote F2P Summit

Ben Cousins, general manager of Ngmoco Sweden and former head of EA's Easy Studio, will give the opening keynote at the inaugural F2P Summit in London next month.
http://www.f2p-summit.com
F2P Summit

Ben Cousins, general manager of Ngmoco Sweden and former head of EA's Easy Studio, will give the opening keynote at the inaugural F2P Summit in London next month.

Cousins, who was a noted advocate of free-to-play while at EA and joined Ngmoco's new Swedish operation in June, will compare the current state of free-to-play with that of 2005 and predict where it will be by 2020 in his talk, Free To Play: Past, Present And Future.

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Social games offset Capcom decline

Capcom's profits fell by more than half in the nine months ending December 31, with declines in its console business offset by its social gaming division almost tripling its profits. Net sales revenue came to ¥50.3 billion (£416.6 million), down 29 per cent year on year. Net income, or profit, fell 52.6 per cent to ¥3.2 billion (£26.9 million).

Capcom's profits fell by more than half in the nine months ending December 31, with declines in its console business offset by its social gaming division almost tripling its profits.

Net sales revenue came to  ¥50.3 billion (£416.6 million), down 29 per cent year on year. Net income, or profit, fell 52.6 per cent to ¥3.2 billion (£26.9 million).

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Sony posts quarterly loss

Sony Corporation has reported a loss of ¥105.9 billion (£877.7 million) for the three months ending December 31. Sales revenue for the period fell by 17.7 per cent year on year, to ¥1,822.9 billion (£15.1 billion). This time last year the company posted a profit of ¥131.5 billion (£1.1 billion).

Sony Corporation has reported a loss of ¥105.9 billion (£877.7 million) for the three months ending December 31.

Sales revenue for the period fell by 17.7 per cent year on year, to ¥1,822.9 billion (£15.1 billion). This time last year the company posted a profit of ¥131.5 billion (£1.1 billion).

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Game may have to sell overseas business

Troubled retailer Game Group says it is in discussions with banks concerning its financial woes, and may sell its overseas business in order to stay afloat. Yesterday it emerged that the UK's biggest specialist videogame retailer was struggling to source new stock after it lost its credit insurance from agencies. This meant it would have to pay for new stock in advance. The company insisted this week's new releases would be on shelves on Friday as normal, and admitted it was working on deals with suppliers to ensure it was able to stock new games.

Troubled retailer Game Group says it is in discussions with banks concerning its financial woes, and may sell its overseas business in order to stay afloat.

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Opinion: The power of delight

Innovative game design is no longer enough to change the world, argues Tadhg Kelly.

A while ago someone sent me an amazing YouTube link. It described a challenge called Tower to Tower, in which Halo fans would use grenades and warthogs to leap to the top of a tower, then use more of the same to leap across an immense gap between it and another tower. The challenge was to complete this second leap and stay alive.

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Skyrim 1.4 update live on Steam

The latest patch for the PC version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is now live on Steam, Bethesda has announced. The update, which Bethesda detailed last month, contains a host of quest-specific fixes and adds support for the Steam Workshop, which will host user-generated content when the Creation Kit is released.
http://www.bethblog.com/2012/02/01/1-4-update-now-on-steam/
Bethesda

The latest patch for the PC version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is now live on Steam, Bethesda has announced.

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Disney to acquire UTV

Disney has announced plans to acquire a controlling stake in UTV, an Indian media company whose UTV Ignition division developed El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron and published Denki's Quarrel. The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, gives Disney access to UTV's 247 million consumers and instantly makes it India's leading film studio. UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala has been appointed managing director of The Walt Disney Company India.

Disney has announced plans to acquire a controlling stake in UTV, an Indian media company whose UTV Ignition division developed El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron and published Denki's Quarrel.

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Zynga brings in $445m for Facebook

Zynga brought in $445 million (£280.7 million), or 12 per cent, of Facebook's total revenue last year, the social network's IPO filing reveals. The filing, from which Facebook seeks to raise $5 billion and could see the company valued at up to $100 billion, shows that total 2011 revenue was $3.7 billion - of which a billion was profit.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/01/breaking-facebook-files-its-s-1-let-the-ipo-hoopla-begin/
VentureBeat

Zynga brought in $445 million (£280.7 million), or 12 per cent, of Facebook's total revenue last year, the social network's IPO filing reveals.

The filing, from which Facebook seeks to raise $5 billion and could see the company valued at up to $100 billion, shows that total 2011 revenue was $3.7 billion - of which a billion was profit.

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EA admits Game Group concern

Electronic Arts has warned investors that the failure of troubled UK retailer Game Group could affect the publisher's finances. During an investor call following the release of EA's latest fiscal results, John Riccitiello declined to name Game Group, but given that yesterday the retailer was reportedly struggling to secure new releases after losing its credit insurance, it appears clear to whom the EA CEO was referring.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-01-ea-concerned-at-financial-health-of-major-european-retail-partner
Eurogamer

Electronic Arts has warned investors that the failure of troubled UK retailer Game Group could affect the publisher's finances.

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THQ confirms up to 240 job losses, CEO pay cut

THQ plans to cut as many as 240 “selling, general and administrative personnel” as part of its recently announced restructuring plan.
http://services.corporate-ir.net/SEC/Document.Service?id=P3VybD1odHRwOi8vaXIuaW50Lndlc3RsYXdidXNpbmVzcy5jb20vZG9jdW1lbnQvdjEvMDAwMDg2NTU3MC0xMi0wMDAwMDUvZG9jL1RIUUluY184S18yMDEyMDIwMS5wZGYmdHlwZT0yJmZuPVRIUUluY184S18yMDEyMDIwMS5wZGY=
THQ (PDF)

THQ plans to cut as many as 240 “selling, general and administrative personnel” as part of its recently announced restructuring plan.

The majority of the cuts will be implemented by March 31, 2012, with the remainder made by the end of September, the publisher said today in a regulatory filing.

Company CEO Brian Farrell has also agreed to reduce his base salary by 50 per cent, from $718,500 to $359,250, for a one-year period beginning February 13, 2012.

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The Old Republic subscribers top 1.7 million

Electronic Arts has labelled Star Wars: The Old Republic “the fastest growing subscription MMO ever” following an impressive first six weeks on the market.

Electronic Arts has labelled Star Wars: The Old Republic “the fastest growing subscription MMOG ever” following an impressive first six weeks on the market.

The BioWare developed MMOG has sold more than two million copies since launching on December 20 and now has “a little over” 1.7 million active subscribers. “Nearly” 40 per cent of the game’s December sales came through EA’s digital download service Origin.

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EA trims Q3 loss

Electronic Arts narrowed its third quarter loss as revenue edged up in the three months ended December 31, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120201-718346.html
Wall Street Journal

Electronic Arts narrowed its third quarter loss as revenue edged up in the three months ended December 31, 2011.

The publisher posted a loss of $205 million, or 62 cents a share, compared with a loss of $322 million, or 97 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 0.8 per cent to $1.06 billion, with digital sales accounting for more than a quarter of the total at $274 million, versus $195 million a year ago.

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Battlefield 3 retains Nordic chart lead

EA’s Battlefield 3 continues to hold the number one spot on the Nordic all-formats chart, which collates sales data from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

EA’s Battlefield 3 continues to hold the number one spot on the Nordic all-formats chart, which collates sales data from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

FIFA 12 is also a non-mover at number two, while The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim jumps ahead of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic rounds off the top five.

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