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January 18, 2012

Gaikai ready for Facebook launch

Cloud gaming service Gaikai is ready to launch on Facebook, founder David Perry has confirmed. Perry revealed the news at yesterday's Cloud Gaming Europe conference in London, reported by gamesindustry.biz, and showed World Of Warcraft running on the social network.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-01-17-gaikai-ready-to-roll-out-to-facebook
gamesindustry.biz

Cloud gaming service Gaikai is ready to launch on Facebook, founder David Perry has confirmed.

Perry revealed the news at yesterday's Cloud Gaming Europe conference in London, reported by gamesindustry.biz, and showed World Of Warcraft running on the social network.

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Xbox 360 entertainment app usage up 50 per cent

The number of people using entertainment apps on Xbox 360 rose 50 per cent last month, Microsoft has revealed. Xbox Live mouthpiece Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb confirms in a blog post that app usage rose significantly in December compared to the month before. The Metro dashboard update, which brought renewed focus on external video content, was released on December 6.
http://majornelson.com/2012/01/17/new-apps-now-available-for-xbox-live-members/
Major Nelson

The number of people using entertainment apps on Xbox 360 rose 50 per cent last month, Microsoft has revealed.

Xbox Live mouthpiece Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb confirms in a blog post that app usage rose significantly in December compared to the month before. The Metro dashboard update, which brought renewed focus on external video content, was released on December 6.

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Ubisoft shuts Vancouver studio

Ubisoft has announced the closure of its Vancouver development studio, which worked on various sports titles after being acquired by the French publisher in 2009.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/17/ubisoft-closes-vancouver-studio.aspx
Game Informer

Ubisoft has announced the closure of its Vancouver development studio, which worked on various sports titles after being acquired by the French publisher in 2009.

Formed in 2006 and known as Action Pants prior to the buyout, Ubisoft Vancouver was responsible for games including Pure Futbol for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, Academy Of Champions: Soccer for Wii, and Motionsports Adrenaline for Kinect and PlayStation Move.

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Konami to dissolve Hudson

Bomberman maker Hudson will officially cease to exist as a company after being absorbed into Konami Digital Entertainment on March 1.
http://andriasang.com/comzo7/hudson_kaput/
Andriasang

Bomberman maker Hudson will officially cease to exist as a company after being absorbed into Konami Digital Entertainment on March 1.

The developer behind series like Bonk, Adventure Island and Mario Party issued notice of the impending change today in compliance with Japanese law, Andriasang reports.

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January 17, 2012

Battlefield 3 tops first Nordic chart of 2012

Battlefield 3 has started the new year as it ended 2011, at number one on the Nordic software chart, which collates sales data from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

Battlefield 3 has started the new year as it ended 2011, at number one on the Nordic software chart, which collates sales data from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

The top five games on the chart were unchanged from the previous week, with EA’s shooter placing ahead of FIFA 12, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Need For Speed: The Run.

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Ubisoft PC activations track hardware changes

Like most PC games, Ubisoft titles carry a limit on the number of machines on which they can be installed. However, Guru3D has found that the limit also applies to hardware components. The site set out to perform one of its regular VGA and graphics performance analyses on the recently released Anno 2070, testing the game on two graphics cards in three different PCs. That proved impossible when, after activating the game on each rig, he switched graphics cards only to be met with an activation prompt and subsequent message that he had used his entire allocation.
http://www.guru3d.com/news/why-guru3d-probably-never-will-review-ubisoft-titles-anymore/
Guru3D

Like most PC games, Ubisoft titles carry a limit on the number of machines on which they can be installed. However, Guru3D has found that the limit also applies to hardware components.

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Opinion: Time to rethink SOPA

With the anti-piracy bill's delay comes an invaluable opportunity for the ESA to push what's best for videogames, says Nathan Brown.

The Stop Online Piracy act now resides somewhere in a Washington drawer, its author admitting it needs further study, the Obama administration refusing to support it, and a hearing set for this week postponed. One senior Republican claims to have been given assurances the House Of Representatives will not vote on the bill until a consensus has been reached on its contents.

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Take-Two forecasts loss as Max Payne 3 slips to May

The Rockstar-developed Max Payne 3 has been delayed until May, publisher Take-Two has announced. The game was supposed to hit shelves in March, but Take-Two has confirmed that it will now be released for Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 15 in North America and May 18 in other territories. The PC version will be released on May 29 in North America, and June 1 elsewhere.

The Rockstar-developed Max Payne 3 has been delayed until May, publisher Take-Two has announced.

The game was supposed to hit shelves in March, but Take-Two has confirmed that it will now be released for Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 15 in North America, and May 18 in other territories. The PC version will be released on May 29 in North America, and June 1 elsewhere.

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Take-Two forecasts loss as Max Payne 3 slips to May

The Rockstar-developed Max Payne 3 has been delayed until May, publisher Take-Two has announced. The game was supposed to hit shelves in March, but Take-Two has confirmed that it will now be released for Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 15 in North America and May 18 in other territories. The PC version will be released on May 29 in North America, and June 1 elsewhere.

The Rockstar-developed Max Payne 3 has been delayed until May, publisher Take-Two has announced.

The game was supposed to hit shelves in March, but Take-Two has confirmed that it will now be released for Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 15 in North America, and May 18 in other territories. The PC version will be released on May 29 in North America, and June 1 elsewhere.

read more


Mage Gauntlet review

RocketCat turns its hand to the action RPG, with typically fast-paced results.

RocketCat initially seems like the wrong outfit to handle an action RPG. Its previous platforming games, such as Hook Worlds and Super QuickHook, may have boasted the same over-sized 16-bit art styles as The Secret Of Mana and A Link To The Past, but they also had an all-conquering sense of forward momentum. They didn't dawdle, as RPGs often need to, they created landscapes you wanted to race through rather than territories you'd like to explore.

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Run Roo Run review

Scribblenauts maker 5th Cell leaps to iOS with a perfect platformer for Generation ADHD.

5th Cell's latest has the same generosity of spirit as its most famous creation, and a similar way with misleading numbers. 420 levels sounds a lot for an iOS platformer, but, as with Scribblenauts' 20,000 nouns, the differences between one and the next aren't necessarily as meaningful as you might hope.

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Opinion: A billion gamers!

PopCap's Giordano Bruno Contestabile on how today's huge audience of gamers is shaping the future of videogames.

Facts rarely measure up to hype, and hype often results in disappointment and broken promises. It's a process we have seen time after time in the game industry with respect to supposedly game-changing trends and technologies. Sometimes, though, hype tapers down rather than crashes, and is replaced by results that, while still requiring an adjustment in public expectation and being subject to a more realistic growth curve, prove to be real enough to provoke a shift in how people play games.

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Apple reveals supplier working conditions

Apple has released the results of an annual audit of working conditions at the 156 suppliers involved in the manufacture of its products. The full list includes the controversial Foxconn, Chinese manufacturer of iPhone, iPad and Mac, as well as the likes of Samsung, Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic. As AppStorm notes, it's an unusual move from a company which had previously been known for keeping a tight lid on details of its suppliers.
http://mac.appstorm.net/general/apple-sheds-some-light-on-suppliers-and-their-working-conditions/
AppStorm

Apple has released the results of an annual audit of working conditions at the 156 suppliers involved in the manufacture of its products.

The full list includes the controversial Foxconn, Chinese manufacturer of iPhone, iPad and Mac, as well as the likes of Samsung, Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic. As AppStorm notes, it's an unusual move from a company which had previously been known for keeping a tight lid on details of its suppliers.

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Report: XCOM delayed

2K Marin's FPS reboot of the revered XCOM has been delayed until next year, according to reports. The claim comes from the latest issue of Game Informer, reported by IGN. It appears that 2K has decided that the Firaxis-developed strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown, announced earlier this month and set for a 2012 release, is a better way to reintroduce the series.
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/121/1216430p1.html
IGN

2K Marin's FPS reboot of the revered XCOM has been delayed until next year, according to reports.

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Mario Kart 7 and 3DS top 2011 Japanese charts

Mario Kart 7 was the best-selling videogame in Japan last year, according to Media Create, with its host platform 3DS topping the 2011 hardware chart. Andriasang reports that 4,282,143 3DS systems were sold over the course of the year, and it's little surprise to see it top the hardware chart given that it has been the best-selling hardware in Japan every single week since last August's price cut.
http://andriasang.com/comznq/game_sales_4gamer/
Andriasang

Mario Kart 7 was the best-selling videogame in Japan last year, according to Media Create, with its host platform 3DS topping the 2011 hardware chart.

Andriasang reports that 4,282,143 3DS systems were sold over the course of the year, and it's little surprise to see it top the hardware chart given that it has been the best-selling hardware in Japan every single week since last August's price cut.

read more


January 16, 2012

Game denies website hack reports

UK retailer Game Group has denied reports that its game.co.uk website has been hacked. Earlier today Softpedia reported that attackers had breached Game's website security by exploiting a shell injection vulnerability, and posted email addresses and passwords in plain text of 200 users on the Pastebin website. In a statement, however, the retailer has denied any such breach had taken place.

UK retailer Game Group has denied reports that its game.co.uk website has been hacked.

Earlier today Softpedia reported that attackers had breached Game's website security by exploiting a shell injection vulnerability, and posted email addresses and passwords in plain text of 200 users on the Pastebin website. In a statement, however, the retailer has denied any such breach had taken place.

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Eight further back issues of Edge added to Newsstand

The issues are available to download at a reduced price of £1.99 until February 1, after which point they will return to £2.99.

The issues, listed below in full, are available to download from the Edge app at a reduced price of £1.99 each until February 1, after which point they will return to £2.99.

  • 227 May 2011
  • 226 April 2011
  • 225 March 2011
  • 224 February 2011
  • 223 January 2011
  • 222 Xmas 2010
  • 221 December 2010
  • 220 November 2010

Newsstand allows you to buy single issues as well as take out three, six and twelve-month subscriptions, and browse our pages as they appear in print.

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The great US patent shakeup

How will changes to US patent law affect the videogame industry? Patent lawyers Greg Boyd and Andrew Keisner explain.

This article was written with patent lawyers Greg Boyd and Andrew Keisner of New York-based Davis & Gilbert LLP.

US patent law is about to receive its biggest shakeup since the Patent Act of 1952. And it's likely to affect all game publishers and developers. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or AIA for short, which was signed into law last September and gradually phases into effect in March 2013, will significantly change the way companies will apply for and defend their patents.

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The great US patent shakeup

How will changes to US patent law affect the videogame industry? Patent lawyers Greg Boyd and Andrew Keisner explain.

This article was written with patent lawyers Greg Boyd and Andrew Keisner of New York-based Davis & Gilbert LLP.

US patent law is about to receive its biggest shakeup since the Patent Act of 1952. And it's likely to affect all game publishers and developers. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or AIA for short, which was signed into law last September and gradually phases into effect in March 2013, will significantly change the way companies will apply for and defend their patents.

read more


Zach Gage on gaming for art's sake

The conceptual artist tells us what he's learnt from a life spent in games.

Zach Gage is the conceptual artist, and now videogame designer, behind games such as SpellTower, BitPilot and SynthPond. While initially self-contained art projects, his work has veered ever closer to traditional videogames to the point that now a distinction is harder to make. Here, we continue the conversation started in our profile of Gage in issue 237 of Edge.

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EA confirms Origin requirement, no Steam for PC Mass Effect 3

Electronic Arts has confirmed that its PC platform EA Origin will be a mandatory requirement for boxed and digital versions of Mass Effect 3 on PC. In a post on the official BioWare forums, community coordinator Chris Priestly also confirms that Mass Effect 3 will not be available from Steam at launch.
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/8975536
BioWare

BioWare has confirmed that Electronic Arts' PC platform EA Origin will be a mandatory requirement for boxed and digital versions of Mass Effect 3 on PC.

In a post on the official BioWare forums, community coordinator Chris Priestly also confirms that Mass Effect 3 will not be available from Steam at launch.

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Report: swathes of publishers targeting German "pirates"

A large number of publishers are sending letters to those they claim have illegally downloaded games, threatening legal action unless they pay fines of several hundred euros. After CD Projekt said last week it would no longer be pursuing those it claim pirated PC RPG The Witcher 2: Assassin Of Kings, Torrentfreak dug deeper and found a host of publishers were doing the same thing, and that the practice is not limited purely to new releases.
http://torrentfreak.com/square-enix-eidos-other-game-giants-all-demand-cash-from-pirates-120115/
Torrentfreak

UPDATE: We've been passed a statement regarding the below from Ubisoft, which says: "Ubisoft has not issued any legal claims similar to those mentioned in the Torrentfreak article in over three years."

ORIGINAL STORY: A large number of publishers are reportedly sending letters to those they claim have illegally downloaded games, threatening legal action unless they pay fines of several hundred euros.

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Microsoft: there is no Xbox.com security loophole

Microsoft has strenuously denied claims that lax security on the Xbox.com website is to blame for the recent spate of Xbox Live account thefts. "The online safety of Xbox Live members remains of the utmost importance, which is why we consistently take measures to protect Xbox Live against ever-changing threats," the company told us in a statement issued on Friday. "Security in the technology industry is an ongoing process, and with each new form of technology designed to deter attacks, the attackers try to find new ways to subvert it."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-16-xbox-live-fraud-xbox-com-security-secretly-tightened-report
Eurogamer

Microsoft has strenuously denied claims that lax security on the Xbox.com website is to blame for the recent spate of Xbox Live account thefts.

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THQ denies cancellation claims

THQ has moved to deny claims that it is in such dire straits that it has cancelled its entire 2014 lineup and put itself up for sale. A series of tweets from Kevin Dent, head of the IGDA mobile special interest group, over the weekend claimed that THQ had cancelled its 2014 slate and Vigil-developed MMOG Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online, and had returned IP to Disney after paying an advance without seeking a refund.
http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/15/rumour-thq-cancels-2014-slate-and-offers-self-for-sale/
VG247

THQ has moved to deny claims that it is in such dire straits that it has cancelled its entire 2014 lineup and put itself up for sale.

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Playdom to publish Triple Town on Facebook

Playdom is to publish Spry Fox's Triple Town on Facebook, the developer has announced. In a blog post, Spry Fox CEO David Edery says the studio chose Playdom because the Disney-owned company "treated us with respect," and that the deal means Spry Fox can concentrate on making games.
http://www.edery.org/2012/01/partnering-with-playdom/
David Edery

Playdom is now the publisher of Spry Fox's Triple Town on Facebook, the developer has announced.

In a blog post, Spry Fox CEO David Edery says the studio chose Playdom because the Disney-owned company "treated us with respect," and that the deal means Spry Fox can concentrate on making games.

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