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August 10, 2011

Disney Interactive losses widen

Disney’s game division posted an increased operating loss for its third fiscal quarter ended July 2, 2011, despite a jump in revenues. Operating results for the firm’s Interactive Media segment declined 32 per cent year-over-year to a loss of $86 million (£53.2m), while revenues for the quarter increased 27 per cent to $251 million (£155.3m). “Lower segment operating results were driven by the inclusion of Playdom, including the impact of acquisition accounting, partially offset by an improvement at our console game business,” Disney said. “The improvement at our console games business reflected higher unit sales and lower marketing costs. The increase in unit sales was driven by the performance of Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean and Cars 2 in the current quarter compared to Toy Story 3 and Split Second in the prior year. These increases were partially offset by higher cost of sales reflecting fees paid to the developer of Lego Pirates Of The Caribbean.” The news was brighter for the company as a whole, which saw quarterly profits up eleven per cent to $1.48 billion (£915.8m), and revenues up seven per cent to $10.7 billion (£6.6b).
http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/pdfs/Q311_PR_FINAL.pdf
Disney


Nintendo: 3DS momentum needed to retain platform support

This week’s $80 3DS price cut, the upcoming release of a ‘Flame Red’ hardware colour, and an improved software line-up will be key to driving sales of the portable and retaining support for the platform, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. “This is a momentum business and when you don't have the momentum it creates a tough situation whether it's with retailers or with third-party publishers who become a bit more reluctant to support a platform,” he told USA Today. The executive also said The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, released in June, "is selling exceptionally well now. It's driving hardware. We've seen similar results from Japan with the launch of Star Fox.” The company has “high expectations” for October’s Pokemon Rumble Blast, November’s Super Mario 3D Land and December’s Mario Kart 7, Fils-Aime added. “This is really about reinvigorating the Nintendo 3DS momentum and having that … power through all during the key holiday selling season."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2011/08/nintendo-president-reggie-fils-aime-talks-3ds-mistakes-fixes--/1
USA Today


Apple vying to be world’s most valuable company

iPhone maker Apple briefly leapfrogged oil and gas corporation Exxon Mobil to become the world’s most valuable company yesterday. The firm’s shares jumped as much as 6.1 per cent to $374.61 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, taking its market value to $347.3 billion, Bloomberg reports. Having switched places several times during the day, Exxon held the crown at the end of the trading session. Apple made a staggering $7.31 billion profit in the three months to June 25, on quarterly sales of $28.57 billion. Earlier this month the company said it has cash reserves of $76 billion.
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/73767408/
Bloomberg


Mindscape exits game industry after 30 years

U-Sing publisher Mindscape has shut its last internal development studio and confirmed plans to withdraw from the videogames business after three decades, Develop reports. The closure of Paris-based developer Punchers Impact, which was formed in December 2009 with staff drawn from the likes of EA and the ashes of Free Radical, is to result in the loss of around 40 jobs. Punchers Impact built various casual games for home consoles, but the failure of PC racer Crasher to make an impact at retail hit Mindscape hard. “We had relied much on that game,” a company spokesperson said. “It was not a success and was important to us that it was. We are no longer going to work in the game software business.”
http://www.develop-online.net/news/38424/40-jobs-gone-as-Mindscape-quits-games?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+developmag%2Fifbh+%28Develop%29
Develop


Assassin's Creed: Revelations beta hits PSN next month

A multiplayer beta of this year's entry into the Assassin's Creed series will arrive on PlayStation Network, as a timed exclusive, on September 3, Ubisoft has announced. The beta, which will run until September 11, offers players a choice of nine characters, with four game types playable on three maps. Inevitably, there's a catch: only subscribers to PlayStation Plus, or members of Ubisoft's new Uplay service, are eligible.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-10-assassins-creed-revelations-psn-beta
Eurogamer


NPD to track European videogame market

Market research firm the NPD Group has announced that it intends to track videogame spend in several countries in Europe with a view to providing a European version of its game industry report. At present, the Total Consumer Spend Service report covers estimated new and used retail, subscription, microtransaction and rental sales for the US. The European report will initially cover the UK, France and Germany and NPD will begin tracking the territories in the fourth quarter of this year. "The new digital distribution channels in video games are not country specific," NPD analyst Anita Frazier explained. "They are global in nature, which is why NPD is taking its proven, proprietary methodology, developed over a number of years, and applying it to a global perspective."
http://npd.com/press/releases/press_110810.html
NPD


Edge to present award at Edinburgh Interactive tomorrow

The videogame conference, which runs tomorrow and Friday, will feature a special award given by the Edge team to the game we think did the most this year to blaze a trail for new interactive experiences for players, whether led by advanced technology, creative design - or both. In previous years of the conference we've awarded Halo 3 for its multiplayer and social features and LittleBigPlanet for its level creation tools. Look out for our preview of the event at the source link below.
http://www.next-gen.biz/features/edinburgh-interactive-preview
Edinburgh Interactive preview

 

   


Ridley Scott to create COD Elite content

Following last week's revelation that Arrested Development duo Jason Bateman and Will Arnett are to create exclusive video content for Activision's Call Of Duty subscription service comes news that Hollywood director Ridley Scott is also on board. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg revealed the news, and said: "Call Of Duty players share a common language and a common experience, and we think we can create some entertainment content that they will love and talk about and share."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2011/08/director-ridley-scott-and-other-hollywood-talent-get-call-of-duty/1?csp=34tech
USA Today


Android developers complain of missing payments

A number of Android app developers have claimed that they are not receiving the correct amount of money for the number of apps that they have sold throught the Android Market. The common factor among the developers seems to be that all unaccounted for purchases were made through the Android Market's web store, with customers' credit cards apparently being charged through Google Checkout but the amount not making it to developers' accounts. Google responded officially via the Android Market support forum saying, "Thanks for posting and for your patience. We’re aware of the issue, and we’re working on fixing it. Once the fix goes out (soon!), orders should be moved to the correct state, which will enable disbursement amounts to be recovered. So if your July activity payouts were underpaid, you will be notified, and your September 1 payout will contain the missing amounts." At this time, no official date for a fix has been forthcoming, though Google has contacted affected developers by email.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/09/developers-frustrated-by-android-market-payment-issues/
Techcrunch


Australian R18+ rating gets NSW vote

New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith has decided to support an R18+ rating for Australia having abstained from the official vote last month. Smith previously said that his abstention was due to a desire to gather more information, and that he intended to wait for the results of the Australian Law Reform Commisson's classification review, which isn't due until 2012. NSW has now confirmed that it will join the other eight Australian territories in backing the rating. "Few people would dispute the value of a classification system that helps keep adult material beyond the reach of children," said Smith. "With strong classification guidelines in place, an R18+ rating should result in violent games currently rated MA15+ in Australia being reclassified as adults-only, as they already are in many other countries." This means that games previously banned due to "violent impact", such as Mortal Kombat and the uncensored Left 4 Dead 2, will soon be able to take advantage of the new certificate.
http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2011/08/10/3290150.htm
ABC


PSN offline tomorrow evening

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony confirms that PlayStation Network will be offline from 4.05pm BST until 2am. As usual, this means the PS Store, account management and registration will be unavailable, and users will not be able to play online unless they sign in before 4.05pm. Sony gave no reason for the downtime beyond the usual "scheduled maintenance" but it seems safe to assume it's connected to the new system software update, version 3.70, which was released earlier today.
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/08/10/playstation-network-scheduled-maintenance-4/
PlayStation Blog


Gamestop moves first on UK 3DS price

The European 3DS price cut doesn't come into effect until Friday, but Gamestop.co.uk has already cut the price of the handheld to £134.97. This is a significant discount, and our first indication of the likely price of a UK 3DS after the price drop - there's no official RRP for the system, with Nintendo instead fixing a trade price, with the cost at tills up to retailers. Those thinking this might be a low-cost route to both a 3DS and the 20 classic games on offer through the Ambassador programme, however, should bear in mind that they have to connect to the eShop before 11pm tomorrow to qualify for the offer.
http://www.gamestop.co.uk/41737_Nintendo_3DS_Nintendo_3DS_Cosmic_Black.aspx
Gamestop


Daily links: August 10

Why gamification is bullshit, the power of carrots, the importance of hurting players’ feelings, and how to build a stairway with no hands.

“The rhetorical power of the word "gamification" is enormous, and it does precisely what the bullshitters want: it takes games [and] makes them accessible in the context of contemporary business.”

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Daily links: August 10

Why gamification is bullshit, the power of carrots, the importance of hurting players’ feelings, and how to build a stairway with no hands.

“The rhetorical power of the word "gamification" is enormous, and it does precisely what the bullshitters want: it takes games [and] makes them accessible in the context of contemporary business.”

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read more


The making of: Medal Of Honor

One of gaming's biggest franchises was almost killed before it cleared the beach.

It’s November 1999 and the atmosphere in Steven Spielberg’s office is frosty. The director’s Amblin production company, on the Universal Studios lot, is hosting Paul Bucha, the president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The Vietnam veteran, awarded America’s highest decoration for his own courage under fire, is stating his case against videogames. Strongly. The particular target of his ire: a firstperson shooter based on an original concept by Spielberg himself called Medal Of Honor.

read more


Drakensang Online enters open beta

Bigpoint's latest free-to-play browser MMOG is now in open beta, with the developer claiming its action RPG has over 100 hours of content. The game was developed at Bigpoint Berlin using the company's Nebula 3 engine, and the team is already at work on updates and new content. Co-CEO Heiko Hubertz says Drakensang Online is "not only an action-packed gaming experience but also a technical achievement which every gamer should test out, especially as it's free to play online in your browser."
http://heredur.drakensang-online.com/
Bigpoint


Valve launches Steam Trading beta

At present, the new system only allows users to trade Steam Gifts and virtual Team Fortress 2 items, though Valve says Portal 2 will be added shortly and it hopes to have several thirdparty games on the service in due course. While TF2 players have been able to trade items for some time, Valve has improved the UI and significantly increased the number of items that can be traded. For more, see the detailed FAQ linked in the source below.
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6748-ETSG-5417
Steam


Atari completes sale of Cryptic Studios

Atari announced in May that it was to sell the Champions Online developer to Chinese MMOG firm Perfect World, and the sale has now been completed. Atari said it would use the €35 million (£30.6 million) raised in the deal to pay down its debts, with the remainder used to fund social and mobile development, licensing costs, and other, higher-margin operations.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36468/Atari_Officially_Closes_Sale_Of_Champions_Online_Developer_Cryptic_Studios_.php
Gamasutra


Valve announces Portal 2 music video competition winners

Valve, and band The National, have announced the winners of their Exile Vilify music video contest. The competition tasked budding directors with matching visuals to the song, written specifically for Portal 2 by The National. It would seem that the developer and band had trouble selecting just one video from all the entries, so two first-place winners take home a prize package each. You can see the winning videos below, and view some of the runners up by following the source link. Any excuse to listen to The National's heartbreaking tune again is fine by us.
http://www.thinkwithportals.com/videocontest/
Think with portals

 


Nintendo confirms UK WiFi deal with The Cloud

Nintendo has announced a deal with The Cloud that will see it offer UK 3DS owners free access to some 5,000 WiFi hotspots. The BSkyB subsidiary has access points in restaurants including Eat and Pizza Express, other leisure facilities and major UK cities. Nintendo UK marketing director Dawn Paine told T3: "Nintendo 3DS continues to evolve and add new features all the time. The Cloud partnership represents another exciting step that will continue to expand its appeal and encourage owners to take their systems with them wherever they go."
http://www.t3.com/news/nintendo-3ds-users-get-free-wi-fi-access-from-the-cloud?=59331
T3


Sony details new PS3 software update

A post on the PlayStation Blog reveals that a new PS3 system software update, version 3.70, will be "available soon." Those frustrated with the often confusing PlayStation Store layout will be heartened by a new recommendations feature, and the increasingly jumbled XMB will also be streamlined, with a new category, TV/Video Services, housing the likes of Netflix, Hulu and iPlayer. PlayStation Plus subscribers get improved automatic updates and cloud storage, and improvements have been made to the PS3's handling of 3D Blu-ray movies. For more, follow the source link below.
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/09/ps3-system-software-update-v3-70/
PlayStation Blog


Sega keen on axed THQ staff

Following THQ's announcement last night that it is to close two Australian studios, and a US team in Phoenix with the loss of 200 jobs, Sega Studios Australia director Marcus Fielding said he hoped to be able to help staff at THQ Studio Australia, which like Sega is based in Brisbane, find new employment. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of another great Australian developer, and are sorry to see THQ's studios close their doors after so many years of game development," he told MCV. "We will be speaking to Sega executives to explore our short-term hiring strategy to reflect the sudden influx of talent in Australia. We hope to be able to announce the potential for taking on more staff soon." Sega Studio Australia is currently advertising for an art director and senior engine programmer.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sega-confirms-interest-in-acquiring-thq-talent/082842
MCV


THQ closes studios and sheds 200 staff

De Blob 2 developer Blue Tongue, THQ Studio Australia and Phoenix development team closed in "strategic realignment."

Publisher THQ has announced that two studios in Australia, and a development studio in Phoenix are to be closed, with 200 jobs lost, as part of a "strategic realignment to better align resources with the company's future portfolio."

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August 09, 2011

Report: Team Bondi sells assets and IP

Staff told to accept job with Mad Max director's production studio KMM or face redundancy.

Team Bondi has sold its assets and IP, and told its staff to choose between jobs with the buyer or severance terms, according to reports, with a source claiming the LA Noire developer has "gone bankrupt."

A Develop source, described as "an insider who engages with both companies locally", claims that game-related IP and other assets have been sold to Australian production studio Kennedy Miller Mitchell. The company, owned by Mad Max director George Miller, had previously been rumoured to be in talks to acquire the Sydney-based developer.

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Splinter Cell HD Trilogy released tomorrow

While there's still no release date for the Blu-ray version of Ubisoft's stealth trilogy, the PlayStation Blog confirms that all three games will be released on PlayStation Store tomorrow. Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory, remastered in 1080p with stereoscopic 3D support, will be available separately for £7.99 each, or as a bundle for £23.99 - so it's actually 2p cheaper to buy them one by one. PlayStation Plus users get a 20 per cent discount on the original, ten per cent off Pandora Tomorrow, and a Sam Fisher theme with purchases of Chaos Theory.
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/08/08/splinter-cell-hd-trilogy-sneaks-into-playstation-store-tomorrow/
PlayStation Blog


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