Powered by Elgg

Feed detail

August 02, 2011

Trip Hawkins on Apple

The Digital Chocolate CEO talks Steve Jobs, the App Store and the inevitable decline.

With its tight control over the App Store, which has sold billions of game apps to date, Apple has asserted itself as a powerful gatekeeper in the rapidly growing sector of mobile game development. Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins – who worked as director of strategy and marketing for Apple in the early ‘80s – is intimately acquainted with Apple’s business philosophy.

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Rod Fergusson on Gears Of War 3

The series' executive producer tells us why chainsaw guns could be “limiting the franchise”.

Having eclipsed a million pre-orders already – making it the fastest pre-ordered Xbox exclusive title in the console’s history – Gears Of War 3 promises to be one of the biggest releases of 2011. We caught up with Rod Fergusson, the series’ executive producer, to discuss the company’s ambitious plans for the trilogy’s send-off, why he thinks Gears has been unable to approach Call Of Duty’s sales numbers, and to what extent the leak of an early development build hurts Epic.

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Zynga sued for patent violation

The social gaming titan was sued for copyright infringement last month, and is now facing allegations of patent litigation from Segan LLC. The patent in question is titled "System for viewing content over a network and method therefor," and covers "a system and method for viewing content over the Internet wherein a user accesses a service provider server to view a character icon provided by the service provider to a user interface device." Segan claims that Zynga's FarmVille and Mafia Wars are in violation of its patent, and seeks "a reasonable royalty to compensate" it for "injury and monetary damages".

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-01/zynga-is-sued-by-rival-segan-over-patent-for-computer-games-technology.html

Bloomberg

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Humble Indie Bundle grosses $1 million

The third pay-what-you-want indie promotion launched less than a week ago, but has already been purchased over 200,000 times, with the total grossed passing the million-dollar mark overnight. The average purchase price is currently $4.76, and as was the case in bundles past, Linux users are the most generous, paying an average of $11.63. Markus "Notch" Persson - whose Minecraft was added to the bundle, albeit in time-limited trial form, after its launch - is no longer the highest contributor: his $4,048 payment has been eclipsed by virtual currency trading site MtGox.com, which sits atop the top contributors list with a payment of $4,096.

http://www.humblebundle.com/

Humble Indie Bundle

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

More 3DS Ambassador titles named

When it announced last week that early 3DS adopters will be compensated for the handheld's impending price drop with a selection of free classic games, Nintendo only named five of the Game Boy Advance games on offer. That number has now risen to seven after Nintendo confirmed that Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3, will also be available for free to 3DS owners who connect to the eShop before August 12.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/27322

Nintendo World Report

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Sony acquires Sucker Punch

The Infamous and Sly Cooper developer has become Sony Worldwide Studios' 16 internal studio. Speaking to MSNBC, Sony's Scott Rohde hinted that Sony swooped to prevent Sucker Punch falling into the hands of someone else. "I'd be lying if I said other groups weren't interested," he said. "The bottom line is, when you've got a group that's been as successful as Sucker Punch, we want to ensure that we keep them in the fold. It's that simple. It's hard to find high-quality developers like these guys." The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/02/7220875-sony-buys-infamous-game-developer-sucker-punch

MSNBC

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Cut The Rope sequel confirmed

It's hardly surprising given Cut The Rope's stunning success - it hit 6 million downloads within four months of release, and has won a BAFTA and Apple Design Award - but a sequel is on the way. Details are sparse, but IGN has a single screenshot and some concept art which suggest that protagonist Om Nom is to be let out of his box, and will be joined by a new character, The Professor.

http://uk.wireless.ign.com/articles/118/1185343p1.html

IGN

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Words With Friends hits Facebook

In a logical consequence of Zynga's acquistion last December of Texas-based developer Newtoy, the popular, high-scoring take on Scrabble that has been so successful on iOS and Android will soon be available on Zynga's chief stomping ground, Facebook. Zynga has brought several of its Facebook games to mobile, but this is the first time the company has done the reverse and launched one of its mobile properties on the social network.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36289/Zynga_Brings_Popular_iOS_Game_Words_With_Friends_To_Facebook.php

Gamasutra

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

August 01, 2011

Square Enix picks up True Crime: Hong Kong rights

Square Enix has acquired the rights to True Crime: Hong Kong, the open-world action game canned by original publisher Activision earlier this year. The title remains in production at Vancouver-based ModNation Racers developer United Front Games but is now being managed through Square Enix London Studios, Gamasutra reports. "When we met the team at United Front Games, it was a done deal in our eyes - we instantly recognised the huge potential in the game and the team," Square Enix London Studios general manager Lee Singleton told the site. He explained that the company hasn’t picked up the True Crime IP, noting that “it’s too early” to talk about a release date, target platforms or what the final name will be, but said removing the True Crime title should be “pretty straightforward". Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg added: "Our team has worked very hard to find a solution where everybody wins. Square Enix gets the benefit of the tremendous investment we've made in the game thus far. UFG gets to stay together and complete their vision. And gamers get to play a great game. We couldn't be more thrilled."

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36132/Square_Enix_Nabs_Rights_To_True_Crime_Hong_Kong_From_Activision.php

Gamasutra

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

DeNA reports record sales for seventh straight quarter

Japanese social and mobile gaming firm DeNA generated record sales and operating income for a seventh consecutive quarter during the three months ended June 30. The company reported sales up 43 per cent year-over-year to £276.9 million, operating income up 32 per cent to £126.3 million, and 45 per cent growth in net income to £75.6 million. DeNA said its popular social games network Mobage - which recently launched on the Android Market in English-speaking countries around the world - now has over 30 million users in Japan alone, and that consumer spending on its Moba-coin virtual currency increased nearly 19 per cent over the previous quarter. “We are very pleased to yet again exceed goals as we keep our focus on an aggressive plan,” said DeNA president Isao Moriyasu. “This quarter we are reporting significant steps toward our goal of creating the definitive global social games network.” Last month, DeNa announced the Super Creators initiative, which will see some of Japan's leading development talents including Keiji Inafune, Yuji Naka and Goichi Suda turn their hand to social games.

http://www.dena.jp/en/ir/index.html

DeNA

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Gameloft sales up 15 per cent in first half of 2011

French publisher Gameloft has reported sales of €76.8 million for the first half of calendar 2011, up 15 per cent year-over-year. The firm said the growth was driven by sales in emerging markets and by the success of its smartphone and tablet games, sales of which grew 55 per cent over the previous year. Gameloft plans to launch approximately 20 smartphone and tablet games during the second half of 2011, which it forecast should drive “solid sequential growth in the third and fourth quarters”. In the long-term, the company says it “appears to be in an ideal position to benefit from the rapid emergence of the digital distribution of video games on mobile phones, tablets, social networks, TVs and consoles”. Last September, Gameloft announced that it had achieved over 20 million game sales through the App Store, having released 100 titles since the digital distribution platform’s launch two years earlier. The company was formed in 1999 by the Guillemot family brothers, who are also the founders and owners of Ubisoft.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11205248/1/gameloft--first-half-sales-of-768-million-up-15-smartphone-and-tablet-sales-up-55.html

Press release

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Gameloft sales up 15 per cent in first half of 2011

French publisher Gameloft has reported sales of €76.8 million for the first half of calendar 2011, up 15 per cent year-over-year. The firm said the growth was driven by sales in emerging markets and by the success of its smartphone and tablet games, sales of which grew 55 per cent over the previous year. Gameloft plans to launch approximately 20 smartphone and tablet games during the second half of 2011, which it forecast should drive “solid sequential growth in the third and fourth quarters”. In the long-term, the company says it “appears to be in an ideal position to benefit from the rapid emergence of the digital distribution of video games on mobile phones, tablets, social networks, TVs and consoles”. Last September, Gameloft announced that it had achieved over 20 million game sales through the App Store, having released 100 titles since the digital distribution platform’s launch two years earlier. The company was formed in 1999 by the Guillemot family brothers, who are also the founders and owners of Ubisoft.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11205248/1/gameloft--first-half-sales-of-768-million-up-15-smartphone-and-tablet-sales-up-55.html

Press release

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Japanese and US PSone emulators heading to European PS Store

Sony announces several games are in the works; titles to be published "as is".

Sony has confirmed that NTSC-J and NTSC-U PSone emulators are currently being prepared for release on European PlayStation Stores.

While no dates or titles have yet been confirmed, SCEE PlayStation Store Team member Ross McGrath revealed in a blog post that there are already US and Japanese titles being processed for release in the future.

0

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Namco details controversial save system

Following the news that the upcoming Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions will utilise an undeletable save file in the manner of Capcom's controversial Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D system, Namco has explained how the save game will work but remained tight-lipped over the reasoning behind its inclusion. "There is no way to erase the save from within the game itself without misusing the hardware, causing corruption." the game's QA lead told Shacknews, attempting to mitigate the news by adding: "It takes a very long time to get high scores on all the games to fill up the rankings as each game is a stand-alone title." Even more worryingly, while players will be able to save high scores and share them online, if the same cart is used in a second 3DS, scores may be "double posted." Namco provided Shacknews with a detailed breakdown of exactly how each game in the collection is affected.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/69505/namco-bandai-explains-pac-man-galaga-dimensions-save-schemata

Shacknews

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Xbox 360 The Witcher 2 delayed until 2012

The Xbox 360 version of CD Projekt's The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings has been pushed back to the first quarter of 2012, partly due to the ongoing legal tussle between Namco and THQ over publishing rights. Making the most out of a bad situation, however, CD Projekt has promised to put the additional development time to good use. "The extra time will allow us to polish the title to perfection, so that the game offers an ideally balanced, fantastic experience to gamers," said studio head Adam Kicinski. "As the launch of the game approaches, we will be sharing more details how it will be released on Xbox 360. I trust that despite the release date shift, players will be satisfied with what we are planning for them."

http://www.gamepur.com/news/4794-witcher-2-xbox-360-delayed.html

Gamepur

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

New issue of Edge out today

Introducing E231, featuring the Dark Knight and his descent into the madness of Batman: Arkham City.

Now with subscribers and available at UK newsagents or via Zinio for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac, our latest issue features Batman: Arkham City, Rocksteady's stunning sequel to Arkham Asylum.

0

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Japanese used game retailers slash 3DS prices

Nintendo's recently announced 3DS price drop has prompted some used game retailers in Japan to drop their second hand hardware prices early, despite the official cut - which will see the hardware retail at 15,000 yen instead of 25,000 - not set to occur until August 11. Japanese book, clothes and media retailer Book Off dropped its used price from 23,000 to 14,000 over the weekend while Bic Camera subsidiary Sofmap also adjusted its figures dropping the price from 22,800 to 13,800. Inline with the reductions, buyback prices were also cut, apparently resulting in retailers selling used stock at a loss.

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/07/31/used_3ds_prices/

Andriasang

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Warner Bros. to publish Lollipop Chainsaw outside of Japan

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Kadokawa Games are set to publish Grasshopper Manufacture's cheerleader-starring zombie slayer Lollipop Chainsaw around the world in 2012. The press release reveals that Slither director/writer James Gunn is working with the team to provide his "cult humour and edgy storytelling" to the game. “Our exciting partnership with Kadokawa Games allows us to try something new by bringing a very unique game like Lollipop Chainsaw to Western markets,” said Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president Martin Tremblay. “Grasshopper Manufacture's games have shown tremendous success with gamers around the globe and we are delighted to expand our portfolio of Japanese-developed games.”

http://twitter.com/#!/suda_51/status/97985546080628736

Suda51 Twitter

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Silpheed designer dies aged 45

Silpheed, Gungriffon and Grandia designer Takeshi Miyaji, who founded Gamearts with his brother when he was just 19, has died at the age of 45. G-Mode, the company he founded in 2000, announced that its CEO passed away on July 29 and that Ryu Okoriyama, former CEO of Gaia Holdings, will take his place.

http://eir.eol.co.jp/EIRNavi/DocumentNavigator/ENavigatorBody.aspx?cat=tdnet&sid=907536&code=2333&ln=ja&disp=simple

G-Mode

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Zumba Fitness ten weeks as UK number one

Disney's Cars 2 challenges for the top spot while LA Noire returns to top ten.

505 Games' Zumba Fitness remains at the top of the UK all-formats chart for the seventh week running, a cumulative total of ten weeks spent at number one since the game's release last November.

Disney's Cars 2 has jumped up the chart from eight to number two thanks to a doubling of sales, knocking Ubisoft's Call of Juarex: The Cartel down one place to number three.

Just Dance 2: Extra Songs and LA Noire also saw healthy sales boosts, returning both to the top ten at number four and nine respectively.

0

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Zumba Fitness ten weeks as UK number one

Disney's Cars 2 challenges for the top spot while LA Noire returns to top ten.

505 Games' Zumba Fitness remains at the top of the UK all-formats chart for the seventh week running, a cumulative total of ten weeks spent at number one since the game's release last November.

Disney's Cars 2 has jumped up the chart from eight to number two thanks to a doubling of sales, knocking Ubisoft's Call of Juarex: The Cartel down one place to number three.

Just Dance 2: Extra Songs and LA Noire also saw healthy sales boosts, returning both to the top ten at number four and nine respectively.

0

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Nintendo: 3DS price drop due to Gamecube lessons

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has said that the decision to drop the price of the 3DS so soon was based on lessons learned from the Gamecube, adding that the huge success of Wii and DS has allowed the company to reduce the price and take on greater business risk. The internal feeling at Nintendo, Iwata revealed during Friday's investors meeting, is that the company missed a big opportunity with the Gamecube and doesn't want to repeat past mistakes.

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/08/01/3ds_pricedrop_gamecube/

Andriasang

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Sony provides free Vita dev kits to indie developer

According to Great Little War Game developer Icon Games, Sony provided Vita dev kits to the studio at no cost. Spotted by VG247, a representative from the studio posted on NeoGaf saying: "We showed them our game, they liked it loads and thought it a good fit for their machine, so they sent us four kits. Gratis. Just like that." In a later post he praised the Vita and predicted that Sony's app store would fill up in the same way Apple's App Store has, adding: "Nintendo can learn a lot from [Sony's] attitude." We've asked Sony to provide its official position, and whether this will be a regular occurence in future.

http://www.vg247.com/2011/08/01/sony-handing-out-free-vita-dev-kits-to-indies/

VG247

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Norwegian retailers take COD, WOW off sale following killings

Norwegian retailer Coop Norway has temporarily removed 51 game and toy brands from its shelves following last months bombing and massacre committed by Anders Behring Breivik. The move comes in response to the mention of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and World Of Warcraft in Breivik's manifesto, who wrote: "I see MW2 more as a part of my training-simulation than anything else." Speaking to the Norwegian press, Coop Norway Retail director Geir Inge Stokke said: "The decision to remove the games was made around the time we realised the scope of the attack. Others are better suited than us, to point to the negative effects of games like these. At the moment it's [appropriate] for us to take them down. I wouldn't be surprised if others do the same. We have to think very carefully about when to bring these goods back. The economy involved is of no importance." Other titles removed from sale include Homefront, Sniper Ghost Warrior and Counter-Strike Source. It's important to note that non-game items such as toy guns have also been taken off shelves. We've contacted the publishers involved for comment.

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rogalandsavis.no%2Fnyheter%2Farticle5684654.ece

Rogalandsavis

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

Diablo III will not allow modding

Following Blizzard's decision to make Diablo III online-only and to include a real-world currency auction house, it has revealed - hardly surprisingly - that the game will not allow thirdparty mods. "For a variety of gameplay and security reasons, we will not be supporting bots or mods in Diablo III, and they’ll be expressly prohibited by our terms of use for the game," says Blizzard's FAQ. At the top of the variety of reasons are surely the concerns that mods could disrupt online play and the game's economy.

http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/

Blizzard

via Edge Magazine - Main feed

<< Back Next >>