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August 01, 2011

Paid DLC coming to 3DS and Wii U

Though Nintendo remains wary of "low quality" items and free-to-play.

Nintendo is currently preparing paid item transactions for games on 3DS and Wii U, the system set to be available to 3DS developers by the end of the year. The revelation came on Friday, during a Tokyo earnings briefing chaired by company CEO Satoru Iwata.

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Controversial new features revealed for Diablo III

Blizzard's forthcoming action RPG will be online-only and will include a real-world currency auction house. Blizzard will take fixed flat fees for listings and sales, though players will get a number of free listings each week. "It came from the standpoint of watching the players from Diablo II and WOW and seeing there was a demand for this, and that was something players wanted," explains game director Jay Wilson. "If they want it so bad that they’re willing to leave the game, go to some other website, risk being banned, risk credit card fraud, account compromise – that’s a lot of risk, and that means that’s a lot of demand that players have." For a full explanation by Blizzard game design lead Rob Pardo and Wilson, read our feature at the link below.
http://www.next-gen.biz/features/diablo-iii-will-feature-real-world-currency-auction-house
Edge


Diablo III's real-world currency auction house

Blizzard design lead Rob Pardo explains controversial new features.

At a press event for Diablo III held last week, Rob Pardo, Blizzard’s vice president of game design, unveiled two new – and potentially controversial – elements of the forthcoming dungeon-crawler. Diablo III will require an internet connection in order to work, and will also feature real-world money trading via an in-client auction house.

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Diablo III's real-world currency auction house

Blizzard design lead Rob Pardo explains controversial new features.

At a press event for Diablo III held last week, Rob Pardo, Blizzard’s vice president of game design, unveiled two new – and potentially controversial – elements of the forthcoming dungeon-crawler. Diablo III will require an internet connection in order to work, and will also feature real-world money trading via an in-client auction house.

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July 30, 2011

News round-up July 25-30

3DS and Nintendo take a tumble and crunch bites - another week in video game news.

Monday

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July 29, 2011

Opinion: Levelling up in Tiny Tower

The iOS skyscraper builder shows old-school RPGs new free-to-play tricks, says Jason Killingsworth.

“And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it. And each one said to his neighbour: Come let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar: And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.” (Genesis 11:2-4)

“Time is money.” (Proverb)

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Heroes Of Newerth goes free-to-play

S2 Games' fantasy MMOG becomes the latest to switch to the free-to-play model, but the firm has gone to great lengths to ensure that existing players don't feel short-changed and newcomers don't feel intimidated. A new, three-tier system sees users split into Basic, Verified and Legacy accounts according to length of membership and time played, with PC Gamer noting that Verified Only matchmaking should avoid the problems experienced when Team Fortress 2 switched to free-to-play last month, by keeping newcomers and old hands apart.
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/29/heroes-of-newerth-goes-free-to-play/
PC Gamer


Dodonpachi Resurrection set for Europe

Cave's bullet-hell shooter was released in the west on iOS devices, but the Xbox 360 version, released in Japan last November, was not expected to follow. Rising Star Games has now announced plans to localise and release the game in Europe this autumn, but there's no word on a North American release.
http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/07/dodonpachi_resurrection_coming.php
Game Set Watch


Iwata takes 50 per cent pay cut

The Nintendo president told a shareholder meeting today that he was taking responsibility for sluggish 3DS sales, and as such would be drawing a drastically reduced salary. He said: "For cuts in fixed salaries, I'm taking a fifty per cent cut, other representative directors are taking a 30 per cent cut, and other executives are taking a 20 per cent cut." Iwata's previous salary was around $2 million.
http://kotaku.com/5825872/nintendo-president-takes-blame-for-3ds-getting-50-percent-pay-cut
Kotaku


Sega posts quarterly loss

For the three months to June 30, Sega Sammy's net sales revenue dropped 28.5 per cent year on year to ¥65.33 billion (£514.9 million). Having posted a profit this time last year of ¥7.03 billion (£55.4 million), the last quarter saw the firm hit with a loss of ¥2.22 billion (£17 million). Its game division saw sales drop 22.3 per cent to ¥16.2 billion (£127.7 million).
http://www.segasammy.co.jp/english/pdf/release/20110729_tanshin_e.pdf
Sega


The Friday Game: Radical Fishing

Another indie curio finds itself cloned before it can get itself to market - this time Vlambeer's ultraviolent angle 'em up.

You’ve probably played Radical Fishing by now. I hadn’t until this week, however, and that was stupid of me, as it’s brilliant.

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Report: Vita CPU manufactured by Samsung

Andriasang brings word from Japanese trade paper Semiconductor Industry News that the CPU in Sony's upcoming PSP successor, PlayStation Vita, will be manufactured by Samsung. The processor will be made using a 45nm process, which uses far less power and should help the powerful handheld's battery life.
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/07/29/samsung_vita_cpu/
Andriasang


Catherine review

Though often frustrating, it's hard not to fall in love with Atlus' bizarre tale.

Catherine is at its core a game about the nature of love, commitment and what ‘forever’ means when it’s past time to grow up. On the surface, however, it’s about choosing between two beautiful women – featuring the shabby sort of protagonist that always seems to end up with that particular double-edged dilemma.

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Minecraft trial added to Humble Indie Bundle

The third pay-what-you-want indie promotion, which launched earlier this week, is rapidly closing in on $750,000 in revenue, and that looks set to climb even further now that the five-game bundle also includes a free trial of Minecraft. Those who buy the bundle will have free access to the game until August 14, as well as Mac, Windows and Linux-compatible, DRM-free copies of Crayon Physics Deluxe, Cogs, VVVVVV, Hammerfight and And Yet It Moves.
http://www.humblebundle.com/
Humble Indie Bundle


Riccitiello: EA seeing "poor returns" on 3D

Speaking at EA's annual shareholder meeting yesterday, CEO John Riccitiello said the publisher saw little demand for 3D gaming. "We have not seen a big uptake," he said. "We have not seen a big uptake in 3D TVs in the home [either]. We are not here trying to drive a market. We are here to react to what customers want." Instead, Riccitiello sees the next big thing as mobile and social gaming, which is no surprise following the acquisition of PopCap and its intent for its digital business to be worth a billion dollars a year. "We really see high returns in these markets," he said, "and very poor returns focusing on 3D, so we are allocating our resources toward new innovations."
http://venturebeat.com/2011/07/28/ea-chief-stereoscopic-3d-gaming-is-a-dud-so-far/
VentureBeat


Yamauchi hit as Nintendo stock plummets

While the immediate impact on Nintendo's share price following its poor financial results and announcement of a 3DS price drop was minimal - with shares ending yesterday up 0.1 per cent - today's trading has painted a markedly different picture of investor confidence in Nintendo. Bloomberg reports that at the end of Osaka trading today Nintendo's stock had fallen 12 per cent, to ¥12,290 per share, its biggest drop in a single day since January 2009. Former company president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who stepped down in 2002, was among the hardest hit: he owns 10 per cent of the company, and the day's trading means he has lost some ¥24.2 billion (£190.7 million).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-29/nintendo-s-yamauchi-loses-500-million-in-single-day-after-plunge-in-stock.html
Bloomberg


Cave working on Windows Phone 7

In a post on its development blog - translated by Andriasang - Cave development head Makoto Asada reveals that the developer is at work on a shooter for Windows Phone 7. The iOS ports of Cave's bullet-hell shooters have been well received, but WP7 users may be in for a wait: Asada says the game, which is an original title and not a port, is only 20 to 30 per cent complete.
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/07/28/cave_wp7/
Andriasang


FIFA 11 back on top of Nordic chart

Ageing football game back at number one in chart combining sales data from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

Electronic Arts' ageing football title FIFA 11 is back on top of the Nordic chart, as last week's number one, LA Noire, slips seven places to eighth.

Harsh winters mean the domestic football leagues are still in full swing in the Nordic territories, and that combined with a budget re-release sees FIFA return to the summit despite the release of the next game in the series, FIFA 12, being only two months away.

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Ubisoft: our PC DRM works

The publisher once again got on the wrong side of PC gamers this week when it was revealed that the PC version of the upcoming Driver San Francisco requires a constant internet connection. Speaking to our friends at PC Gamer, an Ubisoft representative said the end justified the means, with the publisher seeing "a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success."
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/28/ubisoft-our-drm-is-a-success/
PC Gamer


3DS sold at a loss after price drop

A report by Bloomberg Japan, translated by Andriasang, claims that Nintendo will be incurring a loss on sales of 3DS hardware following the announcement yesterday of a global price drop for the struggling system. At an Osaka press conference, company president Satoru Iwata said the move was necessary to improve fiscal performance. The cut - 40 per cent in Japan, and a third in the US and Europe - came in the wake of Nintendo's latest financial results, which revealed a drop in sales revenue of over 50 per cent. The immediate impact on Nintendo's share price appears minimal: its stock ended yesterday at ¥14,000 per share, up 0.1 per cent.
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/07/29/3ds_losses/
Andriasang


July 28, 2011

Setting out in Skyrim

We take our first steps in the epic world of Elder Scrolls V.

The mountain known as The Throat of the World stands before us. It fills our vision – snow-coated escarpments, fog-smothered peaks and black claws of rock so massive, so tall, that the eye cannot absorb it in one go. It looks fierce, deadly and cold – and just looking at it, even from the bucolic haven of the valley below, we can already imagine the hiss and wail of wind, the oppressive, driving ice that will greet us as we journey to its top. And we will go there – up its 7,000 steps, through its frigid passes and over treacherous gale-blown ridges.

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Capcom mobile profits rise 360 per cent

Publisher's profits climb thanks to hugely profitable mobile division.

Capcom has released its financial results for the three months to June 30, which show a sharp rise in profits, despite falling sales revenue, thanks in large part to its growing mobile division.

Net sales totalled ¥11.9 billion (£93.86 million) for the quarter, a drop year on year of 37.2 per cent, but profits rose 58.2 per cent to ¥338 million (£2.6 million).

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Capcom mobile profits rise 360 per cent

Publisher's profits climb thanks to hugely profitable mobile division.

Capcom has released its financial results for the three months to June 30, which show a sharp rise in profits, despite falling sales revenue, thanks in large part to its growing mobile division.

Net sales totalled ¥11.9 billion (£93.86 million) for the quarter, a drop year on year of 37.2 per cent, but profits rose 58.2 per cent to ¥338 million (£2.6 million).

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Nokia's Ovi store tops 7 million daily downloads

The Finnish mobile firm has had a fairly miserable run of fortune - culminating in the publication last week of financial results which showed a quarterly loss of €487 million - it at last has some good news to report. Downloads from its Ovi store, which hosts apps that run on its Symbian OS, recently hit 7.62 million in a single day, beating the firm's previous record by 840,000. India appears to be behind much of that growth, with download volumes trebling.
http://www.developer.nokia.com/Community/Blogs/blog/nokia-developer-news/2011/07/26/ovi-store-tops-7-million-daily-downloads
Nokia


Activision announces indie contest winners

In a press release, the publishing giant has announced the first winners of its Independent Games Competition. Dstroyd, developed by Peter Angstadt, took first place and $175,000 in cash, while Engient's Rigonauts: Broadside took second place and $75,000. Any independent US game is eligible for the next round of the competition, with Activision pledging a total of $500,000 in development support to the lucky winners. Activision's Dave Stohl said: "The first round of the competition was very impressive, and we have thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to show our commitment to supporting the creative spirit and innovation of independent developers."
http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=594349
Activision


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