We speak to series producer Katsuhiro Harada about turning Tag into a franchise after 12 years away.
“White hat” hacker finds security hole, informs developer who patches exploit inside two hours.
A hacker helped Trion Worlds, developer of the recently released MMOG Rift, fix a security exploit that put thousands of accounts at risk.
Rift has been the subject of numerous cases of account theft since its release at the beginning of this month. ManWitDaPlan, who describes himself as a “white hat”, or ethical hacker, was one of the victims and so set about identifying the exploit.
Days after securing $42 million investment, Angry Birds developer eyeing Nasdaq IPO within “the next few years”.
Angry Birds developer Rovio is preparing for an initial public offering on the US stock market, according to reports.
Mikael Hed, CEO, told Bloomberg the Finnish firm was hoping to issue a Nasdaq IPO within “the next few years.”
BioWare RPG goes straight in at number one in its first week on sale.
Dragon Age II is the new Nordic all-formats number one.
BioWare’s sequel is the week’s only new entry, knocking last week’s chart-topper, Pokémon White, down into third behind Call Of Duty: Black Ops.
Staff at Santa Monica office at work on “something that matches the North American market well.”
Japanese publisher Level-5 is developing games at its US office.
In an interview with Nikkei Trendy, translated by Andriasang, CEO Akihiro Hino revealed that Level-5’s Santa Monica office, opened last June, was not set up merely to publish the firm’s Japanese games in the States: it is at work on games of its own.
Hacker logs in to PS3, loads and controls Killzone 3 using Xbox 360 motion sensor.
A hacker has taken homebrew Kinect development to its logical conclusion: using the Xbox 360 motion sensor to control a PlayStation 3.
PSGroove reports that the hacker, Shantanu Goel, has hacked Kinect to function as a PS3 controller, releasing the below video which shows him logging into his PS3 profile, launching Killzone 3 and controlling it using hand movements.
Straight in at the top after just days on sale; Dragon Age II drops back, Black Ops nowhere to be seen.
THQ's Homefront is the new UK all-formats number one.
The Kaos Studios-developed shooter, which tells of a band of US resistance fighters seeing off an occupying Korean force, is the week’s highest new entry, knocking last week’s number one, Dragon Age II, back into second spot.
Donate up to €20 to the British Red Cross through PlayStation Network.
Sony has launched a fundraising drive for the Tohoku earthquake relief effort, enabling users to donate through its online service, PlayStation Network.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, SCEE president Andrew House points users towards the Japan Tsunami Appeal banner on the PSN front page, from where they can donate €2, €5, €10 or €20.
Natural disasters, iPad 2's launch and PS3s in schools - the key stories from a week in the game industry.
At least five components manufactured in Japan, prompting fears of worldwide stock shortage.
The planned UK launch of Apple’s iPad 2 next Friday could be delayed due to manufacturing complications arising from last week’s Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Three-part series on Abertay University contest in which 15 teams develop from concept to prototype in 10 weeks.
Channel 4 is to screen a three-part documentary series about the University of Abertay’s Dare To Be Digital competition.
The documentary, Crunchtime, has been produced by independent studio Headlight Pictures. It chronicles the latest Dare To Be Digital, in which 15 teams from all over the world developed games from concept to prototype in just 10 weeks.
“We have 10 times as much horsepower as an Xbox 360 or PS3...yet games don’t look ten times as good.”
Hardware firm AMD has said that cumbersome APIs like Direct X are holding back PC games from their true potential.
The manufacturer’s GPU worldwide developer relations manager Richard Huddy believes that Microsoft’s DirectX, introduced to help ensure games run on a wide variety of hardware, is hindering developers as much as it helps them.
Upgrades server capacity and patches numerous problems with PS3 multiplayer; PC, 360 updates on the way.
THQ has released a patch addressing connectivity problems with the multiplayer component of its new shooter Homefront.
A patch was released yesterday evening for the PlayStation 3 version of the game, which tells the story of a band of US resistance fighters striking back against an occupying Korean force. Xbox 360 and PC patches are also in the works, but PS3 users have experienced the most problems.
Format: Flash
Developer: Droqen
N?na, Ha?e F?aith is wonderful, atmospheric, inventive and yet strangely traditional. It’s clever and frightening by turns, it’s as tightly-wound as a pocket watch, and it was built from scratch in under a week as part of the Game Prototype Challenge.
Manipulating images using hand gestures saves up to an hour per procedure, surgeon says.
Surgeons at a Toronto hospital are using Microsoft’s Xbox 360 motion sensor Kinect to save time calling up images during operations.
The Winnipeg Free Press reports that surgeons at Sunnybrook Hospital are using open-source Kinect drivers for PC to allow them to manipulate images of medical scans – something which normally involves a meticulous cleanup operation to ensure sterility around the patient, taking around 20 minutes each time.
Format: 360, PC, PS3
Release: April 18 (US), April 22 (EU)
Publisher: EA / Valve
Developer: Valve Software
Screenshot gallery
Firm wants to work with independent developers but not part-timers, says Reggie.
Nintendo Of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that the firm is not interested in doing business with hobbyist, or “garage” developers.
Speaking to Gamasutra, Fils-Aime reiterated previous comments, echoed by Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, that the recent surge in popularity of “disposable” smartphone software has not affected Nintendo’s strategy.
Thom Dinsdale considers the expectations that genre instills in players.
Genre is a remarkably useful concept. It helps us immeasurably with the task of classifying and organising swells of stuff into groups and clusters. It introduces and reinforces conventional ways of thinking that are mutually understood for everyone concerned: people who make games; the people who play them; and the people, the publishers and marketers who mediate between the two.
Thom Dinsdale considers the expectations that genre instills in players.
Genre is a remarkably useful concept. It helps us immeasurably with the task of classifying and organising swells of stuff into groups and clusters. It introduces and reinforces conventional ways of thinking that are mutually understood for everyone concerned: people who make games; the people who play them; and the people, the publishers and marketers who mediate between the two.
Justifies Halo: Reach’s £49.99 price, saying service offers “24/7 convenience and selection.”
Microsoft has moved to defend the pricing structure of Games on Demand, emphasising the “convenience and selection” offered by its Xbox 360 download service.
“Minecraft is a complete work of genius...the best thing I’ve played in the last ten years.”
Peter Molyneux says that Markus “Notch” Persson’s indie smash Minecraft is the best thing he’s played in the last ten years.
Speaking to IGN after accepting his BAFTA fellowship at a London ceremony on Wednesday night, Molyneux was full of praise for Persson’s game, which has been downloaded more than 1.4 million times despite still being in beta.
NES beat-em-up / RPG returning later this year with original team handling development.
A sequel to much-loved 1989 NES game River City Ransom is in development.
River City Ransom 2 is under development by Japanese studio Miracle Kidz, and will be released for consoles this year and as a PC online game in 2012, according to Andriasang.
Connectivity issues see PS3 multiplayer demo removed “to ensure final product is flawless at launch.”
EA has taken down the PlayStation 3 multiplayer demo of upcoming shooter Crysis 2 after numerous players experienced connectivity issues.
In a statement on its website the publisher said that it was “closing” the demo, which only launched on PlayStation Network on Tuesday, to ensure all issues were ironed out in time for Crysis 2’s retail release next week.
Publisher looking at new premises in Canada as next generation “will demand more attention and staff.”
Square Enix intends to open a second Canadian studio as it “prepares” for the release of new consoles.
The publisher is in negotiations with the Quebec authorities to open a second studio in the region, either in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal, where Square Enix already has a presence in the form of Eidos Montreal.
Noted Hollywood composer returns to videogame composing two years after Modern Warfare 2.
Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer has been revealed as the man behind the music in Crytek’s upcoming shooter Crysis 2.
In a film career spanning three decades Zimmer has provided the music for the likes of Inception, Rain Man, True Romance and The Last Emperor, for which he won an Oscar. He worked on his first videogame in 2009, co-producing the score for Activision’s Modern Warfare 2.