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November 10, 2011

Bethesda admits PC development is a "headache"

Bethesda Softworks has admitted that developing for the PC is a "headache" compared to consoles due to differing hardware configurations and the threat of piracy hampering sales. The PC version of the recently released Rage, developed by Id Software and published by Bethesda, was beset with issues at launch, requiring a post-launch patch to fix driver-related bugs and add advanced graphics options. At the time, Id co-founder John Carmack admitted: "Half our PC customers got a product that basically didn't work."
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/11/09/bethesdas-pete-hines-on-skyrim-sports-and-specialization/
Joystiq

Bethesda Softworks has admitted that developing for the PC is a "headache" compared to consoles due to differing user hardware configurations and the threat of piracy hampering sales.

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Super Mario 3D Land review

A handheld confection of the Mario series' best ideas.

You can read this review in full in our print edition.

Issue 234, which is out now, features full reviews and Post Script articles on the season's biggest games, including The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Batman: Arkham City, Dark Souls and Rage.

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Amazon touts game lineup as Kindle Fire launch nears

Amazon is promising that "several thousand" apps and games will be available for its Kindle Fire tablet when it launches in the US next week. The company has tested the apps in question on the Kindle Fire, which runs on a modified version of Google's Android operating system. Available through its controversial download service Amazon Appstore, the launch lineup includes games from the likes of EA, PopCap, Gameloft and Zynga.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1628440&highlight=
Amazon

Amazon is promising that "several thousand" apps and games will be available for its Kindle Fire tablet when it launches in the US next week.

The company has tested the apps in question on the Kindle Fire, which runs on a modified version of Google's Android operating system. Available through its controversial download service Amazon Appstore, the launch lineup includes games from the likes of EA, PopCap, Gameloft and Zynga.

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McNamara: Inexperience partly to blame for Team Bondi troubles

"We literally took people fresh out of school who had never made a game before."

LA Noire's protracted development and the subsequent furore over working conditions at Team Bondi are partly down to the inexperience of the studio's staff, Brendan McNamara says, with the studio "literally [taking] people fresh out of school who had never made a game before."

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Fils-Aime regrets 3DS software lineup

Nintendo Of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has admitted that the 3DS has struggled due to its lack of quality software and the belated arrival of the eShop download store, and said that the company has learned valuable lessons ahead of the Wii U's launch next year.
http://jogos.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/2011/11/01/em-visita-ao-brasil-presidente-da-nintendo-diz-que-empresa-tem-plenas-chances-de-liderar-o-mercado-local.htm
UOL Jogos

Nintendo Of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has admitted that the 3DS has struggled due to its lack of quality software and the belated arrival of the eShop download store, and said that the company has learned valuable lessons ahead of the Wii U's launch next year.

Speaking to Brazilian website UOL Jogos, Fils-Aime said: "The launch of 3DS was very interesting: it caused a great impression at E3 in 2010, had excellent pre-orders and sold more in the first week of release than any other handheld. So, we had many successes with the 3DS.

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Mario 3D Land boosts 3DS sales in Japan

Japanese 3DS hardware sales jumped over 100 per cent in the first week of November as Super Mario 3D Land cruised to the top of the software chart.

Japanese 3DS hardware sales jumped over 100 per cent in the first week of November as Super Mario 3D Land cruised to the top of the software chart.

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November 09, 2011

Android app rental service launches

Casual gaming company WildTangent has released an app that enables users to rent games for Android devices. The WildTangent Games App is now available worldwide, and as well as offering rentals can also be used to discover and play free casual games, as well as purchase paid titles. Purchases and rentals are made using the company's virtual currency, WildCoins.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/38467/WildTangent_Launches_Android_App_Rental_Service.php
Gamasutra

Casual gaming company WildTangent has released an app that enables users to rent games for Android devices.

The WildTangent Games App is now available worldwide, and as well as offering rentals can also be used to discover and play free casual games, as well as purchase paid titles. Purchases and rentals are made using the company's virtual currency, WildCoins.

While the app is currently only available in English, it already boasts a strong catalogue of games, including Doodle Jump, Fruit Ninja, and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

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Nvidia launches Tegra 3

Nvidia has launched its Tegra 3 processor, which boasts better graphics performance and lower power consumption than its predecessor, and makes console-quality graphics possible on mobile devices. Tegra 3 offers three times the graphics performance, and a reduction of 61 per cent in battery consumption, compared to Tegra 2. The key technology is the patent-pending Variable Symmetric Multiprocessing, which offloads low-consumption processes to a fifth "companion" core of the processor, shutting down the four high-performance cores entirely.
http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/tegra-3-20111109-uk.html
Nvidia

Nvidia has launched its Tegra 3 processor, which boasts better graphics performance and lower power consumption than its predecessor, and makes console-quality graphics possible on mobile devices.

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Atlus to publish Game Of Thrones RPG

Atlus has picked up the US publishing rights to the upcoming RPG based on George R R Martin's Game Of Thrones. USA Today reports that the RPG, under development at Cyanide for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, is due next year.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/story/2011-11-07/game-of-thrones/51116740/1
USA Today

Atlus has picked up the US publishing rights to the upcoming RPG based on George R R Martin's A Game Of Thrones.

USA Today reports that the RPG, under development at Cyanide for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, is due next year. Last month studio director Yves Bordeleau said that Cyanide had struck a licensing deal with HBO that would allow it to use some assets and character designs from the hit TV series, with some of the show's actors signed up for voice work.

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Sales down, losses up as Take-Two delays XCOM

Take-Two was hit with a loss of $47.37 million (£29.5 million) in the three months to September 30, as sales more than halved year on year. Net revenue fell 56.3 per cent to $107 million, which the publisher pinned on a quiet quarter for new releases compared to last year, when Mafia II and Civilization V, and Red Dead Redemption's long sales tail, boosted revenues.

Take-Two was hit with a loss of $47.37 million (£29.5 million) in the three months to September 30, as sales more than halved year on year.

Net revenue fell 56.3 per cent to $107 million, which the publisher pinned on a quiet quarter for new releases compared to last year, when Mafia II and Civilization V, and Red Dead Redemption's long sales tail, boosted revenues. This time last year it posted a slender profit of $3.3 million (£2 million).

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Report: Nintendo working on dual-controller Wii U support

Nintendo is hard at work on adding support for multiple controllers to Wii U, according to reports. Sources close to Develop claim that supporting two of the Wii U tablet-style controllers is one of three things Nintendo is working on as it moves towards finalising the new console's specs ahead of its launch next year. RAM and processor speed are said to be the other concerns.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/39077/Nintendo-working-on-Wii-U-support-for-two-tablets
Develop

Nintendo is hard at work on adding support for multiple controllers to Wii U, according to reports.

Sources close to Develop claim that supporting two of the Wii U tablet-style controllers is one of three things Nintendo is working on as it moves towards finalising the new console's specs ahead of its launch next year. RAM and processor speed are said to be the other concerns.

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BurgerTime World Tour review

This 'retro evolution' of the arcade classic lacks special sauce.

The first sign of trouble in BurgerTime World Tour is the presence of a navigation marker directing you to the next burger. Though MonkeyPaw is keen to describe its game as "retro evolution", rather than a remake of the 1982 original, the fact remains that Data East's arcade classic balanced its few ingredients perfectly, while World Tour piles them so high it's difficult to consume.

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Newzoo: Free-to-play here to stay

Market research firm Newzoo has shown in a new report that the free-to-play MMOG model is increasing in popularity around the world. In the US, free-to-play will account for 47 per cent of the $2.6 billion Newzoo predicts will be spent on MMOGs. Last year, that figure was just 39 per cent.

Market research firm Newzoo has shown in a new report that the free-to-play MMOG model is increasing in popularity around the world.

In the US, free-to-play will account for 47 per cent of the $2.6 billion Newzoo predicts will be spent on MMOGs in 2011. Last year, that figure was just 39 per cent.

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Japan: 3DS hardware outsells software two to one

The 3DS was the best-selling system in Japan last month, with 304,000 units sold, but its continuing lack of quality to software was reflected in software sales of 122,000 - just 40 per cent of the hardware figure.
http://andriasang.com/comywq/
Andriasang

The 3DS was the best-selling system in Japan last month, with 304,000 units sold, but its continuing lack of quality to software was reflected in software sales of 122,000 - just 40 per cent of the hardware figure.

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Adobe ceases mobile Flash development

Adobe is ceasing development of Flash for mobile browsers, and will instead focus on native apps and HTML5 after apparently giving up in its attempt to create a stable version of its technology on portable devices.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/exclusive-adobe-ceases-development-on-mobile-browser-flash-refocuses-efforts-on-html5/19226
ZDNet

Adobe is ceasing development of Flash for mobile browsers, and will instead focus on native apps and HTML5 after apparently giving up in its attempt to create a stable version of its technology on portable devices.

In an email sent to its partners passed to ZDNet, the company writes: "Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe Air for all the major app stores.

"We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device cofigurations."

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Going indie in China

Ant Hive Games, developer of The Line, tells us about the challenge of being an indie developer in big-business Shanghai.

Despite an increasing number of western developers turning to China’s rapidly expanding game market and labour pool it remains notoriously difficult to break into. Companies like CCP, EA and Epic Games all have studios there working on high-profile western releases while China’s native, predominantly large, factory-like studios are burdened with a reputation for cloning successful games.

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Going indie in China

Ant Hive Games, developer of The Line, tells us about the challenge of being an indie developer in big-business Shanghai.

Despite an increasing number of western developers turning to China’s rapidly expanding game market and labour pool it remains notoriously difficult to break into. Companies like CCP, EA and Epic Games all have studios there working on high-profile western releases while China’s native, predominantly large, factory-like studios are burdened with a reputation for cloning successful games.

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Fallout Online dispute rumbles on

The dispute between Bethesda and Interplay over the proposed Fallout MMOG continues, with Bethesda's legal team accused of deliberately delaying communications with Interplay's as a jury trial rapidly approaches.

The dispute between Bethesda and Interplay over the proposed Fallout MMOG continues, with Bethesda's legal team accused of deliberately delaying communications with Interplay's as a jury trial rapidly approaches.

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Ubisoft makes savings and shrinks losses

Ubisoft posted a loss of €37.1 million (£32 million) for the six months ending September 30 despite making savings across the board. The loss is a significant improvement on last year's €89.8 million, the publisher's balance sheet showing reductions in R&D, cost of sales and administrative expenses to deliver better-than-expected results despite a slight drop in sales revenue, which fell 4.6 per cent to €248.5 million (£213 million).

Ubisoft posted a loss of €37.1 million (£32 million) for the six months ending September 30 despite making savings across the board.

The loss is a significant improvement on last year's €89.8 million, the publisher's balance sheet showing reductions in R&D, cost of sales and administrative expenses to deliver better-than-expected results despite a slight drop in sales revenue, which fell 4.6 per cent to €248.5 million (£213 million).

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Revenue and profits up at Activision

Activision has released a positive set of financial results for the three months to September 30, beating internal forecasts with sales and profits up thanks to a rise in digital revenue.

Activision Blizzard has released a positive set of financial results for the three months to September 30, beating its internal forecasts with sales and profits up thanks to a rise in digital revenue.

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November 08, 2011

Ubisoft: 3DS recovery depends on games, not price

CEO Yves Guillemot calls price cut "a big boost" but says success "will depend eventually on software."

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has told us that, while the global price cut gave the 3DS price cut "a big boost," its chance of success ultimately depends on the availability, and quality, of software.

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Ubisoft: 3DS recovery depends on games, not price

CEO Yves Guillemot calls price cut "a big boost" but says success "will depend eventually on software."

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has told us that, while the global price cut gave the 3DS price cut "a big boost," its chance of success ultimately depends on the availability, and quality, of software.

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Now recruiting on Edge Jobs

Find your future at Funcom, Crytek or core x group.

Funcom, the independent developer and publisher behind games such as Age Of Conan and Dreamfall, is looking to fill a number of vacancies in Montreal, Canada. Among the listed jobs is a C++ programmer, a senior rendering programmer and a data analyst to work with its MMOGs.

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PC Batman: Arkham City delayed again

The PC version of Batman: Arkham City has again been delayed, and will miss its revised release date by a week, publisher Warner Bros has confirmed.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/08/arkham-city-pc-release-date/
Rock Paper Shotgun

The PC version of Batman: Arkham City has again been delayed, and will miss its revised release date by a week, publisher Warner Bros has confirmed.

According to Rock Paper Shotgun, Arkham City will now be released on November 25, not November 18 as previously hoped.


Follow Edge Jobs on Facebook or Twitter

To accompany our industry-leading job board, we've now created individual Facebook pages and Twitter feeds that provide up-to-the-minute updates on every job listed in programming, art, production, QA, marketing and many other disciplines.

To accompany our industry-leading job board, we've now created individual Facebook pages and Twitter feeds that provide up-to-the-minute updates on every job listed in programming, art, production, QA, marketing and many other disciplines.

They will be updated along with our job board, allowing you to stay abreast of all of the available positions in your chosen specialities.

Click on the links below to like or follow the feeds which are most relevant to you.

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