Apple has tweaked the pricing of software available on the iOS App Store and, while good news for those in Australia and Japan, UK prices have risen as a result.
The move, reported by MacRumors, reflects recent changes in exchange rates relative to the US dollar and sees the lowest-priced apps on the UK App Store - previously 59p - rise to 69p. Those for sale at the second-lowest price point, £1.19, now cost £1.49.
LA Noire debuted atop the Japanese software chart during the week ended July 10, selling 58,436 copies in what was a successful period for new games.
Newly released western developed titles also took the next three places on the chart. PS3 exclusive Infamous 2 entered at number two with 33,474 units sold, ahead of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Earth Defence Force Insect Armageddon, which shifted 30,189 and 17,817 copies respectively.
It could only have been EA, of course. Early reports said that Zynga had bowed out of the reckoning, balking at an asking price that ended up in a deal that last night became clear was worth $750 million. Besides, PopCap's surely too big for Zynga to absorb into its fleshy sides. No other gaming company has the heft and the ambition to even think about taking PopCap in.
Videogames have always found it easier to explore the joy of destruction than the joy of creation. It’s a fact hard-coded into Red Faction: Armageddon’s control scheme. One button is allocated to repairing the world around you. Squeeze it and protagonist Darius Mason will extend his hand, wizard-like, while broken bridges, smashed computer terminals and fallen walls reassemble themselves before him. By contrast, almost every other button on the controller is used to tear down the world that Volition has created for Mason to exist in.
Videogames have always found it easier to explore the joy of destruction than the joy of creation. It’s a fact hard-coded into Red Faction: Armageddon’s control scheme. One button is allocated to repairing the world around you. Squeeze it and protagonist Darius Mason will extend his hand, wizard-like, while broken bridges, smashed computer terminals and fallen walls reassemble themselves before him. By contrast, almost every other button on the controller is used to tear down the world that Volition has created for Mason to exist in.
Sony has announced that it is to invest $20 million in PlayStation Network exclusives over the next three years.
The investment, revealed this afternoon on the PlayStation Blog, will be shared among internal Sony studios as well as independents as part of Sony's Pub Fund initiative.
Future Publishing is offering up to 45 per cent off subscriptions to its range of gaming magazines. Titles included in the post-E3 summer sale include PC Gamer, GamesMaster, NGamer and, of course, the newly redesigned Edge.
If you choose to subscribe to Edge, you'll receive the equivalent of six issues for free, all delivered to your door, and pay just £8.94 every three months.
Good games are created through playtesting. These are not my words but those of legendary game designer Jesse Schell, as stated in his excellent book, The Art of Game Design. He goes even further by saying that playtesting is not only good for a game, it’s necessary in order to make a good game.
Good games are created through playtesting. These are not my words but those of legendary game designer Jesse Schell, as stated in his excellent book, The Art of Game Design. He goes even further by saying that playtesting is not only good for a game, it’s necessary in order to make a good game.
A group of researchers have developed a computer system that learns how to play Civilization, using only the game's manual and onscreen feedback to develop a strategy that saw it win 79 per cent of its games - a development which could greatly aid the videogame AI design process.
This is the first in our three-part series of articles on Absolution. Here's our second, an examination of IO's more controversial introductions to the series, and our third on the challenges of building AI for stealth games.