Codemasters’ Bodycount is shaping up to be a very special kind of shooter. Made by many of the brains behind Criterion’s Black, not to mention veterans of the Medal Of Honor series and the Dirt and Grid series, it speaks primarily in the voice of director Stuart Black. Its E3 demo was an uncompromising affair, squeezing in more of his ideas for a 'pure and focused' FPS than it left out.
Amazon’s German site is carrying a listing for a new Xbox 360 SKU set for release on August 20, slap bang in the middle of trade fair Gamescom.
[Update: New app will only be available during the Summer of Arcade promotion]
Microsoft says there are no plans to launch the new Xbox Live Arcade interface, dubbed Destination Arcade, outside of the States.
“Happy trouble” and arguing is key to any creative endeavour says iPhone publisher founder Alan Yu.
During a Develop panel on trends in iPhone gaming, discussion turned to whether the panellists had signed with publishers for a platform that’s relatively easy on which to self-publish.
GodFinger developer Wonderland says iPhone market is not unique - marketing and PR is crucial to success.
Speaking during a Develop panel discussion about trends in iPhone gaming, Wonderland co-founder Matthew Wiggins, downplayed the notion that the App Store is totally different to any other in the game industry.
“All gaming, from casual to premium, has been or will be disrupted by internet technology,” said InstantAction CEO Louis Castle, kicking off this year’s Evolve conference in Brighton. Castle, co-founder of Command & Conquer creator Westwood Studios and a former vice president of creative development at EA, used his keynote speech to examine the current plight of big-budget videogames, and what developers could learn from social media.
ELSPA director general Michael Rawlinson has been appointed vice chairman of the Alliance Against IP Theft.
The Alliance Against IP Theft is a UK-based coalition of 20 trade and enforcement organisations that share an interest in protecting intellectual property rights. Rawlinson has served as treasurer for two years.
Hello Games has said that it didn’t release race-platformer Joe Danger on Xbox Live Arcade because it views the service as a "slaughterhouse" for small developers.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown has delivered the state's initial written argument in support of a proposed law that would ban the sale of violent games to minors.
Despite being deemed unconstitutional at federal court level, the Supreme Court said in April that it will review the law - signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger five years ago - during its next term beginning in October.
Caris & Co. analyst Sandeep Aggarwal thinks Kinect could bring in $1 billion for Microsoft in its first year on the market.
Ten per cent discount to Edge readers who register for GDC Europe before July 21.
In conjunction with Future Publishing, Edge readers are entitled to a 10 per cent discount off GDC Europe's Main Conference & All Access Pass if purchased before July 21, ahead of the conference's early registration deadline. Edge readers who wish to take advantage of the discount, which cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers, can register here, using the discount code: GDCEDGE10
Game industry analysts have weighed in with sales forecasts for June 2010 ahead of the release of US market data from the NPD Group this Thursday.
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter expects software sales to come in at $575 million, down eight per cent compared to last June’s $627 million. Cowen and Company’s Doug Creutz and Lazard Capital Markets’ Colin Sebastian are less optimistic, forecasting year-on-year declines of 17 and 15 per cent respectively.
Emotion in games is a popular topic right now, but JTroughton thinks we’ve been going about it in the wrong way. Arguably, games most commonly evoke anger or frustration, and there’s no better way to draw those emotions out than by taking away something we’ve worked hard on. This, he feels, is the real reason that the death of Aeris in Final Fantasy VII resonated with players so much.
Citing retail contacts, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson has said that pre-orders for Call Of Duty: Black Ops are tracking ahead of last year’s series entry, the record breaking Modern Warfare 2.
Leading UK games industry trade bodies TIGA and ELSPA have teamed up as part of a renewed push to bring about tax breaks for the UK games industry.
The two bodies have formed a steering committee led by TIGA and consisting of members of each, plus professional advisors in the areas of law, tax and public affairs.
The fifth Develop conference will begin tomorrow, running from July 13–15 at Brighton’s Hilton Metropole.
The event boasts a wide range of keynotes from senior figures at Bioware, Rare and Jagex, among others, plus a UK exclusive Fable III demo from Peter Molyneux and a first public games address from Ed Vaizey, who was appointed Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries in May.
Ubisoft expects to report sales of €160 million (£133.9m / $201.1m) for its first quarter ended June 30, up 93 per cent compared with the €83 million (£69.5m / $104.3m) generated in the same period in 2009.
Final sales figures for the first quarter will be released when the Paris stock exchange closes on July 22. The company says it won’t be holding a conference call following the publication of the results.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said that the company is actively planning to expand its digital distribution business, despite mixed results in the area to date.
Speaking during the firm’s 70th annual general meeting of shareholders late last month, the executive said DS and Wii consumers haven’t been buying as many products online as Nintendo would like.
Government officials from Nova Scotia will head to the UK next week in an attempt to convince game firms to relocate to - or set up business in - the Canadian province.
The move comes after the UK government opted to shelve plans for tax relief for domestic game developers. In contrast, Nova Scotia offers a competitive digital media tax credit that enables qualifying companies to claim 25 per cent of total expenditures.
It's time for you to decide which are the best games of the year by voting in the Golden Joystick Awards.
Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida thinks Microsoft and Nintendo will need to release new consoles before Sony.
Frontier chairman David Braben thinks efforts by the UK games industry to secure tax subsidies haven’t been helped by problematic terms such as tax breaks and tax relief, which he feels can have the undesired effect of coming across as “special pleading” from a needy industry.
We recently caught up with Frontier Developments’ founder and chairman, David Braben, to discuss the UK game development tax breaks situation, the studio’s experience creating Kinectimals for Xbox 360’s upcoming motion sensing peripheral, and whether he thinks 3D gaming is here to stay. We also asked how The Outsider and Elite IV are coming along, but on those subjects he was less forthcoming.
Harry Potter: Years 1-4 remains in top spot while Naughty Bear sneaks in at ninth.
For those confused by the disappearence of the original story, we accidentally posted the wrong chart earlier. Apologies to those who commented on it.
