cloudberrynine posted a photo:
not quite so good as seeing the real thing up close but interesting nonetheless. some other really great google earth links on gearthhacks.com
cloudberrynine posted a photo:
3D model by der Uhlenbusch
Casual game company PlayFirst, whose portfolio includes Diner Dash, is under new management.
Mari Baker will be replacing company co-founder John Welch as CEO. Welch has been a highly-visible proponent of casual and online social gaming. There's word on where he is headed.
In addition, PlayFirst announced that Jim Wandrey joined the company in late 2008 as CFO.
Baker has over 20 years experience in consumer technology, according to a press statement, working with companies such as Quicken and BabyCenter where she held top positions.
THQ wants to get back on track, and it's counting on innovation, laser-like product focus and quality to make that happen, according to chief exec Brian Farrell.
The Agoura Hills, Calif.-based publisher has encountered its share of difficulties lately, recently announcing a headcount reduction of 600 workers, or 24 percent of its global workforce. The company currently employs over 1,000 people.
Now the company is eyeing profitability in the next year.
THQ's unique paint-splattering Wii game de Blob has sold over 700K units worldwide, CEO Brian Farrell said on Tuesday during the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco.
Even in a wretched retail environment, the game has been able to hold its original $49.99 price point after about five months of availability. “We can make money on games like that," Farrell said.
A BBC report is calling a bond buying blunder involving Street Fighter maker Capcom one of the biggest mistakes ever on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
A UBS Security Japan employee this week attempted to buy 30 million yen ($306K) of bonds in Capcom, but due to a supposed computer glitch, ordered 3 trillion yen's worth ($31 billion) instead.
The order was relatively easy to cancel as it was an after-hours electronic order, analysts said. UBS denied that the mistake was human error.
Nintendo of America says it has an upcoming software lineup that "demonstrates gaming diversity."
The company released a 120-game roster across the Wii and DS that includes newly-announced Excitebots: Trick Racing, which is due April 20, Punch-Out!!!, due May 18 and a few GameCube "Wii-makes" that are due in the coming months, among other titles.
DS covers a wide variety of genres with games like Trackmania, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, Rhythm Heaven and Nintendo's Personal Trainer: Walking.
It’s quite striking to put into perspective how far LostWinds has travelled in recent times.
Inspired by little more than a window-scene of foliage being thrown around on a windy afternoon, Frontier Developments’ Steve Burgess struck an idea for a game where the power of wind could be manipulated by the Wii Remote.
Frontier Developments was one of the mystery parties that had declared an interest in buying Free Radical, Edge can reveal.
Yet Frontier founder David Braben explains that “there was an issue” which made the Cambridge-based outfit pull out of discussions to acquire the fallen developer.
The following article is an abridged version taken from the latest issue of Edge. The full feature can be found in issue 199, which is on sale now in the UK and is already in the hands of UK and North American subscribers.
UK games industry charity GamesAid has today announced that it has raised over £125,000 since October 2008.
British publisher and developer Codemasters had individually raised over £100,000 of that number, from sales of Colin McRae: DIRT, while media network Eurogamer added another £16,000 to that figure.
The Entertainment Software Association is currently revising its membership fees policy.
The group's announcement follows revelations that it had spiked its membership fees by nearly 1700% in the past two years, quite possibly being the reason why several publishers - from Activision to LucasArts - have recently left the association.
Nintendo has released an image of its new Wii controller, dubbed Classic Pro.
The image above, released onto Nintendo's own website, shows what essentially looks like a bulky classic controller with additional prongs, together resembling the GameCube controller layout or even Microsoft's own Controller S.
In late 2006, Sega created some positive buzz when it said it would be publishing an RPG that married the Aliens movie franchise with Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights 2 developer Obsidian Entertainment.
But after recent rumored layoffs at Obsidian, and Sega's cryptic proclamation earlier this month that it has "strategically updated the release of the other upcoming Aliens titles currently in development," the publisher effectively threw a wet blanket on Aliens RPG expectations.
Acclaim's David Perry says there's a new PSP in the works, one that ditches the UMD drive.
A somewhat unlikely source for such a rumor, Perry is chief creative officer for Acclaim, which focuses on free-to-play online PC games. But, he told Kotaku, he has insider knowledge. "I spoke to a developer who is working on [a UMD-less PSP] right now. I know this developer is already working on it, so that means they have a prototype. That would sound like a fall release to me."
Facebook game developer Playfish only launched its first game, Who Has The Biggest Brain?, just before Christmas 2007. But it has already generated 43m users across its six Flash-based casual games, with 21m playing within the last month.
Another Wii exercise game is entering the fray via a partnership between French publisher Ubisoft and Gold's Gym.
Gold's Gym: Cardio Workout is a Wii-exclusive workout game that is slated for release on March 31 in North America. It's licensed by Rocket Co., and is the first Gold's Gym-branded videogame.
"It is a natural extension of our brand and is in line with our mission to get more people around the world excited about exercise and fitness," said Lisa Zoellner, chief marketing officer of Gold's Gym International.
Sega of America and Sega Europe have partnered with Madrid-based developer Pyro Studios, the maker of 1998's Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, to develop a licensed game based on the upcoming Sony Pictures animated film Planet 51.
The release, a mission-based driving game, is set to appear on Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 and DS this winter. The movie debuts November 20.
Robert Ferrari has done orcs, wizards and barbarians. Now he's tackling a new challenge: Hello Kitty.
Ferrari, former VP of business development at Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine, is now VP of publishing and business development for Sanrio Digital, where he will assemble a U.S. team and forge partnerships for Hello Kitty Online and "other initiatives in virtual worlds, gaming and social networks on PC, console and handheld platforms," according to a statement.
The beta for id Software's free web-based Quake Live has opened to the public, but gamers can expect a very long wait to get their hands on the shooter.
In 2008, the UK games market managed to overtake Japan for the first time in history.
While retailers in the UK were no doubt overjoyed with the blossoming British market, in Japan there is a growing belief that the nation is losing its relevance in the global games market.
House of the Dead: Overkill
Sega
Headstrong Games
Wii
US Release: Out Now
UK Release: Out Now
Screenshot Gallery
Square Enix has elaborated on its interest in Britsoft publisher Eidos, citing key franchises and major development studios.
In the publisher's fiscal report, the Japanese giant cites four series under its title of “Major Franchises”: Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Kane and Lynch as well as Hitman.
