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Today in Gaming - 2/1/11
Date: 01 February 2011
Other news highlights from today:
Among the tidal wave of financial information Electronic Arts released today was a very interesting tidbit about its upcoming Star Wars MMO. There have been plenty of reports about how much money is being spent on The Old Republic's development. During a conference call, EA revealed just how many subscribers would be needed to turn a profit on the game once it's released. It's not the sort of detail we often hear, which is part of what makes it so interesting.
Yakuza Director Announces Binary Domain
Date: 29 November 2010
According to Nagoshi, Binary Domain will be a science-fictiony game involving robots, with most of the gameplay centered around online combat. The game is being produced with the international marketplace in mind, but the game itself takes place in Tokyo circa 2080, and Nagoshi was quick to point out that the game does not mean he's turning his back on Japan's gamers.
Gameplay details were extremely scant in the interview, sadly. Nagoshi stated that Binary Domain is his shot at making online gaming as fun as possible, with enemy AI that's more complex than anything his studio has attempted before and gameplay that emphasizes teamwork between characters. The visuals accompanying the article were mostly cutscene shots and the like, but one gameplay-like scene showed action from a third-person shooter perspective, not unlike what Nagoshi and crew are doing with Ryu ga Gotoku Of The End.
In an interview printed in this week's edition of Famitsu magazine, Toshihiro Nagoshi -- the world-renowned director of the Yakuza series for Sega -- gave the first word on the new game his studio's working on. It's called Binary Domain, it's being made for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and apparently it's a bit of a change of pace for the game producer.
EA Exec Claims "Movie-Game Business is Falling Apart"
Date: 29 November 2010
Speaking in an interview with Develop, Gibeau explained the motivation behind dropping the James Bond license: "We dumped that licence because we felt like we needed to own more intellectual property, and we don't like where James Bond is going with all the creative limitations on it. The percentage royalties you have to pay the licensors are going the wrong way for publishers. The margins are being squeezed. And, to top it all off, the movie-game business is falling apart.
"Considering the total amount of money we have to spend on those types of James Bond games, and the total amount of man-hours we had to put into them, we thought, 'Hell, let's work on our own IP.' The guys who made James Bond games for us, well yeah, they went on and made Dead Space.
Thirty Six Percent of Mass Effect 2 Players Went Renegade, BioWare Reveals
Date: 24 November 2010
The new data, which will influence the development of the sequel, also reveals that the Soldier class is the most popular at 65 percent, 10 percent of players never released the Krogran Grunt and 36 percent preferred the Renegade path.
This isn't the first time that BioWare has released Mass Effect 2 stats. Back in September, producer Casey Hudson revealed that players take an average of 33 hours to complete the game, among other stats.
Tron Evolution Launching with Free DLC
Date: 24 November 2010
The free launch DLC will include the multiplayer maps Codestream Nexus and User's Plaza along with a Sam Flynn skin. The update brings the total number of maps to six. The game itself is a third-person action game with RPG elements. And yes, it will include light cycle races.
Survey Reveals Why Videogame Buyers Choose New Over Used
Date: 24 November 2010
Analyst Doug Creutz said in response to that popular answer (via Gamasutra), "We suspect there is a behavioral psychology factor at work, where gamers have an easier time justifying the higher price of a new game if they expect to get more use/value out of it, even though the utility of new vs. used on that basis isn't any different."
The survey polled 1,300 people, with 1,001 of those being gamers.
The gigantic used videogames market has become a major issue in the industry. GameStop in particular is making a tremendous amount of money off of used games as various publishers do what they can to incentivize gamers to purchase new copies of games instead of used ones. Analyst group Cowen and Company conducted a survey trying to find out what exactly motivates individuals to purchase new copies as opposed to used ones, with 70% of respondents claiming they will buy a new game "if they plan on playing it for a long time."
Chevalier Saga Tactics Hits PS3
Date: 23 November 2010
Among the games Imageepoch has up its sleeve is apparently Chevalier Saga Tactics, a PlayStation Network title and the first one the studio's developed for a hi-definition platform. Set in a traditional medieval European tableau, the game has you taking the role of a knight pressed into service after invaders rob the prince you serve of most of his territory. You job: create a force, attack the enemy, and get your land back.
Imageepoch is promising two different game modes in Chevalier: a singleplayer "SRPG mode" where you give individual orders to each of your soldiers, and a "large-scale combat mode" where you team up with other people online to direct a much vaster force on the battlefield. The units at your disposal run the gamut from fighters to knights, wizards, and other typical RPG jobs.
NBA Elite 11 'Was Going to Be a Bad Game,' Says EA
Date: 22 November 2010
EA Sports set out to do something different with basketball games in NBA Elite 11. Rather than the fairly standard control scheme that both the NBA 2K and Live series have used for quite some time, Elite 11 was to map movement with your feet to the left stick, while the right stick would control your hands. The idea was to provide players with more control over the game than you could get with movement on a single analog stick. But following the release of a demo, it became apparent that the game simply wasn't up to par on many levels, and initially it was announced that the game had been delayed before being outright canceled.
Wilson explained, "We're proud that we made the choice to not just put something out there that wasn't good."
It's always refreshing when someone in the games industry is honest about a failed project. Very often we get canned, PR-crafted responses to questions that offer little-to-no insight into the behind-the-scenes happenings of the industry. That's not at all what we got from EA Sports' worldwide development senior VP, Andrew Wilson. Discussing the decision to cancel NBA Elite 11, he told IGN, "Ultimately, it was just going to be a bad game."
Duke Nukem Forever Delays Weren't "a Quest for Perfection"
Date: 20 November 2010
"I wish there was an easy or dramatic answer for what took so long but there just isn't," Broussard said in an interview with Maximum PC (via VG247). "It was just never ready. We had lots of development issues along the way. It wasn't a quest for perfection as some silly article in Wired implied last year." Broussard is referring to this Wired report, which suggested Broussard's quest for perfectionism was partly to blame for Duke Nukem Forever's seemingly endless development. However, despite Broussard dismissing Wired's report (which he didn't comment for at the time), the rest of his explanation seems to gel with other information in Wired's article, including setbacks due to Duke Nukem Forever being switched to a constant series of new game engines.
BioWare Teases New Game Again, Mass Effect 3 Suggested
Date: 19 November 2010
Besides a very short teaser video (which is where the teaser image came from), BioWare has now released several binary codes which have been deciphered (via Eurogamer). The first turned out to be the number 55.845, which translates to the atomic weight of iron. The second could be read as -128.5 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth. The temperature was measured in Vostok, Antartica. Vostok, as noted by Eurogamer, is also the name of a system in the Mass Effect series.
A third image has been posted on BioWare's Facebook today, with that one pointing to the homepage of MI6 (via G4tv), which any James Bond fan will know is the British Secret Intelligence Service. The previous two clues seemed to possibly (although not definitely) point towards a new Mass Effect game, but this latest one seems to suggest otherwise.
Rockin' Android Releasing Qlione Evolve on PS3
Date: 19 November 2010
Originally released for PC, Qlione and its sequel are 2D shooter that take place in "liquid space." It may remind PS3 owners of the watery puzzle game Flow, with geometric shapes similar to those found in the likes of Tempest.
The bundle is Qlione Evolve, and will be available December 7.
Look Out Kinect, Here Comes i-dong
Date: 19 November 2010
Developed by Taishan Online Technology Co Ltd., the i-dong (as reported by Tech-On!) is not a new console but, rather, a peripheral that can be used with other devices, such as PCs and set-top boxes.
New PS3 Cheat Device Coming to Japan
Date: 19 November 2010
Listed as "coming this winter", the new Code Freak will include cheats for "over 50 titles" like Final Fantasy XIII and Demon's Souls. New codes can be downloaded from the Cybergadget homepage via free PC software.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Sets New Five-Day Entertainment Sales Record
Date: 18 November 2010
In addition, the game set two new records on Xbox Live. Launch day saw 5.9 million multiplayer hours logged, and 2.6 million users logged on to play simultaneously. Whatever next year's Call of Duty installment may bring, the team has their work cut out for them. "There are many reasons for the success of Black Ops, but first and foremost is the fact that our team at Treyarch delivered a truly awesome game, and in the process have established themselves as one of the most talented developers in the world," said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg in the press release. "There are millions of people all over the world engaging in this community. It's our job to keep them coming back for more."
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean Coming Spring, 2011
Date: 18 November 2010
Simply called LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, the title will feature Captain Jack Sparrow and "other familiar characters" (you know, the characters never particularly beloved enough for people to bother remembering their names). As with previous LEGO games like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean will feature storylines from the three previous movies, as well as the upcoming fourth movie, On Stranger Tides. "The action-packed world of Pirates of the Caribbean is a perfect fit for LEGO video games," said Tom Stone, managing director of TT Games Publishing. "With so many wonderful characters, in such amazing environments, our teams are having great fun -- and we're sure that players will, too."
Homefront Confirmed for March 8 Release Date
Date: 17 November 2010
Word that the game will be arriving in March was released on THQ's official Facebook page. It was originally scheduled for February, but was pushed back slightly along with Red Faction.
Homefront's story revolves around the invasion of the United States by North Korea. We got a new look at it earlier this month.
First Fallout: New Vegas DLC Dated For December 21 on 360
Date: 17 November 2010
Entitled Dead Money, you'll work with three other people to try and find the "legendary treasure" of the Sierra Madre Casino. It's promised to have new enemies, choices, and areas to explore. That sounds somewhat interesting, but regardless of your interest level, you may not want to begin holding your breath if you own New Vegas on PC or PlayStation 3. As was previously announced, the DLC is currently being presented as an Xbox 360 exclusive. Fallout 3's DLC was released at the same time on both PC and Xbox 360, although an important distinction is that Fallout 3 used Microsoft's Games for Windows Live service, and not Steamworks, as Fallout: New Vegas does. The PlayStation 3 DLC came months later, but it did come. Hopefully this is a timed exclusive and Fallout: New Vegas will follow a similar pattern of releasing DLC on other platforms at a later date, as getting the DLC late is certainly better than not getting it at all.
Final Fantasy XIV Extending Trial Period Once Again
Date: 16 November 2010
The move allows players who create a character by November 19 to play for an additional 30 days. In a statement, Square Enix said the extension was designed to keep customers playing while they fix the game's stability and performance issues.
"We are adamant that [players] should be given the opportunity to experience these changes firsthand before deciding to fully commit to the game," the company said.
Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed Coming from EA
Date: 16 November 2010
This announcement confirms previous leaks that suggested a Need for Speed: Shift sequel was in the works. New additions to the racing follow-up include the Autolog social network that debuted with Hot Pursuit, as well as a totally revamped engine featuring "authentic degradation of tracks and cars." Original Shift developer Slightly Mad Studios will be returning for the sequel, which EA hopes to have in stores sometime in the spring of next year. Expect more details here on 1UP well before then.
Diablo III Coming to Consoles [Updated]
Date: 15 November 2010
According to the company's Jobs Directory (as discovered by Gamasutra), Blizzard is currently looking to fill lead designer, lead programmer, and senior producer roles very specifically for a console version of Diablo III.
