via bigdownloads:
Gamesindustry.biz is reporting via unnamed sources that Electronic Arts may be publishing a new version of Syndicate, the sci-fi tactical action game that was first released in 1993 via the now defunct Bullfrog Productions.
According to their story, the new Syndicate game is being developed under the code name of Project Redline at developer Starbreeze. The Chronicles of Riddick game developer supposedly has been working on the game since August 2007. However the article states the new Syndicate game is still a long way from completion as Starbreeze is also working with EA on a previously announced game using the Jason Bourne license. EA has not yet officially commented on the report.
That would be sweet
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Reselling digital games?
Via Bigdownloads:
During GDC last week our sister site Joystiq caught up with Stardock CEO Brad Wardell who gave details on how this new system would work. In a nutshell if you wanted to sell your Goo-enabled PC game you would go to Stardock's online Impulse Marketplace and sell off your license to run the game back to the publisher. A buyer could then get that license from the publisher at a cheaper price versus buying the game "new".
The publisher's advantage is that both transactions are under their control; they set the price for purchasing the "used" PC game license and also set the price for reselling it to someone else and pocket that money for themselves rather than see it go to a game retailer like Gamestop. Goo is set to launch next week and Stardock has said they will announce which publishers will use the system "soon".
Kind of a cool idea.
During GDC last week our sister site Joystiq caught up with Stardock CEO Brad Wardell who gave details on how this new system would work. In a nutshell if you wanted to sell your Goo-enabled PC game you would go to Stardock's online Impulse Marketplace and sell off your license to run the game back to the publisher. A buyer could then get that license from the publisher at a cheaper price versus buying the game "new".
The publisher's advantage is that both transactions are under their control; they set the price for purchasing the "used" PC game license and also set the price for reselling it to someone else and pocket that money for themselves rather than see it go to a game retailer like Gamestop. Goo is set to launch next week and Stardock has said they will announce which publishers will use the system "soon".
Kind of a cool idea.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Steams attempts to make DRM obsolete
Today Valve announced a number of new features it will be adding to its Steamworks game development suite saying its efforts make "DRM obsolete."
New features such as what they are calling the Custom Executable Generation technology. Valve says their program "makes unique copies of games for each user allowing them to access the application on multiple machines without install limits and without having to install root kits on their PC." Steamworks is offered to game developers at no cost.
I guess Stardock is doing something similar, a few months ago they started offering a service that lets developers use impulse servers to authenticate their games, but without having to install the impulse client.
Good for both of them, DRM is useless
New features such as what they are calling the Custom Executable Generation technology. Valve says their program "makes unique copies of games for each user allowing them to access the application on multiple machines without install limits and without having to install root kits on their PC." Steamworks is offered to game developers at no cost.
I guess Stardock is doing something similar, a few months ago they started offering a service that lets developers use impulse servers to authenticate their games, but without having to install the impulse client.
Good for both of them, DRM is useless
Monday, March 23, 2009
Battlestar Galactica Spinoff
I am a big fan of the new Battlestar Galactica series. I even bought every season except for the last one. Good sci fi shows are few and far between, and I think the sci fi channel took an awful show and made a real gem out of it.
Anyway, I was sad to see it go, but apparently there will soon be a spinoff called Caprica, which will predate the first series, showing the creation of the cylons. Here is a snippet on the sci fi channel:
"Caprica would take place more than half a century before the events that play out in Battlestar Galactica. The people of the Twelve Colonies are at peace and living in a society not unlike our own, but where high technology has changed the lives of virtually everyone for the better.
But a startling breakthrough in robotics is about to occur, one that will bring to life the age-old dream of marrying artificial intelligence with a mechanical body to create the first living robot: a Cylon. Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the Battlestar Galactica), Caprica will weave together corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television's first science fiction family saga, the channel announced."
Anyway, I was sad to see it go, but apparently there will soon be a spinoff called Caprica, which will predate the first series, showing the creation of the cylons. Here is a snippet on the sci fi channel:
"Caprica would take place more than half a century before the events that play out in Battlestar Galactica. The people of the Twelve Colonies are at peace and living in a society not unlike our own, but where high technology has changed the lives of virtually everyone for the better.
But a startling breakthrough in robotics is about to occur, one that will bring to life the age-old dream of marrying artificial intelligence with a mechanical body to create the first living robot: a Cylon. Following the lives of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas (the family of William Adama, who will one day become the commander of the Battlestar Galactica), Caprica will weave together corporate intrigue, techno-action and sexual politics into television's first science fiction family saga, the channel announced."
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Big Huge Oops
Big Huge Games, the studio behind the Rise of Nations series, is facing an uncertain future, as THQ has announced it will shut the developer down if the publisher can't sell it.
THQ informed the staff at its Big Huge Games studio in Timonium, MD, that it plans to close the studio if a sale is not completed in the near future. These actions were unfortunate but were necessitated by the difficult economic environment."
Normally, I would feel bad, as both rise of nations and rise of legends were great strategy games. Also the studio had picked up the lead developer of Oblivion to help work on a new RPG title for release in 2009. However since rise of Legends was released in 2006 and their are no details on their "up and coming" RPG, what did they think was going to happen? It gets even worse when you read the job benefits on their site.
401(k) plan
Paid vacation, sick leave, personal days and holidays
Comprehensive health insurance plan for you and your dependents
Employer funded life insurance and disability coverage
Pool table
Ping pong table
Full-size bar (modeled after a local Irish Pub)
Arcade machine (100's of classics installed)
Free drinks (sodas, tea, and freshly ground coffee via three fancy latte machines)
Biometric hand-scanner (Physical office keys? That's so twentieth century.)
Console gaming area (PS3, 360, and Wii)
Continuously updated Game Library stocked with 100's of titles available for borrow anytime
150 gallon saltwater aquarium
Reminds me of Brad Wardell talking about why game developers fail. programmers are not rock stars, and they have to make money like everyone else.
THQ informed the staff at its Big Huge Games studio in Timonium, MD, that it plans to close the studio if a sale is not completed in the near future. These actions were unfortunate but were necessitated by the difficult economic environment."
Normally, I would feel bad, as both rise of nations and rise of legends were great strategy games. Also the studio had picked up the lead developer of Oblivion to help work on a new RPG title for release in 2009. However since rise of Legends was released in 2006 and their are no details on their "up and coming" RPG, what did they think was going to happen? It gets even worse when you read the job benefits on their site.
401(k) plan
Paid vacation, sick leave, personal days and holidays
Comprehensive health insurance plan for you and your dependents
Employer funded life insurance and disability coverage
Pool table
Ping pong table
Full-size bar (modeled after a local Irish Pub)
Arcade machine (100's of classics installed)
Free drinks (sodas, tea, and freshly ground coffee via three fancy latte machines)
Biometric hand-scanner (Physical office keys? That's so twentieth century.)
Console gaming area (PS3, 360, and Wii)
Continuously updated Game Library stocked with 100's of titles available for borrow anytime
150 gallon saltwater aquarium
Reminds me of Brad Wardell talking about why game developers fail. programmers are not rock stars, and they have to make money like everyone else.
Spin offs and Alliance Dew
We appear to be seeing a fairly large fallout from Ensemble Studios as a result of their being shut down by Microsoft. Thus far, ex employees have formed Robot Entertainment and Bonfire Studios, which the latest addition being Windstorm Studios. While you might think that the former developers of the Age of Empires and Age of Mythology series might focus on RTS games, my bet is that their will be more “groundbreaking MMO’s” I’m not sure how many times we can break ground on a new massively multiplayer game, but apparently there are some unbroken areas somewhere. Seeing as almost all of these games wont last 2 years, I think they should change there announcement format:
“Breakwind Studios will soon announce an online game unlike anything you've ever seen, built on a questionable foundation of broken ground”
And now we have accuracy.
On a side note, taken via bigdownloads:
World of Warcraft has slowly but surely entered into the mainstream of entertainment and very soon the MMO title from Blizzard will be getting an unusual marketing gimmick; World of Warcraft-based flavors for Mountain Dew.
The game's official web site has posted up word that beginning later this summer, people will be able to purchase either Alliance Blue (wild fruit flavor) or Horde Red (citrus cherry flavor) in stores for a limited time only. This isn't the first time the soft drink company has released a game-related version. It teamed up with Microsoft to release a Halo 3-version of Mountain Dew in 2007.
“Breakwind Studios will soon announce an online game unlike anything you've ever seen, built on a questionable foundation of broken ground”
And now we have accuracy.
On a side note, taken via bigdownloads:
World of Warcraft has slowly but surely entered into the mainstream of entertainment and very soon the MMO title from Blizzard will be getting an unusual marketing gimmick; World of Warcraft-based flavors for Mountain Dew.
The game's official web site has posted up word that beginning later this summer, people will be able to purchase either Alliance Blue (wild fruit flavor) or Horde Red (citrus cherry flavor) in stores for a limited time only. This isn't the first time the soft drink company has released a game-related version. It teamed up with Microsoft to release a Halo 3-version of Mountain Dew in 2007.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Happy Birthday Everquest
10 years ago today Verant Interactive, now known as Sony Entertainment Online, launched a litttle game called Everquest, which really paved the way for virtually every MMO to follow. That being said, I would like to give a shoutout to all of the overweight 40 year olds who still insist it is the best MMO ever. Celebrate with pride, but dont forget to take out the garbage. After all, your mother lets you live there for free.
Koreans really love Blizzard
Im stealing this from bigdownloads, who stole it from someone else:
With the current economic situation you would think that there would be less money to pay professional gamers. Not in Korea. According to Sk-gaming.com, Warcraft III gamer Jae Ho 'Moon' Jang (the guy in the Star Trek outfit) just signed a new contract for a new team that gives him a whopping $486,500 for three years.
That amount is the higher ever for a Warcraft III gamer and the second highest given for any gamer in Korea. The number is topped only by Yoon Yeoi "NaDa" Lee. The Starcraft pro player signed a three year $521,250 contract back in 2007.
No kidding, Blizzard Entertainment has its own industry in South Korea. Blizzard employees are advised to never wear clothing with their company logo on it for fear of being mobbed.
I could totally kick that kids ass
Friday, March 6, 2009
Sins, Demigod, Brad Wardell and Stardock
Ive been looking over some of the recently released and up and coming games that are being published by Stardock, and there are some really impressive titles. For those of you who don't stop by often, I have frequently talked about the publisher/developer relationship and how it makes it very difficult for developers to survive.
To that end, Brad Wardell could be one of the most important people in pc gaming today. Though Stardock is small compared to Activision/Blizzard or the upcoming Square Enix/Eidos (yes, that merger is going through) they put a considerable effort into what they publish. Along with things like the Gamers Bill of rights and their digital distribution service Impulse, Wardell wowed the industry buy publishing Sins of a Solar Empire and selling 600,000 copies on a budget of one million dollars, 100,000 of those being delivered via Impulse. This allowed him to develop a better long term relationship with his clients, along with Ironclad Studios getting a far better deal than the 9% cut that EA would have offered.
This attracted the attention of Chris Taylor, a veteran developer and the CEO of Gas Powered Games, who broke with Activision and went with Stardock for his upcoming rpg/rts title Demigod. He actually wanted to shift all of his business over, but Stardocks infrastructure couldn't handle all 3 of his titles at once. If enough developers start seeking options likes this, hopefully larger publishers will begin to re-examine their approach.
Anyway, I did want to mention a couple of games:
Ironclad Studios did a fantastic job on Sins of a Solar Empire, a space based empire builing real time strategy game. With truly stunning graphics, excellent gameplay and a game that is scalable (based on map size) to last either hours or as short as twenty minutes. It also won several games sites Game of the Year award. I mention this because they just released an expansion called Entrenchment, which is exclusively available through Impulse for a price of $10, a welcome change in itself. Anyway, here is a video with actual in game footage. Yes, it really looks like this.
I also wanted to mention show off Demigod, which is coming out next month. Here is a description taken via their site:
"Demigod is a real-time, tactical strategy game that includes extensive role-playing elements. Choose from several Demigods, each poised for battle with their own unique capabilities and awe-inspiring powers. Vanquish other would-be gods as you gain levels, increase in power, unlock the power of mystic artifacts and slowly battle your way closer to joining the Pantheon."
To that end, Brad Wardell could be one of the most important people in pc gaming today. Though Stardock is small compared to Activision/Blizzard or the upcoming Square Enix/Eidos (yes, that merger is going through) they put a considerable effort into what they publish. Along with things like the Gamers Bill of rights and their digital distribution service Impulse, Wardell wowed the industry buy publishing Sins of a Solar Empire and selling 600,000 copies on a budget of one million dollars, 100,000 of those being delivered via Impulse. This allowed him to develop a better long term relationship with his clients, along with Ironclad Studios getting a far better deal than the 9% cut that EA would have offered.
This attracted the attention of Chris Taylor, a veteran developer and the CEO of Gas Powered Games, who broke with Activision and went with Stardock for his upcoming rpg/rts title Demigod. He actually wanted to shift all of his business over, but Stardocks infrastructure couldn't handle all 3 of his titles at once. If enough developers start seeking options likes this, hopefully larger publishers will begin to re-examine their approach.
Anyway, I did want to mention a couple of games:
Ironclad Studios did a fantastic job on Sins of a Solar Empire, a space based empire builing real time strategy game. With truly stunning graphics, excellent gameplay and a game that is scalable (based on map size) to last either hours or as short as twenty minutes. It also won several games sites Game of the Year award. I mention this because they just released an expansion called Entrenchment, which is exclusively available through Impulse for a price of $10, a welcome change in itself. Anyway, here is a video with actual in game footage. Yes, it really looks like this.
I also wanted to mention show off Demigod, which is coming out next month. Here is a description taken via their site:
"Demigod is a real-time, tactical strategy game that includes extensive role-playing elements. Choose from several Demigods, each poised for battle with their own unique capabilities and awe-inspiring powers. Vanquish other would-be gods as you gain levels, increase in power, unlock the power of mystic artifacts and slowly battle your way closer to joining the Pantheon."
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Left 4 Dead Content Update
Via Bigdownloads:
We are starting to learn more about the first major content update for Left 4 Dead, Valve's hit zombie co-op themed shooter. A new preview over at IGN reveals that there will actually be only one totally new level in the update, which will be one of the 12 maps in the new Survival mode.
The new Lighthouse map is described as a fairly open level with not a lot of places to hide from all of the zombies that will come after you and your three teammates. As we have reported before Survival mode will have you taking on an endless stream of zombies with medals and leaderboards to compare your survival times with friends. The 11 other Survival maps are taken from the game's previous levels. Also the update adds the Versus mode to the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns. Valve plans to release the DLC free for PC owners sometime before April 21 (that's when a new retail version of the game that includes the new updates will be released).
We are starting to learn more about the first major content update for Left 4 Dead, Valve's hit zombie co-op themed shooter. A new preview over at IGN reveals that there will actually be only one totally new level in the update, which will be one of the 12 maps in the new Survival mode.
The new Lighthouse map is described as a fairly open level with not a lot of places to hide from all of the zombies that will come after you and your three teammates. As we have reported before Survival mode will have you taking on an endless stream of zombies with medals and leaderboards to compare your survival times with friends. The 11 other Survival maps are taken from the game's previous levels. Also the update adds the Versus mode to the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns. Valve plans to release the DLC free for PC owners sometime before April 21 (that's when a new retail version of the game that includes the new updates will be released).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)