Headline RePLAY – 5.29.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The rumored Castlevania: Mirror of Fate is revealed to be a Lords of Shadow title, Hideo Kojima’s role in the next Zone of the Enders game and more on the Star Wars: The Old Republic layoffs.

New details by Go Nintendo today confirm rumors of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate as an actual title for the 3DS in addition to being made from MercurySteam, the studio responsible for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

Mirror of Fate was rumored to be revealed at this year’s E3, but was instead exposed by the June 2012 edition of Nintendo Power.

According to details gathered by Go Nintendo, Mirror of Fate involves iconic vampire-slayer Trevor Belmont who fights with the Lords of Shadow introduced “combat cross” weapon. The combat is also reminiscent of the action-based Lords of Shadow gameplay with the use of light and shadow magic, secondary weapons and combos.

No word on an alleged second character or the use of the 3DS’ cameras as a gameplay mechanic, however.

|Source: Go Nintendo

Hideo Kojima may have unveiled a new Zone of the Enders project to the fanfare of fans last week, but Twitter reveals that he will be making little contribution to the game.

According to Kotaku, while Kojima is the producer of the project, he won’t be writing, designing or directing it—those duties will be handled by Kojima Productions staff.

Kojima is instead hard at work on “Project Ogre” and consequently is only be able to offer his support for the next Z.O.E title.

|Source: Kotaku

Following layoffs that hit the Star Wars: The Old Republic, associate lead designer Emmanuel Lushinchi brands MMOs as the “toughest part of the industry” and insists his team is still one of the “biggest in the industry.”

“The MMO is the toughest part of the game industry without a doubt and we live in tough economic times in general,” Lushinchi told PC Gamer. “On a personal level it’s quite difficult to have people that you’ve been working with for a long time that you know personally, you go to their barbecue and you meet their families and it’s never easy. I doubt it’d be easy in any industry for anyone, but it happens.”

“We have a very large development team still, definitely one of the biggest in the industry,” he maintains, “and we have a very complete and detailed plan for the rest of the year.”

|Source: GamesIndustry International

Headline RePLAY – 2.23.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Sony wants to sell half a million PS Vitas, Blizzard is pondering F2P for a new game and Kojima Productions heads West.

Skepticism is running rampant about the handheld market, but like its Nintendo counterpart Sony refuses to believe the market doesn’t have room for the PS Vita. Despite predictions by analysts, Sony is reaching for half a million PS Vitas sales in the next three weeks.

Jack Tretton, U.S. PlayStation CEO, told Reuters that he would “be very pleased” to sell half a million in the U.S. within the next three weeks. “The target consumer is a PS3 owner, and there’s 60 million of those out there. He’s also male and his early 20s.”

Tretton went on to say that gamers will be attracted to the interchangeability between a PlayStation 3 and the PS Vita and noted how that could not be done on a smartphone. “On a tablet or smartphone, you notice the limits right away with the controls or lack of depth in a game,” Tretton added.  

Analysts are not convinced of the PS Vita’s viability. “It’s going to be challenging for devices like the Vita to survive on their own,” said Steve Perlman, founder of OnLive. He cited the advent of the Long Term Evolution high-speed mobile network and higher-performance gadgets as issues for the handheld.

“It almost feels like Sony designed a product for a world where smartphones and tablets don’t exist,” said Michael Gartenberg, director of Gartner Research. “You have to wonder how big of a misstep this may be for Sony, and does this mark the last of these types of devices.”

*Source: Reuters

2011 was the year where developers like Sony Online Entertainment and Valve embraced the free-to-play revolution— and it looks like Blizzard wants in on the action. An unnamed source told Develop that Blizzard will be implementing a F2P model for an upcoming, unannounced title.

Blizzard has both experimented and referenced the F2P model before: first by letting new World of Warcraft players play free up to level 20 and secondly by discussing it during BlizzCon 2011.  

“It certainly is possible, if we find ourselves in that circumstance, or if we come up with a game where we think that’s the right business model, the most appropriate for players to experience it,” said Blizzard COO Paul Sams.

“We don’t have any opposition to the concept [F2P], it’s just that at this point we haven’t decided to make a game where that is the model. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t.”

*Source: Develop

Kojima Productions is moving West, a senior producer confirmed after Konami released a job listing for the latest Metal Gear Solid title advertising for both Japan and California locales.

“Yes, we plan to open a studio in CA,” said Kenichiro Imaizumi, Kojima Productions’ senior producer. “IF we can find the right people.”

Konami will be at GDC next month with its own booth (#1914) to speak with people that are interested in the open positions.

*Source: Develop