Headline RePLAY – 6.1.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: A new Star Wars video game series by LucasArts, the sequel to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and the studio behind the anime opening of Zone of the Enders HD Collection.

                

Bringing together the talents of Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. and Skywalker Sound, LucasArts announced the collaborative effort of Star Wars 1313, a new Star Wars video game franchise that is to be showcased at this year’s E3.

“Named for Level 1313, a ruthless criminal underground deep below the surface of the planet of Coruscant, the game puts players in control of a deadly bounty hunter as he uses an arsenal of exotic weaponry to hunt down his marks and uncover the truth surrounding a criminal conspiracy. Star Wars 1313 emphasizes epic set pieces and fast-paced combat with a hero who uses human skills and gadgets, rather than supernatural Force powers, to make his way through this dangerous world.”

“We’re excited to share one of the projects LucasArts has been hard at work developing,” said LucasArts president Paul Meegan. “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part of the Star Wars mythos that we’ve always known existed, but never had a chance to visit. We are committed to bringing the best gameplay experience and visual fidelity to life and I truly believe the work we are showcasing at E3 will speak for itself.”

|Source: GameTrailers

Konami has revealed the sequel to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow as… well, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. The publisher has recently launched an announcement trailer and website prior to E3 that reveals that Gabriel Belmont, the protagonist of the first entry, is returning as a central character once more—as Dracula.

Undoubtedly this will confuse many who never played the first game through completion, but suffice to say, Gabriel is now the dark lord and is out to reclaim his powers to find “release from his immortal bonds.” Adding to the reversal of roles, he must also face the famed Belmont clan, the family of vampire-slayers that were the heroes of original Castlevania timeline.

No release date has been announced.

|Source: Konami

Hideo Kojima’s Zone of the Enders series can arguably be compared to Sunrise’s Mobile Suit Gundam anime series with their reluctant pilots, the people of space vs. people of Earth themes and giant mecha combat. It is fitting then that Sunrise is the one that is behind the new anime opening for Zone of the Enders HD Collection.

The almost 6 minute video can be seen in the video above, and it just begs for another Zone of the Enders anime series.

Zone of the Enders HD Collection is set for launch this fall.

|Source: Siliconera

Headline RePLAY – 5.24.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Only a minority of players were affected by the Diablo III hacks, details on Castlevania’s rumored reveal at E3 and GameStop’s annual Expo conference opens up to the public.

In an update to the Diablo III community, Blizzard assured fans today that Battle.net and Diablo III servers have not been compromised by hackers and only an “extremely small” number of players have been affected.

“First and foremost, we want to make it clear that the Battle.net and Diablo III servers have not been compromised,” wrote Blizzard Community Manager Danielle “Nethaera” Vanderlip. “In addition, the number of Diablo III players who’ve contacted customer service to report a potential compromise of their personal account has been extremely small.

“In all of the individual Diablo III-related compromise cases we’ve investigated, none have occurred after a physical Battle.net Authenticator or Battle.net Mobile Authenticator app was attached to the player’s account,” she continued, “and we have yet to find any situation where a Diablo III player’s account was accessed outside of “traditional” compromise methods (i.e. someone logging using an account’s login email and password).”

Nethaera rejects speculation that “session spoofing” was used as a method to hijack a player’s identity after he or she joins a public game, but assures fans that despite the “technical impossibility” of it occurring Blizzard will continue to investigate reports of such incidences.

"To that end, we’ve also seen discussions regarding the possibility of account compromises occurring in ways that didn’t involve these “traditional” methods—for example, by “session spoofing” a player’s identity after he or she joins a public game," she continued. "Regarding this specific example, we’ve looked into the issue and found no evidence to indicate compromises are occurring in this fashion, and we’ve determined the methods being suggested to do so are technically impossible. However, you have our assurance that we’ll continue to investigate reports such as these and keep you informed of important updates.”

|Source: Blizzard

Details on Castlevania’s return are materializing from the mists of rumor prior to its E3 2012 debut much like Dracula’s Castle does every century.

Castlevania: Mirror of Fate, the 3DS title, is reportedly a 2D adventure that stars two different playable characters and co-op play much like Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the DS. Unlike its DS cousin, Mirror of Fate allegedly utilizes the 3DS’ cameras as some sort of mirror or as a new puzzle-solving mechanic.

On the official front, Konami has released a teaser site at thedragonreturns.com. Not only does the site contain Castlevania-esque artwork the web address refers to the name of Vlad Dracul, or Vlad the “Dragon” in Romanian, the basis of the Dracula legend.

|Source: IGN

GameStop is opening its annual Expo conference to consumers—an event that was previously exclusive to the retail chain’s managers and members of the game industry.

The Expo conference serves to introduce GameStop managers to upcoming game titles and a preview of products that will be sold during the holiday season. And now in what is likely a public relations move, consumers will get an inside look into what games will be released, meet video game publishers and see special guests.

Price for admission is $35, or $100 for VIP admission. VIP passes will be able to attend presentations by major game companies. Tickets are only sold to members of GameStop’s PowerUp Rewards loyalty program.

The conference will be held at San Antonio, Texas on August 29th, two days before PAX 2012 in Seattle.

|Source: Gamasutra

Headline RePLAY – 4.3.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Why is the producer of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Tweeting from Romania? Developers are reporting that the Wii U doesn’t match the graphical levels of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and an Arizona bill could criminalize internet trolling.

Romania. Home of the most beautiful castles in Eastern Europe and where a bulk of Konami’s Castlevania games takes place. What better location for the producer of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow to tease his next game?

“Today and tomorrow I am in the land of Dracul…” Tweeted producer David Cox. “What am I doing there??? You will see…”

When asked for details, Cox simply said: “No comment.”

*Source: @CastlevaniaLOS via Joystiq

Recent Nintendo consoles like the GameCube or Wii hasn’t exactly been cutting edge in raw graphical prowess. Although Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U can produce full HD graphics, according to developers that are familiar with the hardware, it just doesn’t match the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

“No, it’s not up to the same level as the PS3 or the 360,” one developer told GamesIndustry International on the condition of anonymity. “The graphics are just not as powerful.”

“Yeah, that’s true. It doesn’t produce graphics as well as the PS3 or the 360,” another developer agreed. “There aren’t as many shaders, it’s not as capable. Sure, some things are better, mostly as a result of being a more modern design. But overall the Wii U just can’t quite keep up.”

GamesIndustry International observes that Nintendo is “hampered” by going with a tablet controller, especially with “cost and graphics power” being “tightly linked.” In order to keep the console’s price at a “desired level,” the publication says the tablet controller is the Wii U’s “big innovation” not “raw horsepower.”

*Source: GamesIndustry International

In order to combat the obnoxious, aggravating dwellers of the internet, Arizona presents House Bill 2549—legislation that would make “trolling” the internet illegal and charge violators with a Class 1 misdemeanor, which can lead to a $2,500 fine and up to 6 months in jail.

Section 1, Part A of the bill reads:

“It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy, or offend, to use ANY ELECTRONIC OR DIGITAL DEVICE and use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person.”

The bill has already passed both legislative houses last week and is currently waiting to be signed by Governor Jan Brewer.

Supporters of the bill argue it’s a necessary provision to prevent online bullying. Opponents, however, contend the law is “overly broad” and could easily include public forums like 4chan, reddit and other sites that permit commentary.  

“Government may criminalize speech that rises to the level of harassment and many states have laws to do so, but this legislation takes a law meant to address irritating phone calls and applies it to communication on websites, blogs, listserves and other Internet communication,” Media Coalition explained in a letter last week.  

*Source: Yahoo! Games, Kotaku

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