Headline RePLAY – 2.14.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Patches are costly, Nintendo’s eShop prints money and Zynga get sued!

When it comes to patches, we always thought they were minimal in cost. On the contrary, they’re expensive.

In an interview with Hookshot, Double Fine’s Time Schafer said the cost of a patch on a modern console is $40,000.

“You have to jump through a lot of hoops, even for important stuff like patching and supporting your game. Those are things we really want to do, but we can't do it on these systems,” said Schafer. “I mean, it costs $40,000 to put up a patch – we can't afford that!”

No wonder gameplay fixes and balance changes are so uncommon!

*Source: Hookshot via Kotaku

According to analysts, the Nintendo 3DS eShop is already proving its worth by yielding an estimated total income of $11.1 million in 2011. The statistic includes the 3DS Virtual Console, 3D Classics and original downloadable games.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, a Game Boy Color title, contributed to nearly one-quarter of the staggering $11.1 million figure. Also of note, eight of the ten bestselling titles are all first-party Nintendo titles.

However, the eShop launched on June 6^th of last year, so the report only comprise of a seven month sales period. FADE LLC, a digital analysis firm that’s in the business of reporting digital sales figures and revenues, is responsible for the report.

A word of caution on the numbers: these are estimated figures and provided by FADE, which may not be entirely accurate.

Estimated Top Selling Titles, by Gross Revenues (Annual, 2011)

1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (Nintendo) - 338,700 Units / $2.3 Million USD (VC)

2. 3D Classics: Excitebike (Nintendo) - 481,100 Units / $1.3 Million USD (eShop)

3. Super Mario Land (Nintendo) - 230,500 Units / $1.1 Million USD (VC)

4. Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive! (Nintendo) - 112,700 Units / $969,000 USD (eShop)

5. Pushmo (Nintendo) - 93,300 Units / $634,000 USD (eShop)

6. Kirby's Dream Land (Nintendo) - 84,500 Units / $384,000 USD (VC)

7. Let's Golf! 3D (Gameloft) - 43,200 Units / $356,000 USD (eShop)

8. Donkey Kong (Nintendo) - 82,800 Units / $348,000 USD (VC)

9. 3D Classics: Xevious (Nintendo) - 47,900 Units / $301,000 USD (eShop)

10. Hyu Stone (Poisoft) - 50,300 Units / $293,000 USD

*Source: Nintendo Life via Destructoid

Of all the things that Zynga could be sued for, it’s for patent charges. Personalized Media Communications has filed a suit alleging that a variety of Zynga’s games like Words with Friends, CityVille and Farmville uses PMC’s patented technology.

The four patents cited cover a wide array of uses such as the “controlled access of media content”, “network management” and “management of downloading technologies.”

It’s all vague and can cover the entirety of the internet. However, PMC stands firm in their allegations:

“Many years of time and labor went into developing our inventions and securing the patents that permit their practice,” explained PMC founder John C. Harvey, “It wouldn’t be right to sit by and allow them to be infringed.”

*Source: Gamasutra

Headline RePLAY – 2.13.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Sony’s marketing bill for the PS Vita, Online Passes are creeping into handhelds and Blizzard has a lot of employees.

Sony really wants you to get a PlayStation Vita. So much, in fact, they spent $50 million in marketing it!

Even John Koller, senior director for PlayStation handhelds, observed it’s “the largest platform launch in terms of marketing investment we’ve ever had.”

According to a report by the New York Times, Sony’s grand marketing campaign includes television commercials, billboards, retail partnerships, digital banner ads and social media. “Never Stop Playing” is going to be the campaign’s theme, and it’ll featured on many of the ads in addition to the Twitter-influenced hashtag: #gamechanger

Sony is targeting “men in their 20s who play video games eight hours a week or more and own a PlayStation 3 console.”

*Source: The New York Times

 

In what may be the start of an invasion we’re now seeing online passes in handheld games. Joystiq received word last month that the Japanese version of Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational for the PS Vita included an online pass. With the North American PS Vita embargo lifted, Joystiq has now confirmed that online passes exist in the American version as well.

Out of all the other launch titles, Wipeout 2048 is the only one to join the ranks of the online pass invasion force.

*Source: Joystiq

Blizzard Entertainment is a massive company, so massive that it employs 4,700 workers, across 11 cities, Gamasutra reports.

Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce revealed the amazing statistic at a panel during the DICE executive summit in Las Vegas. A majority of the employees are customer support-related, but there are 750 workers in product development for the major Blizzard franchises including WoW, StarCraft and Diablo.

*Source: Gamasutra

Headline RePLAY – 2.10.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Valve’s update on the Steam being hacked, Blizzard duels with Valve over DOTA and Mass Effect: Infiltrator gameplay details.

Back in November, Valve reported that Steam’s forums and database were hacked. Fast-forward to today, and Valve is still investigating the breach.

“Recently we learned that it is probable that the intruders obtained a copy of a backup file with information about Steam transactions between 2004 and 2008. This backup file contained user names, e-mail addresses, encrypted credit card information. It did not include Steam passwords,” wrote Gabe Newell.

“We do not have any evidence that encrypted credit card numbers or billing addresses have been compromised.”

The statement ends with some advice to watch your credit card activity and to keep Steam Guard on.

*Source: Destructoid

Blizzard is suing Valve over DOTA. It’s not the game that Blizzard objects to, League of Legends is DOTA in all but name; it’s Valve attempting to trademark the term.  

DOTA a.k.a. Defense of the Ancients, began as a Warcraft III mod made by IceFrog. Valve recruited IceFrog to make a sequel, but when it was announced to be DOTA 2, Blizzard objected:

“By attempting to register the mark DOTA, Valve seeks to appropriate the more than seven years of goodwill that Blizzard has developed in the mark DOTA and in its Warcraft III computer game and take for itself a name that has come to signify the product of years of time and energy expended by Blizzard and by fans of Warcraft III.

“Valve has no right to the registration it seeks. If such registration is issued, it not only will damage Blizzard, but also the legions of Blizzard fans that have worked for years with Blizzard and its products, including by causing consumers to falsely believe that Valve's products are affiliated, sponsored or endorsed by Blizzard and are related or connected to Warcraft III.”

*Source: @DevinConnors via Destructoid

Mass Effect: Infiltrator is like Mass Effect and it isn’t. The mobile title is not about the heroics of Commander Shepard, but rather the efforts of a Cerberus solider named Randall Enzo. It’s not the full-scale RPG of the consoles, but rather a slice of its third-person, cover-based combat with some of the RPG elements left in.

Enzo is a Cerberus soldier that hunts down and captures alien species for study, but when his loyalty begins to waver, he conspires to send intelligence to Commander Shepard.

Like the title’s namesake, Enzo is based on the Infiltrator-class and can sneak in for a kill while employing cover in firefights. His stealth abilities are complemented with a variety of new weapons like anti-gravity grenades and beam weaponry.

While iconic Paragon/Renegade decisions are in the game and will make an impact on Mass Effect 3, it was stressed that Infiltrator wasn’t needed to obtain the best possible ending.

In order to benefit from the assets obtained in Infiltrator to your Mass Effect 3 game, an EA Origin account is required.

No release date was announced, but EA reps have said the game will be launched around Mass Effect 3’s release date.

*Source: Kotaku

Headline RePLAY – 2.9.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: World of Warcraft subscriber numbers take another hit, Diablo III finally gets a release window and Double Fine makes videogame history.

Another Activision Blizzard investor call, another subscription drop for World of Warcraft. It was revealed that World of Warcraft’s subscribers numbers decreased by another 100,000 players, dropping the total to 10.2 million players from September 2011 to December 2011.

World of Warcraft subscriber numbers have been in decline ever since mid-2011: In May 2011 the MMO fell to 11.4 million subscribers and then down to 10.3 million in September.

*Source: WoW Insider

In the same investor call, Activision Blizzard has confirmed it’s targeting Diablo III for Q2 2012 release; the timeframe narrows Diablo III’s launch from April to June.

Recently, Diablo III has been undergoing changes to its mechanics and systems since the beta.

“After receiving feedback from the community and our internal teams, we've implemented changes to the game which we believe will greatly improve the game experience and ensure that the final release will live up to our high expectations,” said Activision Blizzard.

*Source: CVG

In the course of 24-hours, Double Fine’s ambitious project to make a downloadable “Point-and-Click” graphic adventure game by donations alone on Kickstarter exceeded its $400,000 goal and reached $1 million!

While the project itself is unprecedented, the amount and speed of contributions donated can only be described as extraordinary.

All the money raised will go straight to the game: improvements in the game and documentary, delivery to more platforms, translated into more languages, more music and voiceovers, an original soundtrack for the documentary, and whatever else!

For more details or to make a donation, check out the source link below!  

*Source: Kickstarter

Headline RePLAY – 2.8.12

Today on HeadlineRePLAY: Nintendo appoints a “spokesdog”, Ilum strikes back in Star Wars: The Old Republic and the Smithsonian's connection to videogames.

Adorable, energetic and 100% canine, meet Uggie, a Jack Russell terrier that co-starred in The Artist, is being enlisted by Nintendo of America to be its new “spokesdog” for nintendogs + cats for the Nintendo 3DS.  

“Uggie didn’t have to sit up and beg for his role as Nintendo’s spokesdog,” said Nintendo of America’s Scott Moffitt. “It’s truly our pleasure to work with a star of Uggie’s magnitude, especially to help animal lovers and portable gaming fans discover the fun of nintendogs + cats.”

For February only and in celebration of Responsible Pet Owners Month, Uggie will be showing pet owners how nintendogs + cats can provide “valuable tips on how people can maintain happy, healthy relationships” with their pets in real life.

There isn’t a “spokescat” at this time.

*Source: BusinessWire

Ilum strikes back against Star War: The Old Republic players as kills made on the PvP planet are not being credited towards its daily and weekly missions. Players evacuated to the official forums carrying complaints only to find that BioWare is aware of the issue and plans on fixing it tomorrow:

“I wanted to let you know that we will be deploying a patch tomorrow (details coming very soon) with the following resolutions: Killing players on Ilum will now consistently grant Valor and mission credit as intended. Once again, thanks for your patience,” said Joveth Gonzalez, BioWare’s Associate Online Community Manager.

With any luck there won’t be a “Return of Ilum” edition when the next patch rolls around.

*Source: Darth Hater

When you think of the Smithsonian, videogames are probably not what comes to mind. The Art of Video Games exhibit that is opening on March 16, however, may change your mind.

After inviting the public last year to vote on games based on a variety of criteria, like visual effects and creative use of new technologies, the exhibit is almost ready to go live. The Art of Video Games will include video interviews with developers and artists, large screenshot prints, and historic game consoles.

The curator of the exhibit is Chris Melissinos, founder of Past Pixels. 

“The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to explore the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. It features some of the most influential artists and designers during five eras of game technology, from early pioneers to contemporary designers.

“The exhibition focuses on the interplay of graphics, technology and storytelling through some of the best games for twenty gaming systems ranging from the Atari VCS to the PlayStation 3. Eighty games, selected with the help of the public, demonstrate the evolution of the medium.”

*Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum

Headline RePLAY – 2.7.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: North American PS Vita owners will miss out on the UMD Passport program, the Kinect Star Wars Bundle has a release date and Mass Effect: Infiltrator for the iOS is announced!

Possibly a deal-breaker for many PSP-owners planning on transitioning to the PS Vita, Sony has told Kotaku there won’t be a North American equivalent of the UMD Passport program, which would’ve allowed PS Vita owners to transfer their PSP games over.

Sony announced the program back in November, which Japanese PSP owners could opt to register their games onto PSN accounts, pay a small fee and re-download the games on the PS Vita. No alternatives were provided at this time.

Déjà vu. Reminds me of the situation with the PSPgo two years ago, which almost guaranteed the handheld’s doom.

Sony has yet to provide an explanation for the exclusion.

*Source: Kotaku

Overhauled for 2012 in the form of a Xbox 360 and controller, R2-D2 and C-3PO will finally be in the hands of Star Wars fans and gamers alike in the Kinect Star Wars Bundle, which is slated for release on April 3^rd.

Price is set at $449 for the 320GB system and it comes with the droid-themed console and controller, a white Kinect sensor and a copy of Star Wars Kinect Adventures.

*Source: Engadget

In what could be the first mobile tie-in to Mass Effect 3, BioWare announced Mass Effect: Infiltrator was coming to the iOS.

The title was announced at a press event in New York today, where it was described as a “fully featured iOS third-party shooter” with “stunning graphics and authentic weapons and powers from the Mass Effect series.”

It isn’t a Mass Effect title without story, and BioWare doesn’t disappoint here: the narrative will involve freeing prisoners from a hostile Cerberus base and collecting evidence of the organization’s crimes.

Players will “receive rewards” for gathering evidence and increase Galactic Readiness. “Every completed rescue and intelligence discovery in Infiltrator will increase a players’ Galactic Readiness rating directly through the ‘Galaxy at War’ system in Mass Effect 3,” said EA.

As icing on the cake, actions taken in Infiltrator can affect the Mass Effect 3 storyline and weapons unlocked in the mobile title can be used in Mass Effect 3 too.

*Source: Kotaku

Headline RePLAY – 2.6.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Final Fantasy XIII-2’s ending explained, BioWare responds to the Mass Effect: Deception controversy and Resident Evil for the Game Boy Color is released to the world.

 

WARNING: INCOMING SPOILER!

Final Fantasy XIII-2 ends with the most infamous words that can ever be put into a videogame: “To Be Continued.” Many interpreted it as a hint for Final Fantasy XIII-3 while others assumed that DLC will conclude what XIII-2 started. At the Taipei Game Show yesterday, Director Motomu Toriyama went on record to explain XIII-2’s ambiguous ending.

According to Impress Watch, translated by Andriasang, Toriyama explained the “To Be Continued” screen was to encourage players to search out the number of Paradox Endings hidden away in the game. Additionally, the intent was to continually expand XIII-2’s world via DLC like the upcoming Lightning Episode.

It’s not an outright denial of a XIII-3 in the future, but it’s not exactly a hint either.

                                                                                                                                                                                             

*Source: Andriasang and Impress Watch

Remember Mass Effect: Deception, the tie-in novel to BioWare’s flagship franchise that was so littered with lore inconsistences that fans protested with a public Google Doc documenting it all out? BioWare isn’t exactly pleased with the novel either:

“The teams at Del Rey and BioWare would like to extend our sincerest apologies to the Mass Effect fans for any errors and oversights made in the recent novel Mass Effect: Deception,” said Chris Priestly, BioWare’s community leader. “We are currently working on a number of changes that will appear in future editions of the novel.”

“We would like to thank all Mass Effect fans for their passion and dedication to this ever-growing world, and assure them that we are listening and taking this matter very seriously.”

It’s a victory to fans and credit to BioWare that errors like these get addressed. Mass Effect: Deception was the first novel in the Mass Effect universe to be written by another author other than Drew Karpyshyn.

*Source: Eurogamer

 

Capcom enjoys reminding us that the original Resident Evil exists by re-releasing multiple versions of it, but did you know that there was one being developed for the Game Boy Color? Capcom canned the title late into development due to quality issues, but it lives on in the ownership of an unknown third party.

The unknown owner has acquired two prototype carts of the unreleased game and was willing to upload the ROMs for a price: $2000.

A fundraiser was set up to meet the $2000 goal and was met way before the February 29^th deadline, meaning the carts have been released to the public.

For more details and screens, check out the forum thread at ASSEMbler!

*Source: ASSEMbler