Headline RePLAY – 4.30.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The co-lead designer for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception leaves Naughty Dog for more scholarly pursuits, the CEO of SEGA America and Europe is stepping down and Nintendo is, of course, supporting third-parties in its new digital initiative.

Richard Lemarchand, the co-lead designer on Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, is leaving Naughty Dog after eight years of service with the studio for the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.  

Lemarchand will be teaching at the university’s Interactive Media Division in addition to working on a “series of experimental games” as part of a research project.  

“In other words, I’ll be surrounded by awesome people, talking craft and philosophy, and building strange new things!” Lemarchand told Gamasutra. “So I’ll get to do what I’ve been yearning to do for a decade, in that regard—I realize how very lucky I am.”

|Source: Gamasutra

After seven years of being in charge of SEGA America and Europe, Mike Hayes is leaving the company for more consultative pursuits this summer.

Hayes’ position as CEO will be passed to Jurgen Post, SEGA’s current COO.

Under Hayes’ leadership, SEGA moved to a stronger digital business model, acquired Sports Interactive and The Creative Assembly.

“Mike has achieved a huge amount during his time at SEGA,” said Naoya Tsurumi, SEGA’s director and CCO, “and we thank him for the amazing things he has accomplished.”

|Source: Gamasutra

To reinforce its new initiative to publish digital content via its eShop, Nintendo confirmed plans to support third-party content for both the 3DS and upcoming Wii U.

“We are currently preparing a program for third parties but have nothing specific to announce at this time,” a Nintendo representative told IGN.

Nintendo’s support of third-parties has traditionally been weak, but the company’s new digital strategy may change that around.

|Source: IGN

Headline RePLAY – 4.27.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Nintendo embraces digital distribution, the Wii U’s launch date and price won’t be revealed at E3 2012 and Google gets Zerg rushed.

Nintendo is finally joining the rest of the videogame industry by introducing a majority of first-party 3DS and Wii U titles to be sold digitally on their respective eShops.

“The majority of Nintendo-published Nintendo 3DS games will have the same dual-distribution strategy,” Nintendo told Joystiq in a statement. “Likewise, the majority of Nintendo-published Wii U games will be available both as packaged products and as digital downloads starting on launch day.”

Downloadable titles can also be found at retailers or on their websites. After purchase, retailers will provide consumers with a 16-digit code that can be used at the Nintendo eShop in exchange for the game.

|Source: Joystiq

Nintendo is keeping its Wii U launch plans close to its chest: the Japanese publisher announced that it’s not planning to reveal pricing or release date details at E3 2012.

This is not the first time Nintendo has used such a tactic either. Launch dates and retail prices were not revealed for the Wii in 2006 and the 3DS in 2010 until just months before their release.

Nevertheless, the Wii U remains slated for release in Japan, North America, Europe and Australia later this year.

|Source: IGN

Commander, we are receiving a priority one message from Google requesting for immediate evac. Please enter Google space and input ‘Zerg Rush’ to initiate evacuation protocols.

[END OF TRANSMISSION]

|Source: Google  

Headline RePLAY – 4.26.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Nexon makes a bid at EA, Nintendo reports its first-ever net loss and EA Montreal encounters layoffs.  

Rumor has it that South Korean MMO giant has made a bid to purchase Electronic Arts, speculation that industry experts flatly reject.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter calls it a “silly rumor” and a deal that “cannot happen.” Pachter cites a variety of reasons, such as the CEO not ceding control, Nexon’s inability to provide a stock-for-stock deal and skepticism on whether or not Nexon can run EA’s assets more efficiently.   

“I still love EA stock,” said Pachter, “but expect this to be denied by its management by the end of the day.”  

|Source: GamesIndustry International

2011 was a fiscal disaster for Nintendo—the publisher posted a historic annual operating loss of $530 million. The loss was attributed to poor hardware sales, a strong Japanese yen and the financial roller-coaster that was the Nintendo 3DS.

Prior estimates had the 3DS selling 14 million, 10 million Wiis and 5.5 million DSs—benchmarks that Nintendo didn’t quite reach. What Nintendo received was less than ideal: the 3DS sold 13.41 million units, the Wii 9.84 million and the DS series at 4.1 million.

Nintendo is optimistic about the 2012 fiscal year, however. “While [Nintendo] did post a loss for the recently completed fiscal year,” said Nintendo in a statement, “the continuing momentum of the Nintendo 3DS and the global introduction of the highly-anticipated Wii U home console will drive the company back into profitability in the current year.”  

Nintendo is even expecting an operating profit of $429 million for 2012 fiscal year starting on April 1.

|Source: Nintendo

After denying allegations that any massive layoffs are taking place, GamesIndustry International is reporting that EA Montreal is dismissing a number of employees.   

“EA Montreal is reorganizing some teams to focus on digital initiatives, including new mobile and social projects,” EA corporate communications told GamesIndustry International. “These are routine changes which address the cyclical nature of the game industry. A very small number of employees will be impacted—many will be assigned to new projects at EA, others will leave the company.”

“Overall, we expect that EA’s headcount will be up at the end of this year.”

|Source: GamesIndustry International

Headline RePLAY – 4.25.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The Wii U can’t run Crysis 3, the father of Resident Evil returns to survival horror and the attack of the ads on Xbox LIVE.  

Recently there were conflicting rumors about the upcoming Wii U’s hardware capabilities. When one of Crytek’s directors says there’s “not a fat chance” that the Wii U can run Crysis 3, the limitations of Nintendo’s next console seems to be laid bare.

“I don’t think it’s going to be possible,” Crytek’s Rasmus Hoejengaard told Destructoid. “It’s not in the cards.”

Hoejengaard noted that Crysis 3 is planned for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 however.   

|Source: Destructoid

Shinji Mikami, the man responsible for coining the survival horror genre, is returning to his roots with a project codenamed “Zwei.”

In an interview Famitsu, Mikami reveals that he’s the executive producer of Zwei, which happens to be a survival-horror game. Mikami tells the magazine that he chose survival-horror, a genre where he excels, to meet player expectations.

A first look at Zwei’s image boards is expected later this week, of which Mikami said would be close to expressing the game’s atmosphere.

|Source: Andriasang

Expect more commercials in Xbox LIVE’s future: Microsoft revealed on Tuesday that more media apps will now include 15 to 30 second TV-like ad spots.  

ESPN, Last.fm, Manga Entertainment, GameSpot and MUZU.TV join the rank of media apps that now show video ad spots. Previously, only UFC, TMZ and Crackle engaged in the practice.

According to Gamasutra, the move is part of a larger initiative to turn the Xbox 360 into a “full-blown entertainment hub.” And Microsoft reports that the plan is working: entertainment app usage has doubled every year for U.S. Xbox LIVE Gold members.

Case in point: ad spending on Xbox LIVE has increased by 142 percent since 2010 and Gold members spend an average of 84 hours a month using the service.

With these numbers, it just makes sense for Microsoft to expanding its lineup of advertising partners on Xbox LIVE.

|Source: Gamasutra

Headline RePLAY – 4.24.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: BioWare denies any decline in Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers, Diablo III open beta weekend had 300,000 concurrent users and the photos of one man’s family reenacted into videogame-inspired scenes. 

While not a direct challenge to the claim that Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription numbers are dropping, BioWare denies any such decline is taking place.  

BioWare’s Daniel Erickson told PC Gamer in an interview that any alleged drop is due to a decrease in users online at peak times. Erickson says that BioWare is doing “anything and everything” to keep users logging in.

“Nothing is off the table when it comes to making sure our communities are strong and active on each server,” said Erickson.

|Source: PC Gamer

Although the Diablo III open beta weekend was marred with login and Error 37 server full errors, it sure didn’t deter 300,000 demon slayers that came online to test the game Saturday.

In terms of total users that participated last weekend, Blizzard Community Manager Micah “Bashiok” Whipple can only guesstimate it as “a lot.”

For users that were able to login, a large part of the First Act was available: a level 13 cap and a battle with the Skeleton King.

Of course, everything was wiped once the beta weekend ended, but testers will have another chance to conquer the world of Diablo III when it launches on May 15th.  

|Source: Shack News

It all started as a family photo blog showcasing his kids to his sick mother, but once Jason Lee added a dash of creativity and a touch of talent to his photos, he transformed them into masterpieces depicting his daughters in a new light—like the Super Mario Bros. or Angry Birds.

“I started this project back in November of 2006, to document the lives of my children for my mom, who was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,” Lee told Yahoo! Shine. “With the kids being sick all the time, it wasn’t a great idea to have them around her too often.”

For more on Lee’s amazing work, be sure to check out his gallery here and at the source link below. 

|Source: Yahoo!

Headline RePLAY – 4.23.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The next Call of Duty game, a new Capcom title we didn’t see coming and MIT hackers have fun with Tetris—on the side of a building.

Like clockwork we have another Call of Duty title incoming, except this time the announcement isn’t coming from some boring press release. Activision has instead decided to deliver the reveal during the NBA playoffs on May 1st via TNT.

No other details are known at this time, but it’s a Call of Duty game so what other information is really necessary?

|Source: Call of Duty

Capcom is expected to reveal an “unexpected new title” in the next week’s issue of Famitsu magazine, according to a preview at Famtisu.com.

The announcement is part of Resident Evil’s 15th anniversary coverage, which will include an interview, strategy guide for Operation: Raccoon City and a look at Capcom’s upcoming titles.

And although the next issue of Famitsu will be out on April 26th, details are generally leaked one day in advance.

|Source: Famtisu via Andriasang

The students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sure love a good “hack,” harmless pranks that sometimes means transforming a building into a game of Tetris.

On April 20th, a team of enterprising hackers turned the side of the MIT’s Green Building into a colossal, colorful and most importantly, a playable game of Tetris.

“MIT hackers have long considered ‘Tetris on the Green Building’ to be the Holy Grail of Hacks,” says the IHTFP Hack Gallery.

|Source: BostInno via Kotaku

Headline RePLAY – 4.20.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: EA is turning its franchises into “online universes,” the story producer for the Dead Space franchise blasts Gears of War’s writing and Microsoft’s Xbox division loses $229 million.

“Online universes” are the future of EA brands, a term being applied to all of the publisher’s franchises including FIFA, Battlefield, Medal of Honor, Star Wars, The Sims and Need for Speed. EA’s Northern Europe boss Keith Ramsdale said the concept is more than “simple online play”; it involves the ability to play a “brand” with a variety of devices that can contribute to a singular goal and profile.  

“Imagine a player gets up in the morning, plays an online match on his 360 before going to work,” Ramsdale explained. “On the bus, on his way to work, he practices his free kicks on his tablet. At lunch he looks at the transfer window on his PC. On the way home he chooses his kit on his smartphone.

“Here’s the thing: when he gets home to play again on his 360 that evening, all those achievements and upgrades will be alive in his game.”

This allows the consumer to play “how he wants, when he wants, and on the device he wants,” Ramsdale said.   

“We’re very focused on transforming all of our brands into these online universes. That gives the consumer full control of how and when they play in a rich world of content.”

|Source: Eurogamer

In an interview with EA’s “The Beat,” Chuck Beaver, the story producer of the Dead Space series, calls Gears of War “literally the worst writing in games.”  

“Story can only ruin a game for those who care about story, so it’s a conditional answer. For instance, Gears of War,” said Beaver. “It contains atrocious, offensive violations of story basics. Yet it doesn’t seem to ruin it for many, many people. It’s literally the worst writing in games, but seems to have no ill effects.

In contrast, he points to Portal as an example of good writing. “On the other hand, you’ve got the Portal series, which, to me, succeeds at least as much on its writing as its masterful platformer level design.”

But Beaver also had issues with his own work on the Dead Space series, saying the original was “just simple haunted house story that we later pasted a personal aspect on top of.” On Dead Space 2, he recalled the challenges of taking elements that were “poorly thought through” and “getting that into shape,” yet still not “fully” making it.

As of writing this post, the interview cited has been taken down, whether it was due to Beaver’s comments remains unknown.

|Source: EA

Microsoft is far from being in Sony’s precarious position, but its entertainment and devices division has recently reported a loss of $229 million in a three month period since March 31st after Xbox 360 sales fell almost by half.

The division saw a revenue drop of 16.5 percent, down to $1.6 billion. Only 1.4 million Xbox 360s were sold this quarter, equating to a 48 percent drop. In contrast: 2.7 million units were sold last year in the same quarter, which increased the division’s revenue by 60 percent.  

Microsoft attributed the loss to a “soft gaming console market,” but noted that the Xbox 360 has been the best-selling console in the U.S. for 15 consecutive months, according to the NPD last week.

As a whole though, Microsoft’s revenue did increase by 6 percent, totaling $17.41 billion, while operating income rose to 12 percent to $6.37 billion.  

|Source: Edge

Headline RePLAY – 4.19.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Subscriptions for Star Wars: The Old Republic may be on the decline, videogame consoles are electric vampires and Dragon’s Crown gets another publisher.

When a report was released alleging that Star Wars: The Old Republic was not performing as well as EA expected, analysts are now suggesting that player subscriptions for the MMO are starting to decline.

According to an estimate by analyst group Cowen and Company, subscriber numbers peaked at 1.7 million in February, but they predict that by the end of the fiscal year in March 2013 subscriptions will drop to around 1.25 million based on server statistics from TorStatus.net.

“We believe that the apparent decline in subscribers is most likely due to a lack of ‘end-game’ content for the title, meaning that players who hit the level cap have few compelling options in terms of ongoing game play,” explained Cowen analyst Doug Creutz. “While the game got off to a good start, the relatively light amount of end-game content does appear to be taking a toll.

“We believe EA is attempting to address the end-game content issue, including a recent major game update,” he added, “but momentum appears to have stalled and we believe it is prudent to adopt a more conservative forecast on subscribers at this time.”

|Source: Gamasutra

There were reasons why our parents always harped on us about leaving the gaming console on when we weren’t playing them, expensive reasons. In 2010, idle consoles consumed 10.8 TWh of energy, the equivalent of $1.24 billion in electricity costs, according to a Carnegie Mellon University study.

The research found that a total 1 percent of U.S. residential energy consumption in 2010 was spent just on consoles, an almost 50 percent increase from three years ago.

To counter increasing energy costs, the study also includes power-saving suggestions to console developers. “We demonstrate that the most effective energy-saving modification is incorporation of a default auto power down feature, which could reduce electricity consumption of game consoles by 75 percent (10 TWh reduction of electricity in 2010),” the study recommends, “saving consumers over $1 billion annually in electricity bills.”

However, some developers are already one step ahead with features like the Xbox 360’s auto-standby, which puts the console on standby if it’s left idle for more than one hour. Sony’s PlayStation 3 has power-management software, but it’s off by default and users have to manually update it.  

|Source: CNET

News on Dragon’s Crown continues to trickle in and the latest development is a big one: Atlus is taking over publishing duties in Japan and North America.

Details are scarce, but according to PlayStation Blog, members of Atlus’ internal development team is now involved with the project as producer(s), particularly people that worked on the Persona series.

Sadly, the change in publishers means that Dragon’s Crown’s release has been delayed to 2013.

|Source: PlayStation Blog

Headline RePLAY – 4.18.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The makers of Angry Birds reject a $2 billion acquisition offer, Ubisoft gets sued for its Assassin's Creed series and the next God of War title gets leaked early.

Recently we heard of Zynga’s $180 million acquisition of Omgpop, the makers of the hit app Draw Something. However, did you know that Zynga tried to buy out Rovio Entertainment, the studio responsible for Angry Birds, with an offer of more than $2 billion?

Rovio has rejected the offer and declined to comment.

Bloomberg reports this is part of Zynga’s new strategy to counter Electronic Arts in the mobile gaming market by acquiring many “high-growth hits” like Draw Something to add to the company’s portfolio. Zynga has even recruited former EA executive Barry Cottle for this purpose.

“They are not really that competent in mobile, and they need to be,” said Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst Michael Pachter. “It’s the way that a big chunk of the world accesses the Internet.”

Pachter observes that the acquisition war may have unintended consequences: “You are going to have a lot of developers swinging for the fences and trying to hit it fast and hope Zynga will give them a couple hundred million dollars.”

|Source: Bloomberg

Ubisoft is being sued by John L. Beiswenger, the author of the novel Link, over alleged similarities between his book and the Assassin’s Creed series.

Beiswenger claims that the “Link device” and “Link lab” are “integral part” of the novel’s plot and setting, which the suit claims is similar to the Animus and Animus 2.0 in the Assassin’s Creed games. Other similarities include “spiritual and biblical tones, with references made to Jesus and God, the Garden of Eden, and the forbidden fruit.”

The novel even has references to assassins and assassinations.

The suit is requesting $1.05 million worth in damages for each Assassin’s Creed product released since 2007 or $5.25 million if the judge rules that Ubisoft has deliberately infringed on Beiswenger’s work in addition to preventing the release of Assassin’s Creed III.

|Source: GamesIndustry International

Like most things on the internet, it gets leaked early—like the next God of War game, which was inadvertently revealed by an Amazon.com product page, complete with box art and trailer.

The latest installment in the series is titled God of War: Ascension and it follows Kratos before he became the “Ghost of Sparta” or “a time when something other than rage consumed him.”

And that little narrative detail definitely nails it as a prequel.   

|Source: NeoGAF

Headline RePLAY – 4.17.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Tekken series producer promises no paid-DLC characters, CBS Interactive expands its eSports operations and Halo 4’s release date.   

In sharp contrast to Capcom’s recent DLC practices, Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada has vowed that his games will never offer paid character DLC.

“Tekken has never had DLC before and charged for it,” Harada told Edge during Namco Bandai’s Global Gamer Day event in Las Vegas. “This isn’t really directed at Capcom, I have always said this, but I see the characters and their move sets as chess pieces—they are essential items necessary in the game and we would never sell any of those individually.”

Most importantly, Harada has not ruled out paid DLC in Tekken, it’ll just be in the form of vanity items like alternate costumes. “There are some strange people on Twitter who ask for really peculiar items like bikini suits for Lee Chaolan,” he said. “Obviously, we wouldn’t have had that in our original development plan, so if we were going to do it, we’d need to create it right now, without a budget—obviously we’d have to charge a little bit for such items.”

Harada insists that characters or items offering a competitive advantage will never be available via paid-DLC. “I was saying this before the Capcom thing happened. My stance hasn’t changed.”  

|Source: Edge

eSports coverage won’t be exclusive to YouTube, select gaming sites or Korean cafes anymore as CBS Interactive announced its partnership with TwitchTV and Major League Gaming this morning.

The partnership makes CBS Interactive the exclusive online broadcaster of Major League Gaming’s Pro Circuit events in addition to being the sole vendor of advertising for its streaming service.

CBS Interactive’s sudden interest in eSports could be measured by the sheer amount of video game related footage the broadcasting company claims is seen by visitors per month—3 billion minutes. According to CBS Interactive, viewers tune to live gaming competitions for 23 minutes at a time versus the three-minute average of other internet videos. 

|Source: Kotaku

Apparently Master Chief is running for president this year, as 343 Industries and Microsoft announces the release date of Halo 4 to be on November 6th, 2012.

“With Halo 4 leading the charge, we’re confident 2012 will be the most successful year in Xbox history,” said Microsoft Studios corporate VP Phil Spencer. “We are beginning a new saga with Halo 4 and embarking on a journey that will encompass the next decade of Halo games and experiences.”

|Source: Halo Waypoint

Headline RePLAY – 4.16.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Electronic Arts denies alleged layoff reports, Microsoft plans to “further monetize” Xbox LIVE and a LEGO enthusiast wants to reconstruct level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros.

Electronic Arts is denying a report by StartupGrind that alleged the publisher is planning to layoff 500 – 1,000 employees sometime this week.

“There are no lay-offs as such, we always have projects growing and morphing. At any given time there are new people coming in and others leaving. EA is growing and hiring and building teams to support the growing demand for digital games and services,” EA has told MCV.

Yesterday, StartupGrind claimed the downsizing could be attributed to a variety of factors including a disappointing fiscal year from Battlefield 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic, declining stock prices from $61 to $16 and Zynga’s acquisition of some of EA’s top executives.

|Sources: StartupGrind, MCV

A LinkedIn profile revealed that Microsoft is planning to implement a new strategy to ‘further monetize’ Xbox LIVE subscribers later this year.

Praveen Rutnam, a group product planner for Microsoft, has recently added the following to his profile: “Developed strategy to further monetize Xbox LIVE subscriber base that will be implemented for holiday 2012.”

What form this new “strategy” would take is currently unclear.

|Source: MCV

Zachary “The LEGO Maniac” Pollock wants $26,400 via Kickstarter to buy 780,000 LEGO studs to reconstruct level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. in its entirety.  

The funding will pay for the “ridiculous amount of LEGO bricks” in addition to plywood, Plexiglas and mounting hardware. When finished, the “Epic Mario” project will be six feet tall and 90 feet wide.

“This project has a couple goals,” Pollock wrote on Kickstarter. “First and foremost, I want to inspire a new generation of LEGO enthusiasts. I also want to show people what they have forgotten, that building with LEGO can be done at any age. My second goal is to use this project to test the waters for a foundation I would like to start that will work with children doing healing art projects using LEGO bricks.

“This project aims to push the limits of imagination about what you can do with LEGO bricks and particularly to break down stereotypes people have about both LEGO and videogames only being toys. I want to show the world LEGO and videogames can be works of art as well.

“Last but certainly not least I, and I think many other people, really want to see the entire level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. made from LEGO because it is just FUN! Right now I think we all need a little more fun in our lives.”

|Source: Kickstarter 

Headline RePLAY – 4.13.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: A fifth-grader’s wish to share his love of videogames with his blind grandmother, another Capcom misspelling and Keiji Inafune agrees that modern Japanese games “suck.”  

10-year-old Dylan Viale had a dilemma: he loved videogames and wanted to share his passion with his grandmother, except she is blind. Dylan’s solution was to design a video game that could be played by her that he later called Quacky’s Quest.

“[Dylan] wanted to figure out a way that he could share his love of video games with her,” Dino Viale, Dylan’s father told Kotaku. “He thought, ‘How can I create something she can enjoy?”

Dylan tackled the problem by downloading a free version of a game design program called GameMaker, ran through its tutorials, learned design concepts and ultimately created a game about an oddly-shaped duck, a Golden Egg and a dark maze.

Quacky’s Quest’s design was simple and ingenious: navigate through a series of dark mazes with sound cues to signal whether the player is heading in the right direction, the wrong way or just bumping into walls.

“Sound was the greatest tool for [Dylan’s] grandmother to navigate through the game. He had to figure out how to associate each move through the maze with sound cues for whether you were doing something correctly or incorrectly,” said Dino.

After a month of development, Dylan decided to enter Quacky’s Quest into the Hidden Valley Elementary School science fair.

He won first place.

For more on this heartwarming and inspiring story, check out the full article on Kotaku via the source link below.

|Source: Kotaku

Capcom’s inability to spellcheck has struck again, despite its admission on how “embarrassing” it was, this time with a pre-order marketing banner for Resident Evil 6 that spelled ‘mercenaries’ as ‘mercHenaries.’

It was spotted by Twitter user cvxfreak, who has posted a screenshot.  

Capcom was quick to discover the issue and has since then fixed the error.

|Source: @cvxfreak

Recently, Fez creator Phil Fish caused quite a stir when he declared that Japanese games “just suck” at this year’s GDC. Keiji Inafune embraced the criticism and called it a “necessary” message for Japanese developers.

“There was a Canadian guy who appeared in a documentary film and did a Q&A afterwards,” Inafune recalled. “And a Japanese person asked what he thought of Japanese games, and he said he thought they sucked. That’s what’s necessary.

“It’s very severe, but very honest,” Inafune told Wired. “Unless Japanese people feel embarrassed from the experience of getting harsh comments, saying [new games] could have been better is not an opinion they would take seriously.

“When they’re embarrassed and they feel obliged to change, it would make a difference.”

|Source: Wired