Headline RePLAY – 5.31.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Activision v. West ends before going to court, the rumored Star Fox – Metroid: Fusion Saga game is debunked and a DC fighting game brought to you by the makers of Mortal Kombat.

Following leaked documents of corporate espionage, trial delays, the bitter showdown between Activision and the creators of the Call of Duty franchise

“All parties have reached a settlement in the dispute, the terms of which are strictly confidential,” said Robert Schwartz, the attorney representing Call of Duty creators Jason West and Vincent Zampella.

The settlement ends two years of litigation after Activision fired West and Zampella, which prompted the developers to sue Activision for “wrongful termination.” The publisher then countersued, accusing West and Zampella of being “disloyal.” A separate lawsuit was filed by a group of over 40 Infinity Ward developers, led by Todd Alderman, alleging that Activision denied them millions in bonus payments and royalties.

“Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) today announced that all parties to the litigation have reached a settlement of the dispute, the terms of which are strictly confidential,” said Activision in a released statement.

EA, the publisher that Activision dropped its countersuit against last week, weighed in on the settlement: “Activision’s refusal to pay their talent and attempt to blame EA were absurd. This settlement is a vindication of Vince and Jason, and the right of creative artists to collect the rewards due for their hard work.”

|Source: LA Times, Joystiq

The incredible rumor of a Star Fox and Metroid crossover for the Wii U that surfaced last week is put to rest today by the very source that brought it to light, citing new information.

“This game [Star Fox – Metroid: Fusion Saga] is not what Retro Studios is currently working on and it will not make an appearance at E3 next week,” said Paul, writer and owner of Paul Gale Network. “Now depending on what side of the fence you were on in regards to whether or not you wanted this game to be real is where this news might personally good or bad to you. If you hated the idea, then rest assured that the game isn’t happening. If you liked the idea, then at least I can leave you with a bit of cushioning.”

According to Paul’s source, at one time the crossover was indeed a proposal, as it represented a “more unified Nintendo universe” and one of “several potential team-up projects” that Nintendo has been considering.

|Source: Paul Gale Network

From Warner Bros., DC Entertainment and the creators of Mortal Kombat comes Injustice: Gods Among Us, a fighting game that pits DC heroes and villains against each other.

In a serious case of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe déjà vu, Injustice features iconic characters like Batman, Harley Quinn, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy duking it out in interactive arenas with over the top moves that only superheroes can do (i.e. upper-cutting the Flash into space).

All its missing is the brightly-colored ninjas and Fatalities!

Injustice is slated for release sometime in 2013.

|Source: Injustice

Headline RePLAY – 5.30.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Apple’s take on “traditional gaming,” the Activision v. West showdown is delayed and a new Final Fantasy title for mobile devices.

Apple is simply not interested in pursuing “traditional gaming,” says CEO Tim Cook, speaking at the D10 conference this week.

“I view that we are in gaming now in a fairly big way,” said Cook. “Gaming has kind of evolved a bit. More people play on portable devices. Where we might go in the future, we’ll see. Customers love games.”

As reported by All Things Digital, Cook adds that games have evolved past “big-screen console gaming” and Apple is just not interested in exploring that area of the market.  “I’m not interested in being in the console business in what is thought of as traditional gaming. But Apple is a big player today, and things in the future will only make that bigger.”

However, when asked if Apple will focus on games on TV, he said, “I think it could be interesting.”

|Source: Gamasutra

Hold off on the popcorn, the legal battle between Activision and the creators of the Call of Duty franchise has been delayed to June 1st, three days after the original start date, due to “logistical difficulties” assembling a sufficient jury pool.

The order came from California Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle, who also stipulated that the trial must end by July 2nd, which only gives attorneys of each party only 22 business days to wrap up the case versus the requested 30.

|Source: LA Times

Already released in Japan in 2010 as Final Fantasy Legends: Hikari to Yami no Senshi [Warriors of Light and Darkness], Square-Enix is introducing the West to the mobile game as Final Fantasy Dimensions for iOS and Android devices.

“Drawing upon the root of the series with such features as beautiful 2D pixel art, job-driven character growth, additional scenarios in which to inherit the jobs of your adventuring companions, and a classic story of light, darkness and crystals, FINAL FANTASY DIMENSIONS delivers the best of FINAL FANTASY, retro and fresh alike, directly to your smartphone.”

The game will be announced at E3 and is slated for release this summer.

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 - Memorial Day Edition

Headline RePLAY – 5.25.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: A patent to interrupt gameplay with ads, a Zone of the Enders reveal and evil never dies in Demon’s Souls.

While Microsoft is adding TV-spots to Xbox LIVE, according to a patent filed in July 2011, Sony is planning to take a more direct approach by interrupting video games with commercials.

Aptly titled as “Advertisement Scheme for use with Interactive Content,” the patent describes the use of a computer program or system to warn users of an impending ad, slows down and suspends the game, plays the ad and resumes the game.  

Thankfully, a patent being filed does not guarantee its implementation. The fact that it is being discussed at all is a troubling, however.  

|Source: NeoGAF

Zone of the Enders HD Edition’s release date of October 25th in Japan is supposed to be the big news from today’s Zone of the Enders HD ReBOOT Preview Event, however, Hideo Kojima had one more reveal up his sleeve: a long-awaited Zone of the Enders sequel.

Called the “Enders Project,” Kojima explained that the game is currently in an early prototyping phase and testing what can be done with the Fox Engine. Producer Ryosuke Toriyama added that he and the Zone of the Enders team are currently making models to convert as Fox Engine assets.   

|Source: Famitsu via Andriasang

Atlus is doing a complete 360 by announcing an extension to the North American Demon’s Souls online servers.

“While it originally seemed as though it would be unfeasible for us to continue to sustain the servers,” said Tim Pivnicny, Atlus’ vice president of marketing and sales, “a number of developments have made it possible for us to continue to invest in  and support our fans as they have continued to invest and support us and Demon’s Souls.”

The servers will continue to operate for the “foreseeable future” as long as user activity and interest “remain constant.”

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 – 5.23.12

Even Activision Executives Joked That StarCraft II was Never Coming Out |Source: Kotaku

Diablo III is the Fastest-Selling PC Game of All Time |Source: Blizzard

Judge Recommends Import Ban for the Xbox 360 |Source: GamePolitics

Next Guild Wars 2 Beta is on Hold to Implement New Hardware |Source: VG247

Grand Theft Auto V Due by End of March 2013 – Analysts |Source: GameSpot

Headline RePLAY – 5.22.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The Nintendo 3D hits another sales milestone, the Star Wars: The Old Republic team experience layoffs and Blizzard responds to Diablo III hacking claims.

As PlayStation Vita sales continue to drop in Japan, Nintendo 3DS sales continue to rise as it crossed the six million mark this week in domestic sales, according to retail tracker Enterbrain, Famitsu’s publisher.

From its debut on February 26, 2011 to May 20, 2012, the handheld sold a grand total of 6,017,206 units in Japan alone.

According to Andriasang and Media Create data, the Nintendo 3DS was also the fastest handheld ever to reach 5 million in sales.  

|Source: Famitsu via Andriasang

BioWare doctors Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka have confirmed layoffs with the Star Wars: The Old Republic’s development team today in a statement on the MMO’s official forums.

“Sadly, we are bidding farewell to some talented, passionate and exceptionally hard-working people who helped make SWTOR a reality,” said the BioWare doctors. “Impacting people’s lives this way is always very hard, but we’re ensuring the affected people are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect.”

Despite the layoffs, Dr. Zeschuk and Muzyka wanted to reassure fans that business will continue as usual with SWTOR. “We still have a very substantial development team working on supporting and growing the game, and we feel we are in a strong position, with your continued involvement and feedback, to continue to build Star Wars: The Old Republic as one of the most compelling and successful online experiences in the world today.”

|Source: SWTOR

In a coordinated effort to tackle the Diablo III hacking crisis, Blizzard has rejected allegations that hackers are bypassing authenticators and have devoted forum threads to aid players in buffing their Battle.net account security.

“We’ve been taking the situation extremely seriously from the start, and have done everything possible to verify how and in what circumstances these compromises are occurring,” said Blizzard Community Manager Micah “Bashiok” Whipple.

“Despite the claims and theories being made, we have yet to find any situations in which a person’s account was not compromised through traditional means of someone else logging into their account through the use of their password. While the authenticator isn’t a 100% guarantee of account security, we have yet to investigate a compromise report in which an authenticator was attached beforehand.”

In a separate thread dedicated to Battle.net account security, Community Manager Stephanie “Lylirra” Johnson explains that the rise of compromised accounts amidst the release of a new game is nothing new.

“Historically, the release of a new game—such as a World of Warcraft expansion—will result in an increase in reports of individual account compromises, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing now with Diablo III,” said Lylirra.  

“We know how frustrating it can be to become the victim of account theft, and as always, we’re dedicated to doing everything we can to help our players keep their Battle.net accounts safe—and we appreciate everyone who’s doing their part to help protect their accounts as well.”

|Source: Blizzard

Headline RePLAY – 5.21.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Guild Wars 2 aims to set a new MMO-genre standard, Diablo III problems persist and a new Castlevania game.

Is the MMO-genre formula for success set by Blizzard’s World of Warcraft changing? ArenaNet’s global brand director thinks so, and believes that the company’s upcoming Guild Wars 2 will set a new standard in the genre.

   

“We’re finally seeing a point where companies realize that they’re not going to create the next great MMO by just copying what’s come before [World of Warcraft],” said ArenaNet’s Christopher Lye. “Honestly, I think the problem is that there’s been a lack of change in MMO design and that Guild Wars 2 is a reaction to that.”  

Guild Wars 2 deviates from the World of Warcraft blueprint with the “Dynamic Events” system to replace traditional questing, which allows the development team to “easily modify and add new content.” ArenaNet’s upcoming MMO also revamps the action-bar combat system to be more like Bluehole’s TERA MMO with action-based combat that employs active dodging.  

“People will call this risky, but we think it’s riskier just to churn out the same MMO that everyone played before,” said Lye. “People can read the words, but it’s not until someone actually plays the game that they really understand some of the fundamental changes that we’ve made to the genre.”

|Source: Gamasutra

The problems with Diablo III continues to mount up like a pile of trash loot that nobody wants, except it now comes in the form of enterprising hackers rather than server gremlins.  

Reportedly hackers have compromised many Diablo III players’ accounts and stolen in-game gold, items or even the accounts they have hijacked. It appears that the Blizzard Authenticator is ineffective at preventing these attacks, as there has been speculation that hackers are simply able to ‘jump into’ accounts—completely bypassing the Blizzard authentication process.

Blizzard has yet to comment on the issue, but has been ‘rolling back’ victimized accounts to a point prior to when the hacking took place. Any items lost to the hacking, however, will not be returned.

|Source: GamesIndustryInternational

Castlevania is making a return to handhelds via the 3DS, according to rumors by Dutch Nintendo site N1ntendo.

The new game will be called Castlevania: Mirror of Fate and it is to be revealed by Konami at this year’s E3. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer David Cox and writer/director Enric Alvarez are rumored to be part of the development team.   

Is this the reason why Cox Tweeted from the “land of Dracul” last month and teased his reason for being there?  

|Source: NeoGAF via Kotaku

Headline RePLAY – 5.18.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Initial details on Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, Kevin Butler stars in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and Diablo III’s secret level.

In what is our first glimpse into Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, voice actors for Admiral Hackett, EDI and Kaidan Alenko were confirmed to have recorded voice-over work for the upcoming DLC.

“I just did another session with them,” Lance Henriksen, the voice actor for Admiral Hackett, told G4. “They were saying there’s a little bit of a problem with the abruptness of the ending. So we did a whole series of things to add to the end of the game, to live up to the quality they’ve been doing.”

Raphael Sbarge, the actor for Kaidan Alenko, also confirmed his return via Twitter: “Just when you thought I would never go back, they keep PULLING me back in #MassEffect!! Recording!! Yay! Wha-hoo!”

Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut is slated for a summer release.  

|Source: G4

Fictional VP of PlayStation commercials, Kevin “With a Stick” Butler, is the latest to be included in the roster of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale together with Snake, Nathan Drake, Cole MacGrath and Sly Cooper.

According to online database site IMDB, each of the characters’ voices will be reprised by their usual actors, such as David Hayter as Snake, Nolan North as Nathan Drake and Jerry Lambert as Kevin Butler.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s popular Super Smash Bros. franchise, where up to four PlayStation characters duke it out with sticks.  

|Source: GamerZines

Hello, friends. Stay awhile and listen.

In homage to the Diablo II’s Secret Cow Level, fans have uncovered a new secret level in Diablo III— “Whimsyshire.”

Whimsyshire is a completely playable area that consists of smiling clouds, pink cupcakes, ponies and rainbows. Oh, and it has elite bosses that can still slaughter an unsuspecting adventurer expecting hugs and friend-magic.

This stage was undoubtedly inspired by the art controversy at BlizzCon 2008, where a number of Diablo III fans found the color palette of the game to be “too colorful.” In response, Blizzard’s art department made t-shirts with rainbows, unicorns and happy clouds for the Diablo III development team.

|Source: Diablo Wiki

Headline RePLAY – 5.17.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Blizzard apologizes for Diablo III’s disastrous release, Guild Wars 2’s name reservation program and Pokémon Black and White 2’s awesome introductory movie.  

Diablo III’s release this week unleashed a different kind of hell than the one Blizzard was expecting: a hell rife of error messages, disappearing achievements and long queues. The technical problems were so grave that Blizzard has stepped forth to apologize.

“We sincerely regret that your crusade to bring down the Lord of Terror was thwarted not by mobs of demons,” said Blizzard Community Manager Micah “Bashiok” Whipple, “but by mortal infrastructure.”

Bashiok admits that “despite very aggressive projections” their preparations for the game’s launch “did not go far enough.” Since then Blizzard has been “monitoring the game 24/7 and have applied several optimizations” to Diablo III’s systems to “better weather the global rush.”

“As of last night, specifically 11:50 PM PDT on May 15, all systems have been online and running relatively smoothly,” Bashiok reports. “We’re continuing to monitor performance globally and will be taking further measures as needed to ensure a positive experience for everyone. This includes some maintenance to implement additional improvement s for each region.”

As a result, the real-money auction house has been delayed from its estimated May 22nd release date.

|Source: Blizzard

What’s in a name? ArenaNet tackles that question by launching a name reservation program for their upcoming MMO, Guild Wars 2.

Guild Wars 1 players can preserve their character name into Guild Wars 2 simply by being an active player. During Guild Wars 2’s Headstart Access period, account holders must create a Guild Wars 2 character with the same name as their Guild Wars character in order for the process to work.

And voila, a hero is reborn!

|Source: ArenaNet

Before its June 2012 release date in Japan, Pokémon Co. is (re)introducing fans to Pokémon Black and White 2’s characters with a 5-minute anime movie.

While the movie is ultimately an ad and won’t be used in the game, it does tantalize viewers on what to expect from the sequels. i.e. Gym Leader battles, Team Plasma’s return, pre-Generation V Pokémon, returning characters, etc.

|Source: Andriasang

Headline RePLAY – 5.16.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Activision’s corporate espionage attempt with “Project Icebreaker,” Activision drops its countersuit against EA and Steam remote downloads are now available!  

It looks like Activision’s dismissal of ex-Infinity Ward leads Jason West and Vince Zampella wasn’t the first time the publisher attempted to do such a thing, newly-released court documents revealed today.

The documents, acquired by Giant Bomb, claims that Activision has launched an internal investigation called “Project Icebreaker” that aimed to “dig up dirt” on the Call of Duty creators in an effort to see them fired.  

Activision’s former director of IT Thomas Fenady was instructed to “dig up dirt on Jason and Vince” by chief legal officer (and current chief policy officer) George Rose because “we just want to get rid of them.” Rose claimed the orders were from Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who he said would “take care of” Fenady.

Project Icebreaker involved breaking into West and Zampella’s e-mail, voicemail and computer. In order to accomplish these objectives, Fenady contacted Microsoft and security specialist InGuardians. Microsoft refused to help without a court order and InGuardians weren’t comfortable with the “legal hurdles.”

When that failed, there was even discussion to gain access by staging a fake fumigation or mock fire drill at Infinity Ward.

Rose denied allegations that he asked Fenady to “dig up dirt”, but did concede on Project Icebreaker’s existence and his instructions to Fenady to obtain information.

Activision seeks to dismiss Fenady’s testimony under attorney-client privilege while West and Zampella’s lawyers want to use it to prove that the publisher sought to remove the ex-leads prior to the 2010 fallout.

|Source: Giant Bomb

Activision has dropped its $400 million countersuit against EA today, announcing that the two companies “have decided to put this matter behind them.”

The publisher accused EA of “disrupting” Infinity Ward by “luring” away ex-leads Jason West and Vince Zampella. Activision sought $400 million in damages from “delays” and “disruptions” at Infinity Ward.

West and Zampella’s lawsuit against Activision for unpaid royalties and bonuses remains, however, and is scheduled for trial on May 29th, despite the publisher’s request to postpone it for 30 days.

|Source: Bloomberg

The ability to remotely download games to your PC or Mac was inevitable after Valve released its Steam mobile app, which allowed users to access and manage their library of games outside of the Steam client.  

Steam’s remote downloads are now available online, and all it requires is a PC or Mac with an active Steam client and a web browser or the Steam mobile app.

Convenience, thy name is Steam!

|Source: Steam