Headline RePLAY – 7.30.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Massive PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale leaks, Ubisoft plugs a security exploit in their PC games and gender in Minecraft.

A wave of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale leaks have flooded the internet, purportedly extracted from game data from the recently-released beta, which includes unrevealed characters, stages, items and more.

The data reveals unannounced characters like Dante (Devil May Cry), Evil Cole/Zeke/Nix (inFAMOUS), Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet), Spike (Ape Escape), Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil), Sam (Metal Gear Rising) and Nariko (Heavenly Sword) to name a few.

For a complete list on the leaks, check out the compilation via the source link or the NeoGAF forums.

Of course, Sony declined to comment on the leaks stating how it doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation.

|Source: IGN

A massive security flaw recently uncovered in Ubisoft’s PC games’ “uPLay” application prompted the publisher to release a fix to address the issue.

The exploit specifically lies in the browser plugin that uPlay installs rather than the application itself, which comes with any installation of Ubisoft PC games. A list of Ubisoft games that are affected can be found via the source link below.

While Ubisoft has not publicly acknowledged the security flaw, uPlay has been updated to version 2.04, which states: “Fix addressing browser plugin. Plugin now only able to open uPLay application.”

|Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Markus “notch” Persson is not the lead developer for Minecraft anymore, but he reveals that the popular sandbox game’s protagonists are genderless despite being referred to simply as “Minecraft Guy.”

“If it wasn’t for the fact that that the default Minecraft character is referred to as “Minecraft Guy” and that I once jokingly answered “Steve?” when asked what his name was, Minecraft would be a game where gender isn’t a gameplay element,” said notch.

notch went on to explain how the main character model is to just represent a “Human Being,” neither male or female. “The blocky shape gives it a bit of a traditional masculine look,” notch noted, “but adding a separate female mesh would just make it worse by having one specific model for female Human Beings and male ones.

“That would force players to make a decision about gender in a game where gender doesn’t even exist.”

In regards to mobs and animals, notch explains that they are genderless, and they exhibit the “most prominent traits of both genders.” “Cows have horns and udders (even if I’ve later learned that there are some cows where the females do have horns),” he said, “and chicken/duck/whatevers have heads that look like roosters, but still lay eggs. For breeding, any animal can breed with any other animal of the same species.”

“Also, as a fun side fact, it means every character and animal in Minecraft are homosexual because there’s only one gender to choose from,” notch added. “Take THAT, homophobes!”  

|Source: notch

Headline RePLAY – 7.27.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Law firms are on Zynga’s case, both Valve’s Gabe Newell and Blizzard’s Rob Pardo are not convinced on Windows 8 and GameStop is looking into selling used digital content.

In the wake of news that Zynga insiders cashed out $156 million in stocks four months before it crashed, multiple law firms have announced that they will be investigating claims against the company for violating federal securities laws and breaching fiduciary duty.

The investigating firms include Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe, Newman Ferrara, Johnson & Weaver, Wohl & Fruchter and Levi & Korsinsky.

According to Kotaku, Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe is investigating whether Zynga insiders had insider information when their shares were sold in April while Levi & Korsinsky is looking into “concerns that Zynga misinterpreted and/or failed to disclose materially adverse facts about its business and financial condition.”

|Source: Kotaku

PC industry veterans like Valve co-founder Gabe Newell and Blizzard executive vice president of game design Rob Pardo are not so confident with the upcoming Windows 8 operating system, the former even going as far as calling it a “catastrophe.”

“I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space,” Newell told All Things D. “I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality.”

“nice interview with Gabe Newell,” Pardo agreed on Twitter. “I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC Space*—not awesome for Blizzard either.”

While no details have been revealed, the criticisms seem to be over the Windows Store in Windows 8, which could restrict companies’ options in selling their software directly. According to CVG, Microsoft will take a 30 percent royalty cut per sale made in this store.   

|Source: CVG, All Things D

Already well-established in the physical used-game market, GameStop is looking into the future on how to sell used pre-owned digital games.

“It’s very interesting,” GameStop CEO Paul Raines told GameSpot. “There are some technologies out there in Europe, and we’ve looked at a couple that are involved. We’re interested; it’s not a meaningful business yet.

“Right now we’re not seeing that as a huge market, but I think we’re on the leading edge. There are a few companies, a few startups, out there that we’ve talked to that are doing this.”

Raines declined to identify which companies are involved with GameStop in this endeavor, citing concerns over competitors “rushing in.”

|Source: GameSpot

Headline RePLAY – 7.26.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Warner Bros. Games Seattle is struck by layoffs, Zynga insiders cash out before massive stock loss and Final Fantasy XIV receives a much needed reboot.

A Tweet by 3D Realms founder George Broussard has revealed that Warner Bros. Games Seattle, which consists of Monolith Productions, Snowblind Studios and Surreal Software, was hit by another unknown number of layoffs.

“Another Warner Brothers layoff going on as we speak,” Broussard Tweeted. “In progress now. Shame. Hope people land safely.”

The layoffs were later confirmed by WB, although the numbers and whether if it will affect any ongoing projects remain unknown.

“Due to shifting business imperatives, WB Games Seattle has made staff reductions,” WB has confirmed. “The group will continue to remain an integral part of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.”

The studio was hit by layoffs last November, and reportedly affected around 60 people.

|Source: Joystiq

Zynga insiders dumped 43 million shares of stock at $12 a share, collecting $156 million back in April—four months before the stock crashed to a dismal $3.

The timing is raises a lot of questions because the stock plunged after the makers of Farmville reported a terrible quarter, the very same quarter that the insiders cashed out.

Yahoo! Finance reports that all of the stock was sold by Zynga insiders, and none of the cash raised went to the company.

Notably, the selling shareholders include Zynga’s CEO, Marc Pincus.

|Source: Yahoo! Finance

Rebuilt and redesigned, Square-Enix announced news of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, a 2.0 reboot of the troubled MMO of 2010.

“Still announcing our plans for the future of the title last October, we have been working tirelessly to include all of the elements that we have promised in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn,” said Producer/Director Naoki Yoshida. “This new title not only becomes a symbol of a completely new Final Fantasy XIV, but also marks the beginning of a new stage as the latest title in the Final Fantasy series. I hope you’re looking forward to it!”

The re-launch will include a new world to explore, storyline, map system, client software and more.

|Source: Square-Enix

Headline RePLAY – 7.25.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: The 3DS is no longer selling at a loss, the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria release date and Nintendo developers had to attend Mario Cram School.

After the significant 3DS price cut last August, Nintendo announced today that it is no longer selling the 3DS at a loss, which means it is no longer selling the handheld at less than the manufacturing price.

Unlike Sony and Microsoft, who sell their new consoles at a loss initially, Nintendo resist such tactics, favoring to balanced production costs to sustain a profit margin on its systems.

The 3DS currently stands at 19 million lifetime sales.

|Source: CVG

The next chapter of World of Warcraft continues on September 25, complete with pandas, monks and Pokémon pet battles.

Mists of Pandaria will be released in the expected standard copy and Collectors Edition, but in a first for Blizzard, a Digital Deluxe Edition will also be available, which includes all the exclusive in-game items found in the CE.

|Source: Blizzard

In order to develop two New Super Mario Bros. games on the Wii U and 3DS simultaneously, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that developers had to attend “Mario Cram School.”

Designed by Takashi Tezuka, Mario Cram School taught course design and fundamental elements of 2D Mario games to departments other than the Software Development Department of the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division (EAD), which traditionally designed the classic side-scrolling Super Mario titles.  

“Participants got a firm grasp of the basic ingredients of what makes 2D Super Mario enjoyable and experienced actually making stages,” said EAD’s Yusuke Amano, “so we were able to begin this project with a solid foundation.”

“In addition,” added Iwata, “forming such a team made it possible to achieve what we never had before—making two New Super Mario Bros. games at once!”  

|Source: Nintendo

Headline RePLAY – 7.24.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Final Fantasy Versus XIII is not cancelled, Wheatley is sent into space (for real) and ex-EA COO predicts Nintendo becoming just a software company.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was not cancelled, Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada revealed via Twitter today, responding to cancellation rumors that arose last week.

Wada added that he’d just taken part in a periodic meeting for the title, even hinting that the cityscape could “make you lose your footing.”

|Source: Andriasang

There is an unauthorized stowaway on board a Japanese spacecraft now in Earth orbit on its way to the International Space Station (ISS): Portal 2’s Wheatley.  

Right now, the orb-shaped robot from Portal 2 is cruising on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s latest H-2 Transfer Vehicle, or the HTV-3, which launched last Friday, to resupply the ISS. Wheatley is in the form of a miniature two-dimensional picture thanks to an unnamed NASA worker.

“Thanks to an anonymous tech at NASA, Wheatley is actually going to actual space,” wrote Valve on its website.

Wheatley is in spaaaaaaaaaaaaceeeeeeeee!

|Source: Space

Ex-EA Chief Creative Officer Bing Gordon believes that Nintendo is on the road to becoming a software-only company because of the market “pressure” that handhelds are under.

“I think Nintendo’s already on track to become primarily a software company,” Gordon told GamesIndustry International. “We saw that with SEGA back in the day; SEGA made some missteps and became primarily a software company.”

Gordon noted that even though Nintendo has better creative talent and leadership than SEGA did, there is a lot of “pressure” in the handheld market for Nintendo due to the company’s direct competition with Apple.

“I think the handheld is going to be under a lot of pressure,” he said. “I can imagine a day when Nintendo wonders—and maybe it’s generational change—when Nintendo wonders if they ought to take some of their best games and make them apps.”

|Source: GamesIndustry International

Headline RePLAY – 7.23.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Ubisoft feels penalized by the lack of new consoles, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is like Final Fantasy V and the status on Kojima Productions’ Fox Engine.

Following Square-Enix’s lead, Ubisoft agrees that the current console generation was too long and publishers are consequently “penalized.”  

“We have been penalized by the lack of new consoles on the market,” Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot told Gamasutra. “I understand the manufacturers don’t want them too often because it’s expensive, but it’s important for the entire industry to have new consoles because it helps creativity.”

Guillemot argues that new consoles allow publishers to explore new IPs and products, but the end of a cycle doesn’t allow that luxury despite consumer demand for “new stuff.”

“It’s a lot less risky for us to create new IPs and new products when we’re in the beginning of a new generation,” he explained. “Our customers are very open to new things. Our customers are reopening their minds—and they are really going after what’s best… At the end of a console generation, they want new stuff, but they don’t buy new stuff as much. They know their friends will play Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed so they go for that. So the end of a cycle is very difficult.

“If you can’t take risks because people don’t but, you don’t innovate. And if you don’t innovate, customers get bored.”

|Source: Gamasutra

New details released by Dengeki Online reveals that Bravely Default’s gameplay is close to another Square-Enix title, specifically Final Fantasy V.

Bravely Default’s job system is identical to FFV’s by utilizing a Job Commands and Support Commands setup. Job Commands are abilities that characters use during battle while Support Abilities are automatic status effects like +10% HP or a Knight’s ability to cover party members.

Characters can even equip other Job Commands and Support Abilities learned from other jobs—with a cost. Each ability comes with a numerical “cost” value, and the amount of abilities that a character can equip is limited by their cost.  

The 3DS RPG even includes party skits, which are reminiscent of Namco Bandai’s Tales RPG series.

|Source: Andriasang

In an interview with PlayStation.Blog, Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima revealed that the new Fox Engine is “nearly finished” and a demonstration will be held on August 30th in Japan.  

“The Fox Engine is nearly finished,” Kojima told PlayStation.Blog, “but the only way to be sure it works is to create a game at the same time and improve the engine with our tools as we go along.”

Kojima noted that they were originally going to use Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for the project, but that was before Platinum Games picked up the title.  

“Production studios in Japan are nearly extinct,” he said, “a fact that we have recognized for nearly 10 years, and although the Fox Engine is not finished we are ready to show what it can do… on August 30th in Japan to be more specific.”

|Source: PlayStation Blog

Headline RePLAY – 7.20.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Dead Space 3 includes co-op to tone down the scary, Final Fantasy Versus XIII may be dead and Square-Enix plans to detail its next Final Fantasy XIII project.

Consumer feedback on Dead Space 1 and 2 being “pretty scary” is the reason for including co-op play in the third installment, says EA.

“We were hearing feedback that they [consumers] love the thriller game,” EA Games’ marketing boss Laura Miele told MCV, “but it was pretty scary, and the obvious next step was that they wanted to play with someone. So we introduced co-op into the game.

“The horror of Dead Space is all there. It’s still true to its roots and no less scary, but people felt far more comfortable playing it with someone else than they did doing it on their own.”

|Source: MCV

The media silence on Final Fantasy Versus XIII at E3 2012 and last year’s Tokyo Game Show is deafening despite Square-Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura minor mentions of the title in March and May.   

A source tells Kotaku that Versus XIII was officially cancelled just a few weeks ago and affected the morale of Square-Enix and staff. The silent cancellation was due in part to possible effects on company stock prices, the source added.

Fueling the cancellations rumors is another source claiming that Versus XIII development and resources were moved into another game—the next numeric Final Fantasy series title, Final Fantasy XV. It remains unclear if that meant actual game assets and code or just staff.

“We have no information on the status of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but will be sure to update you as it becomes available,” Square-Enix told Kotaku.

|Source: Kotaku

New Final Fantasy XIII developments are to be revealed on September 1st during the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event in Shibuya, Japan, Square-Enix announced.

The FFXIII event is titled: “Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Saga: New Developments Presentation.” The presentation will contain details on the future of the FFXIII project and will have the game’s producer, director, art director and other members of the staff in attendance.

|Source: Andriasang

Headline RePLAY – 7.19.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime admits that Diablo III’s always-online requirement is DRM, Fortnite may require constant online access and Deadpool: The Game is closer to the source material than you may think.  

In a state of the game address to Diablo III players, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime concedes that the always-online requirement is a form of DRM, but insists that it combats issues like cheating and in-game cracks while being important for the “long-term integrity of the game experience.”

“One other common topic we’ve seen in the forums is the always-connected experience, and the perception that the online requirement is nothing but an infective form of copy protection that has already been cracked” wrote Morhaime on the game’s official forums. “While we’ve never said that this requirement guarantees that there will be no cheating or game cracks, it does help us battle those problems (we have not found any fully functional cracks).

“More important to us is that the online requirement is critical for the long-term integrity of the game experience,” he continued. “I fully understand the desire to play Diablo III offline; however, Diablo III was designed from the beginning to be an online game that can be enjoyed with friends, and the always-online requirement is the best way for us to support that design.”

Morhaime elaborated by stating that features like the friends list, cross-game communication, co-op matchmaking, persistent characters, customer support, service, and security are all directly tied to the “online nature” of the game. He reiterates that the online components are “essential” to the design of Diablo III and believes that improvements can still be made to expand the “online experience” and make co-play more “rewarding.”

|Source: Blizzard

It looks like even Epic Games’ upcoming sandbox survival game, Fortnite, won’t escape the possibility of an always-online requirement. Producer Tanya Jessen, however, says that it would be used to improve the game and not as DRM to combat piracy.

“That’s [always-online requirement] something we don’t know yet,” Jessen told Rock, Paper, Shotgun. “It’s going to be really dependent on gameplay, and it’s also dependent on platform—the method of getting updates and stuff like that. So I can’t say for sure today one way or another [whether or not we’re going to use it].”

Jessen explains that the focus will be on cooperative play, and an always-online requirement may come with the territory. “Fortnite is a game that’s being developed as a co-op experience primarily,” she said. “That’s our number one focus. This is a game you’re gonna want to play with your friends, and it’s most fun with your friends. So whatever we decide to do there is gonna be more relevant to the most fun experience you can have with you friends [than I tis to piracy]. But I can’t nail that down today.”

|Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Comic book fans that want authenticity in their comic book video games is getting it with Deadpool: The Game—it’s being written by the current author of the Deadpool comic series, Daniel Way.

The High Moon Studios game about the “merc with a mouth” is slated for a release sometime in 2013.

|Source: Joystiq

Headline RePLAY – 7.18.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: BioWare layoffs more Star Wars: The Old Republic staff, EA assures fans that Battlefield 3 support will continue and don’t expect to see Fez patched (again) anytime soon.

A new round of layoffs has hit the Star Wars: The Old Republic team in BioWare Austin, which includes executive producer Rich Vogel, who was instrumental in the development of the MMO. The second wave of firings follows news of the MMO considering a free-to-play model, a 400,000 subscription drop and layoffs back in May.

“As with the launch of any MMO, the size and skillset of the teams needed to maintain the game is different than the ones that built it,” said a statement released by BioWare. “Starting in May, there have been staff reductions in the BioWare Austin studio and Rich Vogel left BioWare in June.  Some people have been platooned to other projects at BioWare Austin and EA Sports/Austin.

“Others have been released—qualifying personnel receive severance and outplacement assistance.”

The statement concluded by reiterating BioWare’s commitment to SWTOR by delivering new game content more frequently.

|Source: IGN

EA reassured fans today that it will continue to support Battlefield 3 despite news of a fourth installment being in development on Tuesday.

“DICE and EA are dedicated to continuing our support for Battlefield 3,” said Battlefield 3 community manager Ian Tornay. “Just as we’ve continued to support and maintain Bad Company 2, we intend to continue providing the best Battlefield 3 experience we can well into the future and past release of End Game and Battlefield 4.

“There are several teams at DICE,” he explained. “Starting work on Battlefield 4 does not mean that we will be abandoning Battlefield 3 or working any less hard to bring you the best expansions we can.

“Your feedback absolutely matters. We will continue to use it to improve BF3 and to make Battlefield 4 even better from day one.”

|Source: CVG

Polytron, the developers of Fez, would fix the game-breaking issues the first patch caused—if it wasn’t for the “tens of thousands of dollars” it would cost to re-certify the game.

“We’re not going to patch the patch,” says a statement released by the developer. “Why not? Because Microsoft would charge us tens of thousands of dollars to re-certify the game.”

The developer continues to explain that the “save file delete bug” caused by the first patch only affects a “less than a percent of players” and that it makes “NO SENSE AT ALL” for a small independent studio to pay “so much money” to fix it.

Polytron noted that if Fez was released on Steam versus Xbox LIVE Arcade, the game would have been fixed two weeks post-release at “no cost.”

“We hope you don’t think back on your time spent in Fez as a total waste,” said the studio. “Microsoft gave us a choice: either pay a ton of money to re-certify the game and issue a new patch (which for all we know could introduce new issues, for which we’d need yet another costly patch), or simply put the patch back online. They looked into it, and the issue happens so rarely that they still consider the patch to be ‘good enough.’

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but in the end, paying such a large sum of money to jump through so many hoops just doesn’t make any sense,” Polytron concluded. “We already owe Microsoft a LOT of money for the privilege of being on their platform. People often mistakenly believe that we got paid by Microsoft for being exclusive to their platform. Nothing could be further from the truth. WE pay THEM.”

|Source: Kotaku

Headline RePLAY – 7.17.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Gearbox Software maintains that Duke Nukem Forever is like Half-Life, a new Earthworm Jim is coming and Steam doesn’t “cheapen” IPs.

Despite the armada of negative press on Duke Nukem Forever, Gearbox Software boss Randy Pitchford insists that the game is comparable to Valve’s Half-Life.

“I still stand by that,” he told Eurogamer. “When I played what 3D Realms had been working on I was really surprised by it. Like everyone, I thought who knows what the hell those guys were doing? And here there was a lot of stuff… And when you realize what the actual gameplay is, the actual gameplay is very much like Half-Life. “

“It’s basically a linear, narrative experience, but the puzzles are derived from the environment,” he continued. “It’s not just ‘shoot the guy’. Some of it’s about, ‘how do I navigate through this? What do I manipulate in the environment to make my path?’”

“It’s almost identical, beat for beat in terms of its gameplay pacing, to Half-Life.”

|Source: Eurogamer

A new Earthworm Jim is not a matter if, but a matter of when, says Shiny Entertainment founder David Perry.

“Our problem is that the team is all doing well in whatever they’re doing right now,” Perry told Eurogamer at the Develop conference last week. “It’s just a bunch of guys who all have their own thing. Everyone has their own company. So, to get them to stop what they’re doing and work on a game is very difficult, but it’s something they all want to do.”

Perry says the group constantly talks about making the game. “We have our own little discussion group on Facebook. We’ve been having this discussion: when will this happen? When could we do it? What would make sense?”

“It’s one of those things that, no one’s got the time right now,” he said. “I’m sure it’s going to happen, I just can’t tell you exactly when.”

|Source: Eurogamer

There’s no doubt that Steam sales are a boon to consumers with their almost-too-good-to-be-true prices. Publishers are not so enthused, EA claiming that it “cheapens” intellectual property. Valve’s director of business management disagrees.  

“If that’s what we thought was happening, or that’s what we saw happening, we wouldn’t do it,” Valve’s director of business management Jason Holtman told PC Gamer at last week’s Develop conference. “Actually, all the data is contrary to that. A promotion is not a policy; a promotion is just a feature to give people more value.”

“It’s not as if a 75 percent offer or a 50 percent off sale at some point in time cannibalizes a sale that would have happened earlier, it’s just not true,” he claimed. “We’re actually seeing both of them growing. We don’t see one cannibalizing the other. If we did, we wouldn’t do it.

“People aren’t making a decision thinking ‘I’m always going to wait for perfect pricing,’” said Holtman. “There are time elements to it, there are fan elements to it, there are value elements to it. People sometimes like paying the full amount on the first day because they want to play it now and they want to be a fan.”

|Source: PC Gamer

Headline RePLAY – 7.16.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Deadpool stars in his own game, analyst Michael Pachter calls the Wii U “gimmicky” and Street Fighter X Tekken’s Mega Man and Pac-Man are forever PS3 exclusives.  

After being overshadowed by other “heroes” like Wolverine, Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth, is finally getting his own videogame, developed by High Moon Studios—the studio responsible for Transformers: The Fall of Cybertron.

Deadpool: The Game was announced at Comic-Con and is slated for a 2013 release date. No other details were released, although Deadpool seems to be voiced by Nolan North, who also voiced the merc hero in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series.

|Source: IGN

The Wii U “isn’t going to work” says, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter at the Develop Conference in Brighton last week.   

Pachter described the original Wii as “gimmicky” and believes that Nintendo just got “lucky” with its success, but doesn’t think that luck will extend to the Wii U.

“I don’t think they suck—I just think that they really believe that, ‘If we’re still novel, everything we do will work,’” he claims. “This isn’t going to work.

“Hardcore gamers will buy them; hardcore Nintendo fanboys will buy it. They could put out a piece of cardboard and say that it’ll play Mario and they’ll buy it.”

|Source: Edge

Despite the early release of the on-disc Street Fighter X Tekken downloadable characters, Mega Man and Pac-Man will remain as PS3 exclusives, says producer Tomoyaki Ayano.  

“Unfortunately for Xbox 360 users, Mega Man and Pac-Man are exclusive to the PS3 version of the game,” Ayano told Siliconera.

“Every game has data on it that is unused,” he explained. “In this case, Street Fighter X Tekken for the Xbox 360 did have the Mega Man and Pac-Man data on it. But, we never intended to release these characters on the 360. They are PS3 exclusives and that was our intention from the very beginning. They are not going to be timed exclusives either, they’re PS3 exclusives.”

|Source: Siliconera

Headline RePLAY – 7.13.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Nvidia gets hacked, EA is invested with always-online games and Tecmo Koei gets their own games confused.

No one is safe from the hackers, not even graphics card manufacturer Nvidia. Nvidia recently revealed that hackers have swiped up to 400,000 usernames, email addresses, “hashed passwords with random salt value” and publicly accessible “About Me’ profile information from their forums.

Nvidia assures users that the company didn’t store any passwords in “clear text” and that they are working to restore the forums soon as possible while employing additional security measures to “minimize the impact of future attacks.”

The graphics card manufacturer strongly recommends that users change any identical passwords that they might be using elsewhere.

|Source: Nvidia

EA is “investing quite a bit” into always-online games, says Maxis’ Lucy Bradshaw, emphasizing the need to provide “really great service” to make the model work.

“I think that’s why we have to be really, really good about the service that we provide,” the senior vice president told Videogamer.com. “Electronic Arts is investing quite a bit in making sure we’re locked and loaded. If you’ve seen some of our recent launches they’ve been really quite flawless. Battlefield had huge amounts of players and stayed extremely stable, and think SWTOR was one of the most absolutely stable MMO launches.”

Bradshaw also addressed the concern about internet drops with always-online play. “We have a nice, graceful way of dealing with those kind of things so that you’re not going to lose stuff. That’s the beauty of being asynchronous, is that we are able to be very graceful about how that online connection works and stuff. I think we’re going to be in a really great place.”

|Source: Videogamer.com

In what can only be defined as a major "Oops!” moment for Tecmo Koei, buyers of the PSP’s Sangokushi VIII found themselves with the copy of the wrong game on the UMD—specifically, Sangokushi VII.

Tecmo Koei is aware of the issue and posted a notice on the Game City portal site, stopped all sales of the game and is in the process of organizing a replacement program for current owners.  

|Source: Andriasang

Headline RePLAY – 7.12.12

Today on Headline RePLAY: Terry Pratchett’s daughter is writing the Tomb Raider reboot, a new Darkstalkers may finally be in the works and Metal Gear’s surprise success in the West.

Crystal Dynamics, the studio that’s developing the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, has announced that they recruited veteran writer Rhianna Pratchett for the game.  

“I grew up playing Tomb Raider, uncovering the world’s secrets and unearthing its treasures; I have lived and died as Lara Croft, but nothing comes close to the challenge of re-writing her,” said Pratchett. “Seldom do we get the opportunity to reimagine and reinvent a legend, so getting my narrative hands on Miss Croft was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. It was going back to the genesis of videogame action heroines and exploring how to make such an iconic character meaningful and relatable for gamers today.”

Pratchett also contributed to Mirror’s Edge, Overlord and Prince of Persia.

|Source: Destructoid

Producer Yoshinori Ono asked fans at Comic-Con last year to hold up $5 or $10 bills to express support for a Darkstalkers game so he can show it as evidence of fan support to Capcom execs—he didn’t ask that out of fans this year.

“This year, you don’t have to do that, and it’s not necessarily bad news!” Ono told fans in a Blanka costume.

Does that mean that there is a Darkstalkers game at last in development at Capcom? Ono wouldn’t say, instead telling the audience that he has to be careful with what he says or he’ll get in trouble.

Notably Capcom released the original Darkstalkers on PSN last year and the ESRB rated Darkstalkers 3 for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita earlier this year.

|Source: Siliconera

The Metal Gear series is a household name in the West, but creator Hideo Kojima never expected it to be such a big hit overseas.

“I made Metal Gear Solid almost as a hobby,” he told Weekly Famitsu. “I had always been making games on minor platforms and had never stood at the forefront of the stage.”

At the time of Metal Gear Solid’s release, Kojima didn’t even realize how much of an impact it made in the U.S. and Europe until he went on global tour to promote the game. During the tour, people everywhere recognized his face.

“Metal Gear Solid was my debut as a producer, but I never really thought about markets then,” he mused. “I suppose that was a good thing.”  

|Source: Kotaku