News
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You’ve been fighting hard for the entire match. Both teams are neck and neck, and the game can be decided at any moment. Suddenly, an opponent foolishly wanders into your crosshairs, but just before you can make him pay for his foolishness the game minimizes and you discover that McAfee really wants to talk to you about something. Or the same match in question devolves into a slideshow as your computer’s virus protection eats up your framerate.
This happens more often than we would like, and – in the past – has given us only two options. Either keep the virus protection running and risk this happening again, or shut the virus protection down and leave ourselves at the mercy of the internet. …
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EA touts two-week demo download totals for Criterion Games’ first crack at long-running racing series.
Get the full article at GameSpot
“2 million test-drive Need for Speed” was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:15:01 -0800 -
UK-based MotoGP 10/11 studio trims its operations after “unexpected” shelving of unannounced project.
Earlier today, Capcom announced that it had once again tapped Monumental Games to craft the latest installment in its MotoGP motorcycle racing sim, which is due out in March 2011. However, all is not well within the studio, as Develop reports today that the British studio has laid off staff after an “unexpected” cancellation of an unannounced project.
“Due to an unexpected project cancellation Monumental has been forced to restructure its business which has resulted in a number of job losses,” CEO Rik Alexander said in a statement. “The company is saddened by the cuts and will provide the necessary support to those affected through the change.” Alexander did not say how many employees were impacted by the cuts.
Beyond its work on MotoGP 10/11, Monumental is at work on its proprietary 3D massively multiplayer online game engine, Prime. The studio’s previous work includes the Facebook title Little Horrors, as well as Hunters World and Football Superstars.
Monumental is currently shopping this engine around to a number of publishes, Develop reports. The studio also plans to continue developing games in both the social and the traditional spaces.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Monumental cuts staff on game cancellation” was posted by Tom Magrino on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:44:40 -0800 -
UK-based MotoGP 10/11 studio trims its operations after “unexpected” shelving of unannounced project.
Earlier today, Capcom announced that it had once again tapped Monumental Games to craft the latest installment in its MotoGP motorcycle racing sim, which is due out in March 2011. However, all is not well within the studio, as Develop reports today that the British studio has laid off staff after an “unexpected” cancellation of an unannounced project.
“Due to an unexpected project cancellation Monumental has been forced to restructure its business which has resulted in a number of job losses,” CEO Rik Alexander said in a statement. “The company is saddened by the cuts and will provide the necessary support to those affected through the change.” Alexander did not say how many employees were impacted by the cuts.
Beyond its work on MotoGP 10/11, Monumental is at work on its proprietary 3D massively multiplayer online game engine, Prime. The studio’s previous work includes the Facebook title Little Horrors, as well as Hunters World and Football Superstars.
Monumental is currently shopping this engine around to a number of publishes, Develop reports. The studio also plans to continue developing games in both the social and the traditional spaces.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Monumental cuts staff on game cancellation” was posted by Tom Magrino on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:44:40 -0800 -
Furious at Castro assassination stage.
Call of Duty: Black Ops has no doubt found millions of fans this week, but the Cuban government is not among them. On the contrary it’s seething about a sequence detailing a failed assassination attempt on leader Fidel Castro.
According to the Associated Press, an article published by state-run news outlet Cubadebate read, “What the United States couldn’t accomplish in more than 50 years, they are now trying to do virtually.”
“This new video game is doubly perverse,” it continues. “On the one hand, it glorifies the illegal assassination attempts the United States government planned against the Cuban leader… and on the other, it stimulates sociopathic attitudes in North American children and adolescents.”
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Ghostbusters-less half-year sees sales plummet 56.8 percent; Champions Online, Star Trek Online revenues boost bottom line.
Today, Atari reported its earnings for the six months ended September 30. Half-year revenues for the publisher fell 56.8 percent from €68.5 million ($94 million) to €29.6 million ($40.8 million). However, six-month losses were also down, falling from €27.0 million ($37.2 million) to €9.2 million ($12.7 million) year-over-year.
Atari attributed the lower income to several factors. One, the same period in 2009 saw the release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which was a solid seller for the company. The April-September period of 2010 also saw Atari release fewer but more profitable games, a reason for the narrowed losses. The highest-profile games released during the period were the downloadable titles Blade Kitten and the rework of the vintage game Haunted House.
Another interesting trend was Atari’s newfound reliance on its online properties. The six months ended September 30, 2010, saw some 43.6 percent of Atari’s revenues come from online games, up from just 2.6 percent during the same period in 2006. Atari owns Cryptic Studios, developer of Star Trek Online and Champions Online, and also publishes Dungeons & Dragons Online. The latter game is currently free to play, as Champions Online will be starting next year.
Looking ahead, Atari said that it will continue its “strategic shift towards online/casual/social gaming, a market segment where Atari intends to benefit from new growth drivers.” One element of this strategy is the Atari GO initiative, which aims both to help indie developers get their games on social platforms and to get sites using unauthorized versions of Atari games to adopt authorized editions.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Atari six-month revenue halves as online income increases” was posted by Tor Thorsen on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:24:13 -0800 -
Sony adds a second streaming sports service to lineup; app giving access to $169 program’s subscribers to cost $10 (free for PlayStation Plus members).
The first puck dropped on the 2010-2011 NHL season last month, but hockey diehards still considering a comprehensive coverage package have a new option to consider. Sony and the NHL today announced the launch of the GameCenter Live application for the PlayStation 3.
Much like the MLB.TV PS3 app released in April, the PS3 NHL GameCenter app allows fans to watch a live stream of out-of-market games with DVR-like pause and rewind functionality, as well as full-game and condensed replays after the fact. NHL GameCenter also includes a selection of more than 500 classic games dating back to the 1960s, as well as every game played since the 2008-2009 season.
While every game played will be accessible to GameCenter users within two days of the final buzzer, blackout restrictions are still in effect. That means users won’t be able to live stream their local teams’ tilts, or games that are being televised nationally.
The PS3 NHL GameCenter application costs $9.99 to download and requires a $169 annual subscription to the existing service, which also works on PCs. PlayStation Plus subscribers can download the app for free.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“NHL GameCenter drops the gloves on PS3” was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:25:44 -0800 -
Specialty retailer teams with Sony to begin selling full games, add-ons, PS Plus subscriptions through its stores and website.
Get the full article at GameSpot
“GameStop opens shop for PSN content” was posted by Tom Magrino on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:17:24 -0800 -
Encourages publisher to move focus online.
A bumper year for Cryptic Studios the MMO specialists behind Star Trek Online and Champions Online has encouraged owner Atari to shift its focus to the online market.
As reported by IndustryGamer, Atari’s half year financial report has revealed a worrying slump for the publisher. Revenues are down 60 per cent to 29.6 million compared to 68.5 million over the same period last year.
The only good news was a strong showing for its online division with revenues soaring to 12.9 million from 1.8 million in 2009, largely thanks to Cryptic Studios’ efforts.
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Capcom’s Monumental-developed motorcycle sim returns to the Xbox 360, PS3 next year in time for start of 2011 championship season.
For most sports, the day the season starts is the day that gamers can pick up the simulation tie-in at retail. Such was not the case for the MotoGP motorcycle racing series up until last year, after Capcom secured the cross-platform rights to the franchise and moved the game’s release window from the holiday season to March. Today, Capcom announced that it would be maintaining that release strategy with the next installment in its annualized MotoGP racing series.
Developed by Monumental Games, MotoGP 10/11 is slated to arrive on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in March 2011. The 2011 MotoGP championship season begins in Qatar on the Losail circuit on March 20, and Capcom noted that it will begin providing current-season updates for MotoGP 10/11 shortly after that race date.
As for the changes going into this year’s installment, Monumental has implemented a new handling system, as well as targeted the game’s physics system. The studio has also added a new player assist feature, which can be customized to allow for a more simulation or arcade riding experience. Capcom emphasized that the player-assist function can be tweaked in a variety of ways, or completely shut off to provide the most realistic riding.
Many of the same modes from MotoGP 09/10 will be carried over to next year’s game, but Monumental has implemented a handful of new features. Namely, Career Mode now features co-op play, allowing for local split-screen. The game also features Championship and Time Trial modes, as well as a suite of online racing features that accommodate up to 20.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“MotoGP 10/11 revving up in March” was posted by Tom Magrino on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:02:37 -0800