Glud & Marstrand (G&M), based in Denmark, is suing Microsoft for breach of a nondisclosure agreement according to the European press.
Microsoft released Halo 2 in two editions. The first was a standard Xbox game in the standard Xbox case. The second edition was a special edition release that included the game, a bonus [...]
While no playable games were available at the Tokyo Game Show 2005 and the industry continues to debate possible prices for the PS3, Sony revealed strong support for the upcoming PS3 at the conference, by stating that 71 publishers are developing 102 games.
The full list is not currently available and will likely change before release, but we have scoured our sources to bring you a near complete list of Playstation 3 Games (to be available in Japan) {sorted by publisher}:
Sony Computer Entertainment is voluntarily recalling 3.6 million power adapters that were shipped worldwide with its slim-version PS2.
Not all of the AC adapters in question may be defective but as we are not able to identify which are defective, we are voluntarily recalling all to make sure all customers are safe,” said Nanako Kato, a [...]
Microsoft continues to respond to the gaming communities call for backwards compatibility in the Xbox 360, but questions still remain.
Early on in the development of the 360, Microsoft appears to have questioned the need for backwards compatibility. Analysts tell stories of a “senior Xbox execs” privately saying that backwards compatibility was unimportant. This conclusion was reached by research showing that PS2 owners almost never played PS1 games. While this holds true for the first Playstation editions, Microsoft gamers are in a different position: 1) Many Xbox titles see continued play after years on the market thanks to Xbox Live and Gamespy networking 2) The PS2 has been on the market for many more years than the Xbox 1, thus dating PS1 titles more than Xbox 1 titles.
Since the initial news on the 360 and responses of the community, Microsoft has worked diligently to backwards compatibility to the Xbox 360. The fundamental hardware shifts and advances have not made this easy, but Microsoft is committed to this feature. Recent developments include:
Take-Two Interactive, parent of GTA developer Rockstar Games, reported quarterly earnings ending July 31, 2005. Company sales grew from $160.9 million in the third quarter for fiscal year 2004 to $169.9 million this year (up 6%). While total sales grew slightly, overall net revenue showed a loss of $28.8 million for the quarter, compared to $14.4 million for the same quarter in 2004.
[...]
Interesting game news from Take-Two included:
(PS2, Xbox) will ship before October 31st.
will ship before October 31st.
, NHL 2K6
, College Hoops 2K6
, Top Spin 2
, Amped 3
and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
.Activision has confirmed that Kathy Vrabeck, president of the Activision Publishing division of Activision, Inc. has resigned from the company and its subsidiaries. Vrabeck, one of the most successful and highest paid women in the game publishing industry, joined Activision over six years ago and has been a key executive for the company. [...]
California lawmakers have approved a bill that would ban the sale of violent games to minors, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has not said if he will approve the bill.
Lawmakers across the country have continued to target video games for violence and adult content, but there are better uses of their time. Even if any of these bans on games pass, major law enforcement organizations across the country have said that they are unlikely to enforce any such ban.
[...]
While the average age of a gamer is now 29, most parents still do not play games or do not play the same games as their children, but that does not excuse them from understanding what their children are playing. Any parent that reads the box of a Grand Theft Auto title (or any game) has a fairly good idea of games content – not to mention the ESRB rating on the majority of games. Parents also have access to websites with reviews and in-store personnel.
If parents/guardians are the predominate purchasers of Mature and Adult Only games played by minors and parents do not take the time to understand the content, these proposed bans will have no real effect in market. Law enforcement, gamers, major retail chains and the video game industry all understand this. Politicians may understand this too, but the topic keeps them on the news.
It is time for a major political figure to take a real unbiased look at video games and stand up to these scare tactics by a select few of “media hounds”. Politicians continually claim they are looking for topic to connect with youth and bring them out to vote. They may have found it.
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Other interesting stories on gaming:
News Corp, owned by media giant Rupert Murdoch, acquired IGN Entertainment for approximately $650 million in cash. This will bring the three of the larger gaming sites and IGN’s 320 employees under the News Corp umbrella. Three of the larger game related sites included in the acquisition include:
[...]
The acquisition by News Corp offers new possibilities to revamping IGN. News Corp bring deep pockets to the table along with large a media empire which includes DirectTv, Fox television, significant film companies and a large number of other online entities. Let’s not forget about News Corp’s recent $580 million purchase of Intermix Media (MySpace.com) and an earlier purchase of Scout Media. These outlets offer tremendous cross promotional opportunities, access to new audiences and an ability to consolidate overhead.
It is also quite possible that G4TV will see a new competitor on the airwaves within the next 6 to 24 months.
Second Life, one of the more widely known metaverses, has eliminated the initial subscription fee for entering their virtual world, in an effort to broaden the appeal of the community and spur membership.
For those not familiar with Second Life or other metaverses, it is an open-ended virtual world where members can create nearly anything they can imagine and create using 3D modeling. Second Life allows members to meet, interact, message, talk and even play games with each other. Think about meeting a relative in the virtual world to talk and play poker at one of your virtual houses.
Electronic Arts has confirmed that it will move its European headquarters from Chertsey, England to Geneva, Switzerland, as will 10% of the Chertsey office’s jobs.
The strength and continued success of Chertsey has caused many to view EA as being too UK-centric. This move will place EA somewhat outside of the general European gaming hubs but will put the company close to the geographic heart of Europe. The new headquarters in continental Europe is likely part of the industry’s overall European centralization trends and will give EA ready access to the lower development costs in parts of central and Eastern Europe.
Gamers may have to wait a little longer for the Xbox 360, but it may be worth the delay. IGN has received information from three unnamed retail chains that the next-gen console will be now be available for wale on Friday, November 25th – the day after Thanksgiving and the largest shopping day in the States. Launch titles will still be available before the console, with sales starting on Monday, November 22nd.
Officially, Microsoft has told the public the Xbox 360 will be available “this fall”. Unofficially, the company has said that November would be the launch month.
This extra time will give developers additional time to finish launch titles and still release the system in time to capitalize on the “holiday rush”.
Outsiders and even most within the gaming industry never hear the details of game development contracts between studios and publishers. Through a series of unfortunate events, perhaps even some misrepresentations and a lawsuit, everyone is given insight into these contracts and negotiations.
Spark Unlimited, the independent studio behind Call of Duty: Finest Hour, has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Activision accusing the publisher of breach of contract, fraud, theft of ideas and stealing of employees. Gamespot has obtained a copy of the lawsuit and is currently running a great article detailing the case.
[...]
As this case proceeds, everyone should remember a few things:
Microsoft and Sony are clearly in a race to win the hardcore gamer. This has accelerated the console timeline and is pushing console prices up. In the end, the PS3 and 360 will likely match up very closely in overall functionality. One will have a slight edge in some areas, and the other will “best” remaining areas.
Should the PS3 and the Xbox 360 each include a hard drive and wireless bridge standard? How about other features? Not necessarily; it depends on who exactly is being targeted. By including these additional features, the price of each console will increase drastically.
[...]
The important thing to remember is that the industry needs to pay attention to the casual gamer if it wants to substantially grow fixed game sales. By segmenting the consoles, Microsoft has begun to do this. The “full package” will still be available to for the typical gamer, but a cheaper version that meets the needs of the casual gamer will also be available.
[...]
The market continues to say that Microsoft and Sony are both doing a great job of supporting their developers, but both companies still appear very hardware and technology focused. Nintendo on the other hand has always taken a more holistic approach to console design by looking at what makes games fun and improving on that.
Nintendo did lose significant ground in the current generation, but we are looking forward to seeing the continuation of features like the Bongo Drum Controller.
Will Sony miss the boat with casual gamers? Does Nintendo or Microsoft have the best approach for targeting both hardcore and casual gamers? Only time will tell, but we would love to hear your opinions…
Nintendo announced that it would acquire 2.2 million shares of its own stock, representing 1.55 percent of the 130.08 million shares outstanding. Assuming the company acquires all 2.2. million shares at the propose $106 per share price, the purchase will cost 25.64 billion yen ($233.5 million).
Analysts believe this move is to limit any possibility of a hostile takeover. The resent “friendly” $600 million takeover bid for Taito by Square Enix is the latest combination in several years of game industry consolidation that has increased pressure on the only console manufacture to rely almost entirely on game related sales.
According to Gamesindustry.biz, Sony Europe’s Phil Harrison told audiences at GDCE that multiple versions of the Playstation 3 would be “unlikely” and would “confusing”. Harrison was quick to point out that these statement and others were his “personal view” and not an official Sony decision or release, but they do help set the differences [...]
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