Realtime Worlds Assets About To Be Acquired, Says Source

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Realtime Worlds is currently bankrupt after the poor reception to APB, but there is interest in what’s left of the company. Reports say a couple of companies on both sides of the Atlantic are interested in the Realtime Worlds business and brand along with APB.

Discussions are continuing and we are expecting to make an announcement next week, said a spokesperson for the Realtime Worlds s administrator, Begbies Traynor.

Source: Develop

Zynga’s Motto Is ‘Do Evil,’ Says Former Employee

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Few companies have made out in the social gaming sphere like Zynga, with revenue thought to be in the half billion range. However, one former executive was surprised at what Zynga’s corporate philosophy was.

“I don’t f***ing want innovation,” the ex-employee recalls CEO Mark Pincus saying. “You’re not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers.”

FarmVille sure is a lot like Farm Town . . .

“Zynga’s motto is ‘Do Evil,'” said the anonymous former Zynga executive. “I would venture to say it is one of the most evil places I’ve run into, from a culture perspective and in its business approach. I’ve tried my best to make sure that friends don’t let friends work at Zynga.”

Source: SF Weekly

Need For Speed World Races Pass One Million Users

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Black Box recently announced that Need for Speed World has over one million registered users. Additionally, they announced that everyone can play the massively multiplayer online action racing game for free, with SpeedBoost items available for purchase.

Need for Speed fans have played a critical role in making Need for Speed World a success. Fan feedback has helped shape every aspect of the experience – whether it s the creation of a new feature or improving polish and progression, said John Doyle, Senior Producer, Need for Speed World. We re excited to open the gates so that every Need for Speed World player now has free access to all current and future content including new modes, cars, features and more.

Sony Exectuive Talks Lessons Learned From The PSPgo

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The PSPgo was a download-only portable system which didn’t exactly see a warm reception by consumers. The good news, indicates Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai, is that Sony learned from the experience.

“It is the first time we have done that with any of our devices, and we did get a lot of feedback, both good and bad,” said Hirai. “I think we need to make sure we have as many titles available to download as possible, to make the experience as easy as possible. But also pricing is perhaps an issue. Because of the cost reductions we’ve been able to do over the years, the traditional PSP has benefited. But the PSPgo is a completely different design, so the cost trend is different.

“Those are some factors. But I’m happy with the results that we’ve seen on PSPgo, including the invaluable feedback that we’ve been getting from our consumers. I think it has done well for us, he added.

Source: MCV

Xbox 360’s Sanrokumaru Gets Serious

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Sanrokumaru (“three six circle”) is the Xbox 360’s mascot in Japan, and like Kevin Butler, he’s good for a laugh. Unlike Kevin Butler, he’s not good at moving product, so some more “manly” suggestions for the character were trotted out.

 

Source: Kotaku

Sony Moves On Move In U.K.

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Sony is looking to spend 750,000 British Pounds during launch week. With purchases on major television shows like Big Brother, X-Factor and the Premier League, the total is expected to exceed 2 million British Pounds by Christmas.

It is about creating that massive event spike during the launch week, pushing it out to new audiences and continuing on last year’s The Game Is Just The Start campaign, said Sony’s U.K. marketing manager Adam Boita. Pre-orders are always important, but Move is not necessarily a pre-order product. It s not like Halo or World of Warcraft expansions, where people want to get hold of it day one. It is an evergreen product. And whereas pre-orders are very important, it is not necessarily the key focus.

There will be a retail tour in the U.K. running through Halloween, with EyePet, Start The Party, Kung Fu Rider and Sports Champions expected to lift the platform. Also, a large truck will make appearnces at major shopping centers to train staff how to promote the product, and a Move website has been set up for retail employees.

All the retailers have got on board with it and really appreciate that we are making this effort to go around the country, get them involved, and encourage their store staff to get hands on the product, said trade marketing manager Richard Ives. It is no small effort for us to get this 40ft truck manned and around. But we think it is invaluable and gets retail on board, not just with Move but also 3D, sowing the seeds of those new elements that are coming out in the future. It is about giving them an incentive to find out about the product themselves.

Source: MCV

iOS 4.1 Releases

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Apple recently released iOS 4.1 recently with a fix to the iPhone buggy proximity sensor. However, some users are still complaining of problems.

“Well, it’s early days, but the proximity sensor seems improved,” wrote user Allan Macdonald. “I have made a few calls with no mutes/speaker on/off issues. Screen goes blank about an inch from my face and comes back on about two inches away.”

iOS 4.1 also adds the Game Center social gaming platform, TV show rentals, social music app Ping and High Dynamic Range photography.

Source: Information Week

Halo: Reach Strategy Guide’s Six Different Covers

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BradyGames today announced a special way to promote its Limited Edition for the Halo: Reach Strategy Guide. Behind the dustjacket image of the planet Reach is an image of the Spartan team Noble 6, meaning that there are six different covers

These limited edition guides will also come with a 96-page Developer s Diary with concept art and personal commentary from the design team at Bungie, along with all the regular content contained in all versions of the strategy guide. The Halo: Reach Strategy Guide Limited Edition will release on September 14 for $35.

Apple Loosens Development Contract

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Apple today issued a statement on the guidelines for their App Store. Quick to emphasize the size and scope of the App Store, they noted that they have some changes in mind in light of developer feedback.

Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year, read the release by Apple. In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.

In addition, for the first time we are publishing the App Store Review Guidelines to help developers understand how we review submitted apps, they continued. We hope it will make us more transparent and help our developers create even more successful apps for the App Store.

The App Store is perhaps the most important milestone in the history of mobile software. Working together with our developers, we will continue to surprise and delight our users with innovative mobile apps, concluded Apple.