Project Milo was one of the more original Kinect games, but it’s also been rumored to be cancelled on more than one occasion. A more specific rumor has come out, saying that 19 contractors were let go when development halted.
Lending even more credence to the rumors is that the two Kinect teams at Lionhead will merge into one. Some of the technology designed for Project Milo will now go into a “Fable themed Kinect game.
Source: Eurogamer
X-23, for those not in the nerd know, is a female clone of Wolverine raised to be a living weapon. All that’s important for the trailer, however, is that she’s really cool to use in combat.
Netflix has expanded its business into Canada, and recently held a launch event in Toronto to celebrate this. However, reports were that the company hired extras to pose as excited future-customers, and Netflix VP of corporate communications Steve Swasey wants to apologize for that.
I want to address an event held by Netflix in downtown Toronto yesterday as part of our launch of Netflix in Canada. The launch included the shooting of a corporate video with some hired extras, who, it turns out, were given improper direction to talk with the news media about their enthusiasm for the Netflix service, read Swasey in a public post. This was a mistake and was not intended to be part of our launch plan. Simply put: we blew it. We didn’t intend to mislead the media or the public, and we can understand why some have raised questions. We’re sorry that our misfire has given Canadians any reasons to doubt our authenticity or our sincerity.
Source: Official Netflix Blog
According to Susquehanna Financial analyst Jeff Fidicaro, the production of the CDMA iPhone will begin in the next few weeks. This would possibly make the phone available for purchase in the next few months.
He attributes this knowledge to an increase of 5 percent in the production of 20 million to 21 million units for iPhones overall for the December quarter. Expect to see an announcement of a deal with Verizon or T-Mobile soon afterwards.
Source: Barron’s
Capcom has been pleased so far with the results of Dead Rising 2: Case Zero. With a half million people having paid $5 to play it, Capcom thinks it’s as good (or actually better) as a major ad campaign.
It s the most dynamic sales weapon we have ever had in our arsenal, giving us the equivalent exposure of a multi-million pound TV campaign, said Capcom s U.K. product manager Karl Reader. We foresee other publishers will follow suit. With increasing development budgets and increased risk, several smaller projects is only sensible. What we are seeing is a precursor to episodic gaming with Capcom at the helm.
This style of digital distribution is a win-win scenario for all parties, added Reader. Retailers will enjoy a surge of pre-orders that traditional campaigns only aspire to. Consumers enjoy six hours of gameplay for a low price. Finally, it serves as a barometer for us as a publisher, allowing us to gauge demand for the title and adjust our marketing plans for Dead Rising 2 accordingly.
With the success of the prequel DLC, Capcom announced that there will be a sequel DLC titled Dead Rising 2: Case West, which will also be Xbox 360 exclusive.
Source: MCV
The rise of Facebook games has given traditional gamers a lot of ambivalence, with everything from their popularity to their quality being called into question. Charles J Pratt, game designer and Adjunct Professor at NYU teaching Game Studies, thinks he might have the answer.
Maybe social games are feared and hated because they make it obvious that the console/PC culture has lost control of the word ‘game’, wrote Pratt.
Source: Twitter
The rise of video games has led to a conflict with prime time television, with many young men in the prime demographic now spending their time playing games instead of watching television. Still, the BBC has taken a proactive role by launching their own games and BBC Worldwide’s vice president for digital entertainment Robert Nashak was particularly complimentary to Alan Wake.
It is interesting you mention Alan Wake, said Nashak. Recently the TV people came to me and said, We love Alan Wake, we would love to do something like this with you . There’s a spirit of collaboration right now that I have never seen in any company I’ve worked for. People who are doing TV shows are inspired by the fact BBC Worldwide are taking gaming seriously. They want to be part of it.
Source: MCV
More and more modern video games make death temporary and easy to avoid. NeverDead is taking an original approach, letting you die in spectacular ways but still fight on in various degrees after having been mutilated.
Electronic Arts is looking to make their EA Sports Active franchise into a global hit. Thus, the company will be launching its EA Sports Active 2 brand on multiple platforms and it’s being promoted by soccer superstar David Beckham.
We’ll be doing what you’d expect plenty of advertising on TV, online, in print, at retail and outdoor. Our partnership with Beckham means he ll be involved in that, said EA Sports product manager Alice Brandvik. As the spokesperson for us, he’ll be doing some PR for us and will be involved in all the marketing activity. Having someone like Beckham who is at the pinnacle of fitness, with an aspiring figure, is really going to help us broaden the reach for EA Sports Active 2.”
Beckham worked with EA in developing EA Sports Active 2, which comes with 70 different exercises, an in-game personal trainer, a nine-week challenge plan and tracker for workout progress. It will come bundled with a heartrate monitor as well.
It s a triple-A title for us in the run-up to Christmas so we ll have a huge marketing spend around it,” added Brandvik.
Source: MCV
Research in Motion, known for Blackberry, is reportedly set to show off its new tablet computer, along with the OS (named QNX) that will power it. Called tentatively the BlackPad, internal reports suggest it will be available for purchase by the end of the year.
The abilities off the BlackPad should include a seven-inch touch screen, at least one built-in camera and Bluetooth and broadband connections. RIM is hoping to attract more developers to make Apps for their mobile and tablet devices at next week’s developers conference.
Source: Wall Street Journal
