Sega Marketing VP Talks Wii

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Sega was one of the main companies leading the charge for core titles on the Wii, though now might be a case of once bitten, twice shy. Sega marketing VP Alan Pritchard admits that MadWorld may have been a better fit for the PS3 and Xbox 360 and that the performance of the system of late has caused the publisher to revise its strategy.

“The Wii as a platform is in a strange place,” said Pritchard. “We’ve got the economic situation. It’s hard for retailers, and consumers are buying fewer products. The Wii had such a massive amount of success for three years; things are different now.”

“It’s hard for the core titles. Going back 12 or 18 months when we release those titles, it was a risk,” he said. “Nintendo was supportive of the strategy. There was an intent to take the Wii console a little older, and make a more core machine. So games like MadWorld, House of the Dead and Conduit fit that strategy.”

Source: GameInformer

Best Buy Revenues Dip, Games Blamed

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Best Buy recently announced that revenue had dropped 1.1 percent during the recent quarter. Game software and hardware was specifically blamed for the dip.

“The gaming sector lagged our expectations,” said Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn. “We did not perform as well on some of the new game titles as we had expected, especially coming off a 20-month high in market share a year ago driven by Wii and PS3 hardware and title sales. We believe we are well positioned to grow this product segment because of our relationship with so many gaming enthusiasts, he added. In the short term, we feel very good about the launch of the new gaming peripherals, Kinect and Move. We estimate that we have a number one market share in Kinect and Move, which already have had a positive impact in November.”

As for the used business and future prospects, he noted, “We’ve just started what we’re doing with trade-in and used games. We’re very pleased with the reaction that we’re getting in the about 800 stores that it’s in. And the stores where we actually have trade-in counters inside the gaming department, which is a few hundred, the exchange rate is much, much higher than the stores that don’t have it, so that’s something we’re going to continue to expand. So we’re pleased with that and getting us into that part of the business that we virtually have zero in today.”

“As far as gaming in the third quarter, our hardware was good; our software was softer than we would have liked, and that’s basically because of the titles that were launched in that time. Last year at this time we were into a lot of Wii business and that kind of family category where we did strong in,” continued Dunn. “We were lapping that against titles that were much more core gamer, which is the share and the business that we’re trying to go after with the trade-in and used. So that’s what happened in it, but we’re optimistic and very aggressive in what we’re doing in that space going forward.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Best Game Related Stand Up Ever

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Dara O’Briain is a stand up comedian and a gamer and he does a great job of mixing the two in this bit. It’s all here: Guitar Hero, Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid and low blows on the Wii!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yKIiUsbOO24%26

 

Batman’s New Enemy

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While casual fans might not know, Hugo Strange is one of Batman’s oldest enemies, dating back to the ’40s. His fiendish genius will match wits with with Batman in Arkham City.

{video link no longer active}

 

Killzone 3 Developer Talks 3D, Move, Co-Op

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Killzone 3 is a shooter title with a lot of bells and whistles, like 3D and Move support. However, Guerrilla Games managing director Herman Hulst said that they’re careful to make sure the experience is good for all users.

“I’m a little bit careful to… let me rephrase that… 3D is a great feature, but it’s an option to the game. I don’t want people who don’t have 3D to have a suboptimal experience,” said Hulst. “That said, if you play it in 3D… you see some of the cuts scenes and sequences in 3D, they look outstanding. They really pull you into the action. You’re more than ever submerged.”

“But we don’t want to alienate the core audience,” added Hulst. “The same with Move. These things are options. They’re great options. I think they’re here to stay. Just like we moved from mono sound to stereo sound. You wouldn’t want to go back after awhile. But you don’t force people to buy another transistor radio. When they’re ready. We have to listen to the audience in that regard.”

When asked how all this was possible, he talked about optimization and confirmed split screen co-op. “We found a lot of power after we completed Killzone 2. Just to give you an example on the graphics side: we pulled a level from Killzone 2 into the Killzone 3 engine and it ran at 50 percent. That’s how much power we’ve been able to find,” noted Hulst. “You can see it in split screen co-op. We had to do the double rendering anyway. I don’t think there’s that much that’s suboptimal.”

Source: 1UP  {link no longer active}

Keiji Inafune Working On ‘Comcept’

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According to a brief encounter with a securities analyst, ex-Capcom developer Keiji Inafune is already hard at work on his new studio. When the two exchanged business cards, there was a new card with the name Comcept on it, his new company in his post-Capcom life.

Inafune, who has worked on Mega Man, Onimusha and Dead Rising, has been outspoken about the Japanese gaming industry. He left Capcom after 23 years in order to pursue other interests.

Source: Siliconera.com

Transpera Enhances Mobile Ad Network

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Transpera has revealed their new technology platform for the Transpera mobile video advertising network. Supporting iOS, Android and BlackBerry, the network now has more efficiencies, optimizations and features like click to call, click to locate, survey capabilities and social media sharing options.

“We are committed to creating the best possible consumer experience in mobile video advertising. Too many mobile video ads force consumers to wait for downloads and sit through less than optimal jittering and stuttering videos – we’ve focused our development resources on solving these issues with superior technology,” said Alex Galvagni, President and Chief Operating Officer, Transpera. “We’ve created a better way to deliver mobile video ads that engage consumers and represent world-class brands while bringing in the highest revenue potential for mobile for developers.”

Dead Space Animated Movie Coming January 25

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Electronic Arts and Anchor Bay Entertainment have confirmed that Dead Space Aftermath will release on January 25, the same day as the game Dead Space 2. The animated production will tell the story of the USG O’Bannon and the four unlucky first-responders to the necromorph outbreak on the USG Ishimura.

The novel Dead Space Martyr has already released in Summer 2010, telling the backstory of the Church of Unitology and the origin of the Black Marker. The comic Dead Space: Salvage has also recently released, telling the story of scavengers who come across the abandoned Ishimura. EA hopes that these various ventures will build up the excitement for Dead Space fans before the game’s release.

Games Lead The Way On Kindle

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It’s widely known that games are among the best selling items on platforms like iOS and Android. However, it turns out that games carry the day, even on platforms like e-readers.

Over the past 90 days, eight of the top 12 sellers in the Kindle Store are games, including the top half-dozen. Mostly word and puzzle games (like Mahjong, Sudoku and Jumble) manage to beat out any digital novels, likely because the games retail for $3.99 and under, while the e-books generally go for $9.99 and over.

Source: Kotaku