Champions Online Championing F2P January 25

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Atari and Cryptic have announced that Champions Online will go free-to-play on January 25, 2011. Called Champions Online: Free For All, the update will affect Champions Online worldwide.

“It’s a genuine pleasure to be able to announce our release date for Champions Online: Free for All,” said John Needham, CEO, Cryptic Studios. “On January 25, 2011, any gamer or would-be superhero can play within the ever-improving world of Champions Online for no cost.”

Adventure Packs, powers, costume pieces, and other consumable items will be available on Cryptic’s C-Store. Those who want to continue subscribing will be Gold Members, getting all of the content and other perks for $14.99 a month.

Social Games Set To Grow, Virtual Goods Leading The Way

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Ad dollars are a major part of free-to-play Facebook games, like Farmville and Mafia Wars. Still, virtual goods are expected to be the main driver of revenue for social games in the near future.

Understanding the popularity of social gaming is simple, said eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna. Games like Farmville are all over Facebook and people can play at their own time pace, unlike casual multiplayer games.

Social gaming generated revenue around $856 million in 2010, with the number expected to be bigger than $1.3 billion by 2012. While virtual goods are expected to maintain their 60 percent share of social gaming revenue, advertising is expected to grow from 14.1 percent share of the market ($120 million) in 2010, to a 20.5 percent share ($271 million) in 2012.

Still, there is a chance that the market might have peaked, or will dilute in the near future. When you look at the number of active monthly users for the top 15 social gaming sites, the numbers appear to be leveling off quickly, Verna said. So there is a chance that there is a bubble there.

Social games are expected to see a 29 percent rise in the number of those who play at least one game a week to 68 million users in 2012. Within that larger group, virtual worlds will continue to have a place, but it will be much more narrow and niche over the next few years, Verna said.

Source: PaidContent

Sony, Toyota Combine Forces For LittleBigPlanet 2 Promotion

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Sony has revealed that they will be doing a cross promotion between Toyota and LittleBigPlanet 2. The car maker will be offering free content to fans in LittleBigPlanet 2.

The sponsored content will include a free XMB theme and a Prius-themed level for LittleBigPlanet 2 owners. Also, those who play the level can acquire their own Toyota icons, which users can use to form their own sponsored level, and that level can then be submitted to win prizes.

Source: PlayStation.Blog

Bond Will Return In 2012

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MGM will be producing the twenty-third James Bond film in late 2011. Daniel Craig will return as the legendary British super agent, with a script provided by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan and Sam Mendes directing.

The film was held up by the financial troubles by studio MGM, but it is now on track for release on November 9, 2012. While details are still being worked out on the story, it will be a follow-up to Quantum Of Solace.

A video game to accompany Bond 23 has also gotten the go ahead. With the future of Bizarre Creations uncertain and Treyarch unlikely to stop work on Call of Duty, it is unknown who the developer will be.

Source: Deadline

Dragon Age II First DLC Trailer

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EA and BioWare are getting increasingly fond of day one DLC, and such will be the case with Dragon Age II‘s The Exiled Prince. The good news is that everyone who pre-orders the game and receives the Signature Edition will get this DLC for free.

 

Playdom Founder Driving Wild Needle

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Rick Thompson is starting up a game company called Wild Needle. The former chairman and co-founder of Playdom (which was bought by Disney) is hoping to focus on location-based social games.

Wild Needle represents a shift in the way smart money is thinking of social games, said Thompson.

Thompson sees a lot of potential in location-based games for mobile phones because they’re always connected. The first title will target women specifically.

Source: VentureBeat

Wahlberg Praised By Nathan Fillion

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While Mark Wahlberg has been cast as Nathan Drake for the upcoming movie adaptation of Uncharted, fan-favorite Nathan Fillion is taking it in stride. Despite being a popular choice among many gamers for a role (and clearly serving as an inspiration for the original concept of Drake), he wasn’t seriously considered for the role.

Just watched The Other Guys, and honestly excited to see Wahlberg in Drake’s Fortune, said Fillion. He’s got mad skills.

Source: Twitter

PC Is Still An Important Platform For Assassin’s Creed, Says Ubisoft

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Ubisoft has made some rather infamous use of DRM that requires PC users to always be logged onto the internet. Still, despite this and the fact that they’ve delayed the release of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Ubisoft indicates that PC is still an important platform to them.

“Definitely, PC is still an important platform for the franchise,” said Ubisoft UK marketing head Murray Pannell about Assassin’s Creed. “The PC version is still on track, looking good and we’re looking forward to showing some concrete details on that format soon.”

Source: MCV