Prototype 2: Meet Sgt. James Heller

The original Prototype developed a reputation for its dark plot, visceral combat and anti-hero Alex Mercer. This time things appear to be no different, with things focusing on James Heller seeking revenge on Mercer.

L.A. Noire Lays The City Bare

The GameStop exclusive DLC is “The Naked City” for L.A. Noire involves the investigation of a young fashion model. Things are not as they initially seem, however, as detective Cole Phelps unravels the mystery.

Konami Goes On Facebook Recon Mission

The Metal Gear Solid series, between its narrative to its stealth action, seems to breed both outspoken proponents and opponents. It seems appropriate then that Konami has launched a “Survey Mission” on Facebook to find out what more fans think of the series.

The survey asks about consumption habits, but it also asks how people play their Metal Gear Solid games. Questions ask whether players wanted to play Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on Android phones, play networked, if they completed the game and what they thought of the story.

Check it out at Facebook.com.

Beef Ads Timing In Poor Taste

Timing can be everything sometimes, especially when it comes to advertising. The recent running of an ad on Fox for Bob’s Burgers had a moment of almost perfect bad timing, if such a thing is possible.

In a repeat of the first episode of the series called Human Flesh there’s a misunderstanding about the beef content in the titular establishment’s burgers and the show went to commercial with the food inspector bringing out a poster reading Food May Contain Human Flesh. The commercial was for Taco Bell . . . talking about the quality of the beef in their various food dishes.

Our seasoned beef is 88 percent premium ground beef and 12 percent signature recipe, says the ad, which encourages watchers to go to TacoBell.com check out the ingredients of said signature recipe.

It is perhaps fortunate then that going against the Oscars, the repeat wasn’t seen by many people, and Yum! Foods (which owns Taco Bell) CFO Tim Novak indicates that despite a short term negative impact, things are improving. We believe we turned the tide with our aggressive response and we’ll wait and see the ultimate impact . . . But we’ve done an excellent job setting the record straight, and we re seriously reviewing our legal options against those who made false claims about our products.

Source: AdWeek

Dead Island Movie Still In The Works

 

Interest in the Dead Island IP for a movie was reportedly high after the popular trailer for the game debuted. Despite rumors that a deal had been struck for the rights, Techland international brand manager Blazej Krakowiak indicates this is not the case.

“Our publisher (Deep Silver) is talking to different and pretty high profile people about a possible movie,” said Krakowiak. “But nothing has happened yet. There’s nothing definitive to say.”

Krakowiak noted that the attention the game has gotten has been humbling. “We knew we had a good trailer, that’s why we worked on it,” he said. “But of course we were overwhelmed and surprised by the extent of the reaction. The response has been crushing. It’s a little scary to face that sort of hype.”

Source: Kotaku

 

Bulletstorm Maybe Helped By Fox News Attention

Epic Games President Mike Capps indicates that Bulletstorm has done pretty well for itself. This is certainly notable, considering that it’s a new IP, which is a notoriously hard sell in this current gaming climate.

“We got a reorder on day one from one of the big U.S. retailers that focuses on games,” said Capps. “So that was a pretty good feeling.”

“[Launching a new IP] is really hard. I read something that less than 1 percent of console games this generation launched as new IP sold a million units, he added. So if you don’t sell a million units you lost money, basically. I’m pretty confident we’ll be on the good side of that [1 million] number. I’d rather sell Gears-type numbers that’d be fantastic.”

Bulletstorm got some negative publicity from a Fox News report about the game’s mature content. Whether this attention was good for the game or not, Capps answered it in two ways.

“There are two ways to answer the question. The first is what it does for Bulletstorm and the second is what it does for the industry. For what it did for Bulletstorm . . . yes, there were people who were very excited about any attention at all. For a game that’s over-the-top, they probably helped sell more units than they convinced people to pick at us,” he said. “What was most exciting about it for me [was the reaction from the media in the industry defending us]. Every journalist said this Fox report is junk . . . It’s wonderful to see a media that’s defending free speech.”

“As for what it does for the industry as a whole I think it’s terrible, he noted. There are people who really respect Fox News’ opinions and look at that and are [convinced that video games are bad].”

Source: IndustryGamers

Resident Evil Gets Fifth Movie

Sony Pictures has announced that they will be making a fifth Resident Evil movie. The 3D film is set to release September 14, 2012, releasing only two years after the Resident Evil: Afterlife.

Titled simply Resident Evil 5 for now, it comes after Resident Evil: Afterlife put up record box office numbers for the franchise, taking in $236 million internationally.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Angry Birds: 30 Million Strong On Android

Rovio has revealed that Angry Birds has been downloaded 30 million times on Android alone. The ad supported version of the game has no doubt generated millions in ad revenue since its release.

Rovio’s Peter Vesterbacka also confirmed that 80 percent of users have downloaded updates of the game indicating that they’re still interested long after the first download. Several updates of the game have released, along with holiday theme packs and an upcoming licensed version based on the Rio movie.

Source: Joystiq