Zynga Hit With Vostu Counter-Suit

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Zynga recently sued Vostu for copyright infringement, saying the Brazilian company blatantly ripped off their games. Vostu is now counter suing, alleging that Zynga has been copying games for years.

Zynga provided specific examples of the Vostu games Mini Fazenda, Megacity and Vostu Poker being similar to their Farmville, CityVille and Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. Vostu doesn’t deny the similarities, but they claim Zynga didn’t create the elements that they’re bringing a suit over.

“The very elements of Zynga’s games that Zynga says Vostu copied are not protectable elements that Zynga originally created,” Vostu’s counterclaim alleges. “They are, and have been, common in other games before Zynga added the elements into its games.”

Vostu adds that there were several meetings between Zynga and Vostu executives in 2010 and 2011 and the infringement issues never came up then. Vostu alleges that on January 31, Zynga expressed interest in acquiring Vostu, not too hard to believe given their many other acquisitions.

Source: WSJ.com

Hobbit Character Images

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Images have been coming out from director Peter Jackson for the new movie The Hobbit. Here we see the dwarves Nori, Ori, Dori, Oin, Gloin, Fili and Kili along with the titular Bilbo and the wizard Gandalf.

Dean O’Gorman as Fili and Aidan Turner as Kili

Jed Brophy as Nori, Adam Brown as Ori and Mark Hadlow as Dori

John Callen as Oin and Peter Hambleton as Gloin

Ian Mckellen is Gandalf

Martin Freeman is Bilbo

Source: moviefone.com

KartRider Rush Races Past 3 Million Downloads

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Nexon Mobile has announced that KartRider Rush has reached the three million download mark. In celebration the iOS game will offer in-game content offerings one-through-six bundled in one package, which can purchased only for $0.99 until July 31.

We are appreciative and excited about the tremendous reaction we’ve received from players all over the world, said JeongMin Han, Nexon Mobile s team leader. We will continue to work and develop new, exciting content for our players, giving them more challenges and fun.

Square Enix U.S. CEO ‘Not Confident’ In Social Gaming Future

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Social gaming is a hot topic right now in the gaming industry, with the debate ongoing whether larger studios should get involved in the space. Square Enix U.S. CEO Mike Fischer, however, isn’t sure that it’s going to be that way for that long.

“I grew up a gamer, my entire career is in the games industry, so even though right now things like social gaming is already hot, and it’s attracting a lot of VC attention, I’m not confident that a lot of that interest will still be there in a number of years as some other category becomes hot down the road, said Fischer. “And for us, it’s not about picking winners in the different platforms, it’s about having great IP and fitting that to the best platform for it. We want all of the platforms to succeed.”

Source: Gamasutra

Electronic Arts Details Ways to Buy Star Wars: The Old Republic

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Electronic Arts has announced that three that they have officially started pre-orders for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This includes a Standard Edition that will be available in digital and retail copies that has the game software and 30 days of game time.

There will also be a Digital Deluxe Edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic available exclusively on Origin.com that have the basic game, and in-game bonuses of a flare gun, training droid, HoloDancer, HoloCam and a STAP hover-vehicle. There will also be a Collector’s Edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic only at retail, which along with the game will include the backstory book The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural with artwork and info, a nine inch Darth Malgus statue, a 14 x 20 inch Old Republic Galaxy Map, a Security Authentication Key Fob, a Music of Star Wars: The Old Republic CD, with digital bonuses include an exclusive Mouse Droid pet and a exclusive Collector’s Edition Store for players to purchase “a dynamic array of items.”

War Inc. Open For Business

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War Inc. recently entered open beta and to celebrate it has a new trailer produced by the Ayzenberg Group for the [a]list games project. It features the song Thieves by Ministry along with lots of explosions and gunplay.

Game Of Thrones Launch In France Reveals Of The World Of Westeros

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To coincide with the launch of the HBO series Game of Thrones in France, an interactive map of the Westeros continent, characters, videos and an exclusive 26 minute documentary. Click and explore the worlds of the Stark, Lannister, Targaryen and Baratheon families. Also, if you haven t seen it already, check out the music video Damn It Feels Good to Be a Lannister which makes a great compliment to the site.