Astro Ape Seems Subsumed By Zynga

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Reports are that Astro Ape has been purchased by Zynga. Many of the employees of the social game developer have publicly changed their place of work to Zynga on LinkedIn including Chieh Huang, Astro Ape’s CEO.

Huang famously bragged last year that his company made better games that Zynga, despite having lower marketing budgets. “It’s no secret that all those companies have millions and even billions of dollars to spend on marketing budgets,” said he said to Pocket Gamer. “For us, at the end of the day, we believe that we build a better product.”

Source: Business Insider

Skyrim Director ‘Couldn’t Care Less’ About 3D

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Some companies are making a go of it with 3D technology, despite somewhat lackluster penetration with consumers. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim game director Todd Howard, however, is not a fan of 3D and doesn’t make it sound like it’s coming to his game.

“Honestly, I couldn’t care less – having to wear those glasses!” said Howard. “I’m not a 3D fan. It ruins the image for me. I want the clarity.”

When asked if he felt the technology would stick, he said, “I think everyone’s going to keep trying. But I’m not sure.”

Source: CVG {link no longer active}

Batman: Arkham City Goes 3D

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Rocksteady and Warner Bros have announced that Batman: Arkham City will have 3D visual modes. This will be available to players on PS3, Xbox 360 and those with Nvidia 3D Vision PCs.

“Gamers on Xbox 360 and PS3 can delve deep into Arkham City’s breathtaking environments and immersive gameplay in stereoscopic 3D when playing on any 3D HDTV and wearing active shutter glasses that are compatible with the television,” reads the release by Warner Bros. “In addition,  Batman: Arkham City supports Nvidia 3D Vision technology, allowing PC players to experience the action in stereoscopic 3D on GeForce GPU-equipped desktop or notebook PCs and compatible 3DTVs. Fans with HDTVs can enjoy Batman: Arkham City in anaglyphic 3D with technology compatible with all high-definition TV sets and visible to players wearing 3D glasses available for the video game.”

Warface Put On Outside Of Asia

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Crytek has confirmed that their free-to-play shooter title Warface will be releasing outside of Asia. Powered by the CryEngine 3, the class-based shooter features a constantly updated environment.

“With Warface we aim to become the next-gen of free-to-play shooters that are en par with traditional AAA games in terms of quality,” said Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli. “We have the team and technology to make it happen and are starting with a strong partner in Asia to ensure we gain experience with the free to play business model. It’s the next logical step for us to bring this new IP to a global audience and thus to our worldwide community.”

Sharpie Starts Inspiration

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The Sharpie marker company has released a series of videos for fans that used their products in various endeavors using the line “It Starts With Sharpie.” The company is encouraging fans to submit designs of their own to Sharpie.com for a chance to be featured on YouTube on August 27, 2011.

{one video link no longer active}

 

 

 

Let Your Bee Beard Grow

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Irish cider brand Magners has launched a free iPhone app {link no longer active} featuring Eamon, the Clonmel beekeeper, who lives his daily life always wearing a beard of bees. Users can choose one of six bee beard styles to add to a photo and then share with friends. Every time the app is downloaded, a donation of 50 bees will be made to the British Bee Keeping Association and the Federation of Irish BeeKeepers, to help save 1.5 million urban bees over the next year. A donation will also be made whenever someone ‘likes’ the Magners Facebook page and each time someone enters the competition to win one of 25 Urban Beekeeping Scholarships.

Smurfs & Co. Reaches Millions Of Facebook Users

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Ubisoft has announced that they have a hit with their The Smurfs & Co social game on Facebook. Launched on July 29 around the same time as the movie, the game has reached over 3.9 million monthly active users.

“Ubisoft is incredibly pleased with how popular The Smurfs & Co game has been among players,” said Chris Early, vice president of digital publishing, Ubisoft. “Ubisoft has become a global gaming partner for The Smurfs brand by offering consumers a range of fun Smurfs games to play including the entertaining The Smurfs & Co Facebook game, The Smurfs Dance Party on Wii, and The Smurfs on DS.”