Amnesia: The Dark Descent was an incredibly successful indie horror title that put Frictional Games on the map. Now working with thechineseroom, they’re producing the equally scary seeming Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, described as a game set in the same universe but not a direct sequel.
James Cosmo (Braveheart, Game of Thrones) delivers the final sermon during the apocalypse in THQ’s newest Darksiders II live-action trailer. The accomplished Cosmo will also lend his voice talents to the game as the Maker Elder Eidard and other characters; find out more at Facebook.
Facebook is rolling out subscription options for developers. Kixeye (with Backyard Monsters) and Zynga (with Pioneer Trail and FarmVille) are among the first developers to try it out, with subscriptions rolling out to all developers in July.
“The game we’re testing on is Backyard Monsters; it’s our franchise title with 20 million plus installs to date. It seemed like a great opportunity to provide some benefits to our most loyal players. The subscription, called the D.A.V.E. Club by Kixeye, provides both in-game currency and some unique features for $9.95 a month,” said Kixeye’s VP of Product Marketing, John Getze. “We’ve got people who spend money in the game, so we wanted to give them the equivalent value that they would spend plus a bunch of other unique features that they only get through the subscription. It’s really geared at trying to give them a benefit rather than loop in new players.”
“Zynga supports any improvement to the Facebook platform and player experience that makes it easier to play and pay,” said a Zynga spokesperson. “We’re proud of the long term partnership we have with Facebook and today’s announcement doesn’t change the economic relationship between the two companies. We’ll be working with Facebook over the coming months as they phase out Facebook credits and will be sharing more details on this when we report our Q2 earnings, including any possible changes to our accounting going forward after the implementation of the announced changes.”
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
Reports are that Willem Dafoe will be co-starring in Beyond: Two Souls. Dafoe has taken roles in multiple blockbuster films over the years, ranging from John Carter and the Spider-Man movie trilogy to Platoon and Shadows of the Vampire.
Dafoe joins Ellen Page, who is confirmed as the game’s main character, Jodie Holmes. Beyond: Two Souls is the latest title by Quantic Dream, and is the company’s latest attempt at cinematic gaming.
Source: BroGamer
There was neither hide nor hair of the PS4 was mentioned at E3 2012. When asked why now isn’t the time to show off the next home console from Sony, CEO of PlayStation Andrew House concisely laid out his company’s philosophy on the matter.
“The right time to talk about new advances in hardware is when you can demonstrate a significant leap on the current experience, and something that is going to be attractive,” said House. “That remains our philosophy. Beyond that we have nothing to say at this point.”
When asked if Sony’s financial difficulties have negatively impacted the PlayStation business, he responded, “No. In Kaz [Hirai, Sony CEO]‘s first strategy meeting he pointed out three core businesses that he felt was critical to Sony’s future and we were honoured and somewhat pressured to be highlighted as one of them. I see my role, in part of my return to Sony corporation, is to serve Kaz best by building bridges with the other divisions, which is critical for any large corporation. And also to banish the idea that SCE is somehow a separate island, which sits apart from the rest of the organization.”
Source: MCV
Platinum Games boss Atsushi Inaba has apologized for the delay of Anarchy Reigns in the West to Q1 2013. The game will still be released in Japan on July 5, 2012.
“First of all, we are done with all international versions of Anarchy Reigns,” said Inaba. “The delay is not due to further development on the game. Also, even though the release dates will be different, the content of both the Japanese and Western versions will be 100 percent the same. Today’s Q1 2013 release news was the first we’d heard of it. Even if we wanted to, we can’t comment as we’re (still) in the dark officially.”
“I want to sincerely apologize to all the fans worldwide for all the confusion this situation has caused. Even though we are the game’s developers, we can only do so much about this,” he added. “However, we hope you can continue to support Anarchy Reigns and look forward to playing it with us in the future. Thank you.”
Source: Twitter
Ubisoft’s press conference at E3 was generally well received, with highly anticipated demonstrations for Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed III complimented by the surprising Watch Dogs getting people excited around the world. However, host Aisha Tyler was thought by some to be off key with the event and out of tune with her co-host Toby “Tobuscus” Turner (some described her in less flattering terms) and she took to her Facebook page to defend her status as a “real” gamer.
“To all the haters out there who claim I don’t play, to the GAF dicks, Gamespot trolls, to every illiterate racist douchebag on Youtube: Flame away. Go nuts,” she said. “Post every jackass comment your heart desires. I’ll still be playing when your mom’s kicked you out of her basement and you have to sell your old-ass console and get a real job.”
“I say to you respectfully, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, go f*** yourselves,” she concluded.
Source: Facebook.com
Xbox SmartGlass wasn’t universally embraced by gamers when it was announced, but most people who saw it understood its potential. In particular, EA Labels president Frank Gibeau was incredibly bullish on the new technology.
“We love SmartGlass. I think it’s a killer initiative. I really like it a lot,” he said. “It ties into what we’re trying to do as a company. What we’re trying to do as a developer of games is – we’re looking at multi-screen environments as being really key in what’s happening in gaming. You play games on your mobile. You play games on your PC. You play games on your console. So giving people more access points through multiple screens is a great thing.”
“Having SmartGlass capabilities, where it can talk between machines in a consistent way is fantastic, so we think there’s a lot of innovation and the Madden example that they showed is just scratching the surface of play calling, play construction,” Gibeau said. “You can imagine being able to do things in a shooter, where you’re calling in command modes or squad based commands. So I think it’s a great idea, the fact that they’re going to standardize an API that we can write to, so we can make it a seamless experience for the customer, whether it’s a Windows Phone, an Android, or an iOS is great.”
Madden was one of the few game applications shown with SmartGlass, and it’s not surprising that EA Sports head Andrew Wilson was also optimistic about it. “I think it’s very important for a couple of reasons. SmartGlass will bring in a whole new audience to gaming, but with respect to SmartGlass integration with a console experience it is changing the way people interact with consoles. If you look at Madden or FIFA this year, they have a series of multi-screen applications that allow you to manage your connected career or manage your FIFA Ultimate team while you’re in front of the screen or while you’re away from the screen. What that’s enabling is people to engage in a world that’s very, very important to them that they’re very passionate about even while they’re away from their 60-inch television. So when we look at the future and what Microsoft is planning to do at an API and SDK level that only makes our job easier to deliver a gameplay schema that’s absolutely prevalent in the way gamers play today.”
“If you think about playing someone online and you’re playing someone really tough and rather than scroll through a bunch of plays you could draw a completely new play because you’re seeing holes in their coverage and you can do that on-the-fly and it’s fully integrated… that’s pretty cool. So we’re excited about it. We started it last year and we’re doing it across our portfolio this year,” Wilson added. “And once we have that SmartGlass feature integrated with Xbox 360 I think we can deliver even cooler stuff.”
While not identical to the Wii U, SmartGlass does seem like a strategic counter to the Nintendo tablet controller. “It does definitely put positioning pressure on Nintendo because you don’t have to buy a new system. Most likely, you already have a smartphone and you already have a 360, so it does a really good job of positioning for the platform and we’re very excited about it,” said Gibeau.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
Fight My Monster has signed a licensing and merchandising deal with Dimensional Branding Group and Striker Entertainment. Targeting young boys, Fight My Monster has over 1.3 million players in the U.K. and the U.S.
“We have witnessed firsthand the power of the digital revolution, particularly when it comes to the introduction of new intellectual property and the impact that property can have on pop culture and ultimately consumer products,” said Russell Binder, president of Striker Entertainment. “Retailers and marketers are embracing the platform that gives their consumers 24/7 access to their favorite content and Fight My Monster is quickly becoming one of those dynamic properties.”
“Fight My Monster has the digital DNA required to become an evergreen property that is successful on multiple platforms including consumer products,” added John Leonhardt, president of DBG. “The Fight My Monster team has a dynamic and original property and we look forward to extending the brand globally with them.”
Facebook is looking to support local currencies, with the change coming sometime in the next few months. Facebook Credits were introduced in 2009 and later made mandatory for all third-party developers, but the friction involved in purchasing them ensured they were never terribly popular with developers or consumers; all Credits will be converted over to local currency when the switch comes.
“By supporting pricing in local currency, we hope to simplify the purchase experience, give you more flexibility, and make it easier to reach a global audience of Facebook users who want a way to pay for your apps and games in their local currency,” a post on the company’s blog reads. “With local pricing, you will be able to set more granular and consistent prices for non-U.S. users and price the same item differently on a market-by-market basis.”
Source: Developers.Facebook.com
