Valve’s Newell Talks Extending The PC Experience Into The Living Room

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Valve has made their intentions about expanding out of the traditional download PC market clear by putting money into the Xi3 console and developing the Big Picture Mode for Steam. More than this, however, Valve head Gabe Newell wants the borders between platforms to be broken down.

“We thought the distinction between living rooms and PCs was artificial,” said Newell. “That’s why we did 10-foot [Big Picture Mode], and why we’re putting 10-foot into our games onto Linux. We don’t think there’s any reasons why these are islands. We don’t think you have a different set of friends when you go into your living room . . . We think you can extend the PC totally to be in the living room.”

Xi3, the modular console Valve has invested in

“Why doesn’t my game experience continue whether I’m on mobile, in the living room, at work or on an airplane,” Newell asked. “It’s not because it isn’t technically feasible, and it’s not because it isn’t the right thing to do. It’s because the people who control mobile right now, Apple, have zero interest in interoperating well with the people who currently are controlling the living room, and they’re completely interested in creating this silo separate from what you’re doing on your laptop or your desktop.”

Source: The Nerdist

Exclusive: Making Of A Winner For ‘Doritos Crash The Super Bowl’

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Doritos took a healthy risk with their “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, where the Pepsico owned company bought several spots during the Super Bowl, traditionally valued between $2-4 million per placement, then looked to amateur filmmakers to come up with the TV creative. The contest is now in its sixth year. Last year’s winner not only took the prize, a cool $1 million from Doritos, but also had their ad rated highest by USA Today’s coveted Ad Meter ranking. It’s safe to say Doritos is scoring big with the effort.

As luck might have it, the winners from last year are in the running again this year. Except it turns out luck has nothing to do with it. Nate Daniels is the man behind the campaign for the winning ad in 2012, “Sling Baby.” His team is vying for the prize this year with the spot “Fashionista Daddy,” which recently became a finalist and is currently the second most popular among viewers.

What’s their secret Backing their campaign with the kind of marketing you’d expect for a product launch, from PR and social media outreach to viral videos and even a branded game.

We talked with Daniels, who is now a social media strategist at Ayzenberg, about how they pulled off last year’s win.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch – The Music Of Joe Hisaishi

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Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch enlists not only the animation talents of Studio Ghibli, but also taps their most famous musical collaborator in Joe Hisaishi. He’s composed music worthy of any of his Ghibli films for Ni no Kuni – check out the main theme below the interview video!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=rCIm5F0deDI

Cyberpunk 2077 Teaser Trailer

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The first trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 is here, and it’s an awesome conceptual piece for the game using Archive’s song Bullets, teasing more February 5, 2013. The trailer apparently focuses on a new member of MAX-TAC (Maximum Force Tactical Division), popularly known as the Psycho Squad.

The world of Cyberpunk 2077, people who overuse implants and substances to artificially enhance the human body run the risk of becoming “psychos”, where their bodies reject organic matter in both themselves and others, making them deadly killing machines. If the police aren’t able to take care of a “psycho” on a rampage, they call in the specialized Psycho Squad.

Piracy Feeding Publisher Caution, Says 3DS Developer

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Peter Ong, co-founder of Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion developer DreamRift, thinks that the threat of piracy has harmed innovation on the 3DS. He thinks that it has resulted in a glut of “sports/licensed/sequel games.”

“The publishers’ fear was that, in a climate where piracy is commonplace, original games and new mechanics are far less likely to be successful than games based on previously successful mechanics, established licenses, sequels, and sports,” said Ong. “There’s a perception that the parents/grandparents/non-enthusiast/mainstream/etc. are less likely to go about pirating games. Now, I want to make this point loud and clear: Regardless of whether it’s true that enthusiast/hardcore gamers are more likely to pirate than mainstream gamers, the fact that publishers believe it to be true has a very real, unfortunate and ugly impact on games.”

Pushmo, among the minority of original game ideas on 3DS

“I am definitely taking notice,” he added, “because the day that I have no option but to make a sports game is the day that I must look for a new profession.”

Source: Gamasutra

Akaneiro Comes To Comics

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Spicy Horse Studios announced that they are working with Dark Horse Comics on a comic version of Akaneiro: Demon Hunters. Written by Justin Aclin (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and illustrated by Vasilis Lolos (Conan the Barbarian), the comics follow Kani, a young woman torn between two cultures, on an epic adventure hunting Yokai as a member of the fabled Order of Akane.

“Though I hate being categorized as some sort of auteur, I’m thrilled to be working again with the rocket-scientist sex machines at Dark Horse,” said Spicy Horse Studio head American McGee. “Our previous collaborations with Dark Horse have produced stunning results, like the art book for Alice: Madness Returns. It’s a perfect marriage of art and execution.”

The comic has an original story expanding the universe of Akaneiro, featuring covers by the Spicy Horse artists creating the game, this three-issue comics series debuting on May 22.

Mario Warfare Nearly Doubles Kickstarter Goal

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Beat Down Boogie celebrated the fact that their Mario Warfare project was successfully funded in Kickstarter. They received $38,647 from 834 backers.

“I’ll send out surveys soon to make sure we have everyone’s info for the rewards!” said the team. “Most of the rewards are supposed to be shipped out shortly after the completion of the Mario Warfare series (later in the year), though some rewards (like website thanks, shout out videos, and access to the secret videos) will be more immediate.”

“We’re gearing up the pre-production machine for the next episodes. Our writers are meeting this weekend, and we’re starting to get new props and costumes for Episode 3. The weather is warming up here and we’re looking forward to shooting again. It takes a couple weeks for Kickstarter to process the funds, so please bear with us. It will take a while to mobilize everything back into production for Episode 3 . . . but now that we have funding, once we get rolling things will move more quickly between episodes. We appreciate your patience, especially for Episode 3.”

Source: Kickstarter

NPD: Xbox 360 Sells 1.4 Million In December, Cementing Two Years Of Dominance

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According to the NPD, Nintendo’s Wii U generated more than $300 million in revenue in the U.S. in its first 41 days since launch, up from the $270 million the Wii saw in the same period, helped greatly by the Wii U’s larger price point. Wii U has sold nearly 890,000 units in the U.S, with 460,000 in unit sales in December.

“While the Wii launch established new benchmarks in the United States, Wii U has surpassed its predecessor in perhaps the most important category: revenue generation,” said Nintendo of America executive vice president of Sales & Marketing Scott Moffitt. “The demand for the Deluxe SKU, which was essentially sold out at retail this holiday, and the strong attach rate of New Super Mario Bros. U, shows that we have the value and the games to drive momentum in 2013. We look forward to offering great new experiences and bringing smiles to millions of new faces throughout the year.”

Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 was the best selling console in 2012 in the U.S. with 1.4 million units sold in December, marking 24 straight months where the system was on top in the U.S. The system generated more than $1.27 billion at retail including games, consoles and accessories in December, led by games like Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, and Just Dance 4.

“We expect 2013 will be another big year for Xbox 360 and we’re eager to continue to expand and grow the offerings available on the platform,” said a Microsoft spokesperson.

Warren Spector Joins D.I.C.E. Speaker Ranks

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The D.I.C.E. Summit is known for its high profile presenters, and 2013 is no different. Summit organizers just announced the addition of legendary game maker Warren Spector along with Wargaming.net founder Victor Kislyi, SyFy president Mark Stern, Trion Worlds’ VP of production Nick Beliaeff and Rovio EVP of Games Petri Järvilehto.

Spector is presenting a session looking at how aging game makers and players are changing the medium, hilariously titled, “Hey, You kids! Get Outta My Yard! or The Graying of Gaming.”

Joining a lineup already heavy on mobile game makers, Rovio’s Järvilehto is giving a presentation on what it took to market and launch the Star Wars version of their blockbuster mobile game Angry Birds. The launch combined simultaneous releases for the game accompanied with consumer goods and an animated series.

SyFy’s Stern and his Defiance counterpart from Trion, Beliaeff, are sharing a panel. The duo will discuss how their companies collaborated on the transmedia property as they prepare to launch the game and TV series this spring.

Wargaming’s Kislyi is presenting a session on the evolution of free-to-play, drawing from his company’s runaway hit World of Tanks and anticipated follow-ups World of Warplanes and World of Warships.

The newly announced speakers join an already stellar lineup that includes Gabe Newell, who is being inducted into the A.I.A.S. Hall of Fame, Quantic Dream’s David Cage and a host of other headline caliber game industry folks.

Source: D.I.C.E.

Fallout 3 Actor Tweets Teaser For New Game

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Erik Todd Dellums took to twitter to tease about reprising his role as Three Dog from Fallout 3. Interestingly, his comments imply that this was a purposeful teaser set up by BethSoft, when normally an actor blabbing about an unannounced game (even in an incidental sense) will often get them in trouble.

“To all my #Fallout3 and #ThreeDog fans: There maybe more of the Dog coming! Fingers crossed!” tweeted Dellums.

“How was that for a tease! I was given permission to release that tease, so fingers crossed,” he later added.

Source: Twitter.com