Facebook just recently unveiled Facebook Home, which offers Android users a new way of experiencing Facebook immediately from the home screen of their smartphones. Time will tell how popular this functionality really is, but the Facebook marketers are wasting no time in spreading the message. Here’s the first ad.
On the company’s official blog, EA COO Peter Moore has addressed the “Worst Company in America” poll. While polls like this may not hold much weight, Moore took the opportunity to promise that EA is striving to do better for gamers and fans of its products.
“Are we really the ‘Worst Company in America?’ I’ll be the first to admit that we’ve made plenty of mistakes. These include server shut downs too early, games that didn’t meet expectations, missteps on new pricing models and most recently, severely fumbling the launch of SimCity. We owe gamers better performance than this,” Moore admitted.
“So here’s my response to this poll: We can do better. We will do better. But I am damn proud of this company, the people around the globe who work at EA, the games we create and the people that play them,” he continued. “The tallest trees catch the most wind. At EA we remain proud and unbowed.”
While some conservative voices in America may be upset with EA about its stance on LGBT content in games, and that may have affected the poll as well, Moore reiterated that EA won’t stand down when it comes to LGBT issues.
“In the past year, we have received thousands of emails and postcards protesting against EA for allowing players to create LGBT characters in our games. This week, we’re seeing posts on conservative web sites urging people to protest our LGBT policy by voting EA the Worst Company in America. That last one is particularly telling. If that’s what makes us the worst company, bring it on. Because we’re not caving on that,” Moore said.
DC Comics fans are no doubt looking for all the info they can get on Warner Bros’ upcoming DC Universe MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) Infinite Crisis. Today, the publisher unveiled two new videos to spotlight Wonder Woman and Nightmare Batman. The Turbine-developed title is slated to ship on PC this fall.
Torment: Tides of Numenera‘s Kickstarter concluded and a record $4,188,927 was raised from 74,405 backers. The spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment also saw over 2,000 backers via PayPal, adding another $127,000.
“We often speak of paradigm shifts and game changers in our industry but you are truly witnessing it in this groundbreaking new model of connecting creators with the players. You have all heard me speak to this new power, but truly it will shape the kinds of games you play and the policies of the developers and publishers,” wrote inXile’s Brian Fargo. “More than ever we are in sync with the simple goal of making games without ever losing the gamer’s interests. At Interplay our slogan was By Gamers, For Gamers and this attitude could not be truer today.”
“There is no way this game would have ever been funded without this new method of connection and without the passion of our backers who didn’t just donate but worked as a team to spread the word. You guys rock! The passion of the RPG gamer is like none other,” he added. “We are both humbled and excited that you have given us this opportunity. The team we have assembled is pretty unbelievable and I have full faith that together we will create a true classic. I never stopped working to get Chris Avellone aboard to make sure we had the band back together. But it only got better when we brought on guys like Pat Rothfuss and Kevin Saunders to take the game to new heights. The trick is always to surround ones self with brilliant people and to create an environment in which creativity can flourish.”
The result of all the funding raised means that there will be a longer story and codex added to the game along with a 12th fathom added to a special dungeon. This also means that the final “Stronghold” stretch goal of $4.5 million was not reached, but inXile was willing to have some wiggle room on getting to this final goal.
Many backers have asked about the ‘Stronghold’ that was at the $4.5 million Stretch Goal, however. “At your request and suggestion, what we’ll do is allow all PayPal contributions through the end of April to count toward determining whether or not we reached this goal. On Monday, we’ll tell you exactly how far we have left to go and through the end of the month we’ll provide more frequent updates on tumblr and Facebook about progress toward that $4.5 million goal,” wrote project lead Kevin Saunders. “If we do make it by the end of April 30, we’ll declare that final Stretch Goal achieved! In this case we would include the Stronghold, designing it to fit the flavor of Numenera and to fully support Torment’s themes and narrative.”
Those who want in put some money into Torment: Tides of Numenera’s should visit the PayPal store. To read more about the project, check out this exclusive [a]list interview with Brian Fargo.
Source: Kickstarter.com
Minecraft has been available as a “complete” title since November 2011, and yet the incredibly popular block-themed game is showing no signs of slowing down. On the PC alone, it’s been announced that the game has now passed 10 million sold.
Mojang’s lead designer and developer Jens Bergensten tweeted the news, while also linking to a picture of a woman stroking a horse, likely hinting at an upcoming feature that Minecraft will see with the 1.6 update.
Mojang has been incredibly successful thanks to Minecraft. Last year, the Swedish company generated around $240 million in revenues from selling 15 mlllion units across various platforms as well as from lucrative licensing deals. Just goes to show how powerful a strong brand and a solid game idea can go. Now Mojang is looking to expand with a series of Minecraft books and a family-oriented subscription service.
Zynga has had a brutal year, and CEO Mark Pincus is being held accountable. A company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that as of April 1, Pincus took a cut to his base salary, reducing it to just $1. On top of that, Pincus will not receive any performance bonus or equity awards for the year.
In addition, Zynga revealed its new compensation strategy for the rest of its senior executive team. After an exodus of high-level talent last year, Zynga is now focusing on retaining the executive team and incentivizing them with performance-based rewards. The company’s topmost executives will receive base salaries between $425,000 and $500,000, with additional bonuses and cash awards if performance and retention targets are met.
Another component of Zynga’s turnaround strategy includes real-money gaming. The company launched its first real-money titles, ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino, in the UK earlier this week. It has also applied for a gaming license in the U.S., a process that could take another year or so to complete.
Following the unfortunate closure of his game studio, Junction Point, Warren Spector is in a new phase of his life: unemployed. The video game veteran known for Deus Ex and Epic Mickey isn’t entirely sure what’s next for him, but he still has fond memories of his time at Disney even though they shut down his studio.
Speaking in his first post-Disney interview, Spector commented, “Being part of Disney had its ups and downs – what doesn’t – but the last seven years gave me the Very Best Experiences of my Professional Life. Seriously. The very, very best. The opposite is true, too, but let’s not go there. I want to remember only the good times. I got to work for the biggest media company around… got to see the Disney parks in a way few people get to see them… got to meet some of my heroes (and people I didn’t know were my heroes but are now)… got my hands on history in ways that still give me the chills… Heck, I got to sneak into the tunnels under the old Ink and Paint building, pitch cartoons in the Hyperion Bungalow and poke around in Walt Disney’s old office on the studio lot. Plus, I got to work with a great team in Austin. What’s to regret ”
Spector noted that he’s currently seeking the “perfect opportunity” before he jumps into another project, but he made it very clear that he’d like to work with a small team, that mobile is very attractive to him and he’s a fan of episodic gaming, like what Telltale has accomplished.
“I’m really intrigued by the possibilities inherent in the growing community of phone and tablet players. And by ‘community’ I mean pretty much everyone. How many smart phones and tablets are out there? A billion? More? And whether they self-identify as ‘gamers’ – and most probably don’t – they ARE playing a lot of games. Who wouldn’t want to reach even a fraction of an audience that big ” he said.
Source: GamesIndustry International
Zynga is being sued by a shareholder peeved that executives were allowed to sell stock early for more than $200 million, while sales by lower level employees and outsiders were blocked. The suit, filed by former Zynga product manager Wendy Lee, said that following an initial public offering in December 2011, shareholders were barred from selling shares for 165 days.
The contention by Lee is that this stipulation was waived for certain executives, who sold more than 40 million shares in March 2012 for more than $200 million. This may not have been so bad except for the fact that the share price was cut in half by the time the lockup expired.
Lee wants damages from those who benefited from the early sales on behalf of non-executive shareholders — CEO Mark Pincus in particular is named.
Source: Bloomberg
Clean up your act or we’ll do it for you. That was the heart of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s message to the game industry last week.
Speaking to her constituents in San Francisco, Feinstein said games play “a very negative role for young people.” If the industry doesn’t start taking its own voluntary steps to expand its offerings beyond titles that primarily glorify guns, Feinstein implied that Congress may step in and force its hand.
The comments were made regarding the debate over what actions should be taken to prevent tragedies like last year’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in which a gunman who had previously played games killed dozens of children and adults.
“If Sandy Hook doesn’t do it, if the knowledge of these video games this young man played doesn’t, then maybe we have to proceed, but that is in the future,” Feinstein said.
The legislator also mentioned efforts to increase gun control in the U.S., but criticized the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers for standing in the way.
Source: Associated Press {link no longer active}
Irrational Games’ Ken Levine has to be pleased with the reception the new BioShock Infinite has been getting, with nearly perfect scores and the hardcore fanbase raving. It should come as little surprise that someone’s tried to recreate the world of Columbia in the popular Minecraft, but the speed at which it’s happened is certainly interesting.
