BlizzCon Tickets On Sale April 24 And 27

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BlizzCon is typically one of the hardest (and priciest) tickets to get when it comes to game-related fan events, and this year’s show looks to be no exception. Blizzard today announced on-sale dates for tickets to its two-day fanfest, revealing the $175 admissions would be doled out in two batches.

The first lot of BlizzCon tickets will go on sale from the BlizzCon.com website on Wednesday, April 24, at 7 p.m. Pacific. Those who miss out on that batch will get another chance with the second wave of tickets, set to go on sale Saturday, April 27, at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Blizzard fans who miss those chances but don’t mind dropping even more money will get a third chance when tickets for the BlizzCon Benefit Dinner go on sale Wednesday, May 1, at 7 p.m. Pacific. The $500 tickets include admission to the show, as well as a charity dinner with Blizzard developers before the event, with proceeds going to Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Only 200 or so tickets to the benefit dinner will be made available.

And of course, anyone who misses out on tickets entirely can still follow BlizzCon as it happens November 8 and 9 by purchasing the “Virtual Ticket” online streaming offering, details of which will be announced later.

First Ouya Reviews Sharply Negative

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The first Ouya consoles have started to arrive for backers of the Kickstarter campaign, and the first reviews of the much-ballyhooed $99 Android-based console have been less than glowing.

The Verge and Engadget have both published reviews of the hardware, and they agree that the system simply isn’t ready for release. The Verge gave the system a 3.5 score out of 10; Engadget does not include scores with its hardware reviews.

 

 

As The Verge’s David Pierce wrote, “For $99, everyone who backed Ouya’s Kickstarter has unwittingly signed up to beta-test a game console. Alpha-test, even: this is a product with some good ideas and a potentially promising future, but it’s a million miles away from something worth spending your money on.

Engadget’s Tim Stevens agreed, saying, “It’s simply not ready for retail. The system is rough around the edges in many ways, quite literally when regarding the controller, but the interface and menus also could use work.”

Among the system’s listed faults were its interface (much of which is stock Android menus), its lack of exclusive games, the fact that many of the offerings were designed for phones and don’t look as nice blown up onto a big-screen TV, lack of options, and problematic controller (with build quality to input lag). On the plus side, Pierce said the Ouya made good on its promise of being a hackable console, with easy access to its physical innards and loads of potential for users who don’t mind getting their hands dirty.

“The company opened a door, then hid that door on the other side of the world and burned the maps,” Pierce said of the convoluted process by which users can sideload apps.

Both reviews noted that the Ouya is a work in progress. There are still two months before the system’s June 4 retail launch, perhaps allowing the company time to address some of the issues before the system’s proper debut.

Sources: The Verge, Engadget

Jackpot Coming For Social Casino Games

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In the same week that social gaming giant Zynga announced work on its first real money gambling games for the UK market, SuperData released an infographic showing the category’s growing global market opportunity.

SuperData said this about what it found: “The social casino segment has been a massive mover in the digital games space, and shows little sign of slowing down in the worldwide market.  Indeed, projections through 2015 show some spectacular growth, especially in Asia. Because social casino represents such a unique genre, understanding the market and demographics is crucial.”

The data was collected in conjunction with Bullet Business, organizers of the Social Casino Gaming Summit taking place this June in Las Vegas.

Source: SuperData Research

Ark Hunters Wanted

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The fictional corporation Von Bach Industries wants you to join the fight in Defiance.  A destination site preps users for the beta with background lore and history about the Votans and the Environmental Guardian Online (or simply EGO), the latest innovation from Von Bach.  A symbiotic neuro-muscular bionetic implant, EGO alters its host at the genetic level, providing encyclopaedic heads-up intelligence, while simultaneously unlocking and managing corporeal-maximization, or EGO Powers.

Click here to watch the recruitment video {link no longer active} or register here.

BioShock Infinite Gets Board Game

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Plaid Hat has announced that they are making a board game called BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia. Instead of controlling Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth, players will control the warring factions of the Founders and Vox Populi.

“The magnificent floating city of Columbia, intended to be a shining symbol of American exceptionalism, has been disavowed by the very nation that created it. Part world’s fair and part battleship, Columbia has erupted into civil war as two sides vie for control of the most important city on Earth,” reads the description. “The nationalistic Founders seek to prove that Columbia is even more American than its motherland, and the anarchistic Vox Populi seek to burn the floating city out of the sky. Caught in the middle of the infighting is disgraced former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, and Elizabeth, a mysterious young woman fated to be Columbia’s salvation or the bringer of its doom.”

The game involves players using might, influence and resources to lay claim to the districts of Columbia. The Sky-Line will also factor in as a way to move around troops and set up traps, while Booker and Elizabeth represent wildcards that change the dynamics of play as they move through Columbia.

Those that pre-order from PlaidHatGames.com will receive a $25 pre-order discount and receive a free alternate promo card, the Enraged Songbird. It is expected that the game will release sometime in Summer 2013.

Deadpool Team Sees Layoffs At High Moon

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Activision has confirmed that it has let go around 40 employees that were involved with the development of the Deadpool game. It is not believed that these layoffs will affect future releases of High Moon’s Transformers games.

“Activision Publishing consistently works to align its costs with its revenues — this is an ongoing process. With the completion of development on Deadpool, we are taking a reduction in staff at High Moon Studios to better align our development talent against our slate. Approximately, 40 full-time employees will be impacted globally. We are offering those employees who are impacted outplacement counseling services.”

Source: Kotaku.com

LucasArts Becomes One With The Force

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Walt Disney announced that LucasArts will cease as a game creation entity. 150 people have been reportedly laid off, though no number was made official.

“After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games,” read a statement from Lucasfilm. “As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles.”

While there have been rumors that the studio’s two projects, Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars: First Assault, have been canceled, LucasArts left open the possibility of them seeing the light of day. “It is worth noting that we are looking for proven external partners who can help us provide video games to our fans,” they told Game Informer.

“We still believe in the video game industry, we still will provide Star Wars games, we’re just looking at different models rather than internal production… They’re evaluating everything. There’s always a possibility that it [Star Wars 1313] can still come out via licensing.”

The announcement comes after Disney’s acquired Lucasfilm and all associated assets for $4 billion. Doubts about LucasArts rose when Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Lucasfilm will focus on mobile and tablet games as opposed to console projects.