Star Trek Online recently launched its largest expansion in its history in Legacy of Romulus, adding the Romulans as a platyable faction and race to the game. This epic launch trailer is a call to arms for Romulans to rise from the ashes to fight for freedom
Amazon has confirmed that it will be offering a $10 credit to those that pre-order Batman: Arkham Origins. Additionally, pre-orders for the game will net players DLC where they can play as the assassin Deathstroke.
“Deathstroke will be a fully playable character in the challenge mode for Batman: Arkham Origins and will come complete with his own unique weapons and special moves, and will be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps that will be included with the pack,” confirmed WB Games. “The pack will also contain two alternate Deathstroke character skins.”
Source: IGN
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series was a seminal moment for both the series and gaming in general. Despite this, Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin indicated that the studio was eager to do something new with the next entry in the franchise.
“[It was] not a hard decision, but a long decision. When we finished Modern Warfare 3, we had this big brainstorming session that lasted for weeks. We all really knew we wanted to continue making Call of Duty. We wanted to create a new universe, or a new story at least. We wanted new characters and new experiences,” said Rubin. “The easy thing would have been – as we had finished the arc of Modern Warfare 1, 2 and 3 – to start a new arc within that same universe. That was the first step. But due to a lot of the changes we wanted to make with this new world, it really dictated out that we needed to make something that wasn’t Modern Warfare.”
“From a gameplay standpoint, we never felt hindered by the generation or the consoles or the tech,” added Rubin. “We always felt gameplay isn’t tech-dependant necessarily. But this new tech allows us to make those worlds that we are playing in more realistic. We always try to make it so the player always feels naturally involved in the world around them. The more realistic and natural the environment, the more the player’s imagination melds with that game.”
Source: MCV
Supercell today announced that it has appointed Kristian Segerstrale, co-founder of Playfish and Macrospace, to its board of directors. Segerstrale says he was impressed by the Clash of Clans and Hay Day developer for remaining disciplined and not hiring up to push out more games quickly.
“I don’t think mobile games companies that are successful like Supercell right now should try to be the next Disney, or EA, or Pixar,” Segerstrale said. “Actually, the world is in such an interesting place that Supercell should just be Supercell, and what I’m hoping to do is contribute my experience and learnings and successes and failures to that management team’s thinking.”
“The future vision of the industry is one where people will no longer play as much on these shared screens in the living room, and media consumption as a whole will continue to gravitate toward personal screens,” Segerstrale continued, adding about social games, “It initially blew up as a vertical and was gaming on Facebook, but after that it took more of a horizontal turn, to where gaming initially on mobile and tablets and now consoles and everywhere else [now] incorporate social gaming elements. And many of the principles that were built up in social gaming around microtransactions, games-as-a-service, and events have actually transcended Facebook to become just part of the fabric of the gaming industry.”
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee (who recently joined the Democratic party) is considering the consequences of his state not paying back the lenders who financed 38 Studios. They are currently maintaining the position that the state must pay the debts back.
Chafee spokeswoman Christine Hunsinger says that the governor’s position has not changed, but that “doesn’t mean you don’t analyze what the situation is, or gather data to understand the ramifications of what that decision would be.” She also noted the state has been gathering the relevant information for several months.
The current plan would have Rhode Island paying an initial $2.5-million payment, followed by $12.5 million each of the following seven years. The state is currently on the hook to pay roughly $112.6 million ($75 million for the initial borrowing and $37.6 million in interest) over 10 years.
Source: ProvidenceJournal.com
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Reveal event saw record-breaking viewership, with over 8.45 million people watching the Xbox Reveal event in the first 24 hours. This rivals one of the top-most concurrent streamed events of all time.
“On Xbox.com, we nearly tripled our previous concurrency record — with almost three times as many people watching the livestream at the same time, versus any other major event in Xbox.com history,” wrote Xbox Wire editor Lisa Gurry. “According to our friends at Akamai, our streaming partner, the Xbox Reveal event was among the most watched live broadcasts delivered by Akamai in their history, nearly doubling peak traffic records and eclipsing concurrent viewership high-water marks set by events such as the 2010 World Cup, Royal Wedding in 2011, and 2012 election night.”
Additionally, Nielsen reports that over 1.73 million people tuned into the briefing on Spike TV, and the Xbox Reveal event was the top television show for Men 18-34 at 10 am on May 21. The reveal also generated plenty of buzz; the event was the top non-sports social program across all TV networks and the second most social show on television on May 21, coming in slightly behind the NBA Playoffs.
“During the Xbox Reveal event, the Xbox team showcased how Xbox One puts you at the center of all your games, TV, movies, music, sports and Skype. And how Xbox One is designed to deliver a whole new generation of blockbuster games, television and entertainment in a powerful, all-in-one device. If you missed the briefing, you can see highlights from the day here and a full recap on Xbox Wire,” noted Gurry. “With so much interest in Xbox One, we know there are unanswered questions and a desire for more information on Xbox One. We have many exciting weeks ahead where we will provide more information — including E3, which is just 15 days away. Stay tuned.”
Source: News.Xbox.com
Sonic is back for the next generation, and this time the levels look to better accommodate the abilities of the blue speedster. Check out the new set of enemies Sonic will face and the first glimpse of gameplay!
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) indicates that it sent 3.5 million takedown notices last year as part of its ongoing effort to stop copyright infringement. The organization says that its Anti-Piracy group was able to remove 96 percent of the 5.4 million infringing files found on host sites.
The Anti-Piracy group’s efforts also included working with Google to takedown more than 99,500 search engine links containing infringing game files. The Anti-Piracy group also led 32 training sessions for an estimated 1,250 international law enforcement officials during 2012.
While the ESA’s main remit is still North America, the organization also worked to stop piracy in Brazil, Singapore, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Korea.
Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto V will have a Special Edition and Collector’s Edition. Also, those who pre-order any version of the game will receive the Atomic Blimp in-game vehicle.
The Special Edition includes a copy of Grand Theft Auto V, a Collectible SteelBook with Exclusive Artwork and a Blueprint Map of Los Santos and Blaine County. For in game bonuses, there’s a boost for the special abilities of Michael, Franklin and Trevor, access to the Stunt Plane Trials aerial challenges, bonus outfits, tattoos and more ways to customize and the Pistol .50, Bullpup Shotgun and melee Hammer for free at weapon stores.
The Grand Theft Auto V Collector’s Edition includes everything in the Grand Theft Auto V Special Edition plus a Grand Theft Auto V Security Deposit Bag with Logo Key, a Grand Theft Auto V New Era 9FIFTY Snapback Cap. A digital bonus will be classic Grand Theft Auto characters to use within the Grand Theft Auto Online Character Creation System.
Former game developers at Team Bondi and KMM have formed a new company called Intuitive Game Studios. The founders for this new studio are L.A. Noire design lead Alex Carlyle and Kelly Baigent, who worked on the game’s storyboarding.
“I really do want to stay in Australia and try and overcome the drive which is leading everyone to Canada or the like,” said Carlyle. “I want to stay here and make games and hopefully be able to sustain a small studio, provide employment and jobs here.”
Source: MCV
