El Shaddai Director Buys Back IP Rights

BY

Crim has purchased the rights to El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron from the remnants of UTV Ignition Entertainment. There will be a celebration event for this acquisition on August 12, where future plans for the IP might be announced.

The studio, which is run by El Shaddai‘s director Takeyasu Sawaki, has “prequel, sequel, and all other derivative rights of the existing game.” Crim has plans to “work with the entertainment industry to develop a potential El Shaddai business moving forward.”

Source: Gematsu.com

Metro Last Light Sales ‘Delight’ Deep Silver

BY

Deep Silver announced that it is pleased with the the first week sales of Metro Last Light. The publisher says the game “has enjoyed a stunning first week of sales, significantly outselling its predecessor Metro 2033 over the same launch period.”

“We are delighted with the deserved critical and commercial success the game has achieved, and hope that this success represents a statement of intent for future quality titles from Deep Silver,” said Deep Silver’s international commercial director Menno van der Bil.

Metro Last Light‘s first-week sales across all formats worldwide have matched what Metro 2033 sold in its first three months. The PC version more than tripled Metro 2033‘s worldwide sales over the same period and more boxed copies have sold in its first week than the entire lifespan of Metro 2033 in the U.S.

“4A Games are honored by the reception our latest project has received,” added 4A Games creative director Andrew Prokhorov. “We are a small but dedicated team who are lucky to have been given the creative freedom and support to make the kind of experience we dream, as gamers, of playing. Our work on Metro: Last Light continues with new single player DLC, and we look forward to revealing future projects from the team. We want to thank all the Metro fans for support we have received.”

Tim Schafer Talks Indie Publishing For Next Gen Consoles

BY

Double Fine founder Tim Schafer has been focusing on more efforts to keep the company independent, and that means self publishing. As such, he’s waiting for Microsoft to reassess its policy and allow indies to self publish on the Xbox One.

“Sony has reached out to us and asked us our opinions about what we’d like to see with new platforms and they’ve been really good with indies – allowing them to self-publish and entering into partnerships and stuff like that,” said Schafer. “Microsoft has been focused elsewhere up until now, I’ve kind of had my fingers crossed that hopefully they’ll change their minds about that because I think it’s really critical.”

Schafer noted there are many easier alternatives for independent developers. “Steam is huge, mobile and all of those things are really profitable for indies so there’s too many reasonable and successful alternatives for indies to look towards,” he said. “We don’t really need to go through the arduous process of acquiring a publisher that we don’t need just to be on a certain platform.”

While Schafer led the Kickstarter charge for gaming, he’s wary of Kickstarter fatigue among backers. “I think some of the Kickstarters are overcomplicated, or seem to be treating it like it’s a store, or milking it for easy money,” said Shafer. “That’s why we’re putting a lot of thought into this project – it’s not another told timer coming back from the nineties, like me, and not an old game or tried and true license, but actually a risky and new IP.”

Source: Edge

Final Fantasy Tactics Goes Mobile, Social

BY

Square Enix has announced that they will be launching a new Final Fantasy Tactics game. This title will be a mobile social title and will be developed by Mobage.

The social game will be reliant on cards for gameplay, similar to many social games of it’s ilk, including the Mobage developed Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade. Various characters are likely to be added as cards, which are purchasable.

Source: Square-Enix.com

Blockbuster Reports Huge Number Of Pre-Orders For Xbox One

BY

Blockbuster is reporting that the company has received a record number of Xbox One pre-orders. Microsoft has yet to announce an official release date or price for the Xbox One.

“We are delighted by the huge number of pre-orders that we have received so far for the new Microsoft console,” said Blockbuster’s head of games James Morton. “At Blockbuster, we have a fantastic array of adrenaline-fuelled console games for sale or rental. Our expert staff know gaming and they know consoles and these pre-orders are testament to our customers’ trust in us as a leading gaming retailer.”

“With Sony releasing the PS4 in the near future, the next few months are going to be an exciting time for our staff and customers at Blockbuster and we can’t wait to hear more details from both Sony and Microsoft at the E3 Expo next month,” added Morton.

Source: MCV

Notch Receives Gold Colored PSOne From Sony

BY

Markus ‘Notch’ Persson has revealed that Sony has sent him a special gift for attending their June 10 pre-E3 press conference. This suggests that Sony is keen to include the developer for future developments, like a possible Minecraft port for PS3, PS4 or PS Vita.

“Got a VIP invitation to an E3 event from Sony in the form of a gold colored PSone. Wow,”tweeted Persson. “Sony also once sent me an original copy of Dungeon Master 2 they had lying around for some reason. They sure know how to bribe nerds.”

Source: Twitter.com/Notch

Turtle Beach Supporting Xbox One

BY

Turtle Beach has announced that it will be creating headsets for the Xbox One. Microsoft’s new console has a new proprietary data port that is not compatible with headsets for the current generation.

“In Turtle Beach we have a partner that can help Microsoft deliver world class gaming audio experiences to our customers,” Microsoft Director of Strategic Alliances Branden Powell said.