Recruit 3D - Games Industry Recruitment

News: Gearbox to release Duke Nukem Forever in 2011

Gearbox Software has confirmed recent rumour that it would complete development on long-delayed shooter Duke Nukem Forever, following last year's closure of original developer 3D Realms.

The reborn game was unveiled at the PAX conference today, with Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford confirming release to the Wall Street Journal.

"Clearly the game hadn't been finished at 3D Realms but a lot of content had been created," he said.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 7:22 pm

News: Rare: Kinect does work in small lounges

Kinect Sports developer Rare has played down worries about the size of room required by upcomin Xbox 360 motion controller Kinect.

In July online shop Amazon revealed Kinect requires six feet of space between the player and their television, fueling much debate as to its effectiveness in small rooms.

However, Rare's senior software engineer Nick Burton said the issue has been blown out of proportion.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 4:56 pm

News: Project MyWorld snapped up by US company: report

It has been alleged that an American firm has this week purchased Project MyWorld from the administrators of Realtime Worlds.

The report by Develop did not name the mystery firm, but if it is indeed American, earlier suggestion that Realtime World's Dundee-based bosses Dave Jones and Ian Hetherington were planning on buying the social game back would appear unfounded.

Also alleged is that Realtime World's other title, the commercially unsuccessful MMO APB, is not part of the deal, leaving its fate unknown.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 4:14 pm

News: Bethesda confirmed for UK's largest game expo

Publisher Bethesda has announced it will present its portfolio of upcoming games at the 2010 Eurogamer Expo in London next month.

The Earl's Court event is the UK's largest consumer games show, and now adds Bethesda titles RAGE, Hunted: The Demon's Forge, Fallout: New Vegas and Brink to its roster of publicly-showcased games.

In attendance will be id Software creative director Tim Willits, plus inXile game director Maxx Kaufman and president Matt Findley.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 12:40 pm

News: 93% of Take-Two Q3 sales on PS3 and 360 - Wii just 1%

Sales for Take-Two's most recent quarter were dominated by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 - amounting to 93 per cent of the publisher's revenues, up from 44 per cent last year.

49 Per cent of revenue was from Xbox 360 games, 44 from PlayStation 3 titles, compared to 32 and 12 per cent respectively for the same period in 2009.

Wii revenues plummeted from 16 per cent for the quarter ending July 31 last year to 1 per cent in the most recent quarter - a marginal figure also claimed by PSP and DS, down from 10 and 4 per cent respectively. PC dropped from 14 to 4 per cent.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 11:54 am

News: Sony files US suit against PSJailbreak distributor, wins victory in Australia

Sony Computer Entertainment America has filed suit against an online stockist of the notorious PSJailbreak device.

Shoppsjailbreak.com, owned by one Zoomba LDC, is one of two distributors endorsed by the makers of the anti-copy protection device.

Sony has accused it of copyright violation, contravening the DMCA and trademark infringement, amongst other charges.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 11:36 am

News: GameCity boss: gaming politicians wouldn't be named

A culture of distrust between the games industry, politicians and the media remains, GameCity festival director and National Videogame Archive co-founder Iain Simons has told Gamesindustry.biz.

So much so, he claimed, that game-playing political figures are not willing to reveal their interactive entertainment habits in public.

In an interview which will be published on in full GamesIndustry.biz next week, Simons told of a planned article for The New Statesman (to which he contributes) on gaming MPs and other Westminster notables.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 11:21 am

News: Inafune: Canada may become "epicentre of game development"

Capcom's head of R&D Keiji Inafune believes that Canada is rapidly racing to the forefront of the games industry.

Canada was "getting very important now," the Dead Rising 2 producer told NowGamer. "They've got potential to be at the epicentre of videogame development."

It was recently revealed that Canada had leapfrogged the UK to become the third-largest game development territory.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 10:43 am

News: Indie Game Challenge 2011 seeking applicants

The Indie Game Challenge is looking for further submissions to its 2011 development competition, with just one month remaining before the October 1 deadline.

The contest accepts both amateur and professional applications, with prizes including two lots of $100,000, a $50,000 scholarship for The Guildhall at SMU and pitch meetings with Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, THQ, Capcom, Microsoft and NAMCO/Bandai at next year's D.I.C.E. Summit.

"Cogs was selected as a launch title for the iPad, it picked up retail sales in Europe and is currently making its way to a number of other platforms," claimed Rob Jagnow of grand prize winner Lazy 8 Studios.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 10:04 am

News: Red Dead propels 2K financial results

Red Dead Redemption has helped publisher Take-Two Interactive to a set of stronger-than-expected third quarter financial results, with net revenue jumping by over 270 per cent from $94.9 million to $354.1 million in the three months ending July 31.

The Rockstar-developed Western title has now sold almost 7 million units worldwide since its release in May this year, while catalogue sales of GTA titles, NBA 2K10 and Borderlands also contributed.

After costs that translated to a net profit of $6 million, compared to a loss last year of $56 million, causing the company to raise its guidance for the fourth quarter and full year results.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 9:34 am

News: Built-in stereoscopic support for Cryengine 3 SDK

Crytek is to offer native support for stereoscopic 3D on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in the latest version of its CryEngine toolset.

Version 3.2 of the SDK is now available, and includes a 'Screen Space Re-Projection Stereo solution' which builds in 3D support that doesn't require any extra programming or assets.

Crytek had previously announced that its upcoming shooter Crysis 2 would have a 3D mode, but this is the first time the German studio has revealed it will be sharing its working with engine licensees.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 9:30 am

Editorial: Jobs' Game

When it launched the App Store a few years ago, introducing a marketplace for new software for its iPhone and iPod Touch devices, Apple's relationship with the videogames business changed overnight. Ever since the appearance of the iPod, the company's engagement with media has been growing - turning it into a key distributor of music at first, then movies and TV shows, and most recently books and magazines.

Videogames had been the red-headed stepchild of the bunch. Apple just didn't seem to be interested in games - a disinterest that was deeply encoded in the firm's culture dating right back through the nineties, when game developers threw their hands up in frustration at the firm's unwillingness to spend time or money on turning Mac OS into a viable gaming platform.

Perhaps the problem was cultural, stemming from the ethos which saw Macs as creative tools and looked down its nose at videogames as a consequence. More likely, it was generational - the firm's decision making is incredibly focused on a small team of executives, headed up by Steve Jobs, many of whom are a little older than the "event horizon" for the first gaming generation.

Posted on 3 September 2010 | 9:00 am

News: OnLive via WiFi due this month

Cloud gaming platform OnLive is finally due to roll out wireless internet support later this month.

It was restricted to wired network connections upon its June launch, apparently due to issues regarding the wider variety of latency and bandwidth offered by Wi-Fi.

The new version will initially be available as a beta download only.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 4:37 pm

News: Valve won't go public

Seattle developer and Steam owner Valve has dismissed the possibility of ever floating on the stock market.

The given reason was fear of meddling in creative decisions by shareholders.

"Any bad decision I ever see out there is because somebody created this different customer that was whoever funds them," lead designer Erik Johnson told PC Gamer, "and not the consumer of the product."

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 3:43 pm

News: New Intel-sponsored indie development contest

Intel and The Game Creators are seeking applications to a new independent development competition.

The scheme involves submitting netbook-friendly games, made with the Dark Basic Professional or Darkd GDK amateur dev tools, to Intel's AppUp download channel.

The Windows-based App Store alternative, launched in January, enables developers to sell small titles for low-spec PCs.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 12:28 pm

News: Blitz middleware to include Kinect and Move support

UK studio Blitz has confirmed it will build "full motion control functionality" into its BlitzTech middleware engine.

The SDK now includes features designed to work with both Microsoft's Kinect and Sony' s Move.

The new tech was created over the last year, for forthcoming Blitz titles Yoostar2 and The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 11:31 am

News: Cloud-based music/video service for EU Sony devices

Sony has confirmed that Qriocity, a new cloud-based, subscription model music and video streaming service, will be launching on a several hardware devices later this year in Europe.

Video on demand via Qriocity has been available in the US since April, but this year will see the launch of new music streaming service Music Unlimited.

The service has been announced for PS3s, Bravia televisions, Blu-ray systems and VAIO computers at launch, but will be coming to more Sony hardware in future.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 11:28 am

News: Sony delays PS3 3D Blu-ray update

Sony has delayed the European firmware update to its PlayStation 3 console, intended to support playback of 3D Blu-ray movies.

The new release date is now slated for October 1.

The change in date, which was announced at Sony's IAF2010 press event yesterday, means an extra month's wait until early 3DTV adopters can watch any 3D films, as the firmware had originally been touted for September.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 10:34 am

News: Aurora Feint unveils Android/ iPhone cross-platform play

Mobile game multiplayer tech-maker Aurora Feint has unveiled a new cross-platform service known as OpenFeint Playtime, which will allow real-time online play between users of Apple's iOS and Android-based devices.

The service, which will also feature real-time voice chat, follows hot on the heels of Apple's confirmation that its Game Center will launch alongside its new range of hardware next week.

The new system also fleshes out Aurora Feint's hints about further cross-platform development last month.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 9:58 am

News: "Intense lobbying" in US industry Supreme Court case

An "intense lobbying effort" is underway in the US as the deadline for filing briefs either for or against the state of California's law banning the rental or sale of violent videogames to minors looms.

According to a report on Law.com only 11 states have signed up in support of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's stance, when up to 40 would normally be expected in a child protection case with the Supreme Court set to rule on whether or not the law breaks the country's First Amendment.

That part of the Constitution states that: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 9:55 am

News: Layoffs at LucasArts

LucasArts has confirmed redundancies at its San Francisco headquarters, following widespread speculation of staffing and project cuts.

While the company has yet to confirm the number and nature of the layoffs, a statement acquiesced that "LucasArts is reorganizing its teams to better address the needs of the internal studio. Unfortunately, this means adjusting staffing."

Game blog Kotaku has reported internal sources as alleging 85 staff were lost in total - 60 developers and 25 from QA, as well as the claimed axing of two projects.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 9:51 am

News: iPhone Game Center launching next week

Steve Jobs has claimed iPod Touch is "the number one portable games player in the world", outlining Apple's growing ambitions in the games space with new hardware, an iOS update, an Unreal Engine 3 demo and the reveal of Game Center during a combative press conference.

Speaking on stage in San Francisco - streamed live online and broadcast at a separate Apple event in central London attended by GamesIndustry.biz - Jobs announced that "the biggest change in the iPod line ever" and the new operating system update would be released next week.

The new iPod Touch, noticeably slimmer than the current model, adds iPhone 4's A4 CPU, retina display and gyroscope, plus a front-mounted camera and HD video capture. The device will be available in 8Gb, 32Gb and 64Gb versions, priced at £189, £249 and £329 respectively.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 9:19 am

Interview: PopCap's Jason Kapalka (Part One)

Although just 10 years old, Popcap Games is something of a grand old man in the current gaming scene. Tackling browser, mobile and social games years before the start-ups that now dominate the headlines, it has been quietly consistent, growing in stature thanks to a twin philosophy of new ideas and regularly iterating existing properties and concepts. Despite both commercial and critical success with Peggle and Plants vs Zombies, the 50 million-selling match-3 title Bejewelled is indeed the jewel in its crown - even transitioning well to Facebook and microtransactions with its Blitz reinvention. GamesIndustry.biz caught up with PopCap's thoughtful yet outspoken Chief Creative Officer and co-founder Jason Kapalka to hear his feelings on the rush towards social games, the future of the Apple vs Google vs Microsoft mobile war, the problems with Facebook, and the trends he's seen come and go doing PopCap's long tenure on what was once known as "casual" gaming.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 8:36 am

News: PopCap: big publishers won't adapt to social games

PopCap Games Chief Creative Officer Jason Kapalka has claimed that current publishers are not ready forwith the new age of mobile and social gaming.

Observing that "FarmVille is probably more of a WoW-killer than the Old Republic," the co-founder of the Bejewelled developer felt that many gamers no longer had the time on their hands necessary for traditional games.

"I think increasingly a lot of people are in that position, and games have to evolve to meet that need," he told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview published today.

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 8:00 am

News: ELSPA calls for "united" industry approach

The director general of UK trade association ELSPA, Michael Rawlinson, has stated his belief that the British videogames industry needs to unite and work more closely together.

The announcement, during a keynote speech at the Digital Spark conference, comes a week before the organisation is set to rebrand to UKIE - UK Interactive Entertainment - as it seeks to expand its remit from looking after the interests of traditional publishers alone.

"Boundaries are blurring between developer and publisher and with these changes new opportunities are arising, and we all need to adapt to make the most of this brave new world," he said.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 6:07 pm

News: Final week of discount sign-ups for Games Invest

Early bird tickets for Screen Yorkshire and Game Republic's Games Invest event at this year's Eurogamer Expo are currently available at discount rates.

Early tickets are available until September 6, and are priced at £35 as opposed to the full price of £50.

The event provides small and medium companies a chance to get advice on finding investment funds for games projects, as well as providing informal and formal pitching opportunities.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 3:37 pm

News: Yahoo! seeking US developers for new Japanese portal

Yahoo! Japan and developer DeNA's joint venture development portal Yahoo! Mobage is set to open to the public on 1 October, and hopes to reach 72 million Japanese internet users with its PC and mobile game service.

The company is seeking to attract American developers with the promise of reaching DeNA's 20 million monthly mobile users and Yahoo! Japan's 52 million internet users.

Developers have been able to access DeNA's mobile platform, Mobage, since January this year. DeNA claim this has led to participants seeing a reported ten-fold sales increase in six months, with an average earning of $1 million (£652,230) per month for a top game.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 3:06 pm

News: StarCraft II shifts 3 million in first month

Blizzard Entertainment has revealed that its long-awaited RTS sequel, StarCraft II, has now sold over 3 million units after one month of availability.

The news follows strong early sales of the game, which became the fastest-selling PC RTS title ever after shifting 1.5 million copies in the first two days after release.

"We appreciate all the enthusiasm that players around the world have shown for StarCraft II," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. "It was important to us to deliver an overall gameplay experience that was accessible, balanced, and fun, and it's been gratifying to see how strongly the global community has already embraced the game."

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 12:35 pm

News: GAME makes first move into online distribution

UK retailer GAME has made its first steps into online distribution, with the release of new software tool GAME Downloader.

While the application does not allow full game downloads as yet, at least it scans users' PCs for installed games and then provides automatic notification whenever new patches or DLC becomes available.

The Downloader can also notify gamers as to the availability of demos, trailers, mods and indie games.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 12:08 pm

News: Doublesix set up as new Catalis division

Catalis SE, the group that owns Kuju Entertainment, has announced that it is splitting out its Doublesix studio from the rest of the company to stand alone as a new business division.

The division will continue to work in the digital download and self-publishing sector, following the success of titles including Burn Zombie Burn and South Park's Let's Go Tower Defense Play or PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade respectively.

"It's important for us to separate Kuju's more traditional and core work for hire business from projects that fall into the digital self-published realm," said Kuju CEO Nigel Robbins. "Kuju's three other studios and the imprints under Doublesix Video Games may share a common goal of creating compelling quality games, but the disciplines are somewhat different and the new structure will bring out the best in both divisions."

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 12:03 pm

News: Dundee prepares for NeoN digital arts festival

The North East of North (NeoN) festival is to return to Dundee in November, offering a full month of digital arts events across the city.

While the programme also encompasses design, art and music, games are a major part of the proceedings. The University of Abertay will run a series of panels, debates and workshops on November 11 to 12, hosted and attended by a wide array of software companies.

On November 8 to 10, the city additionally plays host to AppCon and AppJam, respectively a conference and 48-hour development competition for mobile and social games.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 11:31 am

News: New COO for ATLAS Interactive

Micropayment firm ATLAS Interactive has appointed a new Chief Operations Officer.

Andreas Pritzlaff has been promoted after two years working in Mobile Solutions at the German firm, and will now head up business operations including product management, purchasing, business development and customer care.

Said Marco Priewe, Managing Director of ATLAS, "Mr. Pritzlaff has in the past two years contributed significantly to the development of Mobile Solutions and has several years of experience in the telecommunications industry. I am pleased that our management team consisting of Andreas Syska-Funk and I could expand further with Mr. Pritzlaff, an important member."

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 10:59 am

News: Vivendi buoyant on 2010 profit projections

Activision Blizzard's parent company, French media conglomerate Vivendi, has today increased its profit predictions for 2010 - despite recording a dip in second-quarter profits of 3.7 per cent to 669 million (£552.6m) from 695 million (£574m) last year.

Vivendi did not hesitate to point out that the increase in predicted profits was due to an unexpectedly good performance from Activision Blizzard's properties, in which it owns a 52 per cent controlling stake. The drop in second quarter profits was ascribed to fewer music releases from Vivendi's major artists such as Eminem and Lady Gaga.

Last month, the company's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 became the UK's best selling game of all time.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 10:42 am

News: EA files counter-claim against "fraudulent" Tim Langdell

Electronic Arts has accused Edge Games' notoriously litigious boss Tim Langdell of "fraudulent misrepresentations", as it battles against his claim that EA title Mirror's Edge infringes his trademark of the word 'edge.'

The publisher has filed a counter-suit against Langdell, claiming his failure to release any games involving the contested trademark for some years constitutes deception of the US patent office.

EA is demanding that Langdell's trademarks are wiped out something that a number of smaller developers who have suffered the former IGDA board member's threatened legal wrath would no doubt welcome.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 10:08 am

News: Homebrew alternative PlayStation 3 hack released

An open source alternative to the PSJailbreak hack called PSGroove has been made available this morning, with the features intended for piracy removed.

The homebrew code must be downloaded to a AT90USB or variant before being installed, part of a USB development kit available for as little as £25.

In addition, the new hack doesn't feature the code in the commercial variant which causes a PlayStation 3 to lock up if the dongle is removed once the hack is installed.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 10:01 am

News: Gameloft revenues up 11% on strong App Store showing

Mobile games publisher Gameloft has announced its financial results for the first half of its fiscal year to June 30, 2010, noting an 11 per cent increase in overall sales compared to the same time frame last year to 66.6 million.

Those results helped the company achieve a 5.3 million profit, more than doubling last year's total of 2.2 million - and the publisher expects the continued sales of smartphones to help it sustain that growth.

One of the main reasons for the improvement was an 82 per cent growth in revenue from Apple's App Store, while the company also cited "efficient cost control" as a contributing factor.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 9:49 am

News: New Xbox 360 controller model confirmed

Xbox's Larry Hryb (aka Major Nelson) has confirmed rumours of a new model of Xbox 360 controller, citing the main improvement as a new D-pad which transforms from a directional controller to a single button when rotated 90 degrees.

The post on Hryb's blog details all of the new features of the controller, including a matte grey finish and all grey buttons.

The new dual-function D-pad is believed to be a response to a long-standing user issue with accuracy, especially in the light of games which require precise directional control from the D-pad, such as Street Fighter IV.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 9:39 am

News: EA reports Madden sales improvement

Electronic Arts has revealed that its internal estimates make this year's edition of Madden NFL the best-selling game for August in the US, across all platforms.

The publisher announced that sales of the game were up 5 per cent year-on-year, with the release of the Ultimate Team mode at launch propelling digital revenue up by 200 per cent.

"Madden NFL 11 is the number one selling game in August, and the game has created enormous enthusiasm in the online community," said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. "Each day on consoles, fans are playing as many games online as the equivalent of 750 full NFL seasons."

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 9:32 am

News: Interplay returns to publishing

Beleaguered firm Interplay is to step back into the publishing business. It yesterday announced its new Discovery program, intended to offer "great new games at great new prices" from small developers worldwide.

Interplay shut down active business in 2004, but was kept alive as a corporate entity solely as a result of selling the Fallout license to Bethesda in 2007.

However, it retained rights to publish its own Fallout MMO were certain funding and deadline conditions met. In January this year, the publisher confirmed Masthead Studios is working on the MMO, codenamed Project V13 but it must release it in 2011 or the rights default to the Bethesda.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 9:23 am

News: Social game valuations are "crazy," says Bigpoint CEO

While social game companies are over-valued, online publisher Bigpoint is eyeing traditional console makers for acquisition as they represent better value and are struggling in their own market.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz today, CEO Heiko Hubertz said that deals like Disney's $763 million buyout of Playdom are "crazy" and he doesn't expect valuations to drop to realistic levels for at least another year.

"There are many companies that have paid crazy valuations, just look at the Disney and Playdom acquisition, that was a crazy valuation from my point of view," said Hubertz.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 9:00 am

Interview: Bigpoint's Heiko Hubertz

German online publisher Bigpoint is growing significantly in an expanding market, striking big-name deals with SyFy, Universal and Playboy, and at the same time making itself more attractive to independent developers through its self-publishing operation DevLounge. GamesIndustry.biz recently sat down with CEO Heiko Hubertz to catch up with the company and to find out how it can protecting its interests in the web space, why its approaching console developers for acquisition, and where it sees further growth in the next two years.

Posted on 1 September 2010 | 9:00 am

News: Xaitment secures extra development funding

German AI middleware developer Xaitment has secured 2.4 million (£1.98 m) in investment funding, largely from the Triangle Venture Capital Group, with co-investment from ERP Startfonds.

The company, which produces out-of-the-box AI solutions to game developers, will use the money to continue its business expansion, as well as improving the five development tools which it currently offers to market.

"AI middleware is an exciting topic of discussion in game development circles and has the most potential for growth. Xaitments AI solutions bring the time and cost saving percentages that game developers need in this extremely competitive field of gaming," said Xaitment CEO Andreas Gerber.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 3:47 pm

News: Game Connection Europe heads for Lyon

Game Connection Europe 2010 has been confirmed as taking place in Lyon on 16 to 18 November. In addition, four brand new events have been confirmed for the conference.

Firstly, there's Game Connection Selected Projects. This event is focused on rewarding exciting innovations and exhibitions of skill within the industry, giving twenty carefully chosen companies the chance to show off their talents to Game Connection attendees. Applications for Selected Projects are online now.

A second event, Game Connection Invest, is similar, but will allow more established companies the chance to pitch to investors for funding. Applications for companies looking for investment are open until 5 October.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 3:25 pm

News: HTML5 to be "very popular with gamers" - SPIL

SPIL Games has announced that it has launched mobile versions of its network of games websites with the implementation of HTML5 - a new open standard with CEO Peter Driessen expects to be "very popular" for anybody wanting to play its games on the move.

"We of course don't have a crystal ball, but we can say we think this will be very popular with gamers," he told GamesIndustry.biz. "First of all we know people are using their mobile phones for more than just email and calling - they want to use them for gaming as well.

"Already we've seen close to 1 million people try to access our sites from a mobile device, so now that we have these sites up and running we expect it to be very popular."

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 3:00 pm

News: Playdom looks to Russia and Eastern Europe

Recent Disney acquisition Playdom is to release four titles in Russia, Eastern Europe and CIS territories, following a partnership with publisher i-Jet Media.

Few Western social gaming developers have explored Russia and its neighbours as yet, in part because Facebook boasts just one million users there.

By contrast, local social network Vkontakte enjoys around 75 million users.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 1:17 pm

News: AMD to kill off ATI name

Technology firm AMD has announced it is to retire the venerable ATI brand from its range of gaming graphics cards and chips.

AMD acquired ATI, which created a best-selling range of PC and Mac 3D cards as well as providing the graphics processing for the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, in 2006.

The 25 year old company will no longer be identified on AMD's graphics cards as of the 6000 series Radeon boards, due later this year.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 12:37 pm

News: Mafia II at number one in UK all-format chart

Mafia II has topped the UK all-format charts on its week of release, despite seeing review scores which ranged from 94 to 40 per cent.

2K's open world mob story shot straight in at number one, according to the figures released by Chart-Track, knocking last week's first place game, Kane & Lynch 2, down into second place.

Despite this initial sales success, outspoken analyst Michael Pachter had earlier claimed that Mafia II is "unlikely to achieve profitability" because of its half-decade development time.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 12:25 pm

News: TIGA expands membership remit

Games industry trade association TIGA has announced plans to open its doors to individual membership.

Whereas previously only businesses and organisations were eligible to join, as of this Autumn anyone working in the games industry may apply for membership.

Claimed TIGA boss Dr Richard Wilson, "We now have over 160 company members from across the UK. Our members include not just established independent developers and publisher owned studios but also international games publishers, small indie-studios, start-ups, creative agencies, universities and training companies, art, audio and motion capture specialists as well as law firms, accountancy firms and other service providers.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 11:17 am

News: Controlling IP "vital for business success" - Nokia

The importance of owning intellectual property cannot be underestimated when looking at a company's options for business success - big or small.

That's the opinion of Louise Pentland, senior VP and chief legal officer at Nokia, who will be discussing the matter in a keynote speech at the Digital Spark conference, taking place this week at the University of Abertay Dundee.

"Companies can flourish and differentiate based on their management of IP," she explained. "So, big or small, its simply not an option to ignore the relevance of IP. For most companies, having an IP portfolio and an active strategy to protect core product ideas and technology is critical.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 11:07 am

News: Atlus dissolved by Japanese parent company

An administrator for Atlus' official US forum has posted about the future of the company, reassuring fans about the company's projects.

"This is what Red and I are saying, over and over. Atlus is not becoming a mobile games company. The original story doesn't even say that. This is purely a corporate manoeuvring so that Index, which is a mobile games company, has easier access to Atlus IPs. That's all," he said.

Publisher Atlus has been dissolved as an independent entity by its parent company Index Holdings as of yesterday, a decision which the company has attributed to financial pressures.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 10:43 am

News: Miniclip launches dedicated mobile division

Casual game developer and publisher Miniclip is to specifically target the iPhone and Android markets, having yesterday announced the creation of a new mobile division.

While the Swiss firm has released a number of mobile titles previously (Fragger reached second place in the paid iPhone App charts), the new business unit represents a concerted move to leverage Miniclip's 57 million users on multiple platforms.

Miniclip will develop and publish some of its most established IPs on both iPhone and Android, including Ping Pony, Candy & Clyde and further derivations of grenade-lobbing hit Fragger.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 10:33 am

News: Google acquires SocialDeck

SocialDeck, the developer behind Shake & Spell, PetHero and Color Connect, has announced that it has "joined the Google team" in an acquisition deal - although the terms of that deal have not been disclosed.

The news was revealed in a statement on the company's website, thanking players for their support - but it didn't offer any details on whether or not the company would continue to develop games along the same lines as current releases, which are primarily iPhone titles.

SocialDeck also runs a platform called Spark, which connects players on iPhone, Blackberry and Facebook, and includes features such as chat, game lobbies, leaderboards and cross-platform gameplay.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 10:15 am

News: Exent and Verizon launch new PC download service

Online distribution firm Exent has introduced its own PC game download service to the market.

GameTanium is currently available only to Verizon broadband users in the US, but will partner with a number of other ISPs later in the year.

Although the service launches into an exceptionally competitive sector, it boasts 1800 titles which Exent claims is "the worlds largest library of PC games" and offers multiple payment models.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 9:51 am

News: EEDAR: Xbox LIVE price hike still "incredible value"

Microsoft will be increasing the pricing of some of its subscription packages for the Xbox LIVE Gold membership as of 1 November, affecting only the US, UK, Canada and Mexico.

The rises are the first to be put in place since Microsoft launched the Xbox LIVE service in 2002, and follow closely on the heels of Sony's launch of its premium PlayStation Plus service. Not all subscription packages are affected, with only the single monthly subscription increasing in the UK.

Microsoft's Larry Hryb revealed the changes yesterday: "Since launching Xbox LIVE in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same."

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 9:44 am

News: $20 DSi range price drop for US

Nintendo's current generation of portable hardware is to see a $20 sliced off its RRP, in what may be the DS's twilight months in the limelight before the arrival of the new 3DS handheld.

The DSi drops to $149.99, while the DSi XL is now $169.99. The price of the older but still widely available DS Lite is unaffected, remaining at $129.99.

The DS range has sold 133 million units since the release of the original model in 2004, with 42.3 million of those in the US alone.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 9:23 am

Interview: Corre Gamer

Ubisoft became the number two publisher in Europe earlier this year, after racking up a number of hits in the past 18 months, from mega-budget blockbusters like Assassins Creed II to more price-conscious Just Dance titles for the Wii. As the triple-A market becomes more expensive and risky, and at the same time offering incredible returns for the top five hits, Alain Corre talks GamesIndustry.biz through the publishers renewed focus on the console market, why hes not looking to long-term growth with Move and Kinect, how 3DS can lift the market in 2011, and why online play shouldnt just be exploited as an additional revenue stream.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 9:00 am

News: Console market "not supporting full range of products," says Ubisoft

The home console market is no longer supporting alternative products for big publishers, leaving only blockbuster titles to break the top ten and become profitable.

Thats according to Ubisoft Euro MD Alain Corre, who told GamesIndustry.biz that its safer to invest in one AAA title rather than hedge bets on a handful of smaller productions.

"The games that are not triple-A are not profitable anymore," said Corre in an interview published today. "And thats changed in the last 18 months.

Posted on 31 August 2010 | 9:00 am

News: PS3 modchip banned in Australia

Sony has been granted a temporary injunction against the PSJailbreak USB modchip.

The plug-in copy protection bypass was released earlier this month, apparently defeating the so-called "unhackable" PlayStation 3.

However, Australia's Federal Court has temporarily barred the import and sale of the dongle, reports Kotaku, granting Sony until the end of August to make its case for a permanent restriction on the controversial device.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 3:55 pm

News: Japanese charts see PS3 on top

The PS3 was the biggest-selling console in Japan for the week ending August 26, according to figures from Media Create.

Sony's console sold just under 30,000 units, with the Wii managing just over 18,000 and the Xbox 360 just 3,842.

The PSP was the country's best selling handheld with 27,554, although combined sales of the DSi, DSi LL and DS Lite would total over 45,000 units. Almost every platform saw a reduction in sales this week, apart from Sony's struggling PSPgo, which shifted 631 units - up from last week's 608.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 3:28 pm

News: Survey: Only 2% of UK considering 3DTV purchase

Only 89 of 4199 surveyed Britons are planning to buy a 3D TV within the next year, according to a YouGov survey for Deloitte.

While the figure only documents those actively intending on a 3D set, rather than those who might buy a new TV that also happens to be 3D, it does suggest that just 2 per cent of UK consumers are intending to adopt the new technology.

25 to 34 year olds were most likely to invest in a stereoscopic screen, with over-45s least interested.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 1:36 pm

News: BAFTA young game designers workshop set for Eurogamer Expo

One hundred free places are available for a BAFTA young game designers workshop, taking place from 2pm until 5pm on Sunday October 3, during the Eurogamer Expo at Earl's Court. Each workshop place will include full access to the Expo.

The workshop is aimed at helping kids get a head start on the UK-wide BAFTA Young Game Designers competition, winners of which will be announced in November. Workshop participants will get the opportunity to get advice on game design from leading industry figures, as well as pitch them their ideas.

Up to three child tickets can be requested at the Megaton website. Each group of children must be accompanied by an adult if under 16 years old. The Eurogamer Expo takes place at Earl's Court, London, from 1-3 October, 2010.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 11:27 am

News: New console expected for China

PC manufacturer Lenovo is reportedly developing a console known as the eBox exclusively for the Chinese market.

Considered the fourth biggest PC-maker in the world, Lenovo has created a spin-off company to develop and market the new machine, as part of an ongoing plan to expand its remit.

Beijing eedoo Technology currently comprises 40 Lenovo software engineers, according to newspaper China Daily (as reported by Reuters), and is funded by investment from parent firm Legend Holdings and its private equity sister company.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 10:47 am

News: Testronic Labs opens 3D games testing unit

Quailty Assurance company Testronic Laboratories has opened a new 3D games testing facility at its Pinewood office and has already begun work on a major 3D project for a client.

The company began working in the 3D movie field in January, and already provides services for the QA of Move and Kinect titles, alongside support for traditionally controlled games. Expansion into 3D games services was seen as a natural progression, the company said.

3D QA support will be offered for both PlayStation and Xbox titles.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 10:46 am

News: PR firm stung by FTC over misleading reviews

Games PR firm Reverb Communications, and its sole owner Tracie Snitker, have been ruled against by the US Federal Trade Commission after employees were discovered to have been submitting reviews of Reverb's clients' products to iTunes, purporting to be independent consumers.

The ruling means that Reverb, which has represented Harmonix and Cryptic Studios, will be forced to remove all of its employees' reviews, banning any of the company's representatives from posting any further reviews unless they fully disclose their connection to the product and its owners.

"Companies, including public relations firms involved in online marketing need to abide by long-held principles of truth in advertising," said Mary Engle, director of the FTCs advertising practices division.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 10:12 am

News: $2bn in online game acquisitions expected in 2010

The total value of all public games companies worldwide is approximately $105 billion, according to investment banker Paul Heydon from Avista Partners.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival yesterday, Heydon (who claims to have advised on $1 billion worth of videogame deals for the likes of Unity, Atari and Criterion) felt that previous market estimates did not wholly account for the ballooning online sector.

This, he argued, contributed $23.46 billion to the worth of the games industry 71 per cent of console and PC gaming's (excluding Nintendo) value of $33.22 billion. However, he pegged the total market cap of public companies creating Nintendo software as $34.96 billion.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 10:08 am

News: Best Buy officially begins used game sales

US budget retailer Best Buy will begin accepting trade-ins of used games for store credit this Sunday, with an initial inventory of 100 games being taken. Used games will be available to buy in store shortly afterwards, once sufficient stock has been accrued.

The company has been accepting game trade ins on its website for some time now, allowing customers to post games free of charge in exchange for Best Buy gift cards. The new scheme will include a $20 bonus payment for a rotating selection of select titles, reports Gamasutra.

The introduction of the store-based exchange system follows hot on the heels of rival store Target's announcement this week that it will be entering the used game market, hoping to have 850 participating stores by the year's end.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 9:47 am

News: Ubisoft cuts staff at Tom Clancy studio

Ubisoft has confirmed layoffs at Red Storm Entertainment, the studio founded by author Tom Clancy and Navy veteran Doug Littlejohns.

The move was part of "a realignment of production priorities" according to the publisher, and does not impact the ongoing development of the latest game in Ubisoft's best-selling war franchise.

"Red Storm remains an integral part of Ubisoft's worldwide production team and will continue to work on the multiplayer component of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier," a spokesperson told Kotaku.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 9:10 am

Editorial: Political Milestone

There was a time, not too long ago, when any politician looking for a quick headline in the right-wing press could rely on a manufactured stink about a violent videogame to do the business. A few inaccurate descriptions of the game in question, peppered with fiery condemnation from politicians and wildly uninformed statements from various victim's organisations or individuals who have never actually seen the game, was a guaranteed hit with the audience - and the backlash from the industry and the young people who form most of their vocal consumers was sufficiently small as to be unimportant.

Indeed, some politicians and news journalists are under the impression that times haven't changed - that games remain a soft target, with just about everyone that matters being willing to believe any old nonsense about this evil force that is corrupting the nation's youth. Every couple of months, some news source will attempt to make a scandal out of a new game, and each time, they manage to find a politician so desperate for public exposure that they're willing to spout off about a topic they know nothing about in the hope of earning a soundbite on TV or a quote in a tabloid newspaper.

This isn't new. Countless gamers have complained about exactly this over the years. I've written about this phenomenon in columns before, bemoaning the mainstream press' willingness to view games as an easy target for negative stories during slow times for news - and especially during the "silly season" that ensues in the press during the summer, when political news tends to dry up.

Posted on 27 August 2010 | 9:00 am

News: Microsoft: 360 Sky Player use equivalent to a top 5 title

Xbox Live Studios Soho general manager Jerry Johnson has equated the uptake of Sky Player for the Xbox 360 to that of a top-five retail game.

"If Sky was a title in the UK market, it would be one of the top played titles on an evergreen basis. It's not Call of Duty, but it's up there as one of the top five or ten titles on a consistent basis over time," said Johnson during a talk at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival today.

Microsoft launched the Sky Player, which allowed gamers to watch Sky Movies, Sky Sports and other marquee channels for an additional fee, in October last year. The service was temporarily suspended after it was crippled by unexpected demand on day one.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 5:21 pm

News: Three GAME directors to leave the company

The GAME Group has announced that three of its directors are to leave the company, following a period in which the UK-based retailer has been restructuring its business to better tackle the future evolutions of the games market.

Alex Croft (MD for the Group's online and digital operations), Malcolm Knight (HR director) and Adolf Kristjansson (regional MD for Scandinavia, the Czech Republic and emerging markets) all depart.

"We have announced some personnel changes internally today following a review of the senior team," said Group CEO Ian Shepherd in a statement. "As we continue to develop the very best PC and videogames offer for our customers, we are making some structural changes to introduce a broader range of skills into the business.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 4:31 pm

News: Fries and 2D Boy to keynote MIGS

Two keynote speakers have been confirmed for the Montreal International Games Summit - original project Xbox co-founder Ed Fries and 2D Boy's Ron Carmel.

Fries will speak on the eclectic subjects of beauty, constraints and the Atari 2600, whilst Ron Carmel will be giving a keynote on the business of independent game development.

The Summit's five tracks are business, art, design, production and technology. Fuzbi director David Edery will be tackling the business track, exploring the life cycle of online distribution platforms. Alex Alvarez, chief executive of the Gnomon School of Design, will speak on the subject of art, discussing the importance of education to the continuing evolution of the sector.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 12:54 pm

News: Sony expects word-of-mouth success for Move

Sony has said that it is not expecting big day-one sales of its new motion controller Move when it's released in September.

Instead, UK managing director Ray Maguire predicted the peripheral will succeed through word-of-mouth, similar to the gradual uptake of the PlayStation 2 gadget EyeToy.

"Move is a natural extension in the same way as we brought EyeToy to PS2," he told our sister site Eurogamer.net.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 12:30 pm

News: TIGA increasing support for UK industry

UK trade body TIGA has revealed a swathe of new support resources which it will be making available to UK game developers, specifically services dedicated to independent studios looking to self-publish games, and companies planning to exhibit at Lyon's Game Connection in November.

Self-publishing developers can look forward to more events, seminars and mentoring sessions from senior industry figures, as well as a new Corporate Members area of TIGA's website dedicated to the trials and advantages of self-publishing.

There will also be quarterly meetings of a newly-formed Self Publishing Group, a forum where industry specialists will share information on the current state of the self-publishing market. The full range of services will be available this Autumn.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 11:55 am

News: Game-only UK TV channel confirmed

The UK's first TV channel entirely devoted to videogaming will launch this November.

The service will be known as Ginx, and will be "fully distributed on cable and satellite TV."

"For us it's about light gamers," said CEO Michiel Bakker at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival this morning (as attended by sister site Eurogamer.net).

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 11:34 am

News: London Games Festival aims to unite UK

The organisers of the London Games Festival have confirmed the first events taking place during the annual showcase, which runs from September 30 to November 4.

New director of the LGF Kirsty Payne said that she hopes the five-week event can successfully pull together consumer and trade, business and entertainment events to fully represent the vibrancy of the UK games sector.

"We really want London Games Festival to be a completely inclusive variety and diverse range of events," said Payne, director of the London Games Festival.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 11:00 am

News: CrowdStar takes on Japan

CrowdStar, oft-considered the third biggest social gaming studio, has partnered with Japanese developer Drecom to bring its titles to Japan.

Drecom's games sport over 7 million subscribers, gained in just a year.

CrowdStar titles including Happy Aquarium, which pulls in 11.8 million monthly active Facebook users, will soon arrive on Japanese social networks such as Mixi, Hangame and Gree - where they will compete with titles from Zynga.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 10:42 am

News: Microsoft execs to give keynote at TGS 2010

Microsoft will once again be hosting the keynote at this year's Tokyo Game Show, with Home and Entertainment head Takashi Sensui and Game Studio vice president Phil Spencer taking the stage on the morning of the show's opening day, September 16.

Currently, the keynote has a working title of "Xbox 360's Vision and 2010's Strategy", although this is subject to confirmation.

As per usual, there will also be a second keynote speech at the event, which has yet to be announced. The last time Microsoft representatives gave the speech was in 2008, when John Schappert gave a talk entitled 'A Canvas for the World'.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 10:21 am

News: 5% of Steam users play on a Mac

The latest Steam Hardware survey figures suggest that Mac take-up of the digital distribution service Steam is declining.

In total, 5.07 per cent of all machines running steam used OSX in July, the second month of release for Steam for Mac - compared to 8.13 per cent in June.

However, the actual decline in Macs' proportion of the Steam platform share was just 1.27 per cent, due to a continued increase in installs on PC.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 10:06 am

News: Target enters used game market in US

US retailer Target has begun accepting trade-ins of used games, DVDs and electrical goods in its stores and on its website, beginning yesterday in Northern California, with 850 shops planning to take up the scheme by the year end.

The move follows successful similar programs from other major US stores, including budget retailer Best Buy, who started a used-goods exchange last year, and a continued high-margin of profit for second-hand specialists GameStop.

Chief executive of GameStop, Paul Raines, has seemed relatively unconcerned about the competition, recently stating that "we simply have not seen an impact," partly due to the infancy or small scale of competitor's programmes.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 9:58 am

News: ND Cube now officially a subsidiary of Nintendo

A recent episode of Iwata asks has revealed that Nintendo now own a 96 per cent share of Wii Play developer ND Cube, making the company an official subsidiary.

The company was founded in 2000 as a joint venture between Nintendo and Japanese advertising company Dentsu, with Nintendo taking 78 per cent of the stock and Dentsu 13.3 per cent, with the remaining 8.7 per cent taken by other investors.

During the Iwata asks session, in which the Nintendo president interviews development staff about the projects they're working on, it is revealed that Dentsu has now relinquished control of nearly all of the company's shares.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 9:28 am

News: Google gaming tsar gone after four months

Google's games boss Mark DeLoura has stepped down after just four months at the company.

Mark DeLoura became the web goliath's developer advocate for games in April - the latest addition to an impressive CV, following roles at Sony, Nintendo, Ubisoft and Zoo Games.

Last night, he revealed that he was moving on, claiming that Google "was not the perfect fit for me." No further information about his departure was offered, though he praised both his erstwhile colleagues and Google's plans for Chrome Web Store and native client browser gaming.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 9:25 am

News: Bigpoint backs new Playboy games label

Playboy is launching a new online games label with the help of German digital publisher Bigpoint.

Bigpoint will distribute a select number of titles, including the 2 million Poisonville, through Playboy.com.

"According to Playboy user feedback, we know our audience is interested in online videogames, so we're thrilled to launch a formal videogame label later this year that will meet their needs," commented Paul Lee, managing director of new digital ventures for Playboy Enterprises.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 9:20 am

News: id: iPhone is "additive" to core titles

id Software co-owner Tim Willits has revealed that the Quake studio's iPhone strategy is in part driven by John Carmack alone, but that the company does intend to use it bulk out the Rage franchise.

"A lot of it's John driving it," Willits told GamesIndustry.biz. "Which is one of the great things about him only John Carmack could whip out a game in his spare time." Carmack reportedly took just a fortnight to create the 60FPS iPhone demo of Rage demonstrated at QuakeCon earlier this month.

However, while iPhone is not id's core strategy, it does have a full team working on mobile titles.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 9:00 am

Interview: id's Tim Willits

id Software was one of the giants amongst independent developers a company that publishers went to, rather than vice-versa. The Doom, Wolfenstein and Quake franchises are part of the fabric of gaming history: this was a studio that, surely, could do anything it wanted. So it came as a shock when, in June 2009, id was acquired by Zenimax Media. id's near future plans the release of new IP Rage and a third sequel to Doom appeared unaffected, but earlier this month the studio confirmed it would no longer be licensing its engine to other developers. At this year's GamesCom gathering in Cologne, GamesIndustry.biz talked with id's avuncular co-owner and lead designer Tim Willits about why he feels the studio is now on surer footing, the dangers of new IPs, how important iPhone development is to it and why id doesn't want any more superstar developers.

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 9:00 am

News: Digital Chocolate suing Zynga over Mafia Wars

Casual and mobile game developer Digital Chocolate is attempting to sue social gaming giant Zynga over its continued use of Mafia Wars, claiming that the trademark is wholly owned by Digital Chocolate in regard to a mobile game released in 2004, well before Zynga's Mafia Wars was unleashed.

In the court documents, filed at Courthousenews.com, pertaining to the case, Digital Chocolate's lawyers claim that the company repeatedly made Zynga aware of its claim to the trademark.

In May 2009, Digital Chocolate claims that it was assured in writing that Zynga did not intend to pursue the trademark, shortly afterwards, Zynga filed a patent application with the US patent office (USPTO).

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 5:44 pm

News: Jesse Schell to keynote Unite 2010

Unity Technologies, creator of the Unity development platform and host of the annual Unite development conference, has announced that CEO of Schell Games, Jesse Schell, will give the keynote at this year's event.

The conference, which takes place 10-12 November in Old Montreal, and follows the Montreal International Game Summit. 2010 is the fourth year in which Unite has taken place.

Schell is an author and regular speaker on game design, and a strong advocate of the Unity platform. Schell Games is currently using Unity to develop The Mummy Online, an MMOG in partnership with Universal and Bigpoint.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 5:00 pm

News: Ubisoft doubts Move or Kinect can extend console cycle

Ubisoft, Europe's number two publishing company, has said that it doesn't expect either Move or Kinect will be able to extend the life-cycle of the current generation of home consoles.

European MD Alain Corre told GamesIndustry.biz that he expects the peripherals from Sony and Microsoft will help lift the market in the short-term, but next year's big hardware success story is likely to be Nintendo's 3DS.

"I don't think so, no," said Corre when asked if either peripheral can stretch the current cycle beyond another 24 months.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 4:27 pm

News: Free workshop for indie startups in Dundee

Revolver PR will be hosting a free workshop for developers looking to establish their own independent studios in Dundee, taking place from 12pm, August 31, in the city's Scottish Enterprise office.

Aimed primarily at members of the local companies who have lost their jobs in recent cuts and closures, the workshop is also open to existing indie studios and will offer advice on getting a studio up and running, finding funding, marketing a product, protecting IP and getting a finished game to market.

"The most exciting and innovative areas in the games market are those in the independent areas, where smaller companies are targeting new platforms and digital distribution channels," said head of interactive entertainment at Revolver, Brian Baglow.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 3:35 pm

News: Take-Two loses legal battle over BioShock domain

BioShock publisher Take-Two has lost a legal battle to try and wrest control of the URL www.bioshock.com from a company specialising in domain squatting, Name Administration Inc. (NA Media)

Gamer/Law reports that the publisher failed to win over a legal panel on a number of points, resulting in the site remaining under the control of NA Media, who first acquired it in 2004 - after BioShock had been unofficially announced but before Take-Two had registered it as a trademark.

The fact that Take-Two hadn't registered the trademarks at the time of the URL's registration weakened the publisher's case, but Name Administration also argued that Bioshock had other connotations separate from Take-Two's business, citing that cosmetics company Johnson and Johnson had expressed interest in the URL whilst it was mooting an unrelated Bioshock skincare range.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 1:08 pm

News: Hollenshead cautious over 3D impact

id Software executive Todd Hollenshead has revealed that the Doom and Rage developer is less optimistic than some about the potential impact of 3D technology in the near future.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Hollenshead intimated that id wouldn't be investing in 3D until the price of 3D-capable TV sets had fallen enough to encourage decent market penetration.

"At the very uber end of the videophiles, those guys are going to adopt that," he said of 3D TV. "But that's not going to be wide enough adoption to create substantial change within the gaming market.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 12:13 pm

News: Channel 4 investing £1 million in Dundee

UK terrestrial programmer Channel 4 has commissioned three of Dundee's studios to create games based on some of its most successful programs, spending £1 million in the city in total.

The investment, reported by Herald Scotland, means that the channel has spent a total of 10 per cent of its creative budget in Dundee this year. Tag Games and Dynamo Games will be creating titles based on Channel 4 shows, while Headlight Scotland, a TV production unit, has been commissioned to create a three-part series on the games industry in Dundee.

Channel 4's media project manager for Creative Diversity, Ian Mackenzie, was keen to cast a positive light on the future of Dundee: "It is a timely investment," he said. This is a very positive counter point to the bad news of Realtime Worlds. This investment is one example of people recognising the talent that is in Dundee."

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 11:53 am

News: Ex-Codemasters director joins Zattikka

Zattikka, which curates the Gimme5Games.com flash portal, has appointed ex-Codemasters executive Peter Jones in a role which entails the development of external partners and products.

Jones has spent many years in the industry, including positions at SEGA, Acclaim, EA and Lionhead. His most recent role, at Codemasters, was as director of product development.

"I believe that social and casual gaming is going to be a big part of the future of software entertainment," said Jones.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 10:38 am

Article: Google Web Store: new business model or gamble?

Leading industry figures have been speaking out about Google's Chrome Web Store, the browser-based App Store equivalent for PCs and Macs slated for launch this October but in an increasingly crowded online marketplace, what can it offer and how much room for manoeuvre does it have?

Speaking at GDC, Google's developer advocate for games Mark DeLoura described the service's primary use as a quality filter for less informed gamers: "If you search for chess games, you may stumble across a chess-based flash game but you don't know if it's good, if it's bad, even if it works." With Web Store, a chess game is recommended to you, and has user ratings attached.

The necessary wrinkle is that it's tied to Google's Chrome browser a relative new kid on the block, but one that enjoyed a massive advertising blitz earlier this year. "Chrome as a browser is up to 70 million users," said DeLoura, describing its growth to around 9 per cent of the market as a "steep, steep upward [graph] slope."

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 10:26 am

News: Warner Bros cans This is Vegas - report

Warner Bros has apparently pulled the plug on open-world title This is Vegas, after a total of $50 million (£32.38m) was spent on its development. Developer Surreal Studios had already been closed earlier this year.

The game, which Warner Bros inherited as part of its $33 million (£21.3m) acquisition of Midway's assets last year, had already cost Midway $43 million (£27.85m) by the time the company folded, and was running at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars a month.

The report, from Computer and Videogames quotes a 'cast iron' source as saying: "It was moving along to a point where the title was on the schedule for release late last year - but still needed another eight months to a year to finish.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 10:12 am

News: Capcom aiming to avoid future controversy

Capcom has revealed that it has taken on board the criticism leveled at it over the content of action horror game Resident Evil 5, released last year.

The title was rapped by some critics for what they considered to be a racist slant, based on the African village setting - meaning that the zombies were all black-skinned.

At the time the publisher denied the accusations and seemingly took no action to change its approach, but in an interview with Gamasutra it transpires that certain steps have been taken to try to prevent such situations from repeating themselves.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 9:29 am

Interview: Prime Numbers

Mike Cox has worked in the games business for sometime, founding Audiomotion, working as a producer for Electronic Arts, establishing Czech studio Vatra for Kuju and selling middleware at Emergent. Its the last role that has set him in good stead for a business development role at UK studio Monumental Games, as he begins to sell new MMO engine Prime. Here, in an exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Cox talks us through the transition from development studio to service provider, the growth and challenges of online markets for independent developers, his thoughts on mergers and acquisitions in the social space, and opportunities in web games.

Posted on 25 August 2010 | 9:00 am

News: Senior management blamed for RTW collapse

While the precise events that led to Dundee studio Realtime Worlds going into administration last week remain unclear, various former staff have been telling their side of the story.

Former employee Luke Halliwell, who worked on procedural generation technology for Crackdown, APB and Project: MyWorld, has revealed that many staffers were not paid for their last month's work.

"It felt like we were being let go decently," he wrote on his personal blog, "and then BOOM not getting paid anything, owed last months wages, our notice periods, redundancy pay and unused holidays. A substantial amount of money, all told."

Posted on 24 August 2010 | 6:00 pm

News: Monumental enters middleware market with cheap MMO engine

Monumental Games has entered the middleware business and begun selling its own MMO engine, Prime, designed for lite MMO games to be published on Facebook and other web platforms.

GamesIndustry.biz can reveal that the engine, already showcased through in-house title Little Monsters, will sell for as little as £20,000 ($31,000) for a prototype licence, rising to £100,000 ($154,000) for a full-year deal allowing for multiple titles and including tech support.

Mike Cox, business development manager for Monumental, said that the engine is designed for a smaller number of players than the giants in the MMO space, but it's a growing sector as more companies look to improve the quality of online and browser-based gaming.

Posted on 24 August 2010 | 4:07 pm

News: Online publishers cautious of Google's social game plan

Senior industry figures have commented on Google's still-mysterious plans for a gaming-centric social network, and whether it can compete with Facebook or not.

In Cologne last week, Google confirmed that the upcoming Chrome Web Store (a browser-based analogue to Apple's App store) was a "separate thing" to the search giant's much-rumoured social gaming service.

While the company has yet to release details, the titles 'Google Games' and 'Google Me' have been flung about, a 2010 launch has been rumoured, industry deep-throats have suggested a round of high-profile acquisitions and partnerships may be looming, and $100 million was reportedly poured into FarmVille creator Zynga.

Posted on 24 August 2010 | 3:42 pm

News: OnLive portfolio grows with day-one release of Mafia II

Cloud gaming service OnLive has increased its portfolio of day-and-date releases by confirming that 2K's Mafia II will be available from the service as soon as it's released in the US, the same time as retail and other digital channels.

The announcement sees Mafia II join a significant list of other titles available from the service, which launched in the US two months ago.

OnLive users paying full price for the game will be able to choose another game from the service for free.

Posted on 24 August 2010 | 1:34 pm