http://www.dcemu.co.uk/ en Thu, 17 May 2012 00:47:31 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.dcemu.co.uk/digitalvb/morbid/misc/rss.png http://www.dcemu.co.uk/ http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/450810-Amazon-shelves-Silent-Hill-Book-of-Memories-until-October?goto=newpost Mon, 14 May 2012 23:06:58 GMT WayForward's strange top-down multiplayer Vita game Silent Hill: Book of Memories appears to have been delayed again, with Amazon changing the release date from May 31 to the distant (but thematically appropriate) October 31. Other retailers don't yet agree: GameStop says May 22, and GameFly has a terrifying "TBD" date.

At least Amazon's $5 credit offer is active, if you pre-order the game in advance of its eventual release. And in other sort of good news, the soundtrack was released last month, so you can listen to that while you wait. We're checking with Konami for an accurate release window.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/14/am...until-october/ ]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/450810-Amazon-shelves-Silent-Hill-Book-of-Memories-until-October http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/450792-Doctor-Who-dated-on-PS3-and-Vita?goto=newpost Mon, 14 May 2012 22:30:40 GMT BBC Worldwide has confirmed release dates for both the PS3 and PlayStation Vita versions of Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock. The PS3 SKU will be available on PSN from next Wednesday (May23rd) with the boxed SKU hitting retail the following Friday (May 25th). The Vita version will be released... BBC Worldwide has confirmed release dates for both the PS3 and PlayStation Vita versions of Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock.
The PS3 SKU will be available on PSN from next Wednesday (May23rd) with the boxed SKU hitting retail the following Friday (May 25^th).
The Vita version will be released digitally on June 13^th.
The game is the first of three Doctor Who titles heading to PlayStation, all of which will be released on PC at a later date. The PS3 and Vita SKUs will be able to share save game information.
Players help the Doctor and River Song as they battle against the usual Whovian villains: Daleks, Cybermen and Silurians, as well as The Silence, the new species created for the most recent series of the popular sci-fi show.
The title is being developed by Supermassive Games, the studio behind a number of PlayStation Move titles, including Start The Party and Tumble.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/docto...nd-vita/096012 ]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/450792-Doctor-Who-dated-on-PS3-and-Vita http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/448349-Inafune-developing-Vita-exclusive-Soul-Sacrifice?goto=newpost Wed, 09 May 2012 21:53:32 GMT Rune Factory studio Marvelous AQL collaborating with SCEJ on multiplayer fantasy title Mega Man Keiji Inafune’s first new title since leaving Capcom will be PlayStation Vita exclusive Soul Sacrifice, it has been revealed. As reported by Andriasang... Rune Factory studio Marvelous AQL collaborating with SCEJ on multiplayer fantasy title

Mega Man Keiji Inafune’s first new title since leaving Capcom will be PlayStation Vita exclusive Soul Sacrifice, it has been revealed.
As reported by Andriasang, the fantasy game is being developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and Rune Factory 4 studio Marvelous AQL.

Whilst few details have emerged on the upcoming game, Soul Sacrifice will revolve around a wizard who must use items and body parts to cast magic.
The title, currently slated for a winter release, will also provide multiplayer support up to four players.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...Soul-Sacrifice
]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/448349-Inafune-developing-Vita-exclusive-Soul-Sacrifice http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/446325-XSEED-announces-rhythm-strategy-title-Orgarhythm-for-Vita?goto=newpost Sat, 05 May 2012 20:45:52 GMT Move over Theatrhythm, there's a new absurdly titled and unpronounceable handheld rhythm game in town: Orgarhythm. Developed by Acquire (in association with Neilo) and set to be published in North America by XSEED sometime this year, Orgarhythm is a hybrid rhythm/strategy game for the Vita.

Acting as the God of Light, players do battle against the diametrically named God of Darkness by commanding armies of elementally-themed soldiers. The game's soundtrack, described as "a hypnotic mix of rock, club and tribal music," affects how and when your units attack, with the beat of the music acting as a quantifiable resource to be spent on stronger attacks. The music also dynamically alters itself depending on the circumstances of the battle, adding additional layers of complexity as more troops enter the fray.

As implied by the rather artsy trailer above, commanding your army is handled entirely by the Vita's touchscreen – tapping to select troops, swiping to direct them towards the desired target, etc. Said troops also have a Pokemon-esque relationship with the enemy, due to the fact that every unit is either an Earth, water or fire-type, with all the inferred weaknesses and strengths you'd expect from such a system.

Eventual DLC is mentioned by the press release tucked away after the break, but no specific plans are actually outlined. If you're an aspiring musician, however, take note: XSEED will be looking for independent artists sometime in the near future to bolstier Orgarhythm's aural catalog.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/xs...ythm-for-vita/ ]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/446325-XSEED-announces-rhythm-strategy-title-Orgarhythm-for-Vita http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/446016-Free-Radical-execs-slam-LucasArts?goto=newpost Fri, 04 May 2012 22:22:02 GMT Several former executives at Nottingham studio Free Radical have accused LucasArts of using "stalling tactics" to avoid paying the studio for its work on Star Wars: Battlefront 3.
Speaking to Eurogamer, co-founder and director David Doak, co-founder Steve Ellis, and ex-audio director Graeme Norgate described how a change of management at LucasArts was followed by obvious efforts to ensure Free Radical failed to meet development milestones, describing the people he dealt with as "psychopaths" and saying the saga led to him having a nervous breakdown.
LucasArts approached Free Radical in 2006, with then-president Jim Ward asking the Timesplitters studio to make Battlefront 3 as part of his strategy to reboot LucasArts IPs. After that strategy was deemed a failure, Ward left the company, and his replacements were, it appears, anything but supportive of Doak and his team.
"[Ward's exit] was worrying," Doak said, "but it didn't seem like it would be a bad thing. And then we went from talking to people who were passionate about making games to talking to psychopaths who insisted on having an unpleasant lawyer in the room."
Ward's replacement was Darrell Rodriguez, and in the months that followed LucasArts laid off huge numbers of staff in a bid to reduce its outgoings by half. "For a long time we talked of LucasArts as the best relationship we'd ever had with a publisher, co-founder Steve Ellis said. "Then in 2008 that disappeared, they were all either fired or left. [Rodriguez] had been brought in to do a job, and it was more to do with cost control than making any games."
The description of what followed is shocking. The publisher embarked on a campaign of what Norgate calls "stalling tactics," shifting the goalposts to ensure the studio failed to meet milestones and therefore wasn't paid as agreed. "If a publisher wants to find something that is wrong with a milestone, it's very easy for them to do so as there are so many grey areas within a deliverable.
"If the contract says, 'graphics for level X to be release quality,' who can say what's release quality? And there you have it… We hadn't been paid for six months."
Doak elaborates: "In many ways it was a depressing farce talking to them. They had an agenda motivated by purely financial concerns. Their goal was to stop doing it. And it didn't matter that we had a contract that protected us." Ellis puts that into context: "What we found out in 2008 is that your contract is only worth as much as how far you can pursue it in court."
Doak says these "unpleasant high-level discussions with psychopaths" drove him to a nervous breakdown, and after unsuccessfully attempting to get Timesplitters 4 signed by a publisher, Free Radical went into administration, with 140 staff losing their jobs before Crytek stepped in and turned the company into Crytek UK, which is still trading today and is currentlydeveloping the Homefront sequel for THQ.
With all this in mind, it's perhaps no surprise that co-founder Steve Ellis has set up Crash Labs, a studio focused on small mobile games, with fellow ex-Rare staff. He told us this week that he was happy to have turned his back on the industry he helped build, eschewing risky big-budget games and loss-making FPSes.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/free...slam-lucasarts ]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/446016-Free-Radical-execs-slam-LucasArts http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/444358-Vita-s-MGS-HD-Collection-listed-with-June-12-launch-in-America-late-June-in-Europe?goto=newpost Tue, 01 May 2012 23:49:25 GMT Image: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2012/04/mgs3enemy02ps3.jpg (http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/30/vitas-mgs-hd-collection-listed-with-june-12-launch-in-america/) Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (http://www.joystiq.com/game/metal-gear-solid-hd-collection) for Vita has a launch...

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for Vita has a launch window of "late June" for European markets, Eurogamer reports. This coincides nicely with the North American release date of June 12 listed on GameStop and Amazon.

Metal Gear Solid HD does not include PSP's Peace Walker, as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions do.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B007FQUEZ8 ]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/444358-Vita-s-MGS-HD-Collection-listed-with-June-12-launch-in-America-late-June-in-Europe http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/444330-God-of-War-multiplayer-may-not-quot-move-the-needle-on-sales-quot-says-Pachter?goto=newpost Tue, 01 May 2012 23:20:19 GMT *More and more single-player games are getting the multiplayer treatment* Sony Santa Monica (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/resources/directory/company/sony-santa-monica) God of War: Ascension was officially unveiled last month... More and more single-player games are getting the multiplayer treatment
Sony Santa Monica


God of War: Ascension was officially unveiled last month and one of the surprising additions to the franchise is a new multiplayer mode. It's a pattern we've seen before: single-player games that seemingly have no real need for a multiplayer mode are getting multiplayer modes in what appears to be an effort to boost sales, mitigate the used effect and generally give a title a longer tail.
As industry veteran Richard Browne noted in a recent editorial on used games, "How do I stop churn? I implement multiplayer and attempt to keep my disc with my consumer playing online against their friends. It works wonderfully for Call of Duty - no doubt it can work wonderfully for me. The problem is, at what cost? Countless millions of dollars would be the answer. Let's take a great example, one of my favorite game series released on this generation - Uncharted. What on Earth was the point of taking the completely single player experience of Uncharted 1 and bolting on an entirely new game to Nathan Drake's second adventure?"
The strategy does seem to be working, even if it appears somewhat out of place for a story driven single-player game like BioShock or Uncharted. But what about an action oriented game like God of War?
"It's odd to see it in a third-person game, and especially odd because it's not a shooter"
Michael Pachter

"It's an interesting move, and something I think gamers will like, but it's odd to see it in a third-person game, and especially odd because it's not a shooter. I think GoW fans will love it, but am not sure it will move the needle on sales," commented Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter to GamesIndustry International.
Even God of War Game Director Todd Pappy has admitted, according to Destructoid, that Sony Santa Monica is "still figuring out" the multiplayer component. That makes it sound all the more like someone at a high level simply told the development team, "You have to include multiplayer. Figure it out."
That said, there's definitely some precedent for multiplayer having a positive effect.
"EEDAR has run numerous studies on the impact on multiplayer on game sales. We have found that when executed properly, multiplayer does have a positive impact on initial and long-term sales," EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich noted to GamesIndustry International. "The pitfall that is common, however, is for developers to simply tack on a multiplayer component thinking it will be the silver bullet solution to long-term sales and a reduction in used sales."
"If this was two years ago, I would be concerned that the allocation of resources towards a multiplayer component often comes at the cost of the single player experience"
Jesse Divnich

Ultimately, what matters most is quality, and just like Naughty Dog's efforts to introduce multiplayer to Uncharted, it's likely that the God of War team will produce some highly polished results. "In the case of God of War, we are confident that the Santa Monica Studio recognizes the common pitfalls. As a studio with a great pedigree, I am sure any multiplayer component will be additive to the God of War experience and not simply a tacked on feature," stressed Divnich.
Some would argue that the addition of multiplayer might damage the quality of the single-player main game, due to resources being divided up, but Divnich doesn't see that as a concern any longer.
"If this was two years ago, I would be concerned that the allocation of resources towards a multiplayer component often comes at the cost of the single player experience; however, the industry has matured enough--maybe through its own trial and error--that no feature should ever be tacked on simply because the 'data' suggests it. How that feature is implemented into the core project impacts sales much more than simply having it or not," he said.
What do you think? Will God of War benefit from including multiplayer?




http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s-says-pachter ]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/444330-God-of-War-multiplayer-may-not-quot-move-the-needle-on-sales-quot-says-Pachter http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/443219-Mortal-Kombat-Vita-s-ladies-get-Klassic-skins?goto=newpost Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:03:35 GMT NetherRealm is writing new paragraphs in the 'Drip Feeding Media' guidebook.
After announcing some Vita-exclusive 'Klassic Skins' for the male ninjas of Mortal Kombat, it's now released another trailer to confirm the females will also get some new/old threads in the portable version.Mileena, Skarlet, Kitana and Jade all feature to show off their classic outfits while stabbing people in the chest.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...klassic-skins/ ]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/443219-Mortal-Kombat-Vita-s-ladies-get-Klassic-skins http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/441829-Sega-explains-Phantasy-Star-Online-2-s-bold-free-to-play-strategy?goto=newpost Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:31:24 GMT Sega has detailed its ambitious free-to-play strategy for forthcoming MMO sequel Phantasy Star Online 2.Speaking in a Famitsu (http://www.famitsu.com/) interview, as translated by Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/5905281/phantasy-star-online-2-producer-talks-about-decision-to-make-game-free-to-play),...

Sega has detailed its ambitious free-to-play strategy for forthcoming MMO sequel Phantasy Star Online 2.Speaking in a Famitsu interview, as translated by Kotaku, series producer Satoshi Sakai explained that while Sega wanted to make the game free-to-play it didn't want to lock the full core gameplay experience away behind a series of pay walls.Instead, it will only ask players to cough up for relatively minor enhancements like upgrades for their rooms, increased storage space or specific trading features."There is nothing that requires payment that will take away from the intrinsic game experience if they are not purchased," he said."By allowing a well made game like PSO to be accessible more people, we felt that we had a chance to teach people that 'This is what online RPGs are supposed to be like'."Sound risky? Well, Satoshi believes it's a challenge worth taking on."We are seeking to create a business model that functions while still allowing PSO2 to remain as much of an enjoyable experience as possible," he added."I honestly think that Sega is the only maker that is willing to go this far. Even if we fail, if we can get people to say 'They were five years ahead of their time' then I'll have no regrets. I believe that there's meaning in the challenge itself."The follow up to the 2000 Dreamcast original is due out on PC this Summer, followed by iOS and Android apps in the Winter and a Vita version in 2013.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-play-strategy

]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/441829-Sega-explains-Phantasy-Star-Online-2-s-bold-free-to-play-strategy http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/438321-New-Vita-action-title-Soul-Sacrifice-spotted?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:38:19 GMT The list of impending Vita games just grew by one. Mysterious action title Soul Sacrifice was unveiled today via a six-page advertisement in Japanese gaming rag Famitsu. Details on what to expect are scarce. A summary on NeoGaf (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=470654) mentions... The list of impending Vita games just grew by one. Mysterious action title Soul Sacrifice was unveiled today via a six-page advertisement in Japanese gaming rag Famitsu.
Details on what to expect are scarce. A summary on NeoGaf mentions magicians, "evolved co-op battles" and "high spec graphics".
There's no word on who it's developed by, though Sony Computer Entertainment is apparently listed in the copyright blurb.
A full reveal is expected at an SCE event in Tokyo on 10th May.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...rifice-spotted ]]> wraggster http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/438321-New-Vita-action-title-Soul-Sacrifice-spotted