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by Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:53- Categories:
- PC News
Grand Theft Auto was once known by the provisional title Race'n'Chase and was planned for release on SEGA Saturn and "Ultra 64" (Nintendo 64)....
Race'n'Chase would pack a mode whereby players could be cops and chase chase criminals, hurriedly consulting an accompanying printed map while street names were barked over the radio.
That's according to the original design documents, which have been uploaded to Flickr by Mike Dailly - part of the original DMA GTA team.
"The aim of Race'n'Chase is to produce a fun, addictive and fast multi-player car racing and crashing game which uses a novel graphics method," the design document pledged.
"Players will be able to drive cars and possibly other vehicles such as boats, helicopters, or lorries. Cars can be stolen, raced, collided, crashed (ramraiding?) and have to be navigated about a large map. It will also be possible for players to get our of their car to steal another one. This will mean controlling a vulnerable pedestrian for a short time. Trying to steal a car may result in the alarm being set off which will, of course, attract the police."
Back then there were to be multiple modes: Cannonball Run (a straight race with the option of bots); Demolition Derby (free-roaming smash-'em-up where the last man standing wins, although an alternative version where players would be reincarnated and their successful smashes totted was also mentioned); Bank Robbery (rob a bank and race to a safe point while hotly pursued by police) and Bank Robbery (Cop), where the roles are reversed.
The document promised that "when enough crimes have been completed, the player can move on to a different city". However, "the robber's game is up when he gets killed or is captured by the police".
DMA talked of a "very, very large - multiple screens" playing world, and of how rubbish PCs could reduce detail, making the cityscape look "something like the original Sim City". Those who wanted to run the flashy SVGA mode would need "a very fast processor (e.g. Pentium)".
But be careful, there are pedestrians, and they're "wandering about all of the time". "They can be run over by cars," the document grimly pointed out - pedestrians such as "school children and lollipop lady" and "dogs".
In total, Grand Theft Auto would require code space of 1MB and sound space of 1MB.
Grand Theft Auto was eventually released for PC and PlayStation in 1997 - a delay of over a year, according to the design documents.
The start date was to be 4th April 1995 and the game design completed by 31st May 1995. The first milestone, the engine, would be reached by 3rd July 1995; the second milestone, "Look & Feel", by 2nd October 1995; the third milestone, "1st Play", by 3rd January 1996; and the fourth milestone, Alpha, by 1st April 1996.
The end of the project was scheduled for 1st July 1996.
And the rest, they say, is history.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...to-design-docsby Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:51- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
A Nintendo 3DS can receive demos while dormant via the Wi-Fi connection as you casually stroll past a shop or a "spot" - that's what the SpotPass feature is all about....
But Nintendo isn't convinced it's demos you really want or, indeed, need.
"I question whether or not demos are effective," 3DS producer Hideki Konno told Wired.
"There are cases where people play a demo game and they're satisfied with that play experience and they don't buy the game. There are also times when they play a demo and think, 'Wow, this is great, I'm going to buy this when I have the chance.'
"Whether or not it's an effective use of resources, I'm not sure."
He added: "You could wake up in the morning and say, 'Oh look, I've got a new game demo,' or a new game."
Nevertheless, game demos are "technically feasible".
Also possible are social features like text chat, voice chat and perhaps game invites. "We are going to make updates to the system, and that's something that would be really interesting to do," mulled Konno.
The 3DS launches here on Friday, its headline feature a glasses-free 3D screen. But contrary to popular belief, it's not all about 3D; Nintendo understands some people either can't see 3D or don't want to, and promises that crowd will be catered for as well.
"We're moving away from any stance that says if you don't use the 3D functionality you can't play this game," said Konno.
Through an eShop (due late May), Nintendo will offer Virtual Console games - rehashes of Game Boy, Game Boy Colour, GameGear and TurboGrafx games - as well as 3D Classics: remastered, 3D versions of old games. Downloadable morsels won't be as cheap as on rival platform the iPhone, though.
"I'd be a little sad to see if there was a product that I worked on for a couple of years go on sale for a buck," offered Konno.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...orth-resourcesby Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:49- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Nintendo's Hideki Konno, project lead on the 3DS, has said that Nintendo isn't interested in making cheap titles for the handheld to compete with App Store prices.
Echoing sentiments expressed by both Reggie Fils-Aime andSatoru Iawata earlier this year, Konno told Gamasutra that his company was too heavily invested in quality to try and match dollar price points for games.
"So now in terms of one dollar games, or free games, or whatever that is out there in the market, I mean, really, we're not going to be competing with that," said Konno.
"We're not going to try to match that; we're just going to continually strive to not just maintain, but increase, the quality of the entertainment that we're providing, and let it sort itself out. Again, we're not worried about competing at a price point level."
Part of that reasoning, Konno argues, is that releasing franchise iterations at low price points means that those games have to be limited in scope or risk devaluing full-priced titles.
"Now of course as a customer, if somebody said to me, 'Hey, we've got Call of Duty on your portable device and it's only going to cost you 100 yen,' yeah, I'd be super stoked, really excited about that."
"And I'd be really excited to see a great game at a really cheap price, but I just don't think that you could make a game that's immersive and as big as, let's say Call of Duty, or any other large title, and sell it at that price point; it's just not possible.
"The only way that you're going to get a game at that price point is if it's a limited version with limited levels or something. They're going to have to reduce it to sell at that price. So that other game - because the content is valuable - it's still going to be a viable product at a higher price point," Konno continued.
"If we went out and created one of our titles - a big title for Nintendo - and we decided to sell it at, like, say 100 yen, how many do we have to sell to get back our investment? That number's insane. It's just incredible, right?
"As a game developer I've put my heart into what I create, and I'm hoping that what I'm putting out there is something that people will be engaged by and entertained by. And as a consumer, I want the same thing. If I go and I see a game that interests me and I think I want to play it, I don't mind the fact that I have to pay a reasonable price for it.
"I'm not trying to say that I think games on cell phones are a bad thing; I'm not trying to say that they're worthless, or have no value at all. I'm just saying that they're just different."
Neither Konno or Nintendo are alone in the position that cheaper games devalue the experience and promote throwaway development - both Donald Mustard of Chair Entertainment and Keith Burgun of 100 Rogues developer Dinofarm Games have both expressed similar opinions in recentGamesIndustry.biz interviews.
The 3DS' download store, which replaces the DSiWare system, will be known as the eshop. Payments will be made in real-world currencies rather than in bespoke points. Following original concerns over a delay to the system's release, Nintendo has now confirmed that the eshop will be operational at launch, selling DSiWare and ported GameBoy titles.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...to-cheap-games
...by Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:47- Categories:
- Android News
As graphical power continues to increase on smartphones and tablets, developers will find a growing demand for higher budget mobile game offerings amongst a customer base willing to pay for them.
That is according to hardware manufacturer NVIDIA, whose senior corporate manager Bea Longworth spoke to GamesIndustry.biz about its increasing focus on mobile chipsets in an interview published yesterday.
Speaking about the latest Tegra series chipsets for Android phones - which the company believes can soon eclipse the current console generation in terms of graphical power - Longworth was keen to stress that there is room for much more than just cheap and free-to-play titles in the mobile market place.
People are willing to pay a bit more for games which have added goodness on a higher-end platform. That has to be an absolutely beacon for developers
Bea Longworth, NVIDIA
"There's a choice to be made there by developers whether they want they want to go for the mass-market option, create something which caters to the lowest common denominator, can run on a very wide install base but is fairly basic, or whether they want to create something that it is optimised around high-end mobile hardware so potentially reaches a smaller install base but at the same time they can charge a premium for it."
The company has created an app on the Android Marketplace, Tegra Zone, which Longworth says enables users to find content optimised for the latest NVIDIA hardware: "we did find that even though there was a premium on the prices for these games, they have been extremely popular and I think they actually topped the Android Marketplace in the charts in the US.
"So that demonstrates that people are willing to pay a bit more for games which have added goodness on a higher-end platform. That has to be an absolutely beacon for developers, if they see that they can create content that people are willing to pay a premium for then that's very exciting for them.
It is perhaps this "beacon" that drew Ratchet & Clank and Resistance developer Insomniac to form the new mobile focussed division Insomniac Click last week, with chief creative officer Brian Hastings then stressing that there will always be a mix between so-called 'casual' and 'core' games of quality - a point echoed by Longworth.
"There will be always the extremely addictive, basic, Angry Birds-style game where people don't mind having a few adverts on the screen and you play for just five minutes at a time. But there will also increasingly be a segment that it is a more immersive type of mobile gaming, where people are willing to pay a premium to get that better experience and enhanced gameplay."
These statements come in the wake of criticism for Apple's App Store from Chair Entertainment, developer of top-end iPhone title Infinity Blade, as CEO Donald Mustard suggested that the store's charts naturally favour the cheaper "99 cent" games.
"I wish and long for a day when that would change, because it would help encourage developers to not feel like they had to make their app 99 cents," he said. "I think that if we're really going to get applications and games... To create something of the quality of Infinity Blade costs a considerable amount of money. It was almost hard to justify selling it at $5.99, let alone 99 cents."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ent-on-android
...by Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:45- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
Market research firm EEDAR has released new statistics relating to the downloadable content and game market, which suggests that customer acceptance for the delivery system is continuing to rise.
The data is derived from a GDC session given by EEDAR president and COO Geoffrey Zatkin, entitled Alternative Business Models for Digital Games & Content. In the session he revealed that 55 per cent of Xbox 360 owners have purchased at least one downloadable game. This figure rises to 64 per cent for "core genre fans".
As part of his talk Zatkin discussed EEDAR's expectations that downloadable revenue for the traditional console market would grow in excess of 35 per cent year-over-year in 2011, rising to a total of 26 per cent of all console software sales by 2014.
EEDAR research suggests that 76 per cent of all console owners are aware of downloadable content, with 67 per cent of online console owners aware of the content - but only 44 per cent having ever purchased any.
A full 90 per cent of customers apparently prefer the release of downloadable content within three months of purchase of the original game. As Zatkin notes, publishers have increasingly begun to launch new content within just a few weeks of a new game's launch, in many cases promoting its arrival before the main game is released.
Zatkin also suggests that price is not the main barrier to increased downloadable sales and that current pricing is at the lower end of most customer expectations. However he did suggest that publishers explore incentives and the idea of using achievement and trophies as discount coupons.
Rather than price he names six factors which he believes are more of a hindrance to sales: awareness, console connectivity rates, online store front structure, releasing timing, game completion rates, and discovery and marketing.
A PDF file outlining Zatkin's session in more detail is available online. EEDAR also publishes a series of four yearly reports entitled Deconstructing DLC, which examine various aspects of the growing market.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...nloadable-game
...by Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:41
Another week, another PSN update, and this one's got a few titles in it worth your time.
Swarm, Hothead Games' Pikmin-alike, is finally out. Ghostbusers: Sanctum of Slime looks cool from what we've seen of it so far, and PlayStation Move Heroes is out on March 24.
Retro fanatics can also grab PSone classic RPG, Legend of Mana. Here's the full update list:
PlayStation Plus
Full Game Trial
* PlayStation Move Heroes - Coming March 24, 2011
Featured Games
* SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs Multiplayer Beta (Free and exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Discounted Games & DLC
* Swarm Full Game (PlayStation Plus price $11.99, regular price $14.99)
* Mini Squadron PlayStation minis (PlayStation Plus price $1.00, regular price $1.99)
* Wakeboarding HD (PlayStation Plus price $3.99, regular price $4.99)
Updates
Street Fighter Alpha 2 - Psone Classic - 50% Sale (PS3/PSP) (now $2.99, original price $5.99)
Hoard - Sale (PS3) (now $9.99, original price $14.99)
Wakeboarding - Sale (PS3) (now $4.99, original price $9.99)
Ghostbusters the Videogame PSP - Price Change (PSP) (now $9.99, original price $29.99)
Downloadable Games
Swarm ($14.99)
Swarm is an action-platformer where you take direct control of 50 pudgy blue morons and drive them through an intense and suicidal gauntlet of destruction. Run, bash, huddle, boost, stack, jump, push and throw your way through a ridiculously dangerous world in your attempt to collect valuable DNA and ensure at least one swarmite survives.
ESRB Rated T
File size: 457 MB
PlayStation Move Heroes ($39.99) - Coming March 24, 2011
Get ready for a PlayStation Move Motion Controller adventure like no other as you choose from six legendary heroes to defeat galactic predators so fiendish that it will take all of their combined cunning and skill to vanquish them.
ESRB Rated T
File size: 10.5 GB
Battle: Los Angeles ($9.99)
As the world's great cities fall, there remains one place that becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to you to take on an enemy unlike any ever encountered before.
ESRB Rated T
File size: 1.11 GB
DC Universe Online ($59.99)
DC Universe Online delivers a fast-paced action combat experience giving the player complete control over every move in combat. Join thousands of others online in a universe at war. Fight alongside or against your favorite DC Comics characters as you build your legacy. Hero or villain. Good or evil. Which side will you choose? The next legend is YOU!
The first 30 days of game play are included with this purchase.
ESRB Rated T
File size: 122 MB
Premier Manager ($9.99)
The definitive pick up and play experience! Highlighting playability and ease of use, Premier Manager is the ideal game for both hardcore and casual game players who share a common interest or passion for the Beautiful Game. Can you handle the high pressure, high stakes world of top-flight soccer management?
ESRB Rated E
File size: 154 MB
Ghostbusters: Sanctum Of Slime ($9.99)
Strap on your proton packs for an all-new Ghostbusting adventure! Hop in the ECTO-4WD and blast ghouls with a medley of weapons. Battle alone or team up with friends in local or online co-op. Show them you ain't afraid of no ghosts!
ESRB Rated E10+
File size: 261 MB
Game Demos (free)
WWE All-Stars Demo
WWE All Stars delivers an all-new take on WWE with fast, fun, fluid and furious arcade-style gameplay that takes WWE action to the next level! Featuring your favorite colorful WWE Legends of the past and larger-than-life WWE Superstars of today, WWE All Stars delivers the greatest roster ever assembled in a WWE videogame! Play as Rey Mysterio or the Ultimate Warrior in this action-packed demo.
ESRB Rated T
File size: 869 MB
You Don't Know Jack Demo
YOU DON'T KNOW JACK - the trivia game your mother warned you about - would like to invite you to have your pants pulled over your brain (a.k.a. "a head wedgie"). Play alone or with friends (if you have any) and match wits with your cantankerous host, Cookie Masterson. Covering everything from pop music to the pope, it's YOU DON'T KNOW JACK - the game where high culture and pop culture collide!
ESRB Rated T
File size: 1.15 GB
Ghostbusters: Sanctum Of Slime Demo
Try the trial of Ghostbusters Sanctum of Slime, a new adventure battling frightful phantasms taking over New York City!
ESRB Rated E10+
File size: 261 MB
PSone Classics
Legend of Mana ($5.99)
Fa'Diel has lost its Mana Tree and it's up to you to gather the ancient artifacts needed to restore the world. Download this PSone Classic today!
ESRB Rated T
File size: 352 MB
Add-on Game Content
Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow: Reverie ($9.99)
The 'Revervie' DLC pack follows the events of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Gabriel Belmont stands on the edge of an abyss contemplating his fate. In the darkest shadows of his mind, he hears her cry for help. Laura, the vampire child who had spared him during his quest, is in danger. Gabriel decides to repay his debt of honor to her and returns to the castle in order to offer his aid but comes face to face with his own terrible destiny.
File size: 1.02 GB
Ar Tonelico Qoga - Binary World [Complete Edition] Elemia Island Complete Series ($5.99)
Install a brand new scenario for Ar tonelico Qoga! This DLC item includes the complete series of "Elemia Island," an exciting, pseudo-romance story that features Ar Ru as the main character. (These scenarios are not voiced.)
File size: 342 MB
Ar Tonelico Qoga - Harvestasha Alternative Personality Patch Module [INT: Default] (Free)
The default personality patch for the artificially intelligent Harvestasha. With this Module, you can restore her default personality after playing with one of the other alternate personality modules. (This content is mostly voiced.)
File size: 1.43 MB
Ar Tonelico Qoga - Harvestasha Alternative Personality Patch Module [Type A: Tsundere] (Free)
This is a patch for manipulating the artificially intelligent Harvestasha. The final boss of the main story, Harvestasha will have an incredible alternate personality! With the Type A Module, you will experience a "Tsundere," or cold/lovey-dovey Harvestasha. (This content is mostly voiced.)
File size: 1.43 MB
Ar Tonelico Qoga - Harvestasha Alternative Personality Patch Module [Type B: Dorodere] (Free)
This is a patch for manipulating the artificially intelligent Harvestasha. The final boss of the main story, Harvestasha ...by Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:38- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Nintendo has said today that the 3DS has "more than doubled" the number of pre-orders that the Wii achieved in 2006 in UK - and there's still three days left.
"The reaction to Nintendo 3DS has exceeded our wildest expectations," said Nintendo UK general manager, David Yarnton. "It's almost certain that the number of Nintendo 3DS consoles sold on Friday will exceed the number of 3D televisions sold in the whole of 2010," he goes on to speculate. Kinda funny, that.
"Until now 3D has been too expensive, too clumsy and too restricted," added Yarnton. "With Nintendo 3DS it's mobile. It's affordable. It's glasses-free. And it's here, now."
3DS launched in Japan on February 26, where it sold 400,000 units in just two days. Amazon UK announced last week that the handheld has become the most pre-ordered games console in Amazon.co.uk's history, saying pre-order numbers were 56 percent greater than they were for Wii.
It has been speculated that Nintendo will deliver 185,000 3DS units to UKfor the big launch this Friday. That should be enough for our little island, don't you think?
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...by Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:37- Categories:
- Dingoo News
Newly released/updated for the Dingoo a320 and Dingoo a330
+ Extract ./pwd to /usr/local/apps/ + Open the file /usr/local/sbin/main + Write, at the beginin: cd /usr/local/apps/pwd ./protect.sh + Save and reboot Dingoo. + You will be asked for a new user password!
Download Here ...by Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:36- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Nintendo says new portable has double the number of pre-orders than those placed for Wii in 2006
With its UK launch nearly upon us, Nintendo has said that pre-orders for the 3DS are running at double the rate experienced with Wii back in 2006.
A retail source has revealed to MCV that the pioneering motion-sensing home console received in the region of 65,000 pre-orders prior to its arrival in the UK.
This means that the 3DS has effectively already sold 120,000 units in the country. This offers up the tantalising prospect of a possible 150k – or perhaps even higher – day one sales blitz.
“The reaction to Nintendo 3DS has exceeded our wildest expectations,” Nintendo's UK general manager David Yarnton stated. “Glasses-free 3D entertainment has truly arrived.
"It’s almost certain that the number of Nintendo 3DS consoles sold on Friday will exceed the number of 3D televisions sold in the whole of 2010. Until now 3D has been too expensive, too clumsy and too restricted. With Nintendo 3DS it’s mobile. It’s affordable. It’s glasses-free. And it’s here, now.”
Amazon revealed last week that the 3DS is already its most pre-ordered console ever.
Around 1,200 stores will be opening their doors in the UK at midnight on Thursday night. A number of retailers have been offering some seemingly crazy trade-in deals on the machine to try and win key market share.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43611/Coul...50k-on-day-one
...by Published on March 22nd, 2011 22:34- Categories:
- Apple iPad
Apple sends man new iPad 2 after he returned it
Mac Rumors reported on case of a returned iPad 2 to an Apple store in the US, returned by a man after his wife apparently disapproved of the purchase.
Citing an "individual close to Apple," Mac Rumors said that Apple's focus had been on troubleshooting iPad 2s returned by customers.
"One iPad came back with a post it note on it that said: Wife said no," according to the Apple insider.
The amusing development was apparently escalated within Apple's returns process but gained the attention of management.
"They sent the guy an iPad 2 with a note on it that said: Apple said yes."
Presumably, as Mac Rumors points out, the man's wife has no such objection to a free iPad 2.
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/36006...Apple-said-yes
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