DCEmu Homebrew Emulation & Theme Park News
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by Published on November 20th, 2011 20:40- Categories:
- PC News
Yoshida has been working on FFXIX since the MMO's troubled launch last year, when it was so widely criticised that Square decided to let players play for free while it works on improvements.Subscription fees are set to be reintroduced with a month or two, and Square hasannounced a massive '2.0' update for release in 2013 with a whole new engine built from scratch and other major changes.
But you won't be getting a new game, says Yoshida. "Players, community websites, and the gaming media may see the roadmap we have provided and take it as, 'Oh, they're creating a completely different game,' but this is not the case," he told Gamasutra.
"FFXIV will always be FFXIV and nothing else," he asserted.
Clarifying the point of version 2.0, he stated: "The first thing I did when I became the producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV last December was to ask myself, 'What kind of service system, game content, and community content would be necessary if we were to continue to offer this service 10 years into the future?'
"In doing so, I went back and restudied the systems used by other MMOs offered worldwide, such as World of Warcraft and Rift."
2.0 will encompass many of the updates developed in the past year, but most importantly, he explained, it's all about the new engine.
"Why build something from the ground up when it already exists? Well, the current engine we are using is good for showing 'passive graphics' in offline games, but the most important thing an MMO needs is an 'active graphics' capable of showing many, many different characters on the screen simultaneously. This is simply too difficult to accomplish with the current engine," he said.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...g-else-square/ ...by Published on November 20th, 2011 20:38- Categories:
- Wii U News
Games for THQ's uDraw tablet will take advantage of the enhanced features of Nintendo's upcoming Wii U console, THQ has revealed to Eurogamer.Andy Hodgson, THQ's global VP for uDraw, played down suggestions that the Wii U's tablet would usurp uDraw. Instead, he says, the two can "co-exist together". The Wii U is back compatible with Wii software, and presumably this is how uDraw games would be played on Nintendo's new machine."We have some amazing brands and software built for uDraw," Hodgson said. "Some of those we'll be able to continue to support on uDraw and in addition add to Wii U that will add extra functionality, tailor-made for Wii U. So it's possible for them to co-exist together."There are "lots of possibilities" for what this extra functionality could include, Hodgson said, confirming the uDraw team had already "spent some time with the Wii U and seen everything it has to offer"."The screen in there, the camera, the ability for co-op play with extra players using Wii Remotes, there's lots of possibilities."..."We feel we've really got a good start on Wii U."Andy Hodgson, global VP, uDraw
"We feel we've really got a good start on Wii U," Hodgson added, explaining that THQ had a "natural headstart" on utilising the Wii U tablet's tech having already developed for the similar uDraw platform.Was Hodgson worried the Wii U would make uDraw redundant? "No, because Wii will remain our focus... We see Wii U as yet another audience we're able to look at. I guess it'll come down to product life-cycles as to how long we support Wii for.""We're committed to [Wii] but we also have PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 tablets which offer us two new audiences there again."After 1.7 million units sold of the Wii uDraw, THQ announced versions for PS3 and Xbox 360 earlier this year that arrive on shop shelves today."Next year we will be expanding with titles that could be considered more 'core'."
Rebuilt "from the ground up", the PS3 and 360 versions don't require a controller to be placed in them to work, as the Wii version does. Wireless and motion control functions are instead built in, with an improved touch control pad and HD display.New software is on the way too, with tie-ins for kid-friendly franchises such as Marvel Super Heroes Squad, Kung Fu Panda, Penguins of Madagascar. "Many" more titles are on the way 2012, including an as-yet unannounced Disney game.Hodgson said that 2012 will also see the uDraw games roster expanding into a slighter older age-group. "Next year we will be expanding with titles that could be considered more 'core' or more interesting for the teen market." Dawn of War 3? "Ha, maybe not that core..."Earlier this month Ubisoft announced Drawsome, a Wii tablet peripheral with similar functionality to uDraw that will launch in the US on 6th December. But THQ aren't worried about the competition. "I haven't seen much marketing from them," Hodgson said, adding that with 1.7 sold and a worldwide availability on multiple platforms, it would be a "pretty easy decision for consumers to see who's behind this technology".Does he believe Ubisoft copied the uDraw? "I can't really comment on that," Hodgson replied.With Drawsome and Wii U on the market, 2012 will be a far more crowded market for uDraw. But Wii U could open up new possibilities for THQ's tablet too.THQ's Darksiders 2 is a Wii U launch title, but with uDraw available Xbox 360 and PS3, would it be possible for the THQ to recreate the same tablet functions for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game? "That's a really interesting idea and I can't comment on that," Hodgson concluded. "I might actually have a chat with my colleagues on the Darksiders team to have a look at that..."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ce-udraw-gamesby Published on November 20th, 2011 20:33- Categories:
- DCEmu
The Call of Duty franchise might have made more money than the likes of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings at the box office, but it still has a long way to go before it overtakes them as a brand.That's the verdict of one of the UK's leading brand experts, who said most people struggle to tell military shooters apart.Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 last week enjoyed the biggest entertainment launch of all time.Backed by an unprecedented advertising campaign it generated an incredible $750 million in sales in just five days. After 24 hours on sale it had sold 6.5 million copies in the US and UK alone.Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, and in the UK, the money made by Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops in their opening weeks was greater than the combined opening weekends of all eight Harry Potter films.But according to Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive of The Centre for Brand Analysis and chairman of the UK Superbrands and CoolBrands Councils, Call of Duty cannot compete with the biggest brands in film because most people think games in the same genre all look the same."If you look at awareness they're not quite up there with the likes of Star Wars or Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings," he told Eurogamer. "Outside of the real keen gamers there's a bit of confusion between different types of game franchises."For those that are part-time gamers or loosely interested but not necessarily real keen players, they mould a little bit into one. With the latest release, they say, is that part of that franchise or is it that one? I can't really remember."There aren't many people who struggle to tell the difference between Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter and Twilight. They're all clearly defined, different propositions. They might be in the same genre, fantasy adventure, but they're clearly distinguished and differentiated."With games, unless you're a real follower, you say, I can't remember really. It's just one of those big franchises and it's a military shooter, and they're all kind of the same. I don't think people say, Call of Duty is this, and this other one is that. That's the difference. They blur. That's where you've got a brand issue. There's not much to distinguish them for the average player that's just jumping in and out."Cheliotis said if he were commissioned by Activision to analyse the Call of Duty brand, he would work on cultivating the personality of the series and focus on one or two areas of the brand proposition."Maybe one series is continuously about MI5, or one's consistently about the Royal Navy. Something that says, this is what it is. You can't go, well, I'll be the US today and I'll be Russia tomorrow. Is there a thread that holds that series together that says, this is who we are? Whether that's a person, a unit, a country or a fight, maybe set in different times or scenarios, you're always the same side having the same fight. That could be the glue...."I still think [games] all blur into one. For your casual gamer walking into Tesco, and just buying their game alongside their milk and veg, there's a bit of, oh, I don't know if that's for me."Stephen Cheliotis, CEO, The Centre for Brand Analysis
"How do people say, that's clearly that game? If you've got a still of one of those films, straight away you say, that's that. If you have a still from Call of Duty versus another military franchise, unless you are a real discerning follower, you'll probably say, oh, I don't know. It could be Call of Duty or Battlefield."Call of Duty is, by a huge margin, the most successful franchise the industry has to offer. It is the fastest-selling, best-selling and highest grossing video game. But there is still plenty of room for growth, Cheliotis said, if Activision works on the brand and expands its social aspects.However, he warned Activision against trying to make Call of Duty a catch-em-all brand, appealing to all types of people. This, he said, could have a negative impact."There is a danger that it becomes so generic it's a bit of everything for everyone," Cheliotis said. "When you're doing brand analysis, it's good that some people don't like you. It means you have a point. It creates longevity and doesn't mean you're a jack of all trades. If you've got something that's so generic and bland and dull that everyone might like it, then you're in the longer term in danger of being so catch-em-all that you're not creating long-term followers."They might be better off focusing on what they're really good at and hone that down and be known for that."The game industry faces a difficult job improving its brand awareness, Cheliotis said. Only Nintendo with Mario and Sega with Sonic have achieved anything approaching success in this regard."It's a real struggle with games. You've got Sonic. You've got Mario. You haven't got a lot of other brands that are truly distinctive and stand out. You might have a few point inby Published on November 20th, 2011 20:28- Categories:
- PS3 News
Guerrilla Games is making a new Killzone game, according to a report.The latest issue of Edge magazine (via Gamerzines) claims the "bulk" of staff at the Dutch developer is working on the next game in the PlayStation exclusive series. Killzone 2 and 3 senior producer Steven Ter Heide is reportedly game director.Guerrilla studio recruiter Adrian Smith is quoted as saying: "we've got to continue the Killzone franchise."Earlier this week Edge reported that one of Sony's studios had stopped PlayStation 3 development and moved onto its successor.The unnamed developer is also apparently involved in building the graphics technology for Sony's next system.Is it Guerrilla Games?Killzone 3 launched in February 2011 as a visual showcase for the PS3. Eurogamer's Killzone 3 review shot an 8/10.Killzone Vita is currently in development at Sony Cambridge....
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...illzone-reportby Published on November 20th, 2011 20:25- Categories:
- PS3 News
Buy a copy of Saints Row: The Third on PlayStation 3 before 13th February and you can claim a complimentary download of Saints Row 2, THQ has announced.The deal was announced earlier this week for customers in North America but the publisher has now confirmed it's good for Europe too.To claim your copy, just enter the Online Pass code included with the game and access the download voucher, which can be redeemed from early next week.The deal appears to be a make-up offering following the no-show of promised PS3-exclusive content in the finished retail release.The Volition-developed sequel launched last week to measured Eurogamer acclaim, picking up a 7/10 in our Saints Row: The Third review....
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...3-get-sr2-freeby Published on November 20th, 2011 20:23- Categories:
- Xbox 360 News
The full Call of Duty Elite experience should be up and running by 1st December, developer Beachhead Studios has promised.Speaking in an interview with G4TV, production VP Daniel Suarez asked for a little more patience from users keen to use the hobbled service."It was our fault that the service wasn't up and running the day [fans] put in their token or the day they bought it," admitted Suarez."They kind of have to bear with us while we bring this all back up, but for us it's literally 'Give us those couple weeks, we're giving those to you for free and come December 1st the goal is that we'll have everything up and running.'"Suarez also offered a little insight into what exactly caused the problems that have seen many users shut out of the service since launch earlier this month."When we ran our beta, [it] was strictly on the PC and a lot of our assumptions were based around [the idea] that a larger majority of users were going to use the PC [interface] since it's a more robust version of the service than the console app. Some of that may have been incorrectly analysed, because we're seeing 80 to 90 per cent of our users coming straight from the console app."So the way we've had to balance out the way that's feeding the community is different. Right now we're retrofitting that so that that works better across the board rather than the way it was set up."He also clarified a statement earlier this week, suggesting the PC hub may never see the light of day. Turns out that was a little wide of the mark."It was a mistake," explained Suarez. "Our goal is to get something on the PC. We haven't set timing yet, but our goal is to do that."Apparently the main area of concern with the PC version is how to keep cheaters and hackers at bay."On the PC, that's an open platform [which is] more prone to cheats and hacks. We're trying to prevent them as much as possible, but that platform isn't as secure."As we're doing competitions and more things specific to stats and generating those stats and creating leaderboards for people, we don't want to create a situation where the service itself becomes invalidated by people having crazy stats because they've been able to do something to the game."Activision has announced that all premium subscribers will have 30 days access added to their accounts free-of-charge as a goodwill gesture for the teething problems....
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...y-1st-decemberby Published on November 20th, 2011 20:21- Categories:
- PS3 News
EA is being taken to court for failing to keep its promise that the PlayStation 3 version of Battlefield 3 would include a free copy of Battlefield 1943.As reported by Kotaku, US law firm Edelson McGuire filed a class action suit against EA today on behalf of disgruntled PS3 owners.The suit isn't focusing on the fact that EA went back on its promise, but that it was announced after the game had gone on sale and even then only via Twitter, meaning many customers were unaware of the fact.It alleges that EA "misled and profited from thousands of their customers by making a promise that they could not, and never intended, to keep."According to the lawyers, all that those signed up to the class action want out of EA is the free copy of 1943 that they were originally promised.We've approached EA for comment and will update if we hear back....
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...efield-promiseby Published on November 20th, 2011 20:16- Categories:
- Apple iPad
Every third Thursday, the team at California based SignalSnowboards like to spice things up some and make something a little more outside the box. This time around the team decided on creating a fitting tribute to Steve Jobs -- a custom ride complete with built-in iPad -- and thus the iShred was born. By no means a cut-and-shut affair, the team take inspiration from the simple, yet creative, design principles that led to ideas like the iPad Smart Cover. A layer of ABS with a cut out for the screen sits atop an all aluminum base, sandwiching an Apple-esque illuminated Signal logo -- presumably so you know when your WiFi is on while heading off-piste. Power is cleverly supplied only when contact is provided by the presence of a rider. If you think this is all just for show, think again, as they final product gets taken out on the slopes and put through its paces, complete with a bit of après-ski Facetime.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/19/s...steve-jobs-vi/ ...by Published on November 20th, 2011 20:10- Categories:
- Apple iPhone
From 'smart' pens to a smarter Siri, Apple's always attempting to find new ways to improve the iPhone, and the company's latest patent application wants to keep its crack-prone glass blemish free. Aptly named a "shock mounting cover glass in consumer electronic devices," the invention claims a tunable shock mount sandwiched between the phone's glass and other hardware. There's also plans for a sensor that can distinguish a "drop event" from normal phone movements and an actuator to prepare the shock mount for impact. Given that it's only at the application stage, we won't be seeing bombproof iPhone displays any time soon, but here's hoping it'll become a product reality someday. Mostly so we can see just how much of a beating it can take.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/20/a...er-proof-with/ ...by Published on November 20th, 2011 20:04- Categories:
- Android News
Android takes another step closer to iOS's arguably superior gaming offering, adopting cult low-fi sim Tiny Tower. Froyo is the minimum requirement for the game run, but given thevery dominant status of Android 2.0 and up, most won't find it an issue. This management sim lets you create a mix of businesses and attractions to draw Bitizens (the pixelated chaps you see above) to come live, work and play in your property. There looks to be some kind of smartphone game exchange going on, with this not-so-tiny timesink transfer following the recent appearance of Minecraft on iOS. Those willing to write off the rest of the weekend can download it now at the source below.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/20/t...nd-on-android/
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