Industry research firm EEDAR has named EA's Mass Effect 3 as its most promising retail title of E3.

"We are excited to see that there was such a high level of interest in Mass Effect 3 during E3, especially when you consider how many amazing games were on display at this year's show," responded Patrick Buechner, developer Bioware's VP of marketing studios.

Executive producer Casey Hudson also tweeted "this is because of all your support during E3!"

Also in the top five of most promising were Battlefield 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Revelations.

EEDAR gave Mass Effect the title after analysing statistics from both IGN and Game Trailers for the top 500 games at E3. Overall they considered 78 million page views and 45 million media views to determine the levels of consumer interest.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...omising-retail ...

Activision is cooking up a number of new shooting games including one totally new franchise, if recently discovered registered domains.

The domains include:

ActivisionSurvivalGames.com
BigGameHunterHuntingParty.com
SurvivalShadowsofKatmai.com
SurvivalVideoGame.com
TopShotSport.com

OXM speculates that many of these could be related to Activision's animal hunting Cabella series, which is more popular than it should be over in the US. TopShot is the name of the lightgun peripheral that's included with the game, so TopShot Sport may make use of that.

There's also reference to hunting another domain, pointing to a possible expansion of the Cabella series. But what is 'Shadows of Katmai'? Sounds like a new franchise to us, and with the repeated use of the word 'survival', we can only speculate that this is the likely nature of the game.

With the still-to-be-revealed Bungie game in the pipeline, it looks like Activision is busy with plenty of new treats for gamers in the coming years.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg has reiterated his desire to repair gamers' perception of the publishing giant, saying in a new interview that the company's keen to shed its 'bad guy' image.

Asked if he cares about the firm being perceived in a negative light, the exec told Gamasutra: "Of course. Who would wish for that? Who would be wished to be cast as the bad guy in your own industry or as the villain or the evil empire?

"I think that the case is drastically overstated in terms of the reality that I see," he added. "I see a very creative company that gives its developers the tools and the resources they need to do great things, that isn't afraid to [delay] games if that's what it takes to get them right."

Hirshberg said the key to bettering Activision's public image is "putting a human face on the company" and "being transparent and honest and human in our dealings with our community".

He pointed towards the company's positive reaction to May's Modern Warfare 3 mega-leak as an example.

"We got a lot of props and a lot of pleasantly surprised people in our reaction to that," he said. "People assumed that we would go silverback gorilla crazy, and we didn't."

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has also felt the need to defend himself from being painted as the big, bad executive type. In fact, he has joked, he's more Luke Skywalker than Darth Vader.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

Oh, it's on. Forget Battlefield vs. Modern Warfare 3: the biggest, ugliest fight in gaming's recent history is already kicking off - not on consoles, but in courtrooms.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge this week ruled that there were enough facts to support allegations from former Infinity Ward chiefs Jason West and Vincent Zampella that Activision Blizzard defrauded the duo to the tune of $125 million - meaning the path is now set for a full trial later this year.

The pair are suing the US publisher, headed up by Bobby Kotick, for being fired before receiving what they claim were deserved royalty payments.

The duo claim that Activision promised them control of the Modern Warfare series - as well as increased royalties for Infinity ward on income over $50 million on future games. However, they say that they were removed in 2010 (forcibly, if you remember) before the due payment of over $125 million in royalties was to be made.

West and Zampella's attorneys will be able to question Activision Blizzard CEO Kotick directly as part of the case.

The news follows a ruling from back in March, when another L.A superior court judge ruled that Activision also had sufficient claims against Electronic Arts, for interfering with the duo's contract.

Judge Berle sided with Activision to pursue its countersuit litigation against EA, West and Zampella - a claim which will also now lead to a headline-grabbing mega-trial.

Activision is seeking $400 million in damages for "tortious interference, unfair competition, and breaches of fiduciary duty".

It claims that EA executives made secret attempts to lure the Call of Duty creators as early as July 2009 - pointing the finger at EA CEO John Riccitiello and Xbox founder Seamus Blackley in particular.

West and Zampella set up new studio Respawn Entertainment in April 2010. The US company is being funded by EA as part of the publisher's Partners programme.

No product has yet been revealed by Respawn. It is thought to have been creating a game since May 2010, whilst staff wearing the company's logo on their T-shirts were out en masse at E3.

Following West and Zampellla's removal from Infinity Ward, 46 staff left the Modern Warfare creator - 38 of whom have now declared that they have signed with Respawn.

In amongst a host of catty comments that have emerged on both sides of of the case, Activision has labelled the pair "self-serving schemers".

Activision in the dock: West and Zampella's claim for $125m unpaid royalties:
First filed: March, 2010

- Activision defrauded the founders of Infinity Ward by not releasing "substantial royalty payments"

- Activision is also liable for for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrong termination in violation of public policy, and declaratory relief

- West and Zampella's right to "control Modern Warfare-branded games" has been violated - and the duo want partial future control of the MW brand

EA, West and Zampella in the dock. Activision's claim for $400m in damages:
(First filed: April 2010. EA added to suit, December 2010)

- EA execs began a conspiracy with West and Zampella whilst the duo were still Activision employees

- Electronic Arts "intentionally interfered with contracts, engaged in unfair competition, and aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty by West and Zampella"

- West and Zampella refused to sign standard exit documents that testified they had returned all Activision property, including game development code

- West and Zampella were "motivated by envy and personal greed" and intentionally released game trailers for Modern Warfare 2 on the same day that Treyarch posted promotion videos for Call of Duty: World at War DLC

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...

The DVD rental service Redbox is introducing videogames at its kiosks in more than 21,000 locations across America.

Starting today, Redbox vending machines will stock games for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii, with rentals for all formats charged at $2 a day.

Customers will be able to reserve specific games on the company's website or using its iPhone app, and pick them up at the location of their choice. The catalogue includes new releases like L.A. Noire and Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, as well as perennial favourites like Call Of Duty: Black Ops and Just Dance 2.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s-game-rentals ...

New Pro Evo ditches ‘tedious’ gameplay in a bid to make this year’s title more satisfying
The ongoing battle between PES and FIFA is having a revolutionary effect on the football genre, says Konami.
Pro Evo team leader Jon Murphy believes that before FIFA’s recent critical resurgence, football games had stagnated. Now, with Konami and EA going toe-to-toe on quality, the genre has improved drastically.
“We keep an eye on them as they keep an eye on us,” Murphy told MCV.
“If you look at what they announced recently in their videos you will see that a number of the things they are doing this year we were doing last year.
“We always watch each other and thankfully we do. Over the last few years improvements to football games for consumers have been great. We had a long period of stagnation where PES had no serious rival in terms of gameplay and FIFA had no serious rival in terms of licences and marketing spends. We are now both working on the same sort of things, and that’s having a great effect.”
This year’s PES sees the Konami team focus on gameplay and player AI as the studio looks to rebuild the series’ reputation.
“We were falling into the trap that other people were falling into, which was producing a game that was great but was losing something in terms of gameplay. Perhaps it was a little tedious in its attempts to recreate football.
“The AI has massively improved for this version and the result is a gameplay experience that is extremely satisfying. Satisfaction is something we feel we have lost over the years.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/44933/PES8...football-genre ...

President of EA Sports Peter Moore has spoken about the importance of social networking in gaming, especially to EA's Madden and FIFA franchises.

"There will be no offline games," Moore predicted in an interview with Gamasutra "And it's very pleasing to see how our industry has embraced connectivity, has changed our business models to react to consumer demands."

Speaking of integrating online and social aspects into EA products, Moore said: "We want to use this ability to make our games less discrete, standalone experiences and more like services. Madden shouldn't be a place you buy, it should be a place you go."

"We're already doing that [with] FIFA... There's a massive humanity that supports this tribal thing called soccer out there, and how do we bring that to life within the video game experience?"

EA Sport's FIFA 11 included Creation Center, which allows players to share their own players and teams online or upload videos of their performances, while the free-to-play Madden NFL Superstars on Facebook allows fans to manage their own NFL team..

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-for-ea-sports ...

Update

Eurogamer has revealed that it has been subjected to 'blacklisting' by 2K games, as a result of issues arising from coverage of the company's products.

A tweet by Eurogamer operations director Tom Bramwell made public the fact that the site has been cut off by 2K, expressing sympathy for the fate of Redner PR for simply following what Bramwell calls 2K's "standard practice."

"I feel sorry for @TheRednerGroup today. We are blacklisted by @2KGames and it seems to be standard practice," reads the tweet.

No further details were provided on how the situation arose. Take-Two has told GamesIndustry.biz that it has no further comment on the matter.

Original Story

Publisher 2K has disengaged the services of the PR agency which tweeted about the possibility of 'blacklisting' journalists and media outlets which published bad reviews of Duke Nukem Forever, with the publisher publicly denouncing the practice.

The PR agency in question: The Redner Group, had been representing 2K in the US. Yesterday, the company posted a tweet, since deleted, stating that it was considering which reviewers had "gone too far" with their criticism of Nukem, resulting in them being taken off game mailing lists for good.

"Too many went too far with their reviews...we are reviewing who gets games next time and who doesn't based on today's venom," read the company's account, followed by, "Bad scores are fine. Venom filled reviews...that's completely different."

Today, 2K has sought to distance itself from the slip. A tweet yesterday from the official 2K account made clear that The Redner Group was no longer being retained by the publisher.

"2K Games does not endorse or condone the comments made by @TheRednerGroup and confirm they no longer represent our products," read the announcement. The company then further distanced itself from the scandal with a message to press.

"I'd like to point out that 2K Games does not endorse the comments made by Jim Redner and we can confirm that The Redner Group no longer represents our products," read a statement from 2K's Markus Wilding, senior director of global PR.

"We have always maintained a mutually-respectful working relationship with the press and do not condone his actions in any way."

Review scores for Duke Nukem Forever have been generally very low, resulting in a 49 per cent Metacritic average for the game on Xbox 360. A round up of the web's best reviews can be found in GamesIndustry.biz's Critical Consensus.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...d-blacklisting ...

They're a growing threat, these simple games with their simple designs, simple controls, and simple graphics. They don't offer the full, premium experience that the real gamers want. They aren't hardcore enough. They aren't serious enough. They're just too... casual.

In the '90s these were all complaints used to describe the strengthening console menace. Back then, a younger me squandered his meager income at the local Babbage's or Electronics Boutique, stores full of PC games in cardboard boxes -- console titles relegated to a few little shelves. It wouldn't take long for those consoles to take over those stores and, along the way, the entire industry. Between just 1998 and 2006 console software sales more than doubled, from $2.5 billion to $6.7 billion, while PC game sales dropped from $1.8 billion to $970 million. Even the FPS, once exclusive domain of the PC, is now a console enterprise, with Call of Duty: Black Ops launching on 4.9 million sales on the Xbox 360 and PS3. The PC version, meanwhile, sold less than 400,000 copies (the NPD lumped them in with sales of the Nintendo DS and Wii versions).

Who cares about ancient history? If you're a gamer you should, because it's happening again. This time, though, its console gamers lobbing the same lamentations at Angry Bird players, Words With Friends addicts, and ever-sneaky Fruit Ninjas. As smartphones and tablets get more powerful, the dedicated gaming machine looks more and more quaint. Where once software supported hardware in one big, happy family, it's all becoming rather more... disjointed. For a gamer like me, that's a little troubling. If app gaming does for consoles what those consoles did to the PC scene a decade ago, a lot of big game studios are going to be in trouble, and a lot of gamers are going to be pining for the good 'ol days.

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