DCEmu Homebrew Emulation & Theme Park News
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by Published on August 27th, 2012 18:46- Categories:
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We hope your heart wasn't set on snagging a Kindle Touch before heading off to school this fall. Both the WiFi and 3G versions of the reader are no longer available as new devices from Amazon's US pages -- if you want one at all in the country, you'll have to swing past a retail store or scour the virtual bargain bins for used models. Suffice it to say that the timing of this vanishing act is extremely convenient in light of Amazon's special event next week, although just what it means is very much an unknown. Is there a light-up sequel on its way? A winnowing of the e-reader line to fewer models? Or just a quick inventory check? We'll have a better answer on September 6th, but the out-of-stock notice is a not-so-friendly reminder that patience is a virtue.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/27/a...-out-of-stock/ ...by Published on August 27th, 2012 18:40- Categories:
- DCEmu
Just what is going wrong amongst UK games retailers?
A number of senior trade execs have told MCV the market slump has left them perplexed – compounded by a seeming reluctance from some corners of retail to do anything about it.
In the last few week’s MCV has reported on ‘record-breaking’ all-time lows for the sale of boxed software. UK games retail saw £8.18m revenue for the week ending August 11th.
Given that the UK is often touted as ‘the second biggest market for games’, that’s troubling. And now Klemens Kundratitz, the German entrepreneur who founded Koch Media, has called for the trade to figure out what’s wrong.
“We’re trying to understand the mindset of English retailers,” he told MCV in an interview at Gamescom. “Everyone in Europe is looking to the UK, but scratching their heads and asking why are they not managing to make money?
“The answers are there – not many games are being released and for specialists there is lots of competition from supermarkets. But look, that’s the story elsewhere in Europe. Both publishers and European companies look to England and think ‘You have the biggest market, and a heritage of excitement around video games – you have everything’. So why can you not make it work?”
“I appreciate that the market is in a mega-trench, but the crux of the matter is, for many years, UK retail hasn’t managed as an entity to make video games work for them. Why is that?”
And don’t think the new world of online games has the answer. German firm Gameforge, told MCV that UK consumers have been more reluctant to switch from console to free-to-play titles.
“The perception is changing but it is taking some time in the UK,” said CEO Carsten van Husen. “We need to convince the UK players with quality.”
The British malaise is being discussed by many execs.
One senior European boss told MCV: “I obviously discuss this often with my friends in the industry, and when we all look at what’s going on in the UK… well, we are confused. Retailers will say their business is great if you ask them – but we know that isn’t true.
“There’s something wrong in the UK right now.”
HAVE YOUR SAY
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/answe...crisis/0101813 ...by Published on August 26th, 2012 13:13- Categories:
- DCEmu
The Australian Capital Territory this morning became the first state or territory to pass the R18+ law in Australia. In June, after a decade of political strife, all Australian states and territories agreed to a bill ending the country's much criticized ban on adult games. ACT is now the first to make it law for adults to have access to games rated 18+.
ACT is the smallest of Australia's self-governing internal territories, home to only 1.6% of the country's total population. Australian gamers should now hope the news results in a domino effect across the country. Despite the bill being passed by federal government, each state and territory must pass the law under its own jurisdiction.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/24/on...-in-australia/ ...by Published on August 26th, 2012 12:53- Categories:
- DCEmu
Games have strived for years to be more realist and 'more sensational', but having hit their pique, development is now placing a greater emphasis on emotion.
That's according to Mega Man and Resident Evil creator, Keiji Inafune, who says that all of his games will, from now on, focus on delivering strong emotional experiences."I've watched the evolution of games and the games industry for the last 25 years; I've always had a front-row seat," said Inafune. "In many modern action games, it's about how realistic you can make the experience, how sensational the action is," he told the PS Blog.
"But the creators of the best games today have realized that they need to do something more than becoming more realistic, more sensational - it's probably already hit the ceiling," he went on, suggesting a plateau in gaming's hunt for better graphics.
"[Developers] thinking about creating something new by including that emotional aspect. In thinking globally, in order to compete with the top game creators today, I've also had to think about including that emotional aspect. The games I work on will all include that as a big theme."
True to his word, Inafunne's latest game is Soul Sacrifice, a dark and twisted Vita exclusive that toys with the player's morality as it demands that they fight demons using spells conjured when they sacrifice parts of their body. The bigger the sacrifice, the stronger the spell.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...keiji-inafune/ ...by Published on August 26th, 2012 12:41- Categories:
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Peter Moore understands if you're afraid of games heading in a different direction
Electronic Arts
ea.com
As we discuss downloadable content here onGamesIndustry, Electronic Arts chief operating officer Peter Moore is making his case for the shift in current development practices. In an interview with Eurogamer, Moore believes some of the backlash against DLC is from those who played games in the PlayStation 2 era and earlier.
"I think people are worried gaming is going in a different direction than they were used to with N64, Sega Mega Drive, PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Everything was dominated by consoles. Pretty much everything was offline. You bought the game. You sat down. And you played the game until you got tired of the game. It was all on the disc," said Moore.
"Games are turning into 365 days a year live operation experiences," Moore said. "And rightly or wrongly we think it's our job to provide reasons every day to go play that game and enjoy that game. Technology is enabling that. Hardware is enabling that. Different game experiences like open world experiences are enabling that, and we're trying to react to what we believe is what gamers want."
Moore contends that even older titles without an online focus still provide quality entertainment.
"Right now I bet you can get FIFA 12 for £20. And you can, without going online, play for years. You don't need to interact with anybody. You don't need to go online. There are still those great experiences," Moore added.
"The good news is you can still do that. There are still plenty of great games, we're making them, everyone else is making them, where you buy it for £40 day one, you can play hundreds of hours and you don't have to go online and play. But the vast majority of people do, and are certainly connected. And then if you go multiplayer, I like to think most games that enhances the experience. But there are some guys who just want things never to change."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ar-experiences
...by Published on August 23rd, 2012 19:23- Categories:
- DCEmu
Electronic Arts may be spearheading the digital revolution, but discs aren't dead yet, says COO Peter Moore.
In an interview with MCV at Gamescom, the influential figure in fact predicted that packaged goods will be reborn when the much-discussed new generation of consoles arrives, even if the digital tipping point is crossed by then.
He told MCV: “The tipping point will come, but it’s not that packaged is going away, it’s that digital is going up.”
EA has proactively pushed into digital, making $1bn from mobile/social in its last financial year, with plans to make that closer to $2bn in the next.
“But let’s not misunderstand this,” Moore told MCV. “Our forecast this year is to also do $2.6bn in packaged goods. So there will be a £40 console game, but there will be an iPhone experience and a PC experience too. There is always a big opportunity for a Battlefield or a FIFA.”
Gamescom showcased a flood of free-to-play games - including EA's own, like Command & Conquer and The Simpsons: Tapped out - but The New Wave isn’t necessarily going to wash away the old one.
Moore added: "If you had asked me two years ago, I would not have known where free to play is going, and I wouldn't known how powerful mobile devices would become. But we simply react to what consumers want and where they want to be - and we are everywhere.
"If consumers say in emerging markets that their broadband isn't fast enough for a 20 gigabyte game, then fine - we'll have it on disc for them."
And the rise of digital and free-to-play doesn't mean other games will stop asking for £40/$60 up front costs.
Moore said big budget games demand an ‘entry’ fee: “If you have ‘Battlefield 6’, with detailed maps as far as the eye can see and hundreds of soldiers – that doesn’t cost a few bucks to make.
“It’s like in movies. There are indie movies that cost a million dollars to make, and then there’s The Avengers. You can sit down and watch a documentary at home or go to the movies, and there’s everything in between. Games are no different.”
This is EA’s advantage over firms only focused on low-end social, he added: “The problem those guys have is that you still need to keep customers happy or they move on. I don’t care how good your games are, people will get tired if that’s all you offer.”
And that's why, while all the excitement is around digital, packaged goods still has a future in some form.
“And don’t forget that with a new generation of consoles coming up, packaged goods will get a rebirth.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ea-s-...ebirth/0101726 ...by Published on August 23rd, 2012 19:21- Categories:
- DCEmu
Voting has opened for the Golden Joystick Awards 2012, sponsored this year by retailer HMV.
This year, the awards are celebrating 30 years of rewarding the greatest videogaming achievements, and organisers are hoping to smash last year's record of over two million votes from the gaming public.
Voting is open now at goldenjoystick.com, with gamers invited to cast their votes in 16 categories, including the prestigious Ultimate Game Of The Year, won last year by Valve's masterful Portal 2. Those who vote in all categories will be in with a chance of winning the HMV Ultimate Gaming Prize, with over £4,000 of games, hardware and peripherals including an iPad 3, PS Vita and a Samsung Galaxy S3.
Robin Always, editor in chief of GamesMaster, said: "Three long decades ago, ZX Spectrum classic Jetpac flew away with the Game Of The Year honours in the first ever Golden Joystick Awards. To see where we've come makes me proud.
"Thirty years of dishing out the golden goodness means we're established, authoritative - but we still continue to recognise and celebrate who matters the most."
The HMV Golden Joystick Awards 2012 ceremony takes place on October 26 at the Westminster Park Plaza hotel in London, hosted by comedian Ed Byrne - and a few exclusive announcements are also on the cards. For more information or to cast your votes, follow the source link below.
Source: Golden Joystick Awards
http://www.edge-online.com/news/voti...ck-awards-2012
...by Published on August 23rd, 2012 19:17- Categories:
- DCEmu
Microsoft has unveiled a new logo featuring squares to represent the companies ‘diverse portfolio of products’.
“Starting today, you’ll see the new Microsoft logo being used prominently. It will be used on Microsoft.com – the 10th most visited website in the world,” reads Microsoft’s official blog.
“It is in three of our Microsoft retail stores today and will shine brightly in all our stores over the next few months. It will sign off all of our television ads globally. And it will support our products across various forms of marketing.”
The new video released by the Microsoft shows each part of the new symbol relating to a part of the company, with blue representing Windows, red being Office, green being Xbox and yellow as…umm, well it appears Microsoft couldn’t think of anything for yellow so it just decided to skip it and hope no one noticed…
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...5-years/029007 ...by Published on August 23rd, 2012 13:31- Categories:
- DCEmu
The summer holidays are nearly over – parents rejoice! – but how much time have your kids spent gaming this summer?
Creative toy company Galt questioned 2,000 British parents and concluded that the average UK school child will spend 143 hours and 36 minutes this holiday either playing games, watching TV or playing on smartphones.
That equates to 12 days out of the 42 in a normal summer break and three hours and 11 minutes every day.
With regard to video games specifically, the results suggested that kids spend an average of eight hours and 26 minutes gaming each and every week.
It also found that one in eight kids owns an iPad (!) and that the average child has gadgets in their room representing a total value of £581.
“Our routines are so often shaped by what is convenient and easy and screen technology, while enabling to develop certain abilities, doesn’t always encourage positive social interaction for children,” Galt MD John McDonnell stated.
“It is really worrying that so much of children’s holiday time is probably spent staring at a screen this summer.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/uk-ki...r-hols/0101718 ...by Published on August 23rd, 2012 01:16- Categories:
- DCEmu
Mario maker Nintendo has increased its dominance over Japan's game-buying public, with the top 10 titles in this week's software chart all found on Nintendo platforms.New Super Mario Bros. 2 leads the charge with around 150,000 more copies sold. At the current rate of sales it will have broken the million copies milestone by this time next week.Weekly sales were generally up week-on-week due to Japan's annual Obon holiday.Nintendo sold another 111,857 units of the 3DS according to chart company Media-Create (via NeoGAF). PlayStation 3 was a remote second, with 16,777 units sold.Meanwhile, PlayStation Vita ducked its head above the 10,000 barrier for first time in several weeks - but only just.The full list of hardware and software figures lies below.Japanese software chart (13th-19th August)
- [3DS] New Super Mario Bros, 2 - 148,225 (last week: 912,597)
- [NDS] Pokemon Black 2 (White 2 - 62,274 (2,644,459)
- [WII] Dragon Quest X - 47,065 (487,917)
- [WII] Just Dance Wii 2 - 23,231 (137,423)
- [3DS] Tohoku University Aging Medicine Research Institute - Headed By Professor Ryuta Kawashima - Train your Brain Effectively in 5 minutes a day with Oni Training - 20,372 (115,695)
- [3DS] Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb - 18,825 (166,588)
- [WII] Wii Sports Resort with Wii Remote Plus - 15,682 (1,043,307)
- [3DS] Tousouchuu: Shijou Saikyou no Hunter-Tachi Kara Nigekire! - 13,836 (89,944)
- [WII] Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition - 13,067 (179,934)
- [3DS] Kobitodzukan: Kobito Kansatsu Set - 12,646 (60,196)
- [PSP] Kuroko's Basketball: Miracle Game - 12,097 (49,526)
- [PS3] Persona 4: Arena - 10,603 (176,476)
- [WII] Mario Party 9 - 10,339 (529,710)
- [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D - 9828 (868,267)
- [3DS] Rune Factory 4: A Fantasy Harvest Moon - 8340 (135,376)
- [PSP] Digimon World Re
igitize - 8196 (153,581) - [3DS] Little Battlers eXperience: Explosive Boost - 7935 (114,565)
- [NDS] All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation 2 - 7774 (36,086)
- [PS3] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2012 - 6796 (108,741)
- [3DS] Mario Tennis Open - 6680 (254,391)
Japanese hardware chart
- 3DS - 111,857 (102,646)
- PS3 - 16,277 (14,580)
- Wii - 15,640 (16,145)
- PSP - 13,285 (12,018)
- Vita - 11,298 (9446)
- DS - 2256 (952)
- PS2 - 1433 (1187)
- Xbox 360 - 978 (998)
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...apanese-charts ...- Search DCEmu
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