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by Published on March 15th, 2011 22:59- Categories:
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EA Games label boss Frank Gibeau has admitted that the company purposefully courts controversy in order to gain headlines in the mass media, even going so far as to admit: "We love Fox News".
"When you're building new IPs and you're building games and you're looking at an entertainment audience, they see a lot of messages. Controversy isn't a bad thing. I personally believe you should court controversy," he said in an interview with IndustryGamers.
"You should do it in a way that matches the creative integrity of the game. You shouldn't do it in a gratuitous way, but if it matches the creativity of the game... I loved it when Fox News did the lesbian aliens on Mass Effect. I love when they covered the Taliban; I loved it when they covered the Bulletstorm stuff.
"In each one of those cases, it was true to the game and we were trying to do something creatively. The fact that their point of view is different than ours and represented an audience out there is fine by me. I felt we could stand up and defend what we did and be aggressive about it and be proud of it," he said.
Although many of the controversies, including the recent Bulletstorm coverage and the infamous "Sex-Box" expose for the original Mass Effect, are unique to the US, EA drew considerable criticism in the UK for its handling of last year's Medal Of Honor reboot.
In general though EA's manufactured controversies have had a positive effect on sales, with Medal Of Honor overcoming mediocre critical reviews and only Visceral Games' Dante's Inferno failing to benefit from the publisher's provocative marketing approach.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...nt-a-bad-thing
...by Published on March 14th, 2011 20:07
Japan is home to some of the biggest gaming companies in the world. With reports that last week's earthquake killed thousands of people and devastation in the country, the gaming community and companies has started to respond by sending relief and donations.
Nintendo, which is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has announced it will donate 300 million yen ($3.6 million) to the relief effort.
Sony Corporation also has announced that it will be giving 300 million yen in earthquake relief along with 30,000 radios to help those working with the relief effort.
Sega Sammy is giving 200 million yen while Tecmo Koei will be donating 10 million yen to Japan Red Cross. Namco Bandai is donating 100 million yen through parent Bandai Namco Group. The company will also be suspending operations in arcades where power conservation is needed, and will be holding back on events.
But it isn't just Japanese game-related companies that are donating to the effort. Microsoft has announced that it's giving an initial $2 million to help with relief efforts. Meanwhile, social gaming community Gaia Online has designed a series of virtual goods and will send the proceeds from those goods to the Red Cross.
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When Haiti was hit with their devastating earthquake last year, we (DCEmu Reviews) took donations which we we sent the American Red Cross. However, PayPal suspended my account even though we were doing a good cause. I had to refund the payments (even though we already submitted our donations to the ARC) in order for my account to be reinstated (it was also my personal account). So rather than go through this whole ordeal again, if you would like to help and donate whether it be $1, $5 or even $100, you can send donations to the American Red Cross. If you are unable to send payment, watch the news, read the newspapers or find out from your locals to see how you can help.
Source: MSNBC ...by Published on March 14th, 2011 18:35- Categories:
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Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka has claimed that console games are "dying", as he criticised both the full price console games model and the "casual" games label.
Speaking at the South by Southwest Interactive conference, as reported by VentureBeat, Vesterbacka claimed that innovation in the industry was now focused on mobile and social gaming.
Vesterbacka suggested this was because mobile games developer are more "nimble" and able to develop and release new content more quickly. The current pricing model for home console games came in for particular criticism, especially given the difficulty in upgrading the games.
The Rovio boss also complained about the label "casual games", arguing that Angry Birds was just as involving and addictive as any other.
On the subject of a business model for mobile gaming Vesterbacka admitted that, "No one has figured it out yet." He suggested that Rovio would continue to experiment with different models for different games.
Rovio has now seen 100 million downloads for Angry Birds, the majority of which are for the free version of the game. The company also recently announced a $42 million funding deal led by venture capitalist firm Accel Partners.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...gry-birds-boss
...by Published on March 14th, 2011 17:33- Categories:
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Major US publishers are on the verge of revolt against NPD, according to a CNN report.
The likes of EA and Activision see the group's monthly retail sales bulletins as 'misleading and potentially irrelevant'.
That's because the reports don't factor in Xbox Live, PSN or iTunes data,.
"Using NPD data for video game sales is like measuring music sales and ignoring something called iTunes," the report quotes EA corporate communications executive Tiffany Steckler as saying.
"We see NPD's data as a misrepresentation of the entire industry."
Last week, NPD's report said that retail sales fell eight per cent in the US.
In the meantime, publishers continue to grow into digital content streams to supplement and sometimes expand further than sales of boxed games.
Activision has seen huge success through Call of Duty map packs - while EA itself is forecasting that it will make $750m in digital sales revenues for the year ending March 31st, a rise of 39 per cent.
Plus, rising stars like Zynga, generates its revenues purely from online transactions within Facebook. It's been valued as over $8bn previously.
But NPD has tried to calm the grumbles, saying the report blows 'out of proportion' the situation.
Divisive analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan also defends NPD, calling it a "gross overstatement" to write its reports off: "EA saying physical game sales don't matter is like Best Buy saying television sales don't matter."
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43494/EA-N...f-our-industry ...by Published on March 14th, 2011 17:24- Categories:
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Some of the biggest publishers in the games business are donating millions of dollars to a relief fund following Japan’s earthquake and tsunami disaster.
Sony and Nintendo are both pledging $3.6 million each to help fund the island’s recovery, according to Kotaku.
Sega Sammy, meanwhile, is putting forward $2.4 million. Its UK arm has begun a separate charity drive with the help of UK studio Sports Interactive.
Kotaku reports that Namco Bandai and Koei Tecmo will each contribute a $1.2 million donation.
Together the consortium is to raise $12 million to help Japan recover from the disaster.
Social games firm Zynga has also begun a new charity initiative to help children affected by the devastating tsunami. The firm is introducing donation options within games such as CityVille, FarmVille, Zynga Poker, FrontierVille and Words with Friends.
These games will have donation buttons appear as people purchase Facebook credits. The money, Zynga said, will be given to the Save the Children charity. Following the destructive earthquake that struck Haiti last year, Zynga was able to donate over $1.5 million through the same initiative.
On Friday an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck just north east of the Japanese coast. It was the biggest ever on record to hit the island. The resulting tsunami has swept devastation across the country, with areas in the north east – closest to the earthquake’s epicentre – worst affected.
Over 1,000 people are reported to have died, while at one stage as many as 88,000 people were said to be unaccounted for.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/3...arthquake-fund ...by Published on March 10th, 2011 21:56- Categories:
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British Prime Minister David Cameron today launched the UK's first accessible games centre in his constituency of Witney, Oxfordshire....
The centre, run by children's charity SpecialEffect, was formally opened by Cameron and the charity's patron, Matt Hampson. It offers a central hub where technology can be tested and shared to help young people with disabilities to play videogames.
Speaking at the launch, attended by Eurogamer, Cameron said: "The work of SpecialEffect brings together three things that I am passionate about: helping those with disabilities, the innovative use of technology and corporate social responsibility.
"This new centre will enhance the quality of life for some of the most severely disabled people across the UK and I will continue to support SpecialEffect as their local MP."
Hampson, a former England under-21 rugby player paralysed in a scrum accident, said: "Like me, many other people with disabilities are interested to find out about the benefits of games and leisure technology for socialisation, rehabilitation and, of course, fun. Now they drop into a friendly centre and can see what it can do for them."
Cameron was given a tour of the facilities at SpecialEffect's headquarters, including taking on Shahzad Hossain, a young disabled gamer, at Gran Turismo 5 using accessible technology. Cameron quipped that he had been "thrashed".
Speaking about the games industry, he said: "It's incredibly inventive and creative and a massive provider of growth and jobs and I think that will just continue.
"As someone who has an iPad and is pretty expert at Angry Birds and Flight Control HD – if you haven't tried that one give it a try; eventually the airplanes do all crash but it's fun while it lasts - I think what the games industry is doing in terms of helping you and working with you is incredibly important.
"The games industry is a very successful business and for a small amount of outlay from them there's an enormous amount they can do to help you and disabled people."
UKIE chairman Andy Payne, who also gave a speech at the event, told Eurogamer: "I think the PM was inspirational, absolutely inspirational – taking time out to come here and recognise what these guys are doing is just exemplary.
"And he gets it – that is a big thing for us as an industry, this charity and importantly the people who find that they can play on a level playing field through games technology".
UKIE director-general Michael Rawlinson added: "What SpecialEffect does is amazing and it really just reflects the industry's commitment for gaming for everybody.
"I think David Cameron genuinely believes the computer games industry can play its part in helping young people and those with disabilities".
For Dr Mick Donegon, head of SpecialEffect, the event was of huge importance. "I genuinely feel David's support and endorsement has been really significant in terms of building up our credibility.
"We're actually a place now where people with disabilities and also developers can come and see the kind of technology that can be used."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-gaming-centreby Published on March 9th, 2011 00:03- Categories:
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Why do videogames still treat sex in such a two dimensional way? Why do they s****** at it, or treat it as a reward? Den Of Geek has been taking a look."I always figured it was some combination of games being made by our inner adolescent, marketed to the outer ones, and getting banned whenever they take sex seriously.
http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/0...uggle-With-Sex ...by Published on March 8th, 2011 22:29- Categories:
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Japanese publisher Sega has released its first ever Facebook game – Sega Play Baseball.
The title marks a new chapter in Sega's new digital strategy that was born following the significant restricting at the company announced last April.
The free-to-play game lets players create, customise and manage their own baseball team that's populated by both their personal creations and those created by fellow Facebook friends.
Users will also be able to pit their team against rivals online and compete with lots of other players in competitive online leagues.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43395/Sega...-Facebook-game ...by Published on March 4th, 2011 22:00- Categories:
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"Middle class games" that fall between AAA and indie stools don't stand a chance in the current climate, so says Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski....
During his 'Rise of the Power Creative' presentation at the Games Developer's Conference in San Francisco today, Bleszinski explained that in the current cluttered market, middling titles that don't do enough to stand out are going to fail.
"I'm going to go on the record and say that I believe the middle class game is dead," he said, before drawing an analogy with the movie business.
"It needs to either be either an event movie – day one, company filed trip, Battlefield: LA, we're there. Avatar – we're there. The Other Guys starring Will Ferrell and Marky Mark? Nah, I'll f****** rent that, I don't really care - right?
"Or it has to be an indie film. Black Swan – I'll go and see that. I'll go to The Rialto or I'll go to the AAA Imax movie. The middle one is just gone, and I think the same thing has happened to games."
He went on to warn developers in the audience that gamers today demand value. Fail to offer it, and you're doomed.
"We have a cautious consumer," he explained. "There are so many articles about this right now. People are still smarting from the recession. People don't go to Target anymore and spend $200 randomly.
"If you're on forums and you see terms like 'day one rental' or 'campaign rental' – pack it in because your game is not going to sell."
Cliffy B's own next effort, Gears of War 3, will be vying for your hard-earned pennies on Xbox 360 in September. For more from the outspoken Epic design director, check out the latest episode of GDC After Dusk.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...s-game-is-dead- Search DCEmu
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