It never stops: 3D Realms has released a handful of new Duke Nukem Forever images on its Facebook, despite the fact it's now dead in the water.


All sorts of lawsuit wrangling is going on the moment, with publisher Take-Two fighting to get an Xbox 360 version of the game released by another developer, and even revelations that there's another, non-DNF in the works.

We've got a feeling this won't be the last of this.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=219461 ...

A Microsoft patent has revealed a camera system for an unnamed third-person shooter, possibly in development for the Xbox 360 Natal.

The filing, spotted by Skoar, describes 'exploring' and combat camera mechanics and even makes mention of Xbox 1 game Brute Force.

It reads: "In a third-person shooter video game, the viewing perspective is smoothly transitioned between an 'explorer' viewpoint and a 'ready' viewpoint as game conditions change. In the 'explorer' viewpoint, scenes are depicted from a camera positioned behind and removed from a character.

"The explorer viewpoint offers a wide angle of view of the surrounding combat area, enabling the game player to scout the terrain. In the 'ready' viewpoint, scenes are depicted from the camera as it is repositioned close to the character. The ready viewpoint provides a narrower angle of view to facilitate better aiming when the character is engaged in armed combat. The transition between the explorer and ready viewpoints tracks a non-linear path.

"A technique for controlling camera viewpoints in a third-person shooter video game is described. Scenes are depicted from a camera positioned behind and removed from a character that is being controlled by a player. As conditions change during the game, the camera is moved smoothly along a non-linear path between an 'explorer' viewpoint and a 'ready' viewpoint.

"In the 'explorer' viewpoint, the camera is farther removed from the character to provide a wider angle of view of the battle terrain as the character moves about. In the "ready" viewpoint, the camera resides just behind the character to facilitate better aiming when the character is engaged in combat.

"Selection of a camera viewpoint and timely movement between the two viewpoints are controlled to facilitate a more intimate feel with the character and to avoid having obstacles obscure vision of the character and/or reticle used to sight targets."

Make of that what you will.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=219436 ...

Sales slip seven per cent as summer release schedule dries up
The UK video games market weekly value has dropped seven per cent, dipping below £20 million for the first time in two months.
According to MCV calculations, based on this week’s Gfk-ChartTrack/ELSPA report, games retail took £18.7 million for the weekend ending July 10th. Unit sales dipped one per cent to 825,244.
Despite the fall, the games market is still performing strongly during the traditionally quiet summer months – with movie tie-ins and major sports games such as Tiger Woods boosting sales. The Conduit was the only new entry in the UK Top 40.
With a lack of key titles on the schedule, retail should expect the slide to continue at least until Nintendo release Wii Sports Resort on July 24th.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/35031/UK-w...low-20-million ...

Prestige Edition to include real set of night vision goggles; original COD heading to XBL and PSN
Forget postcards, leather cases and flimsy plastic figures – Infinity Ward has showed everyone else how Collector’s Editions should be done with the revelation that the Prestige Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will include a set of real night vision goggles.


Described as ‘fully-functioning’, the goggles are also joined with a more regular assortment of trinkets – namely an art book, steel case and sculpted head model.


Also included is a code to download the original Call of Duty on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network – the first time the previously PC-only release has appeared on consoles.


The game is out in November, but there’s no price yet for the Prestige Pack.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/35030/Unbe...e-SKU-revealed ...

Prestige Edition to include real set of night vision goggles; original COD heading to XBL and PSN
Forget postcards, leather cases and flimsy plastic figures – Infinity Ward has showed everyone else how Collector’s Editions should be done with the revelation that the Prestige Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will include a set of real night vision goggles.


Described as ‘fully-functioning’, the goggles are also joined with a more regular assortment of trinkets – namely an art book, steel case and sculpted head model.


Also included is a code to download the original Call of Duty on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network – the first time the previously PC-only release has appeared on consoles.


The game is out in November, but there’s no price yet for the Prestige Pack.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/35030/Unbe...e-SKU-revealed ...

SPECIAL REPORT: New content pipeline and cheaper, smaller download games on the way
Platform-holder Sony is aggressively courting developers around the world to work on digitally distributed games for PSP in a bid to grow the software offer on its handheld.
And, Develop can also reveal, the firm is planning to introduce a streamlined content pipeline for the platform – which includes abolishing concept approval – plus cheaper devkits, shorter quality assurance processes, and very low price points for new games.
The details were revealed exclusively to Develop last month at a behind-closed-doors event at E3.
The news came after Sony had detailed plans to slash the cost of the PSP SDK by 80 per cent, and had unveiled the digital distribution-only PSPgo handheld.
16-year Sony vet Zeno Colaço, SCEE's head of developer relations, is behind the new strategy.

“One of the things that has been exciting in my time at Sony is the big shift changes we have seen – the latest is that consumers have been consuming digital content in a totally different way," he told Develop.
“Sony’s been working very hard to find our position in that and bring top-end gaming to not just the consumers who were there for the launch of PSP, but extending to an audience that is changing how it consumes entertainment and applications.
“We’re introducing new initiatives for the PSP which take it beyond traditional gaming, but still includes elements from gaming, and also includes new developers.”
Over 50 studios around the world are already hard at work making these new kinds of games and applications - many more are on the cusp of signing up.
Their creations will then be sold via a specially-branded, separate area of the PlayStation Store open to the PSP and its upcoming successor the PSPgo.
Signed studios include Subatomic Studios, the iPhone developer who is readying a PSP-exclusive version of its Fieldrunners tower defense game, plus casual games giant CandyStand.
It's also signed up developers from emerging markets, including India's Gameshastra, and PlayStation Network experts Creat.
This latest move will see Sony take a step closer to addressing the march that Apple has stolen on its handheld platform with the iPhone, that lets developers sell pretty much whatever they want (pending Apple's approval) via the App Store.
Sony isn't totally opening up development with a publicly available-SDK, a la the iPhone SDK, but it's doing its best to lower barriers around the PSP platform said Colaço.
He explained: "It is still a professional environment, you still need a development kit and you still need to have investment and a team. But it can be a small team. We don’t see any of the restrictions on the disc-based space being in this space."
Subatomic's Ash Monif praised Sony's move to be the first traditional format holder to more aggressively pursue creating cheaper, digital-only content and remove restrictions around getting that content available to consumers.
He told us: “This initiative is about bringing the lighter, lower barrier content to the PSP that has been so successful in other categories.
"You don’t see this happening at Microsoft and you even don’t see it happening at Nintendo yet.
"Part of that ‘snackability’ of the content is because you can deliver the content over WiFi super-fast. We’re making games that are just 20MB each, that’s less than a minute to download – instant gratification, snackable content. This is an opportunity for the premier indie developers – and I hope we represent that group – to come in and offer content that will fit the PSP.”

http://www.develop-online.net/news/3...rategy-for-PSP ...

Microsoft to launch Spotify rival later this month, hints to Xbox 360 service
Microsoft has revealed it will be launching a music streaming service this month that could appear on Xbox 360.
The company claims the service should be ready by the end of July and will be akin to Spotify, allowing users to stream music for free or purchase downloadable tracks.
Speaking to The Telegraph, MSN’s executive producer Peter Bale hinted that this new initiative may be linked to Xbox 360, but did not offer any details on how it would work.
“Music is an important area for Microsoft,” said Bale. “We are looking at launching a music streaming service imminently. It will be a similar principle to Spotify, but we are still examining how the business model will work.
“We are looking at how other similar businesses have structured their business models and trying to figure out what will work best for both consumer and Microsoft.”

A Microsoft-owned music streaming service complements the platform holder’s strategy to make the Xbox 360 the leading “entertainment hub” in consumers’ homes. The company recently announced a similar initiative at E3 when it unveiled a new partnership with Last.FM.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/35028/Stre...coming-to-Xbox ...

readthemall writes to let us know that the Symbian Foundation has released the first of several packages in their plan to open source the entire Symbian mobile OS.
"On Wednesday, Symbian made available its first package covered by the EPL, the OS Security Package, according to Symbian developer Craig Heath. 'The OS Security Package source code is now available under the EPL, and it is the very first package to be officially moved from the closed Symbian Foundation License (SFL) to... the EPL,' Heath wrote in a blog post. Heath said the EPL would allow the security package to bypass export regulations in the UK, where the Symbian code is legally based."

http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/09/...cing-Mobile-OS ...

Hey all,

I've just received the sample and am still working on the full review, however I've taken most of the hardware pictures already so I'd thought I'd share them with you all together with a few first impressions.


Cheers,
Scorpei ...