The game’s developer told me the company’s proprietary CloudMMO tech works on consoles. He also reveals some updates for ‘”Justice is Coming.”
***
Just after the release of “Watchmen” in movie theaters last week, I spoke with Seth Gerson, president of Last Legion Games, the company that developed “Watchmen: Justice is Coming” for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Released day and date with the film, “Justice” is touted as an massively multiplayer title combining RPG and fighting elements. And like “The End is Nigh,” the XBLA/PSN/PC title developed by Deadline Games, “Justice” is set in the 1970’s before the time of the movie.
However, there was no connection in the development of the titles aside from having the same writer, Peter Aperlo, as well as contact with Warner Bros. And instead of playing main characters Nite Owl and Rorschach, players will are able to create their own unique anti-hero, though Gerson suggested that one of the movie’s characters will appear in the story.

“First you customize your character, then you enter the world and as you’re walking through you’re gaining experience,” said Gerson in a recent phone interview. “There’s two ways to gain experience is: there’s combat, where you can fight other people and [non-player characters], and you also gain story points for completing quests.”
Gamers are able to explore five different locations and rummage through dumpsters to find costume pieces that boost skills. As players level up, they can assign points to attack and defend, depending on their fighting style. “There’s also a timing element in the fighting style, too,” Gerson added, “so if you want to throw a punch, you want to throw it earlier in the round, rather than a Judo-style move where you would want to hold back and throw later in the round.”

I asked how Last Legion came up with a fighting-based MMORPG for the iPhone. It started off with the company’s proprietary, patent-pending multiplayer technology that utilizes Amazon.com’s Web Services. Last Legion Games was established last summer by console veterans, and have been working on the CloudMMO technology for several years. With “Justice” as their first release, the development studio is solely focusing on their new technology and plans to create more iPhone games in the future.
“We met with Warner Brothers, showed them the technology, talked about some things we would like to do, and we started building in that way,” Gerson explained. “As we developed it, we kept trying to create features that really made sense for the iPhone. When you call it an MMO, I think everybody’s mind is thinking ‘World of Warcraft.‘ But it just happens to be on the iPhone, and that’s how the technology functions. We’re trying to create something that’s kind of a new genre in gaming because the iPhone by nature is much more of a social device.”

Although players can chat with each other in the game and view each other’s profiles, Last Legion plans to add more social aspects to the game. A buddy list and the ability to “snap-to” wherever your friends are located are some of the first things they’re working on, though they haven’t announced any dates for when these updates and expansions would come.
“We have a bunch of ideas that we’ve been talking about, things we’d like to do and places we’d like to take it,” Gerson said. “It’s open, and we plan on keeping it that way. We also want to hear from the community; what they want is important to us because at the end of the day, that’s who we’re building it for.”
One thing I noticed in my brief playthrough of the game were the long load times between fights with other players and traveling to different areas. Gerson said it depended on my connection but it was also due to the game’s detailed environments.

“A lot of that has to do with the ability to have the beautiful, gritty environments,” he said. “The way everything is constructed is very similar to a console. It’s basically the way you make a game for a 360 or a PS3, or a DS or PSP. I’d say it’s more on the PSP side of things. We like to aggressively push what we can push. The load times, I think in the future there are a couple of things we have to reduce those a little bit but there are some constraints that we can’t get around.”
But could “Justice is Coming” come out on other platforms? “Yeah, it could,” he said, saying that many employees have decades of experience in console development. “Right now, I don’t think we have anything in the works but it really depends on what the hardware is. We just really wanted to work on the iPhone; it’s is a fantastic gaming device, and we wanted to really try something different and ambitious.”
So while we might not see the CloudMMO tech by Last Legion on other platforms at the moment, that won’t prevent other developers from crafting CloudMMO games for consoles. “At some ...

via IGN


When it comes to new hardware and peripherals, the internet is always prone to speculate and start rumor fires over even the smallest indication that new tech is on the way. Over on the site Siliconera, rumors emerged regarding a wand-like peripheral that could be used in conjunction with the PS2. These images were apparently taken from a recent patent filed by Sony, though the wand isn't the only device pictured. Also included is an image where a user's hands have two small ring devices attached to the fingers, which can be used to track movement.

We contacted a Sony representative for comment and we were simply told that there are no peripheral announcements being made at this time. There's no way for us to verify if these images are actually from a real patent, or if they're even recent at all. We suspect that these are either old diagrams or complete fakes, but we'll keep you posted if official information is revealed.


...

via Joystiq


Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) analyst Jesse Divnich's crystal ball predicts brick-and-mortar retail sales of GTA IV's expansion, The Lost and Damned, to be less than $3 million. He believes current global sales from customers who purchased it across Xbox Live to be around $18 million. This latest bit of analyst prognostication comes following Pachter's missive (translated from an Illuminati memo) that GTA's biker expansion could sell upwards of two million units by year's end.

Although the 6-to-1 online vs. retail ratio seems dramatic, is it really surprising when The Lost and Damned was promoted as a DLC pack anyway? In this case, retail was just a middle man, as those who purchased the "game" at their local bodega received a card with a code to download the expansion. All we really know at this point is that the game is selling very well. ...

via Eurogamer


Microsoft has coughed up an undisclosed amount of money to tech firm PalTalk, settling a lawsuit over the Halo games.

As reported by Seattle PI, PalTalk wanted USD 90 million in royalties. It alleged Microsoft had infringed patents covering the control of interactive applications over multiple computers. Real-time multiplayer stuff, in other words.

Microsoft challenged the validity of the patents and claimed it had taken a different approach to the technology. But now the firm has agreed to settle, for an amount which wasn't revealed but which PalTalk was said to be "quite pleased" with. ...

Newly released today:



features
Embark on the pet shop adventure of a lifetime: Where the player will become an important part of the community as they help to manage their very own pet shop
Meet the cutest characters in a town where everyone loves to live: the familiar character styles of the inhabitants of Green Town, and the vibrant environments, shops and homes, create a place to stay, play and interact for hours
Collect and care for loads of loveable and unusual pets: My Pet Shop offers over 40 types of animals with over 120 different variations available to find and nurture
Work hard and get rewarded: The more the player works in the shop and cares for their pets, the more money they’ll receive to buy some of the 100+ fashion accessories available for their pets
Enter pet contests and win prizes: Players get to showcase their hard work – the tricks they’ve taught pets and the fashion accessories they’ve bought – by taking part in the town’s photo and fitness contests
Share your pets with mates using the DS Wireless Connection

description
Welcome to the beautiful world of Green Town and to your very own pet shop. Following your move from the metropolis of Gold City, you’re now getting settled in your new home in Green Town, as the kid of the newly opened pet shop.

Your adventure begins on your first day in the shop, helping your mum to find pets for the residents of the town, and caring for the animals you find. The more you care for and play with the pets, the more attached to you they become, and as you continue to help out in the shop, you’ll be rewarded with money allowing you to buy accessories to make your pets the cutest in the whole town! Teach them tricks, look after them well, and you’ll soon be on your way to winning the town’s cute pet photo contest.

The people of Green Town will welcome you with open arms as you work to create the best pet shop ever!

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-39d7.html ...

Newly released today:



description
The world is ending. You must create a new one.
Control the strength and attributes of your foes and weapons. The Book of Prophecy will record and alter anything in this world. You will use that information to write the story of the new world.

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-39d5.html ...

Newly released today:



features
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis
With Wii controls, players simply swing the Wii Remote controller to hit forehands and backhands and to apply spin. Experienced gamers can also attach a Nunchuk controller for additional precision
Choose from over 15 characters from the Mario universe, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Daisy, and Yoshi! Every character has a defensive and offensive Power Shot that can send opponents reeling or return out-of-reach balls
Play traditional tournaments, or hit the Gimmick Courts for the wildest matches you've ever seen. Fight off Klaptraps, clean up sludge, or play a wealth of tennis-themed minigames
With one- to four-player modes available, you can play a quick pickup game, join a friend to defeat a minigame, or go head-to-head in frantic modes like Ring Shot and Item Battle

description
The stars of the Mushroom Kingdom are gathering for a tennis tournament, and the competition is going to be fierce!

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-3ah3.html ...

Newly released today:



http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-3ah6.html ...

Newly released today:



features
With dynamic visuals, new questions and question types, TRIVIAL PURSUIT on console brings the party to the living room TV allowing players to customize the experience with several ways to play
Challenge your friends with the original fun TRIVIAL PURSUIT game
Earn extra points by guessing whether your friends know the answer in the all-new quickly playing Facts & Friends mode
Track your best categories over time with your custom TRIVIAL PURSUIT profile
Players can hone their knowledge with the Clear the Board single player mode

description
Gather up your pies and wedges, round up friends and family and join in the fun Electronic Arts Inc. as it celebrates the 25th year of TRIVIAL PURSUIT by offering new ways and places to play one of America’s favorite board games. TRIVIAL PURSUIT will be released on multiple digital platforms including online at Pogo.com™, across several consoles and on mobile phones.

Since the official introduction of Trivial Pursuit in 1982, the phenomenally successful board game has been testing millions of game players’ wits with versions ranging from the original TRIVIAL PURSUIT to TRIVIAL PURSUIT Family, TRIVIAL PURSUIT Junior, and TRIVIAL PURSUIT 25th Anniversary Edition. The popular board game also got its own television game show in 2008 called TRIVIAL PURSUIT America Plays.

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-34zz.html ...