Gabe Newell returns to issue of charging players based on how likeable they are

Valve will pursue its experiment with the free-to-play games model with a new plan to release its upcoming game DOTA 2 for free, the company’s managing director has said.
Gabe Newell claimed Valve is not applying a wholly conventional freemium model for the online action strategy game.

Usually, freemium games are made available to everyone and later monetised by selling optional in-game items.

But in an upcoming interview with Seven Day Cooldown, Newell said the game would be “free-to-play [but] it'll have some twists”.
"The issue that we're struggling with quite a bit is something I've kind of talked about before, which is how do you properly value people's contributions to a community?” he said, reflecting on a discussion he had with Develop last year.
Last year Newell told Develop that “the games industry has this broken model, which is one price for everyone. That’s actually a bug, and it’s something that we want to solve through our philosophy of how we create entertainment products".

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...f-free-to-play
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Chemicals, TV, sales and marketing to bear the brunt of global cut-backs

Sony will not bury the axe into its games division as the company prepares to slash some 10,000 jobs from its global entertainment empire, Develop understands.
Information of the company’s restructuring operation suggests that the television, marketing and chemicals business will bear the brunt of the cut-backs.

Sony declined to comment when approached by Develop.
Targeting a six per cent reduction of its workforce (about 10,000 employees), it is believed that Sony will remove about 5,000 workers through the sale of its chemicals and LCD business.
New CEO Kaz Hirai, who has a mandate to slash operating expenses by a third within twelve months, said that Sony’s focus will be on three divisions: Digital imaging, phones and games.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...yoff-operation
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Intel believes that a rise in screen resolution is on the cards for notebooks and desktop PC monitors.
Apple appears to have triggered a resolution war in the smartphone and tablet space but according to a Liliputing report, Intel is seemingly of a mind that laptops, ultrabooks and all-in-one desktops will all see similar increases in pixel density.
What sort of resolutions are we talking about? 2560 x 1440 pixels on dinky little 11-inch ultrabooks and 2800 x 1800 on the larger 13-inch models. Desktop monitors and 15-inch laptops will see resolutions rise to 3840 x 2160, they reckon.
The notebook market in the past has gone through an arms race of resolution as manufacturers sourced panels with bigger numbers to entice punters. Only later did owners work out that this was distinctly unpleasant to use and the on-board graphics had zero chance of doing anything like play a game at the native resolutions on offer.
So what's change this time around? It doesn't seem unreasonable that the graphics performance will be there but such mighty resolutions depend greatly on how well the host OS scales up. Windows 7 sort of does it, but not in a very satisfactory way. Will Windows 8 be better?
Apparently it is, for the Metro-style UI at least. However if you want to run desktop applications... well, just sit closer to the screen okay?

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...-coming/028227 ...

Consumers have started to favour Android-powered LTE smartphones instead.
Earlier this month, Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walker said theiPhone is the best-selling smartphone in the US. Now, he tells investors that sales have dropped in "developed markets" but didn't specify which ones had been affected.
Consumers are reportedly moving on from the Apple device in favour of LTE smartphones, an area that Android rivals continue to excel in.
Walkley predicts that sales will continue to fall until Apple releases a LTE-powered iPhone 5, which is expected to create a surge in sales that will outweigh the Q1 lull.
It's not the first time iPhone sales have dropped. Samsung smartphone sales overtook Apple's in Q3 2011 as users abstained from an iPhone 4 purchase ahead of the iPhone 4S release – or iPhone 5 as it was thought at the time.
Walkley predicts Apple has sold 32.6 million iPhones, 12.3 million iPads and 4.4 million Macs during the first quarter.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...markets/017803 ...

The PlayStation 3D display is essential equipment for players who are in search of serious 3D gaming experiences. The display is slim with a screen size of 24", and features full 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080). Its built-in Edge LED technology offers brilliant contrast, while a 240 Hz refresh rate ensures ultra-smooth play. It also has built-in speakers and a subwoofer to enhance the audio.

In addition, it can be connected to cable TV boxes, a PC or any other compatible device via the display's two HDMI ports or its single component HD port. Both of these input types are conveniently located at the side of the display.

The pair of PlayStation 3D glasses included with the display offer best-in-class Active shutter 3D quality and built-in USB rechargeable batteries. PlayStation 3D glasses are optimized to sync seamlessly with the PlayStation 3D display, but their universal design makes them compatible with a variety of Active Shutter 3D displays.* Active Shutter 3D technology offers superior image quality over competing Passive 3D technologies by means of the differing processes they execute. Both technologies create the illusion of depth by slightly altering what users' eyes are exposed to. Passive 3D glasses block different kinds of emitted light from reaching each eye. The result is a 3D effect, but one in which certain light data has been omitted. In some cases this can equate to up to half of the available lines of resolution, meaning that this type of 3D effect can not reach the level of true 1080p HD. Active 3D on the other hand does not omit light sources from the spectrum, instead producing its 3D effect through a subtle dimming process of the individual lenses. PlayStation 3D glasses manage this effect seamlessly through their infrared connectivity. The result is a superior 3D effect, at full HD quality. Infrared connections between glasses and other components, as well as other 3D processes are kept constant through the glasses 30-hour rechargeable battery life.

SimulView Technology Improves the 2-player Gaming Experience

Fans of co-op and competitive gaming modes are intimately familiar with local split-screen multiplayer functionality, which literally splits the visible display area of a single TV used in offline play to show the differing actions of individual players participating in the same game, at the same physical location. As advantageous as this is for group play, the quality of even the sharpest of HD television displays is compromised by the halving of the viewable area. SimulView Technology does away with this issue by enabling two players in a supported game to see their actions in-game displayed as full-screen projections** (the full requirement for the effect are: a PlayStation 3D Display, 2 pairs of PlayStation 3D Glasses, a PS3 system, a PS3 game that supports SimulView, and two players). Built on the Active 3D glasses technology and specially enhanced for gaming, SimulView technology brings players deeper in the game than ever before while still sharing the experience with a friend. Games supporting SimulView technology include MotorStorm Apocalypse, Killzone 3, Gran Turismo 5, Super Stardust HD, with more titles in development and coming soon.

Features

Best-in-class HD 3D display for the most immersive 3D gaming experience
SimulView technology delivers individual full HD screen visuals to each player in two-player mode
Connects to your PS3 system, cable TV box, and PC for all of your HD 3D content
Slim design brings true 3D gaming to smaller entertainment spaces
Built-in speakers and subwoofer enhance the audio and take you deeper in the game
Classic PlayStation inspired display design for the ultimate gaming enthusiast
Specifications

Display type: Stereoscopic 3D HDTV
Screen size: 24"
Resolution: 1080p (1920 x 1080)
Colors: 16.7 million
Contrast ratio: 5000:1
Backlight type: Edge LED, white LED
Digital inputs (side): 2 HDMI, 1 component
Refresh rate: 240 Hz
Sound output: speakers (3W x 2), subwoofer (1 x 5w), 3.5 mm headphone jack (1)
Remote support: IR remote control with BD remote control (sold separately)
Dimensions: 29.75"(w) x 17.06"(h) x 4.50"(d)
3D glasses
Type: Active Shutter 3D
Rechargeable battery life: 30 hr.
Dimensions: 3" (w) x 7-1/8" (h) x 2" (d)
* Compatible with Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, and Sharp Active Shutter 3D ready displays that use IR emitters.
** Playback in full (2D) HD, not 3D.

Product Dimensions (inc stand): 650mm(w) x 387mm(h) x screen 33mm(d) stand 280mm(d)
Screen Size: 23.5 Inches
Packaging Dimensions: 744mm(w)× 419mm(h)×109mm(d)
Packaging Type: Box with plastic handle (for all territories)

Additional Information:

All PS3s sold to date have capability of showing stereoscopic 3D contents.
There are currently over 30 PS3 titles which support 3D, plus more will become available around the launch of this monitor, including new releases like Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception.
Monitor Key Configurations:

23.5" Full HD resolution
240Hz Active Shutter
Best in class 3D quality
HDMI x 2 input
Component input for PS2 & PSP
2 pairs of ...

Microsoft's relatively pricey Xbox 360 Games on Demand titles are performing strongly, according to the platform holder.Xbox Live UK product manager Pav Bhardwaj told MCV the wider online service is experiencing "good growth" in the UK, with Games on Demand playing its part.
"It really is a successful part of our business, we're very pleased with the growth of Games on Demand and it continues to do really well," he said. "People are buying the games at full price and downloading them all too."
Last year Microsoft defended the pricing of Games on Demand titles, which often launch at around £49.99, by reasoning that the service is designed to provide convenience to consumers.
Bhardwaj said sales of Arcade games and DLC are on the rise too. "We don't have any particular numbers as such, but we've seen good growth with the Arcade titles, and the game add-on business is in growth as well.
"We're really pleased with how it's going. We're bringing new titles out constantly. We brought out a number of titles a few weeks ago, and now we have Trials Evolution, Minecraft, Bloodforge and Fable Heroes. It's a new set of amazing IP and some amazing games."
The four games mentioned above form Microsoft's Arcade Next promotion, which kicked off earlier this week with the launch of Trials.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...g-really-well/ ...

Sony is seemingly fighting an uphill battle against Vita hackers as new firmware fails to prevent a new homebrew hack from emerging soon after Sony's scrambling recovery.
The platform holder moved quickly to thwart thefirst emerging Vita hacks when it removed from the PS Store multiple PSP games used to assist the hacks, and put its engineers to work on a new more secure firmware.That firmware, version 1.67, has been deployed and the removed PSP games - MotorStorm Arctic Edge and Hot Shots Tennis - have reappeared patched to prevent further tomfoolery. But, it seems, its rapid effort were in vain.
Hackers claim to have found another PSP game that opens the door to homebrew on Vita including, unfortunately for Sony, on the new firmware. Videos of the original Doom for PC running on a Vita with the latest firmware installed have already emerged.
What PSP game is it? The hackers are staying tight-lipped for now to slow down any potential response from Sony. But the to-and-fro battle with hackers has certainly begun.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...rt-vita-hacks/ ...

For the second week in a row, there's nothing new to download on Wii. No WiiWare, no Virtual Console, not even a demo. Troubling!

Meanwhile, on 3DS, the highlighted game is something that's actually been available at GameStop for almost a month, and elsewhere as a pre-order bonus: 3D Classics Kid Icarus. If you didn't think the 3DS game was bizarre enough, you should check out this nicely updated version of the NES original to see how weird Nintendo can get.

Nintendo would also like you to know that a new season of Dinosaur Office will premiere on Nintendo Video tomorrow.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/19/ni...cs-kid-icarus/ ...

Patient PS3 players can now purchase the first DLC dump for Modern Warfare 3. Non-premium Call of Duty Elite members and stock Modern Warfare 3players can now download Content Collection #1, which includes a smattering of multiplayer maps and a pair of Spec Ops missions.

Content Collection #1 can be downloaded on PSN right now for $14.99. Within it you'll find multiplayer maps Overwatch, Liberation, Piazza and Black Box – plus Spec Ops missions Black Ice and Negotiator.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/19/ps...on-1-on-psn-t/ ...