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by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:54- Categories:
- Nintendo Wii News
The premium SKU of Wii RPG The Last Story will not be stocked at GAME when it is released this Friday.
In fact, the chain has been cancelling pre-orders for the Limited Edition, according to VG247. Emails have been sent out to anyone that ordered the product will be sent a standard edition instead.
The Limited Edition comes in a Steelbook case and features a copy of the game, the soundtrack and an art book.
According to GAME's Facebook page, the retailer "won't be stocking the Limited Edition", and that it "unfortunately had to cancel pre-orders of said edition".
The Last Story arrives on Friday, February 24th and GAME will still stock the standard edition. It is a Japanese RPG from the mind of Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy.
GAME has decided not to stock a number of titles in the past few weeks, including Ubisoft's five Vita launch titles.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/game-...edition/091535 ...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:51- Categories:
- DCEmu
Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard believes that the decline and eventual closure of high-street retailer The Game Group is now inevitable.
Speaking as part of an expert panel at the BAFTA Question Time event, sponsored by GamesIndustry.biz, Gerhard stated that the efficiency with which the internet serves the modern consumer's needs - easy access to a wide range of content at lower prices - has started a process that will eventually eradicate physical retail for games.
"I think, 10 years out from now, we'll be talking about [physical] retail nostalgically, as a museum piece," he said. "I don't think there's much there that would give it a second life."
Physical retail, Gerhard explained, is part of a system that takes "huge chunks of margin" from developers, facilitating the decline of the independent development sector.
"That all erodes the economics for developers being able to make money," he continued. "They take a chunk - say 20 or 30 per cent - the publishers take a bit, and after inflation it's no wonder that the independent games industry isn't alive and vibrant, because they're not making any money."
I think, 10 years out from now, we'll be talking about [physical] retail nostalgically, as a museum piece
Mark Gerhard, Jagex
"[Developers'] response is almost desperation. 'We're going to go straight to the customer. We're going to go online. We're going to bypass the sequence that's taking so much from us...' I recognise that it's sad, but I think it's a fait accompli."
"It's sad to see an institution decline, but the writing has been on the wall for quite some time - the internet didn't happen yesterday... People are still playing games. They're still doing business; they're just doing it in a different place... If you don't adapt you die. It's as simple as that."
Jason Kingsley, owner of the UK studio Rebellion, compared watching the rapid decline of companies like HMV and Game to studying a mass extinction on the fossil record. He admitted to always being puzzled that the games industry sold data, "on bits of plastic wrapped in cardboard and the cellophane and put on the back of lorries."
"I always thought data should go down wires and fibre optic cables," he said. "It's a reforming of an industry, and a refocusing away from selling data - which is more easily distributed in other ways - to offer a very different kind of service."
UKIE's Jo Twist warned the other panelists not to "undersell" the importance of a one-to-one retail experience with engaged sales staff. To those unfamiliar with gaming or shopping for somebody else it can be the only way to make an informed purchase.
However, Kingsley disagreed, arguing that personal recommendations through social networks already provide the same service in a more meaningful way.
Frontier Developments' David Braben went further, saying that major chains like Game and HMV never offered the level of service Twist described, and were instrumental in the decline of the independent retailers that once did.
"In a sense, they're just getting a taste of that medicine," he said. However, Braben also added that internet speeds in the UK weren't yet capable of supporting a full scale shift to digital retail for "the next year or two."
This will give physical retailers some time to find an effective way of serving the needs of consumers, and potentially allow a more passionate independent retail sector to regain some of the market.
Nevertheless, Braben echoed Gerhard's belief that, in 10 year's time, it would be "hard to imagine" any games being sold in "shrink-wrapped retail."
"Whilst I am tremendously sympathetic to all of those that work in the shops, the fundamental problem is that they've got to look at their business to reposition it anyway - that's irrespective of whether it's a good or bad thing."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...rom-extinction ...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:43- Categories:
- Apple iPad,
- Apple iPhone
The continuing value of the App Store to developers was under scrutiny at the BAFTA-hosted Games Question Time event last night.
An expert panel composed of UKIE head Jo Twist, Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard, Frontier Developments' David Braben and Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley debated the likely effects of the increasing demand for high production values on iOS devices.
Jason Kingsley agreed that the emphasis for a product to be "as polished as possible" was greater than ever, but that the investment necessary for that standard of execution can still be offset in a way that's impossible on consoles.
"Instead of making 20 hours worth of gameplay, you can make an hour's worth of gameplay, see how people react," he said. "The acid test is what people do with it... That's brilliant feedback for us; actually what people do when they play the game."
However, Mark Gerhard stated that the problem Kingsley desrcibed - of producing what is, "effectively a gold master" - already exists on the iOS platform, and that the "next wave of iterations" of Apple hardware could unbalance the economics of development and "kill the App Store."
"Everything's moving online," Gerhard said. "This is controversial, but the mobile bubble will burst this year and the social bubble will burst, too."
I think that, bar a handful of winners, nobody makes money on Apple's platform. It's great for consumers, not good for developers, and that's going to be the death of it
Mark Gerhard, CEO, Jagex
"There just isn't the money there. The only people that are winning right now are Apple and consumers. Everyone's rushing to make games for the new iPhone, and in that Apple makes a lot of money, but it's a race to zero."
Gerhard noted that Jagex has had four number one games on the App Store, but none made more than £3,000 to £4,000 a month profit. The amount of revenue versus the necessary resources is "a problem" for independent developers, and Gerhard believes that the same is true of all "walled-garden" services.
"I think any closed platform, be it Microsoft, be it PlayStation Vita, XBLA, PSN, the App Store, ultimately are taking such a big chunk that people just aren't making money. Facebook, too."
"I think that fundamentally, bar a handful of winners that Apple is keeping, nobody makes money on their platform. It's great for consumers, not good for developers, and that's going to be the death of it."
Gerhard addressed the widely held belief that the App Store is "the next frontier" for game developers. Like all closed platforms, he argued, the App Store is subject to "lethargy" in the form of approval processes and the need to adhere to guidelines.
Jagex has found a huge amount of success on the open web, and Gerhard believes that improvements in browser technology over the next 12 to 24 months will make it possible to create immersive 3D games.
As a result, the browser will emerge as a "new platform" that offers developers a greater share of revenue and greater control over their products.
"I would say as a survival strategy you want to leapfrog that," he said. "You want to go purely straight to browser."
"Online we can launch and we can iterate hourly. We can use data to kind of tone and shape the content experience. We can be that agile. We don't have to release, see what happens, make some changes, and re-release weeks later."
However, David Braben argued that the biggest problem facing developers is the "route to market," or actually getting the product into the hands of the audience. The App Store may not be ideal in this regard, but it has clear advantages over the open web.
Gerhard had already stated his belief that "new channels" would emerge to aid discovery of browser games on the open web, but Braben countered that any such entities would also be closed systems.
"The advantage of The App Store is that it's a place that focuses you; you're seeing what's coming out," Braben said.
"With the internet it's a lot, lot harder. I think you're right that there will be routes to the internet that will essentially do what you're talking about, but they will again be closed."
"There will be a gatekeeper otherwise there isn't value to it, in a bizarre way."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...y-of-app-store ...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:40- Categories:
- Nintendo 3DS News
Yoot Saito's Dreamcast pet sim Seaman is headed to 3DS, according to reports.
Andriasang brings word from Japan's Nikkei, which in a feature claims Nintendo is looking to revive games from thirdparty publishers' back catalogue for 3DS, giving Seaman as an example.
Released in 1999, Seaman tasked players with raising the titular species using the Dreamcast's microphone, with minimal guidance except for sparse narration by Leonard Nimoy.
Saito is currently at work on Level 5's 3DS collection Guild 01, which also features games from Suda 51 and Vagrant Storydesigner Yasumi Matsuno. Saito's game is called Air Porter, which casts players as "the man in charge at the airport [who] must expediently manage baggage."
http://www.edge-online.com/news/repo...man-coming-3ds
...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:37- Categories:
- PS3 News
Almost a third of PlayStation 3 owners are "seriously considering" buying a PlayStation Vita.
The finding comes from Playr2, which asked 1321 PS3 owners about Sony's new handheld, which will be on shelves tomorrow.
Thirty-two per cent of respondents said they were "seriously considering" buying a Vita in the near future, according to Eurogamer. Twenty-two per cent of those intend to buy the system within a week of tomorrow's launch.
It's a limited sample, obviously, but will be well received at Sony - especially given that only half of that 32 per cent previously owned Vita's predecessor, PSP.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/thir...een-vita-study ...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:35- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
Uncharted studio Naughty Dog has insisted it currently has "no plans" to develop games for PS Vita, despite claims to the contrary from a Sony executive.
Guy Longsworth, SVP of PlayStation brand marketing, was asked by Gametrailers if the likes of Media Molecule, Sony Santa Monica, Guerrilla and Naughty Dog would be developing for Sony's new handheld.
"Yeah, absolutely you will," he replied. "You'll see a number of games coming out from all our studios." Arne Meyer, Naughty Dog's community and marketing man, took to NeoGaf to set the record straight.
"We're not working on anything for PS Vita," he wrote. "I won't say never, ever, but there's no plans for it right now - we've always felt that consoles play to our strengths ... and desires to push the utmost limit of resources and memory and tech and engine.
"That can change with the right handheld, [which is] why I won't ever say never. We've never made a handheld game, so us saying we're not working on anything at the moment shouldn't be some earth-shattering surprise."
Vita launch title Uncharted: Golden Abyss - the series' handheld debut - was developed by SCE Bend Studio. Sony's PSP successor finally launches in the US and Europe tomorrow, February 22, and in Australia the following day.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/naug...ate-plans-vita ...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:32- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
Sony has finally revealed the prices for full PS Vita games on the PlayStation Store ahead of the handheld's launch tomorrow.
Of Sony's firstparty titles, Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the most expensive, at £39.99, just £5 less than its retail RRP. WipeOut 2048, Modnation Racers: Road Trip and Everybody's Golf will cost £29.99, while Little Deviants and Reality Fighters are priced at £19.99 apiece.
Thirdparty titles including Rayman Origins, Lumines: Electronic Symphony and Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus are priced at £29.99, while the likes of Touch My Katamari and Michael Jackson The Experience HD are available for a relatively modest £24.99.
Prospective Vita owners expecting digital prices to be significantly cheaper than retail are likely to be disappointed. EA and Codemasters are the biggest culprits, asking £44.99 for FIFA 12and F1 2011 respectively, but Capcom deserve a mention too. Not only does the publisher want £39.99 for Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, but there's over £40 worth of day-one DLC as well.
As such, it appears those looking for bargains are best off looking at the more modestly priced download-only games. Motorstorm RClooks a steal at £4.79, as does Super Stardust Delta at £6.49.
There are demos, too, of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Modnation Racers: Road Trip, Dynasty Warriors Next, Unit 13, WipeOut 2048,and FIFA. They, along with apps for Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Foursquare, will be free to download when the Store is updated at some point this evening.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/sony...igital-pricing ...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:28- Categories:
- Apple iPad,
- Apple iPhone
EA is weeks away from releasing The Simpsons: Tapped Out, a free-to-play game for iOS devices.
CNET reports that EA has committed significant resources to the project, using the cartoon's writers and voice actors. The game starts with Homer causing a nuclear explosion that wipes out Springfield, tasking the player with rebuilding it, completing quests and unlocking characters along the way.
EA's Bernard Kim said: "We want this to be one of the biggest titles this year. We've invested a lot. It's absolutely a top-tier development priority for us. Hardcore Simpsons fans will get a lot out of it."
The game will be a free download, supported by microtransactions, with players able to buy doughtnuts the in-game currency. No firm release date has been announced, but Tapped Out is expected on the App Store in the next few weeks, with an Android version to follow a few months later.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/ea-r...-simpsons-game ...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:23- Categories:
- PC News
In response to Microsoft's claim that Google circumvented Internet Explorer privacy protections (following the discovery that Google also worked around Safari's privacy settings), Google on Monday said that IE's privacy protection, called P3P, is impractical to comply with."
http://search.slashdot.org/story/12/...is-impractical ...by Published on February 21st, 2012 23:11- Categories:
- PS3 News
Filing for creation of 'a real-time three dimensional interactive environment using a depth sensing device'
Sony is building its own Kinect-like motion sensing prototypes, newly released patent files reveal.
As reported by PlayStation lifestyle, the patent was filed in October 2011 to protect the creation of a “real-time three-dimensional interactive environment using a depth sensing device”.
It also describes that the device “includes obtaining depth values indicating distances from one or more physical objects in a physical scene to a depth sensing device.”
It is important to note however that by convention, numerous patent filings by games companies do not materialise into final products.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/3...patent-reveals
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