Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 | Posted by Robin Meijer | 1 Comment

Earlier today at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, OnLive COO Mike McGarvy revealed that cloud-gaming service OnLive is scheduled for a launch on the 17th of June 2010. The service will be available for PCs and Macs, but will be limited to users in the United States. More information regarding a possible launch outside the United States and the OnLive MicroConsole, which is designed to bypass the need for a computer entirely, will be made available later this year.

The service will require a monthly fee of $14.95, with prices of specific games to be determined at a later date prior to release. Several major publishers, such as Ubisoft, EA, THQ, Take Two and Warner Bros. Interactive, have expressed their support for OnLive and have announced that they will be making games available for the system. New titles that will be available at launch will include Assassin’s Creed 2, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Metro 2033.

McGarvy has stated that more information will be revealed at the E3, which will take place from June 15 – 17th.

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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | 2 Comments

Erectile Dysfunction proved a much stronger foe than Sephiroth for Cloud...

Demonstration builds are a key instrument in building pre-release hype for a game, or to breath a bit of post-release buzz for a lesser known release. But creating a self-contained experience, while still teasing the fully-priced product, is a difficult task. Some developers, most often seen in Xbox Live’s Indie Games library, time their demos: offering the full experience for a limited amount of time. Others block off all but the basic modes of play, giving the most streamlined version of the game. But a new  patent from Sony, discovered by Siliconera, may add a new method to the demo madness.

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Monday, March 8th, 2010 | Posted by Robin Meijer | 4 Comments

Following the recent stir between Activision and the management at Infinity Ward, Vince Zampella and Jason West have filed a court document in which they launch some major allegations at their former employer. In the court documents, Zampella and West claim control over the Modern Warfare as well as control over any Call of Duty-instalment set in a post-Vietnam era.

Based on a memorandum of understanding created between Activision and the former CEO and President of Infinity Ward, West and Zampella are owned royalties for the use of the Modern Warfare engine in other games published by Activision, as well as royalties for the success of Modern Warfare 2. Activision is charged with wrongfully discharging both West and Zampella over unsubstantiated allegations of insubordination. West and Zampella argue that Activision is trying to ‘cheat’ them out of their rightful compensation for the success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and is trying to gain full control over the Call of Duty franchise. The court documents states that Activision owes West and Zampella the sum of at least $36 million USD.

While Activision has not yet officially launched a legal response to the allegations, it has provided a statement in which it declares the suit filed by West and Zampella to be meritless. This statement is included below.

“Activision is disappointed that Mr. Zampella and Mr. West have chosen to file a lawsuit, and believes their claims are meritless. Over eight years, Activision shareholders provided these executives with the capital they needed to start Infinity Ward, as well as the financial support, resources and creative independence that helped them flourish and achieve enormous professional success and personal wealth.

In return, Activision legitimately expected them to honor their obligations to Activision, just like any other executives who hold positions of trust in the company. While the company showed enormous patience, it firmly believes that its decision was justified based on their course of conduct and actions. Activision remains committed to the Call of Duty franchise, which it owns, and will continue to produce exciting and innovative games for its millions of fans.”

While the Call of Duty franchise itself is legally owned by Activision, West and Zampella dispute the rights for the separate Modern Warfare franchise.

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Thursday, March 4th, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | 1 Comment

Interviewed by Forbes magazine in preparation for the upcoming Game Developers Conference, platform manager for social network site Facebook Gareth Davis spoke on the rise and future of the social gaming front. Recently surpassing 400 million active users, the site’s new Facebook Connect platform could be a major game-building platform for major developers.

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Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | 1 Comment

Developer Rare announced plans to open a second, complementary studio at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth, Birmingham. Functioning as a “production, test, and usability site” with hopes to turn into “a world class usability lab.”

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Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | No Comments

Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and LEGO recently announced the extension of their contract, licensing the studio’s subsidiary Traveller’s Tales to make games in the brand’s distinctive yellow brick style until 2016. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Star Wars III: The Clone Wars are the next games coming under the contract.

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Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 | Posted by Robin Meijer | No Comments

The game designer behind the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series, Tomonobu Itagaki, has announced that he has recently joined Valhalla Game Studios as head of the development department and as game design lead for a unannounced title. The studio is further headed by Satoshi Kanematsu,  another former-Tecmo employee who is known for his work on Rylar.

Itagaki did not reveal information about the projects he is currently working on at Valhalla Game Studios. However, Itagaki did state it would definitely not be a fighting game: “I already made Dead or Alive, the best fighting game in the world, in my last company. Trying to compete against my own daughter wouldn’t be worth the fight.”

The studio currently has a headcount of approximately 50 people The company is not likely to grow much larger for the foreseeable future, as Itagaki stated that “50 people working for two years can produce something better than 100 people working for one year.”

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Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 | Posted by Robin Meijer | 3 Comments

Following news earlier today that the CEO and President of Infinity Ward were fired by Activision over allegations of insubordination, Activision-Blizzard has issued a press-release that details the future of the Call of Duty series.

As was announced before, Treyarch is currently working on a new installment in the series due for release later this year. Infinity Ward is currently involved in developing two map packs for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which was released in November 2009.

However, Activision-Blizzard also stated that the recently established Sledgehammer Games, headed by former general manager of Visceral Games, will be working on bringing the Call of Duty franchise to the action-adventure genre. Activision has stated that:

“The company is also for the first time announcing that a new game in the Call of Duty series is expected to be released in 2011 and that Sledgehammer Games, a newly formed, wholly owned studio, is in development on a Call of Duty game that will extend the franchise into the action-adventure genre.”

Furthermore, a separate business unit will be established for all Call of Duty-related games. This business unit will be headed by Philip Earl, who currently heads Activision’s Asia/Pacific publishing department.

With respect to the unrest at Infinity Ward, Activision stated that “Activision Publishing veterans Steve Pearce, chief technology officer and Steve Ackrich, head of production, will lead Infinity Ward on an interim basis. Jason West and Vince Zampella are no longer with Infinity Ward.”

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Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 | Posted by Robin Meijer | 3 Comments

Yesterday, G4 reported that “a bunch of bouncer-types” had shown up at the Infinity Ward studio unannounced, putting the staff “on edge”. While a clear explanation was not given, it appears as though Activision is currently in conflict with two unnamed senior employees at Infinity Ward, the developer of several instalments in the Call of Duty-series, including the most recent addition Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

In a report filed with the SEC yesterday morning, the organization stated the following:

“The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward. This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation. At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company.”

Infinity Ward CTO Jason West is apparently involved, as he updated his Facebook profile with a message stating that “Jason West is drinking. Also, unemployed.” Furthermore, his LinkedIn profile has recently been updated to reflect that West is no longer employed as the Infinity Ward CTO. It is currently unclear who the second senior employee is, though rumors suggest it may concern Vince Zampella, the studios Chief Creative Officer.

Specific details regarding the direct cause for the action are not available at this time.

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Monday, March 1st, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | No Comments

While 2009 was a financial down-turn for many video game developers and companies, the industry remains flexible in its expansion into free-to-play online and social gaming fronts. Even with the movement into new fields and formats, interactive entertainment still doesn’t factor too much into the average family entertainment budget, according to statistics recently released by famed ratings firm Nielsen.

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Friday, February 26th, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | No Comments

Proof that Ninja Gaiden is Itagaki's own autobiography

Controversial developer Tomonobu Itagaki, founder and former lead designer of Team Ninja (Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden), sued his former company after he left in 2008 over unpaid bonuses. The fallout of the lawsuit’s multiple-year long legal battle were continued spats with former Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda, as well as endless news stories about the conflicting personalities involved. But recently Itagaki sent a letter to 1UP on the issue, stating that the suit has been settled “amicably.”

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Thursday, February 25th, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | No Comments

A solemn Capcom released a brief statement to the press today, announcing the death of the chief operating officer for the company’s front in the PAL and NTSC regions, Mark Beaumont. MCV reports that the reported cause of death is a heart attack. The staff at Elder-Geek send their best wishes and thoughts to the friends and family of the departed.

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Thursday, February 25th, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | No Comments

Representatives at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts recently announced that Shigeru Miyamoto (Donkey Kong, Pikmin!, Super Mario Brothers 1-Wii) will be added to the lofty company of the likes of Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock by being the latest to receive the BAFTA Fellowship. The awards ceremony will be broadcast live at www.bafta.org on March 19th. The ceremony will be hosted by games enthusiast and comedian Dara O’Brien, and will take place at the London Hilton on Park Lane in the UK’s capital city.

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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 | Posted by Gavin Greene | No Comments

In this picture, the badassness represents the financial market

Rocksteady Studios flew down from the shadows to shock the community last year with their smart and fantastic take on the Dark Knight and his rogue’s gallery with Batman Arkham Asylum. With a sequel announced at the Video Game Awards this past December, analysts and consumers alike have high expectations for the London-based studio. Warner Brothers has noticed the excitement with the developer, and how it has translated to some serious sleeper success, and has continued their investment into the market by buying out a majority hold (68.4%, according to Group president Kevin Tsujihara)  in Rocksteady stock.

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Monday, February 22nd, 2010 | Posted by Robin Meijer | 5 Comments

The organization of the 2010 Game Developers Conference, the GDC, has announced that John Carmack, industry veteran and co-founder of id-Software, will receive the Lifetime Achievement award during the Choice Awards on March 11. The award will be presented to him by industry veterans who won the Lifetime Achievement award in previous years, including Shigeru Miyamoto, Will Wright and Sid Meier.

John Carmack is often hailed as one of the founding-fathers of the modern first-person shooter genre, and is the creative mind behind games like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D. Carmack will receive the award in recognition of the contribution he has made to the industry, which also include early attempts at creating LAN-multiplayer and pioneering with 3D graphics. He was also involved in the iconic Commander Keen-series, a series of platformers originally launched for MS-DOS in 1990.

In 1999, Time Magazine listed Carmack as #10 in the “Top 50 Most Influential People in Technology”.

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