Archive for January, 2011

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Epic Games and EA pave the way for Bulletstorm

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Epic Games, Warsaw based People Can Fly (an Epic Games studio), and EA have recently announced that the demo for their anticipated action shooter, Bulletstorm will soon be available. Beginning January 25th, the makers of Gears of War and Unreal will unleash a world of guns, action, and attitude, in a title Entertainment Weekly describes as, “an intense, outrageous shooter.”

A unique shooter in it’s own right, Bulletstorm features three game modes; sci-fi themed, single-player campaigns, all-hell-breaks-loose Anarchy multiplayer mode, and Echo mode. Options one and two, we’re all very familiar with, but Echo mode provides a unique experience that tracks and compares players’ scores while they make their way through various campaign modes. Think of it as “Ghosting” within racing games, whereby your performance is measured against previous players’ top stores. The upcoming Bulletstorm demo features a view of Echo mode, whereby players navigate through a collapsed building on the planet Stygia as Ex-Dead Echo leader Garyson Hunt.

Bulletstorm features a “skillshot” system, as players utilize futuristic assault rifles, known as the Peace Maker Carbine, as well as a damage doing Flail Gun, which fires two, chain linked grenades at the target. If handguns are more your style, Bulletstorm serves up the Screamer, a revolver that converts targets from living matter into fireworks.

As New York Times journalist Seth Schiesel puts it, “the name should say it all; big guns, lots of lead and over-the-top mayhem.”

The Bulletstorm demo will be available for download on January 25th to all North American XBOX LIVE and PlayStation owners, with European players joining the party on the 26th. The Bulletstorm Epic Edition will be available for Xbox 360 gamers, and will include an early access pass to the Gears of War 3 beta, as well as feature additional in-game bonus content. PS3 owners will have the opportunity to purchase the Bulletstorm Limited Edition title, also featuring bonus in-game content. A full release of Epic Games/People Can Fly/EA’s Bulletstorm is expected to drop on February 22nd in North America and February 25th in Europe.

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RockYou acquires social games maker Playdemic

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Social games developer RockYou has recently announced that they’ve successfully acquired Manchester, England based developer Playdemic. As part of the deal, Playdemic will remain an independent operation, under the banner of A RockYou studio, and continue to develop Facebook games. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“At RockYou we place great value on the art of game-making,” said Jonathan Knight, RockYou’s SVP of Games in a statement, “and we’re elated to welcome the Playdemic team into our studio system. Playdemic will retain their culture and creative control, as they bring their significant game industry experience to making social games of today and tomorrow.”

This acquisition marks RockYou’s latest move in their quest to deliver high-quality, engaging social games. With the Playdemic acquisition, RockYou can now count established Facebook game Gourmet Ranch as one of their own. In addition to this popular title, RockYou has purchased a significant amount of talent with the Playdemic purchase. Staff members include amongst their resumes, time at Ubisoft, THQ, and Eidos. Games Workshop co-founder, and Eidos life president Ian Livingstone provided a significant amount of initial investment, and Playdemic CEO and Founder Paul Gouge will stay on as VP and General Manager.

“Being a part of RockYou gives us the opportunity to remain creatively independent, while leveraging RockYou’s vast network and expertise at scale to reach a wide audience with our games,” Paul Gouge said. “We see a massive opportunity to expand the depth and quality of social games, and have found an ideal partner in RockYou.”

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Mobile gaming heats up with Exent’s GameTanium service for Android

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

As the gaming industry begins to include more and more mobile devices in the mix, gamers are clamoring for PC and/or console conveniences. One such convenience is gaming on demand, which, until now, most mobile devices have fallen short on. Exent is stepping in to meet this demand with their GameTanium for Android service. GameTanium is the first and only games on demand service offered for Android gamers, giving them unlimited, 24/7 access to over 100 Android games – all at one flat monthly date.

“Gamers can finally feed their APPetites with unlimited play of the world’s best games at their fingertips, no matter where they are,” stated Christina Kuzma, CMO of Exent. “We are excited to introduce the GameTanium service on Android. As we expand multi-platform support, users will be able to enjoy 24/7 gameplay on virtually any device of their choosing.”

The GameTanium for Android provides unlimited access to top shelf Android games, with new titles added on a weekly basis. Exent is promoting their expertise in merchandising and monetizing as a vehicle to help users find the games they want to play. Featured content, ratings, recommendations, and a massive collection of video trailers are amongst the tools employed to deliver gamers’ choices. How this ties into merchandising and monetization…remains to be seen.

Another way to think of GameTanium is via the subscription model. The “Flat monthly fee,” can be re-branded as subscription, thus allowing gamers this unlimited access to top titles. When the service launches this coming February, Exent will offer gamers a seven day free trial, and will employ PayPal for billing. Plans are under way to roll the service out to several other platforms and devices, including tablets (read:iPad) in early 2011. If Android arrives in February, and Exent is promising an “early 2011” delivery for other devices…are they just around the corner?

One of the most promising services offered by Exent’s GameTanium is the seamless, cross device gaming experience. Meaning, if you’re playing a title on your Android device during the commute, once you arrive at home, you can simply swap to your tablet device without losing a moment of gameplay.

Interested parties can have a view of Exent’s mobile gaming technologies at the upcoming Mobile World Congress this coming February 14-17 in Barcelona, Spain, or visiting their Play Anywhere demo.

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Playfish/EA exec Xavier Louis headed to MXP4

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

Adding another feather in the long-running, “Where is all the talent going?” cap over at EA, former Playfish executive Xavier Louis will be joining the MXP4 team in the role of Vice President of Product Marketing. With Playfish, he served as Product Marketing Director. With MXP4, Louis is expected to drive adoption of and monetization of the company’s interactive social-music gaming technology.

“We are elated to have an industry expert like Xavier join MXP4,” commented Albin Serviant, CEO of MXP4. “With his extensive social gaming experience, he is an obvious choice to spearhead the continued development of our interactive music games.”

If you’re not already familiar with MXP4’s program, they’re turning music into casual games. The goal is to pull passive music listeners (i.e., all of us) and convert them into active users who are inclined to share (read: distribute) their music preferences, and ultimately make more music purchases. Through this mechanism MXP4 offers value to both artists and marketers, all the while, providing a fun and engaging experience for end users. You might remember the company’s beta launch, featuring PUMP IT!, a Facebook game revolving around hit artist David Guetta’s single “Who’s that Chick.” The title garnered over half a million visits to the application, with users playing the game for more than 15 minutes per track. Of these 500,000 or so users, 50 percent of them ended up sharing this music and competing against social network friends, with some users player more than 500 times in a chance to win a meet-n-greet with Guetta himself.

“I am looking forward to applying my years of experience in social gaming to help forge the future of the nascent ‘social music gaming’ genre,” commented Xavier Louis. “MXP4’s mission is truly unique, and I am excited to join such a visionary team.”

Since the arrival and death of music based games, i.e. Guitar Hero, we’ve yet to see a hard look at games and music, and how they can be capitalized upon in the massive social gaming market. It appears as though MXP4 is staring straight down the barrel of this loaded gun, and taking aim. The tech looks good, and I’d wager with a few more key promotions such as the Guetta deal, MXP4 could be the breakout story of 2011. Let’s see if Louis can work his former Playfish magic with MXP4. If so…hold on to your hats, as there’s a lot of tunes-based play ahead.

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D-day for MySpace: 550-600 employees to be let go

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

According to News Corp. owned All Things Digital, once king-of-the-hill social networking site MySpace will shed anywhere between 550 and 600 employees today. This number represents approximately half of the current MySpace employee roster, with the hardest hit to be international offices and employees.

Apparently, the “restructuring” efforts at MySpace are intended to drop “legacy” business and products, and thus, half the staff is no longer needed. Reports also indicate that News Corp will begin the process of finding a buyer for MySpace. These cuts arrive after a previous round of “restructuring” i.e. layoffs that saw 30% of the workforce cut in June of 2009. You’ll remember News Corp head Rupert Murdoch paid a reported $580 million for the site, a topic that was surrounded by controversy. Given these “toxic assets” attached to the MySpace name, it looks as though even the sale of MySpace will be something less than “regular” or “normal”. With that said, rumors are afloat that News Corp. will try to pawn MySpace off to Yahoo!

While layoffs are never fun, those that are still working with MySpace have clearly been avoiding the writing on the wall. The once great MySpace has dwindled in popularity over the past few years, being overtaken in traffic numbers by Facebook in April of 2008. Since this time, MySpace has attempted to reinvent itself as an entertainment portal, with a particular focus on games. You’ll remember that the Beverly Hills, California based firm brought in Sean Ryan to up the ante in the gaming department, only to see him leave for a similar role at Facebook within the first 6 months of his employment. Un huh. Likewise, when compared to a company roster a few years ago, there are a striking number of former MySpace execs now under the employment of social games maker Zynga.

Regarding the sale of MySpace, while News Corp. may or may not be courting Yahoo!, I hear that MOL Global has a penchant for buying up former social networking sites, provided a few patents are included.

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EA and Funcom to jointly publish The Secret World

Monday, January 10th, 2011

EA and Funcom have recently announced a co-publishing deal surrounding the anticipated MMO The Secret World. Neither company needs an introduction, and the combined forces of these two gaming powerhouses is sure to hold to new surprises for gamers. Funcom is reporting that thousands of eager gamers have flocked to the growing community surrounding the game’s launch, with many already becoming active members of the game’s three distinct secret societies: The Illuminati, The Dragon, and The Templar.

“We are tremendously excited to be working with what is undoubtedly the world-leading games publisher for the past decade, and it is also a great testament to the fantastic work of our development team,” says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas in a statement. “The experience and the knowledge that Electronic Arts brings to the table will be instrumental in allowing us to realize the full potential of ‘The Secret World’.”

If you’ve not already familiarized yourself with The Secret World, the game is billed as a “next-generation” MMO that allows players complete and total freedom to advance their in-game characters. Previous MMO standards such as character class and level no longer apply; the game’s wide open. Players pledge their allegiance to one of three secret societies (hence, The Secret World), and battle for world domination via various landmark locations around the globe. And it’s not the fantasy world of planet XYZ, The Secret World is based on our own modern world, with players adventuring through Egypt, New England (home of Dan Brown), London, New York, and Seoul.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Funcom, one of the world-leaders in the development of massively multiplayer online games,” adds David DeMartini, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Partners. “We are very excited to be able to take part in the growing online gaming category with such a highly anticipated title as ‘The Secret World’.”

The way I see it, this is a win-win for both Funcom and EA. EA, who’s man-at-the-helm John Riccitiello has been driving down boxed unit sales in favor of digital distribution, now has an MMO to add to the EA distribution list, and Funcom, who’ve had their own issues in the past concerning MMO success, now has the backing and partnership of one of the oldest and most respected brands in the industry. While no release date, or format, has been given, my guess is that Funcom will leverage EA’s distribution channels, with EA gaining an anticipated, and how quality MMO to call it’s own (of sorts). And while The Secret World has been in development for some time now, this publishing partnership with EA is certainly a sign that the development phase is drawing to a close, and that we can most probably expect the arrival of The Secret World sometime in 2011.

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IGN and GameStop partner to combine Media and Retail in one-stop-shopping

Friday, January 7th, 2011

Until now, if you’re on the hunt for a new game, there’s always been the ye old, search, alt/tab, search again, read, alt/tab, etc. GameStop and IGN have recently announced a partnership that seeks to keep the alt/tab, search process to the bare minimum. The terms of the deal provide for an exclusive, large-scale partnership that fuses all the best elements from IGN’s video game coverage, including expert game review content from Game Informer Magazine, and GameStop.com’s video game and multi-channel entertainment services.

Yes, obviously GameStop’s motivation behind the deal is to drive sales, but ultimately, they’re looking to provide gamers with a soup-to-nuts service, as the partnership seeks to inform fans about games from the first rumors of development right on through to post-purchase updates, news, etc. The two hope to make the vehicle the new Gold Standard in what it means to be an informed video games consumer.

From IGN’s side, they now have exclusive online advertising and sponsorship rights for GameStop.com as well as GameInformer.com. Clearly a win for IGN, as access to the previously mentioned web properties allows them unprecedented access for advertisers to a highly targeted, highly engaged audience.

“Until now, the games media experience and the games retail experience have been disconnected. Now we’ll be able to connect brands and games publishers with video gamers across the complete game purchase funnel – from discovery and awareness to purchase,” said Charles Barrett, Senior Vice President of Sales for IGN Entertainment.

As part of the agreement, GameStop will begin integrating IGN’s reviews, previews, and other gaming content across their online presence. Readers across the IGN network will shortly see a “Buy Now” feature that specifically drives users to GameStop if/when/should they choose to purchase the game under review.

“This is one of the foundational pieces to our digital strategy as we seek to position GameStop.com as the definitive single destination for gamers who want to discover and purchase new games, play games online and socialize with other players,” said Shawn Freeman, GameStop’s Senior Vice President of Digital Commerce. “As the fastest growing gaming website in the U.S. and second in size only to Amazon.com, we look forward to offering game fans a first look at our integrated site in 2011.”

Of note: GameStop’s online traffic numbers will now be rolled into IGN’s comScore figures. As of November 2010, the combined traffic numbers between GameStop’s properties and the IGN Entertainment network reached 45 million unique users from around the globe. A mighty number for sure, but let’s just hope neither company decides to call the figures their own before advertisers, as distinguishing the two will become increasingly difficult. Or…is GameStop testing the waters of an acquisition? Or perhaps the other way around? Only time will tell.

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NVIDIA powers mobile media and gaming via Verizon 4G LTE

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

GPU developer and manufacturer NVIDIA, together with Verizon Wireless, has recently announced that they’ll be demoing NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile superchip equipped devices at this years Consumer Electronics Show. The new processor significantly ups the ante in the mobile entertainment field, particularly in combination with Verizon’s newly deployed 4G LTE network.

The demos are meant to illustrate that through this combination of technologies, consumers have the power of home-quality media and gaming content in the palm of their hands, all while on the go. Also on tap, NVIDA is showcasing the Tegra 2’s multiplayer gaming abilities, particularly across various platforms from tablets to desktop PC’s.

“Last year, we showed the first 1080p video stream over LTE with NVIDIA,” said Brian Higgins, executive director of LTE ecosystem development at Verizon Wireless. “That was just the start. Tegra is bringing never-before-seen experiences to mobile devices, and we’re confident developers and ultimately consumers will see the benefits of our 4G LTE network.”

In addition to the gaming and video functionality, NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 powered tablets will be on hand to demonstrate a wide variety of multimedia content readily available including books and magazines, as well as untold amounts of content available via downloadable applications via the devices’ 3D user interface.

“Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network provides the bandwidth to drive a rich trove of content to your mobile device,” said Michael Rayfield, general manager of the mobile business at NVIDIA. “Teaming this network with Tegra delivers the freedom to watch and play what you want, when you want.”

Although this is an NVIDIA and Verizon featured announcement specifically targeted at the CES market, it’s important to remember that the rumors of Verizon’s impending Apple iPhone availability has been receiving significant credit over the past few months. Verizon’s been nabbing up iPhone and Verizon related URL’s, and as featured in this announcement, Verizon launched it’s 4G LTE mobile broadband network in December. The 4G LTE network provides speeds up to 10x faster than the 3G network, and reaches approximately 1/3 of all Americans. So although NVIDIA will be delivering top quality entertainment and gaming to Tegra 2 devices, is this nothing more than a testing ground for when Verizon gets their hands on the coveted iPhone reseller license?

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OnLive lands SRS to bring surround sound to streaming games

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

Although the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) doesn’t officially kick off until tomorrow, the gizmos and gadgets news is already starting to make the rounds. In what’s sure to be a very hot topic this coming year, cloud based gaming firm OnLive has recently announced a partnership with leading surround sound provider SRS to deliver crystal clear streaming 5.1 Surround Sound. The partnership is already alive and kicking, with gamers set to receive the 5.1 update in early 2011.

“OnLive’s state-of-the-art video games provide incredibly realistic experiences, and a core part of the user’s immersion into these games is a rich surround sound environment,” said Steve Perlman, Founder and CEO of OnLive. “SRS 5.1 not only achieves superb surround sound fidelity through OnLive, but it does so with simplicity and compatibility across all devices OnLive supports—from handheld mobile devices, to PC/Mac, to TVs with high-end home theater systems—achieving the best audio experience each device can deliver. We are delighted to partner with SRS to provide OnLive users an outstanding cross-platform compatible surround sound experience.”

According to SRS, their SRS 5.1 Surround Sound technology requires not decoder on the receiving end, as well as consuming zero bandwidth. In fact, SRS promises to deliver an immersive experience with surround sound streams dipping as low as a 96 kbps stream. The 5.1 piggybacks on the stereo sound stream already being delivered, and the secret to the decoder-less receiver is in SRS’s proliferation. As millions of monitors, be they televisions, A/V receivers, PC, and/or mobile devices, chances are there’s a piece of SRS residing in each one of them via their Circle Surround, TheaterSound, StudioSound HD, TruSurround, and PremiumSound technologies. Any device that has one or more of these technologies inside is already set up to receive the SRS 5.1 surround sound encoded content. Likewise, any 5.1 content that is played via a non-surround sound capable device will automatically have the signal mixed down to a true 2.0 stereo channel format; an option that doesn’t always occur between 5.1 and non-5.1 source and monitor.

And it’s not just about the mix down, as the SRS deal features Circle Surround technology that is capable of producing a surround sound matrix from stereo and even mono signals.

“We are very excited that OnLive selected SRS 5.1 as its format of choice for encoding video games in 5.1 surround sound,” said Chuck Cortright, Vice President of New Business Development for SRS Labs. “On-demand gaming communities and services like OnLive, which provide instant access to great content, are just one of many practical applications for our SRS 5.1 surround sound encoding and decoding solutions. Gamers will absolutely love the more immersive and lifelike experience of playing their favorite games in surround sound over standard stereo.”

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Glu hits the mark with Deer Hunter Challenge – 2 million downloads in 20 days

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

San Francisco based social games for mobile and tablet devices, Glu Mobile has recently announced that their Deer Hunter Challenge has blown past the 2 million downloads mark within its first 20 days on the App Store.

Based on Atari’s long running Deer Hunter franchise, Glu’s mobile iteration has received praise across the industry, and apparently 2 million+ gamers agree.

“The Deer Hunter franchise continues to be one of our strongest brands,” said Thom Kozik, executive VP, online & mobile, Atari, Inc. “By offering Deer Hunter Challenge as a free-to-play mobile game we’ve seen continued growth and brand visibility with an all new audience of gamers.”

So what’s in store for would be hunters? In addition to the obligatory trigger squeezing, it’s the details that make up the difference with Deer Hunter Challenge. Players are free to roam and hunt animals in the wild, untamed forests of Alaska, or the rugged Patagonian mountain range. More and more landscapes and hunting grounds are unlocked through various challenges and requirements. The title takes full advantage of today’s modern smartphone, utilizing axis points to bring down deer, black and brown bears, blackbuck, cougars, moose, etc. (just about anything you can imagine to shoot at – save for humans). Naturally, as with any free-to-play title, Glu has packed in the customization options. Players can hand tailor their favorite bolt rifle, single shot rifle, lever rifle, shotgun, crossbow, and pistol. And if tuning your animal slayer isn’t quite your thing, no worries, as hunters can also further customize their look, as boots, gear, and clothing options abound.

Glu promises that plenty of updates are on the way, and that the title, “will be heavily supported,” and that plans are already in the works to connect hunters from around the world to compete in online tournaments.

“With more than ten million downloads and counting, we are proud to work with Atari on making Deer Hunter the most authentic and best-selling hunting franchise on the App Store,” said Giancarlo Mori, chief creative officer at Glu. “This title is a unique, free-to-play game in its genre, offering incredibly detailed 3D environments and very realistic animations.”

Deer Hunter Challenge is currently available for free via the AppStore.

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