Gamernode: Latest Industry News

$208 million would make even Scrooge McDuck jealou...

Harmonix, creators of runaway success Rock Band, are doing quite well for themselves these days. Not only did they move over a million units of Rock Band since its launch in November, they have also gone double platinum, selling 2.5 million songs over the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network.

All these numbers may sound unimpressive compared to the likes of Halo 3 but you have to remember that Rock Band is a $170 package - that's more than double the cost of a normal game this generation. To move that amount of product at that cost in under four months is pretty amazing.

Viacom (parent company of Harmoinx) was quite possibly the most impressed by the success of Rock Band. In their recent annual report they promised Harmoinx 208.7 million dollars as a 'thank you for being a frien...

• (1)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

New colleagues shower praise on Phil Harrison

Now that you've read the news about Phil Harrison doning his metaphorical suit of armor and weilding his mighty baldness like a true hero attempting to rescue the aging Atari from a less-than-pleasant fate (you HAVE read about that, right?), it's time to see how the company is responding to the move.

David Nadal, head of Alone in the Dark developer Eden Studios, had plenty of kind words to say about Mr. Harrison upon his arrival to Atari's NY headquarters. Speaking with Eurogamer, he commented:

"I don't know Phil very well, but what I know about his job and what he's done in the past, he has very strong feelings about games and where the industry should go. I think he had the casual turn before everybody [else]. I was one of the first to be amazed by EyeToy and then SingStar and Buzz. This...

• (2)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Phil Harrison appointed President of Infogrames

You probably remember two weeks ago when Phil Harrison suddenly left Sony, ending his 15 year tenure as President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide. No one knew for sure why Phil left the company he had helped turn into a worldwide icon of gaming, and his sudden departure left a lot of people wondering if things might be going poorly behind the scenes in Sony's camp.

Apparently, though, Phil just wanted more of a challenge. In a recent press release, Infogrames has announced that Phil Harrison has been appointed as President and Directeur General of Infogrames Entertainment. Infogrames is known for gobbling up a series of publishers and developers in the late 90's/early 00's, most famously the resurrected Atari brand.

What they're most known for recently, though, is their financial s...

• (2)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Activision facing lawsuit over Blizzard merger

Activision is facing a lawsuit from one of its various shareholders thanks to the merger of Vivendi and Activision a few months ago. The merger granted Vivendi fifty two percent of the shares in Activision, effectively granting control of the company to Vivendi. While the merger does make the Activision Blizzard combo larger than current champ EA, the shareholders of Activision are not pleased. They claim Activision received the bad end of the deal, and put its shareholders in a position where they did not receive the best deal with their stock.

"The merger, stock purchase and tender offer, working in concert, convey control of Activision to Vivendi but fail to offer the Activision stockholders an opportunity to realize a true control premium for their stock," one said.

How this will play ou...

• (0)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

HD-DVD movie surprises, tops the weekly sales char...

Toshiba may have waved the white flag last week when they announced they were conceding the high definition format war to rival Sony, but that hasn’t stopped high definition consumers from giving HD-DVD the top spot on the weekly HD sales charts.

In a bizarre twist American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe, on HD-DVD came in at the top spot. It was predicted that from here on out HD-DVD would slowly slide off the charts altogether, but it seems the format was intent on making one last splash.There’s an immediate temptation to hold out hope for HD-DVD to make the greatest comeback since the Dreamcast came back to squash the PS2. However, it is more than a little bit likely that this small victory is due to the fact that retailers everywhere are still being fo...

• (3)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

This week's NA game releases: 3/2 to 3/8

I hope everyone had a productive gaming week, I've been enjoying Frontlines: Fuel of War on Steam along with starting a new character on Titan Quest in light of Iron Lore Entertainment's closure this past week. Despite some annoying stuttering, the game is an excellent hack n' slash RPG with plenty of loot and inventory juggling.

Speaking about Iron Lore, the last game the company worked on is being released this week, which I highly suggest any PC strategy gamer to pick up (retail and Steam). Along with being the third and last expansion pack, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Soulstorm, adds plenty of new features, including new units for existing races, flying units and a much larger meta warfare campaign. Also buy the game to support the developers find new gigs.

A few other notable games b...

• (5)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Bioshock runs away with 8 game audio awards

It's about that time again - time for me to let you know how great BioShock is. This go-'round, the news comes from the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), and the non-profit organization's 6th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards. These awards are designed to honor outstanding achievement and excellence in videogame audio, recognizing the creative and technical talents of those individuals who make our games sound great.

This year, powerhouse title BioShock received eight awards, winning in every category in which it was nominated. That's more than a third of all the honors that were bestowed at the San Francisco ceremony. Composer Garry Schymann responded:

"Every now and again, life provides one of those great moments of satisfaction for which words are really inadequate to describe. Being honored ...

• (2)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

GameSpot reviewer leaves for IGN

The exodus from GameSpot continues. It's becoming increasingly obvious that the gaming enthusiast crowd is not the only group that thinks Jeff Gerstmann was fired because of pressure from major advertiser Eidos. One by one employees are leaving the company in the months following the Gerstmangate controversy.

This time it's veteran reviewer Jason Ocampo who has jumped ship. Unfortunately, Ocampo isn't saying what we all want him to say. He's remaining tight-lipped about why he left Gamespot. We do have one interesting nugget of information about his departure, however.

Unlike the other departures who vanished without a trace, we know precisely where Ocampo is headed. The latest episode in the IGN podcast, Game Scoop!, reveals that Ocampo will be heading up IGN's PC division as their new PC ...

• (5)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Jack Thompson offers help to EA on takeover of T2

Oh what a benevolent soul Jack Thompson is. GamePolitics is reporting that Jack Thompson has sent a loving email to EA CEO John Riccitielo offering his help in EA's bid to takeover Take Two Interactive.

In what Gamepolitics describes as a long rambling letter that was also sent to several prominent gaming publications, Thompson says that Take Two honcho Strauss Zelnick is the essential problem with Take Two, and that an EA takeover would remedy that problem. Yeah, because I'm sure once EA gets control GTA will just stop being violent.

"I am delighted to work with Electronic Arts to evict the Zelnick Trojan Horse from within Take-Two's corporate walls," Thompson said. "In doing so, I can get the new Take-Two into the clear as to the trouble I and others can send its way. Zelnick is the sourc...

• (9)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Activision says Take-Two isn't worth buying

We all know about Take-Two's rejection of EA's advances to try to buy them out for $2 billion. But there's more to the story.

In an investment symposium sponsored by Goldman Sachs, Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision said bluntly that Take-Two simply wasn't worth even looking at for purchase by his company.

He said that Activision would only consider merging with another company if it had, "a history of profitability, good management, proprietary technology or a franchise history of multi-million unit sellers."

Kotick drove the point firmly home when he said, "Take-Two didn't fulfill those requirements. Maybe it does over the long-term for EA, but it doesn't for us."

Activision is presently in the midst of forming a merger with Vivendi Games to form the new Activision Blizzard game company.

• (3)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Phil Harrison of Sony won't say why he quit

This week Phil Harrison, the boss of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced that he was quitting his post after 15 loyal years at Sony. But at an official Sony function, held in London recently, celebrating the one millionth PS3 sold; Harrison remained tightlipped and elusive about the reasons why he was leaving.

One of the guests at the party remarked, "He was completely avoiding saying anything about where he was going. He just laughed off the fact that people think he's going to Atari by saying something like, ‘You shouldn't believe everything you read on the Internet.'"

Another event participant said Harrison was adamant in not talking about the matter. "He just wouldn't talk about [why he'd left Sony], and we were pretty much instructed by Sony just to leave him alone and le...

• (3)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

SCi cuts 25% of staff, drops 14 game projects

UK publisher SCi Entertainment announced huge restructuring plans that will cut 25% of jobs and cancel 14 proposed game projects. The company plans to keep a maximum staff head-count at 800, while the plan to cancel 14 games was based on that they wouldn't generate enough return revenue.

SCi will switch from a "centrally controlled development and publishing model" to a "studio-lead business model". Therefore, the company will only focus on its core game properties: Tomb Raider, Championship Manager, Hitman and Deus Ex. Tomb Raider Underworld is currently expected this December for DS, Wii, PS2, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC and Deus Ex 3 is currently under-development.

New media and casual gaming will be published under Eidos Play brand, while production services (localization and Q/A) will be moved...

• (0)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Street Fighter IV AOU trailer reeks of awesome

Capcom released the English version of the main Street Fighter IV trailer late yesterday. This clip was played on loop at the AOU Amusement Expo earlier this month, making sure Japanese gamers' salivary glands were functioning at peak efficiency. After watching this for three minutes, I can assure you that mine are, as well. Check it out:

• (4)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

D.I.C.E. and GDC to become invite only expos

The operators of E3, GDC, and the D.I.C.E. summit, are considering a move that would put large constraints on who is to be allowed into their events. Citing concerns that the conventions have been overrun by superfluous press and fans, they may change the structure of these events to invite only 

While the events would effectively become, press-only, all is not safe for game journalists either. Since the event will be invite only, a huge amount of attendees will be cut out as websites and magazines are allowed to send fewer and fewer employees for coverage.

While normally I would scoff at this notion, because one day this type of action could get my own invite revoked, after I saw a statistic from this year's GDC I changed my mind.

Reportedly, there were 16,000 attendees present at the show, ...

• (3)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Ken Levine: The game world tells the story

Ken Levine obviously knows what he's talking about when it comes to storytelling in videogames. He and his team at 2K Boston have managed to deliver one of the best experiences in recent memory to the gaming community with their hit title, Bioshock.  A big part of that experience (besides the visuals, audio, gameplay, and everything else) happens to be the game's story.

At this year's Game Developers Conference, Ken hosted a session entitled, "Storytelling in BioShock: Empowering Players to Care about Your Stupid Story," where he clued designers in on how to actually get players interested in the tales they have to tell.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, he addressed the topic again, describing the differences between story and narrative:

"Story is the stuff you tell the player....

• (8)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Mod your Guitar Hero guitar to get 5-star scores

Ok, let's face it, not everybody is an accomplished Guitar Hero rock star. You've set the game on easy mode only to cry uncontrollably at your lack of skill in tapping out the button combos for "Bulls on Parade" or "Cherub Rock."

But not to worry--your days of shame will soon turn into fame if you've got 400 bucks and a lot of geek savvy in the area of electronics. The guys over at revision3.com have put together a DIY video on how to turn your GH controller into a device to get five-star scores.

Of course one has to wonder about shelling out $400 just to modify a guitar controller in order to get perfect scores, but who are we to judge? We suppose taking the brunt of ridicule and scorn from fellow gamers because some are uncoordinated may be enough reason to put something like this togeth...

• (4)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Anti-piracy organization shows you how...almost

The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) has long been in the struggle in bringing software pirates to justice in the UK and to circumvent the practice of illegally modding and chipping game consoles.

So it was rather amusing to see on their website, a display that showed almost every conceivable mod and chip device known to humanity.

Of course it is understood that their intentions were to educate software publishers and the general populace about these illegal products, but the irony of the situation was not lost on us when a trip to the ELSPA website had all these products on display.

Among the services offered by ELSPA is their "IP Crime Unit" which "responds to information about illegal games software received from members, consumers, the retail trade and ot...

• (8)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

GDC '08 a huge success

GDC was a big hit this year, more so than last year. The organizers of the 2008 Game Developers Conference announced that a record 18,000 game industry professionals attended the event, held last week at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

The world's largest industry-only event grew even more from 16,000 attendees in 2007--with over 400 sessions, a robust expo and career pavilion featuring more than 300 exhibitors and sponsors, and numerous networking events; the five-day conference provided interactive engagement and insight for the industry.

There were many keynote speakers including big name players such as Microsoft's John Schappert, corporate vice president Live, Software and Services for the Interactive Entertainment Business who talked about XNA distribution and Xbox Liv...

• (0)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Iron Lore Entertainment closes down

This post on Iron Lore Entertainment's website states the Massachusetts-based developer has closed down. Iron Lore was working on its next gaming project but wasn't able to secure proper funding, as a result, the developer called it quits.

The statement reads, "We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has helped us in the last seven years - our team who moved mountains to create such great games, our publisher THQ who has been a great partner through three product development cycles, and most of all our customers and fans.

We owe all of the success we've had to you, and our greatest satisfaction has come from creating games that have given enjoyment to the community."

Iron Lore released its first game in June 2006, an action/RPG/hack n' slash game called Titan Quest for PC. Followi...

• (2)
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

European Union fines Microsoft $1.35 billion

When a judge sentences a criminal for a crime they've committed, I smile for the feeling that justice has been served. But when the will and authority of 27 countries comes after you, I'd run away with my arms flailing.

CNET News.com is reporting that the European Union, who is made up 27 European countries, is fining Microsoft 899 million Euros ($1.35 billion USD) for failing to comply with sanctions.

Specifically, this dispute is the last part of an ongoing EU antitrust order from March 2004 when Microsoft was ordered to release "complete and accurate interoperability information to rivals so their software could work with the Windows operating system" along with having to, "license the information 'under reasonable and nondiscriminatory' terms." The EU didn't like the latter's licensing ...

• (3)
• 
• 
• 
• 
•