Gamernode: Latest Industry News

Three more Battlefield games in production

EA has been experimenting with the notion of downloadable content regarding the Battlefield series as of late. Players voiced their opinions loudly against weapons purchasing DLC for the latest installment in the series, Battlefield: Bad Company. On the flipside, Battlefield Heroes will be free for everyone to play and will be supported by in-game ad revenue. It appears however that there are indeed more Battlefield games being made at the moment.

According to reports from the GDC even in Paris, EA's DICE studio executive producer Ben Cousins said that they're currently at work on five games in the series in total, including Heroes and Bad Company. The team is also at work on three other games based on the series, including a traditional core game aimed at consoles, and a new collaboration ...

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Rick Moranis missing from Ghostbusters game

Looks like the Ghostbusters game will have all of the original film stars back to do the voiceovers with the exception of Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis.

As to why Rick Moranis is missing from the game, Ben Borth of Sierra said,

"He made so much money off of Honey I Shrunk The Kids that he retired. He just doesn't want to work anymore."

But in an interview with USA Today in October 2005, Moranis gives his reasons for leaving the entertainment industry.

"I pulled out of making movies in about '96 or '97. I'm a single parent (Moranis' wife died in 1991 of liver cancer), and I just found that it was too difficult to manage raising my kids and doing the traveling involved in making movies. So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I f...

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It would have been a shame if BioShock failed for ...

Chris Kline, the lead designer on the game BioShock (perhaps you've heard of it), recently spoke in Paris at a game developers conference.  During his talk he told everyone that BioShock should have been a magnificent failure but wasn't. "It did fail a lot, over the course of time. A series of big mistakes and corrections and slipped ship dates, but all of these helped make it a good game."

What failures cropped up, you ask? Everything from the original concept being a remake of System Shock 2 to missed ship dates to their initial idea that the world should interact with itself and not the player.

And what did all those failures get you? Dozens of Game of the Year awards. "Some people think that constantly messing up, and pushing dates isn't a good way to make a game, but as far as I'm conc...

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Atari blasts website because of low review score

It sounds as if Atari is playing its own version of its classic game, Missile Command, by trying to blast a German gaming website for publishing an advanced review of Alone in the Dark.

The controversy surrounds 4Players. The site gave the game a dismal 68% in its review of the game.

How did Atari react? It immediately withdrew an advertising deal with the site and also accused the German website of piracy because it reviewed a pre-release copy of the game.

Atari lawyers told 4Players, "With this [review] you are breaking the law and violate the rights of our client [Atari]."

It seems that 4Players has an insider source that releases games ahead of time to the gaming website for review purposes. 4Player says it does this because of the "surprising lack of distribution channels" for the retai...

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Call of Duty: World at War trailer

With Call of Duty 4 leaving a sweet taste in all of our mouths, Activision will certainly be cranking out plenty of future Call of Duty titles. While Treyarch has handled most of the console exclusive Call of Duty titles over the years, Call of Duty: World at War will be heading to PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii sometime this year. In addition, this game had a two-year development period, unlike Call of Duty 3.

World at War will feature new aspects like swimming and expanded aspects like more destructible environments and improved physics and lighting. Enjoy the debut trailer below.

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First Spider-Man: Web of Shadows combat footage

Where Spider-Man has dominated in the movie industry, he has done the same for videogames. Without a doubt, Spider-Man has enjoyed the most success when it comes to titles focused soley on a single superhero. The first Spider-Man game showed us a superhero game can be done correctly, while Spider-Man 2 gave us the first real iteration of an impressive web-slinging mechanic which dominated the majority of player's time.

While it's true Spider-Man 3 did not meet expectations, overall the quality of Spider-Man games have been higher than most. Now we are at the dawn of a new Spider-Man title known as Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. Not based on any of the movies (which to some severly handicapped the progression of the previous games), and bringing to life a new combat system, Web of Shadows may ...

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ESRB cracks down on game leaks

The ESRB website has always been a good place to spot upcoming games before they're officially announced. The two most recent examples I can think of are when the ESRB revealed the existence of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the DS and when they told us that EarthBound would be coming to the American Virtual Console.

So it comes to pass that another good thing must end. When submitting a game to the ESRB for a rating, developers and publishers can now specify whether or not they would like to have an embargo placed. How this works is that when they submit a game's information, they simply list an embargo date and only when that date comes will the ESRB list the game on their website.

It's worth mentioning that companies have the option NOT to list an embargo date, so the leaks may still ...

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Thompson is pulled in by US Marshals

The Master of Disaster is at it again! It now seems as if the US government is counting Jack Thompson as a potential threat; with the US Marshals meeting with him after an extremely over-the-top sarcastic letter.

Yes, you read right. US Marshals were sent to the attorney's house by the US government! So why did the US government suddenly take interest in Thompson?

Well, it seems old Jackie, reacting to the "fact" that Al-Qaeda terrorists in Guantanamo Bay have more rights than he does, did the sensible thing and wrote to Chief Judge Federico Moreno.

He said, "I guess my 'mistake' was not killing 3000 people to make my point..." Yep, bringing up the notion of mass murder to a Chief Judge in a time of terrorist activity is totally cool, like saying that you should join the Westboro Baptis...

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Happy game developers live in...Wisconsin?

Quit giving California and the whole West Coast so much love game develoers! Not only is it home to the majority of game development studios but they have yearly gaming convetions situated there as well.

Why don't you look eastward toward greener pastures, like the lovely state of Wisconsin. If green pastures and an endless amount of high quality cheese isn't enough, what about tax reductions?

Wisconsin announced that it now offers devs a 25 percent tax rebate just for game develoeprs to call it their new home. Wisconsin is also trying to lure in more media for television and movie productions to take place in the state for more exposure and business agreements.

According to Joystiq: "Wisconsin is already home to a handful of notable studios, including Marvel Ultimate Alliance dev Raven Sof...

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New Sonic Unleashed trailer looks good

So I'm not surprised that another Sonic game is gracing our consoles this fall, but am I excited for it? Initially no, I mean trust me the series was great right until the Dreamcast died, then I believe the series died with it.

It was on top of the world on the Genesis and Game Gear but something about holding down forward and jumping once in awhile just doesn't have that same appeal like it used it.

No interest or appeal, until I saw this trailer. Even though essentially all you do is hold down forward and jump once in awhile, they did add quick button presses and different camera angles.

I give Sega a thumbs up for this level in particular. The city-scape looks great and the frame rate doesn't appear to dip, even when going as fast as Sonic. Let's hope they keep the fun level high in eve...

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Firefox 3.0 launch crashes servers for 20 minutes

The most serious contender to Microsoft's Explorer web browser is Firefox. Today, the latest version of Firefox was released at 1PM EST.

Prior to the launch, the Mozilla Foundation was asking users to form download parties around the world in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the most downloads in one day.

The flood of hits was so great that the servers froze up for 20 minutes. Mozilla hopes to see 5 million downloads in just 24 hours.

The newest iteration of Firefox promises to be twice as fast for web applications such as email, more efficient use of memory, new security measures, automatic updates of plug-ins and add-ons, better integration with Windows, and virtually thousands of other improvements to the Firefox browser that are transparent to the user.Firefox is the secon...

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Suit against Tecmo represents all employees

The future isn't looking very bright for videogame publisher/developer Tecmo.

Earlier this month, Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series lead designer Tomonobu Itagaki publicly announced his resignation from, and subsequent lawsuit against what is now his former employer. He cited reasons such as "unpaid completeion bonuses," and "unlawful...unreasonable and disingenuous statements" made towards and about him.

Now, others are following...ahem...suit, as two more employees have brought their case against the company to the Tokyo District Court on behalf of all 300 of their Tecmo co-workers. The suit claims that Tecmo is guilty of gross labor violations and withholding employee wages under a "flexible hours" work scheme. Under this plan, individuals could and have put in over 100 hours of over...

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Play Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii games on your PC?

Marketing research firm, Intellisponse, evidently "leaked" some information to the public about a product named Trioxide which would enable PCs to play games from the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii with their respective controllers. 

According to the info, there were two price points for Trioxide--one for $49 and the other $299. The big price difference suggests that one may be a software emulation program while the other is hardware based.

The product description from Intellisponse states:

"Introducing the ability to play the latest console games (i.e. Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, etc.) on your PC. Many of these games are only available on consoles today and with this new feature would now be available on the PC as well. With this new feature those console games are now playable on your PC! Uses the same game...

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Activision-Blizzard to become a super power in Jul...

In one corner we have Activision, whose lineup includes the super popular Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, Doom and Quake series. With an impressive 2.8 billion dollars in revenue and its long lasting affair with video games, ever since the Atari 2600, it is a power to be reckoned with. In the other corner we have Blizzard, with its worldwide recognized AAA Starcraft, Diablo, and Warcraft series. On July 8th, these two super powers will join forces and create the world's most profitable video game company! (queue fireworks)

"We believe the transaction is set to create a formidable new digital media powerhouse and the most valuable interactive entertainment company worldwide, unlocking the value of industry juggernaut World of Warcraft, and possibly also setting a new benchmark for pro...

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AMD mobile graphics chip can make 360 graphics

AMD announced that it has developed "Open GL ES 2.0 mobile graphics technology compliance," according to Engadget. What this means to us common folks is that a graphics chip has the ability to produce images as good as the Xbox 360 on handhelds or mobile phones.

So this brings about the topic that has been whispered in the back rooms of the dark, smoke-filled rooms of game arcade establishments--will we ever see a handheld Xbox 360 game console?

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Metal Gear Solid 4 launches worldwide

The highly anticipated PS3 title, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, has officially launched around the world and eager fans are snapping up their copies as if they were made out of gold.

Midnight launches occurred everywhere from San Francisco, New York, Japan, London and all points in between. MGS4 comes in a dizzying array of game packages besides the plain-Jane version of the video game--the Limited Edition, the PS3 40GB MGS4 Limited Bundle, and the MGS4 PS3 80GB Bundle Pack.

With so many versions to choose from, it seems that any diehard Metal Gear Solid fan will be able to buy just the right one of his or her dreams.

Konami said of Metal Gear Solid 4:

"Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots not only represents the height of the stealth-action genre, but it also defines what it ...

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The PS3 can top the Wii and 360, analysts say

Don't you love a change in opinion? It seems that the analysts in Europe and North America have just changed their view on the PS3 and how it fairs when compared to other consoles.

Not long ago, these "analysts" condemned the PS3 to failure, with the 360 and Wii ruling supreme. Now, however, they have all switched their position and have declared that the PS3 will rise to the top while the Wii and 360 ultimately fail.  At the Nordic Game 2008 conference, David Cole, the DFC Intelligence analyst, stated that although the 360 is doing great in the US, it is declining in popularity everywhere else, especially Japan. The Swedish analyst, Martin Lindell, went as far to say that the Wii is a fad that will fall in popularity if it doesn't come out with crowd-pleasing games sometime soon.

What di...

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Prince of Persia co-op? "Exploring the possibility...

About two weeks ago, Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes told the gaming press that despite there being a new leading character alongside the Prince on his next adventure, the game would not feature cooperative play.

"...it's impossible to capture the flow of the two characters' interaction between human players. You could not choreograph that type of movement if two people playing the game were fighting over what to do."

Now that we've all had the chance to dry our tears, Prince of Persia's community development manager Chris Easton has essentially refuted that statement, switching from a "no way" sort of answer to a "well, maybe" one. He said:

"There are no plans for co-op as of now, but we may explore the possibility."

Now that isn't a whole lot to go on, but it reintroduces a small ray ...

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Atari movie coming. We'd title it "King Pong"

Does the name Nolan Bushnell sound familiar? If not, it will be as Paramount Pictures has given the green light on a movie that will be named simply, "Atari." The film will be a biopic and show the life and times of Atari co-founder Bushnell.

Bushnell is considered one of the primary movers and shakers during the infancy of the gaming industry in the 1970s and 1980s and made the coin-op arcade machine a nationwide fad with the introduction of the game "Pong."

Atari later made its Atari 2600 home game console one of the most popular consoles of its day. While the games seem rather primitive by today's standards, the 2600 made the concept of home gaming a mainstream event in many households.

Leonardo DiCaprio will star as the video game pioneer and will produce the movie though his Appian Way...

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Lucas Arts cuts staff but has full game lineup

Reports surfaced last week that LucasArts has let go almost one hundred employees despite the fact that they have a full line up of impressive games coming in the near future.

The explanation which everyone is currently clinging too is that LucasArts is outsourcing a number of the games in order to cut costs, and logically increase revenue. While other game companies outsource this is one of the first big public indications of this practice from a mainstream developer.

But what should make fans excited is that the following titles have been confirmed: KOTOR 3, Battlefront 3, a lightsaber game for, naturally, the Wii, and a second LEGO Indy game.

[Via Slashdot]

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