Gamernode: Latest Industry News

Infogrames and Atari merge

After all the attention of Electronic Arts trying to move in to take over Take-Two for the nice tidy amount of $2 billion, the news of Infogrames merging with Atari for the paltry sum of $11 million seems like chump change.

As for the Infogrames/Atari merger, the tying of the knot will occur during the third quarter of this year.

David Garner, CEO of Infogrames said:

"Bringing Atari US and Infogrames businesses together will enable us to create a simplified global structure for our business as we seek to re-build a well-managed, cohesive and financially disciplined company. This is a key strategic event for Infogrames that will benefit all of our shareholders. I believe that this transaction will generate significant benefits for the Group."

Both Infogrames and Atari have had a rough time in...

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It's alive! Duke Nukem Forever demo exists

There are certain things in the world that seem to defy explanation as to their real existence. The Loch Ness monster, UFOs, the Yeti, and Bigfoot come to mind. Sure, we've seen photos and videos of them, but the question still exists as to whether they are factual or not.

Among this glorious list of speculative reality lies another...the sporadic sightings of none other than Duke Nukem Forever-the long promised game sequel that gamers have been waiting for over a decade.

Now, as if the Roswell incident has visited us again, there is direct evidence that DNF is not only real; there are witnesses who have seen actual gameplay demos. After this revelation, it seems that many of us found it easier to believe in the existence of Nessy rather than the existence of DNF.

Shacknews was privy to an ac...

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Rockstar feels "terrible" about GTA IV issues

The problems with GTA IV crashing and freezing on PS3s and Xbox 360s are apparently more than just a fable. Internet gaming sites are reporting the instability of the game and Rockstar has heard the cries of the citizens on the streets of Liberty City and elsewhere.

What did Rockstar say? A customer support rep said, "I feel terrible about this." Or for you Charles Barkley fans, Rockstar feels "turrible."

Not exactly a great consolation to those who have hit the wall while playing GTA IV.

The issues occur when certain PS3s and Xbox 360s freeze during the opening scenes of the game or while exiting multiplayer mode. The player then finds that the game prevents any further advancement in gameplay or locks out all game modes altogether. The condition, according to reports, affects some consoles...

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Prince of Persia (not Prodigy) due in 2008

Ubisoft has announced that the next Prince of Persia game will be hitting the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in time for this year's holiday season. It will not be entitled Prince of Persia Prodigy, as trademark information led GN to speculate last week, but will simply be called Prince of Persia (again).

The game is in development at Ubisoft Montreal, which is the same team that brought us the Sands of Time trilogy and Assassin's Creed. For this new game, they are working on a new "illustrative art style," and will be "opening a new chapter in the Prince of Persia universe." Prince of Persia, according to Ubisoft, is "poised to rejuvenate the action-adventure genre."

As long as this game is recognizably Prince of Persia, then I think gamers will be happy. It's definitely time for some ...

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Co-founder William "Bing" Gordon departs EA

How does the old saying go, "out with the old, in with the new?" Electronic Arts co-founder and chief creative officer William "Bing" Gordon announced that he'll be leaving the company in June to join venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

According to Gordon, here's why he's leaving the company, "Being on campus with young people in videogame classes; seeing what they're interested in; seeing what's going on with the Internet turning into new kinds of platforms, from iPhone to Facebook and Amazon Web Services--I've gotten fired up about an all-new ride."

With Gordon's departure, all the original founders of EA have left. Some may view this as a new resurgence for the company. Former EA president and COO John Riccitiello re-joined the company in 2007, along with former Micros...

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Man stabbed over GTAIV. Welcome to the real world

Uh oh guys, better be careful when picking up your copy of GTAIV. A man was stabbed outside of a Gamestation store in Croydon, England during last night's midnight release of GTAIV.

Police said the victim was walking past the queue when suddenly he was stabbed several times by a hooded man waiting in line for the much-anticipated game. The victim survived after treatment in a hospital and has since been allowed to go home.

I feel for the young man. How would you feel if you were walking home minding your own business when suddenly you're assailed and find many bloody wounds in your body? Next thing you know, surgeons are cutting open your chest and operating on you. Finally you get home and find out your wife didn't record that TV show you would've seen if not for that unlucky occurence in...

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Gamer claims GTA IV installation crashes PS3/360

According to an early report from psnathome.com, one gamer who bought his edition of GTA IV found that there were installation problems with the game. He claims that his game froze while trying to install it and has raised questions on whether the released game is stable or not.

Other forum members report no problems with the game although "MattG" says that he has heard of similar problems occurring on the Xbox 360 as well. He has resorted to contacting GameStop, where he purchased his game, and will be bringing his copy back for an exchange.

If the report is true, it is possible that it may be faulty media instead of a problem with the hardware. We'll keep you informed. The post by MattG is shown as it appeared on psnathome.com.

"Alright, so I got home from the midnight release with my c...

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Grand Theft Auto IV released today!

Yes, the magical day has come at last and Rockstar Game's Grand Theft Auto IV has been released to the masses.

While a few people may have gotten the game early thanks to the usual pre-order shipping mix-ups, the majority of gamers will be cracking open their game cases today, ready to experience the wonderful world that is Liberty City.

Well, what are you waiting for? Why are you still reading this? You should be playing GTA IV!

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A message to anti-gamers: We've won, get over it

The Guardian, a UK-based newspaper, available online, published an article yesterday in which author Richard Bartle sends a clear message to all the grey-haired, ancient-thinking, anti-gaming journalists and politicians in the world. That message is that gaming is here to stay, and pretty soon the resistance to the medium will be dead and gone.

The piece is entitled "We've won: get over it," and opens with the following lines:

"I'm talking to you, you self-righteous politicians and newspaper columnists, you relics who beat on computer games: you've already lost. Enjoy your carping while you can, because tomorrow you're gone."

Bartle goes on to cite the fact that the median age in the UK is now 39, and that the members of that demographic have grown up in the ubiquitous presence of computers ...

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Those on the Madden cover raise your hand

Does anyone really pay attention to the covers of videogames? You can't judge a game by its cover. I mean some covers have cool images or crazy looking characters, but does that make it a good game?

Does that even tell you much about the game? Even titles can be disconcerting. Grand Theft Auto, for example, is not a game where your main objective is to steal lots of cars.Why then has the mass media covered the Madden cover athlete in great detail? So much so that the dude on the cover gets a spot on Letterman. It's still a football game, and the only game officially licensed by the NFL. Hell, I could be on the cover and it would sell the same.This year's cover athlete is Brett Favre. A first for EA, but I'll let Peter More (head of EA Sports) talk about that.

"It is with great prid...

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Fans develop Sonic the Hedgehog 2 HD Remix

Games like Bionic Commando and Super Street Fighter II are getting their own HD remakes. However one game that is more than worthy of the HD makeover isn't getting any attention.

Enter Sonic the Hedgehog 2 HD Remix. Developed purely by the fans, this project is coming along quite nicely despite it being a week old (if that). There is already a capable staff working on the game and they have some absolutely beautiful sprite work done.

The goal of project is as follows:

"The purpose of the S2HD project is to remaster Sega's classic Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in high definition graphics, whilst at the same time precisely preserving the original gameplay. New features that were not present in the original will also be made available. The S2HD project is always searching for new talent to aid us in o...

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Codemasters save Sega Racing Studio from closure

Last year, Sega's attempt to revive one of its many beloved racing franchises, Sega Rally, wasn't the commercially successful title it wanted it to be. Last week, the company announced that Sega Racing Studio would be shutting its doors.

Though the reason for the studio's closure wasn't specified, many were led to believe that the lackluster sales of its first game influenced Sega's decision to close down the Birmingham based developer.

Even though Sega has a history of dropping promising development studios (probably more so than any other company in the industry) to avoid financial risk taking, not many of them catch the eye of another publisher with a little more than a few coins in its pocket.

Codemasters (responsible for racing simulators such as Colin McRae's DiRT and the upcoming GR...

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EA furthers its monopoly with...Monopoly

Irony was called to the frontlines in the hot battle between EA and smaller game developers when EA announced that it would be adapting Hasbro's Monopoly game for the 360, PS2, Wii, and handheld devices. This is proof that art imitates life.

The deal originated from July of last year when EA, reacting to Atari selling Hasbro's rights back, resorted to its instinct to absorb and devour, and bought the rights from Hasbro to market games based on their products.

In February, in addition to announcing handheld and console game versions of Littlest Pet Shop and Nerf N-Strike, EA also announced they'd be working on games like Scrabble and Monopoly. Today, EA announced that Monopoly would be released this fall, based on Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition, the latest board game version.

The i...

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How to get off work and get your copy of GTA IV

It certainly will be an interesting day next Tuesday, April 29, for some gamers as they think of ways to either get out of school or work to pick up a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Of course if you had the foresight to pre-order your copy you probably have nothing to worry about, but for all others it may be a day of scheming to get out of obligations.

One such gamer, going by the screen name of Paroxym, thought up an ingenious way to get out of work--he told the truth...sort of. He decided to fill out his vacation slip and tell his employer that he was, "...spending a couple days in Liberty City with my cousin Niko Belic."

We now pause for the laughter to subside.

We don't know whether or not the gamer believed a ruse like this would work but the good news came back that his boss granted him ...

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Top Metroid Prime staff leave Retro Studios myster...

Three of the top staff at Retro Studios, the developer for the Metroid Prime franchise, have left Retro.

The technology engineer, Jack Mathews, art director Todd Keller and design director Mark Pacini were all escorted off the Retro Studios premises last Friday.

While no word has come from the game developer as to why the three have left, speculation has it that the former employees may be moving on to start their own game studio.

Retro Studios started in 1998 and was purchased by Nintendo in 2001. The studio was responsible for the hit Metroid Prime games and ended the trilogy with a Wii title for Nintendo.

Retro Studios has indicated that it was planning to move away from the Metroid franchise but with the departure of the primary movers of the Metroid series, this seems to be a moot poi...

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A GTA MMO is "very doable"

Would it be that big of a surprise if GTA was turned into an MMO? I don't think so. Besides the money signs that would glow in the eyes of the developer, and the hearts glowing in the eyes of the fans, a GTA MMO would work. Heck, with the size and grandeur that GTAIV is supposed to have, it's not that far of a stretch.

With downloadable content promised for the Xbox360, the next logical step would be to expand this franchise into a full on multiplayer experience. Sam Houser of Rockstar Games told EGM/1UP that "a subscription-based Grand Theft Auto-type game...is very, very doable and is a very, very compelling proposition."

Houser continues saying, "the combination of what we're doing with multiplayer and what we're doing with the [downloadable XB360] episodes is the start of us putting our ...

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Self-erasing discs coming our way?

Scary new trends are taking hold in Scandinavia, France, Italy, and Germany. DVD movies are being placed on a new format, called DVD-D. What's so special about this format? Well, it destroys the information on it after an allotted time slot has been used.

To be exact, for DVD-Ds with movies on them, the allotted time slot is 8 hours from the time the disk is inserted into a DVD player. Discs with software have a 48 hour time slot before erasing themselves. These discs cost less than regular DVDs and are sold at gas stations and kiosks.

This new format seems to be growing in popularity. Already, blank DVD-Ds are being made so that users can make their own self-erasing discs. The user can than specify when the information will be destroyed.

It is probable that this format will spread to...

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GTA IV ads go big. Really big

There's a saying that goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words." If this adage is true then the campaign for Grand Theft Auto IV is reaching mammoth proportions as far as the size of ads are concerned.

In downtown Los Angeles, the Hotel Figueroa sports three gigantic murals on the sides of its buildings proclaiming the word that Grand Theft Auto IV is truly coming. The scope of the murals is truly amazing--the artwork spans at least 12 stories high.

Thousands of commuters pass these murals daily and no doubt, there will be at least a few gamers driving by that will pick up the game because of the ads. For a peek at what they look like, look below.

[via nextgen]

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Are videogames destroying your life? No.

"What is it about games like 'World of Warcraft,' 'EverQuest' or 'Call of Duty' that turns good people into bleary-eyed zombies who forget to pay the gas bill? And do game developers design games to be addictive?"

When MSNBC starts off an article on their site with the above paragraph I do two things. I pause, taking a deep breath. And I make sure there is nothing too sharp near my desk that could injure a roommate if thrown in their direction.

Kristin Kalning, whose title is "games editor" for MSNBC.com, brings up the guy in South Korea that played Star Craft until he died and the couple in Reno Nevada that neglected their kids to play D&D Online. It gives me reason to be suspicious. To give her credit, she does go directly to a game developer and a doctor to get the answers to her above...

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GTA IV ads pulled in Chicago due to Fox newscast

Where would we be without Fox telling us how to live? Over the years, they've attacked numerous aspects of the gaming world--from blowing a non-explicit 5-second sex scene in Mass Effect out of proportion by reporting false information, to advocating that gaming teaches you to kill and nothing more.

Now, in Chicago, they are telling the gaming industry how to advertise.

Fox, reacting to recent shootings in Chicago, questioned the CTA why advertisements for the "unapologetically violent" Grand Theft Auto were popping up on buses and train platforms. In their report, Fox spoke of the game as if it caused the shootings and was altering children into mindless killing machines.

Their dreadfully lopsided report contained three street interviews, only one of which said they didn't care, statin...

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