GamerNode: Latest Industry News

id's RAGE to be published by Bethesda Softworks

A new announcement from Zenimax Media has stated that they have acquired publishing rights for id Software's in-development FPS project, RAGE.

Initially, publishing rights were in possession of Electronic Arts, who no longer has any direct involvement with the game.

In addition to serving as nerd slangism, RAGE combines id's staple FPS trademark with vehicle racing elements similar to games such as Burnout and MotorStorm. Set within a post-apocalyptic world that The Road Warrior himself would beg to be in, RAGE will sport id's brand new Tech 5 engine that was showcased at 2007's Quakecon.

Under Zenimax, Bethesda is most recently known for their work on Fallout 3, along with hits Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Zenimax purchased id Software earlier in the year, but...

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Prnce of Persia: The Forgotten Sands to take place...

Anyone confused by the reveal trailer of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands can now have clarity. The Prince, in a new game after a series reboot and wearing clothing reminiscent of The Warrior Within from the old series, caused a bit of uncertainty by just where Ubisoft was going with this new title.

Ubisoft now has clarified that the game is indeed a part of The Sands of Time series and not a sequel to the 2008 reboot, Prince of Persia. The game is set to take place during the seven-year gap between The Sands of Time and The Warrior Within, where the Prince went from upbeat hero to brooding warrior.

The game looks to capitalize on the upcoming film adaptation of The Sands of Time, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Jerry Bruckheimer. It will also look to explain just why the Princ...

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I hate reunions: Left 4 Dead cast returns in Left ...

If, like me, you've grown vexed over the incessant giggling of the Mr. T-like Coach or the twangy drawl of Ellis in Left 4 Dead 2, then fear not: Valve's first DLC for the zombie shooter sequel reunites a certain fearsome foursome from the first game.

In "The Passing", the original four survivors -- Zoey, Bill, Louis and Francis -- trek south to meet up with the survivors from L4D2. A new campaign located within the tranquil backwoods of Georgia introduces important plot elements to the survivors' tale, emphasizing the reason for the original four uniting with the new cast to become a raging whirlwind of zombie death.

Doug Lombardi, VP of Marketing at Valve labeled the DLC as "the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story."

"...all the Survivors are being called together in one cam...

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"Biggest surprise premiere" planned for Spike TV's...

Hours before Spike TV's Video Game Awards will be broadcasted, host Geoff Keighley has let slip that the first five minutes of the show will contain the "biggest surprise premiere" that shouldn't be missed.

The VGAs have garnered a reputation as a sort of quasi-convention in which developers tout their latest games through world-exclusive announcements and trailers. The actual awards themselves run the gamut from Game of the Year, Studio of the Year, individual console and genre categories, and Most Anticipated Game.

There's no question whether the premiere will feature a blockbuster title similar to the trailers released last year (such as Uncharted 2 and God of War III). As these games have accumulated a large following, the new reveal will have a tall order to compete with the noteworthy ...

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Jeff Lapin takes David Gardner's place as Atari CE...

Atari worldwide announced today that they will have a new CEO for the company. Jeff Lapin will be taking over for former CEO David Gardner, who will step down from the position but retain his Director functions. Lapin has been the COO (Chief Operating Officer) for the company since May 2009 and a Director since 2007.

As the CEO of Atari's global operations, Lapin will be running the business from Los Angeles as well as the Executive Committee that includes Jim Wilson (CEO of Atari Inc.), John Needham (CEO of Cryptic Studios Inc.), Fabrice Hamaide (CFO of the Group), and Alexandra Fichelson (General Secretary). Lapin has had experience with executive functions in the past with RazorGator Interactive Group, Take-Two Interactive Software, and THQ.

"For the last 2 years, first as a Director of t...

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November NPD numbers "exceeded" Sony's expectation...

It seems that fortune is continuing to smile upon the PS3. After Sony's victory at Metacritic's Platform Power Rankings list, the just-released November NPD sales figures have "exceeded expectations" for Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

"In November, PS3 was the only hardware console to see any growth when compared to last November, experiencing an 88% lift and a 122% increase from the previous month. Metacritic also unveiled this week its 2009 Game Platform Power Rankings, in which PS3 titles topped the charts on overall game quality, tallying up five of the top ten best reviewed games in 2009 and with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves taking best reviewed game of the year."

Tretton remained optimistic about the future with this comment:

"The sheer appetite and inte...

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Mass Effect 2 celebrity voice cast announced

BioWare and Electronic Arts have announced their celebrity voice cast for the highly anticipated Mass Effect 2. Headlining the group will be Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Martin Sheen ("The West Wing").

The rest of the cast includes Seth Green ("Robot Chicken"), 2009 Emmy Award-winner Shohreh Aghdashloo ("House of Saddam"), Adam Baldwin ("Chuck", "Firefly"), Yvonne Strahovski ("Chuck"), Keith David ("Crash"), Michael Dorn ("Star Trek: Deep Space Nine") Tricia Helfer ("Battlestar Galactica"), Michael Hogan ("Battlestar Galactica") and Carrie-Anne Moss ("The Matrix").

"Emotionally engaging narrative is a key design pillar for BioWare, and the top-notch voice talent in Mass Effect 2 helps drive this goal," said BioWare co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka. "Credible, powerful personalities are...

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PS3 claims top spot in annual Platform Power Ranki...

Review database website Metacritic has employed their unique rating aggregation system to generate the first annual "Platform Power Rankings" list that arranges the various video gaming platforms by the highest rated titles.

Sony's PS3 console managed to edge out both the PC and Xbox 360 to nab the top spot on the list with a median Metascore of 72.0% and only 7% of "Bad" rated games.

The PS3 has shown a remarkable strength during the course of 2009 with top-notch titles such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Street Fighter IV being some of the high-scoring games that bolstered the console's position on the list.

The Xbox 360 saw a slightly higher amount of game releases (51 over the PS3); however, only 7 of them scored "Great", while the PS3 had 10 titles that received the highest rating.

The...

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David Jaffe vs. journalism

Like an ancient Jedi Master of old slipping through the fog of the past to return to the light, David Jaffe has made his presence known on the Internet once more. Jaffe supplies us with yet another of his classic rants, but with a twist -- journalism has gone and done him wrong.

As the creative brainpower behind the hugely successful God of War, Jaffe had transformed into a sort of digital hermit after renouncing the Internet and its evil ways, yanking his Twitter and blog websites due to dis-proportioned comments and gratuitous Internet trollery.

After a recent diatribe on the absurdity of the Australia's handling of video games, it seemed that Jaffe had returned to his post as a rally against all things confounding in the video game world, and life could resume at a normal pace.

Yet, out of...

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Smithsonian to open 'The Art of Video Games' exhib...

Video games will be getting recognition as an art form from the US's most well-known museum in 2012. The Smithsonian American Art Museum will be host to "The Art of Video Games" exhibit from March 6, 2012 to September 9, 2012 and will attempt to be "the first to examine comprehensively the evolution of video games themselves as an artistic medium."

The exhibit will feature game footage, prints of in-game screenshots, interviews with artists and game developers, historic game consoles, and even a selection of game consoles to play.

"Video games use images, actions, and player participation to tell stories and engage their audiences," reads the Smithsonian site. "In the same way as film, animation, and performance, they can be considered a compelling and influential form of narrative art."

The ...

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Japanese Modern Warfare 2 censored

The infamous "No Russian" mission from Activision and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is getting even more attention as the Japanese version of the mission has been censored.

In the mission, the player is told, "Remember, no Russian." This means, "Do not speak Russian," as it is a small nugget of plot for the rest of the game. In the Japanese version, the line is localized as, "Kill 'em, the Russians." The change doesn't just take out a subtle piece of the plot, but it tells players in Japan to do exactly the opposite of what they will be allowed to do.

If players of the "No Russian" mission in Japan fire at and kill any of the civilians in the scene, the game will go to an automatic "game over." This is unlike the western version of the game, where players are given the optio...

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Dead Space 2 Announced, Issac to grace Game Inform...

We all knew it was coming and thankfully we are getting our first look into the sure to be horrifying Dead Space 2. Game Informer will be featuring a 10 page spread on the game and are treating us to a nice showing of their January cover, which shows Issac in decidely cool new threads.

The new suit looks more form fitting and has less parts than the original one, which looked like it has pieces of plastic pasted to odd parts. Armor is in key places(like the chest area and gloves), and his boots look to have thrusters on them, maybe implying some sort of full 3-D zero gravity maneuverability instead of the jump pad based segments from the first game. I can already picture flying around space segments blasting Necromorphs and fearing for my life.

Dead Space 2 has no release date of yet.

[Game ...

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Spike VGAs to go without a host

For the first time in its short existence, Spike TV's Video Game Awards will be without a host when it goes live this Saturday. The show will have plenty of celebrity guest presenters, but will feature no overall host on December 12 as decided by the channel itself.

The guest celebrity presenters will include Jake Gyllenhaal (The Prince in the upcoming Prince of Persia film adaptation), Kristen Bell (Lucy Stillman in the Assassin's Creed series), Felicia Day (Codex from "The Guild", Penny from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"), Tony Hawk, Tricia Helfner (Veronica Dare in Halo 3: ODST, Number Six in "Battlestar Galactica"), Alyssa Milano (Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn in Ghostbusters: The Video Game), Zachary Quinto (Spock in Star Trek, Sylar in "Heroes"), Mike Tyson, and Olivia Wilde (Dr. Hadley/Thirte...

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Leaked Famitsu FFXIII review gives near-perfect sc...

I'm not well versed in the credibility of Asian video game magazine review scores, but it seems that the incoming Final Fantasy XIII has passed with flying colors according to the latest issue of Famitsu.

A forum user over at Hong Kong website HKGolden.com was apparently able to snag a copy of Famitsu containing the review, and the verdict is thus (incoming disjointed English):

10/10 Beautiful graphics and excellent story. It will be accomplished without force, to satisfy a sense of fierce play the game together, the achievements made a complete system to evolve. Even without a major vice, this film is crystallized with intertwining stories and games at this stage is located at the top RPG's, definitely feel worth it.

9/10 Combat damage or have trouble seeing the display o...

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Quantum Theory is now cross-platform

Regaled as the PS3's answer to the gigantic Gears of War franchise, Team Tachyon's upcoming Quantum Theory would supply the action and breathtaking scenery of GoW as an exclusive title for PS3 gamers. No longer -- Tecmo, the game's publisher, has announced that Quantum will be heading for the Xbox 360 as well.

The news may not cause such a stir as Quantum is barely a blip on the radar in terms of tracking popularity. Instead, Tecmo's decision ultimately becomes yet another nail in the coffin for console exclusivity and game integrity; publishers performing an about-face from their previous statements is nothing new, but the results may be pretty dire in the long run.

Quantum Theory is a third-person action game that features a scenery motif similar to GoW's decor, along with conveniently pla...

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"Western Game" label "Terribly Discriminatory" acc...

Square Enix is trying to convince the Japanese public that games from the West can actually be good and shouldn't be shunned. Company president Yoichi Wada spoke out about this in a recent interview on Japanese TV about Square Enix and Modern Warfare 2, which the company published.

"Even now, there have been people in Japan using the label youge- (Western games) with a terribly discriminatory meaning," said Wada. "I'd like them to try it once. If they play it once, they'd realize how incorrect that label is."

The term "youge-" is used in Japan to separate native and foreign games that have been perceived until recently to have little to no interest amongst Japanese gamers. "Game" (ゲーム）refers to video games. "Youge-" (洋ゲー) means something diffe...

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Guinness Gamer's Edition 2010 release date announc...

Guinness World Records has announced the release date of their latest Gamer's Edition book, the third in the series, for 2010. It will hit store shelves on January 4 in the US and January 21 in the UK.

The book is filled with gaming records, reviews, and more. According to the cover, it was also quoted as "A must-have for fans of gamering" by Kotaku.

According to Kotaku, that quote was on a piece for the 2009 edition. Michael Fahey of Kotaku then wrote in an article on the newest edition, "It's still perfect bathroom reading book for gamers...Let's see them use that quote."

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Sony's PlayStation turns 15

It was 15 years ago on this day, December 3, 1994, that Sony stepped in and changed the world of gaming forever. That was the day that the company released its first console, the original PlayStation.

The console almost came to be as a Nintendo product in partnership with Sony. However Nintendo did not believe that CD-based, or disc-based in general, consoles would be able to prosper in the video game market and cut the project.

Intent on not being left out, Sony took the project on for itself. When it was combined with an interest in hosting games with more mature content for the times, the PlayStation took off like a rocket. Sony hasn't looked back since.

The console's successor, the PlayStation 2, is still the highest-selling console ever. And while the PlayStation 3 has not met the same l...

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New Javelin glitch for MW2 crippling online play

It seems that Infinity Ward just can't get a break these days -- with the Call of Duty community still in uproar about shoddy network connections and rampaging hackers, there might be enough evidence to suggest that the beleaguered developer didn't provide enough TLC for the Modern Warfare 2's launch.

Now, a new glitch has surfaced within online play that transforms players into suicide bombers; with some weapon-swap trickery involved, a player possessing a Javelin (or any launcher whatsoever) has the means to become a walking grenade.

Rather than elaborate, observe the video below:

The bug is causing gigantic headaches by mostly allowing players to instantly conjure up Martyrdom. Thankfully, Infinity Ward is aware of the issue and will include a fix with the next major patch release. 

[PlayS...

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EA officially announces Medal of Honor revival

Electronic Arts has officially revived its classic Medal of Honor franchise, the first-person shooter war game that ruled the genre before Call of Duty arrived on the scene. The game will move away from the WWII-era that the franchise was known for, instead focusing on modern warfare in Afghanistan that EA has promised to be "the most authentic modern war experience."

Titled simply Medal of Honor and having a fall 2010 release date, the game will focus on the relatively unknown Tier 1 Operator that serves directly under the National Command Authority. Developers have worked closely with Tier 1 Operators from the US Special Operations Community since the earliest stages of the game's development.

"When we first set out to reinvent Medal of Honor, we wanted to stay true to its roots of authent...

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