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Play 'Amplitude' on PS4 in the dark with giant speakers
Amplitude is a quiet kind of phenomenon. Not that the game itself is silent -- depending on how high you crank your speakers, it can be soul-pounding and skin-tingling -- but there's a surprisingly deep pool of reverence for this music-driven, space-racing series. Against all odds, the PlayStation 4 version that launched this week raised $844,000 from 14,000 backers on Kickstarter in mid-2014, its campaign riding the nostalgic, neon waves of its 2002 PS2 predecessor. Those aren't the only waves that players might ride while playing Amplitude, creative lead Ryan Lesser told Engadget. The game is dark and bright at the same time, shooting you down winding, floating platforms littered with orbs that create a soundtrack as you shoot them. In the right environment, the latest version of Amplitude sparks an intimate connection with music and movement. With this experience in mind, we asked Lesser to divulge the best way to play Amplitude, whether with friends, alone, while drinking alcohol or maybe even consuming other mind-altering substances. He laughed before answering. "I sort of hope that the game has the same effect on people that some mind-altering substances do," he said. "Personally, I am a big fan of solo play on a gigantic TV (with no AV lag), huge speakers and in total darkness."
Make sweet, sci-fi music with 'Amplitude' on PS4 in January
Amplitude blends rhythm gaming with sci-fi spaceship action, and it's heading to PlayStation 4 on January 5th, for $20 via the PlayStation Store. This is the new, Kickstarted version of Harmonix's beloved 2002 PlayStation 2 franchise -- Amplitude raised $844,127 on Kickstarter in 2014, partially because the crowdfunding cards were stacked in its favor.
Sony's PlayStation video magazine returns on YouTube
Remember the Sony-published video magazine PlayStation Underground? Well, it's back after a 14-year hiatus, and like so much of the video world, it's gone digital and now exists as a YouTube show. A post on the PlayStation Blog says that new episodes should publish twice a month, with a plan to change that to once a week in the future. The first show is all about developer Harmonix's Amplitude revamp, with the PS Blog crew playing and talking about the game with studio publicist Nick Chester. In its initial run, Underground snagged interviews with David Jaffe (Twisted Metal) and father of the PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, so expecting to see some pretty big names grace the new show's couch doesn't seem too far fetched. And unless Amplitude appears on the PlayStation Store tonight, the original release window was this March, Underground's 21-minute clip below is probably your best chance at peeping new game-play for now.
Amplitude revival now estimated for summer arrival
Amplitude's multi-instrument path to revival is a little longer than was initially anticipated, developer Harmonix has announced via Kickstarter update. The rhythm game's estimated arrival has been pushed from its initially-planned window of March, with Harmonix "currently targeting" a summer release. Harmonix explained the delay is partially due to Amplitude being the team's first project on PS4, adding that extensive work is being put into Amplitude's proprietary engine. Unlike traditional development setups where content or quality could be sacrificed in order to meet a publisher's deadline however, Harmonix stated that Amplitude's success on Kickstarter has allowed the team to "create the game we want to make and, more importantly, make the game that you want." Once Amplitude starts blasting notes on PS3 and PS4, fans will have a chance at jamming to original tracks from Freezepop, Anamanguchi and Super Meat Boy composer Danny Baranowsky, among others. [Image: Harmonix]
Crowdfund Bookie: One year, $35 million
The Crowdfund Bookie crunches data from select successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that ended during the month and produces pretty charts for you to look at. A total of 341 video game projects were funded on Kickstarter and Indiegogo in the past year. Those games earned $35,945,510 from June 2013 through May 2014 thanks to the generosity of 782,147 people. It was a year that saw games like Double Fine's Massive Chalice and Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 pull in over $5 million alone. The crowdfunding year was marked by projects like these which, when measured over time, consistently tipped impressions of average Kickstarter and Indiegogo earnings to appear more favorable. The 341 projects in question earned a mean average of $105,412, though creators really earned closer to the median average of $25,457. Removing the more costly projects drags the mean average of money earned down towards that mark; it drops to $61,152 without the top ten projects for the year, $45,153 without the top 20 and $37,862 without the top 30. It was an ever-changing year, as well. Just glancing at the monthly comparison charts after the break shows a gradual decline in most categories, such as the average amount an individual project backer spent on a given project. The first three months of the year saw an average of $49.40 pledged per person, which dropped to $39.80 in the last quarter of the year. This reflects the averages for the entire year; the year showed a mean average of $45.96, though funders spent closer to the median amount of $36.10. By the end of the year, fewer projects earned far beyond their initial goals, potentially reaching fewer stretch goals as a result. The first quarter of the year averaged an earning rate of 211 percent, over double the amount of money projects set out to achieve. The final three months amounted to 166 percent of the combined goals, even after the average combined goals per month dropped $453,639. Relative to their ambitions, project creators earned more to start the year than those whose games were funded late in the year. The year also featured a number of fascinating stories in the crowdfunding space. It included the highly-questionable campaign for Gridiron Thunder and the related fallout of Ouya's Free the Games Fund program. More recently, it looked favorably on Harmonix's new Amplitude game, which was an anomaly among crowdfunded games. Head past the break for another look at the year in crowdfunding, including the top 20 projects and the year's breakdown by genre.
Joystiq Weekly: Battlefield Hardline, Watch Dogs review, Evil Within preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. With Sony upping PlayStation Plus to six games per month, we're pretty confident that the service is trying to ruin our lives. We're not obligated to tackle every single title, of course, but in the cycle of starting downloads for games "just in case" we ever feel an inkling to play them, we're losing track of which games we should feel guilty about not finishing and which games we should feel guilty about paying $60 for and not finishing. If not for the bills, assignments and the omnipresence of life's ever-ticking clock, we'd plop down in front of our TVs for a few years and knock out every game we ever felt intrigued by. To hell with "everything in moderation" - moderation wouldn't clear out our shelves of "yeah, maybe one day" RPGs, nor would it help us get the timing for our go-to Street Fighter combos down to the exact frame. Moderation is just a feeble admission that we can't control time (yet), and it ignores our potential to play all the video games, which we'll definitely get to. Eventually. Some day. Unfortunately, getting through every game we've ever wanted to play is still just a fantasy for now. Unless you find a way to break the laws of life's constants - if you do, you should totally let us know. We can do co-op or something. Until we reach that dream state, you can get a glimpse of Battlefield Hardline, read reviews for Watch Dogs and Among The Sleep, and dig into a neat feature on Watch Dogs that explains how legalities ruin everything. It's all waiting for you after the break!
Harmonix lays off 37 staff
Harmonix announced that it is undergoing an organizational restructure, resulting in the loss of 37 full-time positions. The news comes just one week after the developer successfully raised $844,127 on Kickstarter to create a successor to its 2002 cult favorite PS2 music game, Amplitude. "Harmonix is in the process of restructuring our organization to bring it into alignment with our current and future product development plans," a Harmonix spokesperson told Joystiq. "Unfortunately, this means making the difficult decision to reduce the number of full-time staff." The layoffs will not reportedly affect any of the games Harmonix currently has in production, namely Amplitude and Fantasia: Music Evolved as well as ongoing support of Record Run. Part of the company's restructure will result in studio head and CEO Alex Rigopulos stepping into the role of Chief Creative Officer while Steve Janiak will become CEO. Janiak was previously the head of Harmonix's publishing and business operations division. "We sincerely appreciate the work of each and every one of these employees. Harmonix is working to ensure that those affected are well taken care of as we make this change," the spokesperson added. The layoffs are said to be unrelated to Microsoft's recent decision to unbundle the Xbox One from the Kinect. Harmonix's most recent franchise, Dance Central, is dependent on the device. [Image: Harmonix]
Amplitude: A funding freak
Harmonix's Kickstarter project to fund a successor to its 2002 cult favorite PS2 music game Amplitude will be retold time and time again as a glimmering example of success on the platform. After all, the project had all the good stuff we like to talk about: A likeable group of developers, a classic fan-favorite series and a sudden resurgence after its campaign seemed desperately bleak. What's lost in the story is that the project shouldn't have succeeded; it's the anomaly that broke the math of Kickstarter. After the project launched May 5 and earned $170,000 in two days, Harmonix struggled to pass the $250,000 mark ten days later, leaving it with less than half its campaign time to earn over two thirds of its lofty $775,000 goal. And it did just that, surpassing the goal last Thursday and netting a total of $844,127 when all was said and done. It was easy to get caught up in the drama as big names like Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson and Insomniac CEO Ted Price issued calls to action to back Amplitude and the project gathered speed, supporters frantic in their enthusiasm for its success. While the community-backed Amplitude project might inspire others to seek big paydays on the funding platform, it's more or less a red herring. Dearest project creators: You are not Harmonix, and last week's cries to join the funding party weren't the only anomaly on Kickstarter. Amplitude is a freak.
Joystiq Weekly: Amplitude is funded, Wolfenstein review, video previews and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Amplitude fans just discovered a new favorite month of the year, as Harmonix's Kickstarter for a Sony-exclusive continuation of the lane-changing rhythm game cleared its goal within the final day of its funding campaign. Regardless of the original Amplitude's quality, the button-tapper's fan base is pretty niche - if games catering to slivers of the broader gaming population can find the funding they need via Kickstarter, it makes us wonder what other dream sequels we could get away with. There are always the down-and-out series begging for continuations like Shenmue 3, but that almost feels too obvious. What if we launched a Kickstarter for a team to continue an established property? We could start a campaign to glue the pieces of Wipeout developer SCE Studio Liverpool back together, then launch another to cover the resurrected studio's costs to make a new F-Zero! What's that you say? F-Zero is owned by Nintendo and is definitely not a property we can just give out to whoever we wish? Well, we can launch another Kickstarter to fund a protective shield until SCE finishes the game, and then Captain Falcon can finally get back on track with his career! On second thought, maybe we shouldn't take swings at the legal beehive. We'll have to think our F-Zero revival strategy over, but until then, we've got the cliff notes from this week's news and content ready for you. Details about the Xbox One's June update, reviews for Transistor and Wolfenstein: The New Order and video previews for Driveclub and Middle-Earth: Shadow of Morder - it's all ready for you after the break!
Amplitude clears funding goal, races toward finish line
Harmonix has successfully matched its $775,000 goal on Kickstarter for Amplitude with 21 hours remaining in the campaign. The Dance Central developer recently admitted that its crowdfunding goal amounted to "less than half of the project budget for the game," the rest of which will come from the studio's wallet. Harmonix held a telethon via Twitch to raise funds for the game, performing songs and playing the original Amplitude for viewers. The original Amplitude achieved cult-hit status after its 2003 release on PlayStation 2. The game was a follow-up to Harmonix's 2001 music game for PS2, Frequency. Harmonix's goal with the new version of Amplitude is to re-create the frenetic action of the rhythm games, where players guide a ship down a colorful highway and press buttons to match notes in line with the music being played at the time.
Harmonix scores Freezepop, Super Meat Boy composer, more for Amplitude
There's going to be less talk, more rokk for Harmonix's Amplitude Kickstarter campaign going forward, as the band Freezepop has joined the fight to bring a new version of the 2003 PS2 cult classic to life. The band, which frequently collaborates with Harmonix, won't be alone in their quest, as plenty of other high-profile artists are ready to lend their talents to the project. Danny Baranowsky (Super Meat Boy, Crypt of the Necrodancer), Anamanaguchi (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), C418 (Minecraft), Jim Guthrie (Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP) and Kasson Crooker (FreQuency, Amplitude) will all contribute original music to the game should it reach its funding goal, Harmonix announced via Kickstarter update. As of this writing, the campaign is just shy of $400,000 with a goal of $775,000. Harmonix has until 5 p.m. EST, May 23 to reach their goal. If the crowdfunding campaign fails, Harmonix has said that Amplitude will go "back on the shelf." [Image: Harmonix]
Harmonix: Without Kickstarter, Amplitude 'goes back on the shelf'
Since Harmonix launched its Kickstarter project for a successor to the Amplitude series earlier this month, one of the pervading questions the developer fielded is just why it opted to go the crowdfunding route for the cherished, cult classic game. While Harmonix developed popular games like Dance Central and the upcoming Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved, the developer reiterated that it is an "independently owned and operated studio" in a recent blog, and that some of its projects are so ambitious in scale that it cannot "responsibly make it completely out of pocket." Normally, that means a publisher foots the bill for the game, but that isn't the case for Harmonix. "We've sought other options out before coming to Kickstarter: there aren't publishing funds waiting in the wings or some third party who's eager to offset our costs – either we fund the game here, or the game goes back on the shelf," Harmonix Director of Publishing and PR John Drake wrote. The Kickstarter project's goal is $775,000, which Drake clarified is "less than half of the project budget for the game," and that even with $800,000 coming from Kickstarter backers, the developer would "be risking more of Harmonix's money than we probably should – all because we want to make this game so badly." As for the developer's choice to turn to crowdfunding, Kickstarter may not be the appropriate route to fund the game, but not because Harmonix is "too big" for the platform. Rather, it may not be big enough: Looking back to our six-month analysis of the video game crowdfunding space ending November 2013, of the 186 projects that were funded on the platform, just eight earned over $775,000 (4.3 percent). As of this writing, the project is sitting at $254,149 with eight days to go before the campaign closes. Meanwhile, Microsoft's recent announcement that it will begin offering the Xbox One without its Kinect camera elicited some strong reactions from Harmonix, which relied heavily on the device's support. [Image: Harmonix]
'Rock Band' team hits Kickstarter to fund a remake of its cult classic, 'Amplitude'
The team behind Rock Band and Dance Central wants to return to its roots, but needs your help to do so. That's right, Harmonix Music Systems is revisiting the PlayStation 2 cult classic Amplitude and have turned to Kickstarter to fund development. Harmonix says that while making Rock Band, the plan was to use the new beat-matching tools it developed for that game and apply them to a sequel to its classic rhythm title. That fell by the wayside, however, as publisher-funded games naturally took priority over a passion project. For the new version, Harmonix plans to apply the improvements afforded by the last 11 years (namely: widescreen HDTVs, more powerful consoles, the development team's talent) and marry them with the original's game-play. Because Sony still owns the property, the game's only been announced for PS3 and PS4 release, though. One aspect of the original that won't make the cut, however, is online play -- you'll have to make due with leaderboards and local multiplayer.
Harmonix bets Amplitude HD's future on Kickstarter
Rock Band and Dance Central developer Harmonix has posted a Kickstarter to fund a sequel to Amplitude, its rhythm action game from the PlayStation 2 era. The company is currently seeking $775,000 for the project, using the crowdfunding platform to gauge legitimate interest. "Legitimate" in this context being people who put their money where their mouth is. "Our aim with this Kickstarter is to be humble in our expectations. The current goal is to make a faithful Amplitude 'HD' - the core experience from PS2 re-developed for modern gaming devices," the company notes on its Kickstarter page. "We certainly have LOTS of crazy ideas that could blow this concept out. Your contribution, feedback, and community input will decide where this project will land and how many crazy ideas we can incorporate!" If successful, the new Amplitude will be available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, which makes sense because Sony owns the intellectual property. A cross-buy code will be given to the first 1,000 pledges at the $15 tier and a code is standard with the $20 tier. The game is currently scheduled to drift down the super note highway in March, 2015.
Dungeon of the Endless trailer stars circus pugs
Dungeon of the Endless is out now on Steam Early Access and it's getting some extra features – at GDC, Amplitude Studios told us that the roguelike dungeon defense game is getting four-player co-op and a visual log that tracks player progress with a series of collectible, digital cards. The latest trailer includes a lineup of pixelated pugs, for no reason we can think of except that they're immensely adorable. Check out Twitch for our livestream of some Early Access Steam gameplay, and check out the game for yourself on Steam. This one is looking better and better.
Endless Legend enters Early Access next month
Endless Legend, the "civilization fantasy game" by Endless Space and Dungeon of the Endless developer Amplitude Studios, will enter Steam's Early Access program next month. The team told us at GDC that the plan is for the game to have its official launch by year's end. The fantasy 4X strategy game features Civilization series-style empire-building gameplay, mixed with zoomed-in tactical turn-based battlefield combat. There will be orcs. Like, all the orcs. [Image: Amplitude]
Dungeon of the Endless adding four-player co-op, visual log
Dungeon of the Endless, the drunkenly conceived roguelike by Endless Space's Amplitude Studios, still has some features to add before its final release. The game has been available through Steam's Early Access program since December, but the studio still plans to add four-player co-op before the game's final release. The team also told us at GDC they expect to add a "visual log" of game events and characters that derives its inspiration from card collections. Think of a binder full of baseball, Marvel or football cards, but it's of the game. The Amplitude team had nothing to announce about the game coming to tablets, but it's painfully clear from the coy looks when we asked the question and the game's design that such a transition is highly plausible. The team has "honestly no idea" when the game will have its official launch. [Image: Amplitude]
Twenty developers you don't know, but should
Between consoles, PC, mobile and everything in between, there are so many games released today that it's impossible to keep up with everything that's coming out – and it's even harder to keep up with the studios behind them. Even with a gaming public that's grown accustomed to following big developers like Valve and small studios like Double Fine, countless other studios slide under the radar. In the interest of sifting a signal from the noise, the Joystiq crew has selected 20 developers that deserve your attention. These studios are making games you should play, and their future work should be highly anticipated. This list is by no means exhaustive, and we invite you to share your own favorites in the comments!
Endless Space dev reveals surprise new game: Endless Legend
The reveal trailer for Dungeon of the Endless crash-landed earlier this month, teasing a new, retro-styled game from Endless Space developer Amplitude Studios. That announcement implied its mysteries would be revealed at Gamescom, but Amplitude had an entirely different secret waiting for us: It's also developing Endless Legend, a 4X strategy title not styled in pixelated 3D or related to interstellar travel. Both Dungeon of the Endless and Endless Legend are due out in alpha by the end of the year. Endless Legend is a "civilization fantasy game," Amplitude Creative Director Romain de Waubert de Genlis told me at Gamescom today, during a run-through of the game's early-alpha build. Players craft empires in a fantasy setting, complete with orcs, castles and Broken Lords, a playable faction of "vampire knights." These noblemen must slaughter civilizations in order to survive, but they have souls and don't inherently enjoy killing people. Whether they're "broken" because they care or because they kill is up to the player.
Endless Space sells 300K copies, adds fourth free update
Endless Space, the 4X turn-based strategy game from scrappy Paris-based developer Amplitude Studios, has sold 300K units since its release eight months ago. The announcement comes as the studio adds "Virtual Awakening," the fourth free add-on to the the game.The add-on features new heroes, gameplay around asteroids and gas giants and new random events. It also includes the standard upgrades and AI improvements we've seen since the game's launch.Endless Space will go on sale today on Steam for 50 percent off until March 18. It's a whole lot of strategy for $15.
