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Transformers Universe offers a peek under the hood
It's taken a long time for it to approach launch, but Transformers Universe is closer to being ready for public consumption than ever before. It's got pre-launch bonus sales in effect, it's revealing Autobots and Decepticons alike, and it's showing off its gameplay. If you're excited to see more of what's going on behind the scenes, you'll be happy to learn that the development team has offered a peek into the development with a new series dubbed "Under the Hood." So what's in the first episode? Aside from a text-only Q&A with vice president David Nicholson, the episode looks at the Founders program, a peek at voices, and a detailed discussion of what the game will play like and where it's going in the future. That includes plenty of footage of robots turning into cars and beating the tar out of one another, for the record. Check out the video and the Q&A just past the break.
Marvel won't do Avengers game until it finds right developer
Licensed games have a great opportunity to build engaging experiences out of characters and environments that fans already love, but plenty end up feeling half-baked or uninspired. Marvel's head of games, TQ Jefferson, told IGN that that risk of building a botched project with the wrong studio has kept The Avengers from starring in a game more recent than Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth. "The Avengers game will come when we have the right partner, that has the right vision, that has the time to develop a strong, competitive triple-A title," Jefferson explained. "It has to hit our three pillars: Fun and engaging gameplay, true to the characters, compelling story ... Gamers, they know better. They're not going to flock to something that's sub-par." It's certainly a viewpoint we can support - no one wants to see their favorite characters slog through a game that feels like it was given the bare minimum of resources, and license owners probably don't want the legacy of disasters like Superman 64 following them around. Marvel's focus on quality for The Avengers presumably bodes well for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, then? [Image: Marvel]
Activision lays off 30 people, expects fewer licensed games in 2013
Activision laid off 30 full-time employees, noting that this year it intended to launch fewer games based on licensed properties. Activision provided a statement to Joystiq:"In 2013, we expect to release fewer games based on license properties and as a result are realigning our structure to better reflect the market opportunities and our slate," the publisher said. "Approximately, 30 full-time employees have been impacted globally, which represents approximately one half of one percent of Activision Blizzard's employee population."Activision's lineup of licensed games in 2013 included The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, Deadpool and the first three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, and there was something up with the James Bond games.A portion of the 30 layoffs came from Call of Duty developer Treyarch, though Activision said it was a "minimal reduction" that wouldn't affect the launch of any DLC for Black Ops 2.
New trailer for Transformers Universe showing off what you'd expect
There's a reason that the Transformers franchise has been running more or less continually for the past 27 years, and that's in no small part due to sheer flexibility. The fiction allows for stories anywhere between world-spanning science fiction to light-hearted antics, and the years of comics, shows, and movies have touched on many areas. But the newest trailer for Transformers Universe, the upcoming MMO based in the current continuity, shows off a feature that's far more basic. While the details are still light on the actual gameplay of the upcoming game, what we do know is that it promises to be an action-oriented MMO aiming at a browser client, allowing players to play a representative of either side in the fiction's factional warfare. While it will be running concurrently with Transformers: Prime when it launches in 2012, there's no word on whether the show continuity will affect the game in any way. But you don't need to worry about any of that to enjoy the video just past the cut -- all you need to do is admire what's sure to be a central part of the game no matter how it plays.
The Daily Grind: What IP do you want to see as an MMO?
There are certainly a lot of intellectual properties out there that would make for an excellent MMO. Running down the list of major games currently running shows no shortage of games based on popular franchises -- Star Trek Online, Warhammer Online, Star Wars Galaxies, Age of Conan, Champions Online -- and the trend shows no sign of slowing. But there are other franchises that could conceivably make a number of people happy -- Transformers, The Dark Tower, Doctor Who, Mass Effect, Babylon 5, and so on ad infinitum. Of course, there are licenses that are unlikely to ever be adapted for MMOs, either because their heyday of popularity has passed or because they're just not in quite the right market. Still, we can dream, and in our heads we might have an idea for the world's best MMO based off of Macross. What intellectual property would you love to have a chance to play as an MMO? Do you think there's a chance it might happen, or are you fairly certain that it's just going to remain an idle fantasy?
The Daily Grind: Excited for Star Trek Online?
Admit it -- when you first saw the trailers for Star Trek Online, you started reading the opening monologue in your head. Or maybe that was just us. Either way, there's a lot of cultural weight and expectation going into the game, as you'd expect for a series with thirty-four years of fandom and material. With the doors open and more information becoming available about the game, there's a lot of space (pun intended) for you to start filling in the adventures of the USS Whatever. Not to mention that launch is less than a month away, which always makes it that much more exciting. On the other hand, the evaluations have not been uniformly positive. Early previews might give you the impression that the game isn't polished, or isn't focusing on the areas you really want to see from the game. Perhaps you feel burned by Champions Online and worry that Cryptic isn't going to be able to deliver a better experience this time. Or maybe you're one of the people who just hates Star Trek for whatever reason. With a little less than a month to go, are you excited for Star Trek Online?
CBS bringing Diagnosis Murder, some other stuff to gaming platforms
CBS announced today that it's bringing a wide array of its TV programming to the video game world, mainly via the PC, Wii and DS. As you can see after the break, the company revealed equally insipid-sounding game versions of Survivor, Hollywood Squares, The Amazing Race, and Criminal Minds, but we don't see how we're supposed to care about any of it when it was also revealed that a Diagnosis Murder game is in the works. We're assuming it's a Visceral-developed "dark" take on the DM mythos, with a Gothic Dr. Mark Sloan walking a demonic version of Los Angeles, solving murder mysteries with a caduceus-shaped staff dipped in angel blood. We assume this because we laid out the design doc pretty clearly in our letters, and we can't fathom why CBS would want to disappoint us.
Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel game tie-in coming in early December
If there's one wonderful thing we can say about movie game trailers, it's that they keep us on top of what's happening with the kids these days. Take for instance Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel -- we didn't even know there was a second film coming out! What we can glean from the trailer above is that there will be some form of illicit chipmunk love affair angle to the film that will play into the game's story. Also, it may or may not be music-rhythm game of some form. As you can imagine, we were so entranced by the slurry of colors and sounds that it was hard to discern any clear information. We did discover, however, that the game will be coming to the Nintendo Wii and DS on December 1.
Avatar's first gameplay trailer unsurprisingly full of blue people
We imagine you're just as excited for James Cameron's upcoming film, Avatar, as we are. How can you go wrong with blue people, right? The game's first trailer though -- it unfortunately lives up to our expectations for games based on licensed properties, including cheesy rock music right on cue at the one minute mark. We're hoping a demo lands before the game's planned December release window.As pointed out in our hands-on with the game, the visuals certainly do pop with color, but the action itself seems to lean toward the generic side of things. That being said, we hear the blue giants are playable in the game. That's something different, right? Right?!... where are you going?
Gearbox gives up on Heat, says IP is up for grabs ... kinda
Ever since Heat's 1995 cinematic debut, aggression-soaked psychos (like ourselves) have been clamoring for a game adaptation of the crime drama. Gearbox Software prez Randy Pitchford agreed as well, optioning the rights to develop a game back in the mid-oughts. Fast forward to 2009, and GameSpot drops the hammer on him during a Borderlands press tour. "So what is the current status of the Heat game?" In so many words: Kaput. "In a nutshell, we're nowhere," Pitchford said. And it's not for a lack of trying, as "filmmakers, game makers, and publishing partners" are all still apparently on board. He says, more or less, it's a matter of time -- or lack thereof. Due to time constraints, Pitchford says that his studio won't be keeping the rights to the game adaptation of Heat any longer. "We're not keeping the IP locked down anymore ... if somebody else were in a spot where they could do it, and everybody was comfortable with that, then conceivably that could happen." So, how about it, aggression-soaked entrepreneurs? Hmmm?
Tigon's Ian Stevens: For Hollywood, 'making video games has been the same thing as making action figures'
Running Tigon Studios is a bit of a strange job to have. Ian Stevens, the man in charge, is responsible for not just organizing development talent to make games like this year's Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, but also working with Hollywood. And, unsurprisingly, he says it's a bit of an uphill battle, telling GamesIndustry.biz, "It's really hard to take something that's native to a certain medium and just draw a line, which is what people are usually trying to do [with games based on movies.]" He equates the attention Hollywood has been giving to game versions of its films with "action figures, pictures on cereal boxes, and [themed] pajamas," saying it's just part of the "licensing and merchandising" of a property, rather than creating something unique and well-crafted from the start. Furthermore, Stevens says that the development studios who are working with nothing (think Ben 10) and making something -- anything -- out of it, are the real talent in the industry. "If you gave that team in Newcastle [Midway Newcastle] - through all that they've struggled with, technology, corporate business, all these different things - the kind of opportunity that someone like Valve has," he says, leaving us to postulate on the ending there. We'll let you guys fill that in all by yourselves.
Rebellion: Timing poses biggest challenge for movie-licensed games
We've always assumed that licensed games suck because publishers rely on the character's face -- rather than high quality -- to get games off the shelves. And we're right. But according to Rebellion, the developer responsible for Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem and Miami Vice: The Game, scheduling is the major factor working against movie-based games."The problem is it's actually quicker to make a movie than it is to make a game these days, by quite a big margin," CTO Chris Kingsley told Develop. "That's always a big problem, because often you're not given enough time to make the game. So you have to fit to the schedule that you have."So, if that's the problem, Joystiq Biomass, what's the solution?
Dan Aykroyd prefers Ghostbusters for Wii, says romance got axed for gameplay
Dan Aykroyd really likes the 2004 film, The Incredibles. So much so, in fact, that he believes himself to look like an Incredibles-esque superhero in the upcoming Ghostbusters game for Wii, telling Newsweek, "I love the way we look in the Wii platform ... anybody who looks like an Incredible is automatically a superhero." Though we're not sure if there's a direct correlation between the two, Aykroyd firmly believes so, continuing, "I was so pleased that they shaved off at least 60 pounds from my current bulk." Apparently Aykroyd's current poundage isn't all that was shaved in translation from movie to game, as the romantic elements between Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver have been omitted from the forthcoming title. Aykroyd says "the format of ghostbusting lends itself to a video game beautifully," while apparently the finesse required in convincing Sigourney Weaver to fornicate with Bill Murray doesn't so much. Not even a minigame, folks? We kid! It probably didn't help that Ms. Weaver declined to be part of the game, huh? %Gallery-38587%
Ubisoft spawning 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' tie-in games
We'll be straight with you: We got the press release from Ubisoft for the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs tie-in games yesterday ... on April Fool's Day. Being the anti-societal recluses we are, we were completely unaware of the upcoming movie by the same name and therefore considered the release to be a feeble attempt at ballyhoo. And apparently there's a children's book as well? Where was our childhood?!Information about the forthcoming games is scant, though we know it's coming to Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/Wii/DS/PSP/PC (no PlayStation 2 version?) and will arrive in tandem with the movie's release on September 18th. According to the game's website, it's set to feature 20 levels of town saving, employing "outrageously fun and wacky gadgets." If Surf's Up is any indication of Cloudy's quality, maybe we'll end up enjoying this one more than most movie licensed-based games.
Brash goes out with a fascinating bang
OK, clear the next half hour or so of your day, because you simply have to read Ben Fritz' stunning piece on the downfall of Brash (oh, you remember, it was the game studio that aimed to change the image of terrible licensed games by making horrible licensed games). For example, did you know Brash created its sales projections on Space Chimps assuming it was made by Fox animation (the house behind mega-hit Ice Age) when in fact, Fox was only releasing the film? It's true!You owe it to yourself to see all the games Brash had in development, where its cash went, its "Wall Street" MMO and, of course, the Mickey Mouse story. With Brash officially dead, this is pure rubbernecking at the scene of the crash ... but that's not honestly going to stop you, is it?
Paramount getting into the games business
We knew that Paramount was 'very, very excited' about the games space, but today we're getting the first look at how that enthusiasm will translate into a publishing business. Variety reported today on Paramount's expanded interactive department, which will put a focus on mobile, handheld and casual games because ... well, because they're cheap to develop and businesses like money.The games wing isn't completely separate from the films business though, Paramount will only be putting its muscle behind new licenses and catalog titles (it will continue to license properties out to other companies). So ... catalog titles, eh? Dare we hope? Is it finally time for the whip-snapping, bullet-dodging action ... of Pootie Tang: The Game?
Wii Warm Up: Licensed games
We usually don't have high hopes when it comes to games that are based on movies, television shows, brands, or other licenses. With that said, though, we know that there are some good ones around. What is your favorite licensed game? And, if that license is not on the Wii yet, would you like it to be? Also, are there any movie or other licenses that haven't been gobbled up yet that you'd like to see on the Wii? Or, would you rather that these types of games stop being made in the first place?
WB comes to PSP
SCi and Eidos are about to have their release schedule look like a day at Six Flags since they acquired the rights to 11 Warner Bros franchises. If you like toons than you may be happy to know they have access to Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbera proprieties as well as Batman. Those into teen soap operas may want to stop cutting themselves and perk up at the inclusion of The OC license. The rights to all these franchises didn't come cheap though as it's reported to cost upwards of $80 million. It looks like Lara Croft will have to hold off on that boob job she was planning until Eidos recoups some earnings from this deal. The best news though is that all games are scheduled for PSP. So soon you may be throwing a batarang with Batman, racing the road runner, working for Spacely or cheating on whoever that guy is on The OC. Let's just hope that unlike most licensed games, Eidos isn't relying on the license selling the games and will back them up with quality gameplay. [Via Games Radar]
Indiana Jones Das Spiel
This German language Indiana Jones GC 06 trailer (showcasing ILM's "Euphoria" physics) is so charmingly retro it makes me want to spend 7 years shooting a shot for shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark in my backyard. Oh right, some kid already did that.
La Cosa Nostra costs EA $800 mil
The Financial Times reports that delays to The Godfather have cost EA a cool $800 million in stock value. Meanwhile, pricing pressures due to the launch of our beloved console have resulted in a $10 price cut for the Xbox and PS2 discs releasing this Tuesday. I appreciate EA taking forever and a day to spruce up the 360 edition if that's what it takes (even if Coppola thinks it's crap). But by the time we see a next-gen version of Vito late this year, this thing of their's will have been played more times than an FBI wire tap. If it's not the...uh...Godfather of video games, the corporate dons at EA could wake up with the financial equivalent of a bloody horse head.
