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Neil Young's Archives Blu-ray collection gets November 3rd release date
Neil Young's Archives project, which will see his entire music collection from 1963 to 1972 spread out over a 10-disc Blu-ray / DVD box set, finally has a release date. After being announced at the JavaOne Conference this May, we've now learned that the set will hit shelves on November 3rd. Interestingly, a price is still eluding us, but we'd just go ahead and assume that 10 Blu-ray Discs won't be exactly cheap. Something to tide you over is waiting just past the break.
Bioware, EA's Neil Young eyeing the iPhone game market
As we get closer and closer to the App Store launch (I'm still holding out for seeing an updated iTunes on July 8th, one week from today), a few big name game developers have announced that they're checking out the market for gaming on the iPhone.First up is Bioware, one of my favorite developers and makers of the classics Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and the recent Mass Effect. In an interview with Patrick Klepek over at MTV Multiplayer, Bioware's CEOs Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk said that yes, they are watching the iPhone as a game development platform, but they're mostly keep an eye on "what type of consumer buys games on it and what type of experience they're looking for." I worry a bit that they mean that if only casual games sell big they'll stay away from it, because gentlemen, I'm playing games on the iPhone, and I would love a solid, in-depth RPG to play. Who wouldn't, really?And former EA exec Neil Young has split from the company to form his own development house, called "ng:moco" ( we have no idea what that means, either). They'll focus exclusively on making games for the iPhone -- Young says that they want to step up to be the "spiritual first-party" for the platform. He points out that the iPhone has the power of a PSP, except that it's also got a camera, an accelerometer, a multitouch screen, is location-aware, has all your media on it, and is always on and always connected. Just like we've always said, that's a great gaming device, and it's exciting news that a former EA exec like Young is going to work on getting some great games developed for it.
ngmoco: EA vet Neil Young's new iPhone publisher
Well that didn't take long. Just a little over a week after announcing his departure from Electronic Arts, former EA Blueprint head Neil Young – an 11-year veteran of the mega-publisher – has revealed his latest gig: ngmoco. Never heard of it? Well, that's because it's brand new; however, if Mr. Young and every other business-minded human eying up the iPhone market is right, you'll be hearing plenty about ngmoco.First, what's the name mean? Young tells Newsweek that it stands for "Next Generation MObile COmpany" (what, you didn't totally see that the first time?). Alright, but what does that mean? He tells Gamasutra the company is a "publisher that is specifically focused on games for the iPhone and beyond." So, not just the iPhone, but "that class of mobile phone" – touch screen, network connectivity, accelerometer, et al. Young isn't looking to develop games at ngmoco, but rather to commission, finance, and produce titles, hoping the brand name and institutional knowledge will help ngmoco's titles remain visible in what he expects to be a busy, competitive marketplace.Most interestingly, he talks about how Apple's forthcoming AppStore will rebalance the mobile gaming industry's reliance on carriers. Now, he says, the average revenue per user on mobile phones is "$7.50 or $8" compared to $45 on the PSP and $62 on the DS, leaving a great deal of potential there given the right product. Source – Departing Electronic Arts Executive Neil Young Talks to Level Up About His New VentureSource – Q&A: EA Vet Young Reveals iPhone Publisher Ngmoco
Breaking: 11-year EA vet Neil Young leaves for 'new project'
Newsweek's got the scoop on Neil Young's departure from publishing giant Electronic Arts. The 11-year veteran – who left for an unspecified "new project" and, anecdotally, wowed us at GDC a couple years back – spent his tenure at EA working on everything from Majestic to The Sims 2 to Medal of Honor: Airborne. Most recently, Young had been working at EA Blueprint working on making new IPs with smaller teams and smaller budgets; in his stead, EA Los Angeles' Louis Castle – who most recently brought us the well received Boom Blox – will take the reins at EA/Blueprint, currently working on the next Spielberg project codenamed LMNO. Level Up has the full email from EA Games Label pres Frank Gibeau announcing Young's departure and detailing the organizational changes.
Neil Young's entire music archive to be released on Blu-ray
Sun Microsystems's pledge to aid the widespread development of interactive content on Blu-ray wasn't the only thing going down today at the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco. Rather surprisingly, famed musician Neil Young announced plans to "release his entire music archive on Blu-ray discs that can be updated over the internet." Reportedly, the first installment of Young's archive will cover 1963 to 1972 and will be released as a ten-disc set this fall on Reprise / Warner Bros. Records, and subsequent archives will be released chronologically and "include some previously unreleased songs, videos, handwritten manuscripts and other memorabilia." Stressing Blu-ray interactivity, it was also noted that fans could download more songs, photos and tour information via their internet-connected decks. Needless to say, we're pretty stoked about the whole ordeal, and can only hope that more artists follow suit in serving up their work via Blu-ray.[Thanks, JDS]
EA's snuff film @ GDC
We haven't seen anybody else mention this, so we feel obligated to describe a truly awesome talk given at GDC by the head of EA's LA studio, Neil Young (pictured here, bio here). First, it must be said that Neil Young is charming as all get-out. He's got one of those endearing English accents that automatically adds like 30 IQ points to the bearer of said accent. His stage presence inspires confidence and willing suspension of disbelief. Within moments of his opening remarks, I felt myself wanting to like this guy, whoever he was. His presentation didn't disappoint that expectation. He spoke about "feature IP," a businessey buzzword for the video game features that are unique enough to drive sales of games. Examples of feature IP include EA's "Game Face" technology (first used in Tiger Woods PGA Tour and to see re-use in the upcoming Godfather game as "mob face") and Microsoft's global leaderboards and achievements system (found in Xbox 360 games). Feature IP, as defined by Neil Young, can be leveraged across multiple games and therefore has the power to drive the sales of not just one game or franchise, but a whole raft of games in a publisher's portfolio.
