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The sordid history of Scratch: The Ultimate DJ
In the pending lawsuit between DJ Hero publisher Activision and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ co-publishers Genius Products and Numark, all we've heard are each sides' allegations and condemnations of the other. What we haven't heard, however, was the long and messy tale leading up to the current state of things between former Scratch developer 7 Studios (now owned by Activision), Genius Products and, apparently, Brash Entertainment. Yes -- that Brash Entertainment.According to The Cut Scene, Scratch began development in 2007, allegedly by 7 Studios and Brash Entertainment. In summer of the same year, Brash decided to focus on licensed properties and sold off the IP to Genius Products. The piece further alleges that by late last year, Genius Products was having financial problems and was not so much being courted by major publishers (including MTV, EA, Ubisoft and, yes, Activision) as it was trying to sell off a seemingly toxic asset. If The Cut Scene's anonymous sources are to be believed, there's a lot more going on here than it would seem.
Variety: Kathy Vrabeck to take post at Legendary Pictures
Kathy Vrabeck, a very knowledgeable and experienced video game executive, is reportedly in "final negotiations" to take a job at Legendary Pictures, the geek dream financier behind The Dark Knight, 300 and Watchmen. Variety has been told by several sources that she'll apparently oversee Legendary's video game initiative. The production company is currently working on movies based upon Gears of War and Blizzard's Warcraft. Variety previously reported that Legendary is also looking to purchase Epic Games.The news would be good for both parties, as Vrabeck bounces back from being let go leaving EA and Legendary recovers from that messy Brash Entertainment relationship. If Legendary continues its movie gold streak and is serious about pushing into the video game space, it could evolve into a major player.
The Daily Grind: What makes a well-rounded MMO gamer?
If you're playing the same MMO day in and day out, you may be thirsting for something different. Or, maybe you're not. Everyone has their own play styles, their own methods and their own interests in an MMO. Some people are perfectly fine dedicating themselves to one particular game and excelling at it completely. Some people need to have any five games on hand to play at any given time, while others mix the rest of their gaming time with action-packed console titles.So to this point, we can't help but wonder if the variety makes for a more well-rounded player. Perhaps someone who enjoys console games and MMOs are more likely to support the newer titles that explore fresh gameplay mechanics and business models. That's just an assumption, but we'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject. What makes a well-rounded MMO gamer?
Economic shifts, new business models bring more options for MMO gamers
Tough economic times generally lead to shifts in perspective, and that's exactly the case with the MMO industry given much of the commentary we're seeing lately. In response to these changes in the economy, more companies -- and gamers -- are starting to rethink the alternative business models that have thrived in Asia, and which are increasingly making their way into the western MMO industry. And is that so surprising? Many gamers would like to be able to play more than one or two titles in a given month, but simply aren't able to due to the monthly subscription price (time concerns aside, of course).Ravious from Kill Ten Rats observes that while MMOs typically demand more of players than standard PC games (at least in terms of time), the wide variety of gaming options that Steam users have come to appreciate could certainly be applicable to MMOs, if other business models beyond monthly subscriptions become viable in the West. Ravious writes, "Whether it is from a Steam-driven library of games, an aging MMO population, an economic recession, or plenty of different business models coming in to the MMO world, I believe that the subscription model of today is nearly done being 'the way'."
Variety: Sony may be 'too artsy for its own good'
Variety's Ben Fritz ponders why Sony's PS3 hasn't been able to become more of a mainstream success. Obviously, price comes into play, but he offers another option: it may be "too artsy for its own good."What does that mean? Fritz looks at a few examples. He looks at LittleBigPlanet, arguably Sony's biggest game of 2008. While it has been successful, it hasn't become the runaway hit that many have hoped. It seems that the game appeals largely to game critics and those that like "quality, 'artsy' games." Fritz also looks at the PlayStation Network. He notes that Sony is "the only one of the big three console makers that's investing its own money on downloadable 'indie' games." Other platforms have downloadable games, but they feature more ports and more "junk."The PS3's XMB, he describes is "much cleaner and more Google-esque than Xbox Live, filled as it is with ads and other clutter, or the boring grid on the Wii menu." He also notes that the hardware is "smoother, prettier, quieter -- a superior work of art." However, he concludes that these superior features don't add up to a product that appeals to the mainstream. Unfortunately, that's what Sony needs in order to recreate the success of PS2.
Spike Video Game Awards ratings down 26%
Now that the Spike Video Game Awards are a faint recollection, Variety reports that the quality piece of programming was way down in the ratings. This year's event sideshow was down 26%, with about 680,000 viewers, says the high lord of television ratings, Nielsen. It's the second lowest (a little above 2006's 618k) rated year since the show started in 2004, which was its most impressive with 1.23 million viewers.It gets worse: Spike caters to the key 18-34 male demographic, which was down 29% from the prior year, with its lowest ever figures of 229,000 viewers.* Boys 12-17 were up by 30% to 199k. Variety does note that this year's show did go against some program called the Cowboys-Giants football game on NBC, which was the highest rated Sunday Night Football game ever. Still, those Spike numbers aren't too hot in a year that could become the biggest sales year in gaming history. *Fun fact: 34,000 women aged 18-34 watched.
Paramount searching for new games honcho
Paramount is in search of a new executive to head its gaming initiative. Variety reports that the studio is currently looking for someone to replace the outgoing VP of interactive and mobile, Sandi Isaacs. The movie industry site speculates that Paramount is trying to get a high-profile gaming exec. to run the publishing unit.Games based on Iron Man and Saturday Night Fever were released on iPhone last week, with casual titles based on Pretty in Pink, Clueless and Mean Girls planned for the future. Variety has also "heard rumblings" of bigger projects beyond 2010, but no details were given.
Variety: Brash to cease operations today
"High-quality theatrical based games" publisher Brash Entertainment is officially dead, as of today, according to a report from Variety. The company is reportedly planning to cease operations, with investors having walked away following co-founder Thomas Tull's departure in October.No word yet on the fate of Brash's many licensed developments, including Tale of Desperaux, Night at the Museum 2, Saw and the rumored Superman project with Factor 5. We've contacted the company for an official statement.
Variety: EA making Dante's 'Inferno' game, studios bidding for movie rights
Variety reports that four movie studios are currently bidding for the film rights to Electronic Arts' as-yet unnannounced game based on Dante's Inferno. EA's recently been on a movie deal bender, selling the rights to films based on Army of Two (suckers) and Mass Effect, but this is the first real "cart before horse" deal we've heard about.We've certainly seen some high-profile game-to-movie deals in recent memory, with Gore Verbinski helming BioShock and Brett Ratner taking on God of War. Maybe it doesn't matter that movie executives are bidding on the rights to a game that nobody has seen, but for our money we'd like to know if there's an audience for it first.
Army of Two set to hit the silver screen, no seriously
According to The CutScene blog from Variety the EA Montreal developed co-op third person shooter Army of Two has been optioned for a feature film by Universal. Currently attached to the picture is writer Scott Z. Burns (of The Bourne Ultimatum fame) and producer Scott Stuber (who was once attached to the failed Halo movie). EA is set to produce the film, a first for the publisher who has recently sold rights for a film based on The Sims and Mass Effect. "The ambiguity of these private military corporations lends weight to an intelligent thriller with relevance to what's going on in the world right now," Burns told Variety. "I told EA right off the bat I wasn't a gamer, and that appealed to them because they didn't want to simply replicate the game." Isn't a gamer? Well, Burns had better stay true to the fantastic lore that was outlined in the Army of Two game. You know, the blinging out of weapons and ... other things they did in that game. Seriously though, Uwe Boll must be spinning in his grave. Oh, he isn't ... never mind.
EA hints at Dead Space movie and sequel
Dead Space may only just be releasing in Europe today, but it seems EA's plans for the game don't stop there. Talking to Variety, Executive Producer Glenn Schofield talked about his plans for licensing the story out to other media. There are already Dead Space comics and an animated prequel movie, Downfall, but they are also "talking about novels. We don't have a toy deal yet, but we're but looking into that."Not only novels and toys, but Schofield is also "talking with movie studios right now. We have been all along. By doing this now, we could have a movie that bridges the gap between the two games." Hold on, did he say "two games"? It's obvious they're willing to franchise the hell out of this game, but it's also clear they're not willing to compromise on quality. Schofield goes on to say that "the difference with this is we need to go in and say, "This is not a $10 million movie." Sure somebody could make it, but that's not what we are looking for. It's an expensive movie. What we're doing, say, with movie producers is handpicking our producer. We get approval on the scriptwriter, director and those sorts of things." We're really enjoying Dead Space and would love to see a live action feature film and a sequel, as long as they're not shameless cash ins. From the looks of it, that's the last thing the dev team wants. We look forward to further developments.In the same article EA's president, Frank Gibeau, mentions sequels for both Battlefield: Bad Company and Army of Two. No specific details were given regarding the whats and whens.[Via GameIndustry.biz]
Molyneux asks for special review consideration; we ask 'what would other industries do?'
Reviewers received Fable 2 this week and found within the package a letter from developer Peter Molyneux asking for a few things. Variety explains one of the first things the letter asks (using the word "please" five times) is that the reviewers let a person who doesn't play games try out Fable 2 and to gauge their experience. Two paragraphs are also devoted by the designer to the game's well publicized and initially missing online co-op.Molyneux apparently details the online co-op feature in the letter, which will be added soon after launch. Variety ponders if publications should wait until the feature comes out before reviewers write their pieces, or if outlets should make a note saying this important feature couldn't be tested at the time? So, we asked Variety (well known for its movie and music reviews): what would one of its film or music critics do if they were asked to review an unfinished product? Find out the answer after the break.
MTV Games clarifies AC/DC Rock Band Track Pack details
Speaking to Variety, Paul DeGooyer of MTV Games clarified a couple of elements concerning the AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack. The game will be available exclusively at Walmart. The tracks are exclusive to Rock Band for "a term" but no specific timetable has been set. AC/DC members won't appear as avatars in the game, you'll just be covering the songs. The game will feature partial functionality when compared to the other Rock Band titles: "All four instruments (guitar, bass, drums, mic) are used, you can "tour" through all 18 songs on your own or in a group, there are score duels and tug of war. However, there's no online capability ... In addition, there's no character creator."Now we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, all the songs on the AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack can be ripped onto the PS3's hard drive, free of charge. They will now function like any other tracks you have downloaded from the PS Store (including online capabilities). The bad news is, you can transfer the songs once. This is done so you can't simply share the disc with your friends or resell the disc once you have transferred the tracks.[Via X3F]
The story behind PAX's Ghostbuster lanyards
Ghostbusters: The Game may not have a publisher, and its fate may not be clear, but that didn't stop the title from being advertised on lanyards at PAX. Variety spoke to Penny Arcade's business guy, Robert Khoo, who said that Sierra signed to do the lanyards in January and sent them in June. It wasn't even until two weeks before the show that Sierra, the abused and neglected stepchild of Activision Blizzard, "pulled out of displaying Ghostbusters."Khoo explains that there wasn't enough time to get a new lanyard provider, so even though Actilizzard isn't going to benefit from the promotion, they still paid the bill.
Variety judge disagrees with majority of E3 award winners, loves public drunkenness
Ben Fritz writes about video games for Variety and was one of the E3 judges this year -- and he's not too happy with this year's winners. He calls Mirror's Edge "gimmicky" and the Gears of War 2 improvements "minor." He was really pulling for Resistance 2, which he felt offered up a lot more than the original, and we'll admit that's a good point.However, he really laments the fact that Fable 2 didn't win anything. He hated the original Fable, but thinks that "the human interactions, from multiple gay marriages to public drunkenness, seem really fun" in the sequel. He also admits that he didn't care for last year's Super Mario Galaxy and disliked Mass Effect. Which is probably why the second comment from Just A Guy is "You suck."Update: Ben Fritz actually contacted us to let us know he didn't hate Super Mario Galaxy, he just "didn't lavish superlatives" on it. He goes on to tell us that the review he wrote of the game was "positive," but you can judge for yourself right here. With friends like that, who needs negative reviews? However, he did point out (and rightly so) that the headline implied that he doesn't like the E3 awards. In actuality, "I just personally disagree with the majority of the winners." Our bad, and we've fixed that.
Disney's games and internet divisions merging
Disney Interactive Studios and the company's Internet Group will merge into one unit, named Disney Interactive Media Group. Disney Interactive Studios has published games like Hannah Montana, High School Musical and Turok; meanwhile, the internet division was responsible for hundreds of online casual games and Pirates of the Caribbean Online. Clearly, the merger makes sense, and can be likened to when Sony Online Entertainment became part of SCEI.Variety speculates the merger is so that Disney can report all its digital revenues in one spot, instead of games being lumped in with the consumer products. It doesn't appear many (if any) pink slips will be handed out in the unification, as these seemingly offline and online games divisions continue doing their separate things. Source -- Disney Merging WDIG Group With Games UnitSource -- AllThingsD Iger memo
Call of Duty 4 maps coming to PC June 5
Those on active virtual duty in Call of Duty 4 have seen combat in all manner of locales during their tours -- though earlier this year, their theater of operations saw a major expansion with the "Variety" map pack, allowing them to get their war on in four new exotic, terrorist-rich locations. Unfortunately, these lush warzones were only available to those playing the game's console iterations, and devout WASD-ers were left out of the new territories.Fear not, mousegrabbers, your day has come -- or rather, it is coming on June 5, according to Infinity Ward figurehead fourzerotwo. As expected from a map pack that's been available on other formats for nearly two months, the pack will be free to download on PC thanks to a sponsorship from NVIDIA. Little has changed for the PC versions of the four maps, though we find it regrettable that "Chinatown" is now known as "NVIDIAtown" and the Spetsnaz have been renamed the "GeForce Freedom Fighters".[Via Evil Avatar]
No GTA IV effect on Iron Man opening
Talk of Grand Theft Auto IV possibly hurting Iron Man's opening was clearly wrong. According to Variety, the movie made $104.2 million during its opening weekend, proving Paramount's Rob Moore right when he said that young males can carve out two hours to see Iron Man.Variety did explore GTA IV's impact on the home video market recently, which showed no major releases targeted at the young male demo for the week. Probably the best comparison would be to see how the Iron Man video game did in sales when NPD comes out next month, and we know we're going out on a limb on this one, but we're pretty sure GTA IV won that battle.
IGN responds to concerns over exclusive GTA IV review
Earlier this week, Variety's Ben Fritz expressed concern over IGN's exclusive first review of Grand Theft Auto IV, asking rhetorically, "How can we trust a videogame review when the outlet running it has been given a major commercial favor ... from the publisher of the game?" Well, GameDaily Media Coverage Columnist Gus Mastrapa went the extra mile and asked that very question to some people at IGN. And he even got an answer!"We in no way trade scores for an exclusive," said IGN VP Tal Blevins, adding that publishers have no access to or say in the text of a review before it goes live. That doesn't mean IGN didn't make any concessions to secure the exclusive, though. IGN Xbox editor Hilary Goldstein admitted the site used promotional placement on the site's top feature bar to secure the exclusive. "Our bargaining chip is to basically say, 'I will put it here if you let me have this,'" Goldstein said. Mastrapa likened the practice to an "exclusive cover story" in a game magazine.As for Variety and Fritz, Goldstein seemed unimpressed with with his journalism bona fides. "Nobody from Variety called us and said, 'Hey, would you like to comment about this?'" he said. "He says in blog post, 'If I had the game right now I would have broken the embargo.' To me that goes against your ethics." Nothing like an I'm-more-ethical-than-thou battle to get your heart racing in the morning.
Variety discusses ethics of 'exclusive' reviews
Sometimes it's interesting to see the industry through fresh eyes again. Variety has an editorial up about the "ethically troubling" industry standard of exclusive reviews. The editorial specifically discusses IGN's GTA IV "exclusive," as the review site didn't get a "scoop" by finding some early copy of the game and posting a review, but by being given permission by Rockstar to break embargo. Every other outlet had to wait until this past Sunday.The Variety writer states that he doesn't personally trust any review labeled "exclusive," pointing out "reviews are entirely subjective, so if a critic is being influenced inappropriately in any way, the whole thing is worthless even though we as readers can't prove there's anything 'wrong.'" The piece concludes by saying that any self-respecting publication with a GTA IV review should have run it the minute IGN released its review. It's a lovely thought, but the last thing any review outlet wants is a reputation with PR firms for breaking embargo. In a worst case scenario, if any of these outlets signed legally binding non-disclosure agreements for these reviews, they'd have to face the possibility of being sued.
