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Rumor: Realtime Worlds lays off staff, puts APB up for sale [Updated]
Tweet var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Rumor_Realtime_Worlds_lays_off_staff_puts_APB_up_for_sale'; One of the most recent MMOs to hit the market is already in deep trouble, according to multiple reports popping up over the internet. According to unconfirmed rumors, Realtime Worlds has fired the entirety of its MyWorld team, made drastic cuts and layoffs elsewhere, and might be putting APB up for sale. Announced last month, MyWorld was to be a social gaming experience scheduled for a 2011 launch. If these rumors are true, then Realtime Worlds is mired in financial trouble and is scrambling to keep from going under. A VG247 source reported, "As of 11:30 GMT Realtime Worlds have put a large proportion on their workforce on gardening leave ranging from 4-8 weeks. APB's staff will be reduced to admin and a skeleton staff of devs and artists to keep it running and do general updates, but this looks like the end of RTW." A developer on the APB European forums briefly addressed the situation by saying, "As we''ve announced we had to restructure the company to make it so that we can focus totally on APB. APB is still going strong and we fully intend to support 100%." We do know that Realtime Worlds fired several employees last month in an effort to restructure the company. Massively has contacted Realtime Worlds for comment, and we will update you as soon as we hear anything. [Update: Realtime Worlds has issued a statement confirming that some MyWorld employees, though not all, have been made "redundant," but that APB itself remains intact. "APB continues to be our primary development focus, and we remain fully committed to the game and its players." According to 1UP, Colin Macdonald emphasized that Realtime Worlds has "got the whole team working on making APB as good as it can be. It's a shame things haven't turned out the way we had envisaged them, but then the beauty of online gaming is that we can address problems and keep on improving experiences. We're completely behind APB, it's got huge potential, and we'll continue to make new content for it." Stay tuned for more updates!]
Blizzard assures more growth to come for World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft has been stagnating for the past few years, even though it doesn't seem like such a word could be applied to a game with 11.5 million subscribers. While the number is certainly impressive, it's stayed the same since 2008 -- something that no developer likes to see. Frank Pearce, Blizzard's EVP of Product Development, says he anticipates that changing very soon for several reasons. Eighteen-month-old expansion Wrath of the Lich King is not yet released in China, but when it is Blizzard expects to see good things: "...once we get that approval and launch Wrath in China then I think we will see growth." Cataclysm is on the way later this year as well, and Pearce says that it will probably bring "win-back" from former players. Add that to the upcoming announcement of a new Blizzard MMO on the horizon, and the developers have high hopes for the future. You can check out the rest of what Pearce had to say over at vg247.
NCsoft PS3 'MOG' discontinued
So remember that announcement NCsoft made a few years back about working with Sony on a console MMO for the PS3? After many months of silence, VG247 has pried the news from an NCsoft Europe head has finally revealed that said project has long since been shelved. Apparently, the game was of a casual bent and seemed to hit a brick wall of some kind.While the reason behind the mysterious game's discontinued development may never be known, NCsoft is still interested in console development. And why wouldn't they be? It's a completely -- well, mostly -- untapped market that's just waiting for a company to offer something perfectly suited for it, like say, All Points Bulletin. Until that does happen, we'll just have to keep playing all our "massive online games" or whatever you'd like to call them on our personal computrons.[via Joystiq]
NCsoft Europe head confirms PS3 MMO was tabled
The oft-hyped but never shown PS3 MMO in development by NCsoft is likely not to be. VG247 reports NCsoft's European Managing Director, Veronique Lallier, confirmed the company is "not working on anything at the moment." The executive stated that the "casual gaming" title the company was working on was "not something [it] continued, unfortunately."The NCsoft PS3 MMO was first mentioned in the summer of 2007, with a follow-up announcement that the game would be announced by the end of that year. The following year, the company stated it would have "something to announce -- not only announce but to show -- by the second half of this year." Currently, NCsoft is "still looking at opportunities" for consoles. At least that two year charade is over.
Capcom working on 'PC-lead' projects
Speaking to VG247 in a podcast, Capcom's Christian Svensson offered the faintest of hints about new products in the works, indicating only that some of them were being made with PC as the lead platform. "That doesn't mean that that content isn't also going to show up on console," Svensson clarified, "because it will."This is different from other PC-designed products using the MT Framework engine in that these games are being designed specifically with PC audiences in mind. Svensson said that "the pedigree of the team and the primary focus of the design is around the PC, and the largest forecast is on PC for at least one of these projects."New IP from Capcom seems like something to look forward to, right? If only we knew anything at all about it.
Telltale's next franchise announcements 'around October,' not necessarily comedies
Known for perfecting the episodic release, Telltale Games says it's stepping into "new genres." CEO Dan Connors told VG247 as much in a recent phone interview, and the idea for this move is coming from a somewhat expected place -- television shows like The Sopranos, Lost and True Blood. "We've already evolved the genre in a lot of ways ... but we believe there's a lot of head-room to make more dramatic advances in storytelling and drama inside of this genre [adventure games]." Considering the company's past work with franchises like CSI though, you could say this tale has already been told. (YEEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!)Though Telltale will be at PAX alongside us and everyone we know, don't expect any announcements just yet. Connors says the soonest we'll be hearing about anything is "around October," so, ya know, get comfy.
Cryptic's Jack Emmert baffled by lack of MMOs on Xbox 360
A number of massively multiplayer online game developers have touted the fact that their titles will be playable on both PC and Xbox 360 but, with rare exceptions, they've failed to deliver on MMOs for this console. But can the blame for this really be laid solely at the feet of the developers? That seems to be the typical reaction, as many of us get frustrated over these broken promises. However, looking at the various titles that were aiming for 360 and missed, perhaps we should look at what all of these stories have in common: Microsoft. (Lest the fires of console fanboy rage blaze out of control, we're not exactly inundated with PlayStation 3 MMOs either.) Patrick Garratt from VG247 recently spoke with Jack Emmert from Cryptic Studios about this issue, and his perspective on playing ball with Microsoft to get Champions Online on the 360. Emmert stated that Champions Online for Xbox is almost ready to go, but lack of action on Microsoft's part is holding up the project.
New The Secret World info at PAX to be 'biggest thing yet'
It looks like GamesCom won't be getting all the late summer glory this year, as PAX now has two large MMO events tied around its massive people-crushing finger. The first is of course the Star Wars: The Old Republic public demo in the main hall, but the second seems no less grand.Funcom's Erling Ellingsen has told VG247 that the reveal for The Secret World at PAX will be "the biggest thing on TSW yet." which is certainly a statement that delivers a lot of excitement. However, beyond the confirmation of new details being revealed in Seattle, WA on September 4th through the 6th, Erling's lips were sealed.Rest assured that Massively will be speaking with Funcom, potentially with a high amount of fervor. So if you're looking for that new info come the first weekend of September, it should be awaiting your acumen right here.
Server merges in LotRO? Heck no!
The longer you are exposed to the One Ring, the stronger the hold it begins to have over you. It would appear Turbine has been able to harness this magic and set it loose upon the unsuspecting gaming population because The Lord of the Rings Online is continuing to grow even two years after its release.When VG247 caught up with Live Producer Aaron Campbell and asked him about any potential server merges, he had this to say: "If anything, The Lord of the Rings Online is growing. We have no plans to merge servers." Since Turbine nefariously refuses to release subscription numbers for any of their MMOs, I guess we'll have to take his word for it.Is it really that difficult to believe though when you consider the steady stream of content Turbine releases in the form of new Books? They also launched a strong second anniversary campaign, which included a digital download of the original game plus the Mines of Moria expansion for only $9.99. This pricing is still available.
Max Payne 3 details from Game Informer hit the web
Leaving the gritty film noir New York City of Max Payne and its sequel behind for a more tropical environment (though still a major city), Max Payne's next game takes him to São Paulo, Brazil. According to the latest Game Informer scans from the magazine's July issue cover story, the "disrepute" Mr. Payne has fallen into can be attributed to 12 "lost years" between the events of the first two Paynes and the upcoming game. Rockstar confirmed to Game Informer the addition of multiplayer as well, though -- big surprise! -- the company is keeping mum on too many details regarding whether it'll be co-op, versus, or the always mysterious "something else." For all the details, you'll want to check out the magazine when it hits your mailbox or local brick-and-mortar. [Via VG247]
Cryptic's Bill Roper: Microsoft MMO reveal for Xbox 360 unlikely at E3
Much has been said and written of the coming marriage of gaming consoles and MMOs, but like all lengthy engagements, if it drags on too long people begin to doubt it'll ever happen. When we do hear industry rumblings of a massively multiplayer online game coming to a console, it's generally about Playstation 3 rather than Xbox 360. But would it be fair to assume that Microsoft has less interest in bringing MMOs to the 360, much less delivering on a first-party MMO title? Bill Roper from Cryptic Studios seems to think so, and they're developing Champions Online for the 360 as well as PC. When speaking of the possibility that Microsoft would announce an MMO for the 360 at this year's E3, Roper told Patrick Garratt at VG247, "I don't think that's something they've been really pushing towards. From any discussions I've ever had, or heard with Don Mattrick [Microsoft's Senior VP of Interactive Entertainment Business], Don's not necessarily a huge MMO fan." Although he says he'd be pleasantly surprised if Microsoft did shift more focus to console MMOs, he cites the difficulties inherent in both dealing with technical issues and the complexities on the business side of working with third parties. You can have a look at what else Roper has to say on the prospects of Xbox 360 MMOs in the article at VG247. Do you feel that bringing your MMO of choice to the Xbox 360 would be viable, or are you starting to think that the 360/MMO marriage is doomed?
APB Rumor: Reeves moving to Realtime Worlds
VG247 has heard whispers on the north winds that David Reeves will be taking a position at Scotland-based Realtime Worlds, which is currently developing APB. Reeves won't be taking just any position, but a "senior position." Well, if true, it's hard to imagine ex-Sony President and CEO Reeves working in QA.VG247 seems to be putting its own rep behind this, saying that despite being a "rumor," to not "say [they] didn't warn you." The current party line is that Reeves is "retiring." We've contacted Realtime Worlds for any further details and will update as soon as we hear anything.
Sony expects 10-15% sales rise for PSP/PS3 this year
At least that's what John Koller, head of marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment of America, told VG247 earlier this week. "We had our largest sales year ever last year, and we'd look to go about 10-15 percent north of that this year," Koller said of the PSP, citing the upcoming software packs and software lineup as reason for his confidence. Continuing, Koller noted, "We also had our best sales year for PS3 last year and we'll look to go north of that by a similar percentage," again citing upcoming software bundles and lineup as driving the increased numbers. So we put the numbers for Sony's PS3 in 2008 against those of the previous year and found it sold just like Koller said (as seen in the graph above), with PS3 sales increasing by 40 percent. In fact, we spoke with Jesse Divnich, director of analyst services at EEDAR, who said Koller's numbers are modest, with EEDAR company predicting a 25 percent increase in PlayStation 3 sales this year and a 16 percent increase for PSP sales. Even averaged together, that's still an over 20 percent increase predicted for this year. So, maybe 2008 was the year of the PS3 after all?
DSi surpasses 2 million sales mark in Japan
It's been roughly five months since the Nintendo DSi launch in Japan (144 days, actually) and the updated handheld has been selling like gangbusters. Famitsu (via VG247) is reporting the landmark number of 2 million units, a figure that amounts to roughly 14,000 units being sold per day in the country since its launch. To put that in some perspective, the DSi has been outselling the now totally boring DS Lite at roughly 7:1 on a daily basis in the country since its launch last November. 100k every week in Japan -- on average, no less! Our hats are off to you Nintendo, patiently awaiting some soup. You see there's this recession thing you might've heard of. We're not doing so hot ...[Via VG247]
