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Future to spare CVG from publication cuts
UK gaming site CVG will not close down this year following a round of cutbacks at its publisher, Future, MCV reports. CVG will decrease its writing staff to three – it currently has five full-time employees plus support staff in the US and Australia. Future will review CVG in December. In May, Future announced a restructuring effort that would result in the loss of 170 jobs in the UK. Future handles gaming publications OXM, PC Gamer, Gamesradar, Edge and CVG. Future planned to focus its attention on Gamesradar, the bigger US brand, but support for CVG and attempts to purchase the site prompted Future to keep it around through December at least, MCV reports. There's no word on the fate of Future's other gaming holdings. [Image: Future]
Creating a new world: 38 Studios discusses the formation of Amalur's IP
As MMO fans, we're keeping a close eye on 38 Studios for its development of Project Copernicus, the MMO that will serve as the follow-up to next month's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The risk factor of not only developing two major intertwined projects in parallel but to have the additional task of creating a brand-new IP in which to put them must be a pressing one, which is why CVG sat down with Reckoning Lead Designer Ian Frazier to talk about challenges the studio has been tackling. Frazier outlines the balance the studio's struck between its three big-name creators -- Todd McFarlane (art), R.A. Salvatore (story), and Ken Rolston (design) -- not to mention the ideas that pour in from founder Curt Schilling. Fortunately, Frazier says that these larger-than-life personalities mesh well together: "The nice thing that's worked out is, I think if we'd got three famous game designers, it would have been a disaster: big egos, they're all on the same plane, it wouldn't have worked out. What makes this work is they're all different." Even though Rolston previously worked on The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Frazier said the designer wanted to try his hand at something fresh with a better combat system. "They're all great games," Frazier said of the Elder Scrolls series, "and I think they're progressively better, but they're all the same game. It's not like they're radically changing with time." Frazier said Reckoning has been compared to a "single-player WoW" as well as Dragon Age and Fable, but he insists that the world and ideas the team's been creating will take it far past those basic comparisons. You can take your first peek into the world of Amalur with the Reckoning demo -- and let us know what you think in the comments!
Why Microsoft is 'the MMO graveyard'
Anyone who's been following MMOs for any length of time will have come to the astute conclusion that Microsoft is not a fertile ground for the growth of such projects. In fact, in an opinion piece over at CVG, the author labels the company and Xbox Live as an "MMO graveyard" where good titles go to wither and die. Citing MMOs such as Mythica and True Fantasy Live Online as evidence, CVG says that Microsoft's "inflexibility" became the company's biggest obstacle to seeing a title through to launch. Instead, MMO after MMO was canceled, transferred to other companies, or promised and forgotten. CVG says that there is enough evidence to suggest that Microsoft is unsure and afraid of the MMO model, and instead of doing its best to be accommodating to such projects, the company made it all but impossible for original projects or PC ports to come to fruition. The article is a fascinating overview of the games and issues involved in Microsoft's approach to the MMO market, and ends with a handful of "hopefuls" that will prove that console MMOs can be done, and done well.
Jagex preparing to conquer the world with 8Realms
"What's next?" is the question on everyone's lips when it comes to successful MMO studio Jagex. The RuneScape developer has many projects in the works, including Stellar Dawn and Transformers Online. However, the company is hoping that you'll also take notice of 8Realms, its social empire builder that lets you cultivate a civilization from scratch and conquer the world with your cunning. As 8Realms entered closed beta this past week, Lead Developer Claire Blackshaw spoke with CVG about the game's focus. "Our approach is always a strategy first and social second," she said. "Though I do think the most appealing aspect of games such as Diplomacy is the social element." She thinks that the game can challenge genre favorite titles like Civilization and Total War while remaining accessible to the lunch break strategist: "8Realms can fit into your day, firing it up at lunch to launch a few attacks or make sure your research is going as planned. Also because of the social element you have wars break out which get you very worked up." The team is also proud of how far it has advanced the capability of browser-based games alone. "We made current browser tech jump through hoops, and using our own server-side technology pushed what's possible in terms of scaling," Blackshaw said.
What are Gabe Newell's three favorite games?
"Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales and Bubsy 3D: Furbitten Planet." Sure, we assumed that'd be the answer too. But as CVG discovered, the Valve chief's real favorites (Super Mario 64, Doom and a punch card game called Trek) are far more mundane. Boy ... you think you know somebody.
Blizzard asks console MMO questions
Blizzard may be monopolizing today's headlines on account of the juggernaut that is Cataclysm, but the MMORPG giant is also making news on a smaller scale (and on a different platform). In an interview with CVG, Blizzard's Greg Street and David Kosak drop a few hints regarding the company's stance towards console MMOs as well as the challenges inherent in developing for the platform. "I think the control scheme is a part of it, the traditional MMO has always had a lot of typing and is dependent on the mouse and keyboard paradigm," Street says. He goes on to mention that conventional wisdom used to dictate that FPS titles couldn't work on consoles either, and Halo summarily proved a lot of folks wrong in that regard. Along the same lines, Kosak addresses the differences in design from a PC monitor to a television. "On PC you're sitting right in front of a screen, you can have a lot of dense information displayed and very complex control schemes. If you're playing on a couch from a distance with a controller, it requires very different design," he says. Check out more of Blizzard's console questions at CVG.
The Old Republic: The 50-novel MMO
"Would you like some story with that?" seems to be BioWare's talking point these days when it comes to The Old Republic. When talking to CVG, the RPG developer boasted that TOR will contain "50 novels-worth" of story, an impressive number that backs BioWare's commitment to telling a tale, even in a genre where story is seen as disposable. In fact, BioWare isn't afraid to ruffle the feathers of competing MMOs by claiming that they sacrifice fun, story and interesting content while training players to rush through it all to the end game. Despite studios and players resisting change, Lead Writer Daniel Erickson claims that it's time for MMOs to challenge traditional conventions and return to their RPG roots: "The thing that has been a challenge for us on Old Republic is that people tried to convince us these limitations were canon - that they were to be respected, you know? That you could not, in fact, put interesting bits in an MMO because that was now sacrilege." Of course, as with any pre-release boasts, the question is if BioWare can make good on their claims, and if these changes will be embraced by the MMO community or rejected. The answer to that is over a year away, but it doesn't seem to stop fans and critics from trying to provide it now. Read Erickson's full quote over on CVG and let us know what you think!
Assassin's Creed 2 producer sees franchise expanding beyond a trilogy, maybe into WWII
When asked whether or not the Assassin's Creed series would be getting a third installment, Assassin's Creed 2 producer Sébastien Puel thinks the answer almost goes without saying. "I'm often asked if we're doing a third game after ACII... I mean, we could do 35 of these," he (hopefully) exaggerates to Xbox World 360 in the mag's latest issue (via CVG). When the game's creative director told us the second game would be ending with a cliffhanger, we didn't know he meant we'd have to play 35 games to resolve it -- that's approximately 35,000 assassinated fools, by our estimations.Explaining his hyperbole further, Puel admits that a female assassin isn't out of the question, even confirming "We've had discussions on that very topic." Still, the Ubisoft producer doesn't want to switch the protagonist's gender without a good reason. "World War II, the economies in England and France were run by women because the men were off fighting ... we don't want to just decide we want to change and have a female hero, as the first inspiration is always the time period." To read the full interview in its original context, pick up the latest issue of Xbox World 360 (if you're in the UK, that is).%Gallery-49869%
Hydrophobia floats to XBLA, goes episodic
click for screens of what Hydrophobia looks like now We haven't heard anything about Dark Energy Digital's water physics-based horror/puzzle game Hydrophobia in nearly a year, which makes today's news that the game is heading to XBLA rather than getting a full retail release all the more jarring. According to a preview of the game by Xbox World 360 UK (as reprinted on CVG), not only is Hyrdrophobia getting the digital distribution treatment, it'll be heading to Microsoft's console in the form of "three episodes of around five hours each, to be released within a twelve month window." The preview contains undoubtedly the largest glut of info on the game we've seen since we first heard about it way back in 2007 -- when it was still planned for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Apparently the episodes could continue if they prove successful enough, though no word is given on if they'll ever head to PS3 and PC. The game has already missed its planned March 2009 release window and dropped a few consoles for its eventual release, so we've reached out to Dark Energy Digital for more details. [Update: Dark Energy Digital got back to us with some fresh shots from the game (seen above).] %Gallery-74474%
Harmonix to 're-energize' its franchises after The Beatles: Rock Band
Sure, The Beatles: Rock Band developer Harmonix has been busy working on next week's big release for some time now, but did you know it's also working on "re-energizing" its "core franchises?" Harmonix PR overlord John Drake told CVG as much, saying that while the studio is ready to refocus on its existing portfolio, it's been busy making sure it got The Beatles game 100 percent right. "We were terrified while making the game, hoping we don't make [Apple Corps] mad at any point -- they're really nice and easy to work with, but this is The Beatles, you can't afford to mess this up." Considering the longtime rhythm game developer more or less re-energized its Amplitude and Frequency franchises with Rock Band Unplugged, we're taking a wild stab in the dark here when we suggest Drake's likely talking about Rock Band 3. And does "re-energizing" in this case mean "adding Project Natal functionality?" We're not sure yet, but we've got our fingers as uncrossed as possible, just in case.
Sony Ericsson head talks PlayStation phone, mythical beasts
Okay, okay, we're just kidding -- he doesn't talk about any mythical beasts. But he may as well be, when speaking about the oft rumored, never going to happen "PlayStation phone." Telling the Financial Times (requires subscription), "If we do not adapt to this new technology or new market environment, we're going to lose," Sony Ericsson's president, Hideki Komiyama, has seemingly resurrected the rumor from its smoldering ashes. Though Sony allegedly has said in the past that a PlayStation-branded phone could only exist independently from the mobile phone maker, the statements made by Komiyama seem to paint a different picture. Though we'll call it unlikely at best, it is possible we'll hear more about this partnership at next month's E3 -- but we're not holding our breath.[Via CVG]
Banjo-Kazooie DLC on the way, Achievements on Xbox website
At the beginning of this month, a posting on the forums of Banjo-Kazooie developer Rare lead us to believe that we'd be seeing more content for the game a lot sooner than today. Whether we were mislead or simply employing the jumping to conclusions mat too liberally remains to be seen, but today the list of achievements for Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on Xbox.com has been amended with 250 extra points, hinting pretty heavily at directly confirming the upcoming DLC and laying out details for some of it.One such achievement, titled "L.O.G. Master" tasks the player with winning "all of the new multiplayer games" (emphasis on "new") while another, titled "Halfway Home," confirms the inclusion of "L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges" in the as-yet-unannounced content. While this achievement list certainly solidifies the future release of more Banjo-Kazooie content, we would certainly appreciate some more detail. So we reached out to Microsoft for comment and got this in return:"Yes, these Achievements are connected to my upcoming add-on pack for Nuts & Bolts, but don't go thinking that this is all I have in store for you. Oh no, I have a few other tricks up my sleeve ... but looks like you eager gamers will just have to wait until the Day of Fools to learn more."Looks like we're waiting 'til April 1st for all the hard facts. While this is a better response than "No Comment," is a straight answer too much to ask?[Via CVG]
Dante's Inferno preview reveals God of War style gameplay
The latest issue of British magazine PSM3 has a ten-page preview of EA's upcoming hell-em-up Dante's Inferno, which it calls "Dead Space meets God Of War in hell." CVG has pulled some interesting tidbits from the article, including a claim that "button-for-button the controls are identical to [God of War's]." In fact, Dante's Inferno sounds very similar to God of War in many ways. Health and mana orbs are dropped when enemies die and are also found in chests, which are "opened by holding Circle." The game also features QTEs and combos utilizing the protagonist's light and heavy attacks. Apparently, it's the subject matter that sets Dante's Inferno apart from God of War. It is "altogether more unpleasant," where "twisted creatures burst from doorways, lava spews from inverted crosses and bottomless fiery pits yawn deep beneath your feet."If God of War III doesn't make it out this year, Dante's Inferno may be just the thing to tide action fans over. If GoW III does make it out in '09, however ... well, we're not expecting Dante to beat Kratos at his own game, are we? Check out the latest issue of PSM3 for the full preview.
WoW generates half of Acti-Blizz earnings
The folks over at CVG picked up an interesting note on our Activision-Blizzard overlords' 2008 fiscals. According to Arvind Bhatia, World of Warcraft probably generated 30 cents out of each 60 cents per share of earnings. Put another way, that's about $400 million for shares at the end of the fiscal year ending this past December. Now, this is kind of the best guess of Mr. Bhatia, who works under the firm Sterne Agee. (And they certainly have a reputation that says we could probably believe them.) But even without Sterne Agee's reputation, a little back-of-the-envelope math shows that his analysis probably bears fruit. We already know that WoW has 11.5 million subscribers. At $15 dollars a pop per month, you're already looking at $172 million each month. But we know that a lot of folks have discount plans, and the charge isn't the same across the globe. I can easily believe a $400 million yearly earning from subscriptions, and am actually surprised it's not higher. Of course, Bhatia has recently lowered some of his other estimates for ATVI, and warns that the consensus estimates predicting $5.2 billion in revenue are probably too high. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, this does say that World of Warcraft is doing just fine. We can feel free to threaten to quit over the latest nerf, the lights're going to stay on while we're out the door.
Uncharted 2 enemies have improved since you last met
Looks like Nathan's enemies will be enjoying an expanded skillset in Uncharted 2. CVG has been nattering with Bruce Straley, one of the game's directors, who has revealed that the baddies in Uncharted 2 will feature improved intelligence. Specifically, they will now "hunt" and "investigate" based on movement in their peripheral vision. "When Drake enters this peripheral vision the enemies will look over in the direction they think they saw him in and depending on how long he was in this vision cone, they may just look or they may walk over and check out what they think they saw.""If they lose eye contact with Drake for a few seconds, one or more enemies will start hunting around the area, starting with his last known location, and then spread their search out if he's not found." This hunting behaviour means that the enemies will need to be able to follow Drake wherever he goes, which means jumping and climbing around the environment. "The benefit to this was our combat wasn't limited to flat terrain anymore."Sounds great to us. One of our biggest gripes with Uncharted 1 was that at any given point you were either fighting or platforming. Hopefully we'll see more of a crossover in the sequel. Apparently more details will be forthcoming once CVG posts the full interview with Straley tomorrow.
Microsoft doesn't intend on using Home
Well duh. Did you really think that Microsoft would seriously use Home to conduct virtual business meetings? It was a fun idea, but one that turns out to be false according to CVG. Microsoft says they "will not be using Home as a tool for virtual meetings. With fantastic Microsoft-developed products and applications like Live Meeting and even Xbox Live Party, we have everything we need to host a virtual meeting in-house" But on the other hand, if you were Microsoft would you admit to using a competitor's product to conduct your business? Not only does it disparage your own products, but think of the intelligence gathering potential for Sony. We already know their moderators are invisible within Home. There could be one sitting in the corner of the meeting room, listening to every word.As far as we know the other companies mentioned in the initial report are still planning on hosting these virtual meetings. Hope we haven't put them off ...
Catch up on your Star Trek Online essentials
For anyone who's missed out on the information train for Star Trek Online, a good place to catch up would CVG's recent preview. The reason being that it touches on all the basic talking points for Cryptic's crack at Star Trek Online. There are even a couple things in this preview that people somewhat familiar with the upcoming title may not know about -- probably due to Cryptic living up to their name when it comes to information. One such detail concerns a player's bridge crew and the fact that they level up along with the Captain of the ship. Another would be that the general crew (or redshirts) while expendable, will serve as a sort of resource mechanic in the game.It's a short yet interesting read, perfect for killing a few minutes while satiating your Star Trek nerd lust.
Rumor: EA has Starbreeze working on new Syndicate
CVG claims that EA has Starbreeze Studios working on a new entry in the Syndicate franchise. Starbreeze is best known for creating the Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness. The original Syndicate was created by Peter Molyneux's old studio, Bullfrog.Starbreeze doesn't note that a new Syndicate game is currently in production on its website and this information isn't official. A return to the Syndicate universe does sound like a nice idea, so hopefully CVG's source isn't the same one that told it about the Starcraft MMO last year.[Via Big Download]
Rumor: List of features accessible via in-game XMB
More 2.40 rumors today as CVG claims they have some new information from a very anonymous, very inside source. This information comes in the form of a list of accessible features for the in-game XMB. We know a lot of you are pining for some sort of in-game music and, if this list is true, your wishes may have come true. Additional details aren't available, unfortunately, so make of this list what you will. We've put it after the jump for your perusal.CVG also claim their source reckons that 2.40 will drop in about three weeks, during E3. We've a couple of reasons to think it might come earlier than that, but nothing concrete. Regardless of when it appears, 2.40 is looking to be the greatest firmware update yet.
MGS4 features 90-minute cutscenes, 4.6GB installation
Surprise, surprise. The biggest PS3 game yet may require a 4.6GB installation. So says the back of the placeholder box snapped by Flickr user David-Heffernan. Frankly, this is one game we don't mind making room for on our HDD. Are we over it, now? Good, let's move on. Writers of the UK magazine PSW have played the full game (their review can be found in the latest issue, which hit newstands today) and soon told their mates CVG that Metal Gear Solid 4 includes cut-scenes that approach the 90-minute mark. That's not a total, that's the length of at least one of the cutscenes, individually. We hope you've got a kitchen stocked full of eats, because there's going to be a lot of watching to be done. Of course, all the cutscenes are skippable and pausable.With individual story sequences the length of most full-length movies, MSG4's narrative promises to be truly epic. PSW states that it's "the videogame equivalent of all three Godfather movies on one disc." As if we weren't hyped for this game enough already ...
