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THQ Nordic is the Frankenstein monster of video games
THQ Nordic has built a successful business out of the dead and rotting leftovers from downtrodden video game studios. Since entering the publishing biz in 2011, its specialty has been acquiring the intellectual property rights for midtier and AAA games and breathing new life into them. THQ Nordic has resurrected and remastered franchises including Darksiders, Jagged Alliance, Red Faction, Desperados and MX vs. ATV, to name just a few. The studio's latest purchase has been lifeless for six years, but it's a big one. THQ Nordic announced this month that it acquired the rights to Kingdoms of Amalur, the vast fantasy franchise from Rhode Island developer 38 Studios, which went down in flames and infamy in 2012. Amalur is just the latest limb sewn onto THQ Nordic's undead monster, but it's a clear representation of the company's unique, and so far lucrative, approach to publishing.
'TimeSplitters' is coming back
British console game TimeSplitters saw massive popularity in the 2000s. Its humor, artistic style and cheeky pop culture references earned the three-game series a passionate fan base, but despite its success, the title subsequently lay dormant. Until now. Maybe. The series has been bought by Koch Media -- which has built an entire business out of buying and reviving old franchises like this -- and it sounds like they're planning to do something with it.
EU probing Valve and five publishers for geo-blocking games
The legislative body of the European Union is launching an antitrust investigation into regional pricing and geo-blocking practices on Valve's Steam store. In a statement, the European Commission says it's investigating "bilateral agreements" between Valve and five publishers: Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax. The investigation is focused on activation keys, whose primary function is as an anti-piracy tool. After buying a physical copy of a game, users need to submit an activation key to prove they own it and add it to their Steam library. Once done, the game is then available on any device that the user is logged into.
Adventure game Secret Files: Tunguska coming to Wii, DS
Distributor Koch Media announced today the point and click adventure title Secret Files: Tunguska is coming to both Wii and DS systems. According to the studios handling the development, 10TACLE for the Wii and Keen Games for the DS, Secret Files is "a perfect-match" for each platform's unique control schemes. The DS port will be out later this year with the Wii version following Q1 2008. The PC version of Secret Files is already at-large.The adventure genre has struggled to maintain its presence on consoles and handhelds in recent years. The DS has revived the scene with Phoenix Wright, Trace Memory, Hotel Dusk, and the upcoming Myst DS. Secret Files will be the first traditional adventure game for the Wii. Could motion-sensitive controls shock a little life into players' interest in the genre?
Secret Files: Tunguska coming to the DS
German developer 10tacle Studios has announced plans to develop DS and Wii ports for Secret Files: Tunguska, an adventure title that originally appeared on the PC last year. Players take on the role of Nina Kalenkow, a Russian motorcycle mechanic investigating the disappearance of her scientist father. Nina's search leads her to Tunguska, Siberia, the site of a mysterious 1908 explosion that leveled an estimated 80 million trees over 830 square miles.Though several screenshots mocking up the DS version have been sent out, we can't say for sure whether or not they're just scenes from the PC game that've been pasted onto the handheld. We'll be impressed if the game manages to look even half as good when it comes out later this year in Europe. Jump past the post break for the full Secret Files: Tunguska press release.%Gallery-3888%
Koch to distribute Wii all over UK
We couldn't resist ... the headline wrote itself! But seriously, folks, if you haven't heard, back in January, Nintendo appointed Koch Media to be the preferred distribution partner of their products in the UK. Yep, that's it. Now get back to work![Thanks, Cirrus]
