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Rockstar Vancouver studio closed, staff asked to join new facility in Toronto
You know what they say: Every time a window Vancouver studio closes, a door Toronto studio opens. Well maybe that's not how the saying goes, but tell that to Rockstar; the company has closed up its Vancouver, Canada facility, and opened up a new facility in Oakville, Ontario for Rockstar Toronto.The Vancouver staff, which numbers around 35 and was last seen working on Max Payne 3, is being given the option of joining Toronto, or a different Rockstar studio.The new Toronto facility, says Rockstar, is being built in conjunction with a deal from the Ontario government, though specifics on how much the deal is worth weren't available. Rockstar says the combined Canadian team will grow even further, with as many as 50 people being hired on in the future. As for the Vancouverites – we hope they're flexible on location. Otherwise, we wish them well wherever they end up next.
Here's Max Payne 3's TV commercial
The official Max Payne 3 television commercial debuted last night during the Lakers v. Spurs game on ESPN last night, and it's chock full of all the Max Payne-y things you'd expect – slow motion bullets, slow motion jumping, slow motion ladies, etc.It's a little sad that the game is billed as "from the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption," considering that the original Max Payne predates both GTA3 and the entire Red Dead franchise. Then again, a modern 18 year old gamer would only have been seven years old when the series originally debuted in 2001, so we can't really blame Rockstar for playing to its target demographic's familiarities. Kids these days with their Macintosh computers and their Fiat 500s.
Max Payne 3 gets $100 Special Edition, pre-order only until January 15
\ If you're absolutely certain you'll want Max Payne 3 in a really bad way, and you're already financially and emotionally prepared to drop a Benjamin on it, has Rockstar got the deal for you! Between now and January 15, roughly two months before the game's March release window, you'll be able to order the Max Payne 3 Special Edition, "while supplies last." What will your $100 pre-buy you, besides the game itself? Ready? Here goes: A 10" tall Max Payne statue; "game-inspired Original Still Life Art Prints," for your art collection; a bullet-shaped keychain with screw-off back (for your drugs!); the obligatory multiplayer character pack, including Max Payne favorites like Mona Sax and Vladimir Lem; the similarly obligatory multiplayer weapons pack; and lastly, the game's original soundtrack. Curiously, this Special Edition really is special, in that it actually is limited ("while supplies last") and won't be available after release. If you want to wait, be warned that eBay scalpers are probably circling the waters already.%Gallery-139989%
Max Payne 3 trailer, now with informative pop ups
"Hey rookie, got another post for ya." Chief Grant tossed a manilla file folder onto my desk, acrid cigar smoke pouring from his mouth as he walked by. His brightly colored suspenders contrasted his gruff, guttural disposition and worried brow. The haphazard mess of papers spilled out of the folder like blood into my hands, and the face of Max Payne filled my vision. "But Chief," I said. "Our readers have already seen this Max Payne 3 trailer." Chief Grant stopped dead in his tracks, like a dead thing. He took the cigar from his mouth and looked at me with his cold, lifeless eyes. "Not like this," he said. As I sat back down at my desk, the evening's orange glow painted shadows through the blinds. In the distance, some other film noir stuff happened.
Max Payne 3 screens bring back bald Max
New screens of the surprisingly real Max Payne 3 bring us a variety of looks from Max's repertoire. Bald, tank-topped Max, as seen in his 2009 reveal, makes an appearance, along with "classic" leather-jacket Max, Max in a Hawaiian shirt, a t-shirt, and a button-up shirt and tie. What a versatile fellow! At least, in terms of clothing. He's pretty much holding both arms straight out and shooting people 100 percent of the time, no matter how he's dressed.%Gallery-122099%
Max Payne 3 re-emerges in Edge cover story
Last week's Max Payne 3 teaser from Rockstar has turned out to be a surprisingly timely lead-in for Edge Magazine's latest cover story. Edge posted the cover art for its new issue today, featuring Payne (back to a full head of hair), and noted that the magazine would hit UK newsstands on April 12. Of course, it's already in the hands of some subscribers -- and you know what that means. While few details can be gleaned from the short excerpt that Edge itself posted online, full scans and article summaries have emerged across forums and gaming sites, spilling all the beans. The Edge preview gives no indication that, even during all this time laying low, MP3 has undergone any starts and stops -- it's still set in São Paulo, Brazil, and Payne will still be all bald and brutish during points in the chronologically nonlinear plot (the game's missions are going to bounce around). Instead, the article suggests that Rockstar's meticulous pursuit of perfection has slowed development to a crawl (the release date is still noted as "to be confirmed"). Lead development studio Rockstar Vancouver has labored over delivering "a more fully realized cinematic experience," according to art director Rob Nelson (in Edge's excerpt), using NaturalMotion's Euphoria animation engine to blend the cinematic and interactive elements of the game into a seamless experience -- and Edge marvels at the result in the level demonstrated to the magazine.
Max Payne 3 not dead, presumably trapped in bullet time
It seems like development of Max Payne 3 is running even more slowly than a slow-motion dive from its protagonist. It's already been delayed more than once, and when Take-Two failed to mention it at all during its financial conference call earlier this week, and it didn't appear on the company's release schedule, we feared the worst. Said fears appear unfounded, however, as Take-Two reps have informed Kotaku that the publisher is "still working hard" on Max Payne 3, and more information is expected "in the coming months." Yeah, it's not much, but at least we know Max isn't dead. Not yet, at least.
Max Payne 3 delayed beyond October; L.A. Noire & Civ 5 still due this fall
We have a winner! Well, a "winner." Back in March, Take-Two named four titles: Max Payne 3, Mafia II, L.A. Noire, and Civilization V, and floated the possibility that one of them would be delayed out of fiscal 2010 (which ends October 31). Today, the publisher revealed that the near-illusory Max Payne 3, which had already faced a delay, was the one. No further specifics about the delay were revealed in the company's earnings release, but Take-Two affirmed that the other three titles are still on track. Mafia II currently has a release date of August 24, and L.A. Noire and Civ V are set to be released in the fiscal fourth quarter -- which means they should be out by the end of October. Though, just because Max Payne took the (slow-motion) delay bullet this time doesn't mean the other games are entirely safe. Update: Take-Two CEO Ben Feder addressed the delay in a related investor call. "While we do not take the movement of any title lightly, our recent success with Red Dead Redemption illustrates the importance and the benefit of giving a title the time it needs in order to fulfill its potential in the marketplace," he explained. "The team at Rockstar is focused on making this the best experience in interactive entertainment." %Gallery-66603%
Rockstar speaks out regarding San Diego studio accusations
While we've heard from nearly everyone else regarding recent quality of life accusations at Rockstar San Diego (not to mention Rockstar Vancouver and New York), we are just today seeing the first direct response to the claims from Rockstar itself. In a post this afternoon on the company's blog ("Rockstar Newswire"), a representative responds to a fan question on the subject by saying, "As for the stories spreading around the internet, yes we have noticed them ... Unfortunately, this is a case of people taking the opinions of a few anonymous posters on message boards as fact." The Rockstar rep also assured readers that Red Dead Redemption -- the San Diego dev studio's latest game -- is on track for its April 27 release in the US, and Rockstar "could not be more excited with how the game is looking and playing." With regards to actually addressing the accusations leveled at the company, the rep was a bit more dismissive. "We're saddened if any former members of any studio did not find their time here enjoyable or creatively fulfilling and wish them well with finding an environment more suitable to their temperaments and needs, but the vast majority of our company are focused solely on delivering cutting edge interactive entertainment. We've always cared passionately about the people working here, and have always tried to maintain a supportive creative environment." Though the piece admits "no business is ever perfect," it pointedly notes the enormous challenge that comes with "such large scale, high quality games." Unfortunately, there is no mention of the recently released "Eye of Sauron" wallpapers.
Source: Max Payne 3 development allegedly also suffering from mismanagement
As the week goes on, more and more current and former Rockstar Games employees have come forward to us (and other outlets) with information corroborating the repeated allegations of substandard working conditions at the developer's various studios. Today, however, we received news from a former Rockstar Vancouver employee regarding the status of "late 2010" title Max Payne 3 -- a title currently in development at the Canadian dev house. According to our source (who, unsurprisingly, asked to be kept anonymous), "Virtually everything said in the original 'Rockstar wives' letter and by current and former Rockstar San Diego employees in the comments applies to my experience at Rockstar Vancouver." The source also alleges an "August 2010" completion window for development of the game, though the source isn't optimistic that'll happen. "The game's story just went through another total re-write earlier this month (the third that I am aware of in the past two years) and that [means] the team would have to have all of the content done by April or May to make that August release date." Further claims about the studio range from an "enforced crunch mode through to the end of the project" that results in "14 - 16 hour work days, six or seven days a week" to a canceled two weeks of vacation over the past holidays. We've once again contacted Rockstar Games for comment and have yet to hear back as of publishing. If you are an employee of Rockstar Games and would like to tell us more about your experiences, we'd love to hear what you have to say.
Supposedly leaked Max Payne 3 teaser is rad, chronologically unsound
A couple of weeks ago, our attention was turned to a demo reel produced by a commercial sound designer named "Bix," which, no, we imagine is not his Christian name. The reel included a 30 second teaser trailer for Max Payne 3, featuring slow-motion bullets, a mysterious masked woman, appropriately crisp sound design and a highly implausible release window of "Winter 2009." Thinking the video was just a fan project made to bolster an artistic portfolio, we thought little of it. However, the clip's recent disappearance from the aforementioned reel (and its sudden circulation) has caused us to think otherwise. We're still not certain whether the teaser was commissioned by Rockstar, but we do know that it's hot as the sun, and waiting just behind the jump.
Max Payne 3's new environments (and plus-sized hero) previewed
A lot of fans of the Max Payne series have been hesitant to get completely excited about Rockstar's third installment in the series, largely due to the unfamiliar setting of São Paulo, Brazil, and the obvious aesthetic changes undergone by the game's titular anti-hero. Perhaps their fears will be abated by a recent Game Informer preview of the title, which analyzes the big differences between the first two installments and the boldly redesigned threequel. The preview mentions a few intriguing gameplay additions, including improved Bullet Time physics (thanks largely to the implementation of the Euphoria engine), and a cover system, which the game's devs promised would be optional. The article also explains the aforementioned aesthetic shifts. For instance, we learned that this older version of Max Payne isn't actually chubby. His beefier frame can be attributed to muscle, not obesity. That makes sense -- a diet consisting solely of whiskey and painkillers probably isn't loaded with saturated fats. %Gallery-66603%
First Max Payne 3 screens look strangely familiar
click for more payne Oh wow, Nathan Drake has really let himself go since the original Uncharted. What's that? Oh, sorry, this is actually Max Payne 3. So anyway, Rockstar has loosed the first screens of the latest game in its gritty, film noir inspired action series. Bruce Willis Max obviously got wrong directions from Google Maps and has ended up in Uncharted 2 -- or is it Resident Evil 5? No, it really is the next Max Payne. Can't say it's really the look we were expecting. How about you? [Thanks, danzaiver!] %Gallery-66603%
Whoa! Max Payne is a total slob
Other possible headlines included: Drink Hard: Max Payne grows up to be John McClane Max Stain 3: The Filth of Max Payne or simply: Max Payne throws up all over his shirt, exclusive pics inside So, when we first heard that Rockstar Vancouver's Max Payne 3 would deliver a "more world-weary and cynical" Max, chronicling the "downward spiral of his life" in convenient gameplay format, we balked. "More cynical?" we responded. Of course we now realize that the fool-proof formula for creating a character "more cynical" requires taking already cynical Max Payne and removing all regard for hygiene and physical appearance. Alright, Rockstar. Fair enough. You win on the "more cynical" thing ... now let's see you work this into the gameplay. Maybe a showering minigame? Or escort missions to the dry cleaners. We're just riffin' here ... hey, where are you going?
Dissecting Rockstar's formula: Joystiq previews Vice City Stories (PSP) & Bully (PS2)
The headquarters of Rockstar Games, a thin 6-story building squeezed between Best Buy and Adidas, stands just north of where Broadway cuts through Houston Street flowing downward into a mecca of trend -- or shopping for trends -- known as SoHo. A few blocks away Sony has erected one of the world's largest PSP displays (seen here), which towers over the intersection of Lafayette and Houston. But it's not just neighboring downtown-Manhattan real estate that connects Rockstar and Sony.
