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VR experience creator The Void is reportedly planning a comeback
The Void, which created in-person VR experiences but was forced to shutter its business last year during the pandemic, may be coming back.
Cliff Bleszinski: 'I am officially making video games again'
Former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski announced his return to the video game industry this week, and plans to reveal details on his new project "in the next seven days." 21 months after departing a studio he'd served for 20 years, the 39-year-old tweeted, "It's going to be a blast to finally tell the story of what brought me back." In 2012, Bleszinski said he left the company to pursue a fresh start, and that would be a matter of "when and with who." The Unreal and Gears of War designer also fueled rumors by posting several photos of his visits to major studios, including EA, Zynga and Activision. Then last August, he began posting concept art for an upcoming project.
RBI Baseball returns this spring to consoles, mobile
After being absent for two decades, a formerly long-running sports series is returning this spring in RBI Baseball 14. Developed by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, the MLB's in-house interactive entertainment division, the game will launch on all current and next-generation consoles in addition to smartphones and tablets. RBI Baseball 95, a Time Warner Interactive-developed game for the Sega 32X, was the last entry in the series, which began on the NES/Famicom. The timing of the announcement is appropriate, given that 2K Sports officially canceled its own baseball series just one week ago, putting an end to its exclusive third-party licensing agreement. The MLB currently has a landing page with a spiffy logo set up for the game, though no other details are available at the moment.
Apple acquired NeXT 15 years ago, Jean-Louis Gassée still dreaming of what could've been
It might be hard to picture now, but back in the mid-nineties, the threat of bankruptcy was very real for a company headquartered in Cupertino. That would all change with the purchase of NeXT on December 20, 1996 -- a move that gave the fledgling computer maker a modern OS, but more importantly brought one of its founders, Steve Jobs, back into the fold. The rest is history, as Jobs eventually secured the helm, forming a team that would go on to birth products like the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. But hardware innovation aside, ultimately that comeback wouldn't have been possible without OS X -- an OS which arose directly out of the ashes of NextStep. Sure, there was the occasional misstep along the way -- G4 Cube and hockey-puck mouse be damned -- but frankly we can't think of any turnaround as epic, nor relevant. Can you?
Samsung Comeback, Gravity 2 carry on the QWERTY legacy on T-Mobile
There aren't any surprises in this particular batch of announcements, but we're sure Samsung's new Comeback and Gravity 2 will sell like gangbusters for T-Mobile considering the overwhelming popularity of the text-savvy segment. First up, the Comeback flips to the side to reveal its inner goodness, featuring a 2 megapixel camera, microSD support up to 16GB, and a pair of displays -- one 128 x 128, one wide QVGA. Next up, the Gravity 2 succeeds -- you guessed it, the Gravity, with a more traditional side-slide QWERTY layout; like the Comeback, it features a 2 megapixel sensor and 3G. The Comeback drops today for $129.99 on contract with the Gravity 2 following on in August for a to-be-announced price.
LL Cool J's hilariously aggressive N97 ad: "don't call it a comeback"
There are really too many choice rhymes here to pick just one as a representative sample of all the "dope" and "ill" on display in Nokia's new N97 ad featuring the lyrical stylings of LL Cool J. We recommend you check it out before he begins to attempt to threaten you with physical violence. Video is embedded after the break.[Thanks, Jorge]
T-Mobile roadmap shows Dell netbooks, BlackBerry Gemini, and more
Leaked carrier roadmap documents of unknown age and origin aren't necessarily the most accurate things in the world, but they are one very awesome, important thing: leaked. Pictured above is a fragment of one such spreadsheet that we've had the good fortune of receiving for T-Mobile USA -- obviously it's a little bit on the small slide, but no sweat, we'll walk you through what it's saying. Again, we wouldn't take these dates as the gospel truth, but we'd venture to say they're a good rough guide for what to expect out of these guys for the next few months. Move along for the full list![Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Breakfast Topic: Comeback kids
My favorite MotoGP rider Sete Gibernau is back for the 2009 MotoGP after coming out of his retirement in 2006. Although I'm ecstatic that Sete's back, he's obviously lost a step, clocking 13th in Qatar and a DNF in Motegi. We've got a whole season to go, though, so things can definitely get better. This whole business of coming back to the sport reminded me of players who have quit the game for one reason or the other. I mean, we've got pretty notable players like Phaelia and BigRedKitty who have put away their staves and guns in order to pursue other endeavors. It happens.I got a message from an old friend this morning asking me if I still played WoW, saying that he might play again once he's finished moving to his new pad. Just like Gibernau, who once declined an offer to continue to race, we also know players who have come back to play the game. What interests me, however, is everybody's reason for coming back. Our GM, who quit midway through the Burning Crusade, was enticed by the promise of Wrath and became a total Achievement-addict, returning to the game and eventually leading us to remarkable raid progress.Patch 3.1 and Ulduar, along with other game improvements, are certainly enticing to players. If you had to cast Scroll of Resurrection on an old player who's retired from the game, what arguments would you use to convince them? Or if you quit the game once before, what compelled you to play again? Was it something in the game? Was it merely a temporary break, and that you'd always intended to play again? Was it the invitation of friends? While we all have good reasons to quit the game, I know we have equally great reasons to come back.
"No retreat, no surrender" for Age of Conan
Age of Conan's Game Director Craig Morrison recently had an interview at Gamespy to dicuss his game's future. In the end though, he ended up speaking more about the past, and in particular, past problems and mistakes that have now been seen to. Technical game client issues, a lack of PvE content at certain levels, and an unsatisfying PvP system were all cited as causes of people turning their back on AoC -- followers of the game since launch would agree with all of these things being issues -- but Morrison went through this list and explained how his team has improved the game on each of these fronts. The embedded video, featuring Erling Ellingsen, shows off some of the current and planned improvements.As for talk of the future, Morrison reminded us that Xibaluku is coming for the PvE junkies, and mentioned the PvP resource system, which should bring a new level of interaction to PvP gameplay. He believes that the biggest issue still remaining from launch is to do with a shortage of good gear, and an itemization overhaul is in the works to address this. We can also expect some more guild and community functions later in the year. The stage is set for a comeback; now we'll just have to wait and see if the players come to the party.
Sony execs talk backward compatibility, PS3 comeback
One year after EGM's infamous BattleStation cover feature on the PS3's problems, the latest issue has a feature that's quite a bit more bullish about the system's chances in the coming year. Included in that feature is an interesting interview with two PlayStation executives that reveals some interesting thoughts on the future of backward compatibility on the PS3.First off, VP of Marketing Peter Dille said point blank that backward compatibility was "important" to Sony, and stressed that there's still a model on the market that offers the features (for $100 extra, of course). What's more, according to PSN Operation Director Eric Lempel, downloadable PS2 title might be possible even on versions of the system that don't support disc-based backward compatibility at all. "There are possibilities through technology and software emulation to make that possible," Lempel said, intriguingly.The entire interview is a must-read for anyone interested in a somewhat defensive take on everything from PS3 motion sensitivity to hard drive sizes and system pricing. Well worth wading into the tree-killing magazine racks of your local newsstand.
Gizmondo refuses to stay dead
After giggling off yesterday's Gizmondo teaser site for all its "the legend is reborn" and "exciting psychic worlds" posturing, we've now discovered that the spectacularly unsuccessful gadget will get to enjoy the last laugh. The menacing, synthesized cackling you hear originates from the halls of UK electronics design firm Plextek, which has confirmed to Eurogamer that the Gizmondo is indeed coming back. Though "it will be a while" before the handheld system returns in some form, Plextek technical director Ian Murphy insists that "the product has been recovered from the liquidators and [Plextek is] bringing it back to market." Former Gizmondo exec and Ferrari killer Stefan Eriksson won't be along for the ride this time, but company founder Carl Freer is reportedly on board. He was recently quoted by a Swedish journalist as saying, "I'm going to resurrect Gizmondo." In the same interview, Freer saw the device's second coming happening as soon as May 2008.Perhaps consumer applause will be a bit more rapturous this time.Read - Carl Freer interviewRead - Engadget summaryRead - Eurogamer confirmation
Financial Times declares console war Wii-ner
The US NPD figures will be out tomorrow, but today the Financial Times reported that Nintendo's Wii sales have overtaken the Xbox 360 to make it the top-selling next-gen now-gen console with 9 million sold. The Xbox 360 sits at 8.9 million and the PS3 with 3.7 million. Remember, these are sold units and not those fudge-a-licious shipped numbers. Nintendo last held the top spot in the console market over ten years ago with the Super Nintendo system, before the reign of PlayStation.The data is the combination of the Japanese figures, NPD from the US and the GfK of Germany, which follows Euro sales. As a consolation prize for Sony fanboys, remember that the PS2 still owns all with over 100 million units. The piece closes by saying that the PS3's problem is price, the Xbox 360 doesn't sell in Japan and the Wii just hits the spot with a $250 price tag and strong sales in all three major markets.[Via GameDaily BIZ]
NiGHTS to have weather effects
Looks like Sega is trying to stage a comeback. After years of wading in a pool of mediocrity, there is a feeling of change in the air. Following the announcement of NiGHTS for the Wii, details are starting to emerge that Sega is actually putting -- oh, what's the word -- effort behind the new game. The most striking being the use of the Wii's Forecast Channel to change scenery based on real-world conditions.NiGHTS will also have three masks (Dragon, Dolphin and Rocket) giving shape-shifting abilities. There will be seven dream worlds and using Wii Connect 24 players will be able to "exchange items with friends." Sega has burned us too many times in recent years for us to be optimistic about the new NiGHTS; however, we must admit we are in a state of cautious optimism. We'll be happy if NiGHTS doesn't add fuel to the Wiimote control issues fire.[Via SegaNerds, Thanks Chris]
