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Disney Interactive hires former Atari exec ... stop giggling!
Loyal readers who peruse our humble site daily, please take a moment before this post starts to imagine the confluence of events that would need to occur for you (in your infinite wisdom) to ever hire a former high-level Atari executive to your video game company? Now, explain this: Disney Interactive Studios has hired former Atari executive Jean-Marcel Nicolai as the senior vice president of global production; in his position, he'll head Disney's external and internal projects. For those just tuning in on the drama: Atari's got problems.In case you're thinking Nicolai was just a random executive at Atari, he was actually responsible for external product development, production support, technology development and managing five internal studios as VP of product development and chief technology officer. So, Disney hired the guy responsible for a lot of Atari games over the last few years. In trying to place this on the Disney Interactive "wall of weird," we don't know if this goes before the company telling us Turok will feature dinosaurs and its E3 press conference, or after.
Turok demo supposedly available now [update]
If you're one to believe a certain Major Nelson, then there is currently a Turok demo available on Xbox Live Marketplace right damn now. Alas, it seems as though Major's many spies (birds, beasts) are misinformed, as said demo is nowhere to be found. Nope, nothing. We continue to stare at the screen, hoping desperately that the demo will make itself known to us. We've uttered all the elvish passwords we know, but so far our efforts have been fruitless. With any luck, we'll stumble upon the answer soon.Update: Major Nelson has updated the availability for the game. The demo is available in the following regions: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and United Kingdom [Via Joystiq]
What is the Spectrobes Collector's Edition?
Tucked away stealthily among this week's releases was Spectrobes Collector's Edition. We thought it was pretty baffling that Disney would decide to rerelease an eight-month-old DS game now, and we also wondered what exactly was in this edition to collect. Siliconera reports that it's the game plus all 38 of the Code Input punch card things. The original game came with a few, but the rest seem to have only been given away at various events and promotions. In other words, they're a total pain to acquire in any other way. If you want to play Spectrobes, you may as well pony up the extra $10 (the original package is down to $20 now, and the CE is $30) and get the cards. The official press release (after the break) mentions that the package includes two exclusive Geo cards and a mini-guide. Seems like a good deal for people who were previously on the fence about Spectrobes. Or you could just wait for the sequel!
Sneaky Turok trailer stalks XBLM
Lost in the shuffle of the Juiced 2 demo and positively too much Halo 3 news was a new trailer for Turok. The trailer, now available on Xbox Live Marketplace, showcases the different stealth options there are in the upcoming revitalization of the ailing franchise. In the video, you get to see protagonist Joseph Turok take out numerous enemy soldiers (and one solitary dinosaur) with his trusty knife and bow. The video also shows a brief glimpse of a silenced firearm, which we haven't seen before. We'd like to see some more stealth kills against the dinosaurs, as they offer some of the better finishing animations. Still, if you want a taste of the stealthy goodness available in Turok, the video does the trick. Also, the video alludes to more gameplay videos to come, so we expect more between now and the game's release early next year.
Gotta watch 'em all: Spectrobes II trailer
Remember when we all found out about Disney's DGamer service? Well, one of the first titles to feature integration is the sequel Spectrobes II, the Pokemon-like game where players collect and level-up monsters. Having never played it (this is the closest we ever came), we don't know how to feel about the sequel, but as the tail-end of the trailer reveals, we'll have plenty of time to think it over. This title isn't coming until 2008. Hit up the break for the trailer.
GameStop Spectrobes giveaway
Here's something cool for Spectrobes owners: every week from now until the 17th, you can go down to your local GameStop and pick up a free collectible card that will unlock a new Spectrobe. No preorders, no Game Informer subscriptions, just free. Here's something cool for everyone else: you can get three free things from GameStop. You may be able to sell them on eBay or something in a couple of years. Whatever the reason, we know you want this free stuff even if you've never heard of Spectrobes.
Yar! Pirates gameplay vids off the port bow!
Pirates and videogames have been friends for a long time. Movies and videogames ... not so much. With the upcoming release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, we are faced with a conundrum. You see, Pirates is a game that is (naturally) filled with pirates. Sounds good, right? However, said game is also based on a film, which typically means bad mojo for any game.With the release of four new clips from the game, our hopes were high. Unfortunately, upon actually watching the new videos, we're thoroughly unimpressed. On the outside everything looks all right. In fact, the character models and animations are top notch. The combat, on the other hand, looks bland at best and awful at worst. It's clear that Disney Interactive Studios is attempting to borrow a few tricks from games like God of War and Prince of Persia, but the results are hardly convincing. From the "one guy at a time" AI to the lack luster swordplay, Pirates doesn't look too promising. There's also a distinct lack of sound. The Pirates movies are very loud and raucous, which isn't evident in these clips at all. Check out the videos after the break.
Pirates trailer: swords, guns, and a kraken
Our friends at Gamertag Radio have posted a new trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (the game, not the movie, silly). The game shows off some decent graphics and plenty of swashbuckling action. The trailer displays many different locations from the movie, ranging from Tortuga to the Flying Dutchman and of course the Black Pearl itself. The game features plenty of sword fighting as well as ranged combat. The character models look very nice -- we particularly like the animation of Jack Sparrow's signature walk -- although they're strangely silent. Hopefully, we'll see the original actors reprise their roles in the game as well. Finally, this game has a kraken. There just aren't enough krakens in games these days, really.Check out the video and tell us what you think.
Yarr! Pirates sails to 360
No, we're not referring to the elusive Pimps At Sea Alpha. Disney Interactive Studios announced that they will be releasing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for new generation consoles, including Xbox 360. Players will have their chance at the life of a pirate as Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and of course, Captain Jack Sparrow. Looking to coincide with the film's release, the game is slated for May 22nd, 2007. DIS' President of Marketing, Craig Relyea, promises that the game will feature environments above and beyond those featured in the films as well as multiple endings. So, does this make you want to search for that bottle of rum, or are you going to get a case of scurvy?
Buena Vista Games renamed Disney Interactive Studios
During a shareholder meeting today, Disney senior vice president and general manager Graham Hopper announced that the company's game division, Buena Vista Games, has been renamed to Disney Interactive Studios to better reflect the celebrated brand. More precisely, the re-branding marks a return to BVG's original name, Disney Interactive. The studio will continue to publish both Disney and non-Disney branded titles for all major platforms, including Propaganda Games' forthcoming re-imagining of Turok (pictured).
