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Dragon Age 2 glitch is an XP factory
Amateur QA engineer "boricuacookie" discovered a glitch in Dragon Age 2 that awards XP infinitely. The glitch, taking place in the chantry, appears pretty simple to execute -- certainly much simpler than dozens of hours of fighting. But, of course, don't do this.
EA: 40% of game sales digital, NPD becoming less relevant
Digital sales have been an increasing boon for EA, a source of great profit and growth for the publishing giant, and the company now estimates 40% of games sold are bought through digital channels. Retail is becoming less of an important sector and the publisher feels NPD rankings are decreasing in relevance. Tomorrow, the latest NPD figures for the month of February will be revealed. "Overall, we think the digital growth aspect of the EA story is likely to get even stronger and to impress investors in the coming years," said Arvind Bhatia, Sterne Agee investment firm analyst, during a recent management meeting (via IndustryGamers). Globally, EA still recognizes the importance of retail product, but locally the company is looking to expand its mobile and downloadable offerings, leaning on its new EA Partners divisions to help expand its digital business.
Shinji Mikami on his Shadows of the Damned role and 'adult love'
Shadows of the Damned represents not only a partnership between EA and Grasshopper Manufacture, but also a reunion between Grasshopper and Shinji Mikami, who produced its Killer 7 for Capcom. Mikami is lending his action-horror expertise to Grasshopper's new game, completely separate from his work with the Zenimax-owned Tango GameWorks. "Grasshopper is making all these great games, with really a nice visual style," Mikami told us at an EA event during last week's GDC. "I'm there to make sure the gameplay is right -- make sure it's tight, make sure it's fun. That's why I'm there." He denied the assertion that Shadows of the Damned would feel strongly Mikami-like." "When you look at it, you're going to say this is a Grasshopper game," he said. "When you play it, especially if you've played a Resident Evil, you can kind of sense 'ah, there's a little bit of Resident Evil here.' But I don't think it's from the start it's a Mikami game. It's definitely a Grasshopper game." We asked Mikami about the heart-shaped buttons EA was handing out at the event, which seemed hilariously out of step with the outrageous violence and manliness of Damned. Is Shadows of the Damned a love story? "There's two sides to it: there's that aspect of a love story, but it's not the romantic type of love," Mikami explained, cryptically. "It's a very adult type of love. And you'll see that when you play through the game -- it's definitely conveyed in certain aspects." Apparently, the "adult" type of love is so strong that a man can be fooled by a giant, grotesque demon wearing the shape of his girlfriend like a costume. As the interview concluded, the subject turned to another violent, quirky action game from Mikami: 2006's God Hand -- a title that Mikami burst into laughter upon hearing. Mikami firmly denied even a superficial relationship between his own PS2 action game and Shadows of the Damned, but he did tell us that "I'd like to make a sequel to God Hand sometime." When we suggested he could make a spiritual "sequel" to get around the Capcom-owned IP, Mikami laughed again and said "Someday, I'll do it."
Voice of the Damned: Suda 51 on being an EA Partner and surviving the Japanese market
At a preview event alongside GDC, EA offered the first playable demo of Grasshopper Manufacture's From Dusk Till Dawn-esque third-person shooter, Shadows of the Damned. Immediately after experiencing its floating skull sidekicks, baby-head gates, and demons in seductive-woman suits, we spoke to Grasshopper's CEO, Suda 51, and asked the first thing that came to mind: how did he convince EA to back such a strange game? Suda, of course, understood the intention, saying that "strange equals compliment for us." And besides, "Actually, EA has always respected our punk rock style. It was really easy, and we had a lot of freedom. EA is not just a giant corporation, but they're very accepting." He said that Grasshopper pitched the game to EA -- though later in the same interview, he told us that it was at EA's request that the game became a shooter. "We wanted to do well with the Western market," Suda said, "and we wanted to have that challenge of creating shooters," and so the studio agreed.
Shadows of the Damned preview: Goat toward the light
If you thought Grasshopper Manufacture was "selling out" by making a third-person shooter, of all things, with EA Partners, of all people, you need not worry about such a thing. Having played Shadows of the Damned for about 20 minutes, I can confirm that it is a true Grasshopper game, full of the punk rock style, weird humor, brash, sexy women (one of whom wears mechanical devices on her arms and legs, and causes earthquakes when she dances), and over-the-top melee violence you'd expect from Suda 51's studio. It just has better production values.%Gallery-118565%
Alice: Madness Returns gameplay trailer is no tea party
Nothing says "Hey, it's Monday!" like murderous teapots and bloodthirsty playing cards. It's fortunate, then, that this first gameplay trailer for Alice: Madness Returns has them -- and more! -- in droves. Watch it, then learn more about the game tomorrow morning in our new preview.
EA expanding 'Partners' model to mobile, social businesses
EA Partners has been responsible for helping to bring some noteworthy titles to market in the past few years. The co-publishing arm has helped to distribute the likes of the Rock Band and Left 4 Dead series, as well as the recent Bulletstorm, and will aid in the upcoming releases of Crysis 2 and Portal 2. It's perhaps surprising, then, that David DeMartini, the man who managed these successful co-publshing deals, has stepped down as the division's group general manager to pursue a "new commercial role." EA Partners looks to not miss a beat, however, as former SVP and COO of the EA Games label, Brian Neider, has stepped right in. Neider has quickly settled into his new role, calling the Partners program an "all around win-win," which allows "EA to partner with some of the world's best console, PC and digital developers while providing those independent developers with a global distribution/publishing partner." In fact, the shakeup marks a time of expansion for the "Partners" busines model. Through its Chillingo (mobile) and Playfish (social) divisions, EA will expand its co-publishing philosophy to capitalize on the demand for social and mobile games. "Like EA Partners, Chillingo and Playfish work with the best development talent in the mobile and social gaming space," Neider told Develop.
Klei Entertainment on 'The Journey to Creating Shank'
Klei Entertainment was pushed to the verge of bankruptcy during the development of its ultra-violent, Desperado-inspired action game, Shank. Studio founder Jamie Cheng described some of the more tumultuous periods in the game's development at a GDC panel on Tuesday morning, admitting that stress even managed to crack his normally calm demeanor. In order to remain afloat and complete Shank, Klei introduced temporary (and optional) employee wage reductions with interest, and Cheng himself took out a bank loan against his house in January 2010. The studio was offered a lifeline from an unnamed publisher, but it declined the offer and opted for a fairer, less constrictive deal with EA Partners. "We kept the IP, we kept the creative freedom; it was the good stuff," Cheng said.
Shadows of the Damned blood boss pours its heart out in new screenshots
Maybe you didn't notice, but this guy is made of blood. He's a "blood monster," if you will, and he's just one of many bosses players will face in Grasshopper Manufacture's Shadows of the Damned. More horrific V-Day screens can be found after the break.
The MMO Report: Premium section
Casey Schreiner is hot on the heels of this past week's biggest news stories, and we can't take our eyes off his scruffy beard as he does so. Seriously, it's like the fabric of the universe condensed down into beard form -- magnificent! Speaking of condensing things down, Casey begins with Lord of the Rings Online's recent financial success as the game has tripled revenues since going free-to-play. He then jumps on the bandwagon by promoting The MMO Report: Premium Section for the low, low price of $8.99 a month. Next up is the news of Funcom's deal with EA Partners to co-publish The Secret World, a deal which he considers a win/win for the two companies. And although Casey doesn't bubble with enthusiasm for DC Universe Online, he at least grudgingly gives the new title props for being the first game to launch simultaneously on the PC and PS3. For more word on RIFT, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and more, hit the jump to watch The MMO Report -- and don't forget to tune in every Thursday over at G4TV.com.
Bulletstorm vid spoofs Halo 3's 'Believe' diorama, arrives in big box full of little things
Last time we got a package in the mail for People Can Fly's lewd, crude, and full of 'tude shooter Bulletstorm, it was a pile of meat, hair, and teeth with a prominent "do not consume" sticker on it. Today's package, while nearly as inscrutable, at least sheds the "do not consume" warning, which is a step in the right direction as far as we're concerned. At the end of this post is a new Bulletstorm video spoofing Halo 3's now famous "Believe" diorama commercial; however, if you want to see it you'll need to walk the same path we did. Come, join us, as we journey deep inside The Box. %Gallery-113837%
There's a conspiracy afoot: Funcom and EA co-publishing The Secret World
The Secret World went dark a few months ago -- no doubt to hatch nefarious, world-ending plots that involve brain leeches and alien zombies -- so it's good to see Funcom's sinister child poke its head up for some solid news. It turns out that Funcom's been involved in a conspiracy of sorts: The company has signed a pact with EA Partners to co-publish The Secret World. EA Partners is a division of Electronic Arts that co-publishes third-party games such as Crysis and APB's first incarnation. Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas sees this as a way to propel the company's MMO to world domination: "We are tremendously excited to be working with what is undoubtedly the world-leading games publisher for the past decade, and it is also a great testament to the fantastic work of our development team. The experience and the knowledge that Electronic Arts brings to the table will be instrumental in allowing us to realize the full potential of The Secret World." Funcom's had a rocky few years with its finances, which is why some doubted if The Secret World would ever make it to launch. Fortunately, this co-publishing deal seems to ensure that TSW will go the distance with two companies supporting it. We still have no word on the beta or release date, but this is at least a step toward the MMO seeing the light of day -- or the gloom of the night.
EA Partners distributing Portal 2 at retail
Here's a good sign that co-op puzzler Portal 2 might really arrive after "the shortest delay in Valve history." EA Partners announced today that it will distribute the game for the brick and mortar set. Portal 2 will be available in late April via Valve's Steam service, with EA putting PC, Mac, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 copies in stores. Now, remember, Valve reserves the right to change its mind about Portal 2's launch at any time and there's nothing that even the great and powerful Electronic Arts can do about it. Gordon Freeman has been sipping piña coladas down in Cabo for years waiting for those Half-Life 2: Episode 3 marching orders. %Gallery-101341%
Bulletstorm 'Anarchy' screens show strength in numbers
These new screens from People Can Fly's upcoming kick-em-then-shoot-em-up, Bulletstorm, provide only the slightest glimpse of the game's Anarchy multiplayer mode -- a variant of the popular Horde mode in Gears of War 2.
Gatling Gears, a Greed Corp followup from EA Partners and Guerrilla co-founders
Well, that didn't take long. Less than two months after announcing their new studio, Vanguard Entertainment, Guerrilla Games cofounders Martin de Ronde and Michiel Mol have announced their first project, Gatling Gears, to be published by EA Partners. A followup to this year's downloadable Greed Corp, Gatling Gears is "set within the same Mistbound universe featuring signature elements like collapsing land, walker units and warring factions, but now with twin-stick shooter controls and a new hero, Max Brawley." Vanguard was formed by combining the duo's Karami studio with Greed Corp-developer W!Games. And like Greed Corp, Gatling Gears will be coming to three platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC. With a Spring 2011 release planned, it shouldn't be long until we hear more about this particular Gears (the other one got delayed, remember?). In the meantime, you'll have to take what you can get: the postage stamp-sized image above that we nicked from Vanguard's humble website.
EA Partners brings sci-fi/stealth/actioner Warp to PC, PSN, XBLA
EA Partners has pulled the covers off its newest acquisition, Warp, a "unique sci-fi stealth action game" coming from newcomer Trapdoor to XBLA, PSN and PC in the summer of 2011. Well, not "pulled the covers off of" so much as "pulled one little corner up and then pulled it back down right away." Here's everything we know: It "features a top-down sci-fi world with a distinctive art style, addicting levels, hazardous traps and challenging puzzles." Fin. Oh, and we found this picture from the Trapdoor offices. Good luck with that. Listen, we're touched that EA Partners knows us well enough to play upon our Pavlovian desire for products combining the words "stealth," "action," "addicting," "hazardous" and "sci-fi" despite have no context for said descriptors. We just wish it wasn't so good at it.
PSA: Lego Rock Band export 'temporarily' not working, 'will be soon' says Harmonix
Time for another public service announcement from your civic-minded pals at Joystiq: If you were thinking about picking up Lego Rock Band on Xbox 360 hoping to suck its delicious track marrow from that disc-shaped skeleton, you're going to want to hold off until further notice from Harmonix. Also, you're going to want to work on that metaphor. Following a lengthy 20-page thread on the issue, Harmonix took to the Rock Band Forums to assure fans – and would-be track-suckers – that the feature would be back up and running soon. You see, the process for exporting tracks from Lego Rock Band is a little cumbersome: You enter the code included in the game onto RockBand.com which, in turn, provides you with a code to "purchase" the license from the Xbox Live Marketplace. At this point, you're able to actually download (it's not really an "export" at all) the tracks for the cool asking price of $10. The snag: Harmonix has "temporarily run out of Lego: Rock Band redemption tokens" but expects to remedy the situation "soon." If you've already been afflicted by this issue, Harmonix has some advice for you in its statement. Everyone else, sit tight until whatever licensing nightmare that's responsible for this goes away. The statement: Due to overwhelming demand, we've temporarily run out of Lego: Rock Band redemption tokens for Xbox 360. We're really happy so many of you were excited to bring songs from LRB over into Rock Band 3 and we're doing our best to get new tokens set up for redemption as quickly as possible. Stay tuned to this thread and watch @RockBand on twitter for updates. We'll be responding to everyone via Redemption@RockBand.com shortly, but HMXcj and I will be updating this thread to reach as many people as possible. Sorry again for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience! [Thanks, Peter]
Shinji Mikami still working on Shadows of the Damned after Bethesda deal
Zenimax's acquisition of Tango Gameworks -- and therefore of Shinji Mikami -- won't affect his existing deal with EA Partners and Grasshopper Manufacture to make Shadows of the Damned. In a statement to Eurogamer, the new parent company said that "Shinji will serve as creative lead on the games developed at Tango Gamework[s] and will fulfil his remaining obligations to Grasshopper pursuant to their prior agreement." We wouldn't bet on Mikami continuing to freelance with other companies after the existing agreements have elapsed, which casts doubt on his contribution to a Vanquish sequel with Sega -- if one is ever approved. In addition to confirming his continued influence on Grasshopper's stylish shooter, the statement suggests that Tango Gameworks will continue to operate as a unit, rather than having its staff absorbed into Zenimax's Bethesda teams.
Shank takes a stab at Steam on October 26
Klei Entertainment's stylish murder-em-up, Shank, has been dated for Steam, according to the latest trailer issued by EA. On October 26, anxious arterial-spray aficionados can work their craft via Valve's Steam service -- as seen in the image above, pre-ordering the game also knocks off 10% of its $14.99 asking price, bringing it down to $13.49. Oh, you don't believe us? Really? We thought we got past your trust issues, Reginald? Well, head past the break and check out the trailer for yourself, then feel super guilty for ever doubting us.
American McGee on bringing Alice's madness back
At a pre-TGS event, EA demonstrated gameplay of Alice: Madness Returns, with a segment in real-world London transitioning to a Wonderland in which Alice used a pepper grinder as a Gatling gun, fighting weird baby-doll monsters and giant teapots that spat boiling tea. After bearing witness to the return of the madness, we chatted with American McGee, head of developer Spicy Horse, about the new game, his name as a brand, and, of course, the other recent reimagining of Alice in Wonderland, courtesy of Tim Burton. %Gallery-102210%
