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Bethesda announces Fallout: New Vegas collector's edition for high rollers
Bethesda is releasing a Fallout: New Vegas package worth squirreling away in your bomb shelter. The Collector's Edition includes a bunch of goodies modeled after items found in the game, including a set of seven casino chips representing casinos from the game, a special "Lucky 38 platinum chip," a deck of cards with New Vegas character imagery ("Use the cards to play poker, blackjack or Caravan, an original card game that was created by Obsidian especially for New Vegas!"). A hardcover graphic novel, "All Roads," written by Obsidian creative director Chris Avellone, and a making-of DVD are also included in the package. Bethesda didn't offer a price for the Collector's Edition, but GameStop has it at $79.99 on PS3 and Xbox, and $69.99 on PC.
Interview: Josh Sawyer on Fallout: New Vegas
Imagine going to work on "Van Buren," the original Fallout 3, as a designer for Black Isle Studios, only to see the title canceled due to parent company Interplay's financial problems. Then, imagine Bethesda buying the Fallout 3 license and developing an entirely different game, which goes on to win multiple awards and accolades. Now, imagine you're brought back into the franchise, as a designer for Obsidian Entertainment, to create a sequel to Bethesda's popular title. Preposterous, you say? Josh Sawyer is the lead designer on Fallout: New Vegas and, after having the rug yanked from under him on the original Fallout 3, he's happy to be working on the latest new Fallout project -- one that will be released later this year. Read on for our conversation with Sawyer. Joystiq: What's your history with the Fallout franchise? Josh Sawyer: I worked on what's called "Van Buren," which was the codename when Black Isle started to work on what would have been Fallout 3, and we had worked on it for maybe half a year, and then it was canceled because Interplay had a lot of financial problems.
Obsidian CEO describes Fallout: New Vegas as 'almost' original IP
Obsidian Entertainment has worked on a number of games based on existing franchises, including Star Wars, Forgotten Realms and Aliens*. While the studio will release an original IP in Alpha Protocol in just several weeks (through publisher Sega), its following release will be the next installment in the Fallout franchise, Fallout: New Vegas, with publisher Bethesda. At a recent Bethesda press event, I asked Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart about the studio's decision to take on the next Fallout versus pursuing an original IP. Head past the break for Urquhart's thoughtful response. *[Editor's note: The Aliens-based game was ultimately canceled.] %Gallery-92131%
Interview: Bethesda's Pete Hines
Two years ago, our discussions with Bethesda were dominated by Fallout 3. Now, the publisher has four new titles in the pipeline: Fallout: New Vegas, Brink, Hunted: The Demon's Forge, and RAGE. Oh, and it also recently announced plans to dominate the world. At a press event each of those four upcoming games, we spoke with company vice president Pete Hines about future plans and, of course, Fallout: New Vegas. Read on for the full interview.
Impressions: Fallout New Vegas (update)
Are we really ready for more Fallout? No mere expansion pack, Fallout: New Vegas is equal in size and scope to Fallout 3 and will require a significant time investment to fully explore. Bethesda has brought in Obsidian to develop the title, and the studio is adding a lot of content (more than double the number of weapons in Fallout 3, for example) and necessary tweaks to the Fallout foundation. Set three years after Fallout 3, New Vegas stars a mysterious stranger, though not a vault-dweller, who recovers from a bullet to the head and ventures forth to figure out the identity of the shooter. Of course, this journey of discovery is just as much about meting out that particular brand of Fallout justice. Update: We mention later in this piece that Fallout: New Vegas apparently wouldn't have a fast travel system. We decided to contact Bethesda about that ... since just like you, we don't want to spend all of our gameplay time walking from one town to the next. Here's the response we received: "Fallout: New Vegas will have a fast travel system – just like Fallout 3. The guys were just pointing out that unlike Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas won't have any underground tunnels (the metro) linking the various locations." %Gallery-92131%
Fallout: New Vegas ups the ante with customizable weapons, hardcore mode and more
Where Fallout 3 is involved, the idea of "more of the same" is never a bad thing, especially when we're still playing the game a year and a half after its 2008 debut. Fortunately, Fallout: New Vegas, due this fall, is more than more of the same. Here's how. Picking up three years after the events that played out in Fallout 3's Capital Wasteland, this full sequel casts players a courier left for dead in Nevada's Mojave Wasteland. As such, players will have the option to select their character's age during the initial creation (or, in this case, re-creation) process, in addition to choosing their starting S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats. While they might not be a vault dweller, the game finds a way of outfitting them with the familiar Pip-Boy 3000 wearable computer. The plot unfolds across a variety of high desert locales, from the New Vegas strip to the Hoover Dam and settlements beyond. The Mojave Wasteland is filled with things that want to kill you -- new and returning alike -- so you'll luckily have a refined combat system and expanded arsenal at your disposal. The V.A.T.S. targeting system from Fallout 3 returns more or less unaltered, save for new special move commands that should make melee fighting fans happy. %Gallery-87609%
Bethesda sets up offices in France and Germany
A powerhouse purveyor to the discerning role-player, Bethesda Softworks, has announced the opening of two new offices in Europe. Situated in Frankfurt, Germany and Paris, France, the offices will oversee sales and marketing and act as regional custodians for Bethesda's stable of popular properties. Think of them as Fallout shelters that are thoroughly stocked with baguettes and sausages. Bethesda has appointed Frank Matzke -- formerly marketing director for central Europe at Vivendi Games -- as managing director for the German arm, and Julie Chalmette as MD for France (just that office, not the whole country). Previously, Chalmette worked as a general manager for Vivendi Games France.
First screens from Fallout: New Vegas surface, feature glorious beards
Click to embearden Around these parts, we're all avid supporters of a thick, lustrous beard. Though our tastes for the gaming industries various genres differ greatly, we can all get behind any game so long as it includes characters with copious amounts of facial hair. For this reason alone, a recent batch of screenshots has placed Fallout: New Vegas firmly on our list of most anticipated games of 2010. digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/First_screens_from_Fallout_New_Vegas_surface_feature_beards'; You can check out images depicting New Vegas' unprecedentedly hirsute ensemble in the gallery below. There's also a Super Mutant with heart-rimmed glasses and a doo-wop weave, and man, we've got to find out what that's all about. %Gallery-87609%
April OXM features Fallout: New Vegas, Halo: Reach
The small, irradiated pool of Fallout: New Vegas knowledge is about to get bigger. Bethesda has announced that the April issue of Official Xbox Magazine -- set to hit newsstands next week -- will devote its cover story to the game. Readers can expect an eight-page spread on New Vegas and, as a bonus, the included DVD will also feature some exclusive gamer pics (what, no Avatar items?). Sharp-eyed readers will notice that the magazine has an eight-page feature on Halo: Reach as well. All in all, probably something Xbox gamers should keep an eye on.
The Digital Continuum: My Fallout MMO
There are times when I feel like being completely indulgent, and this week's The Digital Continuum is one of them. The Fallout MMO has been a long while coming and probably will continue to be "on the horizon" well into the foreseeable future. So, it's with this knowledge that I've put together a grocery list of ideas that would be in my version of the game -- things that would make me decidedly excited to play as soon as possible. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised it took me so long to write these things down.
Fallout: New Vegas plot details surface from USA Today
Aside from a cursory description of the game's premise on its official website, we've heard very little about Fallout: New Vegas. Today, friends, that changes, with a USA Today feature that reveals the game's protagonist as a shot and left-to-die package delivery boy who finds himself in Sin City "and the surrounding area" in 2280. "You were a courier, and you were obviously carrying something that somebody wanted," Bethesda Softworks' Pete Hines says of the player's character. "Part of the story is finding out what you had and what they took." Hines additionally insists New Vegas will "feel" far different from 2008's Fallout 3 through one key aspect: the setting. "Vegas is up and running. It is not a ghost town. It still exists and thrives. There are casinos, and you can go down onto the Strip. It will have a very different feel from that standpoint." Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hines also notes that the New Vegas will "take you hundreds of hours to explore every nook and cranny" -- not unlike the 2008 iteration of the Fallout franchise. We'd be straight lying if we said we weren't unbelievably ready to invest that time in more of the Fallout universe this fall, even after all of last year's DLC.
Fallout: New Vegas coming this fall, teaser coming ... right now
Bethesda sent word today that the Obsidian-developed Fallout: New Vegas will start irradiating store shelves this fall. It's a little less nebulous than the previous "sometime in 2010," but it's still not specific enough for our tastes. No, the real draw today is the second half of Bethesda's release, the debut teaser trailer that we've put just above. No gameplay, but it's got style and Sinatra to spare. Also ... is that a Helghast? It's not, right? [Update: Bethesda updated the game's official description with a few details. You can find them after the break.]
Namco Bandai to spread Fallout: New Vegas across Australia, Europe
Holy wow, there's actually some news about Obsidian / Bethesda's Fallout: New Vegas. We hadn't seen hide nor hair of the game since its announcement in April of last year and ... well, we still haven't. No, dear Readers, today's news is merely that the game will be distributed in many locales outside of the US by Namco Bandai. Specifically, the Japan-headquartered giant will be putting New Vegas into the hands of gamers in Australia, Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Rivet City. (We made that last one up.) For its part, Bethesda mostly talked up the partnership, but added that, "Fallout: New Vegas builds upon the immersive gaming experience that made Fallout 3 the 2008 Game of the Year." Yes, please! [Via CVG]
Fallout 3 will not get higher level cap
Bethesda likes you just as you are, Capital Wastelander. At the very least you don't need to keep working on that level grind in Fallout 3, as Bethesda's Jeff Gardiner confirmed to MTV Multiplayer that the game's level cap won't be raised beyond 30. (Back in May, the game's Broken Steel DLC increased the maximum possible level from 20 to 30.)He did, however, note that he's "sure we'll [Bethesda] look into addressing these concerns in future games." Though the company is farming out development of next year's expansion Fallout: New Vegas to Obsidian, the Fallout IP is still very much in Bethesda's hands -- making us wonder if we'll see what Mr. Gardiner is talking about as soon as next year. %Gallery-50700%
Obsidian working on unannounced fourth project
In addition to the upcoming Alpha Protocol and Fallout: New Vegas, as well as the perpetually delayed/possibly dead Aliens RPG, Obsidian Entertainment is apparently working on a fourth, unannounced title. In an interview with GameBanshee, Obsidian's Feargus Urquhart said, "We have been working on another title for the last four months that we can't talk about yet." According to the piece, the game is being developed on the company's internal engine, though Urquhart had, more or less, positive things to say about his company's experience with Unreal Engine 3. "Our engine, like Unreal, is a tool and different jobs can be done better with tools that are made for them ... there are things that our engine may never do as well as Unreal, but likewise there are things that our engine will do that will be better than Unreal," Urquhart says of the choice. Considering the rest of the interviews answers, we're fairly certainly that the game's not a new Neverwinter Nights nor Knights of the Old Republic 3. Guesses, friends?
Fallout: New Vegas coming to consoles next year
At a Bethesda press event in London today, our very own Jem Alexander learned of a brand new addition to the Fallout universe. Fallout: New Vegas will be available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 next year, courtesy of Alpha Protocol developer Obsidian Entertainment. No other details have been revealed yet, but we're certain Jem will lockpick and hack his way to as much information as he can. We'll feed him to the mutants if he doesn't.Update: The title is "just Fallout: New Vegas. No number. It's not a sequel." For those worried this non-numbered expansion would be a party game, fret not. It's "definitely an RPG," according to Bethesda VP Pete Hines. Obsidian Entertainment was founded by Fergus Urquhart who, along with a few other Obsidian guys, worked on the original Fallout. The team was approached by Bethesda and "jumped at the chance" to work on this new title.
