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Resume reveals Griptonite working on 'Shinobi' for 3DS
It's been quite some time since Sega's arcade-born ninja series Shinobi sliced up fools on consoles, but a recently discovered resume listing indicates that he may be making a return on Nintendo's 3DS. Griptonite Games environmental artist Branden Brushett explains his work on the unannounced title in detail, noting he "created whole levels for 'Shinobi' on the Nintendo 3DS, including many props for use in a variety of environments." Unfortunately, aside from the news of the game existing, not much else is known -- the publishing rights holder, Sega, has yet to respond to a request for comment, nor had Mr. Brushett. And other than the news that the game will likely feature "hand painted and photo referenced textures," the resume doesn't illuminate anything else about the game. You might say that information about Shinobi 3DS is hiding in the shadows, like a ninja, waiting to strike. And considering how strong our ninja detecting skills are, we'd wager E3 is a likely time for that strike. The "strike," likely, will just be a press release, so don't worry. Update: Sega told us it isn't offering a comment at this time.
Foundation 9 CEO: 30% of 360 owners buy XBLA games
Estimating the global Xbox 360 install base to be somewhere between 40 and 50 million units, Foundation 9 CEO James North-Hearn has suggested that around 30 percent of owners are "not only online and using Xbox Live, but all those and buying games." In a recent interview with Eurogamer, he claimed, "Certainly XBLA is past tipping point now." He also stuck up for XBLA's competition, the PlayStation Network. "Even though it's a smaller user base, and even though it's generally accepted as currently not being as successful or popular, it's definitely growing," he said. "There's less competition on PSN, but currently a smaller user base." As for the future, North-Hearn believes "the market will move to both online and to digital distribution at some point, almost exclusively." And Foundation 9 likely hope that's the case -- its six studios developed roughly 15 percent of the games on XBLA, including Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. North-Hearn even seems to believe "cloud solutions" could come to XBLA and PSN at some point in the future, saying that's "where the market's going to go" and that both channels are "in a great position."
GDC 2010 Microtalks: Big ideas, tiny speeches
The GDC 2010 Microtalks session was a frazzling experience in many ways. The format of the event essentially assures it. Ten lecturers -- all from different sectors of the game industry -- each spoke for five minutes and each were allowed to use 20 different slides. Naughty Dog's Richard Lemarchand set the stage for the speakers, announcing the theme of the talks as "come play with us." The goal of the microtalks, said Lemarchand, was to help game creators capture the "radicalizing exuberance" of games and give them the energy to "transform the world" through the power of play. The resulting cavalcade of images and ideas -- ranging from methods of play to behavioral economics -- is a bit difficult to distill. Thankfully, we were taking notes. There was too much at the event to condense here, but it was definitely a thought-provoking event. We've highlighted a few of the more interesting speeches after the break. %Gallery-88130%
Front Mission Evolved gears up for US release this spring
click to mech larger Square Enix's third-person action treatment of the Front Mission games -- classically a strategy RPG series -- failed to really wow us when we played it during last fall's Tokyo Game Show, but developer Double Helix (Silent Hill: Homecoming) has a few more weeks to tighten its bolts and lube its actuators. That's because Front Mission Evolved has been given orders to deploy here in the US this spring, which, according to our calendars, begins at the end of March. Here to tide us over is a batch of new screens from (presumably) the latest build of the game, which features on-foot combat in addition to its mechanized modes of transport. %Gallery-83717%
Foundation 9 closes Fizz Factor studio, cuts back at Double Helix
We had just grown accustomed to laying off gratuitous use of our dreadful "layoffs" tag, but alas, an unhappy economy continues to produce unhappy stories such as this one. In a move first reported by VentureBeat, Foundation 9 Entertainment has announced several cost-cutting measures to its employees. The company is currently working on various versions of G.I. Joe (pictured), Where the Wild Things Are and the PSP entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise.The group's Austin, Texas-based Fizz Factor studio will be closed, while the Amaze and Griptonite teams (both based in Kirkland) will be merged under the leadership of the latter's studio head, J.C. Connors. According to a statement released by Foundation 9, "Having separate 'console' and 'handheld' studios under the same roof simply didn't make sense in light of the convergence in capabilities of modern game hardware!" Exclamation point.Foundation 9 will also be implementing cutbacks at Double Helix, the Californian studio responsible for Konami's Xbox 360 and PS3 stab at survival-horror, Silent Hill Homecoming.
GDC09: G.I. Joe impressions
click to enlarge It's always troubling when you're not allowed to actually play a game due out within a couple months. Such was the case with our GDC demo of EA's G.I. Joe: the Game. Sure, we could pretty much gather everything we needed to know about the canonical sequel to the film (yep, we guess COBRA isn't defeated) from watching two people play it, but, c'mon.So, here's what we saw while being fed dozens of bullet points. Two Joes (out of a total 12) run forward through (in this case) desert and snow-covered environments. The play mechanics actually weren't as brutally simple as we'd expected -- there's a melee attack and charged melee attack that add to the "fire" button. Players can strafe, concentrating fire on the same enemy as your partner kills them faster (oh really?) ... and it looks like an up-rezzed PS2 or Xbox game. Still, there were bits that should please G.I. Joe diehards -- but those couldn't get us over the fact that this isn't a PSN/XBLA title and is, in fact, a (likely much more expensive) retail release on PS3 and Xbox 360. (It's coming out for everything, by the way.)%Gallery-47599%
Yo, check out new G.I. Joe screens
click to enlarge thisss ssshot! G.I. Joe fights for freedom wherever there's trouble -- and, evidently, there's some to be found in the sparsely populated settings of EA's upcoming movie tie-in game. Snake Eyes features prominently in this first batch of screens from G.I. Joe: The Game, most likely because, as in the movie's trailer, he's the one character that actually looks remotely like he's from ... G.I. Joe (and not someone who raided the X-Men films' wardrobe storage).Looking at these screens is only half the battle. The other half is reading our first impressions of the game in action. Your reward for victory: a trip back in time with Konami's equally deep 1992 arcade game.%Gallery-47599%
Yo Joe? More like: Oh no, G.I. Joe game impressions
EA is talking up its first G.I. Joe game, a movie spin-off, as "cross-generational." It's so easy to control that even "mom" can play. Which means, moms -- if you're reading -- not only will you be subjected to chaperoning a mission to the local theater to suffer through the G.I. Joe film adaptation this summer, you also may be expected to idle away your weekends with the game. Let's hope it's a short one.G.I. Joe: The Game plays as any generic third-person shooter, with the bonus of the aforementioned base layer Mom Controls®. Literally, all that is needed to proceed is the left thumb steering the on-screen character and the right index finger, locked down on the designated shooting button -- just keep on holding it and the game will automatically target a new enemy once the current one has absorbed too many laser blasts and disappears into the well known in-game ether. Of course, "hardcore" gamers will find melee and character-exclusive secondary attacks, along with a rolling dodge and cover mechanic mapped to their controllers.EA is throwing out some big-name inspirations for its game: Contra, Ikari Warriors and Ikaruga. We suppose you could consider G.I. Joe as a like-designed title in so far as it is built as an "arcade" throwback, with high scores being the ultimate reward. Actually, the ultimate reward is unlocking all twelve playable characters -- unlocking characters requires score points, though. Scoring is linked directly to difficulty setting and one's play. Dying, for example, decreases one's overall score, but, on the lowest difficulty setting, will not produce further setbacks. Think of this as a "no fail" setting -- you know, the one mom can play.
Spotted in Silent Hill Homecoming: Pyramid Head
There are two things we know about Pyramid Head. One, he is a physical manifestation of guilt. Two, he generally causes the physical manifestation of crap in your pants. Oh, actually, there is a third thing we know about Pyramid Head: he makes an appearance in Silent Hill Homecoming. This raises the question: what is protagonist Alex Shepherd guilty of? Our guess is that he feels guilty about the desperate fan service required to keep gamers interested in this series.Stay tuned for hands on impressions.
E308: Age of Empires trailer, now with less developer
If you feel a twinge of déjà vu while watching this Age of Empires: Mythologies trailer, then let us explain -- this "new" presentation actually contains the exact same commentary from Project Manager George Collins as in the developer diary that we previously posted. This time, however, there's a lot less Gordon on camera, and a lot more game footage, which is how we prefer it. No offence intended, Gordon. You're perfectly presentable! A fine figure of a man. We'd much rather look at the game than watch you talking is all.We're just going to shut up now.
THQ reveals Age of Empires sequel
Taking the reins from Majesco, THQ has announced its plans to release a follow-up to 2006's turn-based-strategy sleeper hit, Age of Empires: The Age of Kings, this fall. Titled Age of Empires: Mythologies, the game hasn't just exchanged publisher hands, as Age of Kings studio Backbone Entertainment has also passed its development duties and original engine to Griptonite Games (Spore Creatures, The Sims 2 for DS).Interestingly, according to initial reports, Mythologies will only feature three playable campaigns and civilizations -- Egyptians, Greeks, and Norse -- compared to Age of Kings' five. To make up for that limited selection, Griptonite has added onto the original's formula with online play, a new "active combat system," a revamped graphics engine, single-cart download play, and a new skirmish mode. Also unlike Age of Kings, Mythologies will focus on " epic myths of the ancient world," rather than Asian/European history. In addition to standard troops and giant mythological beasts, players will be able to command Hero units, such as Ramses ("Let my people go!") and Mycenae-founder Perseus, blessed with special abilities. Jump past the post break for a video introduction to the sequel from THQ as well as in-game clips of the strategy title.
NCsoft, Foundation 9, Atlus also skipping E3, other attendees confirm
The E3 2008 confusion continues. Following the soon-to-be merged Activison and Vivendi Games' departure from the Entertainment Software Association and its E3 press event, we got to wondering who else might not be showing up for the annual game industry showing. The list of attendees on the (password-protected) E3 site leaves out some pretty big names, including MMO-publisher NCsoft who tells Joystiq that, though it's been an ESA member since last year, it will not be attending E3 this year because the timing of the event didn't work out for their upcoming releases. Gamespot reports that Foundation 9 won't be attending, stating, "We just didn't feel like we got enough out of the investment last year in order to justify the expense this year." Atlus also confirmed to Joystiq that, despite attending last year's summit, it too would be skipping out on E3 2008.Gamespot confirms that other names missing from the list – Bethesda, id Software, Majesco, and D3Publisher – still plan on attending. Kotaku claims that id Software is not attending despite Gamespot's story to the contrary. We've contacted id for clarification. They also assert that Her Interactive (best known for their popular Nancy Drew games) won't be attending, though the publisher didn't attend E3 last year either. We reached out to peripheral manufacturer Nyko who said that, though they aren't listed on the official site, they will nevertheless be attending. As for a specific reason for the absences, outside of timing and exposure, Kotaku cites several unnamed sources who pin the blame straight on current ESA pres Michael Gallagher's well-tailored lapel. Is Gallagher out of touch with the video game industry?[Update 4:58pm: Added Atlus and Nyko details.]Read – Activision/Vivendi leave ESA, skip E3Read – Five Publishers Drop Out of E3 This Year, Some Blame ESA PresidentRead – NCsoft, Foundation 9 bypass E3 '08
Vampires rejoice, Harker on "indefinite hold"
After a brief burst of early hype, The Collective's Harker -- a vampire slaying action game -- completely disappeared. Of course, that makes sense when you factor in the fact that The Collective (who have now been combined with Shiny to form the new Double Helix studio) was later handed the reins to the latest entry in the Silent Hill series. If Konami decided to let us make the next Silent Hill (note to Konami: not a good idea), we'd drop whatever we were doing too. Unfortunately, it looks like Harker might be buried in an early grave, as Double Helix's parent company Foundation 9 has announced that the project is on "indefinite hold." Frankly, we were looking forward to killing vampires using the game's environmental hazards and brutal combat engine.Here's hoping Harker gets another chance to prove his undead-slaying worth.[Via Joystiq]
Harker put on 'indefinite hold'
Now that we think about it, we haven't heard a peep about The Collective's next-gen vampire-hunting sim Harker (as in Jonathan Harker, protagonist of Bram Stoker's Dracula, the book based on the movie based on the Sega CD game of the same name) in quite a while. We'd assumed things had been put on the backburner since the dev – recently merged with Shiny and rebranded Double Helix – is busy working on Silent Hill Homecoming for Konami, but parent-company Foundation 9 tells Eurogamer the title "has been put on indefinite hold."While that's certainly good news for virtual 19th century fin de siècle vampires galavanting about eastern Europe, it's bad news for those of us with fond memories of The Collective's earlier 21st century vampire-killing sim, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's also the second time in as many years that a project on the developer's plate has been pulled. Remember the Dirty Harry game? Well, do ya?
Foundation 9 melts together Collective and Shiny into Double Helix
Whatever last remnants of identity clung to by both Shiny and The Collective were lost today as the duo were merged together by owner Foundation 9, creating a new, wholly unfamiliar entity known as Double Helix. Studio head Michael Saxs Persson calls the new name and logo, which were chosen from a pool of employee submissions, a "perfect" match for the company, adding that "making games is in our DNA." The founding follows the initial merger, announced last October, and according to Foundation 9 creates a studio "that is now able to build upon its previous experience to gain new heights in quality and efficiency." And all it cost us was our fond memories of a simpler time spent playing the likes of MDK and Earthworm Jim. While the company remains coy regarding what it's up to currently, today's announcement notes that Double Helix is developing a trio of multi-platform licensed games, one of which we assume to be the already announced Silent Hill V.
SXSW08: The Female Takedown of Casual Gaming
A panel of game publishers, analysts, and investors met at this SXSW presentation to discuss the numbers and trends involving the female audience for casual games. For this talk, "casual games" comprises mostly web games and downloadable shareware games, and not, say, Wii party games or console downloads.Parks Associates' Michael Cai began with some charts. According to the data, female gamers heavily prefer computers to consoles: female gamers spend an average of 70% of their gaming time on computers, versus male gamers' 56%. Female gamers make up 62% of the casual game audience, and this group, especially those age 13-17, play more sessions per month. There is less diversity among genres for female gamers as well: across age groups, puzzle and card games are the most popular casual games.
Min-E3 exhibitor list shows signs of shrinkage
Arriving like an obituary for the thoroughly deceased E3 of yore, the exhibitor list for the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007 (or Min-E3, if you prefer) provides an interesting glimpse of the event's new format. The list, as unfurled by Chris Remo of Shacknews, represents the exact opposite of E3 in many ways. It's short, manageable and entirely devoid of scantily-clad ladies. And we just lost half the readers with that last link, didn't we? For those that use tabbed browsing: Remo observes that the list has gone from bursting with over 400 exhibitors last year, to containing a mere 33 this year. Of those, two are independent developers (id Software and Foundation 9 Entertainment) and two are peripheral manufacturers (Nyko Technologies and Logitech). Despite the list being primarily filled with major publishers, the event will also host the IndieCade festival, an independent games showcase. While July's Min-E3 represents a welcome departure from the lax entry requirements and inhibitive masses of E3, its reduction to a series of meetings with a focused group of publishers still seems tragically dull when compared to the glitz and clamor of previous spectacles. It's clear that smaller industry groups aren't well represented either, but then, there's only so much room in an aircraft hangar. The full list of exhibitors can be found in the second part of the post.
Foundation 9 grows to Amaze-ing levels
Foundation 9 recently announced a merger with Amaze Entertainment, which will make them the world's largest independent game developer. Guess they were really impressed with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. F9E has been on a roll lately; their now-massive katamari recently picked up Shiny Entertainment as well. Now that F9E has so much muscle to throw around, we can only hope they will use their powers for good ... and maybe a few less licensed games. Then again, previews for Eragon haven't been terribly atrocious, so perhaps there's hope for this new combined power yet.
Watch out EA, Foundation 9 is behind you
When we hear about big developers, behemoths like EA normally pop into mind; however, there is a player in town looking to make waves. Meet Foundation 9. Foundation 9 -- an indie developer -- made the news last month after snapping up Shiny from Atari, adding another development house to its formidable arsenal. This time, Amaze Entertainment (think licensed handheld games) was caught handily in the buy-out cross-hairs. According to Jon Goldman, CEO of Foundation 9, the move was to better diversify F9's already large (725 employees over 11 studios) house. While we're all for seeing the indie crowd get bigger -- it should help make gaming less stale -- how big can you get before you lose that indie badge? If Foundation 9 gets big enough, they'll be able to wield some significant power over publishers and, if that happens, existing publishers will likely go elsewhere. The only options are to stop expanding or join the ranks of "The Man".
