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Former Gameloft Auckland head studio programmer calls working conditions 'dangerous'
Encouraged by recent revelations regarding Team Bondi's working conditions during L.A. Noire's production, former Gameloft Auckland Head Studio Programmer Glenn Watson delivered his own testimonial during an interview with games.on.net, claiming that the studio's work environment is "dangerous." According to Watson, Gameloft's senior management manufactured a constant sense of urgency among the studio's employees by creating false deadlines, which required employees to work 12- to 14-hour days, amassing hundreds of hours of unneeded overtime. Watson says he realized he needed to resign after "four consecutive weeks of fourteen-hour days - including weekends." The studio's employees are contractually required to work any "reasonable hours" requested of them, however the definition of "reasonable hours" can reportedly be changed by senior management at any time. Watson claims that these conditions constitute "fatigue working" under New Zealand's 2002 Health and Safety in Employment Act, and that Gameloft's employees are legally entitled to refuse the work, regardless of their contractual obligations. He also claims that the studio's poor performance has been the direct result of the staff's working conditions, and that the employees would be able to meet the same deadlines with fewer mistakes, if only given a chance to rest.
Louisiana enhancing its tax incentives for game developers
Since 2005, Louisiana has offered game developers and other software producers one of the most attractive deals in the US: the Digital Media Tax Credit, which affords applicable tech companies a 25 percent tax credit and 35 percent payroll tax credit. That deal is getting even sweeter in the coming months, as Governor Bobby Jindal has signed a bill which allows developers to take that credit in cold, hard cash, provided it's not all soaked up by their tax liability. Not many developers are taking advantage of the boot-shape state's hospitality, though EA's facility on the LSU campus is sure to benefit from the expansion, as will Gameloft's soon-to-be-opened New Orleans studio.
Rise and Shiny recap: Order and Chaos Online
I'd like to start this article off by giving Gameloft, publisher of Order and Chaos Online, a lot of respect. Tons of respect. Oodles of respect. It seems to be a company that gets an idea (or borrows one) and just does it. While so many people are talking about designing and creating for the mobile gaming world, Gameloft has busily cranked out scores of high-quality titles. Yes, many of those titles bear remarkable resemblance to other non-mobile titles, but let's be really honest here: Modern MMO design is not really chock-full of original ideas. In fact, the lack of of daring design is what drove me to the indie and mobile markets. Both of those markets are new enough, or small enough, that they take chances. Gameloft's games generally work, as well. Its shooters might be slightly on rails, and its RPGs might be pretty linear, but all of its attempts at hitting the mark add up to a lot of profit and a lot of successful shots. The company has more good games than bad. Anyway, if the major publishers aren't going to take the time to make a decent mobile port or morph of their best titles, Gameloft has shown that it is more than willing to. I generally like that. Not surprisingly, the company did a fantastic job of making a portable, enjoyable World of Warcraft with Order and Chaos Online. Click past the cut and I'll tell you what I thought about it.
EA, Gameloft, and lots more app sales for the holiday weekend
Here's a few more sales popping up for the July 4th weekend: EA (duh) is putting a bunch of titles on sale for just 99 cents, including NBA Jam, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, The Sims 3, FIFA 11, and Dead Space. Odds are that you've already picked one or two of these up, as EA is having a sale practically every weekend these days, but 99 cents is still a good price for a few of these. Adult Swim has some sale titles out, including the great Robot Unicorn Attack for just a buck. Trucks and Skulls Nitro just recently got a big update, and to celebrate, it'll be free for the holiday weekend. Zen Bound and its sequel are also on sale for just a buck. Gameloft is also having a dollar sale, with Dungeon Hunter 2 and Starfront Collision among the titles for just 99 cents. Cross Fingers is a puzzle app that's free right now. Speedball 2 Evolution is on sale for both iPhone and the Mac this weekend. Finally, BillMinder will be heavily discounted on July 4 only. I'm sure we'll see plenty more before the weekend is done, but that's probably more than enough to let you do some shopping already. Stay tuned -- as we hear about more apps going on sale, we'll let you know as well.
Gameloft surpasses 200 million downloads on the App Store
If you're a publisher of games for iOS devices and you've reached 200 million downloads, does Steve Jobs show up at your office and give you a hearty handshake? Gameloft would know. The publisher and developer of mobile games can openly celebrate that feat, having just sold its 200 millionth game on the App store -- and currently has 20 more iOS games in development for 2011. Titles such as the N.O.V.A. series, Modern Combat and Asphalt are mentioned as having the greatest success in the App store in the release accompanying the news of this lofty achievement.
Gameloft starts the Father's Day app sales
I suspect we'll see quite a few app sales pop up over this upcoming Father's Day weekend, partly because any holiday these days tends to attract a few lowered prices in the App Store, and partly because there will likely be a few lucky dads out there picking up a new iPhone or iPad 2 for their parenting trouble. Gameloft's the first company with a slew of sales on, including Final Fantasy ripoff Eternal Legacy, NFL 2011, Real Soccer 2011, WoW ripoff Order and Chaos Online, and Spider-man: Total Mayhem, all for the low, low price of just US 99 cents. Gameloft also has a Twitter contest going on, but it requires a pretty gnarly retweet, so you'll have to decide if a $10 iTunes card is worth spamming all of your followers. Or do what I do, and keep a separate Twitter account just for silly RT contests like this one. So congrats to all those dads out there -- just think, all of the diapers and whining and crying were completely worth it, because this weekend you get to pick up Eternal Legacy for just a buck. And stay tuned, we'll probably see a few more sales heading on into this weekend.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Rainbow Six and more announced for Xperia Play
Though much of the future of Sony's Xperia Play smartphone/gaming system still remains shrouded in mystery and indecision, the system's upcoming software catalog was announced by Sony Ericsson earlier today. The announcement was predictably Minecraft-centric (check out some new gameplay footage after the jump!), but there's a few notable newcomers in the list -- namely, Battlefield Bad Company 2 from EA and Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Shadow Vanguard from Gameloft. Check out the full list of exclusive titles and Android ports that are headed to the Xperia Play after the jump! We'll try to get our hands on as many of them as we can at E3 next week, though, knowing us, we'll probably just start playing Minecraft the first day we get there, and then look up, and -- oops! -- E3's over.
Gameloft's Order and Chaos MMO for iOS makes $1M in 20 days
Some people might have chuckled at the resemblance of Gameloft's Order and Chaos Online to the popular World of Warcraft. It's actually a near clone of the very popular Blizzard Entertainment title, squeezed down into the iPhone. But it turns out Gameloft will be the one who laughs last. The game has reportedly already brought in a million dollars in revenue, just in its first 20 days of existence. That's pretty impressive. I presume that total includes the game's actual sale price of US$6.99, along with any other in-app purchases made. Of course, that initial revenue will probably be hard to replicate, but there's definitely a following for this one. That will encourage Gameloft to support it (more on that in a second), and it may even encourage other companies to step up with their own MMO titles for iOS. Including Blizzard eventually? We can only hope. Speaking of that support, Gameloft has also announced that an update for the game is coming that will add new quests and a few metagame features, like new chat channels and the ability to transfer around servers. Future updates will also bring PvP gameplay and new dungeons to explore, so O&C players can look forward to that.
Sprint balloons its EVO 3D with three-dimensional titles and content providers
If you're looking to fully leverage the namesake feature of the EVO 3D, Sprint is doing its best to ensure you're not left wanting -- all while keeping your coin flowing its way. First, it's bundling HTC Watch and Blockbuster On Demand, which will offer 3D titles (alongside the 2D fare) and rental prices ranging between $3 and $4. Like we've seen in RadioShack's advert, the 3D version of The Green Hornet is pre-loaded on the phone's microSD card, and the Now Network is also bundling a demo of Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem 3D. If that whets your appetite for three-dimensional playtime (and you've still got expendable income), you might check out Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles and GT Racing Motor Academy -- both $5 at launch in the pre-loaded Gameloft Storefront. For all the bloat they pile on, at least the stores bring decent eye candy. Hop the break for a (decidedly two-dimensional) press release.
Order & Chaos Online rakes in $1 million in first 20 days
Gameloft's iOS MMORPG Order and Chaos is reporting gains of over $1 million in revenue during its first 20 days of availability. The game itself has drawn many comparisons to World of Warcraft (even by our own Beau Hindman) but brings the genre to iOS-enabled devices for added mobility. Order & Chaos runs on a subscription model, with three months included in the $6.99 application purchase cost. Gameloft's senior VP of publishing Gonzague de Vallois is clearly content with the game's success. "We are pleased to know that our customers have embraced our innovative business model, and we are anxious to further enrich the gaming experience with this first update, which is eagerly anticipated by our fans," he says. The aforementioned update is said to include new quest content and server transfer services, amongst other features. The game is available on the Apple Store, and more information can be found on the official forums.
Gameloft CFO calls app development 'an ugly scene'
Gameloft's CEO Alexandre de Rochefort spoke last weekend at the Reuters Global Technology Summit in Paris, and gave a particularly stark view of this growing global app market. While a lot of big time developers are bullish on the app market and its possibilities, de Rochefort presented a more tempered view. He called it "an ugly scene," and said that "the smartphone market is not a goldmine for developers. It's a bit like playing the lottery." He's got a point -- there are some major developers making a lot of money selling their apps on the App Store (and Gameloft is one of those), but there are also thousands, if not millions, of developers out there whose apps just can't seem to find the public's interest. And low-budget, one man developers might have trouble even recouping the costs of their apps if not featured by Apple or the press, not to mention huge developers who risk huge budgets on games that might not fly. Of course, some may say that's business, and for the most part, they'd be right. But a lot of times the app market is portrayed as a new gold rush, with millions of dollars of revenue available for anyone who releases an app. That's not quite the case, especially a few years into the app scene.
MMObility: Order and Chaos online bring potential to the market
As soon as I saw the trailer for Order and Chaos Online, I knew it would at least sell very well initially. Would the World of Warcraft-clone (note the first-time use of the phrase I normally despise) also sell beyond its three months of free time given out with the client purchase? Would players really want to subscribe to a game that is a simple clone of one of the most accessible MMOs in existence? I think they would, simply because it is a mobile version. The mobile market should have taught us these lessons already. It is a market of different players -- and play sessions -- than we might be familiar with when sitting down in front of our PCs. It doesn't need to be a seperate beast, however, and it can be enjoyed as an extension of the standard PC market. In fact, call me a convert. I paid for and downloaded Order and Chaos Online as soon as I could. Will I sub past the initial three free months? I don't know, but let me tell you why I think the game and the company matter.
Gameloft looking to open New Orleans studio
Likely looking to leverage generous tax credits offered by the state, mega-sized mobile developer/publisher Gameloft recently swamped a New Orleans job board with thirteen full-time positions. Contacted for comment, the company informed Joystiq: "Gameloft is currently recruiting in New Orleans for a variety of game development positions. We'll have more information about our exciting endeavors in New Orleans soon." Staffing site Mary-Margaret.com notes that Gameloft is the primary game company hiring for positions in New Orleans currently, "but there will be many more companies to come in the near future." Louisiana is definitely looking to get game developers and publishers down south. EA already has a presence at Louisiana State University handling North American QA, which it will expand with a new building that can accommodate over 600 employees. Coupled with Gameloft's plans and the increased chatter Joystiq's hearing from other developers, it would seem that Louisiana is making a strong case to entice the gaming industry from going straight to Canada (read: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, et al).
TUAW's Daily iOS App: Order and Chaos Online
All right, here we go. Gameloft's new title is called Order and Chaos Online, and in the Gameloft style, it's pretty much an iOS remake of Blizzard's World of Warcraft. Odds are that if you understand that sentence, you probably already know whether you want to go download this or not. But if not, I'll explain: Gameloft has a habit, as we've said, of making iOS titles that basically rip off larger console titles, and Blizzard's World of Warcraft is of course the extraordinarily successful massively multiplayer online RPG for PCs. So Gameloft has recreated the MMO on iOS for us, and while it supposedly works as promised (though there's a Wi-Fi restriction for playing, only four races available and not nearly as much content to start), it's obviously not quite as good as actually having WoW on iOS. In this case, a reasonable facsimile might be as good as the real thing, especially if you're a fan of the real thing. Gameloft's app is US$6.99 for a universal version, and it comes with three months of gametime for free. After that, you can subscribe for a buck a month, or go for three months for $1.99. There are also in-game purchases of gold and potions for various amounts, which is something WoW hasn't quite resorted to yet. At any rate, early reviews of Gameloft's app are good, so if you're a big WoW fan and wouldn't mind playing a copy of that game on iOS, check it out.
Order & Chaos Online available in Canadian App Store [Updated]
We took a brief look at Order & Chaos Online last month courtesy of a trailer on the game's Facebook page. Now, it looks as if the mobile World of Warcraft knockoff could be coming to an iOS device near you in the very near future. Touch Arcade is reporting that Gameloft has released the pocket MMORPG to the Canadian App Store, a move the publication says is "standard operating procedure for a wide-scale beta of sorts." Apparently other mobile dev outfits have used the Canadian market as a barometer both for how their games will be received and as a testbed for necessary tweaks. Gameloft has set Order & Chaos' price point at $6.99, which includes three months' worth of subscription time. You read that right: It's a sub-based mobile game, with single-month rates of $.99 while three-month and six-month packages go for $1.99 and $2.99 respectively. Head to Touch Arcade for more details. [Update: The game is now available in the U.S. market as well!]
TUAW's Daily App: Starfront Collision
Gameloft has earned a reputation for, ahem, "borrowing" some game ideas for the App Store. A lot of the company's (very popular) games are more or less copies of popular titles on other platforms. One of Gameloft's latest games, Starfront Collision, is no different; it's basically a clone of StarCraft. But here's the thing: Who cares? Blizzard hasn't actually put out a version of StarCraft for iOS, and to be honest, the RTS options are pretty limited. So if Gameloft wants to "borrow" the genre and even some of its various factions and units, that doesn't bother us one bit. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite have the polish of StarCraft (what does?), but it's a working RTS, built from the ground up for the iPhone. While it would be nice to see some official Blizzard games on iOS, we don't have those yet. In the meantime, fans of the genre and Blizzard's classic can check out Starfront Collision, either as a free version with in-app purchases for content, or by buying the app at US$2.99.
Gameloft launches N.O.V.A. Elite on Facebook, demonstrates the ubiquity of Unity
It turns out N.O.V.A. Elite isn't one of the three new iOS games that Gameloft has licensed the Unreal Engine for. In fact, it's not an iOS game at all. Instead, Gameloft has decided to bring its popular science-fiction shooter franchise to Facebook as a competitive multiplayer 3D shooter tied to your social network and running on the Unity engine. While the core style of the earlier N.O.V.A. games is still the same in N.O.V.A. Elite, it has also picked up many of the features you've probably come to expect from any free-to-play Facebook game, including friends invitations and purchasable upgrades. That's right, if you want to have all the best gear, you'll need to pull out your wallet and exchange real money for Facebook Credits. Don't worry though, they aren't required to play. If you don't mind the free-to-play model, there's a lot to like about Elite. The pace is fast, and I found the gameplay smooth and satisfying, even on dated hardware. The graphics are adequately impressive for a browser-based game, but they are more comparable to N.O.V.A. 2 running on an iPad than a modern native PC or console game.
Apple Fools: Gameloft's Pet Pal will let you control your pet via iPhone
Wow, this is incredible! iOS developer Gameloft is releasing a new app called Pet Pal, which uses sound wave technology to actually control your pets via the iPhone! The sound frequencies emitted from the iPhone activate certain centers of a cat or dog's brain, harmlessly commanding it to bend to your will. We've seen some pretty amazing things from the iPhone before, but this truly is magical and revolutionary. Think of the medical applications! This is the future we're seeing here, people, live in action! What's that? Friday is April 1st, you say? Oh right. Never mind then. If you want, you can watch the video, which features some cute pets and a monkey, after the break.
Gameloft's NOVA 3 rumored to be built on Unreal Engine
Gameloft has announced that it has licensed the Unreal Engine for four upcoming games set to be released in 2011 and 2012. Gameloft hasn't announced which games will be running on the Unreal Engine, but Pocket Gamer seems to believe that one of the titles slated to be released this year is the next followup to the popular, and already impressive looking, sci-fi shooters N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance and N.O.V.A. 2. Last year, Epic Games started dropping jaws when it released Epic Citadel as a proof of concept showing off the Unreal Engine running on iOS. Epic then followed it up in December with the stunning and widely praised Infinity Blade, a game many have claimed looked as good as current generation dedicated gaming consoles. After all, it's the same engine that powers many blockbuster games, like Gears of War, Bulletstorm and BioShock 2, despite more limited hardware on iOS devices.
iOS MMO commercials draw attention
As our own Beau Hindman knows well, mobile MMOs are on the verge of taking off in a big way, and now they have the commercials to prove it. Pocket Legends, the hit iOS and Android MMO from last year, may be the first mobile online RPG to release a nation-wide commercial. The ad, which features a high-schooler with a not-so-embarrassing secret in his pocket, will air on G4, Cartoon Network and Comedy Central, to name just a few venues. As Pocket Legends is often described as "World of Warcraft in your hand," it's kind of ironic that developer Gameloft is also making pretty much that. Gameloft is renowned for releasing thinly disguised copies of hit games, so it stands to reason that it would take a crack at the reigning champion. The studio just released an online teaser for Order & Chaos Online on its Facebook page, and it's hard not to see the inspiration-slash-knockoff. You can check out both commercials after the jump!
