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Free Realms coming to PS3 mid-2010, may support PlayStation Eye
The Q&A session following the Free Realms-centric keynote speech, delivered earlier today by Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley at GDC Austin, contained a hopeful tidbit for those looking to play the aforementioned free-to-play MMO on their consoles. When we asked about the release window for the PS3 version of Free Realms, Smedley cheekily replied, "I'm wondering, too!" He then added, "It's next year sometime, toward the middle of the year." During his speech, Smedley also addressed the functions which would be specifically tailored for the MMO's console outing, saying, "For the PlayStation 3 version, it's very likely that the Eye is going to be something we support." We hope the Eye's implementation isn't of a voyeuristic nature -- if there's anything our late-night Uno sessions taught us, it's Camera + Internet Strangers = Terror.
GDC Austin keynote speaker announced as SOE's John Smedley
GDC Austin has announced that SOE president John Smedley will be providing the keynote for the event, which takes place next month. Entitled: "From Daggers and Dragons to Kart Racing, Cooking and Concerts ... It's a Whole New World", the keynote -- which takes place on Wednesday 16 September -- is an obvious allusion to SOE's very own Free Realms, which has been one of the most hyped freemium PC MMOs of the year and will eventually see a PS3 release. The keynote page goes a little more in-depth, informing attendees that they "will learn about the challenges and lessons learned when creating a full-blown MMO for kids together with a ground-breaking new business model; and how developers can re-educate their teams to move from stagnant and dated MMO design toward mass market success." GDC Austin, which is taking place between 15th and 18th September in Austin, Texas, will also see a keynote, taking place the following day from Blizzard devs Frank Pearce and J. Allen Brack entitled "The Universe of the World of Warcraft".[Via GameSetWatch]
SOE prez delivering GDC Austin keynote
We sure hope that attendees of GDC Austin 2009 want to hear about the unimaginable success of Sony Online Entertainment's Free Realms, because that's exactly what they're getting. SOE president John Smedley will deliver the keynote address at the event, which is set to kick off September 15.Considering Free Realms was initially announced at the Lone Star State's annual gaming convention in 2007, we can expect a majority of Smedley's speech to focus on the free-to-play online title -- particularly on how it hastily acquired five million players. Actually, by the time said event opens its doors, we wouldn't be surprised if that number was in the low-to-mid billions.
The Daily Grind: Are you looking forward to any gaming conventions?
August and September are notoriously known as the months of gaming conventions, and ultimately, two months where we're pretty busy reporting announcements and general event coverage. We have both GamesCom and GamesCon (yes, confusing), GenCon, BlizzCon, GDC Austin, PAX, Tokyo Game Show and Dragon*Con to think about. Plus, there are countless smaller cons all around the world celebrating the gaming and general geek culture.So which conventions are you most looking forward to in the coming months? Since we already have plans to attend a few of these conventions, we're curious to know which ones our readers see as the most important to them. Let us know your annual favorites that you usually attend, plan to attend for the first time or simply want to hear more about.
GDC Austin will feature a Blizzard keynote
The Game Developers Conference Austin, a spin-off of the original GDC in California, takes place every year in Austin, TX (home of our own fearless leader, Liz Harper). GDC is, as the name suggests, an industry conference for folks who make games. This year it's going to be held from September 15 to 18th, and it'll feature a keynote about our favorite MMO. J. Allen Brack, Blizzard's Production Director (was that his title last month?), and Frank Pearce, Co-Founder and EVP of Product Development (that's a title for you), will be on hand to talk about "The Universe of World of Warcraft." I assume the discussion will include topics like "how to print money" and "how to secretly laugh at Shamans all day." So who's going?
DC Universe Online team will present at GDC Austin 2009
Some of the key members of the DC Universe Online team will speak at Game Developers Conference (GDC) Austin 2009, in a session titled "Why We Need Heroes and Villains in Games". The DC Universe Online team members on hand will include Jim Lee (executive creative director); Marv Wolfman (writer); Christopher Cao (studio creative director); and Jens Andersen (creative director). The 'takeaway' from the session intro reads: "This philosophical lecture will give attendees insight into the challenges and issues game designers and writers face when making characters good and evil. More importantly, attendees will leave with a better understanding of why this tension between good and evil is so critical -- not only for telling a good story, but for making a video game." This sounds interesting, and hopefully it's a sign of the emphasis they're putting on storytelling in DC Universe Online. GDC Austin will run from September 15-18, and we're hoping to bring you news from the event. [Via GamesIndustry.biz]
