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Report: Rising Star regains rights to Marvelous games after stock sale
Even though Marvelous Entertainment just sold off its controlling stake in European publisher Rising Star Games, Rising Star will continue to bring Europeans Harvest Moon, No More Heroes and other Marvelous games. Due to low sales in the West, Marvelous sold its stake in Rising Star to Japanese publisher Intergrow. When this deal was announced late last week, it led to speculation that Rising Star and other publishers would then have to license Marvelous games on a case-by-case basis to publish them in Europe. However, Rising Star managing director Martin Defries told MCV that Rising Star has reacquired the publishing rights in Europe. "I am delighted to have secured further additional backing from an important Japanese company, whilst continuing our content relationship with Marvelous Entertainment," Defries said. Sales would suggest that an unfortunately small number of people are affected either way, but it should be comforting to some of you to have a reliable pipeline for Marvelous products.
Publishing different: What the tablet brings to the table
Like newspapers before them, traditional book publishers are facing the reality of the new digital world. With Apple's much anticipated tablet expected to debut within the next few months, they're under more pressure than ever before to "Think Different". Moving from print to digital isn't a smooth or easy path, despite the fact that most authors are working digitally in the first place. As early experiences with the Amazon Kindle have shown, digital tablets are not geometric or mental equivalents of the printed page. "You've got to think beyond the page," says Chuck Toporek, my editor at Addison Wesley/Pearson, "because the page no longer exists -- there is no page number, or page to flip." Book content has to adapt and flow to on-device presentation. Like the HTML revolution of the '90s, publishers will need to rethink how their content can adapt to changes in font size, and "the page" is more driven by screen dimension and resolution than a piece of paper is. "[Interaction styles like] pinch and zoom should not hinder the user," Toporek adds.
Amazon to start paying 70 percent royalties on Kindle books that play by its rules
Sure, you know how much you pay for a book on your Kindle, but do you know how much an author gets from that sale? For most it's probably some meager single-digit percentage, with the publisher taking the rest of the roughly 35% of revenue Amazon doles out. The remaining 65% goes straight into the site's coffers, but that's about to change. On June 30, Amazon is launching a new option in its Digital Text Platform (DTP) publishing scheme that would give authors and publishers 70% of the revenue, with Amazon taking just 30% -- effectively flipping the ratio on its head. The catch? There are plenty: Distribution costs are now paid by the publisher, but that should be on average a few cents per book. These books must sell for between $2.99 and $9.99 and must be priced at least 20% lower than a comparable physical copy of the book. (This is good news for readers, putting a greater incentive for lower-priced digital volumes.) The book must support the "broad set" of Kindle features, including text-to-speech. This will only be available for books that are in-copyright and only for those sold in the US. This is an obvious reaction to the competition from places like Scribd, which pays publishers 80%, and publisher-friendly upstarts like Skiff, but it's also an interesting push to force more books to enable Kindle's text-to-speech. That is currently something of a sore spot amongst those who provide the content, so while we're sure authors will love the extra money coming here, we're wondering whether their publishers will take it given the possible loss of lucrative audiobook revenue. Will this help Amazon in the upcoming war of the e-readers, or will it hurt? We can't wait to find out.
Level-5 opens new Tokyo office for 'overseas business'
Professor Layton, White Knight Chronicles, and Dragon Quest IX developer Level-5 is expanding from its Fukuoka, Japan base, founding a new office in Tokyo focused on its ROID mobile gaming platform, overseas business, and "new enterprises." The move could portend worldwide release of the developer's mobile games, or even expansion of its publishing business. In Japan, Level-5 publishes the Layton series, Inazuma Eleven, and other titles independently. If a localized Inazuma Eleven is indeed on the way, Level-5 could be looking to start up its publishing business outside of Japan with that title. Or, less spectacularly, we suppose the new office could be tasked with localization of games and dealing with Western publishers. [Via Siliconera]
Blio seeks to take digital reading in a new, more inclusive, and colorful direction
As if we didn't have enough pretenders in the ebook space, here's Ray Kurzweil with a new format of his own and a bagful of ambition to go with it. Set for a proper unveiling at CES in a week's time, the Blio format and accompanying application are together intended to deliver true-to-life color reproductions of the way real books appear. Interestingly, the software has been developed in partnership with Nokia, in an effort to turn Espoo's phones into "the smallest text-to-speech reading devices available thus far," though apps are also being developed for the iPhone, PC and Mac. The biggest advantage of this format might actually be behind the scenes, where the costs to publishers are drastically reduced by them having to only submit a PDF scan of their books, whose formatting remains unchanged in Blio. We'll be all over this at CES, but for now you'll find more pictures and early impressions over at Gizmodo.
Analyst noise: Apple tablet in March for $1k, publishers on-board, Verizon iPhone coming too
If you've been following mainstream news today, then it's likely you've seen the story doing the rounds on new Apple tablet rumors, spurred by a note sent to clients from Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner. Never heard of him? That's not surprising, since he has no real connection to Apple, and his job mainly consists of telling people how to move their money around -- a Master of the Universe gear-cranker, you might say. Anyhow, Yair is sure that Apple will be releasing its 10.1-inch, multitouch tablet around March or April, with a ramp-up on production sometime in February. He also notes that the device will sell for $1,000 (so far we've heard rumored price points from $699 all the way up to $2,000), but ultimately Reiner seems most concerned with how it will impact Amazon, the Kindle, and book and media publishers. According to the note, Apple has been in talks with publishers concerning a "very attractive proposal" in which the company will split revenue with publishing houses 70 / 30, as they do with iTunes and App Store sales (just as we speculated in our post on the Time Inc. digimag). What's most disconcerting about the report is that it seems more interested in disrupting or dismissing what Amazon is doing (particularly noteworthy as the company is in the midst of its biggest season for Kindle sales ever). When financial analysts start squawking in this manner, we like to approach with caution. As of right now, we have zero solid evidence that Apple is even producing a tablet, let alone ready to drop one for a G come March. We have heard plenty of other rumors that corroborate much of this, but if the above is the plan, you can expect a big reveal from Cupertino around the time of Macworld or CES, so you won't have to wait long to know the truth. For now, keep your BS detectors set to "stun." P.S.: See what we mean? Now a Piper Jaffray analyst is 70 percent certain (70 percent!) that Apple will introduce an iPhone for Verizon in 2010. Hold onto your hats folks, we've only just begun.
Magazine publishers announce joint digital distribution scheme
The joint venture between four leading publishers has issued a press release highlighting a few of the finer points of its plan to create a platform for digital magazine distribution -- we guess that The New York Observer wasn't kidding when it said that a deal between Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation, and Time Inc. was imminent. Essentially a vehicle for selling publications for just about any device (including smartphones, e-readers, and laptops), the content will be optimized for multiple operating systems and display sizes, and according Time exec John Squires, it will all be DRM-free. They've yet to announce a name for this beast -- although we're leaning towards Magulu (or, perhaps, the iMags Store). PR after the break.
Magazine publishers joining together for iTunes-like magazine store
The New York Observer is reporting that Time, Inc. executive VP John Squires has been making the rounds of other major publishing houses lately with one thing in mind: creating an iTunes-like magazine store for digital distribution of their titles. At this time, it appears that Time, Inc., Condé Nast, and Hearst are all planning on joining the alliance, with over 50 top magazines that would for sale in the store. Those titles include Sports Illustrated, Time, People, The New Yorker, Vogue, and O, The Oprah Magazine. The as-yet-unnamed store doesn't plan on adding a new reader device to the mix. Instead, the consortium is looking at ways to distribute content to existing platforms such as the iPhone, Kindle, nook, BlackBerry, and the major computer operating systems. Reading the post, it seems to this writer that although Squires and Co. have a great idea, the execution of the plan might be doomed already. Quoting from the Observer article: The deal is taking time to complete because it involves so many moving pieces. "It's pretty complicated stuff," said a source. "The really, really hard part is that you've got so many different kinds of devices running on different operating systems. And how do you handle that? The consortium provides one point of contact for the consumer. When you come to the main store, you can get the content any way you want." In addition to building up the store, each publisher will actually have to figure out how to build digital versions of their own magazines.
Magazine publishers said to be 'very close' to digital distribution deal
Rumors of magazine publishers striking a deal to make their content available for digital devices -- even a certain tablet -- have been around for quite a while now, but it looks like something may finally be close to really happening. As The New York Observer reports, Time Inc. exec John Squires has been taking the lead on the initiative (and is apparently set to become interim head of the new company), which would see rival publishers including Time, Condé Nast and Hearst join together to make over 50 magazines available in digital form, and for a variety of devices. Details are otherwise a bit light, as you might expect, but one source familiar with the situation reportedly says "it's very close and more imminent than it's been," while others familiar with the plans say they "compare to iTunes," and that you'll be able to buy "new and distinct iterations" of magazines like of The New Yorker or Time -- and even actual print editions, for that matter.
Esquire's Augmented Reality issue goes on sale, and we have video to prove it
The Augmented Reality issue of Esquire has hit the newsstands, and our fears have come true: when this magazine comes in contact with your webcam, Robert Downey Jr. is unleashed! Aside from dangerous levels of the Academy Award-winning actor, however, the video (after the break) really highlights how silly the whole affair is: While AR has been implemented to great effect for a number of different applications, delivering video content that could just as easily been delivered without waving a magazine in front of your computer definitely crosses the line into gimmick territory. Still, the magazine's design team did pull all the stops -- so if you're curious to see what you'd get for your hard-earned dollar, check out that video walkthrough after the break.
Gamesalad offers $99 iPhone game publishing
We mentioned Gamesalad's plans to bring their publishing system to the iPhone earlier this year, and now they've done it: for $99 a year, they say that you'll be able to design games on their game creator development tool, and then publish them straight out to the iPhone's App Store. If you don't want to bother publishing the games yourself, you can create them and have them "viewed" through the Gamesalad Viewer (which we couldn't find on the App Store quite yet), or you can export them out as full applications and publish them as your own iPhone apps (Flutterby is in the store right now as an example of a Gamesalad Creator game). There's also a $1999 membership service that lets you customize every aspect of your games, and provides you with direct customer support, which is supposed to be for "elite users" (like, we guess, actual game companies). And truthfully, I've developed a few apps using just Xcode, and it's not too big a deal (though I've never had to go through an actual release or worked with end users, which I'm sure is most of the battle anyway). But if the thought of using professional coding tools to develop your little game idea sends you into panic attacks, and the Gamesalad creator seems more your speed, this might be a nice viable way for you to turn your gaming idea into App Store gold. It costs nothing to download and try out the creator, so if the idea interests you, you can work on putting a game together, and then pay later when you decide you've got something you want published on the iPhone. And hey, if you do put a game up, be sure to send a tip and let us know -- we'd love to see the end products of this process.
Esquire hopes augmented reality will trick people into reading
Remember that time last year when Esquire embedded an E Ink display in its front cover and everyone you know rushed out to buy one, and how the scheme saved the once-doomed print magazine market? Well, it appears that the periodical (and the industry as a whole) are again in need of a dramatic technological sales boost -- this time in the form of augmented reality. When the mag hits the newsstand on November 7, readers (and their webcams) will be have a chance to scan some QR codes fiduciary markers and partake in the technology that's been known to teach children about architecture and help jaded club kids party underwater -- except this time the unsuspecting public can look forward to seeing Robert Downey Jr. emerge from the front cover to spew what the AP calls "half-improvised shtick on Esquire's latest high-tech experiment for keeping print magazines relevant amid the digital onslaught." With that kind of content -- alongside a computer-animated snowstorm and a dirty joke or two from Gillian Jacobs -- can anybody doubt that traditional media will soon be back on its feet?
Square Enix to distribute Disney Interactive titles in Japan
The long-standing partnership between RPG juggernaut Square Enix and the mouse-eared moguls of Disney just became a bit stronger. According to Andriasang, Squeenix and Disney Interactive Studios have teamed up to distribute the latter's games in Japan. The first title receiving the support of the massive publisher is Stitch! DS Ohana to Rhythm de Daibouken, which we're assuming is a game based on the Lilo and Stitch franchise, and not some sort of sartorial rhythm title.Though you may be uncomfortable with the expansive publishing empire Square Enix is amassing, think of it this way -- we could see awesome mash-ups between these two companies' respective franchises! Like, say, an action-RPG featuring both Final Fantasy and Disney film characters -- oh, never mind. That's just silly talk.
Namco Bandai to distribute Cities XL in United Kingdom
Fresh off their merger and complete with a new-ish name, Namco Bandai has announced a UK publishing deal for urban management MMO Cities XL. More specifically, the publisher is set to distribute the Monte Cristo developed title in the UK, Italy, Nordic countries, Iberica, New Zealand and Australia. Distribution elsewhere will be handled by Monte Cristo themselves.If you're looking for more information on Cities XL, we've got a detailed hands-on preview written by our very own Shawn Schuster. Plus, we're still offering the opportunity to win a shiny beta key so you can try the game out for yourself. It's a good time to be both an MMO and city builder fan, which is strange to write but feels oh-so-good.
ZeniMax's id buyout doesn't affect Wolfenstein and Rage
We're just one day into the freshly forged relationship between id Software and publishing powerhouse ZeniMax, and we may well be on our way to a bona fide lover's squabble. See, though yesterday's press release from ZeniMax boasted that the company's "library of powerhouse franchises will include DOOM, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, QUAKE, Wolfenstein and RAGE," Electronic Arts and Activision have announced that they're retaining their publishing duties for Rage and Wolfenstein, respectively.ZeniMax referenced these two parties in the same press release, stating that it would publish all of id's future games "other than upcoming releases previously committed to other publishers." Though both EA and Activision's partnerships with id Software are limited to the aforementioned games, and will effectively end when said titles are released, the temporary presence of these two concubines should make things pretty awkward in the newly built idMax household.
Future US president calls it quits
Yes, 12-year-old Billy Caruthers, projected winner of the 2036 presidential election has decided to resign from his pending office in order to dodge controversy surrounding his pending extramarital affair. He -- oh, wait. We totally misread that headline. The president of magazine publisher Future US, Jonathan Simpson-Bint, is stepping down August 31 in order to start up his own business. Simpson-Bint has been working with the company for 18 years, and oversaw the launch of PSM, IGN.com and DailyRadar.com.Future is currently looking for Simpson-Bint's replacement -- if you've got experience managing humongous publishing companies, yet find yourself working as a lowly fry cook at your local Carl's Jr., perhaps its time you gained some upward mobility.
Square Enix and Eidos dropping Warner Bros. publishing
Although the ink has dried on Square Enix's buyout of Eidos last month, there still remains a few issues to iron out before the handover is complete. One of these issues is the publishing rights of currently scheduled titles. Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mini Ninjas were originally under Warner Bros. Interactive before the takeover and will continue to go under that name; however, all future titles will return in-house. Kane & Lynch 2 and Just Cause 2 can be counted among those titles donning the Square Enix logos, though thankfully the influence stops there as Eidos will continue to run as an independent company. Don't worry, Kane & Lynch will be androgyny-free.
Random House now disabling text-to-speech function of Kindle e-books
The much-touted and extremely controversial story of the text-to-speech function of Amazon's Kindle 2 could fill a very large e-book. The tale continues to get longer still, as at least one major publisher -- Random House -- has thrown the dreaded "kill switch" on about 40 of its titles, including authors such as Toni Morrison, and, ironically, Stephen King (who you will remember was part of the Kindle 2's launch). Random House disabled the function without much fanfare, or an official announcement, but you can be sure this isn't the final chapter.
Famitsu, retailers say Bethesda publishing Wet
It looks as if Wet has finally have emerged from the murky waters of publishing limbo, though the likely reveal comes from the unlikeliest of sources. The latest issue of Japanese mag Famitsu, according to Siliconera, lists Bethesda as the publisher behind the Western-developed, stylish third-person shooter, which has been without a champion since being cast off in the wake of last year's Activision-Vivendi merger.In addition, several online retailers, including Amazon, Gamefly and CD Universe also claim that the action romp has been picked up by the Fallout 3 crew. However, there seems to be some disagreement on when the game will arrive at retail. According to Amazon, Wet will ship on August 31, while both Gamefly and CD Universe expect the game to arrive on September 30 and 31 respectively.Whatever the case, it seems probable that Wet has found a new home among the publisher's traditionally RPG-heavy catalog. While still unofficial, we've reached out to Bethesda in hopes of toweling off any additional information.Source -- Bethesda gets WetSource -- Bethesda Softworks Rescues Wet
Red Mile sinking: Sin City, Heroes Over Europe release in question
With cash short and options shorter, publisher Red Mile is in danger of going out of business, leaving both the video game adaptation of Sin City and Heroes of Europe to tread water. Red Mile inked a co-publishing deal with Atari in mid-2008 for Heroes Over Europe, something it expected to net the struggling company "minimum guaranteed payments" and back-end royalties to help keep it afloat. However, the checks stopped arriving on February 11 as Atari pulled its hand out of Red Mile's wallet, ending its publishing agreement for reasons unknown. Without any income, and means to pay Heroes Over Europe developer Transmission Games, it's not surprising that the devs walked away as well when Red Mile failed to pay the studio some $281,000. Red Mile is currently considering going after Atari for "compensatory damages," but time is running short and it's likely the company could simply run out of cash before any settlement is reached. The publisher has around $341,000 left in its coffers, which it estimates will run dry at the end of March. The company predicts that it needs an additional $10,000,000 to keep its doors open another 2-3 years, leaving the eventual release of Heroes Over Europe and Sin City in question. However, given that Red Mile has continually posted losses totaling more than $35 million since it was formed in 2004, we doubt many banks will be opening up their vaults for the company any time soon.
