Q3-2012
Latest
Deadlight coming to XBLA, care of Tequila Works
What is Deadlight? That's a good question. And other than telling you it's an Xbox Live Arcade game being published my Microsoft Studios and developed by Tequila Works, we wouldn't be able to do much in the way of answering said question. Well, that's not entirely true. Tequila Works' website also includes a blurb describing the game as an "original cinematic puzzle platformer." It stars a lone man named Randall Wayne who's stumbling around the American West Coast in 1986 after a pandemic has killed off the rest of the population. We've yet to see the game in action, but it sounds to be puzzle rather than combat-focused. The XBLA title is set to arrive sometime this coming summer, and we're certainly hoping to learn a bit more about it before then.
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes gliding through Gotham in summer 2012
After being outed by Lego's own advertising team in a series of toys, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is officially on its way to pretty much every gaming device out there, starting in summer 2012. Beyond the platform ubiquity, WB unveiled the game's main cast, which has Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman joining forces with Gotham's famous bat and bird.We're also told "notorious villains" like Lex Luthor and Joker will be a part of the game, providing a good serving of antagonism for the super hero quintet. Batman series staples such as the Batmobile and Batwing will also make appearances, albeit in Lego form. Developer TT Games is once again at the helm, no doubt infusing its silly sense of humor into Batman's typically grim career.
New York University introduces MFA in 'Game Design,' starting fall 2012
New York University's Game Center, already a bastion of game development in the Northeastern US, announced this week that it will open a Master of Fine Arts program for "Game Design" in fall 2012. The Game Center's blog revealed the new program this week with a tentative description of the program's offerings and faculty, pinning names like Frank Lantz and Eric Zimmerman to the staff. The two-year program is said to focus on "game design, game programming, visual design for games, and game criticism." Wait, "game criticism?" According to the MFA program's website, students can focus on criticism for the game design degree, "which means writing about games with a focus on game design and player experience." The site further adds, "A student with this focus will be well-prepared to become a game journalist or critic, a theorist or researcher, or a scholar or historian." There is no mention, however, of the crushing debt you'll be unable to pay with a game journalist's salary. We kid! Regardless, between creating individual projects and working in groups, the NYU MFA program intends on educating future game devs in a wide variety of disciplines, across a varied spectrum of virtual platforms (from social to console, and everything in between) -- even game journalism, it would seem. Interested parties can find out more info through NYU's graduate program portal, but you'll probably want to read this FAQ first. That thesis sounds like a doozy!
uDraw hasn't fared so well on Xbox 360 and PS3, THQ lowers its forecast
THQ has lowered its earnings forecast for the third quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, citing underwhelming sales of its recently multiplatform uDraw tablet. THQ CEO Brian Farrell explained in a press release, "Despite uDraw's strong success on the Wii in fiscal 2011 and market research indicating strong demand for uDraw on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, initial sales of our uDraw tablet and software on these high-definition platforms have been weaker than expected." As a result, the company is lowering its original sales guidance of between $510 million and $550 million by "approximately 25 percent," which is a large number of millions (at least $127.5 million). We'll know how poorly the device did when third quarter results drop next February. Until then, Farrell assures investors that "WWE '12 and Saints Row: The Third are expected to perform at or better than the levels we discussed on our fiscal 2012 second quarter earnings call." We guess folks are just more into simulated violence and genuine bonersword violence than they're into drawing things with their kids.
'Pid' is a pretty platformer from Grin vets Might & Delight, planned for XBLA/PSN/PC in 2012
We're suckers for artsy platformers, so when Beefy Media's Adam Boyes took to Giant Bomb's livestream this evening with a debut trailer for Might & Delight's latest offering, "Pid," and the game was a gorgeous hand-drawn platformer, we were pretty excited to tell you all about it. In Pid, you'll control what appears to be a little boy in a colorful and mysterious world of platforms and robots -- like Limbo and Machinarium had a digital baby, if you will. The trailer showed off a bit of co-op play, as well as a variety of different environments through which to romp. Pid is being built using the Unity engine (like that mystery Square Enix game, among many others), thus making its ubiquity across platforms all the easier. While Boyes admitted the M&D folks don't have a publisher for the game yet, he said they've been actively speaking with publishers and are looking at an Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC release in "the back half of 2012." Expect more details and the trailer tomorrow, on Joystiq, when the game gets announced "officially." Head past the break for a quick snap of the game in action.
Dell reports Q3 earnings, enterprise division rakes in record $4.7 billion
Dell's PC business may be on the decline, in fact its consumer division saw revenues drop 6 percent, but its business business is making up for it. The company's enterprise solutions and services unit took in a record $4.7 billion in revenue this quarter, a jump of 8 percent over the same time last year. The same department also saw operating income climb 12 percent in the same period. All told, Dell took in $15.4 billion in the third quarter, which is about the same as a year or go -- give or take a few million bucks. However profits were up 12 percent over last year to $983 million. So while there doesn't seem to be a huge influx of new cash coming in, it does appear that Dell is managing what it has just fine. Check out the full report after the break.
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron coming from High Moon, has a transforming dino
Do we need to say anything else? Maybe we weren't clear enough in the headline -- transforming dinosaur. Okay, okay, it's Grimlock, and apparently he's taking dinosaur form in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, the next project from Transformers: War for Cybertron devs High Moon Studios. Game Informer unveiled the title and concept shots for the long-ago teased game via its latest cover reveal, which features both Optimus Prime and the aforementioned Grimlock on a metallic battlefield. Few details are given other than the game's title and development house, though GI's site plans to blow out more as the weeks go on, and the magazine will have more details when it arrives later this month. We're gonna go all the way crazy and assume the game will arrive on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at the very least, though no platforms were given in the announcement. What was in the announcement, though? An incredible mechanical dinosaur. Update: Activision added a few more details in its own press release, which confirmed the game as an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 title and said it's set to launch in fall 2012. Try and look surprised!
Introducing Adrift, the first game from Dontnod Entertainment, for 360/PS3
In a cramped meeting room hidden amidst dozens of others at Gamescom's very busy business center, three of Dontnod Entertainment's founders were hiding out with the company's art director, Aleksi Briclot. Just before my appointment this afternoon, the quartet were attempting to woo an unnamed publisher with their first project, an action-adventure game named Adrift for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As seen above, they weren't showing off anything more than a concept art-filled teaser, but I was later told that "half of the game is playable." What that game is, however, remains to be seen. Creative director Jean-Maxime Moris, formerly an associate producer at Ubisoft, described Adrift as combat-heavy, but refused to go into any specifics. Adding to the game's mystery is its main concept: the year is 2084, you're in "Neo-Paris," and human memories can be sold, bought, and traded. Wait ... what? "There will be a lot of the memory element, but how you interact with it I'll have to keep a secret for now," Moris teased. And it could be a bit of a wait before we know more -- Moris added that we'll see more in the coming months, but the next big showing won't be until E3 2012. Adrift is set for a fall 2012 launch window on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and, as previously mentioned, has yet to find a publisher. We'll have more info from our meeting with the Dontnod folks soon, but for now we've got several concept shots from art director Aleksi Briclot below.%Gallery-130885%
