the-witcher-2
Latest
GoG discounts Jagged Alliance 2, Witcher 2 for the weekend
It's a straight-up gorgeous Saturday you guys, and we can't think of a better way to enjoy a really beautiful weekend than by staying inside and playing video games all day. As it happens, GoG is having a sale this weekend on various classics (like Jagged Alliance 2 for $4.99) and The Witcher 2 (for $33.99).
The Witcher 2 summons Xbox 360 port on April 17
It's taken Geralt a long time -- heck, we can't blame him. A horse-drawn carriage is pretty much the slowest method of transport ever, but come April 17 his long voyage to the Xbox 360 will have concluded. Warner Bros. has finally announced the official launch date for the highly lauded CD Projekt Red sequel today, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.Originally announced last summer, the title was originally planned to launch on Xbox 360 in 2011, but had to be pushed back to early 2012 before Warner Bros. signed on to publish. Recently, we were able to spend some time with the game and speak with the developers, so be sure to read up on our findings and start sharpening your silver swords -- you've only got about three months to get back into evil-vanquishing shape!
The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 includes new content, more coming post-launch
Following the launch of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings on PC, CD Projekt Red offered a steady stream of updates and DLC, free of charge.The Xbox 360 version, which I saw at a preview event in San Francisco, will bundle all of that previously released content when it launches this year -- along with new material.%Gallery-145685%
GOG.com joins SOPA opposition
GOG may be a Polish company, which doesn't comment on "politics, legislation, and government actions" of other nations, but it has come out against SOPA. It states, "SOPA works in a fashion similar to DRM, if you ask us: it only will have an effect on people who are, by and large, honest consumers."
Witcher 2 dev CD Project RED ceases legal action against pirates
After some strong words and even stronger legal actions, it looks like Witcher 2 developer CD Projekt RED is curtailing its actions against pirates over stolen copies of its last release. CDP co-founder Marcin Iwinski penned an "open letter to the gaming community" wherein he states that, "immediately" his company will "cease identifying and contacting pirates." Make no mistake, Iwinski isn't flipping his stance on pirates or the concept of piracy. "It hurts us, the developers. It hurts the industry as a whole," he writes. He is, however, flipping his company's approach to dealing with piracy, rolling back past legal options and taking "your opinions to heart" instead. Iwinski also points out that unless folks pay for games, companies like his "won't be able to produce new excellent titles for you," which we fully stand behind. So, in conclusion: Piracy? Bad. Legal actions against pirates? Also bad. Questions?
Witcher 2, Double Fine games, more in Steam Holiday Sale today
Pace yourself! Steam's Holiday Sale is only in day two, and you can already get Costume Quest for $3.74 (or with Psychonauts for just $2 more!), Lego Batman for $5, The Witcher 2 for $24, The Witcher 1 for $2.49, and Modern Warfare 2 for $15. You're definitely going to be broke after this year's sale but, on the upside, you'll be able to play a lot of games until your electricity is shut off and you're evicted.
CD Projekt demands Witcher 2 pirates pay up, '100% sure' it's targeting properly
Developer CD Projekt RED previously estimated that The Witcher 2 had been pirated 4.5 million times, and now it's looking for thousands of those offenders to pay up. TorrentFreak reports the company has sent legal notices to BitTorrent users in Germany seeking €912 ($1180) to cover their debt to the company. "As you know, we aren't huge fans of any sort of DRM here at CD Projekt RED. DRM itself is a pain for legal gamers – the same group of honest people who decided that our game was worth its price, and went and bought it," CD Projekt RED told Joystiq in a statement. "We don't want to make their lives more difficult by introducing annoying copy protection systems." "However, that shouldn't be confused with us giving a green light to piracy. We will never approve of it, since it doesn't only affect us but has a negative impact on the whole game industry. We've seen some of the concern online about our efforts to thwart piracy, and we can assure you that we only take legal actions against users who we are 100 percent sure have downloaded our game illegally." CD Projekt wouldn't explain how it's sure that it's targeting the pirates properly, but it's using a method, according to PC Gamer, developed by an external company.
Namco Bandai wins in Witcher 2 distribution dispute
If you pick up an Xbox 360 copy of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in Western Europe, Central or South America, or the Asia-Pacific region next year, it'll be thanks to Namco Bandai. A court in Lyon, France has ruled that it may distribute the game in those territories, following a dispute with CD Projekt parent company Optimus SA, which had offered the game to THQ despite prior commitments. Namco Bandai is entitled to a new distribution contract, and can extract a punitive fee of 15,000 euros per day if Optimus doesn't sign on the dotted line within 15 days of the ruling. When the dispute began, Optimus president Adam Kicinski expected a settlement or a legal victory, after which, he said, "the loser will pay for our lawyers." A second loser here is THQ, which sees its preliminary agreement crushed as collateral damage beneath the gavel. According to Parkiet.com, CD Projekt RED board member Marcin Iwinski said THQ had suffered no costs, and that the companies may yet "part in harmony." The court did not venture an opinion on Namco Bandai's suggestion that CD Projekt had violated their agreement by spontaneously disabling DRM from PC versions of The Witcher 2.
Reminder: The Witcher 1 and 2 for $24 on GOG
GOG's 48-hour sale that gives you The Witcher: Enhanced Edition and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for $24 (down from $40) is on right now. The company states this is the "best price" it'll have on the Witcher franchise during its holiday sales, and it's not like it would lie about something like that (well, there was that one time). The Witcher 2, which we loved at launch, has since received one of the most significant post-release updates we've ever seen, effectively addressing most reasonable criticism. For those without the PC to handle all the visual awe The Witcher 2 has to offer, the game should cast its spell on Xbox 360 in early 2012. %Gallery-116971%
GOG cutting the prices of most games in half, giving Witcher with Witcher 2 purchase
Classic game distributor (and CD Projekt portal) GOG isn't one to be left out of the holiday discount phenomenon. The site revealed its sales plans for the rest of the month, including a free copy of The Witcher with Witcher 2 downloads, and a 50 percent discount on "virtually" its whole catalog.
Amazon discounts PC versions of Witcher 2, Deus Ex and more
You think because Cyber Monday has come and gone, Amazon's going to stop offering preposterous discounts on games? No, stupid: Check out today's Amazon discount round-up, which cleaves the prices of PC games like Witcher 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and so, so many more.
4.5 million pirated copies of Witcher 2 out there, according to CD Projekt
Polish developer CD Projekt claims that its Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has been pirated more times since release than you might have expected. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, CEO Marcin Iwinski does some quick back-of-the-hand calculations according to what he saw on illegal downloading sites, and comes up with 4.5 million copies of the game obtained illegally. He also says, however, that "as of today we have sold over one million legal copies, so having only 4.5-5 illegal copies for each legal one would be not a bad ratio." He then suggests "the reality is probably way worse." Still, CD Projekt isn't interested in digital rights management, and Iwinski says that it would cause more trouble for legally paying gamers than it would stop any piracy. The solution, he says, is to both add value to buying games legally, and educate users about why it's the right thing to do. "We started offering high value with the product -- like enhancing the game with additional collectors' items like soundtracks, making-of DVDs, books, walkthroughs, etc.," he says. "This, together with a long process of educating local gamers about why it makes sense to actually buy games legally, worked. And today, we have a reasonably healthy games market." Iwinski's got a point -- it's often an easier battle just selling more legal copies of a game (by providing a better value to customers) than preventing would-be pirates from beating even oppressive DRM.
Black Friday PC deals kick off today on Amazon
Amazon's PC digital distribution service is rolling out its Black Friday deals now, with a minimum of 50 percent off many of the year's hottest titles. There are also massive discounts on titles from last year, like Mass Effect 2 for $5. Recently released titles Dungeon Defenders and Might & Magic: Heroes 6 are 50 percent off, at $7.50 and $27.50, respectively. Other great deals include The Witcher 2 for $16 (-60%), Amnesia for $5 (-75%) and Tropico 4 for $20 (-50%). For those looking for an excuse not to venture near any malls this weekend, Amazon has plenty of discounted titles to keep one busy.
CD Projekt working on new IP, multiple multiplatform releases
According to a translation of the livestream of CD Projekt's recent Investor's Day, the Polish developer behind The Witcher is working on a brand new IP, along with a whole bunch of other releases over the next few years. The Witcher 2 is still due out on Xbox next year, and then CD Projekt says it's also working on two more "AAA+" titles for 2014 and 2015. Between then and now, the company also hopes to put out three smaller budget titles -- two with a budget/staff grade of "A", and 1 "AA"-sized game. All of the titles are set up for "multiplatform" release, though which platforms isn't yet clear. But the company says it's still working on developing the RED engine, and since that engine is already designed for PC and Xbox development, we'll guess those two. CD Projekt promises more news on all of these titles soon, and since both "AAA+" titles expect to take 3-5 years to develop, it's a good guess at least one of those is already under development. We'll keep an eye open for more.
Witcher 2 digital sales pass a quarter million
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings sold nearly a quarter of a million copies through digital distribution channels between May 17 and October 30, publisher CD Projekt has announced. The company revealed in late August that it had reached nearly a million sales of the RPG between retail and digital. CD Projekt's DRM-free digital distribution service GOG.com sold approximately 35,000 copies of the game, with Steam picking up the five-headed lion's share with 195,000 sales. According to the publisher, "all other digital distribution outlets combined sold approximately ten thousand units." "The digital sales of The Witcher 2 have exceeded our expectations. We are even more pleased that our own platform GOG.com had such a great share in the Witcher's success," said Marcin Iwiński, co-founder of CD Projekt Group. "The performance of GOG.com in selling new titles is not completely surprising, as we have said for years that DRM isn't necessary. It is gratifying to see that the only platform that offered The Witcher 2 DRM-free from launch has performed so well." Well, yes, but over 550 percent more went the Steam route. So, the crowd angry enough about DRM to vote with their wallets form a vocal minority. It's not hard to see why Ubisoft, which has been one of the harshest of publishers when it comes to DRM, considers it a success.
Warner Bros. casting Witcher 2 for Xbox 360 in NA
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will publish The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings in North America early next year, providing sales and marketing resources that North American PC publisher Atari likely wouldn't be able to provide for a console launch. "We are sure that this partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, with its strong position in the entertainment sector and particularly in the video and games distribution market in North America, will help us to achieve even bigger success in the most important market for Xbox 360 games," said Adam Kiciński, president of CD Projekt RED. "This is also a big distinction for us, that Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment recognizes The Witcher 2 as a rare example of a game with world-class production values, which merges a very ambitious and complex approach with big commercial potential." And as WB "recognizes" the publishing opportunities for Witcher 2 in North America, THQ will work PAL territories. Meanwhile, Atari and Namco Bandai continue PC publishing duties for NA and PAL, respectively. Anybody else want in on Geralt? Because it looks like CD Projekt RED is open to multiple partners.
Witcher 2 DLC free on PC, not on Xbox (for obvious reasons)
The Witcher 2 has been very successful for CD Projekt -- and it's most certainly been deserved -- so when it came time to figure out the DLC strategy, the company didn't want to charge players on the PC. As for the Xbox 360, well ... that's not up to CD Projekt. "All DLC for the PC version is and will remain FREE," development director Adam Badowski told Rock Paper Shotgun. "That's not likely to be the story for the Xbox version, because of certain Microsoft policies that need to be followed. But on PC, once you buy our game, you don't need to worry about any additional costs – we will provide all updates, including those featuring new content, for free." Badowski says no current expansion packs are planned, but if CD Projekt is to ask PC players for additional money, it'd be for "a more classic expansion pack along the lines of, say, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast." The "certain policies" Adam is speaking about have certainly thrown developers for a loop in the past. Who can forget Team Fortress 2 and the Left 4 Dead 2 DLC thing? Valve's Gabe Newell has been one of the most vocal opponents of Microsoft's restrictive policies.
Wall of text describes Witcher 2's major update in full
CD Projekt RED's exemplary (and entirely free!) post-launch support of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is perhaps best conveyed in a massive, debilitating list of tweaks to be made on September 29. Read the finalized list of changes in the Version 2.0 update, which is being rolled into next year's Xbox 360 version, after the break. A couple of changes made to combat should do wonders for its pacing, as Geralt will now be able to parry blows even when he's exhausted. Not all damage will be nullified, but the change should reduce reliance on the ol' run-around-and-roll-repeatedly strategy. The white wolf's attacks are also protected from interruption by successful enemy attacks. If that makes it sound too easy, you'll be interested in Version 2.0's "Dark Mode," a more sadistic approach to difficulty with unique weapon rewards. And if that still sounds too taxing, you'll be pleased with the game's new, fully developed tutorial. Rather than a quick walkthrough, the tutorial is a brand new quest in which Geralt aids a wounded knight. That context sounds quite a bit more gentle than the unaltered game's cajun-style kick-off (which we still found inspiring, mind you).
Download The Witcher 2 for PC from Amazon for $23.99
Is a Witcher a person who hunts witches? Or perhaps, a person who witches? These are the questions, and now the answers can be had for as little as $23.99 at Amazon. We guess they could also be had for free at Wikipedia, but where's the fun in that?
The Witcher 2 gets 2.0 update next week, Steam sale begins today
During a livestreamed press conference this afternoon, Polish developer CD Projekt Red detailed many of the 2.0 changes coming to its hit PC title, The Witcher 2. Those features include a new tutorial system, addressing complaints that the game dropped players off right into the deep-end of the gameplay pool. If your complaint wasn't that the game was too hard but rather too easy, version 2.0 also introduces the so-called "Dark" mode, which "is nearly as difficult as 'Insane,' but allows players to save the game." And if your complaint wasn't that The Witcher 2 was too easy or too hard, but rather too finite, you'll be interested in Arena mode, which is a wave-based arcade mode where players will fight (and fight and fight) until they finally succumb to the enemy horde. Depending on how you fared, you could opt to upload your progress to Facebook or the game's forums. In addition to the PC enhancements, the upcoming Xbox 360 "adaptation" (don't call it a port!) includes all of the new 2.0 features, as well as some other "new features." Most notable, according to CD Projekt Red, is an all-new "4 minutes long CGI Intro by Oscar nominee, and BAFTA winner, animator Tomasz Bagiński." Baginski did the CGI intro for the first Witcher title, but promises, "The CGI Intro for The Witcher 2 will have different flavor than the one known from the first Witcher game." And before you get too upset, PC players, while the CGI intro is strangely being billed as an Xbox "feature" it will "be part of the future update of the PC version of the game as well." The 2.0 update hits PC a week from today, on September 29th, for the low, low price of free, while the Xbox 360 release is still expected in the Q1 2012 window. If you've been looking for an excuse to try your hand at witching, a new retail price point as well as some digital promotions should help. Beginning today, the Steam version is available for $29.99 (or €29.99) until October 6. CD Projekt Red sister company GoG.com will offer a DRM-free version on the 29th for the same price, until October 6 as well. If retail is more your thing, The Witcher 2 is getting a $10 drop from $49 to $39 (or €39), a price already beat by Amazon.%Gallery-134681%
