General Gaming News II: Steam Helpdesk Site Leak

[6souls]

http://www.fusegame.com/
Insomniac’s Overstrike, now called 'Fuse'

[Insanecyclone]

Black Mesa Source coutdown
http://www.blackmesasource.com/

[Guitarman]

HL3?

[6souls]

HL3?

It's a HL mod.

[Lonely]

It's a HL mod.

Its a tf2 hat.

[6souls]

PSP

Toki to Towa

PS3

[6souls]

Valve has begun banning Steam members who create fake projects on the company's just-launched Steam Greenlight service.

Anyone is able to add their game project to the platform, which seeks to find the next must-have Steam launches.

But that's entirely the problem: create a platform where anyone can submit anything, and quickly you'll have people testing its limits.

Those caught creating fake entries face a week's ban from Steam's community services. How effective this is can be judged by a quick scan of the Greenlight front page.

"I've already seen just in the last HOUR: two entries for Mass Effect 3, five various entries for Half Life 3, Left 4 Dead '3', Command and Conquer 1, every single Need for Speed game," one Steam user reported.

"That's not including patently offensive games that make fun of Africans, Indians, various pro/anti American games [and] a game about 9/11".

"Best WTC Plane Simulator" was just one of the games to be removed in the service's first full day of operation.

Greenlight initially launched with 30 projects. There are now around 590, although that number appears to fluctuate as more are added and troll entries are removed.

As of writing, the homepage is randomly showing a German Red Dead Redemption project page, and an entry almost-entirely comprised of one Russian teen's face.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...light-projects
http://www.destructoid.com/valve-kic...m-234069.phtml
http://forums.steampowered.com/forum...&postcount=111

[6souls]

[6souls]

http://www.abload.de/img/valvex5zxu.jpg

[6souls]

[6souls]

Ubisoft to announce a new game this week.

[Spoony Bob]

http://andriasang.com/con2ku/ace_attorney_famitsu/

For Ace Attorney 5, the magazine confirms the sequel's platform as 3DS and reveals that Phoenix Wright is the main character. Wright has a new partner, a mysterious girl in yellow clothing. This girl will be a central figure in the game.

[Insanecyclone]

hahahaha you've got to be kidding me, ea

http://www.destructoid.com/ea-boss-p...s-234402.phtml


EA boss proudly refuses to publish single-player games

Electronic Arts' games label boss Frank Gibeau has revealed that he's not let any solely single-player games pass through his gates, ensuring that absolutely every single title the company publishes has an online component.

"We are very proud of the way EA evolved with consumers," stated the executive. "I have not green lit one game to be developed as a singleplayer experience. Today, all of our games include online applications and digital services that make them live 24/7/365.

"One of our biggest growth opportunities is Play4Free titles that allow customers to play at no cost and make purchases via microtransactions. We see this as a huge opportunity, and one that’s powered by our hybrid cloud model."

With co-op coming to Dead Space 3 and multiplayer rumored for Dragon Age 3, it seems that the idea of solo-oriented experiences is now dead to EA. As is variety, it seems. The inexorable march towards videogames becoming one indistinguishable mass of grey sludge continues.

[Insanecyclone]

oshit

http://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-o...m-234401.phtml

Ubisoft officially ditches its awful PC DRM

Ubisoft claims to have officially discontinued use of its controversial (and crappy) DRM measures. A spokesperson told Rock, Paper, Shotgun that it implemented the policy in June as a direct result of fan backlash.

"We have listened to feedback, and since June last year our policy for all of PC games is that we only require a one-time online activation when you first install the game," said Ubi's Stephanie Perotti, "and from then you are free to play the game offline.

“Whenever you want to reach any online service, multiplayer, you will have to be connected, and obviously for online games you will also need to be online to play. But if you want to enjoy Assassin’s Creed III single player, you will be able to do that without being connected. And you will be able to activate the game on as many machines as you want.”

Given Ubisoft's less-than-savory history with the PC market, I can't say I expect this policy to last for long in its current form. Hopefully it does, but I'll remain skeptical -- Ubisoft hasn't exactly earned much trust on this one.

[6souls]

EA boss proudly refuses to publish single-player games

I'll see your EA wants to make games like Valve and raise you a EA refuses to make new IP's until next gen systems.

Mega-publisher Electronic Arts has excused its current sequel-laden line-up by saying there's a lack of "reward" for launching new game IPs this late in the console generation.

EA Labels president Frank Gibeau admitted that the drought of actual new games would continue until new hardware arrived.

"If you look at the market dynamics: as much as there's a desire for new IP, the market doesn't reward new IP this late in the cycle; they end up doing okay, but not really breaking through," Gibeau explained to GamesIndustry.biz.

"We have to shepherd the time that our developers spend, as well as the money that we spend on development in a positive way, so we're focused on bringing out a bunch of new IPs around the next generation of hardware.

"Right now, we're working on three to five new IPs for the next gen."

EA's release schedule for the next twelve months includes Dead Space 3, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Criterion's Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Maxis' SimCity reboot, Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel, plus FIFA 13, NFL 13 and NHL 13.

And, following that, we already know of Battlefield 4.

Not all developers are following the same tack. Square Enix just launched open-world Hong Kong adventure Sleeping Dogs to chart success. Bethesda is set to launch the extraordinary-looking Dishonored next month, while Ubisoft is still assuring us that Watch Dogs will launch next year on current hardware (although maybe on next-gen as well).

And what of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and Quantic Dream's Beyond: Two Souls? Both are PlayStation 3 titles due for release next year.

"The time to launch an IP is at the front-end of the hardware cycle," Gibeau argued. "If you look historically the majority of new IPs are introduced within the first 24 months of each cycle of hardware platforms,"

Regardless, Gibeau acknowledged that some had grown tired of what current hardware could do.

"This is the longest cycle that any of us have ever seen, and we're at the point where a little bit of fatigue has set in, and people are wondering what they can possibly do next. I've seen the machines that we're building games for, and they're spectacular."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...unching-new-ip
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-age-of-gaming

[Insanecyclone]

[6souls]

http://www.facebook.com/callofjuarez

[6souls]

Capcom's annual report is out, and one of the big ideas for the future is to shorten development cycles and pump out sequels more often.

Gulp.

Capcom president and COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto put it best:

"We launch sales of popular series titles held by thecCompany approximately every 2.5 years. This is because the development of a single major title usually requires 3-4 years.

"In the event that there are few hits, it will be difficult to create a series title every year and earnings will be adversely impacted. For this reason, it is important either to maintain a large number of popular titles or shorten the sales cycle to ensure stable earnings.

"Among the multitude of major titles held by Capcom - such as Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Lost Planet, Dead Rising and many others - we will promote shortening of the sales cycle in pursuit of further earnings stabilisation and growth."

Specifically, he went on, teams developing "major titles" will be "limited" to 100 people, "with multiple sequel titles developed at the same time".

It will be "necessary to create a large-scale development structure for shortening the development process", so Capcom will "strengthen" in-house development by hiring an additional 1000 staff over 10 years, most of which will be graduates.

"In addition, we will increase the number of titles released in a single year and expand earnings using a hybrid development model whereby the core portions of the project are developed in-house by Capcom and the process-work is outsourced to outside development companies," he wrote.

Capcom's proprietary MT Framework engine will play a key role in all this. Apparently, 80 per cent of the development process using MT Framework is common across PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, which "significantly reduces costs and shortens time to completion to one-third of the traditional time required for development". And now, MT Framework is compatible with 3DS, Wii and iPhone development.

In addition to there being less time between games, Capcom wants to keep you involved with a series by beefing up DLC. This will ensure that "users will be captive fans until the release of a sequel, as we acquire revenue from the sales of additional items to maximise profits".

Tsujimoto also wrote that, "All major titles will be put online and made available for download." And added: "By introducing a system that enables users to play one another across the globe, and by continually introducing additional downloadable content (DLC), user playing time will increase, and we can acquire new users who cross over from package users while receiving addition revenue in the form of additional item purchases."

Next Gen

Capcom had a couple of passing comments to make about next-generation gaming.

Kenzo Tsujimoto, chairman and CEO, noted: "Furthermore, we must invest in our developers to strengthen foundational research in next-generation consoles."

Hahruhiro Tsujimoto added: "We will create new popular next generation franchise, allocating 20 per cent of development investment to new products through efficient development."

"As for the outlook for the next fiscal year," Capcom went on, "although Nintendo will release the new game console Wii U and the market will be continue to be invigorated by the increase of DLC, time is required before the next generation console cycle begins in earnest."

For Capcom, all eyes will be on Resident Evil 6, which has been worked on by 600 people, and is expected to sell 7 million units. Capcom's even opening a Resident Evil restaurant, as well as releasing a Resident Evil: Retribution film and Resident Evil: Damnation animation. "Also," the company added, "we will continue to try new ideas, including a tie-up with a real escape game." OK then.

That's the home console video game market. Capcom's other business boosting ideas are to expand in the PC online space through browser games and things like Monster Hunter Frontier Online.

Mobile and social gaming is a huge new frontier for Capcom, too - as it is for most Japanese and Western companies.

Capcom's forecast for the year ahead:

• Resident Evil 6 7 million units
• DmC Devil May Cry 2 million units
• Dragon's Dogma 1.5 million units
• Lost Planet 3 1.4 million units

Capcom's best franchises:

• Resident Evil - 73 games - 49 million sales
• Street Fighter - 73 games - 33 million sales
• Mega Man - 129 games - 29 million sales
• Monster Hunter - 21 games - 21 million sales
• Devil May Cry - 15 games - 10 million sales
• Dead Rising - 11 games - 5.3 million sales
• Lost Planet - 13 games - 4.8 million sales
• Ace Attorney 16 games - 4.3 million sales
• Sengoku BASARA - 21 games - 3.1 million sales

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ng-development
http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/data/annual.html

[6souls]

Twin Perfect has posted some of the most well researched Silent Hill analysis videos on the internet and now they have put their magnifying glass to Konami's much maligned HD collection. If Konami paid close attention to the Silent Hill franchise as much as these guys, reviews for the abysmal Silent Hill HD Collection would read a lot different, including our own.

Reviews hit on things like the lack of fog, frame rate, and other technical hiccups, but these guys manage to find major flaws in almost every aspect of the game. Everything from music to movement is closely analyzed and found to be inferior to the originals, with assets misused or missing entirely.

Maybe this shouldn't be surprising, given that this HD collection comes from code that predates the retail version of Silent Hill 2 and 3. Hearing wind chimes during creepy moments, seeing teeth textures where eyes should be, and the sound of a sword swinging for a walking sound is just beyond bizarre. It's as if Konami purposely wanted to make this collection worse in every way.

To my knowledge, this is the first time a lot of these issues -- and I mean A LOT -- have been brought to light.

http://www.destructoid.com/silent-hi...t-234423.phtml

[Insanecyclone]

Kotaku actually released a good article

http://kotaku.com/5940672/pissed-off...o-game-company