General Gaming News II: Steam Helpdesk Site Leak

[Insanecyclone]

[6souls]

http://www.abload.de/img/x1t5plu.jpg

[6souls]

Spoiler: show

Pre-Order and Upgrade to the Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel Overkill Edition with More Weapons, Gear and Early Access to Bonus Content

Grab a friend, cross the border and take the war on drugs head on when Visceral Games, an Electronic Arts studio, launches Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel in North America on March 26, 2013 (29 March 2013 in Europe). Powered by the award-winning Frostbite 2 engine from DICE, Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel features intense co-operative gameplay where teamwork is needed for success and survival against a relentless Cartel lord. To help equip players for this intense operation, Visceral Games is rewarding fans who pre-order the game with the exclusive Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel Overkill Edition, which includes three bonus Contracts!

“With Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel we wanted to take the series in a new direction while also leveraging the aspects that made the first two Army of TWO games unique,” said Julian Beak, Executive Producer, Visceral Games. “We knew coming out of the gate that meaningful co-op gameplay, customization and over-the-top action would be key pillars for us, and we’re bringing these elements to the next level by presenting them in a setting that is more serious in order to dial up the intensity.”

Surviving against a dangerous enemy with everything to lose is a daunting task, so Visceral Games is giving fans who pre-order the Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel Overkill Edition the advantage of additional guns and outfits, right when they start the game. The Overkill Edition includes:

● Early Access to Three “Overkillers” Contracts: Unleash massive destruction with three Contract variations designed for maximum rampage! Players must kill enemies and cause environment destruction to earn enough points to continuously stay in Overkill while making their way to the extraction point.

● Tactical Co-op Gear: Lay down sustained cover fire with the TAH-9 side arm while decked out in the polymer textured outfit and mask or wield the Double D automatic shotgun while battling in the intimidating Overkill mask and outfit.

● Celebrate the Day of the Dead: Bust out the Day of the Dead themed assault rifle and take on Mexico’s most ruthless drug lords in Day of the Dead themed outfit and masks designed by popular tattoo artists.

[Guitarman]

PlayStation 4 dev kits shipping to developers – Report
[Link and quote deleted]

[Cantih]

I am NOT keen on them running an APU board.
They're already shit tier for PC, so being locked in to a 2012 one for half a decade is really going to suck.

[Salodin]

Half a decade? Try a whole decade. No way are they going away from their 10 year life cycle.

[6souls]

http://www.trackmania.com/valley/

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/6...7875e025_z.jpg

[izembo]

I am NOT keen on them running an APU board.
They're already shit tier for PC, so being locked in to a 2012 one for half a decade is really going to suck.

while that's true, they typically are never top of the line pc parts, dedicated gaming machine doesnt need as much and it keeps the price down, because i promise you they arent going for another $900 at cost machine to build this time around.

[Insanecyclone]

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/201...t_a_new_f_zero

Miyamoto Puzzled As To Why Anyone Would Want A New F-Zero

If you ask any self-respecting Nintendo fan which series they'd like to see come out of hibernation, many will say F-Zero. Aside from the themed mini-game in the forthcoming Wii U launch title

Nintendo Land, we haven't seen an F-Zero title since 2004's F-Zero: Climax on the Game Boy Advance - which never made it out of Japan.

In an interview with French site Game Kult, Miyamoto was asked why the series has been dormant for almost a decade. His response is surprising, to say the least.

Game Kult: After a quick survey on Twitter, one of the games French gamers miss the most is F Zero. Nobody really understands why Nintendo hasn’t made a new one since 2004. Is there a chance we can see it back on Wii U?

Miyamoto: [eyes open wide] I am really pleased to hear Twitter’s opinion, because since the first episode on SNES many games have been made but the series has evolved very little. I thought people had grown weary of it.

I’d like to say: Thank you very much and try to wait by playing Nintendo Land’s F-Zero mini-game.

I am also very curious and I’d like to ask those people: Why F-Zero? What do you want that we haven’t done before?

It would appear that Miyamoto feels the franchise is unable to offer anything new, which is something of a blow for all of the F-Zero fans out there who are eagerly awaiting a new instalment. Are you one of those fans? What's your opinion on Miyamoto's reply? Drop a comment to let us - and the world - know.

[Cantih]

Well, the cell processor was ahead of it's time. I mean, it's essentially just a custom 7 core CPU, right?
But that was in 2006, at that time, the PC market was only just starting with dual cores. Even now, commercial CPUs are only topping at six? (And, that's at the high end parts, I think)

The only hope I see is if AMD has something up it's sleeve, and the PS4 ships with the 2013 version of the APU. Because while Trinity's A10 may be better than Intel integrated graphics, it still sucks compared to even an i5 plus a midrange discreet card.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ce,3304-7.html

[Kaisha]

Cell's SPEs were limited in scope compared to a full out CPU core.

APU for PS4 would only be interesting for me if the PS4 still had a discrete graphics chipset included, as that'd allow for the GPU chip on the APU to be usable as a number processing monster alongside the CPU, or offloading some tasks of the main chipset like we saw this generation with developers making a couple Cell SPEs handling stuff like MLAA and other post-processing effects.

[6souls]

Microsoft is building its own 7-inch gaming tablet. Multiple sources familiar with plans within Redmond have confirmed to The Verge that initial hardware planning for an Xbox Surface is underway. Specifications for an Xbox Surface 7-inch tablet computing device leaked back in June ahead of Microsoft's Surface RT and Surface Pro announcement. We're told that the initial specs were accurate and that the final implementation is being worked on.

The Xbox Surface will likely include a custom ARM processor and high-bandwidth RAM designed specifically for gaming tasks. We're told these specifications could be altered to accommodate an unannounced Intel SoC and that the Xbox Surface is being developed independent of specific hardware architecture. Microsoft's Xbox Surface won't run a full version of Windows, rather this 7-inch tablet will run a custom Windows kernel. Messaging and other tablet functions may be supported, but the focus is on gaming.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/6/36...-tablet-7-inch

Future US confirmed today it will end production of PlayStation: The Official Magazine with the last issue slated for the Holiday 2012 issue. Both Future US and PlayStation The Official Magazine could not offer further comment at this time.

https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/...e-closing.aspx

Past Five Years => Past Five Days

While yesterday’s news that the Obsidian-developed South Park: The Stick of Truth RPG was delayed seemed like pretty bad news, the fact is beleaguered publisher THQ has much bigger problems. It seems as though the company’s fortunes have simply sunk too low to keep going in the same way, having reported a loss of $21 million in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. In fact, today, the company’s stock value halved at the start of business today, a result of yesterday’s investor conference call. Ouch.

The company’s situation has become so dire, reports GamesIndustry today, that it’s appointed Centerview Partners to find “strategic and financing alternatives” while it hopes for a larger company to swoop in and buy it. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, who specializes in the video game and electronics market, offered up his view of THQ’s next step now that Centerview has been brought into the picture:

Should its financial position continue to deteriorate, we expect THQ to raise financing through an equity sale that could lead to dilution of existing shareholders. We expect creditors to be asked to renegotiate terms at a discount; if they are unwilling, bankruptcy is possible.

Although THQ has been able to lower its cost structure through layoffs and a streamlined release slate in order to temporarily improve profitability, it is unlikely to return to profitability unless its revenues once again begin to grow. […]

Management has a track record of over-promising and under-delivering, and the company has been in turnaround mode for the last five years. The additional game delays, hiring of a financial advisor and refusal to take questions increase our skepticism that a turnaround plan can be executed before the company runs out of cash.

Translation? This year, THQ tried to streamline its situation, but couldn’t do so well enough to return to profitability. So they’re either going to try and find a buyer, or declare bankruptcy.

Now, bankruptcy doesn’t mean the absolute end of a company—just that their debt is going to be restructured in such a way as to satisfy the biggest creditors first, potentially leaving smaller creditors out of luck in terms of getting their money back. But, that said, companies don’t tend to have much luck coming back from bankruptcy—it’s far more of an uphill battle.

But let’s also not forget THQ’s valuable IP portfolio. Saints Row alone is probably worth a decent amount, so I have a feeling the company will get bought before they declare bankruptcy. Of course, I ain’t never been to no business school, so what happens next is really anybody’s guess.

http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...ptcy-concerns/
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-or-bankruptcy
https://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:THQI

[6souls]

Spoiler: show

Today Codemasters announced that a demo for F1 Race Stars will be available for download this week ahead of the game’s race into retail on November 16th. In the demo players will experience Formula One powered-up on the F1 Race Stars Germany track in both single-player and up to four-player split-screen. On every straight, hairpin and jump, players will experience F1 Race Stars’ unique brand of superfast Formula One racing as they race through a Bavarian castle, accelerate on the autobahn and fly through a forest.

The F1 Race Stars demo will be available for download today for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft in Europe and North America. The demo will then be available from Steam for Windows PC worldwide and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system in Europe on Wednesday, November 7th; the demo will arrive for PlayStation 3 in North America on Tuesday, November 13th.

In the demo players can race as Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel or Kimi Räikkönen and compete with other official and fictional Formula One drivers, transformed into heroic caricatures that are bursting with personality.

In the sprint for the chequered flag, gamers can utilise a range of fantasy and Formula One themed power-ups, from calling in Wet Weather to slow the pack, deploying DRS to speed past rivals and using a range of sneaky bubbles to trap other drivers. If their car takes damage, gamers can race through the pit lane to get back up to speed, whilst a variety of different routes, boost pads and shortcuts will all slingshot players ahead.

Karateka

Spoiler: show

[Guitarman]

Microsoft patents tech that watches viewers
[Link and quote deleted]


This ain't good...

[Doombear]

Please... just make sure you have a skylight, or a ton of shit all over your living room, or less than ideally lit spaces, or well, any of the other 900 things that keeps the current camera sensors from working most of the time. This is gonna get good.

[Eleven19]

lol seriously.. this kind of shit is insane. Need to just go back to super nintendo where you can take the fucking cartridge everywhere with your saves. So what, your mom walks through your living room and Xbox is gunna turn off your.. game because it senses too many people?

[6souls]

Similar to past numbered games in the Disgaea series, the fifth title will have a new setting and characters, Nippon Ichi Software president Sohei Shinkawa has told the latest issue of Dengeki.

Touching upon PSP development, he said Nippon Ichi is reserving its PSP production primarily for otome titles. Other titles, he said, will migrate to PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. And speaking of PS Vita, the studio is preparing a new title for the platform.

There have been many requests for an authentic adventure game such as PS2′s Hayarigami. That’s being considered, Shinkawa said. But this is unrelated to their new PS Vita title.

http://gematsu.com/2012/11/disgaea-5...and-characters
http://gamenyarth.blog67.fc2.com/blog-entry-12301.html

Jonatan Söderström, the twisted indie genius behind the ultra-violent Hotline Miami, has told Pocket Gamer that his team has "been talking to Sony" about bringing the game to PlayStation devices - including Vita.

If you haven't played it yet, Miami is a top-down, neon-dipped action romp, where you systemically take out bad guys in the most bloody, destructive way possible.

This sadistic game has been racking up high scores on PC: it's currently sitting pretty with an 87 on Metacritic.

Don't expect to see the game on Vita any time soon, though. "We would need someone to port it for us," Söderström says.

The game's creator - who famously helped out people who pirated his game - is also considering porting Hotline Miami to touchscreen devices like iPad and Android.

"Would be interesting to see if it was possible to get it to play well on a touchscreen device," Söderström says. "Sounds like a challenge."

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/PS+Vi...ws.asp?c=46153
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-play-his-game

[6souls]

http://shopto.net/ps3/PS3ME24-metal-...ersary-edition
http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms.../10650061.html

[6souls]

A brand new Mass Effect game, be it Mass Effect 4 or something entirely different, is in development, series executive producer Casey Hudson has confirmed.

“We’re in early stages of designing a completely new Mass Effect game,” he said on Twitter. “What would you want to see in it?

Last we heard of a new Mass Effect game, we were told it would star a new protagonist.

http://gematsu.com/2012/11/completel...n-early-stages

[6souls]

Deus Ex and Epic Mickey creator, Warren Spector, has been influenced over the years by a Japanese RPG series whose name doesn’t come up all that often anymore—Suikoden. Speaking with Pixelitis, Spector recently shared that the Suikoden series’ influence on him goes as far back as the very first Deus Ex game.

“Without going into too much geeky detail, there are two moments in Suikoden where you are confronted with a choice,” Spector recalls. “You are in the game world, and then a little box shows up in the corner that gives you a Yes/No choice. It’s ‘Do you leave your friend here to die or do you help him?’ And then at the end there is a ‘Do you fight your father? Yes/No.’ And, the thing was, in both cases it was a false choice.”

“But I remember how powerful it was,” Spector continues. “I remember playing Suikoden, putting the controller down and going ‘Holy Cow, this has nothing to do with what the character would do, or the story, it’s who am I as a human being? Me? If that was a real choice, it would be the most amazing moment in the history of videogames, and I said ‘I’m going to make a game that has the most amazing moment in the history of videogames!’”

Spector is an outspoken advocate of player choice in videogames, which is something he constantly says he wants to express through the Epic Mickey games as well. In fact, the Suikoden influence carries over into the upcoming Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion on the Nintendo 3DS as well, although in a different way.

“There’s also a fortress mode [in Power of Illusion],” Spector shared. “I’ve wanted to do this in every game I’ve done since I’ve played—there’s a game called Suikoden many years ago on the PS1, and I have written a customizable fortress into every design document I’ve worked on since then, and I’ve [had to] cut it from [each one] I’ve written since then. This time, it didn’t get cut.”

In the Suikoden games, you’re usually housed within a castle of some sort. Over the course of the game, as you recruit more of the game’s characters to join you, your army grows along with the activity in your castle.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/11/10...d-epic-mickey/
http://www.pixelitis.net/previews/wa...ed-by-suikoden

So the possible games that could have had a "Fortress Mode" are;

• Thief: The Dark Project {1998}
• Deus Ex (2000)
• Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003)
• Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004)
• Epic Mickey (2010)
• Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (2012)