General Gaming News II: Steam Helpdesk Site Leak

[Ratatapa]

WHAT THE FLYING FUCK UBISOFT WHAT THE FUCK

Rayman Legends delayed to September, also coming to PS3 and Xbox

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/07/ra...o-xbox-360-and

[Insanecyclone]

Not surprising considering Origins is on just about everything too.

[Ratatapa]

I don't care bout the PS3 + Xbox Version

Legends is the new FFXIII versus, keep getting delayed, was suppose to be out in Febuary

[6souls]

WHAT THE FLYING FUCK UBISOFT WHAT THE FUCK

Rayman Legends delayed to September, also coming to PS3 and Xbox

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/07/ra...o-xbox-360-and

The Press Release

Today, Ubisoft announced that its forthcoming title Rayman Legends, already announced for the Wii U system from Nintendo, will also be released on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. All versions will now hit shelves in early September 2013.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 versions of Rayman Legends are being developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, the same team behind the Nintendo Wii UTM game. Rayman Legends has been praised for its stunning visuals and innovative gameplay by media around the world and labeled as one of the most anticipated platformers of 2013.

“We heard from many Xbox & Playstation owners and Rayman fans who told us they really wanted to play Rayman Legends on their current system”, says Geoffroy Sardin, EMEA Chief Marketing & Sales Officer. ”We decided to give the fans what they wanted while at the same time broadening the audience exposed to this innovative and memorable game.”

Rayman Legends retains the fantasy appeal of its predecessor while adding a multitude of clever and entertaining gaming modes, new characters, new environments and a new soundtrack. The award-winning team of artists, designers and composers from Origins has also returned with an advanced UbiArt engine to include multi-dimension gameplay elements, an improved lighting system and updated game rendering that elevate Rayman’s graphics to the next level.

[Kaisha]

All they need to do now is announce a Vita port (cross-buy would be dandy) and I'd be a happy man. Origins was so god damn good on that handheld.

[Insanecyclone]

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/07/ne...w-hero-new-ti/

Next Assassin's Creed set for fiscal year 2014, new hero, new time period

A new Assassin's Creed game is coming in Ubisoft's fiscal year 2014 – that's between this April and March 2014 – and it's set to feature a new hero, a new team around him or her, and a new time period, CEO Yves Guillemot announced during today's earnings call. "In financial 2014, we will introduce an all-new Assassin's Creed hero, within an all-new team and time period, and we expect it to be another major leap forward for the franchise."

The new series entry will be developed by multiple teams, each designated chronological chapters within the game. "It is the benefit of multiple teams, working on multiple chapters of the brand, each getting several years to make their versions of an Assassin's Creed game."

Yves promises Ubisoft will offer more details "very soon."

[Ratatapa]

All they need to do now is announce a Vita port (cross-buy would be dandy) and I'd be a happy man. Origins was so god damn good on that handheld.

True but come on Wii U version is done. they can release wii u in feb like suppose to then to the others in september ...

[Deader2818]

Yeah, thats what I don't get. Why wait till Sept to release it for the Wii U when its already done.

How is it ok to releases games on PS3/360 first and Wii U later, but not the other way around.

Honestly though, I would think if you own a Wii U it would be best to get it for the Wii U because to do what its doing on the others system would mean you would need a Vita/Smart glass unless they plan to strip features to make it work for the other systems.

[Kaisha]

True but come on Wii U version is done. they can release wii u in feb like suppose to then to the others in september ...

Only excuse I can think of is that they'd rather coordinate one large marketing push for the game, than to do it twice, since it's coming out before right before the holiday marketing rush.

[Deader2818]

Its stupid over all on their part. They are going to push it back to September when GTA V comes out. Rayman isn't a strong IP and is likely on its last legs.

They could have just release the Wii U on time, took advantage of the fact that not a lot of Wii U games are out at the moment, and anyone that owns a Wii U will buy it because there isnt much on the Wii U atm.

[6souls]

Today, we’re unveiling our plans to release Superfrog HD later this year, 20 years after the regal amphibian’s first appearance. Superfrog HD will feature all new graphics, and is set to make an appearance on both PS3 and PS Vita.

Debbie Bestwick, Team 17’s Managing Director, says, “We’re extremely excited about bringing Superfrog HD to PS3 and PS Vita; it’s the most requested game that our fans are always requesting to see make a return. Now, with the 20th anniversary of the original Superfrog and the recent re-release of our classic survival-horror Alien Breed, we feel the timing has never been better.”

Superfrog was originally released on Amiga in 1993 and received much critical acclaim.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/...ita-this-year/

Spoiler: show

Spoiler: show

Games Pitched by Super Stardust & Dead Nation Developer Housemarque

Spoiler: show

Dead Nation 2

Spoiler: show

The Walking Dead

Spoiler: show

Superman

Spoiler: show

http://www.djouad.com/p/games.html / http://cghub.com/images/view/289894/

When former members of Big Huge Games approached Epic last year, we saw the opportunity to help a great group of people while putting them to work on a project that needed a team. It was a bold initiative and the Impossible folks made a gallant effort, but ultimately it wasn’t working out for Epic.

In addition to providing Impossible Studios employees with 3 months of severance pay, we’ll be giving the team the opportunity to form a new company with the Impossible Studios name and the awesome Impossibear logo.

This means that Infinity Blade: Dungeons is now on hold as we figure out the future of the project.

Tim Sweeney - Founder, Epic Games

http://epicgames.com/community/2013/...m-tim-sweeney/

(PC/PSN/XBLA)

Obscure for PC, PSN and Xbox Live is a pure, action-rich 2.5D side-scroller, drenched in the blood and caustic humor inspired by the teen and horror movie genres... a spirit that definitely shows through today's video!

Playable alone and in cooperative mode, Obscure lets you play as one of four unlikely heroes; students, each with unique skills and abilities that develop throughout the adventure. Geared toward action and all-out brawling, Obscure's combat emphasizes combos, follow-up attacks, and score-multipliers! Survive against packs of monsters trying to skin you alive, discover new weapons, and complete objectives throughout a variety of huge, non-linear levels. Overshooting the scores will earn you experience points to level your character up, unlocking new weapons, skills, and other devastating abilities! At any time, you can even get back to some of earlier levels to try your new toys and beat your scores!

Obscure rises to an entirely different scale in multiplayer. In cooperative mode, up to four players (local and online) team up to survive. Split up to fill your objectives as fast as possible, or stay together in a cohesive team to increase your chances of survival!

Video game veterans will certainly recognize the license, Obscure; the survival-horror game from Hydravision that terrorized over a million players in the middle of the last decade. Comprised of some of the original developers, Mighty Rocket Studio has been hard at work on this project for over a year.

Despite the completely different style of gameplay, Mighty Rocket Studio's new game embraces its origins and incorporates many familiar elements of the survival-horror genre; sparse ammunition, limited supplies of health kits, and the oppressive feeling of constant danger in a universe where gruesome creatures may suddenly appear out of nowhere! Obscure fans will feel right at home, and will even get to visit the famous Leafmore High School and meet some of the previous characters from the series.

Obscure will release on PC, PSN and Xbox Live in spring 2013!

New Call of Duty Announced

The skies are blue, the grass is green, and another entry in the smash-hit franchise Call of Duty is arriving this year.

Activision, publisher of the series, announced during its recent earnings call that a new Call of Duty title is slated for release in 2013, and will release on (presumably) Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U. However, with the likely launch of new consoles this year, the game very well could be a launch title on whatever hardware Microsoft and Sony are cooking up.

http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...ise-everybody/
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/07/ne...lshare_twitter

Fallout: New Vegas 2 in the Planning Stages

Speaking at DICE, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart dropped a few hints about what he’d like to see should his dev studio get the opportunity to make another Fallout game (details of which were sussed out of a much longer talk by RockPaperShotgun).

Likening New Vegas 2 to Fallout 2, Urquhart said that he’d want the game to be geographically close to the last game, but not in the same area. He threw out Los Angeles as a potential location, The Boneyard (from Fallout 1) specifically.

So why aren’t they making it already? Urquhart related that game publishers are very hesitant to approve big projects right now. With new consoles months away from announcement and free to play games sweeping through the scene, a lot of publishers are waiting to “get back to normal” whatever that will happen to be.

Makes sense — why would you approve a huge, expensive project right before you know what the market will look like eighteen months from now? Hopefully by the end of the year all of that trepidation will blow over.

http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...t-new-vegas-2/
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013...t-new-vegas-2/

New Batman Arkham Coming this Year w/o Rocksteady

Sometimes, the video game press is late to the party on some news—such is the case today. Last week, Yahoo! Finance posted a transcript of Time Warner’s quarterly investor call, and the company’s CFO John K. Martin casually remarked this little nugget:

And we also have a strong games release this year, which will include the next release in the Batman Arkham franchise. So all in all, we expect Warners to post another very strong year in 2013. And with a little luck, the year should be as good or maybe even a little bit better than 2012.

Whoa. Yowza! That’s quite the announcement. The news was picked up and reported by VG247, which also says that Arkham developer Rocksteady Studios is not working on the game. That particular detail was provided by “sources,” so it could really go either way. Frankly, I’d be surprised if Rocksteady weren’t involved in the next Arkham game considering that they’ve made a name for themselves on the back of Batman, and they’re really, really good at making Batman games.

Last summer, we learned that Rocksteady may be working on a Silver Age-set Batman prequel, while writer Paul Dini said he wasn’t involved in the next game, whoever it’s coming from. So is this new game WB’s talking about different than the rumored Silver Age game? Or is there no Silver Age game at all? Which one of the recently registered Arkham-themed domain names will be attached to this game? What the heck is going on here?

http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...ing-this-year/
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/time-w...191012645.html
http://www.vg247.com/2013/02/12/new-...uggest-rumour/

New TMNT Game from Activision is in the Works

Nickelodeon and Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) today announced a worldwide, multi-year deal to develop and publish video games inspired by the new CG-animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Under the new agreement, Activision has the global rights to produce interactive games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property."Activision is a leader in the gaming industry and we are honored to have them as the global video game partner for our new hit series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," said Sherice Torres, Senior Vice President of Entertainment Products, Nickelodeon Consumer Products. "We are confident that these upcoming games will take gamers through interactive environments and action-packed adventures that truly capture the essence, tone and exciting elements of the Turtles."The fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesare unique in that they span generations and are very passionate," said Kurt Niederloh, Vice President, Activision Publishing Minneapolis, Inc. "We respect this passion and look forward to working with Nickelodeon to create games that embody the spirit of the property."Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered Sept. 29, 2012 and was an instant hit, drawing almost 12 million viewers during its premiere weekend. Funnier and with more ninjutsu than ever before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles explores the companionship of four teenage brothers learning to rely on themselves and one another as they unravel the mystery of their existence and grow to become the heroes in a half-shell that they are destined to be. The premiere episode was executive produced by Ciro Nieli, Joshua Sternin & J.R. Ventimilia and Peter Hastings. The series airs regularly on Nickelodeon, Saturday mornings at 11a.m. ET/PT.

http://m.prnewswire.com/news-release...190194631.html

Next Mass Effect won't be titled "Mass Effect 4"

The folks over at BioWare are being blunt about one thing: even though the next Mass Effect game will be the fourth one in the franchise, it is not—I REPEAT, NOT—Mass Effect 4. This thing is a brand new jam. Community manager Chris Priestly said as much in the BioWare forums:

To call the next game Mass Effect 4 or ME4 is doing it a disservice and seems to cause a lot of confusion here. We have already said that the Commander Shepard trilogy is over and that the next game will not feature him/her. That is the only detail you have on the game. I see people saying ‘well, they’ll have to pick a canon ending’. No, because the game does not have to come after. Or before. Or off to the side. Or with characters you know. Or yaddayaddayadda.

BioWare Montreal’s studio director Yanick Roy added more to Priestly’s points, helping to flesh out the new game’s place within context of the trilogy that just wrapped up:

Thinking of the next Mass Effect game as Mass Effect 4 would imply a certain linearity, a straight evolution of the gameplay and story of the first three games. That doesn’t mean that events of the first three games and the choices you made won’t get recognized, but they likely won’t be what this new story will focus on.

If you had three games centered around a group of key soldiers in the US army during World War I and then decided to make a game about another group of people during the Second World War, the games could have many points in common and feel true to one another.

You likely would have to recognize how the events of the first war influenced the ones of the second, but you would not necessarily think of it as a sequel. Again, the analogy is not great, but what I’m trying to say is that the ME universe is so rich that we are not limited to a single track when coming up with a new story.

http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...isnt-number-4/
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to...dex/15648266/9
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to...dex/15702171/2

[Shenrien]

Super Frog looks high as fuck.

[Qalbert]

http://instagram.com/p/VrXdz6JwtU/

JUST CAUSE 3 PLEASE

[Anoat]

Little brothers around the world, rejoice! Nintendo has announced 2013 as the year of Luigi! http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged...195334032.html

According to the Chinese calendar, 2013 is the year of the snake. But in Kyoto, Japan -- the headquarters of Nintendo -- it's officially the year of Luigi.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made the announcement in a direct broadcast to fans, even going so far as to wear Luigi's trademark hat throughout his segment of the broadcast. (Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, it should be noted, declined to wear the headgear, denying Luigi some Valentine's love.)

Giving Mario's second-banana his time in the spotlight is an unusual move. Though he first appeared in the 1983 Mario Bros. arcade game, Luigi has largely been a side player in the Nintendo world, appearing as a playable character in various titles but only starring in two: 1991's Mario is Missing and 2001's Luigi's Mansion.

He'll kick off his return to the spotlight on March 24 in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, a 3DS game that was announced back in 2011. Mario (and Luigi) creator Shigeru Miyamoto appeared to discuss some of the game's new features, including the game's multiplayer mode, which will support up to four players.

Luigi will also work again with his brother in this summer's Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (even in the year of Luigi, he still plays second fiddle to his brother in titles). The role-playing game explores the sub-conscious of the character and looks to be quite bizarre. A star was shown poking Luigi's nose and pulling his moustache -- and Mario, who's running around the dream world, conquers enemies by raining Luigis down upon them.

There's also Luigi-themed downloadable content coming to New Super Mario Bros. U. Dubbed "New Super Luigi U," the add-on is due later this year, though Nintendo did little more than announce it, offering no details.

Beyond Luigi, the Nintendo crew brought word of several new titles on the way, including 3DS versions of Donkey Kong Country Returns and Animal Crossing.

Meanwhile, the Wii U's content drought is about to come to an end. LEGO City Undercover hits shelves March 18. The next day, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will be released, as will Need For Speed: Most Wanted U. And the superhero fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us will land on the system April 16.

The game can’t arrive soon enough. The Wii U has been something of a letdown thus far for Nintendo, who recently slashed sales expectations by nearly 30%.

[6souls]

Thursday, February 21st, 2013 was Pink Slip Day
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8515/8...0cbe86f99e.jpg

Like any other industry on this great earth, we go through a number of sad days and ever sadder times. Major corporations go bankrupt and get sold off in pieces, entertainment makers go under, and talented people get cut short. Sometimes you even lose some of your own.

Unfortunately, folks, today is another one of those awful days.

News dropped this afternoon following the recent Ziff Davis IGN acquisition that the news outlet is suffering significant layoffs. Also, its beloved sibling sites GameSpy, 1UP, and UGO are closing their doors for good.

Ziff Davis says that their goal is to ensure “the continued growth and health of IGN and AskMen,” and to “Simplify and Focus.” It will focus on those two flagship properties, but also on IPL, its eSports coverage division.

This news came out of an internal memo from Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah, who writes:

Today, we took some difficult but important actions that will ensure the continued growth and health of IGN and AskMen. Before I go into more details about the changes, you should know that they resulted in the elimination of jobs at IGN. It’s always upsetting to say goodbye to colleagues and let’s do what we can to help these employees as they seek new opportunities.

It’s also important for you to know that we are absolutely confident that we now have the best structure and team to successfully move the company forward and that there are no further planned reductions.

The changes we made today are designed to allow us to Simplify and Focus. Our goal is to do fewer things and to do them exceptionally well. In that vein, we want to direct all of our energy and work behind our two flagship brands: IGN and AskMen. They are both category killers and share a vision of a multi-screen (PCs, tablets, smartphones, TV) and multi-format (text, photos and video) world.

As a result of our decision to focus on our core brands, we are:

• Winding down 1UP.com, UGO.com and GameSpy.com;
• No longer ad repping 3rd party sites such as GameStop.com and FamilyGuy.com;
• Actively engaged with parties interested in acquiring IPL. IGN’s role going forward will be to broadcast and cover a variety of eSports events;
• Dividing our ad sales team into two: one focused on IGN and the other focused on AskMen.

On the IGN front, Peer Schneider will continue to oversee all of editorial and product, focusing those resources exclusively on IGN. The foundation of this entire company is its content and we will continue to have the best people in the industry producing it.

Charlie Barrett will oversee the monetization of IGN everywhere in the U.S. – PCs, tablets, smartphones, YouTube, consoles – and now be able to concentrate the sales and ad ops teams’ efforts where they can make the most impact.

Frank Puma will assume an exciting new role as executive director of programs and solutions, reporting to Charlie. The sales development, design and creative teams will report to Frank, whose charge is to deliver world-class advertising experiences.

A new head of engineering and technology for IGN will be recruited as quickly as possible. Tech has a monumental role to play in the growth of IGN and will be committed to working hand-in-glove with edit, product and sales.

On the AskMen front, Ric Poupada will continue to oversee all aspects of the AskMen organization and is excited to have a new VP of sales, Paul Chenier, reporting to him. Paul has been a longtime advocate of the AskMen brand and is one of the most talented sales executives in our organization. Having him build a dedicated AskMen ad sales team will do wonders for the business.

Ian Chambers will continue to run International out of the UK for both IGN and AskMen and we’re thrilled with the performance of our businesses overseas.

Mike Etheridge will be the VP of finance and operations for IGN and AskMen, working across all of the departments to ensure that we’re growing our business, expanding our margins and making metric-based decisions.

Rachelle Igoe will be the head of human resources for IGN and AskMen, ensuring that we continue to nurture, attract and retain the best talent in the industry.

I’m sure that there will be a number of questions in the days and weeks ahead but please know that we will be a better functioning and nimbler organization from this moment forward.”

http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...-closing-down/

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8...5f97e90499.jpg

Publishing giant Electronic Arts has announced today the laying off of many of its staff in both its Los Angeles and Montreal studios– noted as part of the “console transition” in EA president Frank Gibeau’s statement regarding the situation.

Thousands of our existing employees have been retrained and redeployed to work on the new platforms and initiatives,” he writes. “But when it is not possible to redeploy a team, we soften the tough decisions with assistance. This week we let some people go in Los Angeles, Montreal as well as in some smaller locations. These are good people and we have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease their transition to a new job.

Rumors are additionally swirling in the usual places, saying that EA Montreal/Visceral Games Montreal has been shut down in its entirety. This is the team currently hard at work on Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel, which has been slated for release on March 26 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

This tidbit comes via Stephanie Harvey on Twitter, a game designer at Ubisoft. Her initial tweet and subsequent user reply indicate that a friend in-the-know on the situation has provided her some details.

This studio closure has yet to be confirmed in any capacity, but Polygon has recently received this reassuring statement from EA:

Today EA internally announced some adjustments to select development teams to align staff and skills against priority growth areas, including new technologies and mobile. Many employees are being retrained for new positions; however a small number will be released. These are great, talented people and we wish them well. EA is growing globally, and we expect our headcount to increase this year.

EA Montreal is a key development studio where our long-term plan is to sharpen our teams’ focus on console and mobile games.

http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/201...udio-closures/
http://www.ea.com/news/transition-is-our-friend
http://www.polygon.com/2013/2/21/401...angeles-layoff
https://twitter.com/missharvey/statu...78545387565056
https://twitter.com/missharvey/statu...84216623460352

[Qalbert]

http://kotaku.com/5987035/assassins-...to-this-poster
http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18fu...g/original.jpg

Is the next Assassin's Creed all about pirates? A tipster just sent over marketing materials for something called Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

Ubisoft hasn't announced anything about the next Assassin's Creed just yet, other than the fact that it will star a new character and a new setting, and it will be out next fiscal year.

According to our tipster, this poster will be on store walls on Monday, March 4.

The poster shows a white-hooded assassin—presumably the protagonist of Assassin's Creed IV—on a pirate ship, surrounded by gruff-looking buccaneers. There's a black pirate flag in the background.

The full poster:


Earlier this month, a Redditor claimed to have seen the name Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flags on an airplane while peaking at a powerpoint presentation by the woman who sat in front of him.

"I was on a flight where the lady in the row in front of me was working on a powerpoint presentation on marketing strategies of several gaming titles," Redditor photoacoustic wrote. "And one that stood out the most was AC4: Black Flags, aimed for release 2013 Holiday season according to her slide. It already had a cool looking logo for it."

[6souls]

The next Assassin’s Creed will be called Assassin’s Creed IV, according to the LinkedIn resumes of three Ubisoft employees.

One of the staffers is an audio artist on “Assassin’s Creed 4“; another is a UI artist, again, on “Assassin’s Creed 4“; and the final staffer is a playtester on “Assassin’s Creed IV,” which he lists as ‘work in progress’ (we take it he’s referring to the game’s title) and for a 2013 release.

A new Assassin’s Creed is expected to be revealed—at least, to attending media—during a press event tomorrow.

http://gematsu.com/2013/02/ubisoft-r...ssins-creed-iv
http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/as...sing_2013.html

[Qalbert]

http://gematsu.com/2013/02/square-en...human-defiance

Square Enix filed a trademark yesterday for Deus Ex: Human Defiance in Europe.

The name bears a similar title to the company’s 2011-launched Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Perhaps a sequel is on the way? Or a port for Wii U?

[Salodin]

Dont know if want.

[Gokulo]

Dont know if want.

What