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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Heavy discounting hits Xbox 360 Core unit

Online retailer chops £50 off RRP

Retailers are beginning to cut a large chunk off the price of the Xbox 360 Core unit, with one online store knocking £50 off the recommended retail price.




Play.com has slashed the price of the console by a quarter, selling the machine for £149.99 instead of the RRP of £199.99.

The move follows retail chain Makro's decision to sell the Xbox 360 Premium unit for £199.99, effectively reducing it to the same price as Core units.

Microsoft has given no indication that an official price cut is on the way, yet the retail community in Europe is happy to discount the hardware, despite healthy sales.

Rival online store Amazon.co.uk has also reduced the price of the Core Xbox 360, to £189.99. It also currently sells the pink Sony PSP - a sales success last Christmas - for £109.99, £40 below the RRP.

Retailers say PS3 is most pre-ordered console ever

Retailers are reporting huge demand for PlayStation 3 as Sony gears up for what UK boss Ray Maguire says could be the company's "biggest hardware launch to date".

His comments were echoed by Gerry Berkley, head of games at Woolworths, who told GamesIndustry.biz, "PS3 pre-orders are coming in thick and fast. It is the fastest selling games product we have ever sold online and it is shaping up to be our biggest ever pre-order campaign for a console."



Berkley said Sony's new machine is "the hottest gaming system since the PS2", adding, "Demand will inevitably outstrip supply, so our advice to customers is to pre-order to avoid disappointment."

A spokesperson for Amazon.co.uk revealed that only one other product has seen a more rapid rate of pre-orders during 2007 - J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

"The customer demand for the PlayStation 3 is high and sustained and we are confident that it will take its place as one of the top selling items on Amazon.co.uk throughout 2007," the spokesperson said.

"We are only taking pre-orders until all our initial stock from Sony is accounted for - that way, no customer will be disappointed come day of release. We don't expect stocks to last long."

Saturday, February 17, 2007

VIRTUAL CONSOLE REVS UP WITH SELECTION OF RETRO DELIGHTS JOINING THE CURRENT LINE-UP

This week Wii’s Virtual Console has shifted up a gear to delight speed freaks across Europe. To celebrate the launch of high-octane off-road racer Excite Truck on the Wii, Virtual Console users will be able to rediscover ″Excitebike™″ the classic game that inspired it. Launching on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, this fast paced racer was one of the first titles to allow players to adjust the pitch of
their bike after a jump to correctly land as well as being one of the first ever racing games with a Track Builder. Excitebike is now available to download from the Wii Shop Channel for 500 Wii Points.

Wii owners will also be treated with a selection of other Nintendo classics. The original home console appearance of Kirby can once again be enjoyed, in ″Kirby’s Adventure™″ originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This title features vast worlds, unlockable bonus levels and addictive minigames. It is available to download for 500 Wii Points.

″R-Type III™: Third Lightning″, an adrenaline filled side-scrolling shooter which made its debut on the Super Nintendo, is now available to download for 800 Points. This game was arguably the best in the R-Type series and saw the introduction of a refined weapon charging system.

New Adventure Island originally for the Turbografx (PC Engine), is also now available to download for 600 Wii Points. This adventure title, originally released by Hudson on the NES as Adventure Island Classic, is the first in a highly successful series of titles.

These great games will join the 49 classic titles already available for the Virtual Console in Europe.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

"We beat the Wii," boasts DICE winner Epic Games

A triumphant Epic Games has swept the AIAS Awards, boasting that the company beat the Nintendo Wii for recognition by games industry peers.

"This is incredible," said Epic's CEO Michael Capps at the 10th Annual Interactive Entertainment Awards, held at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas.

"Getting sales is great, making the game we wanted and having people buy it and enjoy it is fantastic. But having our peers say it's the best game of the year? That's insane. We beat the Wii."


Gears of Wars sweeps AIAS event claiming eight awards

The company won eight awards, including Overall Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year, beating off rival titles The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Wii Sports and Eldar Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

"The thing is," added lead designer Cliff Blezinsky, "being on the outside of this industry looking in as a kid, and wanting to be part of it, and then being able to be here and get an award from all of these talented people who've been in the business for so long, finally to be a part of it, to be recognised like this is absolutely unbelievable. We could not be honoured more."

In the award show's green room, GamesIndustry.biz asked the duo if, given the success of Gears of War, the company planned to continue what EA Montreal's Alain Tascan had recently called the 'zero innovation strategy.'

"Gears was about implementation," Capps responded. "This is a game we're proud of implementing well. There was some innovation - Cliff was responsible for some pretty sexy new stuff. But I think this was about making it right, making it fun. Everything in there was fun."

"I think there's a lot of iteration and a lot of polish that went into the game," Blezinsky added.

"I've actually heard a compliment from people saying it has a learning curve. Which, as a designer, that actually means the game has some cool new features in it."

Capps took the opportunity to promise even bigger things from the company's next project, Unreal Tournament.

"We're going to f**king knock your socks off," he promised. "Gears looked good, but that's like the old game on Unreal 3 [engine]. Unreal Tournament looks good."

Other winners of the AIAS awards included Bethesda Softworks' Eldar Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Computer Game of the Year), the Nintendo Wii (Outstanding Innovation in Gaming) and Sony's LocoRoco (Children's Game of the Year).

The full list of winners follows:

Overall Game of the Year Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)

Console Game of the Year Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)

Computer Game of the Year Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming Wii Sports (Nintendo/Nintendo)

Handheld Game of the Year Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo/Nintendo)

Outstanding Achievement in Animation Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)

Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment/Sony Computer Entertainment)

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch/Activision)

Outstanding Character Performance - Male Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)

Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance - Female Viva PiƱata (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)

Outstanding Achievement in Story and Character Development The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo/Nintendo)

Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering Wii Sports (Nintendo/Nintendo)

Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design Wii Sports (Nintendo/Nintendo)

Sports Game of the Year Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Neversoft Entertainment/Activision)

Strategy Game of the Year Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ)

First-Person Action Game of the Year Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Fighting Game of the Year Fight Night Round 3 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts)

Racing Game of the Year Burnout Revenge (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts)

Role-Playing Game of the Year Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games)

Children's Game of the Year LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment/Sony Computer Entertainment)

Action/Adventure Game of the Year Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)

Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year Guild Wars: Nightfall (Arena Net/NCsoft)

Family Game of the Year Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)

Simulation Game of the Year Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft Game Studios/Microsoft Game Studios)

Downloadable Game of the Year Bookworm Adventures (PopCap/PopCap)

Mobile Game of the Year Orcs and Elves (Fountainhead Entertainment/Electronic Arts Mobile)

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Flashman Studios Goes Mobile Gaming with Codeglue

Flashman Studios Inc. announces it has signed a representation agreement with Dutch mobile game studio, Codeglue. With this new alliance Codeglue has begun actively developing original intellectual projects available for mobile and XBLA, including the fast paced bazooka blasting arcade game – Jetpack Junkies. This particular game is in development and primed for mobile and Xbox Live Arcade publishers to secure.

“Codeglue is very excited about tapping Flashman’s experience and comprehensive industry knowledge to bring our passion for gaming and our unique technical capabilities to the next generation of gaming,” said Peter de Jong, President and Creative Director of Codeglue. “We were quite struck by their enthusiasm for and confidence in our ability to grow beyond mobile, and leverage our development and design onto other platforms.”



Their services are available with original intellectual properties, licenses that Flashman currently represents, and on an outsource basis for publishers with their own licenses. Codeglue has successfully launched connected mobile games that empower mobile communities with elements like highscores, customizable user profiles, ghost racing, and chats. They are a proven mobile player, and are now emerging as a console group that is Nintendo DS approved.

Brad Young, CEO of Flashman Studios, is eager for the opportunity to collaborate with Codeglue, “Our business model consistently matches up the perfect combination of publisher and developer. Codeglue’s successful track record, with such hits as Worms World Party and Love a Lemming, demonstrates to us that they’re perfectly positioned for us to take their great game development to the next level.” Young added, “With Codeglue we have a full package to present to publishers.”

Codeglue www.codeglue.com
The Netherlands team behind Codeglue has been delivering signature games since 2000. Besides working with licensed properties, Codeglue also develops high quality, original home grown games with devotion towards playability, multiplayer interaction, and creating communities. Codeglue offers premium game development with a specialty focus in pick-up-and-play, and addictive arcade games for mobile and handheld devices, and emerging console platforms. Codeglue has a profound knowledge of mobile phone platforms and has vast experience working with many of the leading multiplayer middleware providers. Some examples of Codeglue’s work are the high quality conversion of Worms World Party for the Nokia N-Gage, and well-known franchise mobile games like Monkeyball, Lemmings, and Spongebob.

Flashman Studios www.flashmanstudios.com
Flashman Studios is a unique, full-service business management firm representing developers, intellectual property and game-services companies to the interactive entertainment industry, with a primary focus on video games. Flashman works with clients on corporate strategy, marketing, branding, business development, negotiation, investment, and mergers and acquisitions. With offices in San Francisco, CA and Vancouver, BC, Flashman works with many of the interactive industry’s most innovative and exciting companies to create long-term value in their business. Flashman Studio’s leadership and specialized knowledge has delivered some of today’s most exciting gaming experiences. Flashman has been instrumental in constructing projects for their clients, that include: Cars Mobile (Disney/Pixar); Flipper Critters (Ignition); Happy Feet Mobile (Warner Brothers); WizKids Pirates (SOE-Denver); Mushroom Men (publisher unannounced); Happy Tree Friends (publisher unannounced); War World (publisher unannounced).