Yesterday's mammoth news of Bungie signing up with Activision to create a 'big action game' doesn't necessarily mean it won't be working on other Activision IP.
Bungie community manager, Brian Jarrard said that the developer could be pulled-in to work on other Activision titles. Jarrard said:
"It's a discussion that might come up, but they partnered with us specifically based on the vision that we have, and the universe and games that we want to bring to the world in the next decade."
"Who's to know if there are other discussions where we have chances to work together in other areas, but that wasn't one of the core talking points in making this deal." Earlier today an industry analyst said that Activision's new friend would be a 'good fit' to replace Infinity Ward as the company's big-hitting FPS studio.
Analyst Arvind Bhatia believes that Bungie are a good replacement for Infinity Ward and are a good fit to carry on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise.
"We feel that, if needed, Bungie would be a very good potential fit to replace Infinity Ward on development of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise in the future," said Bhatia.
The Liberal Democrats have backed the UK government's pledge to introduce a games tax break for the country's developers.
Speaking today, Don Foster, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said that he would introduce the Relief "as soon as possible".
"Liberal Democrats support the introduction of a Games Tax Relief,” he said. “Following consultation on the details, we would implement the Relief as soon as possible." TIGA has spoken of its fear of the 'brain drain', with UK studios and staff members emigrating due to a lack of Government support. According to TIGA, figures show that the UK's games development workforce has fallen by a shocking 44 studios (6%) since 2008.
CEO, Dr Richard Wilson said:
"TIGA welcomes the Liberal Democrats' commitment to support Games Tax Relief and to enact this tax measure as quickly as possible. There is a growing cross party consensus that Games Tax Relief is good for the UK development sector, good for the UK games industry, and good for the UK economy."
We couldn’t agree more, but what do you think? Tell us in the comments below.
Square Enix producer, Shinji Hashimoto has announced that the DS remakes of Final Fantasy V or VI won't be happening any time soon because of "technical problems.” Speaking on Twitter, Hashimoto said:
"As for FF5 and 6, there are technical problems; presently these are also undecided."
It's not all bad. The "undecided" part still means possible remakes of the classic Final Fantasy games are still under consideration. The fact that he admitted there were some technical problems clearly means that Square Enix put some serious though into bringing FFV and VI to the DS.
 Boy Scouts of America have introduced videogame awards for the first time in it’s history.
As part of the Cub Scouts Academics and Sports Program, which focuses on the development of physical, mental and emotional fitness, members can now complete a number of tasks to earn a belt loop or pins.
Tasks include explaining why a rating system is important, learning to play a new game approved by a parent or guardian, and installing a console with an adult's supervision.
Now, when we first heard about we though that it was a pretty cool idea; but getting a reward for playing a new game approved by your Mum and Dad sounds pretty lame. Besides we already have videogame awards; there called 360 achievements.
You thought Infinity Ward joining EA was weird? Wait ‘till you get a load of this. Bungie has just signed an exclusive ten-year deal with Activision.
The two companies signed the deal today and hope to bring Bungie’s “next big action game universe” to the market. Under the terms of the agreement, Activision will have exclusive worldwide rights to publish and distribute all future Bungie games based on the new intellectual property (IP) on multiple platforms. Bungie will remain as an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property.
Activision claims the deal is 'significantly broadening its global reach by providing the resources and support to develop, distribute and release games worldwide on multiple platforms and devices'.  Thomas Tippl (left) and Harold Ryan (right) According to Bungie’s president, Harold Ryan, the deal with Activision has been in the works for nine months.
"We chose to partner with Activision on our next IP because of their global reach, multi-platform experience and marketing expertise,” said Ryan. "From working together over the past nine months on this agreement, it is clear that Activision supports our commitment to giving our fans the best possible gaming experiences."
COO of Activision Blizzard, Thomas Tippl, also commented on the new partnership along with praising Bungie’s success so-far. He said:
"Bungie is one of the premier studios in our industry and we are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to work with their talented team over the next decade."
"Bungie has developed some of the most compelling and successful games, multiplayer experiences and thriving fan communities, and this alliance underscores our long-standing commitment to foster the industry's best creative talent.”
"Our unprecedented partnership with Bungie will enable us to broaden our pipeline of exciting new games as we continue to strengthen our industry position and pursue long-term growth opportunities."
We can honestly say that our world has well and truly been shaken by this news. Have Bungie sold-out just to make more money? And what will the loyal Bungie fans make of the news, following the issues between Activision and Infinity Ward? Only time will tell.
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
UPDATE! Microsoft respond to Activision/Bungie deal
Microsoft has commented on the new partnership between Activision and Bungie.
A spokesperson from Microsoft said:
"Our partnership with Bungie as a first-party developer for Xbox 360 remains unchanged, and right now we're deeply engaged with them on the development of Halo Reach, which is poised to be the biggest game of 2010."
OK. So, from the sounds of it, Microsoft couldn’t care less about the new partnership. They seem to be more focused of the release of Halo: Reach.
You’re not alone, we still don’t know what to think about all this either.
Sony is being sued by a man in California over its decision to remove the Other OS feature from the PS3.
The feature, which allowed users to install other operating systems onto their PlayStation, was removed in the latest firmware update: 3.21. Anthony Ventura has filed a lawsuit against Sony claiming the decision amounted to the "intentional disablement of the valuable functionality originally advertised as available". Ventura believes that Sony has broken the terms of its contract with "millions of unsuspecting customers".
He thinks that Sony removed the feature not because of security concerns but because they are trying to prevent piracy. The case is being brought on behalf of all PS3 owners in America who bought a console before March 27th and didn't sell it on.
The Official Nintendo Magazine in France has claimed that Red Steel 3 is currently in development at Ubisoft studios and will make use of the upcoming Vitality Sensor from Nintendo.
The second game hasn’t had much success since it was launched last month, but despite that Ubisoft seem ready to make a third instalment in the series. Ubisoft have not announced that a third Red Steel game is in development, and they have not commented on the rumours, so we’d take this with a pinch of salt for now.
The Infinity Ward/Activision saga continues this week as members of staff from the Infinity Ward offices have filed a lawsuit against Activision.
The employees, who are calling themselves the Infinity Ward Employee Group (IWEG) are suing Activision for breach of contract and failing to pay bonuses. the IWEG, who consist mostly of creative team members behind Modern Warfare 2 say that Activision owes them between $75 million to $125 million. Bruce Isaacs, one of IWEG’s attorneys at Wyman & Isaacs LLP said:
"Activision has withheld most of the money to force many of my people to stay, some against their will, so that they would finish the delivery of Modern Warfare 3. That is not what they wanted to do. Many of them. My clients' entitled to their money. Activision has no right to withhold their money -- our money."
"[Activision] made a calculated, purposeful and malicious decision [to withhold bonuses] in an attempt to force employees of Infinity Ward to continue to work at a job that many of them did not want just so Activision could force them to complete the development, production and delivery of Modern Warfare 3."
Activision released a statement in response to the lawsuit, saying:
"Activision believes the action is without merit. Activision retains the discretion to determine the amount and the schedule of bonus payments for MW2 and has acted consistent with its rights and the law at all times. We look forward to getting judicial confirmation that our position is right."
 Believe it or not Halo 2 is still alive and being played by a handful of people online.
A number of fanatics have actually left their Xbox running since the original Xbox Live service closed down and have therefore remained connected to Halo 2 online.
Posting on the official Bungie forums, Joe Campbell said:
"A small group of dedicated Halo 2 players kept their Xbox's on so that they could enjoy the game for a while longer. (As long as we don't turn off our Xbox's, or lose connection, we can stay online.)"
"Our Xbox's have been on for nearly 13 days straight. Each day the amount of people decreased, at a rapid rate."
The group of Halo 2 players intend to keep playing until every one of them is inevitably forced to turn their console off for one reason or another.
"A lot of us became really good friends, and it's almost like we're family now," said Campbell.
"We will keep playing until we are all forcibly removed. It could be by Microsoft, Bungie, our Xbox's overheating, or just lagging out. Not for competition, not for a prize, but for the love, and memory of Halo 2."
Now that’s what you call dedication. Keep on playing and don’t stop for anything.
Sony has revealed that Ratchet, Clank, Kratos from the God of War series and Nathan Drake from Uncharted will be available to download as a special pre-order bonus.
Unfortunately, you’ll only be able to get one of the four characters depending on where you pre-order the game from. Even more unfortunate is that the pre-order bonuses are currently only available in America. Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop and GameCrazy are the four participating retailers.  But there is some good news; Sackboy from LittleBIGPlanet will be available to everyone who pre-orders the game, and for people who pick-up the game on release day with a special Sackboy sticker on the front cover.
Both the PS3 and PSP version of the game will include the pre-order bonuses, so if you’re interested in picking up ModNation Racers, then make sure to circle May 25th on your calendar
UPDATE! It’s just be revealed that the pre-order bonuses will be available in the UK Amazon UK will be giving away both Ratchet & Clank, Play.com will be handing out Kratos and Nathan Drake is exclusive to GAME.
|
RSS Feed