News General gaming stuff, random news etc

[The Speaker]

I can see them leaving the console business and sticking to handhelds. They rode the wave of the motion controller gimmick and unless they do the next big thing which would have to be VR, they just cant take on MS & Sony, especially with the lack of interest from 3rd parties.

If they do leave consoles, I'd like to see them develop games for X1 and PS4. Make money on their handheld stuff and make money on console games without the burden of a low install rate, plus they get to work with more powerful online infrastructures. Get people interested in their franchises who wouldn't usually buy a Nintendo system and then make a return to consoles when they get their shit together.

I doubt it.

Far more likely is that their consolidation of console and handheld devlopment turns into a hybrid console.

Dedicated handhelds are too much of a risk. The 3DS has clearly lost some of the DS' market share to mobile.

Despite the amount of money Nintendo made during the DS and Wii I don't think that enough to justify his position, he really needs to more proactive and realistic of the changing market scene, two things under his control which I feel have weaken Nintendo, is taking control of the American market he just doesn't understand the west and the lack of new ip's this has been their greatest weakness for a while.

He has admitted today that he has made a number of mistakes on the things you've mentioned.

Could get ugly if the Wii U doesn't pick up this year, 3DS has peaked. I just hope they don't panic and put they're original ip's on phones/tablets from investor which have no idea about the market.

Funnily enough that would become far more likely if Iwata goes.

 

[beta_condition]

I can see them leaving the console business and sticking to handhelds. They rode the wave of the motion controller gimmick and unless they do the next big thing which would have to be VR, they just cant take on MS & Sony, especially with the lack of interest from 3rd parties.

If they do leave consoles, I'd like to see them develop games for X1 and PS4. Make money on their handheld stuff and make money on console games without the burden of a low install rate, plus they get to work with more powerful online infrastructures. Get people interested in their franchises who wouldn't usually buy a Nintendo system and then make a return to consoles when they get their shit together.

Won't happen once you leave the hardware market youre gone forever, it also be worse for Nintendo since hardware is a major source of their net profit.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Not exactly 'news' but it's fifteen years today since the original Silent Hill came out. Many late nights were had playing both the original and #2 (one of my favourite games of all time) much younger than I should've, and many nightmares experienced as a result. Hopefully one day we see the return of the once-great survival horror genre, as, for a while, it's been underwhelming to say the least. The Evil Within looks like it may be getting somewhere, but early days.

 

[dexter_]

Amazon aquires Double Helix. Hurry up and announce whatever device you're making Amazon...

http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/5/5384820/amazon-buys-video-game-studio-double-helix-games

Amazon has confirmed that it has purchased video game developer Double Helix Games as part of its "ongoing commitment to build innovative games for customers." Double Helix, based in Irvine, California, is best known for developing Xbox One launch title Killer Instinct. The purchase was exposed by an invitation to a joint recruiting event by Amazon and Double Helix set to take place in Los Angeles on February 13th. TechCrunch, who uncovered the news, says the deal was likely to be announced on that day.

 

[A Tiger 4 lyf]

Take Two Entertainment, the makers of WWE 2K14, have confirmed that WWE 2K15 is in development. Excitingly it will feature on the next generation consoles, being in development for the PS4 and Xbox One. Although no mention was made of the PS3 and Xbox 360, it would make sense that the game will be released for those still popular consoles too. No release date was mentioned but 2k14′s autumn release seems indicative of when 2k15 will be available.

http://whatculture.com/gaming/wwe-2k15-confirmed-ps4-xbox-one.php#eLpbFeSr58HueaHr.99

 

[The Big Sauce]

http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/02/17/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-details-revealed

New Transformers game coming later this year that apparently plays a lot like the Cybertron games whilst acting as a side piece to whatever Michael Bay serves up.

Hitting next gen as well which means I'll consider it.

 

[Premiers04]

If it plays like the cybertron games then its day 1 PS4 for me please.

 

[dexter_]

RIP Irrational Games. Not a huge shock I guess, Ken was hinting that he was tired of working on these long expensive projects. AAA gaming has just lost one if it's best developers.

http://www.irrationalgames.com/

A Message From Ken Levine
When Jon Chey, Rob Fermier and I founded Irrational Games seventeen years ago, our mission was to make visually unique worlds and populate them with singular characters.
We built Rapture and Columbia, the Von Braun and The Rickenbacker, the Freedom Fortress and some of the nastiest basements a SWAT team ever set foot into. We created Booker and Elizabeth, the Big Daddy and the Little Sister, MidWives and ManBot. In that time, Irrational has grown larger and more successful than we could have conceived when we began our three-person studio in a living room in Cambridge, MA. It’s been the defining project of my professional life.

Now Irrational Games is about to roll out the last DLC for BioShock Infinite and people are understandably asking: What’s next?

Seventeen years is a long time to do any job, even the best one. And working with the incredible team at Irrational Games is indeed the best job I’ve ever had. While I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we’ve done before. To meet the challenge ahead, I need to refocus my energy on a smaller team with a flatter structure and a more direct relationship with gamers. In many ways, it will be a return to how we started: a small team making games for the core gaming audience.

I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it. I’ll be starting a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at Take-Two. That is going to mean parting ways with all but about fifteen members of the Irrational team. There’s no great way to lay people off, and our first concern is to make sure that the people who are leaving have as much support as we can give them during this transition.

Besides financial support, the staff will have access to the studio for a period of time to say their goodbyes and put together their portfolios. Other Take-Two studios will be on hand to discuss opportunities within the company, and we’ll be hosting a recruiting day where we’ll be giving 3rd party studios and publishers a chance to hold interviews with departing Irrational staff.*

What’s next?

In time we will announce a new endeavor with a new goal: To make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable. To foster the most direct relationship with our fans possible, we will focus exclusively on content delivered digitally.

When I first contemplated what I wanted to do, it became very clear to me that we were going to need a long period of design. Initially, I thought the only way to build this venture was with a classical startup model, a risk I was prepared to take. But when I talked to Take-Two about the idea, they convinced me that there was no better place to pursue this new chapter than within their walls. After all, they’re the ones who believed in and supported BioShock in the first place.

Thanks to Irrational and 2K’s passion in developing the games, and the fans who believe in it, BioShock has generated retail revenues of over a half billion dollars and secured an iconic place in gaming. I’m handing the reins of our creation, the BioShock universe, to 2K so our new venture can focus entirely on replayable narrative. If we’re lucky, we’ll build something half as memorable as BioShock.

We will do our best to update an FAQ in this space as questions come in.



-Ken Levine
@iglevine

 

[LukasTheGreat]

RIP Irrational Games. Not a huge shock I guess, Ken was hinting that he was tired of working on these long expensive projects. AAA gaming has just lost one if it's best developers.

http://www.irrationalgames.com/

Man, that sucks hard :/

 

[The Big Sauce]

http://soccerly.com/article/salvado...pans-official-mascot-in-brazil-2014-world-cup

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

http://soccerly.com/article/salvado...pans-official-mascot-in-brazil-2014-world-cup

Haha, I like it. By the 2018 or 2022 World Cups we should have a soccer ball Pokemon to be the mascot.

 

[E92_]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-03-20-far-cry-4-set-in-the-himalayas-has-ridable-elephants

 

[sacka]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-03-20-far-cry-4-set-in-the-himalayas-has-ridable-elephants

Why do you only post links? Show a quote or something so people know what the link is.

 

[Premiers04]

Riding elephants in far cry? really not sure how i feel about that, cant see it working at all tbh. Maybe as part of a mission yeah, but having them freely available would be too slow and an unnecessary mode of transportation.

 

[The Big Sauce]

I'm so ready for more far cry.

One of my most anticipated sequels.

 

[E92_]

Why do you only post links? Show a quote or something so people know what the link is.

You can see right in the link that it's about Far Cry 4...

 

[Ed_Gein]

I hope they do a follow up to Blood Dragon, that game is awesome.

 

[dexter_]

I hope they do a follow up to Blood Dragon, that game is awesome.

there may not be another BD, but the guy who created it seems excited about what he's working on next...

Evans, who dared to dream with last year's Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, a standalone downloadable title that re-skinned the original Far Cry 3 into a neon laser paradise of cyborgs and dragons, is in the process of moving his team into a new studio in Montreal, offices formerly occupied by THQ. There, Evans says he and his dream team are glad to have a "new consecrated space they can play with."

"This is the dream project," Evans says. "It's the one all of us have always wanted to make and it seems like they're gonna let us do it."

http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/28/5319662/dean-evans-blood-dragon-ubisoft-next-game

 

[E92_]

Facebook has acquired Oculus VR.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/facebook-to-acquire-oculus-252328061.html

 

[LukasTheGreat]

Facebook has acquired Oculus VR.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/facebook-to-acquire-oculus-252328061.html

****, that's horrible.

 

[The Big Sauce]

http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/03/31/square-enix-to-refocus-on-jrpgs-after-bravely-default-success

Hallelujah

 

[LukasTheGreat]

http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/03/31/square-enix-to-refocus-on-jrpgs-after-bravely-default-success

Hallelujah

Only took them ten years.

 

[The Speaker]

http://au.ign.com/articles/2014/03/31/square-enix-to-refocus-on-jrpgs-after-bravely-default-success

Hallelujah

I'll believe this when I see it.

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

Much like when V8s became Holden-centric, I'll be utterly spewing if Nintendo are forced from the console scene.

 

[The Big Sauce]

http://www.ea.com/news/amy-hennig-joins-visceral-games

Amy Hennig joining Visceral Games to work on their Star Wars project