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Archive for February, 2011
WoW and GTA Under the Same Roof?
Feb 14th
While the Take-Two/Electronic Arts saga from a few years back didn’t result in anything but headaches for the respective executives, it’s beginning to look like EA’s closest rival, Activision, could be targeting Take-Two. Analysts have been pointing to Take-Two as a buyout candidate for the last year, and it would make sense for another company to jump in before the next GTAlaunches.
“There are very strong rumours amongst people at a very senior level within the global business,” a senior executive mentioned to MCV about the potential acquisition.
With Activision killing off its music business, skateboarding and True Crime, and laying off 500 workers, there’s definitely a sense of urgency about what they’ll do next. Doubling down on Call of Duty and Blizzard is all well and good for the short term, but other than their Bungie deal, there’s not much else. Buying up Take-Two would net them a wide array of hugely successful IP, like GTA, NBA2K, BioShock, Civilization, Red Dead Redemption and more.
If an acquisition were to happen, Activision would need to make sure Rockstar’s talent stays on board. The Houser brothers’ contract is up for renegotiation in 2012.
For now though, this remains nothing more than rumor, so we advise you to take it with a hefty pinch of salt.
Mass Effect 2 Wins Game of the Year at Interactive Achievement Awards
Feb 14th
Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption was favored heavily in many circles to win Game of the Year at the 14th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, and despite having led with six nominations, it was BioWare’s epic RPG Mass Effect 2 which won top honors at the show, on a night where BioWare Doctors Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
That said, Red Dead Redemption did come away with more awards in total (5 versus 3 for Mass Effect), so Rockstar has to be pretty well pleased.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2
Role Playing / MMO Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2
Outstanding Achievement in Story: Mass Effect 2
Lifetime Achievement Award: Bing Gordon
Pioneer Award: Bill Budge
Outstanding Achievement in Animation: God of War III
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction: Red Dead Redemption
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering: Heavy Rain
Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering: Red Dead Redemption
Outstanding Character Performance: Red Dead Redemption
Family Game of the Year: Dance Central
Racing Game of the Year: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming: Heavy Rain
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music: Heavy Rain
Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack: Rock Band 3
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design: Limbo
Adventure Game of the Year: Limbo
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Action Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption
Sports Game of the Year: FIFA 2011
Fighting Game of the Year: Super Street Fighter IV
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Portable Game of the Year: God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Casual Game of the Year: Angry Birds HD
Social Game of the Year: CityVille
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction: Red Dead Redemption
Activision Brings Back Spyro with Skylanders
Feb 14th
At its investors call this week, Activision revealed that it would be debuting a new mass-market all-ages franchise at this year’s Toy Fair. Today, that title has been revealed as Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, a brand-new game featuring Spyro the Dragon, who gamers last saw in 2008’s The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. The real question is: why the debut at Toy Fair?
The answer? Augmented reality and action figures.
Skylanders is built around 30 separate action figures that interact with the game through a peripheral dubbed the ‘Portal of Power’. Each action figure represents a certain character, each with their own special abilities. The game and toy line are aiming directly at children and their vivid imaginations, with competitive and cooperative play being available. And the achievements and experience gained with play stay within the figure itself, so players can interact anywhere on any platform, including consoles, a mobile app, and the Skylanders web portal.
The game and the technology behind it are the brainchild of California-based developer, Toys for Bob. The story for the game is penned by Alek Sokolow and Joel Cohen, the writers behind the first Toy Story film.
“These are more than action figures. They are inter-action figures,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “By pairing world class character design, world class video game design and world class story telling into one entertainment experience, we’ve given players a whole new genre that bridges the gap between the real and virtual worlds. From the first time a kid picked up a stick and pretended it was a sword, toys have unlocked kids’ imaginations. And how often have you wanted to bring those toys to life, to see them become animated and take them on an adventure? Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure does just that.”
Activision is also joining with Toys R Us to promote the line in stores, with the store receiving several exclusives this fall.
“We began discussing this concept with Activision and immediately knew merging the world of toys and video games together in Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure would capture the imagination of a wide range of consumers, including kids, toy collectors and video game enthusiasts,” said Jerry Storch, Chairman and CEO, Toys’R'Us, Inc. “We believe this product line is among the most exciting and unique offerings that will be seen at Toy Fair this year, and we are excited to partner with Activision to bring Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure to Toys’R'Us stores this fall.”
PS2 Reaches 150 Million Shipped Worldwide
Feb 14th
Sony Computer Entertainment proudly announced that its PlayStation 2 console has sold-in (shipped) 150 million units across the globe, as of January 31. This feat was managed in 10 years and 11 months since the PS2 first launched in Japan back in March 2000.
Sony also noted that the PS2 has amassed a “vast library of more than 10,828 software titles, representing a broad range of game genres that appeal to everyone in the family. More than 1.52 billion units of PlayStation 2 software have been sold worldwide.”
The company also highlighted key innovations for the PS2, such as the system’s DualShock 2 controller, the EyeToy Camera, and the inclusion of a DVD player, which for many consumers was the first DVD player they ever purchased.
