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Namco Bandai Reviving Classics with Namco Generations Label
Nov 18th
Namco Bandai is working to bring relevance to some of its most well known titles with the announcement of the Namco Generations label. The label will be responsible for releasing updated, high definition titles to the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade services.
“Namco Bandai holds a rich heritage of classic games that shaped the early history of the video game industry,” says marketing VP Carlson Choi. “They defined what arcade games should be, and set the benchmark for retro revivals with Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions.”
Namco has already announced that the first title to receive a makeover is Pac-Man, in Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, which is set for release today on XBLA and November 23 for the PSN.Galaga and Metro-Cross are also getting new games set for release this year, with more to follow for 2011.
Besides the new label, Namco is highlighting a new community newsletter to supplement Generations; the newsletter is available through the main menu of any purchased game.
Thanks Ben for the great article
Call of Duty: Black Ops Driving ‘Unprecedented Traffic’ to PSN, says Sony
Nov 18th
The shooter category is largely associated with the Xbox 360 console, and previous games likeModern Warfare 2 and Halo: Reach have posted some incredible numbers on Xbox Live. And while today Activision noted that Black Ops set a new record with over 2.6 million players on Xbox Live for day one, Sony has noted that the game also pushed a huge spike in traffic for the PlayStation Network.
“Call of Duty: Black Ops has been an incredible success on PlayStation 3,” said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA). “Treyarch’s latest efforts are driving unprecedented traffic to the PlayStation Network with the flagship online experience this holiday season.”
Sony stopped short of providing actual player data, and we’d guess that the numbers are a good deal lower than what’s been seen on Xbox Live so far. In terms of sales for the game, an actual SKU breakdown hasn’t been provided, but we’d also guess that the Xbox 360 version of Black Opsis outselling the PS3 version.
Fallout MMO Rights Were Turned Down By Bethesda
Oct 26th
According to Interplay president Eric Caen, Bethesda Softworks had the chance to own the rights to a Fallout MMO, but declined. In an interview with Edge Magazine, Caen accused Bethesda of trying to obtain the rights without playing.
“Hervé [Caen] started negotiations with Bethesda to sell Fallout to them,” explained Eric Caen. “My brother said: ‘If you want the full IP, the value of it is $50 million.’ They said: ‘No way. Why $50 million?’ We said: ‘Because the MMOG strength of this universe is huge.’ Bethesda said: ‘We don’t want that. Let’s buy everything else but the MMOG. Do the MMOG.’ They said that Interplay had to start development and by a certain time we had to have a full game in development.”
In September of 2009, Bethesda sued Interplay for breach of contract, alleging that the developer had breached their contract by not starting on development of the MMO and attempting to sell the original Fallout titles. A Maryland court denied Bethesda’s injunction in December of 2009, and the publisher appealed the decision a month later. Interplay fired back with its own counter-suit in February of 2010. Bethesda dropped their appeal in April, but Interplay still continues to pursue their counter-claim.
Caen believes Bethesda wanted to use legal strong-arming to get the rights once they realized how profitable it could be.
“They bought everything, but left Interplay with the license to do the MMOG – under certain conditions, thinking that Interplay would never fulfil these conditions. But Interplay did. Spring 2009 – this is public information – Bethesda sends a termination letter to Interplay, saying: ‘You did not fulfil your obligation.’ So all the litigation is about that. I think Bethesda, off the back of Fallout 3’s success, realised that Hervé was probably right about the value. They said: ‘OK, how can we get that without paying?’”
Platinum Games Open to Continuing Sega Partnership
Oct 26th
The release of Vanquish marks the end of a four-game publishing deal between Platinum Games and Sega, but Platinum has no problem extending the partnership. Platinum executive producer Atasushi Inaba says that talks with Sega are ongoing, but he made it clear that Platinum is open to a continued partnership.
“Yes you’re correct, we have made the four titles in our contract,” Inaba said in response to a question about the future of their deal (the other three games in the deal were MadWorld, Infinite Space, and Bayonetta). “The partnership has been great, and we are in talks with Sega now, but there’s nothing concrete we can say about it at the moment.”
“When we created Platinum Games, we of course talked to a lot of publishers, and Sega offered us the most freedom to develop games. I think the partnership has been great, and I’m really grateful for their support,” he explained. “For the future of our partnership, of course, it’s not something that we alone can decide. Sega has its stance, and we have ours, but if Sega asks us to make something we might take the offer.”
What those “stances” mean isn’t totally clear at this point, but Platinum was happy to have creative freedom as part of the deal with Sega at the cost of the rights to any IP. To Platinum, it “was a fair deal,” but “we would like to eventually be a company that owns its IPs.”
That dream is not a stipulation with the proposed extension at this point, but it could be in Platinum’s future.
[Thanks Develop]
Facebook Apps, Banned LOLapps Games Transmitted Private User Data
Oct 19th
The Wall Street Journal reported that its investigation of Facebook apps found that many of the most popular titles have been transmitting identifying user information to dozens of advertising and internet tracking companies.
The issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, according to the story that appeared this evening in the lead spot on the Wall Street Journal’s web site. The apps are not only transmitting the names of app users to the advertisers, but also the names of their friends in some cases. The problem affects users who have set their profiles to be completely private, and the practice breaks Facebook’s rules on privacy, the Journal said.
Acknowledging the problem, a Facebook spokesman said Sunday that the company is taking steps to dramatically limit the exposure of users’ personal information. The story indicates this privacy breach may be why all of the apps built by LOLapps, which has 150 million Facebook users, were banned over the weekend. The Journal found that all of the 10 most popular apps on Facebook were transmitting users’ IDs to outside companies.
Microsoft Reportedly Spending Half a Billion Dollars on Kinect Campaign
Oct 19th
As was already revealed by Microsoft as part of its Kinect launch games announcement, the company has managed to secure important Kinect appearances on both Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres as it looks to reach out to a very wide, mainstream demographic (similar to the Wii). That’s just the beginning of the campaign, however, as the New York Post notes that Microsoft is spending around $500 million to ensure that Kinect hits the ground running.
Microsoft has repeatedly likened the launch of Kinect to that of a new console, and indeed, they spent around $500 million back in 2000 marketing the first Xbox. The massive marketing budget will be devoted to a number of interesting initiatives, including a Times Square event and billboards, a Youtube front page takeover, deals with Burger King, Pepsi, Time magazine, and more. Commercials for the Kinect platform are also expected to air during ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and Fox’s “Glee.”
“Kinect is the largest, most integrated marketing initiative in Xbox history, bigger than its launch,” said Robert Matthews, general manager of global marketing communications for Xbox. “We are going to be spending millions to launch this globally.”
THQ Extending Nickelodeon Partnership for SpongeBob
Oct 19th
The immensely popular SpongeBob franchise will continue to see games produced through THQ, it has been announced. Nickelodeon and THQ have extended a multi-year worldwide partnership to create SpongeBob games.
“Over the last eight years, THQ has been creating quality gaming experiences based on everyone’s favorite animated character who lives in a pineapple under the sea,” said Martin Good, THQ executive vice president, Kids, Family, Casual and Global Online Services. “We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Nickelodeon and excited to deliver more SpongeBob SquarePants video game offerings for the multitude of fans worldwide.”
“THQ has consistently demonstrated the ability to seamlessly bring the world of SpongeBob SquarePants to life in the interactive space with quality titles that are memorable and engaging for gamers of all ages,” said Manuel Torres, senior vice president, global toys, video games & consumer electronics, Nickelodeon Consumer Products. “We look forward to introducing the next SpongeBob game adventure via THQ’s innovative new platform, the uDraw GameTablet for Wii, which will bring the gaming experience to another exciting level.”
THQ has previously worked on multiple titles based on the popular kids franchise, with releases on every major console, including handhelds. The new deal will afford THQ the opportunity to develop for the Kinect and Move as well.
With 29 million units sold, the partnership represents a major score for THQ, who has seen an amazing turnaround in financials since 2009.
Xbox Live Arcade ‘Past The Tipping Point,’ says Foundation 9 CEO
Oct 19th
Major Xbox LIve Arcade developer Foundation 9, whose six studios create roughly 15% of the titles on XBLA, says that 30% of the installed base is buying directly from the Arcade. CEO James North-Hearn, speaking to Eurogamer, claims that “certainly XBLA is past a tipping point now,” seeing as roughly 40-50 million Xbox units have been sold.
Though Foundation 9 works to develop for the XBLA, PSN is not too shabby either. “Even though it’s a smaller user base, and even though it’s generally accepted as currently not being as successful or popular, it’s definitely growing,” North-Hearn said. “There’s less competition on PSN, but currently a smaller user base.” As for the future, North-Hearn believes “the market will move to both online and to digital distribution at some point, almost exclusively.”
North-Hearn even hinted that “cloud solutions” could be coming to XBLA and PSN in the future, saying that is “where the market’s going to go,” and that both services are “in a great position.”
Fable III Does Not Mark the End of a Franchise, says Molyneux
Oct 19th
Fable III is about a week away from release, but it’s not likely to be the last in the popular RPG franchise. Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux wants it to be known that the game is certainly not the last to come.
Speaking to Gamerzines, Molyneux made sure to reiterate that Fable will not end simply because this is the third title in the series. “Forget about the word ‘trilogy.’ I hate limiting ourselves to a trilogy,” he said. “I want you to feel that you’re on a journey in Fable, and I’m not going to tell you what happens at the end of Fable III but I don’t think you’ll feel in any way that you’ve reached the end of a trilogy.”
He did not state that another Fable was already in development though, but the ending of Fable IIIis definitely meant to offer several storylines open for continued exploration.
The Fable franchise has sold over 6.5 million units worldwide. Molyneux said earlier this year that he’s aiming for 5 million units sold and $150 million in profit for Fable III.
THQ Grapples UFC License Through 2018
Oct 19th
THQ is on an agreement extension spree as today they have announced that they will continue to bring UFC games to consumers through 2018. The license grants THQ exclusive rights on UFC games.
“We’re very excited to extend our relationship with Zuffa and the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” said Danny Bilson, executive vice president, Core Games, THQ. “Working closely together with Dana White and the incredible team at UFC, we plan to continue to deliver outstanding interactive UFC experiences to gamers around the world in all new ways, including social, mobile and brand extensions.”
“THQ has delivered the quality demanded by UFC and its fans with the first two Undisputed games and we are about to broaden the UFC brand experience among gaming fans through social and mobile apps,” said Dana White, UFC President. “We are impressed by the passion that THQ brings to making great games and we look forward to working together to create even greater gaming experiences for our fans in the future.”
The agreement grants THQ rights to publish to all major consoles, as well as the iPhone and iPad.
Ben Strauss is a student at Xavier University studying Marketing and Philosophy. He has been an active gamer since he got his hands on a Nintendo, and looks to help further gaming as a legitimate creative and entertainment development entity.
