Posted by Stephen Johnson - Tuesday, November 06, 2007 6:01 PM
Here's what happened today in the world of videogames, popular culture and technology:
- Famous Heroes and Veronica Mars actress Kristen Bell will appear in Ubisoft’s soon-to-be blockbuster video game, Assassin’s Creed.
- College Hoops 2K8 will feature 90 retro teams for your basketballing pleasure.
- Mario and Buzz Aldrin floated in space!
- Jay-Z pulled his new American Gangster album from iTunes today.
- IBM is launching a 'serious' videogame called Innov8, which will stress business techniques and team building.
- CNet’s gadget blog is predicting that video rental giant Blockbuster is going under…and soon.
- Majesco announced this week that former Sega VP of development Bill Petro will take on the newly-created role of Majesco's VP of internal development.
- Sega’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii home video game system has shipped to stores across North America today.
- Ubisoft’s My Word Coach (Wii, Nintendo DS), My Spanish Coach and My French Coach (Nintendo DS) shipped to retail stores today.
Permalink
|
Tags: Daily Wrap-Up
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Tuesday, November 06, 2007 4:30 PM
TheFeed needs to apologize. We thought that some of the less, um, intelligent ranting on our forums (except for you...you're a genius) made up the worst of the internet. We were wrong.
Here, now, for your pleasure is the answer to a question you've surely been asking yourself since time immemorial.
What do hip-hop fans think of the Food Network?
Permalink
|
Tags: Nuggets From The Nets
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:55 PM
As you’ve no doubt heard, the television and movie industries are officially shutting down. The writers’ guild has called a strike, and production is closing up all over Los Angeles. Daily shows (like The Daily Show) are gone already, while shows with a longer lead times will likely be shutting down after their store of scripts is all used up.
But do not despair. A dearth of television entertainment is the perfect opportunity to catch up on entertainment products you may not have considered if you could still watch The Colbert Report. TheFeed is only too happy to point you toward the following indispensable pieces of entertainment you may have missed. Just click the "Read More" tag!
Permalink
|
Tags: Movies, Other People's Misfortune, TV
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:01 PM
The more we hear about GameCock's upcoming videogame Fury, the happier we become. The game is a PVP-only MMO, so no wusses who don't want blood will be running around. Here's today's happy Fury news:
- Try it free for ten days.
- Siobhan Parekh, FHM’s ‘girl next door’, is a playable character in the game. There she is above. That's what it will look like when I'm kicking your nards.
Improvements made from the Beta include:
- new game maps, with more to come next week
- new Bloodbath Training Ground
- changes to the Ranking system
- pre-made groups and pick-up groups are now separated in the Matchmaker queue
- lower ranked players (i.e. new players and beginners) receive an Offense and Defense bonus (making it more likely for them to hit their target)
- Major improvements to the Database which improve loading times and mail/vendor response times during peak periods
- Lots and lots of minor bug fixes, crash fixes and optimizations (with more still to come)
More Siobhan under the cut, including the in-the-flesh version.
Permalink
|
Tags: PC Gaming, Videogames
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Tuesday, November 06, 2007 3:00 PM
Sega's NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams will be the first game for the Wii that makes active use of the Wii Weather system. In other words, the actual weather outside will effect the game play for the first time. The game takes place in a dream world, and in the "My Dream" area, which is already heavily customizable, there will be the opportunity to make use of the actual weather for flying conditions.
The game is supposed to be all about facing fears through conquering them in your dreams. The way we see it, the real fears are the ones that are tied to real life things, as opposed to the relative escape of your dream world. But we're old and bitter, and this is likely to be fun. And weathery!
NOTE: We seem to remember that Madden for the Wii had this function, but the press release for this game says that it's the first, so who you gonna believe?
Permalink
|
Tags: Videogames, Wii
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Tuesday, November 06, 2007 2:55 PM
Can you taste the excitment of upcoming war simulator Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare?
We can taste it in the back of our throats, and we're gonna pre-purchase it from Steam because that is how roll.
Exactly how we roll.
Beginning today, gamers may pre-purchase the game and begin the playing the moment it's made available on November 12.
The very moment.
Here's the link.
Permalink
|
Tags: PC Gaming, Videogames
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:50 PM
Roger Avary is almost done with his shooting script for the film version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but he's not going to write another page until the writers' strike is over. In a show of solidarity for his union, Avary is on strike as well, though his Beowulf is coming out this weekend, so he won't be completely out of the public eye.
Oh, writers and producers! How can you do this to us? Will the pain ne'er stop? All we want is our scripts based on videogames that time forgot, and your constant instistance on 'earning a living' and 'feeding your children' is making our lives a hassle. Shame on you!
SCI FI Wire: Avary's Wolfenstein On Hold
Permalink
|
Tags: Movies
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:49 PM
Electronic Arts is closing its Chicago office.
Here's the official word, from a memo from EA's president Frank Gibeau :
Within the EA Games Label, we are committed to running each franchise and facility as a city/state, teams with unique creative identities as well as responsibility for product quality, ship dates and profitability. We recognize that games require large investments and extended development cycles. We're willing to take risks, make long-term investments, and to support teams and individuals between launches. But each team is responsible for staying on a reasonable path to profitability. Sticking to that strategy is what gives us the financial resources and flexibility to take risks on new projects.
Unfortunately, EA Chicago hasn't been able to meet that standard. The location has grown dramatically in the past three years while revenue from the games developed there has not. The number of employees has grown from 49 in 2004 to 146 people currently in the new facility in downtown Chicago. As it stands, EA Chicago has no expectation of hitting our profitability targets until FY2011 or later.
Closing EA Chicago is the toughest decision I've made in my career - one that in no way reflects on the talent and dedication of the people who work there.
Kotaku: EA Confirms EA Chicago Is Closing
|
