Lots of ups and downs in the gaming world today as Guild Wars 2 tops UK sales but lags behind SWTOR and Tera is merging servers. What could these trends be showing us about the gaming niche in general or what we stand to see or not see from future games? Massively explains: Guild Wars 2 is the second largest non-World of Warcraft PC MMO launch in UK history according toChart-Track. The new fantasy title from ArenaNet topped sales charts this week but still sold less at retail than Star Wars: The Old Republic did at launch. This comes out at the same time as the news that the newly released (younger than SWTOR) game Tera is trimming down its servers list: The latest letter from TERA’s producer is out, and while it includes some interesting statistics, the most important bit of information is that the game will be trimming down its server list. On September 18th, the…
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Star Wars 1313 Descent to the Underworld Trailer
Are you excited for Star Wars 1313 Descent to the Underworld? Want to learn more about the upcoming game title? Haven’t even heard of it before? Here’s a video you’re going to want to check out. Star Wars 1313 will feature epic action adventure game play including exotic weaponry and gadgets that bounty hunters depend on for survival. In addition, the game will feature a combination of agile cover-based combat, epic platforming and seamless playable cinematic game play. Players will experience awe-inspiring and action-packed cinematic sequences, constantly staying engaged through the threat, pressure and tension of this criminal underworld. Are you looking forward to it? Will you play or do you think LucasArts has another Star Wars title on their hands that isn’t going to make it big? Star Wars 1313 Descent to the Underworld Trailer [HD] Developer: LucasArts Release: TBA Genre: Action/Adventure Platform: PS3/X360/PC Publisher: LucasArts
Is Electronic Arts Up for Sale?
Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq:EA) is “quietly exploring” opportunities for it to be sold to private equity firms, according to a report by the New York Post. According to these reports, EA is talking to two different potential companies about a sale. Both are private equity companies- KKR & Co. L.P (NYSE: KKR) and Providence Equity Partners, a major shareholder in ZeniMax Media, an EA competitor. So what does this mean for EA? Honestly, it’s too early to tell. One source said “it’s early days” for any deliberation but then another source said that EA has “made it known they’d do a deal at $20 a share.” Either way, we’re basing all of this on rumor and not on any solid facts at this time. EA’s stock has struggled a bit lately, dropping 37% in the past year. However, they are still a leader in the industry and some might say that drop is just a…
Expert: MMORPG Players Better than MBA candidates?
According to learning guru John Seely Brown, expert World of Warcraft players make better job candidates than an MBA from Harvard. While that may sound a little bizarre, you can listen to his explanation on a youtube video below. While some employers still hang onto the old notion that job applicants who play video games are not the best candidates, perhaps because they believe they’ll spend their days playing online and are easily distracted, smart companies realize the value of the leadership skills as well as organization skills that are learned by WoW players, making them the better candidate for the job.YouTube video here. Seely Brown is just one among many who have come to the same conclusion, and he is certainly not a slacker by any means. He is currently an independent co-chair of the Deloitte Center for Edge Innovation and has degrees in physics and mathematics from Brown…
Star Wars 1313 Featured at this Year’s E3
At the 2012 E3 expo, one of the highlights was Star Wars 1313, reportedly a new and darker Star Wars game put together by many division of the Lucasfilm organization, according to a recent blog on GameNGuide.com by Juan G. Rodriguez. While Industrial Light & Magic’s visual effects supervisor Kim Libreri noted that he believes “in 10 years game graphics will have advanced to the point of being indistinguishable from reality,” adding, “one day it will be impossible to spot the differences between real-time rendering and live action.” The early footage of Star Wars 1313 reportedly showcases fluid animation and cinematic quality visuals but does not approach anything near photorealistic quality. With the leaps and bounds in advancing technology and the difference in what video games looked like just a decade ago compared to today, it is not surprising to hear Libreri’s opinion on where they’ll be another ten years…
World of Warcraft has 9.1 million subscribers, down by a million since May
With talks about SWTOR going free to play, we also hear a lot of talk about World of Warcraft, the popular MMO from Blizzard. Many people said SWTOR might be a WoW-killer and then it turned out to have less of an impact on WoW. We can compare WoW to SWTOR until the cows come home but it’s like comparing apples to oranges. While both might be fruits, an apple just doesn’t cut it when you want an orange. But what does this mean for the industry? Well, there is some interesting news about WoW release with the Q2 2012 earnings report from Activision Blizzard. This report says that World of Warcraft currently has 9.1 subscribers. This is down one million since May- pretty large numbers when you look at it. World of Warcraft remains the reigning titan in terms of subscription-based games… but the titan is looking just a little…
LucasArts president Paul Meegan steps down after two years
The high level turnovers with LucasArts continues as it was announced today that LA President, Paul Meegan, would step down after two years with the company. A statement was released today by parent company Lucasfilm that reveals the news. “”Development on all current LucasArts projects will proceed,” reads a line from Lucasfilm’s statement. “”Paul has been a valuable member of the Lucasfilm leadership team and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. We remain committed to our current projects and will be re-evaluating LucasArts’ leadership needs to ensure that we make the right decisions to keep the studio focused.” In his own statement, Meegan said LucasArts has “come a long away” and he is “extremely proud” of what the teams at the studio have accomplished. He said there are a number of projects that have yet to be announced, and that he wishes the company “all the best”…
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II Restored Content Mod
Many SWTOR players were fans of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and if you’re missing the game, there is now a new, fun option for you. One of the greatest Star Wars video games ever made is back, 8 years after its release. LucasArts is releasing a combo package called Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Collection, Now fans can experience the Jedi role playing game from BioWare along with the Obsidian-developed sequel, both of which set the stage for Star Wars: The Old Republic as we know it today. Obsidian’s sequel Knights of the Old Republic II—The Sith Lords was well known as being a disappointing letdown to excited fans who waited for it and then got a buggy, basically unplayable game. It had a rushed development and launched with far too many flaws in place. So players, fans and modders set out to fix it the way they…
GDC Online debuts Smedley, SWTOR and more!
With GDC Online getting closer, we’re all looking forward to more information, updates and fun interviews. That’s exactly what they’re working on to give us. The show has added a new trio of talks, featuring Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley on transitioning to the free to play model, BioWare on the platform supporting Star Wars: The Old Republic, and CCP on nurturing an MMO community. Gamasutra brings us full details on these new sessions: – First, John Smedley, the president of Sony Online Entertainment, will discuss how the company transitioned its entire game lineup to the free to play model in theBusiness and Marketing track lecture, “Free-to-Play: Driving the Future of MMOs.”” Referencing games from EverQuest to Planetside 2(pictured), Smedley will share some of SOE’s insights and lessons learned to help other developers successfully adopt the free to play model. With this knowledge, attendees will walk away understanding how to grow not only their player…
Pachter: “Subscription MMOs have peaked. If Star Wars couldn’t do it, no-one can do it.”
Industry analyst Michael Pachter says that MMOs have peaked. He says that if Star Wars couldn’t make it happen, no one can. It’s an interesting theory from one of the biggest experts in the field but is it true? PC Games explains more: “”I thought Star Wars: The Old Republic would make it big, but it didn’t. It looks like subscription MMOs are as big as they’re going to get – there are only 6-7 million people willing to spend $15 a month. If Star Wars couldn’t do it, made by Bioware, then no one can do it.”” He continues to explain the reasons he believes EA’s stock is dropping. Supposedly, he candidly tells John Riccitiello why no one is buying their stock. I told him: ‘the reason your stock is in the toilet is because you’re in the fifth year of a three year turn around’ says Pachter. He…
The Official SW.com Blog Returns
It’s baaaaccck! The Official Star Wars blog tells us: “It’s been just about two months since we put this blog on hiatus to update its design and develop a new approach to content. It took a bit longer than we had hoped, but we’re glad to say that starting today, we’re back… with a few exciting changes.” I know a lot of fans have been waiting a long time to hear this. So what kind of changes can you expect to encounter now that it’s back? Here are some changes: Supervising Director Dave Filoni will be sharing insights and stories from behind-the-scenes of The Clone Wars, along with other cast and crew. We’re going to open up the Lucasfilm archives, with J.W. Rinzler and others sharing never-before-seen images, videos and stories from the making of the films. Resident Star Wars experts Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee will be sharing details about…
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Collection Coming This Summer
LucasArts is about to re-release the KOTOR series to stores. GameStop and Amazon have listed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Collection as a bundle pack for the two single-player role-playing games. It’s only weeks from release, too. The compilation has appeared on GameStop’s internal system and is listed as a PC exclusive carrying a $20 price tag. The first game in the series (developed by BioWare) was released to critical acclaim in July 2003 for Xbox, and later for PC. KOTOR came to Mac via Steam just a few months ago. Obsidian developed the game’s sequel, which launched on Xbox in December 2004. They are both excellent games, that I recoment you try out, if you haven’t played them yet. After all, they are the prequels to Star Wars: The old republic. If you can’t wait until the games are re-realeased, you can check out the first part…
Star Wars 1313 Announced
After much anticipation, Lucas Arts finally announced the name of their new Star Wars game- Star Wars 1313. This is a mature-themed game which is set in a dark, vast subterranean metropolis that is found beneath the surface of Coruscant. You play a bounty hunter (which is think is really cool) but I’m a little curious about where this storyline is going to go and why it’s rated mature. They say this game is definitely created for the adult set. So I want to see more but I guess we have to wait for E3 for that. It’s a third-person action game built with Unreal Engine 3 as a base, and Lucas Arts has mentioned that the production values are quite high with, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. and Skywalker Sound all working on the game. LucasArts president Paul Meegan said, “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part…
LucasArts to Announce New Star Wars Game Tomorrow on Spike TV
Earlier this month, LucasArts registered the trademark for a certain “Star Wars 1313”. This had fans everywhere excited to see what this new game would be and the idea of a new Star Wars game has many fans super excited. A new Star Wars game, you say? Hmmm… many might be skeptical but for Star Wars gamer fans, this is a big announcement. While the full details will be unveiled at E3, we can expect to learn a little more tomorrow night. LucasArts revealed on the Star Wars Facebook page that an announcement of the game will be made on Spike TV this 31st of May at 10pm PST, with the full announcement and presumably the details to be revealed at E3 later on next week. “Riddle: What is something that will be announced by Spike, fully unveiled at the E3 Expo, and has to do with Star Wars gaming?…
LucasArts to Reveal Secret Title at E3
E3 is coming up and we all know that this is often a great opportunity for surprises. One of the best surprises to come out of events like E3 is a new game title and that’s what LucasArts is rumored to have coming for us. As reported by 8Bit Envy: E3 is a great time for surprises, and wouldn’t it be great if LucasArts finally revealed Battlefront 3? Now I’m not saying they will, but when you get an invitation to come see an “unannounced game in development,” you can’t help but be optimistic. So, being the curious lad that I am, asked whether or not this unannounced title would have lightsabers in it. The answer wasn’t confirmed, but it wasn’t denied either. There has been numerous posts about Battlefront 3 being in the works, then being canceled, so anything is possible. LucasArts did confirm they were using the Unreal…
‘Kinect: Star Wars’ Composers Share the Creative Process
Kinect Star Wars Composers Gordy Haab and Kyle Newmaster tell MTV more about what it’s like to create the music behind the game. Regardless of what some critics said of the game, the soundtrack gives Star Wars fans everything they want and more. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s moving and it all came thanks to two very talented composers. As gamers, we don’t always think about the work that goes into the soundtracks of games like this. Yet when we walk away from the game and go to school or work, the music stays with us. We hum it aloud or in our head and we look forward to when we get the chance to play again. MTV Multiplayer interviews the two composers about their work on the game: MTV Multiplayer: Was John Williams or George Lucas involved at all in the creation of the tracks for the game? How…
Diablo 3 Launch vs SWTOR Launch
When SWTOR first launched, we were faced with a lot of bugs, long queue times and other glitches and issues. However, for the most part it was still playable. Any time a new multi-player games launches, we’re going to expect a certain level of glitches. It comes with the territory. The first 24-48 hours are especially prone to being the worst. Diablo 3 was also incredibly anticipated and it’s facing its own set of bugs. It boots you from the game every few minutes for a 3007 error, erasing all progress since last checkpoint and some people cannot get into the game at all. By comparison, many will say that D3 is worse. Some are saying that there is not as much outrage over the D3 bugs as there was with SWTOR but I beg to differ. My Facebook wall had plenty of complaints and there are loads of forum…
The Forgotten TV Debut of the Original Star Wars Game
There have been many Star Wars games before SWTOR- seriously, there have been TONS. But there is one Star Wars game that comes to mind first for those old enough to remember, the 1983 Atari game Star Wars. This was the first time a Star Wars game had been created. I was only a year old when it released and I would not see the game or an Atari for quite some time but I did have the privilege of playing it once at a friend’s, more than a decade after its release. Kotaku reminds us of the game on Star Wars Day: The game made its debut during “The Video Game Challenge,” a short-lived television program from the 80’s. Just like the force, this Star Wars game will be with you… always. Actually, considering how regularly I still think about that game…that’s true! Does anyone reading remember that…
Do MMORPGs Create Serial Killers and Mass Murderers?
We’ve probably all heard the stories of horrible things happening to gamers or to the loved ones of gamers- a kid who binged for so long he died at his computer playing his favorite game or maybe the mother who neglected her children and forgets to feed her baby because she is so consumed with a video game. Of all the games that get a bad rap, MMORPGs often rank near the top. I’ve always believed this is due to the nature of the game and not the genre itself. MMORPGs require a certain amount of time and energy investment. Non-gamers have a hard time understanding how someone could want to sit there for hours running around an imaginary world with the avatars of other people. But for those of us who play, it’s more than just a game. The communities that form around an MMORPG are like little subcultures….
Exclusive look at Kinect Star Wars at the Skywalker Ranch
Who doesn’t love Kinect? Add in Star Wars and I’m a happy gamer! I have been waiting for this game to come out as I’m sure many other Star Wars fans have. There is a lot more to the game than meets the eye though and it is not just about fighting battles, although there is plenty of that type of action. Many of the movie scenes are included in the game as well. The Herald Sun tells us more: Kinect Star Wars is one of the most eagerly awaited titles based on the sci-fi franchise. Set just before Episode II: Attack of the Clones, players use the Xbox 360 Kinect motion controller to complete a Jedi Destiny campaign, dogfight in space or go all Rampage on a Rancor. And, of course, most importantly, flail around in their living rooms wielding a Kinect-powered lightsaber. Yes, you get the chance to…
Kinect Star Wars Launch Trailer- Feel the Force
Feel the Force when you are the controller- I know what my son wants for his birthday but will it be as big of a hit as many are expecting? Coming soon on April 3rd is Kinect Star Wars and they’ve now released the official launch trailer. What you will see missing from the trailer is Kinect Star Wars‘ dance mode, which didn’t come off as such a hit when it was revealed before. The game comes with five dynamic modes Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, Podracing Rancor Rampage Galactic Dance Off Duels of Fate “Kinect Star Wars brings the Star Wars Universe to life like never before. Harnessing the controller-free power of Kinect for Xbox 360, Kinect Star Wars allows fans to physically experience training as a Jedi, using the Force and battling with a lightsaber. Using full body motions, players can live out the ultimate Star Wars fantasy,…
Ex-BioWare Devs Reach Their Goal for Banner Saga
We told you about the ex-BioWare devs leaving the company to start their own Indie game design company and begin building The Banner Saga. So how has that been working out for them? Well, probably a lot better than many would have imagined. The team is doing great and used Kickstarter to gain funds for their project and it paid off in a big way. “Stoic Studio, the Austin-based developer recently formed by veterans from BioWare, has already reached its $100,000 funding goal for its turn-based strategy RPG The Banner Saga. The indie developer managed to reach its goal on donation platform Kickstarter just two days after launching the campaign, and after receiving pledges from almost 4,000 people. It still has 30 days to raise more money to fund the PC game, which is scheduled to release later this year.” Gamasutra also tells us about some other games that hit…
BioWare’s Mass Effect 3 Coming March 6th
The big day is almost here for Mass Effect fans. The third and final game in the Mass Effect series has a lot to live up to and if the single and multiplayer demo (recently released) is any indication of how the rest of the game will play, fans of the series have nothing to worry about. Mass Effect 3 comes out on March 6 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. ($59.99 on Amazon) Here’s some interesting Mass Effect 3 news: Razer And BioWare Reveal New ‘Mass Effect 3’ Gaming Gear Minimum System Requirements: OS – Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1, Win 7 CPU: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (equivalent AMD CPU) RAM: 1GB for XP / 2GB RAM for Vista/Win 7 Hard Drive: 2.5 GB of free space Video: 256 MB* (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support) *Supported chipsets: NVIDIA 7900 or better; ATI X1800 or better. Please…
Former SWTOR Devs Introduce “The Banner Saga”
Star Wars: The Old Republic is easily considered one of the biggest games of the year. It has yet to make its debut in Australia and already we’re hearing about it all over the world. Those of you who have been following for some time now know that it is a game that has been many years in the making. Some of the people who were involved in the early days of developing SWTOR have now moved on to other projects. Three of these devs in particular, are now introducing a new project called “The Banner Saga”. Games.on.net brings us the news about this new game: Under the new studio of Stoic Games, the talented trio have created what their website calls a “role-playing meets turn-based strategy, wrapped into an adventure mini-series about Vikings.” I am sold already a billion times, especially when I saw the bits about “pain-staking hand…
