Video Game Industry Thread: 300+ people lose their jobs. Curt Schilling still rich.

Forar

I always enjoy hearing about the craziness that happens in Eve, but I could never play it.

It may not hold true of every goonswarm member, but honestly, as an outsider they're generally referred to in the same tones as Reavers in Firefly. No one knows why they do what they do, but if they glance your way, you are probably fucked.

As for console concept art, there was definitely some for the DS.

Though to be fair, it was a fan mock up that had like 17 screens.

We also had a mock up of the phantom! It was official, but it might as well have been a fan mock up.

Skull2185

Forar wrote: »

I always enjoy hearing about the craziness that happens in Eve, but I could never play it.

It may not hold true of every goonswarm member, but honestly, as an outsider they're generally referred to in the same tones as Reavers in Firefly. No one knows why they do what they do, but if they glance your way, you are probably fucked.

Miranda!

skeldare

Ok, I'm not exactly sure what this is. Thought I'd post it though.

Nintendo patent application tech tracks your DS from above, serves as tour guide

Nintendo is already guiding you through the Louvre with a 3DS, but a newly published US patent application takes that kind of tourism to a very literal new level. Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto's concept describes a way to direct lost tourists by beaming position information through an overhead grid of infrared transmitters to a mobile device (portrayed as a DS Lite) held by the confused visitor below. The handheld then talks wirelessly to a server that lights up floor displays with maps and directions, and a helpful app on the device lets visitors pick their route while they read up on sightseeing tips. Like with any patent, there's no certainty that Nintendo will act on the idea and start wiring up museums with IR blasters, but the January 2012 patent may still be fresh in a frequently inventive mind like Miyamoto's.

Henroid

As cool as that is, honestly, it's something better served by smartphones.

Warlock82

Sounds like a small-scale GPS

skeldare

More Nintendo Patent news! Wii U Edition

Nintendo patent application lends a look at Wii U's core technology, add-ons too

Little did we know that, just two months after we were trying the Wii U for ourselves, Nintendo was busy patenting nearly everything its unique game console would have to offer. A pair of just-published US Patent Office applications filed last August get into the nuts and bolts of how the controller and the legacy Wii remote will play with the new device. It's clear that the patent work had started before Nintendo had redesigned the main system -- the box at the center of the patents looks like the existing Wii -- but it does show the nitty-gritty of things we only saw at last year's Nintendo E3 keynote, such as the gun attachment or playing golf with a combination of the Wii U controller and the traditional Wiimote. Nintendo also gave itself some wiggle room on the controller's screen size: although the LCD is officially 6.2 inches across, the patent allows that it might be "5 inches or larger." We're wondering how much of the overall look and technology will survive through to the finished Wii U design's unveiling at this year's E3. For now, though, you can explore the patents yourself at the links below.

[1] [2]

Syphyre

My first thought was "right, who's going to hold that for more than 2 minutes."

My second thought was "...done correctly, that could be used to create some very creative virtual games." Laserquest at home, for starters

maximumzero

There's a handful of iPhone/iPad products that do that kind of thing.

I've never used any of 'em so I can't comment on how well they work.

UncleSporky

GAF's WiiU speculation thread has been getting all kinds of minor WiiU news for ages now. It's all debatable because y'know, random people on the internet, but some individuals seem to be very trusted and people are banned quickly for misinformation.

For example just a few minutes ago a John Harker confirmed that the sticks are clickable.

Zephiran

UncleSporky wrote: »

GAF's WiiU speculation thread has been getting all kinds of minor WiiU news for ages now. It's all debatable because y'know, random people on the internet, but some individuals seem to be very trusted and people are banned quickly for misinformation.

For example just a few minutes ago a John Harker confirmed that the sticks are clickable.

Gaf is also on its fifth speculation thread as of today, that thing's taken on a life of its own.

I'm pretty sure Harker's just joking about the clickable sticks though. If it's true however, then it's sort of curious that he'd say "sticks" instead of "pads", so... Yeah. Interpret that particular nugget whichever way you want.

The Dude With Herpes

The gun thing isn't a bad idea, inherently; but at least from the patent image, its using the same basic design as the wii zapper thing; which IMO was incredibly uncomfortable and awkward to use for anything really. Not to mention that I never had a use for it outside of links crossbow training. But honestly, I found it easier to play the game holding the normal controller like normal and skipping the gun entirely.

I'm not even that big of a guy, though I do have pretty large hands. It just felt like it was designed for a kid; and it probably was.

Santa Claustrophobia

Syphyre wrote: »

My first thought was "right, who's going to hold that for more than 2 minutes."

My second thought was "...done correctly, that could be used to create some very creative virtual games." Laserquest at home, for starters

I doubt something like this will be useful for anything but light-gun games. How big is that market currently? And Laser Quest? Sounds like a huge, untapped market right there. Maybe we can hope that it'll take off for a few years and then quickly fade away so we can stop hearing about the death of music rhythm games.

Dehumanized

Forar wrote: »

I always enjoy hearing about the craziness that happens in Eve, but I could never play it.

It may not hold true of every goonswarm member, but honestly, as an outsider they're generally referred to in the same tones as Reavers in Firefly. No one knows why they do what they do, but if they glance your way, you are probably fucked.

As for console concept art, there was definitely some for the DS.

Though to be fair, it was a fan mock up that had like 17 screens.

We also had a mock up of the phantom! It was official, but it might as well have been a fan mock up.

Surely you jest, the Phantom had no fans!


edit: also, at this point, do we even really know what the Wii U looks like?

Syphyre

Santa Claustrophobia wrote: »

Syphyre wrote: »

My first thought was "right, who's going to hold that for more than 2 minutes."

My second thought was "...done correctly, that could be used to create some very creative virtual games." Laserquest at home, for starters

I doubt something like this will be useful for anything but light-gun games. How big is that market currently? And Laser Quest? Sounds like a huge, untapped market right there. Maybe we can hope that it'll take off for a few years and then quickly fade away so we can stop hearing about the death of music rhythm games.

Yeah as soon as I wrote that, I remembered this

Spoiler:

Doubtless Nintendo is just grabbing the patent in case someone does figure out something cool to do with it.

Forar

Dehumanized wrote: »

Surely you jest, the Phantom had no fans!

It was more of a jab at the level of polish from the guys making it.

Alt response: I'm sure they were fans of investor money their own product!

Zephiran

Dehumanized wrote: »

Also, at this point, do we even really know what the Wii U looks like?

More or less. The case they've been touting so far looks like a longer and slightly Moominified Wii. They may have changed some dimensions since, due to rumoured issues with heat, but I would doubt that.

Spoiler:

Santa Claustrophobia

Syphyre wrote: »

Santa Claustrophobia wrote: »

Syphyre wrote: »

My first thought was "right, who's going to hold that for more than 2 minutes."

My second thought was "...done correctly, that could be used to create some very creative virtual games." Laserquest at home, for starters

I doubt something like this will be useful for anything but light-gun games. How big is that market currently? And Laser Quest? Sounds like a huge, untapped market right there. Maybe we can hope that it'll take off for a few years and then quickly fade away so we can stop hearing about the death of music rhythm games.

Yeah as soon as I wrote that, I remembered this

Spoiler:

Doubtless Nintendo is just grabbing the patent in case someone does figure out something cool to do with it.

The reality is that peripherals are generally only good for one thing. So 'cool' means that one company (probably Nintendo) makes a game that people really seem to like or maybe it's just the first one. Then every other company basically just copies and pastes the formula without anything really creative going on with it (if such a thing was ever possible to begin with).

C2B

So, apparently at least one publisher HAS taken notice of Kickstarter projects as Jane Jensen will make a second adventure game (aside from the crowdfunded Moebius) under the Pinkerton Road label this year with publisher support. Originally she wanted to do that if 600'000 was made on Kickstarter but that doesn't seem all that likely anymore.

AZChristopher

We have posted and discussed comments made regarding Free Radical and LucasArts previously. So below is a link to a whole lot more information

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-04-free-radical-vs-the-monsters

Interesting read so go there if you want to know more, or just want more ammo for the publishers are evil topics.

skeldare

Miyamoto on the Vita: It needs games

Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto has praised the technical capabilities of Sony's PS Vita handheld, but says the machine's software lineup leaves something to be desired.

Speaking to us in Paris, where he was promoting the 3DS-powered visitor's guide at the Louvre museum, Miyamoto did his best to maintain professional courtesy, but couldn't resist having a sly dig at Sony's new handheld.

"It's obviously a very hi-spec machine, and you can do lots of things with it," he said of Vita, which launched in Japan last December and in the west in late February. "But I don't really see the combination of software and hardware that really makes a very strong product."

Since a strong launch - it sold 325,000 units at launch in Japan, and 600,000 in its first few days on western shelves - Vita sales have slumped, particularly in Japan, where it has frequently been outsold by the ageing Wii and even its own predecessor, PSP.

3DS, however, has been Japan's best-selling hardware every single week since last August's price cut - and Miyamoto admits it was a lack of software that held back Nintendo's glasses-free 3D handheld.

"When we launched the 3DS hardware we didn't have Super Mario 3D Land, we didn't have Mario Kart 7, we didn't have Kid Icarus: Uprising," he said. "We were striving to have all of these ready for the launch, but we weren't able to deliver them at that time.

"We were kind of hoping that people would, nevertheless, buy into the product, find 3DS hardware promising, but looking back we have to say we realise the key software was missing when we launched the hardware."

In other words, Vita, like 3DS, needs games, and there are few owners of Sony's new handheld who would disagree with that sentiment. Despite a wide range of launch software, Vita releases since have been thin on the ground; the next big release for the system is Gravity Rush, due in the west in June.

Miyamoto's comments are extracts from an extensive interview in our new issue, E241, which should be with subscribers any day now and will be on sale on May 9. Other topics discussed include his surprising admiration for Angry Birds, and his desire to make a spiritual sequel to SNES classic The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past.

Warlock82

Wow, Miyamoto trash talking (well, his version of trash talking anyways). Kind of amusing

mere_immortal

Seems kinda neat as long as the streaming quality is there.

The best way to experience Los Angeles is to never, ever go to Los Angeles, which is why it’s nice that Microsoft will be giving you a convenient way to avoid that by streaming its E3 press conference through Xbox Live this year.

Microsoft’s press conference takes place on Monday, June 4, and should kick off around 10:00 a.m. PST.

We’ll be there. Probably. I guess.

Microsoft isn’t the first company to offer alternate ways to watch its E3 press conference. Last year, Sony held a live stream of its press conference through Home. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than Los Angeles.

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/microsoft-streaming-e3-press-conference-via-xbl/4127/

skeldare

mere_immortal wrote: »

Seems kinda neat as long as the streaming quality is there.

The best way to experience Los Angeles is to never, ever go to Los Angeles, which is why it’s nice that Microsoft will be giving you a convenient way to avoid that by streaming its E3 press conference through Xbox Live this year.

Microsoft’s press conference takes place on Monday, June 4, and should kick off around 10:00 a.m. PST.

We’ll be there. Probably. I guess.

Microsoft isn’t the first company to offer alternate ways to watch its E3 press conference. Last year, Sony held a live stream of its press conference through Home. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than Los Angeles.

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/microsoft-streaming-e3-press-conference-via-xbl/4127/

Cool, but I'd rather just watch it on G4.

UncleSporky

skeldare wrote: »

Cool, but I'd rather just watch it on G4.

I'd rather hunt for a working stream for ages and get angry when it cuts out every couple of minutes and finally resort to reading liveblogs and people's reactions on forums.

Warlock82

UncleSporky wrote: »

skeldare wrote: »

Cool, but I'd rather just watch it on G4.

I'd rather hunt for a working stream for ages and get angry when it cuts out every couple of minutes and finally resort to reading liveblogs and people's reactions on forums.

Haha yeah. But for serious, we don't even get G4 here so *shrug*

mere_immortal

I've found that Gametrailers is always good for non-Nintendo streams.

Skull2185

UncleSporky wrote: »

skeldare wrote: »

Cool, but I'd rather just watch it on G4.

I'd rather hunt for a working stream for ages and get angry when it cuts out every couple of minutes and finally resort to reading liveblogs and people's reactions on forums.

I just wait till the next day and read all the info you guys go through the trouble of finding out for me. :lol:

mere_immortal

Skull2185 wrote: »

UncleSporky wrote: »

skeldare wrote: »

Cool, but I'd rather just watch it on G4.

I'd rather hunt for a working stream for ages and get angry when it cuts out every couple of minutes and finally resort to reading liveblogs and people's reactions on forums.

I just wait till the next day and read all the info you guys go through the trouble of finding out for me. :lol:

Naaaw PA IRC chats during streams are great.

skeldare

Nintendo does stream their conference online so there's always that. http://e3.nintendo.com

Peewi

Yeah, I don't remember what I've used for the other conferences, but Nintendo's own stream has worked well the past two years.

mere_immortal

Don't Nintendo usually have some pre-filmed stuff with Iwata and Miyamoto afterwards too?

Brainiac 8

I usually watch Nintendo's stream...works like a charm. Normally they have some fun pre-conference interviews and stuff they do. It's usually pretty entertaining.

Couscous

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/169833/With_the_App_Store_flooded_is_partnering_with_a_publisher_becoming_necessary.php

With the App Store flooded, is partnering with a publisher becoming necessary?

Digital distribution has brought a huge change to the game industry in recent years, enabling developers to distribute games freely without having to rely on a traditional publisher cutting into the profits. But that unlimited virtual "shelf space" comes at a cost: namely, it's getting harder to stand out amongst the crowd.

Trip Hawkins, the shrewd businessman who founded video game publishing giant Electronic Arts way back in 1982, believes that this flood of products is making the idea of a traditional publishing relationship necessary for developers once again, for better or for worse.

"When Apple launched the iPhone, when Facebook launched their app API, when Android and Google Plus followed suit, you started to see all these offers where 'Hey, if you're a developer, just come to me. You don't need a publisher,'" he points out in an interview with BigWorld Technology.

"I think that honeymoon is ending now because if you have a million apps in an app store, just because your app is in an app store, it doesn't mean it's going to be discovered," says Hawkins, whose current venture, Digital Chocolate, is a mobile app publisher. "So you've got issues about how you're going to bring traffic to it."

Independent developer Spry Fox faced that problem with attracting players to the Facebook version of its critically acclaimed social puzzle game Triple Town earlier this year, so it agreed to have Disney/Playdom take over publishing for the title, promote it, and handle its scaling issues.

Hawkins also questions the 30 percent cut that platform holders like Apple and Facebook take from game revenues, as he doesn't believe the companies are providing the same service as physical retailers. He points out that old brick and mortar shops had employees that could tell shoppers more about their products and guide them toward purchases.

"Retailers in the old days not only solved the distribution problem, they solved the discovery problem," he says. "In the very beginning with iPhone, with Android, with Facebook, they also solved the discovery problem because there wasn't much there. As you got up into the thousands and thousands of things that are there, they're no longer solving the discovery problem."

Hawkins continues, "As you got up into the thousands and thousands of things that are there, they're no longer solving the discovery problem. They don't really in fact deserve 30 percent of the value chain anymore. The 30 percent number is kind of arbitrary. ... That number makes no sense whatsoever anymore."

If app stores can't find a way to solve the discovery problem, many developers might not be able to put out a hit mobile or social game without a publisher to market their titles anymore.

"I think for developers increasingly, they're going to have to try to then figure out, 'Well how do I get my discovery problem solved?' If they can't finance it themselves, then maybe they need to partner a publisher that's good at it."

Welcome to the future. It is kind of like hte past but different.

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/169808/Draw_Doritos_Zyngas_Draw_Something_has_players_draw_ads.php

Draw 'Doritos': Zynga's Draw Something has players draw ads

Omgpop and Zynga are exploring a new monetization angle with popular Pictionary-styled mobile game Draw Something, as companies are purchasing in-game terms for players to draw.

The National Hockey League is one of the first advertisers to join the new ad initiative, as it has bought terms that are related to hockey and its brands, reports Ad Age.

Draw Something has players choose one of three different terms to draw. Friends on Facebook and mobile try to win points by guessing correctly the term the drawer picked. As part of the NHL deal, for example, players will be given the option to draw such terms as "puck," "Zamboni" and "slap shot."

Dan Porter, head of New York-based Draw Something developer Omgpop, said the company tested brands such as Nike, KFC and Doritos in the game. "People loved to draw the Colonel and bags of Doritos," he said.

Since social giant Zynga bought Omgpop in March for $180 million, the popularity of Draw Something has slowed down, although it still hovers near the top of Facebook and mobile charts week after week.

...

AZChristopher

AZChristopher wrote: »

We have posted and discussed comments made regarding Free Radical and LucasArts previously. So below is a link to a whole lot more information

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-04-free-radical-vs-the-monsters

Interesting read so go there if you want to know more, or just want more ammo for the publishers are evil topics.

Meanwhile, Second Sight had finally entered full production. The project had changed hands from Eidos to Activision, and Free Radical were about to taste business Bobby Kotick style. "We got some way through it with Activision," says Ellis. "Then they had a day in November 2003 where they made big changes. They decided they didn't like UK development anymore, they didn't like external development anymore, and they didn't like developer-owned IP anymore. Bad for us, because we ticked every box! On that day I think they canned ten projects and in the process put some companies out of business."

"It was a troubled development," says Doak. "Because that's when we found out how Activision worked. Bobby Kotick really loves developers! He wouldn't even speak to us, and we never spoke to him. He's quite happy to have some people put us out of business, but only does calls with investors. That was like the night of the long knives. We stood up to Activision, we had good legal counsel and they told us the right things to say. It looked like it was going to put us under for a bit, but didn't."

Zephiran

Did we post this already? If not, I think it might be prudent since we've got some patent talk already on the page...



That right there are the supposed innards of the Wii U, as they have been presented to the US patent office. Do note that the illustration is obviously not to scale, as patent illustrations tend to be.

Courtesy of the 'Gaf WUST.

Couscous

Second Sight was released in August 2004, and its final form eschewed Ian Livingstone's demons in favour of a unique combination of stealth action and psychic powers. "It was unfortunately timed," says Doak. "I mean what are the chances of people making two Asteroids Hit the Earth movies in one year? Must be a million to one! But there you are. And Psi-Ops came out at around the same time, and that blew our US sales out of the water. You could do more violent things in it like explode people's heads." The sales were far from stellar.

"In retrospect, what happened after TimeSplitters 2 was that EA saw the Metacritic and came to us," says Ellis. "I don't actually think they'd looked at the game very much." The publisher demanded Future Perfect have a strong lead character in order that it appeal to the US market. "EA turned up with this stuff that was supposed to help us," says Doak. "And it was just big boards with pictures of Vin Diesel on them. Wesley Snipes was on one in his Blade outfit." Future Perfect ended up with Cortez, a cowardly and dumb marine whose catchphrase falls flat every time: "It's time to split!"

Future Perfect had the longest development of any TimeSplitters game, and there was a sting in the tail. "We had quite a frank conversation with EA," says Ellis. "Where they told us they weren't going to bother trying to market it very much. Because at the time they had their GoldenEye game [GoldenEye: Rogue Agent], and they said that for every dollar they spent on marketing that game they would get more dollars back. It didn't match up with their original promises."

"Throughout the development of Future Perfect we had EA people all the time coming to us saying 'yeah your game's alright, but not as good as this GoldenEye we're making.'" says Doak. "Continuously! 'Yeah I saw GoldenEye, it's awesome, you Brits had better raise your game!' And we asked to see it. 'No, no, you can't see it'. We killed ourselves getting Future Perfect done, only to find that they had made a total balls of GoldenEye to the extent they had to throw more money at it to market it, the money that they might have spent on Future Perfect. I mean, it's like fiction that it's a GoldenEye game, isn't it? I don't think the irony of what they were doing ever occurred to EA."

HAHAHA. Those poor bastards.

SwashbucklerXX

Zephiran wrote: »

Did we post this already? If not, I think it might be prudent since we've got some patent talk already on the page...



That right there are the supposed innards of the Wii U, as they have been presented to the US patent office. Do note that the illustration is obviously not to scale, as patent illustrations tend to be.

Courtesy of the 'Gaf WUST.

Aww, but I wanted Cheerio-size game CDs!

Warlock82

SwashbucklerXX wrote: »

Zephiran wrote: »

Did we post this already? If not, I think it might be prudent since we've got some patent talk already on the page...



That right there are the supposed innards of the Wii U, as they have been presented to the US patent office. Do note that the illustration is obviously not to scale, as patent illustrations tend to be.

Courtesy of the 'Gaf WUST.

Aww, but I wanted Cheerio-size game CDs!

I'm disappointed that everything is generically labeled Was hoping for some specs

ArcSyn

SwashbucklerXX wrote: »

Zephiran wrote: »

Did we post this already? If not, I think it might be prudent since we've got some patent talk already on the page...



That right there are the supposed innards of the Wii U, as they have been presented to the US patent office. Do note that the illustration is obviously not to scale, as patent illustrations tend to be.

Courtesy of the 'Gaf WUST.

Aww, but I wanted Cheerio-size game CDs!

Pretend there's a picture/vid of K holding the tiny CD from MIB saying he has to buy the White album again.

Nintendo's tried the small disc thing, and I think they ended up finding out it was better to just go full size since they did that with the Wii instead of continuing with that. I want to know if they're going with DVD or Bluray. Has that been confirmed?

skeldare

ArcSyn wrote: »

SwashbucklerXX wrote: »

Zephiran wrote: »

Did we post this already? If not, I think it might be prudent since we've got some patent talk already on the page...



That right there are the supposed innards of the Wii U, as they have been presented to the US patent office. Do note that the illustration is obviously not to scale, as patent illustrations tend to be.

Courtesy of the 'Gaf WUST.

Aww, but I wanted Cheerio-size game CDs!

Pretend there's a picture/vid of K holding the tiny CD from MIB saying he has to buy the White album again.

Nintendo's tried the small disc thing, and I think they ended up finding out it was better to just go full size since they did that with the Wii instead of continuing with that. I want to know if they're going with DVD or Bluray. Has that been confirmed?

They'll go the same route they went with the Wii I'm sure. Propriatary format.