Tuesday, October 17, 2006 

GameTap Launches 'GameTap Original' Label

GameTap Launches 'GameTap Original' Label

GameTap Launches 'GameTap Original' LabelTurner Broadcasting System has announced that it has formed a new label for its GameTap subscription PC 'all you can eat' gaming service, which currently offers over 700 licensed video games for download and play on demand. The new label, "GameTap Original", will represent a continuation of existing licensing agreements, as well as see new partnerships formed with additional independent developers and publishers to bring more original titles to the service.

According to GameTap representatives, the goal of the new label is to “identify talented creators and enable them to take a new approach to games by providing a publishing infrastructure where sell-through isn't the sole metric for success.” In addition, representatives note that they are currently working with multiple developers, and have also opened up the submission process to game designers interested in bringing their projects to the service.

Sam & Max: Episode 1, which launches today exclusively on GameTap, as well as the upcoming Myst Online: Uru Live, are two examples of franchises that GameTap has co-published and helped bring back to life. While nothing specific was announced regarding upcoming franchises set to debut as part of the new GameTap Original label, representatives did note that it will be used to identify soon to be announced episodic games based on renowned TV and film franchises.

Finally, supporting its new GameTap Original label, GameTap will be the premiere sponsor of the 9th Annual Independent Games Festival, held in conjunction with the 2007 Game Developers Conference to celebrate the innovation and creativity of independent game developers.

"Gaming is a creative industry by nature, and GameTap is committed to supporting innovation on the PC platform," said Ricardo Sanchez, GameTap's vice president of content. "Video games are also becoming increasingly more expensive to develop, which is a hindrance to the pure creativity of the industry. GameTap Original will break down some of that barrier."

POSTED: 09.00AM PST, 10/17/06 - Jason Dobson - LINK

 

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Posted by VUG at 8:53 PM

 

PS3 downloadable games revealed?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25066669&sid=6159930&tag=latestnews;title;1

 

PS3 downloadable games revealed?

 

Source: A posting packed with screenshots and game details on the PS3forums message boards.

 

The official story: Sony did not return a request for comment as of press time.

 

What we heard: This week Sony is holding a Gamers Day, a press-only event that gives the company a chance to show off its upcoming games, and make a few announcements. This Gamers Day is a little more anticipated than most, given that it comes less than a month before Sony the PlayStation 3's November 17 launch in North America, and is expected to answer a number of questions surrounding the machine.

One of those questions is "What games is Sony planning for its digital distribution service?" The answer to that may have leaked out a little early, as a poster on PS3forums by the name of "Elder " appears to have preemptively dumped a slew of Sony screenshots and game details onto the Web.

 

While Elder's post has new pictures of Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, Full Auto 2: Battlelines, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the real attraction is the list of "e-Distribution" games. From Sony, there's Blast Factor, Lemmings 2, Go Sudoku, Swizzleblocks, Criminal Crackdown, and the previously announced flOw.

 

At first glance, Blast Factor appears to be a shooter in the mold of the Xbox Live Arcade games Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved or Mutant Storm. However, the details promise "integral use" of the motion-sensitive Sixaxis controller, noting, "By tilting left and right, gamers can push enemies around the play field, but need to be careful as some might enemies not react as expected."

While the other new games on that list aren't detailed, some information can be gleaned from the screenshots. Go Sudoku is a flashy version of the puzzle phenomenon that includes a multiplayer mode supporting at least four players. Lemmings 2 appears not to be a port of the early '90s PC and console follow-up to the classic puzzle game, but instead an original game with a visual sheen more akin to the Worms series of games.

 

Finally, Swizzleblocks is a grid-based block puzzle game with a multiplayer mode, and Criminal Crackdown is a complete mystery, with the only information posted being a cartoon drawing of a criminal crook fleeing the police with a bag of money in one hand and the Mona Lisa in the other.

 

While the third-party games lined up for PS3 e-Distribution weren't detailed or shown in screens, they were named. There's the TV game show Wheel of Fortune, a PS3 version of the PlayStation Portable racer hybrid Gripshift, and Crash Carnage Ciaos, which is either a typo that should read "Crash Carnage Chaos," or perhaps something combining mass destruction and Italian greetings.

The sheer volume of assets in that thread, the number of new screens for existing games, and the fact that Sony has a press event scheduled for this week (always a prime time for leaks) is convincing enough to buy into this one.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus.

 

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Posted by VUG at 8:41 PM

Monday, October 16, 2006 

Sony looks to challenge XBOX Live

PlayStation 3 Online Previewed
Marcus Yam - October 16, 2006 10:01 AM

Sony looks to challenge XBOX Live

The Sony Computer Entertainment Europe tour continues as Eurogamer chimes in with a report specifically detailing the PlayStation 3's online system. The article mainly goes over the similarities and differences between Sony and Microsoft's approach to online gaming, pointing out the weakness in PS2 online, and comparing PS3's planned system to XBOX Live. One such area of difference is how transactions will take place:

Unlike Nintendo and Microsoft's offerings, Sony doesn't hide the price of items behind an arbitrary "points" scheme - instead, everything simply lists a price in your local currency, so European types will see a Euro price, British people will see prices in Pounds Sterling, and so on. The Wallet, then, is basically your transaction centre - you put money into the Wallet, and then spend it in the store. Equally, you can set it up so that if you have associated accounts, for children for example, you can put a certain amount into their Wallets each month, giving them an allowance for how much can be spent on new content. Crucially, the Wallet is used for everything on the system - even for MMOG subscriptions to third parties. If it's on the PlayStation Network, you pay for it via Sony and the transaction with the third party is worked out elsewhere - so you're not expected to give credit card details out willy-nilly to everyone with content or services on the PS3.

Sony may see micro-transactions to be a big source of revenue from its online service. If reports are correct, games such as Gran Turismo HD will require users to purchase cars and courses for use exclusively online. Outside of games, Sony has its own record labels and motion picture productions, which would naturally lend themselves well to downloadable music and movies.

For more PlayStation 3 previews from across the pond, check out the ones from PSM3 and IGN UK.

 

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Posted by VUG at 9:54 PM

Friday, October 13, 2006 

Activision Signs Up for Steam



Valve's steam portfolio grows bigger...

Activision and Valve today announced that the two companies have come to an agreement that will see four Activision titles distributed on Valve's broadband digital distribution platform.

The four titles mentioned in the deal include Call of Duty 2, Gun, Call of Duty and Call of Duty United Offensive. An exact timeframe for when they will hit Steam was not stated.

"Activision has been a player on every major gaming platform dating back to the Atari 2600," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "We're delighted to welcome them to Steam, and offer this legendary company's products."

"Our agreement with Steam enhances our current online distribution model by allowing us to bring our games to the broadest possible audience," said Dave Anderson, Activision's Senior Director of Business Development. "As broadband penetration continues to grow worldwide, offering our titles digitally to the millions of gamers connected through Steam makes sense to us."

It's not clear if further Activision games beyond those four will also come to Steam, but if sales are successful, it would seem likely that Activision and Valve would continue the partnership.

 

 

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Posted by VUG at 5:27 PM

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 

Confirmed: PlayStation 3 Gets Xfire Middleware

October 11, 2006

Confirmed: PlayStation 3 Gets Xfire MiddlewareRepresentatives from online gaming platform and community developer Xfire, Inc, have announced that it has partnered with Sony's PlayStation 3 Tools and Middleware Development and License Agreement to bring its ad-supported friend tracking and multiplayer communication services to select PS3 titles.

Using the to-be-developed Xfire SDK, PS3 developers can use the service to, for example, allow the service's existing 5 million PC users to see when their friends are playing Xfire-supported PS3 games, in much the same manner as Microsoft's current Xbox Live service. However, each company will need to reach an agreement with Xfire to do so - it is not a universal PlayStation 3 service, but it supported on a game by game basis.

Xfire has also announced that the first such game to integrate the service is Sony Online Entertainment's Untold Legends Dark Kingdom. Using Xfire technology, gamers will be able to track Dark Kingdom players, as well as chat with players on either a PC or a PlayStation 3.

By connecting their PlayStation 3 to the internet, Dark Kingdom players will be able to log in to Xfire from the front end of Dark Kingdom, which will act as a notifier to send messages when friends have logged into the service, as well as allow in-game chat during gameplay, regardless if the friend is on a PS3 or PC.

The news follows earlier reports claiming Xfire was to be a completely separate service from those offered by Sony itself through its PlayStation Network Platform, and would be used in Untold Legends alone. While the service is still separate from Sony's own, with this announcement, any other developer wishing to integrate Xfire can do so.

POSTED: 06.28AM PST, 10/11/06 - Brandon

 

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Posted by VUG at 1:52 PM

 

Over Half of 'Active Gamers' Online

Over Half of 'Active Gamers' Online

OCTOBER 11, 2006

Go, guy! You, too, girl!

Video game players are overwhelmingly young teenage boys, solitary nerds, hunkered down over their joysticks, locked away in dark rooms far from the real world. Right?

Not according to "The Active Gamer 2006 Report" released by Nielsen//NetRatings.

Confounding the stereotypes, the report shows that among the 117 million active gamers in the US (defined as consumers over the age of 13 who play games at least one hour a week), not only are the social elements of video games increasingly important, with more than half of them (56%) playing online, but also 64% of all online gamers are women.

Playing together — with girls — it is a whole new gaming world out there.

Led by teenagers who are socially involved in game playing about seven hours a week, the study found that most gamers now spend upward of five hours a week playing games socially.

And, even though men still outnumber women in the overall video game universe by more than two to one, women now make up nearly two-thirds of all online gamers.

In addition, the research found that although teenagers account for the largest percentage (40%) of active gamers, more than 15 million of them (13%) are now 45 years or older.

"The expansion of next generation hardware and technology in the marketplace is simultaneously delivering new ecosystems of social exchange, interactive entertainment, media experiences and advertising models," said Emily Della Maggiora of Nielsen. "We see how important online gaming is in terms of connecting people and bringing communities of gamers together. [It] has the power to unite gamers across the street and/or around the world."

During the past six months, on average active gamers purchased four games. Of those, 90% were bought in retail stores, with the remaining 10% purchased online.

On average, active gamers spend 47 hours playing each individual game they purchase. They spend an average of $16 a month on video games, and usually spend about a quarter of their weekly leisure time (13 out of 55.3 hours) playing video games.

 

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Posted by VUG at 9:47 AM