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Thief 4 rumors reignited by Eidos Montreal teaser

Source: The official Web site of two-year-old developer Eidos Montreal.

When Eidos Montreal announced that it was working on Deus Ex 3 in November 2007, many fans of the thought-dead sci-fi series rejoiced. Five months later, the same studio sparked rumors that it was working on a new version of Thief, another classic franchise created by now-defunct Looking Glass Studios and continued by the later-closed Ion Storm.

Now, one year after Eidos Montreal declared that its "AAA project" would begin with the letter "T," the soon-to-be-Japanese-owned British publisher's French-Canadian shop has posted a new teaser banner for the game. On the lower-left of its official site, the studio posted a small black-and-white notice that promises "Eidos Montreal's second project to be revealed soon."

Though no further details--such as a date--are available, the info vacuum was filled by a theory reminscent of The Onion column Fontly Speaking. One diehard fan on the dieharder Through the Looking Glass forums noticed that the font used in the teaser banner (center) is very similar to that used in previous Thief games (bottom).

That's old news, read it months ago.. I saw the title and I got all happy, hoping to see a trailer or something.
Now you ruined my day.

Thief 4 rumors reignited by Eidos Montreal teaser

just become a bit more solid you know, should expect an official

Microsoft's Xbox 360 division loses $31 million


Just as the stock market fluctuates constantly in the weak economy, so too do companies find their financial fates wavering. Today Microsoft provided the latest evidence of this, releasing mixed results for its second fiscal quarter.

1.7 million sold from January through March.

For the three months ended March 31, 2009, the software giant announced that company-wide revenues dipped 6 percent year-over-year to $13.65 billion, while operating income was actually up 3 percent to $4.44 billion.

The news was similarly scattered for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division, which includes the Xbox 360 business. Total revenues for the gaming segment were down less than 2 percent to $1.57 billion, and where the division posted an operating profit of $106 million during last year's second quarter, this year it ran a $31 million loss.

On the positive side, Xbox 360 sales picked up considerable momentum. Microsoft's console sold 1.7 million systems during the quarter, up nearly 30 percent from the same period last year. Microsoft also touted improving attach rates of games and accessories for the system, saying the average owner has 8.3 Xbox 360 games and 3.9 accessories, up from 7.5 games and 3.6 accessories at this time in 2008.

In a post-earnings conference call, Microsoft chief financial officer Chris Liddell said that he was pleased with the company's relative performance in what he called the "most difficult economic environment" the company has ever faced. Liddell specifically called out Xbox 360 hardware sales as one of Microsoft's bright spots for the quarter but cautioned investors that the company expects economic recovery to be slow and gradual, lasting at least through the next quarter and possibly the calendar year.

During the call, chief accounting officer Frank Brod also updated investors on the company's Xbox business. For the fiscal year-to-date (since July 1, 2008), Brod said Microsoft had sold 10 million Xbox 360s worldwide, 15 percent more than it managed over its entire previous fiscal year.

Those bastards and their accessories

Sony unveiling motion-sensing PS3 controller at E3?

Source: Variety, staple of the showbiz press.

Less than 48 hours after a geyser of speculation erupted about a new PSP reveal at next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo, the Sony rumor volcano is rumbling once again. This time, Variety's game blog, The Cut Scene, is citing "several sources" as saying that Sony will unveil a new motion-sensing controller at its E3 press event on Tuesday, June 2.

Though not the first report of a new Sony motion-sensing controller--Sony filed a series of patents for such technology last fall--the Variety article appears to be one of the first to boast a detailed description from a developer who has seen the device firsthand.

"A good source saw a working prototype several months ago that largely fit what was in the patent. Sony's controller apparently used LEDs (light emitting diodes, essentially little electric light sources) and a small webcam to track the device's movements," reports Cut Scene correspondent Ben Fritz. "Because the camera can read different color lights and the shape and angle of each light, it's much more accurate than the Wii-mote. It can track precise movements, including along the Z axis (pushing toward and away from the TV; something the Wii is really bad at) as well as velocity."

Fritz's source's description jibes with the form factor shown in the patent: a controller that can be broken apart into two halves topped with bulbous sensor arrays. The unnamed developer is also apparently one of a number of game creators who are being asked to work on games specifically designed for the still-unnamed controller.

The official story: "More rumors, so we don't [comment]."--Sony Computer Entertainment America rep.

Bogus or not bogus?: Last year's patents prove that Sony is working on some kind of new camera-assisted motion-sensing tech. (The Sixaxis certainly didn't do the trick.) Fritz's detailed account also indicates that the device is likely already in developers' hands.

However, even if Sony is currently planning to unveil the device at E3, that's no guarantee that it will actually be unveiled there. Not even the Big Three console makers are immune from last-minute changes, as evidenced by Microsoft's abrupt removal of the Halo 3: ODST reveal from its E3 press event last year. Gamers won't have to wait long to find out, though; the expo will kick off in Los Angeles one month from today.

I cant wait until E3 this year

Me neither. I'm craving for more information regarding Assassin's Creed II, Thief IV and Max Payne 3.

Me too. I want to hear about DC Universe Online.

Duke Nukem Forever footage, screens surface

Last week saw the 12-year Duke Nukem Forever saga come to an ignominious end when 3D Realms shut down. Though still not officially responding to press inquires, the Texas-based developer did post an official farewell over the weekend along with a group shot of its soon-to-be-former employees.

"Goodbye. Thanks for being fans and for all your support," read the brief message from webmaster Joe Siegler, who first confirmed the studio's closure last Tuesday.

The accompanying photo showed that at the time of its closure, 3D Realms employed around three dozen people. Those included several artists who have posted art assets from the game on their personal Web sites in an effort to find new jobs. Shacknews spotted DNF assets on the blogs of artists showcasing alien opponents and desert locales from the game. However, all four former 3D Realms employees had either pulled the art assets or restricted access to their blogs as of press time.

Another former 3D Realms employee also posted a highlight reel showing about three minutes of animation and gameplay footage from Duke Nukem Forever. Besides containing brief nudity and foul language, the trailer shows Mr. Nukem battling several enemies, ranging from pig-faced brutes to the tentacled alien shown above. Several boss battles are also shown, including one in a sports stadium where players must pelt a hulking armored beast with missiles to knock it down and then pry off its antennae to disable it.

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6209516.htm ... es;title;2

Big in Japan May 11-17: Bleach PSP heats up sales charts

After seeing recent games like Monster Hunter G on Wii and Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon easily sell in the six-figure range for their debut weeks, the Japanese game market hit a mid-May rough patch. For the week of May 11-17, the best-selling game on Media Create's Japanese sales charts was the PSP anime fighter Bleach: Heat the Soul 6, which garnered a respectable 41,600 copies.

However, after Bleach, the drop-off in sales was fairly precipitous. Another new PSP release, a 10th anniversary remake of the PlayStation role-playing game Growlanser, came in second with sales of 23,000. Other new releases did not fare so well, with Konami's Winning Eleven Playmaker 2009 for the Wii (Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 in some markets) netting sales of 14,200, and Tecmo's video gambling title Rakushou Pachisuro Sengen 6 Rio 2 Cruising Vanadise (PS2) rounding out the top 10 with 9,100 sold.

In terms of older games, Nintendo's evergreen strategy is apparently paying off in Japan as well as the US. Wii Fit (released in late 2007 in Japan) managed to sell 10,700 copies, while February's Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!! racked up sales of 10,000. The DS maker also found continued success with the aforementioned Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon (15,600 sold) and WarioWare Myself (15,200).

Nintendo's success wasn't limited to software. The DSi topped a soft week for hardware sales with 34,200 sold, while the Wii was the best-selling console of the week with consumers picking up 15,100 systems. Sony was a close second in both races, with the PSP moving 28,700 units for the week, and the PlayStation 3 selling through 11,600. It was a particularly rough week for Microsoft, as the Xbox 360's sales of just 3,200 systems fell behind both the DS Lite (4,900) and the PlayStation 2 (4,020).

Week of May 11-17, 2009
Software:
1) Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 (PSP) - 41,600
2) Growlanser (PSP) - 23,000
3) Dragon Ball Kai: Saiyajin Raishuu (DS) - 20,300
4) Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon (DS) - 15,600
5) WarioWare Myself (DS) - 15,200
6) Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP) - 15,200
7) Winning Eleven Playmaker 2009 (Wii) - 14,200
Wii Fit (Wii) - 10,700
9) Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!! (DS) - 10,000
10) Rakushou Pachisuro Sengen 6 Rio 2 Cruising Vanadise (PS2) - 9,100

Hardware:
DSi 34,200
PSP 28,700
Wii 15,100
PS3 11,600
DS Lite 4,900
PS2 4,020
Xbox 360 3,200

Lmao PS2 had more sales than xbox 360.

Well it is Japan.

^Yep. lol 360 in japan.

Funny shit is that PSP and DS(i) are only better in sales because of newer colors every month lol. In Japan you must own all colors.

New Kojima/Konami teaser reveals 'Mask'


After torturing Metal Gear Solid fans for weeks with cryptic hints and countdowns, yet another mysterious site surfaces. Is this the long-awaited Snatcher remake?



So far, Konami's publicity department has had a pretty sadistic 2009. After famed designer Hideo Kojima teased "the next MGS" at the end of his 2009 Game Developers Conference keynote address, his publisher partner rolled out a drip-teaser campaign that has bordered on torturous. After teasing a big Kojima Productions announcement as coming May 18, Konami launched a teaser page bearing a countdown timer that ended three days later with...another countdown timer. This was followed five days later with one more countdown timer, accompanied by an image of MGS series character Big Boss, which is set to expire at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 31--the day before the Electronic Entertainment Expo press events kick off.


Invasion of the E3 Snatchers?


Now the teaser site has changed again, revealing yet another teaser site for what might be an all-new IP. Sometime this week, the Kojima Productions logo in the lower right-hand side of the page was obscured by what looks like a ghostly face. The face also links to the URL www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/mask/, which yields a black page with the Konami and Kojima logos in the top two corners. The center of the page is filled with a metallic mask of a feminine face reminiscent of the classic silent film Metropolis, with a second face in the motif on the mask's forehead.

Though the information in the HTML only says "KOJIMA PRODUCTION 'Mask,'" there is no shortage of theories about what the teaser site is for. Besides the obvious prospect of an all-new IP, the most common hypothesis is that the game being teased is a reboot of Snatcher, the Kojima-designed digital-comic adventure released on various platforms in the late '80s and early '90s. The game's main antagonists are a race of "bioroids"--artificial biomechanical beings like the characters in the anime Ghost in the Shell--leading to speculation that the mask on the page may belong to one.

Another reason to suspect that the mask page is for Snatcher is that Kojima himself has said he is working on a remake. In a 2007 interview with Famitsu spotted by gaming blog Joystiq, Grasshopper Manufacture chief Goichi Suda confirmed that his long-germinating collaboration with Kojima, "Project S," was indeed based on both Snatcher and a radio drama inspired by it. "I think I will call it 'Snatchers.' I can't talk about the details of the story at this point," he reportedly told the Japanese gaming magazine.

E3 2009 Day One Wrap-Up

The first day of E3 2009 started out with the Nintendo and Sony press conferences where a variety of announcements were made.

And if you missed seeing any of the press conferences live, be sure to catch up with our video archives!

Press Conferences

Microsoft E3 2009 Press Conference
Nintendo E3 2009 Press Conference
Sony E3 2009 Press Conference

[color=greenAnalysts give high marks to E3 2009[/color]

E3 2009: Industry prognosticators weigh in on motion-sensing cameras, big hits (and misses), and a return to form for the expo.

While the last day of the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo has yet to wrap, a handful of analysts have already weighed in on the big event from top to bottom. Electronic Entertainment Design and Research analyst Jesse Divnich and Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter answered GameSpot's questions on the show. As expected, the big three press conferences were a particular point of interest.

"I don't think any one of them can be declared a winner," Divnich said. "Each conference had its own highlights and some disappointments. In terms of games, I have to give it to Sony with God of War, MAG, Uncharted... I think MAG is going to be huge."

While Divnich was positive across the board on the big three conferences, Pachter expressed some reservations. He called Nintendo's presentation disappointing, particularly because the company chose to save news of a new Zelda game on the Wii for Shigeru Miyamoto's Tuesday-night roundtable. As for Microsoft, Pachter thought the Project Natal motion-sensing camera demo was cool, but he expects its real value to extend beyond gaming.

"The ultimate vision is that the camera will allow a user to interact with the XBL dashboard, sorting and selecting Netflix movies, accessing Facebook, and so on," Pachter said. "It has limited potential as a controller, because most games won't work well with motion control. However, in order to get everyone to buy one, Microsoft has to get enough games made to justify the purchase. I think that they are being very deliberate about this, and don't expect a launch until there are 30 or so such games available. Ask me then what I think, as I'm sure that my opinion will change."

Divnich agreed that Natal was interesting, much like the new PlayStation 3 motion-sensing controller, but he said both Sony and Microsoft may have tipped their hands too early.

"I don't expect [Natal] until Christmas 2010, so why tease the gamer now," Divnich asked. "We have to wait a year and a half to see this thing in action. I think it was a mistake on MS's part. Announce it or something, but now core gamers are excited about it and want to see more, but we won't."

Did we meet Milo too soon?

As for the digital-distribution-only PSP Go, Pachter called it "the future," saying it should do wonders to combat handheld piracy. Divnich also thought of the system as emblematic of the future, so much so that he said its success in the present could be irrelevant.

"Whether or not the PSP Go is going to be successful really doesn't matter," Divnich said. "It's just the fact that they're bringing that technology here. What they're doing is acting as permission givers for others to do the same."

On the third-party front, both Pachter and Divnich singled out Ubisoft and Avatar as particularly buzz-worthy. The former analyst labeled the French publisher as the "biggest winner relative to its size," noting a lineup stocked with Splinter Cell: Conviction, Assassin's Creed 2, and James Cameron's Avatar. Divnich was also taken with that last title.

"You have to see Avatar," Divnich said. "You go in with a preconceived notion and it blows you away. It completely blows you away."

Finally, the two analysts were in agreement again in regard to E3 2009 itself. When asked if the organizing Entertainment Software Association finally got it right with the E3 format tweaks, Pachter said they got it "more than right" (emphasis his), and he lauded the "brilliant job" ESA head Michael Gallagher is doing.

"In all honesty, I think this is the perfect E3," Divnich said. "You have the right amount of people, the right amount of vendors, the right amount of energy."

UK adopting PEGI ratings, enforcing age limits


British government endorses existing pan-European system, criminalises underage sale of games rated 18+, 16+, and 12+; Video Standards Council can now ban games in UK.

One of the main outcomes of the Byron Report last year was something of an unseemly spat between the British Board of Film Classification and the UK game trade body, ELSPA, which had been lobbying strongly for the current publisher-led pan-European standard, PEGI.

In the House of Commons today, recently appointed Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw announced that PEGI would form the basis of a new rating system in the UK. He also confirmed that under the new system, PEGI ratings would be strengthened with new statutory requirements for those who sell games. The move will make it illegal for games to be sold to those under the stated age rating, as is currently the case with all films and the small number of games rated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

Previously, the BBFC would mainly rate ultraviolent games that warranted an 18 rating (18 years and older), most infamously Manhunt 2, though it did occasionally rate games 15 (15 years and over). The new system would extend similar criminal penalties for underage sale to PEGI's three highest ratings: 12+ (12 years and over), 16+ (16 years and over), and 18+ (18 years and over). The two lowest PEGI ratings, 3+ and 7+, will not carry the same criminal penalty.

Explaining the decision in today's Digital Britain report, the government said, "We have selected the Enhanced PEGI system, as it combines the best of a pan-European self regulatory system designed specifically for video games with a strong UK based statutory regulator taking account of the views of the UK public. It will give consumers a single set of clear logos for video games that will apply across most of Europe, providing an international solution for game content regulation. It has the flexibility required to adapt to the challenge of rapidly-evolving technology in the games sector and will be highly effective in the online world."



The statutory weight for PEGI ratings will be supplied by the Video Standards Council, which will "be responsible for ensuring that games comply with PEGI standards before providing licences for them to be sold in the UK." Video Standards Council president Baroness Shephard welcomed the decision, saying, "By making PEGI legally enforceable in the UK, the government has shown that it is determined to protect children, help parents make informed decisions and deliver consistency in games rating."

The VSC is also to get the power to ban games outright in the UK, should it be deemed necessary, following the introduction of legislation in Parliament later in the year. "VSC will exercise this new power independently of the PEGI system, providing a 'fail-safe' for the UK--protecting children through PEGI and addressing UK-specific sensibilities by refusing classification of any game which falls foul of the Video Recordings Act," according to the Baroness.

Speaking to GameSpot, game industry law expert Vincent Scheurer of Sarassin LLP said, "This is great news for the video games industry. If the video games industry is to be treated as a mature creative industry in its own right, it cannot be subject to censorship by a film industry body. However, if PEGI is now going to acquire the right to ban video games, we need to ensure that PEGI’s systems are fair and transparent, and that PEGI does not repeat the mistakes which the BBFC made in relation to Manhunt 2."

The news was welcomed by many others across the industry, with Microsoft and Nintendo joining Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sega, and others in issuing statements in support of the new PEGI-based system. Michael Rawlinson, ELSPA's director general, echoed their support, saying, "Today’s decision will ensure that games ratings stay relevant and adapt to the changing nature of videogames for many years to come. Retailers will now have clear, legal backing to help them prevent access to unsuitable content by children."

The BBFC, however, was less fulsome in its praise of the decision: "The BBFC has always supported PEGI and wished it well, but it continues to believe that it satisfies these requirements better than PEGI. However, it will cooperate fully in the detailed work needed to give effect to the Government’s decision. And it must be independent in substance as well as appearance, reaching its decisions and providing information on the basis of its own detailed assessments."

Im turning 17 soon

In NA the games are rated E, T, M
E= Everybody
T= Teens (13+?)
M= Mature (17+)

We have all kinds of ratings on the games here, but nobody gives a damn if you buy Manhunt at 12, as long as you pay lol.

Mortal Kombat film producer sues Midway

Larry Kasanoff asks bankruptcy court to affirm his company's rights to fighting franchise, claims copyright on dozens of series' most famous characters.

With Midway in bankruptcy court, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has made a $33 million offer to acquire most of the company, its flagship Mortal Kombat franchise included. However, certain rights related to the ultraviolent fighting series aren't Midway's to sell, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday against the publisher.

As reported by Game Politics, the suit was filed by Threshold Entertainment, the production company of Hollywood producer Larry Kasanoff. The producer alleges that he signed an agreement with Midway in 1993 that gave him a perpetual and exclusive license to make films and TV shows based on Mortal Kombat, and the suit was filed to ensure those rights aren't unduly transferred to another party in the course of Midway's bankruptcy proceeding.

While Kasanoff's original agreement with Midway does not articulate those rights in that wording, the producer claims that the combination of rights it did state explicitly amount to the same thing. The clauses pointed to by the suit are the right "to represent the Property" to develop "a feature film and television series based thereon," and the right "to be attached to such feature film or television series as the producer thereof, and to any sequel thereto."

In the suit, Threshold also contends that its rights to the series run far deeper than simply being able to make MK-based moving pictures.

"The Mortal Kombat franchise, as it stands today, is far more a creation of Threshold and Kasanoff than of Midway," the suit states. "Midway's creative input was almost entirely limited to the videogames. On their own, the videogames provided only minimal back-story and mythology, and only flat, 'stock' characters with virtually no character development. ... Threshold was responsible for transforming each of the pattern or 'stock' characters present in the underlying Mortal Kombat video game from an unprotectable idea into a fully-realized, completely-delineated and independently copyrightable expression. ... Each such character represents a separate, protectable, derivative work for which the copyright is owned by Threshold."

Threshold submitted a list of more than 50 Mortal Kombat characters for which it claimed the copyright, including Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion. In fact, the list included every character to appear in the games through Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (except for MKII boss character Kintaro), and a majority of Mortal Kombat 4's roster as well. The company also claimed to be in the process of making a third feature film in the series, with a script, talent, and shooting locations already in the works for the production.

After the first Mortal Kombat movie (which Kasanoff helped produce) proved to be a financial success--Threshold said the film's worldwide theatrical take was $122 million off a budget of just $25 million--the production company pumped out a number of follow-up projects in quick succession. There was a feature-film sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, the Saturday-morning cartoon Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, the TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, and even a touring stage show.

However, Kasanoff's filmography has not been limited to Mortal Kombat spin-offs. Among his production credits are dozens of films and TV shows, including Strange Days, True Lies, Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College, C.H.U.D. II, and the 1989 Corey Haim-Corey Feldman body-switching teen comedy Dream a Little Dream.

Ohh man Midway is getting it hard in their ass. No one would leave them alone now.. everyone keeps pushing at them.

Don't mean to spoil or anything, but I stumbled upon this trailer for this that included the mask.
Code: Select all

^holy cow the trailer looks like a freaken movie trailer nicely done

BioShock 2 zaps fourth dev house

BioShock 2 is due to hit store shelves on November 3 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, and 2K Marin has had no shortage of help in seeing that happen. Along with tapping original BioShock collaborator 2K Australia for the game's technological component, 2K Games signed on Dark Sector developer Digital Extremes to craft the game's multiplayer component.

Now, BioShock 2 has picked up a fourth developer, as Arkane Studios revealed that it will be lending "design, animation, and art" assistance to the title. Based in Lyon, France, with offices in Austin, Texas, Arkane Studios is perhaps best known for 2002's well-regarded Arx Fatalis. Arkane also handled the original edition of Ubisoft's Dark Messiah of Might and Magic for the PC, which debuted to a measurably positive reception in 2006.

"Under the direction and leadership of 2K Marin, Arkane is assisting in the creation of levels that embody the aesthetic and gameplay ideals that make BioShock such a unique and exciting experience," commented 2K Marin producer Alyssa Finley on the collaboration. It is unclear when Arkane Studios was added to the project, and 2K Games had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment as of press time.

Holy shit, we're gonna see a lot of those game company screens in the beginning

http://www.destructoid.com/take-two-s-s ... 9666.phtml

Looks like Bioshock 2 is getting a delay, mer.

2010? >_<