Metro dev "was never playing on a level field" – former THQ boss
Jason Rubin, the former president of THQ and co-founder of Naughty Dog, has lauded Metro: Last Light for its technical and creative achievements while drawing attention to the working conditions at Ukraine-based developer 4A Games.
"The budget of Last Light is less than some of its competitors spend on cut scenes, a mere 10 percent of the budget of its biggest competitors," Rubin wrote in a post on GamesIndustry.
"Yet it is lauded for its story and atmosphere. It is built on a completely original and proprietary second-generation engine that competes with sequels that have stopped numbering themselves, with more engineers on their tech than 4A has on the entire project. Yet its tech chops are never in question."
Rubin joked that the only thing 4A was getting too much credit for was the frightening, post-apocalyptic environment of the game. "I've been in Kiev to visit the team, so I know they just stepped outside for reference."
4A's studio in the Ukrainian capital was small and sparsely equipped, according to Rubin. "4A's staff sat on folding wedding chairs, literally elbow to elbow at card tables in what looks more like a packed grade school cafeteria than a development studio," he claimed. The former THQ executive contrasted the working conditions to those enjoyed by Western developers: "The entire 4A studio would fit easily in the (underutilized) gym at EA Los Angeles' offices. Yet Last Light's Metacritic score blows away Medal of Honor Warfighter."
Arkham Origins has its Batman and Joker
Warner Bros. has revealed which actors lend their voices to the leads in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins.
Roger Craig Smith is Batman, while Troy Baker will tackle the Joker.
Smith has previously voiced Assassin's Creed’s Ezio Auditore and Resident Evil’s Chris Redfield.
Kingdoms of Amalur, Demon's Souls, Rayman Legends headline June PlayStation Plus
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Demon’s Souls, and Ico and Shadow of the Colossus HD are all coming to PlayStation Plus, Sony has announced.
Reckoning is a quality RPG that developer 38 Studios attempted to make into an MMO before it rather conspicuously ran out of money.
Demon’s Souls is an excellent and tough action-RPG that serves as a spiritual predecessor to Dark Souls.
Ubisoft had a great financial year thanks to Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed III
Sales of Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed III sent Ubisoft profits soaring in the last financial year, the company has revealed.
Last week the French publisher and developer announced that it shipped 12 million copies of Assassin’s Creed III and six million of Far Cry 3 on its way to sales of €1.256 billion (AU$1.65 billion) and an operating income of €100.3 million (AU$131.73 million).
That meant overall revenue was up 18.3% from the 2012 financial year, and Ubisoft stock rose about 10 per cent as a result.
Assassin's Creed 4 sales forecast lower than AC3
Ubisoft is "conservatively" forecasting sales of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag to be lower than last year's Assassin's Creed III.
The publisher thinks the upcoming game's Golden Age of Piracy theme may be received by a global audience even better than the American Revolution was in Assassin's Creed III, but has set its expectations lower "to be prudent".
Assassin's Creed III is the best-selling title in the series so far, achieving a remarkable 12.5 million units shipped in the financial year ended 31st March 2013.
Bethesda releases new Wolfenstein: The New Order screenshots
Bethesda has released 11 new Wolfenstein: The New Order screenshots.
The game is set in an alternate past where Nazi Germany won World War II. As B.J. Blazkowicz, players must singlehandedly take down this new order.
Wolfenstein is in development at MachineGames, a studio composed of many former members of Starbreeze. It is built on the id tech 5 engine.
Polyphony considering Gran Turismo 6 for PS4
Yesterday, Sony unveiled Gran Turismo 6, and scheduled its release on PlayStation 3 for later this year.
To the disappointment of many fans, Gran Turismo 6 was not confirmed for Sony’s next console, the PlayStation 4, also slated for this holiday season.
Kazunori Yamauchi, head of Gran Turismo development studio Polyphony, has said that a PlayStation 4 version is possible at a later date.
“We actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind,” said Yamauchi at a press conference soon after the game’s announcement. “So for this holiday season, we thought that it would be best for users to release the PlayStation 3 version. I thought the best scenario would be to have the game come out, to have new content and new DLCs every month, and updates coming in for the game; and once players have thoroughly played out the system and played out the game, if the PlayStation 4 version just came out naturally in the progress, I think that's the best scenario.”
Another driving simulator, DriveClub, has previously been announced for PlayStation 4.
Sony announces Gran Turismo 6
Sony and Polyphony have unveiled Gran Turismo 6, and say the game is coming to PlayStation 3 later this year.
The announcement was slightly botched when a press release fired ahead of the scheduled announcement at the Silverstone raceway, one of seven new tracks to feature in the game. Australia’s Mount Panorama track in Bathurst is also rumoured to be on that list.
Gran Turismo 6 will boast a roster of over 1200 cars, 33 locations and 71 layouts.
Hitman: Absolution, Catherine headline this month's PlayStation Plus offerings
Stealth action title Hitman: Absolution and excellent if bizarre puzzle game Catherine headline this month’s PlayStation Plus offerings from Sony.
Also available on the service this month for PlayStation 3 is Malicious, an action title which pits the player against a series of bosses and their subordinates in arena-style battles.
Unique shoot 'em up Sine Mora is the main addition for PlayStation Vita, with
space shooter Velocity Ultra HD available from May 15.
The Wolf Among Us story details, screen emerge
Further story details of Telltale Games’ Fables adaptation have emerged.
The Wolf Among Us will serves as a prequel to the Fables comic book series, and as previously reported, puts players in the role of Bigby Wolf, a man once more infamously known as The Big Bad Wolf.
According to Telltale: “Now the sheriff of a hidden community in New York City, exiled from the land of fairy tales, Bigby is tasked by the bureaucrat Snow White to keep order within a society of mythical creatures and characters trying to remain undetected in the world of the mundane.
Spector slams Wolfenstein announcement
During this morning's Wolfenstein: The New Order announcement, MachineGames creative director Jens Matthies told the world that his team was excited to bring a new chapter of Wolfenstein to gamers everywhere.
“As fans of the series, working on this game is an honour, and our team is driven to create an unforgettable action-adventure experience that will make FPS fans proud,” he said.
However, not everyone shares Matthies' enthusiasm.
Diablo III auction house offline following discovery of gold duplication exploit
Blizzard has taken the Diablo III real money auction house offline after an exploit was discovered that allowed players to duplicate gold.
The bug that allowed the exploit appeared in the game's latest update, and has sent its economy into a tailspin.
The exploit: players that cancelled transactions in the game’s real money auction house found that their gold was being refunded twice.
Wolfenstein: The New Order announced by Bethesda
Another Wolfenstein game will be out by the end of this year, publisher Bethesda Softworks has announced.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is the debut title for MachineGames – an Uppsala, Sweden-based studio comprised of former members of Starbreeze (Riddick, The Darkness, Syndicate), including that studio’s founder Magnus Hogdah.
The New Order's story will take place in alternate reality 1960s Europe, and will once again feature B.J. Blazkowicz fighting supercharged Nazi forces, including massive robots.
Spector apologises to Wolfenstein team: "I wasn't trying to diss you"
Epic Mickey developer Warren Spector has apologised to MachineGames’ Wolfenstein team for publicly questioning whether that game really needed to be made.
“Did we need a generically dark, monochromatic, FPS, kill-the-Nazi-giant-robot game?” he asked yesterday.
“Uh. No. The world did not. I am so tired of stuff like this...”
In another Facebook post today, Spector admitted that singling out Wolfenstein was unfair.
"I wasn't trying to diss you or your game. I have total respect for anyone making a game,” he said.
News Index
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Arkham Origins has its Batman and JokerNEWS Conroy attached in unknown capacity.
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PC, 360, PS3, WiiU
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Kingdoms of Amalur, Demon's Souls, Rayman Legends headline June PlayStation PlusNEWS Best month yet.
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PS3, Vita
|
||
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Ubisoft had a great financial year thanks to Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed IIINEWS Shares up 10 per cent.
|
PC, 360, PS3, WiiU
Action: First-Person
|
||
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Metro developer "was never playing on a level field" – former THQ bossNEWS Compares 4A to the Jamaican Bobsledding team.
|
PC, 360, PS3
Action: First-Person
|
||
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Assassin's Creed 4 sales forecast lower than AC3NEWS Ubisoft "wanted to be prudent."
|
PC, 360, PS3, WiiU
Action: Third-Person
|
||
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Polyphony considering Gran Turismo 6 for PS4NEWS Would launch much later.
|
PS3
|
||
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First Gran Turismo 6 screenshotsNEWS A first look.
|
PS3
|
||
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Sony announces Gran Turismo 6NEWS Coming to PS3 this year.
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PS3
|
||
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Bethesda releases new Wolfenstein: The New Order screenshotsNEWS Alternate past shown.
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PC, 360, PS3, PS4, Durango
|
||
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Hitman: Absolution, Catherine headline this month's PlayStation Plus offeringsNEWS Sine Mora for Vita.
|
PS3, Vita
|
||
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The Wolf Among Us story details, screen emergeNEWS A prequel to the comic books.
|
PC, 360, PS3, Mac
Adventure
|
||
|
Spector apologises to Wolfenstein team: "I wasn't trying to diss you"NEWS Singling out unfair.
|
PC, 360, PS3, PS4, Durango
|
||
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Diablo III auction house offline following discovery of gold duplication exploitNEWS Rollbacks, bans possible.
|
PC, PS3, PS4
RPG: Real Time
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||
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Spector slams Wolfenstein announcementNEWS "I am so tired of stuff like this..."
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PC, 360, PS3, PS4, Durango
|
||
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Wolfenstein: The New Order announced by BethesdaNEWS Fight giant Nazi robots in 1960s Europe.
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PC, 360, PS3, PS4, Durango
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Assassin’s Creed IV will validate annual release schedule – UbisoftNEWS Fresh ideas, different character motivations.
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PC, 360, PS3, WiiU
|
||
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Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon team keen for a sequelNEWS Blood Dragon 2: Dragons go to College.
|
PC, 360, PS3
Action: First-Person
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||
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Sega and Gearbox dismiss Colonial Marines lawsuit as "without merit"NEWS Class action amounts to "frivolous litigation".
|
PC, 360, PS3, WiiU
Action: First-Person
|
||
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Telltale got The Wolf Among Us story right – Fables creatorNEWS "I wish I’d thought of that."
|
PC, 360, PS3, Mac
Adventure
|
||
|
South Park: The Stick of Truth is still coming this yearNEWS Truth will come out eventually.
|
PC, 360, PS3
RPG: Real Time
|
||
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Tiny Tina stars in fourth Borderlands 2 expansionNEWS Out June 25.
|
PC, 360, PS3
RPG
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||
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Final Fantasy XIV to launch in summerNEWS Beta testers needed.
|
PC, PS3
RPG: MMO
|
||
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Activision announces Call of Duty: GhostsNEWS "Next generation" COD coming November.
|
PC, 360, PS3, PS4, Durango
Action: First-Person
|
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Aliens: Colonial Marines hit with class action lawsuitNEWS False advertising claims.
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PC, 360, PS3, WiiU
Action: First-Person
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||
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Watch Dogs has a release dateNEWS No underscore.
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PC, 360, PS3, PS4, WiiU
Action: Third-Person
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Dead Island dev announces co-op FPS slasher HellraidNEWS Dead Island: Medieval edition.
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PC, 360, PS3
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Rumour: development of Thief reboot in disarrayNEWS Office politics, staff turnover hampering progress.
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PC, 360, PS3
Action: Third-Person
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XCOM FPS is now The Bureau: XCOM DeclassifiedNEWS Real-time with a tactical focus.
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PC, 360, PS3
Action: Third-Person
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Spark working on Lost Planet 3 because no "good" developers available – CapcomNEWS With friends like these...
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PC, 360, PS3
Action: Third-Person
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Skyrim Legendary Edition announcedNEWS All DLC included.
|
PC, 360, PS3
Re-Release
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