Sentai Filmworks made a surprising, but pretty great, announcement today when they revealed that they have acquired the license to release the first season of The Familiar of Zero in North America. This first season of an anime, that had four seasons in all, was originally released many years ago by Geneon but has been out of print for many years.
The Familiar of Zero Season 1 will be streamed first and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD with both English and Japanese voice tracks. For those who don’t know, The Familiar of Zero follows the story of Saito, a teenage boy from Earth who is suddenly summoned by a witch named Louise as her servant. Despite this mistake the two are bound together by the laws of magic and must learn to get along with each other.
Fans of the Legacy of Kain series will be surprised to know that a new game is currently in development set in an as yet unexplored time period of that world. Nosgoth is a free-to-play multiplayer PC game focused on the fight between Humans and Vampires during the Soul Reaver era coming from publisher Square-Enix and developer Psyonix.
What can players expect from Nosgoth? As both sides aren’t designed to perfectly offset each other, Nosgoth has players face off as one side and then switch in the second round to play the other. So, players will need to work as a team in order to achieve victory as relying on the skills of just one side will not win the match.
Nosgoth is just about to get into Closed Beta, so those wanting to check the game out before its release can head over to its website to register. If you can’t make a decision yet, be sure to watch the gameplay trailer from the Closed Alpha embedded below to see what Nosgoth has to offer.
Ben Cousins is the Head of DeNA’s European Game Studios. Ben’s most recent project is the arcade-style shooter mobile game Lawless that is now available on the App Store. He has previously worked for DICE and EA’s free-to-play division.
Clearly free to play games have a new and permanent role in gaming, with both Microsoft and Sony allowing such titles on the new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platform. However, what goes into the decision of “Should we make this game free to play,”
It’s the same process that goes into the decision “should we make this game full priced?” or “should we make this game subscription based?” It’s a set of business-related decisions connected to the strategy of the company that is creating the game.
“what should we charge gamers for,”
Simple. You add things to the game that you think gamers will want to buy!
“how do we make this balanced for all players?”
This isn’t generally a consideration. Free-to-play games work best when the people spending money can buy small advantages over those who don’t. Gamers complain about this, but in my experience it doesn’t have a negative effect on the size of the user base. See my talk from GDC 2011 for details on my experiences.
With the huge growth in crowd-funded games thanks to platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, what role can publishers play in supporting these developers?
Crowd funding only competes with one aspect of what publishers offer developers – funding. If a developer has received some funding via Kickstarter or similar, they could partner with a publisher for game design support, QA and manufacturing facilities, relationships with retail partners or distributors/platform holders, technical support, marketing and publicity among many others.
It’s really hard to declare a winner for last generation’s console wars. Xbox 360 started out really strong with console exclusives then PlayStation 3 really pulled ahead in the last year or so. If you have to choose a winner, who would it be? Any bets on who will claim the prize for the upcoming generation?
It’s hard to answer this question without determining the criteria for defining a winner. In my mind you define a winner by how many units of consoles are sold. In that respect Nintendo ‘won’ last generation with 100 million units over Sony and Microsoft’s 80 million. Nintendo’s console business was undoubtedly also the most profitable with the PS3 and 360 unlikely to have made any profit for Sony and MS from as an encapsulated business.
Using those same criteria we’d have to assume that either Sony or MS will ‘win’ this console generation, with it very hard to determine which at this stage. On the profitability angle, both of those platform holders are better set up this time around to actually have a profitable business as they are using relatively cheap off-the-shelf tech that is less likely to melt.
With the growth in the mobile games market, do traditional handhelds like the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita still have futures in gaming?
Yes, they still have futures for sure. However, I don’t feel it’s very likely that any handheld dedicated gaming device will ever have a dominant market share ever again.
What were some of the 2013 mobile games industry trends that stood out to you as an industry insider? And what are some of your predictions for 2014?
On iOS, two games – Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga – remained in the number one or two position for the entire year. That is a huge difference from a few years ago. If these games continue to dominate, we’ll have billion dollar mobile games in the western world (previously these revenue figures were only hit in Asia). So we’ve had huge growth in players, revenue and also the continued dominance of free-to-play.
I believe that 2014 will continue along the same path. The obvious areas for disruption of the mobile industry are new upcoming platforms that also utilize iOS or Android – smart watches, smart glasses and smart TVs. These should add some interest to what is rapidly becoming a very mature industry.
I think it’s safe to assume that very few people work in the video game industry and don’t play/enjoy video games themselves. What are you playing now? Any titles that you really enjoyed this year? What are you looking forward to playing in the new year?
I’m currently playing a bit of Eldritch and Teleglitch. This year I spent most gaming time on Candy Crush Saga, but my favorite game was The Last of Us. Next year I’m looking forward to playing the new Halo game on the Xbox One.
Thanks to Ben Cousins who took the time to sit down for the interview! Be sure to check out Lawless on iTunes!
If you’ve been hoping to see more from Press Play then you will be happy to hear that they have a rather sudden release for everyone in the form of Max: The Curse of Brotherhood. Today the company has announced that they will be releasing Max: The Curse of Brotherhood on the Xbox One on December 20th, which just so happens to be tomorrow.
In Max: The Curse of Brotherhood players will play as Max as he ventures into a dangerous and fantastical world in order to save his kid brother Felix. With only the help of his Magic Marker, Max must take on the evil force as he ventures through various environments, including deserts, bogs, temples and more, to get his brother back. To go along with this release announcement the company also released a handful of screenshots for the game which can be found below.
We have been hearing about how Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance would be released on the PC for a few months now, but until today we had no idea exactly when that day would come. Well today Konami has not only announced a release date for the PC version of the game but they have also made it available for pre-order on Steam.
The game will be released on January 9, 2014 and will cost $29.99, though if you pre-order within 24 hours you will get it at 33% off with any pre-orders after that, but still before launch, being 20% off. This version of the game comes with all of the DLC missions and a number of customized body upgrades with the purchase of the game.
ZeptoLab found themselves a hit with the original Cut the Rope, letting players solve physics based puzzles while feeding On Nom candy. Now they have finally released the “first true sequel” with Cut the Rope 2, featuring new allies in the form of Nommies who aid Om Nom on his journey home.
These new allies add all sorts of new additions for Cut the Rope 2, such as carrying Om Nom through the air and creating bridges to help Om Nom traverse around. Additionally, players wont just be cutting the rope to drop Om Nom wherever he may land, as players can now move Om Nom themselves.
Those wanting to see how the sequel plays can watch the gameplay trailer embedded below and get a better idea of how the allies work, while those wanting to check out Cut the Rope 2 for themselves can find it exclusively on iTunes for $0.99 on iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch now.
NEXON Europe are very excited to announce that the official website for their upcoming browser-based, MMO/RPG game “Arcane Chronicles” is now live and ready to be used! Arcane Chronicles is a traditional and very stylish game that casts p;ayers into a world of dark fantasy, one that they’ll have to team up and fight their way through if they want to survive. The great thing about the launch of the official website is that now players can head there and pre-register for the closed beta of the game which is slated for a start in January sometime, so far no specific date has been announced. Head to the official “Arcane Chronicles” website by clicking here and make sure you head down to our featured video section below to check out the new Prologue Trailer for the game.
The newest title in the long running Ridge Racer series is now out for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, just in time for the 20th anniversary of the series. Developed by Namco Bandai Games, Ridge Racer Slipstream will showcase a brand new racing engine specifically designed for touch screen devices, multiple gameplay modes, 10 race tracks and an additional 10 mirrored courses, high energy music and a wealth of customisation options for your vehicle. Namco Bandai is promising future updates will provide additional content, including an online race mode for up to eight players.
Other key features include:
Over 300 customization possibilities to enhance the performance and the look of your machines, across a variety of colors, rims, body kits and vinyls.
12 unique vehicles at launch, and more to come in future free updates.
A full-featured Career Mode and three different race types in Arcade Mode (Regular / Quick / Knockout Races).
108 different racing competitions across 6 Grand Prix Series – all in beautiful, high definition locations.
You can download Ridge Racer Slipstream from the App Store and check out the trailer below for a preview of the game. Once you’ve done that, leave us a comment about your favourite Ridge Racer moment from the last 20 years. Riiiiiidddggeeee Raaaaaccccceeeerrrrrr!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, everybody, the time of year where people from all around the world come together to celebrate one of the biggest miracles to have ever graced mankind in its entirety; Holiday Sales. The beautiful people over at Ubisoft have decided to make everyone’s Holiday season that little bit sweeter by announcing that, for the next 48 hours(December 19th – December 21st), the brand new Assassin’s Creed title “Black Flag” will be selling for 50% off! Now I believe it is only for those of us who own a Sony PlayStation 3 so if you do own one i suggest you head to the PlayStation store right now to grab yourself a top game for a low price. “Black Flag” is one of the top-ranked games this holiday season and I think it’s damn nice of Ubisoft to be marking it down for us.
The gifts haven’t finished coming yet so keep reading on: For everybody out there who has a Uplay account, Ubisoft will be offering sales of many of their games at up to 75% percent off from now until the 5th of January with new deals on different games being released daily. Far Cry 3, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist, Batman Arkham City and Fallout 3 are just a few of the many games that are up for sale and are available on the PC through Ubisofts Uplay Website which you can get to by clicking here. Ubisoft wishes you the very best during your holiday season and they’re saying it with game sales, get onto it and have a great end of the year!
ICEBERG INTERACTIVE GETS IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT WITH HEAVILY DISCOUNTED GAMES ON STEAM’S WINTER SALE
Huge Variety of Game Genres Offer the Perfect Holiday Gift for All Gamers
Haarlem, The Netherlands – December 19, 2013 – Veteran video game publisher Iceberg Interactive announced today it is offering very attractive price cuts during Steam’s Winter Sale with discounts ranging from 25% to 75%. Recently having been heralded as the champion of space games, Iceberg is offering discounts on a variety of 4X strategy games such as StarDrive (66% off), Armada 2526Gold (75% off), Gemini Wars (75% off), Horizon (Early Access Beta, 25% off), as well as space sim Starpoint Gemini 2(Early Access Alpha, 25% off). The Iceberg avalanche also features classy action games Nuclear Dawn (66% off) and Gas Guzzlers Extreme (50% off), plus eerie adventure games such as Dark Fall: Lost Souls (75% off).
Iceberg Interactive’s full list of games on sale includes (alphabetically):
Iceberg Interactive is an independent video game publisher founded in 2009 by an international group of games industry veterans and is located in Haarlem, The Netherlands. While keeping its roots in the European retail games market, Iceberg has rapidly increased its focus towards the global digital games market, by building strong direct relationships with dozens of Game Portals. Staffed with avid gamers, Iceberg works closely with an international assembly of game developers, both midsize and indie. With a distinct focus on the strategy, action, simulation and adventure game genres, the company has garnered attention with acclaimed releases including Killing Floor, Wings of Prey, APB Reloaded and Endless Space among its 70+ game arsenal — with more promising games in the pipeline.
