Some rather distubring news appeared earlier today that the developers of RAGE, id Software have suffered from a number of lay offs. It appears that this news is quite true. Bethesda Softworks, the parent company of id Software has responded to an inquiry by Joystiq with a confirmation that an unknown number of workers at id Software were let go.
The firings are apparently “part of its standard business practice, id regularly evaluates staffing to ensure it has a workforce that meets the needs of the studio. As part of that process, some id employees were recently let go.” They went on to say however that the company is still “recruiting and hiring qualified developers” and that “development work on future id titles continues unabated.” Seems like not everything is doom and gloom at the studio, but we wish those who lost their jobs the best of luck in their future endeavors.
After it was revealed yesterday that the House Party 2012 line-up of games would include Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, the long-awaited I Am Alive, Nexuiz and EA’s Warp Microsoft has come out with a launch date for the House Party. Unfortunately that date is all that was announced at this time so we do not yet know the order in which the games will be released nor the pricing structure that will be used.
The House Party 2012 promotion will begin on February 15th and will likely also offer some sort of promotion for those who pick up every House Party title like in past years. I can already name two titles there that must be acquired and that is I Am Alive and Alan Wake’s American Nightmare. How about you?
Akiyuki Shinbo, the director of the Nisemonogatari anime series, which is a sequel of his previous anime Bakemonogatari (both of which are adaptations of novels) has confirmed that his latest work will weigh in at 11 episodes in length.
Nisemonogatari is based upon NisiOisin’s popular light novels called the Monogatari series. The director of the anime adaptation went on to say that he intends to adapt the rest of the light novels following Nisemonogatari.
What do you think of an 11 episode count for Nisemonogatari? Do you think it needs more room to adapt all of it’s source material? Let us know what you think of this news in the shoutbox and comments section.
While many people have played Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater back when it was on the PLayStation 2, none of them had the chance to play it in 3D. Thankfully they will now soon have that chance as the long announced Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D will finally be making its way to store shelves on February 21st in North America and March 8th in Europe, Japan and Australia, which is quite interesting as most Metal Gear titles are released in Japan before the West, not the other way around.
A number of new features have been added to Snake Eater 3D such as a photocamouflage system that allows the player to change the color of Snake’s clothes to a picture you take with your camera. Also it will make use of the gyro control system on the 3DS, the 3D feature and will make use of the Circle Pad Pro attachment to make controlling the camera easier.
Now scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2012, the Game of Thrones RPG is getting into gear with some more screenshots of Westeros. The six images follow the two playable characters – Mors, a sworn brother of the Night’s Watch, and Alester, a red priest – on their respective journey’s, taking in famous locations from the novels such as the Wall, King’s Landing and the Red Keep.
In keeping with the structure of the novels the story will alternate between character viewpoints, with each character at the head of their chapter until the two meet at the corner of a common quest.
The game is being developed by the same team responsible for Game of Thrones Genesis, and will be released on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Click on the thumbnails below for a closer look at the rest of the new screenshots.
Well in the real world people would expect futuristic soldiers to be on time, but in the land of video games that isn’t always the case. Ubisoft has announced this morning that Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is set to be released on May 22nd in North America and May 24th in Europe. This falls two months behind the original release date of March.
Ubisoft’s IP development director Adrian Lacey has stated that the game was delayed “to ensure that all these ingredients are pushed to the highest level and provide a truly unique shooter experience.” Also announced today was that the promised January beta has been delayed and instead will be tested in April. Also the PC version of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is still alive and kicking but will be released “at a later date” of the console versions.
Recently through his official twitter page, Kenjirou Hata the man behind the manga Hayate the Combat Butler, confirmed that his popular manga was approximately 60% of the way through it’s planned story.
His manga is currently on hiatus until the 13th of February, for reasons that are not clearly defined, but I am sure fans of the series would be pleased to know that Hata has planned the entire series out and that it is passed the half way point.
Do you read the Hayate the Combat Butler manga? Are you pleased with this news? Let us know your thoughts in the shoutbox and comments section.
EA Games have today released a new trailer for the hotly anticipated Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. This time it takes on the form of a Guide to the World of Amalur, pin pointing on the Skills and Crafting available within the world.
The trailer details what makes Reckoning different when it comes to Skills and Crafting from your average RPG title. You can check out the trailer below to find out for yourself.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is set for release on the 9th of February for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Stay tuned for more details as they come to light. Be sure to let us know what you think of the trailer in the shoutbox and comments section.
Direct from the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Mircosoft reports that last year was the biggest year for the Xbox ever. Yes that’s right 2011 was the biggest year in the history of the xbox, from the original Xbox to the current Xbox 360.
Xbox 360 was the top selling gaming console in North America in 2011, with Kincet selling 18 million sensors around the world. These high figures may be attributed to the high demand and Christmas splurge for Xbox 360 bundles with Kinect. In North America alone, around 800,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold on Black Friday, the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Overall 66 million consoles have been sold worldwide since Xbox 360 launch in 2005.
The record year for Microsoft may also be credited to the shifting emphasis of Xbox 360. It is no longer just a gaming console with Microsoft embracing a more family friendly experience, along with Xbox LIVE expanding to broadcasting live and on-demand TV. The new Xbox 360 dashboard reflects this, but it’s not all without controversy. The new dashboard received quite a lot of backlash from gamers for hiding away and making many features redundant all together.
But nevertheless Xbox 360’s sales figures speak for themselves and the technology of Kinect is being used in ways that had not even before thought of, say for example Skyrim with motion and voice controls? Thousands of mods for the device are widely available online, and Microsoft does not have a problem with that. In fact, Microsoft released aSoftware Development Kit for Kinect exactly for that reason, to encouraging people to experiment with what Kincet can do. Microsoft has announced at CES that they will be releasing Kinect for Windows, launching February 1st later this year for $249.
With a rumoured Xbox 360 successor on the horizon who knows what 2012 will be like for Xbox 360. But if 2011 is anything to go by, it certainly isn’t over Microsoft and Xbox. But then again, it is the future and anything could happen.
Assassin’s Creed Revelations is getting some downloadable content love. Ubisoft has today announced the Mediterranean Traveller Map Pack for the game’s multiplayer. The DLC pack will contain six multiplayer maps each with their own unique location and varied gameplay style. Included in the DLC pack are new maps: Jerusalem, Constantinople, Dyers as well as a few Italian Renaissance maps from Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Firenze, San Donato and Siena.
The Mediterranean Traveller Map Pack will be available for download on January 24 for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE and £7.99 on PlayStationNetwork and Windows PC.
