viedogame: Blizzard three-year plan includes two World of Warcraft, Starcraft II add-ons

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Blizzard three-year plan includes two World of Warcraft, Starcraft II add-ons Sep 8th 2011, 18:57 Blizzard Entertainment is notorious for not committing to a release window until it is absolutely sure the game is done. However, the studio remains but one among the Activision Blizzard umbrella, and its corporate partner is expecting Blizzard to release a number of products over the next three years to grow the publisher's top and bottom line. Tippl believes the Starcraft II trilogy will conclude by 2014. Speaking at the Citi 2011 Technology Conference today, Activision Blizzard COO Thomas Tippl said that over the next three years, the publisher is expecting six "proven property" releases from Blizzard. These releases include two expansion packs each from World of Warcraft and Starcraft II. While Blizzard has not indicated any expansion pack plans beyond WOW's cataclysm, it has been more forthright with its Starcraft II plans. The game's second installment, Heart of the Swarm, focuses on the Zerg faction, and Battle.net project director Greg Canessa indicated it will be available in mid-2012. The series will conclude with Legacy of the Void, which focuses on the Protoss camp. The remaining two releases pertain to Diablo III. While Blizzard maintains that it hopes to release Diablo III in 2011, Tippl said that the game has not been factored into its earnings report expectations for the calendar year. Tippl also expects a Diablo III expansion will be available before the end of 2014. Of course, Tippl's word choice also left the door open for Blizzard to release an as-yet-unproven property in the next three years, namely its newest massively multiplayer online role-playing game Titan. According to a purportedly leaked, and thus far accurate, release schedule, Blizzard is planning on releasing Titan in fall 2013. Blizzard had not responded to a request for comment on Tippl's statements as of press time. Watch this video in High Def

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viedogame: Activision wins ModernWarfare3.com dispute

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Activision wins ModernWarfare3.com dispute Sep 8th 2011, 18:58 In July, the website ModernWarfare3.com drew the attention of military shooter fans when it began forwarding all traffic to the official website of Electronic Arts' competing military shooter Battlefield 3. It also drew the attention of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 publisher Activision, which filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum. Target down. That complaint has been resolved, as domain-tracking blog Fusible is reporting today that a three-member panel has sided with Activision in the matter, and ordered control of the URL transferred to the publisher. As of press time, the site was down. Among the key issues in the case was the site's forwarding traffic to a direct competitor of Modern Warfare 3, something which the former ModernWarfare3.com registrant described as a temporary mistake, and not evidence that he was running the site in bad faith. In issuing its order, the panel called the claims of the unofficial site's former operator "uncompelling" and "not credible." Originally registered in March 2009, ModernWarfare3.com billed itself both as "a 100 percent unofficial fan site dedicated to the Modern Warfare series," as well as "a parody of Modern Warfare 3." The site had for some time openly criticized the Activision shooter as a retread of the series, prompting Activision to send it a takedown notice related to copyrighted content that had previously appeared on the site. For more on Activision's shooter, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Watch this video in High Def

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viedogame: Dead Island sparks sexism flap

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Dead Island sparks sexism flap Sep 8th 2011, 17:37 Techland's Dead Island has proven to be quite the controversial game, though for reasons that pertain not at all to its rabid, flesh-eating zombies. And while the first wave of anger over the game involved an intense CG-rendered teaser trailer depicting the gruesome death of a child, the second is rooted in a misogynistic inclusion in the game itself. Zombies have a legitimate claim to the title "man-eater." Last night, a Steam user claimed to have uncovered a line of code in the PC edition of Dead Island referring to an in-game skill for the female survivor Purna as "Feminist Whore." The line of code can reportedly be found in Dead Island's .scr file. Steam users quickly picked up on the original post, speculating that it is in reference to Purna's ability that grants a 15 percent damage increase against male characters. In the game itself, it is referred to as the "Gender Wars" skill. In a statement released to GameSpot, Techland confirmed that the derogatory references can be found in the game, and apologized for the oversight. The developer also said that their inclusion was the result of a single individual: It has come to our attention that one of Dead Island’s leftover debug files contains a highly inappropriate internal script name of one of the character skills. This has been inexcusably overlooked and released with the game. The line in question was something a programmer considered a private joke. The skill naturally has a completely different in-game name and the script reference was also changed. What is left is a part of an obscure debug function. This is merely an explanation but by no means an excuse. In the end, that code was made a part of the product and signed with our company name. We deeply regret that fact and we apologize to all our customers or anyone who might have been offended by that inappropriate expression. The person responsible for this unfortunate situation will face professional consequences for violating the professional standards and beliefs Techland stands for. A Techland representative further stated that the studio is "currently evaluating options for dealing with the issue." Responding to a request for comment, North American publisher Deep Silver would only confirm the line of code, calling it the work of a lone developer at the studio. "These unfortunate actions were of one individual at developer company Techland and do not in any way represent the views of publishing company Deep Silver," the publisher said in a statement. The PC edition of Dead Island is proving to be a headache for Techland. Upon the game's release earlier this week, Techland said that an "incorrect version" of the game was released on Steam. Though it was subsequently fixed, those who had begun playing the game with the initially released version may have experienced corrupted save files. Deep Silver has promised a make-good for PC gamers affected by this issue. For more information, check out GameSpot's review of Dead Island. Watch this video in High Def

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viedogame: Max Payne returns in March

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Max Payne returns in March Sep 8th 2011, 15:22 It's been eight years since Max Payne 2 hit stores, but Rockstar Games' rough-around-the-edges New York City cop is about ready to hit the streets again. Rockstar today announced that Max Payne 3 is expected to launch next March on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in North America and Europe. Max is haunted by a traumatic past. And a botched theatrical adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg. Max Payne 3 is in the works at Rockstar Games' Vancouver studio, which took over development reins from Finnish shop Remedy (Alan Wake). The game will catch up with the now-former cop, who has spent the time since Max Payne 2 running from his troubled past. That has led him to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he works as a private bodyguard for a wealthy family. Payne will fulfill his duties with a healthy helping of the series' signature bullet-time gameplay mechanic, in which the player slows the world to a crawl and Max acrobatically leaps into action, firing twin pistols at anyone in range. That's not the only way to play, as Rockstar is supplementing that approach with a variety of weaponry and a cover system. Rockstar is also incorporating multiplayer into the series for the first time with Max Payne 3. The publisher has said it will feature "traditional" multiplayer game modes with full-featured support for character progression, clans, and load-out options. Originally hinted at in 2004, Max Payne 3 was formally announced in March of 2009 and set for release that winter. It was then pushed to the following summer, and then the fall. When Take-Two delayed the game for the third time in less than a year, executives refused to even confirm in which fiscal year it was expecting the game to launch.

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viedogame: Big in Japan Aug. 29 - Sept. 4: Grand Knights History

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Big in Japan Aug. 29 - Sept. 4: Grand Knights History Sep 8th 2011, 16:11 Fear of cell phones and tablets aside, handheld systems are still a popular way to get one's game on in Japan, as indicated in the recent Media Create sales update for the week of August 29 to September 4. The 3DS topped the hardware sales charts for the week, while VanillaWare's PSP game Grand Knights History led all software with 64,630 units sold. Dragons and knights won the sales battle, according to Media Create's sales figures. Grand Knights History is a turn-based role-playing game where three kingdoms of a fantasy world clash in an all-out war. The game's main feature is unit customization and online play where players represent their kingdoms and fight against each other to gain territory. Developer VanillaWare is best known in the West for games like Muramasa: The Demon Blade, GrimGrimoire, and Odin Sphere. For more information, check out GameSpot's recent coverage on the title. While the former number-one title was bumped down, it didn't fall far. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Ver. came in second on the charts, selling 52,792 units for that week. Rhythm Heaven moved up to third place with 22,762 units sold, while Samurai Warriors 3 Empires did not budge an inch from its position with 21,604 units sold. Corpse Party: Book of Shadows for the PSP made its debut in the charts with 15,249 copies sold. Created by developers 5pb, the first-person adventure game is based on the old Corpse Party game that was originally on the PC and PC-98. This iteration is focused on a group of students who have to get out of a run-down elementary school filled with bodies of lost children and damned spirits. The game features a spirit contamination system where characters experience hallucinations if their sanity meter is depleted. Another newcomer (if a remake can be considered such) is the 3DS version of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. This version of the game sold 20,809 units, good enough for fifth place. New additions to the title include full voice acting and an epilogue chapter called "The 8th Day" for veterans to play through. Outside of the top 10, the sole Xbox 360 representative on the week's sales chart, Monster Hunter Frontier Anniversary 2011 Premium Package, finished in 16th place with 7,953 units sold. Black Rock Shooter dropped from second to 14th place with 11,186 units sold. Meanwhile, 3DS and PS3 sales were strong, with the former's performance attributed to the previous price drop and the latter being supported by the new Monster Hunter iteration. Despite the major presence of PSP titles, the system is still in third place among hardware on sale for the week. JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4 Software: Rank/Title/Publisher/Platform/Unit sales 1. Grand Knights History / Marvelous / PSP / 64,630 2. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Ver. / Capcom / PS3 / 52,792 3. Rhythm Heaven / Nintendo / Wii / 22,762 4. Samurai Warriors 3 Empires / Tecmo Koei / PS3 / 21,604 5. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked / Atlus / 3DS / 20,809 6. Kirby Mass Attack / Nintendo / DS / 15,804 7. Corpse Party: Book of Shadows / 5pb / PSP / 15,249 8. Mobile Suit Gundam: New Gihren's Ambition / Namco Bandai / PSP / 14,656 9. Monster Hunter Diary Poka Poka Felyne Village G / Capcom / PSP / 12,924 10. Dynasty Warriors 7 Special / Tecmo Koei / PSP / 12,209 Hardware 3DS - 54,744 PS3 - 33,831 PSP - 30,192 Wii - 11,606 DSi XL - 3,177 DSi - 2,453 PS2 - 1,394 Xbox 360 - 1,228 DS Lite - 80 PSP Go - 7

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viedogame: Max Payne returns in March

viedogame All of the News. Can you keep up?. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Max Payne returns in March Sep 8th 2011, 15:22 It's been eight years since Max Payne 2 hit stores, but Rockstar Games' rough-around-the-edges New York City cop is about ready to hit the streets again. Rockstar today announced that Max Payne 3 is expected to launch next March on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in North America and Europe. Max is haunted by a traumatic past. And a botched theatrical adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg. Max Payne 3 is in the works at Rockstar Games' Vancouver studio, which took over development reins from Finnish shop Remedy (Alan Wake). The game will catch up with the now-former cop, who has spent the time since Max Payne 2 running from his troubled past. That has led him to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he works as a private bodyguard for a wealthy family. Payne will fulfill his duties with a healthy helping of the series' signature bullet-time gameplay mechanic, in which the player slows the world to a crawl and Max acrobatically leaps into action, firing twin pistols at anyone in range. That's not the only way to play, as Rockstar is supplementing that approach with a variety of weaponry and a cover system. Rockstar is also incorporating multiplayer into the series for the first time with Max Payne 3. The publisher has said it will feature "traditional" multiplayer game modes with full-featured support for character progression, clans, and load-out options. Originally hinted at in 2004, Max Payne 3 was formally announced in March of 2009 and set for release that winter. It was then pushed to the following summer, and then the fall. When Take-Two delayed the game for the third time in less than a year, executives refused to even confirm in which fiscal year it was expecting the game to launch.

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viedogame: Sony Asia and Nanyang Polytechnic to continue game design partnership

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Sony Asia and Nanyang Polytechnic to continue game design partnership Sep 8th 2011, 04:33 By Jonathan Leo Toyad, GameSpot AsiaPosted Sep 7, 2011 9:33 pm PT Publisher and school sign new five-year MOU to make PS3 and PS Vita titles thanks to outcome of Games Resource Centre. Back in 2010, Sony Computer Entertainment Asia collaborated with Nanyang Polytechnic Singapore to launch the School of Interactive & Digital Media PlayStation Development Community that allowed students from the school to use PlayStation development kits to create their own games for school projects. In lieu of this partnership, SCEA decided to further their partnership with the school with a five-year Memorandum of Understanding. This will enable students to continue developing games as final year projects using the development kit which, at this point in time, is still the only PlayStation development and training centre in South-East Asia. This also allows them to gain access to tools to make games for the upcoming portable PlayStation Vita. According to Sony Computer Entertainment Asia's president Tetsuhiko Yasuda, the reason for this continued partnership is because SCEA wishes to train more developers and help contribute to Singapore's video game industry via Sony-sanctioned development kits. NYP students will get a good feel of the Vita's innards. The two notable titles that benefit from this partnership are PhaseShift: Threat Beyond the Network and Spell Weaver (working title). The former is a 2D shooter by Dark Potato Studios and is the brainchild of Hoong Boon Wai. The latter is a 2D platformer with emphasis on seven-word spelling developed by Red Hare Studio. PhaseShift has yet to settle on an official release date due to the game still being a prototype, while Spell Weaver is slated for a 2012 release on the PlayStation Network.

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