Category Archives: Games QA Tester

Train2Game news: The main threat to consoles is “actually Apple”

Posted on by
Reply

 

The Train2Game blog has previously reported on cloud gaming, and how some believe it’s the future of the games industry.

However, owner of cloud gaming service Gaikai Dave Perry – who has previously been quoted by the Train2Game blog – doesn’t believe cloud is a threat to consoles. He think the threat to those comes from somewhere else.

“We don’t think we’re a threat to console. I think the threat to consoles is actually Apple” Perry told GamesIndustry.biz

“I think the concern there is that they’re generating hardware so quickly now. If you’re creating and shipping new hardware every 12 months, and during that 12 months you’re also giving pretty impressive upgrades, the features that people want, and you’re giving them those every six months and hardware every 12 months, I think the idea that you would have five to seven years on hardware refreshes is becoming a technical problem.”

And while Perry believes games consoles like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 could survive thanks to their ability for use as multimedia entertainment devices, he’s not so sure about traditional handhelds.

“I think the handhelds are getting challenged very aggressively by the mobile phones,” he said. “I find myself spending a lot of money on iPhone, and if you look at a handheld today, the ones that people keep making, they still make them as a gaming machine.”

“Kids today… don’t want to carry anything that just does one thing. They carry their phone and it does everything. And so if you make single function devices, then you’ve got a problem. That’s my concern for handhelds, is this single function side of it”

Perry’s comments echo those the Train2Game blog reported Capcom made at the beginning of this year. They argued that smartphones including the iPhone are dragging consumers away from traditional handheld consoles.

And as reported by the Train2Game blog earlier this year,  Apple could ‘own’ the games industry, at least according to Former PlayStation executive Vice President Phil Harrison.

“At this trajectory, if you extrapolate the market-share gains that they are making, forward for ten years – if they carry on unrestrained in their growth, then there’s a pretty good chance that Apple will be the games industry,” Harrison told Edge

As Train2Game students will know, the iTunes App store could potentially provide a Train2Game student with a large audience for the games they produce.

So Train2Game, is Apple the biggest threat to the rest of the games industry? Should it be considered a threat at all?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: GamesIndustry.biz]

Train2Game news: Nintendo Wii U not a ‘transitional platform’

Posted on by
Reply

EA’s Peter Moore doesn’t believe the Nintendo Wii U is a stop gap between current consoles and the next-generation of consoles.

As reported by the Train2Game blog, the Nintendo Wii was revealed at this year’s E3 conference.

“People will start talking about it being a transitional platform. And I don’t think that’s going to be the case, and here’s why,” EA COO Moore told Industry Gamers.

The Nintendo Wii U’s controller looks like a tablet computer, similar to the Apple iPad, but the EA man doesn’t think its’s an issue

“I think the controller [is huge]. This is not about specs anymore… In the early days of our industry, this stuff was absolutely about how much better the games looked… Now it’s about interfaces. Now it’s about building a community in a rich, powerful way.

“Nintendo’s job, quite frankly, is to build a better mousetrap with regards to the way that we use the controller. So I don’t know what Xbox and PlayStation’s plans for their next platforms are, but it’s not going to be hanging on graphic fidelity. I guarantee you that.”

Moore also added that Nintendo ‘totally gets’ the importance of online multiplayer to modern gamers. Many Train2Game students play games together, often organised through the Train2Game forum.

“It’s critically important to us and we are relieved, if anything else, that they have made a huge [online] commitment that they have presented to us,” Moore said.

“Online certainly was not a factor with the Wii, as you know; although they had capabilities, it just wasn’t there at the level that both Xbox Live and PlayStation had. But I think Nintendo totally gets that multiplayer, building community, co-op play, having the ability to bring games that are deeper – all of these things are now very important.”

As previously reported by the Train2Game blog, Nintendo believe gamers will love the Wii U.

So Train2Game, do you think the Wii U will rival the next generation of software? Or is it going to fall away once the next Sony and Microsoft consoles arrive?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Industry Gamers]

Train2Game’s Clive Robert among this week’s Edinburgh Interactive public session speakers

Posted on by

Train2Game’s Clive Robert is one of many high profile games industry figures speaking at this week’s Edinburgh Interactive public sessions. The sessions are free and could provide Train2Game students in the Edinburgh area with excellent insider information about the games industry.

Other speakers include Ian Livingstone, Ken Fee, Graham Brown-Martin, Jo Twist and Derek Robertson and Nicholas Lovell. (Industry analyst Nicholas Lovell gave an extensive interview to the Train2Game blog in December last year)

Train2Game’s Clive Robert will take part in a discussion titled ‘Games Industry overview & How to get in to the Games Industry’ at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

He’ll be speaking alongside game industry legend Ian Livingstone and Ken Fee, MProf Programme Tutor and Lecturer at The University of Abertay Dundee.

For more information about the session, see the Train2Game blog.

“This year’s Public sessions are the best Edinburgh Interactive public sessions to date!” said Edinburgh Interactive Event Director, Alexa Turness.

“With such a fantastic line up and calibre of speakers, with such a variety of topics reaching out to a much broader audience, we’re predicting a very well attended couple of days.  The public sessions are free, ticketless and on a first come first served basis, so don’t miss out, get to The Radisson Blu early and we will prove that sometimes best things in life really are free”.

The sessions, all of them, could really be of benefit to Train2Game students, so if any in the Edinburgh area are planning to go, they best to The Radisson Blu Hotel early.

For more information, see the Edinburgh Interactive program.

The event “is powered up to showcase the continued popularity, growth and influence of video games”

So Train2Game, are you in the Edinburgh area? Will you go to the public sessions?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: “Graphics will always matter” say Id Software

Posted on by
Reply

Train2Game students will have seen some huge improvements in video game Art & Animation over the last decade, with the majority of Triple A games released now featuring excellent graphics.

Id software, developers of the upcoming RAGE – which as reported by the Train2Game blog will come with modding tools – believe that despite the improvements in graphics, games with better graphics than their rivals will always have an edge.

“Coming from id – and this is Carmack’s quote – graphics will always matter. And I agree with that 100 percent.”  Id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead told VG247.

“I think that there’s a point where you get diminishing returns, obviously. You approach reality until the point that you get there. And then, once you get there – which, we never will – but the curve gets so close that the differences are imperceptible to most consumers.”

And Hollenshead believes the graphics and Art & Animation war is far from over, with more improvements to come in future.

“I don’t think we’re anywhere near there yet. We’re still making graphical trade-offs and working within system constraints. If you gave us twice the horsepower, I guarantee we’d soak up every single bit of it.

“So I don’t think we’re actually getting close to that yet. If every game you could buy was running with every single feature you could have turned on at 120 hertz, then I might say, “It’s pretty much all the same.” But it’s not. I mean, in RAGE, we decided to run it at 60 hertz and put all our elbow grease behind that when most of our competition is running at 30 hertz. And I think it’s a difference-maker.”

As reported by the Train2Game blog, ID Software said their fans ‘sometimes drive them nuts’ with their demands. With their ideas about graphics and Art & Animation in future, how the game looks shouldn’t be a complaint

So Train2Game, will graphics always give games an edge? Or can Game Design and gameplay triumph over Art & Animation?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: VG247]

Train2Game industry experience diaries from Georgij Cernysiov, William Alexander & Laurence Gee

Posted on by
Reply

Here are three bite-sized Train2Game industry experience diaries from Train2Game students.  They come from Georgij Cernysiov who is on placement Caspian Learning, Train2Game Art & Animation student William Alexander at DR Studios, and Laurence Gee.

Read their industry experience diaries here on the Train2Game blog, or on the official Train2Game industry experience diaries website.

 

Train2Game student Darren Price industry experience diary No.6

Posted on by
Reply

A new week means a new batch of Train2Game student placement diaries. This time, we kick of with Train2Game Game Development student Darren Price who is on a work placement at DR Studios.

In the latest diary, Darren discusses creating a user interface for a game and some of the programming that goes into it. Read it here on the Train2Game blog, or on the official Train2Game industry experience diaries website.

Darren’s previous diary is available here on the Train2Game blog.

 

 

Train2Game news: Zumba Fitness top for 8th week running

Posted on by

 

In news that’ll continue to befuddle some Train2Game students, Zumba Fitness continues its domination of the UK charts with its 8th consecutive No.1 and 11th top spot overall.

Zumba Fitness outsold the next four chart positions combined and its 11 weeks at the top put it joint 3rd with FIFA: Road To The World Cup 98 and FIFA Soccer ’96 when it comes to time at No.1.

Dirt 3 jumps from No.6 to No. 2, while a very different vehicle based game, Cars 2, drops one to No.3  Just Dance 2: Extra Songs remains at No.4, while there’s also no change for LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean which remains at  No.5.

FIFA 11 moves up to No.6 in its 45th week on sale, with Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part a non-mover at No.7. Harry Potter fever also sees LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 re-enter the top ten at No.8.

Former No.1 – as reported by the Train2Game blog – L.A. Noire remains at No.9, while Call of Juarez: The Cartel drops to No. 10 in just its third week of release.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 30th July 2011 is therefore as follows:

  1. Zumba Fitness (505 Games)
  2. Dirt 3 (Codemasters)
  3. Cars 2 (Disney Interactive)
  4. Just Dance 2: Extra Songs (Ubisoft)
  5. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (Disney Interactive)
  6. FIFA 11 (EA Sports)
  7. Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (EA Games)
  8. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Warner Bros. Interactive)
  9. L.A. Noire (Rockstar)
  10. Call of Juarez: The Cartel (Ubisoft)

It’s another slow week for game releases, with titles including Fruit Ninja Kinect.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the continued dominance of Zumba Fitness? And with so many big games scheduled for release during October and November, why aren’t some being released over the summer?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: UKIE Games Charts©, compiled by GfK Chart-Track]

Kinect is ‘garbage’ and Game Design is what matters says Super Meat Boy dev

Posted on by

 

Train2Game students may be split on the impact Kinect will have on the industry, but Super Meat Boy developer Edmund McMillen hates it. Absolutely hates it with a passion.

Unfortunately for him, and as reported by the Train2Game blog, Kinect featured heavily in the Microsoft E3 presentation.

McMillen believes that more focus should be put on Game Design, rather than creating peripherals such as Kinect. He passionately believes it…in a very sweary fashion.

“Gameplay is what matters. Good game design” McMillen told Eurogamer.  “It’s almost as if they thought developers said ‘s**t, we’ve hit a wall and we can’t design fun games anymore, and can’t innovate through game design itself, we need all these crazy-ass peripherals that are going to help break through barriers and find new uncharted territory”

“No, just f***ing sit down and come up with a new genre. Chris Hecker came up with a new genre – Spy Party – so I guarantee other people can too. Minecraft – a creative MMO. And Katamari too. We don’t need peripherals.”

Speaking about Kinect specially, McMillen was just as ‘passionate’ in his views.

“That thing is a piece of garbage. There is absolutely nothing good for it. It’s a joke. It’s a f***ing joke. It doesn’t make any f***ing sense. It’s painful because they justify it by saying ‘a lot of people bought it’, but that’s just marketing.”

As previously reported by the Train2Game blog, Kinect has been a success in that over 10 million units have been sold.

“I’m telling you, there’s not going to be anything for it that’s so compelling that 10 years from now you’ll tell your friends ‘wow, I really want to break out the Kinect and play this’. It’s just not going to happen.” McMillen said of Kinect games.

Microsoft have previously stated that all their future first party games will come with Kinect support.

“Buttons. Buttons and game pads. Just give me my f***ing game pad back.” He replied when asked what he wanted from the next generation of consoles.

So Train2Game, do you agree with the Super Meat Boy devs comments? Should the industry focus more on games then things like motion control?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Eurogamer]

Train2Game news: Games industry should adopt one console as standard says Bethesda Exec

Posted on by
Reply

The games industry should move towards adopting a single console.

That’s according to Bethesda Softworks game director Todd Howard whose view is likely to split Train2Game students.

“I’d like there to be only one platform. It’s a lot of work to make the games look good on ever platform you’re on,” said Howard told PSM3.

He compared it to being able to use DVDs and Blu-Rays with multiple outlets.

“I often equate it to DVD or Blu-Rays. Once I’ve bought a DVD I can use it in my TV, in my computer, in my car, here, whatever. And I think it would be good for gaming if it was like that,” he said.

However, Howard admits his wish is rather unlikely.

“They spend billions of dollars selling consoles at a loss for years, but then make the money back with games,” he commented. “It’s not like the industry is hurting, we’re doing really well. But if I had one wish, you know, we would have better games for a single platform.”

The idea of one console certainly raises an interesting prospect, and not just because it’d mean the death of console exclusive titles! But it could potentially make games easier to develop and allow them to get to a wider audience; both are things Train2Game students are likely to approve of!

On the other hand, the idea of a single console does seem to overlook the PC, which as the Train2Game blog reported last month, has ‘shot by’ consoles according to Epic.

“We’re at the stage in the life of the consoles where the PC has shot by them in terms of capabilities.”  said Epic Games VP Mark Rein

“With the PC you can simulate the future – you can put enough hardware in a PC to show you what a future console will look like.” he added.

The Train2Game blog has previously lavished praise on the PC for being the best platform for Train2Game students.

So Train2Game, is the idea of a single gaming device too farfetched? Or could you see it happening in future? How could it benefit developers?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: CVG]

Train2Game students take note – one third of UK population using smartphones

Posted on by
Reply

 

One third of people in Great Britain own a smartphones, while gaming is the fastest growing online pastime.

That’s according to a report from Ofcom, which argue confirms something the Train2Game blog has reported on a number of times – that mobile gaming is becoming a huge phenomenon. It’s therefore an area that Train2Game students would be wise to think about pursuing a career in.

And while the Ofcom report states the iPhone, with its easy to use App store, is still the preferred choice of smartphone for many, the Train2Game blog previously reported that Android devices are increasing their share in the market.  Indeed, many Train2Game forum users own Android smartphones themselves.

Interesting, the Blackberry is the most popular smartphone among teenagers.

Meanwhile, the Ofcom report reveals that there’s been a 23% increase in online gaming over the last year, with smartphones likely to have contributed to this too. Online social media games are also becoming more and more popular, with the Train2Game blog reporting that more and more developers are using it as a platform to release games.

Indeed as reported by the Train2Game blog earlier this week, Civilization developer Sid Meier said games ‘will take over the world’ and social media gaming will play a part in this.

“I think now is one of the most exciting times to be a Game Designer” said Meier.

“With the rapid growth of social network games there are new opportunities for smaller indie developers to make and distribute games, so we’re seeing a wider variety of games on all kinds of cool devices than ever before. That’s great for the whole industry.”

And as previously reported by the Train2Game blog, both smartphone and social media gaming, free-to-play could provide a viable model for making revenue from games.

“The guys who are making more money are allowing people – if they like the game – to keep upgrading. And instead of the maximum amount of that money you can make from customer being 99c you can make $5, in some cases $30.” Industry analyst Nicholas Lovell previously told the Train2Game blog.

So with one third of Brits using a smartphone, that’s a huge potential audience for any iPhone games produced by Train2Game students; it could very much be your future.

So Train2Game, do you see developing games for smartphones as a good career path?  Is the potential audience just going to keep growing?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Develop]