Category Archives: games

Train2Game News New RPG Maker allows mobile ports

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Enterbrain and Degica collaborate on new middleware, which enables first official RPG Maker mobile ports.

Enterbrain recently partnered with Degica to distribute RPG Maker VX Ace, the latest version of the software, outside of Japan. Since teaming up, the pair have developed a new piece of middleware that allows developers to efficiently port RPG Maker games to mobile devices.

The RPG Maker software first emerged back in 1988 and, throughout several iterations, has remained the first choice when it comes to creating both traditional and innovative games in 16-bit.

Degica’s global director of sales and promotion, Mitchell Scott, said: “The RPG Maker software has been a great tool for aspiring and established game developers alike over the past two decades and we’re incredibly proud to be part of that legacy.”

While the majority of projects emulate major franchises such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, numerous teams have capitalised on the flexibility of the engine to create unique experiences.

The likes of To The Moon are widely regarded as genuine indie success stories, with the game receiving numerous awards and praise from established publications and organisations including Gamespot, Wired and the Independent Games Festival.

Earlier this week, Undefeated – the popular RPG Maker title – was unveiled for mobile with a brand new trailer and an iOS/Android release date of 3 October, 2014.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Degica connects the dots between developers, distributors and publishers, and between the Eastern and Western markets. Their recent work with Enterbrain and RPG Maker aims to put the popular development toolkit, and the games it has spawned, firmly on the global map.

Train2Game News Hearthstone hits huge milestone

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Free-to-play card-combat phenomenon Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has been downloaded upwards of 20 million times, Blizzard has announced.

Hearthstone launched on PC and Mac back in March then appeared on iPad in April and Windows 8 Touch devices in August. It’s slated for release later this year on iPhone and Android.

“Thank you all for joining us in Hearthstone! We’re going to need a bigger tavern!” the developer stated on Twitter noting the milestone.

Earlier this month Blizzard released its single-player expansion The Curse of Naxxramas.

Train2Game News GDC Next survey results

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GDC NextThe Game Developers Conference (GDC) Next 2014 has released the results of the first annual Game Discovery Survey, which has uncovered emerging trends and attitudes from a pool of game industry professionals on launching and popularizing games.

Among the many trends revealed in the survey is the finding that first party platform holders and YouTube personalities are seen as the most effective forms of publicity among participating developers.

The GDC Next 2014 Game Discovery Survey was created by UBM Tech Game Network, organizers of the Game Developers Conference, to better understand the contemporary game industry before the start of GDC Next 2014.

Platform gatekeepers and popular YouTubers are seen to be the most effective publicity for games. YouTube has long been viewed as a powerful tool in publicizing new releases, and the survey now reveals that developers view YouTube personalities, along with first party platform holders, as the most effective avenues for publicity.

Specifically, being featured on digital storefronts like Steam or PlayStation Network, coupled with extensive video playthroughs on YouTube were seen as most positively affecting product visibility. 36.6% of respondents seeing platform holders as the most effective publicity, with popular YouTube personalities capturing 24.8% of responses. By comparison, community engagement and being featured on a popular video game website received 15.6% and 14.5% of responses, respectively.

Elsewhere, the majority of participating developers (73.4%) agreed with the statement “platform holders aren’t doing enough to improve discoverability on digital storefronts.” These results suggest that platform holders can do more to meet the needs of game makers, potentially finding more personalized recommendation methods for consumers.

Developers are largely split between traditional press and YouTube personalities as most trustworthy however. Despite an increasing priority towards prominent YouTube video features, developers surveyed were found to be largely split when asked whose opinion on games they trusted the most, YouTubers or traditional press/media. YouTube personalities narrowly won out with 55.75% of votes versus the traditional press, which received 44.25% of responses.

Is it the game, the promotion, or both that makes a title shine commercially? 69.3% of developers agreed that good promotion and making a good game were equally important to success, with 23% responding that making a good game was more important to success than promoting it well. Only 7.7% of respondents felt that good promotion is more important than game quality when it comes to achieving commercial success.

The GDC Next 2014 Game Discovery Survey tabulates the responses and observations of more than 300 game industry professionals/

For more information on GDC Next, please visit http://www.gdcnext.com/

Train2Game News Avenged Sevenfolds mobile game release date

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Avenged SevenfoldMulti-platinum hard rock superstars Avenged Sevenfold have pegged October 16, 2014 for the unholy release of their action adventure mobile game, Hail to the King: Deathbat.

Hail to the King: Deathbat is a brutal romp through the darkest depths of the underworld with an epic tale of redemption, devastating melee combat, towering boss fights, 7 hellish landscapes and classic Avenged Sevenfold cuts along with a new and original score composed by the band.

To celebrate the game’s impending release, check out this new teaser showcasing a taste of the action to come:

Hail to the King: Deathbat hits iOS and Android October 16, 2014.

Train2Game News Mojang sale to Microsoft Confirmed

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MojangThe rumours have been confirmed and Mojang is selling to Microsoft for $2.5 Billion. So what does this mean for Minecraft and the company?

In a blog on www.Mojang.com the deal was confirmed today with a few details about the sale and the reasons why.

The main reason Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of Minecraft and the majority shareholder of Mojang has decided to sell is that he feels that Minecraft and Mojang have become to big on a global scale. He has attempted to make smaller games again to no avail and he feels that is because he has had to spend to much time and energy focused on the global phenomenon that is Minecraft.

There are only a handful of potential buyers with the resources to grow Minecraft and Mojang have worked closely with Microsoft since 2012. They have been impressed by their continued dedication to the game and its development.

The other versions of Minecraft will still continue to run but as for what happens with future multiplatform projects is yet to be seen. That will be down to Microsoft to decide.

The founders: Notch, Carl, and Jakob are leaving Mojang with nothing confirmed of what they are going on to do.

The main points to take from this sale is that Minecraft will continue to evolve and thrive and that small project you are working on may net you $2.5 Billion.

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 15.09.14

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DestinyAs was the games destiny, Destiny has soared to the number one spot knocking The Sims 4 in to second. The yearly version of NHL debuted this week at number seven and the new Naruto game, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution has just creeped in to the top ten at number ten. Lower down the chart at number seventeen is the first week for Infamous: First Light.

All formats

Week ending 13 September 2014

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 DESTINY ACTIVISION –
2 THE SIMS 4 EA GAMES 1
3 WATCH DOGS UBISOFT 2
4 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS ACTIVISION 6
5 THE LAST OF US: REMASTERED SONY COMPUTER ENT. 4
6 MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 7
7 NHL 15 EA SPORTS –
8 – PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE EA GAMES 8
9 – MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION 3 EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 9
10 NARUTO ULTIMATE NINJA STORM REVOLUTION BANDAI NAMCO GAMES –
11 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 10
12 – THE LEGO MOVIE VIDEOGAME WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
13 DIABLO III REAPER OF SOULS ULTIMATE EVIL BLIZZARD 5
14 METRO REDUX DEEP SILVER 3
15 TITANFALL EA GAMES 13
16 TOMODACHI LIFE NINTENDO 15
17 INFAMOUS: FIRST LIGHT SONY COMPUTER ENT. –
18 MADDEN NFL 15 EA SPORTS 11
19 TERRARIA XBOX 360 CLASSICS 17
20 SNIPER ELITE 3 505 GAMES 19
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2014 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News PEACEapp competition

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PEACEappA new competition is searching for a game or app about facilitating peace or an idea for one.

The competition, PEACEapp, aims to showcase the work of developers who examine peace and promote games as venues for cultural dialogue and conflict management. PEACEapp is a joint project between UNDP, UNAOC and Build Up.

Sponsored by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the United Nations Development Programme, and Build Up, the competition will award the winning entries with $15,000 in cash prizes, an invitation to present their game at the Build Peace Conference in Cyprus, and exclusive mentoring and advising from Games for Change. The competition will consider entries at all stages of development, from prototypes to fully developed, with awards going to five games or apps—three completed works and two prototypes.

An international jury, which includes representatives from Games for Peace, the Institute for Economics and Peace, Fields of View, Games for Change, and more, will review submitted games and apps according to three values:

  • Affording users a novel experience to engage with knowledge of other groups and issues of identity
  • Creatively engaging players in a playful manner
  • Enabling connections to key social media globally, in terms of functionality, language and reach

Click here for a complete competition guidelines, and then submit your entry.

Train2Game News Destiny sells huge amounts

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DestinyActivision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc announced that the company sold more than $500 million of Destiny into retail stores and first parties worldwide as of day one, making the game the biggest new video game franchise launch in history.

“Based on extraordinary audience demand, retail and first party orders worldwide have exceeded $500 million for Destiny,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “This industry milestone marks another blockbuster success for our company and demonstrates our unique ability to create some of the most successful entertainment franchises in the world. The success of Destiny, along with the recent introduction of Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone, is further validation of our unique capabilities to create great entertainment franchises from the ground up.”

Destiny launched at over 11,000 midnight openings around the world, as fans in over 178 countries (Source: Radian6) shared their fervour on YouTube and in social media.

“Since the beginning, we’ve been confident that our investment and belief in Destiny would pay off. But not many people believed we’d be able to say it did so on day one,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Destiny is officially the biggest new franchise launch in our industry’s history. It’s also the highest-selling day one digital console release in history. We have more confidence than ever that Destiny will become one of the iconic franchises of this generation and Activision’s next billion dollar brand. Most importantly, it’s just a great game which we can’t stop playing. A big thanks to our incredibly talented team and partners who helped make this happen; most importantly, our partners at Bungie.”

Train2Game News iPhone 6

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Apple® today announced iPhone® 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the biggest advancements in iPhone history, featuring two new models with stunning 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina HD displays, and packed with innovative technologies in an all-new dramatically thin and seamless design.

The new iPhones feature a precision unibody enclosure of anodized aluminum that conforms seamlessly with the shaped glass of the display, resulting in a completely smooth and continuous surface. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are engineered to be the thinnest ever, delivering a bigger display in a design that is still comfortable to hold and easy to use.

Packed with innovative new technologies, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus include: the Apple-designed A8 chip with second generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture for blazing fast performance and power efficiency; advanced iSight® and FaceTime® HD cameras; ultrafast wireless technologies; and Apple Pay™, an easier way to simply and securely make payments with just the touch of a finger. Both models include iOS 8, the latest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, featuring a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience with new Messages and Photos features, QuickType™ keyboard, a new Health app, Family Sharing and iCloud Drive℠.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the biggest advancements in iPhone history,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The iPhone is the most loved smartphone in the world with the highest customer satisfaction in the industry and we are making it much better in every way. Only Apple can combine the best hardware, software and services at this unprecedented level and we think customers are going to love it.”

For the first time iPhone is available in two new sizes: iPhone 6 features a stunning 4.7-inch Retina® HD display with 1334 x 750 resolution, providing 38 percent more viewing area than iPhone 5s, while iPhone 6 Plus features an even bigger 5.5-inch Retina HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, providing 88 percent more viewing area and nearly three times the pixels than iPhone 5s. The Retina HD displays offer advanced technologies including higher contrast for deeper blacks and dual-domain pixels for more accurate colors at wider viewing angles.

With second generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture, the all-new A8 chip offers faster performance and is more energy efficient, delivering higher sustained performance with great battery life. With Metal™, a new graphics technology in iOS 8, developers can take performance of the A8 chip even further to bring console-class 3D games to iPhone. The A8 chip also includes a new, powerful Apple-designed image signal processor that enables advanced camera and video features.

Both models include the M8 motion coprocessor that gathers motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and the new barometer, which senses air pressure to provide relative elevation. The M8 motion coprocessor can continuously measure your motion data, even when the device is asleep, saving battery life for fitness apps that use the sensors all day. With iOS 8, motion data from M8 appears in the Health app so you can see how many flights of stairs you’ve climbed, or how far you’ve walked or run. Developers can use CoreMotion APIs that take advantage of M8 and HealthKit to create apps that help you take better care of your health and fitness.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus introduce Apple Pay, an easy way to securely pay for physical goods and services in stores or apps with just the touch of a finger. Users can pay securely and conveniently in stores by simply holding the phone near the contactless reader while keeping a finger on Touch ID™; there is no need to unlock your iPhone or launch an app. With Apple Pay, you can also make one-touch purchases within apps, without having to enter credit card or shipping information. All payment information is kept private, encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Element, a chip inside the new iPhones.

The iSight camera gets even better with a new sensor featuring Focus Pixels for faster autofocus, making it easier to quickly capture any moment. iPhone 6 Plus users will also benefit from optical image stabilization technology that compensates for hand shake in low light and works with iOS 8 to reduce subject motion. High-definition video on iPhone improves with faster frame rates up to 60fps for 1080p video and 240fps for slo-mo, as well as continuous autofocus, cinematic video stabilization and time-lapse video. The FaceTime HD camera now captures over 80 percent more light with a new sensor, larger f/2.2 aperture and advanced new features including burst mode and HDR video.

With faster LTE download speeds of up to 150 Mbps, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users can browse, download and stream content faster. The new iPhones also support high-quality voice calls over LTE (VoLTE) as well as Wi-Fi calling. With support for up to 20 LTE wireless bands—more than any other smartphone in the world—the new models make it easier to experience high-speed networks around the world. Both iPhones also include 802.11ac Wi-Fi with speeds up to 433 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0.

The new iPhones come with iOS 8, the biggest release since the launch of the App Store℠, delivering a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience and new features including QuickType keyboard, a new Health app, Family Sharing and iCloud Drive. With more than 4,000 new APIs, iOS 8 allows developers to further customize the user experience with major extensibility features and robust frameworks such as HealthKit and HomeKit. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users also have access to the revolutionary App Store, which offers more than 1.3 million apps to iPhone, iPad® and iPod touch® users in 155 countries around the world.

iPhone 6 comes in gold, silver or space gray, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model, $299 (US) for the 64GB model and, for the first time, a new 128GB model for $399 (US) with a two-year contract.⁴ iPhone 6 Plus comes in gold, silver or space gray, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $299 (US) for the 16GB model, $399 (US) for the 64GB model and $499 (US) for the new 128GB model with a two-year contract.⁴ Both models will be available from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores, and through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, additional carriers and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK beginning on Friday, September 19, and customers can pre-order both models beginning on Friday, September 12.

Train2Game News Batman Arkham Knight release date

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Batman Arkham Knight Collectors EditionWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Batman: Arkham Knight is scheduled to release worldwide beginning June 2, 2015.

Also revealed, are two collector’s editions – Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition and Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile Edition. Both will be available in limited quantities at launch in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand for the PlayStation4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition will also be available in Europe, Australia and New Zealand for PC.

Batman: Arkham Knight Limited Edition will include:

· Custom Art Book – 80 Page, Full Colour Art Book Showcasing the concept art of Batman Arkham Knight
· Limited Edition SteelBook – Unique SteelBook case and game disc
· Comic Book – Limited Edition DC Comics Batman: Arkham Knight #0 Comic Book
· Exclusive Character Skin Pack – Three Unique Skins from DC Comics – The New 52
· Batman Memorial Statue – Imposing statue commemorating Gotham’s Protector, the Dark Knight
· SRP:
o Console – £89.99
o PC – £74.99

Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile Edition will include:

· Custom Art Book – 80 Page, Full Colour Art Book Showcasing the concept art of Batman Arkham Knight
· Limited Edition SteelBook – Unique SteelBook case and game disc
· Comic Book – Limited Edition DC Comics Batman: Arkham Knight #0 Comic Book
· Exclusive Character Skin Pack – Three Unique Skins from DC Comics – The New 52
· Transforming Batmobile Statue – Fully transformable Batmobile statue realised in exquisite detail by TriForce
· SRP: £169.99 (Console only)

Batman: Arkham Knight is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license and will be available exclusively for the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC.

Batman: Arkham Knight brings the award-winning Batman: Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady Studios to its epic conclusion. Developed exclusively for the New Generation of consoles and PCs, Batman: Arkham Knight introduces Rocksteady’s uniquely designed version of the Batmobile. The highly anticipated addition of this legendary vehicle, combined with the acclaimed gameplay of the Batman: Arkham series, offers gamers the ultimate and complete Batman experience as they tear through the streets and soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City. In this explosive finale, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city that he is sworn to protect, as Scarecrow returns to unite the super criminals of Gotham and destroy the Batman forever.