Virgin & Ubisoft form tag-team

Posted on by
Reply

Virgin Gaming has partnered with Ubisoft to be the online tournament provider for some of the publisher’s most anticipated multiplayer console releases. Upcoming titles include Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. CEO of Virgin Gaming, Rob Segal, is pleased with the new deal.

“Ubisoft is one of the leading video game publishers in the world and we are thrilled to offer our members the opportunity to compete in some of their best multiplayer console games,”

“Virgin Gaming is a unique convergence of social networking, video games and competitive gaming, and we are excited that Ubisoft shares our vision for the platform and its potential.”

Ubisoft President of North America, Laurent Detoc, also spoke positively of the partnership.

“Ubisoft is thrilled to be partnering with Virgin Gaming on its new venture. We have an exciting line-up of multiplayer titles this year that we believe will be a perfect fit for gamers to play and compete against each other in a tournament setting.”

Sir Richard Branson unveiled Virgin Gaming to at E3 with an announcement that they would give away over $1 million in cash and prizes over its first 12 months.

Apparently we’ll get more information about Virgin Gaming’s other partnerships in the coming months.

So Train2Game, what do you think of this new partnership? Will it work? And do you think you’ll try and enter any of their online competitions?

As usual, leave your thoughts here or on the Train2Game forum.

Starcraft II ‘the fasting selling strategy game of all time’

Posted on by
Reply

Blizzard has revealed that Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty sold over a million copies worldwide in just its first day on sale.

That already made it the best selling PC game of the year so far, while selling a total of 1.5 million copies in its first 48 hours cemented Starcraft II as the fastest selling strategy game of all time.

More than 8,000 stores throughout the world opened their doors at midnight to celebrate the release of the much anticipated sci-fi sequel, including Game on London’s Oxford Street.

The store saw hundreds of fans queuing up to be among the first to play Starcraft II, 12 years after the original hit the PC in 1998. CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, Mike Morhaime, is happy with the title’s initial sales.

“We launched Starcraft II in 11 different languages and on 5 different continents because we wanted to make sure as many players as possible were able to log on and play on day one.”

“We’re pleased that so many people around the world have already picked up a copy of the game, and we look forward to welcoming even more players to Battle.net in the weeks and months ahead.”

Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty topped the UK charts this week, and retailer GameStop has confirmed it’s the fastest selling PC title since the release of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King – also published by Blizzard – in 2008.

So, Train2Game are you surprised by that Starcraft II sold a million copies in just 24 hours, or was it to be expected? Have you played it yet? And finally, is any other PC or strategy title going to beat it in the near future?

As usual, leave your thoughts here or on the Train2Game forum.

Games on discs still reign supreme

Posted on by
1

Discs remain the gamers top choice

80 to 90% of video games are still purchased on disc according to a report by the Entertainment Merchants Association. The D2 Report: Discs & Digital – The Business of Home Entertainment Retailing states that physical media such as DVDs, Blu-rays and other video game discs are remain the overwhelming choice of consumers.

This echo’s previous surveys that suggest despite the rise of digital distribution, especially on the PC thanks to Steam, we still prefer a physical copy of a game over one that’s been downloaded.

The report says combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales in the USA totalled $17.9 billion in 2009, nine times the revenue generated by digital distribution channels. 80 to 90% of games purchased were also through these traditional outlets. EMA president and CEO Bo Andersen says there’s a lot of life left in discs yet.

“While there has been a great deal of focus recently on the slippage of revenues in the DVD market, the untold story is that consumers’ embrace of home entertainment remains very strong and packaged media is the preferred delivery instrument”

“Digital distribution is clearly an important segment of the home entertainment market and will continue to grow in market share in the coming year. While it is tempting for industry outsiders to say ‘disc is dead,’ as the saying goes, reports of its demise are grossly exaggerated.”

While the EMA openly support entertainment retailers, the report used data together data from leading home video and video game industry analysts, including Adams Media Research, Digital Entertainment Group, The NPD Group, Parks Associates, and ScreenDigest.

The report also notes that transactions for ‘pre-recorded video content’ increased by 2.8% in 2009.

So Train2Game, what percentage of your games are on discs compared to being downloaded through digital distribution? Do you still think a game in a box is the ultimate form of distribution?

And what were the last games you bought through each method of purchase?

As usual, leave your thoughts here or on the Train2Game forum.

Activision sell over 20 million Call of Duty map packs

Posted on by
Reply

Over 20 million Call of Duty map packs have been sold since the franchise began in 2003. Six map packs have been released by Activision so far, with one for Call of Duty 4, three for World at War and two for Modern Warfare 2.

The most recent downloadable content came in the form of this years Stimulus and Resurgence packages, both sold very well despite many feeling the asking price of over £10 was far too expensive for a handful of maps.  However, everyone’s favourite Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is obviously pleased with the success of the games:

“The Call of Duty franchise is unique in the world of entertainment and delivers one of the best multiplayer experiences ever”

“We are thrilled to deliver to fans exciting and engaging content that has the intensity they have come to expect from the franchise.”

Activision say that Call of Duty is the number one best-selling first person shooter franchise in both the USA and Europe, with Chart-Track, GfK and NPD group figures showing that sales indicate this to be true.

Of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had one of the biggest first weeks in entertainment history and has no doubt had a massive hand in the success of the franchise. The fact that the smash sequel has only been out of the UK top ten since it was released in November is testament to its triumph.

Despite the massive achievements of the Call of Duty titles, Bobby Kotick still thinks there is more money to be made from them. Last month he told the Wall Street Journal that if he could change one thing about Activision, it’d be to charge a subscription to play Call of Duty online. Rumours of a future pay as you play Call of Duty have been roaming the internet ever since.

So Train2Game students, what do you think about the Call of Duty map packs? Are they a testament to the success of the game? Or just evidence of an exercise in corporate money making?  Would you charge for extra content in future? And is Modern Warfare 2 really one of the best multiplayer games?

As usual, leave your thoughts here or on the Train2Game forum.

Do you Train2Game students fancy an NUS Extra Card?

Posted on by
Reply

Train2Game students will shortly be entitled to the NUS Extra Card free of charge, providing you with a range of discounts and benefits.

From September this year, all Train2Game students who have passed the Section 1 Examination of their course will be able to apply for the NUS Extra Card. The cost of the card will be free, giving you access to discounts and special offers from a range of national retailers and brands – including Amazon, Apple, Comet, Game and Odeon Cinemas.

Train2Game Director, Clive Robert is positive about the move:

“We are really pleased that Train2Game students are to be welcomed into the NUS and are now eligible for the NUS Extra Card, opening the door to a whole host of benefits and discounts that are enjoyed by so many students across the UK.”

The NUS is the primary confederation of students’ unions that exist inside the UK. For more information please visit http://www.nus.org.uk

Another essential F1 2010 dev diary for Train2Game students

Posted on by
Reply

Codemasters have released another F1 2010 developer diary and once again it should make interesting viewing for Train2Game students, particularly the Games Designers.

Entitled Live the Life, and describes what is essentially the games story. You start off as a new driver, with the expectations placed upon you depending on your team and difficulty setting. The video is once again fronted by Formula 1 driver and Technical Consultant on F1 2010 Anthony Davidson, and he explains how your teams expectations are very authentic.

“The expectations for the driver playing the game are the same as in real life given your machinery. At the end of the day, the teammate that you have is the only direct competition you’ll have through the whole season. There’s a strange balance of having to work together but also this desperate competition. Where it gets a little bit personal is events like qualifying and the race where you’re just out there to beat him, no matter what.”

The video also demonstrates how you won’t just be driving the car, but will be involved in press conferences and other media duties with the in-game journalists’ questions depending on how well you’ve been driving. The video doesn’t reveal how this’ll affect the game, but perhaps it’ll be in the style of Football Manager where your reactions can either boost or lower the morale of your team. Or will your comments cause your rivals to almost run you into a wall?

Interestingly, the developers discuss how they’ve striven for realism in the garage by using motion capture from real F1 mechanics to make everything as close to the real thing as possible. Of course, there are also pit girls, whether or not they were motion captured isn’t revealed…

Anyway, you can watch Live the Life of a Formula 1 driver below.

If you missed the previous developer diary, which examined the work put into recreating the cars, you can watch it here.

So Train2Game, what do you think of this latest Codemasters F1 2010 Developer Diary?  Did you expect Games Designers to have to include a story and scripts for a racing game? And how would you like to use motion capture in one of your future games?

As usual, leave your comments here or on the Train2Game forum.

Starcraft II claims Number 1

Posted on by
Reply

Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty has launched to top spot of the UK software charts in its debut week. Blizzard’s sequel has been one of the most anticipated PC releases of the year, with hundreds of fans queuing up to be among the first to play the RTS on the early hours of Tuesday morning. Starcraft II has topped the charts through boxed releases alone, and while the long awaited Sci-fi sequel is likely to also have successfully sold in digital form, these downloads are not tracked by Chart-Track.

The Blizzard RTS has bumps Toy Story 3 down to second place, with Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption still strongly rounding up sales despite dropping to third.  Dance on Broadway and Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 move down one place each to forth and fifth.

Just Dance climbs two places from eighth to sixth, while Nintendo DS RPG Dragon Quest IX:  Sentinels Starry Skies also moves up two spots from ninth to seventh in its second week of sales.

FPS rivals Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 both re-enter the top ten, climbing from eleventh to eight and twelfth to tenth respectively. Meanwhile Super Mario Galaxy two remains in the top ten, but has dropped from sixth to ninth.

Crackdown 2 has crashed out of the top ten, dropping from tenth to eighteenth, despite holding first place as recently as two weeks ago.

The full top ten for the week ending July 31st is as follows:

1. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (Blizzard)
2. Toy Story 3 (Disney)
3. Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar)
4. Dance on Broadway (Ubisoft)
5. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Warner Bros)
6. Just Dance (Ubisoft)
7. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky (Square Enix)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Blizzard)
9. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo)
10. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA)

So, Train2Game students, will Starcraft II hold onto first place?  Why does Modern Warfare 2 continue to be so popular? And why do you think Crackdown 2 has seen such an undignified drop?

As usual, leave your thoughts here or on the Train2Game forum.

The making of Red Dead Redemption’s music

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s something interesting for you dear Train2Game blog readers, Rockstar have released a video describing how they composed and produced authentic music for Read Dead Redemption.  They enlisted musicians to play authentic western style instruments including a Harmonica player with 60 years of experience.

I personally find it interesting when they describe how the music changes depending on player actions. You can check out the video below.

So, what do you think of the video? And how much thought have you Train2Game Designers and Developers put into music for your games? Which game do you think offers the best musical score?

Of course, if music doesn’t take your fancy, you could always watch the F1 2010 Developer Diary that we posted earlier this week. That one may be more up the street of Train2Game Artist & Animators.

As usual, leave your thoughts here or on the Train2Game forums.

Popcap reveal new Disco Zombie

Posted on by
Reply

Meet Disco Zombie

Those Plants vs. Zombies guys’ sure work fast! Just one day after Popcap revealed that the Michael Jackson estate demanded they remove the Thriller inspired Disco Zombie, they’ve revealed their new design.

Popcap have this to say about their latest addition:

“‘I can confirm that there is in fact a new ‘disco zombie’ (see image attached) and I would really appreciate if you could ‘be nice to the new guy’…the disco zombie is starting to feel like a second class zombie citizen, which is really unfair considering the length of time he spent doing his hair! I actually managed to catch up with him earlier today and, while he’s a little adverse to public speaking, he gave me the following (badly) written statement:

“Dear Alive Peeples, I am pleazed too join the big brainz at PopCap and can’t wait to meat you all. And yes, I du my own heir.”’

Disco Zombie, likes disco music.

Do I get to say I told you so?  The latest addition to the hit Plants vs. Zombies does look like he shares the same stylist as Disco Stu, even down to the dead fish in the platform shoes. The Simpsons won’t be demanding its removal now, will they?

What do you think of the funky new design Train2Game? Do you think you could turnaround a new design in such a short time?

As usual, leave your thoughts here or on the Train2Game forum.

Guillermo del Toro working on games for ‘a big company’

Posted on by
Reply

Director Guillermo Del Toro has revealed he’s working on multiple video game projects. In an interview with MTV, the Pans Labyrinth and Hellboy Director said:

“One of the things we’re announcing in the next few weeks is a big deal with a big company. We’re going to do games that are going to be technically and narratively very interesting. It’s not a development deal. We’re going to do it. We’re doing them. And we’re going to announce it soon enough.”

Del Toro unfortunately couldn’t give MTV anymore details, saying that if he did, the ‘big company’ “would probably shoot me in the head.”

It’s nice to see a film director with positive views on video games – Del Toro has previously likened indie game Flower to Haiku poetry – especially after Harry Potter Mike Newell recently told CVG, ‘Video games chat bores the arse off me’

Del Toro was initially on board to direct a film adaptation of The Hobbit, but that fell through. However, could he be about to oversee a game based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic title?

Hopefully, ‘soon enough’ won’t be very far away!

So, Train2Game students, what do you think about the prospect of Guillermo Del Toro having a hand in the development of a video game? What do you think the game will be? And what would you like it to be? And who is the mysterious big company?

As usual, leave your thoughts here or on the Train2Game forums.