Tag Archives: games

Train2Game News EGX 2016 Tickets on sale

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Tickets for EGX, the UK’s biggest video games event, are now available to buy via the EGX website at www.egx.net/egx/tickets .

A successful transition to Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre in 2015 saw EGX attract its largest audience to date. EGX 2016 – powered by Virgin Media – returns to the NEC from 22nd to 25th September.

Over 250 different games on nearly 2,000 screens filled the EGX 2015 show floor, including blockbusters from PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Activision, Ubisoft, SEGA and EA. EGX 2016 is expected to go even further, with even more games from the world’s biggest publishers in tandem with the latest games from the flourishing indie scene.

Virtual Reality was one of the stories of EGX 2015, with PlayStation VR and HTC Vive both making their UK public debuts, and Oculus Rift headsets also available to sample. 2016 is set to be a pivotal year for virtual reality and EGX will once again be the premier event for showcasing this cutting-edge technology in the UK.

EGX has long been the number one choice in the UK for exhibiting pre-release games, and media outlets are expected to bring coverage of the event to an international audience. In 2015 major publications including BBC Newsbeat, Channel 5, Vice and Radio One produced over 400 pieces of coverage for a combined audience of 1.5 billion.

Attendee feedback for 2015’s event was overwhelmingly positive and the EGX team will build on this success with further additions and innovations for 2016. These include the addition of a fifth hall, resulting in 20 per cent more floor space; more playable games and features than ever before; the introduction of afternoon tickets; and extended opening hours on Saturday and Sunday. Additionally, an improved registration process is being implemented to allow attendees to maximise their gameplay time at the event.

David Lilley, Managing Director of Gamer Events, said, “Our focus this year is on delivering what we know attendees want – more playable games and yet more gaming activities. An additional hall will enable us to achieve this aim and will allow us to provide more spaces for attendees to spend time gaming with friends. The changes in ticket structure will result in improved crowd management and an even better attendee experience. EGX is the UK’s flagship games event and we’re excited at the prospect of taking it even further.”

EGX’s long and successful association with Virgin Media continues and their customers will have access to the best value tickets, with a limited number of half-price early entry tickets available for each day.

Features planned for EGX 2016:

●     The number one destination for fans of games to meet up with friends and share their enthusiasm for their hobby
●     A huge Rezzed Zone with the world’s largest collection of independently developed games
●     A packed Developer Sessions schedule featuring the world’s greatest game creators
●     A massive eSports stage delivered in partnership with Gfinity, leaders in eSports
●     The biggest ever EGX cosplay arena
●     More retro games and retro gaming systems than ever before
●     The GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair, offering invaluable advice to those looking to begin a career in games
●     Prominent YouTube personalities meeting fans
●     The Rezzed Sessions stage, featuring panels giving in-depth insight into the game development process
●     Retail stands with limited edition merch and pre-order incentives exclusive to EGX
●     The UK’s number one fighting game stage
●     A large tabletop gaming area with the latest games, and experts from Esdevium Games on-hand to guide players

Early entry ticket holders will have access to the event from 10am, day ticket holders will be able to enter from 11am and entry for those with afternoon tickets is 2pm. EGX closes at 6pm on Thursday and Friday and 7pm on the weekend. Tickets are now available via the EGX website (www.egx.net/egx/tickets ).

Train2Game News The Walking Dead Michonne Game

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Today we can share release dates and all-new screens for the first of three episodes in  The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries.

The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries will premiere its first of three episodes,  ‘In Too Deep,’ this February 23rd on PC/Mac from the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One® and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, followed by a release on compatible iOS devices via the App Store, and Android-based devices via Google Play and the Amazon App Store starting February 25th.

The second episode in the miniseries,  ‘Give No Shelter,’ will follow in the month of March, and conclude with the third episode,  ‘What We Deserve,’ in April. All three episodes in the miniseries will be available for purchase at the cost of $14.99 USD or equivalent when the first episode debuts, including access to the second and third episodes as they become available.

In this premiere episode,  ‘In Too Deep,’ Michonne joins Pete and his crew on the sailing ship  The Companion as they cruise the coast for survivors and supplies. When a desperate signal for help draws them to a scene of horrific massacre, Michonne and the crew are lead further to the floating survivors’ colony of Monroe, which may just be harboring the person responsible for the carnage.

The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries stars the iconic, blade-wielding character from Robert Kirkman’s best-selling comic books, portrayed in-game by award-winning actress  Samira Wiley (Orange is the New Black). Haunted by her past, and coping with unimaginable loss and regret, the story explores Michonne’s absence between issues #126 and #139 of the comic book. Over the three episodes of the miniseries, players will discover what took Michonne away from Rick, Ezekiel, and the rest of her trusted group… and what brought her back.

Ahead of its release, fans are invited to get an exclusive extended preview of the first episode of the series on  Youtube.com/TelltaleGames this Sunday February 14th at 8:30pm EST / 5:30pm PST. The development team will introduce the series allowing fans to experience the first five minutes of the premiere episode, exploring Michonne’s struggle to remain among the living while being haunted by her past.

To date,  The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series has sold  more than  50 million episodes worldwide, earning  more than 100 Game of the Year awards from outlets including  Metacritic, USA Today, Wired, Spike TV VGAs, Yahoo!, The Telegraph, Mashable, Polygon, Destructoid and GamesRadar, and was also the recipient of two  BAFTA Video Games Awards for  Best Story and Best Mobile Game.

The Walking Dead is set in the world of Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book series and offers an emotionally-charged, tailored game experience where a player’s actions and choices affect how their story plays out across the entire series.

The Walking Dead: Michonne – A Telltale Miniseries Episode 1 – ‘In Too Deep’ is rated ‘M’ (Mature) for Intense Violence, Blood & Gore, Sexual Themes, and Strong Language by the ESRB.

Train2Game News Hi-Rez Studios opens in Brighton

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Hi-Rez Studios today announced that it has opened a new office in Brighton, United Kingdom to expand its reach and better serve its rapidly growing European player base.

Veronique Lallier has been appointed as Vice President of European Publishing to build and lead the Brighton office. Lallier is the former Vice President of Digital Publishing at Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment International and has 15 years of experience in the gaming industry, with particular expertise in the European Online Gaming market.

“Fueled by the continued rapid growth of SMITE, our European community has expanded tremendously over the past year,” said Todd Harris, COO of Hi-Rez Studios. “Hi-Rez prides itself in being a highly community-oriented company, and this move will allow us to much better serve our European players, across SMITE as well as our other games.”

The office will focus primarily on community management, localization and marketing operations for Europe. Core development and operations will still be handled from Hi-Rez’s headquarters in Atlanta.

“I am delighted to join the Hi-Rez team to help support and expand our European player base.” Lallier said, “Hi-Rez has a unique and vibrant community in Europe – as evidenced by the European victory at the 2016 Smite World Championship! I look forward to meeting and working with our passionate fan base here in Europe.”

Hi-Rez is currently hiring for positions in the Brighton office.  For more information about available jobs, visit http://www.hirezstudios.com/ .

Train2Game News Exhibition places available at PLAY Expo Blackpool

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This April, the UK’s favourite Arcade, Indie & Retro video gaming expo will be returning to the Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre in Blackpool for it’s fifth year.

Proud supporters of the UK indie scene, Replay Events are offering indie developers and studios special low rates for space and power on the main show floor – but space is limited so if you want to get involved you’ll need to act fast!

Located at the Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, PLAY Expo Blackpool attracts over 5000 attendees from all over the UK during the two day event. The expo draws a diverse crowd due to the variety of systems, exhibitions and activities on offer – some people come for the coin-ops, pinball and retro stuff, some for the current gen and indie games, others for cosplay, highscore tournaments or talks from game industry legends – but the majority embrace the entire spectrum of video gaming culture as a whole.

Unlike some other expos, the indie section at PLAY Expo Blackpool won’t be hidden away in a separate hall away from the main ruckus.
Indies will be centrally located within the main exhibition space, i.e. where the people are. Prices for exhibiting are extremely
reasonable:

    -£180 Standard booth (1x table, 6ft backing board, space and power for 2x PC/Console set-ups, 2x Exhibitor passes)

    -£300 Large booth (2x tables, 6ft backing board, space and power for 4x PC/Console set-ups, 4x Exhibitor passes)

(Note that wired internet, PC hire and additional exhibitor passes are also available at an additional cost. Please contact us for further information and prices).

In addition to this, exhibiting indies will have their own dedicated liaison in the form of RGCD.DEV/RGCD.CO.UK’s James Monkman, who’ll be on hand before, during and after the event to help ensure exhibitors requirements over the weekend are fully accommodated.

For further information on the event visit the PLAY Expo Blackpool website (www.playexpoblackpool.com ). You can either register your interest in exhibiting online via the contact page, or request an information pack from James direct via email (james.monkman@replayevents.com ) or Twitter (@James_Monkman).

Train2Game News Plays.tv Chrome Extension

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Plays.tv, the video-sharing platform for gamers, today introduced the Plays.tv Chrome Extension, now available in the Chrome store.

The extension allows Twitch viewers to quickly capture, trim, and share any moment from a livestream with a click, hotkey, or by typing “!plays” in Twitch chat. The streamer always retains credit and all highlights appear on their profile page, along with videos the streamer personally uploads, making Plays.tv the comprehensive destination for all of gaming’s best moments.

“Anyone who’s ever watched a Twitch stream has seen something incredible that they’ve wanted to replay or share,” said Dennis Fong, CEO and founder of Plays.tv parent company Raptr. “The new Plays.tv Chrome Extension lets anyone do exactly that, while guaranteeing the streamer gets full credit – and coming soon, compensation as well.”

Plays.tv has created a complete experience for creators and viewers alike. By connecting their Twitch account, fans automatically get highlights from each streamer they follow as part of their Plays.tv feed, and coming soon, a “live indicator” that will alert them when those streamers are broadcasting live.

“Fans are constantly asking me to post more highlights, but I just don’t have the time given our crazy practice schedule.” said Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, League of Legends mid-laner for Team Solo-Mid. “It’s great that fans can now grab my best moments for me and see them posted next to clips I’ve personally shared.”

“The new Plays.tv Chrome extension puts the control in the hands of the fans,” said Nik Adams, Senior Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development at ESL. “Now they get to tell us what they think the best moments are across all of our tournaments – from Intel Extreme Masters and ESL One to our National Championships and beyond. This gives fans a whole new way of interacting with our broadcasts.”

With the Plays.tv Chrome Extension, users can capture a 30-second, source-quality video clip of any Twitch livestream moment after it’s happened. The clip can then be trimmed and posted to Plays.tv – with one-click sharing to Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, etc. The video is posted with attribution to the original streamer; Twitch broadcasters will have all highlights from their Twitch stream presented on their Plays.tv profile page, organized by livestream session.

Train2Game News Mobile game to support LGBTQ

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Atari®, one of the world’s most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment, today announced the worldwide availability of Pridefest™, an original social-sim game inspired by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community.

Available now on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch as well as on Google Play for Android devices, Pridefest is a free-to-play game designed to emulate the colorful atmosphere and inclusive spirit of the hundreds of real-world Pride parades held annually around the world. In anticipation of the launch, Atari first showcased Pridefest at NYC Pride and Flame Con where members of the LGBTQ community and allies received an exclusive sneak peek of the game. For more on their reactions and excitement, check out the highlight video https://e1.m.tt/a/nrrobhrb.html

To download on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch:
https://e1.m.tt/a/vttkmjzb.html

To download on Google Play for Android devices:
https://e1.m.tt/a/vttkmgbk.html

“Pride is only one small portion of the diverse LGBTQ culture and community, but it is one centered on freedom of expression, the pursuit of equality, and shared celebration. Pridefest was designed to celebrate progress the LGBTQ community has made toward equality while working to emulate the spirited and celebratory atmosphere of today’s real-world parades,” said Fred Chesnais, Chief Executive Officer of Atari. “It was that spirited atmosphere that especially drew us to the idea of Pride as an overarching theme and parades as the core gameplay mechanic. ”

As the new mayor of a city that has seemingly lost its fun and color overnight, Pridefest players are tasked with bringing the city back to its former glory. The mayor must transform buildings from dull to bright by spreading joy throughout the city, acting as the Grand Marshal and restoring pride throughout the city, neighborhood by neighborhood. Players can showcase their personality by customizing avatars, shops and storefronts, and pride flotillas while following an engaging storyline through more than 40 quests to unlock new content. Fill the “Fun Meter” to achieve the city’s optimal happiness and make the citizens cheerful again.

“As Atari’s first game developed in support of LGBTQ equality, Pridefest works to bridge the gap between this underserved community and the gaming industry,” said Chesnais. “While creating a fun, inclusive game members of the community and allies can enjoy was an important goal, we hope that Pridefest also serves as a platform for members of the LGBTQ community to connect in a safe, supportive atmosphere.”

Packed with social features designed to encourage players to connect on a global scale – Pridefest boasts one-to-one chat functionality, options to visit and run pride parades in far-off cities created by other Pridefest players, as well as a “club” system that allows the formation of in-game groups. The various social features can be turned on or off, based on the preferences of players.

Also essential to the Pridefest experienceis the level of personalization, which is incorporated throughout the game. Avatar customization gives players the choice of dozens of body types, hairstyles, clothing, and accessories to personalize. Pride flotillas provide another opportunity for customization, with various themes, mascots, decorations, and more available to incorporate into each parade.  

Pridefest is developed in partnership with Mad Marshmallow. To learn more and download on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch or on Google Play for Android devices, visit PridefestGame.com.

Train2Game News Revolution 25th Anniversary

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Revolution is proud to announce the forthcoming release of the Revolution: the 25th Anniversary Collection box set on 11th March 2016, exclusively on PC, at a price of £ 29.99 / 39,99 €.

As well as Revolution’s full roster of games, the box set will contain comic books, posters, high quality audio tracks, a Broken Sword USB, and a digital timeline with extensive behind- the-scenes materials, plus two hours of video telling the Revolution story and the making of their games, featuring interviews with key team members and creative partners such as Dave Gibbons, Rolf Saxon and Barrington Pheloung.

“As a team, we feel very privileged to still be writing adventure games after twenty five years, and are hugely proud of the loyalty and passion of our fans over this period. It is with great pleasure that we have put together this collection of our games, posters, comics and other material, as well as a comprehensive series of movies retracing the history both of the company and the games that we have created. We hope that it will appeal to all gamers who love adventure games,” said Charles Cecil, Founder & CEO of Revolution.

Distributed exclusively by Koch Media, Revolution: the 25th Anniversary Collection will include:

·         Revolution’s full catalogue of adventure games:
Broken Sword 1 – Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword 1:  Director’s Cut
Broken Sword 2 – the Smoking Mirror
Broken Sword 2: Remastered
Broken Sword 3 – the Sleeping Dragon
Broken Sword 4 – the Angel of Death
Broken Sword 5 – the Serpent’s Curse
In Cold Blood
Beneath a Steel Sky
Lure of the Temptress

·         Comic Compendium for Broken Sword 1, 2 and 5 by Dave Gibbons and Angus McKie

·         Beneath a Steel Sky Comic by Dave Gibbons

·         4 double-sided Posters

·         Broken Sword USB Stick with the Soundtrack of all games (soundtrack also included on DVD)

·         Audio CD with selected tracks of all Soundtracks

·         Exclusive Interactive Timeline with 25 years of behind-the-scenes assets and information, as well as six episodic documentary movies covering the 25-year history of Revolution and its games.

Train2Game News Mew in GAME

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Pokémon celebrates 20 years of “Gotta catch ’em all!” on February 27, and as part of the celebrations, fans are invited to head to GAME Digital PLC this February to discover and collect the first of the special Pokémon characters to be distributed throughout 2016!

Owners of Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X or Pokémon Y for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems can head into a local shop and collect Mew, the very first of the Mythical Pokémon!

Mew is said to possess the genetic composition of all Pokémon. It is capable of making itself invisible at will, so it entirely avoids notice even if it approaches people.

·         LEVEL: 100
·         TYPE: Psychic
·         ABILITY: Synchronize
·         MOVE: Pound

Mew’s appearance at GAME Digital PLC will take place from 1–28 February, and is timed to coincide with the release of the Pokémon TCG: Mythical Pokémon Collection—Mew scheduled to launch on 22 February. This is the first of the Mythical Pokémon Collections designed to celebrate Pokémon’s milestone year. It includes a special Mew promo card and a pin of the Mythical Pokémon, plus two Pokémon TCG: Generations booster packs and a code to unlock the cards in the Pokémon TCG Online.

Mew fans can head to one of GAME  Digital PLC UK’s participating shops and look for even more collectible items featuring the original Mythical Pokémon Mew, including a plush, a Mew figurine with Great Ball from TOMY, and an exclusive t-shirt designed by BIOWORLD Europe. All items are exclusive to GAME Digital PLC in the United Kingdom while stocks last.

Owners of Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X or Pokémon Y who wish to collect Mew for their game should head to the counter where they will receive a special code printed on a receipt at no charge.

What’s more, Pokémon TCG: XY—BREAKpoint, the latest expansion to the XY Series, will also be available in stores from 3 February!

This Mew bonanza comes hot on the heels of the Pokémon Company International’s announcement that they are celebrating 20 years since Pokémon first launched with the video games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green in Japan for the Nintendo Game Boy in 1996.

Pokémon TCG: Generations boosters will be available within the specially labelled and designed range for this special year, starting with the Mythical Pokémon Collection—Mew and followed by new Mythical Pokémon Collections throughout 2016, each containing additional Pokémon TCG: Generations boosters. Four Pokémon TCG: Red & Blue Collections, each featuring one of the original superstars of the Pokémon world, will be released containing even more boosters.

Throughout 2016, even more collectible Pokémon characters will be distributed to owners of the hugely successful Nintendo 3DS games Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. After Mew, Darkrai, Arceus, and other popular Pokémon will be distributed during the 2016 celebrations!

Plans differ depending on the fan’s location, so be sure to visit Pokemon.co.uk/20 for more information about Pokémon 20, Train On projects, and join the conversation using #Pokemon20.

Pokémon. Twenty Years. Train On.

Train2Game News Re-figuring Innovation in Games

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University of Leicester study to address gender inequality in UK-based game design higher education programmes

The marginalised status of women in the video game industry will be challenged by a new international research project involving the University of Leicester.

Video games routinely feature ‘hyper-sexualised’ female characters , and despite around half of all game players being women they remain dramatically underrepresented in the industry, with only 4 per cent of programmers being female and women making up just 22 per cent of the industry workforce as a whole.

A new project, titled ‘Re-figuring Innovation in Games’, which is funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), aims to support a dramatic re-think and ‘re-configuring’ of the video game industry, where a lack of gender diversity, inclusivity and interventions that can shift the status quo stifles innovation.

Dr Alison Harvey from the University of Leicester’s Department of Media and Communication explained: “Women and girls have largely been excluded from games culture − as players, makers and protagonists. Additionally, many of those who do participate in games have been publicly harassed both online and offline as exemplified by the ‘Gamergate’ hate campaign.

“Addressing long-standing gender inequalities in the global digital games industry is a vital means by which to stimulate innovation and sustain the growth and consolidation of this massive creative arena.

“This project recognises that these issues can only be tackled through the inclusion of a range of international and interdisciplinary partners thinking about and planning to create equity in games culture, education, and work.”

Dr Harvey is co-leading the Formal Education research theme of the project and will be conducting a study of UK-based game design higher education programmes in order to assess how diversity is encouraged or hindered within formal education such as degree and certificate programmes in game design and game studies.

The study aims to make an intervention in how these programmes are promoted and organised to foster more inclusive game design training, through consultation with educators, students, skills bodies, professional associations, policy-makers, and industry representatives.

Key outcomes of this international cross-sectoral partnership project include the development of: an inclusivity toolkit for the games industry, gender-inclusive curricula for game programs and incubators, and high-impact blogging, journalism, and scholarly presentations and publications that inform and prepare the next generation of researchers and game-sector employees to rebuild a games industry and culture that supports inclusion and innovation.

The project, which will run until 2019, is led by Professor Jennifer Jenson at York University in Canada and includes the University of Leicester as well as 20 partners from international universities, gaming companies, gaming collectives, gaming NGOs, and professional associations.

The project website is available here: www.refig.ca

Train2Game News Pokémon Super Bowl Ad

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The Pokémon Company International today unveiled a new TV commercial that will air during Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, February 7.

The ad, shot in Rio de Janeiro, celebrates the millions of Pokémon fans around the world, encourages them to enjoy the Pokémon references hidden in the ad and Train On. A 30-second version of the ad will be aired at the beginning of the third quarter of Super Bowl 50. An extended version can be viewed at http://bit.ly/1KzQloU.

“For 20 years, the Pokémon world has inspired fans to train hard and have fun,” said J.C. Smith, senior director of Consumer Marketing at The Pokémon Company International. “This ad is reflective of that passion, and I can’t think of a bigger stage to share this story than the Super Bowl.”

The ad is part of a yearlong campaign celebrating 20 years of Pokémon. First introduced in Japan in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green for the Nintendo Game Boy system, Pokémon has delighted fans of all ages around the world for two decades. With more than 275 million video games sold worldwide, 21.5 billion TCG cards shipped to 74 countries, and an animated series spanning 18 seasons, Pokémon is one of the most successful entertainment brands in the world.

Be sure to visit Pokemon.co.uk/20 for more information about Pokémon 20, Train On projects and join the conversation using #Pokemon20.

Pokémon. Twenty Years. Train On.