Exciting news for all Train2Game students who are looking forward to Sony’s PlayStation 4. The UK release date and price has been announced.
The Sun news paper announced that the next gen console will be released later this year in October, this follows what Sony said when they announced the console last month.
Even better news is the price. The Sony PS4 will cost you £300. This is much cheaper than when the PS3 was released in 2007, costing £425. This new cheaper price makes it a much more viable option for most gamers and, in my opinion, there should be close competition with the next gen Xbox.
The cheaper price for the new Sony console is probably due to Android consoles like the Ouya and Game Stick being released for £99. The next gen consoles will also have the mobile and free-to-play markets to compete with so I can see a lot of surprises being pulled out from Sony and Microsoft.
The PlayStation 4 console it’s self still hasn’t been seen by public eyes. A good guess would be that both the next generation Xbox and the PlayStation 4 will be revealed at E3 in June in an attempt to compete with one another further.
Chimpact, a newly released Windows game which has a PEGI 3 rating, taken to Bromley youth group to hear their perspective in the on-going debate: Which video games are suitable for children?
Videogames are often in the news for all the wrong reasons, with claims games containing inappropriate content are getting into the hands of children and people accrediting acts of anti-social behaviour to things they have experienced in games, but is this the full story?
Read the document below to find out more about what the youth themselves think.
It is the end of the week so it is time for the Train2Game games industry news round up!
In exciting news for Pokémon video game players across Europe, The Pokémon Company International announced the long-awaited dates and locations for the Pokémon European Video Game Championships. The English competition will be held in Birmingham on June 2. Players will battle for the chance to earn a Travel Award to the 2013 Pokémon World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, this August. Visit www.pokemon.co.uk for more information.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Infinite Crisis, an all-new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Turbine, the award winning studio behind free-to-play online games including The Lord of the Rings Online. Infinite Crisis is a free-to-play game that features a deep roster of DC Comics characters and is scheduled for release in 2013 for the PC.
In further news from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, they announced two of its biggest mobile games, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown and Scribblenauts Remix, are coming to Android, exclusively in the Amazon Appstore for Android. Expanded to and completely optimized for the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD offers gamers with new ways to connect to their favorite franchises.
Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network have started their Spring Sales. Xbox Live’s sale runs from March 26 – April 2, and includes such titles as Dead Rising 2, Walking Dead, LA Noire, Max Payne 3, Resident Evil 6 and some of their movie offerings. The PSN kicked off its spring sale yesterday and it is running until April 9. In addition to the sale, it’s going to have a number of limited time offers, the first of which is Killzone HD, available till the April 29. Some of its games up for sale are Rayman 3 and Trine 2.
Electronic Arts, Sega, Sony, Codemasters and more have pledged support for the first Game QA & Localisation forum, taking place June 25-26 in London. The event will focus on best practices for test plans, QA budgeting and strategy with a mix of keynotes, sessions, panels and workgroups. Paradox, Outplay, Ganz, Plarium and Abertay University are also involved with the event. Full details can be found at the official site.
Train2Game helps to achieve national and international coverage for student’s studio’s title with the support of Train2Game’s PR team.
Student Fee Stewart has been working with Train2Game internal PR team to deliver worldwide coverage for Radiation Burn’s latest title Boomba! Fee, who is an Artist and Project manager at the studio, took advantage of the additional support Train2Game offer and coordinated withTrain2Game’s PR team to draft and distribute a press release on behalf of the studio.
This support is available to all students commercially releasing games, whether they be independent student studios or working at organisations outside of Train2Game. Train2Game love to support the successes of its students and the student body love to hear about them, so make sure to keep us informed of everything you are working on.
You can see some of the international articles in the links below, including sites from Spain, France and Brazil.
Train2Game Student, Fee Stewart, has been working with Radiation Burn LTD to create a new exciting game called, Boomba!
In the game you get to play as punks, rockers, emos, soldiers, cops and many more characters in an exciting and enjoyable turn based strategy game that is based described as Angry Birds meets Worms.
This turn based physics shooter is completely unique and plays like no other. There are over 50 different teams to choose from, with more to follow. Aimed at aged 7+ casual to medium game players, this title really is open to everyone. The accuracy of your shooting is combined with a range of exciting weaponry to be victorious; use chainsaw missiles, boxing glove bazookas and metal anvils to defeat your opponents.
Boomba will be available on: Nintendo 3DS, iOS, Windows 8 and Windows Phone, Kindle, Blackberry, Andoid, PC and Mac next month.
RadiationBurn Ltd. strives to provide fun and original IP for your enjoyment. The studio, founded in Middlesbrough 2010, creates fun and original titles of all sizes. The company was founded through winning the Microsoft Dream.Build.Play Challenge, Old Spice competition. A worldwide competition in which RadiationBurn Ltd. were voted winners, by a panel of judges and the gaming public.
Fee joined the company in October 2011 after finishing a Train2Game student placement at the company.
When asked her opinion of the game she said “Boomba! is something I thought I would be doing only once. It soon became a daily habit to both create the game and play it!”
Wizards of the Coast today announced the product lineup for Magic 2014 this summer, which includes the Magic 2014 – Duels of the Planeswalkers video game.
This is the first game of the Trading Card Game series that will be available on Android devices. It will still be available on iPad, Xbox LIVE Arcade, Steam and PlayStation Network.
Magic: The Gathering is the first and most widely played trading card game. Players take on the role of Planeswalkers – powerful mages who battle others for glory, knowledge and conquest. Their weapons include spells, creatures, and artifacts gathered from a vast Multiverse of unique fantasy worlds. With more than 12 million players and fans worldwide, Magic is printed in 11 languages and played in more than 70 countries.
Duels of the Planeswalkers will offer players exciting new features as they partner with the fire Planeswalker, Chandra Nalaar to track down a manipulative and dangerous Planeswalker foe. An immersive storyline and strong integration with the Magic 2014 Core Set ties the experience together for players.
Worth Wollpert, Executive Producer of Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast said “The Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers franchise has been engaging and exciting gamers since we launched in 2009 and continues to be the best way for new players to learn how to play Magic.
“This year, with the addition of a fifth platform – Android – along with new features and a more focused integration between online and offline play, we continue to deliver a best-in-class gaming experience.”
Magic 2014 – Duels of the Planeswalkers builds on the success of previous games in the franchise and adds all new features including an immersive storyline, 10 brand new decks, 15 new encounters, 10 new puzzle challenges and an all-new unannounced play mode in addition to other exciting features. Magic 2014 players will get the first look at cards from the Magic 2014 Core Set in Duels of the Planeswalkers, creating even more seamless integration between the online and offline games.
Dungeon Defenders 2 has been announced by Trendy Entertainment. The game will be free-to-play and features a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena.
The free-to-play tower defence role-playing game features a cooperative and competitive mode. The co-op mode is described as the true sequel to Dungeon Defenders, and features an expanded story and a 24-player overworld.
The competitive mode is a League of Legends-style Multiplayer Online Battle Arena experience set in the Dungeon Defenders universe. In this mode, five players defend their towers against the opposing team in classic MOBA style, potentially adding hours to the replayability.
The original Dungeon Defenders sold millions of copies with its popularity due to the combination of Tower Defense and RPG style game play.
Developer, Trendy Entertainment, said “Dungeon Defenders 2 is more fast-paced and the MOBA aims for a shorter learning curve and a more rpg-esque take on the genre.
“During the development of Dungeon Defenders we constantly tried different multiplayer modes. Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, you name it. None of them really fit. When planning the sequel, we couldn’t drop the idea that a MOBA in the Dungeon Defenders universe would rock. Maybe it was all the after hour games of League we played in the office. We don’t know. But it fit well into the storyline and achieved a core goal of helping Dungeon Defenders players meet new players, so we went all in.
“Our take on the MOBA genre is more rpg-esque, with more hero customization, persistent hero leveling, loot and a town square where players can socialize, manage their heroes, shop, trade, and queue for matches. We’ve drastically simplified the item system, to reduce the learning curve for new players and are aiming for shorter total match times. We’re also experimenting with some other unique twists that you might find out about later (if they work!).”
Dungeon Defenders 2 is in development for the PC, Mac, iOS, Android and the web. It’s releasing in two parts. Trendy said its focus is to release Dungeon Defenders 2 on platforms that allow consistent updates and cross-platform play and so won’t consider current generation consoles.
The co-op mode goes into beta late 2013 or early 2014. The competitive mode is in closed beta now. You can put your name down for an invite on the official website.
You can enjoy the trailer for the upcoming game below:
It is the end of the week so Train2Game news is bringing you a round up of games industry news.
Saint Row IV has got an official release date and teaser trailer today which was announced by the IP’s new owners, Deep Silver. What was originally imagined as a standalone expansion for Saints Row: The Third called “Enter the Dominatrix” became the basis for Saints Row IV after being re-purposed last year. “Enter the Dominatrix” featured the leader of the Saints being captured by an alien warlord and forced into a virtual reality simulation of Steelport. The game is being released on August 23 of this year. You can enjoy the suitably crazy trailer in the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ax5lfDVjF3w
The co-designer of the cult classic game Road Rash, Dan Geisler, has said that EA can’t do a decent remake of the hit bike racing title. He deduced that if they could have done it, they would have already. He voiced his opinions whilst taking part in an AMA on Reddit. When asked if a Road Rash game was possible for the mobile platforms. Dan replied “Absolutely! I would consider it a must.” So how likely is a new Road Rash? Dan said “As for Road Rash getting remade, a rose by any other name still can prick the shit out of your finger. I’m liking the chances of something really cool happening.” It sounds like a new Road Rash could be developed by the veteran but under a new name on mobile platforms.
A Crytek-authorised TimeSplitters game is in development for PC, built using the publisher’s sparkly CryEngine 3. TimeSplitters Rewind is being worked on by a team of fans – including members of the original TimeSplitters staff at Free Radical Design. Rewind will include multiplayer modes and challenges taken from the original three games, re-packaged in HD. Online play for 8-16 players and bots are in, project manager Michael Hubicka told Cooking with Grenades. But split-screen is out – CryEngine 3 simply does not support it at the moment. A demo is planned for December.
A new Warhammer 40k title is being developed by Slitherine. Slitherine are the publishers of tricky tactical strategy Unity of Command. Much of the details of the deal are being kept under wraps. All we know for sure is it’ll be a turn-based strategy, and that it’s being developed for multiple, as yet unnamed, platforms. Given Slitherine’s back-catalogue, this could mean the most faithful adaptation of tabletop Warhammer to date.
Finally, a new Pokémon game, Pokémon Rumble U, has been confirmed as a downloadable title that will feature all 649 pocket monsters battling it out, probably in a similar fashion to the last two games. As many gamers speculated when the Wii U’s NFC tech was first announced, you’ll be able to purchase Pokémon figurines, then place them on the NFC pad and have them appear in the game. It’s similar to how the popular Skylanders series works, except you won’t need a special accessory to link your figures with the game. You’ll also be able to level up your characters and record battle information on the toys themselves. Pokémon Rumble U is coming to Japan’s Wii U eShop on April 24. No news yet on North American or European release dates or pricing, but given the popularity of the Pokémon franchise, it will almost assuredly be heading our way soon.
Train2Game student radio has gone LIVE! This service will play all the best Train2Game interviews around on a loop so you never miss anything good.
The schedule for the interviews the service plays is as follows:
Phil Cross Audience Marketing Manager at Microsoft UK Mentors Train2Game Students: Phil answers questions from students and explains how Train2Game students can gain many areas of on-going support free from Microsoft.
On BBC Oxford Mike Gamble from Epic advises Parents: Mike shares how parents can help youngsters wanting a career in the gaming industry.
BBC Radio Derby talks to Train2Game Student Daniel Gent: An inspirational interview with Daniel who following a car accident is now Quadriplegic, Daniel says if he can do a Train2Game course anyone can.
On Juice FM Mike Gamble from Epic advises Parents: Mike gives further advice to parents and would be students.
Steve Lindsay from the Princes’ Trust: shares how Train2Game often mirrors the aims of the Princes’ Trust with young people.
Train2Game Student Amy Methven from Scotland: explains how she has already started working with a student studio group.
Train2Game Student Dan Rutter explains: how Train2Game has given him the skills to become a published games studio and start his own games company with his wife.
Train2game student Gareth Brook shares: how an ex-Army communication technician has now joined a games studio.
Train2Game Student Neil Gorman details:how he has already gained work from Microsoft and further his Train2Game course has inspired him to now take a Masters Degree in games. Neil said of the course and the Train2game academic team “it’s been great, it’s been fantastic”.
Ken Gains from City and Guilds shares: how Train2Game works with City and Guilds.
The video game BAFTAs were held earlier this week and Train2Game has the results for you. It was an excellent night for PlayStation exclusive, Journey, in particular.
The list of winners is as follows:
Audio Achievement – Journey
Steve Johnson, Austin Wintory, Keith Leary
Best Action Game 2013 – Far Cry 3
Dan Hay, Patrick Plourde, Patrik Methe
Best Game – Dishonored
Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks
British Game – The Room
Fireproof Games/Fireproof Games
Debut Game – The Unfinished Swan
Ian Dallas, Nathan Gary
Giant Sparrow/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Family – LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
Jon Burton, Jonathan Smith, John Hodskinson
TT Games/Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment
Game Design – Journey
That Game Company/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Game Innovation – The Unfinished Swan
Ian Dallas, Nathan Gary
Giant Sparrow/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Mobile & Handheld – The Walking Dead
Dan Connors, Kevin Bruner, Kevin Boyle
Telltale Games/Telltale
Online (Browser) – SongPop
Olivier Michon, Thibaut Crenn, Daouna Jeong
FreshPlanet/FreshPlanet
Online-Multiplayer – Journey
That Game Company/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Original Music – Journey
Austin Wintory, Keith Leary, Mony Mudd
That Game Company/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Performer – Danny Wallace
(The Narrator) Thomas Was Alone
Sports/Fitness – New Star Soccer
Simon Read
New Star Games/New Star Games
Story – The Walking Dead
Telltale Games/Telltale
Strategy – XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Firaxis/2K Games
BAFTA Ones to Watch Award in association with Dare to Be Digital
Starcrossed
Kimi Sulopuisto, Vili Viitaniemi, Minttu Meriläinen, Petri Liuska, Andrew MacLean
At the end of the event Valve CEO and BAFTA Fellowship winner, Gabe Newell, come to the stage with a standing ovation and said “On behalf of everyone at Valve, and all of the gamers who have gone with us on this adventure over the last few years – thank you very much,”
Exciting news for all Train2Game students who are looking forward to Sony’s PlayStation 4. The UK release date and price has been announced.
The Train2Game Blog 