Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 24.06.13

The Last Of UsSony and Naughty Dog’s PS3 exclusive, The Last Of Us, remains at number one for a second week and Nintendo’s big new 3DS release from last week, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, remains at number two. Max Payne 3 re-enters the chart at number five thanks to huge price promotions on PS3 and Xbox360. The only new entry to the top twenty this week is Moto GP ’13 which enters the charts at number number fifteen.

All formats

Week ending 22 June 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 1
2 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 2
3 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 5
4 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 4
5 MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR
6 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 14
7 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 7
8 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 6
9 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 10
10 GRID 2 CODEMASTERS 3
11 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 9
12 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 13
13 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 8
14 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 11
15 MOTOGP 13 PQUBE
16 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 18
17 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO 15
18 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES
19 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 16
20 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 19
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE LtdThese 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: Games Industry News – 21.06.13

PS4It’s Friday which, of course, means it is time for the games industry news round up.

Mark Cerny, the lead system architect on Sony’s PlayStation 4 console, will deliver the conference keynote at Develop in Brighton, which takes place at the city’s Hilton Metropole from 9-11 July 2013. Cerny’s keynote, Changing the Game: Developing into the Next Generation, will see the industry legend take delegates through the journey he has been on to bring the console to reality, looking at the lessons learnt from previous console generations, the future vision for PS4 and how embracing the Indie community will have a key role in fulfilling that vision. To find out more about the event, go to http://www.developconference.com/

Gamers competing via the Xbox Tournaments with Virgin Gaming app on Xbox 360, now have a new way to win cash and show off their gaming skills. With the new update, available today, players can now enter buy-in tournaments and head-to-head challenges using their own money. Since launching nearly two months ago, Virgin Gaming has awarded Xbox 360 gamers nearly $100,000 in cash prizes, while also allowing players to seamlessly browse, enter, challenge, play in and track tournaments for their favourite games directly from Xbox Live. Gamers that are not already using the app can register for an account at http://virgingaming.com/xbox and download the app from Xbox Live.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced LEGO Legends of Chima: Laval’s Journey will be available for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita handheld systems in Europe on 21st June. A Nintendo DS version will follow this Autumn, as will a free-to-play online world, LEGO Legends of Chima Online. The new games all complement a line of branded products and TV content based on the LEGO Legends of Chima action packed world ruled by eight animal tribes that tells the classic story of good and evil, friendship and family.

Magic The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014 will be releasing on Xbox LIVE Arcade, PC/Steam, PlayStation Network, iPad, and for the first time on Android tablets next week. As with previous years Wizards of the Coast are rolling out the release of the game over two days across the myriad of platforms. The game will be released on June 25 for iTunes, Google Play and Amazon App Store. The following day will see the release on PC, Xbox Live and PSN. Associate Community Manager Sean Gibbons gives the community a first look at the new Sealed Campaign and deck editor in the upcoming Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers, which you can enjoy here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEQVZf8qxYo

Finally, some good news for those of you who are looking forward to the new Thief game. You won’t have to buy a next generation console for the game. Eidios Montreal has confirmed that the game will also be coming to Xbox360 and PS3. No word yet on a WiiU release. Senior Producer Stephane Roy acknowledges that the developers “have to be smart” in transferring the demands of the software to consoles at the end of their life cycle – suggesting that the breadth of the world may be scaled down to accommodate present-day hardware.

Train2Game News: Fastest selling XBLA Game

State of DecayThe official Xbox blog has specified that State of Decay is the “fastest selling original game ever” on Xbox Live Arcade.

The open world Zombie game from Undead Labs has sold over five hundred thousand copies on the Xbox Live arcade store to date.

Taking you beyond the initial panic of a Zombie apocalypse, and beyond the first weeks of the crisis, State of Decay is the embodiment of the “What if?” zombie apocalypse scenario. The world is now your oyster…a shiny oyster that happens to be filled with zombies. This game lets you fulfil your plans of what would I do if the worst happened?

According to Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain, there is a future for the series. “We’re laying plans for the future of State of Decay right now,” he said.

“There’s an incredibly sophisticated simulation engine driving the world of State of Decay – we call it FateEngine – and it gives s a platform to do much more with the game. For a start, I can tell you we’re working on a sandbox mode designed to be a pure survival simulation.”

The game is currently 1600 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Arcade store but the game is currently in development for PC.

State of Decay, The Last Of Us and The Walking Dead proves that Zombie games are still popular but, for how much longer?

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 17.06.13

The Last Of UsThere is a brand new number one this week with the PlayStation exclusive, The Last Of Us which was released on Friday. Animal Crossing: New Leaf came in at number two, unable to beat the popularity of The Last Of Us. Rugby Challenge 2: Lions Tour Edition also came out this week and debuted at number twelve. Finally, with the announcement of the DLC at E3 last week, The Walking Dead by Telltale Games also made a welcome return to the top 20, coming back in at number seventeen.

All formats

Week ending 15 June 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT.
2 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO
3 GRID 2 CODEMASTERS 1
4 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 7
5 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 2
6 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 11
7 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 5
8 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 4
9 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 8
10 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 10
11 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 6
12 RUGBY CHALLENGE 2: LIONS TOUR EDITION ALTERNATIVE
13 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 13
14 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 15
15 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO 9
16 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 14
17 THE WALKING DEAD TELLTALE GAMES
18 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 20
19 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 18
20 REMEMBER ME CAPCOM 3
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 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: UK Top 20 Games – 11.06.13

Grid 2The UK top 20 charts were released yesterday with only a couple of new additions. People didn’t forget Remember Me coming out and it entered the charts at number three, unable to shift Grid 2 which is number one for a second week. This week also saw the return of a recently lost friend in the charts with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Legendary Edition being released and entering the charts at number four.

All formats

Week ending 8 June 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 GRID 2 CODEMASTERS 1
2 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 2
3 REMEMBER ME CAPCOM
4 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
5 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 4
6 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 3
7 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 10
8 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 12
9 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO 8
10 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 6
11 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 18
12 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 16
13 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 9
14 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 11
15 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION
16 RESIDENT EVIL: REVELATIONS CAPCOM 5
17 METRO LAST LIGHT DEEP SILVER 7
18 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 17
19 LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS NINTENDO 15
20 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 19
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 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: Snake acquires an A list voice

MGS VSnake from Metal Gear Solid has been given an updated face and a new voice. Kiefer Sutherland has taken over the role from series stalwart, David Hayter.

Hayter confirmed his departure from the series in April. Plenty of names have been suggested as potential replacements since then – Hideo Kojima has often stated his admiration of Hugh Jackman, and suggested he could be a candidate for a future Metal Gear Solid movie – it’s Sutherland, though, who’ll pick up the mantel for Phantom Pain.

“We’re taking on some very heavy subjects, such as race and revenge,” said Kojima. “This makes the tone much darker. As a result, I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance, expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice rather than words.”

“The game takes place in 1984, when Snake is 49 years old,” Kojima explains. “Therefore, we needed someone who could convey both the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late forties. It’s different from anything we’ve done before, so I asked a producer friend of mine in Hollywood, Avi Arad, for advice. He’s the one who introduced me to Kiefer Sutherland, and I was like, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’”

Sutherland has been busy recording motion capture footage for The Phantom Pain over recent months. In the video (shown below), Kojima explains how the nuances of Sutherland’s delivery are important in conveying the emotion of certain situations – both through vocal cues and facial movements. “I felt that he was the perfect fit in terms of age and performance,” says Kojima.

Apart from Sutherland’s thirty-year-long film career, the actor has made fleeting appearances in the likes of Call of Duty: World at War as well as reprising his role as Bauer in 24: The Videogame. While confessing to not being a gamer, Sutherland recognises the importance of the role. “It’s an honour to be able to play this character,” he says. “This character has an unbelievable legacy but there’s a real personal quality to the character that I’ve connected to.”

If you love David Hayter, you’re probably not going to be happy with anyone else but David Hayter doing the job. Sutherland has some hefty acting chops though – and many of his roles have involved gravelly delivery aplenty. I reckon there’s good chance casual fans might not even notice the difference – although the mo-cap stuff looks about as detailed as we’ve seen and could stand to benefit from the likes of Sutherland filling the capture dots.

Here’s the full pre-E3 Konami show – jump in around 10:30 mark for the Metal Gear Solid content:

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 07.06.13

Son of NorIt’s Friday so it is time for a Train2Game industry news round up!

stillalive studios celebrated after its Kickstarter campaign, to raise $150k to fund the completion of its debut 3rd person action adventure PC/Mac/Linux title; Son of Nor, was a success, making $151,175 at its close. The team are now putting all efforts into the completion of the highly anticipated game and have announced its launch onto Steam Greenlight and call for support and people’s votes on the platform. The link to this can be found here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=143053545. During the month long crowd-funding project the studio announced a number of exciting partnerships that will allow players to use integrated hardware such as the Emotiv EPOC; a revolutionary personal interface for human computer interaction, a so called Brain Computer Interface (BCI); the partnership will allow players to control character actions, such as telekinesis, terraforming and magic with the power of their minds and Oculus Rift; that will allow players to immerse themselves in the lore and adventure of Son of Nor deeper than ever before by using this hugely exciting virtual reality device in game.

SpongeBob SquarePants fans can build their very own Bikini Bottom with Nickelodeon’s brand-new city building app, SpongeBob Moves In. Released and available worldwide, SpongeBob Moves In features a stylized 2D design and gives fans a whole new way to interact with the hit animated series. The game is available on iOS and costs £1.49. In the game, players build Bikini Bottom to their own tastes and are tasked with keeping the city’s residents happy by making all their wishes come true. As players advance in the game, they can unlock exclusive-to-the-app, untold stories about how their characters, including SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Squidward and Sandy, first arrived in the town. Written by the SpongeBob SquarePants series writing staff, these stories are told through brand-new animated short videos unlocked throughout the game.

Diablo 3 is coming to the Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation, Blizzard has announced. The action role-playing game launches on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 3rd September 2013. The game is already announced for PlayStation 4, although that version is without a release date. There is currently new word of an Xbox One edition. If you pre-order the PS3 or Xbox 360 version and you’ll get the Infernal Helm in-game item. You can wear this at level one and gain an experience bonus to boot.

Telltale games have been using their twitter account to tease and excite fans. They have been using the Vine app to show little six second clips showing characters that are drawn in the same art style as The Walking Dead game. It started with the Day 2 trailer, which is interesting as the first episode of Season 1 was Day 1. It shows a missing persons board and someone hanging up a picture of a character called Vince. Vine 2 is titled Day 220, and it’s the same missing persons board with Bonnie being added to it. Bonnie apparently stood outside the White House once. Vine 3 shows a man named Russell, who, by the looks of it, seems to be a recent graduate.

Finally, Masahiro Sakurai took to Twitter to confirm the news today of the brand new Smash Bros. He said (via Google translation): “In Nintendo Direct delivery of 23:00, June 11, New video of “Smash Bros.” will be unveiled for the first time. Simultaneous world, here for the first time! Do not miss.” You can watch it from 3pm UK time. Sakurai is serving as producer on the new Smash Bros. game, which is a Wii U/3DS crossover in development at Namco Bandai.

Train2Game News: Minecraft Expo

MinecraftThe Minecraft Expo is heading to the UK this August and as many of the Train2Game students are Minecraft fans, it may be a good place to get together.

Taking place at the Insomnia 49 event between August 23 and 26, the event offers free to enter Minecraft game tournaments, Minecraft talks and presentations and an exhibition showcasing creations from the community.

There will also be costume competitions, creative build challenges for schools and a Minecraft Lounge.

Special guests currently include Youtube players – Yogscast and Mindcrack, Film makers – Hat Films and Minecraft builders – The NoxCrew.

“Each time we host an Insomnia event, the community amazes us with its passion, making each event bigger and better than the last,” said event organiser Multiplay CEO Craig Fletcher.

“With the runaway success of Minecraft, we’ve answered the call from devoted fans by creating the UK’s first Minecraft Expo, and we can think of no better place to host it, than the UK’s biggest gaming festival.”

The Insomnia event hosts a number of eSports tournaments, and to date organisers say more than 3,000 spaces have been reserved for ‘bring your own PC and Console’ tickets.

There will also be various development talks taking place at the event.

Up to 15,000 visitors are expected to attend, with over two million watching video streaming of the eSports events online.

Insomnia 49 and the Minecraft Expo will take place in Telford and the Telford International Centre, between August 23rd and 26th.

Visit the official website for more information.

Train2Game News: Fable remake coming to Xbox 360

Fable AnniversaryLionhead started off the day by teasing a HD remake of the original Fable for Xbox 360.

The British studio released a video, simply titled ‘Fable Teaser Trailer’, and also embedded it in a blog post titled ‘An Exciting Teaser to Start the Day’, which simply read, “Here’s a sneak peak at a little something we’ve been working on…”

Microsoft has confirmed that the new game from Lionhead Studios will be Fable Anniversary, a HD remake of the original Fable for Xbox 360 including The Lost Chapters, added Achievements, SmartGlass integration, leaderboards, new UI, and a full 1080p HD visual update.

Other new features confirmed for the release include a new lighting system that utilises Unreal 3 to render the lighting, a new facial animation system, new cutscene animations, plus updated textures, models, particle effects, save system and more.

Ted Timmins, the lead designer on the game, calls it “The game that Fable fans have been demanding for years.” He also explained that the new Achievements will try to do something a little different: “Fable has always been about choice and consequence, so we’re trying to put that into our Achievements.”

Interestingly, Timmins revealed Microsoft’s intent to support Xbox 360 into the next-gen following the release of the Xbox One, saying “Obviously the Xbox 360 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It’s very important, to all of us, that we carry on delivering on it.”

Fable Anniversary is currently slated for a 2013 Holiday release on Xbox 360 only.

You can enjoy the teaser trailer that started the buzz, below:

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 03.06.13

Grid 2Codemasters speed to the top of the Chart for the first time since ‘F1 2010’ back in 2010 thanks to Grid 2.  The sequel goes one better than its predecessor which could only manage number 2 five years ago. Apart from that, the top twenty is very quiet with no new entries this week.

All formats

Week ending 1 June 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 GRID 2 CODEMASTERS
2 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 2
3 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 4
4 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 8
5 RESIDENT EVIL: REVELATIONS CAPCOM 1
6 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 6
7 METRO LAST LIGHT DEEP SILVER 3
8 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO 5
9 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
10 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 7
11 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 18
12 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 9
13 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 15
14 CRYSIS 3 EA GAMES
15 LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS NINTENDO 10
16 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 20
17 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
18 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 11
19 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS
20 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM XBOX 360 CLASSICS
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 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.