Daily News: 02/08/13

Friday, February 8, 2013

Core Online Pre Open Beta Test on Valentine's Day

Core Online Pre Open Beta Test on Valentine's Day:

Not long ago ENTWELL announced that they are launching a Pre Open Beta Test for Core Online on February 14th. Yup, that's the 2nd game to come out on during Valentines day next week. Core Online is an upcoming shiny PvP or RvR based game! I've actually tested this title late last year and well, I think it is about time to give the game a second go. For those of you who want to learn more about this game, then make sure you back track to my Core Online First Look.

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New Call of Duty confirmed for 2013

New Call of Duty confirmed for 2013:
Activision reveals next entry in long-running first-person shooter series to launch this year; game not expected to be as successful as Black Ops II.

Activision today confirmed a new Call of Duty game will launch in 2013. The news was revealed during a post-earnings financial call, where Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg also revealed the new entry in the franchise is not expected to perform as well as the record-breaking Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

"The Call of Duty franchise continues to set the bar for innovation and we expect the new Call of Duty game in development for 2013 to raise that bar even higher," Hirshberg said.

"There is increased volatility this year due to the ongoing console transition, which makes predicting the future more challenging than during normal years in the cycle. For Call of Duty, consistent with our past practices, we are planning for the mainline release in Q4 to be down versus 2012," Activision CFO Dennis Durkin added.

This unnamed game is expected to launch in Activision's fourth quarter, which runs October-December. New consoles from Microsoft and Sony are rumored to launch around the same time. Next-generation Call of Duty games are believed to be in development.

According to the latest rumor, this year's Call of Duty game will be Modern Warfare 4. No developer for the project has been named, though Treyarch can likely be ruled out, as that studio shipped Black Ops II just three months ago.

Activision currently has five studios working on Call of Duty games: Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, and Neversoft Entertainment.

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"New Call of Duty confirmed for 2013" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:05:38 -0800

zTanks Preview

zTanks Preview:
Whenever I have a disagreement with one of my friends over something, there’s usually only one way we can ever solve our differences: in an all-out tank war. Luckily, zTanks will save me the trouble of building a shoddy and illegal tank in my backyard, and just let me battle my friends online using digital tanks instead.

Navy Field 2 Teaser Website Opens

Navy Field 2 Teaser Website Opens:

Nexon America has opened the teaser web page for Navy Field 2 a real time action MMORTS set in World Wars I and II that is planned for release later this year. The new preview web page features an exclusive preview trailer and gives players access to the new Navy Field 2 Facebook and YouTube pages.

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Elsword Launches Events for Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year

Elsword Launches Events for Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year:

Kill3rCombo recently announced a bouquet of exciting events to celebrate both Valentine's Day and the Lunar New Year in Elsword. With both holidays just a mere four days apart, Elsword is eager to provide its community with these special experiences for the season.

Continue reading Elsword Launches Events for Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year.

Activision closes the books on its biggest year yet

Activision closes the books on its biggest year yet:

Thanks to Black Ops II, Skylanders Giants and Diablo III, Activision Blizzard generated higher revenues in 2012 than in any other year, though warns that it doesn't expect to match these numbers in 2013. ...

Activision's Bobby Kotick on Wii U's disappointment, next-gen dev costs

Activision's Bobby Kotick on Wii U's disappointment, next-gen dev costs:

Following a record-breaking year, Bobby Kotick looks ahead to defending against the Skylanders-like Disney Infinity, adjusting to new living room devices, and the enormous costs of next gen. ...

Location-based mobile game Life Is Magic travels around the world

Location-based mobile game Life Is Magic travels around the world: Life Is Magic is a very cool location-based game that transforms your neighborhood into a fantasy setting. The Arby's...

CBS Interactive Expands Reach into eSports with Reality Web Show | Ten Ton Hammer

CBS Interactive Expands Reach into eSports with Reality Web Show | Ten Ton Hammer:
CBS Interactive dives further into the eSports pool with the new reality show, GameCrib.

Bee Cave announces first game, seed funding of $1.4M

Bee Cave announces first game, seed funding of $1.4M:
beecave

Bee Cave Games today revealed that it has closed an initial seed investment round of over $1.4 million from from employees, select private investors and a strategic investment from Glu Mobile.
The Company’s first title, Blackjack Casino, is now in private beta on Facebook, with mobile and tablet versions in development as well.
Bee Cave Games is a social and mobile games developer founded in late 2012 by former Zynga employees Erik Bethke, Nimai Malle, and Jeremy Strauser, all former employees at Zynga’s Austin office, which was significantly downsized last year. Members of the development team have worked on both social and AAA console and PC titles including Zynga’s Texas Hold’em Poker, EA’s NFL games, and Blizzard’s Diablo series.

GameStop: Consumers unlikely to buy next-gen console that blocks used games

GameStop: Consumers unlikely to buy next-gen console that blocks used games:
Specialty retailer says purchase intent would be "significantly diminished" if new platforms prohibited secondhand games.

Gamers would be unlikely to purchase a next-generation platform that blocks used games or limits other activities, a GameStop representative told Bloomberg.

"We know the desire to purchase a next-generation console would be significantly diminished if new consoles were to prohibit playing pre-owned games, limit portability, or not play new physical games," GameStop vice president of public and investor relations Matt Hodges said.

Hodges' comments come after GameStop shares slid more than 6 percent yesterday following a rumor that Microsoft's Xbox 720 would block used games. This would be potentially problematic for GameStop, which generates a significant portion of its revenue from the sale of secondhand games and goods.

The analyst consensus is that future platforms from both Microsoft and Sony will not block used games. Official word is expected soon, as both companies are rumored to announce their next consoles in the coming months, with the PlayStation 4 possibly coming out of the shadows as early as this month.

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"GameStop: Consumers unlikely to buy next-gen console that blocks used games" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:16:12 -0800

Zuko Monsters Review (iPhone, iPad)

Zuko Monsters Review (iPhone, iPad):

Gamezebo Rating:

Nintendo handhelds are still the reigning champs when it comes to monster-collecting RPGs, but that hasn’t stopped a number of iOS developers from trying their hand at bringing a similar experience to the App Store. No one’s quite pulled it off yet but Zuko Monsters certainly shows promise. That is, until players face-plant into their first major paywall.

Gamigo Picks Up Fiesta as Outspark Ceases Publishing | Ten Ton Hammer

Gamigo Picks Up Fiesta as Outspark Ceases Publishing | Ten Ton Hammer:
Gamigo picks up Fiesta publishing duties for NA & EU as Outspark pretty much shuts down everything else in its library.

Everything Zynga is about to do is wrong (Online)

Everything Zynga is about to do is wrong (Online):


It wasn’t so long ago that Zynga was on top of the world. But after a 2012 filled with layoffs, executive resignations and plummeting stock prices, the company’s upward momentum has turned into something of a downward spiral. And some upcoming changes, announced on an earnings call with investors earlier this week, will only make matters worse.

A successful mobile game publisher's 12 predictions for 2013

A successful mobile game publisher's 12 predictions for 2013:

Mobile Deluxe's John Hartwell gazes into his crystal ball for the second year in a row, giving food for thought for those in the mobile game space. ...

Siri-ish Voice System Tipped For Next Xbox

Siri-ish Voice System Tipped For Next Xbox:

The next-gen games console wars are hotting up, and Microsoft may be going for a chatty solution.

According to a new rumor at TheVerge, Microsoft may be building clever Siri-like natural language technology into its upcoming successor to the Xbox 360 games console. The speech systems will cover text-to-speech and may even wake the Xbox on vocal commands. But the most meaningful speech integration will see the machine reply vocally when players ask which of their friends are online and even suggest games to play after detecting who's standing in the room. It's also suggested Microsoft has improved the business of discovering games and content with a speech interface.
Meanwhile Sony is due to reveal its next-gen console, the PlayStation 4, on February 20. While no technical specs have leaked out yet, one source has suggested that the price of the console will be over $400 at launch in late 2013 (possibly early 2014 in some regions).
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Sky Pirates of Neo Terra Racing Review (iPad, Facebook)

Sky Pirates of Neo Terra Racing Review (iPad, Facebook):

Gamezebo Rating:

If the Lost Boys from Peter Pan had taken to flying about Never Never Land with steampunk "glidewings," they might have looked a little like the Sky Pirates of Neo Terra. And if you're anything like me, you've never heard of them before. Apparently they were a big enough deal back in the last decade to warrant their own comic series from Image (complete with illustrations from renowned anime artist Camilla d'Errico), and now Fathom Interactive is betting that the concepts can attract racing fans on Facebook and mobile devices. So far, it looks as though they're off to a decent start.

Console transitions bad for gaming, says Newell

Console transitions bad for gaming, says Newell: DICE 2013: Valve head talks about making hardware, the value of open platforms, and what the company is focusing on for the future

New Ouya console every year - Report

New Ouya console every year - Report:
Company to release new version of Android console every year to leverage component price drops; Double Fine, Words with Friends co-creator bringing games to system.

A new version of the $99 Android-powered Ouya mini-sized console will be released every year, according to Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman. Speaking to Joystiq at D.I.C.E. 2013 this week, Uhrman said the company will iterate every year to take advantage of price drops for components.

"As it relates to iterating the console and refreshes, our strategy is very much similar to the mobile strategy. There will be a new Ouya every year," Uhrman said. "There will be an Ouya 2 and an Ouya 3. We'll take advantage of faster, better processors, take advantage of prices falling. So if we can get more than 8GB of Flash in our box, we will. And in so doing, make sure that all games are backwards compatible."

Uhrman said Ouya games will be tied to a user's account, meaning that if a customer upgrades on a yearly basis, their content will transfer over to the new machine. The first version of the Ouya console will be available in June online and through several major retailers.

In addition, Uhrman announced a partnership with Tim Schafer's Double Fine Productions that will see the company's new game Reds be released on the Ouya. In addition, Words with Friends co-creator Paul Bettner's Verse Studio is working on a game for the console.

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