2:00 PM, Sunday, February 5th, 2012 - Posted by Brant Fowler
Ringing in this weekend's big game with a manga twist, Kill3rCombo's massively multiplayer online game Elsword is now offering players the chance to gear up in special costumes. While New England and New York battle it out on the football field, Elsword players can battle tough bosses and complete dynamic quests. In exclusive North American screenshots, gamers can get a glimpse of the athletic new additions their favorite characters can now sport (pun intended).
With intuitive and straightforward controls, Elsword offers players of all skill levels the chance to defeat enemies and deal damage, either on a solo mission or cooperatively in a party of up to four players. For those who welcome a challenge, Elsword also delivers action-packed player-versus-player (PvP) combat.
Source: Wonacott Communications, LLC
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| 6:00 PM, Saturday, February 4th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
 Margaret Weis Productions' Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game, the core volume in the new Marvel RPG system, will release on February 28th.
The Basic Game rulebook will include everything needed to play the game. The new rules system was developed by Cam Banks, but includes input from such well-known game developers as Rob Donoghue, Matt Forbeck, Will Hindmarch, Philippe-Antoine Menard, and Jesse Scoble.
The initial background for the system centers on the "Breakout" story arc described in the New Avengers issues 1 through 6 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Finch, and Danny Miki. Game statistics for many popular Marvel characters are also included in the basic game book, including Captain America, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Iron Man, and Wolverine, as well a numerous Marvel Super Villians.
The game system is designed to be easy to learn, acting as an entry-level game for fans of super hero comics while offering enough complexity to satisfy experienced players. It is based on the proven Cortex Plus System that has been featured in other licensed Margaret Weis Productions titles, including Smallville and Leverage.
The Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game will be presented as a softcover book with a suggested retail price of $19.99. The game will be available only in the US and Canada.
Future releases will tie the role-playing game to on-going themes in Marvel's comics. These releases, called "Events," will include Event Books and Event Supplements for introducing new characters and expanding gameplay. Three Events are planned for 2012: Civil War in March, Annihilation in June, and Age of Apocalypse in September. Event supplements will be published as softover books with a suggested retail price of $19.99.
Special casebound Essential Editions will also be available for the Events, with a suggested retail price of $29.99, as well as full-color hardcover Premium Editions priced at $39.99.
Source: ICv2 Add a reply
| 4:00 PM, Friday, February 3rd, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
 Sega's "Game Contents" division (i.e. home video games) was down 5.1% for the nine-month period ending December 31, with the company reporting 63.5 billion yen ($833 million) in net game sales from the division ... and 5.5 billion yen in total losses. As for reasoning, Sega said only that "in the overseas markets, sales of the new titles remained slow as affected by adverse market condition." Best we can tell, that "adverse market condition" refers to our economies all being really, really terrible.
The publisher shared sales numbers for its major releases. Sonic Generations sold 1.63 million copies across four platforms (Wii, PS3, PC, and the 3DS Generations game). Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games outsold it with 2.39 million copies -- despite not being released in Japan yet, and only being on one platform at the time, the Wii. And, uh, despite being a Mario & Sonic Olympics minigame collection. Hatsune Miku Project Diva Extend for PSP (released in Japan only) was the other named hit, with 290,000 copies.
Looking up at Sega's sales by platform, it's worth noting that Sega's single PlayStation Vita release, Virtua Tennis 4 (called Power Smash 4 in Japan) sold just 10,000 copies between the Vita launch date of December 17 and the end of the year. That ... doesn't seem very good.
Source: Joystiq Add a reply
| 9:00 AM, Friday, February 3rd, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
It might come as a surprise to some, but plans for a fully interactive Marvel RPG game is not something of a new idea. In fact, plans for such a game were already being discussed long before the Walt Disney Company decided to purchase Playdom, the game's developer.
 With games like Farmville and Mob Wars proven successful on Facebook, it is no wonder that Marvel and Playdom would want to eventually introduce a Facebook game that would combine the element of RPG that would feature over one-hundred Marvel characters. The biggest difference between this game and other RPGs found on Facebook is that this one has a very deep story line.
We caught up with the game's Vice President of Studio Operations for Playdom Michael Rubinelli, and Robert Reichner, Senior Producer at Playdom for more information about the game itself.
This game is very important to Marvel. We need[ed] a brand new story, so we went with a global event called "the pulse." You come in as a SHIELD AGENT and as soon as you are finished training "The pulse hits."
What is the pulse? The pulse is a huge crisis that is gradually making many of the villains on earth stronger and more powerful. In the beginning you are thrown into the midst of battle. There are villains everywhere. All villains are trying to take advantage of this pulse. Playdom worked with Marvel and decided to create a brand new story arc. The game will feature a total of 28 heroes not including your very own agent, customizable agent.
Throughout the course of the game players will have the ability to gather together a team of heroes. The company has, so far, included a total of 130 characters counting the henchmen, villains and heroes and the player will have the ability to build a team from a roster of 28 available heroes. Not only will players have the ability to customize their SHIELD Agents, they will be able to customize their entire game as well as the members of their strike team. Playdom and Marvel have revealed the following characters that will be appearing in the upcoming game:
Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye Hulk, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Thor, Wolverine, Human Torch, The Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, The Thing, Colossus, Cyclops, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, Storm.
Source: Comicvine Add a reply
| 9:00 AM, Friday, January 27th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
 Cryptozoic Entertainment has announced the spring 2012 release of all-new Champion Decks (MSRP $11.99) for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game. The new Champion Decks are designed to give both casual and competitive players a great new way to experience the game, the Champion Decks allow players to take on the roles of the iconic characters from the popular World of Warcraft Massively Multi-Player Online RPG, upon which the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game is based.
The Champion Decks will represent five different monstrous villains (3) and courageous heroes (2). Each 60-card deck is complete and ready to play right out of the box. Players make their selection from decks based on (and titled for) Hogger (gnoll warrior), Murkdeep (murloc. Shaman) or Emberlimb (ancient druid) on the monster side, or Lady Jane Proudmoore or Dark Lady Sylvanus Windrunner on the hero side.
Each 60-card deck contains one Hero card, one Crown of Heavens Booster Pack, five new Tokens, a quick start guide, and an official rule book. Each deck will also include a bonus epic card reprint from the Scourgewar, Wrath Gate, or Icecrown World of Warcrate: TCG releases.
In addition players will have a chance to obtain randomly-inserted Loot cards that provide cosmetic in-game items for their online WoW MMORPG characters. The Loot cards include a "common" Nightsaber Cub (non-combat pet), an "uncommon" Statue Generator (instant pedestal), and a "rare" Blazing Hippogryph (flying mount).
Source: ICv2 Add a reply
| 7:00 AM, Thursday, January 26th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
 Like the game that shares half its name, Street Fighter X Tekken will receive a free post-launch update aimed at the tournament crowd. Capcom hopes this patch will alleviate the concerns around the controversial gem system. In Street Fighter IV, it was a free update that added replays and other matchmaking features, but the exact nature of the free DLC in Street Fighter X Tekken is still mostly unknown.
"A lot of players were saying, 'I have to do button checks. Do I have to do a gem check now before a match?' With regards to that we plan to release a free post-launch tournament support mode," producer Yoshinori Ono told Eurogamer. "Hopefully from that we'll get feedback from the community, and then we'll have a better direction of exactly what we should do with this mode." Just so we're clear: The free mode will be released, and then based on how the mode is received, the mode will be changed? Crystal.
Ono also says that players shouldn't expect DLC gems at launch. Instead, Capcom is adopting a wait-and-see approach, gauging community reaction before plotting its next move. "In terms of DLC gems, we don't have any set plans on selling gems like this or like that," Ono said. "We're waiting to see what the user reaction is first, because we think a lot of users still don't understand the gem system completely. They're not power-up items. That's not how we see them. We put gems into the game which are default. As long as you have these default ones you'll be fine. If you want to get more gems down the road from the pre-order bonuses, you can definitely do that, but it doesn't make you stronger, it doesn't make you a better player, it doesn't mean you'll have an advantage."
Source: Joystiq Add a reply
| 11:00 AM, Monday, January 23rd, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
Responding to complaints about the decision to move the Origins Game Fair from late June to late May, GAMA has announced new 2013 dates for the event, which will be held from May 30th to June 2nd this year in Columbus, Ohio. In response to a survey in which 56% of the respondents, who apparently wanted avoid conflicts with the school year, indicated that the third weekend in June was the "Best Date" for the show, GAMA has decided to change the dates for Origins in 2013, 2014, and 2015 that were announced last spring and move to the second weekend in June when possible.
 While the new dates are not permanent yet, they appear to represent a reasonable attempt to compromise with a number of exhibitors and attendees who complained that the new dates put the show during the school year and thus made it more difficult for families and young gamers to attend. So instead of the previously announced May 29th to June 2nd dates for the 2013 show, the new 2013 Origins Game Fair dates are June 12th to June16th.
The newly announced 2014 Origins dates are similar, June 11th to June 15th. As is the case with the 2013 dates, the 2014 show should take place after the majority of schools are out for the summer. In 2015 GenCon is moving earlier (to the end of July), so in order to maintain some distance between the two major summer game shows, the 2015 Origins will be held during the first week in June, from June 3rd to June 7th.
In order to make the most out of its late May, early June dates this year GAMA has inaugurated a "School Field Trip" program with sponsorship from Mayfair Games, Virtual World Entertainment, and Sharp as a Tac that will provide numerous local schools with the ability to provide free field trips to Origins. GAMA is also partnering with the ROTC programs from local colleges to market the show to college students whose schools will still be in session during the 2012 show.
Other programs in place to encourage attendance in 2012 include a $15,000 Magic Open Series tournament sponsored by Star City as well as cuts to admission prices (a single-day pass will be available for $20 with a full show badge for $55), and lower hotel prices (down about $17 per night).
Source: ICv2 Add a reply
| 1:00 PM, Friday, January 20th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
 Gazillion Entertainment announces it has licensed Epic Games' award-winning Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) to power its highly anticipated, free-to-play "Marvel Heroes" massively multiplayer online (MMO) game for PC. Under the licensing agreement, Gazillion, through its Secret Identity Studios, is using the cutting-edge Unreal Engine toolset to develop a premier entertainment experience that allows players to take on the roles of revered characters such as Captain America, Iron Man and Spider-Man as they play through events of the Marvel Universe.
"We love Unreal Engine 3's streaming system. It's made our entire technical approach possible and is easy to work with," said Jeff Lind, studio director of Gazillion's Secret Identity Studios. "We also love the flexibility we get from the actor components, which have empowered us to make all kinds of customizations without sacrificing the built-in features of the engine."
Secret Identity Studios Art Director Josh Book added, "Our artists love the Unreal Content Browser, the visual art pipeline, and how functional UE3 is with different 3D packages. We had assets in the game within hours of starting work with the engine. In addition, Unreal Lightmass is a very advanced global illumination tool that has helped push the look of our game further than we thought it could go."
"Capturing the distinctive moments of such revered fiction within a game environment is no small task, and it's critical to use the very best tools and technology to deliver the production values fans expect," said Joe Kreiner, North American licensing manager, Epic Games. "Having grown up with Marvel's iconic heroes and villains, we're really honored to help Gazillion and Secret Identity achieve their creative vision and quality bar for the game."
Source: Marvel Add a reply
| 7:00 AM, Thursday, January 19th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
The team behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age says that multiplayer and online interactivity will play integral roles in many of its upcoming games.
Speaking to Wired.com at a Manhattan event last month, BioWare CEO and co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka said the developer is exploring new ways to add online features to its role-playing games.
"The way we look at multiplayer online features is that they shouldn't be dilutive or weakening the experience," Muzyka said. "They should be additive, they should strengthen it, they should enhance it."
"Multiplayer ... can't be tacked on," BioWare co-founder and vice president Greg Zeschuk said at the same event. "That's one of the pitfalls that some of the people who have done multiplayer have made. ';Oh, what's on our marketing checklist? Gotta have multiplayer, check the box.'"
Muzyka said that multiplayer could mean a wide variety of different things: competitive or cooperative gameplay, but also such features as a leaderboard that compares players' statistics and progress.
 BioWare has also been looking into ways to link their games to social networks like Facebook and Twitter, letting players share news and information with their Internet circles.
"It's a way to bring your friends into the experience and share it with them," Muzyka said.
Multiplayer takes center stage in BioWare's latest game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, which it released last month for PC. As a massively multiplayer online RPG, The Old Republic has no single-player components; you cooperate with and compete against other people in a virtual, persistently online recreation of the Star Wars universe.
The developer's next game, Mass Effect 3, will also feature the franchise's first multiplayer experience. Rumors suggest that the next Dragon Age will follow a similar course.
So is BioWare trending away from single-player-only experiences like previous games Dragon Age: Origins or Mass Effect 2? According to Muzyka, that just depends on your definition of "single-player."
"I view it as a broad definition," he said, pointing to post-release downloadable content and leaderboards as examples of online features that the developer is pursuing in its games. Extra game content that players download can be single-player, but Muzyka still groups it together with social experiences as a general idea of "online connectivity."
BioWare VP Zeschuk added that multiplayer "makes the whole experience better" for a game like Mass Effect 3. The upcoming RPG will feature an optional cooperative mode called Galaxy at War, in which you can team up with other players to fight off marauding Reapers, earning bonuses and unlocking areas that you'll be able to access in your single-player campaign.
"There's actually a compelling, rational gameplay narrative that explains why it's there," Zeschuk said. "That's one of the differences in how we want to approach [multiplayer]. We don't want to tack it on. We want to make sure it's thoughtful and integrated really well."
Future BioWare games could feature integration with social games on Facebook and mobile phones, Muzyka said. With new studios in Sacramento and San Francisco dedicated to social gaming, the developer is dead set on expanding its popular franchises into new realms.
"We've seen a lot of overlap between players of traditional console and PC games and players of social games," Muzyka said. "They play it maybe in a different way, with different time constraints — but there are a lot of core gamers who really enjoy that."
"Our approach to that is going to be building deep, rich experiences that are going to appeal to core social gamers," he said. "If we extend some of our existing IPs, by definition that'd make some of our IPs multiplayer."
Source: Joystiq Add a reply
| 1:00 PM, Thursday, January 12th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) today celebrates DC Universe™ Online's one-year anniversary. The award-winning, free-to-play, massively multiplayer online (MMO) game launched last January, becoming the first MMO available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the first MMO based in the DC Universe.
 "We broke a lot of new ground with last year's launch of DC Universe Online, both by successfully creating the first PS3™ MMO community and adding true action combat to the genre," said Lorin Jameson , Executive Director of Development, Sony Online Entertainment. "The free-to-play transition at the end of last year is a proof point that our community is stronger and larger than ever. We are very proud of what we've accomplished thus far and look forward to continuously striving to improve the game."
Since January 2011 , DC Universe Online has steadily increased its content with downloadable content (DLC) packs and game updates. Players have gained countless in-game items and have been introduced to Ra's al Ghul , The Fortress of Solitude, Larfleeze, amongst many other notable DC Universe characters and storylines. Along with this, The Flash and Green Lantern have also joined the team, delivering their electricity and light powers to players through paid DLC packs.
"2011 established a foundation for the larger-than-life stories we can tell in-game, and this milestone will kick off a storyline through free content updates and paid DLC that will blow your minds," said Jim Lee , executive creative director of DC Universe Online and co-publisher of DC Comics.
Since launch, DCUO has seen:
-More than 3.5 million Heroes, more than 2 million Villains
-More than 1.8 million registered players on PC, and more than 2.3 million registered players on PS3™
-3.6 million days of playtime total by all players in-game
-More than 1,200 new NPC characters added since launch
-More than 200 new quests added since launch
-More than 2,500 new items added since launch
-More than 15 new zones added since launch
-More than 1,800 new encounters since launch
To celebrate the game's one-year anniversary, players will receive a special one-of-a-kind One Year Anniversary Cape that features a number "1"on the back. The cape will be granted to players through their mission journal on January 11 . The character must exist on the 11th to be eligible to receive the mission. However, players do not need to log in on the 11th; as long as the character exists on the 11th, players will receive the mission the next time they log in.
DC Universe Online is licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on behalf of DC Entertainment. For more information about DC Universe Online, visit www.DCUniverseOnline.com. Add a reply
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