PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies™ Coming to Nintendo DS® in January 2011 for the North American Market
SEATTLE, Aug. 23 - PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual video games, today announced plans to release its mega-seller Plants vs. Zombies™ for the Nintendo DS®, expected to arrive on North American store shelves in January 2011. GameStop, the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, is now taking pre-orders for the game, which will carry an SRP of US$19.95.
The DS adaptation will feature all of the engaging gameplay featured in the original version, including Adventure, Survival and Puzzle modes, and mini-games, as well as new and exclusive game content.
Since its debut in 2009, Plants vs. Zombies has become a global phenomenon, selling millions of units worldwide. Additionally, on the iPhone and iPod touch, the game generated over $1 million in revenue the first nine days it was available via iTunes, and remains near the top of both the iPhone and iPad sales charts. The XBLA adaptation, set for release next month, is anticipated to be one of the year's most popular and successful titles for the console market.
(Reuters Life!) - Rovio, the Finnish developer behind the Angry Birds game that has hooked millions of iPhone users worldwide, has held talks with Hollywood studios and is being courted by potential buyers, its chief executive said.
Angry Birds has topped the charts of paid-for Apple apps for months in about 60 countries including the U.S. and Britain, and is now attracting interest from investors hungry to reach a potential market of more than a billion consumers.
Mikael Hed told Reuters that Rovio, until now funded by a single investment round from a business angel in 2005, would "very likely" take further investment, and had had approaches to buy the company outright.
He also has ambitions to turn Angry Birds into a fully-fledged entertainment brand in the way that Walt Disney's Pixar has done with characters from Toy Story or Monsters, Inc.
"We want to go beyond games," Hed said in an interview at the company's modest offices in central Helsinki, which the 23-strong team will vacate next week for roomier premises near Nokia's headquarters on the coast.
He said Rovio had held talks with major studios but so far had not agreed any deals.
A cinematic trailer telling the back story of the evil green pigs and cute but vengeful birds that populate the game has already been uploaded to YouTube by Rovio and has been viewed more than 5 million times.
"Investors are banging on our door," Hed said, declining to elaborate. Asked how much the company could be worth, Hed said: "A lot more than anybody could imagine. It's one of the great opportunities that we have."
Angry Birds -- in which players have to help the birds destroy the pigs who stole their eggs, with the help of a slingshot -- has broken new ground in mobile gaming by staying at the top of the charts -- unlike most mobile-game crazes.
Its success suggests that a tipping point in mobile gaming that has been long-awaited by established video-games publishers like Electronic Arts may be close.
EA's chief operating offer told Reuters on Monday that games on mobile phones and social networks like Facebook were becoming a major industry driver.
Shipments of games consoles are forecast to be flat this year at around 52.3 million, according to technology research firm iSuppli, while shipments of phones capable of video games are forecast to grow 11 percent to 1.27 billion."
"Their near-universal presence gives them the potential to become a viable competitive threat to dedicated gaming platforms, primarily handheld devices," Pamela Tufegdzic, iSuppli consumer-electronics analyst, said in a recent report.
Rovio has been transformed by Angry Birds. The paid-for version, which costs $0.99, has been downloaded 6.5 million times, and the pared-down free version 11 million times. Rovio receives 70 percent of the proceeds.
The company plans to launch a version for Hewlett-Packard's Palm next week and a version in about two weeks for phones based on Google's Android, which are already selling in greater numbers than iPhones, Hed said.
Over the next year or two, Rovio is aiming for 100 million Angry Birds downloads.
You might be happy that Valve seems to be releasing a commercial product based on an old Warcraft III mod, Defence of the Ancients Allstars. Valve are probably happy too. Some of the mod's original creators, though? Less happy.
Riot Games - at which one of the mod's creators, Steve Mescon, works - has filed a competing trademark application for the mod's name in an attempt to block the move (just the trademark, not the actual game). It's not just Mescon with an interest in the case, either; Riot Games operates League of Legends, a game that, to put it gently, is influenced by DotA.
"We have filed for the 'Defense of the Ancients' trademark to protect the work that dozens of authors have done to create the game and on behalf of the millions of DotA players all over the world," Mescon says.
"...The idea that one single company is taking control of the name of something that hundreds of people have contributed to is surprising", he adds. "I believe DotA should always remain a community-owned product that modders, independent developers and game fans can continue to modify and play as often as they'd like".
Half-Life creator files trademark application for abbreviated title of hit Warcraft III strategy mod, Defense of the Ancients.
Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III remains a staple in international gaming competitions, but the game has also seen continued life more than eight years after release thanks to the popular strategy mod Defense of the Ancients. And while the creators of that mod have since gone on to release League of Legends, it would appear as if Half-Life studio Valve will be breathing new life into the one-off title.
What form DOTA will take remains a mystery.
As spotted by Internet sleuthing site Superannuation, Valve submitted a trademark application for the phrase "DOTA" on August 6, a filing that surfaced in the US Patent and Trademark Office's online database yesterday. As is customary of filings of this ilk, Valve's application carried descriptors ranging from "computer game software" to "electronic game software."
The filing follows on from a Twitter update posted by Duke Nukem voice actor John St. John, who said last week that he had recently lent his talents to the title. "Had a great time in Seattle last week recording for DotA. The guys at Valve Software are awesome," St. John said in his post, which was captured by UK gaming news site CVG before being deleted.
DOTA is a competitive tower defense-style game in which a continuous stream of minions floods toward opposing sides' bases. Players are given control of a unique hero character with special abilities to aid the minions in their task. The hero characters are also able to acquire items and level up to gain new skills as the game progresses.
Valve had not responded to GameSpot's requests for comment on either the trademark application or Twitter update as of press time.
This is what happens when you take 8-bit Mega Man sprites and modify them to look like Marvel super heroes and villains. DeviantArt user Suzuran: you win the internets today! Above is just a small section of the giant piece that features 54 heroes and villains! Click the image below for the full sized version, and let us know which of the heroes/villains is your fave!
