Square-Enix titles line up for TGS 2010!

Square Enix has announced their game titles will be showing in this year Tokyo Games Show (2010), and the titles as listed below.

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Capcom wants Resident Evil 6 ASAP and DMC5?

Managing director Keiji Inafune tells Spanish gaming site the publisher is working to get survival horror sequel to market "lo antes possible," will tailor next Devil May Cry for Western audiences.

For Resident Evil 5, Capcom upped the speed of the series' zombie-like hordes. For Resident Evil 6, the publisher might be upping its own pace to match that of the series' maddened adversaries.

Speaking with Spanish gaming site 3D Juegos, Capcom managing director Keiji Inafune addressed current plans for a number of its familiar franchises. According to a GameSpot translation, when asked about Resident Evil 6, Inafune said Capcom wants to release the game as soon as possible in light of Resident Evil 5's great success. Though the developer quickly moved on to other subjects, he did tease that news about the next installment in the survival horror series could arrive soon.

Inafune also talked about the possibility for a Devil May Cry 5. He said that when development on the game starts, it will probably be designed to appeal more to Western audiences. While the series has done well in Japan, Inafune said that Devil May Cry franchise sales in North America and Europe haven't been especially high.

As for a new Onimusha game, Inafune's response no doubt included more laughter than fans of the series would have liked. The developer said that nobody ever asks him about the series except the Spanish gaming press. He then jokingly suggested that if there is a next episode in the series, it would surely be set in Spain.

News of Resident Evil 6 could arrive soon.

Source from www.gamespot.com

Epic Games show off the Unreal Engine 3 in the iOS

‘Epic Citadel,’ world’s First UE3-Powered iOS App, Now Available on App Store

Cary, NC, September 01, 2010 — CARY, N.C. – September 1, 2010 – Epic Games, Inc. today announced its “Epic Citadel” App is now available from the App Store. The app showcases the technical capabilities of Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine 3 on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. In “Epic Citadel,” players navigate a fictional castle realm using simple controls and the innovative Multi-Touch user interface. “Epic Citadel” also features stunning visuals and special effects, with an environment inspired by “Project Sword,” Epic’s newest game.

“Project Sword” is the codename of the all-new action role-playing adventure game exclusively for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch developed by Epic’s critically acclaimed studio, Chair Entertainment, creators of the Xbox LIVE Arcade games of the year “Undertow” and “Shadow Complex.” Scheduled for release later this year, “Project Sword” will bring unrivaled visual fidelity and a highly accessible gameplay experience to the iOS platform.

“This is a testament to the sheer power of iOS devices as up until now, Unreal Engine 3 has typically been used to create high-end gaming experiences on game consoles and computers,” said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps. “And we’re not just keeping it to ourselves. We’re putting Unreal Engine 3 technology into the hands of game developers all over the world, and we can’t wait to see the apps they make next.”

A small team of Epic’s programmers, artists and testers created “Epic Citadel” in just eight weeks of development time. Unreal Engine 3 is scalable yet packed with the same tools hundreds of thousands of users work with to create games, simulations and animated content. Features include:

* Amazing visuals. “Epic Citadel” pushes the envelope for stunning visuals on iOS devices. Through the latest advances in Unreal Engine 3 technology, the application delivers unrivaled graphics and special effects that immerse players in the kingdom’s grounds.

* Bump offset mapping. Also known as parallax mapping or relief mapping, bump offset mapping enhances the visual appearance of stone walls and rocks providing intricate textures.

* Normal mapped architecture. Brings stunning detail to bricks and ground surfaces within the environment.

* Texture blending with painted weight maps. Refines nuances on roads and terrain, making them rich and lifelike.

* Global illumination. Unreal Engine 3’s built-in global illumination system, Unreal Lightmass, provides realistic lighting and shadows with minimal development resources.

* Dynamic specular lighting with texture masks. Helps create authentic cobblestone roads and vivid reflective marble surfaces, while lens flares and light coronas add dramatic emphasis when panning across light sources.

* Real-time reflections and animation. Environment mapping enables real-time reflections on objects such as the statue inside the cathedral. Dynamic movements of trees and banners are made possible through the use of vertex deformation and skeletal animation.

* Free tools. Epic’s Unreal Development Kit (UDK), available for free download at http://www.udk.com/download, ships with the same tools and technologies used to create Epic Citadel.

“Epic Citadel” is available for free from the App Store on iPad, Phone and iPod touch. For more information about “Epic Citadel,” visit http://www.epic-citadel.com.

Plants vs. Zombies Coming to Nintendo DS in January 2011

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.


Source from www.popcap.com/
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Angry Birds game creators set sights on Hollywood

By Georgina Prodhan

(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.


Source from in.reuters.com
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Valve Will Have To Fight To Trademark New Game Based On Warcraft III Mod

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".


Original post from Kotaku.com

Valve TMs 'DOTA'

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.


News posted by GameSpot.com
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