Kotaku
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develop 100
Blizzard Trumps Nintendo In Develop 100
Develop has released their yearly guide to the 100 most bankable game development studios in the world, with Blizzard Entertainment jumping 46 spots from last year to take Nintendo down a notch. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by Archaotic: Ah, poor Square Enix...how the mighty have fallen. Nothing's going their way these days. When you're losing in... 11 Responses | Other threads
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These Dreams
Crytek Helps Free Radical Realize Their Dreams
How did Crytek get picked to purchase Free Radical over the various other companies vying for a piece of the floundering studio? By harnessing the power of dreams. More »
15,823
By Mike FaheyComment by Archaotic: Agreed, Fahey. If TimeSplitters 4 isn't finished this year, I will cry. Verily so. 15 Responses | Other threads
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well played
Capcom Goes West
There was a time when the heart of video game design was inarguably in Japan. But increasingly game developers from around the world, including Japan, see that seat of power moving west. More » -
gdc09
Wii Virtual Console Goes To The Arcade
Having run out of game consoles, Nintendo today launched Virtual Console Arcade, with a variety of classic arcade titles already available for purchase from the Wii Shop Channel. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by Mister Jack is Stalking Konata: X-MEN X-MEN X-MEN X-MEN GOD DAMN FUCKING X-MEN!!!! 18 Responses | Other threads
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developers
Windstorm Rises From Ensemble's Ashes In Flying Car
A former employee of Ensemble Studios has formed Windstorm Studios, already hard at work on "an online game unlike anything you've ever seen!" More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by thatoneguy42: wait...a game that isn't Grey? what about brown? or Tan? if theres no grey brown or tan then what makes... 5 Responses | Other threads
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metacritic
Sega Europe Chief Says Metacritic Most Useful to Expensive Games
Sega Europe boss Mike Hayes says Metacritic scores are indicative of certain games' success, and while score targets aren't written into every developer contract, Metacritic does have value — especially in judging expensive projects. More »
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By Owen GoodComment by Mr.Waffleton: MetaCritic scores can be affected by reviews from most anyone. Using MetaCritic as a basis to determine a game's success... 18 Responses | Other threads
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sensory sweep
Labor Dept. Says Utah Dev Owes Workers $2 Million
Sensory Sweep Studios is facing allegations it hasn't paid nearly 200 employees in more than 100 days. The US Department of Labor has filed an injunction, saying more than $2 million is owed. More »
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By Owen GoodComment by Thassodar: Isn't Utah the Mormon capital of the world? This doesn't seem very righteous, especially since I know quite a few... 23 Responses | Other threads
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twitter
Twitter List Becomes Entire Site of Addresses
Sam Houston's list of game industry types who use Twitter got a lot of exposure last week. So much that he's launched a site, updated with even more devs, journalists, community managers and the like. More »
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By Owen GoodComment by Shakespeare: I never really got Twitter. Isn't it just the Facebook status part of Facebook? If so, what's the point? People... 15 Responses | Other threads
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developers developers developers developers
The Family Tree of Game Developers
Check Your HUD put together this impressive, massive and nearly comprehensive family tree of game developers. More »
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By Owen GoodComment by Twoflower: The preponderance of light blue lines (formed by former employees of) confirms my theory that game development jobs are as... 8 Responses | Other threads
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social media
Following the Game Industry via Twitter
If you're on Twitter and have nothing useful to say or, worse, have no friends, here's a listing of dozens of accounts used by the game industry — some official, others personal accounts. More »
11,194
By Owen GoodComment by Telecinision: You didn't like "Get Off My Lawn: The Movie" starring Clint Eastwood that much? I thought it was the best movie... 4 Responses | Other threads
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38 studios
Schilling Fields Blizzard And EA Talent
Curt Schilling's 38 Studios has just added two new players to its lineup of award-winning game talent, snagging a composer from EA and an interface designer from Blizzard to work on their R. A. Salvatore meets Todd McFarlane MMO project. Most notable of the two new additions is audio pioneer Aubrey Hodges, who was one of the first sound designers to use MIDI in a video game. His work spans the history of the industry, from the King's Quest series to Doom, Quake, and Madden NFL, most recently serving as an audio director with EA Tiburon. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by collusioned: Ummm... thanks? Game studio hires game developers? This is news why? 7 Responses | Other threads
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just cause 2
Avalanche's Lost Contracts Claim 77 Jobs
Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios is having to trim their staff by 77 people in the face of two lost publishing contracts over the past year, worth an estimated $34 million. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Avalanche CEO Christofer Sundberg explains how the layoffs came about. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by Picklebreat: This does not suprise me. What does surprise me is that they actually thought they could develop 4 seperate games simultaneously... 5 Responses | Other threads
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olpc
OLPC Physics Game Jam
On the weekend of August 29-31, teams of game developers will join the OLPC Physics Game Jam in a race to create a unique physics-based game for the One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop. More »
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Comment by Jayge: What a great idea. Good way to show the kids in third-world countries all kinds of different things technology can... more » | Other threads
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Headstrong games
Another Kuju Renamed - Headstrong Games
While I love the name Kuju and don't see any reason to go about changing it, the folks at Kuju continue the relentless rebranding of their studios that began with Kuju Brighton becoming Zoe Mode and continued with Kuju Sheffield becoming Chemistry. Now Kuju London, developers of the Battalion Wars series for Nintendo, will be henceforth known as Headstrong Games. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by kingofallcosmos: The lack of local multiplayer was a disappointment, especially considering that there are no headsets for online multiplayer. It was... more » | Other threads
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zoe mode
Zoë Mode Sets Up Home In London
Ah, my darling Zoë Mode. I knew Brighton was too small for you. You're a big city girl, with hopes and dreams that Brighton just couldn't contain. The rebranded Kuju Brighton is launching a new studio in London in order to make room for the influx of talent the rhythm game developer has seen since they unveiled their adorable mascot last year. More » -
ghostbusters
Terminal Reality Credits ZootFly With Ghostbusters Assist
ZootFly's proposed Ghostbuster game, first shown in leaked test footage back in January of last year might not have done ZootFly any good in the long run, but according to Terminal Reality president Mark Randel it did at least have a hand in getting their Ghostbusters game made. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by DanAmrich: This was actually in OXM's July issue, with an image from TimeO. It came out two weeks ago. Kotaku is... more » | Other threads
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hideo kojima
Kojima on Kojima, in German
Reader maxax caught an interview with Hideo Kojima in Spiegel Online, the website for German-language Der Speigel, one of Europe's leading mainstream news magazines. Maxax translated it to English on his blog and so we offer up to you here, too. More »
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By Owen GoodComment by iamsolidsnake: @Agent-Foiliage: @Major0celot: Well ,I'm glad to see my opinion wasn't brushed off by you two folks, its just for me,... more » | Other threads
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reviews
Publishers Basing Royalties On Metacritic Scores
Stephen Totilo of MTV Multiplayer continues his week-long look at video game review practices by exploring the practice of game publishers withholding certain bonuses and/or royalties if the game doesn't achieve a certain Metacritic average. Basically a publisher agrees to finance the development of a game as long as the developer in these sort of situation agrees to Metacritic score limit stipulations that could theoretically see a low-scoring game that sells millions (any children's licensed title really) hardly earning the devs a dime. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by Firefly: I'd also like to point out that, for those people who say, "Well make a better game then," you obviously... more » | Other threads
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industry news
Industry Vets Form Music Video Games
In a move that could very well be just a bit late, games industry veterans David Warhol of Realtime Associates and Vincent Bitetti, formerly of the Take Two-purchased TDK Mediactive, have announced Music Video Games (MvG), a company focused on delivering casual interactive experiences to gamers and music fans alike. More » -
pc gaming
An Interview With the Developer of Solitaire for Windows
You know, I can't really argue with the claim that Wes Cherry created the most-played video game ever: Solitaire for Windows (PC) which came out in the early 1990s and was installed on millions of machines worldwide. I think IGN gave it a 10/10 at the time. I kid! I kid! More » -
grand theft auto
Variety: Long Ass Interview With Rockstar's Dan Houser
Rockstar co-founder and VP Dan Houser, notably reluctant to give long interviews, especially about himself, sat down with Variety's Ben Fritz for a 90 minute interview, and from the looks of it, nearly all is transcribed in Fritz's blog on Variety. More » -
color blindness
Developers Rarely Account for Color-Blind Gamers
As a color-blind gamer, I can't recall having many eye-rubbing hangups over which side to attack, who was friend or who was foe. You don't need colors to tell the opposite side in a game like Star Wars: Battlefront, for example, and the only way to miss red versus blue in Halo would be to lack all color vision. And Guitar Hero is more about finger position than it is the hue of the button to push. More »
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By ogoodComment by ThatsMrOffDutyNinja: @Owen Good: Glad to meet another color blind gamer. I do not think they take us into account. I got... more » | Other threads
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flash games
Teen Dating Violence Design Challenge Extended
The deadline for the Life Love Game Design Challenge, which we first announced back in February, has been extended by a month. More »
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Comment by HanClinto: Friends and I have talked long and hard about how to make a game about such a topic. I've made... more » | Other threads
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full auto
Eidos Cutbacks Shut Down Full Auto Developer
Full Auto developer Pseudo Interactive has ceased operations, 1UP reports. Apparently cutbacks by Eidos and its parent company are the proximate cause. More »
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By ogoodComment by freespeech: I liked the full auto that came out for the x360, too bad. it's never good news when people... more » | Other threads
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developers
Arstechnica has a article up about ridiculous gaming patents, a good example being one on the ARROW in Crazy Taxi owned by Sega. More » -
study
Mag Announces Top 50 Developers
A new study from Gamasutra and sister divisions Game Developer magazine and Game Deveolper Research division has selected the top 50 developers in the gaming industry today. It was based on reputation and sales data, through anonymous surveys and assessments of sales charts in the US, the UK, and Japan, the number of games released each year, and the average metacritic rating. While the sales data is handy, the all-encompassing approach taken by the study to include reputation, as well, makes this study interesting. According to Gamasutra, "the resulting report is the only multi-input empirical ranking available for game development studios."
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By torifComment by Biscuitcleaver: I always hear great things about neversoft. They don't work weekends, which is kind of a common thing in... more » | Other threads
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seriously
Apple Has Democratized Platform-Specific Game Design
In all of the major announcements that hit during Apple's software development kit (SDK) meeting today, it's easy to overlook what may have been the most important aspect—the SDK itself. Formerly Apple's internal development tools, the software package is being released to the entire public for no charge starting today. It doesn't need an expensive or hard to acquire development kit. You don't need to pitch Sony on why you're worthy for a dev kit during times of shortages. More »
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By Mark WilsonComment by DaiMacculate: @HAL9triple0: Hey don't get too down, the upshot of this is iTunes is going to be fully set up as... more » | Other threads
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wiiware
WiiWare: Smaller Companies Welcome
Nintendo dropped us a line to clear up a bit of misconception in our write up of WiiWare from Wednesday. They aren't just looking for games from small teams from big-name developers - in fact, a good number of upcoming WiiWare titles are from up and coming or little-known developers getting their first shot at having a game appear on a console. The requirements aren't nearly as difficult to achieve as we imagined. Your company needs to register with Nintendo and have a basic office address, which is relatively easy to acquire. I mean hell, I work out of an office all day long - it just happens to be down the hall from my bedroom, and if you really need to make a game in it, just be sure to pay for half of the pizza when you come over. Fear not, tiny developers - Nintendo welcomes you with open arms! -
i'll form the head
Volition Force Forms Blazing Lizard
Fresh off of the massive success of Saint's Row, which overcame the label of GTA clone and several amusing bugs to become one of the best Xbox 360 games of 2006, former Volition developers Sandeep Shekar, Jiovanie Velazquez, and Christopher Stockman have joined forces to form Blazing Lizard, a new studio dedicated to "producing high quality and compelling console downloadable games for all ages and demographics". The team has over 30 years of experience between them, having worked on games ranging from the Red Faction series to The Punisher to Elite Force 2. All games that I have gotten a big kick out of, so I am hoping for big things when they unveil their first original IP project on August 13th. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by TheGreenMan: These guys are really good friends of mine and I wish them all the best! more » | Other threads
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we know jungles
Crytek Begins Crafting Something New
Now that Crytek has gotten their CryENGINE 2.0 middleware to the point where it can be used across multiple platforms and genres, it's time for them to create an original IP game of their own. The smoke stacks at their Kiev studio have sprung to life and truckloads of raw code are being delivered hourly, ready to be crafted be expert developers into something all-new and all-different. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by Runna: @Virduk: I know scary huh.. Epic is shaking in their boots! Crysis on the DS for teh WInz11!!11!111!!!!! more » | Other threads
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redifining the mmorpg
MMO Vets Form Colony
There's a new MMO studio town, and they're making a name for themselves based on the names they've made before. The new Colony Studios consists of a group of ten developers who have worked on titles like EQ, City of Heroes, Dark Age of Camelot, Ultima Online, and World of Warcraft, all headed up by Michael Wallis, a former senior producer for Eve Online. More » -
mr. greedy-selfish
Game Developers Greedy According to the BBC
Over at the BBC is a long and detailed article about how surprised it is that the business of video games is much like any other business - one that needs to put out a good product at a good price to succeed. Although the article is packed full of good information, it ultimately makes the developers sound like a bunch of whiners, complaining about how much harder it is to make a game over all platforms now because they aren't as similar, or that they have to rely on sequels to ensure a good return for a company. Yet, there is no mention of how developers are trying to cut the cost of the video games themselves sell as a solution to make their franchises more popular and accessible. Apparently, it's easier for them to go online and make more money off their franchises after the game is bought, you know, to even out their losses. More » -
develop 100
EA Canada Gets Develop 100 Number One Slot
Develop, a magazine for game developers, is releasing with their April issue a list of what they consider to be the world's top companies making games today. However, the list is based on the sales at UK retail, so there is room for argument. More » -
japan
Western Devs Don't Get the DS
Japanese developers so get the DS. Western ones, it appears, do not. A feature over at Pocket Gamer shows that while a ton of non-Japanese companies are making DS games, most of them just aren't very good. The site took all of Metacritic's 201 DS scores and tried to see where American and Japanese games rated on the review scale. Their results? More »
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Comment by Toad: @PTTSeven: You forgot to mention the radio. "Music", as defined by the majority of broadcasters, is anything that sells. Be... more » | Other threads
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eidos
Eidos Invades Canada
The company that brought you Tomb Raider, Hitman, and Deus Ex, Eidos has set their sights on North-est America, announcing a plan to create a brand new development studio in Montreal, Qu bec. The new studio's focus will be working on 'undisclosed next-generation projects.' Definitely good news for Canadians with game development aspirations, as the company plans to create 350 job positions over the course of three years. St phane D'Astous has been recruited to head up Eidos Montr al. More »
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By Mike FaheyComment by royter: Does anybody knows how much does Eidos pays for senior artist for the first year? more » | Other threads
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By Mike FaheyComment by dtrain: "Richer game devs" Ha. Yeah, as if that subsidy is going to be passed down through all the layers of management... more » | Other threads
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509
By Mike FaheyComment by Shachihoko: first naked Daniel Radcliffe and now a photoshopped of Emma Watson. more » | Other threads
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1,220
By Mike FaheyComment by kheldorin: The keyword here is casual. There aren't any casual developers for Xbox360 as compared to the PC. These guys want... more » | Other threads
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Comment by Acute Gamer: Some people just don't get sarcasm. Oh yeah, I'm not buying either. I'll play Zelda on the cube. more » | Other threads
developers
Denver, 7:54 PM
Thu Jul 9
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