Today and today only, Assassin's Creed for the PC is available on Steam for 50% off the regular price of $19.99, meaning you can snag the Director's Cut Edition of Altair's adventures in creative killing for just under $10.

The price is only good until midnight, however, when another Ubisoft title comes up for sale at what is sure to be a ridiculously low price. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for H.A.W.X., as my Xbox 360 version is unplayable due to circumstances beyond my control.

Assassin's Creed Ridiculously Cheap [Steam]

The agreement with Ubisoft marks Square Enix's second deal to bring western titles to Japan, having recently agreed to publish the WiiWare title LostWinds from the UK's Frontier Developments in the country.

“The global video game market is expected to maintain sustainable growth thanks to geographical expansion and diversification of customer base," said Yoichi Wada, president and representative director of Square Enix. "By partnering with the UBISOFT Group having a number of highly acclaimed titles, we can now work to provide high-quality overseas-produced games to Japan, thus invigorating the Japanese game market while strengthening our presence as a global leader in the video game industry."

Earlier in 2008 Square Enix began publishing third party titles in European regions, and they recently signed a deal with Dungeon Siege developer Gas Powered Games to publish Supreme Commander 2 in North America.

Details on which Ubisoft titles they will be bringing to Japan will be announced at a later date.

SQUARE ENIX Signs Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Ubisoft

Agreement to Strengthen SQUARE ENIX’s Product Lineup and Diversify Japanese Game Market

Tokyo, Japan, (Jan. 8, 2009) – Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix) today announced that Square Enix and Ubisoft Japan entered into an exclusive distribution agreement under which Square Enix is entitled to distribute UBISOFT Group games exclusively in Japan starting April 2009.

In the increasingly consolidated video game industry, Square Enix has been implementing strategic initiatives to expand its product lineup and strengthen its presence as a global game publisher. In 2008, the company began publishing third-party titles in PAL territories, and in December 2008, published its first overseas-produced game in Japan with the launch of UK-based Frontier Developments Ltd’s LostWindsTM for WiiWare™. This exclusive distribution agreement for UBISOFT Group games will be another key step to achieve the aforementioned goal.

“The global video game market is expected to maintain sustainable growth thanks to geographical expansion and diversification of customer base," said Yoichi Wada, president and representative director of Square Enix. "By partnering with the UBISOFT Group having a number of highly acclaimed titles, we can now work to provide high-quality overseas-produced games to Japan, thus invigorating the Japanese game market while strengthening our presence as a global leader in the video game industry."

Details on games to be released will be available at a later time.

Rather than just a normal and a collectors edition, shouldn't we go further? The idea of being able to pay for gameplay advantage in an online game is hideous, but some Asian MMOs have done very well by charging players for cosmetic improvements. The idea of 'free game, charge people for hats' is much talked about in industry circles. There’s no reason why this can't be extended in a different way.

Take a game like Call of Duty 4. I loved it, and enjoyed it online and off. I'd have happily paid £50 rather than £30 for it. But some people ONLY wanted it for online play. Some of them might have used voice chat (I don't bother) and maybe some of them could only run it on low-resolution or detail. Why do we all pay the same price? Conversely I hate paying for the campaigns in Company of Heroes. I never play them, just skirmish and online.

I've found a lot of people to be suspicious of the microtransaction model in games, mostly for fear of poorer service and/or nickel and diming to death. I think the ability to pay for just what you want is nice — there are plenty of games floating around on my shelves with functionality I never use (or have used maybe once). It's an interesting article on potentials for more modular games in the future.

The Economy of Happiness [bit-tech.net via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Steve Taylor's company, Wahoo Studios, alternates between contracting for publishers and producing self-published titles through their indie label, NinjaBee. He notes that working through online distribution portals is not much different from working with traditional publishers. "Portals and other distributions services impose their own rules and limitations. Supposedly indie-friendly distribution options like Steam and Instant Action still have subjective gatekeepers."

He maintains that the stark reality of remaining solvent often overshadows the dream of creative freedom. "If you want your game to make money, you have to consider what will sell, and this means adapting your pure creative vision to match the real world. Besides, do you really have the resources to achieve your ultimate creative vision? "

These fledgling entrepreneurs have also discovered their rebel status doesn't make them immune to piracy. With most indies struggling to make ends meet, they feel its impact directly in their own wallets. "Since we are a small developer that has a hard time getting attention, you would think we would have very little piracy," says Peeler. "Unfortunately, that's not the case at all. It's depressing how many sites are pirating Depths of Peril."

It's an interesting look at the transition and why people decide to make the leap (and sometimes do so unsuccessfully). Despite a look at some of the problems, the article is positive overall in terms of what these mainstream-to-indie 'rogues' are getting out of being their own masters.

Going Rogue [The Escapist]

In the new world of high profit margins, limited middlemen and free green lighting for all, innovation would inevitably flourish. And for the most part, once you account for Sturgeon's inevitable law that 90% of everything is crap, this is exactly what happened. More game developers poured into the market and some truly wonderful games were born.

Middlemen, however, were not eliminated. They merely evolved.

GigaMedia Signs Top EA MMORPG Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™

Adds to Company's leading portfolio and massive pan-Asian platform

HONG KONG, January 31, 2008 - GigaMedia (NASDAQ: GIGM) announced today it has secured an exclusive license from Electronic Arts to offer and operate the highly anticipated game Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Warhammer Online is a ground-breaking new massively multiplayer online role-playing game ("MMORPG") set in a fantasy world of war and constant combat. Based on Games Workshop's 25-year tabletop fantasy war game series Warhammer, Warhammer Online creates a rich and immersive virtual world for hundreds of thousands of players to experience the epic nature of war and the glory of battle.

Created by the acclaimed studio EA Mythic, developers of the hit title Dark Age of Camelot™, Warhammer Online is one of the most highly anticipated games of 2008 according to numerous industry publications. Over 500,000 gamers have registered for its closed beta test, one of the most successful closed betas for any MMORPG ever.

"We are very excited to work with EA to bring such a blockbuster title to Asia," stated GigaMedia President Thomas Hui. "We expect Warhammer Online's Realm vs Realm™ combat and Public Quests™ to be enormously popular with hard-core gamers."

"We are thrilled to bring Warhammer Online to Asia and further strengthen our collaboration with GigaMedia as a strategic partner - bringing the hottest digital entertainment to millions," stated EA Asia President Jon Niermann. "We are confident that, together with GigaMedia, Warhammer Online will be a tremendous success."

Warhammer Online thrusts players into a grim world of perpetual conflict to fight for the Realms of Order (Dwarfs, High Elves, and Empire) or Destruction (Greenskins, Dark Elves, and Chaos). Next-generation Realm vs. Realm game play ensures that players are never fighting alone. With an army of allies at their back, players will defend their homeland, invade enemy realms, and ultimately lead the siege of their enemy's capital city. Every aspect of the game - every player, every quest, every encounter, and every battle - can turn the tide of the ongoing war and mean victory for a player's realm!

In Warhammer Online, for the first time ever, players can engage in Public Quests - multi-stage, communal quests to be completed by allied players fighting together against overwhelming odds. They can also embark on an epic quest to complete the Tome of Knowledge and unlock Warhammer lore, detailed monster information, new abilities, rewards, and major story plotlines. Drawing from a quarter century of highly detailed source material, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will bring Games Workshop's fantasy world to life in a way that will allow players to create characters destined for great deeds on the field of battle.

To learn more about the game, please visit www.warhammeronline.com.

Warhammer Online is expected to launch in the second half of 2008.

Games on demand services have existed for many years now — notably Yahoo Games on Demand, Comcast's offering and a new entry, Turner's GameTap.

The reason why none of these services have exploded in usage is because studios are reluctant to license their top-tier games. Why? Because doing so might cannibalize retail sales, which would piss off industry heavyweights like Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

We hope the services do take off. But we doubt the outlook will be as rosy as the report says.

Digitalized Distribution Set to Soar [Games Industry]