Spacetime Studios Acquires Blackstar IP from NCsoft®

Blackstar is a highly stylized science-fantasy universe from developers of Wing Commander, Privateer, and Star Wars: Galaxies

AUSTIN, Texas - May 8, 2008 - Spacetime Studios, LLC announced today it has acquired the rights to the Blackstar IP from its previous publisher NCsoft. Spacetime Studios, an independent game development studio made up of industry veterans, now fully owns all the tools, technology and intellectual property from their previous publishing deal.

Set in the far future, Blackstar is a fresh universe full of wildly original space fighters, horrifying demonic enemies and epic drama. "The IP lends itself to almost any kind of gameplay that one could ask for, and was specifically designed to be a long-term franchise," said Cinco Barnes, creative director and co-founder of Spacetime Studios. "It's a nice sweet spot when you own all the puzzle pieces and we now have extraordinary flexibility in where to take the game universe next."

"After two years of development, the Blackstar universe is quite near and dear to our hearts" said Gary Gattis, executive producer and co-founder of Spacetime Studios. "Owning the IP as well as the engine and tool set puts a tremendous amount of potential in our hands. With all the developed components under the Spacetime team's control, the options for the IP are diversified."

The new "Blackstar Chronicles" development underway is a space fantasy combat game based on the single-player traditions of "Wing Commander" and the multiplayer feel of "Descent." "The Blackstar Chronicles is a very powerful product," said Jake Rodgers, art director and co-founder of Spacetime Studios. "The Blackstar universe has the potential to be something special and it's great that we are able to bring the IP to fruition."

Download a PDF about the IP at http://www.spacetimestudios.com/downloads/brochure_LoRes.pdf
More information about the studio can be found at http://www.spacetimestudios.com.

I see conferences and talks on the future of games and design, and the true integration and collaboration of games with other media, and many of these ideas are sound, genuinely intriguing, and some of them are even possible to implement. Yet, where are they?

There are so many fantastic ideas out there not getting realized ....

That's the big question. How do you take that plunge? I can't count how many people I've talked to who have great ideas for games, or who had better concepts for sub-par games that were eventually released. Why don't their games get made? Too daunting? Too many bosses? .

Why Do Good People Make Bad Games? [Gamasutra]

BRIGHTON, England (10th April 2008) - NCsoft®, the world-leading, publisher of massively multiplayer online games such as Guild Wars®, Lineage® II and City of Heroes®, today announced that it was stepping up its fight against the growing menace of intellectual property theft. This action comes as a direct response to the rise of illegal online game servers throughout Eastern Europe, particularly in Greece and Russia where NCsoft's fantasy-based online role playing game, Lineage II, is extremely popular.

The fraudulent servers in question are being used by players playing at home and in internet cafes, but such unauthorised servers often feature - or require users to download - illegally modified and potentially harmful game data, thereby changing the intended online experience.

NCsoft's European office has identified several prominent illegal servers across Europe and is in the process of taking action against individuals and corporations deemed to be in breach of international copyright laws. In a lawsuit that was commenced last year in Greece, NCsoft successfully obtained a court order against Internet Cafe business, 'e-GLOBAL' following which four of its cafes were raided and illegal software was seized. This led to the shutting down of illegal servers on which pirate copies of Lineage II software was loaded. Georgios Katostaris - Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, Constantinos Zygouras - Vice-Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, Athanassios Dobros - Deputy Managing Director and Dimitrios Koutsoukos - Administrator of the company under the name 'INTERNET DYNAMICS LLC' have all been made personal defendants to the proceedings that are continuing in the Greek Courts in which NCsoft is seeking damages as well as criminal remedies.

"Illegal game servers, such as those operating from e-GLOBAL, have a hugely negative impact on both NCsoft Europe and its customers," commented Max Brown, NCsoft Europe's Sales & Operations Director. "They seriously affect the player's experience of our products and rob the company of potential revenue that is used to further enhance the player experience on official servers. NCsoft's loss in revenue from e-GLOBAL's operation is estimated in excess of six million Euros. We are defiant in our resolve to stamp out theft of NCsoft's intellectual properties and are prepared to take the strongest measures to do so."

NCsoft has a proven track record in combating illegal servers, having worked with the FBI in November 2006 to shut down a substantial unofficial Lineage II server run by US-based website, L2Extreme.com. Following multiple raids across cities throughout the US, L2Extreme's fraudulent servers - which claimed to support 50,000 active users - were taken offline, as was the L2Extreme.com website.

So a new IP is coming from Insomniac in the semi far to far future? Sounds good to us.

Insomniac's Ted Price Talks 'Ratchet' Sales Surprises, New IPs [MTVmultiplayer]

"Our past experience with many memorable properties has long inspired us to see what we could accomplish with original content," said Steven Lehrhoff, CEO of Perspective Studios. "The Virgin Comics team, with such a unique creative vision, will make the ideal partner for this undertaking."

Virgin Comics most recently dipped their toes in the video game industry with the announcement that Sony Online Entertainment would be working on an MMO based off of their Ramayan 3392 A.D. series.

I dunno. It just seems to me like this sort of multi-media expansion generally happens best when you aren't expecting it. Look at Sam and Max, or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You get a much different feel to a comic book when you start off thinking, "I'm going to create a comic book" rather than, "I am going to create a multi-platform intellectual property." Call me old-fashioned.

VIRGIN COMICS AND PERSPECTIVE STUDIOS JOIN FORCES TO DEVELOP SLATE OF ORIGINAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES

International Comic Publisher and Leading Computer Graphics Animation Studio to Collaborate on Innovative Multi-Platform Franchises

NEW YORK & GLEN COVE, New York - November 27, 2007 - Virgin Comics today announced a partnership with Perspective Studios, an industry-leading computer animation production house, to co-create and develop a diverse slate of original intellectual properties. The goal of the collaboration is to create a compelling portfolio of new characters and franchises for exploitation in multiple formats, including comic books, mobile content, video games and feature films. Virgin and Perspective will initially launch each new franchise as graphic novels and short-form episodic animation for online and mobile distribution, taking advantage of Virgin's substantial relationships in these markets.

The partners expect to focus on content properties that are likely to resonate with online and console gamers. Virgin announced last August that their popular Ramayan 3392 A.D. comic book series has been licensed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) as the basis for a new massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Perspective has provided animation for many noteworthy and highly-anticipated game titles, including Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series and Ghost Recon for Ubisoft.

"Perspective is bringing a great deal of experience and versatility to the table," said Sharad Devarajan, Virgin Comics' CEO. "With Perspective's growing animation capabilities and particular expertise with video game animation, we have full confidence that they'll go above and beyond when it comes to fully realizing a unique creative vision."

"Our past experience with many memorable properties has long inspired us to see what we could accomplish with original content," said Steven Lehrhoff, CEO of Perspective Studios. "The Virgin Comics team, with such a unique creative vision, will make the ideal partner for this undertaking."

Virgin Comics and Perspective Studios will be making additional announcements regarding the specific franchises resulting from this collaboration, as well as the talent involved with the properties, in the near future.

2k Tech JT writes: The other way to view this, is one USER has purchased the game. Not the whole family. So why should your brother play for free?

Especially with bed wetters.

2K Thread [via maxconsole]

Update: 2K has contacted us to let us know that 2K Tech JT is in fact not an employee of 2K, but rather an outside contractor who is now, it seems, being investigated by the company.

Please note that the forum moderator has been incorrectly quoted as a 2K employee. The individual, "JT Tech 2K" works for an outside tech support group and is not an employee of 2K. Additionally, 2K is investigating the validity of the post.

Before starting Lair we said we would never use a licensed IP again, but now I'd pray to do one...[but] if you have a small idea...absolutely grab that opportunity.

But if Eggebrecht ships a million copies of Lair, we'll see if he changes his tune and dragons triumph over X-Wings once again.

Over at N'Gai Croal's LevelUp, Midway's Steve Allison breaks down what developers must do to make games that sell. And one of those things is not make new IPs. Allison states:

According to our numbers, the actual success rate of new IP over the past four years is just seven percent. In other words, 93 percent of new IP fails in the marketplace. So while the 90-plus review scores and armfuls of awards create the perception that titles like Psychonauts, Shadow of the Colossus, Okami and other great pieces of work were big successes, the truth is that they were big financial disappointments and money losers.

It's a shame that developers aren't often rewarded for making something new. Blame customers, not companies for the gazillionth Madden/Final Fantasy/Gundam game. Brian Ashcraft

What Devs Can Do [LevelUp]

The game, which will ship for both the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3, sets the stage for a futuristic civil war, pitting cybernetically enhanced humans against their genetically engineered rivals in a battle for... something. Something important, I'm sure.

Fracture also features a unique "terrain deformation" feature set, seeing players dynamically reshape the battlefield with futuristic weaponry. Say, this is starting to sound very familiar.

You can check out additional details in the press release or get a perspective on how the game will look in our gallery. Michael McWhertor

LucasArts and Day 1 Studios Reshape Next-Generation Entertainment With Fracture

Futuristic Warfare Is Literally "Groundbreaking"

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — May 2, 2007 — LucasArts and development partner Day 1 Studios today announced Fracture , in which players reshape the battlefields in a futuristic conflict with global implications. This epic war fought on American soil pits cybernetically enhanced soldiers against warriors augmented by the benefits of advanced genetic engineering. The company that brought you Star Wars and Indiana Jones, as well as successful new intellectual properties such as Mercenaries (the No. 1 new IP in 2005) and Thrillville (the No. 1 original children's IP of 2006), presents a new franchise full of groundbreaking next-generation gameplay, an intriguing storyline and compelling characters.

"Exciting new intellectual properties serve a vital role to the growth of LucasArts," said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. "Fracture represents the next step in this company initiative, complete with the intriguing story and compelling characters audiences expect of a LucasArts release."

Fracture advances players to the year 2161, where ecological and seismological disasters have radically altered the planet's landscape, and a clash in ideologies places society on the threshold of war. Players set foot on the frontlines of this epic conflict in the role of Mason Briggs, a demolitions expert fighting for the Atlantic Alliance, the side that relies upon cybernetic enhancement. Pitted against the genetically enhanced soldiers of the Pacifican army, players will experience a revolution in 22nd-century warfare. In utilizing the core gameplay mechanic of Fracture, a destructive next-generation technology known as Terrain Deformation, players are equipped with an arsenal of futuristic weaponry to strategically reshape their surroundings on the fly. Every action they perform dynamically reshapes the earth in ways no videogame has ever seen. When Briggs throws a tectonic grenade on a level battlefield, the ground blasts upward to provide access to an otherwise unreachable area. Moving on, when he comes across what appears to be an impenetrable structure, Briggs utilizes the alt-fire functionality on his rocket launcher to create enormous craters to burrow underneath the wall. Surrounded on all sides by enemies, Briggs heaves a vortex grenade, creating a swirling tornado-like mass of boulder, dirt and debris to dispatch his foes. These are just a few samples of the possibilities for Terrain Deformation. Players not only change the battlefield — they change the face of the battle itself.

"LucasArts sees simulation-based gameplay as an essential component of a true next-gen experience, and that's exactly what Fracture delivers," said Peter Hirschmann, vice president of product development at LucasArts. "Day 1 Studios has done a phenomenal job of creating true next-gen tech that not only dazzles on a visual level but also serves as a core gameplay mechanic. Unlike many other next-gen games on the market, Fracture simply isn't possible in the previous generation of consoles."

"LucasArts' excitement for Fracture is palpable, and it only inspires us even further to ensure the game lives up to its lofty expectations," said Denny Thorley, president of Day 1. "The opportunity to work with a company such as LucasArts, that knows not only how to launch large entertainment properties, but also successfully bring new IP to market, is truly a privilege. With Terrain Deformation leading the way, we know we're creating something special, and we have absolutely no doubts that LucasArts is the only company to make sure Fracture receives its due."

More information about the game can be found at the official Fracture website, www.terraindeformation.com, which will continue to release details throughout the year.

Wingnut Interactive was created in partership with Academy Award-winning screenwriter Fran Walsh, Jakcson and Microsoft Game Studios.

Wingnut's first two projects will be Xbox 360 exclusives. The first will be a cooperative effort with Bungie Studios to create a new IP, not Halo 3 and not Halo Wars, built from the Halo universe. The game will be co-written and co-designed by Jackson, Walsh and the Bungie team.

Scott Henson, director of strategy for Xbox and Games for Windows, told me that they haven't yet announced what form the game will take, so it could be anything from a shooter to a role-playing game to an MMO.

The second game will be a brand new franchise built around an "entirelty original property targeted at bringing new audiences into the captivating world of interactive entertainment."

"Microsoft has built an amazing living canvas with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, which allows the storytellers of our time to express themselves in a new medium. They have fundamentally changed how people think about games," Jackson said. "My vision, together with Microsoft Game Studios, is to push the boundaries of game development and the future of interactive entertainment. From a movie-maker's point of view, it is clear to me that the Xbox 360 platform is the stage where storytellers can work their craft in the same way they do today with movies and books but taking it further with interactivity."

Henson wouldn't go into the business relationship behind the new studio, but I suspect they will be only creating games for the 360 and perhaps Vista, since it is backed by Microsoft Game Studios. Brian Crecente

Under the terms of the new deal with Crytek, Ubisoft will take ownership of all the existing Far Cry IP, as well as a perpetual license to use the version of the CryENGINE technology implemented in Far Cry.

The agreement means that Ubisoft will be able to develop sequels in the franchise - which has become a major property for the French publisher, with Far Cry Instincts Evolution (Xbox) and Far Cry Instincts Predator (Xbox 360) both shipping this week.

It also grants Ubisoft and its studios the ability to use the Far Cry engine to develop other titles, which is another string to the company's bow in development terms - with a statement this morning outlining the firm's enthusiasm about taking the engine "to the next level."

I'm sure Ubi broke out in a cold sweat when they heard Cry was working on a title for Electronic Arts, this should help some of their execs sleep better at night.

Far Cry Gets Pwned [Blue's News]

Next Generation has a disheartening and sobering look at the state of the video game industry. Citing the rising costs of game development, the report, done by Screen Digest, paints a bleak picture. According to the study, sequels will be most prevalent among the approximately 80 games per year that will make money. These are all sentiments that were echoed to me at the Nintendo Summit back in Seattle, with developers there mentioning how concerned they were with the increasing prices of game dev and the troubling reality that sequels succeed far more than original, refreshing IP.