Kotaku: Losers

King of Kong Speaks

Kim Phu — Wed, 30 May 2007 12:40:00 MDT

The King of Kong documentary has been making the rounds this year in various film festivals around the US and now there is a controversy over how one of the movie's "characters" was portrayed. In the movie, two men (Billy Mitchell and Steve Weibe) are trying to be crowned the King of Donkey Kong. Mitchell has held the title of the highest score in Donkey Kong up until recently, when Weibe and a documentary crew set out to challenge it.

Just from looking at the trailer, it's pretty easy to tell who the director thinks the real hero (come on, one possibly works at a fast-food restaurant and the other is a science teacher). Mitchell hasn't even seen the movie, knows that he has been casted the villain from reading the reviews and press. Now he is speaking out in an article by MTV along with friends and colleagues who have come out to clear the air. According to Twin Galaxies' top scorekeeper, Walter Day:

When I saw the film, I was very upset. I saw the dynamics of stress between Billy and Steve and all those other people. At first I was mad at the players, mad at me and mad at everyone. Then I went away and sent [the filmmakers] an e-mail and said, 'Look, you got the plot all wrong.'

Tales of tweaked arcade circuit boards, skewed storylines, and made-up plots are just the tip of the iceberg in this video game drama. It's definitely a fun read for anyone missing "The OC". Kim Phu

Ex-'Donkey Kong' Champ Finally Speaks After Getting Bruised By New Doc [MTV Movie News]

Midway: New IPs Fail

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 09 May 2007 00:00:05 MDT

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]

EA Canada Gets Develop 100 Number One Slot

Kim Phu — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 14:40:00 MDT

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.

EA Canada grabbed number one mostly attributed to the popularity of the FIFA and Need for Speed games. Number two was Nintendo who jumped from the number five slot because of DS and Wii sales.

Right now the Development 100 site looks like it has last year's listings, so I'm guessing we'll have to wait to find out the full listing. I'll keep y'all posted. Kim Phu

Develop 100 rankings hit the web [MCVUK]