Here's the run-down:
Also check out our E3 Interview with John Carmack
Next Doom May Not Be a True Sequel
Rage and id's Love/Hate Relationship with the PS3
id Would Like Another Doom Movie
id Considering Wolfenstein RPG, Doom 2 RPG for iPhone
Hollenshead: E3 Was Pretty Much a Disappointment to Everyone
Does PC Gaming Need a Savior?

But id CEO Todd Hollenshead, doesn't totally agree that they have switched sides, or that there even need to be sides for PC gaming to survive.

"That whole PC first thing, you have to go back in id history to see why id initially developed for the PC," he said.

It used to be, he said, that developers had to change so many things, jump through so many hoops, to get their games on consoles that it just wasn't worth it for some.

"Wolfenstein 3D, there was a Nintendo version of that, that was like a black day in id history, how they made us change it to run on the Nintendo platform," he said. Platform owners "wouldn’t let you publish games on the console. We didn’t want to have our content governed by a third-party."

"But that dynamic isn’t really like there anymore. There are lots of games that have content, whether it's language or other forms of adult content, that is pushing the bounds of content on all platforms."

With that hurdle gone, the decision comes down to one of economics, Hollenshead said.

"Our decision about multiplatform is dictated by the market," he said. "We need to have all of these coordinated and released at the same time because that's the way to get your game out to the most people."

And doing that, he says, also allows you to maintain quality control, making sure all of your versions are good.

In many ways, that was the impetus for id Tech 5, to be able to create top notch, quality games for all platforms at the same time.

"So there is no stepdown or dilution between platforms," he said.

But that doesn't mean that Hollenshead and id Software thinks PC gaming isn't important anymore.

"I think there are still some problems in the PC market," he said. "There are issues in the market from a business standpoint, which means having a PC only title that the level of investment to make a triple A game is a tough thing if your not doing a subscription model."

id actually thought about tinkering around with a subscription model for some of their games, but in the end realized it wasn't a good fit for what they create.

"To open that up for the type of games we make isn't really appealing to us," he said. "World of Warcraft I can understand that, they have a service based aspect to that game. With our games we have always been about the free multiplayer stuff."

Despite that, id still sees PC gaming as viable platform for games, even some exclusive games.

"Obviously Quake Live is only pc and we certainly hope we do well with that," he said. "We still feel PC is a very important market. "

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It's too early to tell if the shrinking E3 has helped bolster id's own id-centric annual show QuakeCon. Usually id Software waits until the Saturday of the show to get official attendance numbers.

But Hollenshead is already sure that QuakeCon is the right way to host a gaming conference.

"I think we struck a balance of being vendor supported and still being in touch with the gamers," he said. "We had over 6,000 hours of volunteer time, that's like the polar opposite of E3,. which is all about business."

In fact id Software only officially showed up at E3 as a single announcement during the Electronic Arts press conference. They were there to tell the world that EA would be publishing their upcoming id Tech 5 game, Rage.

And even that had to be modified to fit in with what E3 and its attendees expect from the show.

"We were told you can't show this stuff because of these five reasons," Hollenshead said. "Last night (during QuakeCon) we had the bigger, better, more hardcore, not suitable for investor conference (announcement) for Rage and Doom."

[Pic]

"John is pretty disappointed we didn’t have the manpower and resources to have a game for the launch of the" app store, id CEO Todd Hollenshead said.

Hollenshead said that Carmack and other id folks had been playing around with the iPhone SDK for awhile, but that the developer's small in-house mobile team just didn't have the time to put together a game in time.

"It appears that at this point that given the size of our team, we can only work on one mobile game at a time. We are probably partner up and the first (iPhone game) will be one where we work with a publishing partner."

Already the team is working on both Wolfenstein RPG and Doom 2 RPG for mobile phones, both of which id Software would like to bring to the iPhone, Hollenshead said.

"We have ambitions to have both on the iPhone," he said, "but it's too early to say if that's going to happen at this point."

As much as id seems to like the idea of iPhone gaming, they're taking a caution approach, but not for the reasons you'd think.

"The iPhone is cool, and the n-Gage was a nerd device," Hollenshead said. "The iphone is a pretty damn awesome phone, it’s a great business device, it's one of the best portable mp3 player you can buy, it can play videos. There's a lot of reasons to have that device and it has the power to play games as well. It’s a cool device that you can play games on and they can be awesome games."

But, perhaps the iPhone is too good at all the things it does.

Games on the iPhone, Hollenshead explains, are "going to be competing with all of those other things you can do on the iPhone that are pretty cool, that’s the challenge."

"It does raise the bar on what you need to do from a game standpoint."

See, Carmack's initial attraction to mobile gaming was the fact that, well, most cell phone games are crap and most cell phones can't do more than a few things well.

"Doom RPG was a fun game you could play on your cell phone," he said. "With the iPhone the experience, what you are going to be doing in games, has to rise because there are so many other things you can do with it."

"Personally I'd like to do another Doom movie, I thought working with it was a blast," he said. "There are some lessons we learned. The best way to do things better is to get the experience."

Hollenshead said that Universal still has the rights for the Doom movie and sequels, so the ball is really in their court on whether another is made.

"We’ll see what happens when we get further along in development of the (new Doom) game and there's more buzz and we share more about what the game will be about.

"As the buzz meter starts to go up that may kind of kick start the guys over at Universal."

id's upcoming open-world shooter Rage, he told the assembled gamers, will look worse on the Xbox 360 because of storage issues.

I asked id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead about that this morning, now that the comment has had time to sink into gaming forums worldwide.

"That's a pretty gross over simplification," he said. And it was. In fact Carmack's and Hollenshead's views on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 as platforms are fairly complex. While Carmack has long said he thinks that the architecture of the Xbox 360 is better, it sounds like he and others at id Software feel that the PS3 has done a much better job of future proofing.

This issue with Rage? It's just the tip of the iceberg unless something is done.

The problem with Rage is two fold, Hollenshead tells me. First there is the economics of spreading a game across multiple discs. The more discs you use the higher production costs are.

"We have concerns (about the 360 version of Rage) because of the economics of the platform in terms of what it costs to go to multiple discs," Hollenshead said. "There is disc space issue on the 360, and if we cant find a clever way or compromise with Microsoft to address that issue... even though we feel the 360 has superior hardware, the size limitations may mean that we may not have as much texture density or resolution on the 360 version.

"Let me be clear, this is an open question, we have these tech issues and we are working with Microsoft to solve them."

And the issue isn't just about the game being too big, Hollenshead says that developers lose upwards of 2 gigs of space per a disc because of information Microsoft requires developers to put on the discs.

While allowing the game to be installed on the Xbox 360's harddrive may help, it actually wouldn't solve that problem, Hollenshead added.

While spit-balling ideas and possible solutions, Carmack even talked about the possibility of streaming some game data to Xbox 360s through the Live service, but that raises a litany of other issues, like how you would ensure that all of your gamers had a harddrive or broadband connections.

Ironically, early on Carmack was pretty clear on the fact that he felt the Playstation 3's cell technology was not the boon it was made out to be to developers.

"I know that John is pretty much brass tacks on these issues and before the PS3 was ever released he raised the same issues then as now," Hollenshead said. Sony "had a bunch of hardware engineers talking about theoretical power, but (Carmack) said 'yeah, this isn’t how software people work' and they said 'yeah, this is how they should work.'"

To date, Carmack still feels the architecture of the Playstation 3 doesn't deliver the power promised. But Hollenshead points out that there's no use crying over spilled milk.

"Complaining about that is sort of a worthless exercise at this point," he said. "The PS3 is what it is and it’s not going to change. You have to adapt. That’s what we have done with id tech 5."

One of the promises of id Software's new engine is that it will make cross-platform development a breeze. Something Hollenshead said is proven with Rage.

"Today we are saying that Rage may look better on the PS3 than the 360," he pointed out.

While id may not be fans of the Playstation 3's architecture, they are fans of how future proof the console seems to be.

"I think the blu-ray strategy and some of the other things they’ve done in terms how (the PS3) is positioned as a home entertainment device, shows that (Sony) is placing their bet on the PS3 as a marathon runner not a sprint and Microsoft was a little more focused on the short term goals."

Storage, and Microsoft's early insistence that the Xbox 360 wasn't going to run into issues with its DVD-based games, is a key win for Sony, he said.

"As soon as you start saying you have enough memory, you better hide and watch brother."

"The next game in the Doom universe is in development," id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead told me earlier today. " We do have the core of the team working on it, under the direction of Kevin Cloud.

"We are working on what the story is going to be for the game right now, the logo (shown during QuakeCon) didn’t have a four or a subtitle. We haven’t made the decision about that yet. There is probably a let's not make a numeral game and some say we should make it one."

While there isn't a lot to tell yet about the upcoming Doom game, Hollenshead told me everything he was able.

The game will be built on the id Tech 5 and will remain true to it's roots, he said.

"There's going to be big guns, lots of blood and demons," Hollenshead said. "That’s what we see as the core and that’s what that game is about.

While Hollenshead said the development team definitely want to innovate with the game, it's too early to tell how exactly that will be done.

"We are still working on the game and what it’s going to be about," he said. "The goal for the game is that it will be the best game of its ilk when it's released.

"It will remain true to what Doom is about, this very visceral experience. But we still want to obviously be innovative within that."

Check back for the rest of our Hollenshead interview throughout the day.

[Pic]

Maximum PC also reports that the Xbox 360 version of Rage may wind up shipping on up to three DVDs — or suffer some serious compression compared to the Blu-ray version — a move that could cost millions in per-disc royalty fees. And think of the paper sleeve costs!

QuakeCon 08: No Digital Distribution for Rage or Doom 4; Rage will be on Multiple DVDs for Xbox 360 [Maximum PC]

"The next DOOM game will look like it's built on another engine, as it uses three times the horsepower," Carmack said, according to a 1UP report.

That visual fidelity will come at a price though, as Carmack says that Doom 4 will run at 30 frames per second, compared to Rage's 60 frames per second. The only other details provided by Carmack on Doom 4 was that the game would feature "guns, blood, demons, and gibs." Should've sent a poet...

Quake Con Keynote — Live Blog [1UP]

Here's your second look at the new Wolfenstein in motion. The QuakeCon trailer is similar to its E3 predecessor, but features new, chilling, German accented voiceover work, more exploding bodies and even more terrifying Nazi experiments with bluish-green lighting. It's also about twice as long, making it twice as awesome.

Wolfenstein QuakeCon Trailer HD [GameTrailers]

This year will include a chance to win a Corvette, Brawl chugging, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars tournaments, Guitar Hero contests and plenty more. The convention will give gamers a chance to check out id's new browser-based Quake Live, watch pro-gaming documentary FRAG and play a bit of tourney poker.

The highlight for the show for us non-attendees though will be John Carmack's keynote during the id press conference Thursday morning. Here's hoping we hear more about id Tech 5.

Don't worry, we've already got an interview set up and are plugged into whatever announcements maybe coming. In the meantime check out our interview with Carmack and company earlier this month to hear him talking about his new game engine, new publisher and the future of PC and Apple gaming.

QuakeCon

The Intel QUAKE LIVE Championships

QuakeCon 2008 will mark the debut of the first-ever Intel QUAKE LIVE Championships pro tournament. QUAKE LIVE is id Software’s new game created to deliver the excitement and energy of a first-person multiplayer game to a broader audience through a free and easily accessible browser-based experience. The Intel QUAKE LIVE Championships will feature a classic $12,500 One Versus One tournament along with a $12,500 Capture the Flag Team Tournament.

The Activision Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Team Championships

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars™ makes its second annual tournament appearance with the Activision Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Team Championships. Featuring competitions on both PC and for the first time on Xbox 360, the tournament contests will enlist six-person teams to battle it out in double-elimination bracket-style competitive play, in which each squad will have the chance to attack and defend. On the Windows PC side, 16 teams will compete for $15,000 in prize money and in the Xbox 360 competition, eight teams will vie for $10,000 in prizes.

The Alienware Quick-Draw Challenge

For anyone who’s dreamed of competing for prize money on the QuakeCon main stage, the Alienware Quick-Draw Challenge offers $10,000 in prize money to randomly selected attendees competing in special QUAKE LIVE competitions throughout the course of the event.

In addition to their prize money, the top 2 finalists and teams in each of the above competitive tournament events will also be given tickets to the previously announced “QuakeCon Ultimate Power Up” raffle contest, sponsored by Ventrilo, for the brand new 2008 Corvette. Additional raffle tickets and eligibility will be subject to contest rules.

“QuakeCon 2008 will be the grand slam of competitive gaming with the best games and an amazing prize list,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. “We’ve partnered with our sponsors this year to bring the top competitive players what they want most: skill based games, top money prizes, the most enthusiastic fans and audience and the world’s best Finals party!”

More information, including map names, prize money distribution, detailed format and rules, and sign-ups for both tournaments will be available soon at www.quakecon.org.

QuakeCon Ultimate Power Up Rules:

QuakeCon 2008 registered attendees who are 18 years of age and older AND are legal residents of the United States, its territories and possessions and the District of Columbia are eligible to participate. No purchase necessary. 250 raffle tickets will be distributed throughout the event. Additional information about contest rules, eligibility and requirements will be available at www.quakecon.org.

[Pic]

MESQUITE, Texas - April 22, 2008 - As temperatures begin to rise it's time to start planning the ultimate summer vacation to THE must-attend gaming event of the year - QuakeCon 2008. That's right! The world's greatest gaming festival and party will take place July 31 - August 3, 2008 in Dallas, TX at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. As always, this event is FREE to all attendees thanks to the support of the QuakeCon volunteer staff, id Software, the event sponsors and exhibitors.

QuakeCon will once again host North America's largest BYOC
(Bring-Your-Own-Computer) LAN party, as well as an expanded exhibit area
with nearly 60 companies demonstrating their latest products. Of course, it
wouldn't be QuakeCon without highly competitive tournaments for serious cash
and bragging rights, parties, contests, entertainment and announcements.

Registration for the BYOC area will kick off at 9 p.m. ET on April 30, 2008
at HYPERLINK
"file:///C:\\Documents%20and%20Settings\\natalie.edwards\\Local%20Settings\\
Temporary%20Internet%20Files\\OLK79D\\www.quakecon.org"www.quakecon.org.

The Hilton Anatole is now taking room reservations for QuakeCon 2008 through
their custom QuakeCon reservation page at HYPERLINK
"http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/DFWANHH-QUA-20080726/index.
jhtml"http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/DFWANHH-QUA-20080726/i
ndex.jhtml or through their toll-free reservations number, 1-800-HILTONS.
To receive the specially negotiated room rate of $137 (single, double,
triple or quad occupancy) and the special daily self-park rate of $5
(regularly $15 per day), you must request the group rate for "QuakeCon 2008"
or book through the link above when making your reservation. The hotel
requires a $50 non-refundable deposit on group reservations, which will be
credited to your final room bill upon check-out. Rooms at this special rate
are limited.

Companies interested in receiving information on sponsorship and exhibitor
opportunities should email HYPERLINK
"mailto:sponsors@quakecon.org"sponsors@quakecon.org.

More exciting details about QuakeCon 2008 will follow. Visit HYPERLINK
"http://www.quakecon.org/"www.quakecon.org to stay on top of the latest
information. Plan your travel, reserve your hotel room and BYOC spot,
practice those gaming skills and prepare to be blown away by another awesome
QuakeCon.

During today's QuakeCon keynote John Carmack unveiled a flurry of announcements including id Software's newest franchise, Rage, and confirmation of a Return to Castle Wolfenstein movie. They also told the crowd that the new Wolfenstein game is being developed by Raven Software for the PC, 360 and PS3. The mutiplayer portion of the game is being worked on by Threewave Software.

Here's the breakdown:
id Software's New Game Unveiled
Quake Zero Announced
Quake Arena Headed to XBLA
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Dated
id Forges Deal with Valve
Hollenshead Talks Wolfenstein Movie
Orcs & Elves II Hits Mobile this Holiday

At the end of the QuakeCon keynote Todd Hollenshead had Katherine Anna Kang, founder of Fountainhead Entertainment, take to the stage to show off a bit of Orcs & Elves for the DS.

After a bit of play, she announced that Orcs & Elves II will be hitting mobiles this holiday.

While not totally finalized, Todd Hollenshead confirmed with me today rumors that id Software has indeed licensed the film rights to an adaptation of Return to Castle Wolfenstein and that Roger Avary will both be writing and directing the movie.

"We are super excited to have Roger Avary attached to the project," Hollenshead told me. "I met personally with Avary and he has an enormous amount of enthusiasm for the project. That makes us incredibly excited. Movie projects are tough unless you have a really good writer and we want this to be great."

When I mentioned the mixed reaction to the Doom film, Hollenshead first said he loved the movie but then went on to say that they always want to take their previous experiences and "learn to do things better."

Before penning the deal, id folks met with the studio to agree to some "creative guidelines" for the upcoming picture.

"We want to make sure things like BJ is the hero, it's set in World War II and the Nazis are the bad guys," he said. "But a movie does need to be different than the game, so there is going to be some changes made."

He added that id will stay involved in the project as the movie is being made and technically, the deal is still in the works. id just wanted to get the word out there during their annual Quake Con.

Looks like the rumors are true, id and Valve have decided to partner up to sell all of id Software's library, well almost all of it.

Todd Hollenshead told me today that that all of (well like 99 percent of) id Software's games from Commander Keen on up to Quake 3 will now be sold on Steam. The distribution deal also includes a mega pack, that lets you download all of those games for $70. Or $60 if you use the $10 discount code given out at QuakeCon today.

The games should be available now on Steam. Hit the jump for the full list of games and packs.

id GAMES on Steam
• Commander Keen, Episodes 1 through 5
• Wolfenstein 3D
• Spear of Destiny
• Return to Castle Wolfenstein
• Ultimate DOOM
• DOOM II
• Final DOOM
• DOOM3
• DOOM3: Resurrection of Evil
• QUAKE
• QUAKE Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon
• QUAKE Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity
• QUAKE II
• QUAKE II Mission Pack: The Reckoning
• QUAKE II Mission Pack: Ground Zero
• QUAKE III Arena
• QUAKE III: Team Arena
• Heretic
• Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
• HeXen
• HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
• HeXen II

id PACKAGES on Steam
• DOOM 3 Pack: Includes DOOM 3 and DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil
• QUAKE III Pack: Includes QUAKE III Arena and QUAKE III: Team Arena
• Wolf Pack: Includes Wolf 3D, Spear of Destiny and Return to Castle Wolfenstein
• DOOM Pack Complete: Includes all DOOM games released by id
• QUAKE Pack: Includes all 8 QUAKE Titles available on Steam
• Heretic\HeXen Pack: Includes Heretic, Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, HeXen, HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, HeXen II
• Id Super Pack: Every id game on Steam

Select packages are 10% off until August 10.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars will be hitting the PC on October 2, id Software announced today during their keynote at Quake Con 2007.

Now word yet on when the title will be shipping for the PS3 and Xbox 360. One more reason to save up your money for this fall.

ID SOFTWARE CONFIRMS LAUNCH DATE FOR
ENEMY TERRITORY: QUAKE WARS (WINDOWS PC) AT QUAKECON 2007

Santa Monica, CA - Aug. 3, 2007 - Gamers in attendance at QuakeCon 2007 were rewarded with a special announcement when id Software and Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) unveiled that Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars™ Windows PC will be on EU store shelves on September 28, 2007 and North American store shelves beginning October 2, 2007. The game, which is in development by Splash Damage, pits the armies of Earth's Global Defense Force (GDF) against the invading alien Strogg in the multiplayer strategic shooter that transports players to the front lines of an epic new war for Earth.

Offering the ultimate in objective-based multiplayer action either online or offline with bots, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is set within the expansive QUAKE® universe in the year 2065. Gamers choose to play as the human GDF or alien Strogg in one of five unique character classes. Employing an arsenal of weapons, vehicles and deployable armaments, players engage in an action-packed test of skill and coordinated teamwork through a series of combat objectives. Persistent character growth and achievements reward players for teamwork, while clearly defined mission and class objectives guide new players to meaningful contributions on the battlefield.

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is also in development for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft (Nerve Software) and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system (Activision Foster City).

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars has been rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB.

Speaking with id CEO Todd Hollenshead earlier today, he told me that Quake Arena is currently under development for a release on the Xbox Live Arcade. Pi Studios will be working on the port.

Hollenshead said id was very pleased with the Xbox Live Arcade version of Doom and that he had a lot of fun playing it.

"It was amazing, sales were incredible," he said.

During today's Quake Con keynote the id folks announced that they have a team of developers working on a little pet project called Quake Zero.

QZ will be a free web-based version of Quake 3 multiplayer. Todd Hollenshead told me they decided to kick off this project for several reasons. First and foremost, id hated to see their game, once quite popular for online matches, losing its prominence in the online gaming scene, this will allow virtually anyone with a computer to play matches of their games.

Hollenshead said id also wanted to dip their toe in in-game advertising, and that this seemed like the best way to approach it. So expect ads to be running on the web page when you play Quake Zero,but free games for ads seem absolutely fine to me.

John Carmack today announced id Software's new franchise, Rage, a game that blends the best elements of action and adventure built on id's new id Tech 5 engine and developed for a simultaneous launch on the PC, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software, walked me through what to expect from the game and the Quake Con presentation earlier this afternoon.

"It's more than just a first-person shooter, we will show vehicles and racetracks, driving and racing elements," he said. "It is an action-oriented game but with a lot of adventure elements. It will be story driven, but you can also choose your own route to go through things."

The game's basic story is one centered around an oppressive "machine" you are rallying against. While the game, which id has been working on for more than 18 months, will still have indoor and outdoor shooter elements, it will also have plenty of racing including some road rage and the ability to mod and soup up your vehicle.

While Rage will be the first game to launch on id Tech 5, that doesn't mean that id has ruled out future versions of their exiting franchises hitting the new engine, Hollenshead said.

"We haven't made the decision that that's not going to happen, it just isn't internally." he said. "We've been helping out with Quake 4 and with Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, but we wanted to do something new and different and get everyone's creative juices flowing. That's the impetus behind this. id is a studio that has the ability to launch new IPs and give people something new and not have to swim as much upstream."

While the fact that id Software is working on an entirely new franchise is exciting, the big news, Hollenshead said, is the engine the game is running on an engine that can allow a developer to create games for the Mac, the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PS3 simultaneously by using identical media for all four platforms.

"Rage looks the same on all four platforms. It's all the same media, it's the same art, literally" he said. "It's damn hard to do that, but if you're a genius you'll figure out how to do it and that's what (Carmack) has done."

The brief tech demo of Rage shown at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference was running at 60hz on the Mac, something it will do on all platforms without any discernible difference, he said.

Typically when a game is being developed for multiple platforms, Hollenshead said, you have to lower the resolution for different platforms, or have less stuff in the environment going on. But with id Tech 5 there is no changes in any of the versions, Hollenshead said.

"That is huge, you don't have to have a second, third development team working on your different ports," he said. "For instance with a game based on a movie license, where you are tied to a specific launch date, previously you had your problem platform and you would put 150 people on it to get it to work. There's no need for that with id Tech 5 as long as you are prudent with your production management."

I asked Hollenshead about the whole furor surrounding Unreal's engine and accusations that it doesn't work as well with the Playstation 3. Hollenshead acknowledged that the PS3's architecture does have some interesting challenges, but said they figured them out. id brought on one of the top PS3 programmers in the world to help with the design of the engine from the beginning.

"From a architectural standpoint, (id Tech 5) was intended from the beginning to be a multiplatform engine," he said.

While id Software plans to eventually license their new cross-platform engine, that probably won't happen until closer to the end of this year.

Expect to hear some news in just a few from the QuakeCon Keynote. id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead and technical director and co-founder John Carmack will be taking the stage for the back-to-back press conference and keynote address.

"We look forward to QuakeCon every year as an opportunity to have a great time partying and playing id games with our fans," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "QuakeCon's continuing popularity is a credit to the dedication of our volunteers and grass-roots support of sponsors and exhibitors; and the fans' enthusiastic and passionate response to our big announcements is inspiring."

Check back to read the news and our interview with Hollenshead.

Today and the rest of the weekend is a wee-bit convention heavy. We're simultaneously covering the 2007 QuakeCon, BlizzCon and Fan Faire. The news seems to be chugging along pretty steadily, so if you want to track just what's happening at your con of choice click the appropriate link below, or you can just catch them as they hit the main page.

BlizzCon
QuakeCon
Fan Faire

Beta 2.0 for Enemy Territories: Quake Wars is going live today. The new beta will include a new map, wider access and plenty of extra features:

• New Map: Valley (temperate climate, GDF-offensive map)
• Wider Access: All current ETQW Fileplanet Beta participants, plus an additional first-come/first-serve 20K participants will be eligible to join
• Offline play against the computer mode added
• Improvements to bots, game physics, audio and game interface
• Punkbuster added
• LAN game support added
• Player statistics tracking and leaderboards added at http://stats.enemyterritory.com
• Unranked server support included

Get it while it's hot over at File Planet.

File Planet

This year's QuakeCon kicked off at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas today with crowds expected to reach 6,000. Although the John Carmack keynote and press conference doesn't hit until Friday night, the Bring-Your-Own-Computer folks have already set up and tourney check in is well underway. The assorted tournaments will get under way this afternoon, with some running through till Saturday night.

"We look forward to QuakeCon every year as an opportunity to have a great time partying and playing id games with our fans," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "QuakeCon's continuing popularity is a credit to the dedication of our volunteers and grass-roots support of sponsors and exhibitors; and the fans' enthusiastic and passionate response to our big announcements is inspiring."

id will be giving away 3,000 VIP keys to the upcoming Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Beta 2.0 and their are even a number of booths packed in with all of the PCs in the 25,000-square-foot exhibit area. NVIDIA, Activision, Antec, Armadillo Aerospace, Bgears, DeVry University, Dust-Off, EA Mobile, FSP Group USA, GameRail, The Guildhall at SMU, Ideazon, IN WIN, iZ3D, MSI, PNY Technologies, proGAM3R magazine, Patriot Memory, steelseries, Tritton, Turtle Rock Studios with Valve Software, and Wintec Industries will on be on hand to show off their wares, both hard and soft.

Quake Con

GAMERS UNITE AT QUAKECON 2007
id Software Slated to Make Major Announcements

DALLAS - August 2, 2007 - id Software once again welcomes the loyal fans who make the pilgrimage to gaming holy ground at QuakeCon 2007, August 2-5 in Dallas' Hilton Anatole Hotel. This year's QuakeCon is expected to draw more than 6,000 attendees from around the world. Todd Hollenshead, CEO, and John Carmack, Technical Director and co-founder of id Software take the stage Friday evening for a back-to-back press conference and keynote address where several major announcements will be made.

"We look forward to QuakeCon every year as an opportunity to have a great time partying and playing id games with our fans," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "QuakeCon's continuing popularity is a credit to the dedication of our volunteers and grass-roots support of sponsors and exhibitors; and the fans' enthusiastic and passionate response to our big announcements is inspiring."

Now in its twelfth year, QuakeCon continues to innovate in LAN party tournament action with all new gaming competitions. This year, the event organizers will host the first tournament using id Software's new landmark game, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars. QuakeCon 2007 will also mark the debut of the first Quad Damage tournament spanning all four QUAKE games. The total QuakeCon Championship Tournament purse will be $100,000, courtesy of title sponsor NVIDIA.

id Software will also use QuakeCon 2007 as an opportunity to launch its Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Beta 2.0 with IGN's Fileplanet (www.fileplanet.com), giving away 3,000 VIP keys to the loyal fans of the Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) Area. Beta 2.0 will feature "Valley," one of the maps being used in the QuakeCon Championship Tournament.

QuakeCon 2007 is organized by a dedicated group of 30 year-round volunteers, 200 on-site volunteers and video game pioneer, id Software. The four-day action-packed event offers 96 hours of round-the-clock parties, entertainment, and fierce gameplay action.

QuakeCon consumes more than 100,000 square feet of gaming righteousness, including a 2,800 seat Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) Area and exhibit space that features demos of the latest video games and displays of next-generation hardware from NVIDIA, Activision, EA, Philips, Logitech, Dell and Valve among others.

QuakeCon goers can win swag and gear by participating in fan appreciation events that will take place throughout the four-day event, including a Guitar Hero II competition and NVIDIA's kickoff event which will spoof popular game show challenges, including classics like Win Lose or Draw, Let's Make a Deal and The Dating Game as well as new game shows like Deal or No Deal.

The QuakeCon 2007 sponsor line up includes industry giants: id Software, NVIDIA, Activision, Philips amBX, Cenatek, Dell, D-Link, Intel, Logitech, MyInternetServices.com, Haptx, siteofchampions.com, and Sierra's World in Conflict.

The 25,000 square foot exhibit area at QuakeCon 2007 will include booths from NVIDIA, Activision, Antec, Armadillo Aerospace, Bgears, DeVry University, Dust-Off, EA Mobile, FSP Group USA, GameRail, The Guildhall at SMU, Ideazon, IN WIN, iZ3D, MSI, PNY Technologies, proGAM3R magazine, Patriot Memory, steelseries, Tritton, Turtle Rock Studios with Valve Software, and Wintec Industries.

For fans unable to make the journey to Dallas for QuakeCon 2007, the official event web site (www.quakecon.org) will have links to view broadcast footage from the event 24/7 from both static cameras and roaming hand-held cameras.

About QuakeCon:
Often described as the "Woodstock of Gaming," QuakeCon was created in August of 1996 by a group of friends on the IRC network's EFnet who had a desire to meet in person. Less than 100 attendees gathered at the Best Western in Garland, Texas that first year to play and talk games and compete in the first QuakeCon tournament. id Software's lead programmer John Carmack and several other id team members stopped by to chat with fans about DOOM, QUAKE, and the future of an up-and-coming id Software.

Going into its 12th year, QuakeCon remains true to its original mission as an event created by gamers, for gamers. Sponsored by id Software and other industry-leading software and hardware manufacturers, QuakeCon continues to be run by a dedicated group of 30 year-round volunteers and more than 200 on-site volunteers. More than 6,000 people attended QuakeCon in 2006, and the event has expanded to include the entire series of QUAKE® games, Return to Castle Wolfenstein®, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory®, DOOM3®, and now Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars™.

About id Software:
id - defined by Freud as the primal section of the human psyche; id Software, located in Mesquite, Texas, was founded in 1991. From inception to present day, id Software has relentlessly provided technical, design and artistic leadership as an independent game developer and technology provider. Transcending the games industry, id's iconic brands such as Wolfenstein, DOOM, QUAKE and Enemy Territory have become staples of popular culture for generations of gamers. More information on id Software can be found at www.idsoftware.com.

AMBX FRAGS QUAKECON 2007

Dallas, TX, USA - Philips amBX today unveiled an amBX-enabled multiplayer demonstration of id Software's QUAKE 4, which will be available for both the press and public to play on a dedicated amBX booth at QuakeCon, Dallas, USA, from 2nd to 4th August 2007.

QuakeCon is a free convention held every year in the Dallas area where PC gamers from all over the world make the pilgrimage to play on a giant gaming network in one room together, see the latest technology and compete in world-class tournaments. Volunteer run, QuakeCon is sponsored by id Software, makers of the hugely popular and successful DOOM, QUAKE and Wolfenstein series of games.

Shorthand for 'ambient experiences', amBX revolutionises the gameplay experience by extending the gaming world out of the screen and into the real world. amBX delivers a full 'sensory surround experience' by equipping game developers with a tool box to use light, colour, sound and even air flow through enabled devices, including the Philips amBX PC Gaming Peripherals range of LED colour-controlled lighting capable of representing 16 million different colours, rumble peripherals and variable speed desktop fans.

The Philips amBX team has crafted a mod for QUAKE 4 which, when played with amBX peripherals, will see fans, lights and rumble effects, including 360 degree environmental lighting, form an integral part of the gameplay. Players running and jumping in the game will actually feel the air move around them and the effect of landing and impacts. Weapons will generate custom effects, including surrounding light, rumble shudder and fan blast effects from the rocket launcher. On a more subtle level, rear view lighting is darkened when players use a weapon scope mode, to draw players into the sniper frame of mind. On the receiving end, damage feedback is displayed through a multi directional red light blood splatter and bullet impact vibration. Finally, power and pick ups are represented through different light effects, including a light blue aura for Quad Damage, pulsing red for Regeneration, a fast yellow pulse for Haste, green light for Health and blue light for Mega Health.

"Multiplayer gaming doesn't come any bigger than QUAKE and QuakeCon is our chance to show the world just how awesome FPS multiplayer gaming can really be with amBX," commented Jo Cooke, Chief Marketing Officer, Philips amBX. "Fragging will reach a whole new dimension with light, wind and rumble effects taking in-your-face explosions right out of the gaming screen and into the hall at QuakeCon."

"With thousands of the most enthusiastic gamers from all around the world attending, QuakeCon is a fantastic venue to introduce new game technology, " said Todd Hollenshead, id Software's CEO. "We are excited about having Philips as a new QuakeCon partner this year and seeing attendees duel it out in heads up QUAKE 4 matches enhanced by Philips' exciting new amBX technology. "

The amBX-enabled QUAKE 4 will be in good company as QuakeCon 2007 will be ground zero for never-before-seen gaming competitions, with the first official tournament using id Software's new landmark game, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars and the first ever "Quad Damage" tournament spanning all four QUAKE games.

Philips is setting a global standard by licensing the amBX technology to computer game developers, publishers and peripherals manufacturers including Codemasters, THQ, Introversion, Gearbox Software, Zombie, Riot Games, Brain in a Jar, Invictus Games, Instinct Technology, Kuju, Revolution, Sumo Digital, Rivers Run Red, Philips Peripherals & Accessories and SpectraVideo.

Philips is currently in the closing stages of agreements with a number of other high profile companies regarding amBX-enabling all kinds of games.

The four-player, first-person shooter is due to hit Xbox 360s and PCs in the fourth quarter of 2007. QuakeCon attendees will have a rare opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the game before it ships/is delayed to 2008. Way better than showering, for sure.

Maybe this is the year I should finally make my way to QuakeCon to check out all of the coolness going on in my old stomping grounds. (Texas, not Quake).

This year's QuakeCon will be home to the first ever sanctioned tournament of upcoming shooter Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars. It will also host a Quad Damage tourney that will see pro PC gamers playing against one another in all four Quake games.

More than 6,000 gamers are expected at the four-day event which takes place in Mesquite, Texas from Aug. 2 through Aug. 5. The total purse for this year's QuakeCon will be $100,000, thanks to sponsor NVIDIA. Hit the jump for the press release. Brian Crecente

ALL-NEW COMPETITIONS IN NVIDIA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT QUAKECON 2007

MESQUITE, Texas - June 26, 2007 - The NVIDIA Championships at QuakeCon 2007 will be ground zero for never-before-seen gaming competitions with the first sanctioned tournament of id Software's new landmark game, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars; and the first ever "Quad Damage" tournament spanning all four QUAKE games. The tournaments will take place during the 12th annual QuakeCon which is being held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas from August 2-5. More than 6,000 gamers from around the world are expected to attend the four-day event. The total QuakeCon Championship Tournament purse will be $100,000, courtesy of title sponsor NVIDIA.

"This years QuakeCon is shaping up to be the best one yet," said Roy Taylor, vice president of developer relations at NVIDIA. "With the first ever 'Quad Damage' tournament, more attendees than ever before and the best gaming hardware on display, QuakeCon 2007 is guaranteed to be the gaming event of the year!"

"For over 10 years gamers have debated who the best overall QUAKE player is, and this year we're giving our competitors the chance to stake that claim in our world exclusive Quad Damage tournament," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "We're also giving teams the chance to be crowned the first ever Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars champions, and thanks to NVIDIA's $100,000 total prize purse, the competition will be more intense than ever."

Following is the tournament line up:

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars makes its tournament debut at QuakeCon 2007. 32 teams will compete in the incredible battles between Earth's Global Defense Force (GDF) and the invading alien Strogg. Each 6-person team will battle it out in a double-elimination bracket-style tournament, with each team having the opportunity to both attack and defend. With a focus on objective and class-based gameplay, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars will test each team's ability to combine skill, strategy, and teamwork in tournament play like never before.

QUAKE Quad-Damage Tournament
This year brings a new twist to QuakeCon's classic 1 vs. 1 competition with the inaugural Quad Damage Tournament. Spanning all four QUAKE games, this year's champion will need to be a master of a variety of weapons, maps, and play-styles - from QUAKE's lightening fast action and dominating rocket launcher, to the more strategic gameplay and precision weapons found in the later QUAKE games. 256 contestants will be divided into 4 man groups with each player battling the others in a set of round-robin 1 vs 1 matches. Two phases of round robin play will reduce the competition down to the top 32 players, who will then battle it out in a single-elimination, best of 3 bracket to determine who is truly the QUAKE Master.

More information, including map names, prize money distribution, detailed format and rules, and sign-ups for both tournaments will be available very shortly at www.quakecon.org.

Blizzard announced plans for BlizzCon 2007 Thursday, featuring everything from a silent auction to a character 'sound-alike' contest. All this and more for a mere $100USD per person, at the Anaheim Convention Center on August 3rd & 4th.

Considering the broad demographic spread of fans of Blizzard games, it will be interesting to see who (or what) shows up, and how many of them, especially considering QuakeCon is going on at the same time (August 2-5) at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX. Decisions, decisions. Maggie Greene

Blizzard Annouces BlizzCon 2007 [via Slashdot]

The best part? It's FREE! It's always free—minus travel expenses, hotel room, parking, food and requisite PC upgrades, that is. Check out the official site for more info and get your room reservations in early.

Hopefully, we'll be in attendance, as we're suckers for those John Carmack keynotes. They're riveting! Michael McWhertor

It's beginning to look a lot like...QUAKECON 2007!

id's Kevin Cloud hated the idea of doing Doom 3. Obviously, history's vindicated him on that one. So perhaps history will also vindicate his confusing thoughts on piracy.

"Piracy is hard," Cloud said, in a response to an audience member's question about the issue. "It's really, from my opinion, destroying the PC market." He said concerns over piracy were the biggest factor in PC gaming's shrinking presence in many retail stores. However, he maintained that he felt the PC gaming market as a whole was not in any danger. "I don't think the PC market is shrinking at all," he said. "I think there're tons of people playing games on the PC. I think World of Warcraft is a good example."

Got that? Piracy's both destroying the PC market, yet the PC market isn't in any danger at all. Ostensibly a confusing statement, but he's obviously seeing the future of PC Gaming going more in the direction of Steam and MMORPGs. Of course, with the Pirates to Buyers Ratio for Steam title SiN Episode 1 being 5:1, it looks like the only thing any of us might be playing before long will have a monthly fee attached. Florian Eckhardt

id co-owner says piracy killing PC gaming [Ars Technica]

This year's QuakeCon, the bastion of hardcore gamers, is taping into that need with a little NVIDIA hosted talent show.

Do you want to show all of QuakeCon that you have talent aside from Fragging someone's ass off? Well here's your chance! Can you sing, dance - do you know magic or have a secret talent that you've been dying to share with your friends? Or, do you and your friends have a talent for singing a cappella? Well, NVIDIA and ID are looking for the most talented people at QuakeCon 2006. Here are just a few talents we might look for, and a few others we're keeping secret: Sign Language Dance Impersonator Comedian Musician Model (walk the walk with flair) Best Tattoo "Stomp"-style musician Best Looking Couple Juggling Rap Artist Magician ...and many more

Come to QuakeCon, bring your hidden talent, and you could win big prizes, including your very own QUAD SLI PC from NVIDIA.

I expect to see plenty of embarrassing photos from who ever goes. Brian Crecente

So if you had to rule out E3, but still wanted to hang with fellow gamers, which convention would you pick? QuakeCon, Penny Arcade Expo, BlizCon, Everquest Fan Faire?

Hit the jump to vote away and feel free to throw in your own suggestions in case we missed one.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Todd also talks about his feelings on the $60 price point, movie directors moving into games, and the future (and future location) of QuakeCon.

Todd Hollenshead Q&A [WorthPlaying]

Over at PlanetQuake3, the latest news is that Ilya 'bilz' Kushnir has released his Quakecon 2005 documentary: 22 minutes of staff interviews, game comment, attendee interviews and "comic interludes".

Unfortunately I can't actually download it to check it out because I'm on €30 hotel-wifi that's capped at 250 MB, so you'll have to check it out and tell us what it's like - at least the promo photograph looks like there's fun being had.

The Girlz of Destruction dished out some major QuakeCon-flavored pwnage over the weekend in Dallas. The all-women clan took the first three places in the tourney, netting a total of $30,000 in cash.

The trio had to take down about 125 others in Free-For-All and a variety of other bouts. The group is sponsored by Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer VIA, which has got to be pretty damn happy right now with their investiment.

VIA's Keith Kowal sure was:

On the gaming front the action could not have been hotter. In the Ms.Quakecon competition coming from the loser bracket Missy faced off against Trito with a very tight game. In the end Missy prevailed and proceeded to the finale with Trito automatically taking 3rd place. At the evening finale Missy and Ms.X (the reigning Ms.Quakecon champion) went head to head. As Ms.X came from the winners bracket she just needed to win once, while Missy had to win twice.

For the first game Missy was on fire playing on her favourite map soundly beating Ms.X 12-2. After a short break a second map was chosen that turned out to be Ms.X s favourite. The action was very nail biting with the girls going one-for-one for two thirds of the game. Then towards the end Missy racked up a bunch of kills and ended the game 11-4. All in all the Girlz of Destruction had a very impressive tournament finishing 1-2-3 and firmly established their clan s dominance in the first person genre.

Teen blasting machine and clan leader Jamie "Missy" Perevda, 18, of San Jose, took first place and $15,00 of the loot. All that ass-kicking and people are still calling them girls. Sigh.

VIA Girls in QuakeCon Clean Sweep [Bit Tech]

Gamecloud got a chance to play a little Quake IV Deathmatch at QuakeCon in Texas today. They give it a thumbs-up, but point out that it was really hard to get a detailed impression of the game since they only played a single round on one map.

They say the game has the visual style of Quake II, the multiplayer gameplay of Quake III Arena and the graphics of Doom 3. It sounds like it's going to be a must have shooter that requires an entirely brand new computer to run at anything above a stuttering, choppy mess.

Quake IV Deathmatch Impressions [Gamecloud]