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Activision’s New Plans For Call of Duty Include New Developer, New Genres
Publisher Activision announced today new “strategic plans” for the Call of Duty franchise, announcing a new developer for the shooter franchise and confirming the departure of key Infinity Ward staffers. Activision announced it will form a “dedicated [Call of Duty] business unit that will bring together its various new brand initiatives with focused, dedicated resources…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 2, 2010 -
Infinity Ward Vs. Activision: The Battle For Creative Direction
Simmering problems between Activision and Modern Warfare 2 development studio Infinity Ward — involving the creative direction of the Call of Duty series — may have come to a head with yesterday’s dismissal of IW’s two studio heads. The reasons for the dismissal of Jason West and Vince Zampella, the top two men at Infinity…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 2, 2010 -
Diablo III’s Male Wizard Is A Sexy Rock God
Blizzard has revealed the male model of Diablo III’s wizard class, sporting a look that many late 70’s, early 80’s rock stars would have given all of their chest hair for. First the female monk, then the female barbarian, and now this guy, the male wizard. Comparing concept art to concept art, the male wizard…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
Tecmo Super Bowl Remake Coming To Xbox 360, PS3
Tecmo, the company that was once a giant in video game football, is continuing its slow return to the virtual gridiron. Today we have word of Tecmo Bowl Throwback. The new game is another remake of Tecmo Super Bowl, the early 90s 16-bit classic. The first remake, Tecmo Bowl Kickoff, was released for the Nintendo…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 2, 2010 -
I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 Moves 200,000 Copies
Ska Studios is better known for Xbox Live Arcade title The Dishwasher, but they’re no slouch at creating Xbox Indie Games either, having just surpassed 200,0000 sales for dual-stick shooter I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1. As of the official announcement, I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 sold 200,343 digital copies…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
The Characters Of Zenonia 2
Gamevil’s follow-up to the beloved iPhone role-playing game Zenonia brings four new characters, ranged fighters Ekne and Morpice, and melee warriors Daza and Lu. Get to know them in their official bios. Zenonia 2: The Lost Memory, in closed beta testing as you read this, features four characters, each falling into one of two categories,…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
Waltzing Through Bad Company 2
Nothing says classy like classical music, classical music and stuff blowing up. And that’s how I know Battlefield Bad Company 2 is classy, with a capital C. I actually caught this launch trailer on TV last night. I need to see how this turned out. Modern Warfare 2 didn’t quite scratch the single player shooter…
By Brian Crecente Published March 2, 2010 -
Time For A Tomb Raider Comeback?
Lara Croft took an off year in 2009. Is she making a gaming comeback in 2010? Today, Gamasutra ran an interview with the new head of the most recent Tomb Raider development studio, Crystal Dynamics’ Darrell Gallagher, who told the outlet that his studio is working on two projects. He provided only the vaguest of…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 2, 2010 -
Buy The Forza 3 VIP Car Pack, Help Haiti
Microsoft has unlocked the Forza Motorsport 3 downloadable content previous exclusive to new copies of the game, and developer Turn 10 have unlocked their hearts, donating $10 towards earthquake relief in Haiti for every VIP Membership Car Pack sold. The Sidewinder Proving Grounds Track Pack, Benchmark High Speed Ring Track Pack, and Motorsport Legends Car…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
NPD: Online Gamers Spend on Average 8 Hours a Week Online Playing
The average number of hours spent per week on online gaming is up 10 percent, to 8 hours a week, according to the results of a study released by the NPD Group today. “While the percentage of the population that reports playing games has declined slightly, this study details other metrics which point to both…
By Brian Crecente Published March 2, 2010 -
Rock Band Goes On Tour This Summer
The only thing more entertaining than playing Rock Band is standing about watching other people play. Cedar Fair Entertainment knows this, so they’ve teamed up with MTV Games to bring Rock Band Live on tour this summer. Rock Band Live is an all-new interactive experience that will be touring several Cedar Fair amusement parks around…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
Guess Which Three Games Help Keep Activision Afloat
Activision is a giant company with a small problem: Most of their revenue comes from three video games. Buried in Activision’s annual report for Fiscal Year 2009, the same one that had news of a major shake-up at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward, were some interesting numbers. “A significant portion of our…
By Brian Crecente Published March 2, 2010 -
Sony Buys LittleBigPlanet Developer Media Molecule
Sony liked LittleBigPlanet so much they bought the company, as Media Molecule becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. Announced via a posting on the European PlayStation Blog, Media Molecule, the developers behind PlayStation 3 smash-hit LittleBigPlanet, have been purchased by Sony Computer Entertainment for an undisclosed sum, making them an official part of…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow – Belmont’s Inferno
This new batch of screenshots, concept art, and enemy renders for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow are lovely and all, but I can’t help but think the game could use a tie-in with a revered work of religious fiction. Now I am not calling Lords of Shadow a Dante’s Inferno clone, but protagonist Gabriel Belmont is…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
The Splinter Cell Conviction 360 Bundle Unveiled
Ubisoft today unveiled a Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction Special Edition Xbox 360 bundle. The $400 bundle will come with a 250GB hard drive, two wireless controllers and a standard edition of the game. It won’t, however, include a spiffy design or paint job on the console itself or the controllers for that matter. Booooo!
By Brian Crecente Published March 2, 2010 -
Report: Modern Warfare Dev Head Leaves Company
According to his Linkedin page, CEO and Studio Head of Infinity Ward Vince Zampella has parted ways with the Call of Duty developer, as the strange goings-on at the development studio continue. Keen-eyed Kotaku reader Sam passed along a link to Zampella’s Linkedin page this morning, showing that the employment status had changed to TBD…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2010 -
Mile Marker 9: Joe Danger
Tired of stodgy corporate games made by The Man and his minions? We’re playing the 31 best indie games for a change of pace —- and so we can judge them. Today, Joe Danger. In A Sentence A stunt-racing, side-scrolling Excitebike for the modern era, with LittleBigPlanet-level high-res and cute visual pizazz, and maybe some…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 2, 2010 -
Get Your Blur Beta Codes Here
Due out this spring for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, Blur is a like Project Gotham Racing meets Mario Kart… if they two had a baby in the 70s And we’re giving out spots for the March 8 beta for the flashy racer right here, right now. But first, a couple of very important…
By Brian Crecente Published March 2, 2010 -
Apple Accuses HTC of Stealing Their iPhone Interface, Sues
The iPhone is such a great interface for phone calls, mobile office work and gaming that Apple claims that competitor HTC stole it when they made their own smart phone. Apple today filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. The lawsuit…
By Brian Crecente Published March 2, 2010