GamingShogunHarmonix Acquires Site License for RAD Game Tools Telemetry
Cambridge, MA, March 13, 2013—Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., developer of the award-winning Rock Band™ and Dance Central™ video game franchises, has announced that it has acquired a site license for RAD Game Tools’ performance visualization tool, Telemetry. During the term, Harmonix’s license allows the company to use the tool on every game it develops and on every platform. “Harmonix games have traditionally hit a hard 60 frames per second with the use of our custom timing system,” says Harmonix technical director, Eric Malafeew. “As our code moved onto more threads, we went with Telemetry’s powerful interface and logging system rather than extend our own….
The ESA Announces Parental Controls Education Campaign
Washington, DC – March 11, 2013 – The U.S. video game industry today announced a new national public education campaign to educate American parents further about the tools and information available so they can manage the entertainment choices for their families. The campaign’s focal point will be a new series of Public Service Announcements (PSA) encouraging parents to review the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) video game ratings and utilize existing video game console parental controls. “This campaign will connect with consumers in an immediate and sustained way in addition to the traditional mechanisms over TV outlets. By channeling our…
THQ Files Chapter 11, Game-Making to Continue
AGOURA HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI), a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced that it entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with a “stalking horse bidder,” affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., to acquire substantially all of the assets of THQ’s operating business, including THQ’s four owned studios and games in development. The sale will allow THQ to shed certain legacy obligations and emerge with the strong financial backing of a new owner with substantial experience in software and technology. To facilitate the sale, THQ and its domestic business units have filed voluntary…
Spike Video Game Awards 2012 Award Winners
Getting home after a long night at the Spike Video Game Awards, I wanted to post up a comprehensive list of the award winners. Congrats to all the studios that won! Award Winners Game of the Year - The Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games) Studio of the Year - Telltale Games Best XBOX 360 Game - Halo 4 (Microsoft Studios/343 Industries) Best PS3 Game - Journey (Sony Computer Entertainment/thatgamecompany) Best Wii / Wii-U Game - New Super Mario Bros. U (Nintendo) Best PC Game - XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2K Games/Firaxis Games) Best Handheld / Mobile Game -Sound Shapes (Sony Computer Entertainment/Queasy Games) Best Shooter - Borderlands…
Black Ops II Hits $1 Billion in Sales
Santa Monica, CA – December 5, 2012 -Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that Call of Duty®: Black Ops II has crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide retail sales, according to Chart-Track retail customer sell-through information and internal company estimates. Illustrating the strong appeal of interactive entertainment to audiences worldwide, the game achieved this milestone in just 15 days after its launch on November 13, 2012. Last year’s Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®3 reached $1 billion in retail sales in 16 days. The box office record set for feature films in 2009 by “Avatar” was $1…
Paradox Interactive to Expand North American Presence
NEW YORK – December 4, 2012 – Leading global PC game publisher Paradox Interactive today announced the planned expansion of its U.S. presence, starting with the opening of a larger New York office. The Stockholm-based publisher will begin recruiting for open positions to fill out its new office in Manhattan and, in commemoration of the move, will hold an event at their new facility for media to attend. Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester, along with the rest of the executive team, will be present at the inauguration to speak with attendees about the upcoming changes for the company. Plans for the…
HeroEngine 2 is Now Available
LONDON – November 28, 2012 – Idea Fabrik today announced the launch of HeroEngine 2. The new Engine will offer developers state-of-the-art graphics, high spec development tools and integrated middleware. “We are very excited about the new features and expanded tools available in HeroEngine 2” said Alex Shalash, Idea Fabrik’ co-Founder and Chairman. “The release of HeroEngine 2 proves our continued commitment to empowering any game developer to create – faster and easier than ever before – powerful online games across all genres.” HeroEngine 2 provides all the necessary tools to build online games; it streamlines the entire process and allows teams…
THQ Announces Deal with Wells Fargo
AGOURA HILLS, Calif.– THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) announced today that it has entered into a forbearance agreement with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, LLC. Under the agreement, Wells Fargo has agreed to forbear from exercising its rights and remedies against THQ and its subsidiaries with respect to previous events of default under its credit facility. The period of the forbearance currently extends to January 15, 2013, during which time Wells Fargo has agreed to make additional loans to the company subject to the terms and conditions of the forbearance agreement. Additionally, THQ announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with a financial…
Unity 4.0 Released
San Francisco – November 14, 2012 – Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity multi-platform engine and development tools, is proud to announce Unity 4.0 is now available for download. Unity 4, announced in June, will consist of a series of updates designed to improve the product through an extensive improvement of existing tech and the rollout of new features. The first in a series of updates for Unity 4, this version includes significant additions such as DirectX 11 support and Mecanim animation tools. In addition users will have access to a Linux deployment preview and the Adobe® Flash® Player deployment add-on….
SteelSeries Expands North American Retail Presence
CHICAGO – Nov. 8, 2012 –SteelSeries, the leading global manufacturer of premium gaming peripherals, today announced its expansion and growth in North America with new retail and etail partners located and/or shipping in the U.S. and Canada. Consumers can now find select SteelSeries gaming audio, mice, keyboards, controllers and mousepads at the following new locations: h.h. gregg, EB Games Canada, Staples Canada, London Drug, Target.com, Costco.com, Hastings, TigerDirect, and The Source. SteelSeries’ product categories that will be available from these new partners may include: Audio: PC, console and mobile gaming headsets Mice: Laser, optical and MMO gaming mice Keyboards: Mechanical, rubber-dome…
Disney Acquires Lucasfilm – Will Make More Star Wars Films
Burbank, CA and San Francisco, CA, October 30, 2012 – Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas. Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject…
Square Enix Signs Multi-Game License with Unreal Engine
CARY, N.C. (OCTOBER 23, 2012) – Epic Games, Inc. announced today an agreement with Square Enix Co. Ltd. granting Square Enix a group-wide license to develop multiple games with Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine 3and its breakthrough Unreal Engine 4 technology. Epic Games Japan, which is providing local support, worked directly with Square Enix on the new license. This sweeping agreement will supplement Square Enix’s proprietary software and ensure the studio is armed with the most powerful game development tools and technologies available across all major platforms. “Epic has a strong relationship with Square Enix, and it’s an honor to provide their creative and technical talent with the best…
Bethesda Opens Battlecry Studios in Austin
October 3, 2012 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, is pleased to announce it has established a new studio in Austin, Texas, Battlecry Studios, to be headed by long-time industry veteran Rich Vogel. Most recently, Vogel worked at Bioware where he served as the executive producer on the development of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Rich has a long history in the industry having worked on Ultima Online, and Star Wars Galaxies as well as other online and console titles during his 20+ years in game development. The new studio is currently hiring other experienced game developers to fill key roles for…
New Game Director for The Secret World
Durham, USA – September 24th, 2012 – Funcom is excited to announce that Joel Bylos has taken the new position as Game Director on ‘The Secret World’,the company’s recently launched massively multiplayer online game (MMO). Mr. Bylos will work together with Creative Director Ragnar Tørnquist on expanding and enhancing the game through quality post-launch content. The team has already launched two major content updates in just over two months following launch, and focus going forward will be to expand the storyline, introduce entire new areas such as the upcoming New York raid, and much more. Ragnar Tørnquist will continue in his role…