Author - Jerry Paxton

THQ Announces New Pres, Leadership Restructuring

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
News

AGOURA HILLS, Calif.– THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) announced today that it has appointed Jason Rubin as President, effective immediately. Mr. Rubin, who brings to THQ 20 years of successful experience in the video game and digital sectors, will be responsible for all of THQ’s worldwide product development, marketing, and publishing operations, and will report to Brian Farrell, THQ Chairman and CEO.

Mr. Rubin is acknowledged as one of the leading business and creative forces in the video game industry. He co-founded Naughty Dog, one of the industry’s most successful and critically acclaimed game developers. While at Naughty Dog, Mr. Rubin served as the co-creator and game director of the “Crash Bandicoot” PlayStation and “Jak and Daxter” PlayStation 2 series of games, which combined have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. In 2001, Sony Computer Entertainment America acquired Naughty Dog, and Mr. Rubin led the Naughty Dog team until 2004. Mr. Rubin also co-founded Flektor, a media mashup tool, which was acquired in 2007 by Fox Interactive Media, a division of Newscorp.

“Jason’s proven track record in the industry speaks for itself, and he is one of the brightest minds in the business,” said Brian Farrell. “We believe he can be a game changer and can contribute immensely to executing on our strategy of delivering quality connected core game experiences.”

“THQ has incredible internal and external game development teams, and an exciting slate of games in its development pipeline,” said Jason Rubin. “The recent transformation of THQ into a creator of wholly-owned IP has placed it in a perfect position to leverage future trends in the game business. I look forward to working with the management team and board to realize the company’s goals.”

Rubin’s appointment comes as THQ realigns its focus from a maker of licensed games for broad audiences to a developer of AAA “Core” games for multiple platforms. For Fiscal 2013, the company’s line-up includes wholly-owned IP from Vigil Games (Darksiders® II), Volition, Inc. (Saint’s Row®: The Third™ – Enter the Dominatrix), Relic Entertainment (Company of Heroes® 2) as well as Metro: Last Light, South Park™: The Game and WWE® ‘13.

The company also has appointed Jason Kay as its Chief Strategy Officer. Mr. Kay, who will report to Mr. Rubin, co-founded Flektor with Mr. Rubin and has served as an executive and advisor to companies such as Activision, Columbia House and Home Box Office during his more than seventeen years in the media and technology business.

THQ also announced that Danny Bilson, EVP Core Games, is leaving to pursue other interests. “Danny has made significant contributions to THQ, and we thank him for his efforts,” said Mr. Farrell. In addition, the company announced that Dave Davis, SVP Core Studios, will be leaving. “Along with Danny, Dave has been instrumental in getting our strong pipeline into production,” Mr. Farrell continued.

Konami Announces Second Pre-E3 Show

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
E3, News

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – May 29, 2012 – Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced the second-annual global Pre-E3 Show will take place on May 31, 2012 at 10:30PM, Pacific Standard Time.

The second online showcase will dazzle fans and gaming enthusiasts with advance showings of the new releases, exclusive game trailers and insightful interviews of key titles that will debut at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, CA.

“KONAMI’s annual Pre-E3 show underscores the company’s commitment to providing the biggest and best content that fans have been waiting for throughout the year, in advance of the world’s marquee video game conference,” said Tomoyuki Tsuboi, President of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.

For additional information, please visit www.konami.com/e3 on May 31, 2012 to watch the show.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event is one of the largest conventions held in Los Angeles. Computer and video game companies, business partners, media, and industry analysts from over 90 countries will converge on the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 5-7, 2012, to attend this year’s E3. Last year’s E3 attracted over 46,000 attendees and 200 exhibitors.

New Battlefield Play4Free Screenshots

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
News

Today, Electronic Arts and Battlefield Play4Free released some all-new ‘Myanmar’ jungle map screenshots – enjoy!

Screenshots

New Rock Band Blitz Tracks Revealed

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
News

Cambridge, Mass. – May 29th, 2012– Today Harmonix has announced 11 additional tracks and more exciting Power-up details for Rock Band™ Blitz, the all-new downloadable title coming to Xbox LIVE® Arcade and PlayStation®Network that brings the excitement of a full band experience into your hand! Designed for use with a standard controller, Rock Band Blitz is beat-match gameplay evolved… fast paced, over the top and no instrument peripherals required!

Rock Band Blitz will support the biggest music library in gaming, fully compatible with hundreds of songs already available in the Rock Band Music Store, as well as tracks exported from Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and more! Additionally, Rock Band Blitzwill ship with more than 20 songs from music’s biggest artists, include the following songs that have just been announced:

  • The All-American Rejects – “Kids in the Street”
  • Barenaked Ladies – “One Week”
  • Collective Soul – “Shine”
  • Elton John – “I’m Still Standing”
  • Fall Out Boy – “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me’”
  • Great White – “Once Bitten Twice Shy”
  • Iron Maiden – “The Wicker Man”
  • Living Colour – “Cult of Personality”
  • P!nk – “Raise Your Glass”
  • Shinedown – “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)”
  • Tears for Fears – “Shout”
More songs will be revealed this summer, so stay tuned! For a full list of songs revealed so far, including music from Blink-182, Foster the People, and more, head to http://www.rockband.com/games/rockbandblitz!Players will rock out to their favorite tracks while fighting to outscore their friends in Rock Band Blitz! The key to making scores soar are Rock Band Blitz’s over-the-top Power-ups, which players equip before launching into their favorite tracks. Topping the leaderboards is all about strategically selecting Power-up loadouts that best suit personal player styles and deploying these score boosters at the perfect time in each song.

There are over 15 Power-ups for players to unlock across three different categories, including the following that have just been revealed today:

Overdrive Power-ups: Play glowing notes to earn Energy, then deploy insane Overdrive Power-ups, including…

  • Shockwave: Sends a sonic wave that earns you bonus points for every note it touches! The more Energy you’ve stored, the larger the Shockwave!
  • Point Doubler: Earns two times the points for every note played!
  • Jackpot: Launch Jackpot to start a run that will earn you three times the points if you can play a section of notes perfectly. Be careful – miss a note and you lose it all!
Note Power-ups: Equip Note Power-ups to randomly scatter glowing purple notes throughout a song. Hit those notes for some wild, point-boosting effects, like…
  • Flame note: Hit this note to start a fire. Follow the spreading blaze to earn bonus points!
  • Runaway Note: Trigger this type of note to send a spark down the track. Chase that runaway note down and get the big points.
  • Synchrony: For the rhythm junkie, Synchrony gives you bonus points for switching on the downbeat. Switching at the measure markers also plays notes on both tracks!

Harmonix has also released a video that takes a look at two of the game’s Power-ups, Bandmate and Pinball. The video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6furl1DQTck&feature=youtu.be

Website Links:
For more information, please visit:

                Rock Band Blitz website

Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Announced

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
News

Arena Net and NCSoft have announced another beta weekend for their hotly-anticipated Guild Wars 2! This weekend is open to anyone who has pre-purchased the game. Checkout the letter below, announcing the event, from Producer Chris Whiteside. You can also checkout the original post here!

Heroes of Tyria!

My name is Chris Whiteside, and I’m the lead producer of Guild Wars 2. Normally, I’m head-down in the trenches, making sure we’re producing the best MMO possible, but I wanted to come up for air and share some exciting news with you:

Beta Weekend Event 2 will begin on Friday, June 8th, at noon PDT (GMT-7) and will run until Sunday, June 10th, at 11:59 p.m. PDT (GMT-7).

If that isn’t enough to get you all bursting with excitement, here is some more news:

Your existing beta characters have not been deleted, and you will be able to continue right where you left off! This means that enterprising players with characters level 35 or higher will be able to test their mettle against the explorable version of the Ascalonian Catacombs dungeon!

In addition to sharing this news with you, I want to convey a massive “thank you” to all of you for playing in our beta events so far. The participation and enthusiasm we’ve seen has exceeded our expectations, and we’re all very grateful and appreciative here at the studio. Your support during our first Beta Weekend Event and throughout development has been instrumental in getting us prepared for launch and helping us take massive steps in the evolution of Guild Wars 2 as a whole. You, our community, are an integral part of the development process, and Guild Wars 2 simply would not be what it is today without you.

Your participation is even more important when you consider that we take our beta events very seriously in terms of our development strategy. At ArenaNet, “beta event” means exactly that—it’s a development-centric event in which we test our systems, discover new and exciting bugs, and get pivotal feedback from our testers about what is going in the right direction and what isn’t.

We have listened intently to all of your feedback from our first Beta Weekend Event, and we’ve made great strides toward resolving many of the issues you’ve helped us identify. These include party movement into overflow servers, chat functionality, key bindings, server stability, performance, and many more that we will detail in the near future.

Of course, there’s no denying the benefits of having such a vocal, outspoken community. And I’m not speaking just in terms of development; I’m also referring to how our players are spreading the word that Guild Wars 2 is more than just a game, it’s an evolving, online world that is shaped and driven by its players. Our community and our studio won’t accept anything less than excellence, and above all else, we both value a pioneering approach to the future of online worlds.

Having said all that, what is the one thing we most look forward to in our second Beta Weekend Event? In a nutshell, it’s getting the chance to play with you all: sharing a world we’ve built together, discovering what’s great and what could be better, and defining a ground-breaking world that we can all enjoy for many years to come. That’s what these beta events mean to us.

For those who haven’t yet pre-purchased Guild Wars 2, you’ll still have a chance to play in the beta. We’re teaming up with our partners to give away keys for Beta Weekend Event 2, so follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest news.

Thank you all so much for your support, care, and enthusiasm—we couldn’t do it without you!

See you in-game,

Chris Whiteside

(a.k.a. Snowcrash)

Razer Unveils BlackShark Gaming Headset

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
News

CARLSBAD, Calif.–Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, today announced the addition of a custom headset to its Collector’s Edition gaming peripheral suite. Inspired by tactical aviator headsets and armed with total audio immersion, the Razer BlackShark delivers the full force aural intensity of Battlefield 3, EA and DICE’s military shooter masterwork, the fastest-selling game in EA history.

Battlefield 3 is the most physical, dynamic and progressive shooter experience on the market. Now with the Razer BlackShark, gamers will be able to take to the skies feeling like a genuine attack helicopter pilot with complete circumaural ear cups designed to facilitate an authentic auditory in-game experience. Razer’s superior sound-isolating technology blocks out undesirable ambient noises and, for moments of truce, the Razer BlackShark comes with a detachable boom microphone for use on-the-go.

“The Razer BlackShark is a PC gaming headset with crisp audio and booming bass that is built for a highly intense shooter like Battlefield 3,” said Robert ‘RazerGuy’ Krakoff, president of Razer USA. “It lets you hear the gunfire, the explosions and the thunderous roar of the jets, as if you were in the heat of the battle. Designed based on headsets sported by real attack helicopter pilots, no serious soldiers on the frontlines of Battlefield 3 should be without their Razer BlackShark.”

About the Razer BlackShark Gaming Headset:

With an exclusive Battlefield 3 design, the Razer BlackShark brings forth extreme comfort for long, extended missions and top-notch sound isolation. The leatherette sealant of the headset’s ear cups cancels out unwanted ambient noise and allows players to focus on the battle audio and tactical radio chatter of the game. The amazing design of the Razer BlackShark can be showcased wherever one goes thanks to the detachable boom microphone for added portability. The Razer BlackShark Gaming Headset is a vital resource for the dynamic and intense auditory demands of the military shooter, Battlefield 3.

Price:

US $129.99 / EU €129.99

Availability:

Razerzone.com – July 2012

Worldwide – July 2012

Product features:

  • Exclusive Battlefield 3 design
  • Stereo sound with enhanced bass
  • Sound-isolating circumaural ear cup design
  • Detachable boom microphone for voice chat or added mobility
  • Audio/Mic splitter adapter cable
  • Memory foam leatherette ear cushions for maximum comfort
  • 40mm neodymium magnet stereo drivers

Technical Specifications:

  • Drivers: 40mm neodymium magnets with copper-clad aluminum voice coil
  • Frequency response: 20Hz – 20KHz
  • Impedance: 29 Ω
  • Sensitivity @ 1KHz: 105dB ± 3 dB
  • Input power: 50mW
  • Cable: 1.3m / 4.3ft rubber sheathed + 1m / 3.3ft audio/mic splitter adapter
  • Connector: 3.5 mm gold-plated audio + mic combined jack
  • Microphone:
  • Frequency response: 50Hz – 16KHz
  • Signal-to-noise ratio: 50dB
  • Sensitivity @ 1KHz: -37 dB +/- 4dB
  • Pick-up pattern: Unidirectional

Hardware Requirements:

Devices with separate 3.5mm audio and mic jacks

Devices with combined 3.5mm audio + mic combined jack (works with all portable audio/mobile/computing devices including the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire, Android phones, Razer Blade, Macbook Pro, or today’s newer Ultrabooks.)
1m / 3.3ft audio/mic splitter adapter extension cable included

For more information about the Razer BlackShark, please visit www.razerzone.com/BlackShark

Harvest Moon: A New Beginning Coming to North America

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
News

Burlingame, CA. – May 29, 2012 – Natsume Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, is proud to announce that Harvest Moon: A New Beginning will be coming to North America this year; a year which also marks the 15th anniversary of the Harvest Moon series in North America!

“We’re extremely excited to be bringing Harvest Moon: A New Beginning to the North American audience,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume. “It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since the first Harvest Moon game debuted on the SNES back in 1997! A New Beginning has many new customization features that will please both veterans of the series and new players alike!”

Echo Village has seen better days…  Just as you’ve moved in, almost everyone else has moved away to greener pastures. It’s your job to bring everybody back by making the town appealing again, and giving Echo Village a new beginning!

Customization is King

For the first time in series history, you can completely customize your character’s appearance! Choose your character’s gender, skin color, facial expression, hairstyle, and much, much more! You even go to the tailor and have them make new outfits for you!

Don’t like where your crops and barn are on your farm? Easy! Just pick them up and move them! Yes, it’s really that easy to customize your farm in Harvest Moon: A New Beginning!

In addition to the ability to customize your character’s and farm’s appearance, you can also create tons of new additions for your farm, house, and Echo Village! Build park benches and topiary for the local citizens, a pet house for your farm, and exotic wallpaper and furniture for your house!  A New Beginning features new animals like llamas and yaks, new crops to harvest, and new characters to meet and woo!

Natsume is celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Harvest Moon franchise at E3 and the rest of the year. They can be found in the South Hall in booth 515.

Players can follow all the news for all of the beloved Natsume franchises via   www.natsume.com, or by scooping all of the latest Natsume news at www.natsume.com/facebook and www.twitter.com/natsume_inc.

 

Fatshark Announces $10K Krater Edition

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
News

STOCKHOLM, Sweden. May 29, 2012. Fatshark today announced a very special 10.000 Dollar edition of the upcoming game KRATER.

The KRATER 10.000 DOLLAR VICTOR EDITION will not only get you the game, the Game Designer Victor Magnuson will come to your home – wherever in the world it’s located – and personally deliver the game. He will also cook a meal, and then play the game together with the game connoisseur.

“We wanted to do something extra for the game connoisseur, something different that you wouldn’t get with most other games.” says Gunnar Johansson, Brand Manager, Fatshark. “And is there anything cooler than having the Game Designer come to your home and play the game with you? Well, perhaps if he also would prepare a superb meal before the gaming session – so we added that.”

If you want to get a visit from Victor, then you’ll find the KRATER 10.000 DOLLAR VICTOR EDITION here – www.kratergame.com/10k

If you don’t fancy Victor’s cooking, then you can pick up the KRATER COLLECTOR’S EDITION via Steam – http://store.steampowered.com/app/42170/ or the Fatshark Store http://store.fatshark.se – and get 25% off for a limited time.

World of Tanks Unveils British Tanks

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
News

29th May, 2012 — Wargaming.net, the award-winning videogame developer and publisher, today announced that its highly acclaimed MMO action game, World of Tanks, will soon be invaded by some of the most powerful and iconic war machines from Great Britain. The new British tech tree joins the ranks of existing armored vehicles, which include lines from America, France, Germany and the former Soviet Union.

World of Tanks players will get the chance to charge into battle in such recognizable vehicles like the Crusader, Black Prince, Centurion and Conqueror, decimating their opponents and attempting to balance their performance across two main vehicle types – fast and powerful tanks that lack endurance, as well as slow, heavily armored machines with low-damage weaponry.

“The British tanks are by far the most intriguing models we’ve come across over the course of World of Tanks development,” said Wargaming.net Lead Producer Sergey Burkatovskiy. “In giving the players two distinct, yet very different types of vehicles, the development team has worked very carefully to make sure that balance not only fits into the current game, but is also one that’s extremely fun. We can’t wait for our players to experience it for themselves.”

Screenshots

Video Games Live Coming Back to E3

2012/05/29
Jerry Paxton
E3, News

HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 29, 2012 – Heralded by the LA Times as “Ingenious and fantastic!” and proclaimed “Captivating and bombastic!” by the NY Times, Video Games Live has once again teamed up with E3 (Electronic Entertainment Exposition) and the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) to continue its 8 year tradition of pulling out all the stops for its annual Los Angeles show by announcing a cavalcade of special guests, first time ever music premieres, industry stars, new interactive technology, and incredible prizes.  The performance will take place on Wednesday, June 6th at the Nokia Theatre positioned directly across the street from E3, the game industry’s most important annual event.

Aside from fan favorites such as Castlevania, Halo, Sonic and Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross, audience members will be treated to new live premieres from such titles as the award winning The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim®, the 90’s cult classic Earthworm Jim, the Billboard and iTunes chart topping music from Journey, as well as Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo® III, and upcoming World of Warcraft®: Mists of Pandaria™.  The original composers will be making appearances and performing on stage with over 110 musicians.  Video Games Live will be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Street Fighter with its hard rocking symphonic Street Fighter II medley including special guest appearances.  To celebrate the recent induction into the Classic FM Hall of Fame (at #16 of all time!), Nobou Uematsu’s Aerith’s Theme will be presented in a new exclusive symphonic Video Games Live arrangement.  The newly created Pokemon Symphonic Suite will be making its Los Angeles debut as well as some very special guest performers for the award winning song “Still Alive” from Portal.  Original Toto founder/songwriter/pianist/vocalist David Paich and friends will be joining the symphony and choir to perform “Hold the Line” alongside the winner of the pre-show Guitar Hero competition.

A variety of YouTube superstars will also be performing including America’s Got Talent finalist and internet sensation Lindsey Stirling known for her amazing cinematic music videos viewed by tens of millions of people online which include her top featured Legend of Zelda medley.  Video Games Live favorite Martin Leung (“the Video Game Pianist”) will once again grace the stage to debut his new piano arrangement of classic Rare Software favorites such as Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country.  Laura “Flute Link” Intravia will be showcasing her vocal talent as well as performing her 25th Anniversary Zelda arrangement with the symphony along with her new Mario flute medley.  Heavy Metal guitarist Viking Jesus will invade the stage and conquer the audience with the world premiere of his pedal to the metal rendition of Star Fox.

Incredible game industry legends from around the world will be appearing on stage and/or in the post-show Meet & Greet (free of charge to all ticket holders) including Takashi Iizuka (producer, director, designer and head of Sonic Team), the original Earthworm Jim team, Blizzard Entertainment Audio Director and composer Russell Brower, Grammy Award winning game composer Christopher Tin, Silent Hill game producer and composer Akira Yamaoka, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, Monkey Island creators Tim Schafer and  Ron Gilbert, legendary game designer Warren Spector (Wing Commander, Deus Ex, Disney Epic Mickey) and over 20 game industry superstars including Al Lowe from Leisure Suit Larry and King’s Quest fame performing the theme from Leisure Suit Larry on saxophone.

From the beginning Video Games Live has always been an interactive show and this year that interactivity is taken to a new level.  Aside from randomly chosen audience members appearing on stage to play a game while the orchestra provides (and changes) the soundtrack on-the-fly, Video Games Live will now incorporate members of the audience to help chose the setlist during the show by texting and/or using their Smart Phones.  A real-time meter will show which games are leading during the show and the most popular choice will be the one performed.  Other interactive elements will include live Skype appearances and interviews with game industry legends and photographs of the audience taken during the performance and posted on the Video Games Live Facebook page for tagging.  The first 50 people to tag themselves during the show will receive a free copy of “Ghost Recon: Future Soldier”.

Audience members for this performance will be a part of gaming history!  Since its creation in 2002, the award winning Video Games Live continues to break attendance records around the world, and after 10 years in business and hundreds of shows, yet another prestigious award and record will be bestowed on stage with an induction and certificate ceremony from Guinness World Records for the most video game concerts ever performed.  Twin Galaxy founder Walter Day will be presenting a special trading card to commemorate this record breaking show with all audience members receiving a free copy of the card.  Pac-Man World Record Holder and crowned Video Game Player of the Century, Billy Mitchell (known for his role in the movie King of Kong) will also be present to unveil his limited edition Video Games Live hot sauce.

Incredible door prize give-a-ways from Samsung, AMD & Intel (including laptops, hard-drives, media devices, software and much more) will be awarded on stage during the show to lucky winners (any ticket holder will be able to enter).  The ever popular pre-show costume contest will be in full effect as each costumed member will be brought on stage as the audience decides the winner by volume of applause.

“Since starting VGL in 2002, this particular show is turning out to be one of our most exciting and spectacular shows ever!” stated industry veteran and Video Games Live Creator/Executive Producer Tommy Tallarico.  “There really is something for everyone in this show no matter what era or genre of gaming you’re into.  Being partnered with E3 and the ESA allows us to bring the entire industry together for a complete celebration of the gaming world.  If ever there was a Video Games Live to attend, this is the one!”

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW and range from $25 – $75 with a limited number of Ultimate VIP Backstage Experience packages.

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/2C004867DA6F51E9?brand=aeglive

 

VIDEO GAMES LIVE ULTIMATE VIP BACKSTAGE EXPERIENCE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:

  • One VIP ticket considered the “best seats in the house” to view the show
  • Pre-show backstage tour by VGL creator and game music legend Tommy Tallarico
  • Special Exclusive VIP area pre-show party access
  • Special meeting with video game designers/composers/producers from around the world
  • Special FRONT OF LINE access to the Video Games Live post-show meet & greet
  • Video Games Live backstage laminated tour pass
  • Free download card for the special extended Video Games Live: Level 2 album
  • Video Games Live poster