Edge Online - Interactive Entertainment Today

What Is "Fun" Anyway?

NGai Croal — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:45:36 -0500

What is it that motivates you to play a game? There’s the catch-all term, ‘fun’, which I love and loathe in equal measure.

Xbox Live VP at TGS

Kris Graft — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:57:18 -0500

John Schappert, Microsoft corporate VP of Live, will be keynoting the Tokyo Game Show, the software giant said Friday.

His keynote is dubbed "A Canvas for the World."

Microsoft didn't offer details on the keynote's content, but hinted that the presentation "will provide an in-depth look at how Xbox 360 will bring more people together than ever before to enjoy the next wave of interactive entertainment experiences."

Analyst Convinced EA Will Buy Take-Two

Kris Graft — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:44:34 -0500

EA and Take-Two's drawn-out acquisition dance has been dragging on since February of this year, but in the end, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is certain EA will buy the Grand Theft Auto maker.

"We remain convinced that EA will prevail in its bid for Take-Two," said Pachter in a Friday investor note. "Now that EA has received FTC approval for the combination, the company is not under any pressure to keep the negotiations alive."

Report: Team Ninja Lawsuit Settled

Kris Graft — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:31:55 -0500

Tecmo's Team Ninja has settled a lawsuit in which it was accused of not paying employees overtime, Kotaku reports.

The Japan-based maker of Ninja Gaiden resolved the lawsuit on September 1 this year as part of a judicial settlement.

In July, two Tecmo employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the company in a Tokyo district court for 8.3 million yen ($77,000) on behalf of all 300 of the publisher's staff.

Play Tool on Fake Instruments

Kris Graft — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:13:17 -0500

Songs from Grammy-winning progressive metal band Tool will be part of Guitar Hero World Tour's growing roster of rock tunes, Activision announced Friday.

"Parabola" and "Schism," both from the 2001 album Lateralus, will be included in the game, along with "Vicarious" from the 2006 album 10,000 Days.

Activision also said Police frontman Sting will have music featured in the game. The singer/bassist is offering his voice and likeness for the title as an in-game character.

Sony Shares Drop to Three-Year Low

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:39:12 -0500

Sony shares fell more than four percent to their lowest in almost three years on Friday after the company was forced to recall 438,000 Vaio laptops due to possible overheating problems that could cause burns to users.

According to Reuters, Sony said that the problem with the laptops related to irregularly positioned wires near the computer's hinge that can cause a short circuit and overheating.

Publishers Voice PEGI Support

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:30:12 -0500

A number of publishers have responded to calls from UK culture minister Margaret Hodge for the games industry to work together to find the best solution to videogame age ratings.

Discussing the findings of the Byron report in an interview with In Stock Magazine, Hodge said that she would like to see a “consensus from the industry as to how best we protect the interests of children”.

MS Cuts Price of Some Xbox 360 DLC

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:11:37 -0500

Microsoft has reduced the price of downloadable content for a number of popular Xbox 360 titles.

“For a limited time only (well, until the end of October) the Marketplace is running an ‘Extended Play Download Days’ promotion which is offering some pretty good savings on some of the more popular DLC,” writes Microsoft’s Major Nelson on his blog.

Games Drive Growth at HMV

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:34:26 -0500

Entertainment retailer HMV has released a trading update stating that videogames played a key role in recent company growth.

In an interim management statement released on Friday ahead of its AGM, the company said that HMV UK & Ireland had achieved like-for-like sales growth of 4.3 percent during the 18 weeks ended August 30, 2008.

The company attributed the growth to ‘strategic initiatives to increase the mix of games and technology’.

Report: Dead Space Banned in Multiple Territories

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:53:36 -0500

Dead Space community manager Andrew Green has told Destructoid that the game has been banned in Germany [see update below], Japan, and China.

In Dead Space, players assume the role of engineer Isaac Clarke, an ordinary man forced to use “strategic dismemberment” as a means of tackling a vicious alien infestation aboard a deep space mining ship.

Microsoft Confident of Second Place Finish This Gen

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:02:34 -0500

Don Mattrick, senior vice-president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, has said he expects the Xbox 360 to secure second place in the current generation console war.

"We will sell more consoles this generation than Sony," Mattrick told Business Week.

Square Enix Pulls Tecmo Offer

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:25:51 -0500

Square Enix has withdrawn its bid to acquire a majority stake of Tecmo after the Ninja Gaiden house rejected the offer and failed to provide any reasoning for doing so.

Square Enix previously announced plans to acquire more than half of Tecmo in a deal valued at over $100 million, but on Thursday Tecmo turned down the offer and announced that it was focusing on merger talks with fellow Japanese publisher Koei.

Call of Duty: World at War Dated, Betas Next Month

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:23:08 -0500

[Update: added UK release date]

Publisher Activision and developer Treyarch have announced that Call of Duty: World at War multiplayer betas for the Xbox 360 and PC will launch in October, ahead of the game’s now confirmed November 11 US release and November 14 UK debut.

No details of a potential PlayStation 3 beta were announced.

The betas will offer gamers the chance to sample some action from the title’s Pacific and European theaters, and get to grips with the new squad system and perks.

Online Console Services to Generate $8b in 2013 - Parks Associates

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:18:00 -0500

A new report from Parks Associates forecasts that the big three console manufacturers will generate $8 billion in revenue from online content and services in 2013.

The report takes into account revenue streams from digital distribution of video and game content, multiplayer gaming services, dynamic in-game advertising, virtual worlds and avatar-based microtransactions.

Japan: DS on Top for Fourth Week Running

Tom Ivan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:03:16 -0500

Excluding PSP, Japanese sales of all the major home and portable systems remained fairly static during the week ended August 31.

Nintendo’s DS held onto the top spot for the fourth week in a row, shifting 56,439 units, about 500 more than the previous week, while sales of Sony’s second-placed PSP dropped by 6,000 units to 41,664.

Why the Piracy "Crisis" Is Overblown

Tom Jubert — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:14:04 -0500

Take-Two Won’t Rule Out GTA Wii

Joe Keiser — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:13:15 -0500

Responding to analyst questioning at Thursday’s investor conference call, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder declined to comment on the possibility of a Grand Theft Auto on the Wii while at the same time alluding to its growing possibility.

Who is the Gamer’s Candidate?

Joe Keiser — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:07:00 -0500

If Hillary Clinton had won the Democratic nomination, the question of whom the avid gamer should vote for in the next presidential election would have been easy: anyone but Hillary Clinton. Her Senate history was scattered with failed attempts to regulate games and frequent calls to investigate industry bodies, leaving no question that a new Clinton White House would challenge the industry status quo.

10m GTA IV Sales Lead Strong Take-Two Q3

Joe Keiser — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:53:40 -0500

Take-Two has announced that Grand Theft Auto IV has sold ten million copies as of August 16th, leading the company to beat its own financial guidance for the third quarter in a row.

For the financial period ending July 31st, 2008, Take-Two reported $433.8 million (£245.24m) in revenue, compared to $206.4 million (£116.68m) in the same period in 2007. This also exceeded the company’s own guidance of $375 million (£212m) for the quarter.

EU Parliament: Game Sexism Alarming

Joe Keiser — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:00:31 -0500

The Parliament of the European Union has adopted a text that calls for the need to eliminate sexism from games, which it believes currently contain messages that “are contrary to human dignity and which convey gender stereotypes.”