All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Activision looking to possibly sell studio.

Holy crap, it's soon.

Winning entries in Valve's Polycount Pack.

#bizarrecreations Three years after purchasing the developer behind Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars, Activision appears to be in the process of deciding how to ditch the studio. More »

As we've all known for about 10 years now, the first rule of Fight Club is "You don't talk about Fight Club." Coincidentally enough, this is also the second rule. From this, we learn that people who take heavy blows to the skull are (1) not historically known to be good list-makers and (2) not so hot at marketing. Take Sony and ColdWood Interactive's The Fight for example. While the game is being sold as a gritty underground tournament brawler with HD graphics and 1:1 control fidelity, in reality it's actually a very cleverly designed Trojan horse.

Yes, The Fight: Lights Out isn't so much a fighting game as it is an cunningly disguised exercise title designed to appeal to macho males who find the prospect of using EA Sports Active or the Your Shape series too emasculating to bear. And to its credit, it does succeed in getting you to work up a sweat. That's good, because as an enjoyable fighting game, it doesn't really fly.

Well, this blows.

Beginning with a NeoGAF thread and followed up by Giant Bomb and VG247, comes rumor that Activision is closing Bizarre Creations, the studio behind the just-released Bond title Bloodstone. It was responsible for Blur, The Club, the Project Gotham Racing series, and downloadable favorite Geometry Wars. The studio, founded in 1994, was acquired by Activision just over three years ago.

Giant Bomb's source says that Bizzarre Creations will undergo a "90-day consultation period, statutory redundancy." That sounds ... bad. According to the VG247 report, the cuts would mean a loss of over 200 staffers. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything official. Stay tuned.

[Update: Getting some context for the above quote: Apparently Bizarre isn't closed yet; the 90-day period is required in the UK (where Bizarre is located) before shuttering a business. That 90-day period also serves as a 90-day notice to employees that their company is likely to be closed/sold/downsized/etc. - an official statement should be along shortly.]

[Update 2 2:01pm: Activision's statement: "Over the past three years since our purchase of Bizarre Creations, the fundamentals of the racing genre have changed significantly. Although we made a substantial investment in creating a new IP, Blur, it did not find a commercial audience. Bizarre is a very talented team of developers, however, because of the broader economic factors impacting the market, we are exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business."]

The simulation sequel loses the multiplayer, so what's left?

The Prince of Persia Trilogy will be available for download exclusively on the PlayStation Network, giving you the opportunity to re-live the critically-acclaimed developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal studios. These PS2 classics have been upgraded with HD graphics and are ready for 3D-enabled televisions for the first time ever!

Do you remember fighting the Vizier? Chasing the Dagger of Time? Trying to save Farah? Well, that was 7 years ago… This huge PS2 hit is prettier than ever on your PS3 in 720p, and for the lucky owners of a 3DTV, added 3D effects to immerse you more than ever in this awesome Arabian Nights tale from Jordan Mechner and Ubisoft Montreal. Getting this game on PSN is simpler than reversing time, right? So don’t wait, jump, wall run, solve puzzles and rewind time today on PSN with Prince of Persia The Sands of Time.

Prince of Persia Warrior Within and Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, the 2 other chapters of this epic tale, will be available in December. Each game will be available for download on the PlayStation Store for $14.99. To join the Prince in his quest for total awesomeness – Prince the warrior, not the singer – visit us on Facebook.

Harry and friends embark on their most action-packed adventure to date.

In case the flood of promotional messages from your friends hasn't tipped you off yet, here's some news: a lot of people have checked out the Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit demo on Xbox Live and PSN. According to some stats from EA, "more than" two million consoles downloaded the demo within the span of two weeks, making it the most successful demo for the series yet.

Throughout their time with the demo, players have raced across 54 million miles of road in Seacrest County, resulting in over 20 million busts by law enforcement. If you were looking to get in on either side of the conflict, we're afraid you can no longer download the demo. But! We've got the next best thing: our review of the game!.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit launches on November 16 for the PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Windows PC.

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 16, 2010 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc. today announced that NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Dragon Blade Chronicles for Wii™ and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Naruto vs. Sasuke for Nintendo DS™ have slashed their way into stores, just in time for the holiday season. These two chapters in the NARUTO SHIPPUDEN franchise, based on the extremely popular [...]

SouthPeak's first quarter results saw the shaky publisher report a net loss of $1.2 million, compared to the $687K profit it reported during the same time last year. Revenues during the period were $1.4 million, a steep drop from the $16.7 million reported in the previous fiscal year.

The publisher claims sales during the quarter were "largely impacted" by the My Baby mama-drama currently going on in the courts. SouthPeak is hopeful that a summary judgment granting the company the rights to resume production of My Baby: First Steps and "reinstate the contract with Nobilis" for future My Baby sequels will be upheld on December 2.

Beyond praying that it gets My Baby back and sequels popping out, SouthPeak also spent time, and the bulk of its marketing costs during the quarter, promoting Two Worlds 2 -- which will arrive in the UK and US in January -- and getting the hype machine rolling for Stronghold 3.

#retro The next Pac-Man, called Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, looks great. It's another trippy, techno remix of a classic Namco arcade game. More are coming, the company revealed today. New Galaga and new Metro-Cross. More »

New games and new portal coming soon for freshly-rebranded SG Interactive.

New line of downloadable games update classic Namco franchises from the arcades of yesterday to the consoles of today.

#squareenix Expecting extensive game-fixing changes in the months to come, Square Enix steps up to the plate once again, offering Final Fantasy XIV players another free 30 days of game time while renovations are underway. More »

Well, this blows.

Beginning with a NeoGAF thread - and followed up by Giant Bomb and VG247 - come rumors that Activision is closing Bizarre Creations, the studio behind the just released Bond title Bloodstone, Blur, the Project Gotham Racing series, and, most tragically, Geometry Wars. The studio, founded in 1994, was acquired by Activision just over three years ago.

Giant Bomb's source says that Bizzarre Creations will undergo a "90-day consultation period, statutory redundancy." That sounds ... bad. According to the VG247 report, the cuts would mean a loss of over 200 staffers. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything official. Stay tuned.

- new wifi mission available - investigate a Shaymin that is on the run - capture both land and sky forms - transferable to your generation 4 DS games - unlocks Gracidea in Platinum, HeartGold/SoulSliver, Black/White - event runs until Jan.

Indeed, Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts is one hell of a tough game. This series always reduces even the most hardcore gamers to tears, and rightfully so. It has an absolutely brutal level of difficulty, and that’s right from the start. You know you’re in for a rough adventure when clearing the first [...]

Curfew to be lifted in San Paro.

Like a canary in a mining war.

#reviews Call of Duty: Black Ops wasn't a huge game for just Activison and Treyarch, it was also a big deal for Mad Catz, the king of franchise-specific add-ons like glasses, controllers and headphones. More »

Dreamcast and arcade classic now available in HD.