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Feral Interactive product update (Macworld Expo)
U.K.-based publisher, Feral Interactive made the trip to this year's Macworld Expo, eager to sell its product to Mac gamers. The company's booth holds many kiosks showing Feral's latest -- or in-progress -- ports, including Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, The Movies, and Imperial Glory.
Feral head, David Stephen updated us on the status of its games; Lego Star Wars, Colin McRae Rally, and Fable: The Lost Chapters will ship this Spring. (A few technical glitches that delayed the latter two titles have recently been fixed.)
Stephen is also excited about the newly shipped The Movies because of updates Feral was able to make to the PC version. For example, Mac gamers have more format options when exporting completed movies. Also, because Feral wanted Mac gamers to be able to share videos on the PC-game's Windows Media site, the Mac version includes a copy of Flip4Mac's WMV Studio -- normally a $50 utility -- to render in that Windows codec.
The Movies: Stunts & Effects expansion ships
If you think this summer blockbuster season has been one big sinking ship, dust off that copy of The Movies that's been sitting on the shelf and show Hollywood you can do better. Activision and Lionhead Studios have launched Stunts & Effects, the game's first expansion pack for the aspiring Steven Spielberg in all of us.A stuntman character class has been added that allows you to level up your virtual Jackie Chan wannabes so they can perform more physically demanding scenes. The expansion also includes 15 new studio sets that can be used for blue-screen and green-screen shots in your homemade blockbuster.
GameTrailers has a set of gameplay, interview, and trailer vids for Stunts & Effects.
Microsoft's Lionhead acquisition official
The GDC rumour mill had its finger on the pulse where Lionhead and
Microsoft were concerned; Microsoft has acquired the British developer, beating out rumoured competition from EA and
Ubisoft. It looks as though Microsoft were especially keen to grab Peter Molyneux -- they'll be putting his innovative
approach to gaming to use on the Xbox 360 and Vista platforms.This is good news for the struggling Lionhead, although whether it will help Molyneux's games sell any better is yet to be seen. As far as the UK games industry is concerned, international acquisitions like this (and Rare's before it) are interesting -- while there will always be smaller guys going it alone, there's a short supply of big-name British developers who are staying home-grown.
Molyneux's Lionhead cuts staff, axes projects
Lionhead has confirmed
recent job layoffs, downsizing its total staff from 250 to 200. The cutbacks also signal the end of some of the
studio's current projects. Lionhead founder Peter Molyneux told remaining employees that only two titles, both for
next-gen consoles, will continue to be developed. The sequel to Fable—said to be in development for the
past year—is expected to be one of those games.Analysts have cited poor sales of Lionhead's most recent PC titles, The Movies and Black and White 2, as primary causes for the decision to resize the studio. Activision, publishers of The Movies, dropped the title last month, destroying hopes for a console port. In addition, rumors have begun heating up that Molyneux is again seeking to sell Lionhead. Microsoft and Ubisoft are the most prominent potential buyers. Although, Microsoft is likely wary of offering the big bucks given Rare's poor performance since the Xbox-maker acquired that studio for $375 million back in 2002.
[Thanks, The1]
