Joystiq

Alt-Minds is a 'transmedia fiction' from Amy publishers, coming November 5

Mike Schramm — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:00:00 EST

Lexis Numérique is setting its sights on its next title: Alt-Minds, a game the publisher claims will feature "a true transmedia fiction." Its first title since launching the less-than illustrious horror game Amy, the European publisher says that Alt-Minds will arrive on both PC and Mac on November 5, along with a companion app.

Alt-Minds follows the story of five young scientists working on a mysterious physics experiment. While the PC/Mac game will tell the core story, players will also be able to use the location-based app to find story clues in the real world, and get (oh so not creepy) texts and phone calls directly from the story's characters.

The experience will take place over eight weeks, with participants being given clues or missions at any time during the period. If you can't be on your computer all of the time, the game will also have a "catch-up mode," to access past missions and re-play live events. To help tell its story, Alt-Minds will have a web series of ten seven-minute episodes, explaining the scientific background of the proceedings as they unfold.

The full experience will be free for everyone for a week. After that, players will need to pay about $5 per episode or around $30 for the entire series.

Continue reading Alt-Minds is a 'transmedia fiction' from Amy publishers, coming November 5

Alt-Minds is a 'transmedia fiction' from Amy publishers, coming November 5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quarrel was rejected by 'almost every games publisher,' mostly for being a word game

Mike Schramm — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:59:00 EST

Bringing Quarrel to XBLA seems like a no-brainer. The game's done very well on iOS, and it was intended for Microsoft's platform in the first place. But in a post on Denki's official blog, managing director Colin Anderson says that the game (which began as the prototype above) was rejected by "almost every games publisher in the world. Sometimes twice; occasionally three times."

The acquisition teams at game publishers liked it, apparently, but the finance and marketing departments ... not so much. They suggested, says Anderson, that the game was too difficult, that it was broken because you sometimes had to beat opposing players with fewer letters to make words, or because gamers in general "just don't buy word games."

Obviously, the iOS version proved that untrue, and Anderson hails the release of the game on XBLA as a chance for gamers to show "the game industry" that it was wrong. The only question left is if XBLA gamers will find themselves under Quarrel's spell just as much as their iOS counterparts.

Quarrel was rejected by 'almost every games publisher,' mostly for being a word game originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crytek UK still shopping around new TimeSplitters title

Mike Schramm — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:05:00 EST

The studio formerly known as Free Radical Design may now be called Crytek UK, but that doesn't mean it has abandoned its popular TimeSplitters franchise. Managing director Karl Hilton said the developer is still shopping around that IP to publishers to see if it's something they're interested in. We've known that Crytek UK has been working on both another TimeSplitters and some sort of original FPS IP for a while now, but Hilton says the coin flip hasn't landed yet. "If [publishers are] keen for a TS game," he says, "then we'd be happy to do one. If they'd like us to develop something new then we'd do that."

Hilton also says that even if it is agreed that Crytek UK will create a new TimeSplitters game, it may not look like the old ones. Publishers are excited about the brand, he says, but they may need it to be updated or tweaked in some way. But Hilton guarantees players that no matter what personality a new TimeSplitters game might eventually bear, it will definitely be a strong one. Doesn't matter to us, either, Mr. Hilton -- just please make sure that we get to play as a monkey at some point.

Crytek UK still shopping around new TimeSplitters title originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dave Perry on the innovation of Gaikai

Mike Schramm — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:38:00 EST

All of the questions about Gaikai and OnLive have revolved around whether the streaming technology actually works. Can a company actually process your games on a remote server, and then stream them to you in a playable format? For Gaikai's CEO Dave Perry, there's no question: It works. "Yeah. Yeah," he says. "Absolutely. No problem at all."

The question that Gaikai is trying to answer, then, isn't about whether the cloud works, but how. OnLive has launched with a subscription model, but Perry's doing it differently. Rather than build a service for customers, he wants Gaikai to serve as a sort of distributor -- a go-between for game publishers (like EA and Activision), online content creators (like Joystiq), and game players. Gaikai's "secret sauce" isn't in the streaming technology itself, but in the business model that makes it possible and profitable for everyone.

Perry explained his plan to us in detail at the company's headquarters in Southern California last week, and told us why and how Gaikai is different from all of the other streaming services out there.

Continue reading Dave Perry on the innovation of Gaikai

Dave Perry on the innovation of Gaikai originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GameStop: Used game buyers uninterested in free DLC

Justin McElroy — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST

We're usually pretty competent parsers of corporate quotes, but we may need some help on this one. Referencing the publisher practice of putting free DLC in new copies of games, GameStop boss Dan DeMatteo said on an investor call today that "we have learned that the second-hand user is a value-oriented consumer ... we don't believe that a $10 add-on piece of DLC is compelling to a used game buyer." So, they care about getting the biggest bang for their buck, but they just don't care about missing out on free things?

Here's another one: "Publishers can participate in our used business by offering add-on content for the most popular used titles, creating a win-win situation for publishers, retailers and consumers," he said, according to Gamasutra. Wouldn't the win for publishers and developers be to make money every time someone bought the game they made?

It may be that the statements are unclear, but it's also possible that we're just so unfamiliar with GameStop trying to be a team player that our primitive minds can't process it. Hard to say.

GameStop: Used game buyers uninterested in free DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dyack predicts more publisher consolidation

Justin McElroy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST

Publishers have been disappearing faster than Ludwig's snickerdoodles at Joystiq's Mid-Autumn Tea Social lately, both through bankruptcy or (for the lucky ones) being purchased. Designer and industry soothsayer Denis Dyack told Gaming Union he expects that to continue, comparing the shift to that of Hollywood which went from hundreds of individual studios to the six major houses we know today. Dyack expects the role of publishers to change as well, though he's less specific on exactly what that means.

Boy, one console and now fewer publishers? Sounds like Denis has been listening to too much They Might Be Giants.

Dyack predicts more publisher consolidation originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game Developer Research's 'Top 20 Publishers 2009' stays the same

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:40:00 EST

The industry analysts at Game Developer Research could have saved themselves a whole mess of time and money by releasing the following statement in lieu of the latest edition of their annual Top 20 Publishers report: "See previous year." Differentiation from last year's top five ranks -- which, let's be honest, are the only ones you really care about -- is almost non-existent: Nintendo placed first (again), EA came in second (again), Activision Blizzard followed in third (again), Ubisoft retained its fourth place position (again), and Take-Two moved up from sixth to fifth, bumping Sony out of the top five.

The full, totally unsurprising list -- which was calculated based on number of games released, average review scores for said games and estimated revenue for each company -- can be found after the jump. Comments stating why Publisher A is still infinitely better than Publisher B can be found further below.

[Via Gamasutra]

Continue reading Game Developer Research's 'Top 20 Publishers 2009' stays the same

Game Developer Research's 'Top 20 Publishers 2009' stays the same originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DS Daily: Publisher of the year

JC Fletcher — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: DS Daily

The DS was host to a large selection of extremely awesome games in 2008. Who brought you the most, either in terms of what you bought, or just what you liked? Was it one of the big guys (Nintendo, EA, Activision)? A company with a more specialized catalog, like Square Enix or Atlus? An even more specialized company, like Atlus's distribution partner NIS, or Square Enix's subsidiary Taito?

Of all the companies putting DS games into stores, who impressed you the most? And just to get that much more thought out of you, no Ubisoft jokes. That topic was a couple of days ago.

DS Daily: Publisher of the year originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Which publisher gets the best review scores?

Kyle Orland — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:55:00 EST

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Hacks, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

Ah, review scores. Besides letting us skip all that long, boring text that actually describes a game's high and low points, it also allows for some excellent statistical analysis and fanboy-infuriating numerical rankings. To that end, and spurred on by an similar EA-produced chart, Next-Gen's Matt Matthews crunched the GameRankings data and ranked the best-reviewed publishers of 2007.

Unsurprisingly, first parties Sony and Nintendo topped the list with averages above 75% -- not bad when you consider their production includes clunkers like Lair and Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast. Microsoft is slightly lower with a 69% average, behind top-ranked third-parties like Capcom, LucasArts, EA and, surprisingly enough, Atlus. Major publishers like Midway, Atari and Majesco stagnate near the bottom of the list -- none of the trio even breaks through the mediocre 60% average barrier.

The full story also breaks down the data going back to 2005 and also looks at changes in the sheer number of games released by various publishers. Check it out.

Which publisher gets the best review scores? originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SCEA is best reviewed publisher of 2007

Andrew Yoon — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:25:00 EST

Filed under: News

SCEA has had a rather stellar lineup of games in 2007. On PS3, gamers were treated to titles, such as Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank. On PSP, gamers could enjoy Syphon Filter and Jeanne d'Arc. Even the PS2 got some love, with God of War II and some strong ports of PSP titles. Sure, it's had it's share of stinkers (what publisher doesn't?), but it managed to best the industry with the most critically acclaimed lineup of the year.

Next-Gen's Matt Matthews sorted through GameRankings data in order to gather his findings. What was undoubtedly a tiresome process becomes a fascinating read. Notice the incredible absence of prolific publishers, such as Ubisoft and Midway on this chart? Why? They're pretty far down the list.

Phil Harrison, who is moving from Sony Europe to Atari, will have quite a task at hand. Atari currently stands with a 55.5% average. We wonder if Harrison's Atari will be able to compete against the offerings of Sony and its various Computer Entertainment first-party divisions. We doubt it.

[Via Joystiq]

SCEA is best reviewed publisher of 2007 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SCEA is best reviewed publisher of 2007

Andrew Yoon — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:25:00 EST

Filed under: News

SCEA is best reviewed publisher of 2007 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japanese Wii software sales for 2007: How did Wii publishers fare?

Candace Savino — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: News

The year is almost over, and we could probably debate for hours about which games were the best, but in the end, money talks. So, how did Wii games actually sell in 2007? A kind NeoGAFfer compiled a list that shows how much each Wii game sold this year in Japan, based on Media Create figures up until December 2nd.

It's also important, though, to consider how Wii game publishers did this year in Japan (check the stats in the image above). Nintendo certainly had a great year, with over 8 million sales for 17 games. Square Enix also did pretty well for itself with Dragon Quest Swords (the only game released by the company for the Wii before the December 2nd window). As for the other third parties, however, the median game sales seem somewhat poor. Yet, considering the amount of shovelware released this year, it's hard to say that some of them didn't deserve it. Check the list of game sales here to decide for yourselves. You may notice one major disappointment (yes, we're talking about Zack and Wiki) or two, but how many other third-party games, in your opinion, really deserved to sell better than they did?

Japanese Wii software sales for 2007: How did Wii publishers fare? originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analysis determines publisher strengths in console war

Kyle Orland — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 18:55:00 EST

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

While analyst predictions for the current round of the system wars vary greatly, most analysts agree that Sony will no longer enjoy the same level of market dominance it had in previous generations. If you'll grant that premise, what third party developers are in the best position to benefit from this shift in console fortunes?

A pair of analysts at 2K Advisors (no relation to the developer) decided to try and figure out the answer to that question with a new metric called the Revenue Attach Rate (RAR). Basically, the RAR measures how much money a publisher makes on system software for each unit of that system currently in the marketplace. All other things being equal, publishers benefit most when systems that give them a high RAR do well, because those system sales translate to more revenue than other system sales.

Based on previous generation RARs for the major publishers, the 2K analysts determined that EA and Take Two have the most to lose from increased market share for Nintendo in this generation. Both companies showed relatively weak RARs for the GameCube, which might explain why they have each been falling all over themselves to play nice with the big N in light of strong Wii sales. Activision would benefit most from a strong Microsoft performance, given their high Xbox RAR, while THQ's relatively balanced console portfolio makes them well suited to succeed no matter who wins the battle.

The full report is a little technical, but it's full of lots of good data and analysis for anyone following the business side of the game industry.

[Source: 2K Advisors]

Analysis determines publisher strengths in console war originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Third-party publishers are wary of the Wii

Jason Wishnov — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: News

So, like we predicted, many third-party publishers are rather anxious about jumping into the Wii scene. Many feel as though Nintendo's own games compete directly with their own. To an extent, they're correct: trying to compete against games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros Brawl is almost impossible, no matter how good a game is. But looking at the relative dearth of titles recently, it seems as though there's quite a bit of time to release a decent title.

On the flip side, this is a conducive environment for smaller studios, such as Crossbeam Studios and NIBRIS. But can these games match the quality of the big boys? Only ~~a magic 8-ball~~ time will tell.

Third-party publishers are wary of the Wii originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Which publisher is the PSP's biggest supporter? [Update 1]

Steven Bailey — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 10:35:00 EST

Filed under: Fan Stuff

The other day I got to thinking about how many antelope it would take to kill a professional wrestler. After I was done thinking about that, I wondered which publisher is the biggest supporter of the PSP. Then I remembered that I have no life and also blog on a PSP site, so I decided to get an answer to that question.

Before I started looking into it, I assumed Capcom would be in first or second place for supporters just judging my library and what I typically see in stores.Surprisingly, they weren't even the third biggest supporter with only ten games on the system. My next hunch was that either EA or Ubisoft (being the giant companies they are) must have the most games on the PSP. They do have a lot of games out, but at eleven games each, they can't take the crown of biggest supporter. Activision did beat out many contenders with their number of games totaling fourteen, but they also were not the winner.

So who is the PSP's biggest supporter? While this may or may not be surprising, it's Sony themselves. SCEA has at least twenty-six games on their own platform and easily bested all comers with their release library. While a first-party publisher winning may be obvious, to many PSP fans (including myself), I often think Sony isn't doing enough to support their portable. While that may or may not be true, they still have by far the most games out on the platform. Let's just hope that Sony as well as other publishers continue to be kind to our beloved portable in this new year.

[Via Gamespot]

[Update 1: Fixed font error.]

Which publisher is the PSP's biggest supporter? [Update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 06 Jan 2007 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It could have happened: Halo on DS

Jason Wishnov — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: News

Matt Cassamassina over at IGN has updated his blog with a supremely interesting entry: apparently, a version of Halo was quite deep in development for the Nintendo DS. Though several publishing mishaps resulted in the eventual cancellation of the project, one must wonder what could have been.

Indeed, Matt C. even got to play an early build of the project, impressed with the accurate recreation of perhaps the world's most popular console shooter. He compares the gameplay to that of Metroid Prime: Hunters, but, you know, Halo-fied. Certainly, when you walk past the pearly gates and into Gamestop's heaven branch, this game will be at the forefront. You know, right next to Chrono Break and NiGHTs 2.

It could have happened: Halo on DS originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Jan 2007 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Publishers are "getting it wrong"

Andrew Yoon — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: News, Ghosts 'n Goblins

Mark Cale from third party publisher Play It recently went on record with MCV, saying that publishers on the PSP are simply "getting it wrong."

"The reason so many games have failed on PSP is that big publishers are prioritising lavish, full 3D productions ahead of gameplay," said Cale. "But this type of game will never be as big as it is on home console, because handheld users are seeking a more addictive, distracting experience."

He calls Capcom's Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins to be one of the few games developed with the system in mind, by keeping classic gameplay and updating it with new, modern graphics. While I agree with Mr. Cale's opinions, I find it difficult to support him fully-- what games has his publisher made? I can't think of any off the top of my head.

[Thanks, steve!]

Publishers are "getting it wrong" originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Oct 2006 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision CEO plays down potential of online distribution [update 1]

Conrad Quilty-Harper — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 17:55:00 EST

Filed under: Online, Business

Bobby Kotick, the chief executive officer of Activision, stated that he believes digital distribution of full games is "so far in the future that it's almost incomprehensible as an opportunity" in the New York Times article we reported on the other day. He cites the current limits of consumer internet bandwidth and the size of hard drives as the primary concern. However, Mr. Kotick believes that there is a great opportunity for purchasing and downloading smaller add-on content like "characters, new weapons, new missions or auctioning off places".

We mainly agree with Mr. Kotick's thoughts regarding the adoption of mainstream digital distribution being a while off. Even though broadband adoption and availability numbers (soon, 99.6% of the UK will have access to 4-8Mbps DSL) are increasing, figures from December 2005 suggest that only 15-20% of Japanese, American and British people actually own a high speed internet line. Those numbers need to be closer to the level that television enjoys if mainstream on-demand digital distribution is to work.

However, the market for smaller games and episodes of larger commercial games which can be distributed entirely over the internet is on the verge of exploding; Half-Life: Episodes and Geometry Wars being the early signs. Writing off the internet as a medium for distributing games would be a bad move for many publishers, after all, the early bird gets the loyal customer! Services like Steam, GameTap and Xbox Live Arcade are already beginning to capture the mindshare of savvy gamers (i.e. gamers that are too lazy to walk to the store, lol, jk!), so if publishers want to maintain control of what they do best (publishing games), then surely they should be doing everything they can to get in first before the ~~bogeyman~~ middleman does.

[Image credit: Gamasutra]

Update: clarified statement regarding adoption of broadband by consumers.

Activision CEO plays down potential of online distribution [update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Jun 2006 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More on Majesco's fall from grace

Jennie Lees — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Portable, Microsoft Xbox, Action

CNN are featuring a look at publisher Majesco's problems, after the company's decision last week to withdraw from the premium console market. It's a sad tale of ambition backfiring and promising titles failing to live up to expectations, with a very real impact on the company's revenue and stock.

The CNN article points out that Midway, Atari and Acclaim have all been to the brink of bankruptcy and back, Majesco may still make it through. The company's move towards budget and handheld titles, as well as emerging markets such as casual and downloadable games, seems a wise one--we may even see another Psychonauts in amongst the budget bin.

[Thanks, Ashcrotch]

More on Majesco's fall from grace originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Jan 2006 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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