Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Activision and EA trade barbs over corporate cultures]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/27/activision-and-ea-trade-barbs-over-corporate-cultures/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/27/activision-and-ea-trade-barbs-over-corporate-cultures/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/27/activision-and-ea-trade-barbs-over-corporate-cultures/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Activision's Bobby Kotick and EA's Jeff Brown engaged in a little Battlefield of Duty: Corporate Warfare 2 match this week, lobbing sound bites back and forth at each other. Kotick was first, boasting in the latest issue of Edge (via Next-Gen.biz) that his company allows its studios to maintain their independent cultures; citing Treyarch, the embattled Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games as examples. Kotick suggested that EA doesn't offer this luxury, and that's why Activision has successfully hired developers from its competitor's ranks. "We have no shortage of opportunity to recruit out of EA," he said. "That's their biggest challenge: Its stock options have no value. It's lost its way."

Of course, Brown, EA's corp comm VP, was quick to respond: "[Kotick's] company is based on three game franchises -- one is a fantastic persistent world he had nothing to do with; one is in steep decline; and the third is in the process of being destroyed by Kotick's own hubris." Though Brown didn't clarify which franchises he was referring to, we'll throw out three names for you -- and you can play the matching game! Here goes: Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

The two suits probably had more to say to each other, but at that point the other players muted them both, and a few seconds later the actual match started up.

JoystiqActivision and EA trade barbs over corporate cultures originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionbobby-kotickcall-of-dutydems-fightin-wordseaguitar-heroinfinity-wardjeff-brownsledgehammerstudiostreyarchworld-of-warcraftMon, 27 Sep 2010 18:05:00 EST<![CDATA[Ray Muzyka: Bioware producing a lot of content, more to come at E3]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/28/ray-muzyka-bioware-producing-a-lot-of-content-more-to-come-at/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/28/ray-muzyka-bioware-producing-a-lot-of-content-more-to-come-at/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/28/ray-muzyka-bioware-producing-a-lot-of-content-more-to-come-at/#comments Bioware's Ray Muzyka has been spilling some Bio-beans over on Eurogamer today. In the public interview, he says that while there is both PDLC (the "P" stands for "Premium") being developed for Mass Effect 2 and expansion content planned for Dragon Age: Origins, most of the core team for the sci-fi series has already started working on the as-yet-unannounced Mass Effect 3. He does promise that there's been a vision from the beginning and that the vision has been tweaked and changed as the games are coming along, so hopefully the trilogy will lead to a worthwhile conclusion.

He also hints that there's lots more to see coming from Bioware -- Muzyka is working on both PS3 and 360 titles (some still secret) "across the studios I manage," and of course The Old Republic, which he describes as "KotOR 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 in one project," is in development as well. And at the very end of the interview, to a question about what we can expect at this year's E3, he only answers a cryptic, "Yes!" Maybe Muzyka should have been in charge of the dialog trees in Dragon Age; the game would have been a lot shorter.

[via NeoGAF]

JoystiqRay Muzyka: Bioware producing a lot of content, more to come at E3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowaredlcdragon-age-originse3e3-2010knights-of-the-old-republickotormass-effect-2mass-effect-3Microsoftpremium-dlcray-muzykastudiosthe-old-republicXbox-360Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Crossbeam Studios cancelling entertainment]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/09/crossbeam-studios-cancelling-entertainment/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/09/crossbeam-studios-cancelling-entertainment/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/09/crossbeam-studios-cancelling-entertainment/#commentsFiled under:


Even when it was called the Revolution, Crossbeam Studios decided to get their hands dirty and promote some big titles. The original three were Thorn, Midnight and Orb, and everyone was totally getting into the vibe of these promising projects.

Unfortunately, all those titles seem to be heading to the big recycle bin in the sky. The studio isn't going out of business; they are changing direction towards the PC and the early Wii projects simply aren't a priority, despite the fan following. A giant Falafelkid article on Crossbeam delves deep into the studio and its staff, which is a must-read for anyone interested in the core machinations of a smaller development team.

The games haven't been scrapped forever and ever, but you can stop thinking about saving up for any imminent pre-orders. Check out Cubed3's coverage and discussion with Greg Szemiot from Crossbeam, as well as the original dissection feature.

[Via Cubed3]

JoystiqCrossbeam Studios cancelling entertainment originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>crossbeam-studioscrossbeam-studios-entertainmentgreg-szerniotmidnightorbstudiosthornMon, 09 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mercury Meltdown pub expands, promises new next-gen IP]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/17/mercury-meltdown-pub-expands-promises-new-next-gen-ip/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/17/mercury-meltdown-pub-expands-promises-new-next-gen-ip/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/17/mercury-meltdown-pub-expands-promises-new-next-gen-ip/#commentsFiled under:

As much as we have grown tired of having games developed for this generation of consoles referred to as "next-gen entertainment," that ire is evidently not shared by all. Ignition Entertainment, publisher of Mercury Meltdown and the adolescent undead romp Teenage Zombies, today announced the opening of not one, but two new studios committed to so-called next-gen game development.

The new studios will operate out of both Tokyo and Florida, and according to Ignition will focus on creating "new IP specifically for the next generation formats," but which formats exactly remain a mystery. In fact, no details about upcoming projects from either Ignition Tokyo or Florida have been announced, though in looking at the company's subsidiary Digi-Guys, which has been working on WarDevil since well before the launch of the Xbox 360, it's clear that these studios are not in a hurry.

JoystiqMercury Meltdown pub expands, promises new next-gen IP originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Digi-GuysexpandFloridaIgnition EntertainmentIgnition-EntertainmentIgnitionEntertainmentMercury MeltdownMercury-MeltdownMercuryMeltdownstudiosTokyoWarDevilMon, 17 Dec 2007 21:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Darkness renamed Midnight [update 1]]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/16/darkness-renamed-midnight/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/16/darkness-renamed-midnight/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/16/darkness-renamed-midnight/#commentsFiled under:

Twelve
Accordingly to all reputable sources, the game-formerly-known-as-Darkness is, at the very least, still a year off from release. The survival-horror project, one of Crossbeam Studio's trifecta of titles (Orb, Thorn, and Darkness), had to be renamed due to copyright conflicts with The Darkness, a title by 2k Games. Thus, Crossbeam Studios has announced an official name change of Darkness to Midnight. Still awesome. Name changes are fine and dandy, but someone needs to let Sega know that Wildfire is still way cooler than Secret Rings.

[Update 1: Silly us ... we confused Sadness with Darkness. Fixed.]

JoystiqDarkness renamed Midnight [update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ChangeCrossbeamDarknessMidnightNameStudiosTue, 16 Jan 2007 17:40:00 EST<![CDATA[NIBRIS and Frontline to co-produce Sadness]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/17/nibris-and-frontline-to-co-produce-sadness/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/17/nibris-and-frontline-to-co-produce-sadness/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/17/nibris-and-frontline-to-co-produce-sadness/#commentsFiled under:

Where's a few hundred cats when you need them?In a move that totally shattered rumors of Majesco publishing Sadness for the Wii, NIBRIS and Frontline finally announced the publisher: both of them. That's right, earlier reports that the game had found a publisher were true, just not the one we thought.

Aside from co-producing Sadness with NIBRIS, Frontline Studios developed the recently-released DS title Sudoku Mania and have worked with NIBRIS on other, smaller projects in the past. Interestingly enough, the announcement on Frontline Studios' webpage states that Sadness has a 16 month development cycle, giving us some kind of idea when we could be seeing the game at retail.

JoystiqNIBRIS and Frontline to co-produce Sadness originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Aug 2006 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>frontlinenibrisnintendosadnessstudioswiiThu, 17 Aug 2006 10:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Crossbeam divulges more info on projects]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/15/crossbeam-divulges-more-info-on-projects/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/15/crossbeam-divulges-more-info-on-projects/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/15/crossbeam-divulges-more-info-on-projects/#commentsFiled under:


In an interview with Nintendo of Europe, indie development house Crossbeam Studios revealed some more on their three Wii projects. While the entire interview can be found here, it is only accessible to VIP members. Instead, we'll paraphrase the pertinent information for you.

In regards to Orb, this is the company's main project, followed by the other two proposed titles of Thorn and Darkness. Orb and Thorn are classified as adventure games, where Darkness is being classified as a more fear-based experience. See, the Earth has been overrun by forces of darkness and now mankind must make their last stand against these evil forces. The game will feature many branching paths to progress the story and lots of NPC interaction.

In commenting on the whole fear-based experience, Crossbeam's Greg Nichols said:

"Basically what I want you to feel when you turn off the game is that you're too afraid to turn the lights off. Think of when you were three years old, and the fear you had of basements, or the attic, or the dark. It's not the scare of the shock that I'm aiming for, what I want is the actual fear of the things that make you look over your shoulder. When I get afraid, my eyes start to water and a small tear comes out. I want that kind of fear to come out of the game."

JoystiqCrossbeam divulges more info on projects originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 Aug 2006 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>crossbeamnintendoorbstudioswiiTue, 15 Aug 2006 12:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Sensory Sweep Studios join the ranks]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/25/sensory-sweep-studios-join-the-ranks/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/25/sensory-sweep-studios-join-the-ranks/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/25/sensory-sweep-studios-join-the-ranks/#commentsFiled under:

According to a job posting on their official site, independent development team Sensory Sweep Studios is looking for talent to aid in the development of an action title for the Wii. Looking for junior and senior game designers to help in level and character design for this title, Sensory Sweep's most recent releases include Need For Speed: Most Wanted and Tiger Woods PGA Tour on the DS.

While we can't be all that enthused about this development considering the only major titles of note from the company were on a handheld, the more support for Nintendo's newest console the better.

[Via Codename Revolution]

JoystiqSensory Sweep Studios join the ranks originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>developerindependentindienintendosensorystudiossweepwiiTue, 25 Jul 2006 09:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Retro folk discuss Metroid Prime 3 Corruption]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/17/retro-folk-discuss-metroid-prime-3-corruption/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/17/retro-folk-discuss-metroid-prime-3-corruption/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/17/retro-folk-discuss-metroid-prime-3-corruption/#commentsFiled under:

Following the flood of news coming from last week's E3, Retro Studios' Game Director Marc Pacini and Senior Producer Bryan Walker, along with Production Group No. 3's Kensuke Tanabe, commented on some of the features that will be in the final build of Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. In addition to discussing the ability for the player to go into Hyper Mode at any time during the game and a larger role for Samus' ship (bombing runs!), the team also took heavy inspiration from past Metroid titles such as Super Metroid in an attempt to find the perfect balance between the old and the new.

JoystiqRetro folk discuss Metroid Prime 3 Corruption originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 May 2006 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>corruptionmetroidnintendoprimeretrostudioswiiWed, 17 May 2006 17:00:00 EST