Following up on word that THQ plans to close Big Huge Games if a sale is not completed soon, the studio has been forced to reduce its staff.
"Some of the staff were notified that they were not going to be part of the future direction of the studio," confirmed THQ representative Julie MacMedan.
While the rep would not divulge how many people were affected, Develop reports that the studio saw a “huge amount of layoffs.”
The studio is responsible for such titles as Rise of Nations and Catan. It is known to be working on a Wii game and a RPG led by Oblivion designer Ken Rolston.
The famous sports series continues, as EA took the veil off of Madden NFL 10, the latest annual entry that will arrive on August 14.
Being developed by EA Tiburon, the game will hit PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360. It will offer “more control over the outcome of the play” and “all-new animation technology.” The Wii version is said to be completely redesigned and sporting a different art style that hopes to “epitomize what fun looks like on the Wii.”
As expected, multiplayer will be enhanced. The developer is focusing on “an immersive broadcast presentation” for the game.
The lucky (or unlucky, if you believe in the whole Madden curse thing) cover athlete for the game will be announced April 24.
Jolt Online Gaming has launched its free-to-play casual web-based RPG Legends of Zork. The game is inspired by the classic adventure series, putting players in the role of an unemployed salesman as they explore and fight their way through the fallen Great Underground Empire.
Interestingly, players can earn coconuts in the game by spending actual money or participating in a variety of marketing trials and surveys for other sites. These coconuts can be used to acquire more action points and other special perks.
Those who don’t will have to make do with the daily allocation of 30 points.
Are there some overweight, acne speckled gamers out there who live in their parents basement at the age of thirty-five and subsist entirely on a diet of pizza, soda and snack cakes? Yes, there definitely are but the majority of gamers are normal people and though many live with their parents, that’s because a lot of gamers are children and teenagers.
Many male adult gamers feel the sharp sting of this sad stereotype and do their best to fight against it. They get good jobs, marry and have children, all the while still playing video games in their off hours. That’s why it saddens me that apparently some still find the allure of games too difficult to overcome.
UK PS3 website PS3pricecompare recently held a poll where they asked 1,130 men in relationships some questions. When asked if they’d prefer sex with their partner or an evening playing video games, thirty-two percent reported they’d rather play video games. Even more alarming was that as soon as they were asked the same question only with a new video game, 72% responded that they’d rather play a new game.
Unfortunately there aren’t any details available about the study itself so there’s no demographic information about ages, relationship status (a fifty year old father of two who’s been married for twenty five years might have different motivations than a twenty year old with a girlfriend) or how the men were recruited for the study.
In the past multiplayer wasn’t considered a big deal, for the most part because many titles only multiplayer feature was a deathmatch option that seemed tacked-on at the last minute. With high speed internet connections becoming more common developers started focusing more and more on multiplayer content, even to the point of some titles being designed solely for multiplayer.
Titles like Halo 3 and Resident Evil 5 have explored the idea of online co-op, a feature which for years was only available locally. Since little information has been made available thus far regarding Mass Effect 2, fans have contented themselves with rumor mongering and speculation. One feature that people had been whispering about was online co-op which would be an excellent fit for the squad based shooter. Yes, that’s right, I’m calling it a shooter because in truth the combat sections functioned as one, despite the RPG flavor to the rest of the game.
Folks from BioWare had come forth previously saying that the buzz about five player online co-op in the sequel wasn’t based on any fact. That’s far from a flat-out confirmation that we won’t see co-op in Mass Effect 2 and when asked about the potential of the trend carrying over into the game Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk said that although they hadn’t disclosed a feature set for the game multiplayer is something they’re considering for all future titles. It’s hard to glean any Mass Effect specific details from their statements because they say that they’d only include co-op if it fitted seamlessly into the overall experience, citing games built around co-op like Left 4 Dead. Yet with the squad-based nature of the previous title putting in co-op gameplay seems quite perfect.
It seems that a YouTube user by the name of renebarahona has taken the initiative and uploaded a bunch of videos displaying Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 720p.
Now you’re probably thinking to yourself, Nintendo didn’t include 720p output with the Wii. Well, that’s true but it doesn’t mean its games can’t be successfully rendered in an HD resolution.
This was accomplished using the Dolphin emulator for the PC. To really take in the full effect you’re probably going to want to click through on the above video and watch it in the true HD resolution. The little screen just doesn’t cut it.
Sony has given word that a sixth installment of the Jak & Daxter series is coming out this fall. Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier is to be developed by High Impact Games, the same guys who are responsible for both Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters and Secret Agent Clark. The game takes place right where the trilogy left off.
The game will be released for both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. By the way, a next-generation Jak wouldn’t hurt anyone, Sony.
Sony’s recent price cut on the PS2 was met with surprise by many — a positive surprise none the less. While hardcore gamers are leaning towards the PS3 and Xbox 360, Nintendo captured the much larger casual game market share. With the $99 PlayStation 2, Sony expects to win some of that market share from Nintendo. Sony’s hardware marketing director said to GameDaily:
“From a technological standpoint, the Wii is much closer to the PS2 than it is to next-gen consoles… Nintendo has done a fantastic job of capturing young and female, which are two areas the PS2 has really started to grab as well. We are very confident that the $99 price level will allow us to grab our share.”
While the PS2 can, to some extent, match the Wii in terms of visuals, the lack of motion controls and newer game titles will make it difficult to threaten the Wii.
Following up on word that THQ plans to close Big Huge Games if a sale is not completed soon, the studio has been forced to reduce its staff.
Jolt Online Gaming has launched its free-to-play casual web-based RPG Legends of Zork. The game is inspired by the classic adventure series, putting players in the role of an unemployed salesman as they explore and fight their way through the fallen Great Underground Empire.
Sony’s recent price cut on the PS2 was met with surprise by many — a positive surprise none the less. While hardcore gamers are leaning towards the PS3 and Xbox 360, Nintendo captured the much larger casual game market share. With the $99 PlayStation 2, Sony expects to win some of that market share from Nintendo. Sony’s hardware marketing director