EA Renews LOTR License Through ‘08
March 29, 2007
Video game publisher and developer Electronic Arts has renewed its license to release additional games set within the literary world of The Lord Of The Rings through 2008.
EA has been responsible for recent titles based on New Line Cinema’s film adaptations of the classic novels since 2001, and EA has also acquired the rights to develop video games based on the classic LOTR book series itself in 2005, thus bringing all LOTR titles under EA’s umbrella.
Previously, Vivendi Universal Games had separately licensed the right to use the Tolkein books from the Saul Zaentz Company, a situation which led to competing LOTR games being released at the time the first movie debuted. However, Vivendi’s titles, which included a game based on The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, failed to win over critics and consumers.
EA officials note that the company is already moving ahead with a new title set in the world of Middle-earth for release in 2008, though details are scarce as to what exactly the game will be about. While nothing has yet been revealed regarding the upcoming title, past releases have covered a variety of genres from tactical strategy games to action adventure.
The announcement follows EA’s previously announced The Lord of the Rings: The White Council, an open world RPG for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. However, with EA making plans for a new LOTR title, the fate of this project, once referred to as the cryptic Project Gray Company, remains uncertain. EA confirmed in early February that the game, while not canceled, had been put on hold.
Microsoft Confirms Xbox 360 Elite Details, Announces New Xbox 360 Video Marketplace Partners
March 28, 2007
Microsoft has confirmed the April 29th U.S. debut of the Xbox 360 Elite, the new model that will include a 120GB hard drive, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a high-definition cable, and a premium black finish for the console, wireless controller, and Xbox Live headset for $479. A one-month Xbox Live Gold account will also come bundled with the Elite.
The new 120GB hard drive will also be sold as a stand-alone accessory for $179, “to give current Xbox 360 owners greater choice and flexibility in their games and entertainment experience,” according to an official company statement.
Additional Xbox 360 Elite accessories, such as the black Xbox 360 Wireless Controller ($49.99), Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit ($19.99), and the Xbox 360 rechargeable battery ($11.99) will be available separately from the April 29th date onwards.
“Today’s games and entertainment enthusiast has an insatiable appetite for digital high-definition content,” said Peter Moore, corporate vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Xbox 360 Elite’s larger hard drive and premium accessories will allow our community to enjoy all that the next generation of entertainment has to offer.”
Microsoft officials have also announced the support of a raft of new video content providers for Xbox Live, including Paramount, Warner Bros., A&E Network, ADV Films, National Geographic, and TotalVid.com.
Paramount Pictures will also offer content on Xbox Live for the first time, with move titles such as Braveheart, Team America: World Police, World Trade Center, and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release direct-to-video movies exclusively in high definition on Xbox Live; Sublime and Babylon 5: The Lost Tales are confirmed.
A&E Network will offer “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” “King of Cars,” “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” “Driving Force,” and “Criss Angel Mindfreak.” National Geographic will offer television series such as “Is It Real?,” “Taboo,” “21 Days to Baghdad,” and “Air Force One.”
Specific titles from ADV Films and TotalVid.com have not yet been announced, although the former is one of the major producers and distributors of Japanese anime in the West. TotalVid.com specializes in extreme sports such as skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, motocross, surfing and mountain biking.
Microsoft claim that the new partners will add more than 1,500 hours of downloadable content to that already available on Xbox Live. The downloading of movies and TV shows is currently limited to North America, with no specifically announced timetable for a similar service, which would require different licensing deals in other parts of the world.
New Line & Epic Team Up for ‘Gears of War’ Movie
March 22, 2007
New Line has won feature rights to bring Microsoft and Epic’s Gears of War to the big screen.
New Line’s deal is with developer Epic, which held onto all ancillary rights to the property when Microsoft signed on to publish the game. Though not announced yet, a sequel video game is assured. If development of both projects goes smoothly, New Line and Epic would surely love to see the film and a game sequel come out around the same time.
Gears of War, which has sold more than 3 million units, is the most popular game on Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, and despite being released in November and available only for the Xbox 360, it quickly became the US’s fourth best-selling game of 2006 and won Game of the Year honors at the Game Developers Choice Awards and the Interactive Achievement Awards.
Epic developed an extensive Gears of War backstory in hopes of utilizing it for a film as well as potential novels. “We wanted to make an entertainment property that’s not just for games but for other media,” said Epic VP and co-founder Mark Rein.
Movie producer Wyck Godfrey explained, “I’m not a gamer, but what blew me away about Gears was how it captures the mythology of a war mission and how high the stakes are.”
Stuart Beattie will be handling the movie script, and once this is completed, producers Godfrey and Marty Bowen will start looking for a director. They’re aiming at a summer 2009 release. Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski (CliffyB) will exec produce the film and consult on its development for Epic.
Several movies based on video game franchises (Doom, Super Mario Bros.) have bombed with both critics and audiences, but Rein said he and the Epic team considered that history carefully when mulling a movie deal: “Our first and foremost philosophy is to do no harm, so we debated heavily the idea of doing a movie at all, but we feel we stacked the deck in our favor by working with the best players.”
DVD upscaling, Warhawk Conformed for PS3
March 5, 2007
In the finall installement of a Newsweek interview, Sony’s Phil Harrison discussed the company’s plans to deliver DVD upscaling to the PS3.
When asked about what needs to change in regards to the flow of information within Sony Computer Entertainment, Harrison said, “There is a cultural thing about our approach in Japan that has to change. Our approach in Japan is ‘Once it’s perfect, we’ll share it with everybody else.’ Whereas I think in order to engender trust in our users, we have to share some things that might be not quite perfect, but are ready to give you an indication of what’s coming. So we could say, ‘You know, we’re not sure when it’s coming, but we’re going to have DVD upscaling on Playstation 3.’ There you go. There’s a scoop for you.” And there it is, folks!!!
Harrison also implied that other goodies might be in store for PS3 users, suggesting that PlayStation head of platform development Izumi Kawanishi should write his own blog containing Sony’s latest developments. Harrison jokes that it would soon become the “biggest blog in the world,” which is probably not too far from the truth.
After plenty of speculation, Incognito Entertainment has confirmed that PS3 title Warhawk will be sold only as a downloadable title via the PlayStation Network.
Incognito’s Dylan Jobe indicated that the single player component for the game had been “phased out” in favor of an entirely online game supporting up to 32 players at a once. “The single player just really wasn’t up to par and we owe it to the players to not force them to buy something that’s not good enough. They deserve better,” Jobe stated.
At E3 last May, Warhawk was one of the first PS3 games to demonstrate the tilt controls of the Sixaxis controller. Warhawk was also used as a prominent example of downloadable content for PS3 games. Incognito has discusses new Warhawk maps, features, and weapons being available online at a later date.
Ghost Rider: Running on Empty
March 2, 2007
The movie was terrible (except for Eva Mendes), and I’m afraid the game, which picks up where the movie leaves off, might be even worse.
I came across one reviewer who felt Ghost Rider (available for PSP, PS2, GBA) was nothing more than a poor man’s God of War. Another reviewer described playing Ghost Rider as “gaming hell” and “deserving of banishment.” Harsh? Indeed. Right on? Unfortunately.
In the game, Ghost Rider (not really that cool a character to begin with, in my estimation) must prevent archenemies (Mephisto, Blackheart) from unleashing hell on earth in a flimsy storyline, but instead of live action, cut scenes are portrayed in panels, which scroll along as if you’re reading a comic book. The game flips between on-foot and bike missions, both of which grow extremely tedious. The lone objective on foot is to eradicate demons - all of which are predictable and unintelligent - and collect souls.
Once you start playing, you may notice that Ghost Rider does play like God of War in some ways: Ghost Rider’s whip of his chain conjured up memories of Kratos flailing swords chained to his arms, the combo system (in which Ghost Rider uses a series of moves strung together to achieve maximum damage) is similar.
Also like God of War, Ghost Rider features a Vengeance meter, which fills as you successfully land attacks. Each level has an evil word associated with it, meaning you’ll earn rankings of Damned, then Condemned, Brutal, and all the rest that aren’t really worth mentioning. Keep the Vengeance meter filled through to the end of the level and you’ll get a bonus; you’ll also earn more souls and power for defeating enemies while holding a Vengeance ranking.
The enemy will occasionally arrive wearing a vengeance shield, which might be marked with the word Brutal. This means that no damage will be done unto that creature until the shield is shattered (by hitting it while the Vengeance meter stands at Brutal). But this gets tired pretty fast.
To earn higher vengeance rankings, you’ll have to constantly switch up attacks, eventually running through pretty much every combo in your possession, some of which might not be optimal for the enemy currently onscreen. And since the Vengeance meter resets when Ghost Rider takes a hit, tackling a couple higher-level shielded enemies at once can be a massive pain.
Ghost Rider’s Demon Charge strike destroys crowds of opponents with a swift blow. Ghost Rider can also employ retribution, which gives him a brief boost in speed and power, enabling you to inflict the Penance Stare, draining as many souls from foes as possible.
Bike levels help break up the ground action, but they’re too simple. You’ll spend almost all your time jumping over and sliding under obstacles while mowing down enemies. Boss battles are slightly entertaining, but rarely challenging.
While there’s certainly plenty of action, the dull, monotonous settings and boring sound design make it easy to slump into tedium, bashing away at enemies simply because they are there. So if you’re not sure whether to get Ghost Rider, I strongly advise you to ride onto a more worthwhile game.
Ubisoft to Create Jobs and Films
February 13, 2007
Video game publisher Ubisoft announced last week a new phase of development for its operations in Quebec. The company plans to invest up to an additional 295.6 million euros over the next six years with the goal of creating 1,000 new jobs.
The motivation behind the creation of the new jobs is two-fold: 1) the group has set a goal of creating 500 new video game positions in Quebec by 2013, and 2) Ubisoft will inaugurate a new production center that specializes in computer generated images (CGI) creation.
The studio’s mission will be to produce short films inspired by Ubisoft video games. An initial eight-minute short film will be based on the award-winning and highly anticipated game, Assassin’s Creed, and by 2013, the new CGI studio should count 500 specialists.
“In 1997 Ubisoft made the decision to wager on Quebec’s immense creative potential,” recalls CEO Yves Guillemot. “Ten years later, the Montreal studio has been the driving force behind the conception and development of legendary brands, such as Prince of Persia, and the greatly anticipated Assassin’s Creed. The Montreal studio was recently ranked 4th development studio in the world by Game Informer, one of the most influential magazines in the game industry. Today, we are pursuing our strategy centered on innovation by increasing investments in our creative teams based in Quebec.”
“With this announcement, we are one step closer to reaching our goal of making Ubsisoft’s Montreal studio the most important center for video game development in the world, and especially to reinforce Quebec’s position as a reference in the creation of digital entertainment,” said Montreal studio CEO Yannis Mallat.
“Video game production has progressively moved closer and closer to film and television production and this convergence will only intensify in the coming years. This natural evolution is accompanied by revolutionary changes in online distribution channels via the explosion of free and paid-for digital content. Today’s launch of a studio specializing in digital film creation will allow Ubisoft to be a pioneer in the domain for the years to come,” Yves Guillemot added.
Scarface, Zorro Coming to Wii
February 5, 2007
Tony Montana, one of the most vulgar, violent stars of film and now gaming, is making his way to the mostly family-orientated Wii this year. Scarface: The World is Yours will come with the obvious controller enhancements, using the Wii Remote like a gun to manually target enemies.
You will also get to fist fight enemies (or any passer-by on the street) with motion control, or use the Remote to mangle people with a chainsaw while the sound of the engine revs from the speaker in the Remote. Scarface will release on Wii later this year, so check back for mre specifics
Speaking of gangster fun on Wii by the end of 2007, The Godfather has been confirmed for Wii and Driver: Parallel Lines is reported to be on the way too.
Wii owners could have more Wii Remote-operated swordplay to look forward to with blade-ninja Zorro making his debut Wii appearance in The Destiny of Zorro. Pronto Games say the game will focus on being “instantly engaging” and fun: “The visuals are high quality, as are the audio and storyline.” That sounds both engaging and fun to me.
In The Destiny of Zorro, Zorro will do battle against a dual-sword-weilding skeleton known as Calavero, pictured below. No further gameplay details have been announced, but it’s probably a good bet that you’ll be swinging the Wii Remote in some sword-like fashion. The Destiny of Zorro is due to release this Christmas.
Sony’s New Downloadable Movie Service for PSP
December 18, 2006
Following Microsoft’s lead, Sony is gearing up to launch downloadable movie content for the PSP, weeks after a similar service was launched for the Xbox 360 in North America, and apparently in opposition to Apple Computer’s iPod related service.
The new PSP movie download service will allow users to download a film to a PC (or presumably a PS3, although this is not specifically mentioned) and then to transfer it to the PSP, much in the manner of already announced emulated PlayStation games.
According the British newspaper The Financial Times, the service is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2007, following deals with various online video providers.
Several websites are reportedly currently in talks with Sony about 
the service, where the question of improved security against piracy is being promoted as a major benefit over iTunes and the iPod. The new service has been developed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, not Sony Computer Entertainment.
A move of this kind has been predicted for some time, as the sales of movies and video content on UMDs have failed to live up to Sony’s expectations. To accompany the launch of the service, the company will make available a new 4Gb memory stick which will be able to store up to ten feature length movies.
Xbox Live Expands
November 22, 2006
Happy Birthday Xbox 360! Today, Microsoft has broadened its Xbox Live offerings with a full selection of TV and movie rental titles to be rented and purchased, with newly revealed pricing ranging from around $2 - 6. Microsoft says that the launch of the video marketplace initiative makes the 360 “the first gaming console in history to provide high-definition TV shows and movies directly to gamers in their living rooms.” The new video marketplace is fully covered by the Xbox 360’s Family Settings feature, giving parents the ability to limit the video content available to the console.
A partial list of the TV programs offering either select episodes or entire seasons available for download includes the CSI series, Star Trek, Chappelle’s Show, Drawn Together, South Park, Punk’d, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, Space Ghost, and Wonder Showzen. TV shows are offered as to-own downloads with no expiration date, and the ability to re-download a user’s purchases should they be deleted. The pricing is 160 points for a standard definition episode and 240 points for a high definition program, an equivalent of $2 and $3 respectively.
An initial selection of 48 movies has been added to the service; notable titles include V for Vendetta, A Rebel Without a Cause, Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Shining, Superfly, and Natural Born Killers.
Full movie downloads are provided on a rental basis, utilizing Xbox Live’s new digital rights features, which stipulate that the downloads will expire 14 days after the date of purchase, or 24 hours past the point when a user has first played them. The pricing scale for movies ranges from 480 points ($6) for newly-released high definition titles, to 320 points ($4) for standard resolution versions of the same. Classic titles are offered for rental at 360 points ($4.50) and 240 points ($3) for high and standard definition versions. Microsoft also notes that once a user has purchased a high definition version of either movie or TV program, the standard definition version is then available for free.
Halo Film Officially Postponed
October 31, 2006
Microsoft and Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Films representatives have confirmed that production on the Halo film has been officially postponed after suffering financial setbacks shortly after Microsoft’s recent X06 press event. Those setbacks came less than two weeks ago, when it was reported that both Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox had backed out of the project citing budget concerns, with costs for the film apparently exceeding the film’s already substantial allocated budget of $135 million.
Microsoft responded by stating its firm commitment to and backing of the project The company has maintained its “goal remains the same - to find a partner that shares our passion and will creatively collaborate with us to best represent the story and spirit of the Halo franchise, and promised it was “already in discussions with potential partners who recognize the value of the 
Halo brand and its appeal to consumers worldwide.”
In a joint statement from Microsoft and Wingnut Films the outlook for the film does not look as promising:
“As was previously confirmed, we deeply regret that both Universal and Fox did not choose to move forward with financing the Halo film under the original terms of the agreement. At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first class film to the big screen.
We are fully supportive of Director Neill Blomkamp’s vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait.”
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