A Remedy Entertainment em parceria com a Microsoft Game Studios, lançarão o Alan Wake, game de ação em terceira pessoa.

A história de ação, se baseia no personagem Alan Wake, escritor que perde sua musa inspiradora e, mudando-se para a pequena cidade de Bright Falls, vê seus pesadelos se tornarem realidade.

Ao invés de usar armas, bombas,.. o escritor terá uma lanterna como proteção, já que seus inimigos são sensíveis à luz.

Gráficos e sons de alta qualidade são características importantes aliadas ao enredo criativo deste jogo que promete ser mais um sucesso e que vale a pena conferir.

Alan Wake est un jeu vidéo en cours de développement, une date de sortie serait prévu pour le courant du mois de mai 2010, mélangeant jeu d’aventure et survival horror en vue à la troisième personne. Il est développé par le studio finlandais Remedy Entertainment – le même studio qui a développé Max Payne – et édité par Microsoft Game Studios. Alan Wake est un thriller psychologique qui mêle des séquences d’action de type survival horror dans les scènes nocturnes et des éléments d’ aventure pendant les phases diurnes.

Le jeu est prévu pour mai 2010 en exclusivité sur Xbox 360 ; quand à la version PC, elle pourrait être retardée voir annulée. Ci-dessous un extrait d’un communiqué envoyé par Remedy Entertainment pour le site de fans Bright Falls concernant la situation de la version PC :

« Merci de l’intérêt que vous portez à Alan Wake. Il est juste que nous travaillons actuellement exclusivement sur la version Xbox 360 d’Alan Wake. Les projets concernant la version PC sont toujours ouverts, mais il est néanmoins certain qu’une sortie simultanée des deux versions n’arrivera pas. Remedy a un gros héritage du jeu sur PC et aimerait voir une version PC du jeu disponible pour les joueurs, mais en fin de compte, cette décision relève de notre éditeur »

Le début du jeu marque l’arrivée de Wake dans le petit village de Bright Falls, dans l’état de Washington. Wake s’y rend pour suivre un traitement dans une clinique du sommeil. L’endroit est calme, apaisant et éloigné de toute agitation urbaine : Wake retrouve donc le sommeil.

Un jour, il rencontre dans l’établissement une femme mystérieuse qui ressemble étrangement à sa fiancée disparue… Ses rêves ressurgissent mais tournent cette fois-ci au cauchemar et Wake se met à retranscrire ses visions d’horreur dans un nouveau roman. Tandis que Wake poursuit l’écriture de son roman, le village de Bright Falls se métamorphose lui-même, ressemblant de plus en plus aux terribles descriptions qu’il en fait dans son roman. Wake va devoir survivre, avec son pistolet et sa lampe torche, et en même temps essayer de comprendre ce qu’il se passe.

D’emblée, on est frappé par la densité de son ambiance empruntée aux romans de Stephen King dont les décors ont certainement inspiré Remedy.

Alan Wake était en passe de prendre la place de Duke Nukem Forever dans la catégorie des titres fantômes. Pourtant 4 ans après sa première apparition à l’E3 et une disparition complète des salons, le titre de Remedy est enfin revenu à la vie.

Following on from my celebrations of the PS3’s third birthday, I must raise a glass to the Xbox 360 who turned four yesterday. However, the achievements of the 360 are somewhat different to that of Sony’s now-gen beast. Microsoft was able to build on the success of Xbox Live from the original Xbox and launched with a credible online service that, after four years of tinkering, still bests Sony’s efforts. We may have to pay £40 for the privilege but it’s money well spent if stability, decent download speeds and other such niceties are what we’re after. Read on!

Other than a favourable online service, most of the 360’s success has come from the PS3’s failings. Such as the initial difficulty to program for the PS3 and being out a year early. Developers chose the 360 as the lead SKU meaning many cross platform games suffered when porting up to the PS3. What it meant for gamers was simple – Xbox 360 versions looked and ran better. With a year of sales under it’s belt, Microsoft’s little white wonder was already settled when Sony decided to finally launch it’s dip into HD and the difference in price made the 360 look all the more enticing – despite the inferior hardware.

Launch titles were plentiful (18 in the US, 16 elsewhere), but not necessarily a huge leap in video game advances. Take Perfect Dark Zero. This was the most successful first-party title yet played like an early Xbox title. Thankfully, Infinity Ward were able to lend their talents and gave early adopters Call of Duty 2 – my first Xbox 360 game. Graphics were sharp but apart from amazing particle effects (some of the best smoke in a video game) it was still very much a ‘quick we need to get this finished’ kind of launch title. What it did do well if not brilliantly was online play. Such a strong online presence helped solidify Xbox Live’s dominance. That and Halo 2. Yes, while Microsoft had all but killed the Xbox when releasing the 360, fans of Halo 2 still battled hard on their newer consoles. It’s the reason why we only able to have 100 friends on our 360’s. The older architecture of Halo 2 has forced the hand of Microsoft, making us be more selective as to who we accept as friends.

As of September 2009, 31 million 360’s have been sold but unfortunately, a startling percentage would have red-ringed. I’m lucky enough to only be on my second 360 but know people who’ve been through considerably more. So much so that Microsoft couldn’t ignore the problem any longer and increased the warranty from one year to three years. A good move on their part but something that should never need to happen in the first place. Another cock-up/masterpiece was the Core system. Unlike the Premium console, Core – which has been replaced by Arcade – came without a hard drive meaning the firmware powered backwards compatibility was simply unable to happen. Not to mention limiting the size of Xbox Live Arcade titles to only 50MB since they had to fit on a memory card for those Core owners. Thank heavens for the Arcade model with it’s 512MB hard drive and Microsoft’s initiative of selling refurbished 20GB hard drives to Arcade owners. This was mainly because the massive overhaul to the 360’s operating system going from the bladed dashboard to the New Xbox Experience late 2008. With the NXE came Avatars – a feature still yet to find its place for many 360 gamers.

With the demise of the HDDVD, Microsoft now fills it’s Xbox Live Marketplace with HD movies, ready to be rented and streamed onto our systems. It didn’t take long for Netfilx – streaming media company – to partner up with Microsoft and offer their services via the console.

After four years of red-ringing, foul-mouthed online players and leading in the HD gaming genre, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has been able to offer some fantastic ‘must-have’ titles. Halo 3 concluded the trilogy (for now) and satisfied most of the Halo fans who moved onto its online shenanigans. Cliff Bleszinski’s Gears of War looked beautiful and played even better with its stop-and-pop mechanics. Nothing new to video games but somehow perfected. Gears of War 2 in 2008 bettered the original and became a system seller in its own right. My personal favourite of first party (now third party) titles has to be Mass Effect. Glitchy as hell and arguably unfinished, it still won the hearts of like minded gamers who found the escapades of protagonist Shepard hard to ignore.

Despite being almost the same age the the console it replaced, the Xbox 360 looks to have a lot of life left in it. Next year will see the release Project Natal with its advanced motion capture abilities to either help or hinder upcoming titles and the long awaited Alan Wake is rumoured to have a launch date of around May. It has had a fair share of troubles and some lonely months at the start when games were thin on the ground but join me won’t you as I raise my carton of orange-juice aloft in celebration of the Xbox 360’s fourth year. Well done you.

Now that Windows 7 has officially been launched, Direct X 11 games aren’t far behind. In fact there are already a few DX 11 compliant games available in the market today and the coming months will see many more. Today we’ll check out some of the more interesting upcoming DX11 games :

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was all about immersion and whether you were roaming the Zone searching for loot in broad daylight or exploring some creepy old military base at night not knowing what lurked around the next corner, the feeling of dread was palpable. And now with the power of DX11 backing them developer GSC Gameworld can dial up the intensity to 11 to deliver an even more immersive experience for the sequel. The game’s already been released in Russia with the English version slated for a worldwide release this month.

Crysis 2

Not much is known about Crysis 2 at this point but if you’ve seen what the CryEngine 3 is capable of in some of the Tech demos floating around the net you know you’re in for one insanely good looking game. Since Crysis pushed the boundaries of PC gaming back in the day, I can only imagine the kind of hardware required to play this game in all its graphical glory.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

The boys from B Company are back and this time they’re really gonna tear things down as DICE has promised even more destruction courtesy of a heavily modified Frostbite engine. While details regarding the single player are still scarce I am mighty impressed with the way the game’s online component’s turning out. PS3 owners will get a chance to sample the action via a beta that’ll be available by the end of this month while PC gamers sadly have to wait till December for a piece of the pie.

Lost Planet 2

Now this is pure speculation on my part since the game’s not even been “officially” announced for the PC but since Lost Planet came out for the PC a few months later, I’m guessing Capcom will dish out similar treatment to Lost Planet 2. And since Lost Planet was launched as a DX10 title, I think it’s fair to assume that Lost Planet 2 will ship with DX11 compatibility.

Alan Wake

Yes I know the PC version of the game is nowhere on the horizon but developer Remedy has always been faithful to PC gamers and I know (and seriously hope) that sometime in the future they will release this game on the PC. And when they do, you know it’s going to be DX11 all the way.

Aliens vs. Predator

When two iconic characters cross each other’s paths you know it’s gonna hit the fan. Throw in highly armed testosterone charged marines and you’re looking at some awesome three way action. The game’s being developed by Rebellion games, creators of the very first AVP game and will allow players to play as all three races through the course of the single and multiplayer campaign.

DIRT2

Dirt 2 released for the Xbox360 and the PS3 in September but the PC version was pushed back to December so that the game could take advantage of DX11 allowing Codemasters to present us with ‘the best-looking racing game that has ever existed.

[Tech2.0]

Who else?

Produced 2009.11.15

Nate Liles ensures that the podcast doesn’t go off without a hitch as the panel welcomes Eric J for the first time and Johnny Pipes as special guest. Ginia and Lusi barely manage a word in edgewise between Nate’s flatulent outbursts. It’s terribad!

It’s been 4 years since Remedy revealed Alan Wake to the world and it became unnoticable for a couple monthes, until they brought Alan back to life this year and finally, finally! Seems we have an announcement, revealing one important detail about this so proclaimed long awaited psychological thriller.

Alan Wake will be released aroung May 2010.
Will the sales be any good? Who is anxious for this game?

Por Carla Rodrigues

Finalmente Alan Wake resolveu acordar para nos mostrar um pouco mais de conteúdo do seu jogo. Desde que foi anunciado na E3 de 2005, pouca coisa havia sido mostrada sobre o jogo até este ano aonde vimos um pedaço do gameplay na E3 (confira esse post aqui).

Recapitulando rapidamente para quem resolveu que a vida é curta demais para perder um tempinho clicando no link acima: Alan Wake é um jogo de ação e suspense onde você é o famoso escritor Alan Wake. A trama foi baseada nos livros Stephen King e nos roteiros de Lost e Twin Peaks. A produtora que está desenvolvendo o jogo é a mesma responsável pela série Max Payne, e apesar do jogo já estar pronto desde agosto (segundo eles), está recebendo o polimento final para ser lançado para Xbox 360 no primeiro trimestre de 2010.

Depois de dois anos sem conseguir escrever absolutamente nada novo, a esposa de Alan, Alice, tem a ideia de levá-lo em uma viagem para que ele se inspire e encontre uma nova fonte de inspiração. Do nada Alice desaparece e Alan percebe que está preso em um pesadelo. Absolutamente tudo que acontece a sua volta é exatamente o que acontece no último livro de terror escrito por ele.

Alan combate forças do mal que são sensíveis à luz, por isso o uso de lanternas, sinalizadores e luzes de emergência são muito importantes aqui. Por isso também o trabalho de sombras e iluminação no jogo está espetacular, completamente embasbacante. Ess a semana foi liberado um vídeo que mostra um gameplay do Alan fugindo da policia a noite no meio da floresta. As luzes passam tão detalhadamente sobre as árvores e a neblina está perfeita. Vale muito a pena conferir:

Sem dúvidas um dos jogos mais esperados para o ano que vem – pelo menos para mim =)

Hello all,

The O.D.S.T. have dropped down upon us, Modern Warfare 2 has torn apart the online world, and the special infected are ready to rip us a new any day now. So now that 2009 has pretty much played out its hand, what do we green light gamers have to look forward to? Are we left to suffer another year where the Sony Defense Force can flaunt having more key exclusives on their platform as they did in 2009? Not a chance ! Microsoft is poised and ready to strike with some very high-caliber titles to quench the thirst for action and mayhem.

Without further ado, here are the Xbox 360 exclusives of 2010.

*** ANNOUNCED TITLES ***

Alan Wake

Developer: Microsoft Game Studios
Status: Exclusive

This very long-awaited action/adventure title is set to change the way we look at video games and story telling as its major focus is on being a psychological thriller.  The developers have been pushing the story elements to a “movie-like atmosphere” and will also incorporate the use of light and shadow into the gameplay perimeters. Narrative, puzzles, and combat are all to be blended into a symbiotic mix while presented along in real-time pacing.

Crackdown 2

Developer: Ruffian Studios
Status: Exclusive

This open world shooter brings players back into the world of Pacific City to try and reassert the dominance of the Agency. The developer has stated it will bring a much more diverse and useful arsenal of weapons to the table in comparison to the first Crackdown and that they will feature an improved story to motivate the average Agent. Add in four player co-op alongside a sixteen player competitive multi-player death match and you have a lot of new and exciting gameplay experiences to enjoy.

Fable 3

Developer: Lionhead Studios
Status: Exclusive

This is the third entry in the highly successful western action RPG series that has re-imagined the concepts of in-game freedom. Lionhead has said they plan to raise the “do as you wish” gameplay style to even greater heights as you will get more expression options. Even better is the fact that you will get the chance to rule Albion as a king (or queen) and directly decide the fates of your citizens and their world.

Halo Reach

Developer: Bungie
Status: Exclusive

It’s Halo. What else needs to be said? The final title by long time Halo developer Bungie is set to show gamers a more in-depth look into the history of the well-known halo-verse and will have a large focus on the Spartan soldiers (not like the last entry in the series which focused on the O.D.S.T.). You can expect the same frantic FPS mayhem that millions have come to love along with some surprises that Bungie is bound to have up its sleeve.

Mass Effect 2

Developer: Bioware
Status: Console Exclusive

As of today, this is still listed as a 360 console exclusive although heavy rumors are still circulating that it will land on the PS3 later on in the year. That would be heaven on earth for the ears of the Sony faithful IF that comes true.
Why? Because Mass Effect 2 is one of the most anticipated titles of 2010 for gamers on any platform. You continue Shepard’s journey into a now expanded universe (how that is possible, lord only knows) and the developers have made a large effort to improve the combat pacing and intensity for the sequel. Also, there shouldn’t be long and drawn out elevator sequences this time around which should appease the pickier players out there.

Ninety Nine Nights 2

Publisher: Q Entertainment
Status: Exclusive

The original N3 was well praised by Famitsu and broke a lot of hack and slash barriers by allowing hundreds of soldiers on-screen at one time with kill counts landing in the thousands instead of hundreds. This sequel promises to bring this mold of gameplay to new heights by introducing new characters, new locales, and co-op gameplay to engulf the hack and slash faithful into a world of battle.
If they can speed the game’s movement just a bit this could have a much warmer reception stateside then the original entry did.

Splinter Cell: Conviction

Publisher:Ubisoft
Status: Console Exclusive

This is stealthy series sneaks onto the Xbox 360 with a darker story which centers around Sam Fisher’s deception by the Third Echelon.
Visually impressive graphics, improved melee combat and new stealth options should allow any gamer to enthrall themself into the renegade’s role and take down any who stand in his way.

*** RUMORED TITLES/EXPECTED TITLES ***

Gears of War 3

Publisher: Epic Studios
Status: Exclusive

Gears of War 2 left all of the battle hardened COG yearning for the finale of the Marcus Fenix story arch. What did the cryptic end game message mean? Will the human race survive or will all of Sera fall under the dominance of the Locust horde? And what new and awesome weapons will be used for utter carnage?
This title is definitely one of the most anticipated titles that hasn’t yet been announced. However, word has been spread around the net saying we might get to see the infamous Delta Squad veterans back in action in the year 2010. We will have to wait and see on this one.

 ________________________________________________________________

I will update this topic as I come across more rumors/announcements for titles appearing on the 360 brand. But even while looking at the confirmed titles alone, we can say with certainty have plenty of different games to look forward to in the year 2010.

Live and let game.

Secondo dei rumors molto fondati pare che Microsoft abbia annunciato il rilascio di Alan Wake per Maggio del 2010. Si parlava come data di uscita della primavera generica del 2010 senza specificare mese e giorno.
Attendiamo conferma o smentita di tale notizia.

We’ve already seen one of next year’s major games get a release date today, and if sources close to MCVUK are to be believed, we can now tentatively mark our calendars with regards to another über-anticipated title coming next year.

According to inside sources, Finnish developer Remedy’s long awaited psychological thriller Alan Wake will finally be hitting shelves sometime in May 2010. Additionally, Microsoft is expected to promote the game “in the style of a Hollywood movie.”

Obviously, this info will remain unofficial until Microsoft and Remedy decide to provide 100 percent authentic details about when gamers will finally be able to get their hands on the game that has been “almost here” for (seemingly) a decade. I’m currently waiting to hear back from Microsoft, so I’ll let you know if I hear anything.

De acordo com uma fonte do site MCV, Alan Wake, o jogo de acção e suspense para a Xbox 360 e PC, vai ser lançado no mês de Maio de 2010.

A fonte revelou também que o jogo da Remedy vai ser promovido ao estilo dos grandes filmes de Hollywood e que o mesmo será lançado em todo o mundo ainda antes do final do mês de Maio de 2010.

Para já a Microsoft recusou a comentar aquilo a que diz ser apenas “rumores e especulações.”

Buenas, soy Aviron y esta noche nos vamos a partir el cul… Estoo, entretenernos con la nueva sección de los Viernes.

Ya que tras una semanita de retro gaming, juegos memorables, OSTs y reflexiones qué mejor que seguir con una sección sobre uno de los géneros más interesantes: los Survival Horror… O por lo menos lo era. Sí, ese género que hacía que nos cagáramos en los pantalones está ya junto con las aventuras gráficas en la papelera de reciclaje, esperando su destino. “Te equivocas”, diréis. “El año pasado salió Dead Space, y Alan Wake está de camino…” Mal. Muy mal. ¿Os importa que repasemos por encima los básicos del miedo?

Por un lado tenemos la estructura principal del género de terror: momentos de suspense y el susto que actúa como clímax del momento. El suspense atrae la atención del jugador/espectador mediante algo (un ruido, una sombra en la nada), y le mantiene atento mientras trata de predecir lo que va a ocurrir… Espera que acaba con el susto, sea de los previsibles o de los que intentan pillar desprevenido (Tipo el susto tras el anticlímax de las películas tipo Scream). Ésta es la estructura del terror: sucesiones de suspense y susto. No es mala estructura… Si hablamos de una película. El problema que tienen los juegos de terror últimamente es que olvidan que son juegos y se creen películas de terror.

La razón de que los videojuegos sean la mejor plataforma para una historia de terror es que al contrario que un libro o una película, en las que eres un espectador pasivo (la película continuará tras un proceso de suspense-tensión, tanto como si has bostezado como si te has desmayado de la emoción), el juego te obliga a actuar: esa situación terrorífica va a seguir ahí hasta que hagas algo al respecto. Esta “obligación” de enfrentarse a lo que pase es lo que hace que la experiencia sea increíblemente real, llegando a provocar verdaderos ataques de pánico (¿Principio de Silent Hill 1, alguien?) y el tener que enfrentarse a o que te asusta. Los desarrolladores lo saben, y también saben que gracias a ello pueden escapar del ciclo de suspense-susto e ir más allá: pueden desesperar a los jugadores.

Desesperar es algo muy sencillo: dificultar al jugador sus posibilidades de actuar correctamente ante el miedo. Hay varias formas de desesperar: una forma muy usada y efectiva al mismo tiempo es la de reducir las capacidades del personaje: El héroe de un Survival Horror no debe ser Isaac Clarke, el ingeniero con armadura, herramientas láser capaces de destrozar lo que se ponga por delante y cientos de máquinas expendedoras, sino James Sunderland, el repartidor desentrenado, con chaqueta cutre y una cañería como arma.

Otra forma es hacer que los peligros sean variados y por tanto el jugador siempre esté inseguro. Sí, que el necromorfo que creías muerto volviera para arrancarte las tripas asustaba mucho al principio, pero tras 10 encuentros y los continuos mensajes de “ARRÁNCALES LOS MIEMBROS”, sabías perfectamente cómo actuar… Justo al contrario que en Project Zero, en el que todos los fantasmas actúan y atacan de forma diferente, de forma que nunca sabes a qué atenerte.

También se puede desesperar al jugador con un ambiente desesperanzador en el que se sienta incómodo: zonas extremadamente confusas en las que necesitas el mapa constantemente para no perderte, o muy oscuras, o totalmente esquizofrénicas… directamente con la sensación de estar abandonado en un entorno totalmente hostil: En Dead Space había un par de locos, sí, pero también mantenías conversaciones por radio con gente normal. En Silent Hill, los contactos con humanos eran extremadamente raros, y éstos se comportaban de forma extraña, como si no se dieran cuenta de lo que ocurre a su alrededor.

Este ambiente no vale de nada si el jugador se dedica a correr por el escenario, por lo que los Survival Horror obligan a empaparse del ambiente, obligándote a explorar para conseguir las escasas provisiones que pueda haber y sobretodo pistas para los acertijos que debes resolver para abandonar la zona (Otra costumbre que se está abandonando bastante, por cierto: que un juego haga pensar).

Todas estas características, únicas de los juegos de terror, están desapareciendo para acercarse al mainstream: no algo malo, por supuesto (RE 4 fue probablemente el juego que metió a los Survival Horror en un ataúd y sigue siendo un juegazo, Dead Space es un fantástico juego DE ACCIÓN), pero sigue doliendo que cada día se pierdan más géneros porque deban fusionarse con los shooters para vender algo más que cuatro copias.

Nunca te olvidaremos, Survival Horror.

There are no less than 5 new videos (including those that comprise the entire opening scene) over at Gametrailers. All are offered in HD for Harder and Deeper pleasure. I know that at least one person will be excited about this. Oh, and apparently, it is to “arrive in May” 2010.

It’s been a long time coming and feels like we’ve been promised it every year but Alan Wake is finally coming to Xbox 360 and PC next May in all territories. Still heavily doused with the smell of a rumour, a source close to the game had a sneaky word with MCV about the release and how Alan Wake will be promoted as if it were a Hollywood movie. This seems fitting for the psychological thriller about a writer whose wife is mysteriously missing. I know what you’re thinking – Silent Hill. Maybe even more so after watching the trailer above (from last E3) but there’s also enough there to make it an homage rather than a clone.

Gamers Forcing EA To Return To Old Ways

by dkpatriarch

© 2009 David Hilton

Remember the bad old EA so many of us gamers spent oodles of time criticising?

EA was the big time publisher that made huge amounts of cash off only releasing games from their pre-existing IPs (Intellectual Properties) like Medal Of Honor, Battlefield, and Burnout, their yearly sports ‘updates’, and off movie licenses like James Bond and Lord Of The Rings.

Most of the games were good, and some of them were bad, but what annoyed many of us the most was that they were being safe and not bothering to try and bring creative new gaming experiences, especially to consoles.  They had the money and the clout to try and be fresh and innovative, but they were just sitting back because they could.

Then they changed.  But now huge financial losses and a layoff of 1,500 staff may herald the end of their positive experiment into new IPs and innovation and a return to the old EA business model.

And it’s our fault.

While EA Games were changing their attitude and creating new IP games like Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, Brutal Legend, and The Saboteur, the other big publishers like Microsoft (Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Halo 3, Halo: ODST), Ubisoft (Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, Assassin’s Creed 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Avatar), and Activision (Wolfenstein, Modern Warfare 2, Shrek, Spider Man, X-Men) seem to have adopted EA’s previous philosophy particularly this year after the financial crisis.

Sure there are exceptions like Endwar by Ubisoft and Prototype by Activision, but on the whole the games have been sequels or film tie-ins.

But this problem is not just due to the financial crisis.

As I wrote last year, EA didn’t sell enough of either Dead Space or Mirror’s Edge, despite both games being critically acclaimed by the gaming media.  At the time I argued that their releasing the games during the busy end of year rush was to blame, with new IPs not getting a look in next to the better known titles.

While I still agree with that statement, with some exceptions like the original Assassin’s Creed, a lot of new IPs haven’t done so well this generation next to their sequel or movie tie-in counterparts.  And it hasn’t always been a question of quality.

The top selling Xbox 360 games so far are:

1. Halo 3 (8.1 million)

Big name sequels sell

2. Gears of War (5 million)

3. Gears of War 2 (5 million)

4. Grand Theft Auto IV (4 million)

5. Call Of Duty 4 (3.77 million)

6. Call Of Duty: World At War (3.35 million)

7. Forza 2 (2.6 million)

8. Fable 2 (2.6 million)

9. Halo: ODST (2.5 million)

10. Assassin’s Creed (2.28 million)

Of those titles, only the original Gears of War and Assassin’s Creed were new IPs.  The story is only slightly different for the 360’s major competitor, Sony’s PS3, which has Motorstorm, the original Uncharted, the original Resistance, and Heavenly Sword in their top 1o.

While many gamers demand innovation and new IPs, the reality is that it is a hit or miss risk for the publishers.  Ubisoft last generation released the wacky but highly praised Beyond Good & Evil, only to see the gamers shun it.

And this is why I say it is our fault.  We will happily fork out extra cash over usual retail price for Modern Warfare 2, but Dead Space, despite great reviews and price cuts soon after, was not attractive enough.  Mirror’s Edge, despite giving us the innovation many craved, scared off many gamers who instead forked out for Gears of War 2.

What chance has Brutal Legend got against MW 2?

Brutal Legend, also highly regarded by most critics, as of October 24 apparently has sold 370,710 copies on both consoles.

EA went out on a limb and tried to change its image and corporate strategy to expand its gaming philosophy beyond sequels, sports title rehashes, and movie tie-ins, and did we support that after all our winging?  No.

The situation is that the average gamer has limited funds and may not play as many games as the hardcore.  The casual gamer will buy whatever they know will give them the fix of fun they are after and don’t follow the updates and innovations of new IPs.  They see Mirror’s Edge or Dead Space and think- never heard of it.

The Call of Duty or Halo series on the other hand is not only well known, but is in a genre that is easy to identify and play and their friends are likely to also have it.

This gives big publishers who have the funds to create strong new innovative games less incentive to do so.  Creatively, I’m sure their staff would love to try new things, but the risk outweighs the potential benefits, especially now.  They are more likely to try mini new things within an existing franchise, like the upcoming Splinter Cell: Conviction is.

Which brings me back to EA going back to what they were before.

In January EA CEO John Riccitiello said:

I also believe that there is no inherent conflict between great creativity and achieving strong profitability – I believe they go hand in hand.

This is a business and much of our success will be measured with a calculator – sales, revenue, profit and improving shareholder value. There is also a qualitative aspect of our industry. Making games we can be proud of. Pushing boundaries. I believe the quantitative and the qualitative measures go well together.

However, he now looks to be saying that EA will be concentrating on known franchises, some to be released twice a year:

Electronic Arts has a core slate of games label and sports franchises that we will iterate on a either annual or bi-annual basis. And I think you know what those major titles are – all of them are selling or have sold in their most recent edition 2m units or more.

What does this mean for innovation in the gaming industry?  Well to me it looks like innovation will now be mostly focused within existing franchises and, increasingly, in the casual market where the big publishers expect bigger returns for less cost.

Innovation Future?

So for example Microsoft’s Project Natal and Sony’s motion controller will seem to publishers as a safer investment in finding ways to innovate for a larger gamer and casual market.

Innovation will also come to gamers in smaller form like downloaded Xbox Live Arcade or Sony PSN games, and the even portable gaming like the Iphone and DSi.  Some of these might make a big enough name for themselves to get a bigger budget version for the consoles, but they would be sequels.

If it turns out to be true that EA and the other publishers shy away from new IPs in the future and we are still playing Call of Duty 15, really we only have ourselves to blame.

But then it seems most gamers are quite happy with their sequels, and so perhaps that’s fair enough.  For me, though, new upcoming IP games like Alan Wake and Heavy Rain seem more interesting, even if I’m still staying fairly cautious about them.

What do you think? Comment below.

© 2009 David Hilton

Um Alan Wake war es lange still, der Entwicklungsstand schien wie festgefahren. Man musste beim ambitionierten Mystery-Thriller zum Mitspielen mit dem Schlimmsten rechnen. Doch das Gegenteil ist der Fall. Man hätte das Spiel schon längst rausbringen können, so Entwickler Remedy, habe aber das Optimum erzielen wollen. Auf der E3 in Los Angeles erwachte das Projekt dann auch endgültig aus seinem Hiatus. Seitdem gelangen immer neue Details über das Abenteuer des geplagten Autors Alan an die Öffentlichkeit. Aktueller Höhepunkt dieser Entwicklung ist eine knapp 18minütige Präsentation, die Remedy in Russland zum Besten gab. Die Qualität der Bilder ist nicht rosig, aber bei dem Spiel, drücke ich gerne ein Auge zu.

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