Beyond Good &Evil 2 reconfirmed for next gen consoles

 

Michel "I make lovely games" Ancel has reignited hope for Beyond Good & Evil 2, claiming that it is definitely still in production, but that it will not be coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Instead, it’s pointed at the next generation of consoles.

"We are in an active creation stage and at this moment we are only focusing on the game and making it the best game that we can," he said in a video interview. "I can say that it’s a very ambitious game and we need some tech to achieve that ambition. We focus on the game. We create it first, then we’ll see what can run it. We don’t say 2013 because we don’t know when it will come. We’re working to create a great game and it needs more tech."

Ancel has said in the past not to expect the game this generation, but Ubisoft’s stony silence on anything regarding the sequel has made its existence doubtful in any situation. It’s nice to know the game’s still on the cards, though I’ll believe in it when I can write a story about the game without using images from the same old teaser trailer we saw ten thousand years ago.

[via NeoGAF]

8 Serious Sam games for under $30.

Rich Knuckles is back to celebrate the launch of the Serious Sam Complete Pack on Steam. Let him take you through the Serious Sam series and then run over to Steam and grab all Serious Sam games while they are 66% off! 

PURCHASE THIS SO HARD: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/13606/

Can’t beat that price if you like old school First Person shooters.

Sony Network getting a name change?

Yep, looks like the rumors are true.  According to many sources around the Internet Sony will be changing the name of the PSN (PlayStation Network) to SEN, the Sony Entertainment network Wednesday (02/8/12) 

According to one Sony rep: "The goal is for there to be one networked log-in for all Sony services, changing the name ‘PlayStation Network account’ to ‘Sony Entertainment Network account’ helps clarify the unity between PSN and other Sony Entertainment Network services." However, the change does not apply to the PSP.

This tells me a few things:  1) The PSP is being phased out.  2) the PS4 might be shifting more to the whole entertainment package the PS3 was boasted to have be.  and 3) So now when Anonymous hacks Sony again, now they can get ALL the peoples information and not just a piece of it.

Holy Poop! GamePro is shut down after 22 years!

by Tom Curtis
Just four months after refocusing into a quarterly format, GamePro magazine announced that it will cease publication indefinitely.
A spokesperson from GamePro parent company IDG told IndustryGamers that the magazine and corresponding website weren’t pulling in enough ad revenue, and the magazine’s November issue will be its final release.

GamePro’s website notes that on December 5, the site will redirect to PCWorld.com, which will offer "gaming news, reviews, and how-tos from the PCWorld team."

IDG said that layoffs will coincide with the magazine’s closure, but did not mention how many employees will be affected.

With the magazine and website no longer in operation, IDG says GamePro Media is "refocusing its US business exclusively on its growing custom publishing and solutions business," leaving PCWorld as the company’s leading video game publication, while GamePro Media will focus on creating specialized content for vendors and events such as E3.

According to IndustryGamers, this restructuring was led by IDG’s Mike Kisseberth, who oversees the company’s Consumer and Small Business media group, which includes PCWorld, Macworld, and GamePro Media.

Earlier this year, Gamasutra spoke to GamePro Media’s VP of content, Julian Rignall, who expressed concerns over the state of the print market in the US: "It’s not like Europe where there’s a newsstand on every corner," Rignall said. "Magazine distribution has always been a huge challenge in America. You pay huge fees to get it on the newsstand, distribution’s kind of screwed up. It’s never been a particularly great business, and in this day and age, it’s even worse."

Despite acknowledging the risks involved with print media, he added, "It sounds really boastful, but what we want to do is make the last great video game magazine," he says. "Let’s go out in style, let’s make something that celebrates what print does really well."

[SOURCE]

Appeals court affirms Richard Garriott’s lawsuit win against NCsoft

by Justin Olivetti  on Oct 25th 2011 11:30AM

MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous

0

Ever since Richard Garriott won his lawsuit against former employer NCsoft last year, the legal process has been grinding on ever since to hash out the details. Today we’ve learned that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the win of almost $32 million in favor of Garriott.

The lawsuit came about after NCsoft fired Garriott in 2008 and then marked his departure as “voluntary,” causing his stock options to expire instead of remaining intact through the end of his 2011 contract. In 2010 a court found NCsoft to have breached its contract, and ordered the company to pay $28 million plus interest and attorney fees to Garriott and his legal team. This recent ruling affirms that outcome and paves the path for Garriott to be compensated.

In the ruling, the 5th Circuit Court writes, “It would be unjust to allow NCsoft to sit back during trial, observe Garriott’s litigation strategy, and then demand a new trial on damages when it dislikes the verdict.”

[Source: Androvett Legal Media press release]

SOE accounts hacked.. again.

Hackers compromise 33,000 SOE accounts

by Justin Olivetti  on Oct 12th 2011 7:00AM

MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous

Sony’s hacking woes continue today, as intruders today have attempted — and, in some cases, succeeded — to access the giant corporation’s accounts. Chief Information Security Officer Philip Reitingerposted a letter on several SOE forums informing players that their accounts may have been compromised.

The good news is that less than 0.1% of Sony’s entire playerbase has been affected. The bad news is that that leaves around 33,000 SOE players — in addition to Sony Entertainment Network and PlayStation Network customers — whose accounts were hacked. Following the intrusion, Sony temporarily locked the accounts and is investigating the situation.

"Only a small fraction of these 93,000 accounts showed additional activity prior to being locked," Reitinger said. He assured customers that credit card numbers were not leaked and that any purchases made during this intrusion will be restored. SOE customers with locked accounts will receive an email with instructions on how to validate their credentials and restore their service.

[source]

How PS3 users can protect their rights

If you want to carry on using your PS3 online, you’ll have to give up some important legal rights — unless you read the small print and take action. 

One of the perhaps inevitable outcomes of April’s Playstation Network hacking scandal, and Sony’s delays in revealing that personal data had been compromised, is that several class action lawsuits have been filed. For those not familiar with the concept, class action is a request that, if granted by a court, means that a case can have a single lead plaintiff but anyone held to be in similar circumstances can be attached without having to launch their own action. If the plaintiff prevails, those attached can get damages on the same basis. It’s a set-up that corporations are very wary of as it means people are not deterred from the costs and hassle of legal action, and the potential payouts can add up to a fortune.

Sony has decided it wants to head off any future class action lawsuits by simply making legal action out of the question. To that end it’s demanding all users agree to a new condition stating: 

If you have a Dispute with any Sony Entity or any of a Sony Entity’s officers, directors, employees and agents that cannot be resolved through negotiation within the time frame described in the “Notice of Dispute” clause below. Other than those matters listed in the Exclusions from Arbitration clause, you and the Sony Entity that you have a Dispute with agree to seek resolution of the Dispute only through arbitration of that Dispute in accordance with the terms of this Section 15, and not litigate any Dispute in court. Arbitration means that the Dispute will be resolved by a neutral arbitrator instead of in a court by a judge or jury.

In other words, if you think Sony’s breached your contract or otherwise screwed you over, you must go to arbitration: by agreeing the new conditions you give up your right to go to court.

There are several key limitations. It appears the new conditions are only being used in Canada and the US. There’s potential for a legal challenge if anyone is able to successfully argue that online play is part of the deal when you buy a PS3 (meaning you have the right to continue using the service under the existing terms and conditions, though you’d give up the right to new features.) And Sony’s wide-ranging definition of a “Dispute” likely wouldn’t hold up: for example, it attempts to exempt itself from court action over breaches of criminal law such as fraud.

Customers must tick to agree the new conditions before continuing to use the service, but there is a 30 day opt out period. While you’d think that a fair system would mean that if you can click to agree, you can click to withdraw your agreement, but it’s not that simple. Instead you must mail a letter to SNEI, 6080 Center Drive, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90045, marked “Attn: Legal Department/Arbitration.” The letter has to contain your name and address, PSN account number, and confirmation that you do not agree to resolve all disputes via arbitration.

If you want to take advantage of this option, there’s a template letter available on Google Docs.

[SOURCE]

———————–

Or you could just get an Xbox 360. 

 

GameStop doesn’t like OnLive.

So it’s been possibly confirmed that GameStop employees, by direction of the home office, are opening the boxes of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and removing the free OnLive code that has been placed in the packaging because OnLive is a competing online service.

I bet GameStop won’t even give me a discount price on the game even though it’s their policy that all open box items are used.   like I’d buy ANYTHING from GameStop anyway. I don’t even trust them for strategy guides, and now I can’t trust them with software.

╭∩╮(°_°)╭∩╮ Gamestop!

==========================

08/25/2011 – Update: [Source]
Now an internal email has been leaked revealing orders to not only pull all PC copies of Human Revolution from shelves, but that they will ultimately be returned to Square Enix. Why? Because OnLive competes with GameStop’s own yet-to-be-released streaming service.

lovely…

EA’s Origin may be glorified Spyware…

In case you hadn’t heard already, Electronic Arts’ Origin is more than just a petty attempt to undermine Steam. It’s an insidious petty attempt to undermine Steam. The service has upset gamers since it installs Spyware, allowing EA to dig around in your hard drive as explicitly stated in the terms of service.  The EULA says that EA can identify your computer, operating system, installed/uninstalled software/hardware, and use that information for marketing purposes while merrily sharing it with third party companies. It ‘s all fairly disgusting, and there’s no opt-out offer. If you don’t want EA to know everything about you and pass the information along, your only recourse is to not install Origin — which will mean you can’t play Battlefield 3 on PC at all…

via EA’s Origin may be glorified Spyware, causes mass upset -Destructoid.

———————

Wow..  Really EA?   Damn does your marketing department have got balls and your programming team must have been outsourced…    WTF is this?  You, EA, provide products we buy, and that is where our relationship ends.  You can ASK to see my system specs in order to see what the ‘normal’ PC is out there but you don’t need to know what I have installed.  Nor can you make money off MY information with out ME getting a cut of it.

You can pay me for my personal information, otherwise  ╭∩╮(°_°)╭∩╮

Notch throws down the gauntlet at Bethesda…

Notch, the man behind Minecraft, has issued a challenge to Bethesda Softworks over Mojang’s newest game in the works called ‘Scrolls’.   Seems that Bethesda lawyers think that’s the ‘Scrolls’ game which is a trading card type of game is just way to much like a first person RPG with at least 4 volumes in the series and people will get confused that someone might but scrolls thinking it’s ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ or the other way around.

I think they just want  ‘Scrolls.com’.. anyway…

Notch response to this silliness?  Challenge Bethesda to a three on three online battle in Quake 3.    If they win, Bethesda will drop the law suit.   If they lose they will change the name of the game.

This should be fun to watch..

===========================

08/19/11
Notch is not thinking that perhaps it was a bit silly.  Either way.. it’s good PR.   I”m thinking though that he should have used like UT3, and not Quake.