recent news

[Bladerunner]

Recent Gaming News:

For a relatively small developer, id Software made a ton of announcements at last weekend's annual QuakeCon event. We have already talked a lot about their brand new game Rage and their new id Tech 5 game engine but now we have more info about all the other announcements id made at the convention based on an extensive chat with id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead and design director Tim Willits.

Up to this point, id Software has remained small with only one internal development team of about 30 or so people on board at any one time. Now id is actually expanding extensively for the first time as it grows its staff to create a second dev internal team. Hollenshead told us that while a few people already at id will be moved to the second team, they will be hiring new people as well. And what will that second team be doing? Well, how about a free version of Quake 3 Arena? According to Willits, id's master programmer John Carmack will be creating a web browser interface that will allow people to basically download and play the game from any computer. "You set up the servers and the config and stuff, then launch the web browser and you're playing," Willits told us. Hollenshead added that the game will have some kind of advertiser support although it's pretty vague as to how that will work.

John Carmark announcements at QuakeCon:

id Software's next title will be named "Rage". It will be a post-apocalyptic style FPS/racing game. The game will most likely occupy 2 DVDs or 1 Blueray disc.

id had originally been working on a title codenamed Darkness, an island survival horror game but then decided against the game. It was under development for over a year until work was halted.

They hope to have a QUAKE ARENA style game made using the new id Tech5 engine.

Carmack very much enjoys fun, simple games, such as QUAKE3. He feels overwhelmed by games such as Enemy Territory: QuakeWars.

A QUAKE Arcade game will be coming to the XBOX360.

Quake0, a free web-based version of Quake3 is currently in development. The title will be supported by advertising.

Along with porting Orcs and Elves to the DS, Carmack hopes to have a QUAKE ARENA game with a 2 1/2D graphics engine also ported to the DS. He wants the game to be enjoyable for casual gamers and pros alike, allowing them to play for long periods of time.

id Software has hired a second team of developers to work on the "Quake 0" title along with other projects.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars will be released on October 2nd, 2007.

A Wolfenstein movie is currently in development.

All id Software titles will be available on Steam

This year we announced earlier than ever, the dates of next year's QuakeCon. The 13th Annual QuakeCon, hosted once again at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX, will take place:

July 31st - August 3, 2008

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Halo 3 Has Over 1 Million Pre-Orders:

This press release announces that Bungie and Microsoft's upcoming Xbox 360 shooter Halo 3 has already generated over 1 million pre-orders before its scheduled Sept. 25 launch. The expensive Legendary Edition of the game is likely to be sold out before the game's release, according to the press release. Microsoft also announced a number of Halo 3 tie-in products, including a Mountain Dew Game Fuel soft drink, three "Halo 3"-branded collectible Slurpee cups from 7-Eleven, and Pontiac Gamers Garage events in select location where people can play the game before its release.


2K Announces BioShock™ has Gone Gold:

Genetically enhanced first-person shooter hits stores on August 21

Players enter the game as a castaway in Rapture, an underwater utopia torn apart by civil war. Caught between powerful forces and hunted down by genetically modified "splicers" and deadly security systems, players have to come to grips with a dangerous and mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters. With multiple avenues for surmounting challenges on both a moral and tactical level, no encounter ever plays out the same and no two gamers will play BioShock the same way.


Guild Wars: Eye Of The North Preview:

The official Guild Wars web site has posted up details on the forthcoming Guild Wars: Eye Of The North preview event. The event will be held on Aug. 24-27 and will allow people to check out the upcoming expansion pack to the ArenaNet-NCSoft fantasy action-RPG before its official released at the end of August. You will have to pre-order the expansion to check out the preview event. Any experience points or loot you gather in the preview will be waiting you when the game officially launches.

http://www.guildwars.com/events/ingame/gwen-sneakpeek/


Xbox 360 Prices Go Down In Canada Wednesday:

The price cut for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console isn't just for the US. The official Xbox web site has revealed that the price cut will come to Canada as well. Both the Core and Premium consoles get a $100 Canadian price cut ($299.99 and $399.99 respectively) while the Elite gets a $50 Canadian price cut to $499.99. The Xbox Halo 3 Special Edition will be priced at $449.99 in Canada.


Top 10 Best Selling PC Games For July 28.

The NPD Group has released the latest list of the top 10 best selling PC games in the US, this time for the week ending July 28.

1. Civilization IV: Beyond The Sword -2K Games
2. World Of Warcraft - Blizzard
3. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade - Blizzard
4.The Sims 2 Deluxe - Electronic Arts
5. The Sims 2 H&M Fashion Stuff - Electronic Arts
6. The Sims 2 Seasons - Electronic Arts
7. Nancy Drew: The White Wolf Of Icicle Creek - Her Interactive
8. Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix - Electronic Arts
9. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars - Electronic Arts
10. Transformers: The Game- Activision


Electronic Arts and Hasbro Enter Blood Pact: (imagine Monopoly by EA)



Electronic Arts and Hasbro have entered into a licensing agreement to create electronic versions of HasbroÂ’s games, which include Monopoly, Scrabble and Yahtzee. Electronic Arts will hold worldwide rights to create digital games for electronic devices including mobile telephones and over the Internet through 2013. The games are slated to start launching in 2008.

http://news.filefront.com/


Age of Conan Delayed:

WhatÂ’s with all the delays? HereÂ’s yet another game you were looking forward to which wonÂ’t be coming out anytime soon.

Funcom just released a new release date for the game — March of 2008. But maybe this is a good thing.




Omni-Directional Treadmill Could Add Realistic Movement to Virtual Reality:

A company called Virtual Space Devices, Inc. has been developing an omni-directional treadmill for the past 10 years in conjunction with the U.S. Army. It is essentially a flat surface that allows a person to walk or run in any direction without physically changing positions. The company plans to integrate it with a total immersion headset to construct a virtual world for a person to move about freely within. Just the video above looks impressive. The man demonstrating the device rarely has to break pace to let it catch up with him. If the technology continues like this, we could have the option of playing an MMO by physically walking around the landscape. That might dissolve the stereotype of the overweight, lazy gamer. Hopefully you wonÂ’t need the safety harness every time you use it though.

Hellgate: London Video:

ThereÂ’s a new video up for FlagshipÂ’s Hellgate: London on the Scandinavian site Game reactor. Be forewarned, when I first caught this video, it opened with a zany clapping montage of some familiar industry faces. Just wait for it. You will be rewarded.

Bill Roper, President of Flagship Studios, narrates the piece. The video covers the settings and demons of Hellgate: London as well as the three types of characters; the Templars, the Cabalists, and the Hunters. The graphics are stunning. I really love the armor design.

http://www.gamereactor.se/grtv/player/popup.php?id=1153




New Witcher screenshot:

[FATAL]

Originally Posted by Bladerunner

Electronic Arts and Hasbro have entered into a licensing agreement to create electronic versions of Hasbro’s games, which include Monopoly, Scrabble and Yahtzee. Electronic Arts will hold worldwide rights to create digital games for electronic devices including mobile telephones and over the Internet through 2013. The games are slated to start launching in 2008.

It's like knowing that you're going to get buttraped, but there's nothing you can do about it.

[blood imp]

Witcher looks pretty interesting, and of course I'm anticipating Hellgate: London.

[CrazedImp]

Oh yay, EA signed another deal. Time for them to leech quick cash off of another franchise.

[FATAL]

Monopoly - import your favourite sims characters to work in your entreprise! Feel the joy flowing through you as you watch your little sims take Monopoly to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!

ps. if you name your company EA at the start of the game, you can buy all your competitors at turn 10.

EA - we put the monopoly into monopoly.