Infinity Ward has revealed new details surrounding the canine companion in Call of Duty: Ghosts, including his name: Riley.
Riley in action.
Speaking during a Call of Duty: Ghosts pre-E3 event, Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin said that the dog in Call of Duty: Ghosts was named as a homage to Modern Warfare 2's Simon "Ghost" Riley.
Two single-player levels were also shown, "Into the Deep" and "No Man's Land." The former is an underwater mission featuring combat, and the latter took place in a forest area. Riley takes a significant role in the second level, with the player able to control the dog in a fashion similar to the land drones in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Infinity Ward said that the hi-tech pooch is equipped with a flip-up camera, an earpiece, and two vibrating devices.
Rubin added that the team at Infinity Ward was "blown away" to the initial response to Riley on social media after Microsoft's Xbox One reveal event last month.
Footage of the Call of Duty: Ghosts single-player campaign, including Riley, can currently be found on CallofDuty.com.
Call of Duty: Ghosts will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on November 5. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions will follow.
Namco Bandai has unveiled Tekken Revolution for the PlayStation 3.
Unveiled via GameSpot's E3 2013 preview (at 19:30), the free-to-play fighter will be released on June 11. Tekken Revolution will allow players to spar against AI players in its Arcade Mode and human rivals in online ranked and non-ranked matches.
For the first time in the Tekken series, individual characters are now able to be specifically upgraded, with each character possessing Strength, Endurance, and Vigor attributes. Namco Bandai says the game will also feature new Special Arts and Critical Arts moves.
Specifics on additional characters, or how microtransactions could affect the free-to-play title, were not disclosed.
Tekken Revolution's initial roster of eight characters will include King, Paul, Lili, Marshall Law, Asuka, Steve, Alisa, and Lars.
The last game in the Tekken series, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2012.
Metal Gear publisher Konami has filed a trademark application for a new game called "Contra Run and Gun."
The trademark application--spotted by AllGamesBeta--was filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on June 4.
It specifically covers,"Video game software; video game programs; computer game software; computer game programs; electronic game programs."
Konami first teased a new Contra game in June 2011, closing out its pre-E3 2011 press conference with a teaser logo (above right) and the words: "They're coming."
The most recent entry in the Contra series was 2011's Hard Corps: Uprising, a prequel to the Sega Genesis game Contra: Hard Corps.
E3 2013 takes place June 11-13 in Los Angeles. For more on E3, check out GameSpot's extended preview of the trade show below.
The Plants vs. Zombies franchise could be expanding into a new genre.
Image credit: Gamekyo
A photo of promotional material published by Gamekyo (via Polygon) reveals Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, reportedly a new game from PopCap Games and Electronic Arts.
The photo appears to have been taken inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, the site of this week's 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo.
In addition, a "reliable" source has told Kotaku that Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare is an all-new shooter based on the popular tower defense-style game.
Adding credence to the leak, www.pvzgardenwarfare.com currently redirects to PopCap's website. EA has previously teased shooter-related spin-offs, including "Grass Effect" and "Dead Face," parodies of the Mass Effect and Dead Space franchises.
Plants vs. Zombies 2 launches July 18 exclusively for iOS devices.
E3 2013 takes place June 11-13 in Los Angeles, though EA's media briefing is slated for Monday, June 10 at 1 p.m. PDT. GameSpot will be on-hand at the event.
For more on E3, check out GameSpot's extended preview of the trade show below.
Retail giant Best Buy is getting rid of its 8GB Wii U stock, according to an internal company flier sent to Kotaku.
The memo states that "stores should pull all new in-box units and send them back" on June 10-11. "Store should expect to see more Wii U deluxe units arriving in the coming weeks."
The 8GB Wii U retails for $300, while the 32GB Deluxe model sells for $350.
Earlier this week, a similar memo from GameStop suggested the 8GB Wii U model was being discontinued at the retailer. Nintendo labeled the report a "misperception" of the issue, saying stock was only being "rebalanced."
Gamers can expect to learn more about Nintendo's Wii U plans this week at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo, when the company holds a Nintendo Direct on June 11 at 7 a.m. PDT.
Nintendo had sold 3.45 million Wii U units globally as of March 31, 2013, with fewer than 400,000 sold in the first three months of 2013.
After promising legal action against Ubisoft following his termination from the company last month, Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets has sued the French publisher.
La Presse (via Game Informer) has obtained a filing today that states Désilets is suing Ubisoft for $400,000 and the rights to purchase 1666: Amsterdam.
As part of an agreement with former publisher THQ, Désilets was reportedly given full creative control of the game. However, when Ubisoft purchased the the project--and the studio itself--in January, this control was supposedly taken away, leading to the fallout.
An Ubisoft representative confirmed with Game Informer that the company has received Désilets' "legal request" and said that it is currently evaluating options about how to respond.
"As stated before, the acquisition of THQ Montréal in January allowed Ubisoft to welcome 170 experienced developers to our existing and renowned workforce. Unfortunately, the discussions between Patrice Désilets and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrices and the studios visions were inconclusive," the statement reads. "We received Patrices legal request and we will take the time needed to evaluate our options. We will make no further comment at this point."
Desilets claimed last month that Ubisoft fired him without merit. In a statement sent to media, he alleged wrongdoing on the part of Ubisoft and said he planned to fight back.
"This was not my decision," he added. "Ubisoft's actions are baseless and without merit. I intend to fight Ubisoft vigorously for my rights, for my team and for my game."
Ubisoft also reportedly fired producer Jean-François Boivin.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed last month during a financial call that development on 1666 had been suspended.
"After more than two months of discussions with [Desilets], we couldn't align our vision both on project development and team management," Guillemot said. "So consequently our collaboration has ended, and we have suspended 1666 for an undisclosed period of time."
"Assassin's Creed creator sues Ubisoft" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Sat, 08 Jun 2013 11:13:26 -0700
Source: GameSpot.com
The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has responded to a report about the negative working conditions of Florida-based development studio Trendy Entertainment, the team responsible for Dungeon Defenders and currently working on its sequel.
Kotaku's original report chronicles the complaints of nine anonymous workers at the studio, who allege a workplace culture of gender discrimination, excessive overtime, late payment of wages, and a derivative environment obsessed with copying hit MOBA League of Legends.
Much of the complaints are aimed squarely at studio president Jeremy Stieglitz. One anonymous employee claimed that "interesting, creative ideas [were] thrown by the wayside because 'we don't have time,' or 'Does League [of Legends] do it? No?' Then it's a waste of time, we need to do what League does."
Kate Edwards, executive director of the IGDA, has said that the association has no current knowledge of the claims but says that such actions are "unacceptable" if true.
While we have no direct knowledge of the situation," said Edwards in a statement to GameSpot, "if the media reports on the working conditions at Trendy Entertainment are accurate, the IGDAs stance on this is very clear. We know, as has been well documented, that extensive overtime is not only ineffective from the point of view of productivity, but it is also destructive to employee morale. Studios engaging in excessive overtime injure the reputation of the entire game industry, preventing top talent from entering and remaining in game development, and harming the goodwill of other studios that work rigorously to ensure quality of life for their developers."
One Trendy Entertainment employee in particular claims he was too terrified to ask for time off to attend the funeral of a cousin. "I was so afraid of losing my job that I didn't go to his funeral," said the employee to Kotaku. "It was probably one of my lowest points," they added.
Edwards also adds that gender discrimination is damaging in the workplace. "Further we believe that gender discrimination of any type has no place in the workplace and is completely unacceptable. As with excessive overtime, creating an environment that is hostile or discriminatory against anyone whether via race, gender, sexual orientation or other means only further reduces morale and creates an atmosphere that can hinder the successful retention of talent and creation of games that appeal to a wide variety of players.
"The IGDA provides resources, education and information to individual developers and their employers who wish to create a better working environment for their employees. From our 2004 whitepaper to our Code of Ethics adopted in 2009 to our current work coordinating our resources with academics studying and working to help bring light and solutions to this issue, we continue to be extremely concerned about addressing these types of issues for the developer community. We believe that when everyone from management down is educated and aware of the impact poor quality of life and a lack of diversity provides, they will make the choices that are in everyones best interest.
Update: Warner Bros. has confirmed that the Scorpion DLC for Injustice will be released on June 11.
Original story: DC Comics brawler Injustice: Gods Among Us will be getting new DLC in the form of Mortal Kombat poster boy Scorpion, Warner Bros. has announced.
NetherRealm, who developed Injustice alongside the most recent Mortal Kombat, has employed iconic comic artist Jim Lee to create the Injustice interpretation of the character.
No firm release date was given for the DLC, but Scorpion will be released for $4.99/£3.99 on PlayStation Network and 400 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360. Warner Bros said earlier in the year that Injustice DLC would be released on the Wii U in the summer.
Scorpion is a resurrected ninja and has appeared in every main Mortal Kombat game since the series' inception in 1992. He has also fought against DC Comics characters before in 2008's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
Injustice: Gods Among Us was released earlier this year, and received a score of 7.0 in its GameSpot review. Scorpion follows Batgirl and Lobo as DLC characters for the game.
PlayStation 4 launch racer DriveClub will be playable at E3 2013, developer Evolution Studios has revealed on Twitter.
The next game from the MotorStorm developers was unveiled alongside the PlayStation 4 in February, with Evolution Studios saying it was the game the team had wanted to make for years.
Few details of the game have transpired since its original announcement, but in a recent developer diary game director Col Rodgers said DriveClub wasn't aiming to be a realistic simulation racer like Gran Turismo 6 or Forza Motorsport 5.
"This isn't a hardcore racer," said Rodgers, "it's not a simulation in any way, shape or form. It's about having fun in cars on very fast roads."
E3 2013 will take place in Los Angeles from June 11 to 13, with Sony holding its press conference on Monday June 10 at 6pm PT. GameSpot will be in attendance.
[UPDATE] GameStop shares closed today up 6.15 percent (+2.13) to $36.75
The original story follows below
Microsoft's recent announcement that decisions about secondhand Xbox One games will be left up to publishers has not hurt GameStop's share value. Instead, the opposite has proven true.
In morning trading, GameStop shares are up more than 7 percent to $37.10 at press time.
Only one publisher--Fallout studio Bethesda--has responded to GameSpot's request for comment regarding whether or not they will allow used Xbox One games or impose an activation fee.
"We haven't had time to fully understand and evaluate their policy," a company representative said.
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter released a note on Microsoft's recently announced Xbox One policy today, stating he does not believe publishers will block used games or impose activation fees.
"In our view, any publisher that disables used gaming risks a backlash or boycott of its titles by gamers, negatively impacting sales," he said.
Describing potential activation fees, Pachter said these are similarly unlikely.
"They would face a huge backlash" he said. "They wanted manufacturers to do the dirty work, and both refused."
According to Pachter, GameStop stands to be hurt the most not from the impact of potential used games restrictions, but the recent revelation that Xbox One games will be available digitally on day-one.
"We believe that this disclosure has the greatest potential to negatively impact GameStops business, as GameStop is unlikely to participate directly in these digital sales," he said.
At the same time, though, Pachter said it is in the best interests of Microsoft and publishers to integrate GameStop's PowerUp Rewards currency into digital transactions in some manner, thus giving the retailer a cut.
The Xbox One launches later this year.
Microsoft announced yesterday that decisions about allowing used Xbox One games would be left up to publishers. Though the power is in their hands, the companies behind Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto, among others, aren't yet ready to discuss what plans they have for the secondhand market.
GameSpot contacted major publishers including Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Capcom, Bethesda, Warner Bros., Take-Two, Ubisoft, and Konami about their stance on Xbox One used games and did not receive a definitive stance from any company.
Bethesda said, "We haven't had time to fully understand and evaluate their policy." Sega chimed in with, "We are currently discussing within Sega policies relating to the new generation of consoles. As soon as these have been agreed upon with all concerned partners we will make the information public."
A Capcom representative said, "At present Capcom has not announced any titles for Xbox One so any decision regarding allowing trade-ins or loaning games has not been determined."
A representative for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment said it is unlikely that the company has an official statement, while Grand Theft Auto parent publisher Take-Two Interactive declined to comment.
Konami said, "We have nothing official to share at this time."
Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher Ubisoft added in, "We're just now getting more information about Microsoft's plan and starting to examine what it means for our games. We don't have anything new to share right now, but rest assured we'll continue to focus on providing the best experience for our customers no matter how or where they buy our games."
At press time, Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts had not responded to requests for comment.
Though publishers are remaining quiet on plans for secondhand Xbox One games, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has been outspoken. In a note to investors today, the analyst said publisher are not likely to block used Xbox One games or require an activation fee.
"In our view, any publisher that disables used gaming risks a backlash or boycott of its titles by gamers, negatively impacting sales," he said.
The uncertainty surrounding Xbox One used games has not hurt retailer GameStop. The company's share value climbed more than 7 percent today.
The Xbox One launches later this year.
Rivals Microsoft and Sony will compete for the home console market this holiday with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but for now, the two companies are speaking words of kindness to each other.
Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb spoke out on Twitter today to praise Sony and Naughty Dog on the company's new game, The Last of Us.
"Congrats to the team on shipping #TheLastOfUs," he wrote. "Looks like a solid game + nice to see it getting recognized in the reviews."
Sony executive Scott Rohde, who heads up Sony Worldwide Studios America, responded by thanking Hryb for his comments.
"Thanks!," Rohde said. "The team at @Naughty_Dog has crafted something very special. We couldn't be more proud."
The Last of Us launches June 14 across the world. Reviews for the game were published earlier this week. Its Metascore on GameSpot sister site Metacritic stands at 96, making it the highest rated game of 2013 so far, surpassing BioShock Infinite.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for PC will launch "soon," Konami announced today. Hideo Kojima first revealed the port last month during a podcast.
Developed by Kojima Productions and Platinum Games, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for PC is described as the "full game." It will run at 60 frames-per-second on PC, though no other PC-specific features were announced.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance launched for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in February. Platinum Games previously stated that it is interested in making games for the PC and publishing them through Valve's Steam downloadable games service.
Square Enix has said that Nosgoth, which popped up last month in AMD and Steam databases, is a multiplayer-focused game currently in active development--but that gamers shouldn't expect to be seeing it anytime soon.
"We're aware that the community has been actively discussing rumours about a game currently in development called Nosgoth," said a Square Enix representative to Eurogamer, "after it was referenced in AMD's Crossfire Application Profile and the Steam database last week."
"While we can confirm that this game exists, is in active development, and is set in the same universe as the Legacy of Kain games, it's not a traditional or even single-player LoK experience."
"Given the AMD and Steam leaks, it feels weird to have a bunch of info out there and we don't want the community to get the wrong idea, especially as the game won't be at this year's E3."
Square Enix confirmed that Nosgoth is not being developed by long-time series developer Crystal Dynamics, who most recently worked on this year's Tomb Raider reboot. Nosgoth is also a "separate branch" to the Blood Omen and Soul Reaver franchises.
"We can also tell you that Nosgoth is not being developed by Crystal Dynamics, nor are they working on a Legacy of Kain game right now and while our game is set in the world of Nosgoth, it's very much on a separate branch to both the Soul Reaver and Blood Omen series."
"Sorry to be so cagey," continued the Square Enix representative. "There will be an official announcement in due course when we'll reveal Nosgoth properly, so we can't go into tons of detail just at the moment. Everyone at Square Enix is really excited by the game and we're all looking forward to lifting the veil of secrecy in the future."
Last year it was rumoured that Crystal Dynamics was looking to reboot the Soul Reaver franchise.
The Last of Us universe is "ripe for more stories," Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann has told the PlayStation Blog. The game ships next week exclusively on PlayStation 3 and even though it will wrap up the Joel and Ellie narrative, Druckmann said there's opportunity to tell more stories within the gameworld.
"I think the world is ripe for more stories, but as far as the journey Joel and Ellie goes on it ends with this game," Druckmann said. "We were very conscious that we didn't want to leave this story dangling. If we never do a sequel we're OK with it, because we told the story we needed to tell."
Druckmann explained that Naughty Dog spent a lot of time creating the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us, complete with its disease and how the world has reacted to it. Much of this information has stayed in the background, and that was intentional, Druckmann said.
"But then a lot of that stuff is in the background and were very conscious of keeping it there. Because thats not what the story is about," he said. It's about these two characters and the journey they go on."
The Last of Us launches June 14 across the world. Reviews for the game were published earlier this week. Its Metascore on GameSpot sister site Metacritic stands at 96, making it the highest rated game of 2013 so far, surpassing BioShock Infinite.
Fable Anniversary is not in development for PC, Lionhead Studios confirmed today.
The studio said in a new FAQ that it has received "lots" of requests for a PC version, but the game is only in development for Xbox 360 right now.
"We're not ruling out a PC version, however, nothing is in development at this time," Lionhead said.
Lionhead also confirmed various updates that Fable Anniversary will see over the 2004 original role-playing game. First, the game will have an entirely new lighting system, powered by the Unreal engine.
In addition, the game will boast all-new character models, textures, and materials, as well as new facial and cutscene animations. It will also feature widescreen support and remastered audio for surround sound setups.
All content found in Fable and its Lost Chapters expansion will be included in Fable Anniversary, though Lionhead said no additional quests or content will be added to the new version.
The company declined to give a price for Fable Anniversary, though if history serves as precedent, gamers won't have to pay full price. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, another high definition update from Microsoft, debuted at $40 in 2011.
2013 will be a "big year" not only for Activision Publishing, but the industry at large.
That's according to Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, who said in a statement today that the upcoming console transition has gamers geared up for the future.
"There's a console transition coming and naturally, everyone wants to see what new possibilities that will unleash in the games," Hirshberg said. "We remain laser focused on delivering the things we know our gamers care about most: great gameplay, immersive worlds, and cool innovations."
Hirshberg's comments came as part of an announcement of Activision's 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo slate, which includes Call of Duty: Ghosts, Destiny, and Skylanders: Swap Force.
The company also today revealed pricing information for Skylands: Swap Force. The game's starter pack will retail for $75, while core characters will be available at $10 each. New Swap Force toys can be purchased for $15.
The game launches in North America on October 13, followed by releases in Australia on October 16, and Europe on October 18.
[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, a Sega representative told GameSpot that it is not prepared to comment on its Xbox One secondhand games stance.
"I am not sure we're even prepared for a comment as we haven't even announced any next-gen titles yet. Stay tuned," a company representative said.
The original story follows below
As Microsoft announced yesterday, whether or not secondhand Xbox One games will be allowed--and if an activation fee will be required--will be left up to individual publishers.
GameSpot has contacted a host of publishers asking them to clarify their stance on the matter, but thus far only Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda has responded.
"We haven't had time to fully understand and evaluate their policy," a company representative said.
GameSpot also reached out to major publishers including Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Capcom, Warner Bros., Take-Two, Ubisoft, and Konami. Responses will be added here if they are provided.
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter does not believe publishers will completely block Xbox One used games due to the possibility of significant gamer backlash or boycotts.
At the same time, Pachter said some publishers may move to block Xbox One used games for a certain period of time after launch in an effort to avoid cannibalization of new game sales.
This period of time was not specified, though Grand Theft Auto parent publisher Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said last month that after eight weeks, publishers don't care much about used game sales.
"If you can keep the game in consumer's hands for 8 weeks, you almost don't care anymore about used game sales because it's the first 8 weeks that really nail you," he said at the time.
The Xbox One launches later this year.
Zombie Studios' psychological horror game Daylight will launch on PC and PlayStation 4 in early 2014, publisher Atlus announced today.
Daylight is powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4. In the game, players wake up in an abandoned hospital and only have their cell phone for illumination.
The game features procedurally generated environments, meaning "no two experiences are the same," according to Zombie Studios.
Daylight is not the only game from Zombie Studios headed to PS4. The company's free-to-play shooter Blacklight: Retribution is coming to the system as the first game from Sony's Pub Fund for the PS4.
Microsoft yesterday clarified the Xbox One's stance on used games, saying decisions will be left up to publishers concerning whether such games will be allowed and if a fee is to be required.
In a note to investors today, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said the majority of publishers will not block used games, at least in the system's first few yeas.
"In our view, any publisher that disables used gaming risks a backlash or boycott of its titles by gamers, negatively impacting sales," he said.
Pachter told GameSpot that activation fees are similarly unlikely.
"They would face a huge backlash. They wanted manufacturers to do the dirty work, and both refused," he said.
GameSpot has contacted major publishers including Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Capcom, Bethesda, Warner Bros., Take-Two, Ubisoft, and Konami about their stance on Xbox One used games. Thus far, only Bethesda has responded.
"We haven't had time to fully understand and evaluate their policy," a company representative said.
Pachter also commented on how Microsoft's Xbox One secondhand policy may affect leading industry retailer GameStop. He said publishers understand that currency generated from game trade-ins is beneficial to them and the secondhand market will remain viable overall.
However, Pachter also said that publishers may block the trade-in of games for a certain period of time following a game's launch to avoid the cannibalization of new game sales.
"However, many believe that used games sold in proximity to a new games release cannibalizes sales of the new title (we believe this is probably true), so we think that some publishers may limit used game trade-ins for a specified period of time following the games launch," he said.
Grand Theft Auto parent publisher Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said last month that publishers are only concerned about used games for eight weeks after launch.
"If you can keep the game in consumer's hands for 8 weeks, you almost don't care anymore about used game sales because it's the first 8 weeks that really nail you," he said at the time.
According to Pachter, GameStop stands to be hurt the most from Microsoft's recent announcement that all Xbox One games will be available digitally and physically on day-one.
"We believe that this disclosure has the greatest potential to negatively impact GameStops business, as GameStop is unlikely to participate directly in these digital sales," he said.
At the same time, though, Pachter said it is in the best interests of Microsoft and publishers to integrate GameStop's PowerUp Rewards currency into digital transactions in some manner. How such a setup would work, according to Pachter, is laid out below.
"We think it is possible that either gamers will be allowed to purchase digital content key codes from GameStops DLC kiosks, or that Microsoft will somehow allow the company to integrate its PowerUp Rewards program directly through Xbox Live," Pachter said.
"In the first scenario, GameStops DLC kiosks could be used by Microsoft and the publishers to garner significant interest in upcoming and already available titles, maximizing pre-orders and in-store sales," he added. "In the second scenario, the amount of currency available to make purchases on Xbox Live would increase dramatically, and all parties would benefit from increased online spending."
The Xbox One launches later this year. GameSpot will have more on the platform next week during the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo.
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