Game Business – Page 14

E3 Returns to LA Convention Center

After this year’s miserable E3 fiasco, I’m so grateful to hear that E3 is returning to the Los Angeles Convention Center on July 15-18th, 2008. If E3 stayed in Santa Monica it would have surely died a horrible death. Even if booths will remain less about flashy showings and more about industry reflection, isn’t that a good thing? Being able to see and discuss video games with fellow developers will only help the industry.

The event is still closed to the public, but that’s why we have the new E For All Expo. If you’re still angry about E3 being closed off to the public first remember that it always was a private industry event and secondly read this post for more information why E3 cracked down.

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Harmonix, Activision brawl over Guitar Hero PS3 controllers

In what is a most amusing series of events, Harmonix and Activision are fighting like kindergarten kids over who’s responsible for not releasing a patch for Rock Band.

Harmonix, with some help from MTV, thought that releasing a patch for Rock Band, which would allow Guitar Hero III controller compatibility is a good idea. The idea did, after all, come after thunderous public request. However, it didn’t go down as well as they had expected. Harmonix’s patch was approved by Sony, but not by Activision, who supposedly objected to the patch.

This makes Harmonix and MTV heroes who want a free and liberal gaming area and where everything is good and compatible. Activision is suddenly a dark, evil EA-esque villain who wants the depraved gamers to buy Rock Band controllers. And because we need a fine background for a fight, we have Sony and their PlayStation 3.

Sony promptly replied that this is a matter out of their hands, and one that should be “amicably resolved” by Harmonix, MTV and Activision. Well, at least Sony has nothing to do with the whole fiasco. Then again, it’s the ill-fated, all-cursed PlayStation 3 that serves as a setting for this tale.

Activision struck back yesterday by saying that MTV/Viacom is unwilling to participate in a healthy ~~tussle~~ discussion about the issue. According to their press release, Activision were the good guys all along and Harmonix/MTV have been the ones who were not talking with Activision about their technology.

This fight is almost like the Silicon Knights/Epic brawl, except there’s no legal matters here and the subject is ridiculous. What’s bad is that the gamers are suffering in the long run. They are the ones who haven’t gotten the patch yet, while the big corporations talk about how they love gaming and want gaming to be accessible.

How will Harmonix/MTV respond? Is the PS3 really cursed? Isn’t watching this silly fight fun? Comment and conquer!

Microsoft Steps on Xbox Live Silver Members

The disadvantages of being a Xbox 360 Xbox Live silver member have outrageously grown today! Microsoft has revealed that silver members will now have to wait an extra week after a demo has been released an Xbox Live before they can download it!

This is ludicrous. As an Xbox Live silver member, I want me demos on time. I do not want to pay extra to receive content that should be free!

Demos give me evaluations as to whether or not I want to purchase a game. Microsoft is hurting the industry by making gamers wait an extra week to download the demo.

The video game industry was going on such an amazing streak of success with stealer games being released this year, but these past couple of weeks have just outrightly sucked.

It’s time for gamers to take back their industry!!!

Activision Blizzard Press Details (Update)

As an update to the current Activision Blizzard merger story we can announce
that for the foreseeable future all press announcements from Activision or Vivendi
will be kept separate apart from details on the merger. We can also report that
it is expected to be complete mid next year.

Dont like your own game? You’re fired!

Following on with the Gamespot firing story there have been a number of firings of key people in the gaming industry. Next in line has been a head honcho at Midway games who insulted in no uncertain terms their product Blacksite: Area 51. While the firing season appears to have now passed we can be sure that this will not be the last we will hear about this topic.

Activision MERGES with Vivendi (and Blizzard)

Right when you thought that all the attention of the gaming world has been turned to the Gerstmann controversy, Activision announces out of the blue (the one you see above) that they are merging with Vivendi, who owns Blizzard. As any good gamer will know, Vivendi is just a frail shell encompassing the massive development powerhouse that is Blizzard. This deal shows promise to our gaming eyes, because both sides of the merger here lie on the good side. Activision have published great games like the Call of Duty series and the Guitar Hero series, while Blizzard is known for their even more popular games like the WarCraft games, StarCraft, Diablo series and of course, World of WarCraft.

This flabbergasting deal is worth $18.9 billion, and the result has been titled Activision Blizzard, although I would have preffered something more catchy, like Actizzard, or Blactivision, or Blizzivision. Even though Blizzard gets to be in the company’s name, Vivendi is the one holding a 52% stock in the corporation.

Blizzard CEO, Mike Morhaime says, “Blizzard’s industry-leading PC games business…is an exceptional fit for Activision’s highly profitable console games business.” This probably hints that Blizzard may now be concentrating on the console crowd, which has now become ever simpler with Activision permanently involved. With the developing genius of Blizzard, and the publishing power of Activision, the new corporation is going to give the strongest competition of the Dark Evil Lord of gaming, EA.

Blizzard has posted a press release on their site, which is basically a FAQ with what is going to happen after the deal. Blizzard has explicitly stated that their operations, goals, beliefs and political ideals will not be affected with this deal. You can read the release here.

I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling Activision did this to compete with EA’s buying of BioWare and Pandemic. With those two devs in EA’s hands, they are an unstoppable force in the RPG market, leaving their fierce rivals Activision at a loss. In retaliation, Activision buys what must be the most successful developer in the past 5 years – Blizzard, and their sorry money-giving shell that is Vivendi.

Possible? Not? Comment.