Video Game Development – Page 36

WALMART Looks Into the Gaming Future

Walmart? Who shops at Walmart for state of the art gaming stuff?

Well, pretty soon it may be me and YOU, as Walmart corporate has allowed its key buyers to blog information they obtain from consumer electronics shows.

Now you can preview the newest games, gadgets and gotta have techno toys at their new blog.

BUT before you click away, here are some of the up-and-coming trends in the market as put forth by Tifanie Van Laar the Walmart game buyer.

Expect Packaging to Matter – We spoke with quite a few folks about their publishing. It is time for our industry to mature and take more responsibility. Look at movies and music and some of the efforts they have undertaken. No need for heavy plastic packages that really are way overbuilt. We challenged quite a few suppliers on this front. We can, and must do better.

Expect More Street Dated Releases – Here too, we have much to learn from our brethren in music and movies. You know that Tuesday is the day for big releases in movies and music. Even smaller releases are out on Tuesday. With some of the marketing and development costs makers are talking about, there is no need to just ship date these titles. A street date serves as a call to action for the consumer. Hey, if I were spending $10 MILLION on just marketing a title, I would want a street date. Only one retailer does not want street dates, the other retailers want them. Seems that less than 30% of the industry is trying to have it their way. It just does not make sense to the industry or the consumer.
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Snake’s Back!

Mark the date, June 12th. That’s when Konami will release the final chapter in the Solid Snake saga.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a story-driven game, with seasoned hero Solid Snake drafted for one final mission. Set across stages including the Middle East and South America, the now aged Snake has been asked to assassinate his old adversary, Liquid Ocelot.

To do this, however, he must make his way through a series of battlefields, using his legendary stealth abilities and all-new OctoCamo suit to avoid detection and to reach his target.

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Good News and Bad News

For all you Street Fighter freaks out there – some good news and some bad news.

The good news: If you have heard rumors that Street Fighter IV has new characters – it’s true!

The bad news: If you want to play against the new characters Sagat and Balog (aka The Boxer) you must travel to Japan where they are being tested in select locations.

Even in the test version, you will not find the new nemeses in the select screen, the right conditions must occur in the single player mode for a fight with them to occur.

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Did You See Those Zombies in the Mall?

You know that old adage, “Seen one zombie, you’ve seen them all?”

No, well neither have I. But MKR Group, a boutique investor relations firm specializing in the representation of small companies across a broad spectrum of industries filed a lawsuit against Japanese video gamer Capcom Entertainment Inc. on Monday, February 25, alleging Capcom infringed on the copyright of the 1978 film ‘Dawn of the Dead’ to which it owns rights.

You remember ‘Dawn of the Dead’ the 1978 and 2004 remake movies scripted by George A. Romero – well, MKR contends that Capcom’s “Dead Rising” stole the idea of people trapped in a shopping mall full of zombies from Romero’s original script.

“Dead Rising” was released on Xbox 360 in August 2006 and sold more than a million units in its first five months of sale.

Both ‘Dawn of the Dead’ and “Dead Rising” provide “thoughtful social commentary on the ‘mall culture’ zeitgeist” as well as “a sizeable portion of sensationalistic violence”, wrote MKR in its court brief.

“Mall Culture Zeitgeist”??!! Geez, since when have mall zombies become part of youth culture?

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GamePro: Microsoft may buy Epic Games

Think independent game developers, and Epic comes to mind. One of the industry’s veterans, Epic is known for their Unreal franchise, as well as their famed Gears of War. But GamePro magazine predicts that this is about to change and monster publisher Microsoft Games will buy Epic eventually.

To find out more on the diabolical deal of doom, hit the jump!
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BioWare working on KotOR game, possibly LucasArts project

The Internets are abuzz with news on BioWare, who we already saw in news earlier today. This time, it’s the strong rumour that BioWare is working on a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game – something that has been in rumourland for months. But this time, man – this time, the evidence is just one step short of official announcement.

To find out what this is all about and what this proof is, hit the jump.

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