Video Game Development – Page 45

Unreal Wars: Episode II – The Epic Strikes Back

Gears of War

One of the more popular topics doing the rounds these days in the games industry is that of the ensuing Epic Games – Silicon Knights legal war. To summarize, Silicon Knights claims that Epic gave them a faulty engine, while they used a better (but same version) of the engine to make their shiny Gears of War. Epic has declared war and claims that Silicon Knights is just bitching and that they haven’t even paid Epic. You can find the complete details here, in the Stuffwelike Archives.

Epic’s lawyers have thrown a counter-motion against Silicon Knights, which reads:

Silicon Knights wants to take Epic’s Licensed Technology, pay nothing for it, and use it any way it pleases. Having exploited Epic’s intellectual property to its advantage, Silicon Knights now seeks to renege on its payment obligations under the License Agreement. It is Silicon Knights, not Epic, that has engaged in deceit, infringement of Epic’s intellectual property rights, breach of contract, and unfair business practices.

But what is most interesting is the way Epic slaps SK in the face by claiming that when the Unreal 3 engine was licensed, Epic gave no warranty. Silicon Knights demanded one, and didn’t get it. They (Denis Dyack, head of SK, to be specific) signed the License Agreement anyways (he must have skipped it, like the rest of us). The agreement reportedly reads:

[Epic does] not include any warranty that (i) the functions performed by the Unreal Engine… will meet [Silicon Knights’] requirements, nor (ii) that the operations of the Unreal Engine… will be bug free or error free in all circumstances, nor (iii) that any defects in the Unreal Engine… can or will be corrected.

If that is for real, Silicon Knights may have very well stepped on a minefield by shooting a lawsuit. If Epic wins, Silicon Knights will be forced to produce lots of money. We wonder where the Gears of War will turn now in this truly Epic conflict that is simply Too Human to be Unreal and Silicon…
I’d better leave now.

[Via Shacknews]

UT3+PS3+Mouse+Keyboard is possible. Xbox 360 can go to hell.

UT3’s shiny graphics.

Mark Rein, VP at Epic Games announced on the Epic Games Forum not long ago that the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament III will feature keyboard and mouse compatibility. Why is that such a big issue, you ask? Because of two main reasons.

As any UT fan will tell you, there is no better UT experience than a good ol’ keyboard and mouse. While consoles are nice and all, you can’t beat the PC’s controls. So bang, add the Keyboard/Mouse compatibility to the PS3 and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Microsoft is big on not allowing developers to make games K/M compatible. Of course, they’re Microsoft.

This effectively means that Epic is going to over to the PS3 camp even more, while Microsoft is wondering where they went wrong. Epic had also announced earlier that the Xbox 360 version of the game will release quite a while after the PS3 and PC release. Also, the PS3 will support user-made modifications, something that the Xbox Live shindig isn’t cool with.

Here’s what he said, if you’re too lazy to click the link above.

I checked with Steve Polge and he said that YES we are supporting keyboard and mouse in Unreal Tournament 3 on PS3. He is confident we are doing it in a way that will be balanced without feeling “gimped” for either side. We’ll also allow people to choose whether or not they want to allow mixed controller vs. keyboard/mouse games or not.

Mark also states that more details will be coming soon. I can’t friggin’ wait!

“The Scourge Project” is the latest game to use Unreal Engine 3

You’d think developers would be disheartened after all the Silicon Knights/Epic Games hullabaloo, but you’d think wrong. Instead, Epic has been swimming in publicity since. Also, they have caught the eye of the Spanish Tragnarion Studios. Tragnarion will be utilizing the might of Unreal Engine 3 for their newest title, which was also announced today, named The Scourge Project. As you can probably guess, it’s going to be an FPS with co-op elements embedded.

Carl Jones, the head of Tragnarion said:

We’ve been amazed at the speed and quality of results on Unreal. We’ve only had the engine for a couple of months, yet we’ve already been able to build a great-looking, fully playable prototype, which we’ll soon show to publishers, featuring our innovative narrative system for multiple players and our unique co-op focused game play mechanics. Every single feature we want is easily implemented in Unreal – for all the major high-end platforms.

This is looking to be a splendid game, complete with emphasis on team play, slick graphics and well, the Unreal Engine. And for people like me, who are supporting Epic, here’s what Mark Rein had to say:

When we saw the demo that Tragnarion produced, we were really impressed with the progress they had made in such a short time. The high quality visuals, innovative game features and co-operative story have come together in only a few months. It made us very proud to see how quickly they were able to learn Unreal Engine 3 and we can’t wait to get a look at this title again in a few more months.

And he’s damn right. Tragnarion has done a fine, quick job there. This is one of those games that would be worth tracking. The game will be released some time in 2008, for the PC, Xbox 360 and the PS3. Hopefully, the Unreal Engine won’t cause any problem-induced delays.
Check out the game’s trailer below:

[Via Gamershell and GameDaily]

9 million subscribers to World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is truly a ground breaking game that has set the world on fire. In only 3 years the game has grown to over 9 million subscribers!

“We’re thrilled that gamers around the world have continued to embrace World of Warcraft so enthusiastically,” said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve worked hard to provide a compelling experience for our players, and we plan to continue updating the game with exciting new content for them to enjoy for many years to come.”

At this current subscriber level and the monthly cost of $14.99, Blizzard makes $134,910,000 per month!

Xbox 360 Reigns Supreme

At E3 07 Microsoft revealed the following charts:

They are both informative and pretty.

This Monday, Games Critics awarded Xbox 360 38 nominations for the 2007 Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 – 17 more than last year – compared to 29 for Playstation 3 and 14 for Wii. This makes Xbox 360 the most nominated platform with 38 nominations overall. Microsoft Game Studios also tallied an impressive number of nominations with eight in total.

Microsoft Game Studios’ nominated games include “Mass Effect” (MGS) for Best in Show, Best Console, and Best RPG title. “Fable 2” (MGS) was also nominated for Best RPG. “Halo 3” (MGS) garnered nods for Best Action game and Best Online Multiplayer, and “Halo Wars” (MGS) snagged a nomination for Best Strategy game. “Project Gotham Racing 4” (MGS) also received a nomination for Best Racing title.

Nintendo Owns Industry

News

Whether or not you like Nintendo, you can’t disprove these 10 facts for the first half of 2007 based upon NPD and NPD Canada figures:

–Through the first half of 2007, the total Wii hardware sell-through in the United States and Canada combined is more than 2.3 million units (2.1 million United States, 222,000 Canada).

–For the first half of 2007, Nintendo represents nearly 70 percent of the industry growth in the United States and Canada combined.

–In June alone, Wii was once again the top-selling home console with nearly 435,000 units sold in the United States and Canada combined (381,800
United States, 53,000 Canada).

–In June alone, Nintendo DS was the top-selling video game system overall with nearly 608,000 units sold in the United States and Canada combined (562,000 United States, 46,000 Canada).

–Nintendo remained the top video game publisher in the United States and Canada in June, as well as the top publisher for all of 2007.

–In June alone, Nintendo has six of the top 10 best-selling games in the United States, including the top four: Mario Party 8 and Wii Play for
Wii, and Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl for Nintendo DS.

–Of the top 30 best-selling games in the United States for all of 2007, half are for Nintendo systems.

–The three best-selling games in the United States for all of 2007 are for Nintendo systems: Pokémon Diamond, Wii Play and Pokémon Pearl.

–Wii already boasts more than 180 games, including 120 downloadable Virtual Console titles. By the end of the year, that total number will climb to about 330 games, including an additional 100 new games from every major third-party publisher, along with an additional 50 Virtual Console titles.

–Approximately 300 games are already available for Nintendo DS, with another 140 titles expected by the end of the year from every major third-party publisher.