Today ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks, announced that it has acquired id Software (Doom, Quake, ect.).

ZeniMax stated, “id Software will continue to operate as a studio under the direction of its founder, John Carmack. No changes will be made in the operations of id Software in the development of its games. All the principals at id Software have signed long-term employment contracts, assuring they will continue in their roles…at the studio.” Read more… »

Making a rather bold statement to the Times UK, Activision leader-man Bobby Kotick hinted that the biggest publisher in the world may have to leave this hardware generation’s third-placer without a price cut. Said Kotick:

“I’m getting concerned about Sony; the PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don’t make it easy for me to support the platform. It’s expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation…They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony.” Read more… »

“Welcome to the future” is a phrase that gets used in videogames far too often. Only last week at E3 were Sony and Microsoft trumping their new motion technologies as something that would change games forever.  Many were blown away by what was on offer, especially the footage shown of Project Natal.

Countless scenarios have been brought up by gamers on how the new tech could be implemented, from strategy games to RPGs and every genre in between. Before we all start throwing our controllers away and jumping on the motion control bandwagon, it’s time for a history lesson.

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The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has responded to their glorious defeat at the hands of Pan European Games Information (PEGI), regarding who will be in charge of rating games in the UK. Apparently, BBFC Director David Cooke still feels that his would be the better team for the job. Sour grapes? Hit the jump for the full press release.

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The long-running battle to become the UK’s version of America’s ESRB is now over, with the Pan European Games Information (PEGI) ratings system standing over the shattered corpse of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Well, that’s not exactly true, as the BBFC will continue to rate films as well as DVD and Blu-Ray content for the region. Then again, games are overtaking films anyway. Does that make the BBFC a zombie?

A more interesting development in the case mentions that it will now be illegal to sell a game rated 12+ to minors, an action even more strict than US retailers’ self-imposed restrictions on selling Mature-rated games. Now, even arguably bloodless action games will be removed from the hands of British tweens. Now you will know that the person screaming obscenities at you over the microphone is 18 years or older.

After the string of controversy and burning effigies* that surrounded the much maligned StarForce, many would be surprised to hear that they are actually still in business. Like some kind of undead creature, the silver bullets of mass developer desertion only seemed to wound them, and thus they have resurfaced from the dust and expressed a possible resurgence in an interview with Gamasutra.

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In a rather unusual move, Ignition Entertainment announced that Muramasa: The Demon Blade would be released in the US without English voice-acting.

Ignition Business Development Director Shane Bettenhausen was quoted as saying, “…trying to dub it, trying to make something more Western is really not a service to the product…who wants some goofy anime voices in this game?”

Continue reading for my thoughts on the matter.

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Denmark-based studio Deadline Games has sadly filed for bankruptcy. They were founded in 1996 and were responsible for such titles as Total Overdose, Chili Con Carnage, and the recent Watchmen: The End is Nigh games.

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Despite the success and revitalization of E3 this year, the first half of 2009 has been rather rough for the gaming industry. There will be no breath of fresh air from the month of May either, as it is slated to see a double digit drop in year to year sales.

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A subject that has been heavily discussed in recent times has been the inclusion of advertisements within video games. Product placement is becoming more frequent and the ways in which companies advertise to us are gradually changing. According to a recent assessment, analysts Screen Digest believe that businesses could be spending up to $1 billion on this method of promotion by 2014.

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It was already reported that Blizzard would not be attending E3, and it looks like the swine-flu just scared Dead Rising 2′s development team.

But who else isn’t coming? Read more… »

The gaming industry in Europe is not having a good year and it doesn’t look like it will get any better anytime soon.  The latest blow is from a proposal put forward by the European Union which would require software developers, especially those in the games industry, to provide a two year guarantee on all their products.

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