Monthly Archive for June, 2008

Blizzard Rumored to Announce ‘Diablo III’

Published
on June 25, 2008
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UPDATE: Blizzard officially announced Diablo 3 Saturday. Their Web site has a teaser trailer and gameplay footage, plus screenshots and information on two character classes, the returning Barbarian and new Witch Doctor.

Signs have popped up all over the Internet that Blizzard is prepared to announce Diablo 3 this Saturday at the Worldwide Invitational in Paris.

WoW Insider reports that a leaked schedule suggests a Diablo-related announcement, and DiabloII.net claims that industry insiders have confirmed that Blizzard will announce a new Diablo. Blizzard acquired the Web address diablo3.com earlier this year.

This information accompanies a piece of viral marketing on Blizzard’s homepage, which has been taken over by an evolving icy image. The ice has grown larger and opened up over the past three days, and two runic symbols have joined the original one.

Blizzard.com Screen on Wednesday, June 25

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Warren Spector Sees Shorter, Creative Games in Industry’s Future

Published
on June 18, 2008
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“100 hour games are on the way out,” said Warren Spector at last week’s Game Education Summit, reports Gamasutra.

How many of you have finished GTA?” asked Spector, of Wing Commander, System Shock, and Deus Ex fame. “Two percent, probably. If we’re spending $100 million on a game, we want you to see the last level!”

Spector and Mark Meyers of Disney Interactive were keynote speakers at the summit and discussed changes in the industry and the new role of game education programs in entering it.

“Up until five years ago most people got into the game industry by accident,” commented Myers, who began working as an engineer.

The game industry is growing up, getting more high tech with top-notch facilities and training programs replacing ramshackle buildings and self-trained amateurs. Both speakers grew up alongside the ever-enlarging business.

“Building a game is as complex as making as a Hollywood movie,” said Spector. “Do we have the right people and how do we harness creativity without crushing it?

“We are in a business that is both software engineer and entertainment, and we have to balance it,” Spector continued. “It used to be that you could trade off gameplay for graphics, but you can’t do that anymore.”

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While Franchises Top the Sales Charts, Have Hope For the Future

Published
on June 9, 2008
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It doesn’t look good.

Using NPD data, Forbes released a list of the top ten bestselling video games in the United States from the last 15 years. Here’s the list and unit sales, synthesized by GameDaily.

1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) – 9.43 million
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (2007) – 8.2 million
3. Madden NFL 07 (2006) – 7.7 million
4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) – 7.3 million
5. Madden NFL 06 (2005) – 6.65 million
6. Halo 2 (2004) – 6.6 million
7. Madden NFL 08 (2007) – 6.56 million
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) – 6.25 million
9. Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001) – 6.2 million
10. Madden NFL 2005 (2004) – 6.1 million

Joystiq points out that if you combine the unit sales for Pokemon: Red and Blue, that game tops the chart with 9.9 million.

What can we learn from this list?

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“Metal Gear Solid 4″ Boasts 90 Minute Cut-Scenes

Published
on June 2, 2008
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Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has more than one cut-scene approaching 90 minutes in length, reports CVG.

The series is known for the complexity of its plot, but, according to MTV’s Multiplayer blog, Konami is trying to cover this exorbitant feature up as the game approaches its June 12 release.

“I’ve been told by two gaming media sources who asked to remain anonymous that Konami representatives had been asking print reviewers to keep some technical details out of their reviews, namely the length of the game’s cut-scenes and the size of the game’s installation on the PlayStation 3,” said Stephen Totilo in his post last week.

The MGS4 box lists a 4.6 GB installation, which is smaller than Devil May Cry 4‘ s 5 GB install.

Some reviews mention cut-scene length as an issue. “If you found previous games’ story exposition laborious,” said PSW, “then you’d better find yourself a nice cushion and plenty of teabags in readiness for MGS4’s.”

Whether the cover-up rumors are true or not, 90 minutes is excessive for a cut scene. There’s no reason to have movie-length scenes in a video game, where interactivity allows for much more engrossing storytelling.

Those scenes should either be playable or broken up by playable bits, especially big cinematic combat sequences like the Raiden fight from the first MGS4 trailer.