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» Garriott wins $28 million in NCsoft suit |
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Jul 30, 2010 - 5:24 AM - by feed gatherer
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Ultima creator wins out against former employer for breach of contract and fraud.
Just a few months after returning to Earth following a 12-day, US$30 million trip to the International Space Station, famed video game entrepreneur Richard Garriott, a.k.a Lord British, announced he'd be leaving Korean publisher NCsoft after seven years with the company in order to pursue other interests.
 Lord British has plenty to smile about.
Six months later, Garriott revealed he was actually fired from NCsoft, and subsequently filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court of Texas against the company for breach of contract and fraud amounting to US$24 million in damages.
Garriott's complaint was that he lost millions of dollars when NCsoft forced him to prematurely sell a number of stock options the company had given him in just 90 days, rather than the 10-year period he was promised under his contract if he were ever to be fired.
The suit also claimed that Garriott received this information while still in post-flight quarantine after having returned from the International Space Station, and that the announcement he made regarding his departure from NCsoft was actually written by the publisher.
Now, Austin daily newspaper the Statesman is reporting that a federal court jury has awarded Garriott US$28 million in the lawsuit after a three-day trial in the US District Court in Austin.
"I am extremely pleased with the jury's decision," Garriott said in a statement. "The facts were clear that my departure from NCsoft was not voluntary. I am very pleased with the final award."
A lawyer representing NCsoft, Laura Merritt, said the Korean publisher will be "considering all options for next steps in the legal process."
Although the initial lawsuit was for US$24 million, the Statesman is reporting that Garriott had asked for US$47 million in order to cover the profit lost by selling his stock options so quickly.
Garriott began working for NCsoft after the publisher bought his Austin-based company, Destination Games. While there, he headed up the six-year development effort for the sci-fi massively multiplayer online role-playing game Tabula Rasa, which launched in late 2007 to lukewarm reviews and technical problems.
Two weeks after Garriott's departure from NCsoft, the publisher shut down Tabula Rasa servers.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
"Garriott wins $28 million in NCsoft suit" was posted by Laura Parker on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:37:22 -0700
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» Capcom profits drop 90% |
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Jul 29, 2010 - 3:54 PM - by feed gatherer
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Street Fighter house sees massive quarterly profit drop alongside small sales decline; poor Lost Planet 2 sales, strong yen, and weak global economies blamed.
Capcom today announced its net income for the first quarter of this year was ¥216 million ($2.4 million), 90 percent lower than the same period in 2009. This poor performance was due to the poor sales performance of Lost Planet 2 and the lack of headline releases during the quarter compared to the same period last year.
 Capcom was showing off new titles at E3 and Comic-Con that may boost its bottom line in years to come.
The Japanese development house branded the results for the quarter ending June 30, 2010, as "sluggish." It specifically called out Lost Planet 2 as the reason the profits in its games division had fallen, saying it "underperformed its projection substantially." Overall sales "remained stagnant" thanks to lower-than-expected growth for Monster Hunter Tri on the Wii and the fact that Ghost Trick on the DS "struggled." This was moderated by continued "steady growth" for both Super Street Fighter IV and Monster Hunter Online. Compounding sales-related problems were the "stagnating economy" in Europe and the US and a significant exchange loss, thanks to the strong Japanese yen, the firm said.
The Mobile Devices division was a bright spot for Capcom, however, with the newly formed division reporting ¥680 million ($7.8 million) in sales and ¥97 million ($1.1 million) net income. Net sales in Capcom's Arcade Operations division fell 10 percent to ¥2.6 billion ($30 million), but operating income for the division was up 56 percent to ¥178 million ($2 million), thanks to the success of the firm's "profitability improvement strategy."
This drop in profits was foreshadowed by reports earlier this week that the company was planning to cut development time for its flagship titles in an effort to stabilise its earnings. Capcom has reiterated its forecasts for the rest of this fiscal year, where it expects net income of ¥8 billion ($91 million) with ¥2.9 billion($33 million) coming in the first half of the year.
[ Watch Video ]
Comic-Con 2010 Panel: Street Fighter 4 and Beyond.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
"Capcom profits drop 90%" was posted by Alex Sassoon Coby on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:18:00 -0700
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» Football Manager heads Online in Asia |
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Jul 29, 2010 - 3:54 PM - by feed gatherer
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Sports Interactive is to launch into Asia with a new MMOG, the firm confirmed today.
A new football management massively multiplayer online game from Sports Interactive is to launch in the Asian market, the British developer confirmed today. Football Manager Online will be a separate product to Football Manager Live, the company's traditional Western MMOG.
 The Football Manager empire is expanding.
Football Manager Online is to be developed in partnership with KTH Allstar, a Korean Internet portal company. FMO will be a "very different" game to FML, according to Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive's studio director. Talking to GameSpot, he confirmed FMO will be microtransaction based and is being specifically tailored for Asian consumers and "the way that they like to experience online games." It will be designed for regular play from home and also at PC bangs, LAN gaming centres popular in South Korea, which is the first market that will be targeted.
The game will be codeveloped in Sports Interactive's London studio and KTH's offices in Seoul, with some of the KTH team moving to London for a large part of the development cycle. This could potentially impact other titles with Jacobson making it clear that KTH's experience and expertise with server-based technology for games is likely to impact positively on other Sports Interactive titles.
Unlike previous Football Manager titles, Football Manager Online will be published by Sports Interactive rather than Sega. SI also confirmed today it will be taking over publishing duties for Football Manager Online, albeit with continued support from the Japanese firm.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
"Football Manager heads Online in Asia" was posted by Alex Sassoon Coby on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:11:39 -0700
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» Playlogic files for bankruptcy protection |
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Jul 29, 2010 - 12:27 AM - by feed gatherer
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Publisher of Infernal: Hell's Vengeance and Fairytale Fights has applied for Dutch equivalent of Chapter 11 for its two subsidiaries.
Dutch publisher and developer Playlogic has voluntarily requested "surseance van betaling" for its two operating companies. The move, revealed in a brief SEC filing, follows rumours of financial woes at the firm that lost $20 million last year and a further $2.2 million in the first quarter of this fiscal year.
 Fairytale Fights' bloodthirsty action was not well received by critics.
The state of "surseance van betaling" is roughly equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the US Bankruptcy Code. It allows the company to delay payments but maintain control of its own affairs as it attempts to come to a deal with its creditors. If Playlogic cannot come to an agreement to the satisfaction of those creditors, both Playlogic International N.V and its subsidiary, Playlogic Game Factory B.V, will be declared insolvent and cease trading.
Playlogic first announced profits in 2008 when it reported a net profit of $700,000 on revenues of $10.1 million for 2007. At the time, the firm's CEO said these results heralded "a turning point" for the company. Last year, however, the company reported a net loss of $9.5 million on revenues of $9 million after delaying various titles from the fourth quarter of 2008 to 2009 and a "onetime additional impairment on capitalized software" of $4.5 million.
The firm's recent big-name titles have also suffered critically, with the releases of both Infernal: Hells Vengeance and Fairytale Fights being met with generally poor reviews.
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
"Playlogic files for bankruptcy protection" was posted by Alex Sassoon Coby on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:15:19 -0700
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» Analysts bullish on Starcraft II sales |
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Jul 29, 2010 - 12:27 AM - by feed gatherer
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Signal Hill's Greenwald calls 5-6M sales estimates conservative, while Lazard Capital's Sebastian predicts 6.5M sales for Blizzard's latest through 2010.
Blizzard Entertainment's Starcraft II still didn't have a release date in February, but that didn't stop a host of analysts from laying out their predictions for the sci-fi real-time strategy title. Pacific Crest Securities' Evan Wilson put the game's sales at 6 million, while Wedbush's Michael Pachter felt Starcraft II and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm could combine to sell 12 million through the end of 2010.
 The stars seem to be aligning for blockbuster Starcraft II sales.
With Starcraft II out for just over 24 hours, Blizzard has yet to offer official sales figures for the title. However, that hasn't stopped a new batch of analysts from weighing in on the game's sales potential over the next several months. Signal Hill's Todd Greenwald believes Activision Blizzard's bottom line will be inflated by Starcraft II sales of upward of 5 million.
"We have picked up nothing but positive data points on the recent launch of Starcraft II--from South Korea to New York, the excitement over SCII is palpable," Greenwald wrote. "We think that rough estimates for Starcraft II to sell 5-6 million units this year are highly achievable and will prove to be conservative over the next five months."
Greenwald called out a variety of reasons for making his multimillion-unit sales prediction for Starcraft II. Namely, he said the original Starcraft, released in 1998, has sold 10 million units worldwide, 5 to 6 million of which were sold in Korea. He also noted that there are currently 11 million users still actively playing the original Starcraft and Diablo II through Blizzard's online platform, Battle.net.
More than just selling a Zerg rush's worth of units, Greenwald believes Starcraft II will bring hefty operating margins for Activision Blizzard.
"Despite being in development for four to five years…the vast majority of SCII's development costs have already been expensed, which makes the margin impact of SCII even more positive," he wrote. "It already stands to be one of Activision's most profitable titles, given that it is on the PC (no $8-9 hardware royalty), it is retailing for $60, not $50, and it should sell a large portion digitally through Battle.net, foregoing the 20 percent royalty paid to retailers. We believe SCII can approach 50 percent operating margins and contribute at least $0.07 of earnings to Q3 results."
Though he did so in a less verbose fashion, Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian also expects Starcraft II to sell gangbusters before the end of the year. According to the analyst, Blizzard's latest should sell some 4.5 million units through September, a number that could swell to 6.5 million units through the remainder of 2010.
[ Watch Video ]
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
"Analysts bullish on Starcraft II sales" was posted by Tom Magrino on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:01:33 -0700
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» Call of Duty: Black Ops operating on DS |
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Jul 29, 2010 - 12:27 AM - by feed gatherer
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Activision confirms n-Space-developed portable version of Cold War-era shooter will ship alongside console, PC versions Nov. 9.
Activision is slowly but surely expanding the Call of Duty: Black Ops theater. In May, USA Today reported that the Treyarch-developed first-person shooter would arrive for the Wii, complementing previously announced versions for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Now, Activision has confirmed that a "companion" version of Black Ops is headed to Nintendo's DS as well, joining the other versions at retail on November 9.
 Black Ops on the DS will probably feature a lower visual fidelity.
Developed by n-Space (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized), Black Ops on the DS will feature many of the same connected gaming experiences that gamers can expect from the console and PC versions. Namely, the portable Black Ops will offer two-player co-op as well as online competitive action for up to six. Single-player missions will also be augmented by Arcade and Challenge modes.
According to today's announcement, the DS game's storyline will see players assuming the role of a CIA-backed operative. A time period was not specifically mentioned, though it will likely share that of the other versions, which take place during the Cold War. Treyarch has been stingy with story details thus far, but the console versions will apparently feature such loaded locales as Cuba and Vietnam.
For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Call of Duty: Black Ops.
[ Watch Video ]
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
"Call of Duty: Black Ops operating on DS" was posted by Tom Magrino on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:14:10 -0700
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» THQ wrangling up new WWE franchise |
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Jul 29, 2010 - 12:27 AM - by feed gatherer
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Publisher confirms "more friendly, easier, and less simmy" installment based on wrestling license will arrive in 2011.
After years of bickering and infighting over the World Wrestling Entertainment license, THQ and Jakks Pacific called it quits at the end of last year. However, that didn't mark the end of THQ's involvement with the WWE, as the publisher signed a new, eight-year exclusivity deal to continue making games based on the wrestling entertainment organization's properties. And thus far, THQ appears as if it will be maximizing its use of the license.
 WWE All Stars isn't all THQ is cooking up.
In an interview with CVG posted today, THQ core games CEO Danny Bilson confirmed that his company has yet one more WWE-themed wrestling game to announce for release in 2011. As with WWE All-Stars, which is also slated for a 2011 release, the game will apparently be more of an arcade-style brawler.
"Next year you'll see another new extension there in another way--that's just as exciting as All Stars, but a little different," Bilson said. While Bilson went on to explicitly note that the studio isn't yet talking about the new game, he did say that the new franchise will be "more friendly, easier, and less simmy than SmackDown vs Raw."
As for timing, Bilson's comments were less than clear. According to the executive, THQ would be releasing "an alternate SKU every six months." With All Stars and the new property thus announced for 2011, it is unclear whether the publisher intends to release a new installment in its flagship SmackDown vs. Raw franchise next year. THQ had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.
Bilson's comments come alongside confirmation that Western gamers will probably not be afforded access to WWE SmackDown vs. Raw Online, which was announced for the Asian market in February. "[SmackDown vs. Raw Online] is for Asia," Bilson said. "I don't think there's any chance of that coming to the US or Europe, not soon anyway. We don't want to confuse SmackDown vs. Raw [the brand] with that online free-to-play game."
"That's a big, expensive title, SmackDown vs. Raw," he went on to note. "We will not do any cannibalization of it at all. The online game is also designed uniquely for Asian playing habits and it would probably have to be modified creatively to bring it to the West." Notably, at the same time THQ announced WWE SmackDown vs. Raw Online, the publisher also said that it would be bringing Company of Heroes Online, a similarly Asia-only free-to-play online game, to the Western markets.
[ Watch Video ]
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
"THQ wrangling up new WWE franchise" was posted by Tom Magrino on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:27:15 -0700
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» APB developer reveals next project |
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Jul 29, 2010 - 12:27 AM - by feed gatherer
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Realtime Worlds teases Project MyWorld as a fusion of social media, social gaming and traditional gaming; due out in 2011.
Realtime Worlds' work on is most recent game, APB, is far from finished, but the developer has already started on a potentially larger and more ambitious follow-up.
"What would it look like if Nintendo built Google Earth?" is the question the developer posed on a recently launched Web site. That query is used to describe Realtime Worlds' next offering, which is currently labeled as a mix of social gaming, social networking, and traditional gaming now known as Project: MyWorld.  MyWorld is your world next year.
"Project: MyWorld turns the real world into a fun 3D social gaming experience. Project: MyWorld is a virtual recreation of the real world combined with 3D gaming and social media," reads the description.
Additionally, the game's screenshot gallery juxtaposes images of photographic imagery of famous worldwide locations next to their in-game renderings. The locations include London's Buckingham and Westminster palaces, Urquhart Castle in Loch Ness, England's famous Stonehenge formation, and Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.
Further, a YouTube trailer (embedded below) shows that the game will be for PC, and will have players erecting everything from small buildings to entire cities. Additionally, the teaser trailer shows air, land, and sea travel options, a player communication component, and an openness to incorporating all types of minigames.
A second trailer on the site went into greater detail, but has since been pulled. In it, a narrator confirmed that the technology behind MyWorld has been in development for "years" and it allows the game to act as a tool like Google Earth.
The developer says it is currently working with publishers and business partners, and is soliciting fan input on Facebook and Twitter. Realtime Worlds is also now accepting beta applications, and plans to let everyone explore its world sometime next year.
[ Watch Video ]
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
"APB developer reveals next project" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:46:31 -0700
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