As soon as EA announced it had acquired BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios, the Xbox community wondered what would happen to the Mass Effect trilogy, which BioWare intended to begin and end on the Xbox 360 platform.
First, Microsoft Game Studios has confirmed that EA’s acquisition of the developer of “Jade Empire” and “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” won’t at all affect next month’s release of Mass Effect. However, future games in this franchise are facing a dark horizon:
Microsoft has not yet announced specifics regarding sequels to “Mass Effect” but we’ll be talking to EA and BioWare in the weeks to come. “Mass Effect” is the most anticipated role-playing game of the season, on any platform, and we are committed to the franchise’s long term success.
When we asked about the ownership of the intellectual property, Microsoft confirmed that--unlike the Halo and Project Gotham Racing IPs, which are owned by Microsoft and not the respective developers--BioWare Corp. owns the Mass Effect IP.
Published by Microsoft Game Studios, Mass Effect will ship to retailers throughout North America on November 20, 2007. The recipient of more than 50 awards, including the 2007 Game Critics Awards for “Best Console Game” and “Best RPG” at the Electronic Entertainment Expo last month in Los Angeles, “Mass Effect” is poised to become the must-play RPG of 2007.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Ea Buys Bioware, Pandemic
Electronic Arts Inc. Today announced an agreement with Elevation Partners to acquire VG Holding Corp. -- the owner of both BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios. This acquisition gives EA a strong competitive position in key genres in interactive entertainment: action, adventure and role-playing games. The two studios have been recognized for creating some of the highest-quality games in the industry.
BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios have ten franchises under development, including six wholly owned games. BioWare Corp. is currently developing the highly anticipated Mass Effect, which will be published by Microsoft in November, and is in the early development stages of a massively multiplayer online game. Pandemic Studios is redefining open-world games with its upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames™ and Saboteur™, in addition to several unannounced projects.
Pandemic Studios and BioWare Corp. employ roughly 800 people across four studios located in Edmonton, Canada; Los Angeles; Austin; and Brisbane, Australia.
"These are two of the most respected studios in the industry and I'm glad to be working with them again. They'll make a strong contribution to our strategic growth initiatives on quality, online gaming and developing new intellectual properties," said John Riccitiello, EA's Chief Executive Officer. "We also expect this will drive long-term value for our shareholders."
Pandemic Studios is led by Andrew Goldman, Josh Resnick and Greg Borrud. BioWare Corp. is jointly led by Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka. These teams will join the EA™ Games Label run by Frank Gibeau, President of EA Games.
"Pandemic Studios remains focused on attracting the best talent and creating blockbuster action games," said Josh Resnick, President and Co-founder of Pandemic Studios. "As a worldwide publishing leader, EA represents the ideal partner to bring our titles to market as global entertainment events."
"We are truly excited by John Riccitiello's new vision for EA," said Ray Muzyka, Co-founder and CEO of BioWare Corp. "This vision is consistent with BioWare's focus on crafting the highest quality story-driven games in the world. It will enable us to further the careers of the passionate, creative and hard working teams at BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Austin."
EA will pay up to $620 million in cash to the stockholders of VG Holding Corp. and will issue up to an additional $155 million in equity to certain employees of VG Holding Corp., which will be subject to time-based or performance-based vesting criteria. EA will also assume outstanding VG Holding Corp. stock options. In addition, EA has agreed to lend VG Holding Corp. up to $35 million through the closing of the acquisition.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Demos On XBL Market Place
Conan
Conan is a third-person action game that puts the “hack” back into hack ‘n slash. The game features some of the most insane combat we’ve seen in quite a while, reminiscent of titles like Ninja Gaiden and God of War. It’s one hell of a gory game, too, featuring plenty of severed limbs, brutal attacks, and arterial sprays galore. Your heavy and light attacks will be mapped to the face buttons, as will your grab moves and jumping. The shoulder buttons will allow you to block and parry your enemies’ attacks, and you can use the right analog stick to quickly dodge left or right.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons Game features a hilarious, sprawling and mind-busting storyline crafted by the TV show’s Emmy Award-winning writers. The action-comedy will also feature the full cast of voice actors from the TV show who will reprise their roles for the game. In The Simpsons Game, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa use exciting, all-new powers to save the world from rising chaos. To help the Simpsons, gamers at home must journey through all of Springfield (as well as vast worlds beyond!), vanquish an amazing array of villains and fight their way through parodies of popular games.
BladeStorm: The Hundred Year's War
In the 14th century a quarrel over English succession to the French throne escalated into what history would call the Hundred Years' War. This ongoing war had exhausted the standing armies of both sides and there was a growing dependence on mercenary soldiers.
As arrows rain from above, knights will charge on horseback, cannoniers will fire volleys at heavy infantry, and armies will collide in unprecedented scale. Immerse yourself in ferocious battles where an innovative action style enables you to defeat countless numbers of soldiers with one cleverly chosen attack command. Establish a reputation as a formidable warrior and leader of men, build your war chest and lure hardened warriors to your employ. Outwit your opponents and overwhelm them with dominating force to be the last one standing when the dust settles on one of history's greatest conflicts.
Clive Barkers Jericho
Clive Barker’s Jericho is being designed as an action horror title that will up the stakes in visuals and phantasmagorical special effects. Mingling the darkest elements of Barker’s horror fiction and films with an ambitious, age-spanning story, the title will be aimed at mature gamers, fans of Clive Barker and horror fiction enthusiasts. If you haven't downloaded this demo yet you are missing out on a really impressive taste of one of the best horror shooters coming out.
Conan is a third-person action game that puts the “hack” back into hack ‘n slash. The game features some of the most insane combat we’ve seen in quite a while, reminiscent of titles like Ninja Gaiden and God of War. It’s one hell of a gory game, too, featuring plenty of severed limbs, brutal attacks, and arterial sprays galore. Your heavy and light attacks will be mapped to the face buttons, as will your grab moves and jumping. The shoulder buttons will allow you to block and parry your enemies’ attacks, and you can use the right analog stick to quickly dodge left or right.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons Game features a hilarious, sprawling and mind-busting storyline crafted by the TV show’s Emmy Award-winning writers. The action-comedy will also feature the full cast of voice actors from the TV show who will reprise their roles for the game. In The Simpsons Game, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa use exciting, all-new powers to save the world from rising chaos. To help the Simpsons, gamers at home must journey through all of Springfield (as well as vast worlds beyond!), vanquish an amazing array of villains and fight their way through parodies of popular games.
BladeStorm: The Hundred Year's War
In the 14th century a quarrel over English succession to the French throne escalated into what history would call the Hundred Years' War. This ongoing war had exhausted the standing armies of both sides and there was a growing dependence on mercenary soldiers.
As arrows rain from above, knights will charge on horseback, cannoniers will fire volleys at heavy infantry, and armies will collide in unprecedented scale. Immerse yourself in ferocious battles where an innovative action style enables you to defeat countless numbers of soldiers with one cleverly chosen attack command. Establish a reputation as a formidable warrior and leader of men, build your war chest and lure hardened warriors to your employ. Outwit your opponents and overwhelm them with dominating force to be the last one standing when the dust settles on one of history's greatest conflicts.
Clive Barkers Jericho
Clive Barker’s Jericho is being designed as an action horror title that will up the stakes in visuals and phantasmagorical special effects. Mingling the darkest elements of Barker’s horror fiction and films with an ambitious, age-spanning story, the title will be aimed at mature gamers, fans of Clive Barker and horror fiction enthusiasts. If you haven't downloaded this demo yet you are missing out on a really impressive taste of one of the best horror shooters coming out.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Halo 3 Records More Then $300 Million in First Week
Redmond—Interactive entertainment will never be the same, with the launch of one title that has changed the way the world thinks about video games. Halo® 3 has captured the attention of consumers worldwide and has made history as one of the biggest entertainment launches of all time.
Fans get their hands on the first copies of Halo 3 at Best Buy in New York City. .
Microsoft today announced Halo 3 has officially become a global phenomenon, garnering more than $300 million in sales in the first week alone. The critically-acclaimed Xbox 360 exclusive, which was released worldwide on Tuesday, September 25, is the fastest selling video game ever and one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.
Sales of the Xbox 360 console saw a sharp increase, more than doubling compared to the weekly average before the launch of Halo 3. With games like Halo 3, Madden NFL 08, Mass Effect™ and Rock Band, Xbox 360 has the greatest lineup in the history of video games and the only console where consumers can play all of the year's biggest blockbusters.
"Halo is truly a cultural phenomenon and the launch of Halo 3 is an important milestone for Xbox 360 and for video games as a narrative art form," said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. "Halo 3 embodies our vision for the future of entertainment, where the world's greatest creators deliver a new generation of interactive storytelling."
Online Phenomena
Halo 3 is quickly staking its place as the most popular Xbox LIVE® game in history with members gathering in record numbers to play on the world's largest online gaming and entertainment network on TV. More than 2.7 million gamers have played Halo 3 on Xbox LIVE in the first week, representing nearly one-third of the seven million Xbox LIVE members worldwide. Within the first day of its launch, Halo 3 players racked up more than 3.6 million hours of online game play, which increased more than eleven-fold to more than 40 million hours by the end of the first week—representing more than 4,500 years of continuous game play.
The excitement builds in Seattle as the launch approaches.
Since Halo 3 launched, gamers have unlocked more than 30 million achievements. In its first week alone, Halo 3 drove a record number of Xbox LIVE Gold Memberships as hundreds of thousands of new members gathered online to collectively compete and complete the game.
Biggest Entertainment Launch in History
To date, over 20 million copies of the games in the Halo trilogy have been sold worldwide. The record week one sales comes on the heels of the previously announced $170 million in sales in the U.S. within the first 24 hours of the game's release, which marked not just the biggest videogame launch, but the biggest entertainment launch in history. The Xbox 360 title beat previous U.S. sales records set by blockbuster openings for entertainment events like the release of Spider-Man 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Additionally, more than 1.7 million copies of Halo 3 were preordered in the United States, making it the fasting pre-selling game in history, surpassing the previous record-setting pre-sales of Halo 2.
-Xbox.com©2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved
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