Author: Jeff Morgan (Page 201 of 260)

      James Cameron rails against Halo comparisons

      January 13, 2010 /

      Na'vi.James Cameron is notoriously grumpy when it comes to talking about his movies. In a sense, he has a right to be. People keep telling him his ideas just won’t work and he keeps proving them all wrong.

      In his latest episode of mind-speaking, Cameron railed against people who have been comparing Avatar to Bungie’s Halo. “The funniest thing is when some of the so-called fanboys get up trashing Avatar for looking too much like Halo,” he told G4. “It’s like… pay attention. If I’m referencing anything, I’m referencing the source work for Halo, which is my own stuff.” He’s referring to Aliens, a movie Bungie has long said was inspiration for its hit franchise.

      There may be more alien worlds coming from Cameron in the near future, who said he has plenty of stories but not enough time to make them all into movies. Oh, and if you haven’t seen Avatar yet, go.

      Games in Media

      EA’s got a ‘major MMO’ set for Spring 2011

      January 13, 2010 /

      Star Wars: The Old Republic.The big news from EA’s earnings call yesterday was definitely that the company expected to make millions less this year than it originally though. CEO John Riccitello is already looking forward to 2011, though, when he says the company will release a “major MMO.”

      From what we know, that probably means Star Wars: The Old Republic from Bioware. That would be about as major as you can get. It’s definitely at the top of my MMO wish list. There are other options, though. He could be talking about Need for Speed: World Online, which I really hope isn’t the case. There’s also the very slim chance that EA has a hush-hush project in the works, but I doubt that’s going to happen either.

      Instead, I think it’s safe to start dreaming up bounty hunter names.

      Development, EA, MMO

      Average game development costs $18-28 million

      January 13, 2010 /

      Game development.The explosive growth of the gaming industry has directly translated to the back end, according some analysis done by M2 Research. The group found that average development costs for multi-platform games are deep into the tens of millions, averaging somewhere between $18M and $28M per game.

      Single platform titles are still somewhere around the $10M mark, as the research has it. One of the big concerns about the high cost is the strain it puts on employees. Developers are pushed hard to make sure the publisher’s investment is met with solid return.

      The return is there, at least on blockbuster titles. Take Modern Warfare 2, for instance. The game cost over $50 million to make but made $550 million in its first five days on the shelves. Average titles don’t always fare so well, and with a struggling economy, it’s easy to see why development houses are a little nervous.

      Development, News

      Microsoft says the 360 hasn’t even reached the hill

      January 12, 2010 /

      Xbox 360 family.Our current console generation is set to be one of the longest in the industry. Sony has often commented that the PS3 is on a 10-year plan, same with the PSP. That puts the former right around its midlife crisis, and like any good mid-lifer, it went and slimmed down, smartened up, and managed to find its way into more homes than any other time in its life (I don’t know that the last one actually works in my metaphor, but hey). Microsoft isn’t ready to send its console over the hill just yet.

      Speaking to the Guardian UK at CES this year, Microsoft’s David Hufford said the Xbox 360 hasn’t even made it halfway through its lifecycle. Project Natal and upgrades to the Xbox Live service are planned to prolong the life of the console well into the new decade.

      “I think it’s important to say that the Xbox 360 is the console of the long future for us,” Hufford said. “There is no need to launch a new console, because we’re able to give this console new life either with software upgrades or hardware upgrades like Project Natal.”

      It’s funny. As much as people gripe that PC gaming is over, consoles are starting to emulate PCs. We’ve just seen consoles succeed in the same way Apple has, by marrying hardware and software control under one roof.

      Development, Xbox 360

      Only 15% of you buy DLC

      January 12, 2010 /

      DLC.Frank N. Magid Associates recently conducted a survey to see how much market penetration DLC sees. The numbers were surprisingly low, with just 15% of the pollsters claiming to have purchased DLC in the past.

      The poll was for about 800 people and concluded that 41% of gamers knew about DLC but didn’t buy, while 43% claimed that they had never even heard of it. Magid Associates did say that the 43% were mostly users on consoles like the Nintendo Wii and the PS2, consoles that aren’t heavy on additional DLC for titles.

      That first stat is crazy when you think about the amount of publishers who have pushed for post-release support in recent years. For a while it looked like that might be the next big moneymaker, since highly marketed titles either weren’t doing well or simply cost too much to develop. So, what’s next guys? Board game licenses for popular titles?

      Development, News

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