Author: Jeff Morgan (Page 218 of 260)

Penguin to publish Assassin’s Creed novel

November 7, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Alongside this month’s release of Assassin’s Creed 2, Ubisoft has partnered with Penguin Books to bring us a novel based Ezio’s escapades. Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance will release on November 26th, roughly a week after the game launches.

“This partnership presents at last a way for traditional book-publishing to cross-over with the ever growing and increasingly exciting world of gaming media,” said Penguin editorial director Alex Clarke. I’m not sure what “at last” means in this situation. There have been books based on game franchises for quite a while now.

The description from Amazon is just as over the top as you would expect:

‘I will seek Vengeance upon those who betrayed my family. I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze. I am an Assassin…’ Betrayed by the ruling families of Italy, a young man embarks upon an epic quest for vengeance. To eradicate corruption and restore his family’s honour, he will learn the art of the assassins. Along the way, Ezio will call upon the wisdom of such great minds as Leonardo Da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli – knowing that survival is bound to the skills by which he must live. To his allies, he will become a force for change – fighting for freedom and justice. To his enemies, he will become a threat dedicated to the destruction of the tyrants abusing the people of Italy. So begins an epic story of power, revenge and conspiracy. Truth will be written in blood.

Now imagine reading that for 528 pages. I don’t know that I would make it through.

Games in Media, Previews

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Modern Warfare 2 pirate arrested

November 7, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Christian Del Adamo’s plan was simple enough – buy a stolen Modern Warfare 2 bundle before it released, crack the game code, and sell illegal copies for profit. Del Adamo was going to use donations to get the bundle, which he would later repay with copies of the game. He was even talking to a hologram maker to make his copies seem a little less shady. And it all would have worked out if it weren’t for that damn internet.

Activision got word of the idea, which Del Adamo had apparently posted to sites Activision watches, and contacted IPCybercrime.com, who then tracked down our thief using Facebook, of all things. Poor guy had just turned 18 in August, too. Welcome to trial as an adult, Christian.

Detectives in LA busted another guy who admitted to stealing a crate of the console bundles from a retail store and then selling them for $800 on Craig’s List. I’m not sure why I expect these people to show some discretion but I do. Then again, they are trying to steal, copy, and sell what is about to become the biggest entertainment launch of all time, and they’re posting about it publicly. Assuming they’re somewhat interested in gaming, shouldn’t decades of stupid villains have taught these guys something?

Source: Venture Beat

Activision, News

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Gran Turismo 5 cost $60 million in development

November 6, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

As you might expect, the Gran Turismo team was on site at the SEMA car show in Vegas to promote the game. Creative director Kazunori Yamauchi was there running demos and talking to the press. He dropped a big bomb on a small audience when he estimated the cost of Gran Turismo 5 development at $60 million.

The massive price tag mostly came from the need to develop a new engine for the game. “We threw away the legacy code from GT4 and started from scratch … It’s been five years [since the release of] GT4, and that’s the same amount of time it took to develop the first GT4,” he said. Yamauchi also deferred the issue of release dates outside Japan to Sony marketing, claiming it’s their decision when the game will get a date. Most people, myself included, are anticipating a first half (though probably second quarter) 2010 release.

Source: VGChartz

PS3

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Xbox 360 Wireless N reappears for $88

November 5, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Just about a month ago the Xbox 360 802.11n adapter started showing up on various retailers’ websites. It originally listed at $99 with an expected launch date of November 3rd. Well, Tuesday came and went with nary a word about the new peripheral, and the product listings had pretty much disappeared.

The overpriced periph returned today, though, popping up on Costco’s website with an $88 price tag and free shipping. The site lists a November 10th ship date. Obviously things are subject to change, as we found out the last time. I have to say, though, if waiting another month would drop the price to $77, it just might be worth it. I’d almost sort of consider maybe calling that nearly reasonable. But not quite.

Accessories, Xbox 360

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No Doubt sues Activision over Band Hero

November 5, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

No Doubt is suing Activision over unauthorized use of the band’s image in the new Band Hero. Originally the two parties had a contract that allowed Activision to use likenesses of the band members for its own songs. The new game allows players to use No Doubt members as avatars playing other songs, which the band alleges turns them into a virtual karaoke act.

You might remember Courtney Love raising the same stink about use of Cobain’s image for other artists’ work. In this case, though, it seems Activision has put the avatars into situations that could have some legal ramifications. As the lawsuit states, Band Hero stages Gwen Stefani, No Doubt’s sassy frontlady, singing The Stones song “Honky Tonk Woman.” The problem is that the feature “results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes.” I’ve certainly heard celebrities cry foul over less.

As expected, Activision claims to be within its rights. No Doubt is looking for damages, an injunction, and a recall of existing copies of the game. Good luck with that one.

Source: Reuters