"It's kinda a golden age of gaming. We're seeing some great games out there."

But after rifling through a half dozen titles he's played recently--including Advance Wars, Mercenaries, and Halo--Sid Meier, legendary Firaxis designer, admitted that he has yet to play Valve's Portal.

"When [Civilization Revolution] is done. On my pile of games to play."

With the upcoming release of Civilization Revolution, much of the Game Developers Conference Q&A with Meier was unsurprisingly devoted to the addictive strategy series he is known for.

Speaking of his team's early days on the original Civ, it turns out that even Meier was shocked at how enticing a round of Civilization could be.

"I actually did not really expect the game to be as addictive as it was," said Meier. "Every game had its fans but this kind of universal addictiveness.. was scary."

Meier went on to admit that much of the winning Civilization design... Read more

The original Xbox editions of Team Ninja's action-slasher Ninja Gaiden Black, Firaxis Games' swashbuckling simulator Sid Meier's Pirates!, and Criterion Games' first-person shooter Black will be available for download from the Xbox Live Marketplace beginning Monday, February 11.

Word of the impending releases recently appeared through the online marketplace itself as well as the official Xbox web site.

The three mark the latest additions to the recently launched Xbox Originals program, bringing its selection up to 11 titles. Other Xbox Originals releases include Bungie's Halo, Double Fine's Psychonauts, and Criterion's Burnout 3: Takedown, with each game selling for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

GamersGlobal has posted a Sid Meier Q&A, asking the designer about his past, present and future.

2K Games has released the first screenshots of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution for the Nintendo DS, which depict turn-based strategy goodness along with Gandhi and ninjas.

Developed by Firaxis Games, the Civilization Revolution will be televised on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS this spring. Though previously announced, the Wii version has been placed on indefinite hold.

The Wii version of Firaxis Games' Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution has been delayed indefinitely, according to publisher 2K Games.

"Development for the Wii version of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is currently on hold," 2K Games told IGN. "We are focusing our attention on creating the best possible Civilization experience for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS platforms."

The first Civilization game built exclusively for consoles, Revolution is said to be the first Sid Meier-designed Civilization title since the original Sid Meier's Civilization (PC).

The hold up comes as little surprise, given that the Wii version was already slated to hit much later than the other versions. At the time of our E3 preview, the turn-based strategy game was expected to arrive on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS in the spring, with the now-uncertain Wii release trailing in the fall.

Sid Meier's Civilization is a long running PC classic currently being adapted for a new multiplatform style, and the progenitor of its own genre. One of the notable features of these games was picking your favorite civilization, be it for its leader, its cultural strengths, its special units, or just just the way they happen to talk. Well, we thought maybe we could have a little contest around here courtesy of a certain wonderful community manager over at 2K Games.

Shackers, tell us of your favorite real or fictional civilization. Give a short description of the civilization, who the leader is and their traits, and what is their favored military unit and building. You can see examples from Civilization 4 at CivFanatics. No more than a paragraph or two per element please.

Up for grabs will be a Civilization Revolution Xbox 360 faceplate and one of these BioShock t-shirts which we have both men's large and women's medium sizes. Four winners will be chosen randomly from the submissions, so no one should feel any intimidation by participating. Entries will be accepted until Monday, January 28th at midnight CST.

Often recognized as the "father of computer gaming", legendary designer Sid Meier (pictured left) will be recognized for lifetime achievement at this year's Game Developers Choice Awards.

Meier, creator of standout and genre-defining PC titles like Civilization and Pirates!, has already received just about every award the industry has to offer for his achievements in development and design. Meier was a co-founder of MicroProse and currently works as creative director at Firaxis Games.

Said Game Developers Conference's Jamil Moledina, "Now that the rest of the industry is actively targeting the broader audience, it’s fitting to honor him with our highest award and thank him for his continuing example of inspiration for the video game community."

The honor was awarded by the editors of Gamasutra in association with an advisory committee that included Clint Hocking of Ubisoft, Raph Koster of Areae, Ray Muzyka of Bioware, Ryan Lesser of Harmonix and Brian Reynolds of Big Huge Games.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of news that Magnavox Odyssey inventor Ralph Baer will be receiving the GDC Pioneer Award.

Meier is currently working on Civilization Revolution (PS3, X360, Wii, DS), which marks the first Civilization title developed directly under Sid Meier since 1996's Civilization II.

Blizzard Entertainment co-founder, president and CEO Mike Morhaime (pictured left) is the latest addition to the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame, the academy announced today.

Morhaime marks the eleventh inductee into the Hall of Fame, joining renowned industry figures such as Sid Meier, Will Wright, Shigeru Miyamoto, Richard Garriott, Peter Molyneux, Trip Hawkins, and Yu Suzuki.

"This is a great honor, and I'm proud to receive it," said Morhaime. "The success that Blizzard Entertainment has had over the years would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and support of players around the world, and the passion and dedication of our employees, so I thank all of them for contributing to this achievement."

Though Morhaime has contributed to beloved Blizzard franchises--including Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo--it is the company's work with its ludicrously... Read more

Flying Lab's pirate MMO is nearing completion, and promises to mix up the field with EVE-like economic systems and Sid Meierian combat. I got my first hands-on time with the game a few days ago, and came away mixed. Check out my detailed impressions.

Also, be sure to glance at my self-taken screenshot gallery below.

I want to feel as if my ship is more than a fast-moving, robotic gun platform. Let me order my crew around, a la Silent Hunter 4. Let me attend to specific repairs as in Independence War, or attempt long ranging shots with bow chasers, already possible in something like Sea Dogs. Instead, I'm holding "A" and hitting space-bar, over and over again. Sails fly up masts in seconds. The best points of sailing direction are clearly marked for you. All of the interesting aspects of ship combat are entirely automated, with depth being added through button-based abilities that are more at home in Everquest. You can't even ram stuff. Read more...

When 2K Games announced that Sid Meier's addictive strategy series was heading for consoles and "upping the action," fans weren't sure what that would entail--but as the first true Sid Meier-led Civ game since Civ II, it's probably in good hands. We got a look at Civilization Revolution (PS3, X360, Wii, DS) during last week's E3 to give you an idea of what to expect. Chris Faylor reports.

With Wii and DS versions also underway, the representative assured me that gameplay will be basically the same across the various platforms. "The way [Sid Meier] wrote the code, the game core actually doesn't know what system it's on," he noted. "It's the presentation layer that gets wrapped around the core that knows, so they will be able to play very similar."

The upcoming console spinoff of Civilization, Firaxis Games' Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution, is headed to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and DS, publisher 2K Games revealed today.

Announced in late June, Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is the first entry in the classic turn-based strategy series developed exclusively for consoles. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions will arrive in spring 2008, while the Wii and DS versions are scheduled to hit in fall 2008. 2K Games released some pieces of artwork and an announcement trailer at the time.

2K Games today annnounced Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution, the first Civilization game specifically designed for consoles and handhelds by developer Firaxis. Revolution will retain the series' focus of providing engrossing strategic play, while upping the action and streamlining the experience.

"Civilization Revolution is the game I've always wanted to make!" said legendary designer Meier. "We are excited to take advantage of the power of next generation consoles and the ingenuity of handhelds, to create a great and unique strategy game for newcomers to the series, as well as the millions of fans around the world who enjoy Civilization on the PC."

As always, players can choose from 16 civilizations, each with their respective historical leaders. However, Revolution's focus will apparently... Read more

Publisher 2K and Toronto-based media company Bitcasters have finished work on HistoriCanada: The New World, a mod for the Firaxis Games-developed Sid Meier's Civilization III that focuses on key situations and scenarios of Canada's history. With the game now complete after two years in development, 2K will be donating copies of both Sid Meier's Civilization III and HistoriCanada: The New World to 100,000 Canadian high school students, along with a demo of Firaxis Games' Sid Meier's Civilization IV.

Created with the assistance of multiple scholars, HistoriCanada: The New World puts players in charge of an early Canada-based European or Aboriginal ... Read more

Firaxis designer Soren Johnson has left the Hunt Valley, Maryland-based studio founded by Sid Meier to join Will Wright's hand-picked development team in Emeryville, California, giving him two of the most enviable resume entries a game developer could possibly claim. Wright's team is currently working on the ambitious evolution simulator Spore; Johnson's specific role on Spore is unknown. During his more than six years at Firaxis, Johnson was best known as the co-designer of Civilization III and the lead designer of Civilization IV. For his increasingly key role in the acclaimed Civilization series of turn-based nation-building games, Johnson was frequently described as the heir apparent to Civilization creator and overseer Meier.

Johnson's employment by EA serves as something of a homecoming for the programmer. During his time as a student at Stanford University, Johnson also served as an intern at EA's Redwood Shores offices. While there, he contributed to the boxing games Knockout Kings 2000 and Knockout Kings 2001.

News of Johnson's departure and destination was broken by Civilization fansite Apolyton. Representatives from Firaxis parent Take-Two Interactive declined to comment on the news, but the reports were later confirmed by Electronic Arts. Johnson has not made any mention of the move on his personal site.

On a yearly basis, important films are added to the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress, ensuring that landmark motion pictures are preserved in their original forms for generations to come. During last week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Stanford University History of Science and Technology Collections curator Henry Lowood spoke on his efforts to cultivate a similar effort for video games. Lowood has been archiving video games since 1998, and during GDC he along with a panel including noted designers Steve Meretzky and Warren Spector began to establish a list of games crucial to the evolution of the medium.

The ten games selected by the panel as the most important games of all time--sure to be a list of great contention--are the pioneering MIT-originated 1961 space combat game Spacewar!, Doug Neubauer's 1979 space sim Star Raiders (Atari 8-bit), Infocom's 1980 text adventure Zork (PC), Alexey Pajitnov's 1985 puzzle game Tetris, Will Wright's 1989 urban sandbox SimCity (PC), Nintendo's 1990 platformer Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES), Microprose's appropriately named 1991 history simulator Sid Meier's Civilization (PC), id Software's influential 1993 shooter Doom (PC), Blizzard's WarCraft (PC) RTS franchise beginning in 1994, and Sensible Software's classic 1994 sports game Sensible World of Soccer (AMI).

SimCity is "one of the most important art works of the 20th century," said researcher Matteo Bittanti. "It completely reinvented the whole notion of games. And then it transcended the game world to become a cultural phenomenon."

Despite the information-based nature of video games, the history of the form has been poorly maintained, due to factors such as the plethora of formats that have come and gone over the years, the rapid obsolescence of games due to continued technological advancement, as well as the disposable, hit-driven business model that leads most publishers to largely ignore their older propertites. Many older games, particularly those requiring unique hardware, exist only in very limited numbers, and some no longer at all.

On game preservation, Spector warned, "We have to be really careful here because the technology is just going to make this harder for us. The game canon is a way of saying, this is the stuff we have to protect first."

"Creating this list is an assertion that digital games have a cultural significance and a historical significance," said Lowood. "Maybe we should do something about preserving them."

Irrational Games, developer of System Shock 2 as well as the upcoming BioShock (X360, PC), may be working on a successor to Microprose's PC tactical sci-fi classic X-COM: UFO Defense. Evidence suggesting the new game's existence comes by way of a resume found on the official website of law firm Fierst, Pucci & Kane, LLP. It was listed in the CV of firm partner Frederick U. Fierst, which states that among Fierst's clients are "Ken Levine and Jonathan Chey, founders of Irrational Games LLC." The current version of the document has had the pertinent reference removed, but a cached version of the document lists the following games as being credited to the Boston, Massachusetts- and Canberra, Australia-based developer (emphasis added):

System Shock 2, Tribes 3, SWAT, X-Com, BioShock, Freedom Force

Fierst, Pucci & Kane is no stranger to the video games industry, with clients including Shiny founder Dave Perry, The Behemoth, High Voltage Software, The Tetris Company, Paradox Interactive, and everybody's favorite copyright protection service, StarForce.

X-COM has spawned several sequels since the original game's release in late 1993, though the franchise has not seen a new entry since 2001's action spinoff X-COM: Enforcer. Studio head Ken Levine is known to be a diehard fan of X-COM. He has referred to the game as "sort of like my first love," and frequently mentions it as an example of strong design that stands the test of time. He has cited X-COM as the single greatest influence on Irrational's Freedom Force series as well as a more minor influence on the upcoming BioShock. Developer MicroProse was acquired in 1998 by Hasbro, and the development studio was closed soon after; in 2001, Atari (then Infogrames) acquired Hasbro. Coincidentally, original Microprose co-founder Sid Meier now heads up design at Firaxis Games, which is owned by Irrational Games parent 2K Games (in turn a label of Take-Two Interactive).

Levine declined to comment on Irrational's potential developments when contacted by Shacknews. At the moment this can be taken only as a rumor. Further inquiries have been sent to 2K Games and Irrational Games.

Update: Shacker baron calamity points out that Take-Two Interactive acquired the X-Com property in full from Atari in 2005, just a few months before Irrational Games was acquired by the publisher.

Joining a group whose ranks include industry luminaries such as Will Wright, John Carmack, Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, Peter Molyneux, Richard Garriott, and Trip Hawkins, late M.U.L.E. designer and multiplayer innovator Dani Bunten will next month become the latest inductee into the American Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

Bunten's seminal 1983 multiplayer turn-based strategic simulation M.U.L.E., delivered by her studio Ozark Software for Electronic Arts, was not a commercial success but became a widely played and massively influential work, one frequently cited to this day among designers. The less ambitious but more commercially palatable adventure The Seven Cities of Gold followed, and was a rare strong seller for Bunten, spawning the successor Heart of Africa. Continuing with her multiplayer innovation, Bunten released the modem-compatible Modem Wars, which suffered due to low modem penetration at the time. Two more networked games followed, Command HQ in 1990 and the four-player landmark Global Conquest in 1992, both at friend Sid Meier's studio Microprose.

In 1992, Bunten--born Daniel Bunten--underwent a male-to-female sex change operation and took the name Dani Bunten Berry. Around that time she became less publicly involved in the games industry and her design output dropped. Nonetheless she continued working on games on a more infrequent basis, gave talks, and published her writings on her personal site. About her chosen field of multiplayer items, she remarked, "Art, animation, sound, music, and people playing together! Who could ask for more in a medium!" In 1998, Bunten passed away at the age of 49 due to lung cancer.

Bunten's legacy remained strong in the development community, particularly PC design circles, during and after her life. Just prior to her passing she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Computer Game Developers Association. Will Wright dedicated his 2000 hit The Sims to her.

The award will be presented at the annual D.I.C.E. summit on February 8. Legendary designer Sid Meier will accept the award on her behalf.

Back from CES, guys! More previews and interviews to follow next week. Enjoy this console catching up.

Also available on FileShack is the Sid Meier's Railroads! 1.10 patch. It offers a new free camera system, a "use all trains" command in the traintable mode, a Terrain Editor and "plenty of new graphics and functionality".

2K Games sends along a holiday scenario for Sid Meier's Railroads! The 15mb download offers "a new holiday train with 2 skins and custom sounds; holiday-themed goodies like cookies, eggnog and toys; cheerful music to get players in the holiday spirit; a wide-open, rugged North Pole environment; and a challenging scenario that pits you against up to three other robber barons who are out to destroy Christmas".