Displaying stories with the tag "Steven Spielberg". Subscribe to this URL for an RSS feed of this tag. Want more news? Click here for the Shacknews frontpage.Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Due out in May, the Wii-exclusive action-puzzler features over 300 levels, with players able to make their own stages in Create Mode and share them with online friends through WiiConnect24.
"Boom Blox plays on the enjoyment of building and knocking down blocks, something that can appeal innately to kids and adults of all ages," noted Spielberg. "I am a gamer myself, and I really wanted to create a video game that I could play with my kids."
Spielberg is known to be working on two other projects with EA Los... Read more
Playing up high definition displays and connected entertainment, Gates spoke of wide-ranging changes to the industry, before bringing on Microsoft president of entertainment devices Robbie Bach to make a few Xbox 360-related announcements.
"ABC and Disney will be bringing their TV shows to Xbox Live this month. Top rated shows like Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and others," said Bach, who also noted that MGM will be added to the growing list of movie studios supporting the service.
"Windows is far and away the largest gaming platform in the world, and continues to grow," remarked Bach, before similarly lauding the Xbox 360's success. "We have passed the ten million member mark for Xbox Live. That's six months faster than we expected to get to that number."
Other than a mention of British Telecom partnering with Microsoft to use Xbox 360s as IPTV set-top boxes, the conference was largely dominated by a look at future technology and portable devices.
Gates introduced the Microsoft Surface, a sort of giant iPhone table... Read more
"I am a gamer myself and game development has always intrigued me," Spielberg said. "Now I've been able to jump in and do it, enjoying the creative collaboration with the EALA team on our first two games."
As previously reported, one of the titles is a Wii exclusive game involving phsyics-based block manipulation. Codenamed PQRS, the... Read more
PQRS, in development for Wii, is a physics-based action puzzle game that has players using the Wii remote to spatially manipulate building blocks within the game world. Gameplay details are slim at this time, but Newsweek reports that Spielberg is confident the game will have a broad appeal. "It just seemed like a great thing for the entire family to play together over Christmas," he said. "Although you don't need the excuse of a holiday to enjoy it."
LMNO, heading to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, sounds more in line with Spielberg's silver screen productions. The action game's player... Read more
In an analyst conference call following the release of Electronic Arts' earnings report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, EA executives announced that the release of Will Wright's upcoming evolution simulator Spore has been pushed out of 2007. EA CEO John Riccitiello, who recently returned to the company after co-founding Elevation Partners, indicated that there is a possibility the game will be released at the end of EA's coming fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, but it is more likely it will be pushed into the following quarter.
"We continue to have enormous confidence in Spore as a franchise but have made the call not to include this title in our fiscal year financial plan," said CFO Warren C. Jenson. Responding to analyst queries regarding the current status of the game, Riccitiello added, "I've had the chance to review the title three times ... Read more
Discussing the three game team-up of Electronic Arts and Steven Spielberg with GameDaily BIZ, EA Los Angeles general manager Neil Young revealed two of the games are currently in development at EA LA and at least one of them is for the Wii. Furthermore, the Wii title is being produced by Westwood Studios co-founder Lou Castle, now vice president of creative development at EA LA.
Young was more tight-lipped about the other title. Apart from naming Doug Church as producer, whose resume includes System Shock (PC), Thief (PC) and Deus Ex (PC), Young only added that the game is "what you'd expect, sort of, from a Steven Spielberg production . . . big stories shown through the eyes of a small group."
Over at Level Up, N'Gai Croal has an exclusive look at Plato and Ubisoft's upcoming Nintendo DS guitar game, Jam Sessions. Much like Harmonix's Guitar Hero series, Jam Sessions allows users to perform contemporary tunes. Unlike Guitar Hero however, Jam Sessions permits the player to dictate the speed of a song and also provides a Free Play mode for potential musicians to fool around in.
Previously released as Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06 in Japan, the North American version features several improvements over the original version, including reworked songs and the ability to save games. Jam Sessions will be available in June.
During his keynote address today, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto revealed the first details on a new Wii Channel that will allow users worldwide to compare Miis and rate them in what he called "popularity contests." No timeframe was offered as to when the Channel will be up for download from the Wii Ware section of the Wii Shop Channel.
Disney Interactive Studios announced a series of games for the PlayStation 2, Wii and Nintendo DS based off Disney Channel's popular High School Musical movie. The PS2 and Wii versions will be karaoke-based, the song list including all the original High School Musical tracks plus those of the upcoming sequel, along with other songs from Disney Channel artists. Details on the DS version remain a bit more scarce, the only available information indicating that players "dance and play along with the movie's songs and create their own dance videos."
More importantly, Disney's announcement of a karaoke-based title on the Wii inadvertently confirms recent rumors microphone peripheral for the platform. Expect to hear more details on both the game and the microphone as High School Musical's August release date draws near.
Ascaron Entertainment's upcoming action RPG Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is in development for Xbox 360 as well as the previously announced PC version, the company revealed to Shacknews today. The Xbox 360 version will support four player online co-op as well as two-player same-screen co-op and four-player system link co-op.
Though the game is currently up and running on Xbox 360, publisher details have not yet been finalized. Expect impressions of the Xbox 360 edition from Shacknews soon, but in the mean time, check out our preview of the PC version.Nintendo issued a list of their upcoming releases for the second quarter of 2007. On the Wii, the company will release platformer-RPG hybrid Super Paper Mario on April 9, followed by Mario Party 8 on May 29. The Wii rendition of Big Brain Academy hits June 11, with Pokemon Battle Revolution wrapping up the company's second quarter on June 25.
For the DS, April 22 will see the release of Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl. Meanwhile, the Nintendo DS Web Browser and Planet Puzzle League both ship June 4.
In an interview with IGN, Bioware CEO Dr. Ray Muzyka suggested the company's Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect will arrive in stores before E3 begins on July 11, 2007. "That event [E3] is in July, right?" he postured. "Well, Mass Effect won't appear at this year's E3."
The Escapist chats up Electronic Arts co-founder Joe Ybarra, who talks about his view of EA as "a start-up type of experience" and calls certain business practices into question.
Kirby's Adventure for the NES. "The first console adventure of the pink puffball who inhaled his way into our hearts." (submitted by RevRaven)
Tellingly, Doug Church of Electronic Arts, who gave the keynote speech at last year's AIIDE conference, recently started work on a game with Steven Spielberg where "the focus is on building an emotive relationship at a story level and a gameplay level between the player and another character," says Mr Young.
The brief description is more than a little reminiscent of past declarations on the part of both Young and Spielberg that, someday, a video game will make you cry. Spielberg postulated, "I think the real indicator [that games have become a storytelling art form] will be when somebody confesses that they cried at level 17." Young stated, "A computer game still hasn't made you cry. I think we'll crack that problem in the next five years and it'll be a watershed event for our business." That was during GDC 2004. Presumably, Spielberg's first game with Young's studio will meet its implied March 2009 deadline.
Hot on the heels of the anouncement of a Kip Thorne-inspired sci-fi project, Steven Spielberg is now being set to direct WORLD OF WARCRAFT, the adaptation of the popular computer game. This seems rather odd because, not only is it a bit much for Spielberg to have what is now four projects slated for the next few years, a video game adaptation (which, as a genre, have yet to claim any kind of mainstream prestige) does not seem like the type of movie for a director of his status to even consider, let alone pile on top of other stuff he has in the works.
As of writing, neither developer Blizzard nor parent company Vivendi have responded to Shacknews' inquiries on the matter.
UPDATE: Blizzard has commented to Shacknews on today's rumors, neither confirming nor denying Spielberg's involvement. "No final determinations have been made at this time, and we're working very closely and carefully with LP to ensure that the team that forms around the picture will be fully equipped to accuarately depict the WarCraft universe," stated a company spokesperson. "We look forward to revealing more details about the cast and crew in the coming months." No further details were given.
Movie producers and game designers have tried for decades to cash in on each other's appeal with movies based on games and with games based on movies. Flops have far outnumbered hits. Even as technical differences erode -- games are more cinematic, movies rely heavily on computer effects -- the gap between the two remains difficult to bridge. Only one game with a movie tie-in, "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," ranked among the top 10 best-selling U.S. titles of 2005, according to NPD Group video game analyst Anita Frazier. In contrast, Frazier said, "King Kong" came in 72nd.
With the cost of game development continually rising, particularly with the current console transition, many are reevaluating the benefits of movie licenses, which are often very expensive for publishers to acquire. Activision just spend an estimated $70M on the Bond license, but that opportunity was only made available after Electronic Arts dropped the license to move away from content not entirely controlled in-house.
As most gamers know, movies and games have not traditionally been nearly as compatible as many Hollywood and game publisher executives have hoped. Still, more and more Hollywood filmmakers have expressed interest in moving into the video game space, even in the case of games that are not solely adapdations. Last year, Electronic Arts announced that Steven Spielberg will be contributing to several upcoming video games. Action director John Woo is making what is essentially a sequel to his classic film Hard Boiled, but instead of a movie, the followup is a standalone video game. Actor Vin Diesel's game studio Tigon has contributed to Starbreeze's Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (a rare example of a well-received film adaptation) and an upcoming original property The Wheelman, which is being developed both as a game and a film.
Despite the less than promising results of the past, it seems that the possible payoffs from a crossover between two incredibly lucrative industries are simply too attractive for game publishers and film studios. Expect the film-to-game trend (and vice versa) to be relentlessly pursued, with the occasional success fueling the fire.
While Square's CGI film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was originally supposed to launch in North America simultaneously with the Japanese release, it was delayed several times before seemingly disappearing. Earlier this month, rumors surfaced that the film would be released around these parts "by the end of 2006," not exactly a very confident date. Fortunately for frothing Final Fantasy fans, the film will finally fall onto retail shelves on April 25. Of this year. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment today announced the date as well as the 2-disc DVD package's special features, which include deleted scenes, a "making of" featurette, and previews of the upcoming Final Fantasy VII spinoff games. Given the traditional lack of extra features on PSP movie discs, it is unknown what will be included on the UMD release.
One other bit of information that wasn't provided was whether the DVD will include the original Japanese audio track, something many fans surely desire. The announcement did, however, provide an exhaustive list of the film's English-language actors. The cast includes Mena Suvari (American Beauty) reprising her role as Aeris from Kingdom Hearts II, Steve Burton reprising his role as Cloud from Kingdom Hearts, Rachel Leigh Cook as Tifa, and many others.
As the list of confirmed developers and publishers preparing Revolution titles continues to build slowly, UK independent developer Blitz Games has announced an untitled game for the upcoming console. The company is currently working on a survival horror game called Possession for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, and while rumors surfaced recently that Blitz may be preparing something for Revolution as well, they were not confirmed until now. Speaking about the unique properties of the Revolution, Blitz co-founder and development director Andrew Oliver said, "We're genuinely very excited to be working on the Revolution. Nintendo's innovation over the years has trail blazed new concepts and the new controller is no exception. It will give people new ways to play existing genres but moreover we hope it will spawn altogether new gaming experiences."
There is not yet a projected release date, but the project already has a "major publisher" on board and details should be revealed "shortly," so expect to see this one at E3 if not before. - Press release
In efforts to curb rampant inflation in its fictional world of Vana'diel, Square Enix has cancelled more than 700 accounts involved in the sale or purchase of in-game "gil" currency by way of real world currency. This practice is known as real money trading, or RMT. The press release states that, "Thanks to these measures, more than 300 billion gil has been removed from circulation, and the overly inflated prices of items have begun to fall to more realistic levels."
Square Enix is taking a markedly different approach with its MMO than that taken by Sony Online Entertainment, which recently began officially sanctioning real money trades on designated servers. Most MMO operators, however, including Blizzard with World of Warcraft, are explicitly against the practice. - Press release
Activision has officially confirmed recent rumors that the publisher will be handling a video game adaptation of the upcoming Transformers movie. The live action film will be directed by Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor, The Island) and executive produced by Steven Spielberg.
The game will ship in conjunction with the film's July 4, 2007 release date. It is in development by an unspecified studio for "console, handheld, and PC" platforms. Considering the far off release, don't expect to see it on current-gen home consoles. - Press release
Ubisoft today announced a deal to develop and publish a snowboarding video game franchise featuring Olympic gold medalist and six time X Games gold medalist Shaun White. No details are yet available regarding the game or any potential platforms. It will ship some time in 2007. - Press release
Echoing recent downsizing from rival Electronic Arts, publisher Activision has stated that it plans to reduce its workforce by something less than 7%. Approximately 154 jobs will be lost as a result of the move. This follows Activision's announcement of its third quarter financial results, which saw a significant drop from the previous year. Various factors left profits of several large publishers on the decline in recent months, but analysts expect the situation to improve as the next generation of consoles gets into full swing.
GameSpot has a developer interview on Ready at Dawn's Daxter (PSP).
IGN checks out Polyphony Digital's Tourist Trophy: The Real Riding Simulator (PS2) and Success' Fire Delivery Service (PS2). GameSpy looks at Genki's Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift (PS2).
GameSpot checks out the multiplayer in Ready at Dawn's Daxter (PSP). GameSpy previews Konami's Gradius Collection (PSP).
Screenshots: New Super Mario Bros. (DS). Rainbow Islands Revolution (DS). The Wild (GBA).
Movies: Age of Empires: The Age of Kings (DS).
Screenshots: OutRun 2006 (PS2, Xbox, PSP, PC).
Golden Axe 2 for the Sega Genesis. "I borrowed this game over and over from my neighbor. The dragonlings, huge enemies, 1000-foot long eagles, and silly story made this arcade port a classic. Multiplayer co-op!" (submitted by famine101)
After announcing that the Katamari Damacy (PS2) franchise, designed by Keita Takahashi, has sold over half a million units in Japan, publisher Namco announced an intent to developer other simplistic titles in that vein. The decision in the wake of Katamari's success is a bit ironic, given how hard Takahashi had to fight within the company in order to get his game developed in the first place, having been told by Namco producers and senior designers that the concept was too simplistic and would not be fun. After the game's release, Takahashi attempted to prevent the development of a sequel to the game, preferring to work on something new, but eventually agreed to work on the title We Love Katamari (PS2) as an alternative to Namco developing the game without him at all. However, when it came to PSP version Me and My Katamari, due in March, Takahashi had had enough and refused to contribute. Frustrated with the endlessly sequel-driven mentality of an industry which he feels does not give proper credit or freedom to its most creative members, he plans to take his leave of gaming in the near future. A sculptor by training, Takahashi hopes to move on to design playgrounds.
Trade publication MCV claims that EA's upcoming adaptation of The Godfather (both the film and the book), long expected in the first quarter of 2006, will actually hit stores just in time to make its projected release period. According to the site, the PS2, Xbox, and PC versions of the game will reach retailers on March 24. No North American date was given, but North American-developed games frequently show up in Europe a bit later than in their home territory.
No date was discussed for the Xbox 360 version, which has been confirmed to be in development. The PSP version of the game, for which there has been the least media released, was not mentioned.
MCV contributes another rumor to the mill with the claim that Activision has obtained the rights to the upcoming live-action Transformers film. The film is being directed by longtime Jerry Bruckheimer collaborator Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor, The Island), who is working without Bruckheimer this time around. Steven Spielberg will be lending his assistance as executive producer.
Activision has been handling a lot of film to game adaptations in recent years, and has scored some hits with Treyarch's games based on Sam Raimi's two recent Spider-Man films. The news outlet's source states that Activision obtained the rights last year, and has a "top US studio" working on the game.
The recently formed Namco Bandai has sent out its official 2006 lineup. Some of the more notable titles are as follows:
PlayStation 2: Tales of Legendia (Namco, February 6), MS Saga (Bandai, February), Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (Namco, Spring), MotoGP4 (Namco, Spring), Naruto: Narutimate Hero (CyberConnect2, Summer), .hack//GU Part 1 (CyberConnect2, 2006).
Xbox 360: Frame City Killer (Namco, 2006).
Nintendo DS: Mage Knight: Destiny's Soldier (Namco, Spring), Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop (NanaOn-Sha, January 31).
PSP: Bounty Hounds (Xpec, Spring), Me and My Katamari (Namco, March).
PC: Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios, TBD), Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (Black Hole Games, Fall), Mage Knight: Apocalypse (InterServ, Spring).
Tecmo has confirmed that it is currently in development of titles for Sony's upcoming PS3. Though the publisher is not ready to divulge its lineup just yet, it promises that it will arrive "shortly." Company president Junji Nakamura announced Tecmo's commitment to PS3 last August. Just months later, he slammed Sony for a lack of information regarding its upcoming machine, praising Microsoft's efforts with Xbox 360 and saying that "the [PS3's] hardware is conceived by an appliance manufacturer." As a Japanese company, Tecmo has displayed an usual level of support for Microsoft's first-generation Xbox console, moving the Dead or Alive franchise to Xbox (and now Xbox 360) and launching Ninja Gaiden as an Xbox exclusive.
Capcom has quietly changed the Dead Rising (X360) date on its release info page from May 2, 2006 to a more ambiguous Summer 2006. Speaking to IGN, a Capcom representative said that the original date was merely "a rough estimated date," so even if it feels like the zombie-bashing game is being delayed, it may in fact not be. Or something.
As a completely innocent side note, Clover Studio's upcoming Okami (PS2) happens to be listed right above Dead Rising, with a Spring 2006 release date. I'm just sayin'.
GameSpot is reporting that a demo of Pseudo Interactive's upcoming Full Auto (X360, also PS3) will be coming to Xbox Live on January 25. There is also a faceplate promotion going on for preorders at certain retailers. The game will hit stores on February 14.
If you're interested in becoming a cheapass gamer--and we're talking about price deals here, not spawn camping--The Escapist has a feature up about Cheap Ass Gamer, a site which helps gamers find games for cheap.
IGN checks up on SCE Studios Cambridge's 24: The Game (PS2). 1UP looks at Namco's Tales of Legendia (PS2). GameSpy takes a look at Capcom Production Studio 2's Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams (PS2).
Screenshots: Winter Sports (PS2).
1UP checks out From Software's charmingly named [em] -eNCHANT arM- (X360).
Screenshots: The Outfit (X360).
IGN takes an early look at Natsume's Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (GCN).
GameSpot goes hands on with NanaOn-Sha's Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop (DS). GameSpy previews Ready At Dawn's Daxter (PSP).
Illusion of Gaia for the Super Nintendo. "One of my childhood favorites. It had a very unique, yet interesting story and some memorable characters. The ending music is one of my favorite video game songs." (submitted by Orange Pylon)
The game industry is highly dependent on hits, and major titles can cost up to $20 million to develop. The publishers have to shoulder that financial risk, so it's not unusual for a distributor to take 75 percent of sales, after recouping its costs, Mr. Resnick noted. The focus on hits also makes publishers reluctant to back new titles and types of games when they can rely on sequels of best-selling games with built-in audiences. This dynamic means that the creative talent - the programmers, engineers and designers who make games - tend to have relatively little control or reward, particularly compared with creative talent in the movie business. "The talent is not getting anywhere what they should," [Pandemic president Josh] Resnick said of the video game industry. "We're the film industry in the 1920's."
Some don't see it as such a great idea. "They don't have any chance of success," said industry analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan, pointing out that Wall Street investors like to see more security in video game firms, preferring large corporations with many branches of operation like EA or Activision. Resnick, however, points out that Pixar is a successful independent creative studio that is publically traded, and VG Holdings hopes to pursue the same type of path.
Of course, the film industry is very different from the game industry in that film audiences tend to have at least somewhat of a better awareness of who is behind the film than your average gamer does of who is behind the game. That is, it's easier to sell a Pixar movie simply by virtue of being a Pixar movie than it is to sell a Pandemic game simply by virtue of it being a Pandemic game. This gives Pixar a certain amount of control simply because their name is so valuable. In modern film, the same can be said for directors such as Steven Spielberg or M. Night Shyamalan; even casual audiences are familiar with those names. By contrast, in gaming, it is the franchises and the publishers, not the actual developers, with whom most gamers are familiar. No moviegoer cares whether Universal or Tri-Star distributes a picture, yet many gamers have brand loyalty to publishers such as Activision or Electronic Arts. While entities like VG Holdings aim to challenge that perception, it is going to be an uphill battle.
There's also simply the possibility that, in the (theoretical) absense of the controlling hand of a publisher, shareholders will fill that gap. The game industry is still sadly fixated on bullet points as a description for games, much more so than most other types of entertainment, both in terms of marketing and in actual design. They are the type of guidelines that it seems would be easy for shareholders to impose upon developers based on the hot games that happen to be selling at any given moment. It's only a matter of time before somebody demands an urban gang warfare shooter set deep in the trenches of World War II. Oh, and it's a trilogy.
Pandemic and BioWare are both talented studios with proven successes and great potential. This sort of endeavor is one that, properly managed, would be very encouraging in today's publisher-driven games industry. However, there's a lot working against it, and there's the possibility of it turning into simply more of the same, which long term might be even worse than the venture simply proving unsuccessful. It'll be interesting to see how this develops.
"I have been playing EA games for years and have watched them master the interactive format." said Steven Spielberg. "Having watched the game industry grow from a niche into a major creative force in entertainment, I have a great deal of respect for EA's understanding of the interactive format. I'm looking forward to working closely with the team in Los Angeles."
 |
Metroid Prime/Fusion Link For those of you who are interested in seeing how you link up Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion, and what the original NES Metroid looks like, images and videos are up at IGN tonight. IGN also has a few comments from Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto about Metroid Prime and its development at Retro Studios. |
 |
A Green Xbox? Another Computer & Video Games "exclusive" ..supposedly Microsoft is going to release a green colored Xbox, which looks not unlike the developer debug units of the console. There will be a green Controller S as well. If this rumor is to be believed, we'll see a green Xbox in early 2003, "although speculation regarding a pre-Christmas launch is growing". |
| |
Xbox Live Europe Q&A More Xbox news comes from GameSpot where they have an interview with Microsoft's Michel Cassius and Richard Teversham about the Xbox Live plans in Europe. |
 |
Minority Report Interview There's a Minority Report interview on HomeLAN Fed, asking Treyarch producer Alex Offerman about the game based on the Steven Spielberg movie. |
| |
Xbox Sales Up Good news for Microsoft, because according to brokerage UBS Warburg the Xbox bundle with 2 Sega games has helped boost sales of the console. Microsoft says sales of the bundle have exceeded expectations. Thanks ScoobySnack. |
| |
Resident Evil 0 Ships Capcom today announced the release of Resident Evil 0, the first original Resident Evil game created for the GameCube. |
|
Shinobi OST Should you want to get the soundtrack to Shinobi, IGN has news about the release of that. It will be released December 5 in Japan, so you'll have to find a store to import it for you. IGN also has a review of Shinobi, giving the game a 7.8. |
|
Unreal Championship Interview Planet Unreal has an interview with Pancho Eekels and James Schmalz of Digital Extremes, who answer a few questions about Unreal Championship which is shipping this week. |
|
|
Misc. Screenshots Blizzard's StarCraft: Ghost site has been updated with two new screenshots from the upcoming action game. Some F-Zero screenshots are up at GameSpot. Computer & Video Games has new screenshots from True Fantasy Live Online, the Xbox MMORPG in development at Level 5. |
"In our industry we have people who are recognized as the consistent producers," said Steve Dauterman, general manager of EA's British studio. "I wouldn't be surprised if one day they become superstars like Steven Spielberg, but right now they're known within the industry, not outside."Seems pretty unlikely to me, what do you think?
Advertisement
Copyright 1996-2007 Shacknews LTD, All rights reserved. Shacknews logos, lols, rofls, lmaos, and possibly also wtfs are service marks or trade marks of Maarten. He will try to bathe with you. Watch out! User-posted content, unless source quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License.
