While acclaimed studios such as Doom creator id, Unreal Tournament developer Epic and Crysis veterans Crytek have cited widespread piracy of PC games as the impetus to pursue console development, id CEO Todd Hollenshead has accused PC makers of viewing piracy as a "hidden benefit" for consumers.

"I think they are [secretly happy about PC piracy]," he explained to GamesIndustry. "The size of the [PC game] pirate market actually is larger than the legitimate-goods market in many cases."

"I think that there's been this dirty little secret among hardware manufacturers, which is that the perception of free content--even if you're supposed to pay for it on PCs--is some sort hidden benefit that you get when you buy a PC, like a right to download music for free or a right to download pirated movies and games."

Though Hollenshead was confident that there is no conspiracy... Read more

Steadily decreasing PC software figures have prompted acclaimed Doom and Quake creator id Software to focus more on consoles than PCs for the future, id president John Carmack has revealed.

"It's hard to second guess exactly what the reasons are. You can say piracy. You can say user migration," Carmack told Tom's Games at this year's QuakeCon. "But the ground truth is just that the sales numbers on the PC are not what they used to be and are not what they are on the consoles."

The statement follows remarks made by id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead at last year's Game Developer's Conference, where he claimed that that "piracy has pushed id as being multiplatform" at last year's Game Developers Conference.

"We still think the PC is a market worth supporting, but we're not making decisions around the PC," Carmack added. "It's probably more of the junior partner in... Read more

Midway through the second hour, even most of the die-hard nerds started to leave.

On stage was a man who, by all accounts, did not need to be there. Wealthy, successful, busy programming rockets and enjoying family life--id Software president John Carmack has plenty of excuses to be a recluse, not the least of which is his admitted lack of "people skills."

But there he was regardless, lecturing away on a Thursday night, professor to his students. Seemingly undeterred by his thinning class, he moved from topic to topic in Picard-like fashion, holding the microphone as the rock king of computer programming.

Though the overall scent noticeably improved with each departure, the buzz within the ballroom also noticeably quieted. Near the end you could almost hear the soft death rattles of fizzling laptop batteries, exhausted journalists resorting to pen and paper, or just plain giving up. Still he rolled on. And on.

Through hour one. Hour two. Hour three.

And then he took questions.... Read more

During an interview with Shacknews, id Software president John Carmack revealed that the company has previously turned down publisher proposals to develop a massive multiplayer version of its shooter series Quake.

Saying that id had passed on several offers of "good money" to develop a Quake MMO, Carmack added that the company would not be attempting a similar project anytime soon.

"id has no interest in MMO development," said Carmack, who added that while he is familiar with the technology, he is also "fully cognizant" of the challenges and risks of creating a game in the genre.

id Software is currently dabbling in web-based online gaming with its upcoming Quake III Arena port Quake Live. In an interview with Shacknews last month, Carmack said development of the game required a "significant effort" for id due to the company's relative inexperience with internet databases.

"We did not have the experience in website development, database management, and all of that web world type stuff," said Carmack on developing Quake Live. "And honestly, we underestimated the challenge involved in that."

In an interview with Shacknews, id Software's John Carmack and Matt Hooper talked up new details on the company's upcoming shooter Rage (PC, 360, PS3). Revealed last year, Rage is a post-apocalyptic shooter that will feature a significant racing component. Though Rage will not be a traditional "sandbox" game, it will see players racing across open spaces towards instances that contain traditional shooter sequences.

Few concrete gameplay details have been released since the game's announcement, but today the developers did let a few extra details slip.

Highlights:

• Two player online co-op is confirmed for consoles and PC. Console players will also have the option of split-screen co-op.
• Co-op will be an entirely separate mode that will not include the story elements of the single player campaign.
• Hooper mentioned "armor" and "inventory" systems, and indicated that there will be some type of world economy that the player can participate in.... Read more

Speaking with Shacknews today, id Software's John Carmack and Matt Hooper revealed details of the company's cancelled big-budget game Darkness.

And as it turns out, Darkness was cancelled in part because it was, well, too dark.

Conceived as a survival horror title, Darkness would have begun with a plane crash, with the game taking place on an island. Darkness also would have included jump-out-and-scare horror, in the vein of the company's last title Doom 3. But after 18 months of work, production was abruptly halted when the developers realized Darkness was covering ground id had previously tread.

"We would have been keeping Doom 3's faults," said Carmack, who agreed that complaints of the "contrived nature of monsters hiding in closets" and overly dark environments of Doom 3 were "completely valid."

Carmack also explained that the limited sales of M-rated horror games factored into the decision to create Rage, a title that id is expecting to receive a "T for Teen" rating.

As Carmack related the story, he and id Software co-owner Tim Willits made the decision to cut the game one afternoon, then asked the project leads to gauge the staff's reaction.

As production of Darkness had already been extensive, Hooper noted that the announcement of cancellation was a delicate process within the company.

"There was some fear that we would alienate the artists," said Hooper.... Read more

id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead expressed interest in producing another feature film adaptation of the developer's Doom shooter series, the developer told Kotaku.

"Personally I'd like to do another Doom movie, I thought working with it was a blast," Hollenshead said. "There are some lessons we learned. The best way to do things better is to get the experience."

Doom was first brought to the big screen by director Andrzej Bartkowiak and Universal Pictures in 2005. The film, which starred Karl Urban and wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, was released to mostly negative reviews and fan backlash following significant changes to the core mythology of the hell-spawn shooter series.

"We'll see what happens when we get further along in development of [Doom 4] and there's more buzz and we share more about what the game will be about," Hollenshead added,

The CEO further noted that the decision would fall to Doom distributor Universal, which owns the rights to the movie and any possible sequels. "As the buzz meter starts to go up that may kind of kick start the guys over at Universal."

id Software's John Carmack today announced that work on the technology behind the company's upcoming shooter Rage is almost finished.

"We have very few things that are very significant left to be done [to the technology]," said Carmack. "We are 'light at the end of the tunnel,' going into the home stretch."

Carmack said that a change to the animation system is coming soon, and that a few tweaks need to be made to the MegaTexture system, but that the heavy lifting is mostly over.

The programming wizard reflected on the long development period for the id Tech 5 engine, which first began some three years ago.

"Here we are, three years later, still working on elements of it," he said, noting that he has spent the vast majority of his time working on Rage.

Carmack mentioned that the Rage code will mostly be carried over to Doom 4, where the focus will then be mainly on level design and creative aspects.

"We're going to have a working set of tools for them to do the most creative work with it," Carmack said of the Doom 4 team, while noting that his work on the engine won't end.

"I want to be able to provide at least one strong graphical hook for [Doom 4]."

A new full-featured Quake Arena title will probably not be developed if Quake Live is not successful, according to comments made by id Software's John Carmack today.

"The door is not completely shut for another Quake project, and I'd say probably the success of Quake Live is going to determine whether or not we do another Quake Arena project," said Carmack.

"But right now the publishers aren't all that interested in a multiplayer project on there."

id Software's John Carmack today said that Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory will likely not be revived as a free-to-play, advertising supported web title in the fashion of Quake Live.

"If Quake Live is successful, the next thing that we might look at is Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory," said Carmack, "but it's hard to see how we'd do the same treatment of it."

Wolfenstein's World War II setting was cited as the main reason behind the company's hesitation.

"You're running around fighting the Nazis and there's a billboard with [an advertisement] on it," said Carmack, noting the awkward nature of combining Nazis and Coke ads.

id Software co-founder John Carmack took the stage Thursday night to address fans at QuakeCon 2008 in Dallas.

While a few moments of new Rage footage were shown, and Doom 4 was briefly mentioned, Carmack began his talk mainly by speaking on iPhone game development.

"We have two different projects that are at least vaguely in the works on the iPhone," said Carmack.

"Pure graphics wise, [the iPhone is] about equivalent to a Dreamcast, but if you were to compare it to a console, it's pretty close to a previous generation console."

"While the graphics aren't that high up, you've got a lot more RAM," he added, adding that RAM is where developers typically run into technical problems.

Carmack also noted that his relationship with Apple can be rocky.

"It's a rollercoaster ride with Apple always. They make nice when they want me to come make a keynote there," he said, adding that when he speaks honestly about the company, he often makes their "shit list."

QuakeCon 2008 officially ramps up this Thursday in Dallas, Texas. Shacknews will be representin' at the big show, with Nick and Steve checking out such titles as id Software's Rage, the browser-based shooter Quake Live, Raven Software's Wolfenstein and others.

In addition to the usual round-up of playable games, the exhibition will also host tournaments for Quake Live and both the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Among the prizes are entries into a drawing for a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe, valued at approximately $55,000.

Attendees should also check out the Shacknews-sponsored IDGA Quakecon charity poker tournament, benefiting Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity. Buy in is $30, and prizes include a choice between a Dell laptop and a Texas Instruments TV, an entry into the aforementioned Corvette drawing and more. Hurry over to the sign-up page, get registered and bring a smile to a child or two.

We hope to see you there as we play new games, rub elbows with developers and lose money in the name of charity.

id Software today revealed that Electronic Arts will publish its upcoming titles, beginning with RAGE (PC, PS3, 360).

id's John Carmack appeared on stage to show id's support of the new publishing arrangement, noting that more RAGE details will be unveiled at QuakeCon later this month.

The agreement comes as part of the EA Partners initiative, under which EA helps publish and distribute titles for smaller, independent studios, such as Valve's The Orange Box and Harmonix's Rock Band.

"The RAGE publishing deal is the epitome of EA Partners' mission: Provide the world's best developers with access to the world's best publishing resources," explained EA Partners general manager David DeMartini.

"The team at id Software is one of the best development studios in the world. We're excited to work with id Software to give RAGE a blockbuster launch on the global stage."

A new trailer of RAGE was also shown, highlighting angry mutants and the sounds of brutal dismemberment.

Following the release of Doom 3, developer id Software shuffled to the background of the gaming industry for a time. Now the independent company is readying for a resurgence, on several fronts at once.

id is readying two traditional big-budget titles in Doom 4 and Rage, the latter marking the company's first original IP since the release of Quake. Founded late last year, id Mobile will be releasing its first project later this year with Wolfenstein RPG, the follow-up to the Doom RPG. Finally, the company is forging new ground in the web-based gaming sector with Quake Live, a free version of Quake III Arena without all the fuss--or the cost.

Recently I had a chance to talk with id Software co-founder John Carmack and executive producer Marty Stratton. While the theme of the talk was Quake Live, we also covered topics ranging from the state of PC gaming to the potential of iPhone development, painting a larger picture of this now multi-faceted studio. Read on for the full interview.

John Carmack: We can't go on making PC games like we used to.. But still, there are some things that the PC does fundamentally better than the console. And from a first person shooter perspective, the keyboard/mouse interface is just a lot better than a console interface.. It's just plain better, and that's one of the things we want to cater to. There are strengths that the PC has, and we think Quake Live is very much playing to them.... Read more

In an interview with Shacknews conducted earlier today, legendary Doom developer and id Software co-founder John Carmack expressed regret that his company could not put together an iPhone game in time for today's launch of the iPhone application store.

"I'm really kind of sad about... how things played out outside of our real control on that," said Carmack when asked about id iPhone development. "I'm really bullish on the iPhone market. I think that what they're doing with iTunes, cutting the carriers out of there... it's a great hardware platform.

"It's a market I really want to be in, we just didn't have the resources to go do something for the initial launch."

Carmack then revealed that he and id programmer Robert Duffy have been quietly experimenting with the iPhone's 3D engine.

"Robert Duffy and I actually hacked together a kind of a port... Read more

Amidst an industry-wide focus on user-created content in gaming, id Software lead designer Matt Hooper stated that the company's upcoming open world shooter Rage will focus on visual and gameplay fidelity over community and content-sharing services.

"As a game player, I love [user-created content]," Hooper told Next-Gen. "But that doesn't mean at the same time I can't love a BioShock or a Call of Duty 4. You can have a focused game, and do that really well."

Hooper added that games centered around user-generated content such as modifications or maps represents a different focus, likening it to a different movie genre, while reiterating that the "important thing [is] doing something really well."

"For us personally, our biggest goal is—you can see it right now—we're pushing on the fidelity, visually. We're also pushing on the gameplay fidelity... As far as ... Read more

Developer id Software has confirmed to GamePolitics that it is no longer a member of the Entertainment Software Association.

Best known for its work on the DOOM and Quake series, id joins other recent ESA departees LucasArts, Vivendi and Activision.

Outside of the ESA's claims that LucasArts' exit was a result of "unique factors," no reason has been provided for the withdrawals. However, rumors point to issues with ESA president Mike Gallagher, who took up the role last year.

It had previously been revealed that the ESA's decision to relocate its E3 gathering to Santa Monica last year cost the association upwards of $5 million, partially due to the violation of a long-term contract with the Los Angeles Convention Center.

id Software today announced that it has begun production on Doom 4, and is now in the process of expanding its internal team of developers to work on the shooter sequel.

"Doom is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth," said id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead in a release.

"It's critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles."

The company is currently accepting applications to fill job openings covering roles such as producer, lead designer, and lead animator, among others.

The job listings page indicates that applicable platforms for the positions are PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Though no further details on the game were released, the studio will likely make use of its new id Tech 5 engine for the project.

id Software lead artist Kevin Cloud recently told Shacknews that one of... Read more

Beloved developer id Software has announced that its annual celebration of debauchery and first-person shooting known as QuakeCon will take place at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas from July 31 to August 3.

Registration for the free event's Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) area opens at 9PM ET on Wednesday, April 30 over at the QuakeCon site.

Those interested in obtaining centrally located hotel rooms can now register at the Hilton Anatole's custom QuakeCon reservation page, which offers the lower-than-normal rate of $137 a day.

While id has yet to detail any of its QuakeCon festivities, last year's event was a veritable explosion of news, including the revelation of Rage, the appearance of numerous id titles on Steam, confirmation of Quake 3 on Xbox Live Arcade, the first details of the Wolfenstein movie, and more.

In an interview with Shacknews, id Software lead artist Kevin Cloud said that the development of the company's upcoming id Tech 5 graphic engine is progressing well, and should be ready for licensors in the near future.

"Things are moving along great," Cloud told Shacknews. "We're currently preparing it for licensors to take a look at it. It's in a good position. The SDKs have to be put together--we obviously can't just put together the code and have them figure it out. There's work done on that level."

Cloud could not clarify a specific release window for id Tech 5, but said that the updated graphics engine is already running well in cross-platform development environments.

"You don't even have to worry about how it's going to look on PS3 or 360. Right now we've got it running cross-platform running 60 hertz, and it looks really good," Cloud said. "In terms of what artists are available to achieve--it's something you have to see for yourself. I can say this, but you still won't get it until you see it."

"Because of the universal texturing everything in the world can be uniquely textured, and it's a look you just can't get in any other game. Once you see it you go 'shit, I have not seen that anywhere else.' We're really proud of what we've put together there."

Revealed last June, id Tech 5 is the latest update to the studio's in-house graphics engine. The studio plans to make use of the new engine in its upcoming open-world shooter Rage (PC, PS3, X360).