Monday, May 19, 2008
Gov. Perry to Keynote E3
11:36PM Brian Crecente | Texas Governor Rick Perry will be speaking at this year’s E3 Media & Business Summit in July, the Entertainment Software Association Announced. “Governor Perry and the E3 Media & Business Summit are both great success stories. The Governor’s keynote address is especially timely given the high concentration of entertainment software developers and publishers in Texas as well as the state’s long-standing support of our industry,” said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. “The Governor’s forward-thinking leadership in encouraging the growth and development of our $US 18 billion industry is a roadmap for other state executives who want to transform their state economies for the 21st century.” The governor will be talking about the confluence of politics and video games, a topic that is likely to come to a head this election. More »
News
EA Confirms Take-Two Offer Extension
11:12PM Leigh Alexander | Electronic Arts announced this morning that it has extended its bid to buy Take-Two. The prior bid expired on Friday, May 16th, and this latest extension, the third since EA announced its bid, gives the publisher until June 16th to negotiate a deal. According to the latest SEC filing, EA has not raised its bid, as some analysts had speculated it would. The offer remains at $US 25.74 per share, and as of the time the filing was made, the company reported that only 6,210,261 shares had been tendered to EA – to acquire a majority stake, EA needs more than five times that many. “Extending our offer will allow the FTC review process to continue,” said EA VP of corporate development Owen Mahoney. “EA’s offer price remains unchanged at $US 25.74 per share and our offer is still subject to conditions that include regulatory approval. As stated earlier, we retain the right to terminate the offer if the conditions are not satisfied.” Following EA’s extension announcement, Take-Two executives also issued statements: More »
News
Some Electronic Arts ESA Cheerleading
11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | So, yeah, Activision and Vivendi pulled out of ESA. What does that mean? Let’s ask EA! Jeff Brown, the Canada’s arm of corporate communications, said: I think having [Activision and Vivendi] pull out of the ESA reflects an unfortunate lack of leadership… They’re a big company and we feel that when you’re a big company you’ve got a responsibility to consumers to work on policy issues which are very, very important to consumers. And the best way to do that is with an industry consensus… There’s always tensions inside these organisations, but for the most part it works… So it was sad to see them step away from that responsibility. We hope that others don’t do that, but I think that the onus is on the ESA to prove that membership in it is good for the company and good for consumers. And I think we’re going to see the ESA redouble its efforts to prove that. And if not, Jeff Brown is here to pitch in! Lack of Leadership [Games Industry] More »
Mortal Kombat Killers
10:40PM Brian Ashcraft | As previously noted, a 7 year-old girl is dead, and two teens are being tried as adults. A Colorado judge ruled last Friday that there was enough evidence to take Lamar Roberts, 17, and Heather Trujillo, 16, for child abuse resulting in the death of Trujillo’s half-sister, Zoe Gracia. Both will be tried as adults. According to authorities, Gracia died after being kicked, hit and pounded on the floor as the two teens re-enacted Mortal Kombat. Roberts pushed Zoe, twisted the child’s arms and held her ankles, according to Trujillo. Police Detective Kathy Halldorson said that Roberts told a friend, “he was doing martial arts on her (Zoe) and that his hands were registered weapons.” Odd that this Mortal Kombat finger pointing continues in light of comments from Gracia’s aunt, who claims video games do not factor into this killing. Tasteless fatality jokes and worrying about how-this-affects-games aside, this is a terrible, terrible tragedy. Mortal Kombat Killing [The Denver Channel Thanks, Michael!] More »Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
10:20PM Luke Plunkett | Know this: EA aren’t breaking the mould with Red Alert 3. It looks for all the world like Red Alert 2, only this time with gorgeous water effects and – we’re told – controllable Japanese schoolgirl units. But if you’re the kind of person to be excited over the idea of a third Red Alert, and especially the rehash of the old intro theme song, that’s most likely exactly what you’re after, no? More »
An Uncharted Gun You Can Own
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Own an airgun that looks like Nathan Drake’s! From phony sword makers King of Swords come this full metal M92 airsoft gun. It features blowback, can hold 25 rounds and comes with a free aluminium case. Complete with old female side-kick, not newer blond girl! And yes kids, this will put your eye out. Drake’s Airsoft Gun [King of Swords via Ayauki] More »
Infinite Line Screens
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | Of the three Platinum Games announced last week, I’m actually most excited for Infinite Line. If only because I dig the ship designs, and find the whole idea of managing a fleet, instead of just sending it off to die, an intriguing one. More »
Best Chance of Console MMO? Nintendo. (Oh?)
9:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Face it, MMOs are for PCs, not consoles. Maybe one day someone will figure it how to get it on a console. EA Mythic creator director Paul Barnett thinks he knows who: Nintendo. Says Barnett, currently working on Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning: You would have to build something very console centric from the get-go. I think probably the best chance of someone doing something like that is Nintendo — doing something crazy that no one expects. Perhaps Barnett has confused “crazy” with “correct,” but hey, who knows? Nintendo’s surprised us before. MMO Future [CVG] More »
AMD Holding Up Their End Of The PC Gaming Bargain
8:30PM Luke Plunkett | When the PC industry’s big guns high-fived as they broke from a warm, gushy group hug, they high-fived with a pledge: that they’d do what they could to help give traditional PC gaming a kick in the pants. We’ve seen what Nvidia are doing, so what about AMD? They’re…well, they’re going to start putting little badges on their PCs. If a computer’s got a badge that says “AMD Game”, it’ll play more than just Freespace. If it says “AMD Game Ultra”, it’ll even manage something like Crysis. You can see an example of the badges to your left. I don’t know. It’s not that its necessarily a bad idea, just…we were kinda hoping for a little more than just (likely ineffectual) badges, you know? AMD launches “Good Housekeeping” stamp of approval for gaming computers [VentureBeat] More »
