company of heroes
News
Company Of Heroes Online Replaces Germans With “Federation”
3:30PM Luke Plunkett | Like many Western games, Relic’s Company of Heroes is in line for some changes once it hits the Chinese market as Company of Heroes Online. More »
News
Relic Games Go Half-Price On Steam
6:30PM Luke Plunkett | If you’re smart, you already own at least one of the following: Company of Heroes, Dawn of War or Dawn of War II. If you’re not smart, you can get smart this weekend on Steam, and for half the price. More »
Culture
You (Sorta) Owe Dead Space To Aristotle
11:20AM AJ Glasser | Some deep reading over on Gamasutra on game design and narrative (courtesy of Company of Heroes narrative designer Stephen Dinehart) could be my next graduate school adventure. More »
Company Of Heroes Expansion: Some Details
12:20PM Luke Plunkett | Earlier this week, THQ got around to formally announcing the long-known-about Company of Heroes expansion pack, Tales of Valor. Problem is, that’s about all they announced. No details. Well, Relic have since spoken with Edge, and now, we have details. Seems the game will come with three “mini campaigns”, which instead of being centred around a single, long story like the existing campaigns, will be shorter affairs. One of those three will revolve around the exploits of SS Panzer commander Michael Wittmann, who at the Battle of Villers-Bocage destroyed over 20 British vehicles in only 15 minutes. More »
News
Company of Heroes Expands Further With Tales of Valour
10:20AM Michael McWhertor | There was some good news from the THQ camp today, with the publisher announcing a second expansion for Company of Heroes — the real-time strategy World War II game that everybody loves — would ship in spring of 2009. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valour will follow previous expansion Opposing Fronts with “a ton of rich, new content” including “new campaigns and multiplayer modes, brand-new units, additional maps and the introduction of the ‘direct-fire’ feature,” according to developer Relic Entertainment’s own Tarrnie Williams.
What’s Company Of Heroes: Tales Of Valour?
8:30PM Luke Plunkett | Besides an awfully generically-named videogame? Who knows! But there’s a listing for it on Amazon, with a projected release date of March 2009, and they say it’s from THQ. Taking all that into account – plus THQ and Relic’s love of the expansion pack (see Dawn of War), we’re just going to go ahead and start making plans for a second Call of Duty expansion. One that, we hope, includes the Russians. Oh, and if we’re lucky, some North African combat as well. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valour [Amazon] More »
More Details On New Company Of Heroes Online
5:30PM Luke Plunkett | Well. This one well and truly slipped by us during E3. Seems that while everyone was busy devouring the gaming news coming out of LA, in China the wraps were being taken off Company of Heroes Online, THQ’s attempt at pushing the RTS game onto the Asian online markets. While THQ have spoken briefly about the project before (which is being launched in conjunction with Shanda), this is the first time we’ve seen any real details on the game, which will take the core CoH experience (minus the Opposing Fronts content) and tailor it towards online gaming. More »
Germany Defeated, Company Of Heroes Heads For China
10:30PM Luke Plunkett | Even now, Company of Heroes shines as an example of a PC RTS done right. And while it’s been successful in the West, THQ and Relic can smell the cash money-making potential from the Chinese market wafting in through their windows, and they’re interested. Speaking with 1UP/GFW, Relic have explained that they’ve got a “five year plan” for China, one that involves a persistent-world RTS with the ability for players to “build their character up from private to general through new multiplayer cooperative missions, gameplay modes, and player-versus-player combat”. Hope this isn’t just for the Chinese market, because that sounds pretty neat. Can we have it too please? Company of Heroes’ Next Theatre of Operations [1UP] More »
Why Don’t Games Come In Smaller Portions?
9:15AM Simon Carless | Over at FreeToPlay.biz, Relic Labs’ Adrian Crook, who heads a division of the Company Of Heroes creator looking at casual-styled ‘online worlds’, has been examining how the music industry’s and the game industry’s business models differ – and has spotted something thought-provoking. He notes: “The iTunes model hasn’t been applied to games yet”, and goes on to comment: We’re still out there trying to get people to buy the whole album, rather than just the tracks they want. Services like Steam and episodic games like Sam and Max are great steps forward for the industry, but neither one allows consumers to instantly purchase and enjoy only the portions of the game they desire, like iTunes did for music. So, what of this idea? Crook suggests, as an alternative “a capped micro licence based on which games [users] play and for how long” – but what options short of buying the whole game do you want to see? Games Trail Music in iTunes style Revenue Model [FreeToPlay.biz] More »THQ Blocks Their Games From ANZ Steam Users
10:33AM Logan Booker | After a rocky start with the launch of Half-Life 2, Steam has matured from a slow piece of crap to the premiere online distribution service on the Internet. From Ubisoft to id Software, everyone wants to share in the potential of Valve’s hard work (and tears, I’d imagine).
THQ recently joined the party, only to quickly deny Australian and Kiwi users the ability to purchase and download their games. If you check out the Steam knowledge base, you’ll find the following statement attached to all of THQ’s games, including Company of Heroes, Dawn of War and Full Spectrum Warrior:
This game is not available for purchase through Steam in Australia or New Zealand.
Feel free to speculate as to the reasons behind THQ’s decision while we chase an official answer, but for now, Oz Kotakuite Ross, who sent in the heads-up, has his own theory:
In what I can only assume is a move by these publishers to ensure that AU/NZ consumers have to resort to retail given the favourable exchange rate between the US and AU dollar.
Does that sound like a winner to you?
Steam Error: This subscription is not available for purchase in your country [Steam Powered, thanks Ross] More » 
