War Against Piracy!

Been a bit of an elephant in the room when it comes to "giant publishers talking about piracy", so naturally it's taken a representative from a small publisher to bring it up.
Asked by GameSpy why companies like Ubisoft insist on hideous forms of DRM, Paradox Interactive CEO Fred Wester replies with a healthy dose of practicality:

I think there's a lot of politics, especially in bigger companies. It's simple for me being the CEO and half-owner of Paradox. I can basically call the shots I want to call, and if the board wants to ask questions it's like ‘OK, we can take this into consideration.' If you're a CEO, you need to cover your back. And the people who ask, the board, know nothing about games. They're there because they're some investment company or something, and they ask "So what are you doing to protect our game from pirates?" And then they can reply "We're buying this solution from Sony." So I think it's been a way to cover your back, previously. Now, I see no reasonable explanation for why people keep on adding it. Especially the kind where you have to be online all the time, like Ubisoft. I think that's, to me that's 2003.source kotaku

THQ "Not Cancelled" its 2014 Games

Over the weekend, a giant rumour popped up claiming that major publisher THQ was effectively done for. Specifically, it suggested the company's entire 2014 lineup had been shelved, and that its major MMO project based on the Warhammer 40K franchise had been binned.
Today, THQ refutes those rumours.

The company's statement in full reads:

THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO. As part of the ongoing review of our business, we have made decisions to ensure that the company is strategically addressing the most attractive markets. As we have previously announced, we have dramatically reduced our commitment to the kids' boxed games sector which leads to a significantly more focused release schedule moving forward. Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business. We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry.
Additionally, we are thrilled with the great performance of Saints Row: The Third, which on a like for like period in North America has tripled in sell-through from Saints Row 2. In addition, WWE '12's worldwide sell-through sales are up almost 40% year-over-year for the same sales period with fewer platforms. According to NPD, for the month of December and the 2011 year, THQ was the #5 publisher overall, #4 third party, with reported sell through growing over 18% in a market that was down almost 6%. And coming up next, we have two great titles for the first half of the year including UFC Undisputed 3 and Darksiders 2.

Ignore the second paragraph, it's all marketing. It's the first you should focus on. Specifically, the first sentence.

One thing, the fact there'll be some kind of 2014 lineup, is very clearly stated. No room for argument. The exact future of Dark Millennium, the forever-in-development MMO based on Warhammer 40K, is not clearly stated. It's downright ambiguous.by luke plunkett

Video Game Study: Video Games Help With Nightmares

The Wall Street Journal has news of yet another gaming study, but this one's pretty darn interesting: Rather than judge video games' effect on violent behavior or socialization, the study looks at whether games can help people escape nightmares.
Specifically, the study looked at military men and women, 64 of whom were "hard-core gamers" and 22 of whom were not, and found that the low-frequency gamers had much more threatening nightmares than the ones who played often.

Low-frequency gamers also reported being passive victims in their military dreams, while the high-frequency gamers were active participants. That games numb players to violence, often sided as a negative quality, may be beneficial for soldiers, the researchers said. The habit of fighting back, and winning, in video games, may carry over into the virtual world that arrives at 2 a.m.

Now that is pretty cool.

XBOX 720 DVR Included???

Xbox 3, Xbox 720, NextBox… whatever  lots of rumors are being floated about Microsoft's next home console. Some say it'll output Avatar-level visuals while others say it'll lean heavily on cloud architecture. But the latest hint as to Microsoft's gaming future point to their ever-increasing ambition to fuse TV, film and gaming content.
On December 27th, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office granted a patent to Microsoft for a device that would serve as both a game console and a digital video recorder. Patent # 8,083,593 gets described thusly:

A digital video recorder (DVR) application running alongside a television client component allows users to record media content on the gaming console. The DVR application also integrates itself with the console menu. Once integrated, users can record media content while playing games. Alternatively, users can record content when the gaming console is turned off. The recorded content can include television programming, gaming experience (whether local or online), music, DVDs, and so on. When in the recording state, users can also switch between various other media modes, whether gaming, television, and so on.

Rumors of such a set-top box go back as far as 2007, when the patent was originally applied for, and former CEO Bill Gates was expected to announce something with many of these features at that year's CES. The proposed device would be able to record video content while a user's playing a game and would also be able to record even if the game-playing portion is powered off. It sounds an awful lot like sleep-mode functionality of the current DVRs on the market today but with a console game layer on top of it all.

Right now, the newest dashboard update makes the Xbox 360 into a streaming media hub, with content coming in from all sorts of partner apps. If the technology and aspirations in this patent make it to market, the focus in Microsoft's gaming hardware will shift from streaming to recording and storage. That might rankle content providers, who'll probably only get twitchier about letting their programming live on various devices.

  the ideas in this patent may take years to show up in the real world. And the usual caveat about patents applies, too, which is that we may never see it at all. But, given Microsoft's continued drive to make the Xbox a dominating force in the living room, I think we're going to see some of these features whenever Microsoft reveals its next-generation hardware.kotaku source

Battlefield 3 Karkand Add-on

It’s a hectic week for Xbox LIVE subscribers. Not only is there a trio of new Xbox LIVE Arcade games to check out (including four new Marvel Pinball tables), but you’ve also got the first dose of true Gears of War 3 DLC, as well as the long-awaited Back to Karkand pack for Battlefield 3. And if you’re a fan of that first-person shooting series, as you should be, then you’re in for a treat. That’s because Back to Karkand doesn’t contain any new maps, but rather four favorites that stem from the historic Battlefield 2 video game. These are sure to evoke some memories if you played them back on your high-powered PC. These include Strike At Karkand (considered to be one of the best Battlefield maps ever constructed), Wake Island, Sharqi Peninsula and Gulf of Oman. There are additional weapons and vehicles as well, and we’ll get to those in just a second. Now, let’s talk the maps themselves. Perhaps the best of the bunch here is Strike At Karkand, mainly because it gives you a majority of action in terms of blowing stuff out and plotting a plan of action against your foes.

The other maps are great as well (especially Wake Island), but they’re a bit smaller than we remember them being. Karkand seems right on the money. No matter, though, as they’re all equally enjoyable and give you plenty more killing to do online when you’re trying to hunt down your buddies and get a few head shots in for good measure. The new maps blend in with the old ones almost seamlessly, and even though they do take a bit of hard drive room (like the previous HD patch before it), it’s space well filled, especially once you hop into the competitive multiplayer. And old-school Battlefield 2 fans? You’ll feel right at home here, and perhaps a little more validated behind this sequel’s purchase. There’s some cool stuff happening with the new weapons included in Back To Karkand. Ten are available in all, and each one really makes a difference during combat, particularly the QBB-95 machine gun, the FAMAS-G2 assault rifle and the two sniper rifles, the QBB-88 and the L96A1. (If you prefer up close and personal combat, though, the MK3A1 shotgun will suffice.)

You’ll need to complete a certain assignment with each weapon to gain total access to them, but it doesn’t take too much effort, and you’ll be fragging in combat in no time. If vehicular combat is your thing, there are three new types to choose from. The F35 jet can do some great damage in the air, though you’re still likely to be shot out of the sky if you don’t speed up enough. The BTR-90 APC gets its job done where needed, and the DPV buggy is a lot of fun to drive around. Hell, you might even get lucky enough to mow some poor waiting chap over. Not that he didn’t deserve it. (For the record, the Skid Loader is pretty sweet, too.) All four of these maps have been rebuilt using the Frostbite 2 technology, and they look spectacular. True, there are some small noticeable differences if you’re dedicated fans of the original Battlefield 2 layouts, but overall they really shine. And the destruction you can lay down in the midst of combat is ridiculous, with tons of explosions that really light the screen up. The frame rate runs adequately too, about the same speed as the other maps.

O we would’ve preferred 60 frames per second upgrade (ala the PC), but, hey, there’s only so much the Xbox 360 can take, right? We’ll take this game just as it runs, thanks. Now we come to price. And this is probably going to be the biggest turn-off factor when it comes to new buyers. See, if you purchased the Limited Edition of Battlefield 3 (as a bunch of people did on launch day), then it won’t cost you one single penny. However, if you’re a newcomer who’s late to the game, it’s going to set you back $15. Now, considering that there are no major new modes added here (just a Conquest Assault tweak and unique Rewards and Achievements), that might be a stiff price for some wallets. However, you can probably still hit the store and pick up the Limited Edition. We’ve seen it in stock in plenty of places. And it’s well worth the investment. Look, Battlefield 3 is simply a blast to play online we all know that. And while Back At Karkand doesn’t really offer any significant new gameplay elements, it is a lot more destructive and has the kind of nostalgic maps that show how much DICE really cares about its community. It’s well worth the download, if only to show someone who’s boss on Karkand ground.by robert workman