Shares for Sony Corporation's subsidiary, Sony Financial Holdings Inc, went on sale in Japan today, with a total of 800,000 shares traded at a price of JPY 400,000 (GBP 1692, USD 3462) each.
That's the top line in a possible range, the lowest price of which was JPY 380,000 (GBP 1608, USD 3289) each, demonstrating demand for what was on its announcement initially received with limited interest.
Following a pre-offering cut from JPY 415,000 (GBP 1756, USD 3592) the shares raised JPY 320 billion (GBP 1.35 billion, USD 2.77 billion) with the proceeds thought to be heading towards the corporation's electronics division
Specifically that means a boost for the manufacture of Bravia televisions, and help for the PlayStation department as well - a move which was previously thought to have been indicative of an impending price cut for the PlayStation 3.
However, no such news was forthcoming at Sony's price-related announcement event, the Tokyo Games Show.
Ultima creator and current NCsoft exec Richard Garriott is to take a "commercially active" mission to the International Space Station.
Scheduled for October 2008, Garriott's trip will be the first commercial mission to take place on-board the ISS. Although exact details are still under wraps, mission organiser Space Adventures detailed that private sector involvement can include scientific and environmental research and educational outreach programming.
Garriott is currently working on MMO Tabula Rasa for NCsoft, due to be released before the end of the year.
"I am dedicating my space flight to science," commented Garriott.
"It is my goal to devote a significant amount of my time aboard the space station to science, engineering and educational projects."
Garriott's father was an astronaut, and his own commercial success with the Ultima series of games has enabled him to be able to take the space flight.
"The reality that's brought me here intersects with the simulated, fantasy worlds I've created in my career as a computer game programmer," added Garriott.
"Without the success I've enjoyed as the creator of the Ultima series of games, I wouldn't have had the resources to be one of the first private space pioneers."
Future France publishes 18 monthly magazines and has over 170 members of staff. Future Publishing will continue to license seven of its titles to Future France.
The publishing giant, responsible for multiple console and PC titles in Europe and the US including Edge, Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine and PC Format, has said the the money raised from the sale will be used to pay off bank debt, as it continues to focus on English-language content.
Deadline Games' CEO Chris Mottes believes that developers and publishers have a duty to invest in and support outsourcing companies, rather than taking advantage of cheap labour for quick rewards.
Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz Mottes said that it's not only important to help the industry grow, but it's also a socially responsible move that shows maturity for a relatively young business.
"My philosophy on outsourcing in general is a little different than others in that, in our experience at least, particular if we are looking for cost savings in outsourcing, it is very difficult to ensure that the quality you are going to get through the whole production is going to be consistent," commented Mottes.
"If there is a sweatshop mentality just to do the cheapest possible product, that is going to boomerang and hit us in the back of the neck eventually.
"If the staff is just being whipped through to produce assets at as high a rate as possible, then they don't really put their soul into what they are doing, and that is never going to give you a good result on any product anyway. Clearly, it is a mixture of commercial and social interests that I feel go hand-in-hand," he said.
Deadline Games, developers of Total Overdose and its PSP spin-off Chill Con Carnage, intends to invest in outsourcing companies to help guide studios to create stronger material and also advance staff training for future projects.
"The way I would like to approach it is to partner, or even have some sort of ownership of, the companies down there - because with the right set-up they can be nurtured to become full production houses," detailed Mottes.
"But in terms of outsourcing, I believe it is more long-sighted to work with "insourcing" where you can actually control the quality level of the production…of the work that you are going to get by having a stake in that company. But you can also do something which is more important - you can invest in the employees," he said.
The full interview with Chris Mottes can be read on GamesIndustry.biz today.
If you have fallen a little short of the $50 million price tag for a Poseidon 180, fret not, the Jelly-fish 45 Habitat will set you back only a mere $2.5 million. Bargain! Designed by Giancarlo Zema, the "floating dwelling" comprises five separate levels all connected by a snazzy spiral staircase.
The floors are split into cheesy zone-titled areas including study, night, day, guest and viewing quarters. Though, if you purchase the floating mansion, you may abide by whichever nomenclature you wish. The viewpoint stretches 3m below the surface and looks jellyfish-like fantastic. The colossal seat-in-the-sea stands 10m high and 15m wide. Now, if I manage to roll out one hundred posts in 24 hours, Blam promises me a tour of his Jelly-fish 45 Habitat—game on!
Phew. After months of waiting, your diamond-encrusted Nokia N95 is finally ready. In fact, Alexander Amosu, ringtone mogul and maker of the oh-so-necessary golden iPod, has built 10 of these N95s, each with 325 diamonds covering its 18-ct white gold surface. You'll be glad to hear that when you pay the £12,000 sticker price, your phone also gets a year of "free" concierge service and a limited-edition number—you know, from 1 to 10.
The BBFC has announced the launch of Parents BBFC, a new website designed to help parents decide which videogames and films are suitable for their children.
"This website will take the guess work out of the family outing to the cinema and open up the world of videogames for those who don't know their PSP from their Wii,” said BBFC director David Cooke.
Although the BBFC's primary focus is the rating of films, videogame publishers are required to submit games for classification if the games contain specified sexual or violent content. Most videogames without mature content use the European PEGI ratings system, although some publishers are starting to use the BBFC system even when they are not required to do so.
Cooke noted that not all parents are as technologically literate as their children, making content and ratings information particularly relevant to videogames. He also pointed out that the site contains information about games of all ratings, not just those designed for children.
The new website, www.pbbfc.co.uk, will provide detailed information about the content of kids' films and all BBFC-classified videogames, as well as an explanation as to why the BBFC gave the material a particular rating.
Infogrames, the French parent company of US firm Atari, has said that it will soon unveil a plan to restore profitability to Atari which is it has blamed for overall operating losses across the group, according to news agency Reuters.
“We are negotiating with the management and the board of Atari Inc to restore financial equilibriums,” Infogrames chief executive Patrick Leleu stated at a shareholders' annual meeting.
“We are looking after the interests of Infogrames and its shareholders. We are trying to negotiate action plans. Talks are continuing. I should be able to announce some things rapidly.”
When asked if a sale was planned, Leleu refused to comment.
Virgin Megastores US has announced a 70 per cent increase in its videogames sales for the last quarter, well ahead of its sales performance in other areas of the business.
The company, sold to a joint venture between Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust in August, made a next best increase of 39 per cent in fashion sales, followed by 24 per cent in electronics, 16 per cent in DVDs, 12 per cent in books and just over 3 per cent in music.
According to a report on Gamasutra, company CEO Simon Wright "continues to support the brand's diversification strategy as sales in various departments are still climbing."
Sales success is attributed to the strategy for making Virgin Megastores US "an entertainment lifestyle store, rather than solely a music retailer."
It was recently announced that Virgin Megastores UK has been acquired and will be rebranded under the Zavvi banner, as Richard Branson translates wholly-owned subsidiaries into franchises.
Amsterdam content provider and indie developer Streamline Studios has hired David Lee as its new vice president of development and marketing.
Lee worked for over 10 years at Electronic Arts as a PR director, senior marketing manager and managing editor, before turning to consultancy. He has consulted with Streamline since 2006.
In his new role, Lee will manage Streamline's game development, marketing and PR, and serve as chairman of the board of directors.
Streamline is an outsource specialist providing integrated content - including audio and art assets - to other developers' games. It has worked on titles such as Gears of War and Saints Row, as well as developing its own Xbox Live Arcade title, HoopWorld.
Publishing giant Electronic Arts has launched a version of its Club Pogo casual gaming service, localised to the UK.
Membership of the service costs GBP 4.99 a month, or GBP 34.99 a year. It offers exclusive games, no advertisements, and enhanced community features over the standard, free Pogo site.
EA localised Pogo, which offers word, puzzle, card and board games, to the UK in August this year. It has also reworked the site for the French and German markets.
The new subscription service gives access to over 30 exclusive games and customisable avatars. It also allows players to compete for badges, earn Pogo Gems and exchange them for further items. The US site has more than 1.5 million subscribers.
"We've listened to the UK Pogo players and really tried to deliver a customized experience for them, while providing the opportunity to interact with current Club Pogo players," said Pogo's general manager Andrew Pedersen.
UK members can customise their avatars with items such as a cricket outfit or Dickensian dress, and use themed backgrounds including 'down the pub', 'afternoon tea' and 'London bus stop'.
For the second time in the past few months, Purdue University is hitting us up with a newfangled idea to keep future rigs cooler.
This go 'round, engineers have purportedly figured out how to "grow forests of carbon nanotubes onto the surfaces of computer chips to enhance the flow of heat at a critical point where the chips connect to heat sinks." The nanotubes have outperformed "conventional thermal interface materials" in testing, and being that they don't require "elaborate clean-room environments" to produce, manufacturing them should prove much cheaper to boot.
Regrettably, there's no word as to when this development could go commercial, but with users demanding more power and less noise, we're sure there's a market waiting.
Andy Woerner and his crazy rocketeer friends have built a 21-foot long X-Wing model that can actually fly. Yes, this is a real X-Wing powered by four solid-fuel rocket engines complete with radio-controlled moving wings. It blasts off in California next week, and we talked with Andy about the project, and how they expect it will do.
The X-Wing model is huge. At 21 feet long and with a wingspan of over 19 feet it is, in fact, big enough to fly a kid in. However, knowing that it will be powered by solid-fuel rockets, they wouldn't put a kid, dog, monkey or Gizmodo editor inside, even if it uses three full parachutes to land.
After drawing the plans using CAD software, Andy's team and his friends at Polecat Aerospace used laser cutting to make the pieces out of Baltic Birch wood. They also used solid aluminum for some parts, like the rods which are the pivot point for the wings.
Why solid aluminum rods? For the most impressive part of the project to work, not only does the axis have to be strong enough to support the stress of the launch but also it has to allow the wings to change position from folded to open while in flight—or, in the words of Red Leader, putting them in attack position, the X that gives the Rebel aircraft its name.
The wings, including the root sections and the outer panels are about 8' long and weigh 60 pounds a piece, including the motors. The motion mechanism had to be able to move all four of these simultaneously, while keeping them in position relative to each other. Additionally, the motion hardware had to be strong enough to keep the wings in position once they were at the extents of their travel.
They used an electric motor from a RC helicopter, reducing its 40,000 revolutions per minute to generate enough torque to move those massive wings. Still, the wings will take 35 seconds to travel from open to closed. Hopefully, they will be able to change before the flight ends, so they can get the full effect in the air.
The wings also hold the engines. Andy told us they are using "four solid rocket motors which are Class M, the kind that produce a red flame"—which as you probably know, it's also the same color of the X-Wing engines' glow.
Even with the aluminum rods, however, there's the possibility of structural damage. We asked Andy about how he expected the flight to go: "it's likely we will have a structural failure in the wings, but we are hoping it will hold."
If it holds, the X-Wing will be fully recoverable. It won't land on its own, but Andy pointed out that they "will use parachute recovery, with three man-rated chutes which will have radio control deployment," like the wings position control.
When I first learnt about the project there was one thing that didn't click for me: why the X-Wing? It doesn't seem to have the right shape to be a rocket. Maybe a better option would have been an Y-Wing or A-Wing. But an X-Wing? Well, according to Andy, "it was the one design from Star Wars that made the most sense to try to scale for rocket power." And on top of that, it just looks cool. I completely agree.
The X-Wing will launch next week, on October 10, and we can only wish the project the best of luck. Godspeed Andy and friends, godspeed.
See the full construction gallery of the aircraft here
According to reports, a team of scientists have developed a battery which uses "betavoltaic" cells to keep chugging along for up to 30 years without the need for a recharge. If you believe what they say (and that's a big "if"), the battery uses a non-nuclear form of radioactive material as the basis for power, and that material gives off energy as it decays. Apparently, the batteries are small and thin, and when they've cashed in their energy-producing chips, they're totally non-toxic and inert.
Sound too good to be true? Well you're not alone. Rupert Goodwins, of ZDNet, cleanly separates the wheat from the chaff by pointing out a number of problems with claims being made over the batteries, pretty much dashing any real hopes that these things will end up in your next laptop. Raining on the parade, Mr. Goodwins says that the atomic structure of the cells tends to fall apart when hit with high energy electrons, the "inert" battery would still be toxic should its housing ever crack, conversion efficiency would be 25-percent (an abysmal number, which also means 75-percent is heat), and finally, the cells would weigh something like 72-times more than conventional batteries. Guess we'll get back to watching the Orbo progress.
UK industrial designers Priestman Goode breathed new life into using landlines (so 20th century) by stripping a phone down to its bare essentials—literally. The Post a Phone is 4mm thick, fashioned from either recyclable cardboard or plastic, pops out of an A5 envelope and is ready to be jacked in. The design and product's definitely solid, but the marketing drivel about it being a "wireless phone backup" strikes us as a little wonky, at least the way it's phrased in the press release:
"If your wireless phone breaks down, you can have Post A Phone sent to you, knowing that it will fit through your letterbox, ensuring you don't need to stay in and wait for a courier." In the time it takes for the mailman to drop by, couldn't you have gone out and gotten another phone, either landline or another mobile? We think we'll pick one up before our phone dies, rather place our chatter time in the mailman's hands.
K2 Network has announced an agreement to make PlaySpan its official in-game marketplace for virtual goods.
"A large segment of our gamers enjoy peer-to-peer commerce as a part of their game experience and we want to respond to our gamer's needs," said Joshua Hong, co-founder and CEO of K2 Network Inc.
The multi-year exclusive agreement across multiple titles makes PlaySpan the first publisher-sponsored marketplace. With K2 Network’s integration of the PlaySpan in-game client, K2 Network gamers will have the advantage of an open market for virtual goods within their online games.
"PlaySpan is leading the category with its in-game widget technology and peer-to-peer micro-transaction network which greatly enhances the game experience and we are excited to be one of the first to provide this truly integrated user experience," said Hong.
"We expect micro-transactions to emerge as a major revenue stream for online games and PlaySpan is clearly the pioneer in publisher-sponsored in-game commerce networks," added Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter.
Ambitious UK publisher Ghostlight is seeking US partners for the release of its forthcoming first-person shooter To End All Wars.
As well as hoping to see the title distributed in North America, the company is also interested in bringing US titles over to Europe, as it seeks to expand its business beyond its current focus on Europe, Australia the Middle East and South Africa.
Ghostlight has experienced some success in PAL regions with PS2 titles Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call and Shadow Hearts: From the New World.
The company has several new IP tiles in development, including PS3 and Xbox 360 shooter To End All Wars, currently due for release in October 2008.
The Game Developer's Association of Australia has now opened registrations for its Game Connect Asia Pacific event, which is taking place across three days from November 15 in Melbourne, Australia.
The event, which comprises a Skill Forum followed by a two-day conference, will feature speakers from Sony, Microsoft, Pandemic and Konami, among others.
The GDAA Awards, which recognise developers working in Australia and New Zealand, will also be part of the event, and nominations close on October 31.
More details and registration information can be found on the official web site.
CEO and founder of Tiga, Fred Hasson, is to step down from the board after seven years.
Hasson helped set up Tiga in 2000, becoming CEO in March 2001. Beginning with 12 founding members, the organisation now boasts 157 members, including such studios as Sony London, Lionhead, Sumo Digital, Blitz and Rebellion.
"It's a long period but it's been, without doubt, the most exhilarating and enjoyable time," commented Hasson.
"The industry is generally not one for collective action, except when it comes to fun, and there have been antagonisms and hostilities to weather during this time.
"I believe we have achieved much in that time; we have rightly championed the role the development community plays in the success of this industry, crystallized coherent messages to government, and greatly increased the flow of best practice in the industry across a wide range of business and production issues," he said.
Hasson will officially step down as soon as a replacement is found.
The Order of the Phoenix movie is now the world's sixth highest earning film, accumulating a staggering a $933.9 million worldwide (Sorcerer's Stone is at #4 with $976.5 million gross). On top of that, the fifth film has surprassed Goblet of Fire's US sales of $290,013,036, earning itself $290,189,393.
We've heard some pretty zany claims when it comes to alternatively-powered vehicles, but Daren Luedtke is suggesting this his homemade electric van can propel itself some "500 miles" on a single charge. He also noted that it can be fully recharged in just eight hours, and he has apparently filed for a number of patents on the technology. The prototype Caravan, which took a few hundred thousand dollars to convert, is filled with batteries and also sports a computer that "monitors inputs such as amperage and voltage."
Luedtke Enterprises is purportedly looking for manufacturers to help bring the technology to the public, and if you're interested in hearing more, you can hit the read link for a video interview with the head honcho himself.
CSIRO and aggravation tend to go hand in hand, so it's no real shock to learn that the organization is playing hard ball in a recent push to get 802.11n closer to ratification.
Reportedly, CSIRO "refused to provide a letter of assurance to the IEEE working group developing the much-delayed 802.11n WiFi standard," and it cited legal discord between it and Microsoft, Intel, Dell, HP, Netgear, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Nintendo and 3Com as the primary holdup.
The group's senior vice-president of licensing, Denis Redfern, was quoted as saying that "where litigation is involved, CSIRO will continue to reserve its rights in relation to licensing," so it looks like an official 802.11n standard is still that far off from being founded.
The Writers Guild of America has announced the creation of a Videogame Writing Award.
The award, spearheaded by the guild's New Media Caucus, was designed to recognise the essential role of writers behind the creative, cultural, and commercial success of the videogame industries.
"Videogames are written and many are written very well. By recognising the skill and craft of videogame writing, the Writers Guilds intend to raise the profile of these writers so that they can get WGA contracts and benefits for this work, said WGAW president Patric Verrone. "We aim, we shoot, we score."
The award is also intended "to encourage storytelling excellence in videogames, to improve the status of writers, and to begin to encourage uniform standards" within the gaming industry.
"Writers are finally being recognised and valued in the videogame industry. Both artistically and financially, videogames matter - and videogame writers matter to the WGA," commented WGAW New Media Caucus member Jay Lender.
"This is the first time game writers have been honored by their peers in the writing community, and it's an important step toward the WGA's goal of covering everything that moves on a screen," added fellow caucus member Micah Wright.
The award will be presented for the first time at the Los Angeles ceremony of the 2008 Writers Guild Awards on February 9, 2008.
Oxygen Interactive Software has announced the opening of its first North American office, Oxygen Games USA.
Based in Northern California, the Oxygen Games USA team will lead sales and manage first party and developer relations for all Oxygen Interactive Software operations in North America.
"The opening of our North American office means a great deal to the growth of our corporation," said Jim Scott, Oxygen Interactive Software's CEO.
"Because we have so many upcoming titles unique to the North American consumer we recognize that it's time for Oxygen Interactive Software to participate more substantially in this territory than ever before."
Oxygen Interactive Software, headquartered in the United Kingdom, is seeking to integrate into the North American market as well as expand its sales and marketing partnerships in the United States and Canada.
"Oxygen Interactive Software has a solid reputation for bringing entertaining games to the expanding gaming audience," stated Doug Kennedy, vice president of Oxygen Games USA. "Opening the North American office allows us to continue that precedent in another thriving market."
Koch Media has entered into an agreement to distribute Blade Interactive's World Snooker Championship worldwide.
The next game in the series, now officially named "WSC Real - Season 2008," is being developed by Blade Interactive for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS, and PC. It will be released in April 2008 to coincide with the World Snooker Championship.
"We're very proud to have been chosen by Blade to handle this esteemed license," said Koch MD Craig McNicol.
"We are also particularly pleased that Blade have recognised our position on the world market, which fits perfectly with developers who wish to take the monolithic step to being publishers of their own IP."
As previously reported, Blade Interactive recently decided to publish its own titles starting with the World Snooker Championship franchise which has sold over 2 million units worldwide.
There's one of them RIAA lawsuits going down in Duluth this week, and Jammie Thomas, the single mother charged with sharing 26 songs on Kazaa, isn't going down without a fight.
Yesterday her attorneys called Jennifer Pariser, Sony BMG's head of litigation, to testify before the jury and got her to say some incredibly incendiary things -- not least of which was her opinion that making copies of purchased music is just "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy.'"
That viewpoint, of course, implicates pretty much every single thing consumers do with music and computers, including transferring songs to iPods and Zunes. We're betting there might be a couple jurors on the panel who aren't too fond of Ms. Pariser right now. Might want to check yo'self before you wreck yo'self, counselor.
Disclaimer: Although this post was written by an attorney, it is not meant as legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.
Listen, the ESA knows that they can't reach you on this whole piracy thing. No matter what they say, you're just too addicted to stealing. But, they know the whole thing could have worked out differently if they had access to a flux capacitor and some plutonium. If they could just go back in time, reach you when you were young, they could have stopped you before you fell in love with hot warez.
Well, they won't be making the same mistake twice. Cnet is reporting on the group's attempts to integrate their curriculum into everyday class time at the elementary school level. The ESA has even made a website for kids with all the tot-pleasing charm of the back of a Shoney's placemat and chock-full of info that the group is trying to get teachers to integrate into their classroom lesson plans. It's like we've always said: The main problem with America is that people know too much about math and science and reading and just not enough about the dangers of burning discs.
This is James Savage's spare room, which contains one hundred Apple computers. He has more than 150 in his house and all of them are working perfectly, from an Apple II+ and a Lisa to the latest MacBook Pro. James sent us this image for our best computer rig contest, so we asked him about his passion—some would say obsession, others medical condition.
Jesus Diaz: The first time I saw your photo I couldn't believe anyone could have as many Apple computers as you do, at least not outside of a museum. How many do you actually have?
James Savage: About 100 Macs and Apple computers (one NeXT) are in Macca [the spare room], with another 25 or so Macs in our home office and the rest of the Macs are in use throughout the house.
JD: How long did it take to get all these Macs and when did you start?
JS: I've been using Macs since my first, a Macintosh Plus, purchased new in 1988. I really began accumulating them in large numbers about five years ago. It originally began just as a quest to access some old Apple II files by getting an Apple IIe. Then, I wanted to transfer the files so an LC with a IIe emulator card was the best way to do this. Once I realized how inexpensively I could get Macs I once owned or desired to own, I really went crazy. There were many months when I would receive at least a Mac a week. I guess you can say that it has been about five years of serious collecting to get me where I am today.
JD: Once you find them, do they take a long time to restore?
JS: Macs hold up very well, so often, little is needed. I might have to do a little cleaning of the case and a fresh OS install, but other than that, most of them run like the day they were purchased when I receive them.
Some of the Macs are harder to find because they were never sold in the US. My Color Classic II was a nice find since it is a Japanese model (complete with Japanese Mac OS and keyboard) that found its way to the States. I have a IIvi that was sold to me by a military family who had purchased it new in Germany.
JD: And after that, how much time per day do you dedicate to taking care of them?
JS: They really don't need much care and feeding. I have about a dozen or so Macs that are powered 24 hours a day, and other than the periodic software update, they do just fine with little intervention. On the RetroMacCast we like to feature a different Mac each week. To prepare for that, I'll power up the featured Mac, reacquaint myself with it, and take pictures of it for the podcast.
From time to time, we'll get tech support questions from our listeners, so that gives me a chance to use the older Macs to test solutions. With every Mac made and countless pieces of software, peripherals, and connectors, I can pretty much duplicate any configuration.
JD: Do you sometimes turn them on and play with them, to check them out or say hi?
JS: Yes, sometimes I'll do that when I feel a little nostalgic. The new display room permits me to have many of them set up for operation. As people come to visit, I'll be able to turn them on and show the operation of different Macs throughout their history.
JD: How much money do you think this collection could sell for on eBay?
JS: As a lot? That's a tough question. Most of the money in this collection is in my time spent gathering everything. Strictly talking about the value of the computers, the lot isn't worth very much at all. Computers, with rare exception, do not appreciate. Even a pristine original 128k Macintosh is only worth a fraction of what it cost new. The sum total of my collection excluding the later models is probably worth about the price of brand new fully-loaded Mac Pro.
[I personally think it would be worth a lot more than that for the entire collection -JD]
JD: And finally, do you know many people who have this many Macs?
JS: Many people have large numbers of Macs, some approach my numbers or even exceed them. My podcast cohost, John, has around 30 Macs at his house, and quite a few of our listeners have collections of that size. As for the larger collections, you might have heard of Jeremy Mehrle. Jeremy's collection is quite spectacular, and he has been featured in many articles. I think he's hovering around 100 Apple computers. Also, I've just learned that one of our listeners, Justin from Australia, probably has a few more than I have.
JD: Anything else you want to add?
JS: Yeah, I would like to thank my wife, Tonya, for her understanding and support of my hobbies and a special thanks to my in-laws, Marty and Tonya, for their help in remodeling the hobby room to showcase the collection. And if you are interested in this, you can check my podcast here.
See more photographs of the many Apple gadgets here
Park these Capsuli rechargeable LED emergency lights on their miniature solar-powered charging station, and when havoc strikes and all the lights go out, you can pass these around to all the occupants of your darkened abode. A quick twist turns on the LED inside, giving you just enough light to keep from stumbling all over yourself. When you're not using them, they look kind of pretty in their little parking lot that might be a decorative addition to an empty windowsill.
Scientists in Taiwan have figured out how to make an oven out of cloth. Here you can see they've heated up a couple of pieces of tasty cheese toast in the thing, and the inventive tinkerers at the Taiwan Textile Research Institute say they've also baked a chicken in this lightweight and foldable oven that's conveniently portable, weighing "just a few hundred grams." There's just one little problem with this idea: You still have to furnish some serious power to make it go, but still, it might be nice to carry an oven around in your laptop bag, whip it out in the hotel room, plug it in and bake some bread on the go. Its inventors say we'll be seeing the oven for sale next year.
EA's forthcoming The Simpsons game parodies 30 years of videogaming and gaming IPs, but there are games companies that have refused to see the funny side of things.
"I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it's a sign of respect... If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we're not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto... But yeah, we've definitely had some reactions - we've had to pull stuff from the game", The Simpsons lead designer Greg Rizzer revealed to us in an interview earlier this week.
"But that's cool to me", Rizzer continued. "It's cool to still know, I feel, that the industry's been waiting for a game like this to come along. It's been too long since we really had one, and of course [there's] The Simpsons being the perfect vehicle to poke fun at the games industry."
At this year's Games Convention in Leipzig, someone took offence at a poster for 'Grand Theft Scratchy', one of the levels in the game, and asked that it be taken down.
"I don't know who specifically at Rockstar", Rizzer said. "I'm guessing probably more than anyone it was a lawyer. The people who work on that product, I doubt they were like, 'Stop that!'"
Although Rizzer admits it's been a challenge parodying videogame properties, on the flip-side of the coin there are companies that have fully embraced it.
"I don't know if you've seen Sitar Hero? We did Apu playing this 60-button controller and songs like Pour Some Curry On Me - we made this wonderful parody poster and the guys from Harmonix loved it and we sent them 20 copies of the poster. They just loved it so much."
For the fiscal first-half to September, Tokyo-based Sega Sammy forecasts it will post a net loss of 21.5 billion yen, as opposed to its previous estimate of a 5 billion yen loss, reports Thompson Financial.
Sega Sammy also lowered its revenue forecast from 310 billion yen to 230 billion yen citing “slower-than-expected sales” of Japanese pachinko machines.
A first-half operating loss of 7.0 billion yen is also forecast while full-year guidance is being reviewed on the back of “a severe business climate.”
The London Game Career Fair, to be held as part of the London Game Festival during the week of October 22, is nearing capacity.
Pre-registration is up 200 per cent from last year, with over half of those pre-registered attendees having already uploaded their CVs, and several colleges and universities are planning to bring students to the event.
Both American and British exhibitors will be present at the fair, with Blitz, THQ, LucasArts, NCsoft, EA, City University London, Team 17, Ubisoft, Rare, and Sega already confirmed.
The London Game Career Fair provides the opportunity for game industry professionals, recent graduates and individuals from related industries, such as computer graphics, animation and film, to speak with leading companies in the game industry about career opportunities.
Only a few booths are remaining for this year's fair, which is expected to break last year's attendance records that saw 700 people on the first day alone.
The career fair, jointly presented by GamesIndustry.biz and Gamasutra will be held on October 23 and October 24. More details are available from the official web site.
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the line-up of speakers and sponsors for its upcoming D.I.C.E. Summit.
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, making his first D.I.C.E. appearance, will share his views on current challenges game creators face today as one of the conferences keynotes.
Microsoft Game Studios head and corporate vice president Shane Kim will participate in a live interview session with questions from leading members of the media and Summit attendees.
Other speakers include Anita Frazier, representing the NPD research group, Lorne Lanning, president of Oddworld Inhabitants, and Yannis Mallat, CEO of Ubisoft's Montreal Studios.
Additional speakers will be announced over the next few weeks.
The Academy promises that discussion topics will be relevant to the current state of the videogame industry, developing trends and key issues facing top video game designers, developers, publishers and business leaders.
This year's sponsors include Bioware/Pandemic, Day One Studios, Dell Computer, Electronic Arts, GameRecruiter, Insomniac Games, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Philips amBx, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Stormfront Studios, and Ubisoft.
The event will take place in Las Vegas at the Red Rock Resort on February 6-8, 2008.
Kohnke Communications has announced the hiring of Julia Roether as the firm's vice president.
Roether will lead the new Los Angeles office that Kohnke is opening. Her responsibilities will include providing strategic council to the firm's interactive entertainment, consumer and digital lifestyle accounts, and overseeing a team representing a variety of game industry clients.
"Julia brings a wealth of knowledge, leadership, and an extensive background in public relations and consumer and interactive entertainment which is a perfect compliment to our world-class team," said Richard Kain, general manager.
"We look forward to Julia growing our presence in Los Angeles, and giving us senior level counsel in the heart of the entertainment industry."
Prior to joining Kohnke, Roether spent seven years at GolinHarris where she oversaw public relations activities for Nintendo of America in the United States, spearheading the hardware launches for the Wii and Nintendo DS.
Roether also worked as a senior manager of corporate communications at Activision.
NCsoft has unveiled California-based Carbine Studios.
Carbine Studios, comprised of 17 former Blizzard employees, is led by industry veterans Kevin Beardslee, Tim Cain and Jeremy Gaffney. Its team includes lead and senior developers from the World of Warcraft team, and members who have worked on titles such as Fallout, City of Heroes, and Asheron's Call.
"This is a dev team made in heaven," said Robert Garriott, CEO for NCsoft's North American business. "This group is as experienced as they come in the area of computer role playing and multiplayer game design. Making successful games is second nature to them."
"They are a very welcome addition to the NCsoft family. The gaming community should be excited to see what great things come out of Carbine Studios in the coming years," Garriott said.
Carbine Studios is currently working on an unannounced massively multiplayer gaming project.
"NCsoft's established global infrastructure, commitment to their development studios and passion for online gaming makes them an ideal partner," says Carbine co-founder Kevin Beardslee.
"In the coming months Carbine Studios will continue to grow and we look forward to bringing many more talented industry professionals into our fold."
Alliance numériQC, the organiser of the Montreal International Game Summit, has unveiled more details about the upcoming event.
Yoshiaki Koizumi and Jonathan Blow have joined David Perry as key speakers. Koizumi was the script writer of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and assistant director of Super Mario 64, as well as a contributor to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.
Blow, an independent game designer, industry consultant, technical columnist for Game Developer Magazine, is the co-organiser of the Game-Tech conference and founder of the Experimental Gameplay Workshop, a group that showcases the work of groundbreaking game designers.
Montreal's line-up will feature more than forty sessions in the fields of content, design, technology, programming and production/business.
Other speakers include Steven Gilmour (Bioware), James Gwertzman (PopCap Games), Clint Hocking (Ubisoft), Chris Heckler (EA), and Michael Kelbaugh (Retro Studios).
The summit, which first began in 2004, will take place November 27-28 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.
It looks like Eastbourne in East Sussex, UK is the latest town to ditch its old school parking meters in favor of some decidedly more high-tech options, with the county's council even going so far as to boast that their new meters are among the most "secure and intelligent" in the country.
Costing a hefty £3,000 (or over $6,000) apiece, the meters pack a few more options than other newfangled meters, including their own SIM card that can be used to call for help if anyone attempts to bust one open. As with some similar meters, these ones, dubbed the Alfia 300 CI, are solar powered, and each is also covered by a CCTV system to catch vandals or would-be pocket change thieves in the act.
While 150 of the meters are reportedly already in place in the town, they're apparently being kept under wraps until the big unveiling on Monday, when the whole lot is set to go into service.
Apparently, one Pivo just isn't enough, as Nissan today unveiled the Pivo 2 concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show. The fully electric vehicle boasts a 360-degree turning cabin, 90-degree turning wheels and "employs by-wire technologies for braking and steering." Yes, that means that this thing can "drive sideways as well as forward," and thanks to the in-cabin Robotic Agent, you can now rest assured that someone, er, something will be along for every ride to give you tips on finding the nearest parking garage. As expected, there's no telling if this thing will ever show up en masse on dealer lots.
· Scientist has made synthetic chromosome
· Breakthrough could combat global warming
Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.
The announcement, which is expected within weeks and could come as early as Monday at the annual meeting of his scientific institute in San Diego, California, will herald a giant leap forward in the development of designer genomes. It is certain to provoke heated debate about the ethics of creating new species and could unlock the door to new energy sources and techniques to combat global warming.
Mr Venter told the Guardian he thought this landmark would be "a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before".
The Guardian can reveal that a team of 20 top scientists assembled by Mr Venter, led by the Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, has already constructed a synthetic chromosome, a feat of virtuoso bio-engineering never previously achieved. Using lab-made chemicals, they have painstakingly stitched together a chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code.
The DNA sequence is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium which the team pared down to the bare essentials needed to support life, removing a fifth of its genetic make-up. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, which the team have christened Mycoplasma laboratorium, has been watermarked with inks for easy recognition.
It is then transplanted into a living bacterial cell and in the final stage of the process it is expected to take control of the cell and in effect become a new life form. The team of scientists has already successfully transplanted the genome of one type of bacterium into the cell of another, effectively changing the cell's species. Mr Venter said he was "100% confident" the same technique would work for the artificially created chromosome.
The new life form will depend for its ability to replicate itself and metabolise on the molecular machinery of the cell into which it has been injected, and in that sense it will not be a wholly synthetic life form. However, its DNA will be artificial, and it is the DNA that controls the cell and is credited with being the building block of life.
Mr Venter said he had carried out an ethical review before completing the experiment. "We feel that this is good science," he said. He has further heightened the controversy surrounding his potential breakthrough by applying for a patent for the synthetic bacterium.
Pat Mooney, director of a Canadian bioethics organisation, ETC group, said the move was an enormous challenge to society to debate the risks involved. "Governments, and society in general, is way behind the ball. This is a wake-up call - what does it mean to create new life forms in a test-tube?"
He said Mr Venter was creating a "chassis on which you could build almost anything. It could be a contribution to humanity such as new drugs or a huge threat to humanity such as bio-weapons".
Mr Venter believes designer genomes have enormous positive potential if properly regulated. In the long-term, he hopes they could lead to alternative energy sources previously unthinkable. Bacteria could be created, he speculates, that could help mop up excessive carbon dioxide, thus contributing to the solution to global warming, or produce fuels such as butane or propane made entirely from sugar.
"We are not afraid to take on things that are important just because they stimulate thinking," he said. "We are dealing in big ideas. We are trying to create a new value system for life. When dealing at this scale, you can't expect everybody to be happy."
One last news post. Before I go to bed. IN a shocking turn of events. An off duty
CRANDON, wisconsin sheriff's deputy. Shot six students resulting in their deaths. and critical wounded another.
CRANDON, Wis. - The residents Tyler Peterson was hired to protect and serve can't understand how the 20-year-old who shot six of their young people and critically injured another could have passed a background check to become a sheriff's deputy.
AP Photo: This undated photo taken from the Crandon High School yearbook and made available by WJFW-TV...
Peterson was shot to death after opening fire early Sunday on a group of students and recent graduates who had gathered for pizza and movies on their high school's homecoming weekend. Peterson was off-duty from his full-time job as a Forest County deputy sheriff; he also was a part-time Crandon police officer.
David Franz, 36, who lives with his wife two houses from the duplex where the shooting occurred, said it was hard to accept that someone in law enforcement was the gunman.
"The first statement we said to each other was, how did he get through the system?" Franz said. "How do they know somebody's background, especially that young? It is disturbing, to say the least."
Sheriff Keith Van Cleve said he would meet with state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Monday morning to discuss the case.
Crandon Police Chief John Dennee said it would be handled by the state Department of Criminal Investigation because the suspect was a deputy and officer.
Peterson was killed Sunday afternoon, eight miles north of Crandon in the rural town of Argonne, Dennee said.
Crandon mayor Gary Bradley said Sunday that a sniper killed the suspect, but Van Cleve would not confirm that officers shot him.
The gunman's motive was unclear, but the mother of a 14-year-old victim, Lindsey Stahl, said the suspect may have been a jealous boyfriend.
"I'm waiting for somebody to wake me up right now. This is a bad, bad dream," said Jenny Stahl. "All I heard it was a jealous boyfriend and he went berserk. He took them all out."
Dennee declined comment on whether Peterson had a romantic relationship with any of the victims.
The white, two-story duplex was about a block from downtown Crandon, a town of about 2,000 located 225 miles north of Milwaukee in an area known for logging and outdoor activities. The victims had gathered for what Dennee described as "a pizza and movie party."
Three of the victims were Crandon High School students, said school Superintendent Richard Peters, and the other three had graduated within the past three years.
"There is probably nobody in Crandon who is not affected by this," Peters said, adding that students "are going to wake up in shock and disbelief and a lot of pain."
Peters did not know whether Peterson had graduated from the 300-student school. But Crandon resident Karly Johnson, 16, said that she knew the gunman and that he had helped her in a tech education class.
"He graduated with my brother," she said. "He was nice. He was an average guy. Normal. You wouldn't think he could do that."
The Crandon School District called off classes Monday.
One victim, 20-year-old Bradley Schultz, was a third-year student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who was home to visit his friends, said his aunt, Sharon Pisarek.
"We still don't have many details, but from what they've told us, there was a girl next to him and he was covering her, protecting her," she said, sobbing. "He was loved by everybody. He was everybody's son. Senseless."
David Franz's wife, Marci, said she was awakened by the gunshots.
"I heard probably five or six shots, a short pause and then five or six more," she said. "I wasn't sure if it was gunfire initially. I thought some kids were messing around and hitting a nearby metal building."
Then she heard eight louder shots and tires squealing, she said.
"I was just about to get up and call it in, and I heard sirens," she said. "There's never been a tragedy like this here. There's been individual incidents, but nothing of this magnitude."
Turbine, Inc. has announced changes to its management team, naming Jim Crowley as president and CEO.
The move is one of many recently made by the company, including the addition of Craig Alexander as vice president of product development and Walt Yarbrough as executive producer.
"I'm excited to have the opportunity to play a role in Turbine's continued growth and success," commented Crowley. "Turbine has an incredible team, industry leading technology and a portfolio of franchises that are without peer. I look forward to working closely with our entire team and our global business partners to continue to invest in, and accelerate, our domestic and international success."
Prior to joining Turbine, Crowley was COO of mobile media company m-Qube and COO of Network Plus, a telecommunications and data provider. Crowley had been working for Turbine in a management capacity for a number of months before being named CEO.
Founded in 1994, Turbine is reponsible for the online franchises Asheron's Call, Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach, and The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.
There was no immediate word from Turbine regarding the fate of former president and CEO Jeff Anderson.
Electronic Arts has announced the acquisition of Super Computer International.
SCI, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a provider of gaming client applications and software tools for the PC. EA will purchase SCI's technology assets and the SCI development team will join EA's Online Technology Group.
Jesper Jensen, SCI's CEO, will continue to lead the team, reporting to Nanea Reeves, EA Vice President and COO for Online.
"SCI's development expertise is uniquely suited to our online technology needs," said Reeves. "The team's technical leadership and creative approach is a great fit, and we're thrilled to have them join EA."
SCI is the creator of PlayLinc, an online game browsing and messaging platform that includes social networking tools such as IM and VoIP, buddy tracking, player invitations, and team management.
Virtual Worlds Forum Europe has announced the addition of Lord Puttnam and Lord Triesman to the list of speakers.
Lord Puttnam, the award-winning film producer and campaigner, is to present a keynote presentation entitled 'Virtual Worlds - media, entertainment, narrative: a radical shift from passive to interactive'.
Lord Puttnam will be joined by Lord Triesman, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, who will also be giving a keynote speech on the first day.
Additional confirmed speakers include senior executives from Lego Universe, Sony Computer Entertainment, Boingboing.com, Mind Candy, and Linden Lab. Also speaking will be Professor Michael Hulme from the Centre for Study of Media, Technology & Culture.
Virtual Worlds Forum Europe has formed a partnership with Australia-based X[Media]Lab, who will be holding a one-day workshop at the forum. This will be the first time that an X[Media]Lab workshop has been held outside of the Asia-Pacific region.
"We are very excited to be bringing X[Media]Lab to London, one of the world's digital media hotspots, and offering it as an additional element to our two day conference," said Sasha Frieze, Virtual Worlds Forum Europe conference director.
Finally, Virtual Worlds Forum confirmed three new sponsors: The Electric Sheep Company, Enne Entertainment Studios, and FutureBrand.
The inaugural Virtual Worlds Forum Europe will be held on October 24-25, 2007 in Central London, with workshops to be held on October 23 and 26.
Infogrames is set to swing the axe at the Atari board, as it continues its recovery plans for its games publishing division.
Five directors of the board will be shown the door, leaving the remaining three to be joined by new board members and a 'chief restructuring officer', reports Thompson Financial News.
Last month, Infogrames CEO Patrick Leleu revealed further plans to turn Atari's fortunes around, which included consolidating shares and streamlining distribution.
Toshiba and Microsoft have revealed plans to form the Advanced Interactivity Consortium (AIC), an open forum aimed at boosting the adoption of HD DVD.
It's the latest move in the hi-def format war, in which Blu-ray is currently stretching ahead mostly thanks to support from Sony and the PS3's movie playback.
According to data collected by Home Media Retailing, earlier this year Blu-ray movies were outselling HD DVD two to one. Well, half of our PS3's usage is for movies anyway...
As well as pushing HD DVD in the industry, the new organization will focus on ways to bring "advanced scenarios" to other platforms, including digital downloads to DVD players, PCs, TVs, mobile phones and consoles.
"The Advanced Interactivity Consortium has its roots in the work we've done with HDiT and HD DVD, but is open to all companies interested in bringing a broader set of experiences to consumers on different platforms," said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft.
"We look forward to contributing to this effort with HDi, our implementation of HD DVD's interactive layer, and to collaborate with AIC members on how to extend interactive compatibilities to the consumer electronics market."
So finally a fess-up that HD-DVD is lagging behind, or MS making damn sure that its format of choice comes out on top? The Xbox 360 HD DVD drive - which currently retails for £115 in the UK - recently saw a $20 price cut in the US.
There's no word on a similar slash on our end, but considering the newly formed organisation we reckon we'll see a much stronger push going forward...
Here's a short video of the 21-foot-long X-Wing rocket launching at Plaster City, California, and then desintegrating spectacularly in mid-air. And no, it wasn't Darth Vader or those pesky deflector towers, just the stress from the launch. I can only say two things. The first is: absolutely amazing. And the second: poor Porkins.
See the video clip of the craft in action over here. It's a shame it broke up.
Does it say something about our priorities as a species that before space tourism has even been proven safe for and desirable to the masses, people are already coming up with ways to spend money in zero gravity? Well according to a group of researchers from the University of Leicester and the UK's National Space Centre, the payment methods we use here on Earth would not make for viable space currency -- due to sharp edges or radiation-prone magnetic strips -- and would need to be replaced with something more suited to the environment.
Enter the Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination (or QUID -- clever Brits), a stackable, molded chip made of the same material used in non-stick pans, and lacking the chemicals or sharpness inherent to paper, plastic, and coins. The inventors peg the current exchange rate for the QUID at £6.25 to 1Q, which seems not only completely arbitrary, but fairly unnecessary, considering that we'll have already spent all our Earth money (and probably re-financed the house) to pay Sir Richard for the damn flight.
CMP Media has released the new dates for next year's Game Developer Conference, taking place as usual in San Francisco.
The focus of the 2008 event will be learning, networking and inspiration, and has been slated for the earlier-than-usual dates of February 18-22.
Hotel accommodation via the GDC web site will open at the end of October, while alumni rates end on December 5 and early bird rates end on January 16.
The conference session will be announced in November, and submissions are currently under review, but the line-up will include casual games, outsourcing, independent games, serious games and worlds in motion.
Game Developer magazine has revealed its annual Top 20 publishers report, with a new company taking the number one spot.
More than 300 industry professionals from all parts of the game production process were asked to give their opinions on the reputations of each publisher in the survey.
In addition, scores and commentary were gathered from respondents who had direct experience with the publishers in the recent past, either as workers or partners, including milestone, marketing and pay feedback.
The fifth annual countdown resulted in Nintendo taking the top spot previously held by four-time winner Electronic Arts.
"Adding reputation-based feedback to our survey for the first time has brought an interesting, more well-rounded angle to the much-anticipated countdown," said Simon Carless, publisher of Game Developer magazine and Game Developer Research series.
"As we can see from the new rankings, the rise of casual gaming, coupled with these new reputational elements, has contributed markedly to ranking shifts, and we’re eager to see how these industry changes affect the report in subsequent years."
Rounding out the top five publishers are Activision, Ubisoft, and THQ. Joining the list for the first time is import game publisher Atlus USA, which came in at number 18, helping to drop Atari out of the Top 20.
The rankings took into account the number of releases by SKU, average game review scores, and publisher revenue from August 2006 to July 2007.
The full countdown overview of the Top 20 Publishers 2007 is available in the October 2007 edition of Game Developer magazine.
In an interview with The Financial Times, CEO Robert Kotick discusses Activision's criteria for acquisitions.
"You want profitability, some proprietary development capability that is proven and successful, you want them to have a history of multi-million unit sellers, you want good management and you want it to be non-dilutive financially," he said.
Activision, who purchased developer Bizarre Creations last month, has acquired a dozen companies in the past five years, among them Guitar Hero publisher RedOctane and Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward.
"The few times that we haven’t stuck to that criteria, we’ve made mistakes," Kotick said.
Kotick also told The Financial Times that independent studios have been falsely accused of lacking discipline.
"We pick our studios carefully and allow an independent culture. I find them deadline-focused, milestone-driven, incredibly responsible and sensitive to the needs of the audiences."
Over the past 16 years, Kotick has brought Activision from insolvency to its position as the leading US third-party publisher during the first eight months of 2007. He is currently the longest-serving CEO among the five biggest US third-party publishers, which include EA, THQ, Take-Two, and Midway Games.
Under Kotick's leadership, the company relocated to Santa Monica, California, close to the Hollywood movie studios whose properties--Spider-man, James Bond, Transformers, Shrek--are frequently licensed by Activision.
"If you own Hollywood property and you want to have it in interactive media, I think we’re the first stop," Kotick said. "Being here, we feel we have this unique perspective, an appreciation of what’s important to our partners."
At a recent event in France, Adobe showcased a prototype 3D lens that could essentially capture a scene from 19 slightly different angles simultaneously, giving photographers a lot more to work with when they return home for post-processing.
Essentially, the firm boasted that by using this lens along with software designed to understand the 3D nature of the image, individuals could utilize newfangled tools such as a "3D healing brush" and make perspective shifts based on the different viewpoints originally captured.
Dave Story, vice president of digital imaging product development at Adobe, called the technology "computational photography," and suggested that it could open up an entirely new window of image transformation opportunities. As always, these type things are better explained in motion, so be sure and hit the read link to check out the video.
The rich are different from you and me, so maybe they'll have time to ride in this Strato Cruiser Airship, sitting back and getting pedicures while this helium-lifted carbon fiber blimp lumbers along. The design concept calls for spectacular restaurants inside staffed by star chefs, a spa, private suites, office space, a swimming pool and even a resident DJ. If this all gets too boring for you, the designers also plan to install a bungee-jumping platform. Check out the magnificent set of renderings in the gallery below, but don't start thinking about booking tickets just yet—there's no indication of when or if this fantasy ship, created by art directors Tino Schaedler and Michael J Brown, will ever be built.
Developer Foundation 9 Entertainment has combined The Collective and Shiny Entertainment into one studio.
Foundation 9 acquired Shiny Entertainment in October 2006. Foundation 9 itself was formed out of a merger between The Collective and Backbone Entertainment.
The Collective and Shiny have already relocated to a new headquarters in Irvine, California, but no name has been officially given to the new combined studio.
"Bringing the Shiny and Collective teams together into one larger studio will give them the scale and resources needed to deliver top-notch franchise-based releases across multiple platforms," said Foundation 9 COO David Mann. "We've already moved everyone under one roof, which will help to make a seamless transition for both teams."
The new studio will be led by Shiny's current manager, Michael Persson, who notes: "At this scale we now have the resources to truly distinguish ourselves as the 'go-to' developer for complete sku lines from next-gen to current gen and PSP."
According to Foundation 9, the merger will not create any redundancies.
Shiny Entertainment, formed by Dave Perry, is best known for the Earthworm Jim franchise and games based upon The Matrix license for Atari. The Collective worked on Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith for LucasArts. It is currently developing Shining Hill V for Konami.
Activision has inked a deal with Protexis to digitally distribute PC titles to online retailers in the US.
The first titles on offer will include Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, all of which will use Protexis' RED distribution model.
"Digital distribution through established online retailers is important to Activision," commented Jon Estanislao, senior manager of online publishing at Activision.
"Through the growing Protexis RED retail network, Activision will be able to reach an even greater number of gamers and increase its bottom line."
The latest details on the forthcoming Virtual Worlds Forum have been released, with a host of first-looks for London.
The BBC's Adventure Rock will be demonstrated, as will Raph Koster's Areae Metaplace, and a special SXSW Interactive networking drinks event will also be held in the build-up to the conference.
A New World Showcase has also been announced, with speakers including Rupert Key from Sun Microsystems, Dr Barbara Lippe from Avaloop and Bjorn Lee from Hipihi.
To redeem a special 10 per cent GamesIndustry.biz discount for the event, just regist
