Out There: Is dumbing down ruining videogames?

February 6th, 2012
Are overbearing tutorials and handholding destroying the magic? Plus playing fever dreams and shooting Skyrim.

Ricky Haggett of Honeyslug, the developer of Vita debut Frobisher Says, puzzle game Kahoots and many more, is angry about Capcom's Ghost Trick. Having been playing its newly released iOS port, he's infuriated by its incessant explanatory text boxes.

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Screen Yorkshire announces £15 million fund

February 6th, 2012
Screen Yorkshire has announced a new £15 million content fund, which it will invest in games, film, TV and digital creative works produced in the region. Half of the Yorkshire Content Fund comes from the European Regional Development Fund, set up by the European Commission to stimulate regional economic development. The remainder will be provided by private sector investors.
http://www.screenyorkshire.co.uk/funding
Screen Yorkshire

Screen Yorkshire has announced a new £15 million content fund, which it will invest in games, film, TV and digital creative works produced in the region.

Half of the Yorkshire Content Fund comes from the European Regional Development Fund, set up by the European Commission to stimulate regional economic development. The remainder will be provided by private sector investors.

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PSN rebrand begins tomorrow

February 6th, 2012
Sony's online service PlayStation Network will this week be renamed Sony Entertainment Network, as the company begins to consolidate all its online operations under one name. The switch, which Sony says is "a change in name only" which will make it "clearer and easier" for users to access all Sony services with a single account, takes place tomorrow
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=461878
NeoGaf

Sony's online service PlayStation Network will this week be renamed Sony Entertainment Network, as the company begins to consolidate all its online operations under one name.

The switch, which Sony says is "a change in name only" which will make it "clearer and easier" for users to access all Sony services with a single account, takes place tomorrow.

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FF XIII-2 tops UK chart

February 6th, 2012
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the new UK number one, the Square Enix RPG ending FIFA 12's five-week dominance of the all-formats software chart. In a busy week for new releases, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection enters the chart at number two, with Namco Bandai's Soul Calibur V, fittingly, making its debut at number five.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the new UK number one, the Square Enix RPG ending FIFA 12's five-week dominance of the all-formats software chart.

In a busy week for new releases, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection enters the chart at number two, with Namco Bandai's Soul Calibur V, fittingly, making its debut at number five. FIFA 12 slips to fourth, while Battlefield 3 climbs two places to number three.

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Opinion: ZORKWAR

February 6th, 2012
Brian Howe imagines what Infocom’s classic text-based adventure Zork might be like had it been released today.

Outside of Heavily Armed Compound. You are standing in a smouldering field of wreckage before a heavily armed compound. To the east, south, north, and west, invisible walls have sprung up. A tree with low branches stands nearby. There 
is a leaflet resting on the ground.

>read leaflet

“Welcome to ZORKWAR, a text-based secondperson adventure game of running, hiding, shooting, and further running.”

>climb tree

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Less than half of Half-Life 3 protesters turn up

February 6th, 2012
Only 13,000 of the 30,000 gamers who signed up fulfilled their pledge to spend the weekend playing Half-Life 2 in protest at Valve's lack of communication about Half-Life 3. Kotaku reports that, while the number of those playing Valve's classic FPS fell far short of what was expected, it still exceeded the game's normal Steam activity by 10,000 players.
http://kotaku.com/5882437/so-howd-that-half+life-2-protest-go
Kotaku

Only 13,000 of the 30,000 gamers who signed up fulfilled a pledge to spend the weekend playing Half-Life 2 in protest at Valve's lack of communication about Half-Life 3.

Kotaku reports that, while the number of those playing Valve's classic FPS fell far short of what was expected, it still exceeded the game's normal Steam activity by 10,000 players.

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THQ signs deal with ‘father of Xbox’

February 6th, 2012
THQ is to publish games developed by Innovative Leisure, a mobile game startup founded by Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley. Blackley revealed his new company last week in an interview with VentureBeat. He described the iPhone as "the new arcade," and the 99¢ pricepoint as "the new quarter." With that in mind, he has assembled a team of industry veterans who were behind much of Atari's arcade output in the 70s and 80s.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/02/seamus-blackley-launches-innovative-leisure-mobile-game-startup-with-atari-arcade-veterans-exclusive/
VentureBeat

THQ has announced a "strategic agreement" with Innovative Leisure, a mobile game startup founded by Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley.

Blackley revealed his new company last week in an interview with VentureBeat. He described the iPhone as "the new arcade," and the 99¢ pricepoint as "the new quarter." With that in mind, he has assembled a team of industry veterans who were behind much of Atari's arcade output in the 70s and 80s.

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Stephen Toulouse quits Microsoft

February 6th, 2012
Stephen "StepTo" Toulouse has resigned from his position as Xbox Live director of policy and enforcement, and will leave Microsoft on February 15. Toulouse, who has been with the company for 18 years and admits to not knowing what he'll do next, revealed the news on his personal blog.
http://www.stepto.com/2012/02/in-which-i-leave-microsoft/
StepTo

Stephen "StepTo" Toulouse has resigned from his position as Xbox Live director of policy and enforcement, and will leave Microsoft on February 15.

Toulouse, who has been with the company for 18 years and admits to not knowing what he'll do next, revealed the news on his personal blog.

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General: Five Awesome MMO ‘Mounts’General: Five Awesome MMO ‘Mounts’

February 6th, 2012
What are the most awesome ways to travel in an MMO? In this week's The List, we take a look at five awesome MMO 'mounts'.
What are the most awesome ways to travel in an MMO? In this week's The List, we take a look at five awesome MMO 'mounts'.

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Diablo 3: Battle.Net Balance Goes LiveDiablo 3: Battle.Net Balance Goes Live

February 5th, 2012
Blizzard has announced that the Battle.Net Balance is now live. With the new service, players can purchase digital products through the upcoming Diablo 3 auction house as well as purchase digital downloads of all Blizzard's games.
Blizzard has announced that the Battle.Net Balance is now live. With the new service, players can purchase digital products through the upcoming Diablo 3 auction house as well as purchase digital downloads of all Blizzard's games.

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