Joystiq

Christopher Grant

Philadelphia, PA - http://www.joystiq.com

Motivated by either an unhealthy Messianic complex or a dearth of career opportunities (he never could decide which), Chris put his college education to good use as a carpenter before becoming editor-in-chief of this here gaming blog. If he isn't busy playing or writing about games, he's doing other, no doubt less important, things ... though he probably shouldn't be.

Alex Evans answers 10 Questions from the Academy

by Christopher Grant { 1 day ago }

Introducing 10 Questions from the Academy: A weekly feature from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences wherein significant figures in the video game industry provide their input on past trends, current events, and future challenges and goals for the entertainment software community.

Alex Evans is a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and spoke at the D.I.C.E. Summit in 2009. He's worked for Lionhead Studios, co-developed Rag Doll Kung-Fu independently, and co-founded Media Molecule, developers behind the award-winning LittleBigPlanet.

AIAS: How do you measure success?
Alex Evans: The number of hand written fan letters from 4 year olds showcasing scribbly artwork they've re-imagined from your game.

What's your favorite part of game development?
Top'n'tail – the really fertile bit at the beginning, just messing around; and the final, final, tunnel of light where you actually ship the damn thing. The middle bit itself has phases: wherein you lost site of your initial good idea; realise what you've made sucks in several significant ways; rebuild it (several times); lose sight once more of the original idea; (hopefully) eventually recapture something of the original seed, by now actually usable; and finally enter the glorious 'tunnel of light' towards the end. All of these middle phases effectively only happen because of many, many hours of grind – or 'turning the handle' as my old math professor used to call it.

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Unreal Development Kit brings Unreal Engine development to the masses

by Christopher Grant { 2 days ago }

No, Whizzle and The Ball aren't Cincinatti's crazy drive-time zoo crew, rocking WKRP with six hours of fart jokes, crank calls, and toilet-flushing sound effects – instead, they're two new indie games built entirely using the hey-isn't-that-expensive Unreal Engine 3. Or, if you want to get specific, built using the just-announced (though expected) Unreal Development Kit, or UDK for the acronymical out there. Sure, Unreal Engine 3 is super enough to bring you games like Gears of War 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum, but as long as you're using it for non-commercial or educational purposes, UDK is available totally free of charge.

You can download the Unreal Development Kit for yourself from Big Download, and while you're over there read their blowout coverage, including interviews with Epic Games, Whizzle's Psyonix Studios, and The Ball's Toltec Studios. We've got images and descriptions of both games, along with a video from Psyonix, after the break.

Gallery: Unreal Development Kit (UDK)

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Watch: The Modern Warfare 2 launch trailer, as seen on TV

by Christopher Grant { 3 days ago }

For some reason, Activision is intent on blowing cash on Modern Warfare 2 advertisements, despite record pre-order numbers, and anticipated record-breaking sales. At this point, tossing out slick television commercials – like the one you see above, showing some more fightin' on American soil – just seems like kicking everyone's wallets while they're down. We've already got the game pre-ordered! We can't pre-order it anymore! Uncle!

Ubisoft talks dancing, fitness and party games on Natal, PS3 Motion Controller

by Christopher Grant { 3 days ago }

On the conference call covering Ubisoft's Q2 earnings, management had a chance to discuss its strategies for the company, including support for both Microsoft and Sony's motion control accessories. "We will also be ready with some very nice innovations when Natal and Motion Controller are launched on the Xbox 360 and PS3 next year," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, reminding us that a 2010 release for Project Natal is all but confirmed at this point. He later explained that Ubisoft will "also have some games that will come on the new machines that are going to come in the future" and "are working to be ready for the new accessories or new machines that will come soon." Whether Guillemot is talking about the aforementioned motion control accessories or new consoles altogether (or both!) wasn't clear.

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Midway execs found not guilty in conspiracy suit

by Christopher Grant { 11 days ago }

You know how this works: You're a shareholder in a major company -- let's say a major video game publisher like ... Midway Games -- and while the suits assure you that, despite lagging sales and a lousy portfolio, everything's going to be "OK!"

Things started looking dodgy when CEO David Zucker abandoned ship in March of 2008. "Everything okay in there?" you ask. "Yup, everything's fine," Midway responded, while installing Matt Booty into the position. Then chairwoman Shari Redstone, daughter of owner Sumner Redstone, resigned in November 2008. "Alright, this sounds really bad!" you cried. "Seriously, don't worry. It's fine," Midway responded (they'd put Booty in that position in January of the following year). And then, in December, Sumner Redstone sold his shares in the now clearly troubled publisher for the bargain basement price of $100,000 to mysterious investor Mark Thomas ... and then, the layoffs began.

So now you, and the rest of the shareholders in NYSE: MWY want to hold the executives who kept you in the dark accountable. According to Develop, after months of hearing allegations, District Court judge David H. Coar found five Midway executives – including former CEO David Zucker and CFO Thomas Powell – "innocent of conspiracy to deceive the public about the health of the fallen company." The reason? The shareholders had not "adequately alleged the direct liability" of the execs.

Okay, so it wasn't a "conspiracy" (or whatever other fancy law school words the "law" requires) but we understand your pain. Now, have we told you about the opportunities at Joystiq Publishing ...

EA's Rich Hilleman answers 10 Questions from the Academy

by Christopher Grant { 15 days ago }

Rich Hilleman is a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences where he serves as one of its board directors. He's worked for Electronic Arts since 1982 where he was one of the first twenty employees, and was one of the creators of the original Madden football game. He currently holds the title of Chief Creative Officer.

AIAS: What's your favorite part of game development?
Rich Hilleman: Discovery of Fun. I think you can understand how elements combine to be successful, in the same way that you can create a recipe by chemistry. There are many elements, and as a result nearly infinite possibilities. The Art is in anticipating the results of a new combination and understanding what that means for feedback systems, game mechanics and marketing concepts. Those second order effects are where the magic is...

How do you measure success?
Impact = change x the number of people impacted.

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Joystiq Podcast 114 - Funny last names edition

by Christopher Grant { 15 days ago }

Chris is out with a flu of curiously porcine proportions and Justin is in a country with even worse internet connectivity than Ludwig's. Of course, that leaves only Ludwig ... lucky for you, he's bolstered the show with the contributions of Griffin McElroy and the omnipresent Tom Chick, video game freelancer extraordinaire. Mr Chick is perhaps best known for his cameo on Joystiq Podcast 113, where he (inadvertently) played the role of "Games Reviewer We Disagreed With Regarding Uncharted 2." Tune in for the thrilling confrontation!

Thanks to Zachary Tuttle for photo-documenting our road trip, seen above.

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Hosts: Ludwig Kietzmann (@LudwigK), Griffin McElroy (@GriffinMcElroy), and Tom Chick (follow him at Fidgit and QuartertoThree.com)

Music: "Gravity (Don't Let Me Go)" by Jon Black, "Red Eye" by Ben Kweller

For fans: Joystiq Podcast Facebook group

The Do It Line!: 1-(877)-JOYSTIQ

See all of this week's links (and what games we played) after the jump.

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iPhone beats Wii, DS, PSP: 'fastest hardware growth in consumer tech history'

by Christopher Grant { 15 days ago }

If you wonder why analysts love the iPhone, wonder no longer! Those rascally number crunchers just love to make bold proclamations and Apple's iPhone / iPod Touch ecosystem allow them to do just that. Let's start with Mary Meeker, internet analyst at Morgan Stanley, who told the Web 2.0 Summit crowd yesterday that the iPhone and iPod Touch (which share a common software platform) exhibited the "fastest hardware user growth in consumer tech history"! Don't believe her? Check out that chart. Those numbers even make the DS look pedestrian.

Couple Meeker's research with DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole's assertion that the iPhone and iPod Touch devices will be the "primary drivers of mobile game market sales over the coming years" and you've got what those of us in the biz call "consensus."

Still think it's not a real gaming platform?

Xbox division a bright spot on Microsoft's quarterly report

by Christopher Grant { 15 days ago }

Despite a year-over-year dip in both revenues (14%) and net income (18%) for the company as a whole, Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division – which houses the Xbox, Games for Windows, and Zune brands, amongst others – nearly doubled its operating income in the period ending September 30, thanks to "decreased Xbox 360 platform costs," meaning console production costs.

The company reports that "EDD revenue was flat with growth in Xbox 360 platform and PC game revenue offset by decreased revenue from the non-gaming portion of the business" (think: Zune, Windows Mobile). Even with "decreased revenue per console resulting from price reductions during the past 12 months," Xbox 360 platform and PC game revenue increased by 8% "due mainly to increased revenue from Xbox Live and Xbox 360 video games." While the 2.1 million Xbox consoles shipped for the quarter just misses the 2.2 million mark from last year, those reduced production costs help.

With the Xbox sharing top billing with Microsoft's flagship money maker, Windows, on the earnings announcement – both "exceed[ing] expectations due to strong consumer demand" – it seems that Microsoft finally has a consistent hit on its hands. Now, let's talk about accessory pricing ...

Source – Microsoft Reports First-Quarter Results
Source – Xbox Division Doubles Profit in Q1

Rumor: Best Buy beginning 'buy 2, get 3rd game free' sale Sunday, Oct. 25

by Christopher Grant { 16 days ago }

If you missed out on last week's Toys "R" Us or Amazon "buy two, get one" sales, a purported scan of this weekend's Best Buy circular promises a third chance. Specifically, it promises the following: "Buy 2, get the 3rd game free -- on any PS3, X360 or Wii games -- mix or match platforms, valid on any game $59.99 or less."

Snagged by NeoGAFfer Wario64, the full-page reveals tasty treats like Borderlands, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Tekken 6, and Forza 3 -- in other words, this isn't limited to a handful of games like Amazon's sale was and, we imagine, Best Buy's stock won't be as easily decimated as that of your local Toys "R" Us. You've got from this Sunday, October 25, until Halloween, the following Saturday, to take Best Buy up on its offer ... That is, if the circular is real. If not ... uh, trick or treat?

[Via Hot Blooded Gaming]

Halo Waypoint detailed, captured on video

by Christopher Grant { 19 days ago }

This way to the Waypoint gallery

With the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard update preview kicking off today, Microsoft dropped some more details on Halo Waypoint, the Dashboard playpen for the Master Chief enthusiasts among you. The preview video – found after the break – walks you through some of the destination's functionality, notably the "career system" which will track "in-game accomplishments across multiple Halo games." Unsurprisingly, that career will be limited to the Xbox 360-released Halo games: Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, and "all Game Add-on content for those titles." Oh, you beat Halo 2 in under 30 minutes? We'll just have to take your word for it.

Halo Waypoint is being developed collaboratively by Microsoft's internal Halo studio, 343 Industries, and Certain Affinity, the Austin-based developer (with some former Bungie staffers) behind Age of Booty. Waypoint will be available November 5 for both Xbox Live Gold and Silver members; however, come November 26 those Silver members will have to pony up for Live if they want to keep their Waypoint access. That's a solid three weeks to determine if the exclusive Waypoint offerings – like the Nov. 7. preview of the "Halo Legends" anime anthology – are worth it. We imagine it will be for the hardcore Halo fan ... but we'd assume they've already got a Gold account.

Gallery: Halo Waypoint

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Miyamoto: 'there may still be some possibility' for Wii Music franchise

by Christopher Grant { 23 days ago }

At a New York City roundtable event, Nintendo's resident wunderkind Shigeru Miyamoto showed Joystiq and several other press outlets his latest creation: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (more on that later). During the Q&A that followed, when asked if he was particularly surprised by the reception of any of his games, Miyamoto responded that while he wasn't "truly surprised" by the reaction it got, he thinks "there may still be some possibility with ... Wii Music," the Big N's poorly received music title.

"The development team members, the directors of Wii Music were I think, maybe a little bit shocked by the reaction and had hoped it would get a better response than it did," Miyamoto explained through a translator. "So I think if we were to do anything, it would be a matter of getting back together with them and trying to understand what their expectations were and where the gap was between their expectations and what the resulting product was."

That doesn't mean Miyamoto doesn't have any insight into the game's failure to connect with gamers. He explained that the "gap between the positives and the negatives seems to be pretty big," referring to the games reception. "The thing that's interesting about Wii Music is there are people who are very versed in music and play the game and their evaluation of it is very high but at the same time there are a lot of people who play it and don't have a very good opinion of it."

As if to prevent any "Wii Music 2 confirmed!" headlines from finding their way online, Miyamoto clarified, "We have talked about it but it isn't anything that's concrete at this point." As unusual as it is to see a Nintendo product miss the mark, it's similarly unusual to hear the company acknowledge as much.

Microsoft discusses Wii-esque Project Natal branding strategy

by Christopher Grant { 23 days ago }

While we may be nervous about Microsoft's Project Natal branding strategy -- remember, that's just a codename -- the suits in Redmond share no such concern. That's because the Natal project is following Nintendo's lead in more ways than just easy-to-play, motion-based technology. It's also following Nintendo's branding strategy.

On May 11, 2004 Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced the "Nintendo Revolution" to the E3 audience and, while he didn't show off the motion-based controller (we wouldn't see that for another sixteen months, at TGS 2005), he did promise "an unprecedented gameplay experience." The Revolution would offer "something no other machine has delivered before." The following May, over two years after first announcing the "Revolution," Nintendo revealed the product's final name just before E3: Wii.

When we asked Microsoft's Robbie Bach, "When can we stop calling it Natal?" at a recent Open House event, the exec wasn't shy about comparing the company's strategy to Nintendo's. "When Nintendo came out with the name 'Wii,' people sort of said 'Oh gosh, that's kind of a goofy, weird name.' I haven't heard a comment about it being a goofy name since the week after they announced the name," Bach said. "And suddenly, people just called it the 'Wii' and moved on." And, specifically, they've moved on to buying them en masse.

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Nintendo, Capcom, friends file suit over DS piracy-enabling R4 sales

by Christopher Grant { 23 days ago }

Faced with The Truth that – regardless of what sorts of anti-piracy technology it folds into its DS platform – pirates will invariably hack the dual-screened handheld, Nintendo has buddied up with Capcom and 53 other video game publishers in Japan to file suit against four resellers of the popular R4 flash cartridge.

Earlier this year, a Tokyo court banned the sale of the devices; however, Capcom now says that "legal action has had no meaningful effect in the intervening period" and that sellers would "ignore" its warnings. Enter: a new lawsuit, which Capcom hopes leads to a ruling that acknowledges "our company and other software manufactures have sustained [extreme] damages from proliferation of illegal instruments." Seems pretty cut and dry to us, but we'll let the courts decide.

Demonstrated: Controlling facial expressions in-game with camera

by Christopher Grant { 23 days ago }

There are two things we can say about Torben Sko. First: He's probably never had a problem getting 'torbensko' usernames. We'd like to applaud his forward-thinking parents who clearly saw the benefit of a unique name in the distant, internet-enabled future. Second: Sko's technology demos (remember this head-tracking demo?) have helped us conceptualize what a Natal-enabled future will be like, more so than jury-rigged versions of Burnout Paradise or Katamari Damacy.

In his latest video (found after the break), Sko demonstrates how to control the facial expressions of a virtual character using nothing but a plain ol' web cam (oh, and the same FaceAPI software he used for his first demo). Much like Hideo Kojima's visions of a Natal-enabled future, Sko's never involve replacing the controller (or keyboard and mouse) but rather supplementing it with, in this case, your face. No word on support for particularly ugly faces, but we suspect Microsoft's got its best and most beautiful people on it.

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