I have no idea what they have in mind to put it public, but all morning I’ve been seeing EA’s desire to buy out Take-Two Interactive.  They had made a proposal earlier this month to buy them out, and Take-Two rejected.  Prepare yourselves, I’m about to use the site as a soapbox.

Now, reading the proposal, you can see EA is trying to make themselves sound like good guys.  They know their reputation, and they know they need to make a lot of internal changes.  We’ve been seeing EA try some new risks with IP (Dead Space and Army of Two), and have been doing a lot of internal re-workings in order to improve.  I respect them for that, but does that mean they should right out and buy Take-Two?

They state that the company is facing some potential problems that mean they’ll be dying out soon.  Given how well Bioshock did, does the company really seem that in trouble?  Or how about the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV?  I’ve already seen speculation that EA really just wants to grab some of the profits to that game’s release? Given how much money Take-Two has already made from it through exclusive content for the Xbox 360, I’d say that title alone is likely to carry the company quite well.

My real problem with this, however, is that EA wants to buy yet another game company.  How many more do they plan to buy until there is no more?  It is commonly said that competition breeds innovation, and I personally would like to see companies like EA stop buying studios, especially ones that are as large as Take-Two.

If you in the community agree or disagree, leave your comments in the forums.  Since EA put this proposal out to the public, they should be able to witness feedback from the community.  If you disagree, make it known.  Let them know that we need to see these changes first, because as it is a lot of their “new risks” and “changes” have yet to come to fruition.  I’d like to give them a chance, but I need to see if they themselves are going to become a respectable game development company before they go out to buy good talent.

- Chris Cesarano (Grohdinger)

This is sure some incredible news to start your week. The President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios will resign on February 29. Phil has been with this branch for almost 16 years now, and he’s resigning. He says goodbye formally, by saying:

“The past 15 years at Sony Computer Entertainment has been the defining journey of my life so far. I am grateful to all the PlayStation family for their incredible support, guidance and friendship. It has been a privilege to serve as part of the team and be inspired by them on a daily basis. I am so proud of everything PlayStation has achieved and will continue to support its future in every way I can.”

I’m in awe here. First Ken leaves, and now Phil? Makes you wonder if something’s up.

SOURCE

DISCUSS

-Thomas

We all knew HD DVD’s saga was coming to a close, and this is just adding another page to the conclusion. This is really unfortunate for anyone who went out and bought themselves a HD DVD player. Now that Microsoft has said goodbye to the format, will they move over to Blu-Ray? I figure they should, it’s potentially profitable, and cheap Blu-Ray players would be great to have around. I sure hope we see Microsoft do something soon.

“As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.”

SOURCE

DISCUSS

-Thomas

Well this is certainly some neat information. Kim Swift has pretty much announced Portal 2 to the world on G4. While I know this isn’t exactly the place we all choose to get our news from, this is still pretty big.

So what exactly do you all expect from Portal 2? Personally, I’d like seeing the story from other test subject’s point of view. It would also be impressive to see the Portal Gun used in the outside world to solve Half Life-esque tasks. Also, if they want to sell this game for full price, it better have more meat than the original. Some more length and story would be appreciated. Anyway, I’ll stop rambling here. Go discuss this announcement in the forums.

Video Link 

-Thomas 

Lionhead recently sat down with the press to show off the latest developments in Fable 2. If you read the title above, you now know that oh so secret third element to the game Peter refused to talk about last year. Its safe to say that Fable 2 is looking great and that some of the new features finally shown in the videos are looking to deliver the promises made. (We can only hope)

Molyneux had also mentioned that currency will not be earned by completing quests, but rather by going out and participating in an honest days work. That and gambling. A week or-so before Fable 2 hits stores, Lionhead Studios will release an XBLA title which will contain several gambling mini games. The bonus with that is, you will be able to transfer funds won in the XBLA title to your Fable save file.

You have managed to get my hopes up once again Peter Molyneux. Please don’t shatter them.

Part 1

Hit the jump for parts 2 and 3

-Mike (NewBornThreat)
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It’s always nice to see some Flash or Indie developer get a big break. N+ started as a Flash game that caught on well, and now it’s out on the XBLA. If you haven’t already, be sure to try the Flash version here. Happy collecting!

DISCUSS

XBLA Games List

-Thomas 

 Well it looks like Microsoft’s “youtube of gaming” idea is coming to fruition. XNA Game Studio, Microsoft’s open development toolset, has hit more than 800,000 downloads since release.

Now Microsoft plans to take the next step forward by allowing gamers to share, review, and play their own games using the XNA Creators Club Game Launcher now available on the marketplace. Currently there are around 7 XNA demos for Live members to download now and play as a sneak preview of what we can expect later this year.  The demos are only available for a limited time and expire within 17 days of the download, so download them while you can.

Microsoft will give XNA members the responsibility and power to distribute community-created games through Xbox Live for the first time. The democratic process involves submitting your game, receiving a peer review from other XNA members, and once approved the game will be made available on the marketplace for all Live members to download.

This bold new move sounds awesome and I can’t wait to see how the development community embraces it.  This new feature is expected to fully launch this fall.

Once you have downloaded the demos, post some impressions in our forums.

Thanks Tiberian for the heads up.

-Mike Skiles

Details after the jump:

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CliffyB, lead designer of the Unreal and Gears of War games (and all around gaming rock star), has told Major Nelson that Gears of War 2 is slated for a November 2008 release.  At this point, a teaser trailer and theme should be available to check out on Xbox Live Marketplace.

I must say, for such a big game, they chose a really sudden way to announce it that it actually surprised me.  Either way, good to hear.

- Chris Cesarano (Grohdinger)

The Jack Thompson’s of our generation seem to blame any and every crime on video game violence. What amazes me is the fact that film is not nearly as scrutinized as our beloved pastime.

Do you believe games are overly violent, murder simulators? Sure you act out various despicable crimes and such but movies can be just as gruesome. Share your thoughts.

#17 - What Do You Make Of Violence In Games Today?

-Mike

Some good information rose up recently. Apparently, Mario Kart Wii will contain Bikes. Motor Bikes. Along with this information came confirmation of 3 tracks. 2 new, 1 old. One brand new character was also announced, the Koopa Troopa. This is all good stuff to get us hyped for the new Kart game!

“With Mario Kart Wii on the horizon, Nintendo were bound to let some information slip about their latest Mario Kart game for the Nintendo Wii, and well, they have. For starters below we have 19 brand new screenshots (more on the jump below) for you to feast your eyes on and from those screenshots we’ve found a bunch of new information concerning new characters and tracks, as well as online. So read on… - D.K’s snowboard Cross is a half pipe sort of track. You’ll be able to drive up the side of them and pull off awesome tricks in the air.- Miis will be spectators in the background.- Luigi’s circuit is still a simple track.- Koopa Troopa will be a playable character.