| Bungie seeking to trademark Glimmer, Hive Mar 15th 2013, 16:40 Destiny developer also files applications for Vex, Fallen, and Cabal to cover use for games, Halloween clothing, books, and more. 
Destiny developer Bungie has filed five different trademark applications with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) for Glimmer, Fallen, Hive, Cabal, and Vex potentially related to the company's all-new "shared-world shooter" to be published by Activision. The trademark applications, each filed March 11, cover a variety of uses. If the USPTO grants Bungie the trademarks, the developer will be able to use them to create and sell interactive game software, graphic novels, Halloween costumes, TV programs, ringtones, and footwear, among a long list of other items based on the names. Cabal and Vex are the names of enemies in Destiny, and Fallen has previously been used in the game's marketing material. Glimmer and Hive have not been spoken of before with regards to Destiny. A Bungie representative was not immediately available to comment. Destiny is currently officially in development for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4, though Bungie's own preorder page suggests the game is also coming to Wii U, PC, PlayStation Vita, and the Xbox 720. For more on Destiny, check out GameSpot's previous coverage . Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
|  | Lego City Undercover download requires external hard drive Mar 15th 2013, 15:38 Preorder page for upcoming open-world action game reveals digital version won't fit on internal Wii U storage space. 
Gamers looking to purchase the digital version of Lego City Undercover will need an external hard drive to do so. That's according to a preorder page for the game (via IGN), which bluntly states "an external hard drive is required to download this software." The Wii U basic model includes 8GB of internal storage, while the Deluxe model boasts 32GB of storage space. However, a significant portion of that space is pre-allocated to system software. In reality, the Basic model has 3GB available for data storage and the Deluxe model has 25GB. The Lego City Undercover file size has not been revealed, though it is likely to be more than 3GB, meaning those who own a Wii U Basic model will need an external hard drive. It is not clear if the same requirement will be in place for the larger Deluxe model. A Nintendo representative was not immediately available to comment. Lego City Undercover launches March 18 exclusively for Wii U. Unlike past entries in the Lego series, the game is not based on existing franchise--like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. Instead, Lego City Undercover tells an original story focusing on an undercover police officer named Chase McCain and his pursuits to bring criminals to justice. For more on Lego City Undercover, check out GameSpot's review. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | God of War dev not helping with The Last Guardian Mar 15th 2013, 14:43 Sony Santa Monica confirms it is not assisting Team Ico in developing long-awaited adventure game. 
The Last Guardian remains in development, but God of War studio Sony Santa Monica is not assisting in its production, as had been reported last year. "I'm never really sure how that got in the press, because as far as I'm aware we're not helping out with The Last Guardian," director of technology Tim Moss told Eurogamer. "The only way you can say that is the knowledge that we contribute back to the central tech groups benefits The Last Guardian. So I'm guessing someone was slightly misquoted." Sony Santa Monica's reported involvement with The Last Guardian stems back to a Wired interview with Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida. At the time, he stated that the God of War developer, along with other outside studios, were assisting Team Ico on the game. "It's not just Santa Monica," Yoshida said at the time. "We have great tech people in Worldwide Studios. We have a central tech group in the US and the UK so we are giving them whatever help they need." Fellow Sony Santa Monica director of technology Christer Ericson confirmed that the various first-party teams do communicate with one another, but are not actively involved in eachother's projects. "We tend to visit each other several times a year, and doing so we may exchange ideas. They've been here, and we've been there," he said. "We do ask each other how are you doing that, and just sometimes go over to provide feedback." Last month, The Last Guardian creative director Fumito Ueda told gamers to "keep an eye out" for an official announcement on the game from Sony. No such announcement has yet been made. Formally announced at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, The Last Guardian tells a boy-and-his-dog tale, where the dog is a giant and feathered, yet seemingly amiable, beast. Developer Team Ico has not been forthcoming with specific plot details, but gameplay will involve the boy working with his companion to navigate a variety of environmental puzzles. The Last Guardian has made "slow progress" for years. Sony senior vice president of product development Scott Rohde said in June that the game will ship "when it is absolutely ready." He also said Sony has no deadline whatsoever for the game. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Dead Space 3 US sales hit 605,000 Mar 15th 2013, 14:06 NPD data reveals first-month sales for Visceral's action-shooter; Crysis 3 hits 260,000 after launching late in the month. 
Dead Space 3, which launched February 4, sold 605,000 units in the United States during February, according to NPD data provided to GameSpot today. The action-horror title was the best-selling game in the US during the month, knocking Call of Duty: Black Ops II from the top spot for the first time since launch. In addition, NPD data reveals Crysis 3 sold 260,000 units in the US during the month. Notably, Crysis 3 launched February 19, meaning it reached that sales figure in 12 days. The NPD's February reporting period was February 2-March 3, 2013. Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli previously remarked that Crysis 3 is "so far, our masterpiece." He claimed the game game is technically and creatively superior to past entries, but said the project took a critical hit compared to past entries due to gamer "fatigue," among other things. For more, check out GameSpot's reviews of Dead Space 3 and Crysis 3. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Saints Row IV launching August 20 Mar 15th 2013, 13:28 Teaser trailer for open-world action game reveals mid-summer release date for current-generation consoles and PC. 
A teaser trailer for the already-confirmed Saints Row IV today reveals the open-world action game will launch in North America August 20 for current-generation consoles and PC. A launch for the rest of the world is slated for August 23. In development at Volition Inc., Saints Row IV will be published by new franchise owner Deep Silver, which acquired the developer and the series for $22.3 million during the THQ bankruptcy auction in January. Saints Row IV continues the story of the Third Street Saints, but with a twist. This time, the head of the Saints has been elected president of the United States and must fend off a "catastrophic alien invasion." The aliens have transported the Saints into a "bizarro-Steelport simulation" and players must make use of various superpowers to fight to free humanity from the invaders. "Escape the simulation that’s trapped the Saints crew, or die trying," reads a line from the game description. When THQ canceled Saints Row: The Third's "Enter the Dominatrix" expansion last year, the company said this content would be folded into the new game. A Deep Silver representative told Joystiq that Saints Row IV is not simply Enter the Dominatrix masquerading as an all-new game. "That expansion was cancelled and elements of it were rolled into Saints Row 4," a spokesperson told the site. "There will be a director's cut of Enter the Dominatrix released as DLC when SR4 comes out." For more on the franchise, check out GameSpot's review of Saints Row: The Third, which has sold over 5.5 million units to date. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Modern Warfare 4 teaser site is fake Mar 15th 2013, 12:55 Newly launched teaser site for upcoming Call of Duty is not the real deal, Activision representative confirms. 
A teaser website for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 emerged recently, featuring sights and sounds familiar to the first-person shooter series. However, this website is a fake, an Activision representative confirmed last night. The website, www.unexpectedreveal.com, counts down to a reveal March 21. Its source code specifically mentions Modern Warfare 4, as well as developers Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Neversoft, all of which are confirmed Call of Duty developers. However, the website features a number of red flags, the most glaring of which relates to its ownership. Major companies like Activision will typically use a third-party to handle website registrations, but in this case, the site is registered to an individual using a gmail account. This is not the first time a fake Modern Warfare 4 website has emerged. A fraudulent Modern Warfare 4 site surfaced earlier this month, promising beta access to the unannounced game. Though the new teaser site may be fake, Modern Warfare 4 is in fact rumored to be in development. Captain Price voice actor Billy Murray reportedly confirmed the game was in development last year, with an additional report claiming Modern Warfare 4 is 2013's Call of Duty installment. Activision confirmed last month that a new Call of Duty game will release this year. Executives do not expect this game be as commercially successful as immediate predecessor Black Ops II. The Modern Warfare story arc began in 2007 with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Sequels Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 were released in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Samsung Galaxy S4 features official gaming controller Mar 15th 2013, 12:35 Official Galaxy S4 game pad looks like an Xbox 360 controller. 
Electronics giant Samsung has revealed an official snap-on controller peripheral for its freshly unveiled Galaxy S4 smartphone. The peripheral features a retractable clamp at the top that, when extended, can house the Galaxy S4. It runs on two AAA batteries and features one-touch Bluetooth pairing. The controller features an Xbox 360-like layout, featuring asymmetrical analogue sticks, a d-pad, four face buttons, and two shoulder buttons. There are no analogue triggers. Samsung has not officially priced the peripheral. The Galaxy S4 was unveiled last night at New York's Radio City Music Hall and will be released on April 26. The phone features a 5 inch screen and can also be controlled via the users' eyes. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | February Wii U sales in US hit 64,000 - Report Mar 15th 2013, 12:32 Nintendo's latest home console off to a slow start for 2013 in the United States; weekly performance worse than any recorded week for current-gen systems. 
Research firm NPD Group yesterday announced Wii U sales for February in the United States were up 40 percent on a weekly basis over January's figures, believed to be 57,000 units. If this is true, then the Wii U's performance in February was better, but not by much, totaling around 64,000 units for the month. Gamasutra points out that the Wii U's performance in February, when averaged out by week, is worse than any recorded week for the current generation of consoles (Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3). Microsoft was the only platform holder to announce February hardware sales, trumpeting an industry leading 302,000 units sold during the month and its 26th straight month as the top seller in the United States. The Wii U has officially sold just over 3 million units by the end of December. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata previously apologized for a lack of software support for the system, while GameStop executive Rob Lloyd said he believes the system needs a blockbuster to spark sales. Nintendo has a number of high-profile Wii U games in development, including next week's Lego City Undercover. Beyond that, new Mario Kart, Zelda, and Smash Bros. games, among others, are coming to the platform. Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto said this week that he is not worried yet about the long-term sales potential for the Wii U. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Civilization V: Brave New World expansion announced Mar 15th 2013, 12:00 Second expansion for Civilization V offers expand on culture and diplomacy, adding World Congress and international trade routes. 
2K Games has announced Civilization V: Brave New World, the second expansion for the strategy game. Brave New World is being developed by series stewards Firaxis and will be out this summer for PC and Mac. The expansion is geared around tweaking the game's culture and diplomacy mechanics, and also offers nine new Civilizations, eight new Wonders, and two new scenarios. Brave New World introduces the World Congress and the concept of international trade routes. The World Congress will convene on issues like trade sanctions, hosting the World Games, and the use of nuclear weapons. 2K promises that players will be able to trade votes and engage in other shenanigans, and the World Congress will also tie into winning a Diplomatic Victory. International trade routes can be used to generate wealth, but will also spread religion, cultural influence, and science. Trade routes are increased by developing technologies, building Wonders, and making use of each civilization's unique abilities. Longer trade routes carry more risk but will yield more lucrative supplies, and trade routes can also be used on players' own cities to distribute supplies internally. Brave New World also adds the new Culture Victory. Civilizations work to spread their culture around the world, creating great works with Great Artists, Writers, and Musicians and then hosting them in Museums, Opera Houses, and the Great Library. Archaeologists can also be used recover valuable artifacts. The first civilization to gain a majority influence across all other civilizations will achieve the Culture victory. The two new scenarios are titled "War Between the States" and "Scramble for Africa," with the former letting players pick a side in the American Civil War and fight for control of Richmond and Washington. Scramble for Africa has players working against other civilizations to explore and establish control in a dynamically generated Africa. New wonders include the Parthenon, Broadway, and the Uffizi. One of the new civilizations is Poland, led by Casimir III. For more information on Civilization V, check out GameSpot's previous coverage. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Microsoft's Surface tablet line falls short - Report Mar 15th 2013, 11:36 Company reportedly moves around 1.5 million devices since launch; new marketing plan hopes to spur sales. Microsoft's highly touted Surface tablet line has sold around 1.5 million units since launch, coming up short of expectations, sources told Bloomberg. Three people with knowledge of the matter said Microsoft has sold just over one million Surface RT units and around 400,000 Surface Pros since their debuts in October and February, respectively. Three million units were ordered in all, the sources said. The 32GB Surface RT starts at $500, while the 64GB Surface Pro begins at $900. By comparison, Apple sold 22.9 million iPads in the three-month period ended December 29. In an effort to boost Surface sales, Microsoft will take steps to market the tablet line in new ways, the sources said. One source added that Microsoft has internally admitted a failure to persuade some customers to choose Surface over offerings from Apple and Samsung. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | SimCity traffic problems being fixed, says Maxis. Mar 15th 2013, 10:44 SimCity lead designer Stone Librande acknowledges traffic issues and details how the team at Maxis is working to fix them. 
SimCity lead designer Stone Librande has posted a blog detailing how the game's simulation mechanics work, and has pledged to fix the game's traffic pathing. This week numerous YouTube videos have surfaced from users who have found ways to highlight bugs and errors in the SimCity's simulation. Librande has clarified how the game's GlassBox engine processes information. "At the surface level, GlassBox is designed around the premise that 'Agents' are created to carry data to various 'Sinks' around the city. In SimCity, you can think of the 'Agents' as Sims and vehicles. The 'Sinks' are the buildings that receive money, happiness and other resources from these Agents." "Our main focus right now is updating the pathing system that the Agents use to get to their Sinks. Running a successful city means keeping the traffic flowing and we are actively working to make this system better," Librande added. "One of the main bugs being highlighted at the moment is in the game's traffic system insisting on taking the shortest possible route to each location, causing massive traffic jams even when other roads are available." "We understand that when cars always take the shortest route between point A and point B there will be unavoidable (and illogical) traffic jams, so we are returning these values to make the traffic flow more realistically," said Librande. "To dig a little deeper," Librande added, "our roads will have a weighting system based on 25%, 50% and 75% capacity. As a road hits those marks it will become less and less appealing for other cars, increasing the likelihood of them taking an alternate path if one exists." The traffic situation will be patched shortly, says Librande, and that the fixes are being tested internally at Maxis right now alongside other pathing issues, such as with multiple emergency services responding to issues one by one as opposed to simultaneously. "We are working on additional fixes with the pathing of our Agents and these changes will streamline the way that the simulation unfolds in your city. For instance, emergency vehicles will not get blocked in their garages and will move into empty lanes to get around traffic jams. We’re also working on preventing service vehicles from clumping up (for instance, only one fire truck will respond to a fire instead of two) and improving the way that Public Transportation operates in the city. We are currently testing a patch internally and hope to have it out to you soon." Librande also detailed how some of the game's simulation mechanics actually work. He confirmed that SimCity's Sims do not lead realistic lives, but instead move to the nearest available job in the morning and leave for the closest vacant house in the evening. It means a Sim might go to a different job every day, and return home to a different family every evening. "Ultimately we didn’t feel that the cost of adding in that extra layer of micro detail made the macro game play richer. Game design is filled with tradeoffs and compromises like this and we are constantly evaluating these (and many other) decisions," said Librande. Librande confirmed that Maxis is slowly re-enabling the features it switched off last week to help ease the game's overloaded servers. Regional achievements are now live on select servers, and leaderboards are up and running on the game's Test server. SimCity's Cheetah speed is still unavailable, and was not mentioned by Librande. Yesterday a SimCity modder showed it was possible to circumvent the game's 20 minute disconnection timer, essentially making it possible to play the game, which by default insists on an always-online connection, indefinitely online. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | AU Wrap Up March 11-15 Mar 15th 2013, 06:39 What Aussie gaming news went down this week? We round up the happenings in one handy post, presented in glorious chronological format. 
AU Shippin' Out March 11-15: Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm
What games are out in Australia this week? Whether you prefer to fight your battles strategically or face them hands-on, the week's games approached war in a variety of ways. For the full list of titles released, read AU Shippin' Out. Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm Aussie launch event
The official launch event for RTS title Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm took place at Federation Square in Melbourne on March 12. In addition to a developer panel featuring game director Dustin Browder and 3D artist Luke Mancini, a cosplay contest and prize giveaways took place. If you missed out, you can watch the full stream archive to catch up. Call of Duty: Black Ops II Australian Qualifiers
The Australian qualifier finals for the Call of Duty Championship kicked off on the morning of March 15, hosted by the Australian Cyber League. The top two teams will go through to the Call of Duty Championship in North America, taking place from April 5-7. Tune in to the stream to catch up with all the action recorded from Sydney. FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars Tournament Qualifier Photo Gallery
Recently, GameSpot AU held the FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars Tournament Melbourne qualifiers at Mana Bar. The tournament winner scored themselves a trip to Singapore to represent Australia at the finals and for their shot at a $10,000 prize. Check out the photo gallery to witness all the action. Ex-Firemint employees form new Aussie studio
A new Australian studio has been formed by former mobile development studio Firemint. Named Loveshack Entertainment, the studio will be based in Melbourne and has also revealed its debut project. For more information, read the full article. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
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