 | Australia's first independent game publisher launches Jul 17th 2013, 23:00 Surprise Attack Games kicks off in Australia as the country's first independent game publisher. 
Marketing consultancy Surprise Attack has announced the launch of its Australian games publishing label, Surprise Attack Games. As an independent games publisher, Surprise Attack Games will partner with Australian game developers to provide marketing and distribution services, both locally and globally. The publisher will be taking games on all platforms, including PC, Mac, Linux, mobile, tablet, console, and browser-based titles. Surprise Attack Games founder and managing director Chris Wright revealed the goal behind the company, stating, "Our vision for Surprise Attack Games is to build a new kind of publisher, inspired by the indie record labels I loved growing up in the '80s and '90s. "Those labels weren't some separate corporate entity that came in at the end to handle the commercial stuff; they were an integral part of their local creative communities, and they helped lift up those communities as a result," he said. Surprise Attack Games launches with three Australian games signed: Particulars, Wolfdozer, and Burden. All three titles will be demonstrated at the Surprise Attack Booth at this year's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Australia. PAX Australia will take place this year from July 19-21 at the Melbourne Showgrounds. To find out more about the PAX Australia event, be sure to visit the PAX Australia hub for GameSpot's latest coverage of the show. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | NCAA won't renew EA Sports contract Jul 17th 2013, 21:51 [UPDATE] Athletics organization decides not to renew licensing contract, EA confirms it will continue to make college football games; first title now in development for next-gen. 
[UPDATE 2] EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson has released a statement on the matter, saying the company will continue to develop college football games, but without NCAA names and marks. In addition, Wilson confirmed an all-new college football title is in development for next-generation consoles. His full statement is below. "By now, most fans will have heard that EA's licensing agreement with the NCAA is set to expire and that we have agreed to part ways. I'm sure gamers are wondering what this means." "This is simple: EA Sports will continue to develop and publish college football games, but we will no longer include the NCAA names and marks. Our relationship with the Collegiate Licensing Company is strong and we are already working on a new game for next generation consoles which will launch next year and feature the college teams, leagues, and all the innovation fans expect from EA Sports." "We took big creative strides with this year's college game and you’ll see much more in the future. We love college football and look forward to making more games for our fans." [UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, ESPN college football insider Brett McMurphy claimed on Twitter that EA Sports will continue to have a college football game after 2014, but it won't be associated with the NCAA. "EA Sports will still have college football video game beyond 2014, just won't be affiliated w/NCAA," he wrote. The original story is below. The NCAA today announced that it will not renew its contract with EA Sports, making the recently released NCAA Football 14 the final game in the series to feature the NCAA's name and logo. The previous contract was set to expire June 2014. "We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games. But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA," the group said in a statement. The "costs of litigation" line is likely referring to a lawsuit from former UCLA player Ed O'Bannon, who--along with other former players--is suing the NCAA, EA Sports, and the Collegiate Licensing Company over the use of their likenesses. The NCAA's statement points out that EA Sports could negotiate deals with individual schools, conferences, and bowl committees to keep school names in future games, though the status of NCAA titles is now in question. An EA representative was not immediately available to comment. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Viacom ordered to pay $299 million to Harmonix Jul 17th 2013, 20:25 Delaware Supreme Court upholds previous decisions, forcing Viacom to pay $299 million to Harmonix shareholders. 
A Delaware Supreme Court judge has ruled against Viacom, forcing the media conglomerate to pay $299 million in outstanding bonuses to Harmonix shareholders. The court's decision, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter, upholds past judgments from an arbitrator in December 2011 and a Delaware circuit judge in August 2012. Barring a reconsideration of the case or its going before the U.S. Supreme Court, Viacom will be forced to pay the $299 million. The suit stemmed from performance-based "earn-outs," which were set to be paid to Harmonix's former owners as part of its 2006 purchase. Viacom initially purchased the developer behind Guitar Hero for $175 million in 2006, and paid out $150 million in earn-outs in 2007. Harmonix found significant success with its peripheral-based music games, but as the market began to show signs of overcrowding, Viacom reversed course. The company did not pay out in 2008 and demanded a refund for previous payments. An independent arbitrator decided in December 2011 that Viacom owed Harmonix's shareholders a total of $383 million in unpaid earn-outs, and Viacom proceeded to challenge the decision in its home state of Delaware's Court of Chancery. While Viacom agreed in a previous settlement to pay out $84 million (the amount set for unpaid 2007 earn-outs), the $299 million calculated for 2008 earn-outs remained. A Harmonix representative declined to comment. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Ubisoft talks Beyond Good & Evil 2 Jul 17th 2013, 19:30 Director Michel Ancel says it was "too challenging" to bring game to current generation; Ubisoft will "try again" now that Xbox One, PlayStation 4 are on the horizon. 
Beyond Good & Evil director Michel Ancel has spoken out to discuss the long-in-development sequel, Beyond Good & Evil 2. In an interview with IGN, the designer said Ubisoft's ambition for the sequel was too grand for current-generation consoles. "I think we were doing something too big for this period," Ancel said. "Honestly, it was too challenging to put that on [current] consoles. I don't say the consoles were not good enough, I don’t say the team was not good enough, but you have to scale what you want to do and the console itself." Now that new consoles, namely the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, are on the horizon, Ancel explained that Ubisoft is willing to try again. "I think now with those new consoles arriving, yes, we want to try again making that game," Ancel said. "I would say it's surprising, as we want it to be. Not just a sequel, but something that really makes all the ideas that we had for the first one possible now with these consoles." Ancel's vision for Beyond Good & Evil 2 is beyond just "bigger," and more about giving the player freedom to explore that world as they see fit, he said. "My feeling is that you want to investigate with your own way of investigating. I like the freedom of choosing your vehicles, flying away with the spaceship, and all those things. It was in Beyond Good & Evil 1 but it was not as much as we wanted." The sequel to the fan-favorite 2003 action adventure game was first announced by Ancel in 2008, when he confirmed that the project had already been in preproduction for a year. Last year, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that the game was still active, but was coming along slowly because of Ancel's time commitments on other major franchises, such as Rayman Legends. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Witcher dev avoiding "hit-and-run" strategy to releasing games Jul 17th 2013, 18:26 CD Projekt Red says relationship with gamers after release is what "defines us" as a company; publishers that lie will be exposed. 
The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red is actively avoiding the "hit-and-run" strategy to releasing games, CEO Marcin Iwinski has told Gamasutra in a new interview. He explained that what really matters is straightforward and honest postlaunch support. This is why gamers continue to come back to CD Projekt Red, he said. "At the end of the day, what really matters is the experience which you are having with the game when it's out," Iwinski said. "And this is the one unique moment which defines us. If it's an average experience, pretty much what we are doing every day doesn't make sense." Iwinski admitted that sometimes the "hit-and-run" strategy can work, in the short-term, but this isn't a path CD Projekt Red is looking to take. "For a lot of companies, from a short-term business perspective, the famous hit-and-run strategy, there are still a lot of people applying this. And sometimes it works!" he said. "And then they are probably telling [other companies about] what they do. I just don't think it's [the way we should run our business]. So we are really deliberately choosing what we want to do, and we will do it for as long as we are happy with the effect." Iwinski pointed to downloadable content for the Witcher series being free on the PC as an example of CD Projekt Red's vision of relationships with consumers trumping monetary gain. "And they appreciate it. Then they tell their friends we are doing a good job and we respect them. And ultimately it will result in a sale," Iwinski said. "Some people are saying, 'Why do you do that? You could have charged for it!' Yeah. But I think the value in the whole proposition is that we are honest, straightforward, and fair, and this pays back. So you can call it a business model, in a way." Being open and honest with gamers is more important now than ever, Iwinski argued, because the rise of the Internet and its various social networks will expose companies that are disingenuous. "And I think that this will become even stronger and ever more important, because the way to the gamer is direct, so there is no place for a lie anymore. If you lie, you are a joke on social networks in seconds," Iwinski said. "The liars from back in the day, their fate is pretty grim right now. We can see it all around. There is a statement from Company A. People say, 'Hey, it's not like that.' And the whole Internet goes crazy. Ten years ago, it wouldn't be the case, pretty much. People would talk between each other and it would die out." CD Projekt Red is currently developing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077, and a "smaller" game, estimated to be about 20 hours in length. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
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