 | Changes to upcoming Independent Games Festival announced Aug 9th 2013, 06:02 Technical Excellence category removed from Independent Games Festival; number of finalists increased to eight per category. 
This year's Independent Games Festival (IGF) has been subject to a few new changes, organisers have announced on Gamasutra. Chairman Brandon Boyer has revealed several changes to be made to the upcoming Independent Games Festival, which will run during the 2014 Game Developers Conference (GDC). Boyer detailed the changes to the coming show, as well as reiterating changes that came into effect at the most recent IGF. Going forward, the category for Technical Excellence will be removed, which Boyer put down to the "rise of widespread, affordable middleware". The removal of the category for Technical Excellence has allowed for an increase from five to six finalists for the remaining categories, which includes visual art, audio, design, narrative, and the Seumas McNally grand prize. The Student Showcase and Nuovo Awards will remain unchanged, with eight finalists selected per category and Honorable Mentions made for each award. The previous year's biggest change disallowing previous IGF finalists to re-enter the same game will continue to be in effect. The rule applies to both the Main and Student categories, and prevents former Student Showcase games from entering the Main category. Entrants in the previous year whose game did not become a finalist in either Student or Main categories are permitted to re-enter their game. Past IGF finalists and winners include Braid, World of Goo, Super Meat Boy, Minecraft, and Fez. Valve previously granted all IGF finalists an opportunity to accept a distribution deal through digital distribution platform Steam. The 2014 Independent Games Festival will take place on March 19 next year in San Francisco, California, as part of the annual Game Developers Conference. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Amazon to release Android-based home console this year - Report Aug 9th 2013, 04:20 Worldwide retailer to release Android-powered home console; device to take advantage of Amazon content and include own controller. 
Worldwide online retailer Amazon is reportedly working on an Android-based home console to take on the Ouya, according to a report by Game Informer. Unnamed sources approached the website, revealing that Amazon already has a product in active development, and is believed to be aiming to release it before the end of 2013, possibly in time to reap the benefits of Black Friday sales. According to the tip, the device will take full advantage of Android content already on the Amazon marketplace and available for the company's existing Kindle Fire tablet. The upcoming home console will reportedly also include its own controller, though no details were provided. Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman recently confirmed that only 27 percent of Ouya owners have purchased games for the device. GameSpot will update the story as information comes to hand. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Sega teases upcoming 'surprise announcement' for Yakuza series Aug 9th 2013, 03:46 Sega is preparing for a "surprise announcement" at the upcoming Yakuza Character General Election event in Japan; fans speculate possible reveal of PS3, PS4, or Vita games. 
Sega Japan has teased that it will be making a "surprise announcement" possibly tied to the Yakuza series on August 18, according to a report by Gematsu (via NeoGAF). The news, which will coincide with the reveal of the Yakuza Character General Election results, will take place at the Alta Vision screen located outside the Shinjuku train station east entrance at 5pm local time. No details have been given, leading to speculation from series devotees that the publisher may be set to announce a new Ryu ga Gotoku game (Yakuza 6) for either the PlayStation 3, upcoming PlayStation 4, or PS Vita. Earlier this year, Sega announced its plans to port the first and second Yakuza games to Nintendo's Wii U, for release in Japan. There are currently no announced plans to localise Ryu ga Gotoku 5: Yume, Kanaeshi Mono (Yakuza 5) for Western audiences. The most recent game in the franchise to be released outside of the territory was 2012's Yakuza: Dead Souls, which received a lukewarm reception. Yakuza producer Toshihiro Nagoshi has previously indicated an interest in bringing the franchise to Sony's PlayStation Vita handheld. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Former id Software creative director also joins Oculus VR Aug 9th 2013, 02:01 Rage creative director Matt Hooper joins Oculus VR as director of Development. 
Virtual-reality (VR) headset maker Oculus VR, creator of the Oculus Rift, has hired another developer for its growing software stable. Earlier this week, id Software co-founder John Carmack announced that he had accepted a position as chief technology officer at the company. The move will see him juggle his time between the id and Oculus studios. Now former Rage creative director Matt Hooper has updated his LinkedIn profile, revealing that he is the director of development at Oculus VR. Hooper left id in February this year. "We are thrilled to have Matt Hooper join the Oculus VR team as our director of Development," a statement from the company said. "Hooper will be working out of the Dallas, TX, office. He's a top talent who had been out of id for a few months, and ended up being a great fit for the Oculus team. We're looking for more all-stars!" Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Sony Australia in $53 million dispute with Australian Taxation Office - Report Aug 9th 2013, 00:33 [update] Sony Australia will appeal five years' worth of tax return adjustments; no impact on local PlayStation business. 
[Update] A Sony Computer Entertainment Australia spokesperson has confirmed to GameSpot that the local PlayStation business has not been affected by the dispute. "The Australian Tax Office (ATO) issued assessments against Sony Australia has no impact on the Sony Computer Entertainment Australia Pty Ltd business. Sony Computer Entertainment Australia is a totally separate legal entity," they said. The original story is available below Sony Australia is currently in dispute with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for around A$53 million of back taxes and penalties, according to a report by the Australian Financial Review. Exact specifics of the disagreement are unclear, but are believed to be tied to the ATO's increasing scrutiny of multinational organisations and the distribution of local earnings outside of Australian borders. Financial notes released by Sony indicate that the business appealed a series of amended assessments issued by the tax body in May this year, linked to five years of returns, from 2005 to 2008, as well as 2010. The total amount of additional tax is reportedly A$32.7 million, with interest of A$17.7 million and further penalties totalling A$3.3 million. "[Sony Australia] is satisfied that its calculation of taxable income is consistent with all relevant legislations, and has commenced appeal processes to dispute the notice of amended assessments," the company responded, regarding its financial standing. A Sony Australia spokesman confirmed that the appeals process is ongoing, and said that the company would challenge further taxes claimed by the ATO, but declined to elaborate on the situation. "As discussions are ongoing, we're unable to comment further at this point," he told the Australian Financial Review. GameSpot contacted the Australian Taxation Office seeking further information, but a spokesperson declined to comment, citing privacy laws. While the claims are reportedly being levelled at parent company Sony Australia, it's unclear what, if any, impact the proceedings will have against Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and its PlayStation brand. A representative could not be reached for comment at the time of publication. GameSpot will update the story as more information comes to hand. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Trion Worlds closes San Diego office Aug 8th 2013, 20:19 Office to close, with day-to-day operations for MMO Defiance shifting to Redwood City studio; Scott Hartsman returns as CEO. 
Trion Worlds will close its office in San Diego, California, the publisher confirmed today with GameSpot. Support for MMO Defiance will continue, as operations for the game will be shifted to the company's Redwood City branch. "We can confirm that the San Diego studio will be closing," a Trion Worlds representative said in a statement. "The-day-to-day operations of Defiance will be moved to our Redwood City studio where it can be managed alongside Rift and our other in development titles including ArcheAge and End of Nations. As part of this transition, we are working hard to ensure that a number of great people will be making the move from San Diego to the Bay Area and continue their work at Trion." It is not clear how many staffers were affected by the closure of the San Diego office. Trion Worlds enacted a round of layoffs at the branch in May. Defiance, which ties in with the Syfy show of the same name, has 1 million registered players. The TV show has been picked up for a second season. The closure of Trion Worlds' San Diego office comes on same day that the company appointed Scott Hartsman the outfit's new CEO, effective immediately. Hartsman previously held the position of chief creative officer at Trion Worlds and oversaw the launch of Rift, before leaving the company in January. In an email to the company today, Hartsman said, "We're going to rapidly be laying the groundwork for a new strategy for Trion--one that's closer to the foundation of how we've had our wins so far, and then extending that base into the enduring success this company can, and will, be." Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Deep Silver teases Dead Island 3 Aug 8th 2013, 19:33 Creative director Guido Eickmeyer says "I would not expect the series to stop at this point." 
There may be a third installment in the Dead Island series on the way, according to comments made today from Deep Silver creative director Guido Eickmeyer. Asked during a Reddit AMA if there would be a Dead Island part three, Eickmeyer said, "I would not expect the series to stop at this point :)" The most recent entry in the series is Dead Island: Riptide, which released in April. Eickmeyer added that if a new entry were to be made, the game would remain a non-linear experience. "I would say that exploration in an open-world game is key to being fun," he said. "Size is not the only answer here as not every gamer would like to have a Day Z kind of experience, but you want to feel being part of a world, not a linear corridor of events." Eickmeyer added that a Hawaiian setting for a new entry in the series "would be awesome," but said nothing is decided yet. "I can only ask you to wait a bit further, then some really nice things will be revealed about the future of Dead Island," he said. Earlier this week, Deep Silver announced Dead Island: Epidemic, a free-to-play MOBA game set in the zombie-filled universe. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
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