 | Sony delays Grand Theft Auto V PSN preload to September 16 Sep 13th 2013, 16:19 [UPDATE] Sony had originally promised customers that they would be able to start downloading GTAV on September 13; no preloading at all for United States customers. 
[UPDATE 3] The official Rockstar Games Twitter channel now says that gamers in Europe can preload GTAV through the PSN starting at 3 p.m. BST on Sunday, September 15. Players in the United States can preload the game beginning at 3 a.m. EDT on Monday, September 16. [UPDATE 2] The official PlayStation Europe Twitter account clarified this afternoon that users in that region will be able to preload GTAV beginning at 3 p.m. GMT on Sunday, September 15. [UPDATE] A Rockstar Games representative told Joystiq that anyone who preordered GTAV through the PlayStation Network in the United States will not be able to preload the game at all. "It's not our call," the representative noted. The original story is below. Sony Europe has confirmed that digital preorders of Grand Theft Auto V will begin preloading on September 16. The company had previously promised that customers would be able to start preloading the game on September 13 if they purchased through the PlayStation Store, meaning that users will now get one day to download the full game as opposed to four. "I will try to find out why the date has changed but its confirmed that the predownload will be on the 16th," said a Sony representative on the company's forums. Many posters on Sony's EU forum have expressed frustration at the delay, believing they have lost the advantage in purchasing the digital copy to begin with. "We are already paying £15 more than a physical version from Amazon so I think Sony should offer some kind of compensation to their loyal customers or make extra special effort to get the pre-load out there by the end of today!" wrote forum user alexfifa98. Last month Sony publicly apologised to GTA V developer Rockstar, after some European users managed to download the game's files and post some assets online. "Regrettably, some people who downloaded the digital pre-order of Grand Theft Auto V through the PlayStation Store in Europe were able to access certain GTA V assets. These assets were posted online," said Sony social media manager Sid Shuman in a statement. Grand Theft Auto V will be released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 worldwide on September 17. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Mass. college to create game incubation center Sep 13th 2013, 16:00 U.S. government awards $1.4 million grant to Becker College and Massachusetts Digital Games Institute to help create New Ventures Center at Worcester school. 
Becker College and the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI) announced this week that they have received $1.4 million from the United States Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration to help with the formation of the new MassDiGI New Ventures Center. Becker College will match the EDA grant to create the $2.8 million center. It will function as an on-campus business assistance center for interactive media, game development, and technology-centric business undergraduate and graduate students. The New Ventures Center is expected to create 430 jobs over a ten-year period. "As the home of both MassDiGI and a nationally recognized video game development program, Becker College is perfectly positioned to help grow one of the most dynamic pillars of the Massachusetts innovation economy: the interactive entertainment industry," Becker College president and chair of the MassDiGI advisory board Robert E. Johnson said. "The jobs created by the work of this center will be highly skilled and well-paid. They will build the talent pool in Massachusetts by providing opportunity for graduates from Becker and other institutions of higher learning across the state," he added. To create the New Ventures Center, the school will renovate the 80 William Street location while retaining its "historical character." The center will offer meeting spaces, computer labs, and other facilities for research, design, and incubation of new projects. For more on Becker College's game design program, one of the best in the nation according to the Prinecton Review, check out the school's website. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Video Games Live Kickstarter closes successfully Sep 13th 2013, 15:45 Crowdfunding campaign for third album from Steven Tyler's cousin Tommy Tallarico closes at $285,081 from 5,679 backers. 
The Video Games Live Kickstarter campaign from Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's cousin Tommy Tallarico has closed at $285,081 from 5,679 backers, ahead of its $250,000 target. The crowdfunding effort was launched to support the recording and distribution of the album Video Games Live: Level 3, which will feature musical arrangements and exclusive recordings from Shadow of the Colossus, Journey, Dota 2, Silent Hill, World of Warcraft, Assassin's Creed, and more. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a bit emotional yesterday when we finally achieved our goal. It's been such a honor for me over the past decade to help give video game music and the entire video game industry the artistic recognition it deserves," Tallarico said. "Many people told me it was going to be impossible to do a campaign of this magnitude. Many people said it couldn't be done and we weren't going to make it. But we all got together and made it happen!" Video Games Live: Level 3 will be recorded in studio with a 72-piece orchestra backed by a 60-person choir and rock band. All recordings were written, arranged, and conducted by "famous" composers in collaboration with Mass Effect and Call of Duty composer Jack Wall. The album is expected to be released on February 18, 2014. Video Games Live is a touring concert series created by Tallarico and Wall. The shows are accompanied by various lighting and effects synced up with the music. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Microsoft buying iPads for $200 credit Sep 13th 2013, 15:11 New promotion valid through October 27 allows people to trade in a "gently used" iPad 2, 3, or 4 to receive a minimum of a $200 gift card to the Microsoft Store. 
Microsoft is now buying iPads. The company has launched a new promotion where consumers can bring in a "gently used" iPad 2, 3, or 4 to receive a minimum of a $200 gift card to the Microsoft Store. The promotion is valid through October 27 only at select Microsoft retail stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, not online. To be eligible for trade-in, the iPads must include a power cord and must not be password-protected. Microsoft's own Surface tablet line, after recent price cuts, begins at $350 for the 32GB Surface RT, while a 64GB Pro version starts at $800. The price cut came after a March Bloomberg report claimed the Surface tablet line has underperformed for Microsoft. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | PlayStation 4 "noticeably faster" than Xbox One - Report Sep 13th 2013, 14:42 Anonymous development sources say PlayStation 4 is up to 50 percent faster than the Xbox One in certain key areas. 
Anonymous developer sources have indicated that the PlayStation 4 is "noticeably faster" than the Xbox One in key performance areas, according to UK magazine Edge. Memory reads on PlayStation 4 are 40-50 percent faster than Xbox One, says the report, and the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) on Sony's graphic card is also said to be twice as fast than its next-gen competition. A basic example given by one developer is that a current multiplatform title can run at a resolution of 1920x1080 at 30fps on PlayStation 4, but that on Xbox One the framerate will drop to 20-something at the lower resolution of 1600x900. “Xbox One is weaker and it's a pain to use its ESRAM,“ added another developer. Microsoft's efforts to bump up the specifications of the Xbox One--such as beefing up the processor to 1.75GHz from 1.6GHz--are said to have been done in an effort to close the gap between the two next-gen consoles. Both Microsoft and Sony are said to be working on improving their graphics drivers, too, and will continue doing so right up until launch and beyond. Xbox One is said to be faster in other areas, however. “Let“s say you are using procedural generation or raytracing via parametric surfaces--that is, using a lot of memory writes and not much texturing or ALU--Xbox One will be likely be faster,“ concluded one developer. The Edge report concludes that there will be little performance difference between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launch titles, as developers struggle to hit tight deadlines, and adds that ensuring parity between console version could become a political matter, with publishers not wanting to upset either platform holder by releasing inferior versions. One developer added that it rarely makes financial sense to optimise a multiplatform game for one particular platform. “It would be totally fine for us to make one version prettier without any political difficulties but it usually doesn't make financial sense,“ said the developer, “unless it“s a very simple tweak.“ Microsoft will launch the Xbox One on November 22, with Sony opting to release the PlayStation 4 in North America on November 15 and on November 29 in Europe. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | BioWare talks up next Mass Effect Sep 13th 2013, 14:26 BioWare's upcoming role-playing game "looks beautiful, fun, ambitious, and Mass Effect-y" says executive producer. 
The upcoming and untitled Mass Effect game this week passed a milestone review, with various developers speaking positively about the shape of the game thus far. "In a milestone review for next Mass Effect game. Team is doing outstanding work. Looks beautiful, fun, ambitious, and Mass Effect-y!" executive producer Casey Hudson said on Twitter. Assistant director of design Aidan Scanlan and community manager Jessica Merizan chimed in with positive statements about the progress made so far on the game. Just saw a early presentation for the next Mass Effect. Good thing you weren't here because you would have Lost“ Your“ Shit! — Aidan Scanlan (@aidanscanlan) September 12, 2013
Watching absolutely stunning work from @masseffect team. Goosebumps. Such a passionate, talented group of devs! Can't wait to say more <3 <3 — Jessica Merizan (@JessicaMerizan) September 12, 2013
Describing the game's progress in July, cinematic director Ken Thain said, "This sh**'s gettin' real!" Though BioWare is enthused by the progress the next Mass Effect is making, the public won't get to see the game for some time, according to BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy. "Sadly, it probably will still be a while before we show anything publicly," he said. BioWare announced the next Mass Effect game last September. It will not feature Commander Shepard, as his story came to a close in last year's Mass Effect 3. The untitled game will run on the Frostbite 3 engine and, according to Hudson, will be "fresh and new." Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Zynga settles data theft lawsuit with former employee Sep 13th 2013, 14:11 FarmVille studio reaches settlement with Alan Patmore, who admits to making "serious mistake" by taking confidential Zynga information when he left the company. 
Zynga and former general manager Alan Patmore have reached a settlement surrounding a 2012 lawsuit that accused the employee of "wholesale theft" of company secrets after he left the FarmVille studio to join rival gaming company Kixeye. TechCrunch reports that the matter was settled this week. Patmore said in a statement: "I accept responsibility for making a serious mistake by copying and taking Zynga confidential information when I resigned from Zynga. I understand the consequences of my actions and I sincerely apologize to Zynga and my former colleagues." Neither Zynga nor Kixeye disclosed terms of the settlement, but issued a joint statement that reads: "Zynga Inc. and Kixeye Inc. have reached a mutually agreeable settlement of their litigation involving Alan Patmore in San Francisco Superior Court." As reported by TechCrunch, Zynga filed a complaint against Patmore a month after he left the company alleging that he obtained and stored more than 760 documents from his work computer in Dropbox before his final day with the company. Zynga claimed that these files contained design documents for upcoming games, as well as details about monetization plans and compensation information for employees. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Fable Legends to have 5-10 year lifespan Sep 13th 2013, 13:37 Lionhead boss John Needham says "we're playing the long game" for upcoming online-focused Xbox One role-playing game. 
Lionhead Studios expects its recently announced online-focused Fable Legends to have a lifespan of 5-10 years on Xbox One, according to new studio boss John Needham. "We're playing the long game with this," Needham told GamesIndustry International. To achieve the lifespan Needham hopes for Fable Legends, the game will make use of the Xbox One's suite of features and services, including the cloud, he said. "This is the next big Fable game that is going to be out for five to ten years so it needs to be big, it needs to be interesting," Needham said. "There needs to be a lot of stuff to do, it needs to integrate all the cloud and Xbox One features so we keep our community alive and growing. So yeah, it's big and ambitious, but it needs to be because it's going to be around a long time." Just because Lionhead Studios will be working on Fable Legends for the next 5-10 years does not mean the company won't also spend time on non-Fable projects during that time. Needham said though the company is focused on Fable Anniversary and Fable Legends right now, the studio also has an incubation group to brainstorm new ideas. In addition, the company's third annual Creative Day will be held next week, where employees can present game ideas, services, features, or art projects they are working on. Needham said this event is "great fun" and has in the past led to ideas that have been used in full products. Lionhead Studios today delayed Fable Anniversary for Xbox 360 until February 2014, while Fable Legends does not have a release date. A beta for the game will begin next year. For more on Fable Legends, check out GameSpot's previous coverage. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | J.J. Abrams "emotionally hurt" by latest Star Trek game Sep 13th 2013, 13:06 Director says Digital Extremes' movie tie-in was "obviously a big disappointment"; believes that anything released as an ancillary product "will suck." 
Star Trek director J.J. Abrams was none too pleased with Digital Extremes' Star Trek: The Video Game, calling the game in a new interview a "big disappointment" and one that hurt him emotionally. "The last game, which was obviously a big disappointment to me, was something that we were actually involved in at the very beginning of it and then we sort of realized that it was not going in a place that we were going to get what we wanted, so we dropped out and they continued to do it despite“ y'know," Abrams told Gamerhub.tv at the recent Star Trek: Into Darkness DVD and Blu-ray release event. Abrams said the game could have been a product that "really benefitted the series," but ultimately came up short, potentially damaging the impact of Into Darkness. "Instead it was not and was something that I think, for me emotionally it hurt, because we were working our asses off making the movie and then this game came out and it got, it's not even my opinion, it got universally panned and I think that it was something without question that didn't help the movie and arguably hurt it," Abrams said. "I think the thing that we all know, anyone who loves video games and loves movies“ very, very rarely does a movie based on a game, or a game based on a movie, really work," he added. "It usually ends up being something that everyone who goes to see or goes to play feels like this was a marketing decision made by a room full of people who wanted to capitalize on a title. That's no way to make a game and no way to make a movie." Abrams is currently working with Portal and Half-Life studio Valve on a pair of projects and said that the way he is approaching these unannounced endeavors is looking at the properties "from the ground up great, regardless of what's come before." "And that to me, whether it's a video game or a book or a movie or a song. Anything that is based on something else, it needs to exist on its own terms," Abrams said. "And a lot of times these seem to exist as an ancillary product, in which case it will suck." In the interview, Abrams reiterated that he is working with Valve on Portal and Half-Life products, though it is unclear if these are games or movies. At the D.I.C.E. Summit in February, Abrams and Valve boss Gabe Newell announced a partnership for a new game and said Portal and Half-Life films are being considered as well. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Aonuma discusses The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask remake Sep 13th 2013, 12:42 “Please write that I laughed,“ said Eiji Aonuma when discussing a new Majora's Mask. 
The Legend of Zelda boss Eiji Aonuma has briefly discussed the idea of remaking The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for modern consoles. “Please write that I laughed,“ Aonuma said to IGN after laughing about the prospect of a Majora's Mask remake. Aonuma asked that people don't read too much into his laughter, however. "Don't make it sound like I laughed because I was troubled or inconvenienced or put out," he added. "I don't want them to read anything into it. But if you want to say that I laughed, I think that would be a good answer." But how should people interpret Aonuma's expression? “It's really up to them. If they want to interpret my laughter as, 'yeah, we're making it' or 'no, we're not,' I guess that's really up to them,“ he said. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was released on Nintendo 64 in 2000, and has become an enduring cult favourite due to its dark tone and time-shifting mechanics. Nintendo is currently in the process of releasing an HD update of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the Wii U, which will be released digitally in North America on September 20. The classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was also rereleased for the 3DS in 2011, and a sequel to the SNES' A Link to the Past will be released for the 3DS later this year. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Microsoft's Siri competitor to be called Cortana - Report Sep 13th 2013, 12:27 Sources says virtual assistant for PC, Windows Phone, and Xbox to be named after Halo character.   
Microsoft is currently developing Siri-like virtual assistant technology under the name Cortana, GameSpot sister site Zdnet reports. The technology will be able to learn and adapt using "machine-learning technology" and the "Satori" knowledge base that powers search engine Bing. Cortana is, of course, the name of the artificial intelligence character from the Halo series who appears in holographic form throughout the franchise. "Cortana will be more than just an app that lets users interact with their phones more naturally using voice commands. Cortana is core to the makeover of the entire 'shell'--the core services and experience--of the future versions of Windows Phone, Windows, and the Xbox One operating systems, from what I've heard from my contacts," the site reports. The Cortana technology is being developed for PC, Windows Phone, and Xbox, the report stated. It has reportedly been in the works for some time, though Microsoft has been intent on keeping it under wraps until it had something revolutionary, instead of evolutionary, to show. This report tallies with another from February, when The Verge heard from sources that the Xbox One will feature natural-language detection said to be similar to Apple's Siri service, which allows users to ask questions and see results in real time. In an Xbox context, players could ask, "What are my friends playing?" and their friends list would appear. The Xbox One launches on November 22. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Sony on PS Vita TV coming West -- "Stay tuned" Sep 13th 2013, 11:58 President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida says all Sony has confirmed thus far is that streaming device will be released "first in Japan." 
Sony's new PlayStation Vita TV streaming device has only been confirmed for a November release in Japan, but the device could launch in other regions sometime after, according to president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida. For people wondering about PS Vita TV outside Japan, we are just saying now "PS Vita TV releasing first in Japan". Stay tuned. — Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) September 13, 2013
Sony Computer Entertainment president and group CEO Andrew House told reporters this week that Sony has no plans, at least right now, to release the PS Vita TV in Europe or the United States. The Apple TV-style device measures 6.5x10.5cm and connects to a television, with slots for players to insert their PS Vita game cards. The hardware will also beam games remotely to other televisions within the home, as well as work in conjunction with streaming video services such as Hulu. The PS Vita TV will allow owners to play PSP, original PlayStation, and PS Vita games directly on their televisions. The system will also work with the PlayStation 4's Remote Play feature. In addition, the Gaikai-powered streaming service in the works for the PlayStation 4 could "technically" be supported on the PS Vita TV, according to Sony. The device will launch in Japan on November 14 for ¥9,480 (around $95) and will also be available in a bundle that includes a PS Vita TV, a DualShock 3 controller, and an 8GB Vita Memory Card. Earlier this week, Sony published a full list of supported titles for the PS Vita TV. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
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