Console Club

[dronology]

In commemoration of Space Invader's Day on June 16, 2021, Taito will release the download-only software " Space Invader Forever " for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on Thursday, June 17, 2021 for Nintendo Switch software "Space Invader Invader Collection Special Edition” has been announced to be released on Thursday, July 29th.

『スペースインベーダー』シリーズ� �代表作品を収録した2タイトルが今夏 発売決定。

[dronology]

Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Dry Twice | Consoles Release Trailer (EN)

[paul]

GTA V - 145 milioane:
TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC. (NASDAQ: TTWO) MAY 2021

[paul]

Electronic Arts today announced it has tapped former Monolith Productions VP and studio head Kevin Stephens to head up a new studio in the Seattle area.

The studio doesn't have a name yet, but it will be working to create an open-world action-adventure game. Stephens knows the genre well, having overseen Monolith Productions during development of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Ex-Monolith VP Kevin Stephens starting new EA studio | GamesIndustry.biz

[dronology]

Welcome to Knockout City — Official Season 1 Trailer

[paul]

Why do developers keep leaving Blizzard? The issue for the legendary developer is complex.

The news came as a shock, but it also wasn’t exactly a surprise.

One month ago, Jeff Kaplan announced that he would be leaving Blizzard. His departure ended a 19 year career at Blizzard in which he helped develop two of the most important games ever made — World of Warcraft and Overwatch. A beloved figure at Blizzard, Kaplan’s departure sparked an outpouring of emotion from fans and developers alike.
"He was sincere when he bid the team farewell and let them know how proud he was of everything that we were all able to accomplish together and how confident he was in what a lot of us consider to be one of the greatest development teams in the industry," said Aaron Keller – who succeeded Kaplan as Overwatch 2 director — in an interview with IGN. "It was an emotional moment to hear that from someone who you knew meant it and believed it."

But underneath the emotion of Kaplan’s departure was a more troubling narrative that had been brewing since at least 2018. If you’ve been following Blizzard for any amount of time, it’s hard not to notice the outflow of talent from every part of the business. While Blizzard says its voluntary turnover is significantly under industry average and that departures among developers who have been with the company for longer than 10 years are in fact decreasing, several high-profile departures have contributed to the sense among fans, media, and many within the company that Blizzard is experiencing an exodus. [...]

Full: Special Report: The Inside Story of Blizzard's Departures and a Company at a Crossroads - IGN

[paul]

Introducing CircoLoco Records
A New Record Label Created in Partnership with CircoLoco: First EP Coming June 4th

Music has always been a fundamental part of Rockstar Games — from the championing of underground artists and scenes across our titles, to the meticulously curated radio stations of the Grand Theft Auto series and the introduction of fully-realized digital nightclubs in Grand Theft Auto Online with the After Hours update, as well as expanding the possibilities for in-game social spaces and music discovery with the release of The Cayo Perico Heist.

Now, we’re further fusing the physical and digital worlds of entertainment by teaming with CircoLoco — creators of some of the world’s biggest and most influential real world parties and one of the most recognized brands in modern dance music — to create a brand-new record label, CircoLoco Records.

Introducing CircoLoco Records - Rockstar Games
Introducing CircoLoco Records:

[dronology]

Metal Max Xeno Reborn - Announcement Trailer

[paul]

We know EA makes millions of dollars from Ultimate Team, but now we have a figure: $1.62bn.

That's the eye-watering amount EA made during its 2021 financial year from Ultimate Team modes across its sports games.

But - and this won't come as a surprise to anyone - FIFA Ultimate Team made the bulk of that money.

FY 2021: $1.62bn
FY 2020: $1.49bn
FY 2019: $1.37bn
FY 2018: $1.18bn
FY 2017: $775m
FY 2016: $660m
FY 2015: $587m

EA made $1.62bn from Ultimate Team in its last financial year • Eurogamer.net

[dronology]

Sonic Colours: Ultimate will be arriving September 7th, 2021! Join Sonic on an intergalactic journey, fully remastered for a new generation -- with a few new features, too!

[paul]

Sonic Colors: Ultimate announce trailer:
PS4, XONE, XS, Switch, PC (EGS)

[paul]

Sun is setting on some older NFS titles - it's not you, it's us

Hello there!

Today, we have some news to share about some of the older Need for Speed titles:

Starting May 31st 2021, Need for Speed Carbon, Need for Speed Undercover, Need for Speed Shift, Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed and Need for Speed The Run will be removed from digital storefronts and you will no longer be able to purchase them. In-game stores will also be closed from May 31st. This is in preparation for the retirement of the online services for these titles which will happen on August 31st 2021. Until that date, you will be able to play and race your friends (and rivals) online. From September 1st 2021 onwards, you can still play the games and use the respective offline features of these titles.

Decisions to retire games are never made easy, but we are now shifting gears to focus on the future of Need for Speed. The development teams and operational staff have put a lot of time and passion into the development, creation, release and upkeep of the game over the years, and we love to see you play. But the number of players has come to a point where it's no longer feasible to continue the work behind the scenes required to keep Need for Speed Carbon, Need for Speed Undercover, Need for Speed Shift, Need for Speed Shift 2: Unleashed and Need for Speed The Run up and running. We hope you have gotten many victories, satisfying drifts, moments of friendly rivalry, and hours of joy over the last few years out of these games. And we hope you'll keep driving with us in one of our newer titles - Need for Speed Most Wanted (2012), Need for Speed Rivals, Need for Speed (2015), Need for Speed Payback, Need for Speed Heat and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered - many of which are available via our EA Play subscription. Pedal to the metal.

- Max

Sun is setting on some older NFS titles - it's not you, it's us : needforspeed

[dronology]

BLOOD BOWL 3 | IMPERIAL NOBILITY SPOTLIGHT

Brutal, crazy, tactical… this is BLOOD BOWL! The iconic death sport returns with the new video game of fantasy football faithfully using the latest board game rules and new content.

#BloodBowl3 will be available on PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Steam and Nintendo Switch.

[paul]

Nintendo vor sa construiasca in orasul Uji un fel de "museum facility to display products released by the Company in the past." (translate), care sa fie gata pana in 31 martie 2024 (in japoneza): 任天堂株式会社 ニュースリリース :2021年6月2日 - 任天堂宇治小倉工場用地の利用につ� �て｜任天堂.

[paul]

After five years of technical development, Athena Worlds has officially launched, a new studio founded by veterans from King, Blizzard, EA and Konami.

The studio’s proprietary technology Athena promises video games with “cinema-quality visuals” by enhancing 3D graphics quality while simultaneously reducing development times and cost by over 40%. The 3D technology uses shape recognition AI to change art on screen, redrawing all 3D scenes in order to optimise the player experience in real time. Athena Worlds claims that this results in dynamically rescaling environments across each gaming platform, making graphics up to 10 times more detailed regardless of processing power.

The studio will use Athena to build proprietary games, projects and IPs across PC, Playstation, Nintendo and Xbox and mobile gaming platforms. Athena Worlds will also be licensing the technology to “to some of the biggest game publishers in the world.”

The team will be operating remotely worldwide, and is made up of veterans from the likes of King, Blizzard, EA and Konami.

Alien Vs Predator developer and former Director of Development at MGM Jane Whittaker is the studio’s founder, CEO and CTO., while Atari founder and BAFTA Fellowship recipient Nolan Bushnell will be acting as senior advisor and director. Binary Asylum founder Dave Sharp will also be serving in an advisory role.

“Athena Worlds’ 3D technology blew my mind,” said Bushnell. “I believe that new technologies like Athena have a huge potential to shape the future of our world. I am excited to help guide Jane Whittaker and the team towards what I believe will be a very bright future.”

The rest of the Athena Worlds team are as follows:

- Emily Amphlett, Senior Program Manager at Unity and industry-renowned Senior Producer at King, who led the Candy Crush franchise for 7 years.
- Sandeep Raithatha, Director of Strategy, Planning and Insights at King, Head of Commercial Finance at T-Mobile and Director of Strategy, Planning and Governance at Sony
- Julian Ward, Partner at Lee & Thompson, Head of Digital and Business Development for the BBC and General Counsel and Head of Legal at Codemasters
- Kevin Godley, Founder of 10cc and Godley and Creme, music video director & MTV pioneer, Ivor Novello award winning composer & honorary Doctor of Arts at Staffordshire University.
- Hannah Jarvis, Co-Founder of Haptic Recruitment, Official Ambassador for Women in Games and Diversity Advocate
- Jason Shuster, Multiple startup Co-Founder and VP of Business Development at BizzTech

Industry veterans found new game studio Athena Worlds, promising video games with "cinema-quality visuals" | Business News | MCV/DEVELOP

[dronology]

Data stolen from Polish studio CD Projekt has reportedly been leaked online, including the source code for Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3 and more.

CD Projekt Red first revealed in February that it had fallen victim to a targeted cyber attack. In a statement, the developer said some of its internal systems had been compromised and “certain data” stolen.

The stolen data was said to include the source code files for CD Projekt Red’s game development engine, RedEngine, and titles including The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, an upcoming ray-traced version of The Witcher 3, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales and Cyberpunk 2077.

The data was originally put up for auction on the dark web with a starting price of $1 million and a buy now price of $7 million, but the seller pulled the lot, with the condition of no further distribution or selling, after receiving an outside offer which was deemed to be satisfactory, cyber intelligence firm Kela reported.

Now, according to databreaches.net, the same data from the CD Projekt breach has been shared online. According to an alleged text file posted on the Resetera forum, the alleged files are password protected, with the password being shared with users in exchange for a $10 donation.

It’s claimed that the group has shared software developer kits for PS4, PS5, Switch and Xbox Series X without password protection in order to prove its legitimacy. One Resetera user claims to have obtained these files.

The ransomware attack on CD Projekt Red was allegedly carried out by a group called HelloKitty, which is said to have posted the source code of CD Projekt Red’s Gwent card game online prior to the auction earlier this year.

The culprits claimed they had stolen source code for the aforementioned games as well as documents relating to the company’s accounting, legal, HR and more.

If CD Projekt Red did not “come to an agreement” with them within 48 hours, the culprits said they would sell or leak the content.

CD Projekt Red said it would not give in to the demands and that it had approached relevant authorities including law enforcement and IT forensic specialists.

Last week, CD Projekt stated that it’s still awaiting Sony’s approval to bring the game back to the PlayStation Store, over five months after it was delisted.

The furore surrounding the game’s launch issues have led to legal action. The Witcher developer confirmed last week that four class action lawsuits brought against it over Cyberpunk 2077’s launch have been consolidated.

Stolen CD Projekt data including Cyberpunk’s source code has reportedly leaked

[dronology]

UNO 50TH ANNIVERSARY DLC LAUNCH TRAILER

Get dressed up and join the party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most popular card games!

Celebrate 50 years of bringing people together for fast, fun and unpredictable twists with this premium 50th Anniversary deck.

- This 50th Anniversary DLC introduces new gorgeous velvety cards.
- The board has been renovated for the big occasion and now matches the sparkly black and gold theme of the party.
- The exclusive 50/50 card and commemorative gold coin are incorporated into the game with a special rule. Whenever someone plays the special "50/50" card, toss the coin to see who will have to draw 4 extra cards.

UNO® 50th Anniversary DLC is now available on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC and Stadia!

[paul]

Devolver Digital’s Max Pass Plus offered an NFT video tape for sale this morning… and someone has actually bought it for $1,000 USD.

In the case of this particular NFT, the acronym stands for “non-f*ckwithable tape” rather than “non-fungible token”. One NFT was on offer, with proceeds from the sale of it going to the Scratch Foundation.

“The lone physical copy of the 2021 Devolver MaxPass+ presentation gently recorded on a VHS tape with the tab violently torn out of it so your little brother or sister can’t record over it. Before this, it was used to record pornography,” Devolver said in the item’s listing.

The Scratch Foundation “is a free, online coding community where kids around the world can create their own interactive stories, games, and animations,” Devolver continued. “We support this amazing resource for kids, and hope to one day exploit their hard work, talent, and creativity for our own profit.”

Someone has bought Devolver Max Pass Plus' NFT presentation | Stevivor

Devolver MaxPass+ Non-****withable Tape – Devolver Digital

[dronology]

Serial Cleaners - Exclusive Developer Walkthrough [Play For All 2021]

[dronology]

Sonic Colors Ultimate Exclusive Gameplay - Play For All 2021