Author: admin

Gearbox Software is supporting Wii U with its upcoming shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, said to be the best-looking version of the game. However, that is the only Gearbox game or franchise in development for Nintendo’s new system.

Fans may be wondering why Gearbox is not planning to bring its popular Borderlands franchise to the Wii U. According to CEO Randy Pitchford, it’s due to Gearbox not having yet found a compelling way to use the system.

“We get asked if there is going to be a Wii U version of Borderlands, and the reason why there’s not is because we couldn’t think of a ‘natural, obvious OMG-I-want-that-for-what the-Wii-U-brings-to-the-table feature,” Pitchford told GamesMaster (via Nintendo Everything).

On the other hand, bringing Aliens: Colonial Marines to the Wii U was an easy decision for Pitchford.

“But with Aliens, the first thing we thought was ‘Holy sh*t, I can have a motion controller in my hands!’ When it’s there in my lap it feels like I’m part of the movie,” he said.

Borderlands is not the only established series that has elected to skip the Wii U. Dead Space 3, Resident Evil 6 and Metro: Last Light will not appear on the console. Additionally, it is not clear if Crysis 3 or Battlefield 3 will ship for the system.

Tomb Raider’s campaign will last between 12 and 15 hours, dependent on gamers’ play style. Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart shared the news over Twitter recently, and also revealed a range of other details regarding the upcoming action game.

Tomb Raider protagonist Lara Croft will have regenerative health in the game. Additionally, though she is able to swim, the game will not feature any swimming sequences.

Stewart also addressed a question regarding the possibility of a Tomb Raider sequel. He said “of course” Crystal Dynamics will make a second game if the first is successful. This follows comments from Stewart in June, when he said at least one additional game is needed to tell Croft’s entire origin story.

Tomb Raider was originally planned to launch during fall 2012, but was delayed in May to March 5, 2013. Set for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, Tomb Raider is the first installment in the series since 2010’s downloadable multiplayer-focused Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and the first standalone game since 2008’s Tomb Raider: Underworld.

United Kingdom-based developer Eurocom has enacted a significant round of layoffs following shipping 007 Legends last month. Studio director Hugh Binns confirmed to GamesIndustry International that a majority of the company’s 200 staff have been let go.

“Eurocom are undertaking a restructuring which I regret to say has meant we’ve made the majority of our workforce redundant today,” reads a line from the statement. “This includes many very experienced, talented and highly skilled employees, and we’d like to thank them all for your hard work and efforts.”

Binns added that the “steep decline in demand” for console games led to the downsizing, as well as the studio’s shift towards mobile game development moving forward.

“We’ve fought to try and save as many jobs as possible, but the steep decline in demand for console games, culminating in a number of console projects falling through in the last week, left us with no option,” Binns added. “Eurocom has retained a core staff of just under 50 employees and will be focusing mainly on mobile opportunities moving forward.”

Eurocom was established in Derby in 1988. It has created dozens of games, with its most recent offerings including James Bond games 007 Legends and GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, as well as Harry Potter for Kinect, Disney Universe, and Rio.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II set a sales record for publisher Activision, but it also helped one gamer set a new world record. News.com.au reports that 28-year-old Australian man Okan Kaya played Black Ops II multiplayer for 135 hours and 50 minutes straight, rocketing past the previous Guinness World Record for a video game marathon.

That mark was held by two Canadian gamers, who clocked 120 hours and seven minutes, the site writes. New Guinness stipulations allow for 10-minute breaks every hour, Kaya said, adding that they can be taken together if desired.

According to the report, Kaya was not able to attract sponsorships from retailers due to their unwillingness to be associated with “addictive gaming.” However, Kaya’s employer–4Cabling–allowed him to use a company meeting room to attempt the record.

In order to prove he eclipsed the record, new witnesses were brought in every four hours. Additionally, video footage needed to be taken. This documentation is now being sent to Guinness adjudicators who will verify and confirm (or deny) Kaya’s world record attempt. A result is expected in the coming weeks.

“It was a lot of fun, but I’m glad it’s over,” he said.

During his nearly five-and-a-half-day Black Ops II marathon, Kaya rose to a worldwide rank of 29 after beginning his campaign with a rating somewhere in the millions.

THQ executive vice president and chief financial officer Paul Pucino has left the embattled publisher. The company announced the news today and said it is evaluating alternatives to fill the role, though no candidates were specified. Pucino had been with THQ for nearly four years.

THQ also announced today that it is in talks with an unnamed financial sponsor that will assist the beleaguered publisher in creating financial alternatives. The company said this “may result in, among other things, significant and material dilution to shareholders.”

Information regarding the identity of this sponsor, the scope of the deal, its structure, and/or timing was not disclosed. Additionally, THQ cautioned that the negotiations are in no way a guarantee that a transaction will be made.

Lastly, THQ said that Wells Fargo Capital Finance LLC has agreed to forgo action against the studio due to a possible default related to its $50 million loan until January 15, 2013.

Rumors of Mirror’s Edge 2 have been swirling for years, but according to ngmoco’s Ben Cousins, the game is no rumor, but in fact a reality. The Swedish developer and former Electronic Arts employee said over Twitter today that it is “general knowledge” in the Stockholm, Sweden (where DICE is located) development scene that the free-running sequel is in production. An EA representative was not immediately available to comment.

Cousins’ tweet was in response to an Official Xbox Magazine report in which EA Games vice president Patrick Soderlund confirmed non-Battlefield projects were in development at DICE. He was asked to justify the “risks” associated with developing games like Mirror’s Edge when sequels to established franchises are historically known to sell well.

“Well it depends, right? Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. It’s also important for us; the DICE guys are roughly 300 people in the Stockholm studio; not all of them are working on Battlefield things, and that’s intentional, because we don’t want to become a Battlefield factory,” Soderlund said.

The developer added that telling DICE employees that they will only work on Battlefield games for the duration of their tenure would be detrimental for morale.

“The minute we start saying ‘you’re going to make a Battlefield game for the rest of your life’, they’re going to go some place else,” he said. “So for them to make great Battlefield games there need to be other things for them to do as well. That’s why we have people who move around quite a bit. And then obviously we have a boatload of people that just want to make Battlefield because they love it.”

Battlefield 4 is currently in development at DICE, with a beta for the game arriving in late 2013. It is also believed that the studio is working on Battlefield: Bad Company 3.