Publishing

EA offers guide to better times

Electronic Arts’ troubles – fiscal losses, massive job cuts, a thinning roster, waning market confidence – serve as an illustration of the whole industry’s troubles. The firm’s second-in-command, COO John Schappert used his DICE presentation in Las Vegas to show the industry a way out. He said EA and the …

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Activision linked to GoGos Crazy Bones IP

Reports are claiming that Activision has signed a deal that will see popular kids brand GoGo’s Crazy Bones coming to consoles in an effort to create a Pokemon-rivalling games franchise. That’s according to CVG, which claims that the publisher has already signed a contract with IP holder Magic Box International …

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"Sometimes I sounded like a dick"

In a high-profile confessional at the DICE summit earlier this week, Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick took the chance to clarify his infamous boast that he wanted to take the fun out of game development”. He explained that he’d been trying to convince institutional investors – generally burdened by the …

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Kotick wanted Commodore console

Speaking of his regrets in a fascinating speech at last week’s DICE summit, Activision boss Bobby Kotick has admitted that he rues missing out on the chance to buy Amiga during the late 1980s. A keyboard-less Amiga, he believed, could have triumphed in the console war of the time. It …

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More evidence for COD: Vietnam

The rumours that Treyarch’s next Call of Duty title will be set in Vietnam have resurfaced once again after an unearthed document for an LA casting call made reference to the controversial ‘60s conflict. VG247 has obtained a description of four key characters the makers of the game are looking …

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Mario & Sonic Winter Olympics sells 6m

One of the most successful IP marriages of recent times continues to perform for Sega at retail with news that Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games has now sold over 6m copies worldwide. The game was first released in October and debuted at number five in the ELSPA …

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DICE: Bobby comes clean

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick delivered a winning keynote at DICE in Las Vegas that was full of charming anecdotes about his own mistakes, as well as a vision for how large publishing companies can and should work with creative teams and individuals. His speech to a packed house verged …

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Managers not welcome at Sony’s hit studio

"There is not one person at Naughty Dog whose only job is to mange other people. We have very little hierarchy." At the DICE conference in Las Vegas, Naughty Dog co-lead game designer Richard Lemarchand outlined the company’s "loose" culture and structure, which eschews management hierarchies in favor of communal …

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