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Study: Casual Gamers Interested In 3D, Too

posterbot — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:35:00 +0000

Much discussion has surrounded the issue of the target market for 3D gaming — do gamers really want it? Yes, says a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association, finding that not only do hardcore early adopters want to play in 3D, but casual fans do, too. However, the CEA’s study says more proof is needed to hook consumers in the form of demonstrations and education on the value proposition. 3D’s not just for gamers, …

E3: Sony’s Steinberg On Move, 3D, And What PlayStation Means

posterbot — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:01:00 +0000

“‘It Only Does Everything’ is tattooed on our arms these days,” Sony Computer Entertainment America marketing VP Scott Steinberg told Gamasutra at E3 today, in reference to the PlayStation 3′s current marketing slogan and the expansion of the system to a broader and broader entertainment device. Sony’s Direction Steinberg demurred when asked about the other two major platform press conferences, but he said “what I liked about ours is the breadth of news that we …

E3: Konami Reveals New Silent Hill For 2011

posterbot — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:15:00 +0000

The fan-favorite Silent Hill series is in Vatra’s hands now, and at E3 2010, Konami’s formally confirmed that the newest installment, currently under a working title, will hit in 2011. It promises to continue the legacy of the series’ most distinctive elements — the titular town, with its fog and its dual dreamworlds, the elements of psychoanalysis, dread and survival. These are the components that have always remained constant throughout the series; however, if fans …

E3: Konami Details Core IP, Kinect Titles; Simmons Presents Rapstar

posterbot — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:51:00 +0000

“By now, all of you are aware of the dramatic change that is taking place in the entertainment industry,” Konami president S. Hirano said at the start of the company’s Gamasutra-attended 2010 E3 press conference in Los Angeles, expressing enthusiasm at the new opportunities in the current hardware cycle and in Konami’s current plan to “draw our business footprint in more global markets.” He laid out the three tiers of the company’s strategy: first, original …

Best of FingerGaming: From Guitar Hero to Call of Duty Zombies II

posterbot — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:55:00 +0000

[Every week, Gamasutra sums up sister iPhone site FingerGaming's top news and reviews for Apple's nascent -- and increasingly exciting -- portable games platform, as written by editor in chief Danny Cowan and authors Tucker Dean, Jason Johnson, Ryan Hibbeler, and Mike Rose.] This week, FingerGaming covers Activision’s recent releases Guitar Hero and Call of Duty: World at War Zombies II, along with other notable debuts. Also within are the lists for top-grossing, most-downloaded free …

EA: Playfish Userbase Growing Despite Shrinkage With Top Facebook Games

posterbot — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:34:00 +0000

While the majority of Facebook’s most popular games have lost millions of users in the past few months, Electronic Arts says its recently acquired PlayFish studio has managed to grow its userbase. Since Facebook enacted changes to its application notification system four months ago to curtail the amount of “app spam” many users have complained about, the social network’s most popular titles that depended on notifications for their viral growth lost a significant amount of …

DeNA Sets Up $27.5M Social Gaming Fund

posterbot — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:31:00 +0000

Tokyo-based mobile social network operator DeNA and a number of other private Japan-based backers have set up a $27.5 million fund dedicated to investing in social game companies. The Incubate Fund No. 1 Limited Partnership seeks to find and invest in social gaming projects or startups that are at the seed level or higher stages, according to a report from VentureBeat. DeNA, which has an 83.3 percent stake in the fund, also plans to back …

Zynga Raises $147M From Japan’s Softbank

posterbot — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:48:00 +0000

Continuing its recent series of major deals in both Asia and the States, social game developer Zynga has raised a ¥13.5 billion ($147 million) investment from Japanese telecommunications and media corporation Softbank. With this new financing, the FarmVille firm has brought its total amount of venture backing up to some $366 million since it set up shop three years ago in San Francisco. The funding follows just a month after Zynga made what it described …

Top-Grossing iTunes Apps: FIFA World Cup Trumps Angry Birds, Guitar Hero

posterbot — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:44:00 +0000

[Every week, sister iPhone site FingerGaming rounds up the top-grossing iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad applications, as current that day in the iTunes App Store, and this chart is now available on Gamasutra.] This week’s U.S. revenue charts see FIFA World Cup taking the lead over Angry Birds and Guitar Hero, while Illusion Labs’ Foosball HD sees strong sales in its debut week. These charts allow end users to see who is making the most …

E3: Square Enix Owns Dungeon Siege IP, Moves Into Western RPG Market

posterbot — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:35:00 +0000

Square Enix surprised fans of Gas Powered Games’ Dungeon Siege action-RPGs when it announced it would be publishing the third game in the series, with development handled by Obsidian Entertainment — and Obsidian has now revealed that Square Enix owns the franchise outright, giving the company inroads into the Western RPG market. When the game was first announced earlier this month for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, the relationship between Dungeon Siege III and …