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Megacorps are bad for gaming; Sony, EA, Activision, MS, and their ilk
Topic Started: Oct 24 2006, 09:29 AM (6,745 Views)
sheath
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Does it hurt down low?

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/lasky-ea-is-in-the-wrong-business

Lasky: EA is in the wrong business

Former Electronic Arts exec Mitch Lasky has said that the Madden publisher has the wrong business targets, team and cost structure, and its digital and distribution business is the only successful division in the company.

The EA Games label has produced more failures than hits, said Lasky, and the EA Sports business is lumbered with expensive licensing costs, as the publisher has failed to evolve in a rapidly changing market.

"EA is in the wrong business, with the wrong cost structure and the wrong team, but somehow they seem to think that it is going to be a smooth, two-year transition from packaged goods to digital. Think again," wrote Lasky on his blog.

"EA's sports business has been hamstrung by vastly increased licensing costs and failure to transition to a subscription/variable pricing model. This has substantially reduced the profitability of a business that EA used to rely on to fund other, riskier bets."

CEO John Riccitiello's focus on creating new IP for the EA Games label in a bid to grow the business has been "by far the greatest failure," according to Lasky, who said that upcoming titles such as Dante's Inferno and the Star Wars MMO Knights of the Old Republic are likely to be commercial failures

"It's been a very ugly scene, indeed. From Spore, to Dead Space, to Mirror's Edge, to Need for Speed: Undercover, it's been one expensive commercial disappointment for EA Games after another.

"Not to mention the shut-down of Pandemic, half of the justification for EA's $850MM acquisition of Bioware-Pandemic. And don't think that Dante's Inferno, or Knights of the Old Republic, is going to make it all better. It's a bankrupt strategy."

Earlier in the week EA lowered its financial forecasts for the full year, blaming poor boxed product sales in Europe and low margins in its EA Partners distribution business.

"Don't believe this is the end of the bleeding," added Lasky, who noted that the company could be ripe for takeover, even going so far as to drag up the long-rumoured Disney acquisition talk.

"With EA's enterprise value down below $4 billion, it's remarkable that nobody has stepped in to put them out of their misery with an acquisition. Certainly, Disney has been looking at them since I was at the house of the mouse back in the early 90's. And there are Chinese companies, like TenCent, that could easily swallow EA whole."

He added: "It's equally amazing that the board continues to support the existing management team through this debacle."
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sheath
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So, if by the end of this year everybody isn't holding one of these:
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Sony is toast, according to Sony

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/sony-pinning-its-hopes-on-3d

Sony "pinning its hopes" on 3D

Sony Corporation is making a concentrated push to bring 3D entertainment to the home in 2010, with it's technology applied to games such as LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo 5 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift already impressing advocates of the format.

Firmware updates will add 3D gaming capabilities to the PlayStation 3 and 3D movie functionality to the Blu-ray player later this year, and alongside the launch of its own dedicated 3D TV channel, and the success of the billion dollar Avatar movie, 2010 could be a break though year for the format.

"3D is an added thing and it hits every division that Sony has got," said Andrew Oliver, chief technical officer at Blitz Games, speaking in an interview published today. "Sony is really pinning its hopes on the world wanting 3D and everybody is basking in the glory of Avatar."

Sony used CES earlier this month to show off LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo 5, Major League Baseball, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and Wipeout to the crowds, along with other tech from the entire Sony electronics division.

"The Sony stand was big with 3D games. They had an enormous stand with a theatre at one end and cinema projectors that are made by Sony, movie cameras made by Sony and they were showing Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – a Sony ImageWorks film – in 3D, they had a Blu-ray player playing 3D film and then the PlayStation 3's were showing various games," detailed Oliver. "They looked absolutely stunning."

A standard format for 3D and the glasses required to view it has been adopted by all TV manufacturers, putting an end to early signs of a format war that could have hampered the adoption of 3D in the home, and fears that viewing 3D can be uncomfortable for the user are fading, said Oliver.

"3D isn't being done badly any more. You do it right and everyone loves it. Everyone feels that they don't need to keep trying to convince people now, it's been done for us with Avatar.

"The TVs have got one good standard which is perfect and exactly what we want and what the film companies want. Every TV manufacturer is bringing out a 3D model and there's no talk of 'what if it gives you a headache'. If you can watch a three hour film you've passed the test."

Blitz has already released one game in 3D, the digital download title Invincible Tiger, and Oliver revealed that the company has now signed off on a big new contract currently under wraps.

"We have agreed a very big 3D deal which is very good for us," he confirmed. "There are some people out there who really want to push 3D but I think when it comes to more general publishers, CES and the Avatar film will have turned a lot of heads."

For more of Andrew Oliver's opinions on 3D gaming and its future, the full interview can be read here.
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sheath
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EA says you should get fined for buying used games:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ea-management-credibility-is-nonexistent

"New digital initiatives include "Project Ten Dollar", EA's attempt to tackle the second hand market. Consumers that buy new games are given a code to download additional content, but users who buy the game second hand will have to pay $10 to access the missing extras. "
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Sony and EA turn on consumers at the "first sign of trouble".

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/project-ten-dollar-will-alienate-consumers-warns-retail

'Project Ten Dollar' will alienate consumers, warns retail

Retailers have spoken out on recent incentives by Electronic Arts and Sony to deter pre-owned sales by including content vouchers with new games that can only be redeemed once.

In the case of EA, it has begun offering downloadable content to users buying a new copy of a game, which those with a second-hand copy will need to buy separately - a move it has labelled "Project Ten Dollar". Mass Effect 2 was the first game to include a DLC code, and the company has said all of its games released in fiscal 2011 will follow suit.

However, Sony appears to be going one step further with reports stating that online play in the latest SOCOM game for PSP will be locked until users redeem a code online. Players with a second-hand copy will need to purchase a new code at a cost of $20.

According to Chipsworld MD Don McCabe, the only people that will be affected directly by these moves will be consumers, who will find the resale value of their games is suddenly much lower than they're used to.

"The person you're pissing off the most is the consumer," McCabe told GamesIndustry.biz. "This affects [them] directly - they pay the same amount of money and yet the resale value is much reduced. From a retailer's point of view, they'll just readjust [the price] bearing in mind you have to buy the voucher."

Furthermore, he said that EA is one of the publishers most likely to be benefiting at the moment from pre-owned sales, as consumers trade in their older instalments of franchises for the new, most current ones.

"They are effectively what I call a franchise software house in that they upgrade their titles; FIFA, Madden all of these are effectively the same title upgraded each year. And people trade in last year's for this year's. You go anywhere and you'll always find second hand copies of FIFA 07, 08, 09 - it's one of the ones we get the most of."

It's an opinion backed up by Marc Day, CEO of SwapGame, a site which offer new and pre-owned games, as well as rentals.

"EA's Project Ten Dollar move is aiming to stifle pre-owned games sales, but what they don't factor in is the damage this could have for them in relation to new sales," said Day.

"At SwapGame, the majority of customers who trade in for cash or credit do so to acquire new games they could otherwise not afford. Through trading in, we aim to help the customer make gaming more affordable, providing them with a way to buy new games.

"The move to DLC exclusive content is an interesting step, and this obviously provides the publisher with another revenue stream. This move will definitely make the game less valuable on the pre-owned market, so it will be sold cheaper, meaning customers will get less value when trading in."

Another downside is that retailers will become more wary of publishers using these methods and more reticent about stocking their products, said McCabe, since consumers will need to register their details with the publisher after buying a game from their shop.

"You've got to bear in mind that when you sell this product, if they insist on online registration, what they're doing is collecting your customer data.

"On one hand they might be trying to reduce pre-owned sales, on the other hand they might be collecting data so they can email that customer directly.

"From a retailer's point of view, you're always going to have that in mind. Why should you give your customers over to an organisation that's going to compete with you? You're going to be less likely to want to promote that game."

A more positive viewpoint on the move comes from Igor Cipolletta, MD of online retailer ShopTo.net - a site that doesn't offer trade-ins.

He points out that if publishers are unable to make sufficient profit from the current retail model they will, for their survival, look at alternatives.

"We as retailers have to convince the publishers that the retail sector is still a viable marketplace for them," he said.

"I think that us retailers have a duty to ensure that publishers can get back their development costs and a profit that can in part be ploughed into future projects, and obviously the second hand market is not one which directly appears to benefit the IP owners and publishers, who are therefore trialling new ways to secure profit.

"I suspect that many users will be averse to some of the current and future methods," he added. "But at some stage in the not-too-distant future, many publishers may have been forced out of business and with it [goes] the level and quality of releases.

"Gamers would still certainly rather have the physical product to show for their money, so if we are to avoid going down a download only method of software delivery, we all have our part to play to ensure the market flourishes.

"EA's fairly strong message seems to be, stop selling second hand games or soon we will be looking at a download-only selling methodology and therefore the retail sector will have little to no physical product to actually sell.

"Only time will tell how this is received by the gaming public, but I can guarantee that certain key retailers will have a lot to say over this proposal from EA."

McCabe insists EA is responding to a perceived threat rather than a real one, adding that the catalyst for this new trial has probably been GAME and GameStop's decision to start segregating new and pre-owned sales in their financials. "They've perceived they're losing a lot of money," he said.

"It's fine it they want to try it - they might get it out of their system. People want a system that's as simple as possible - if companies start going down a variety of different routes to block second hand sales, online access - the thing Ubisoft are doing where you have to be online to verify the game - it's just going to turn people off. If they try to block pre-owned sales, they will see a reduction in those titles.

"Pre-owned is an integral part of the gaming landscape and if you try and block it then the person you're pissing off the most is the consumer."

"It will be interesting to see how this plays out," said Day. "Will customers simply cough up the full retail price to get the exclusive content and online play on day one, or will they wait to buy it pre-owned at a low enough price, then pay the additional $10 for the same content?

"If so the publisher could well shoot themselves in the foot. It is the publisher who is giving the customer the short straw."
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I knew EA did it since I got Mass Effect 2. Sony doing is news to me. Completely locking out Multiplayer is incredibly shameful on Sony's part... and I think this is going to catch on to other publishers as well. I just know Activision's going to give it a shot soon.
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sheath
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Does this at least take the cup cake?

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/sony-patents-universal-games-controller

According to a patent application, Sony is looking into developing a universal game console controller capable of displaying different game controller layouts which is compatible with several games consoles.

"Just like remote controls, game consoles, and thus game controllers, are becoming widespread," reads the application. "It is not surprising to find more than one game console in a household, especially when competing game console manufacturers attempt to attract unconventional consumer groups in the gaming industry.

"As understood herein, it would be useful to have a universal controller that would be able to work with a variety of game consoles."

The patent, picked up by GoRumours, describes the proposed technology saying, "[the] game console controller includes a hand-holdable housing and a touch sensitive liquid crystal display (LCD) on the housing.

"The LCD is caused to present, depending on what type of game console a user has selected, a controller key layout for a first type of game console or a controller key layout for a second type of game console. A key layout includes plural keys selectable by a user to input commands to a game console.

According to the patent, the device would also be rumble compatible and capable of producing sound effects, much like the Wii controller.
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sheath
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Let's see Sony shuffle this under the rug. All original PS1's and PS2's ended up not playing discs, Sony blamed that on users playing too much.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/bug-cripples-original-playstation-3-models

Bug cripples original PlayStation 3 models

A bug has crippled original PlayStation 3 units, leaving users unable to access the PlayStation Network, and compromising trophy and game functionality of a number of titles.

The problem began last night, leading to the assumption that a calendar bug is to blame. Users of the slim PlayStation 3 model are unaffected.

"We have found out that some users are experiencing a network connection failure when signing on to PlayStation Network,” said Sony Europe. "We are currently looking into the issue to identify the cause of this network connection failure and will update further information as necessary (on the Blog or official website). We appreciate for your understanding and continued support."

According to Eurogamer's Digital Foundry, users experience a 8001050F error when the console attempts to connect to the PlayStation Network, resetting the system to January 1, 2000.

Even offline systems are affected, with titles that synchronise trophies failing to start. PlayStation 3 test units used by developers and press are also said to be affected, and PSN content and games on the PlayStation 3 hard drive cannot be activated. This also effects some Blu-ray movies.

Sony has so far only acknowledged the issue via its official blog, but not offered any further advice to users.

-edit-
Here is a nice little video about what people are missing out on while Sony is "getting back to us".


I'm not sure what's worse, the gameplay in the second movie, or the kid's severe misuse of the same two expletives.
Edited by sheath, Mar 1 2010, 10:28 AM.
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sheath
Mar 1 2010, 06:54 AM
Let's see Sony shuffle this under the rug. All original PS1's and PS2's ended up not playing discs...
Huh?

Anyway yeah I've been watching a few Let's Play's of Heavy Rain and my hype fell severely. I think Spoony called it "Phantasmagoria 3: A Puzzle of Stupid Quick-Time Events". I mean, I had no problems with the demo because things happened. But there's a lot of worthless bits in the game it seems.

As for the big news...
HOLY SHIT! That's really bad. I didn't have access to mine last weekend and it looks like I got lucky. This makes the RROD look like cake in comparison. (Edit: Well okay, maybe not that bad if it doesn't last too long, but it's still quite bad.)

Edited by DarcSeven, Mar 1 2010, 01:15 PM.
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sheath
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Quote:
 
sheath
Mar 1 2010, 06:54 AM
Let's see Sony shuffle this under the rug. All original PS1's and PS2's ended up not playing discs...
Huh?

It's only a *slight* exaggeration for PS2's, but just try to find a launch model, or a model dated from the first year of any of these two system's lives that still works. Remember Sony (finally) lost a class action lawsuit for the PS2 DREs. But seriously, try to find a PS1 from 1995-96 or a PS2 from 2000-2001 that still plays games, much less DVDs in the PS2's case.

Quote:
 
Anyway yeah I've been watching a few Let's Play's of Heavy Rain and my hype fell severely. I think Spoony called it "Phantasmagoria 3: A Puzzle of Stupid Quick-Time Events". I mean, I had no problems with the demo because things happened. But there's a lot of worthless bits in the game it seems.


In some ways it reminds me of Shenmue, except it really does waste almost all gameplay time with stuff that has no bearing on a game. It also reminds me of how badly the first Resident Evil games played.

Quote:
 
As for the big news...
HOLY SHIT! That's really bad. I didn't have access to mine last weekend and it looks like I got lucky. This makes the RROD look like cake in comparison. (Edit: Well okay, maybe not that bad if it doesn't last too long, but it's still quite bad.)


We'll see if Sony breaks with Sony tradition and actually covers this glitch under warranty.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/sony-promises-bug-fix-within-24-hours

Sony promises bug fix within 24 hours

Sony has promised to fix a crippling PlayStation 3 bug within the next 24 hours.

Users of the older 60GB PlayStation 3 models, as well as test units and development kits, have been unable to access the PlayStation Network, with offline play for a number of games also affected. Sony is suggesting consumers don't attempt to play any games until the issue is resolved.

"We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system," said the company.

"We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data.

"As mentioned above, Please be advised that the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologise for any inconvenience caused."

A list of errors according to Sony includes:

* The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000.
* When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; "An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)"
* When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; "Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game"
* When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; "The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)"
* Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date.
Sony promises bug fix within 24 hours

Sony has promised to fix a crippling PlayStation 3 bug within the next 24 hours.

Users of the older 60GB PlayStation 3 models, as well as test units and development kits, have been unable to access the PlayStation Network, with offline play for a number of games also affected. Sony is suggesting consumers don't attempt to play any games until the issue is resolved.

"We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system," said the company.

"We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data.

"As mentioned above, Please be advised that the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologise for any inconvenience caused."

A list of errors according to Sony includes:

* The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000.
* When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; "An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)"
* When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; "Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game"
* When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; "The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)"
* Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date.
Edited by sheath, Mar 1 2010, 03:05 PM.
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1. Oh, okay. I have an old PS1 that still works just fine, but I think it was the Dual Shock model which was after '95-'96. I guess that's why I was confused. I can agree with you on the PS2 since it happened to me.

2. I've actually gotten used to the controls, it just blows my mind at how much it seems that your doing actions that have no bearing on the story. I've heard it gets better later on, though.

3. I think they're gonna admit fault this time. ;)
Edited by DarcSeven, Mar 1 2010, 03:09 PM.
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sheath
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Yeah, if you find a PS1 with no "Sony" AV port on the back, it just has regular Composite outputs, I will bet dollars to donuts that it doesn't work. My Dual Shock model PS1 works fine too, that was about five hardware iterations in.
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millions of PS3 systems bricked (temporarily anyway) all at the same time? The 360 RROD is starting to look not so bad now ;-)
Edited by benstylus, Mar 1 2010, 05:49 PM.
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DarcSeven
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Well it's apparently over now so the RRoD back at number 1. From their blog:

"We are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 units other than the slim model, recognized the year 2010 as a leap year. Having the internal clock date change from February 29 to March 1 (both GMT), we have verified that the symptoms are now resolved and that users are able to use their PS3 normally.

If the time displayed on the XMB is still incorrect, users are able to adjust time settings manually or via the internet. If we have new information, we will update you through the PlayStation.Blog or PlayStation.com.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

I'm glad it's over. That was a big-ass screw-up.
Edited by DarcSeven, Mar 1 2010, 08:57 PM.
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benstylus
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so will it happen again in 2014?
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DarcSeven
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I was wondering the same thing. I hope they take precautions just in case.
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sheath
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At any rate, yesterday marks the end of an era that lasted fifteen years. Sony apologized for messing up and fixed the problem without blaming their users for "playing too much". Now all they need to do is put themselves out of business by making too many original games for their forecasts to cover, and I might start to actually like the company.

-edit-

and pfft, 2006-07 PS3s won't be functional by 2014 anyway. ;)
Edited by sheath, Mar 2 2010, 11:02 AM.
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Thanks Bel, for moving the "Sony Sucks" and "EA sucks" threads to this and closing them. As of today I'm not playing favorites with any Megacorps.


Megacorp Activision gobbles them up and spits them out...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/report-infinity-ward-bosses-removed-from-studio

Report: Infinity Ward bosses removed from studio

Two senior members of staff have been marched out of the Infinity Ward studio following accusations by Activision of contract breaches and subordination, according to reports this morning.

Sources at the Modern Warfare studio told G4 that security turned up and removed chief creative officer Vince Zampella and CTO Jason West, to the confusion of staff.

A SEC filing made earlier today by Activision said a human resources investigation had been initiated into "breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward", although the employees being investigated were not named.

"The matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation," read the filing. "At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company."

The pair reportedly subsequently met with Activision and haven't been seen by Infinity Ward staff members since then.

West's involvement appears to have been confirmed by a Facebook status update he published after the meeting, which stated: "Jason West is drinking. Also, no longer employed."

Zampella and West were among the founding members of Infinity Ward who had previously worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for EA.

At Infinity Ward, they created the immensely successful Call of Duty series for Activision and continued to develop key entries in the series, culminating in the recent smash hits Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.

Infinity Ward is currently preparing the release Modern Warfare 2 DLC, due out this spring, and was thought to be beginning work on a new IP.

Activision has told GamesIndustry.biz that it has no comment to make at this time.
Edited by sheath, Mar 2 2010, 10:31 AM.
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I'll avoid the supernerd drama and simply post this time.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/02/apocalyps3-8-out-of-11-ps3-fat-skus-affected-ps3-shared-zune/

Eurogamer's resident supernerd at Digital Foundry has weighed in on yesterday's global PS3 meltdown, cleverly dubbed ApocalyPS3. While early reports seemed to indicate PlayStation Network was at fault – "playstation network down" was a top Google search term on Sunday and Sony itself continues to pin the blame squarely on PSN – it became increasingly clear that the issue was unrelated to the console's internet connectivity and instead related to the console's internal clock. If this sounds suspiciously similar to the Z2K bug that suddenly bricked thousands (dozens?) of 30GB Zune players in 2008, it's because both the PS3 and Zune share an ARM CPU chip, says DF. This is presumably the same Freescale processor blamed for Z2K, a chip that happens to have a known problem dealing with leap years.

According to "unofficial community-compiled lists" cited by Digital Foundry, eight out of the eleven "fat" PS3 SKUs were affected by the faulty chip, easily totaling millions of units. If the problem wasn't resolved quietly (perhaps too quietly, considering the dearth of updates on the company's Twitter feed) and relatively quickly by the inevitable march of time itself, Sony would have been tasked with repairing millions of affected consoles; a burden exacerbated by said console's inability to connect to the PlayStation Network.

Lucky for us, and infinitely more so for Sony, at 0000 GMT yesterday, PS3s the world over suddenly figured out what day it was and everything went back to normal. All that's left to do is hope that Sony issues a patch to prevent the next apocalypse. (Isn't that the one in 2012?)
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To follow up on the previous "Activision" gobbledygook, we have even more defending the ejection of noted game developers from the system in order to produce even more franchised gaming under the same moniker.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/activision-outlines-call-of-duty-reshuffle

Activision outlines [Franchise #1] reshuffle

Activision Blizzard has moved swiftly to counter any investor concern over the recent Infinity Ward executive departures of Jason West and Vince Zampella by announcing a reshuffle of the [#1] franchise.

Under plans announced today, while Infinity Ward will continue to work on the downloadable content for [Franchise #1 part 6], Treyarch will add this year's wholly new title and an additional [Franchise #1] game has been confirmed for 2011.

However, while it's not clear if that game will be an Infinity Ward title, is has been announced that Sledgehammer Games - a studio formed last November by ex-Visceral studio head Glen Schofield and Dead Space executive producer Michael Condrey - "is in development on a [Franchise #1] game that will extend the franchise into the action-adventure genre," according to a statement.

Meanwhile Activision is forming a dedicated business unit to bring further focus on the multi-billion-dollar franchise, to be led by Philip Earl - currently the company's head of publishing in Asia-Pacific.

And Infinity Ward will be led by Activision's CTO Steve Pearce and [douche] of production Steve Ackrich on an interim basis as it is confirmed that West and Zampella are "[canned and disallowed from speaking due to legal terms]" - although no further details have been given.

"2010 will be another [shitty rehashed megacorp] year for the [Franchise #1] franchise," commented Mike Griffith, [shill extraordinaire and] president and CEO of Activision Publishing [bastards]. "In addition to continued catalogue sales, new downloadable content from Infinity Ward and a new [Franchise #1] release, we are excited about the opportunity to bring the franchise to new geographies, genres and players."

Regarding "new geographies," the statement also revealed that the company was "in discussions with a select number of partners to bring the franchise to Asia, one of the fastest growing regions for online multiplayer games in the world," as it looks to build [Franchise #1] into a truly global IP [of rehashed tripe].

The news, announced after the markets on the US East Coast had closed, followed a 1.2 per cent decline in company stock value to $10.81 - but after hours trading saw that rebound in the half hour after the statement was released [because venture capitalists are greedy bastards, not gamers].
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Itagaki got money from Tecmo, maybe these two fellas can get what Activision owes them too.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/zampella-and-west-file-lawsuit-against-activision

Zampella and West file lawsuit against Activision

Activision has been hit with a lawsuit by ex-Infinity Ward duo Jason West and Vince Zampella over "substantial royalty payments" as part of their contracts for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

The pair were sacked this week from the company they helped found in 2001, as Activision reshuffled staff and studios for its most successful console franchise, with the publisher claiming Zampella and West were guilty of insubordination.

"Activision has refused to honour the terms of its agreements and is intentionally flouting the fundamental public policy of this State (California) that employers must pay their employees what they have rightfully earned," said their attorney Robert Schwartz.

"Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of 'insubordination' and 'breach of fiduciary duty,' which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1."

The lawsuit includes claims for breaching contracts and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrong termination and in violation of public policy, and declaratory relief.

"We were shocked by Activision's decision to terminate our contract," commented West. "We poured our heart and soul into that company, building not only a world class development studio, but assembling a team we've been proud to work with for nearly a decade. We think the work we've done speaks for itself."

"After all we have given to Activision, we shouldn't have to sue to get paid," added Zampella.

The suit states that Infinity Ward had the right to create games based on the Modern Warfare brand, but this has since reverted to Activision.

"Activision seized control of the Infinity Ward studio, to which Activision had previously granted creative control over all Modern Warfare-branded games. The suit was filed to vindicate the rights of West and Zampella to be paid the compensation they have earned, as well as the contractual rights Activision granted to West and Zampella to control Modern Warfare-branded games."

The Call of Duty franchise has generated over $3 billion in sales for Activision. There are at least three titles in the series under development, at Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward and Treyarch.
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