First off, if you want to know what that awesome picture is all about, go read this lovely article at Kotaku. But onto the news! At the recent Develop 2010 Conference, legendary game developer Tim Schafer had a few words to say. Of interest to us, the man behind Grim Fandango and Psychonauts talked about how EA decided not to go ahead with a sequel to last year’s heavy-metal adventure Brutal Legend, and in turn, Double Fine decided to move away from AAA games and into smaller, “indie-style” games.

Schafer confirmed that his studio currently has four games in development and that after shopping them around to various publishers, each new title has a deal in place. The creative visionary and all around funny man didn’t have much to say about the new projects other than saying that splitting off into smaller teams allowed the studio to experiment with different genres, licenses, and demographics (such as kids’ titles), giving them “more chances at having a hit game.” Schafer also confirmed that a good portion of Brutal Legend vets are heading up the new projects, two of which “will focus on both retro and innovative new gameplay mechanics”. No release dates have been announced, but Double Fine’s head honcho did hint that we may see some of the new properties later this year, in both retail and digital outlets.

My take on all of this? I think it’s fantastic news. Tim Schafer made his name in this industry on small development teams that made small games before he moved onto bigger things. Most of his bigger things have been just as unique and endearing as his older work, but publishers haven’t always felt the same way. Hopefully this new “indie” approach will give Double Fine a better shot at finding success with their creative properties. And hopefully the lack of a major publisher’s omnipotent presence will allow for even more creativity from the Double Fine team. Plus, it could mean cheaper games for us.

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The comedy certainly seems to be hitting all the right notes, I just hope the rest of the game can match up. Oh, and, it’d be nice to hear some real metal within the first five minutes of the game. I feel like I should like this game, but it’s just not hooking me. I think I’ll consider a rental though. You should too!

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Can’t say I was expecting a hack-n-slash/RTS hybrid. But considering this game shouldn’t have had multiplayer to begin with, maybe it’s a good thing that they’re thinking outside of the box. Guess we’ll find out in October. Yeah, I said October. I refuse to propagate their ridiculous “Rocktober” marketing pitch. It’s preposterous!

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In the continuing legal saga of Brutal Legend and Activision, it would seem Activision isn’t getting there way. Kotaku is reporting that a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge has denied Activision’s request for the game to be delayed.

There is still a possibility that the game could be delayed though as the judge hasn’t actually ruled on either of the two lawsuits that are involved, but he did say that he “can’t say there’s a likelihood of success here.”

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For Brutal Legend!!!!

Even more lawsuits in today’s news.

So last month Activision decided to sue Brutal Legend developer Double Fine in an attempt to prevent the game from being released. Something about improperly transferring publishing rights to EA.

Well, today Double Fine decided to fire back by filing a countersuit against Activision. Really, none of that is too interesting on its own, but in their suit Double Fine had plenty of interesting things to say about Activision. The Associated Press is reporting that “Double Fine’s countersuit contends Activision’s lawsuit was filed to hurt the company and the game, and that it was involved in unlawful business practices and a conspiracy to protect “Guitar Hero” sales.” Apparently Double Fine sees Brutal Legend competing with Guitar Hero as the lawsuit also says that Activision’s “purpose is not only to cancel ‘Brutal Legend,’ but to kill it completely so that ‘Guitar Hero’ would not have to face the competition.”

Activision responded by saying that Double Fine’s assertions are “meritless and, in fact, Activision has every intention of exercising its legal right as Brutal Legend’s publisher to release the game.”

Double Fine also seems to insinuate that Activision lacks originality in their lineup. “The suit claims Activision prefers to develop games based on its successful roster, including the “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft” series, and games based on movies, rather than original titles.”

Double Fine doesn’t plan on letting Activision just push them around either. Double Fine COO, Caroline Esmurdoc said in a prepared statement “Now that we’ve found a publisher and the game is getting sensational coverage, they want to stop its release. “Double Fine’s countersuit is a demonstration of our intention to fight for this game , Activision will not kill ‘Brutal Legend.’”

Countersuit filed over ‘Brutal Legend’ video game via Kotaku

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C.R.E.A.M.

I can hold my tongue no longer. I utterly despise Activision-Blizzard and everything it stands for. I mean, it’s one thing to pump out sequels and licensed games while working to monopolize the market like the old EA, but at least they knew their place in the industry. When Activision CEO Bobby Kotick came out and threatened to pull support for the PlayStation 3 and PSP a few days ago, I knew that all humanity had been drained from the company. Kotick is probably a robot.

“I’m getting concerned about Sony; the PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don’t make it easy for me to support the platform,” he said. “It’s expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation”. He then went on to demand a price drop for the system “because if they don’t, the attach rates are likely to slow.” Correct me if I’m wrong here, but don’t attach rates deal with the number of games each PlayStation 3 owner is buying? So, oh, I don’t know, maybe cheaper games would be a much more effective way to increase attach rates than a cheaper console? Oh, that’s right, Bobby Kotick doesn’t give a damn about attach rates for the PlayStation 3, he’s just posturing in hopes of grabbing a few more consumers to sell $60 games to.

Actually, I take that back. $60 is so two years ago. Activision’s ’09 line up is high-lighted by the $100 Guitar Hero 5 (with guitar), the $120 DJ Hero, and the $120 Tony Hawk: Ride. Next year gets even better with the $200 Band Hero. And who knows what the future holds with statements like, “…when you think about other properties that we own and control, like Call of Duty, and what would be the natural evolution of a property like Call of Duty into a massively multiplayer environment, and how do you monetize that…” Yes, Bobby, how do you monetize that? Are we going to be paying a monthly subscription fee for online multiplayer in future Call of Duty games? Maybe micro-transactions for weapon upgrades? How about a gun peripheral?

But to be fair to Activision, they kind of have to set their prices that high if they plan on meeting their goals. Like the one Mr. Kotick set at Activision’s pre-E3 investors conference call, where he voiced his hope of getting gamers who might have spent $50 on the company’s products in the last console generation to spend $500 on them this time around. But how could people ever afford that if they can’t afford a PS3, Bobby!?! Christ, for that much money you could buy a real guitar.

"Give me all your money, punk."

Now you might remember at the beginning of this feature, I referred to this money hungry company as “Activision-Blizzard.” That’s because the two publishing giants merged around a year ago. And it’s funny how I don’t really remember all this “I’ll kill your system if you don’t drop the price” (not actual quote) talk coming out of either of these companies before that. But now with the might of Blizzard and World of Warcraft raking in enough money to make Activision-Blizzard the largest third party publisher in the entire industry, the Activision CEO has gotten real loud. Sometimes he’s so loud we forget that Blizzard is even there, but they are, and they’re just doing what they do best–making great games.

And that’s the new approach that Electronic Arts has been taking under the guidance of CEO John Riccitiello. Riccitiello has completely changed the image of a company so greedy that it made an exclusive deal with the NFL the year after 2K Sports dropped their superior football game’s price down to $20 and stole a large share of Madden‘s market. Now the company is known for pushing risky new IPs like Dead Space and Mirror’s Edge against stiff competition like Gears of War 2. And even though those games didn’t sell as well as EA would have liked, they are committed to building those franchises. And yes, they are intended to be franchises with sequels. But sequels aren’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s over-saturation of sequels and lack of innovation that’s a bad thing. EA still puts out a Madden every year, but there’s new IPs next to it. Activision on the other hand, is content to push the yearly Guitar Hero output closer and closer to double digits.

And perhaps the biggest difference in these two companies is illustrated by the case of Brutal Legend. The game was originally slated to be published by none other than Activision, but the company dropped the title in favor of games that “have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million dollar franchises.” Ghostbusters, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand were among the other titles cut in the purge.

So in came EA to the rescue, and now they’re helping publish Brutal Legend through their EA Partners program (they pretty much help developers publish their games without getting in their hair about how to make them). The metal epic is looking quite good these days, and EA has really been marketing it hard. Then came E3 2009 where the game made a great impression, and news comes out that Activision is suing Double Fine in attempt to halt the game’s release. EA promptly called the legal threats as ridiculous as “a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy.” Double Fine’s Tim Schafer followed that up by saying, “Hey, if Activision liked it, then they should have put a ring on it. Oh great, now Beyoncé is going to sue me too.” The case has yet to be settled, but the public image of Activision certainly has.

Call Hollywood!

So is there anything more to my rant than the fact that Bobby Kotick wants to find a way to monetize the air you breathe while punching you in the gut and stealing your lunch money? Ideally, yes. I would hope that this might inspire some people to vote with their dollar and only buy what they believe in. I for one, will not be giving Activision-Blizzard $500 dollars of my hard-earned money this year. I admit, I will be buying Modern Warfare 2 this November, so those corporate hacks will be getting $60 of my money, but I take some solace in knowing that Infinity Ward made life difficult for Activision when they renewed their contract. Those guys definitely seem protective of their games and take them more seriously than the big wigs at Activision who want to port Call of Duty onto every platform known to man. Here’s to hoping once that contract runs out Infinity Ward goes independent so I won’t have to feel dirty about giving my money to those very, very talented developers.

Lastly, I’d just like to say that yes, I realize this is a business. Bobby Kotick is just doing his job and trying to satisfy his investors. John Riccitiello is doing the same thing, albeit much more discretely. They’re all out to make money, and I can understand that. That’s why voting with your dollar counts. These guys will make whatever makes them money. The only difference in Activision and EA right now is that EA is giving us more choice in what we vote for. Bobby Kotick is just plopping his brass balls in our mouths and saying, “You’ll buy every $120 sequel I pump out this quarter and like it because my company is bigger than everybody else’s.” What goes around comes around, Bobby. Just ask EA.

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Forgive my laziness here, but all this reporting was tiring. So, enjoy some links!
Activision suing Double Fine over Brutal Legend rights.
Xbox originals to be retired after next game.

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Back again to try and finish out day one of E3 2009. This post will try to focus on some demos since it’s nice to know how games actually play. Without further ado:

Halo 3: ODST stage demo. This elaborates on some of my thoughts from my previous post.

We’ve all been wondering how Tony Hawk: Ride will look in action, and this video gives a sort of okay idea. All I really know at this point is that it looks like that board will need some sort of special surface to properly function, and that it looks like a lot of movement. Why wouldn’t I just spend my $120 on a real skateboard?

This Splinter Cell: Conviction demo shows a lot of the sequences from the interview in my previous post running in real time before your eyes. It looks fun, and I like some of the fresh approaches they’re taking to interface and HUD, but I’m still not sure about this whole “mark” system. It could definitely be awesome, but at the same time it seems to take all the skill out of the game. Oh, and where’s the stealth?

While I’m not overly jazzed about most of what Project “Natal” has shown so far, this particular Peter Molyneux demo titled “Milo” looks pretty interesting. Realistically, this emotional recognition could be the greatest innovation since 3D if it’s properly developed and explored. Just imagine playing an RPG where NPCs react and generate their own dialogue based on your emotional state and what you’re saying. It could completely revolutionize story-telling in games and truly bring our medium to the forefront. That said, I’m still very skeptical. And I won’t be happy if this turns out to be Lionhead’s big secret project that’s supposed to be announced at E3.

Alan Wake finally made a promising appearance and even claims to be coming in Spring 2010. This demo shows off what seems to be a narrative-driven game with a big focus on light. While not quite as game-changing as Max Payne‘s “bullet time,” like Remedy claimed it would be, the lighting mechanics do look interesting. Sort of a step further from the “stay out of the dark or you’ll freaking die!” concept in Gears of War that I always wanted more of.

Brutal Legend also made an appearance with a brief trailer that introduced some of the game’s famous (or infamous) cast. While not really into metal, I do know most of those names, and Ozzy is a steal even though he’s a sell-out hack these days. He is the Prince of Darkness after all. What’s of more interest to me is all the support Double Fine’s game is getting. Tim Schafer never gets support for his wacky and zany ideas! I guess this just goes to show that EA has truly changed under John Riccitiello’s guidance and that they’re willing to put money into risky properties.

And last but certainly not least, the pure awesomeness of Assassin’s Creed II. Gameplay would have been nice though, considering it’s set for a Fall 09 release.

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This may be the first look at Brutal Legend that actually focuses on the game more than Tim Schafer or Jack Black. Overall, the game looks to be shaping up pretty well. Between the hot rod and on-foot segments, not to mention rumors of Eddie sprouting demon wings and being able to fly at some point, there should be plenty of variety to be had. The only thing that really concerns me is the fact that there won’t be many bosses. This seems like a game that would lend itself well to some awesomely demonic bosses that need to be rocked. Hmm…that just made me think–there better be a bonus segment where we get to challenge the devil to a rock off challenge and play Tenacious D’s “Beelzeboss”. And when I say play I mean this game should totally take advantage of the five plastic guitars sitting in everybody’s house.

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