Author: dpugh007

Nintendo TVii, which attempts to collect several different video streaming services and your existing television channels into one convenient Wii U channel, will not launch in the Europe, Nintendo has announced.

“Due to the extremely complex nature of localising multiple television services across a diverse range of countries with varied licensing systems, regrettably we have taken the decision not to launch the Nintendo TVii service within the European region,” Nintendo said. “With this in mind, Nintendo of Europe has launched the Nintendo Anime Channel, a new video-on-demand service on Nintendo 3DS which offers users the chance to stream anime series from the likes of Pokémon, Kirby, and Inazuma Eleven.”

Nintendo also said that it will add new content to the Anime Channel regularly, which you can access freely by simply downloading the application from the Nintendo eShop.

In his year two review of the Wii U, GameSpot’s Rob Crossley wasn’t too impressed with the feature, saying it is “notoriously slow, which outright negates the convenience of turning to it in the first place. Elsewhere, the remote control app, which runs on the GamePad without needing to powering on the console, makes for a nice emergency replacement, but is far too basic to be a true alternative to the TV remote.”

Powered by WPeMatico

Take-Two Interactive, which wholly owns Grand Theft Auto studio Rockstar Games, says that the games business is still growing, but that it’s also becoming more expensive and risky.

“It’s an expensive business, and the risk profile reflects that,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told Bloomberg TV. Zelnick also said that the hit ratio for a well-run interactive entertainment company is in the 80s, while the hit ratio for a well-run movie company is in the 30s comparison.

“That said, those very expensive production, marketing, overhead, in the case of sports titles, licensing, they do create a risk profile,” Zelnick said. “And from our point of view it embeds the winners even further. It actually creates a barrier to entry in our business.” Zelnick added that a developer “cannot get in not without having a couple hundred high quality engineers and artists, loads of capital and lots of money to market the title.”

Just Cause creator Avalanche Studios founder and creative director Christofer Sundberg recently shared a slightly more dire take on the matter, saying that the state of AAA development today is unhealthy and most big-budget games will never make a profit.

If there’s a game company that knows that the games business is sometimes worth the risk, it’s Take-Two. The company recently revealed that Grand Theft Auto V has now shipped more than 45 million copies worldwide, including 10 million on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The game is likely to grow further still, as the PC release is scheduled for March.

Powered by WPeMatico

Nintendo remains steadfast in its refusal to develop games for mobile devices, but we now know one of the ways it plans to leverage that market to its advantage: a Mii-focused app.

In an interview with Japanese publication Nikkei, Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata was asked about the company’s plans for mobile. He reiterated his hesitation to allow the company to get into the smartphone or tablet games business, stating, “In the past, I have opposed making smartphone and tablet versions of Nintendo titles. Prices for content aimed at smartphones and tablets are falling quickly. I am still wary of the category. We intend to develop products that will allow customers to identify with Nintendo products and make people pay attention to Nintendo games.”

He offered one example of how Nintendo intends to accomplish this: “[S]ome Nintendo game consoles incorporate Mii, which creates a digital avatar to represent players. It would be fun for players to use their Mii characters as icons on social media. We are currently developing an application that will allow users to do that. The app will be announced around the time our full-year results are released.”

Iwata didn’t share any further details, so it’s unclear if the app would have any functions beyond that. Nintendo’s fiscal year runs through the end of March, suggesting an announcement will be made in either April or May.

In a statement to investors last month, Iwata offered a vague outline of Nintendo’s plans for mobile development. A small team is at work on the initiative with a goal of “achieving greater ties with our consumers on smart devices and expanding our platform business.”

“It is our intention to release some application on smart devices this year that is capable of attracting consumer attention and communicating the value of our entertainment offerings,” Iwata added at the time.

Powered by WPeMatico

Steam has another great Valentine’s Day sale, offering deep discounts on cooperative games.

Some highlights from the sale include Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel for $30, Borderlands 2 for $5, Saints Row IV for $5, and many more.

The sale, which started today at 10:00 a.m. PST, will last until Monday 10 a.m. PST.

Steam isn’t the only one offering Valentine’s Day-themed sale today. In case you missed it, Sony is currently holding a PSN flash sale on a ton of PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita games.

For more great discounts, check out GameSpot’s regular Gaming Deals posts.

Here’s the full list of discounted games included in Steam co-op sale:

• Serious Sam 3: BFE — $8
• Dungeon Defenders — $3
• The Jackbox Party Pack — $18.74
• Saints Row 2 — $2.49
• Borderlands 2 — $5
• Gang Beasts — $13.39
• Viscera Cleanup Detail — $8
• Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter — $3
• Chariot — $10.04
• Sanctum 2 — $3
• Broforce — $11.24
• Lethal League — $7
• Garry’s Mod — $2.49
• Serious Sam 2 — $2
• Magicka — $2.49
• Gauntlet — $10
• Guns of Icarus Online — $3.74
• Borderlands — $7.49
• Portal 2 — $5
• STARWHAL — $10.04
• Sanctum — $1.49
• Saints Row IV — $5
• Saints Row: The Third — $3.74
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel — $30
• Dungeon Defenders II — $20
• Project Zomboid — $9.74
• Orcs Must Die! 2 — $3.74
• Don’t Starve Together — $17.24
• TowerFall Ascension — $11.24
• Terraria — $3
• Castle Crashers — $3.74

Powered by WPeMatico

Following Sony Online Entertainment’s recent separation from Sony and subsequent name change to Daybreak Game Company, Planetside 2 creative director Matthew Higby has announced he is stepping away from both the game and the studio.

In a post on Reddit’s Planetside subreddit, Higby announced his departure, saying, “Working on Planetside 2 has been the absolute highlight of my career, but after 4 years working on the game, it’s time for a change. Today [Friday] was my last day on the Planetside 2 team and at Daybreak games.”

This news comes not long after layoffs at the studio which affected, among others, longtime EverQuest producer David Georgeson. Higby, however, said he’s been contemplating a move for some time. “This is a move I’ve been considering for a while now, and the reorganization provided the right opportunity for me to exit,” he wrote.

“Planetside 2 is in great hands, with terrific people who honestly care about the game and the players. I can’t stress this enough, the folks working on every aspect of the game, developers, marketing, community are talented, hard working people who care more than you can imagine–I’m fully confident they’re going to do an amazing job on the next leg of the journey.”

Higby is not the only Planetside 2 developer that Daybreak lost this week; producer David Carey announced on Twitter this week that he was also leaving the studio.

As part of its layoff announcement, Daybreak claimed the “reductions will not affect the operation of current games.” Its stable of games includes titles like H1Z1, EverQuest Next, and DC Universe Online in addition to Planetside 2.

Planetside 2 was released for PC in 2012, and a PlayStation 4 version is currently in the works. A closed beta for the PS4 version began last month, and Daybreak has already stated its intent to develop games for non-PC and Sony platforms, including the Xbox One, although no specifics have been announced on that front so far.

Powered by WPeMatico