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Gamasutra has up an interview with Elan Lee, vice president of 42 Entertainment. As a highly placed individual within one of the most successful alternate reality gaming (ARG) companies, Lee has his name on credits for titles like The Beast and I Love Bees . Lee goes into some background on the process of creating an ARG, what the folks who work at 42 do, exactly, and a little bit about the present and future of the medium. From the article: "GS: Yesterday, during your talk, you also mentioned the Michael Douglas movie The Game as an inspiration. Where does that fit in? EL: That movie completely twisted my mind. I have this terrible lack of ability to predict the end of any movie. I sit there, completely gullible and taken in by the movie makers. Anyway, I got to the end of that movie, and I was blown away, because I didn't see it coming, at all. And I thought, there's something magical here in the ability to take someone's life and transform it into an entertainment platform. The movie got really scary and creepy; we wouldn't actually want to do that, but on a much smaller scale there are some really fun things there."

Despite the strong gains of the Wii, and the PS3's sellout, Microsoft is sticking to its claim that it will be the first next-gen console to 10 million units. They're still hoping to reach that goal sometime this year. From the article: "Just how feasible that number is remains open. Microsoft's latest financial report at the end of September revealed that the company had moved 6 million Xbox 360s worldwide. And in his latest analysis, Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter said NPD data that Xbox 360 hardware sales in the U.S. were 2.9 million units, averaging approximately 250,000 units monthly for the last six months. Pachter further predicted that 750,000 Xbox 360 hardware units would be sold in November, and between 1.5 - 2 million units in December, a conservative estimate assuming that PS3 supply levels remained consistent throughout the month leading up to Christmas." That's of course not the case, as PS3 supplies have been low. The article goes on to point out they still may squeak this out; the Blue Dragon bundle pack for the 360 is releasing in Japan this week. Preorders for the system have been selling out, and demand in that market is high for the Xbox 360 for the first time since launch.

Gamasutra covers a large reported loss by Future Publishing, the UK games-mag publisher of outlets like Edge, the three official UK magazines, and the U.S. Official Xbox Magazine. Their pre-tax losses totaled $95.6 million, while profits were down $39.8 million to $26.7 million. From the article: "Future CEO Stevie Spring commented, 'It is clear with hindsight that during the past two years, Future over-invested in acquisitions and under-invested in organic development. The consequences of this strategy are clearly evident in today's disappointing results ... We have taken a number of steps to strengthen the business. These actions have created significant cost savings which we are fully re-investing in the business.'" More regrettable signs of a a fading print industry.

Gamasutra's regular 'Question of the Week' feature touches, this week, on the ideal length of games, and the importance of game length. While the overwhelming opinion was 'quality is better than quantity', there were a range of opinions along that scale. From the article: "I would say as a gamer on the more casual side (30+ years) the game length is fine around 20-25 hours. If you are having fun while playing. I never have time to finish anything longer. It makes me more satisfied to have played through the game in 20-25 game hours than never even reach half way. - Joachim Carlsson, Massive Entertainment"

cdneng2 writes "Sony may be aware that something is just not right. There's a reshuffling of management occurring within Sony. Kazuo Hirai is set to head their videogame unit, as Ken Kutaragi has been bumped to the Sony board. Jack Tretton, former COO for SCEA, is now the president and CEO of that arm of the company. There's no word on the reasoning behind these position shifts. On the same day, Namco announced that they must sell 500,000 games to begin making profit on PS3 games. A Financial Times article confirms speculation on how hard it will be for Sony to make money, as analysts with UBS predict that 30 games must be sold per PS3 for them to break even." To add insult to injury, EA CEO Larry Probst has said PS3 numbers were lower than expected. Current thinking is that Sony managed to ship roughly half of the 400,000 units they were promising.

cdneng2 writes "Sony may be aware that something is just not right. There's a reshuffling of management occurring within Sony. Kazuo Hirai is set to head their videogame unit, as Ken Kutaragi has been bumped to the Sony board. Jack Tretton, former COO for SCEA, is now the president and CEO of that arm of the company. There's no word on the reasoning behind these position shifts. On the same day, Namco announced that they must sell 500,000 games to begin making profit on PS3 games. A Financial Times article confirms speculation on how hard it will be for Sony to make money, as analysts with UBS predict that 30 games must be sold per PS3 for them to break even." To add insult to injury, EA CEO Larry Probst has said PS3 numbers were lower than expected. Current thinking is that Sony managed to ship roughly half of the 400,000 units they were promising.

simoniker writes "As part of a larger in-depth interview over at Gamasutra, 3D Realms' Scott Miller has called for Valve's Steam digital distribution service to spin off as a separate company, suggesting: 'I would rather there emerge a leader in the market that isn't associated with a game company.' He further adds: 'I'm not a big fan of using Steam, because I'm not a fan of a strong competitor of ours having access to our download stats and revenue totals. I'd rather keep that private. Not only that, but we're lining their pockets as well.'"

simoniker writes "As part of a larger in-depth interview over at Gamasutra, 3D Realms' Scott Miller has called for Valve's Steam digital distribution service to spin off as a separate company, suggesting: 'I would rather there emerge a leader in the market that isn't associated with a game company.' He further adds: 'I'm not a big fan of using Steam, because I'm not a fan of a strong competitor of ours having access to our download stats and revenue totals. I'd rather keep that private. Not only that, but we're lining their pockets as well.'"

FST writes "CNN.com is reporting on a study which found that those 'who play violent video games show increased activity in areas of the brain linked to emotional arousal and decreased responses in regions that govern self-control.' The Reuters article goes on to discuss the study's details, which is fairly typical for these types of inquiries. After playing games, young people were required to do tasks requiring 'processing of emotional stimuli', and concentration. Their brains were monitored for activity, and the findings were presented at a recent meeting of the Radiological Society of North America." The article then gets a little preachy. From the article: "The $13 billion U.S. video game industry, with revenue rivaling Hollywood box office sales, is at the center of a cultural battle over violent content. Lawmakers' various attempts to ban the sale of violent video games to children have been blocked by courts in Louisiana, Illinois, California, Michigan, and Minnesota... Numerous behavioral and cognitive studies have linked exposure to violent media and aggressive behavior." Numerous studies have said just the opposite, too.

Wowzer writes "Nintendo today announced the Wii sold through more than 600,000 units in the Americas in just its first eight days of availability. That's a rate of nearly one per second continuously since the November 19 launch!" From the article: "The company noted that, when taking into account first-party software and accessory sales, Wii sales have thus far amounted to an impressive $190 million. Nintendo also added that sales of the Wii's highly anticipated launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, has already has achieved sales of more than 454,000 units in the Americas, a figure which it notes represents in excess of of 75 percent of all hardware purchasers." I couldn't find any sales figures for the PS3, just word that the company has sold all the units it shipped. Gamasutra is also reporting sales figures via Ebay for the two consoles. 15,000 PS3s were sold, while the Wii cracked 27,000 via the popular online auction site.

Wowzer writes "Nintendo today announced the Wii sold through more than 600,000 units in the Americas in just its first eight days of availability. That's a rate of nearly one per second continuously since the November 19 launch!" From the article: "The company noted that, when taking into account first-party software and accessory sales, Wii sales have thus far amounted to an impressive $190 million. Nintendo also added that sales of the Wii's highly anticipated launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, has already has achieved sales of more than 454,000 units in the Americas, a figure which it notes represents in excess of of 75 percent of all hardware purchasers." I couldn't find any sales figures for the PS3, just word that the company has sold all the units it shipped. Gamasutra is also reporting sales figures via Ebay for the two consoles. 15,000 PS3s were sold, while the Wii cracked 27,000 via the popular online auction site.

Gamasutra's 'Analyze This' gets opinions firsthand from analysts examining the gaming industry. Today they have up a piece looking at gaming purchases that are good Christmas buys. Unsurprisingly, many of them focus on the next-gen consoles, with a few looking 'back' to hot sellers like the DS and Guitar Hero II. From the article: "We feel that Nintendo DS will perform strongly this Christmas in all major territories while PS2 software, nowadays largely ignored by the mainstream media, will continue to sell in significant volumes until 2008. PS2 software will generate around $5.2 billion in software sales in 2006, down from $7.6 billion in 2005. Although new hardware launches are exciting, it is easy to forget that launch performance is not indicative of longer term results. The first meaningful indications as to how the next generation will shape up will not emerge until late 2007. - Ed Barton, Screen Digest"

Gamasutra is reporting on the events of the 2006 Machinima Festival, which was held early this month in Queens, New York. The event featured panels, seminars, and Q&A sessions talking about how to make movies with games, talking with the people who do it, and offering tips on how to do it better. Gamasutra also offers up the list of this year's Machinima award winners, as well as interviews with 'This Spartan Life' co-creator Matt Burke and 'Trash Talk' creator Matt Dominianni. From the article: "Chris Burke, the second speaker [on the panel] is the creator of 'This Spartan Life,' the popular talk show that takes place inside an Xbox Live Halo 2 game. Burke screened a PSA on net neutrality using Halo machinima. When the piece was made, net neutrality was the most Googled item of the week; TSL was able to attract a huge audience. Burke also noted that the TSL episode on gun control spawned hotly debated message threads on their forum, and was glad to know that 15 year TSL old fans were debating gun control, and more specifically, was happy to find that TSL exposes world and non-gamer issues to a traditional gamer audience." If you haven't seen them yet, make sure and check out award winners "Male Restroom Etiquette" (Best Writing), "The Fixer" (Best Series), and "The Adventures of Bill & John: Danger Attacks at Dawn" (Multi-award Winner).

Gamasutra reports on efforts by NCSoft and the FBI to shut down independently-run Lineage 2 servers. The servers, run by an outfit called 'L2Extreme' were making a profit off of the unauthorized MMOG operation. Gamasutra had the chance to talk with FBI agent Thompson from Austin office. From the article: "Regarding the Lineage II server code, Thompson explained that it was 'really not determined' who had originally made it available, but the L2Extreme creators were 'certainly someone who was using [NCSoft's proprietary code] — that is at least part of the investigation.'"

Gamasutra reports on comments by Nintendo's Reggie-Fils Aime, who is claiming the company will have sold 1 Million Wii consoles by December 1st. From the article: "Nintendo's previously stated plans called for the company to ship approximately 4 million consoles globally before the end of 2006. It is not clear whether the new figures stated by Fils-Aime are still in line with these numbers, since no estimate for Japanese or European sales were given. Sony's plans call for 1 million consoles sales in the U.S. by the end of March, 2007. When interviewed by Reuters, Fils-Aime also commented on the potential lifespan of the Wii, suggesting that a four, five or even six year lifespan was 'just about right.'"

Gamasutra's semi-regular feature taking the pulse of folks in the game industry turns its attention this week to the PS3 and Wii launches. From the comments submitted to the site, it seems that many industry vets are generally more excited about the Wii than with Sony's offering. From the article: "'Definitely a Wii (already pwii-ordered). The price point of the PS3 and the lack of enticing launch titles makes me as interested in a PS3 as I am interested in getting a root canal.' — Ryan Conlon, Gearbox Software. 'I am buying a Wii because Sony is too arrogant, from their dev tools to the price point.' — Ed O'Tey, Electronic Arts. 'Wii — pre-ordered. I applaud the attempt to expand and explore game interaction with the Wii. I will not be purchasing a PS3.' — Jim Perkins, EA Canada"

Gamasutra is reporting on the possibility that there may only be 150,000 - 200,000 PS3s available tomorrow. Kotaku has heard that this may stem from removal of the 20 GB units from the shipment to the U.S., though this is just speculation at the moment. Several bloggers have noted that their local videogames store has notified them of lowered availability, so it doesn't seem that this is outside the realm of possibility. From the article: "'Due to the limited initial installed base of the platforms, we believe the financial impact over the holiday period will be more significant for hardware manufacturers and video game retailers (such as GameStop) than for software publishers.' In addition to predicting a strong push for Xbox 360 products due to a shortage in PS3 supply, Sebastian also says the newly launched consoles may not have as significant an impact on holiday sales." A reader also wrote in to mention the cost that Sony is sucking with each of these units. Apparently, the company is eating about $300 for every PS3 sold.

Citing the advent of downloadable game demos and an inability for the magazine to 'fit into our integrated media network or afford us digital media opportunities', Ziff Davis' Official PlayStation Magazine will be closed out in January of next year. From the Gamasutra article: "According to the firm, Sony Computer Entertainment America will remain a key content and marketing partner for Ziff Davis Game Group, which will cover SCEA's PlayStation 3 and first-party games extensively across all of its media outlets, including EGM, 1UP.com, and GameVideos.com. The Game Group editorial team will also 'work closely with SCEA in the development of digital content for the PlayStation Network, accessible only through the PS3.' Due to the long-term decline in the magazine advertising market, Ziff Davis has been gradually transitioning away from print for some time, aggressively building up 1UP.com as its central website portal." 1up is carrying a story with the official announcement and some low-key commentary. If you're interested in how much this had to do with subscription numbers, GameSetWatch has a run-down on subscribers for many of the large gaming rags.

It's a constant in game releases: delays. There is news today of a number of games frustratingly being put-off until (in some cases) much later. Probably most shocking is news that Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is not going to be available for the PS3 launch. The title won't be available on Sony's console until Q1 2007. Somewhat less surprisingly, Half-Life 2 Episode 2 is going to be available in the summer, not in the spring. There's a raft of Xbox titles that have been pushed out to Summer as well. Forza 2, Shadowrun, and Too Human will not be available until June of 2007. Finally, the possibility for more frustrations for the often-frustrated European gamers. Via commentary on Gamasutra, a post on the Three Speech blog (a Sony organ) has Phil Harrison dodging the March launch for the PS3 in Europe. From Three Speech: "Given that all of our previous statements about launching in Europe simultaneously with the US and Japan turned out not to be the case, I would not like to make any definitive statements on that. It's not my job to comment on hardware supply issues other than to say some very smart people are working very hard to catch up. In fact, the ramp up is already starting to happen in supply and output, just obviously too late for us to have launched in Europe at the same times as the US."

Gamasutra reports that Rockstar will be releasing all three modern Grand Theft Auto titles as a bundle, simply called 'Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy'. The GTA three-pack will retail for $39.99, and should release on December 4th. From the article: "The collection is believed to be one of the last to carry the Grand Theft Auto name for the PlayStation 2, with the next iteration in the franchise, Grand Theft Auto IV, already announced for simultaneous release for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in North America on October 16, 2007 and in Europe on October 19, 2007. Take Two has previously announced, however, that an unnamed 'current generation' port of its handheld Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories will be released by Spring 2007, continuing its recent habit of debuting GTA side stories on the PSP and subsequently porting them to current-gen (generally PlayStation 2) hardware." I don't own any GTA titles at the moment, so this might be a good buy for me.

simoniker writes "Splinter Cell: Double Agent lead multiplayer level designer Pascal Luban has up an article at Gamasutra examining how to design a long-lasting multiplayer game level. He explains the top three attributes he bears in mind: 'Durability. A map should withstand thousands of game sessions without letting players feel bored. It must provide continuous tactical challenges... Accessibility. Navigation in a map should be clear. Remember that complex map design is one of the main difficulties a new player is confronted with... Entertainment. This need is obvious, but its rules are difficult to define.' But what are the best multiplayer game maps ever created, and why?" I'm not sure about 'all time', but we talked about some really good ones last Friday.

simoniker writes "Sony's new PR boss Dave Karakker has been talking about his challenges handling publicity for the PlayStation 3, explaining how Sony will be switching things up: 'We were allowing media to drive the message for us, and interpret it for us. So allowing someone like Peter Moore, who's a good friend of mine, to stand up there and say negative things about Sony, there wasn't anybody refuting that. People just took that for face value. Now we're very aggressively defending our turf.' He also defend the lack of universal achievements on PS3: 'Frankly, how I view it is I don't care if you're great at Madden if I'm playing you in Resistance. Because that doesn't tell me you're that much better in Resistance. An overall score doesn't really tell me much, it tells me you've spent a lot of time online, it tells me you spend a lot of time playing games, but it doesn't tell me how good you are at a particular game.'" Should be noted that Simoniker is a former Slashdot editor -- also, the AP write-up about reactions to the PS3 is quite positive.

All this week, and last week, Nintendo has been inviting game journalists up to their manse to have some extensive hands-on time with Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. At 1up Jeremy Parish has an extensive look at the game, with screenshots, impressions of the Wii control scheme, and a detailed look at the title's first few hours. From the article: "The bulk of swordplay, however, is controlled by moving the entire Wii Remote. Contrary to common opinion, this doesn't entail making massive swiping motions. Although it's certainly possible to wield the remote like an actual sword, a simple flick of the wrist will cause Link to attack. How you move the controller also has no bearing on the kind of strike you make. By default, Link sweeps horizontally; for a vertical slice, you must first lock on to a target. And a swing executed while pressing forward on the analog stick results in a stabbing thrust." Other features on the game include pieces from GameDaily, Kotaku, Gamespot, IGN, Gamasutra, and Game|Life. If you've been wondering about whether or not the controller is going to be tiring, then Chris Kohler's assurances for the worried gamer will be especially appreciated..

monikersi writes "In October 2006, the editors of Gamasutra asked its readership of game industry professionals to chime in and vote for which game brought storytelling forward in the biggest way, from any genre (text adventure through action title to RPG or sim and beyond) — there are plenty of picks, and some surprising winners." From the article: "Forcing the user to build the story piecemeal through personal logs and snippets of information throughout the game created a varied experience for each user. This drove the player to fill the holes in the story with the next log and their own assumptions and imagination. I remember playing System Shock 2 years after playing it for the first time and had a markedly different reaction due to changes in my own perspective. Phenomenal."

Gamasutra reports that Dell-owned Alienware is going to be offering Phantom lapboards with their media center PC line. The product, which against all odds does appear to be shipping, is intended to offer a mouse and keyboard experience to someone not sitting at a desk. From the article: "The Lapboard includes wireless technology, ergonomic design, one-touch features, and a wireless high definition 1200 dpi laser mouse. In addition, the device also rotates for left and right handed users and inclines on a 22 degree angle with a hard surface support for the Phantom mouse. Other features include an interchangeable key-face that is designed for game-specific and business software applications on PC and Mac platforms."

Gamasutra reports on the three versions of Halo 3 you can now preorder from Gamestop and EB. Aside from the 'normal' edition ($5), you can also spring for the collector's edition ($10) with videos and such. For a down-payment of $25, you can pre-order the 'Legendary' edition. From the article: "The Legendary Edition will come on four discs and will include all the content of the Collector's Edition plus unspecified extras and a Master Chief helmet replica. The release date for all three versions of the game is listed as November 1st, 2007 - although no official announcement on a date has been made by Microsoft and the date is likely a placeholder by the stores."

simoniker writes "Gamasutra has an interview with Lionhead's Peter Molyneux up, in which he discusses next-gen technology choices, his troubles with the press, and his overwhelming drive to succeed, as well as some new thoughts on Fable 2. On his press difficulties: 'I've come to realize that the way I speak, the things I talk about are going to be interpreted. And that sometimes leads to misquotes, and that sometimes that can be frustrating, but for example — the talk I've given today, there's nothing for me to point to onscreen — I'm just giving you a braindump of my ideas. And half of that — half of the interest of that is the interpretation you put on it in your own mind... I'll be absolutely honest with you, sometimes in the past I've actually changed little bits of the game to match the misquote, however insane that sounds.'"

simoniker writes "Microsoft has announced its sixth major update to the Xbox Live online service for Xbox 360, with 85 new features and enhancements, including support for native 1080p games and movies, faster Xbox Live Arcade game list display times, and more options for video playback. The company has announced that it will debut the update Tuesday, October 31, and the free download will be available to all Xbox Live Silver and Gold account holders, and will not require the use of the Xbox 360's hard drive."

simoniker writes "Over a year after the infamous 'Hot Coffee' incident, author and game designer Brenda Brathwaite explores the tragic aftermath on the GTA mod community — including interviews with 'Hot Coffee' creator PatrickW, the ESRB's Patricia Vance, and more." From the article: "The second version of San Andreas was made 'much more mod-resistant' according to Patrick, and among members of the community, there is doubt that future versions will be moddable at all. 'This has already made good people leave the scene,' Patrick adds. Among those that remain, there exists a certain amount of caution. 'Some innocent modding stuff isn't getting released,' says Patrick, 'because modders are afraid it might cause another controversy.'"

Gamasutra is reporting on reporting, with financial information from some of the large gaming companies becoming available this week. Nintendo, who had already previously raised projections, saw their profits up 72% over last year. This dramatic increase was credited largely to the DS, with 10.9 million units sold in the first six months of this year alone. Sony, on the other hand, dropped profits by 94% over this time last year. The company attributes this largely to the battery recall and PS3 start-up costs. From the article: "The company's games division reported a ¥43.5 billion ($366.6m) loss, from a ¥8.2 million ($69,000) profit in 2005, thanks to research and development, manufacturing and marketing costs related to the launch of the PlayStation 3. Sales and operating revenue were down by 20.5 percent to ¥170.3 billion ($1.43bn). A decrease in hardware sales worldwide was attributed to a drop in price for the PlayStation 2 and PSP. Software sales also decreased overall, although individual PSP sales were up on the previous year. Combined profit from the PS2 and PSP business was described as 'relatively unchanged'."

Gamasutra is reporting on reporting, with financial information from some of the large gaming companies becoming available this week. Nintendo, who had already previously raised projections, saw their profits up 72% over last year. This dramatic increase was credited largely to the DS, with 10.9 million units sold in the first six months of this year alone. Sony, on the other hand, dropped profits by 94% over this time last year. The company attributes this largely to the battery recall and PS3 start-up costs. From the article: "The company's games division reported a ¥43.5 billion ($366.6m) loss, from a ¥8.2 million ($69,000) profit in 2005, thanks to research and development, manufacturing and marketing costs related to the launch of the PlayStation 3. Sales and operating revenue were down by 20.5 percent to ¥170.3 billion ($1.43bn). A decrease in hardware sales worldwide was attributed to a drop in price for the PlayStation 2 and PSP. Software sales also decreased overall, although individual PSP sales were up on the previous year. Combined profit from the PS2 and PSP business was described as 'relatively unchanged'."

simoniker writes "The new Entertainment Consumers Association has announced that it has acquired the GamePolitics.com website, as part of its mission 'to give gaming consumers a voice and ensure that state and local politicians hear their concerns and appreciate their demographic power'. An in-depth interview with ECA founder Hal Halpin explains his reasons for setting up membership-based, consumer-focused ECA: 'I noticed last year that the state-level guys started moving away from targeting retailers, and trying to haul them off for selling M-rated games, to targeting consumers. And, you know, kids being [arrested] at 17 years of age for buying an M-rated game... it's just insane. And so, to me, that was the call.'"

simoniker writes "The new Entertainment Consumers Association has announced that it has acquired the GamePolitics.com website, as part of its mission 'to give gaming consumers a voice and ensure that state and local politicians hear their concerns and appreciate their demographic power'. An in-depth interview with ECA founder Hal Halpin explains his reasons for setting up membership-based, consumer-focused ECA: 'I noticed last year that the state-level guys started moving away from targeting retailers, and trying to haul them off for selling M-rated games, to targeting consumers. And, you know, kids being [arrested] at 17 years of age for buying an M-rated game... it's just insane. And so, to me, that was the call.'"

Gamasutra has the story (by way of the currently-down GamePolitics) that Jack Thompson could be facing a contempt charge over his antics during the Bully fiasco. From the article: "According to the report, the contempt of court request could find Thompson facing jail time, though it is more likely that 'fines, judicial admonishment or censure' would result from this most recent turn of events. The report also notes that attorneys representing the Philadelphia law firm Blank-Rome have filed a 'Petition for Order to Show Cause,' which requires Thompson to illustrate to a judge why he should not be held in contempt."

simoniker writes "Gamasutra has put up an in-depth interview with former Clover head and Okami co-creator Atsushi Inaba, conducted before the Capcom division was dissolved. Inaba explains exactly how Capcom's Devil May Cry franchise came about: 'I actually did get on the Resident Evil 3 team, but when I joined there was a Resident Evil 1.5 project, which actually became Resident Evil 3. When the PS2 came out, the Resident Evil 3 team's name was changed to the Resident Evil 4 team. That didn't go so well, so we thought — 'what can we do with this,' and Devil May Cry was the result.'" Relatedly, eToyChest has up a great post-mortem of Clover Studios, giving their own reasons why they think the little studio that could was shut down.

simoniker writes "Gamasutra has put up an in-depth interview with former Clover head and Okami co-creator Atsushi Inaba, conducted before the Capcom division was dissolved. Inaba explains exactly how Capcom's Devil May Cry franchise came about: 'I actually did get on the Resident Evil 3 team, but when I joined there was a Resident Evil 1.5 project, which actually became Resident Evil 3. When the PS2 came out, the Resident Evil 3 team's name was changed to the Resident Evil 4 team. That didn't go so well, so we thought — 'what can we do with this,' and Devil May Cry was the result.'" Relatedly, eToyChest has up a great post-mortem of Clover Studios, giving their own reasons why they think the little studio that could was shut down.

Gamasutra has another of its usually-interesting Question of the Week features up, and this one deals with the issue of used games. The question : Do Games Industry Professionals Buy Their Games New or Used? A lot of anonymouse answers this week. From one mouse: "I buy both used and new games, depending upon what the price differential is, and availability (old games are hard to find 'new'). I think the used games market is good for the industry for two reason: * it increases the value of game--people buy games knowing that they can get money when they sell it back, and * the game gets greater exposure--the purchaser of the used game might not otherwise have played it. This does not mean that people have the right to steal our products by copying them, reselling the originals, and playing the copy. But we made a product and sold it to them. It is theirs. They are free to resell it, the same way you're free to resell your car, house, or furniture. - Anonymous, Microsoft"

Gamasutra reports on the unveiling of the 'GameTap Originals' publishing label, a brand led by the anticipated episodic revival of Sam and Max. The game is now available both via the GameTap service, and at the TellTale site. From the article: "Sam & Max: Episode 1, which launches today exclusively on GameTap, as well as the upcoming Myst Online: Uru Live, are two examples of franchises that GameTap has co-published and helped bring back to life. While nothing specific was announced regarding upcoming franchises set to debut as part of the new GameTap Original label, representatives did note that it will be used to identify soon to be announced episodic games based on renowned TV and film franchises. Finally, supporting its new GameTap Original label, GameTap will be the premiere sponsor of the 9th Annual Independent Games Festival, held in conjunction with the 2007 Game Developers Conference to celebrate the innovation and creativity of independent game developers." Chris Kohler, over at Game|Life, has a short review of the first three hours of content.

Yesterday, Valve announced that Source will be available as middleware on the 360. Joystiq went back and asked them a few questions about what exactly that means to gamers. From the article: "The version included with our games (A.K.A. the MOD tools) includes a ton of tools and code for the creation of new products. However, there is a fair amount of code reserved for the 'Pro' version. It is certainly possible for end users or professional game designers (who are moonlighting) to create something with the tools included with purchase of our games, and then defer any decisions about licensing and sales until they've got something working. This was exactly the case with Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, The Ship, and others."

Gamasutra has up a piece by game developer Stephen Ford, entitled What's Wrong with the Games Industry (and How to Make it Right). The article covers the idiosyncrasies of game development, such as the problems of pitching a title, making a demo, working to publisher expectations. It then looks at ways to make the same-old same-old 'right'. From the article: "One amazing fact that has yet to permeate the strata of the industry is that most of their employees have the equipment that they need to do their jobs at home. One example is freelance audio engineers, who do most of their work off site and mail the files in. However, for code, design and art there are still large levels of resistance to the idea that you can effectively export work off site and maintain control. On-site control is an illusion, and while the camaraderie of a large office space is nice, it is also the least financially efficient way of getting production work done in an age of broadband."

simoniker writes "Shiny Entertainment head Michael Persson has been talking about the company's recent acquisition by Foundation 9, the studio's existing IPs (including Earthworm Jim), and the company's future without either David Perry or Atari at the helm. Persson talks about the latest incarnation of Earthworm Jim, which Shiny was developing for PSP after quite a few previous speedbumps (among them EWJ co-creator Perry leaving and Doug TenNapel also becoming disassociated from the project): 'We were working on that, and we're not working on it anymore. But it's really up to Atari to make an announcement about that, I probably can't even make that statement officially, but obviously we're not working on it.' Back to the drawing board yet again?"

Gamasutra has up an article, their latest in the 'Analyze This' series, exploring whether gamers are really clamoring for the HD era ... or if the only people looking forward to HD gaming are the game makers. All three analysts seem to think HD is very important, but with varying levels of fervency. From the article: "On the Nintendo front, Nintendo has sacrificed graphics that can be viewed by the minority for a price that can benefit the majority. So, no, I don't think that they've made a mistake in the short run. Over the long run, we'll have to see: If HDTV adoption rates accelerate, the differences between the Wii and the Xbox 360 and PS3 may become more important, and it may end up that sell-through of the Wii begins to decline. That's a couple of years away, and my crystal ball isn't quite that clear."

Gamasutra has up an article, giving out 'awards' to titles that made a genre what it is. Today, they have memorable and impactful role-playing games; a top five with five honorable mentions. They're all very worthy titles, but I'm not sure about their placement on the list. None of the Ultima games make the top 5? Really? From the article: "Ultima V - The Ultima series allowed the player a level of freedom found only in a few games today. Through the origins of the series, the game had fits and starts where some ideas worked and others did not. By V, however, the central core of the game was completely worked out and many games today are 3D versions of this ground breaking title: Elder Scrolls comes to mind. Though other games at the time were similar, Bard's Tale for example, they did not have the scope of story and adventure, nor did they encompass so many technologies of the time. -James Edwards, Microsoft"

Over at Gamasutra, they have details on commentary by Peter Molyneux during the London Games Summit. Speaking in the grandiose, pie-in-the-sky manner he's become known for, Mr. Molyneux described some experimental gameplay ideas they're hoping might someday make it into Fable 2. From the article: "Elements of design that are changing from Fable's development to Fable 2's are what the players can purchase and own (wealth is likely to play a large part in Fable 2's characters); the responsiveness of and fantastical quality of combat (Fable 2 hopes to keep the combat more dramatic than realistic, but more responsive to objects and locations around the player); and the range of experience the player can have (Fable 2 is aiming to allow the main character to become pregnant, give birth, and raise a child)." The leader of Lionhead Studios also spoke on the business side of indie game development, warning developers not to enter the 'spiral of doom': using payment from a contract for a new game to finish development of one already in production. From that article: "Another key point: 'Every game says something about your company', as it was noted: 'You're only as good as your last game' - the industry has a relatively short memory, and signing subsequent titles is vital to indie developers' livelihoods." Update: 10/05 21:43 GMT by Z : Whether or not it contains any of these experimental ideas, at least Microsoft now has its hands on some playable areas of Fable 2.

Over at Gamasutra, they have details on commentary by Peter Molyneux during the London Games Summit. Speaking in the grandiose, pie-in-the-sky manner he's become known for, Mr. Molyneux described some experimental gameplay ideas they're hoping might someday make it into Fable 2. From the article: "Elements of design that are changing from Fable's development to Fable 2's are what the players can purchase and own (wealth is likely to play a large part in Fable 2's characters); the responsiveness of and fantastical quality of combat (Fable 2 hopes to keep the combat more dramatic than realistic, but more responsive to objects and locations around the player); and the range of experience the player can have (Fable 2 is aiming to allow the main character to become pregnant, give birth, and raise a child)." The leader of Lionhead Studios also spoke on the business side of indie game development, warning developers not to enter the 'spiral of doom': using payment from a contract for a new game to finish development of one already in production. From that article: "Another key point: 'Every game says something about your company', as it was noted: 'You're only as good as your last game' - the industry has a relatively short memory, and signing subsequent titles is vital to indie developers' livelihoods." Update: 10/05 21:43 GMT by Z : Whether or not it contains any of these experimental ideas, at least Microsoft now has its hands on some playable areas of Fable 2.

simoniker writes "Wal-Mart game buyer Steve Perry discusses the U.S retail giant's approach to stocking both current-gen and next-gen consoles, including pricing, launch supply flow, and the availability of demo units for Wii and PlayStation 3. Perry also updates on what's been hot in Wal-Mart stores this summer: 'We've been really successful with Madden, that's been really good. NCAA has been great. Guitar Hero's been on fire. The new DS Lite, the colors came out a few weeks ago, those have done really well.'"

Gamasutra is covering comments made by Mark Rein, of Epic Games, at the GDC London event. He had some choice words on just about everything, slamming Sony's arrogance and Intel chips, showing off Gears of War while quieting detractors, and discussing the huge number of licensees for Epic's new engine. From the article: "Rein also commented on some of the most notable third-party Unreal Engine 3 titles from this year, from Bioshock through Mass Effect, but was particularly interested in Lost Odyssey, the Hironobu Sakaguchi-created Xbox 360 RPG. 'Lost Odyssey was a little lost for a while - it took the developers a little bit of time to find out how to use Unreal Engine 3,' said Rein. He noted the problem in getting Japanese developers to change their pipeline to UE3, but that it is something developers are getting much better at."

TechDock writes "Gamasutra reports that several Commodore 64 games will be emulated on the Wii's virtual console." From the article: "Although no specific titles were named, the only indications so far are of titles from now defunct U.S. developer Epyx, maker of the likes of Impossible Mission and the Summer/Winter/World/California Games series. Best known for their work on the 8-bit Commodore 64 home computer, Epyx also designed the prototype Lynx console for Atari as well as several of its games." I'm thinking we need Ghostbusters, Defenders of the Crown, Maniac Mansion, and (of course) Boulder Dash.

simoniker writes "In the follow-up to last month's popular 'Where's Our Merchant Ivory?' feature, The Designer's Notebook author Ernest Adams responds to the wealth of feedback submitted by further examining what a 'Highbrow Game' might be, and categorizing the potential audience for such a product." From the article: "Several people pointed out that much of what we see as high culture achieved that status because it's old. Longevity imbues a work of art with respectability regardless of its original purpose — and of course, time tends to weed out the inferior works. For every Mozart there are dozens of classical composers who went to their graves and are forgotten."

Gamasutra sits down with Manifesto Games co-founder Greg Costikyan to discuss how the revolution is coming along. They explore the group's business model, the retail market, and the dangers of GameTap. From the article: "They don't worry me, particularly; I'm skeptical that their business model is sustainable. But basically, my argument is that they can afford to offer so large a number of titles for a $10/month fee largely because the major publishers view older games as worthless, since they cannot be sold through conventional retail any longer, so they're willing to accept a small share of rental revenue. But I also believe that PC games, in particular, are going to move online in a big way over the next few years and will eventually disappear from game stores — PC games are responsible for just 6% of their revenues, and take up a lot more shelf space than that justifies." Mr. Costikyan further explores this last concept in a post on his site called, simply, Why GameTap is Evil.