Jan 19, 2013

Too Human Wiped From Existence on Xbox Live

Kotaku

In November, a federal judge made the breathtaking order that all copies of Too Human had to be destroyed by its creator, Silicon Knights, as part of a $4 million judgment awarded to Epic Games in a nasty six-year suit-and-countersuit court battle between the two. We now see that this extended also to digital copies of the game, as anything associated with Too Human, an Xbox 360 exclusive, has been wiped from Xbox Live.

Eurogamer reports that it means not only the Too Human game itself has been purged from Xbox Live Games on Demand, but also its demo, any videos, pictures, themes, anything. Kaput. According to the terms of the judgment, Silicon Knights had to recall all of this stock—paying the costs of doing so—and report to the court and to Epic on Dec. 21 and Feb. 21 that it had complied with the order.

Lest you think this was entirely Epic's doing, remember that Silicon Knights itself brought the lawsuit that resulted in this judgment, a Matlock-esque reversal of fortune. When it went to court, Silicon Knights had alleged that Epic failed to provide a working game engine for Too Human, resulting in the years-long production delay that made the title an object of ridicule. Silicon Knights also charged that Epic withheld an improved version of the Unreal engine, and used licensing fees to, in bad faith, fund its development of Gears of War and not improve Unreal.

Epic, in turn, claimed Silicon Knights breached its license agreement, misappropriated Epic's trade secrets, and infringed Epic's copyrights in using Unreal Engine 3 code in Too Human. Guess who won.

If this isn't the end of Silicon Knights, it is at least a brain-rattling knockdown counterpunch to the studio, whose president and public face, Denis Dyack, was well known for committing the unpardonable sin of blaming the audience when Too Human thudded after its long overdue 2008 launch. Since then Silicon Knights, which Dyack once proudly exclaimed was one of the oldest developers still around, laid an egg with X-Men: Destiny and pared its employment roster down to a skeleton crew.

Considering the sneering popular reaction to any mention of Too Human, if Silicon Knights has any hope of survival it may be a blessing that this albatross of a flop of a game is being KGB'd from existence by court order.

Too Human and associated content pulled from Xbox marketplace [Eurogamer]

Jan 19, 2013

This Week in the Business: 'Nintendo will be Forced to Prematurely Lower the Wii U Price'

Kotaku

This Week in the Business: 'Nintendo will be Forced to Prematurely Lower the Wii U Price' What's happened in the business of video games this past week ...

QUOTE | "Nintendo will be forced to prematurely lower the Wii U price."—Colin Sebastian of RW Baird, talking with other analysts about Nintendo's lackluster performance in 2012 and whether the company should go platform-agnostic with its games.

QUOTE | "You can't have 18-34 year old men making games for every type of demographic."— Laura Naviaux, senior VP of global sales & marketing for Sony Online Entertainment, talking about why it's important to have more women in the game industry.

QUOTE | "This is a culture war, a clash not of scientific evidence but of firmly held beliefs, so rationality isn't invited."—Rob Fahey, former editor of GI.biz, talking about the debate over violent games and real-world violence.

STAT | $400—Possible price point for the next-gen PlayStation, Xbox consoles, according to Baird Equity Research; this compares to $399 for the Xbox 360 initially, and $499/$599 for the PS3 initial release.

QUOTE | "Traditional games have become bloated with too much that isn't really vital to the gameplay."—Steve Peterson, West Coast Editor for GamesIndustry International, talking about how game design should change for traditional game companies.

QUOTE | "A lot of companies enter this space without truly having a sense of fun."— Jamil Moledina, co-founder of new gaming company Wormhole Games, talking about what will distinguish their company's games.

STAT | 9.7 million—Number of daily active users for King.com's Candy Crush Saga, making it the #1 game on Facebook; this bumps Zynga from the top position it's held for several years.

QUOTE | "The last thing parents want to hear is denial and deflection from the people trying to sell their kids on gore and violence."—Brendan Sinclair, GamesIndustry International journalist, talking about how the industry should respond when called out about violent games.

STAT | 3 million—Number of units Guild Wars 2 has sold in under five months; this compares to 1 million units of Guild Wars sold in its first five months.

QUOTE | "It's always been a good idea to make a game for a niche."—Simon Roth, indie developer, talking about why niche games can be a good way to make a living.

STAT | $1.1 billion—Amount Sony just made by selling their US headquarters building in New York; Sony has not yet decided where they will move to in Manhattan.

QUOTE | "I'm calling it a gaming revolution."— Chris Taylor, designer of Dungeon Siege, talking about the advent of Kickstarter and how it lets developers work directly with customers on game design.

This Week in the Business courtesy of GamesIndustry International

(Image from Shutterstock)

Jan 19, 2013

The Moneysaver: Points of (Pre) Order

Kotaku

The Moneysaver: Points of (Pre) Order Microsoft Store has a preorder incentive that actually sounds useful, if you're looking to get any of the major releases on day one between now and whenever Grand Theft Auto V arrives. Green Man Gaming also is offering a 25 percent off coupon on pre-orders, though the selection is not as deep. These are among nearly 100 savings, values and bargains being offered inside this week's Moneysaver.

Software

Microsoft is offering 1600 Xbox 360 LIVE points (a $20 value) with the purchase of one of the following Xbox 360 pre-orders. All games are $59.99 with free shipping.
• Feb. 5 release Dead Space 3 Limited Edition
• Feb 19 release Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
• Feb. 26 release Bioshock Infinite
• Mar. 5 release South Park: The Stick of Truth
• Mar. 15 release Tomb Raider
• Mar. 19 release Crysis 3 Hunter Edition
• Mar. 26 release Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel
• Mar. 31 release Lost Planet 3
• Mar. 31 release Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
• Spring 2013 release Grand Theft Auto V

Green Man Gaming has a 20% off coupon on their site for most games on its site. It results in the only known discounts for two new DLC packs released earlier this week - Crusader Kings II: The Republic and Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. They also have several "Weekend Deals" with large instant savings that can be discounted further with the coupon.
• Released Monday Crusader Kings II: The Republic is $8 (list $10)
• Released Tuesday Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt is $8 (list $10)
• LEGO Lord of the Rings is $8.16 (next best $10)
• Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition is $8 (next best $40)
• Dead Rising 2: Off the Recordis $6 (next best $30)
• PID is $5.99 (list $10)
• Dead Rising 2 is $4, free shipping (next best $20)
• Unstoppable Gorg is $2 (next best $10)

Green Man Gaming extended their 25% off pre-order coupon, although they curtailed the list of eligible games. No more Sim City discount, but still many good pre-orders deals to be had.
• Jan. 22 release Dungeonland (PC download) is $7.50 (list $10)
• Jan. 22 release Rush Bros. (PC download) is $7.47 (next best $10)
• Jan. 23 release The Cave (PC download) is $11.25 (next best $15)
• Jan. 23 release The Sims 3: 70s, 80s & 90s Stuff Pack (PC download) is $16 (list $20)
• Jan. 23 release Strike Suit Zero (PC download) is $16 (list $20)
• Jan. 25 release DMC: Devil May Cry (PC download) + $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back is $37.50 (next best $50)
• Feb. 5 release Omerta: City of Gangsters (PC download) + $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back is $25.50 (list $40)
• Feb. 12 release Aliens: Colonial Marines (PC download) + $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back is $35 (next best $45)
• Mar. 5 release Tomb Raider (PC download) + $2 Credit or $1 Cash Back is $33.75 (next best $45)
• Mar. 5 release South Park: The Stick of Truth (PC download) + $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back is $45 (next best $49)
• Mar. 31 release Metro: Last Light (PC download) + $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back is $45 (next best $60)
• Apr. 23 release Dead Island Riptide (PC download) + $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back is $30 (list $40)
• Spring 2013 release Company of Heroes 2 (PC download) + $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back is $45 (list $60)

GameFly
• Dead Space and Dead Space 2 Bundle (PC download) is $7.99 (next best $26)
• Amazing Spider-Man (Pre-owned: PS3) is $17.99, free shipping (next best $51)
• London 2012 (Pre-owned: PS3) is $9.99, free shipping (next best $51)

Steam
• Magicka Collection (PC download) is $7.49 or if you want, the single game is $2.49

Best Buy
• DMC: Devil May Cry (360, PS3) is $59.99, free shipping but can be combo'd with Resident Evil 6 for $9.99 extra (separately $86). It's also available at Frys for $49.99 with $2.99 shipping.
• Madden NFL 13 (Wii U, 360, PS3) is $39.99, free shipping (next best $52)
• Forza Horizon (360) is $29.99, free shipping (next best $50)

Amazon
• Uncharted Dual Pack (PS3) is $25, free shipping (next best $28)
• Rocksmith (PC download) is $14.99 (list $30)
• Bit.Trip Saga (3DS) is $12.99 (next best $20)
• Penguins of Madagascar: Dr. Blowhole Returns Again! (DS) is $7.89 with $3.99 shipping (next best $16)
• Capcom Digital Collection (360) is $11.77 (next best $22)
• Pictionary: Ultimate Edition - uDraw (PS3) is $3 with $3.99 shipping (next best $10)
• Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover! (DS) is $6.70 (next best $18)

NewEgg
• Record of Agarest War Zero Limited Edition (360) is $19.99, free shipping (next best $25)
• Star Ocean: Last Hope International (PS3) is $16.99, free shipping (next best $37)
• Yakuza Dead Souls (PS3) is $14.99, free shipping (next best $23)
• Sorcery (PS3) is $9.99, free shipping (next best $19)

GameStop
• The Sims 3 Showtime Katy Perry Collector's Edition (PC download) is $15.99 (next best $40)
• The Sims Medieval (PC download) is $7.99 (next best $19)

Walmart
• Dreamcast Collection (360) is $9 with $1.97 shipping (next best $18)

Origin has a Battlefield 3 DLC Blowout sale. All expansions are $10 while weapons packs are as low as $2.

Hardware

• Sennheiser X320 Xbox 360 Gaming Headset is $82.49, free shipping from NewEgg. New low by $7. Next best is $122. [Dealzon]

• MSI GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB GDDR5 PCIe Video Card is $69.99 after rebate, free shipping from NewEgg. Cheapest ever by $24. Next best is $120. [Dealzon]

• Asus 24-inch VE247H 2ms LED Monitor is $149.99 after rebate, free shipping from Amazon. Next best is $175. [Dealzon]

• Alienware M18x revision 2 laptop with 18.4-inch 1080p display, Ivy Bridge Quad Core i7-3630QM, 2GB GeForce GTX 675M, 12GB RAM is $2,194.10, free shipping from Dell Home. New low by $35. List price is $2,549.

• Alienware M17x revision 4 laptop with Ivy Bridge Core i7-3630QM, 2GB AMD Radeon HD 7970M, 6GB RAM is $1,599, free shipping from Dell Home. New low by $50. List price is $1,699.

• Alienware M14x revision 2 laptop with Ivy Bridge Core i5-3210M 3rd Gen, 8GB RAM, 2GB GeForce GT 650M is $1,167.55, free shipping from Dell Home. New low by $61. List price is $1,229.

• Alienware Aurora Desktop with Quad Core i7-3820 Overclocked 4.2GHz, 4GB GeForce GTX 690 is $2,699.90, free shipping from Dell Home. New low by $199. List price is $3,294.

• Alienware X51 Slim Desktop with Quad Core i7-3770, GeForce GTX 660, Windows 8 is $1,079.10, free shipping from Dell Home. New low by $20. List price is $1,199.

• Dell XPS 8500 Desktop with Monitor Combo is now $999.99. Comes with Ivy Bridge Quad Core i7-3770, GeForce GT 640, 12GB RAM, Windows 8 + Dell UltraSharp U2410 24" Monitor. free shipping from Dell Home. List price is $1,569.

Digital Distribution

The following listing of digital download bargains are grouped by distributor. For more, see Deals4Downloads' roundup.

Adventure Shop
• Gray Matter is $9.99, save 50 percent.
• Black Mirror III is $9.99, save 50 percent.

Amazon
• You Don't Know Jack is $2.99, save 85 percent.
• EA Sports Classic Pack is $8.99, save 55 percent.
• Need for Speed: The Run is $8.99, save 55 percent.
• Rocksmith is $14.99, save 50 percent.
• Anno 2070 Deep Ocean is $14.99, save 50 percent.

Desura
• FAR - Future Aero Racing is $2.49, save 50 percent.
• Gas Guzzlers: Combat Carnage is $12.99, save 50 percent.

DotEmu
• Earth 2150 Trilogy is $3.00, save 50 percent.
• Gorky 17 is $3.00, save 50 percent.

GameFly
• Dead Space Bundle is $7.99, save 80 percent.

GamersGate
• Strategic War in Europe is $5.08, save 66 percent.
• Men of War: Collector Pack is $69.99, save 52 percent.
• Endless Space – Admiral Edition is $15.00, save 50 percent.
• Best of Tilted Mill is $24.95, save 50 percent.

Get Games
• Saints Row the Third – The Full Package is $12.49, save 75 percent.
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is $7.49, save 75 percent.

GMG
• Dead Rising 2 is $4.99, save 75 percent.
• Dead Rising 2: Off The Record is $7.49, save 75 percent.

GOG
• Realms of the Haunting is $2.39, save 60 percent.
• Guilty Gear X2 Reload is $2.39, save 60 percent.
• Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising is $2.39, save 60 percent.

GameStop
• The Sims 3 is $11.99, save 60 percent.
• The Sims Medieval is $7.99, save 60 percent.

iTunes Store
• Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer (iPhone) is $0.99, save 80 percent.
• Penny Arcade The Game: Gamers vs. Evil (iPhone) is $0.99, save 80 percent.

Mac App Store
• Gunship-II (Mac) is $2.99, save 57 percent.
• Farming Simulator 2011 (Mac) is $10.99, save 50 percent.
• Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (Mac) is $7.99, save 47 percent.

Steam
• Magicka is $2.49, save 75 percent + Free Weekend.
• Magicka: Vietnam is $1.24, save 75 percent.
• Anno 2070 is $19.99, save 60 percent.

Ubisoft
• Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes is $3.75, save 75 percent.
• Might and Magic Heroes VI Gold Edition is $16.00, save 60 percent.

Kotaku thanks our coupon partners for providing these and other great deals. As always, smart gamers can find values any day of the week, so if you've run across a deal, share it with us in the comments.

For more savings, follow Dealzon and Deals4Downloads on Twitter.

Jan 18, 2013

The Best Of Kotaku, This Week

Kotaku

The Best Of Kotaku, This Week Welcome to the Best of Kotaku, where I round up all of this week's best content.

Look at BMO up there. So happy amongst his brethren (actually BMO is genderless as far as I know). The picture was made for Game & Graphics' new BMO shirt.

Now let's move on to reading this week's best content, courtesy of us.