Feb 2, 2013

MLB 2K13 Actually Has Some Marketing, Sort Of

Kotaku

In January, 2K Sports shocked sports video gaming with the announcement that it would, in fact, make Major League Baseball 2K13 this year. The label's prior license with MLB expired at the end of 2012, and no one expected it to be renewed. Of course, it's not like any other publisher was building an MLB-licensed video game in the meantime, which left the National Pastime in the awkward position of not releasing at all on the Xbox 360 this year.

So everyone assumed the two sides re-upped just to plant the flag one last year on this console generation and move on, and given the lack of marketing communication I have seen about MLB 2K13, that would seem to be a correct appraisal. All of one (1) screenshot for the upcoming game exists, and from the description of the feature set it sounds like you'll be getting an updated roster, the Houston Astros in a new division, and little else. I'll also be very interested to see what soundtrack the game has, if it has any.

What 2K Sports says, or doesn't say, about this game in the runup to its March 5 release will speak to what we may expect from it. And here is, so far, the only hype video for the game. 2K did get the reigning American League Cy Young winner, David Price, but I doubt he cost very much. The game went to the Tampa Bay Rays for a cover star in 2010, coming off the stinging disappointment of MLB 2K9.

The other two players in this video are Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and C.J. Wilson of the Los Angeles Angels. But it's strange that the video is hosted by Fox Sports' YouTube account and not 2K's.

Feb 2, 2013

Minecraft Creator Made $101 Million Last Year, May Buy a Car With It

Kotaku

Minecraft Creator Made $101 Million Last Year, May Buy a Car With It In 2012, Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson took home 640 million kronor—$101 million US—in licensing fees for the game, according to a report in the Swedish financial press. What's he going to do with that kind of money? Well, he tells Reddit, he may finally get a car.

"It's weird as fuck," he said, in a comment on r/games. "I grew up in a relatively poor family, but once I got a decent job, I never really had to worry about money. My hobbies were playing games and programming, so there wasn't any real drain. I could eat out when I wanted to, and go to the movies without having to save up for it. I still had to save up for trips and to be able to buy computers or consoles, but that just felt normal.

"Now, all of the sudden, as a result of how modern society works, I managed to somehow earn a shit-ton of money. I still like playing games and programming, and once I had the latest computer and consoles, there really isn't much more to spend the money on than traveling. I might eventually get a driver's license so I can buy a car."

After setting aside money to "make sure my family is comfortable," and spending some on "living out your dreams," Notch plans to make charitable donations, listing children's causes and information freedom among the ones getting his attention. He walks the walk, too. He's already given $250,000 to the cause of reforming software patents, and last year he gave the $3 million in Mojang dividends he earned back to its employees.

Notch earned $101 million USD from Minecraft in 2012 [Reddit]

Feb 2, 2013

Record Smashed as Arsenal Beat Spurs 190-Nil

Kotaku

Guinness and video games have made quite a partnership over the years, to the point where many of their honours now sound more like adverts. (Yes, I'm deliberately writing in UK English here.) Here, however, is one that harkens back to Guinness' old-school marathon and milestone roots: Shattering the record for margin of victory in a match of FIFA on the Xbox 360, which stood at 110 goals.

The previous record holder was not named, but if it's in FIFA 13, of course, that mark was set sometime since September. Taking it down in this video here is FIFA expert KSIOlajidebt (last seen apologising for the sexual harrassment of booth babes at Eurogamer Expo.)

As an open record, KSI was given his choice of gameplay settings and sides in the match, and chose to play Arsenal against Tottenham Hotspur. Not surprisingly, he put it on Amateur difficulty (the lowest) and gave himself 20-minute halves. I'm also guessing KSI drove all the gameplay sliders for the CPU down to about zero and his up to maximum, though if he did, that is not shown.

Of course, since Guinness is are showing this, we know KSI made the record. Spoiler alert: He scored 190 goals against an utterly hapless Tottenham side, an impressive if incredibly unsporting result. (A score of 190 would beat both teams in the NBA's highest scoring contest ever.) I appreciate how he feigns surprise at being told the final score, as if it wasn't staring at it on the screen throughout what appears to be a very extended stoppage time.

Fun fact: Tottenham Hotspur is the favoured side of Matt Bilbey, the vice president of football at EA Sports.

Feb 2, 2013

Proteus' Creator Defends His Game—as a Game

Proteus

Proteus, which went on sale on Steam on Wednesday, is the latest art piece to kick up a fuss over whether something deserves to call itself a game. Twitter's self-appointed video game cop has weighed in on the discussion, as have thousands of his deputies in message boards and comments. Now one of Proteus' creators has his say.

"I find this rather burdensome to write," begins Ed Key, who made the game with David Kanaga, and I feel his pain, even though I don't have much interest in his game. Key is responding to this piece on Gamasutra, which said, "It's currently not cool at all to say that you didn't enjoy Proteus, or to even hint at the idea that this isn't one of the most important video game releases of the here and now ."

Speaking as a member of the games-writing cabal, I didn't get that memo. But if we're going straw-man here, then I'm going to say this is a basically stupid slapfight perpetuated by the idea that everything in video gaming is a zero-sum proposition, and that the existence of a game one doesn't approve of deprives more meritorious games of praise, attention, money or whatever.

Back to Key. "I don't call Proteus an antigame or a notgame," he said, "I call it a game, but obviously I am at pains to make it clear that it doesn't have explicit challenge or "winning." Key points out that SimCity or The Sims also have been said, by some, to be "not games."

"Proteus doesn't have or even aspire to the same systemic complexity as SimCity, but it does have systems," Key says. "It's just 95 percent optional whether you engage with them and it generally doesn't give you any confirmation when you do. There's a design reason for this."

There seems to be a larger reason that it's worth standing up to this navel-gazing game/notgame argument. "Outside of academic discussions, encouraging a strict definition of "game" does nothing but foster conservatism and defensiveness in a culture already notorious for both," Key says. Amen. But this is video gaming, where everyone feels the instant and constant need to express their disappointment in something they never had any intention of playing.

What Are Game [Ed Key, Proteus]

Feb 2, 2013

This Week in the Business: "We know we've got a fast boat. We just don't know how deep the water is right now."

Kotaku

This Week in the Business: "We know we've got a fast boat. We just don't know how deep the water is right now." What's happened in the business of video games this past week ...

QUOTE | "Wii U has failed to capture consumer imagination."—Rob Fahey, former editor of GI.biz, talking about Wii U's problems but ultimately why there's no need to worry about Nintendo. UPDATE: Fahey also wrote: "Sentiment is negative right now, but fundamentals aren't, and for a business like Nintendo, it's the latter that counts."

QUOTE | "We wanted the violence to come with regret and consequence, so you couldn't always feel good about it."—Kevin Boyle, executive producer of The Walking Dead, talking about the decisions they made in designing the hit game.

STAT | $137.5 Million. —Estimated development cost of Grand Theft Auto V, according to analyst Arvind Bhatia;marketing costs will add up to another $109 million, but the game should make $200 million profit or more.

QUOTE | "I decided I couldn't do it anymore."—Vander Caballero, designer of Army of Two, explaining why he stopped designing violent games, in a discussion with other designers about games and violence.

QUOTE | "We know we've got a fast boat. We just don't know how deep the water is right now."—EA's CEO John Riccitiello, talking about why EA is uncertain about how well the game industry will do this quarter.

QUOTE | "Nintendo's chance to attract third-party development dollars is rapidly vanishing along with the Wii U's sales momentum."—Steve Peterson, West Coast editor for GamesIndustry International, talking about what Nintendo can do to revive its sales.

QUOTE | "The community is awesome; their enthusiasm is infectious and occasionally scary."—David Baumgart, CCO of Gaslamp Games, talking about the fans of the still popular Rogue-like games.

STAT | $237.7 million—Amount of money Minecraft developer Mojang made in 2012, according to a Swedish author following the company to write a book;pre-tax profits were $92 million.

QUOTE | "Relic could be the catalyst for one of the most remarkable transformations in memory: Sega, the new cutting edge of strategy gaming."—Matthew Handrahan, journalist for GamesIndustry International, talking with other journalists about what THQ's breakup might mean.

QUOTE | "The CrossFire FPS game is a $100 million per month, which underscores how big the potential market is for FPS."—Greg Richardson, CEO of Rumble Entertainment, talking about why their first third-party game is Ballistic, a Facebook and browser-based FPS.

STAT | $180 million—Amount of revenue Kabam made in 2012;the company grew 70% from its previous year.

STAT | 3.5—Amount you have to multiply Android game revenues in order to reach iOS game revenues, according to analytics firm App Annie; the highest-grossing game in December was Clash of Clans.

This Week in the Business courtesy of GamesIndustry International

(Image from Shutterstock)

NOTE: This story's original headline—" 'Wii U Has Failed to Capture Consumer Imagination'"—has been changed, as it did not properly convey the intent or context of the article it was pulled from. While this is part of a recurring series of guest pieces—with headlines suggested by our guest contributors—we should have caught this one. Apologies for the misleading headline. —Stephen Totilo, Editor-in-Chief

Feb 2, 2013

The Moneysaver: Send in the Marines

Kotaku

The Moneysaver: Send in the Marines Kotaku's twice weekly roundup of the best discounts, combinations, offers and incentives in video gaming is brought to you by Dealzon.

Software

Green Man Gaming has a new coupon and some strong pre-order bonuses that produce these deals. New low on Aliens: Colonial Marines Season Pass.
• Yesterday's release Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed is $22.50 (list $30)
• Feb. 5 release Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn (PC DLC) is $15.99 (list $20)
• Feb. 12 release Aliens: Colonial Marines is $37.50 (next best $45)
• Feb. 12 release Aliens: Colonial Marines Season Pass (PC DLC) is $20.25 (next best $27)
• Apr. 23 release Dead Island Riptide is $30 and comes with a $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back (list $40)
• Feb. 26 release BioShock Infinite comes with a $17 Credit or $10 Cash Back is $59.99
• Mar. 5 release Tomb Raider comes with a $15 Credit or $10 Cash Back is $44.99
• DMC: Devil May Cry is $37.50 and comes with a $3 Credit or $2 Cash Back (next best $50)
• The Cave is $11.25 (next best $15)
• Awesomenauts is $4.99 (list $10)

Green Man Gaming has up to 75 percent off most Square Enix games on their site. Below are some of the strongest offers, although none are at their absolute lowest-ever prices.
• American Mensa Academy is $9.99 (list $20)
• Dungeon Siege 3 is $9.99 (next best $15)
• Tomb Raider: Anniversary is $7.49 (list $15)
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution – The Missing Link is $7.49 (next best $15)
• Battlestations: Midway is $7.49 (list $15)
• Battlestations: Pacific is $7.49 (list $15)
• Quantum Conundrum is $7.49 (next best $15)
• Mini Ninjas is $7.49 (next best $13)
• Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days is $7.49 (list $15)
• Supreme Commander 2 is $7.49 (list $15)
• Front Mission Evolved is $6.49 (list $13)
• Just Cause is $6.49 (list $13)
• Gyromancer is $6.49 (list $13)
• Scarygirl is $4.99 (next best $10)
• Order of War is $4.99 (list $10)
• Yosumin! is $4.99 (list $10)
• Hitman: Blood Money is $4.97 (next best $10)
• Project Snowblind is $3.99 (list $8)

Amazon PC digital bundles
• Settlers Bundle is $15.99 (5 downloads, separaetly $85)
• Microsoft 5-Game Arcade/Indie Pack is $9.99 (5 downloads, separately $17)
• Microsoft Fable Bundle is $9.99 (2 downloads, separately $60)

Amazon console games
• Catherine (360) is $17.75 (next best $30)

Indie Royale has an Evolved Bundle of PC downloads where paying more than the average lowers the price for others and paying less raises it. At time of writing, the basic bundle average is $5.39. Just the games alone in the bundle would otherwise cost $52. Below are the included downloads.
• Unmechanical
• The Path
• Krater
• Sugar Cube: Bittersweet Factory
• OIO
• The Path OST
• Krater DLC
• Sugar Cube: Bittersweet Factory OST
Pay $8 or more to also receive the Slipstream album by CoLD SToRAGE.

GameFly PC downloads
• Assassin's Creed Collection is $62.99 (next best $124)
• Assassin's Creed Revelations is $10.20 (next best $24)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is $4.99 (next best $15)
• Assassin's Creed 2 is $4.99 (next best $15)

GameFly pre-owned games for 360 & PS3
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier is $14.99, free shipping (next best $25)
• Prototype 2 is $14.99, free shipping (next best $29)
• Max Payne 3 is $14.99, free shipping (next best $30)

Origin offers 30 percent or more off new EA sports games for 360, PS3, Wii, and Wii U. The sale includes the following titles:
• Madden NFL 13 (360, PS3, Wii, Wii U)
• NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3)
• EA Sports FIFA Street (360, PS3)
• FIFA Soccer 13 (360, PS3, Wii, Wii U)
• NHL 13 (360, PS3)
• NHL 13: Stanley Cup Collector's Edition (360, PS3)

Groupon
• Rise of the Guardians: Video Game (360, PS3) is $25, free shipping (next best $40)

Best Buy
• Buy 2 Games, Get a 3rd FREE (360, PS3, Wii) - choose from 87 games
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Wii U) is $29.99, free shipping (Amazon is price matching, elsewhere $48)

Walmart
• Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii) is $10 with $1.97 shipping (next best $20)

NewEgg
• Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (3DS) is $10.99, free shipping (next best $17)

IndieGameStand
• Pay what you want for Vitrum at IndieGameStand (PC download)

GameStop
• Hotline Miami (PC download) is $4.99 (next best $10)

GetGamesGo.com is offering up to 75 percent off Total War PC download collections.
• Empire: Total War Collection for $7.49
• Medieval II: Total War Collection for $4.99
• Napoleon: Total War Collection for $7.49
• Rome: Total War Collection for $3.24
• Total War Grand Master Collection for $56.09
• Total War Master Collection for $22.49
• Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai Collection for $13.59
• Total War: Shogun 2 Collection for $12.49

Hardware

• Last day for Xbox 360 Live 12-Month Gold Membership Card at $34.99 from Best Buy. Amazon is matching. But it seems like the new standard sale price because rumor has it that there will be another $34.99 deal starting Sunday on eBay deals. [Dealzon]

• PlayStation 3 250GB Bundle with Need for Speed Most Wanted, Burnout Paradise, and Gran Turismo 5 XL is $299.99 from NewEgg. Next best is $320. [Dealzon]

• PS3 Slim 250GB Family Entertainment Bundle with PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Ratchet and Clank Collection, and remote is $279.99, free shipping and it comes with a $20 instant video credit from Amazon. List price is $400. [Dealzon]

• Xbox 360 4GB Slim Console for $199.99, free shipping, comes with a $50 gift card from Best Buy. [Dealzon]

• Insignia 20-inch NS-20EM50A13 5ms LED Monitor is $79.99, free shipping from Best Buy. New low by $5. Next best is $105. [Dealzon]

• Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15-inch 1080p gaming laptop with Ivy Bridge Core i7-3632QM, 8GB RAM, GeForce GT650M, Windows 8 is $849, free shipping from Lenovo. List price is $1,299.

• Lenovo H520s desktop with Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770, 8GB RAM, GeForce GT630, and Blu-ray is $729, free shipping from Lenovo. New low by $70. List price is $999.

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 on Twitter.