It's a good thing EA tries to release its products to coincide with season openers and not the other way around, because we'd be waiting a long time for the NBA to start up again.
News Blips:
EA cancels NBA Elite 11 after its Canadian development team suffers layoffs. Sources say the company laid off as many as 100 employees at EA Canada, claimed to be a result of seasonal roll-offs following the launch of completed games. EA announced it would delay NBA Elite 11's release in September, but it confirmed yesterday during a post-earnings conference call that it would cancel the game. EA Tiburon will be handling will be handling any future development in the Elite series. You had to know things were bad when EA decided to sell NBA Jam separately despite originally planning to bundle it with NBA Elite 11 for free. [Gamespot]
Shinji Mikami, creator of the Resident Evil series, says his upcoming AAA title with Bethesda will be his last as director. Mikami said he convinced Bethesda's parent company, Zenimax Media, to buy his studio because he felt the company would offer the best match for his desired work style. "They gave us the most independent development environment to work with as we pursue our goal of producing Japanese games that work worldwide," Mikami said. "That, and their track record when it comes to overseas sales." He said he wants his first project with Bethesda to be his last as director so younger developers can have a chance to take the lead. "Knowing that, of course, makes me want to put all of my experience, my energy, and everything else I've got into this game." I wish more developers pushed themselves like this and had the foresight to make room for ambitious newcomers. [1UP]
Microsoft responds to independent developers upset that the new Xbox 360 Dashboard removes their games from the traditional games store tab. This week's update moved Xbox Live Indie Games to the Specialty Shops tab along with other channels like the Avatar Marketplace, and developers claim the move is negatively affecting their products. Microsoft representatives said the move was meant to bring focus to independent games and that placing them in the same area as the popular Avatar Marketplace would draw more potential customers. "In fact, since the launch of Avatars, Xbox Live members have made more than 290 million customizations to their Avatar's clothing, so we expect many people to regularly visit the Specialty Shops section," a representative said. They seem to be missing the point that when people are interested in buying games, they're most likely to look in the place with "games" in the title. [Eurogamer]
British retail chain HMV announces it will sell Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops for £7.99 (around $12 US) to customers trading in a copy of EA's Medal of Honor. The deal offers a £47 (around $75) discount from the recommended retail price of £54.99 (around $88), but it isn't the first time a British retailer aggressively markets a Call of Duty product. Last year, Sainsbury sold Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for less than half price at launch. I don't know if stores come out ahead by offering deals like this, but I wonder if Activision put HMV up to this just to put down Medal of Honor…. [MCV]
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