The epic conflict doggedly continues between modern military shooters Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3. Sorry, did I say epic conflict? I meant nerdy slap fight.
News Blips:
Sledgehammer Games co-founder Glen Schofield thinks Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's 60 frames per second gives a "competitive edge." In an interview with AusGamers, the former Visceral Games (Dead Space) general manager boasted that the re-vamped MW3 engine brings more than enough firepower against BF3's mighty Frostbite 2.0 graphics workhorse. "We put a whole new audio system in, and it is as competitive as anybody out there," he said. "You can go out and name your engine and call it whatever you want, right. You know, I've done that before; I've seen that trick and the bottom line is, [MW3] will run at 60 frames a second. Not sure any of our competitors will." Or, Sledgehammer could focus on delivering a stronger single-player experience outside of an elaborately theatrical tutorial for the multiplayer. But that's just crazy talk. Battlefield 3 plans an invasion of your PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 on October 25; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 follows closely behind with a November 8 release for the same platforms.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Director Todd Howard prefers using the Xbox 360 for demonstrating the game. "I don't know if people realize," Howard told AusGamers, "But as a game developer, the 360 is just much easier to show it on, from getting it started, to showing it, to controlling it; it's just much easier to demo on logistically." Before PC gamers presumably gathered enough flaming keyboards to catapult into Howard's office in fury, he explained his methods as a simple matter of perception, saying, "Obviously the PC version looks better. It has higher textures, it can run much higher resolution, and a lot more graphical features. We tend to show it on 360 so that it’s a good baseline for people to look at. So when they then see the PC version it’s going to go up. We’d rather do that than have people see the 360 later and it takes a step down." The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is slated for a November 11 release on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.
Interplay claims Bethesda has known for years of a Fallout massively multiplayer online game using existing elements from the series. In a court filing last week, Interplay argued that it conversed with Bethesda as early as 2007 regarding licensing elements of the Fallout universe for the legally embroiled MMOG. "For at least four years, Bethesda has known that Interplay interpreted its right to create the Fallout-branded MMOG to include copyrighted content from the Fallout universe in order to make the MMOG a recognizable game," the filing reads. "Bethesda never objected and did not seek an injunction because it knew Interplay was doing exactly what the parties intended under their agreements." [Gamasutra]
Analyst firm Interpret believes Nintendo's launch of its 3DS handheld resulted in poor consumer interest. "The lack of sales for the 3DS does not reflect the overall interest in 3D gaming," said Interpret Games and Technology Vice President Michael Cai. "Instead, it illustrates that Nintendo put the cart before the horse; that is, they released the hardware without the necessary software to engender robust sales. Our data shows that gamers want the Nintendo franchise games — Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, etc — but without them, the 3DS will continue to flounder." Interpret's Q1 2011 3D Entertainment report states that "Nintendo has yet to capitalize on the earlier anticipation for its 3DS handheld gaming device." [IndustryGamers]
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