Let the lawsuits fly!

Last January, Gibson Guitar Inc., a leading guitar manufacturer, issued a letter to Activision Inc. stating that their Guitar Hero video games infringe on one of Gibson’s many patents. 

According to Gibson, the games which make players press buttons on a guitar-shaped controller in sync with notes on a TV screen violates a patent filed in 1999.  The patent in question shows how to combine a musical instrument, 3D headset with stereo speakers and a pre-recorded concert to simulate a live musical performance.  Because of this, Gibson is now demanding that Activision should obtain a license from them.

Activision isn’t taking chances.  Yesterday, they filed a lawsuit requesting the U.S. District Court for Central California to declare Gibson’s patent invalid and to prevent it from seeking damages.  A copy of the letter sent by Gibson has been included in Activision’s lawsuit.

In a comment from Activision’s general counsel, George Rose, Activision isn’t doing this out of spite.  According to him, “Gibson is a good partner, and we have a great deal of respect for them. We disagree with the applicability of their patent and would like a legal determination on this.” 

Activision maintains that its games did not infringe on Gibson’s patent.  In addition to that, they claim that by waiting for three years before raising its claim, Gibson had granted an implied license for the technology.

[Source: Reuters]

Microsoft squashed rumors of a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360 today with a statement at Reuters.  According to group product manager for Xbox 360, Aaron Greenberg, “Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience.”

So it seems like those HD DVD Xbox 360 drives will hold some value for now.  However, the keyword here is “currently.”  Even if they don’t incorporate this now, there is no way of telling if they will do in the near future.  Given that HD DVD is essentially dead, it makes sense to do it.

In the meantime, Microsoft stopped making HD DVD drives for the Xbox, and has now focused on the Xbox Live.  The service already lets users rent hundreds of movies, including ones in high-definition.  “We’re the only console offering digital distribution of entertainment content,” Greenberg said.

[Source: Reuters]

Take-Two is in trouble again.  Last Friday, Take-Two shareholder Patrick Solomon filed a lawsuit alleging that Take-Two’s “outright rejection of EA’s offers and failure to negotiate” are a failure to “reasonably respond” and “maximize shareholder value.  According to him, the buyout offer was also initially kept secret in order to benefit executives.

ZelnickMedia partners Strauss Zelnick and Benjamin Feder were specifically named on the lawsuit, citing steps that they took that would give Zelnick and his partners a bonus in the event of a buy-out.

Take-Two has released a statement claiming the lawsuit “lacks merit” and that they intend to “defend vigorously against them.”

A few months ago, movie executives blamed poor box office sales to the release of Bungie’s popular first person shooter Halo 3.  Now, they are predicting the same to happen on the release of Rockstar’s heavily anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto IV.

According to Mike Hickey, one of the analysts who concluded the poor movie sales was partly Halo 3’s fault:

We anticipate the video game release of GTA IV on April 29 could dampen the potential from Iron Man’s theatrical release on May 2,” Hickey said in a Wednesday note regarding Marvel Entertainment stock.

The last significant video game release, Halo 3, generated over $300 million in sales from its first week in the market,” he added. “Halo 3 was released on just one platform, the Xbox 360, and attached nearly 50 percent of the installed base. GTA IV will be released on both the Xbox 360 and PS3, which have both significantly increased their installed bases since the release of Halo 3. A GTA IV 25 percent attach rate to a combined Xbox 360 and PS3 installed base at its April 29 release would imply 5.8 million units sold or roughly $360 million in retail sales the first week of the game’s release.

Possibly true, but this time, it could be different.  When Halo 3 was released, most of the silver screen’s offerings where pretty much crap.  Now we have some really potentially great movies coming at the same time.  Iron Man is one of them.  It has a strong following even amongst gamers.  If the movie is good, expect sales to be just the same whether or not GTA IV was there.

For a while now, Star Trek Online seemed to have no future.  It’s developer, Perpetual Entertainment closed down some time ago consigning the project into what seemed like oblivion.  A glimmer of hope has now appeared for all those Trekkies out there.  The site has now relaunched with a promise of news coming soon!

It has not been verified but there are rumors that Cryptic Studios has taken over the development of this MMO.  However based on the relaunch of the site, the game seems like it will push through after all. 

As a Star Trek fan, a chance to get into the universe Gene Roddenberry created makes me all giddy with excitement.  And if the game looks like the old screen shots from the old site then it really is something to look forward to. 

Stay tuned for more news on this game!

[Sources: Hailing Frequency, Star Trek Online Site]

Despite a $38 million loss in 2008’s first fiscal quarter, Take-Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick is a happy man.  According to him, it could have been worse and that he was pleased with the result.  Yeah it could have been worse, but I don’t know whether or not to admire his optimism, $38 million bucks isn’t pocket change.

The good news is Bioshock 2 has been confirmed.  Well it really is no surprise.  Everyone was kinda expecting it.  Any game that has received multiple “Game of the Year” awards and sold two million copies is most likely to get a sequel. 

There are no details released about the game, however some rumors are spreading it will be a prequel.  It is scheduled to be released in the final quarter of 2009.

Another game that is now scheduled for 2009 is the sci-fi FPS/RPG hybrid, Borderlands.  Yes that is definitely a long delay.  The reason?  According to Take-Two, the decision to move the release date was done “in order to allow additional development time for this highly anticipated game and provide a better balance in the release of Take-Two’s triple-A titles.” 

Triple-A title?  Yeah its most likely GTA IV.  Basically Take-Two won’t risk ruining the sales of their own games due to another one of their own games.  A wise decision granted that GTA IV lives up to be the blockbuster we are all expecting it to be.

The next-gen format war may be over but the console wars is still raging hot.  Microsoft has decided to get a firmer grasp of the European market by imposing a price cut for all Xbox 360 SKUs in Europe effective on Friday, March 14, 2008. 

The Arcade pack will have a MSRP of only £159.99 (down from £199.99), the Premium pack will be £199.99 (down from £259.99), and the Elite pack will be £259.99 (down from £299.99).

With the price cuts, the Arcade version will be the cheapest next-gen console in Europe.  It is so cheap that it will even beat the Wii which at £179.99 was the cheapest next-gen console since it launched in December 2006. 

Microsoft hopes the move will further increase console sales in the region.  According to their Interactive Entertainment Business Europe’s VP, Chris Lewis, “History shows that £159.99 is the price point where a console’s audience begins to expand, and with these new ERPs in place we’re ready to bring more consumers into the Xbox 360 world.”

The company claims that the 360 is the number one next-gen console in Europe, the Middle East and Africa where it holds a 42% stake in the market “in terms of life-to date revenue.”  They also boast a high game sales per console number with seven games sold per Xbox compared to 3.5 for the Wii and 3.8 for the PlayStation 3.

It has been a long wait, but finally, Blizzard has shed some light on the Zerg faction of the uber-anticipated strategy game Starcraft 2.  The new game definitely gives new meaning to the “Zerg rush!”  Here’s some gameplay footage (courtesy of ThisIsGame.com):

Judging from that video, it seems that the old strategy of winning in numbers has not changed for the Zerg.  The huge numbers may be exciting for Zerg fans but its downright scary for me, a Protoss player.  I can only imagine how much more micro-management it will take for the Terran players!

You can see some familiar units there such as the swarm-like Zergling and the fearsome Ultralisks but did you know almost all of them are new or have new abilities?  Check out the Zerg Fact Sheet below if you want to know more.  (more…)

I’ve been away for a long, long time. A BIG, BIG, BIG project required an ungodly period for PLOWING.

Yes, PLOWING…

I feel like a jaded ox after a long day’s work. Ugh.

Anyway, what kept me sane was this game.

I’m a huge RPG nutbag but the whole formula of hero, slay monsters using uninspired battle system, farm, farm, farm, loot, craft, farm, random encounters… ISSSS getting a little too stale for my taste.

In comes Puzzle Quest, a unique puzzle-rpg hybrid that totally blurs the line between genres. The story is simple: A huge bad-boy by the name of Lord Bane is threatening the land of Etheria and you, the ever-so-gullible hero, set out to gather allies, forge weapons, train epic mounts to reach that climactic Washowski-ly epic final battle.

So yeah, I got this for the Wii first (how I wish I had a DS or a 360 for the better version but what can I do?) and after 15 hours or so, I still can’t pry that Wiimote out of my nerd fingers.

I can’t remember the last time I left such a dent on my beanbag. Yum.

Imagine my glee when I found out that this game is available on the PC.

Better graphics.

Easier controls (the Wiimote is a bit too clunky for me, really)

AAAAAAAAAAANDDDD I get to use YM while playing

Win.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GAME. THIS IS THE DELEORAN OF GAMING.

Before you know it, it’s already tomorrow.

Oh yeah! And Mario Batali will look phater than ever if he joins the roster.

Set to be out not only for the Wii but for the DS too, Iron Chef will surely be a worthy opponent for Cooking Mama. And although it’s still unclear what style the game will use or who will participate in the game, Destineer (the game’s developer) CEO Paul Rinde has a few things to share:

“If the early buzz surrounding the game is any indication, then fans of the show and Nintendo owners are as excited as we are to be developing Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine…With their innovative control dynamics, Wii and DS are the ideal system for the inaugural Iron Chef video game and believe the ultimate ‘secret ingredient’ to these games will be family fun.”

W-h J: Dang I can’t wait to battle it out with my favorite chefs! I wonder if I’ll do well against Ming Tsai if the theme is Steamed Dumplings.

Via Gaming Today