Archive for August, 2008

1. Have Atari and Codemasters gone mad?

   August 22, 2008

   Earlier this week, Codemasters and Atari, among others, launched an unprecedented legal assault on their customers. In a bizarre move, the firms, together with Topware Interactive, Reality Pump and Techland, have appointed Davenport Lyons to serve notice on 25,000 UK residents, threatening to take them to court unless the cough up £300 each.

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   Posted in: Featured, Opinion

   Tagged with: atari, codemasters, copyright, legal, piracy, starred, topware

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2. Is Firefox going to win?

   August 22, 2008

   I’ve been researching browser usage on the web. And the results make scary reading for Microsoft. The chart below shows browser usage stats taking from w3schools.com. This will flatter Firefox, as w3schools visitors are web-savvy, often web developers, and are much more likely than the general population to download a new browser. Other sites put [...]

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   Posted in: Sandbox

   Tagged with: browsers, firefox, internet explorer, microsoft

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3. NCSoft cuts 21 posts from Austin Studio

   August 14, 2008

   After rumours that NCSoft was going to shut down the entire studio, the company has issued a statement that 21 jobs will be lost at NCSoft Austin. The main areas affected are some products which were in prototype and reduction in the Dragon Runners team.    

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: job loss tracker, ncsoft, redundancies

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4. Radical Entertainment makes half its staff redundant

   August 13, 2008

   Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment has made 100 staff redundant. The 100 layoffs, representing approximately half the studio’s staff, are part of the headcount reduction at Activision-Blizzard following the recent merger. Added to the Job Loss Tracker.

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: activision, job loss tracker, layoffs, radical entertainment, redundancies

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5. High Moon makes 60 layoffs

   August 12, 2008

   As part of the rationalisation of projects following the Activision-Blizzard merger, up to 60 staff have been made redundant at High Moon Studios. The company, which recently released a title based on The Bourne Supremacy, has 150 staff. It was acquired by Vivendi Games in January 2005. Added to the Job Loss Tracker.

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: high moon, job loss tracker, layoffs, redundancies

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6. Google to make getting ads in your games simple

   August 12, 2008

   Venturebeat reports that Google is nearing a release of its in-game advertising platform. This is fantastic news. Google is the master at making setting up and installing revenuie-generating code in your websites simple – I’ve used Adsense for the web in many locations, and putting it in place is simplicity itself: you paste the code [...]

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   Posted in: Sales

   Tagged with: adsense, advertising, casual games, google, monetisation

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7. Midway cans project, cuts 10% of staff

   August 11, 2008

   Midway today announced that it would can an unannounced project at its Austen studio. 90 jobs out of 130 at the studio, representing 10% of the global workforce, are to go. Added to the GameOverZone.

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: job loss tracker, midway, redundancies

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