Archive for November, 2008

1. Eidos launches Tomb Raider Underworld, gets PR team to massage Metacritic scores

   November 27, 2008

   I blogged earlier in the year about the dangers Eidos was running by launching Tomb Raider Underworld so close to Thanksgiving: the late release date gave no room for slippage and ran the risk that it would squeeze out a poor quality game, or see its pillar title miss the crucial Christmas sales period. OK, [...]

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   Posted in: Featured, Marketing

   Tagged with: censorship, eidos, press manipulation, reviews, shameful

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2. Lycos Europe to close

   November 27, 2008

   Lycos Europe is going to shut down at the end of 2008. It’s a sad day for me personally, because I was the equity research analyst who worked on the IPO of Lycos at the height of the boom. Lycos Europe listed in Frankfurt in a heavily oversubscribed public offering that valued the company at [...]

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: closures, internet, lycos europe, online

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3. FiveMinuteMystery – a pirate tale

   November 26, 2008

   www.5minutemystery.com is a new website launched last month and profiled by TechCrunch. It’s a pretty low-tech game. Every day, a 1,200 word mystery appears in your inbox. There are four or five suspects, one guilty party and the text contains clues that exonerate or incriminate. Users log in, identify who they think are guilty and [...]

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   Posted in: Sandbox

   Tagged with: casual games, pirates, writing

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4. MMO Gold-farming comes of age

   November 26, 2008

   Two recent stories have demonstrated how the real-world economies of massively-multiplayer online games are thriving. TechCrunch reports that Playspan has raised $16.8 million to expand its virtual goods marketplace. The money came from existing investors including Easton Capital Group, Menlo Ventures, Novel TMT Ventures, and STIC.

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   Posted in: Sandbox

   Tagged with: china, chris deering, investment, playspan, taxation, virtual economies, virtual money

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5. Gearbox cuts 25 jobs amidst rumours of cancellation of Aliens: Colonial Marines

   November 21, 2008

   Shacknews reports that Gearbox has made up to 26 staff redundant, following rumours that Sega has cancelled Aliens: Colonial Marines. CEO Randy Pitchford has subsequently stated that to say it has “halted” is an “inaccurate characterization.” 26 jobs added to the Job Loss Tracker.

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: gearbox, job loss tracker, layoffs, redundancies

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6. Pepsi launches a 3D casual game that doesn’t require a plugin

   November 17, 2008

   Casualgaming.biz reports that Pepsi Sweden has launched a 3D music game to promote Pepsi. It’s a 3D flash game that allows you to play the guitar like a rock god (or not, in my case), and the game is both simple and addictive. The makers claim that it doesn’t need a plugin. I think they [...]

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   Posted in: Sandbox

   Tagged with: advertising, browser games, browsers, casual games, pepsi

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7. Brash Entertainment ceases trading

   November 13, 2008

   Variety is reporting that Brash Entertainment is to cease trading tomorrow. The news follows 20 layoffs last week and the critical and commercial failure of the three games that the company has released: Alvin and the Chipmunks, Jumper and Space Chimps. Added to the GameOverZone.

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: brash entertainment, closures, job loss tracker, layoffs, redundancies

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