EA not developing any more games for Wii U
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EA has confirmed what was already apparent from its release schedule: the publishing giant is no longer making games for Nintendo's Wii U console.
"We have no games in development for the Wii U currently," EA spokesperson Jeff Brown told Kotaku.
The platform was conspicuously absent from the announcements of upcoming EA games including Battlefield 4, Madden NFL 25 and FIFA 14.
With EA having just inked a deal with Disney to develop Star Wars games, the publisher's position could see Nintendo's console missing some key third-party franchises.
However, Brown said EA hasn't ruled out developing for Wii U again in the future.
Metro dev "was never playing on a level field" – former THQ boss
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Jason Rubin, the former president of THQ and co-founder of Naughty Dog, has lauded Metro: Last Light for its technical and creative achievements while drawing attention to the working conditions at Ukraine-based developer 4A Games.
"The budget of Last Light is less than some of its competitors spend on cut scenes, a mere 10 percent of the budget of its biggest competitors," Rubin wrote in a post on GamesIndustry.
"Yet it is lauded for its story and atmosphere. It is built on a completely original and proprietary second-generation engine that competes with sequels that have stopped numbering themselves, with more engineers on their tech than 4A has on the entire project. Yet its tech chops are never in question."
Assassin's Creed 4 sales forecast lower than AC3
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Ubisoft is "conservatively" forecasting sales of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag to be lower than last year's Assassin's Creed III.
The publisher thinks the upcoming game's Golden Age of Piracy theme may be received by a global audience even better than the American Revolution was in Assassin's Creed III, but has set its expectations lower "to be prudent".
Assassin's Creed III is the best-selling title in the series so far, achieving a remarkable 12.5 million units shipped in the financial year ended 31st March 2013.
Ubisoft suspends Désilets' game 1666 indefinitely
Ubisoft has indefinitely suspended development on 1666, following the dismissal of Patrice Désilets, creative lead on this game, and creative director on Assassin’s Creed and Assassin’s Creed II.
Désilets left Ubisoft to set up a new Montreal-based studio with THQ. When that publisher folded earlier this year, Ubisoft picked up the studio and its intellectual property. However, Désilets was dismissed two months later.
In an investor call last night, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, “After more than two months of discussion with [Désilets], we couldn't align our vision both on project development and team management. Consequently our collaboration has ended. We have suspended development on 1666 for an undisclosed time.”
Polyphony considering Gran Turismo 6 for PS4
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Yesterday, Sony unveiled Gran Turismo 6, and scheduled its release on PlayStation 3 for later this year.
To the disappointment of many fans, Gran Turismo 6 was not confirmed for Sony’s next console, the PlayStation 4, also slated for this holiday season.
Kazunori Yamauchi, head of Gran Turismo development studio Polyphony, has said that a PlayStation 4 version is possible at a later date.
UK LulzSec hackers jailed
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Four UK hackers affiliated with the group LulzSec have been sentenced to jail for their parts in attacks on organisations and companies including the CIA, and game publishers such as Sony, EA, and Bethesda.
The four defendants had all pleaded guilty. Ryan Cleary received the longest sentence, 32 months, after confessing to additional attacks on the US Air Force, and for possessing indecent images of babies and children, reports the BBC.
Ryan Ackroyd was sentenced to 30 months, and Jake Davis was sentenced to 24 months. Mustafa al-Bassam received a 20 month suspended sentence.
EA to drop Online Pass system
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Online Passes for EA titles will be a thing of the past, according to the publisher, which said it made the decision based on player feedback.
“Yes, we’re discontinuing Online Pass,” EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg told VentureBeat. “None of our new EA titles will include that feature.”
The Online Pass programme was instituted by EA as a way to earn revenue from second-hand sales of its games. A code for online access would be supplied with copies of the game purchased new, which would unlock online features including multiplayer. The code could only be redeemed once, which meant second-hand purchasers would need to buy a new code from EA if the original purchaser already redeemed it.
EA announces DICE Los Angeles with focus on Star Wars games
EA has announced the opening of a new studio that will develop games based on the Star Wars universe.
DICE Los Angeles is an offshoot of the Swedish-based developer DICE, the creator of the critically acclaimed Battlefield series.
Earlier this month EA signed a multi-year agreement with Disney, the new owner of the Star Wars property, to develop core console and PC games based on Star Wars.
First Gran Turismo 6 screens
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To coincide with the announcement of Gran Turismo 6, Sony has released 10 screenshots showcasing the game.
In a statement, Sony says that Gran Turismo 6 is built on a new "compact" engine.
Gran Turismo 6 is coming to PlayStation 3 later this year.
Sony announces Gran Turismo 6
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Sony and Polyphony have unveiled Gran Turismo 6, and say the game is coming to PlayStation 3 later this year.
The announcement was slightly botched when a press release fired ahead of the scheduled announcement at the Silverstone raceway, one of seven new tracks to feature in the game. Australia’s Mount Panorama track in Bathurst is also rumoured to be on that list.
Gran Turismo 6 will boast a roster of over 1200 cars, 33 locations and 71 layouts.
Friday 17 May
Metro dev "was never playing on a level field" – former THQ boss
Thursday 16 May
Wednesday 15 May
Square Enix losses due to restructure, poor sales in US and Europe
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