News

The boss of SEGA West, Mike Hayes is to step down this summer from the role he has occupied for eight years.

Hayes will step down as part of the 54 million USD of restructuring that SEGA will be going through this year in order to streamline their operations.

SEGA president Naoya Tsurumi said of Hayes, "[He] is a great character and very passionate about the industry, he helped steer the extraordinary growth of SEGA and has built an exceptional team of professionals that will stand us in good stead for the future. Mike has achieved a huge amount during his time at SEGA and we thank him for the amazing things he has accomplished."

Mike Hayes will be replaced by Jurgen Post the current chief operating officer of SEGA Europe.

Thanks Develop Online.

Richard Lemarchand, lead designer for Naughty Dog has confirmed that he has left the Uncharted developer for a role in teaching.

Lemarchand will join the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California to teach future generations of games developers and work on an experimental games research project after a three moth backpacking holiday.

He began, "I've always been a very hands-on game designer. And I'm a big believer that no matter what level you're working at on a project, it's a very great thing to be able to stay connected to the practical processes of building out a game."

"I also love to think and to talk about our approaches to games, about the way games work when they interface with our minds, and what aspects of ourselves they utilise to work," he added.

The School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California counts Thatgamecompany co-founders Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago amongst their alma mater.

Thanks Gamasutra.

Microsoft are creating a web miniseries to help promote the launch of Halo 4 this November.

The web series, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn will be a set of five 15-minute episodes to be released weekly on Machinima and Halo Waypoint to get Halo fans excited for the arrival of Halo 4.

The series will be as much about entertaining and providing more of the Halo story as it is about promoting the release of Halo 4 according to the new Halo studio 343 Industries.

343 Industries' Frank O'Connor explained, "'We want to see more so that we can explore the 'Halo' universe a little bit more. Demand grew more and more out of the two little vignettes we'd previously produced."

He continued, "[It is] an origins story that teaches you about a lot of different facets of the ('Halo') universe. We needed a way to ensure there was a way for people to get onboard this universe without feeling intimidated."

Thanks GamesIndustry.biz.

It has been one of the worst-kept secrets in the games industry but now it is completely out in the open.

Images of pre-order cards have been leaked from US retailer Target that indicate the next Call Of Duty title will indeed be Black Ops II and it will be released on the 13th of November.

It is expected that Activision will formally unveil the new title tomorrow (May the 1st) including the details of what the pre-order bonus will actually be.

Other rumours have emerged indicating that Call Of Duty: Black Ops II will be set in the near-future following a very Tom Clancy-esque storyline.

Thanks MCV.

Ken Levine, the man behind the BioShock series has been talking about what they will be doing after they finish work on BioShock Infinite.

Levine explained in a recent interview just how demanding the BioShock games are to produce meaning that they can only really work on one project at a time.

He also confirmed that the next title they will be working on is the BioShock PS Vita title he mentioned on stage with Sony at their E3 press conference back in june of 2011.

The irrational boss explained, "You do want to keep the ball rolling but it is tough to give it your full attention before you finish what you have. But we're getting there with Infinite. We're not as focused on the Vita game as we will be."

Thanks Wired.

Nintendo has confirmed that they will be aiming to release Wii U titles as downloads and at retail at the same time.

President of the company, Satoru Iwata, has confirmed their ambitions for Wii U releases in his latest communication with investors.

Iwata-san explained, "We will start the digital download sales of packaged software so our consumers can choose either the packaged version or the digital download version of the same software from day one of the Wii U's launch."

He also revealed that they will not be revealing prices or release dates when they unveil the finished Wii U at this year's E3.

Thanks MCV.

Square Enix has revealed some of the Hollywood vocal talent that they have lined up for Hitman: Absolution.

ICA handler, Benjamin Travis will be voiced by veteran actor Powers Boothe known for his roles in 24 and Sin City.

Shannyn Sossamon has also been named as one of the Hollywood stars lending her voice for one of the characters in Hitman: Absolution.

An interview with both actors is up on the Hitman: Absolution official Youtube channel.

Square Enix has revealed details of new Legacy and Welcome Back campaigns to encourage Final Fantasy XIV players to come back.

Anyone who has played Final Fantasy XIV for at least 90 days between January 6th and beginning of 2.0 beta testing will be allowed Legacy status which will grant them an exclusive Chocobo mount and a 9.99 USD 30 day subscription tariff allowing up to eight playable characters per world and a maximum of 40 playable charcters.

There is also an entry level 30 day subscription at 12.99 USD allowing one character per world up to a maximum of eight characters and a standard level 30 day subscription allowing eight characters per world up to a maximum of 40 characters.

The Welcome Back programme will operate between May 9th and May 20th and will allow 10 days free play for those with lapsed accounts.

Shinji Mikami has been discussing some of the more broader aspects of the new game that he has in development at Tango Gameworks.

Mikami-san has taken a very hands-on approach to the development of Zwei which is his first title since Platinum Games' 2010 shooter Vanquish was released.

He said, "A true survival horror game is one in which the player confronts and overcomes fear. I've found my focus, and once again I'm striving for pure survival horror.I am very hands-on in the development of this game to ensure the quality is there. Rest assured."

Zwei is expected to be released some time in 2013 although Tango Gameworks has not revealed much more details on the title.

Thanks Edge Online.

A brand new reveal video from Ubisoft has shown off some interesting features that may be included in the brand new Rayman title, Rayman Legends.

The teaser video shows players placing figurines of well known Ubisoft characters like Ezio and the Rabbids on the Wii U controller that would then go on to directly affect the gameplay.

Rayman Legends is in development at Ubisoft Montpellier under the watchful eye of Rayman creator Michel Ancel.

Ubisoft released a statement explaining, "This video was intended as a purely internal demonstrative video, and in no way represents the final game, the final console or their features. This video was destined for internal production teams who often create game prototypes with work in progress development kits."

Thanks Gamasutra.

Today Valve has announced puzzle creation tools for Portal 2 in the form of the Perpetual Testing Initiative on PC and Mac.

The Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC will allow Portal 2 gamers on PC and Mac to build and share their own puzzles over Steam and even rate each other's efforts via the Steam Workshop.

The simplified puzzle creation tools are incorporated into the game itself and so Portal 2 addicts can build their levels without actually leaving the confines of the game. Selected levels will even be uploaded as part of Portal 2.

The Perpetual Testing Initiative will be available as a free download for all Portal 2 owners on PC and Mac from May the 8th.

Mamoru Oshii the acclaimed Japanese film director behind Ghost in the Shell and Avalon has directed a short live-action film based on Steel Battalion.

Steel Battallion: Gosha centres on a Polish Vertical Tank pilot who is in command of her own squadron of Vertical Tanks. As she leads them into battle she also has to deal with the internal conflicts within the squad itself.

The game itself follows Sgt Powers as he commands a VT squad of his own in the battle to recover the United States from a Chinese occupation in a low tech war-torn world of 2082. The Vertical Tank is the weapon that could change the course of the war.

The short film is set to be released exclusively on Xbox Live before Steel Battalion is released on June 19th in North America and June 22nd in Europe.

ZeniMax has opened pre-registration for this year's QuakeCon convention in Dallas.

As always, entry to the event is free but they have prepared several packages that will give avid fans extra bonuses and reserved seating for the event.

For 40 USD attendees will secure one of 500 Swag Bags which contains an exclusive QuakeCon BYOC t-shirt, a Dishonored Tallboy t-shirt and a special limited edition poster.

There are also two reserved seating packages. There are 1500 BYOC Select-A-Seat packages that include reserved seating and a QuakeCon BYOC t-shirt for 30 USD. For 50 USD you can secure one of 350 QuakeCon done Quick package which includes reserved seating, Fast Pass express lane access to the BYOC and every speaker, panel and public event and a QuakeCon BYOC t-shirt.

QuakeCon will take place at the Anatole Hilton in Dallas between August the 2nd and August the 8th. You can pre-register at the official QuakeCon website.

The Ukrainian studio behind the STALKER series, GSC Game World has been confirmed closed by their former employees.

All the staff of GSC Game World have opened a new studio Vostok Games and announced the demise of their former employer.

The death of GSC means that the latest title in the STALKER series STALKER 2 has been put on ice, most likely for good, due to Vostok being unable to secure the rights to the series.

Vostok Games' first title is to be a free-to-play MMOFPS called Suvarium.

They said on their official website, "Our company was born in March 2012 in Kiev. Ten years earlier, at GSC Game World, we started developing the renowned STALKER series, and continued work on it until December 2011 when the studio was unexpectedly shut down and the STALKER 2 project frozen. We did not reach agreement with the rights owner regarding the use of the STALKER brand, [so] we made the decision to move forward as an independent studio with a new project."

Thanks Edge Online.

Ubisoft are currently working on a new free-to-play entry in their WWII submarine series Silent Hunter.

Silent Hunter Online is in development at The Settlers developer Blue Byte offering a completely new submarine simulation experience using Flash Player 11 to create an impressive 3D experience in browser.

At the heart of the new game is the continuous Battle For The Atlantic campaign with all players victories having an effect on the overall outcome through asynchronous gameplay. Players will also be able to tackle missions in co-op mode for the first time in the series.

Blue Byte's head of production, Christopher Schmitz said, "This is the most innovative Silent Hunter experience ever created and we can't wait to let our fans dive into the game."