It seems that Ubisoft, the developer of such popular series as Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia, doesn’t seem too concerned about console piracy. Recently Yves Guillemot, CEO and Chairman for Ubisoft went on record stating, “Altogether on console, the piracy is low. On the PC the piracy is quite a lot. We are working on a tool that would allow us to decrease that on the PC starting next year and probably one game this year.”

This isn’t surprising as piracy has plagued PC releases for quite some time, causing developers to shift their development towards safer, and more profitable platforms such as the home console market. As a result, we’ve seen an increased trend of Console games with the occasional PC port, often times following months after the game is initially released. On top of that, many studios that had previously developed exclusively for PCs and Macs have found themselves being sold to larger publishers. A recent example being the classic FPS developer Id Software. 

It’s a sad, but almost inevitable trend, and while some developers have found answers to the piracy problem, only a handful have managed to do well with the measures they’ve taken. Steam is a good example of how to properly market online games for digital distribution, but it can’t be the only method. And, if you look at the DRM issues that Bioware went through with titles like Mass Effect, you almost have to wonder how worth while developing security measures actually is. In the end, I can’t blame Ubisoft for being just the least bit concerned about the market, how about you?

 The download only title, Battlefield 1943, launched the other week for Playstation Network, Xbox 360, and PC. Since it’s release, the title has been plagued by a lack of available servers, which made connecting to a game a pain. The game itself is said to be really fun, and while I haven’t played it myself, I’ve enjoyed the numerous other Battlefield titles over the years. Coming from a solid franchise, I’m sure the game is definitely worth checking out. At least, now that they’ve decided to add more servers.

In a post on Major Nelson’s blog, he relays that EA has informed him that more servers are coming in order to meet the demand. He noted that EA and Dice have been working nonstop since the game launched in order to keep content up to date for the community as it grows. This is excellent news so, I encourage anyone who hasn’t already gotten a chance to play to give it a shot if you enjoy world war 2 shooters. Just don’t expect it to be on par with Call of Duty: World at War; there’s a reason the game is only a fraction of the cost. Speaking of which, I’ll have some interesting insight as to why the next Modern Warfare game is getting the Call of Duty name tacked back on to the title later today.

[Image Source: battlefieldhq]

I’m a bit late to the party, and since it’s not really news anymore, I’m not going to go into the details. In short, id Software, developer of such titles as Doom, Quake, and the cult classic Commander Keen, was purchased by ZeniMax media–the parent company of Elder Scrolls developer, Bethesda Softworks. It’s not entirely a shock as id Software has been without a major triple A title for quite some time. With the way the industry has been going, many companies have found themselves in the midst of mergers, and acquisitions. It’s a shame that id Software had to fall into the later category, especially since the game had maintained its status as an independent developer for so long.

So what does this mean for us fans of their classic shooters? Well, it’s hard to say. ZeniMax is a larger company and while I hope that id Software is allowed to finish the projects they have in production, I can’t help but feel that they might be reorganized. Bethesda has been rather fond of creating first person, action based, role-playing games, and while their latest titles such as Rogue Warrior and Wet are a breath of fresh air, you can’t help but realize that Bethesda will be making sequels to both Elder Scrolls and Fallout at some point. Until then, I can only hope that titles such as Doom 4, and Rage see the light of day. Of course, they are still hiring according to their website, and from the sound of the press release they have on their front page, nobody should be worried. That said, you never know what might happen. Let’s just hope for the best.

 [Image Source - id Software]

Due to a missing install file, the PC version of Terminator Salvation has been recalled. According to their official forums, a defect occurred during replication of the PC title, preventing complete installation of the game. Fortunately, other ports of the game, including the downloadble version for the PC are all unaffected and functioning as intended. As a result, all copies of the PC version have been recalled from various retail outlets and new copies are currently being replicated which should resolve any further issues. From what we’re led to believe, the new copies should appear a few days from when the statement was officially posted, last Wednesday. That said, I wouldn’t expect to see them on the shelves until early next week.

It wasn’t long before gamers found a way to manually fix the issue, posting the steps in the same topic, however it does require some work on the user end. If you’re hoping to avoid issues, or having to fix the issue manually, it might be best to wait until the new copies come in. Evolve Games, the developer behind the game, have announced that they have currently set up a replacement plan for anyone who may have had the unfortunate luck of purchasing the defective title. Most retail outlets won’t allow you to return an opened PC game, regardless of defect, so this might be your only option. If that’s the case, you should check their forums for any updates regarding the replacement plan, though currently they direct you to their support page, here. Frankly, I’m amazed that the game was distributed before any of the replicated copies were properly tested by a quality control team. Maybe I’m being a little hard on them, but seriously? You’d think they would have caught it a bit sooner.

[Image Source: terminatorsalvationthegame.com]

In an article released by the Associated Press last Friday, EA went on record stating that early copies of their upcoming title The Sims 3 is pre-final, and plagued with bugs. In addition to the unstable build, it apparently lacks an entire second city, which EA claims consists of half the game itself.

The game was leaked about two weeks prior to the release date, and sadly, the title has been passed around via various torrent sites such as the infamous Pirate Bay. Strangely, in a move I could only attribute to a lack of common sense, the upcoming final build of the game will lack any form of DRM–digital rights management to the uninformed–or other forms of anti-piracy countermeasures. While I understand that they feel there might be some form of backlash, a simple authentication key would do wonders. I get that some people will undoubtedly crack the codes used for that, it should at least encourage more people to locate official copies of the game.

Is EA proverbially shooting itself in the foot? I don’t know, I suppose there are arguments on both sides regarding the actual effectiveness of DRM. Let me put it this way though, The Sims itself has–as much as I personally abhor it–become part of our pop culture. We see references to it in shows like The Simpsons, or more recently, an episode of 30 Rock. You’d think EA would do whatever they could to protect their product, much like Apple does with it’s proprietary quicktime formats and itunes. Well regardless, I’m sure plenty of people love the game and will be buying it after it’s released next month.

[via google]

I’m afraid the moment I’ve not-so-casually alluded to will finally, almost, nearly arrive in 23 more hours: the moment my stint at ButtonSmasher ends, and with it, possibly even the blog itself. It’s been nice knowing you, dear readers–or at least imagining you, as I more often have, as you read and wondered, “why does this writer wait to make her first post on the last day of the month?” and, “isn’t there some other, more worthwhile torture I could enact on my brain?” Though the likelihood of your existence was never high, I’ve continued to write for you, and for my money, for just one month short of a year now, about games that were sometimes better known to me than the language of Swahili. I think my enthusiasm lit up the place like a dim bulb, in the end, and it failed to impress. I’m sorry to everyone.

Well, amidst any tearful departure, there’s always a craving for some good news. My Xbox 360 has mysteriously regained its ability to work, just in time for me to have no further posts to write. And I can’t use it to play Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, an original Xbox port of a swell throwback/update to the PC adventure genre, that, true to form, comes full of sass and pith and novel goings-on. And just look at that box art, an artistic abomination only a child of the 80’s could love. All is as it should be, I am in my happy place. Anyone want a 360 that can never die?

Samba de Amigo finally hits the Wii–geez, that only took as long as a Spanish holiday, or the saying I’m actually looking for. I’m not even too late on this one either, as it’s been only 3 days or so since the release; for once, the game should still be available. Official maraca mods not on the horizon.

Another one hot off the presses is Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, which hadn’t been raking in the best rankings pre-release, but I’m betting it’s not the shovel-full that is a typical Wii game, either. I love Harvest Moon; I’ll always love its quaint, Chibi-headed painting of a simple country life, surrounded by good-hearted folk and too-cute, smell-less, immortal animals, told over and over with as few modifcations as possible. Harvest Moon is one of the warmest gaming fuzzies imaginable and I’ll maim any reviewer who says otherwise.

What else… well, whatever Myth Makers: Orbs of Doom might be besides a game, ‘orbs’ and ‘doom’ figure prominently in the title and that’s reason enough for me to recommend it. Final lesson: the less time and resources spent marketing, the more extravagantly stupid the title, means the more chance the game might actually be good.

I don’t really know what else is new and shaking in this industry, so the time is probably ripe that I left it. Or at least took a break.

See you somewhere on the flipside, perhaps. Keep on your happy button-smashing.

When I was studying (or, as was the case in third year, not) at my first post-secondary institution, I was in only the second cycle of the ‘laptop programs’. It was the early 2000’s, you see, and no one had yet discovered the potential for utter distraction posed by personal computers (and non-academic software) in the classroom. Granted, it WAS a computer programming course, but much of what resulted was students throwing one-hundred-eighty-player Counterstrike LAN parties right in the middle of Professional Management.

…didn’t they realize that if they were going to host a game, it should be Worms World Party? The tactical war-fighter starring the cutest lil’ invertebrates ever to blow each other up, Worms has been mortars o’ fun since 1995. Since my first contact with this still-fantastic oldie in school, it’s been the repeat subject of LAN parties in my own home. The 2001 PC CD-ROM, also available for PS1, Dreamcast, and GBA offers single-player campaigns and a map editor, as well. Whatever the mode of play, WWP exhibits fluid animation, a lovably goofy art style, and humorous dialogue in languages from around the world. It also features a buttload of map-making assets and map-destroying artillery–that’s sure to please.