Gamasutra - News - Spooky Cool Labs: What happens when arcade vets take on Facebook

Can a group of arcade, console, and casino veterans change social games? Spooky Cool Labs hopes so.

CEO Joe Kaminkow worked for arcade greats in the 1980s and has the Donkey Kong and 1942-fueled anecdotes to prove it -- and has spent the last 13 years working in the casino space at industry leading manufacturer IGT. 

Fore more information: Gamasutra - News - Spooky Cool Labs: What happens when arcade vets take on Facebook

Gamasutra - News - Why GTA V's delay could cause an industry-wide ripple effect

So Rockstar delayed another game. Is anyone really, truly surprised by that?

In my nearly 20 years covering video games, Take-Two's crown jewel has missed more initial deadlines than I can count, but that hasn't stopped them from knocking it out of the park more times than they've whiffed. This delay, though, could have a more notable impact on the industry than previous postponements.
 
For more information: Gamasutra - News - Why GTA V's delay could cause an industry-wide ripple effect

Gamasutra - News - EA's CEO talks about violence, the Steam Box, and why Wii U isn't 'next-gen'

Electronic Arts is facing a tough uphill battle. While the company is proving itself in the digital and mobile spaces, its boxed retail games -- still the bulk of its business -- are declining badly, particularly after the commercial and critical flop from its military-based shooter, Medal of Honor: Warfighter.

For more information: Gamasutra - News - EA's CEO talks about violence, the Steam Box, and why Wii U isn't 'next-gen'

Gamasutra - News - All signs point toward a PlayStation 4 unveiling in February

It looks as if Sony Computer Entertainment is going to unveil the successor to its PlayStation 3 console in three weeks.

On Thursday the company tweeted a link to an event on February 20, simply saying "See the future."

For more information: Gamasutra - News - All signs point toward a PlayStation 4 unveiling in February

Gamasutra - News - 250 out of work as Gameloft suddenly shuts down its India studio

On the same day that Gameloft's company heads boasted to investors and journalists of its 27 percent revenue growth in 2012, the entirety of its India studio was told to pack up and go home.

Over 250 game developers are out of work from Gameloft's Hyderabad studio, Gamasutra is told. Worse, the company allegedly asked its employees to sign a note lying about their resignations being voluntary.
 
For more information: Gamasutra - News - 250 out of work as Gameloft suddenly shuts down its India studio

Gamasutra - News - Atari U.S. files for bankruptcy to escape its French parent company

The U.S. branch of Atari has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as a means of separating its financials from its French parent holding company Atari S.A., and in turn securing a fresh start.

For more information: Gamasutra - News - Atari U.S. files for bankruptcy to escape its French parent company

Gamasutra - News - Get a job: Infinity Ward and others hiring now on the Gamasutra jobs board

Do visit Gamasutra - News - Get a job: Infinity Ward and others hiring now on the Gamasutra jobs board for Latest Hot Jobs in gaming industry.

Gamasutra - News - Sony fined $400K for PSN breach in the UK

The Information Commissioner's Office, a UK public body that deals with the Data Protection Act, has presented Sony with a £250,000 ($395,775) fine for the PlayStation Network outage that occurred in 2011.

For more information: Gamasutra - News - Sony fined $400K for PSN breach in the UK

Interview: Jason Rubin Talks About THQ's Struggles And Final Days - Features - www.GameInformer.com

When Jason Rubin joined THQ less than a year ago, he was brought in to help the company with his years of experience crafting excellent games with Naughty Dog. Unfortunately, THQ could not be saved, leaving Rubin and the company with the difficult task of assessing options, filing for bankruptcy, and ultimately selling off the company's assets. In a candid interview, Rubin talks about his stewardship of the company and his firm belief that gamers will be blown away by some of the great titles THQ had waiting in the wings.

For more information: Interview: Jason Rubin Talks About THQ's Struggles And Final Days - Features - www.GameInformer.com

A letter from 'Ben Cureton', Lead Combat Designer, Vigil Games.

My name is Ben Cureton, and I was the Lead Combat Designer at Vigil Games. I'm sitting at my desk among... what appears to be a warzone. The walls look bare. It's quiet.

The seats are empty.

We've all been on edge for the past couple months... and more so, the last couple weeks. I mean, I'm sure you can imagine what it's like to wonder if you will have a job tomorrow. Most of us here joked about it just to keep the mood light, but we all knew what could happen. Now I look around and I realize... it did happen.

Am I sad? Well yea. I've been in this industry for 20 years. Seriously. Two decades. I've been laid off more than once. It sucks every time. But am I sad I don't have a job? Not really... I'm sure I'll get another one eventually. I'm sad because it won't be THIS job. It won't be at Vigil. That's why I'm sad. The people I waged war with are no longer together. The people that I bled with, vented with, argued with (often times LOUDLY), and kicked back with... these people will never be together again in the same combination.

Not that it was perfect. But what is perfect? Did I like coming to work? Yes. Was I proud of the work that I did? Yes. More importantly, was I proud of the work that WE did? Absolutely. I knew, without a shadow of the doubt, that the project we were working on (Codenamed: Crawler) was going to blow people away. In fact, it DID blow people away. We did, in TWO months, what many companies haven't done in a year. The pride of knowing that no one was doing anything like us was so satisfying, it kept us coming to work and giving 100% every single day, even through the dark times.

... so maybe you can imagine what it feels like when you read the list of who bought what only to discover your name is not on the list. Why? Did we do something wrong? Were we not good enough? Were we not worth 'anything?' Imagine that.

Vigil was filled with people that I would put up against the best in the industry. People that made my work better, people that made me a better designer, and people that made me a better person. And now they are gone.

Their seats are empty.

It's OK, though. I guess this post makes it sound a bit melodramatic. Seriously... if you work in the video game industry you have to be resilient. Doing what you love often comes with a price - anyone who has been around for a while can tell you that. Today, that price has been paid. That being said, I'd still never dissuade anyone from following their dreams if their dream is to make video games. While it's not as romantic as it sounds, it's sure a hell of a lot of fun.

So don't cry for the people at Vigil. We made games for game players. I have no Horror stories from working here... only Honor stories. Through both praise and critiques alike, our goal was always to make a product as if we, ourselves, were the end-user. We may have gotten pushed and pulled in certain directions by forces out of our control, we were always in it to make games for game players. And that's what we did.

I can only hope that those spared from the other companies remain employed long into the future. There is not much worse than false hope, and these people deserve to continue making great games. You may not know their names, but they exist, and they bleed, sweat, and cry for your entertainment. I mean that honestly, with no negativity. They do it... no, WE do it... because we want you to have a good time.

In closing, I can only say thank you to the fans of Vigil games. Your support means more than you can imagine. Your feedback (both positive and negative) gave us long-lasting insight that we will all take with us, wherever we may go. You are the reason we made Darksiders 1 &2... and you are the reason we will continue to make games.

And with that... my seat is empty.


Ben Cureton
Lead Combat Designer
Vigil Games


P.S. This is no place for a horse.

Gamasutra - News - Without a buyer, Vigil loses more than a few jobs: It loses a team

"The people I waged war with are no longer together. The people that I bled with, vented with, argued with (often times LOUDLY), and kicked back with... these people will never be together again in the same combination."

- Vigil Games' Ben Cureton writes an open letter following the news that his studio didn't make the cut at today's piecemeal auction of THQ's assets.

For more information: Gamasutra - News - Without a buyer, Vigil loses more than a few jobs: It loses a team

Gamasutra - News - With THQ's demise, plenty of questions remain

The fat lady has sung at THQ. After years of near misses, the company that was at one time the industry's third largest publisher is being sold for parts.

THQ has a lot of haters in the game world, with plenty of people pointing fingers of blame at the company's management, expansion philosophy and business methods. But any time a publisher is forced to close its doors – especially when it has titles on the near horizon that seem to have so much potential – it's sad.

For more information: Gamasutra - News - With THQ's demise, plenty of questions remain

Gamasutra - News - Funcom closing its Secret World Beijing studio

Funcom's restructuring efforts continue onwards this week, as the MMO company announced that it is closing down its Beijing studio following the completion of The Secret World.

For more information: Gamasutra - News - Funcom closing its Secret World Beijing studio

Gamasutra - News - THQ buyers confirm their future intentions for studios, IP

Each of the companies that grabbed a slice of THQ at auction earlier this week has spoken out, confirming their purchases and teasing their intentions for the future.

For More Information: Gamasutra - News - THQ buyers confirm their future intentions for studios, IP

Gamasutra - News - Layoffs at PlayStation fighting game developer Superbot

Unknown number of employees were affected by layoffs at Sony-exclusive independent developer Superbot on Friday.

Superbot is the developer behind Sony's fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, which was released simultaneously for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in late November.

For More Information: Gamasutra - News - Layoffs at PlayStation fighting game developer Superbot

Gamasutra - News - THQ Montreal is pretty happy with Ubisoft buy, says Ubisoft

"This is the very first time in my life that I have come to a studio that was just newly acquired, given a speech to everyone, and then have everyone applaud."

- Yannis Mallat, Ubisoft Montreal chief executive, describes his first meeting with the THQ Montreal team.

Ubisoft acquired the studio as part of the THQ auction earlier this week, and Mallat told the Financial Post that 170 THQ Montreal staffers are now part of Ubisoft.

On visiting the ex-THQ Montreal headquarters, Mallat says that his new employees were more than happy to receive him. "It was a very sincere reaction," he notes. "Maybe it was due to the fact that we at Ubisoft are a very humane company and we were talking to the people in a very fair way and are very approachable."
For more Information: Gamasutra - News - THQ Montreal is pretty happy with Ubisoft buy, says Ubisoft