Tag Archives: Creators
Forget Used Games, Some New Games Sales Don’t Pay Their Creators
Used game sales hurt the bottom line of all console game developers, as the entirety of each sale goes to the retailer and not the game’s makers. It’s a familiar line we’ve heard from several developers and publishers in the past five years. With used game sales taking heat from fans and game makers alike, digital distribution, like Steam or GOG.com, seems to offer the chance to get cheap games with a clear conscience, but that’s not quite true. Even new games suffer from the same issue as used sales; none of the money actually goes to the people who made the game.
As brought to attention by Rock, Paper, Shotgun, last week, developer Simon Roth created a quick list of “games that no longer support their creators,” and classic titles from defunct developers or publishers make up most of it — Ion Storm and Deus Ex, Looking Glass and Thief, Black Isle and Fallout 2. Other titles still maintain their original publisher but not the developer — EA collects on Syndicate and Populous, Peter Molyneux does not. You may read the titles of these games and think that the issue only affects older games, but do you think the former members of Team Bondi are seeing any money for copies of L.A. Noire sold today? If you don’t purchase used games for ethical reasons, you might have to give up many new games as well.
‘South Park’ Spoofs Broadway; Creators Targeted by Scientologists
A new episode of Comedy Central’s hit animated series South Park will take on the world of musical theater. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone crafted the latest season 15 tale with help from The Book of Mormon co-creator Robert Lopez.
“Broadway Bro Down” is set to air this Wednesday, October 26 at 10 p.m. on the channel (and will be available on Xbox LIVE, iTunes, Sony’s PlayStation Network, Amazon Video On Demand and at SouthParkStudios.com). In this irreverent adventure, misguided pater familias Randy makes an effort to enjoy his wife Sharon’s passions, but soon becomes Broadway’s biggest fan after seeing a hit musical in Denver and whisks Sharon off to New York to see every musical on the Great White Way.
You can watch a preview clip of “Broadway Bro Down” at SouthParkStudios.com.
South Park‘s “Broadway Bro Down” episode
South Park‘s “Broadway Bro Down” episode
In related news, a memo released by a former high-level Church of Scientology member has revealed the group’s attempt to “silence” South Park creators Stone and Parker after their infamous 2005 episode “Trapped in the Closet” spoofed Scientologist beliefs (and ticked off a few celebs in the bargain), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Marty Rathburn, who left the church in 2004, wrote on his blog this weekend that the animation idols became targets of the church’s Office of Special Affairs, which was gathering information on their friends. That’s My Bush writer Matthew Prager, actor John Stamos and his ex-wife Rebecca Romijn, and South Park writer David Goodman were named.
You can read Rathburn’s post here: markrathbun.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/corporate-scientology-targets-south-park
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Grasshopper Loses Harvest Moon and Little King’s Story Creators
Two of Grasshopper Manufacture’s high-profile hires from last year have left the company.
Yasuhiro Wada and Yoshiro Kimura, two former Marvelous Entertainment employees, left the company as of last month, Siliconera reports. This has since also been confirmed by Gamasutra, meaning the two spent less than a year at the company headed by Goichi “Suda 51″ Suda.
Following the hirings of Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka and freelance Japanese gamer designer Kazutoshi Iida early last year, both Wada and Kimura were brought on board later in the year. Wada is best known as the creator and head producer of the Harvest Moon series, and was named Grasshopper’s chief operating officer. Kimura was responsible for Little King’s Story on Wii and was named chief creative officer.
Creators of 999 Announce New Adventure
Chunsoft, producers of the underground hit DS adventure 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (above), is back with another portable mystery. Zennin Shibou Desu for the PS Vita and 3DS was unveiled in this week’s issue of Famitsu magazine, and so far it seems very much along the same lines as Chun’s 2009 game.
Like 999, Zennin (whose title has double meaning in Japanese — it can mean “Everyone Dies” or “[Only] The Good Die”) is themed around a group of normal people in very abnormal situations. The hero awakens to find himself on an unknown elevator leading to someplace he’s never been before. He has no memory of how he wound up here, but the girl he’s sharing the elevator with — who calls him “Sigma” — seems to know a lot more, not that she’s letting you in on any secrets. That’s because the only way out of this place is to play something called the “Ambidex Game,” something that could force the hero and the other people he runs into to betray their companions for the sake of their own survival.
Not a lot of gameplay details are known yet, but the title will be generally divided into “novel” parts (where you speak with your friends and advance the plot) and “escape” parts, where you play minigames, explore your surroundings, and perform other tasks as you attempt to figure out what’s going on.
“South Park” creators hit Broadway with Mormon musical (Reuters)
Reuters – It’s sprinkled with jokes about Mormons discriminating against black people and repressed gay longings, but the creators of a new musical about Mormons say it won’t attract the sort of religious controversy they are famous for.
Yahoo! News: Odd News
