Spectral Jester

The cost of developing games for console download services is discouraging to independent developers, says Double Fine founder Tim Schafer. Even releasing patches is prohibitively expensive. Discussing the opportunities provided for independent developers by services like Xbox Live and PSN, Schafer said that it costs around $40,000 each time you release a patch. “Those systems, as great as they are, are closed,” said Schafer. “You have to jump through a lot of hoops, even for important stuff like patching and supporting your game. "Those are things we really want to do, but we can’t do it on these systems. I mean, it costs $40,000 to put up a patch - we can't afford that! Open systems like Steam, that allow us to set our own prices, that's where it's at, and doing it completely alone like Minecraft. That's where people are going." According to Edge, a game-breaking bug that blighted Double Fine’s Costume Quest went untouched because the developer could not afford to fix it, despite Schafer’s public claims at the time that the studio’s limited manpower was the reason. Furthermore, it’s also claimed that Double Fine's Brutal Legend on PS3 also suffered from bugs that were never addressed for the same reason. Even the financial might of EA couldn’t fix it, as the publisher refused to pay extra to repair a game that had performed poorly at retail. Schafer and Double Fine are currently in talks with Minecraft creator Markus Persson to develop a sequel to 2005‘s Psychonauts. [Via HookshotInc]

This may sound stupid but you do know the multiplayer you access from CEA will only bring up the anniversary maps? To access the other maps, plus CEA maps you need to load up Reach.

Twisted Pixel is to kickstart the third in a series of challenges for Ms. Splosion Man tomorrow, with the 'Shoot the Glass' challenge to celebrate Valentines day, teaming up with Omaha Steaks to give the best US players a meaty prize. The free challenge will be available from the main menu in Ms. Splosion Man for the duration of the promotion, which runs from February 14th-27th. Breaking 33 panes of glass in the quickest time possible is the name of the game, with missed panes adding a 10 second penalty to your overall time. Players who manage to achieve the five fastest leaderboard times in the US by Feb 27th will receive an Omaha Steak Filet prize pack each, satisfying your needs for "sploding meats". Obviously, the contest is open only to US participants due to the meaty, perishable nature of the prizes

promoted to news, and added to calendar

SEGA is apparently gearing up to release a sequel to its mascot-laden karting effort Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing at the end of this year, in time for the festive holiday season. The news comes following the unveiling of toys that tie-in with the arcade racing franchise, displayed in one of the booths at the Toy Fair in New York on Sunday. It was here that one of the attendants revealed to Kotaku that SEGA is working on the next instalment of Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, with new characters and vehicles to be shown later this year. Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing 2 will be launching this holiday 2012.

i think me and choot have the same issue, i tried for an hour, drowned about 20 times lol. im gonna try this tomorrow after night shift. hmmm, i am invigorated and enthuased(spelling) to make a map

Last year's E3 brought the news of a new co-op centric Star Trek title, based on the rebooted movie and characters, that would allow gamers to play as Kirk and Spock in the events after the JJ Abrams-directed 2009 movie. Namco/Bandai has now announced that they will be publishing the game and even revealed a release window for the title. You can buddy up with your Trekkie brethren sometime in Q1 of 2013. It's a great distance away for those of you hoping the title would make its 2012 release, but hopefully this pair of screens can appease you, at least a little. There hasn't been official word on whether the title of the game will simply be Star Trek, or renamed later, but whatever it's eventually named, look for it early next year.

thats the thing with the score challenges, the more skulls you have on the bigger the multiplyer, so if your amazing at halo, then whack them all on, and play on legendary,

Gamers have voted that Call of Duty: Black Ops has the best videogame ending of all time. The Guinness World Records team polled over 13,000 fans to find the best video game ending ever, with the results featuring in the Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer's Edition book. The Treyarch developed shooter triumphed above Halo: Reach in second place and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in third. Final Fantasy VII, Portal and Modern Warfare 2 also feature in the top 10. "Everyone has an opinion on how to end a game whether it's an epic boss fight, a clever plot twist or a 90-minute movie," said editor Gaz Deaves. "This list recognises some of the greatest endings and hopefully will get gamers talking about what are their favourites and why." So then, get talking folks. The full Top 50, in ascending order. 50. Resident Evil 4 49. Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic 48. Ratchet & Clank: a Crack in Time 47. Crysis 2 46. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 45. Call of Duty: World at War 44. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II 43. Half-Life 2: Episode Two 42. Super Metroid 41. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 40. New Super Mario Bros. Wii 39. inFamous 38. Fallout 3 37. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 36. Gears of War 2 35. Bioshock 34. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty 33. Sonic Adventures 2 32. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 31. Kingdom Hearts II 30. Mass Effect 29. Super Mario Galaxy 28. Sonic the Hedgehog 27. Metal Gear Solid 26. Assassin's Creed II 25. Assassin's Creed 24. Shadow of the Colossus 23. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 22. Kingdom Hearts 21. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 20. Super Mario Galaxy 2 19. Mass Effect 2 18. Grand Theft Auto IV 17. Portal 2 16. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood 15. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 14. Halo: Combat Evolved 13. Halo 3 12. Pokemon Black and White 11. Super Mario Bros 10. Heavy Rain 9. Final Fantasy VII 8. Metal Gear Solid 4 7. Portal 6. Red Dead Redemption 5. God of War 4.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 2. Halo: Reach 1. Call of Duty: Black Ops

After my brief exposure to the hell and death that is a community playdate lol I have a question about forge. Now firstly i would ask you to remember this i have never used it, nor do I understand it, but it has inspired me to try it out. So with that in mind i ask this question When placing pieces together, and your lining them up, is there a way to automatically snap them together so they line up perfectly or do you have to do it manually, tweaking it over and over. I ask as I am thinking of doing a map over / in water. But lining them up seems such a pain in the *&$%£^& So now that you have stopped laughing, how about helping a forge virgin? Also any good tips are always welcome

i did it on new alexandria, all skulls on except mythic and the one that reverts to the start if you die (forgot the name) do it on heroic or normal. you get just under 9000 for a phantom and 1200+ for a banshee

okay Xbox list is Halo Anniversary Halo Reach Halo 3 Halo 3 ODST Halo Wars Gears of War 1 Gears of War 2 Gears of War 3 Assassins Creed Brotherhood Assassins Creed Revelations Tron Evolution Kinect Adventures Kinect Sports Rise of Nightmares Need for Speed Undercover Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Left 4 Dead Left 4 Dead 2 Fifa 10 Naughty Bear Pure Lego batman Burnout Paradise Trivial Pursuit Scene it Your in the movies Lego Indiana Jones Lego Star Wars Red Dead Redempion Ghostbusters Resident Evil 5 Assassins Creed Crysis XBLA Titles Chime Dash of Destruction Family Game Night Track n Field A Kingdom of Keflings Tron Shadow Complex Interpol Splosion Man South Park Lets go Tower Defence Double Dragon Jetpac Refuelled Madden NFL Arcade Uno Uno Rush Worms Worms 2 Yu Gi Oh 1942 Joint Strike 3d Ultra Minigolf Discs of Tron Puzzle Bobble Gyruss Rainbow Islands Rush n Attack Trials HDnius Zombie Apocalypse Pac man Sonic & Knuckles Yie Ar Kung Fu Marathon Durandol Harms Way Daytona USA Ghostbusters Sanctum of Slime Mortal Kombat Arcade Battle Los Angeles Ms Splosion Man Full House Poker Ultimate MK3 Ikaruga Afterburner Climax Quarrel Beyond Good and Evil Doritos Crash Course Yes I have an XBLA addiction Also various games on the WP7 Football Ge

Want early access to Mass Effect 3 Demo or a Normandy prop, all you need is a facebook account and try your luck on the Mass Effect 3 Facebook App. https://apps.facebook.com/xboxmasseffect/uk Codes won have been confirmed as they work for USA xbox users

Betrayal was taken away for 1 simple reason, people that betray all the time, jan your stats show you are a betray first and a game plater 2nd. push them out the way instead of team killing. plus sword base was literally a camp fest, everyone runs into the tunnel and stays there, hardly any skill involved is there. if your a zombie you waited patentilt at the top of the lift by the tunnel and caught them as they came up. no skill involved. Sword Base was a boosters dream, and not a gamers map. thankfully thats been seen and dealt with, infection is now a gametype people can play again

seriously? sword base was a camp fest and probably the worst map ever for infection

what a shocker, my wife is now crying..

so to make a game mode better they turn off betrayals to stop stupid kids team killing and you want 343 to bring it back? makes no sense what so ever

It appears that Rockstar are making a bee-line for the hearts of Red Dead Redemption fans this pre-Valentine's weekend. All gamers can currently enjoy triple XP across all multiplayer modes in the title. The details were explained on the developer's Twitter account earlier:

This Gears of War 3 weekend event is all soppy, wet and love-based -- to an extent. In preperation for the rapidly-incoming Valentines day, it's time for players to lovingly dive into this weekends event titled, 'Cupid's Wingman'. This twisted version of Wingman will see lovers players battling it out with a Torque Bow, which only comes equipped with one arrow, but the rest of the weapon pickups will be replaced with more Torque Bows. In addition to the Torque Bow, the one-shot Snub pistol makes a return to the action alongside the Gnasher Shotgun. Also included in the Cupid event will be new heads for players characters, which are kind of like ugly looking Strawberries with sets of nasty Locust teeth and probably the slimy tounge to go with it too. But of course, a special Valentines day character head wouldn't be the same unless it could be blown away by an exclusively skinned Gnasher Shotgun, which comes in a gorgeous shade of pink underneathe the COG omen. Check out a screenshot of the Valentines head and weapon skin for yourself: As all Gears gamers should know by now, this event will contribute towards the Socialite and Seriously 3.0 achievements in Gears of War 3. This event is already underway so fire the game up and join the massive romantic tango. 'Cupids Wingman' runs until 9.00am (EASTERN) on February 15th.

Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s) 1 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 2 Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 FIFA 12 4 Skyrim 5 Battlefield 3 6 Halo: Reach 7 Modern Warfare 2 8 Gears of War 3 9 NBA 2K12 10 Madden NFL 12 11 GTA IV 12 Forza Motorsport 4 13 Saints Row: The Third 14 NHL12 15 Halo 3 16 Assassin’s Creed Revelations 17 Call of Duty 4 18 Red Dead Redemption 19 NBA 2K11 20 Batman: Arkham City Information courtesy of MAJORNELSON

Speaking in an investor call earlier yesterday, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg has been talking up the next Call of Duty game, declaring that this year's entry in the long-running franchise promises "meaningful innovation", with work apparently already well underway on the new title. "This year, we expect to further expand our presence with the launch of an all-new epic first person shooter title under the Call of Duty brand," Hirshberg stated during the call. "From what we've seen the game already looks fantastic and will bring meaningful innovation to the franchise. I could not be more excited." Hirshberg also confirmed that more new features are coming to Call of Duty: Elite in a couple of months and that a Call of Duty: Elite 2.0 will apparently be ready to launch alongside the next Call of Duty title, which has been rumoured as Call of Duty: Iron Wolf, among other things. "Although we are pleased with where we are today, the objective of Elite is to make the total Call of Duty experience more fun and more engaging and we plan to launch additional features in the next 60 days," he said. "We're already hard at work on Elite 2.0 with several innovative features being developed to work hand in hand with our next Call of Duty release." So there you have it. There's plenty more Call of Duty coming in 2012. As if you didn't know that already. [Via Eurogamer]

Shadow Well done on reaching trusted, its took a while but you got there on the end Congratulations matey!!!!!!!!

11,000+ betrayals? god i hope i never get in a game with you

Above is an early hint that everything is on schedule and that we’ll get a lot more information on the game quite soon: it’s a Finnish magazine graphic saying that on February 29 Halo 4 will be on full display. Don’t speak Finnish? Here is a rough translation: Halo 4 and other new products [will be] on display at the Xbox 360 Spring Showcase event in San Francisco. @Kaban0ssi who tweeted the image asked, “Onko varmaa tietoa?” — is this information certain — to @pelaaja, the magazine that published the image. The magazine does not seem to have responded, at least via its Twitter account. The Spring Showcase unveiling, on the Leap Year-specific date of February 29th, would be a big move for Microsoft, with the company opting to show off the game at its own event as opposed to waiting for a major show, like E3. It would be in keeping with Microsoft’s new strategy of controlling its own message and stepping away from shows, CES for instance, though. Microsoft has done these showcases in the past, and they can range from major events with top-level executives speaking to smaller ones that are focused on giving industry people hands-on time with upcoming products

OP are you being serious? Or is this a big joke? Play for fun? Sounds like you play for anything but that. You sir/madam are what is wrong with online gaming.