More Mass Effect DLC Announced By Bioware
While chatting about an upcoming patch for the PC version of the game - which he will only say is "coming soon" - Watamaniuk briefly mentioned the new downloadable content before steering the conversation back towards talk of the patch.
kotaku.com/5150183/more-mass-effect-dlc-loading-in-an-elevator-near-youSEGA Losing Money, Closing Their Arcades, and Cutting Jobs
Sega just reported their financial results for the nine months ending in December 2008. And they're not good reading. The company is losing money, and as a result, will be losing staff and arcades as well.
Across Sega Sammy Holdings as a whole - which includes Sammy's pachinko/pachislot machines, along with Sega's arcade machines and home video games - a downturn in revenue has led to the company revising its forecast for the financial year, with Sega now bracing for a USD$235,424,993 loss come March. 110 of Sega's Japanese arcade centres (presumably those in the 'burbs, not downtown Shinjuku) are to be closed or sold off.
Next, Sega will look to cut loose 560 of its 3100 employees. At the moment, this is being done via a policy of voluntary redundancies, with the first of these "volunteers" to cease employment in March 2009.Finally, across both Sega and Sammy there will be a 20% reduction in research & development, "by consolidating titles to be developed". That means we'll likely see some upcoming Sega games canned.
kotaku.com/5150328/sega-losing-money-closing-arcades-cutting-jobsSnoop Dogg Coming to Rock Band?
Grammy-Award nominated rapper and man-about-Hollywood Snoop Dogg just landed a new MTV-aired variety with benefits. The benefits? He's also going to be releasing songs from his "impressive catalog of hits" on Rock Band. Unfortunately, while the release goes into quite a bit of detail about the show, it doesn't say much at all about the Rock Band deal.
kotaku.com/5150796/snoop-dogg-gets-variety-show-coming-to-rock-bandLeft 4 Dead "Survival" DLC Is Free For PC and 360
The recently unveiled Left 4 Dead Survival pack for the Xbox 360 and PC will be free, Valve announced today. The pack, due this spring, introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode (Death Toll, Dead Air).
kotaku.com/5151646/left-4-dead-survival-pack-will-be-freeActivision Announces "Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits"
Mike Griffith, president and CEO of Activision Publishing, announced the Greatest Hits repackaging during today's quarterly earnings call, a collection it plans to ship this year for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits will feature favorites from previous entries — Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, etc. — updated for full band play, which Activision introduced with World Tour.
kotaku.com/5151959/activision-compiles-guitar-hero-greatest-hits-for-2009Midway Files For Bankruptcy
The long-struggling publisher of Mortal Kombat filed for bankruptcy this morning, calling it a difficult but necessary decision. The voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 effects all of its U.S. subsidiaries, but none of its international ones. The publisher and developer said it expects the protection will help the company conduct business as usual, but it needs permission from the court before it can move forward. Chapter 11 means they want to keep operating, chapter 7, which they didn't file, means they are liquidating.
kotaku.com/5152300/midway-files-for-bankruptcyActivision Threatens EA and Double Fine With A Lawsuit Concerning "Brutal Legend" Ownership
Activision may not be giving up Brütal Legend to EA without a fight—or at least a payout. Activision, which abandoned the game last year following its merger with Vivendi, thinks it still has publishing rights.
According to a report from Variety, Activision Blizzard has informed Electronic Arts of its claim to Double Fine's Brütal Legend, saying that it was still negotiating with the developer about its publishing plans. While everyone else seems to think differently—Activision Blizzard sure seemed to have shrugged the heavy metal-themed game off, like so many other Vivendi Games titles it absorbed—Activision thinks it's owed. According to what we'd heard, Double Fine was under the impression that it was free to find another publisher, after the title contractually slipped through Activision's fingers. That publisher eventually turned out to be Electronic Arts.
kotaku.com/5153344/activision-threatens-ea-double-fine-with-brtal-legend-lawsuitMore Valkyria Chronicles Anime Shots Released
With the Valkyria Chronicles Anime coming to Japanese TV in April, more screens of the characters have been released to the public. In the link following, you'll find character art for Isara Gunther, Prince Maximilian, and Selvaria Bles. *AKA the boss formerly known as "Boobles" and soon to be the anime character of the same nickname*
kotaku.com/5154825/check-out-more-valkyria-chronicles-anime-parts
