Following yet another report of company restructuring resulting in job losses, outspoken industry veteran Denis Dyack called industry-wide layoffs within the last year and a half “staggering.” However, the Silicon Knights boss does see a brighter future for development over the next five years, at least in the Canadian province of Ontario.

“Before, Ontario was a little isolated, there wasn’t a lot of videogame companies here. But that’s going to change. With all the positive steps that the government’s done,” Dyack told GamesIndustry.biz. Dyack’s hopeful outlook for Ontario comes, in part, from Ubisoft’s July announcement to open a new studio in Toronto — a move Ubisoft hopes will bring 800 new jobs to the region over the next decade.

According to Dyack, new business in Ontario means the province will be able to combat recruiters who remove developer and designer graduates from the area. “It’s really depressing going to [University of] Waterloo to recruit and we see that Microsoft was there before us and took all the best people. The tax payer paid for that education,” he lamented. With development expanding in Ontario, Silicon Knights can finally start combing schools for talent to help produce the (Sweet Lord, make it happen) sequel to Eternal Darkness.

Dyack dismayed by layoffs, expects growth in Ontario originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a statement made to BigDownload, the video game adaptation of Privateer Press’ tabletop fantasy war game Warmachine is currently in development for the PC and (unspecified) consoles. Quietly announced in August, the Warmachine video game is being developed by the indie team at WhiteMoon Dreams and will feature player control of “various warcasters and their warjack battle groups” across interactive battlefields in both single and multiplayer modes.

WhiteMoon Dreams’ Norvell Thomas promises we’ll get a chance to see whatever that last sentence even means in a “gorgeous” demo by GDC 2010. Thomas adds that the indie dev’s goal is to “wow” publishers at the conference in order to fund full development of the table-top adaptation.

Warmachine game attacking PC, consoles originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And you thought Halo 3-themed Game Fuel was bad. A recent round of advertisements have taken Japan by storm, all of which either shill for Final Fantasy XIII, or some product based on the unflagging RPG franchise. Posted after the break are a series of videos, including a short TV spot for the game, two ads for the presumably refreshing Elixir beverage, and a commercial for a commercial (well, a behind-the-scenes documentary) which will be released shortly after the game is released in Japan.

Also, they’re making a perfume based off the game’s main character. It’s called Lightning eau de toilet. There’s no video advertisement to accompany this news, but we’d have been remiss had we not mentioned it to you.

Continue reading Japan facing Final Fantasy XIII oversaturation crisis

Japan facing Final Fantasy XIII oversaturation crisis originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While TV-based crime scene investigators use futuristic moon technology to solve mysteries, real world forensic scientists say the biggest advancements need to come from how investigators collaborate on cases. North Carolina Say University recently received a $1.4 million allow from the National Science Foundation to help develop crime scene mapping tech (right) derived from the Unity game engine, allowing teams to create a virtual reproduction of crime scenes.

Using environments made up of 3-D laser scans and 2D models, investigators would be able to share detailed information with other scientists through the platform’s website, reducing wait times and travel budgets.

The IC-CRIME platform (Interdisciplinary, cyber-enabled crime reconstruction through innovative methodology and engagement) won’t be ready for at least three years, but scientists seem confident in the platform’s future potential growth in catching scumbags. Also, turning the lights on in the lab might help the process. Those rooms always look so dark on TV.

Real world CSIs look at videogame tech to help solve cases originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to Microsoft, nearly two million Xbox Live users logged into Facebook through the console’s new built-in social media applications. Based on a vague estimate provided by Microsoft, it appears that around ten percent of all Xbox Live Gold accounts used the application within its first week of availability; however, it’s possible many of those users only logged in to see the new feature in action.

Microsoft also stated the addition of Last.fm — a music streaming service currently only available for US and UK gamers — prompted almost one million new profile activations. In its first week, Last.fm users streamed “more than 120 million minutes” of music to their Xbox 360 consoles. If we’ve learned one thing from these numbers, it’s that people love to click on shiny new boxes.

Microsoft reveals usage stats for Facebook, Last.fm originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To quote the immortal words of the musical revolutionaries known as Widelife, “all things just keep getting better!” For the purpose of this post, “all things” include Steam’s post-Thanksgiving deals, which seem to have hit critical value mass today. Resident Evil 5 for $24.99? Borderlands for $33.49? Ghostbusters for $9.99? Left 4 Dead: Game of the Year Edition for $7.49? Daddy like.

Once again, if you don’t like the games which have had their prices temporarily torn in twain, tune in tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. PST for the next batch of deals.

Steam Deals Day Three: Resident Evil 5, Left 4 Dead, Borderlands on sale originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bioware has revealed the planet of Alderaan will be one of the environments for players to explore in the upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Before it was reduced to an asteroid field by the Death Star, Alderaan was a planet known for its natural beauty and peace. Thankfully, a bloody civil war begins, giving gamers plenty of stuff to viciously click on.

Honestly, while we’re excited to see the planet again, we also can’t help but be a tiny sad. Like watching the movie Titanic or Lindsay Lohan’s career, it just doesn’t feel right when you know the whole thing will end in tragedy. For those of you looking to practice epic MMO-clicking, Bioware’s official site houses more media and information on the doomed planet.

Return to Alderaan in Star Wars: The Old Republic originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This day, Activision Blizzard announced that its Call of Duty franchise has surpased $3 billion in retail sales, taking into account internal numbers, as well as independent tracking sources.

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The first bit of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves DLC is live and available — but don’t bother digging around in the sofa for that wallet. It’s free.

As promised earlier this week, the Naughty Dog crew rolled out a new multiplayer map dubbed “The Fort,” as part of a free update to the core game at some point within the recent past. The map itself, according to an official developer blog post, is a “throwback map” created from a chapter in the original Uncharted.

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Instead of being stupid and thanking the gods for my family this Thanksgiving, I decided to give props to Nolan North. After all, dude did a voice for nearly every videogame I’ve played the last few months — Dragon Age: Origins, Halo: ODST, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Shadow Complex, and of course, Uncharted 2. I should, I believe, be thankful for a guy that delivers as much as he does.

Speaking of delivering and Nolan North, the man behind Nathan Drake’s smooth vocals is now offering something other than his voice: a prediction that Uncharted 3 is going to happen.

According to CVG, North tells Official PlayStation Magazine that it would be irresponsible — much like thanking the gods for your family — for Naughty Dog not to do another Uncharted title. “Well, I know we’re going to be assured a third one,” he stated. “That would just be financially irresponsible, not to do a third one.”

Spoiler alert: North might be on to something here. We’ll check in with Naughty Dog and see if they’re interested in continuing the series. We’ll let you know how that goes.

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