A trademark for "Humankind" was filed back in April.
Leave your mark on the world in HUMANKIND™, a new historical strategy game from Amplitude Studios & SEGA.
https://twitter.com/SEGA/status/1163522351943827456
SEGA
@SEGA
Leave your mark on the world in HUMANKIND, a new historical strategy game from Amplitude Studios. Create a civilization that's as unique as you are by combining 60 historical cultures from the Bronze to the Modern Age.
The Dark Side of the Video Game Industry | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Netflix:
8:36 - Epic CEO
On the latest episode of Patriot Act, Hasan takes a look at how the video game industry has grown into a $139 billion a year business and a cultural force. While gaming is more prominent than ever, some of the most popular video games are made under unfavorable working conditions. Hasan examines the exploitative labor practices at game developers like Epic and Riot Games, and the ways in which workers are finally fighting back.
To top it all off they claim that they have shipped cloud saves as a feature, even though only 2 games of more than 100 on EGS have it. Other features such as mod support, user reviews, achievements, wishlists and a shopping cart are perpetually 4-6 or >6 months away, effectively getting delayed each passing month.
''Epic has published a near term road map. This road map includes a look into things they are committing to. If I were a betting man, I would expect that there are more things that happen than what they are committing to. We also must acknowledge that Borderlands 3 does not exist *today* but rather it will exist in September. The store will be different when the game launches. It will become a boon to their store if they bring sufficient features to make the customer experience great for us. Epic will suffer (again) if, by the time Borderlands 3 launches, the customer experience is not good enough. This is a tremendous forcing function for Epic. This is also really good for Borderland 3 as Borderlands 3 will be the biggest, by far, new game to arrive on the Epic store since they launched and Epic can be sure to invest huge amounts of resources specifically for the features most important for Borderlands 3. The forcing function of that will, in turn, make all those features available on a faster time-line than otherwise possible and this is good for all games from both the customer perspective and the developer/publisher perspective.''
So, since it is now more than likely that none of the essential features Randy Pitchford was talking about will be available at launch, what do you think he'll say when Borderlands 3 releases on EGS?
Epic Boss Has A Surprising Response To Inflamatory Ooblets Dev Blog:
The developers behind Ooblets are a textbook example of how not to treat your customers:
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/cl3yoc/the_developers_behind_ooblets_are_a_textbook/
*SNIP*
Now, onto the shit show. The devs decided to announce the exclusivity in a blog post. From the get-go they begin addressing their audience with a condescending tone and branding people who would potentially disagree with their decision as ''Gamers™'', ''Toxic'' and all the other negative buzzwords you might think of. Afterwards they decided to further ridicule anyone critical of their decision as not having their priorities in life set straight and suggested directing their energy towards solving climate change or human rights abuses. I really can't do the level of arrogance any justice in my summary so I suggest you read the whole blog post yourself.
Geoff Keighley
@geoffkeighley
More than 15 game publishers will premiere new content and make announcements during
@gamescom Opening Night Live. An exciting show is coming together for Monday, August 19! Hope you get to tune in and watch the stream!
Sega is Revealing a New AAA Game at Gamescom:
https://www.dualshockers.com/sega-reveal-new-aaa-game-at-gamescom/:
This morning, Sega announced its upcoming plans for Gamescom which takes place later this month in Germany. While most of what the publisher will be bringing to the convention is to be expected, there was one teaser for an upcoming announcement that stood out.
Sega said via press release today that it will be announcing a new game later this month. It says that this is “an all-new AAA game that has yet to be revealed to the public.” For those that attend Gamescom, Sega also confirmed that this new mystery title will be available at the company’s booth alongside Catherine: Full Body, Two Point Hospital for consoles, and the SEGA Mega Drive Mini.
Gamescom Opening Conference With Numerous Surprises and Announcements:
The upcoming gamescom fair, which will start on August 19 and will traditionally take place in the German city of Cologne, might just have a chance to surpass this year's E3. On the opening day of the event, its organizers intend to organize a special conference, broadcast live (starting at 11am PST), during which numerous surprises and announcements are awaiting the players. The event will be hosted by Geoff Keighley, a well-known presenter and professional journalist. Keighley has just published on Twitter a list of fifteen publishers/developers whose games and projects will be shown during the event. The companies are: 2K Games, Activision, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bungie, Capcom, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Google with Stadia, Koch Media / Deep Silver, Private Division, Sega, Square Enix, Sony, THQ Nordic, Ubisoft and Microsoft.
Sega is revealing a new AAA title at Gamescom, but what is it?:
Today, Sega announced that it had a new triple-A title to show at Gamescom, but they didn’t hint at what we might expect from the title. In fact, the only thing we do know is that it won’t be a new title from Horsham-based developers Creative Assembly, putting a pin in my desperate hope of an Alien: Isolation sequel.
Lead community manager Grace Carroll confirmed it wasn’t a Creative Assembly game on Reddit which means — in real terms — that there’s no new Total War game coming, but also that we won’t be seeing the new game from the Alien: Isolation team, which is reportedly a hero shooter.
Chances are, we’ll see Sega’s new game shown off during the Geoff Keighley hosted Opening Night Live event going ahead at Gamescom. Looking at Sega’s first party studios and engaging some heavy guesswork, i’d My gut says it’s more likely to be a title from Relic Entertainment or Amplitude Studios. Relic are currently working on Age of Empires IV with Microsoft, but Amplitude Studios have just released Love Thyself.
Basically, we don’t really know. Both Relic and Amplitude have been quiet in terms of output recently, and Sports Interactive keep themselves busy with yearly iterations of the Football Manager franchise.
Join us for a cold one in Cologne!
August 22nd
GamesCom is right around the corner, so it's time for another Beer2Gether! Come meet the team and chat over drinks (alcoholic or not) and snacks!
This fall, take command of Company of Heroes on iPad. Direct an intense campaign in the European Theater of Operations in the game that redefined real-time strategy.
Optimised for iPad, Company of Heroes features an intuitive user interface for swift execution of advanced real-time tactics in the heat of battle.
Company of Heroes will live on forever as the most iconic tactical RTS in the history of strategy games. Not only is it one of the best WW2 strategy games, it’s one of the best games period. Probably.
Smartly evolving the rather old-school base-building idea into one that perfectly fits with realities of the Normandy campaign, it also brought with it a very versatile tactical interface where the lives of your units mattered, and exploiting the terrain was key to victory.
It’s a series that has few rivals, and now it’s coming to iPad thanks to those mad folks over at Feral Interactive. Queue trailer:
These are the guys that’s brought over games like Tropico and Rome: Total War (along with both its expansions), so they should know a thing or two about porting over well-loved strategy franchises. Here’s what we know for certain:
It’s coming ‘This Fall’.
It will be a premium game with no IAPs.
It will be iPad only to start with.
This is par-the-course with how Feral have ported things in the past: iPad first, then iPhone and then if we’re lucky, an Android port will follow at some-point as well. The IAP thing is fine, but remember Company of Heroes did have two expansions, one of which added the British Army (which was always my favourite) so it’ll be interesting to see whether those are also in the works, and whether they’ll be released as stand-alones a la RTW’s Barbarian Invasionand Alexander add-ons.
"We're seeing growth coming from new markets or markets that are starting to open in a different kind of way, particularly in Asia and particularly China. Then within our existing portfolio, we're constantly looking to find ways to broaden the appeal of our existing franchises, whether that's Total War, Football Manager, or Company of Heroes. Whatever it is, we have a constant mission to extend the reach of those. And on top of that, we look at new IP opportunities as well to further increase our offering."
China is involved in a lot of big companies in the west, and these 'western companies' want to expand into China that has a fast-growing middle class.
This is a big reason why censoring games to suit China is now their goal.
The gaming industry are under siege and this will undoubtedly start a consumer revolt with millions of gamers defending their hobby.
The boiling frog theory is describing the current situation. Each gaming community has a boiling point as to how much censorship and "EA surprise mechanics" they will tolerate?
It's quite possible ftp CoH games will go China/Asia exclusives similar to Creative Assembly/NetEase that likely includes censorship.
See below quote, Sega don't consider Steam as the primary market for ftp CoH/Total War/Football Manager.
"We're seeing growth coming from new markets or markets that are starting to open in a different kind of way, particularly in Asia and particularly China. Then within our existing portfolio, we're constantly looking to find ways to broaden the appeal of our existing franchises, whether that's Total War, Football Manager, or Company of Heroes. Whatever it is, we have a constant mission to extend the reach of those. And on top of that, we look at new IP opportunities as well to further increase our offering."
Asia = ftp games dominate the PC + mobile market and this will not change anytime soon.
CoH/Total War China censorship and Trojan Horses?
Both Chinese and Western authorities don't like violent video games. As usual, games make an easy scapegoat.
Creative Assembly has begun censoring Total War games and Relic games might be next.
China has finally lifted its 14-year ban on video games, 2015 https://www.businessinsider.com/china-lifts-14-year-ban-on-gaming-consoles-2015-7?r=US&IR=T
The sale of consoles was banned in 2000 by the Chinese government amid fears games could have "adverse effects" on Chinese youth. However, this ban was largely ineffectual, with imported grey market consoles being sold openly in many Chinese cities.
At very least CoH expanding to console is relative safe from Chinese censorship
Western gamers blame Chinese gamers for cheating and hacking, is this fair? Fact about China, Feb. 16, 2018:
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' problem with cheaters has been a major issue for the game, and recent data from the company's anti-cheat tech provider, BattlEye indicates that 99% of accounts that have been banned for cheating are from China.
Youxi Story reports the statistic, adding that 46% of PUBG's total players are based in China. It makes the problem a significant one in PUBG's most important territory.
One million accounts were banned for cheating in January, with BattlEye saying that "things continue to escalate" in spite of this. https://nordic.ign.com/xbox-one-gaming-hardware/10457/news/99-of-pubgs-banned-cheaters-are-from-china
The main reason in my eyes is that the 'games as a service' bullshit that is running wild in the industry at the momentonly works if you build up enough hype by either a big marketing machinery or using an already established IP. Indie developers don't have any of that. There are also scammers in the Indie community, but in the triple A business there's next to no decent developer left
Indie devs means independent but I agree with the sentiments. Big indies includes Bungie who recently split from Activision and then ofc CD Projekt Red (CyberPunk 2077, The Witcher 3 & GOG digital distribution platform). GOG is the pro-consumer alternative to Steam.
Technically, indie devs are developers that do not depend on external sources to sustain themselves, funding their projects with their own resources.
In theory, this gives them much greater creative control over their projects, as they don't need to satisfy publishers, executives, marketing people and so on.
Generally speaking, people tend to consider "indie" studios that are relatively small, the expression applies to any studio that fund themselves their development and fulfil it without any agreements that interfere with the game being made. https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-definition-of-indie-developer
Tweet from industry veteran Jason Schreier tells of Bungie staff cheering loudly at the announcement of split from Activision:
https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1083474033033777152
@jasonschreier
At today's meeting announcing the news, Bungie staff cheered loudly. Can't over-emphasize how happy they are not just to get away from Activision, but to have a game that they now own completely. Imagine a Destiny free from Activision's restrictive annualized schedule!
Reading it, I couldn't help but draw parallels with how EA, Activision, and Warner Bros. have been milking their once loyal and enthusiastic customers to the point of maximum frustration and past ethical boundaries. They’re burning bridges with former fans in the hopes of maximizing returns this fiscal year.
*SNIP*
Wait, isn’t this a games blog? Get to the point!
Okay! So clearly EA and other AAA publishers, judging by their actions of the last few months and years, still subscribe to the Friedman school of business ethics, and they’re losing their supporters in droves. Even those that stick around and pay are hardly becoming ardent fans of the companies.
Then take a company like CD Projekt Red, creators of The Witcher series, who, to date, have seemed perfectly happy to offer outstanding value to their customers and who truly invest in the intangible ‘Goodwill’ line of the Balance Sheet (yes, it’s a thing on the balance sheet, but how do you really calculate it? (rhetorical question)).
Their core $60 experience in The Witcher 3 was over 70 hours of gameplay with no microtransactions. Then along came two expansion packs (pay once, play forever model) of 10-20 hours each! Not a microtransaction or loot crate in sight!
They clearly care about customer satisfaction to a degree that the other major games publishers can’t claim. This gives them so many intangible benefits, including customer loyalty, more predictable sales numbers, and free marketing via positive word of mouth.
Note: CD Projekt aren't a perfect example because they're known to have some internal problems with crunch time, and employee welfare is a core part of the Conscious Capitalism approach. Still, they're still probably the best example, and nobody's perfect.
Relic sister studio Creative Assembly partners with Chinese NetEase and tease a brand-new collectable card game (Total War: ELYSIUM) targeting an initial release on PC and mobile in China..
NetEase resurrected Total: War Arena as a China-exclusive (pay to win coming back?)
NetEase also behind Diablo Immortal.
The Creative Assembly™ Ltd., part of SEGA® Europe Ltd., today announced a long-term partnership with NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES), one of China’s leading internet and online game services providers, which will see Total War™ published in China. NetEase, Inc. has secured rights to publish the franchise’s award-winning historical catalogue up to and including the wildly successful Total War™: THREE KINGDOMS.
In addition, the announcement included a tease for the upcoming Total War: Elysium, a brand-new collectable card game targeting an initial release on PC and mobile in China.
After we shut down the game in February, we thought that ARENA’s journey had come to an end; with members of the ARENA team being moved onto various other projects at CA. Fortunately however, as part of this deal Netease will publish Total War: ARENA in China. We moved some members of the old team back onto the project, and they have been working on adapting the servers and producing new content.
What does this mean for you?
Total War: ARENA will not be directly accessible in Western countries, and while we are disappointed that we won’t be able to jump back into battles with our old community, there’s also excitement for ARENA’s future. We’re currently in a stage of adaptation; finding out what the Chinese market needs from us and making sure ARENA lives up to that. We want to ensure that ARENA has the best possible life it can in China.
Will it ever come back to the West?
To be honest, we don’t currently have the capacity to provide servers and support both inside and outside of China, but we won’t rule it out for the future. That won’t be a quick decision as a lot of it depends on how well ARENA does in China, but we’re determined to give it our best shot. We still see a lot of potential in the West, and NetEase agrees.
When we know any more about ARENA’s future in other markets, we will let you all know.
If you have any questions, please comment below and I’ll do my best to answer what I can.
Thanks,
Josh
Creative Assembly announces Total War collectible card game - but it's China-only for now
Plus, Arena resurrected as a China-exclusive:
First up is Total War: Elysium, a collectible card game (CCG) for PC and mobile. We don't know much about the game, although official art shows Napoleon playing a card game against Sun Ren, so I expect you'll be able to pick from a selection of famous generals throughout history.
Creative Assembly said Total War: Elysium launches in China first with the help of NetEase, "but we hope to bring it to players worldwide before too long."
"Total War: Elysium is a new title and a new genre for us, and we want to give it the best possible chance for success. China gives us a huge audience of CCG fans to learn from so we can eventually bring the game to the rest of the world in better shape than ever."
Meanwhile, Creative Assembly has resurrected the previously-cancelled Total War: Arena for the Chinese market, also with the help of NetEase. And Creative Assembly teased the free-to-play MOBA-style spin-off may be brought back to life on these shores.
"While we shut down the game in the west last year, we still see loads of potential there and luckily NetEase wholeheartedly agrees," CA said.
"Arena will make its return as a China-exclusive, but we'd love to bring it back to the rest of the world some day."
Both Elysium and Arena launch in China as part of a deal between Creative Assembly and NetEase for the publishing rights to Total War's historical catalogue up to and including Total War: Three Kingdoms, which enjoyed enormous success in China. You can't officially publish games in China without a local publishing partner, so CA signed on the dotted line with NetEase.
The developer stressed this deal doesn't change anything for western players, nor does it affect its roadmap of new releases.
"It just means that more people around the world will be able to play more of our games," Creative Assembly said in a FAQ on the deal with NetEase. "That's a good thing for our studio, and in turn, a good thing for Total War players.
"We've always developed Total War games in line with local age rating and legal requirements based on the country they are sold in. We'll be working with NetEase to make sure our games can be released in China, but that won't affect the content of our games in other countries.
"We keep full control of our studio, our titles, our road map, and the support we give our community. We'll work closely with NetEase to deliver on player needs in China specifically, but if you live anywhere else you won't even notice. Business as usual."
It's busy times for Creative Assembly. It's working on nine projects including a "major new IP" - an unannounced tactical team-based shooter.
*SNIP*
However, recently Chinese developer NetEase has had an unexpected notice. While being sued for imitating of PUBG, NetEase says that it would also sue any Studio that uses the "creative features" found in Rules of Survival and Knives Out. But how interesting it is this Chinese developer does not mention Bluehole, PUBG Corp or PUBG in its announcement.
10
Denmark
(pay to win coming back?)
Relic Entertainment
cblanco ★ 
보드카 중대 
VonManteuffel 
Heartless Jäger 
DonnieChan
