movements5121d ago

You can't keep good men down....

StanLee5121d ago

They're foolish. They should have waited for the litigation to end. This will give credence to Activision's assertions that they were secretly in talks with EA and conniving to poach staff.

young juice5121d ago

do i smell.... oh wait, its just another FPS

thehitman5121d ago

There is no way of proving something like that they can easily say that once we were fired EA approached us or we approached EA all activision can do is throw up conspiracy theories. Activision fired them they didnt quit so all they can do is cry and hope this doesnt affect MW3 so much.

DEA Fresh5121d ago (Edited 5121d ago )

Glad to see these guys found work fast. Hope this studio moves fast. Can't wait to see the new IP's they come out w. Hopefully they get a game out this gen. What a smack in the face to Activison though I'm sure they wish they were still involved w/ IW and COD.

EDIT: See a lot of people saying more IW workers should switch studios and that'd be fine but the 1 guy I don't want to see is Robert Bowling aka 402. He is such a tool bag wish he was removed from IW.

Christopher5121d ago

Exactly #1. Lots of people would sit around and waste time pouting and trying to get back at their former employers, these guys just roll with it and get more of what they wanted in the first place. I'm guessing we'll be seeing an announcement for two lead positions being taken up by former IW staffers any moment now.

Brklynty15121d ago

AWWWWW SNAP! *snaps finger*

morganfell5121d ago

It will be interesting to see how many people bail from Infinity Ward to join them.

krisq5121d ago (Edited 5121d ago )

I actually think two ex-heads from IW mean s*** without their former team. I wouldn't be surprised at people from IW jumping ships soon. Activision desevers that.

lodossrage5121d ago (Edited 5121d ago )

Ok normally I never agree with stan lee. But you're actually both right

The thing is, them going to EA pretty much right after Activision already publicly said they were planning a mutiny of sorts and secretly in talks in EA makes Activision's claim LOOK (not necessarily is) more valid.

But at the same time, hitman is right because they were FIRED. They didn't leave of their own free will. It won't be easy for Acti to prove any mutiny because they didn't quit of their own free will. So yeah for the most part all Activision can do about that is toss up a theory here and there

morganfell5121d ago (Edited 5121d ago )

People here are not looking at this from an industry point of view, or in some cases even an intelligent one.

There is no way this new studio was announced without the permission of the EA lawyers as well as the Zampella/Ward legal team. No doubt there is full realization of what could occur had there been illegal meetings. Notice I said "illegal meetings" not "secret meetings." Despite loud mouth comments by Activision, the inability for Zampella and Ward to talk to other entities may not be that air tight from a legal perspective.

They likely did not talk to anyone at all.

The very fact that they (EA) have issued this statement is if anything baiting Activision to say something. It will be easy for EA, Ward, and Zampella to disclose emails and phone records that clearly show when there was a first contact.

OmegaSlayer5121d ago

It's a no brainer that 2 really skilled and talented guys would have found a BIG producer in a glimpse of an eye.

The time for the announcement are wrong imho, but, as a gamer, I'm more than pleased.

Sledgehammer now is at Activision trying to do something new, while Respawn while have new freedom at EA.

What would be good is that bigger publishers should "force" a certain kind of co operation between the developers, like Sony does with its studios.
Sharing some tech knowledge and some ideas could only do well to games.

Elven65121d ago

thehitman: There was a story recently that an ex IW staffer basically confirmed rumors that EA and other studios were trying to poach Zampella and West from Activision in 04/05. Activision probably has proof internally that something was indeed going down, they wouldn't have struck without it. Now that this studio has been founded it is basically the icing on the cake.

thehitman5121d ago

It could all be true but it becomes all irrelevant because Activision fired them and not for the reason of trying to leave for another company. The only way Activision would have a valid case if they left freely and then all of a sudden they joined EA. You forget that also EA wanted to take over Take-Two but it didnt happen. I bet its not uncommon that huge publishers try to steal developers from competitors.

Elven65121d ago

You can't fire someone without a valid reason in North America, Activision has claimed that Zampella and West were attempting to leave and take talent with them along with the IP apparently. When this originally happened their were also rumblings that they were already working on the rival title at Infinity Ward using Activision money, tech, etc. I think there's more to it but I haven't followed it as much as I'd like to.

jjohan355121d ago

If I got fired, I will not sit around and remain unemployed. This shouldn't affect their current litigation. It is very difficult to prove in court what Activision is accusing the two guys. The burden of proof is on Activision. The co-founders will not have a difficult time proving that they have rights to royalties. It's part of their contract.

Information Minister5121d ago

So these guys left EA at odds in 2002 after working in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, resulting in a lawsuit. They joined Activision and even took a stab at EA when they closed a studio in 2008, using COD4 (remember the message "EA Chicago: Infinity Ward is hiring. [email protected]"?). Now they leave Activision, with a lawsuit in progress and go back to EA?

Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees the irony here.

morganfell5121d ago (Edited 5121d ago )

You bring up a good point but remember that Zampella and West were contracted employees and thus the Department of Labor regulations regarding Termination Without Cause do not apply in the same manner as an hourly wage employee.

That said, it does prop open the door for a host of legal actions by Zampella and West. Activision will be forced to prove that Zampella and West failed to perform to the level and specifics of their contract (MW2 will make that difficult) or they must prove that they violated some term or terms in their contract or the SOW (Statement Of Work).

And remember, there are places in North America where you can be fired with no reason...or worse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Beast_Master5121d ago

Does anyone remember Sledgehammer games is the guys who did Dead Space that jumped ship to do COD action game for Activision. SO I kinda think this makes these guys even.

Solidus187-SCMilk5120d ago

Their first game should be

Call to Duty: Future Warfare.

DigitalHorror815120d ago

"Any hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work."

+ Show (17) more repliesLast reply 5120d ago
tdrules5121d ago

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
NO
THEY
DIDN'T

*SNAPS FINGERS*

frankymv5121d ago

The name makes perfect sense

thehitman5121d ago

And GJ on EA picking up some nice talent. Maybe EA can send some devs they had to cut to help their new studio.

Goldsack5121d ago

..now payback time Activenitches.

Show all comments (70)
130°

70 percent of devs unsure of live-service games sustainability

With so many games fighting for players' attention and interest losing out over time, time sink games are at risk of eventually losing steam.

Read Full Story >>
gamedeveloper.com
thorstein1d 23h ago

It was worrisome to begin with.

It's a niche genre with only a handful of hits that can stand the test of time.

Cacabunga1d 2h ago

I like the sound of that!! I will for sure never support these gaas games.
Sony must be shocked at gamer's reaction, making them cancel a few of these and hopefully go back to the good heavy hitters they had us used to..
now bring on that PSPro reveal and show us some SP 1st party awesomeness.

CrimsonWing691d 23h ago

What’s to be unsure of!? Look at the ratio of success to failure!

DarXyde1d 6h ago

It's pretty ridiculous.

Imagine having a breadth of data at your disposal to see the statistically low success rate of these games, only to be laser focused on the exceptional case studies.

shinoff21831d 21h ago

Yes. Stop all the live service bs.

jznrpg1d 21h ago

Only a few will catch on. You need a perfect storm to be successful in GaaS and a bit of luck on top of that. But a potential cash cow will keep them trying and some will go out of business because of it.

MIDGETonSTILTS171d 21h ago

Helldivers 2 manages just fine…

Keep production costs low… don’t just make custscenes until the mechanics and enemies are perfected first.

Make so much content that you can drip extra content for years, and the game already feels complete without them.

Most importantly: make weapons, enemies, levels, and mechanics that will stand the test of 1000 hours. This might require more devs embracing procedurally generated leveled, which I think separates Helldivers 2 from Destiny’s repetitiveness.

Show all comments (15)
60°

The Battle Pass Is The Worst Thing To Happen To Modern Gaming

Nameer from eXputer: "Some exceptions aside, I don't think the battle pass is a net positive for gaming with how they're implemented in most live service titles."

got_dam2d ago

Battle passes AND meta gaming both.

DivineHand1251d 23h ago (Edited 1d 23h ago )

I like the way Helldivers 2 does battle passes. It allows you to make purchases on each level of the battle pass and gives you the option of choosing which item to unlock first. The more purchases you make using medals the further you progress. There is no timer and you can earn medals towards purchasing stuff via personal orders and Major orders.

I haven't played much live service games that have battle passes but I remember some games that have battle passes where you progress through it linearly using an exp system. What makes it really bad is that the battle pass will have like 50 or more levels with the cooler stuff being closer to the end. They also have an in-game shop that sells exp boosters so you can reach the end of the pass before it refreshes. Everyone ilse will have to grind their way through.

lucian2291d 22h ago

battle pass in fortnite is perfect; buy one and it buys the rest for every other season as it gives you more money than the first cost. so 8.50 and season ends with you getting 13.00, it pays for the next and you have some pocket change to save up for cash shop. All of which is optional

470°

PS5 Pro specs leak video taken down by Sony

Sony is taking actions as video by Moore’s Law is Dead, has been issued with a copyright claim.

Read Full Story >>
videogameschronicle.com
andy852d ago

And people say it's all fake because Sony haven't said anything 😂 conveniently forget the PS4 Pro was only announced 2 months before release.

BeHunted2d ago

It's fake. There's no factual evidence other than his own made up specs.

Hereandthere2d ago

What were the specks Sony was afraid of showing?

Shikoku2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Digital foundry put a video out saying what he leaked was exactly what they also knew about the PS5 PRO. So no it's not just stuff he made up

Babadook72d ago (Edited 2d ago )

If it’s fake what copyright does MLID infringe upon?

😂

andy852d ago

Aye because they'd go to the effort of copyright claiming it if it didn't exist 🙃😂 you'd have to be a special kind to be thinking its not a thing by now

Cacabunga2d ago

They need to reveal it with uncharted killzone or a heavy hitter like this

Ironmike2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

U mean the specs that we'll established digital foundry which said these are the actual specs published a video on 2 weeks ago I mean they are only one of most trusted sites for tech information but they just made up a video for the sake of it

Christopher2d ago

I would love for it all to be fake, but lots of people are saying they've seen/heard the same thing. But, man, we 100% don't need mid-gen upgrades when we're failing hard to optimize current hardware.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2d ago
Seraphim1d 19h ago (Edited 1d 19h ago )

if I recall Sony lowered sales expectations for PS5 earlier this year. if that is the case we won't hear anything about a Pro until next year or shortly before/when it's dropping. After all, if the Pro was dropping this year/fiscal year they wouldn't have lowered expectations.

As for squashing rumors. Yeah, shit like this prevents potential buyers from adopting now, just like slim rumors in the past. It only makes sense to keep things under wraps from a business perspective. Despite living in a technological age of unfettered access to information we don't need to know whats going on behind closed doors be that at Sony, Nintendo, MS, or amongst any development studios. When the steak is done we shall feast.

JackBNimble1d 19h ago

By the time games are actually made to take advantage of the pro spec's the ps6 will be released or close to it.

jznrpg2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Just announce it already! I want to preorder one asap. But in reality they don’t want to lessen PS5 sales until Pro is ready to launch so I understand the business part of it. September is probably when they announce it with an early November launch like the PS4 Pro

Ironmike2d ago

Pro won't lessen sales sames ps4 pro never and the ps4 pro was more relevant at the time cos move to 4k this not needed

RaidenBlack2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Yea, my brother got his PS4 (coz of a good deal) after the PS4 Pro's release.

darthv722d ago

^^same here. I got a base 4 for only $100 off a guy who bought the Pro. then a few months later I found a guy on craigslist selling a pro for $100 because it was left behind by his former roommate who moved out. That was the beginning of my obsession to buy up the different variants of the PS4 that were released.

As of now I am really only missing the 500m one and the gold slim but otherwise I have pretty much all the other retail ones. https://consolevariations.c...

crazyCoconuts1d 21h ago

Anyone with 4K that appreciates 60fps is gonna disagree about it not being needed.
DLSS is a god send for Nvidia, and there's been nothing like it for AMD...yet ...

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 21h ago
DeadlyFire2d ago

They will announce it around E3 timeframe about May-June whenever they do a showcase for the year.

neutralgamer19922d ago

Just announce it this thing will sell well

Ironmike2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I don't think it will pll still haven't seen the potential of ps5 yet

Cacabunga2d ago

agreed, but it might sell if they announce some 1st party games to lead the way. if people see the difference with the base version they can move on. for my sake I am still gaming mainly on PS4 (still not finished with RDR2 due to lack of gaming time). I have a huge backlog on PS5 I am hoping to get into.

mark3214uk2d ago

why? game makers havnt even come close to maxing out current spec yet, were getting al lthese new TFlops and game maker are making crappy remakes not worthy of the ps3

Minute Man 7212d ago

The guts of the 5 and X are 5 years old

fr0sty1d 21h ago

People keep saying that, yet we still have games running at near HD resolutions, 30fps, and ray tracing features turned off.

PRIMORDUS2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I would take that video and upload a torrent of it, fuck that copyright bullshit. If your going to do something that has a chance of being taken down, make a torrent first share it. Then Sony or any other company is helpless and you can laugh in their faces, taunting them to try to take it down 🤣

LoveSpuds2d ago

With kind of analysis and advice, you could be a lawyer for Trump!🤣

tronyx122d ago

As much as the PS4 Pro didn't represent a major % in the playerbase, announcing a 'better' model will hinder sales from the 'base' model. They are right, business-wise.

Show all comments (36)