One more Gaming league Down the Tubes - The CPL has closed

Citing financial concerns the Cyberathlete Professional League has ceased operations and cancelled all future events, eleven years after being first launched:

Effective immediately, the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) will cease operations. Therefore, all CPL events currently scheduled for 2008 are hereby canceled.The CPL was launched in June 1997 with the pioneering mission of promoting and sanctioning video game competitions as a professional sport. For ten years the CPL events experienced increased growth - commencing with a small LAN event in Dallas, Texas, and culminating in world-class competitions across five continents.

However, the current fragmentation of the sport, a crowded field of competing leagues, and the current economic climate have prompted the CPL to suspend its pro-tournament operations. The CPL regrets that this news will disappoint those that were planning on attending the summer and winter events this year.

Many thanks to all of the sponsors and partners that helped CPL establish the groundwork for professional video game competitions. Their vision and pioneering spirit should always be remembered.

The CPL was in the process of developing Severity with Tom Mustaine’s Escalation Studios, and had planned to release it on all major formats. Severity was designed from the ground-up as a pro-gaming title and was to be used for many of the CPL’s major tournaments - with the CPL out of business it is quite possible that Severity’ll be canned, though we are attempting to contact Escalation to confirm its fate.

BioShock 2 Announced for 2009 Release

BioShock was the biggest sleeper hit of 2007. While those who follow games from developer Irrational (now 2K Boston and 2K Australia) knew that BioShock was going to be something special, the late-summer shooter of last year quickly became a media and critical darling. It is no surprise then, that parent company Take-Two Interactive has announced that BioShock 2, which could end up being a prequel, is currently in the works.

The game is expected to hit sometime between August and October 2009, two years after the first game. The team(s) that handled the first game won’t be on the next BioShock, as new development house 2K Marin will be taking over. But fear not, BioShock fans, as 2K Marin is composed of several individuals who worked on the first BioShock, and designer Ken Levine will still be contributing to the upcoming title.

Too Many Beta Testers Hurt Tabula Rasa

Gamasutra offers some insight from Richard Garriott during the 2007 Independent Game Conference. Richard was asked about the marketing of Tabula Rasa. While he feels the marketing was “fine,” he points out the real problem was himself and the development team by saying what hurt the game was the invitation of too many beta testers before the game was fun enough to be worth playing.

“We burned out some quantity of our beta-testers when the game wasn’t yet fun,” he said, adding, “As we’ve begun to sell the game, the people who hadn’t participated in the beta became our fast early-adopters.”

He continued, “And the people who did participate in the beta, we’ve had to go back to and say ‘look, look, we promise: we know it wasn’t fun two months ago, but we fixed all that. Really, come try it again.’ We’ve had to go out and develop free programs to invite those people back for free before they go buy it. So the beta process, which we used to think of as a QA process, is really a marketing process.”

BioShock 1.1 Patch Ready For Download

2K Games has the retail 1.1 patch for Bioshock available for download. The 27mb file includes some changes and fixes a full list below. This is only valid for PC boxed version of the game.

Changes:

• Added compatibility with Matrox TripleHead2Go - Allows Bioshock users to play in Surround Gaming Mode across 3 screens simultaneously
• Added rendering support for TripleHead2Go
• Added the following plasmids and gene tonics: Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom 2, Eve Saver, Machine Buster, Machine Buster 2, Vending Expert, Vending Expert 2
• Added an Option to disable the Vita-Chambers for added difficulty.
• Changed behavior of subtitles so that inappropriate queuing is improved
• Added support for a walk toggle keybind
• Added Horizontal FOV Lock option
• Atlas VO volume increased for German releases

Fixes:

• Re-added the Human Inferno tonic which was missing from the retail release.
• Fixed mouse acceleration issues
• Fixed issue of subtitles not clearing correctly on occasion
• Fix for a potential situation in Fort Frolic where taking a picture of Cobb is impossible if his body gets stuck behind a fallen pillar
• Fixed subtitle timings to more accurately match the on screen audio
• Fixed issue causing stuttering audio when using Windows Vista
• Fixed issue with characters squirming and wiggling after death
• Fixed blood decals and other projectors not showing up on ATI hardware
• The “Use Creative EAX Audio” option is now greyed out when EAX-capable hardware is not present
• Fixed audio issues stemming from having a Speaker Setting in Windows that was invalid for the current sound card
• Fixed reserved keys not functioning properly when keys are unbound
• Fixed multiple cases of keys not allowing a rebind
• Removed erroneous “Reload” binding in a no-weapons context
• Fixed incorrect Training Message concerning bots who are friendly to enemy AIs
• Fixed incorrect Training Message when shooting a Mimic
• Fixed refresh rate being locked at 60hz in DX10 mode
• Fixed VSync disabling in DX10 mode

Saga A New MMO Enters Stage 2 Beta

Saga a new Free Massively-Multiplayer Online Real-Time Strategy (MMORTS) today locked in December 11th as the start of their final Beta. Players who joined in the Phase 1 Beta test will be the first to gain entry; others will be admitted on a first-come first-served basis.

Here’s a few changes from beta stage 1: The initial screens and user interface have been improved and completely rebuilt in an easy and intuitive format. A brand new storyline-based quest system has been added that includes epic boss battles for multiplayer strategy. The chat system has been renovated to enhance trading and guild communication. A tournament system will be introduced later in Beta 2 that allows players to win products as well as increase their ranking. In addition, Saga received a major graphics overhaul making the visuals spectacular.

Sound fun? Do you want to join the beta?

GameTap Losing EA, Interplay And Other Games

GameTap’s message boards have revealed that the service will be losing the rights to offer a number of down-loadable games from Electronic Arts, Interplay, Atari and other publishers beginning Dec. 11. The list of games totals around 70 titles and can be found here.

GameTap executive editor Doug Perry stated in the message boards that the reason for the pulling of the titles was apparently due to contracts that are all ending on Dec. 11. Is this the start of more game studios not renewing contracts with the GameTap service?

Activision-Vivendi Games To Merge and Renamed Activision Blizzard

Game publishers Activision and Vivendi Games will merge their companies into one and be renamed Activision Blizzard. The result will create a company with revenues of $3.8 billion in 2007. The deal is expected to be made official in the first half of 2008. What does this say for Sierra only time will tell, but I am here to say I don’t think sierra will be around much longer.

Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Vivendi (Paris: VIV) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi’s interactive entertainment business — which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, the world’s #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise — with Activision, creating the world’s largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party video game publisher. On closing of the transaction, Activision will be renamed Activision Blizzard and will continue to operate as a public company traded on NASDAQ under the ticker ATVI. Activision, one of the world’s leading independent publishers of interactive entertainment, is best known for its top- selling franchises, including Guitar Hero®, Call of Duty® and the Tony Hawk series, as well as Spider-Manâ„¢, X-Menâ„¢, Shrek®, James Bondâ„¢ and TRANSFORMERSâ„¢. Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, has projected calendar 2007 revenues of $1.1 billion, operating margins of over 40% and approximately $520 million of operating profit. Blizzard owns the #1 multi-player online role-playing game franchise, World of Warcraft, which currently has over 9.3 million subscribers worldwide. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, Warcraft®, StarCraft® and Diablo® games account for four of the top-five best-selling PC game titles of all time. Vivendi Games also owns popular franchises, including Crash Bandicootâ„¢ and Spyroâ„¢. Pro forma for calendar 2007, Activision Blizzard expects to generate approximately 70% of its revenues from owned franchises. As a result of the business combination, Activision Blizzard expects to have the most diversified and broadest portfolio of interactive entertainment assets in its industry, positioning the combined company to capitalize on the continued worldwide growth in interactive entertainment.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi stated: “This alliance is a major strategic step for Vivendi and is another illustration of our drive to extend our presence in the entertainment sector. By combining Vivendi’s games business with Activision, we are creating a worldwide leader in a high-growth industry. We are excited about the opportunities for Activision Blizzard as a broader entertainment software platform. We believe this transaction will create significant value for Activision Blizzard and Vivendi stockholders. In Activision, we have found a partner with a highly complementary business and strong operating team. Bobby Kotick and Brian Kelly are industry pioneers, well known for creating shareholder value. The combined strength of the existing management teams at both companies will set the stage for further profitable growth of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to being an active and supportive majority stockholder in a company that is poised to lead the worldwide interactive entertainment industry in the years ahead.”

René Penisson, Member of the Management Board of Vivendi and current Chairman of Vivendi Games, added: “We are very confident that by combining forces, Activision Blizzard will set the highest standards in quality, reputation and profitability, and will bring together the best creative teams in the industry. The combination of this unique product portfolio with highly professional employees gives us great confidence in the growth prospects for Activision Blizzard.”

Said Robert Kotick, Activision’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: “This is an outstanding transaction for Activision and our stockholders, as well as a pivotal event in the continuing transformation of the interactive entertainment industry. By combining leaders in mass-market entertainment and subscription-based online games, Activision Blizzard will be the only publisher with leading market positions across all categories of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry and reach the broadest possible audiences. By joining forces with Vivendi Games, we will become the immediate leader in the highly profitable online games business and gain a large footprint in the rapidly growing Asian markets, including China and Korea, while maintaining our leading operating performance across North America and Europe. Activision stockholders will benefit from significantly increased earnings power and the recurring nature and predictability of subscription-based revenues, while also having the opportunity, if they choose, to receive $27.50 per share for a portion of their shares in the post-closing tender offer.”

Kotick continued: “Vivendi Games provides Activision with unique strategic and financial benefits and will allow us to leverage our franchises into emerging online opportunities as Blizzard has done so successfully. Activision has been very focused on margin expansion, and this transaction will meaningfully increase our overall operating margins as we expand our franchises online and in new geographies. Diversifying our revenue base among subscription-based online, console and PC formats, as well as wireless and casual emerging opportunities, gives us the broadest platform to capitalize on industry growth. With Blizzard’s successful franchises, such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft and an exciting pipeline of yet-to-be announced titles, Vivendi Games’ and Blizzard’s management team will join with Activision’s strong and experienced leaders to become an even more powerful force for innovation in online and offline interactive entertainment across a wide range of platforms. This transaction also provides a unique relationship with Universal Music Group – the world’s largest music company – which will benefit Guitar Hero and further extend our sizable leadership position in music-based games.”

Mike Morhaime, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blizzard, added: “Blizzard’s industry-leading PC games business, with a track record of nine consecutive bestsellers and a global subscriber base of more than 9.3 million World of Warcraft players, is an exceptional fit for Activision’s highly profitable console games business. From our interactions with the Activision team, it is clear we have much in common in terms of our approaches to game development and publishing. Above all, we are looking forward to continue creating great games for Blizzard gamers around the world, and we believe this new partnership will help us to do that even better than before.”

Xbox 360 Free With Your Pizza Order

As if Pizza and Video games did not go hand in hand, here comes Dominos and a new Xbox promo. I have never been a fan of any enter a code and win product tie-ins that most companies like to do, But this one really does not sound bad at all.

If you’re a gamer you most likely already eat your share of pizza like I do and you have a internet connection. So all you have to do wo win a Xbox 360 is order your pizza from Domino’s pizza on line.

Starting December 1st and running through the 12th, Domino’s Pizza is giving away Xbox 360 prizes to every customer who orders online. When your online order is placed during these “XII Days of Xbox” you will receive a free 48 hour Xbox Live Gold subscription automatically. Also every day, 10 random orders will win an Xbox 360 and a copy of Project Gotham Racing 4. Once your order is placed a window will pop up, telling you if you’ve won a console or a piece of crap subscription, with prizes shipping within two days of winning to arrive in time for Christmas.

I have already bookmarked the order page and I know what’s for dinner the first 12 days in December.

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) and Xbox(R) are teaming up this holiday season to deliver the “XII Days of Xbox.” Every day, beginning Dec. 1 through Dec. 12, customers who place their order online at www.dominos.com will instantly receive Xbox prizes, and some entrants will win Xbox 360(R) consoles.

Every order placed online during the “XII Days of Xbox” will receive a gift with purchase -a 48-hour trial of Xbox LIVE(R) Gold, Xbox’s premier online multiplayer gaming and entertainment service that lets players connect their gaming consoles to the Internet and play games online. Best of all, every day during the “XII Days of Xbox,” 10 lucky customers will win an Xbox 360 gaming console and a Project Gotham Racing(R) 4 video game.

“We’re giving our customers some of the hottest gifts this season along with a hot, delicious meal when they place their order online,” said Ken Calwell, Domino’s Pizza chief marketing officer. “We’re delivering the convenience of online ordering and pairing it with the excitement of instantly getting great prizes from Xbox.”

Customers can order online Dec. 1 through Dec. 12 for more chances to play. Once an order is placed, a pop-up window will appear to confirm the order and announce instantly what prize will be received and if the customer has won the Xbox 360 console and Project Gotham Racing 4 video game. Prizes will be shipped within two days of winning to arrive in time for the holidays. Customers can visit www.dominos.com for automatic entry into the “XII Days of Xbox and for the official “XII Days of Xbox” contest rules. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited. Must be at least 13 years of age to enter. Contest ends Dec. 12, 2007.

GRID Officially Announced and First Screenshots

Codemasters announces GRID, the next game in their long running racing series. GRID will be released in mid-2008 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 from the same development team which brought you Colin McRae: DiRT. Here is a release and first screens:

Coming mid 2008, GRID is set to capture every moment from the starting grid to the chequered flag and concentrate those moments into an intense and dramatic race experience. GRID is being developed for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows®.

GRID will take players to beautifully realized and dramatic race locations over three continents to compete in an unprecedented variety of racing events. Packed with the most powerful race cars - new and classic, circuit and drift - players will compete to conquer the most prestigious official race tracks and championships and then go beyond to compete in challenging city-based competitions, through to road events and urban street races.

In Europe, race gamers will compete on the greatest official tracks in prestige Marques including Aston Martin, Koenigsegg and Pagani.

Iconic cities across the U.S. - including San Francisco, Washington DC and Detroit and each with their own atmosphere and events - play hosts to diverse street races. Here, high-performance V8 muscle cars set the pace in aggressive closely fought pack competitions.

In the Far East, Japanese racing culture sets the tone where night races, including Drift racing, take drivers through neon illuminated cities and to outlying mountain roads. There is also the opportunity to compete in races that operate on the fringes of legality in the back streets and industrial areas of Yokohama.

EVE Online: Trinity To Launch On Dec. 5

CCP announces today that EVE Online: Trinity, the latest free expansion pack for CCP’ s space based MMO game, will be released for their subscribers on Dec. 5. While there will be a classic / standard version of the expansion there will also be a premium version with enhanced graphics adding Shader 3.0 graphics.

CCP, one of the world’s largest independent game developers, today announced that the highly anticipated EVE Online: Trinity expansion for its popular massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) will be available on December 5, 2007. Available as a free online download for all EVE subscribers, Trinity features a next-generation graphics engine that sets a new aesthetic standard for online games. This expansion comes on the heels of another important milestone: more than 200,000 players now subscribe to EVE Online.

The release of the Trinity expansion fortifies EVE Online’s position at the forefront of three-dimensional game graphics, creating a breath-taking cinematic experience during actual gameplay. In order to achieve its visual goals, CCP developed a new graphics engine, architected for Shader Model 3.0 and above. In this first showcase for the new engine, all ships, stations and stargates have been reconstructed. EVE Online: Trinity employs advanced lighting techniques and complex surface materials to make these highly detailed models even more realistic.

“EVE Online players always inspire and amaze everyone at CCP, and it is invigorating to see our subscription numbers surpass 200,000 as we prepare for the Trinity release,” said Hilmar Veigar Petursson, Chief Executive Officer of CCP. “We’re pleased that advances in graphics technology allow us to present the world of EVE Online as we had always envisioned it. We look forward to sharing the Trinity edition with the fast-growing, dedicated community that shares our passion to remove the barriers that constrain virtual worlds from meeting their full potential.”

The Trinity launch also includes a host of new features. For full details of added features, please visit http://www.eve-online.com/trinity/. To experience a preview of EVE Online: Trinity, see the trailer here http://myeve.eve-online.com/download/videos/.

Pricing and Availability

CCP is releasing two versions of EVE Online: Trinity. Gameplay will remain the same in both versions. A classic version of EVE Online: Trinity will be available as a free download December 5, 2007 for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms at http://www.eve-online.com/download/. The premium version of EVE Online: Trinity, which will include updated and enhanced graphics, will be available on Microsoft Windows on December 5, 2007 and to Mac and Linux subscribers in the first quarter of 2008.

The premium version is compatible with graphics cards capable of displaying Shader 3.0 graphics or better.