Wizards of the Coast has announced that new games based on its popular Magic: The Gathering property are currently in development. Stainless Games, which announced a deal with Wizards of the Coast in December, is working on a game due on PC and Xbox Live Arcade, while Mind Control will develop a seperate game for PC and Mac systems.

"We're excited to bring the Magic brand to new platforms and give our fans new ways to experience this great property,” said Magic: The Gathering brand director Jared Gustafson, adding "It's partnerships like these that will advance the strategy games category and transform it to meet the needs and desires of today's digital gamers.”

More details on both games will be announced a later date.

As industry figures and journalists continue flocking to San Francisco, this year's Game Developers Conference began with a series of talks about independent gaming. Subjects ranged from ninjas to dinosaurs to nuclear holocaust, but my reaction was always the same: "This is awesome."

Contained within our summary of the inaugural day of GDC 08: What makes N such a unique platformer, Defcon developer Introversion on the importance of brands, the astounding popularity of Facebook applets, bean bag chairs, metal business cards of death, and one special surprise.

I'd like to say that Introversion's presentation--entitled "Spreading Your Message as an Indie Developer"--ended the same way it started, with smiles all around, but that would be a lie. They only threw foam Darwinia figures into the crowd at the beginning.

The message, as delivered by Introversion marketing head Vicky Arundel, was clear: There is no way independent developers can directly compete against the giant publishers.
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After a period of grueling preparation, the ShackStaff is invading San Francisco this week for the annual Game Developers Conference. Like Genghis Khan before us, we will sweep across the booths and lecture halls, cutting down the hordes of gaming vendors and lecture panelists, dissecting them for the populace at large.

In short, we're going to see a lot of games, and a lot of game-makers.

On the corporate show-off side of things, we'll have the chance to check out a diverse offering of upcoming titles, from Street Fighter IV to Battlefield Heroes, Postal 3 to Fallen Empire: Legions, Prototype to Too Human.

But the real fun of GDC is getting a feel for the collective spirit of the industry, listening to the creative minds that work behind the scenes to drive the big business ... Read more

If you like dragons, clubs, lawyers, senseless massacre, or soccer, you're in for a treat this week care of all the new games slated to hit PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP.

Check out the entire list for the full scoop, or just click on of the box arts below to go directly to that platform's section. Notable releases include Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney on Nintendo DS (details), The Club for PC, PS3, and X360 (screens), Dynasty Warriors 6 on PS3 and X360 (details), and Dragon Quest Swords for Wii (details).

Barring any unforeseen delays, most North American retailers should have this week's games by Wednesday, February 20.

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With Marvel Universe Online (PC, X360) officially canceled and the studio no longer involved with City of Heroes (PC), the latest effort from superhero MMO developer Cryptic Studios is Champions Online, a super-powered MMO planned for PC and consoles.

Word of the project comes from a writeup detailing gaming publication Game Informer's March issue. No further details are available at this time.

Gearbox's upcoming Aliens shooter will be called Aliens: Colonial Marines when it hits PC and unspecifid consoles--most likely PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360--in 2009, the article revealed. It also contained the official title of Volition's next Red Faction entry, Red Faction: Guerilla.

Addressing the alleged sequels to BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Criterion's Black, publisher Electronic Arts has clarified that such products are not necessarily under development at this time.

Reports of the titles emerged yesterday, after a slide (pictured left) presented to analysts by EA CEO John Riccitiello suggested that future KOTOR and Black projects were underway at the EA-owned studios.

"The slide in John's presentation is titled 'Best Creative Talent'--it addresses future and past titles," EA told Shacknews. "KOTOR, Black, Boogie, Skate and some other titles on the slide speak to past portfolio releases and the pedigree of the studio but do not specifically address future sequels."

Outside of the slide, Riccitiello did not mention KOTOR or Black, though it was implied that the listed properties denoted new or upcoming releases. Many of the other properties in the slide, including Skate, were revealed to be receiving future iterations in a later presentation.

"The [previously announced] MMO in development at BioWare Austin is listed a 'New MMO,'" EA's statement continued in an attempt to prevent future misunderstandings. "We apologize for any confusion this may have caused."

Publisher Focus Home Interactive and developer Cyanide Studio have sent along several new screenshots from the upcoming PC version of Blood Bowl.

Based on Games Workshop's board game of the same name, Blood Bowl will support both real-time and turn-based play. The game is expected to hit PC and Xbox 360 this year, with Nintendo DS and PSP editions arriving eventually.

Update: Electronic Arts has clarified has that a new KOTOR title is not necessarily in development at this time, with the slide merely describing "past portfolio releases and the pedigree of the studio."

Original Story: A new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game may be in development at BioWare, and it may have nothing to do with the studio's still-unnamed MMO.

During an analyst meeting, a slide presented by EA CEO John Riccitiello credited BioWare with the following projects: Mass Effect, Dragon Age, KOTOR, New MMO. Though Riccitiello did not specifically mention KOTOR in the audio portion of his presentation, it was suggested that all properties on that slide denoted new or upcoming releases.

The separate listings of KOTOR and the unnamed MMO indicate that they are not one and the same, as rumors had previously suggested. However, it is still quite possible that the MMO could be related to Star Wars.

In addition to the recently unveiled PC version of Mass Effect, BioWare is known to be working on the second title in the Mass Effect trilogy. The company's long-awaited return to PC role-playing, Dragon Age, is slated to arrive within studio owner EA's coming fiscal year, which runs April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009.

BioWare developed the LucasArts-published Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Xbox and PC, which was released in 2003 to critical and commercial success. An Obsidian-developed sequel followed, though it did not quite receive its predecessor's unanimous acclaim.

Continuing the barrage of news from publisher Electronic Arts, the company's Sims division is readying several new Sim-branded titles, with plans to begin developing "the next generation game for The Sims" within the next three years.

Citing the success of EA Redwood Shores' MySims on Nintendo DS and Wii--over 3 million units shipped, $100 million in revenue--The Sims label president Nancy Smith today informed investors that two additional MySims titles would appear on Nintendo DS and Wii within the 2009 fiscal year, along with a PC version.

The first title, MySims Kingdom, will hit Nintendo DS and Wii between the beginning of October and the end of December, with the PC version of MySims arriving within that same timeframe. MySims Party, meanwhile, is expected to ship on Wii and DS some time between January and March 2009.

Other new Sim titles include SimCity Creator and the previously-mentioned SimAnimals. SimAnimals is slated to arrive by the end of March 2009. A specific release estimate for SimCity Creator was not provided, with Smith only noting it would arrive before March 2011.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed the announcements to EA's Casual Entertainment division and its president Kathy Vrabeck. Shacknews regrets the errors and apologizes for any confusion it may have caused.

Electronic Arts is unsurprisingly planning future iterations for many of the hit franchises it publishes, including EA Black Box's Need for Speed, Criterion's Burnout, EA Black Box's Skate, and Harmonix's Rock Band.

EA president Frank Gibeau discussed the plans in an analyst meeting today, listing them as part of the company's "turn-around" strategy, which is focused on "a strong pipeline of innovative sequels and new IP" and increased digital revenue through titles such as Mythic's Warhammer Online and EA DICE's Battlefield Heroes.

As for the new IP, the president highlighted the company's plans to publish EA Los Angeles' Tiberium, BioWare's Dragon Age, DICE's Mirror's Edge, Pandemic's Saboteur, Valve's Left 4 Dead, and EA Redwood Shores' Dead Space.

Gibeau also mentioned the company's plans for EA Maxis' just-dated Spore (PC, NDS), detailing that efforts to bring the evolutionary simulator to more platforms and produce expansion content are already underway. The studio is known to be working on a Wii edition of the game.

EA Sports is planning to launch five new franchises within the next three years, president Peter Moore announced in an analyst presentation today.

Of the five, one will launch within the coming 2009 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009. This title was described by Moore as a "casual IP" and listed alongside the cartoony boxing title FaceBreaker and recess-oriented Playground.

The other four are said to be among the sport label's "core IP" and will arrive by the end of 2011 fiscal year, which concludes on March 31, 2011.

Prior to the revelation of the new franchises, Moore has discussed his hopes to focus more on unlicensed sports properties and grow the appeal of EA Sports titles outside of North America. He had also noted the subsidiary's "fail fast, fail cheap" strategy to "prove concepts quickly and efficiently."

Other tidbits dropped by Moore included a pledge that the next iterations of EA Sports' FIFA Soccer and NBA Live series would feature "exciting new innovations" and word that the Madden franchise has brought over $2 billion across its 20-year history.

Mega-publisher Electronic Arts is expanding its Sim brand with SimAnimals, and Mercenaries 2 developer Pandemic Studios, which was recently acquired by EA, is working on a new Lord of the Rings video game.

EA CEO John Riccitiello revealed the news in an analyst meeting today, noting that both titles are scheduled to release during EA's 2009 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009.

No other details, such as platforms or genres, were mentioned in the accompanying slides.

Maxis has dropped some new information on the ancillary versions of its upcoming PC title Spore, with details of the Nintendo DS, Wii, and mobile versions leaking in a series of interviews with Newsweek's N'Gai Croal.

Spore Creatures for the Nintendo DS will predictably focus on the creature phase established in the PC edition, with users evolving their customized characters, defeating enemies, and "exploring the galaxy on a quest to find new evolutionary paths and save their home world."

"We even decided to go with a custom look for Spore Creatures so the content is entirely unique to the DS," said Maxis producer Lucy Bradshaw. "Our artistic inspiration came from Japanese flat rod puppets and shadow box art."

In addition to the standard creature-based gameplay, Nintendo DS players... Read more

BioShock (PC, X360) publisher 2K Games will continue using Epic's Unreal Engine 3 technology in its future efforts, Epic announced today.

Details on the specific titles are slim, with Epic merely listing the projects as "unannounced." However, 2K president Christoph Hartmann praised UE3 for the ease at which it allows simultaneous PC and console development, suggesting that the games could hit PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

At least one of those titles is likely to be a sequel to the UE3-powered BioShock, as 2K owner Take-Two Interactive has expressed its interest in turning the underwater shooter into an ongoing franchise. Another title in the UFO-centric X-COM series has been rumored as well.

Last fall, job listings indicated that the next project out of 2K's Boston studio would utilize UE3. Formerly known as Irrational Games, 2K Boston and 2K Australia were the studios directly responsible for BioShock.

2K Games also recently announced the opening of 2K Marin, a new studio located at 2K's headquarters in Novato, California. No projects have been announced for the studio, though it reportedly consists of ex-BioShock staff.

In a move sure to shock not a single person, Electronic Arts today announced it has extended deals it signed back in 2004 with the National Football League and the NFL Players Association that allowed the company to exclusively develop, publish and distribute football games for all console and handheld platforms.

The original contracts were for a five year period; the extensions negotiated by EA lengthen the deals until the 2012 season. No financial terms were disclosed.

Turbine today announced that the next content update for Lord of the Rings Online, Book 12: The Ashen Wastes, will arrive this Wednesday.

The update adds a new cosmetic system, monster play additions, and NPC barbers. Get a preview of the new 'dos by checking out the video below.

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Registered users can also use the HD stream.

Ending months of speculation, Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim has confirmed that Marvel Universe Online is no longer in development.

According to Kim, the project's cancellation and was "an amicable decision" reached by both Microsoft and Marvel, and stemmed from the changing MMO landscape. "Clearly there are emerging models that have come about," he told MTV Multiplayer, pointing to alternative business strategies such as ad-supported play and item-oriented microtransactions.

Announced in 2006, Marvel Universe Online was planned for release on both PC and Xbox 360. The superhero MMO was under development by the veteran team of superpower-friendly developers at Cryptic Studios, which had previously been sued by Marvel for its work with the PC MMO City of Heroes.

"When we first entered into the development and agreement of the development of Marvel Universe Online, we thought we would create another subscription-based MMO," noted Kim. "If you really look at the data there's basically one that's successful and everything else wouldn't meet our level or definition of commercial... Read more

Horsies, pirates and monsters accompany lost villages, lost memories, and futuristic hovercraft this week as a barrage of new titles assault PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP.

Notable releases include Conflict: Denied Ops (preview), Lost Odyssey (preview), and Professor Layton and the Curious Village (screens). Check out the entire list for the full scoop, or just click on of the box arts below.

Barring any unforeseen delays, most North American retailers should have this week's games by Wednesday, February 13.

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It's a scary world out there on the multiplayer air waves. Headsets have changed gaming forever. The ramifications are terrifying.

Now everyone can hear your whiny, nasally nerd voice on demand, complete with raspy breathing noises and god-crushing sneezes. Now all have a chance to voice their opinions on the coming political election, and the advantages of being heterosexual, all while blowing up bases and spawn-camping the innocent.

Now everyone has an equal voice. Let freedom sing.

On second thought, please don't sing. No, really. Shut up. Dude, come on. SHUT THE FUCK UP. Can somebody kick him? Read more..

During an awards ceremony last night, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named Infinity Wards' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, X360) as 2007's Overall Game of the Year. The title also took three other awards: Console Game of the Year, Action Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play.

Valve's The Orange Box (PC, PS3, X360) was named Computer Game of the Year, while Outstanding Achievement in Game Design, Game Play Engineering, and Character Performance all went to Portal, one of the three new titles contained within the bundle.

Harmonix's Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360) was honored as Family Game of the Year along with awards for Outstanding Innovation in both Gaming and Soundtrack. Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) took Handheld... Read more