Deadly Premonition is notoriously divisive, seen by some as a hugely wonky and strange mess but by others as a hugely wonky and strange wonder. While it hit both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Japan, only the Xbox version was released globally in 2010. Fortunately, that's about to change, and PlayStation 3 owners will be treated to a remastered edition of Access Games' Twin Peaks-inspired survival horror.
American multimedia empire Disney is wrapping up its acquisition of Indian multimedia kingdom UTV, whose videos games offerings have included developing El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron and publishing Deadly Premonition in North America. Don't get your hopes too high for strange and wonderful fruit to come of this coupling, though, as both companies have been winding down their AAA games development for some time.
Publisher Ignition Entertainment and developer Denki have announced Quarrel is making its Xbox Live Arcade debut on January 25. The "word-based strategy game" was originally available on the iOS platform, but is coming in an enhanced edition to the Xbox 360 for 400 Microsoft Points.
Here's a mobile game you definitely couldn't have predicted. Ignition Entertainment's curious biblical platformer, El Shaddai, is coming to Android headsets and the Xperia Play. Unlike the original game, the mobile version will focus exclusively on 2D platforming. Thankfully, its surreal visuals are being kept intact.
Its Japanese release and price have yet to be determined. Here's hoping to a US release as well.
The House of Mouse is looking to get even bigger. Walt Disney Company is proposing to buy out UTV Software Communications Ltd. Disney already holds a majority stake in UTV, with 50.4% of the equity share capital of the company. The acquisition would affect Ignition Entertainment, a subsidiary of UTV.
"Walt Disney has always been interested in most of UTV's business, especially the gaming part," an analyst said.
A notice to all gamers in North America: the wait for Ignition Entertainment's upcoming action title, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, is slightly longer than originally planned.
Today, the developer/publisher of the game revealed that the game has been pushed from its original Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launch date of July 26 to August 16.
Work on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron has wrapped up, and Ignition's in-house development studio has closed. But according to Ignition's Shane Bettenhausen, that won't stop them from working together on future projects, including "extensions" to the series.
"The dev team wrapped up full development at the end of March, and Sawaki has his own company so he was a contractor the whole time," Bettenhausen told the PlayStation Blog. "We definitely would like to do future El Shaddai brand extensions, and I would love of course to work with all the guys from the original game on those, but right now... nothing new to announce on El Shaddai. But we'd definitely love to bring all those guys back."
Ignition Games appears to be in a tight spot. Gamasutra reports that the entirety of the console development team at Ignition Austin has been laid off. "We can confirm that a small console team, which was working on pre-production of an unannounced title, was laid off," the company released in a statement. "The PC team was unaffected." According to the report, approximately 15 people lost their jobs. Read more »
Vanillaware, maker of the gorgeous Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Odin Sphere, is developing a new hand-drawn game for release on PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 in spring 2012, publisher UTV Ignition Games has announced at E3.
Supporting four-player online co-op, Dragon's Crown is a fantasy romp with dungeons to ransack and the end goal of stopping a dragon threatening the world. Possibly looting its crown, too. Six "wildly different classes" with "a vast array of character customization features" are promised. Read more »
Among the trailer-explosion today, the stylistic action game El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron got its own new trailer, screenshots, and a release date to boot. The game will hit the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America on July 26, but Europeans will have a long wait until September 9 before getting their hands on it.
The trailer introduces Uriel, an archangel sent to protect Enoch. In the context of the game, that means you can call on him to wreck fools. The game will be playable at E3, so hopefully we get some hands-on time with the gonzo angel epic. Read more »
While it seemed last month that the saga of Ignition London's WarDevil had finally ended in cancellation after five years in development, Ignition today revealed another twist in the tale--development will indeed continue, under the name Project Kane.
"Following a comprehensive audit of the title, assets and internal team, we have decided that a core team responsible for the Project Kane prototype will take the game into full production, led by the key vision holders," said UTV Ignition group chairman Hassan Sadiq. Outsourcing and an internal team will handle development together. Read more »
Rumours are circulating that there's more trouble afoot at Ignition, with Gamasutra reporting that the developer and publisher's Florida studio has been shut down .
Ignition Entertainment has told Gamasutra that it "will make an official news release regarding the studio soon." It also says "we are continuing the Florida Studio's project," the 2009-due shooter Reich, "but refocusing it in the right direction." Read more »
After a long, five-year development cycle, the Ignition London-developed WarDevil has officially been canceled. Originally in development during the tail-end of the original Xbox console before being pushed to the next generation of consoles, WarDevil's fate became increasingly grim by each passing year.
After going silent for nearly two years, it was reported that the game--which had been multiplatform but then switched to PS3-exclusive and then went back to being multiplatform--was still in development. Things only got worse over time. Read more »
Publisher Ignition Entertainment has unveiled its angelic action game El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron at E3 with an attractive trailer and round of screenshots, showing off its cartoon-ish art style and revealing a little of its story "inspired by events in the Old Testament's apocryphal 'Book of Enoch.'"
"In the game," Ignition explains in a press release, "players take on the role of Enoch and must harness his natural combat skills to master a range of powerful and Heavenly weapons under the guidance of the watchful Archangels." Read more »
A swarm of fifty adorable blue Swarmites is the star of DeathSpank and Penny Arcade Adventures developer Hothead Games new title Swarm, announced at E3.
"Swarm lets the player take control of 50 utterly fearless Swarmites and drive them through an intense, entertaining and often suicidal battle for a greater good," publisher Ignition explains. "Run, bash, huddle, boost, stack, jump, push and throw your way through gauntlets of death and destruction in an attempt to collect valuable DNA and ensure that at least one Swarmite survives." Read more »
"jesus christ, thanks for the video, i forgot how incredibly awesome this game is. those ..."
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