12/20/08

Saturday, December 20, 2008

AWOMO, the revolutionary new games download service, launches public beta

GDI successfully concludes private testing phase and launches AWOMO publicly for the first time with a series of AAA games to play for free

Public Beta of its digital distribution platform, AWOMO™, capable of delivering even the largest ‘AAA’ PC games directly from a web browser in minutes rather than hours compared with conventional download services.

AWOMO’s revolutionary, proprietary technology enables consumers to start playing the game while it is downloading without interruption to the game play. During the course of the Public Beta, visitors to www.awomo.com will be invited to test the technology by playing a series of games – completely free of charge, courtesy of the publishing community.

“Having privately tested within a small community of gamers, it is now time for us to stress test our new technology on a wider scale,” explained Roger Walkden, Chief Executive Officer of GDI. “We have seen speeds that are up to 20x faster than conventional download services, and we’re looking forward to sharing the benefits of our system with gamers, so they can share their experiences with us and give feedback.”

“Digital Distribution is heralded as the future of video games retailing,” continued Walkden, “but this will only happen if the download experience is improved for the end user. AWOMO’s ‘one click from a browser’ simplicity and super-fast speed provides a glimpse into a bright new future for gamers wanting instant gratification and publishers looking for new distribution options. With faster speeds come new revenue models for the games industry and we are looking forward to introducing these as part of the Beta at a later date.”

Apart from clear leadership in terms of speed, the final AWOMO platform will offer consumers many other benefits, including:

• Multiple payment options providing gamers with flexibility and value, including the new ‘Rent to Own’ model – consumers trial games at low risk with access at an hourly rate before ultimately owning them outright

• Free ‘Demo Time’ continuously topped up for actively purchasing customers

• No install limitations – play on any computer provided gamers are connected to the Internet and logged into their AWOMO account

• Community functionality of increasing sophistication as the platform develops, including matchmaking, leagues and tournaments

• A wide variety of games, both back catalogue and new.

Stormrise video game on PS3 and Xbox 360 - Screenshots

Street Fighter IV brings the legendary fighting series back to its roots by taking the beloved fighting moves and techniques of the original Street Fighter II, and infusing them with Capcom's latest advancements in next generation technology to create a truly extraordinary experience that will re-introduce the world to the time-honored art of virtual martial arts.

Everything that made the legendary Street Fighter II a hit in the arcades, living rooms and dormitories across the globe has been brought back in Street Fighter IV. Players will be able to play their favorite classic characters, such as Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Guile, along with new characters, including Crimson Viper, Abel, El Fuerte, and Rufus. Characters and environments are rendered in stylised 3D, while the game is played in the classic Street Fighter 2D perspective with additional 3D camera flourishes. Six-button controls for the game return, with a host of new special moves and features integrated into the gameplay system. Street Fighter IV brings a brand new fighting game to fans the world over.

Features

Classic 2D Street Fighter II gameplay infused with new moves, classic characters and all-new characters
3D environments and characters
New special moves that go beyond any Street Fighter fan's wildest imagination, including Focus Attacks, Super Combos, and the revenge-fueled Ultra Combo system.
Amazing locations never seen before in a Street Fighter game
New gameplay elements provide challenges for both newcomers as well as the most seasoned Street Fighter pro.

Release Date: 20/02/2009
Genre: Fighting
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Rating: Rating Pending
Developer: Capcom Co. Ltd.

Elven Legacy developer diary

The second Elven Legacy developer diary entry.

The entry, written by Max Bodrikov, the Elven Legacy lead game designer from Ino-Co, examines the use of banners in the upcoming PC title. Max writes, “In our case, a banner is a symbol which looks like a real battle standard, but also displays useful information. First of all, it indicates the color of the army. This is especially important in multiplayer, where similar units on opposing sides can fight on the same battlefield. The banner also displays the actions a unit can take during a turn. The units can move and attack, in any order. On the banner, these options are shown as a sword and a boot. If the unit moves, the boot disappears; if it unit attacks, then the sword disappears. The symbols are highly visible, and the player can understand the potential of their army in no time.”

To read the complete developer diary entry for Elven Legacy, please visit: http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/2907/elven-legacy-developer-diary-2

Elven Legacy is a fantasy strategy game that sends players on an epic quest aimed to restore the former glory of the Elven race. With a thrilling non-linear storyline and tools that allow players to create their own missions and campaigns and share them in multiplayer mode, Elven Legacy will provide hours of exciting game play for strategy fans.
Continues...

Elven Legacy is scheduled for release in March 2009 and will be published worldwide by Paradox Interactive. It will be available for digital download at GamersGate for a suggested retail price of $29.99 / €29.99.

New entries will be posted every two weeks on Strategy Informer.

Baseball Superstars 2009 game for iPhone and iPod Touch

Baseball Superstars 2009 game for iPhone and iPod touch is available on the Apple App Store.

“We are delighted to launch Baseball Superstars 2009 on the Apple App Store and are certain that the depth and details we've put into this game will give the baseball fans all the entertainment they want,” says Eusoon Han, marketing manager at GAMEVIL USA.

Baseball Superstars for iPhone and iPod touch includes 12 teams, 4 Stadiums to choose from and 10 hidden characters to unlock. With 5 games modes: Exhibition Mode, Season Mode, My League Mode, Mission Mode, and Homerun Mode, players can pick their team and create their own characters as they lead their team to a 36-game season victory. Players can also manage their team and players by trading players, training sessions, and buying equipment or items that enhances character’s abilities and performance.

Compared to Baseball Superstars 2008, not only are new characters and modes added, but also major graphical changes have been made giving a more arcade game look with vibrant colors and effects to add excitement. In addition, the game interface has been optimized for the innovative Multi-Touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch enabling the users to play with less buttons than before.

Baseball Superstar 2009 is available for $4.99 from Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore.

RF online free-to-play (English version)

SF MMORPG 'RF Online(www.playrf.com)' progress Closed Beta Test for North American and Western Europe until December 31st.

Users of RF online can have an experience to raise the character to maximum 45lv during Closed Beta Test.

And, gifts will be given through lottery for the five users who have sent the bug reports or any problems.

Users can obtain the game introduction and test-related information through www.playrf.com, which is an official RF Online homepage of North America and Western Europe.

Commercial Service of RF Online(English-version) will be free-to-play with item-selling based cash shop, and will be opened around first quarter of 2009.

Yoon, Seok Ho, CEO of CCR, said that “This is the first step to occupy online game market of North America and Western Europe. We will try to lessen the technical problems as many as possible during the test so that we can get everything in readiness for commercial service which will be started next year.”

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