A flat world: Ars interviews Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada

The Japanese games industry is in trouble. At least, that seems to be the consensus of a number of high-profile developers from that region, especially after this year’s Tokyo Game Show. But Square-Enix—the developer best known for role-playing series like Final Fantasy andDragon Quest—isn’t taking the news lying down. Instead, the company has done everything it can to appeal to a more global audience, from publishing and development deals to new acquisitions. Ars sat down with president and CEO Yoichi Wada at the Montreal International Game Summit to discuss the apparent turmoil in the Japanese game industry and what Square-Enix hopes to do about it.

Read the complete article at Ars Technica.

Cited by GamesIndustry.Biz and Kotaku.

Worth the money? The gaming collector’s edition trend

One of the lesser talked about developments this console generation has been the increase in the number—and size—of collector’s editions available. At times it seems that nearly every game has some sort of special version, and major blockbusters feature extravagant and expensive add-ons that range from night vision goggles to batarangs. But do these sets actually drive sales? Ars spoke David Riley from the NPD group to find out.

Read the complete article at Ars Technica.

Using gimmicks properly: hands-on with Avatar The Game

It’s hard to get excited about a game based on a film. We’ve all been burned so many times before—remember Watchmen: The End is Nigh and X-Men Origins: Wolverine—that it’s often hard to believe a great movie-based game will ever be made. And while Avatar: The Game might not be the title to change all that, it’s certainly trying.

The game will be appearing on virtually all viable platforms, but different systems will receive different experiences. I was able to check out the game on both the Wii and the Xbox 360, and while both versions are very different beasts, they share at least one common thread: a love of new technology and peripherals.

Read the complete preview at Ars Technica.

Scratches – Director’s Cut review

Scratches: Director’s Cut is a horror game, but not the kind that relies on cheap scares to spook players. Instead, it depends on atmosphere and subtle details to unnerve, and, despite a few stumbles along the way, it does a great job.

Read the complete review at Gamezebo.

More successor than sequel: hands on with Assassin’s Creed 2

“It doesn’t really feel like a sequel,” Ubisoft’s Charles Randall told me as I sat down to play Assassin’s Creed 2for the first time at a recent press event in Toronto. “It feels like a whole new game.”

And that should be welcome news. Because while it wasn’t a terrible game by any stretch of the imagination, the first Assassin’s Creed certainly had its problems. At times it felt like the game’s ambitions were far greater than what the developers were actually able to create, leaving gamers with an ambitious but somewhat disappointing experience. And that’s something Ubisoft has worked very hard to fix in the sequel.

Read the complete preview at Ars Technica.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up review

It’s hard to talk about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up without mentioning Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Not only was Smash-Up developed by Game Arts, who previously worked on Brawl, but it features near identical gameplay. But instead of watching a heap of Nintendo characters duke it out, players are treated to the heroes in a half shell.

Read the complete review at GameShark.

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 4 review

It was bound to happen eventually. After releasing three increasingly wonderful episodes, the Tales of Monkey Island series has finally taken a step back. Now that’s not to say that Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 4 – The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood is bad — far from it in fact — it’s just that, for the first time, the latest entry in the series isn’t the best.

Read the complete review at Gamezebo.

Killing innocents: a Marine’s take on Modern Warfare 2 leak

Last week, some footage leaked from the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Though it has since been taken down—with Activision claiming “copyright infringement”—the short video left a lasting impression. It depicted Russian terrorists gunning down what appeared to be innocent civilians in an airport. What made this scenario so shocking was that it wasn’t a cut-scene, instead the player was actually controlling the carnage, forced to shoot civilians to proceed. You, as the player, will be given the opportunity to put noncombatants in the crosshairs and pull the trigger.

Unsurprisingly, the leak has garnered its fair share of controversy, with voices shouting out both for and against the scene in Infinity Ward’s game. Some say it’s a sign of the maturation of the medium. Others say it’s tasteless. Ars decided to get the opinion of someone with a unique perspective: a former US Marine.

Read the complete article at Ars Technica.

MySims Agents review

Though it bears the Sims name prominently, MySims Agents is actually much more adventure than simulation. You start off as an up and coming detective, solving local capers involving stolen dogs and the like, before quickly being promoted to a special agent. And not just any old special agent, you get to run a brand new special agent headquarters. How’s that for a promotion!

Read the complete review at GameShark.

Game devs speak out on Valve, Steam and conflict of interest

In a recent interview, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford—the developer behind the upcoming Borderlands—revealed some surprising opinions about Valve’s Steam digital distribution platform. While the common sentiment among both gamers and developers tends to be positive, Pitchford told Maximum PC that “I don’t trust Valve” and that he believes “a lot of the industry doesn’t” as well.

Pitchford’s main criticism is that with Valve being both a game developer and a platform holder, this situation creates “so much conflict of interest…that it’s horrid.” According to the Gearbox CEO, Valve’s position allows them to exploit developers who use Steam to distribute their games. Given the surprising nature of these comments, Ars contacted several game developers to see just how widespread these opinions are.

Read the complete article at Ars Technica.