Dare to Be Digital returns for 2009…

Dare Logo

The world renowned competition for new developer talent is back for another round this year. The competition is run in collaboration between the University of Abertay and Channel 4 and the top three games will be nominated for a video game BAFTA Ones to Watch Award.

The University of Abertay is calling for applicants for this years competition. Dare to Be Digital is calling for teams of graduates and undergraduates from UK universities who want to break into the games industry.

The competition gives young developers a stipend and 10 weeks to develop their prototype game for showcasing at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival’s Dare Protoplay exhibit in August. The teams will be supported by visits from some of Britain’s top developers who will also be responsible for selecting the winners at the end of the summer.

Street Fighter IV set for UK tour.

It’s usually rock stars that set off on long exhausting tours but now the world’s favourite fighting game is set to travel the UK.  Capcom will be wheeling a Street Fighter IV arcade cabinet around the country from the 29th of January.

At each stop along the way fans will be given a chance to win exclusive Street Fighter IV goodies as well as getting to try the game out.

The tour begins in the Princes Street branch of Gamestation in Edinburgh from the 29th of January to the 1st of February. The cabinet then heads off to Gamestation in … Read More…

Godfather II to see an early release

In a seemingly optimistic move, EA have decided to bring forward the release of the Godfather II.

The second installment of the video game adaptation of Mario Puzo’s epic gangster tale will now be released on February 27th, which is good news for all you mob fans out there.

The game will delve deeper than the book and film by taking gamers to Florida, Cuba as well as New York in their bid to become the most powerful crime family in the US.… Read More…

US mag EGM falls foul of the credit crunch.

Veteran US gaming mag Electronic Gaming Monthly has been cancelled after 20 years of reporting gaming news.

Publishers, Ziff Davis, had been looking to sell off EGM and 1up.com for quite some time to help relieve their debt problems. They finally managed to offload the website and magazine to UGO Entertainment. Unfortunately, UGO decided to drop the axe on EGM and much of 1up.com’s popular and innovative video and podcast content including the 1up Show in a bid to save money.

Farewell to EGM and the best of luck to all the staff from both EGM and 1up.com that now … Read More…

Nintendo prepare the ground for the DSi

In order to prime the markets for the DSi Nintendo are to cease production of some colours of DS Lites.

UK retailers have been told that Nintendo have stopped producing the world-beating pocket console in white and silver.

The DSi is currently slated for a European launch this spring.… Read More…

Activision leave GAME customers up the creek without a bass guitar.

Thousands of customers who pre-ordered the Guitar Hero: World Tour band pack turned up to GAME stores all around the country today to find that the free bass guitar controller they were meant to receive was not available.

GAME staff were frustrated to find that the deliveries of stock could barely cover the pre-orders let alone demand for the game’s full instrument pack. Furthermore there was no sign of the free bass guitar controllers that were to be added to the pre-order pack.

It is currently unclear whether or not the chain will be able to supply the extra contoller … Read More…

Realtime Worlds beefs up senior management team

The world-leading Dundee-based developer of Crackdown and the forthcoming sandbox crime MMO APB have added two senior executives with heavyweight experience from EA and NCSoft.

Brian Ulrich, who joins RTW form Electronic Arts, will be heading up development to ensure that all RTW’s titles will maintain their high quality and cutting edge as well as gaining maximum production efficiency.

Rob Rice comes over from NCSoft and will be VP of Online Operations. This means he will run all the data and game operations along with billing and customer support.

CEO and Creative Director, Dave Jones said, “We’re delighted to have … Read More…