THQ denies rumors about cancellation of its 2014 lineup

by JC Fletcher on Jan 16th 2012 12:15AM

Yesterday, a series of tweets by IGDA Mobile SIG chair Kevin Dent alleged that THQ was in financial trouble, and that it was canceling its 2014 game lineup (most notably Warhammer 40k: Dark Millenium Online) and shopping itself out to potential buyers.

This evening, THQ's Australian PR department issued a statement to the contrary, as posted by VG247. "THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO," THQ said. According to the statement, the only reduction to THQ's lineup has been to move focus away from the "kids' boxed games sector" following poor performance of the most recent version of the uDraw. " Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business," the statement said. "We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry."

Note that THQ said it "has not made any decisions" about Warhammer 40k: DMO -- that's hardly a statement of unwavering support. Regardless, the statement is clear about the rest of the 2014 lineup.

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Shigeru Miyamoto 'retiring from current position' at Nintendo, working on smaller games [update: Nintendo denies]

by Ben Gilbert on Dec 7th 2011 9:34PM

Update: A Nintendo spokesperson tells Reuters that the report of Shigeru Miyamoto stepping down to a different position is "absolutely not true." The company asserts the story is a "misunderstanding," and that Miyamoto has "no intention" of stepping down.

Original story: "I'm not saying that I'm going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position," Nintendo head of development and long-time game industry figurehead Shigeru Miyamoto told Wired's Game|Life blog in an interview this week. It appears, after a lengthy career spent creating some of the game industry's most popular and important franchises, Miyamoto is altering his role at the company.

"What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself. Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small," he explained further. Miyamoto isn't quitting development, though. Apparently he's looking to start a new project in 2012, and hopes to show it publicly by year's end.

"In other words, I'm not intending to start from things that require a five-year development time," he added. While he won't be changing roles immediately, the idea behind announcing his retirement is to spur the less veteran devs at Nintendo to step up. "I'm interested in doing a variety of many other things," he teased.

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Nintendo officially denies Miyamoto's plan to step down within Nintendo

by JC Fletcher on Dec 8th 2011 9:32AM

In a Wired interview published last night, Shigeru Miyamoto discussed plans to step down from his position as senior managing director of Nintendo's EAD division, in the interest of making smaller projects on his own within Nintendo.

Investors clearly didn't read his quotes closely enough, saw "I'm going to retire" and had mini-panic attacks, causing Nintendo shares to drop two percent overnight. And so, of course, Nintendo is denying reports that Miyamoto is leaving (even though he's not leaving).

"This is absolutely not true," a Nintendo spokesperson told Reuters. "There seems to have been a misunderstanding. He has said all along that he wants to train the younger generation." Then, to further clarify the message, "He has no intention of stepping down. Please do not be concerned." At least, not concerned enough to affect the stock price.

There definitely appears to be a "misunderstanding," with Nintendo issuing a denial of Miyamoto's own quotes. We suspect there's currently a "misunderstanding" between Miyamoto, who wants to transition away from supervising massive projects, and Nintendo, who wants to put his name on every game.

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Court denies Ubi's request to restrain Get Up and Dance

by Ludwig Kietzmann on Dec 6th 2011 7:15PM

Oh, it's the dancing neon people. Which one is this again?
Ubisoft's lawyers have learned -- and a judge has confirmed -- that you just can't stop the beat. "Get Up and Dance," a rhythm game and euphoric command from OG International, can sway American customers unimpeded after a Californian court hip-bumped Ubisoft's request for a temporary restraining order. It's published in North America on PS3 and Wii by O-Games.

Legal action sprang from Ubisoft's belief that OG's dance game uses on-screen avatars that are a mite too similar to the ones in Just Dance (pictured), the wildly popular franchise that we only write about because of how wildly popular it is. According to MCV, the court was not satisfied with demonstrations that the games are "substantially" similar.

Ubisoft is said to be appealing the decision in the hopes of telling OG to Sit Down and Cease Your Gyration.

[Update: Crave Entertianment was erroneously listed as the publisher of Get Up and Dance. This has been corrected.]

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Nintendo denies use of Mario theme in Justin Bieber movie

by Justin McElroy on Jan 21st 2011 5:10PM

According to a tweet from director John Chu, Nintendo prohibited a 15-second clip of the Super Mario Bros. theme song from being used in an upcoming film adaptation of pop prince Justin Bieber's life, Crank 3 Never Say Never. Chu seemed frustrated, but we understand why a company like Nintendo has to be so careful about how its flagship property is used. Also, our condolences to Justin Bieber, whom Nintendo apparently ranks just slightly below shampoo, cereal, slippers, piñatas, and, of course, this. Sleep well, buddy.

Hey, maybe Chu should have just used it without asking. ... What's that, Captain Lou? ... Oh, OK, never mind.

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