A bit of bad news has arrived regarding the entity that's now known as Activision Blizzard. The company sent out a press wire announcing that only five of Vivendi's games are expected to be published, leaving the future of the company's other titles in question. Further details are available in the full article.

*Update* Ghostbusters is still in development.
*Update 2* Brutal Legend has also left limbo.

Massive Development and Swordfish Studios' project of porting the PC real-time strategy game World in Conflict to both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is looking really promising. It seems that the developers have figured out how to put in some Direct X 10 effects into the console versions of the game. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

Coming straight from the Sierra Spring Break 08 in Mallorca last week, news that Massive Entertainment's World in Conflict: Soviet Assault is in pre-Alpha stages sought our attentions, and it may be that the next adventure for strategists on the PC, PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360 is on track for its release later this year. But the developers have lifted the curtains on some new details about Soviet Assault. You can clear the air on those when you read the full story.

Curious as to the different changes Massive Entertainment and Swordfish Studios have put in the expansion World in Conflict: Soviet Assault (Games for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360)? Well, maybe you can know about the better by watching the trailer video we embedded at the full article. Just click the "read more" link to get there.

Though the original source of this news tidbit has disappeared at press time, an article posted up at the Czech portal of Tiscali's gaming news had a scan of the latest issue of the nation's Official Xbox Magazine. And it sported a cover story revolving around Sierra's expansion pack to Massive Entertainment's World in Conflict (PC, Xbox 360) - World in Conflict: Soviet Assault. Plenty of new features were revealed, but they're currently focused on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the alternate-history RTS.

Sierra Entertainment has announced that World in Conflict for both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 will be released in Fall this year. Players can expect the console version of this real time strategy game to have new content for both the single and multiplayer aspects of the title. If you want to know more, be sure to check out the full article.

  

Will the next gen consoles be able to effectively give players the same RTS experience as the PC? That's what was asked of Massive Entertainment president, Martin Walfisz, during an interview with CVG.

He seemed to think so - at least with titles like World in Conflict. The gameplay experience is, of course, greatly affected by the input devices on both platforms. The PC's keyboard and mouse allows for more control and detailed orders to a number of units while the number of controls on console controllers can be limited (Remember the playing Red Alert on a console? Hard times).

According to Walfisz, World in Conflict is perfect for the consoles since it is more "action-oriented than traditional RTS titles". It does that by eliminating the staple in traditional RTS video games: resource gathering. According to Walfisz, the title will be more portable to the consoles because of that.

During the interview, he also revealed that they have a lot of the ideas under their collective sleeve for "expansion or a sequel" for World in Conflict. Walfisz kept his lips sealed after the hint and said that further announcements would be made "when the time comes".

We'll see where this goes in the future. We wonder what changes will be made once they (or should we say "if they?") decide to port the game to the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3.

It's always heartwarming to see game developers getting their dues for all the long hours and backbreaking work they put into making video games for us to enjoy. Such was the case when developers Massive Entertainment, Funcom, and Vendler Game Consulting became the first few to receive Nordic Games Awards in an inaugural ceremony held during the two-day games conference.

Massive's World In Conflict took the title of Most Innovative Game Technology from hopefuls Alan Wake of Remedy and Funcom's Age of Conan - the latter, however, bouncing back to take home the Most Promising Nordic Game Project award.

It's to note that Age of Conan went up against nominees coming from all over the Nordic region, with Alan Wake and World in Conflict in the roster which makes the Most Promising Nordic Game Project award all the more important. Nothing better than being called out as the best in your own playing field, after all.

The final award, bestowed upon by IGDA president Jason Della Rocca, was for Best New Nordic Game Talent - and Vendler Game Consulting walked off with the win, leaving behind nominees Lockpick and Gogogic.

Congratulations to all developers, and more appreciation for the guys behind the code!

 

Xbox gaming site BritXbox reports that a source close to Sierra informed them that Massive Entertainment's PC RTS World in Conflict is heading to next-generation consoles early next year.

For those of you unaware of what World in Conflict is, here's a quick refresher: The game is set in an alternate 1988, and for some reason Nuclear War erupts. The Soviets are marching into Europe, and to keep NATO busy, they launched a diversionary attack on North America. You play a field commander tasked with retaking America's cities and suburbs. There, that's a mouthful. Anyhow, if you want more, why don't you click here?

Given that there have been several reasonably successful console RTS offerings, we'd tag this rumor as reasonable, but not that likely. We'll update you when more "official" (meaning sources with names and such) info is made available.

 

This year's Nordic Game developer's conference is starting off on a warm note, as we pick up word that 40 guest speakers are confirmed to be making it to the event. Aside from previously reported personalities like Paulina Bozek (SingStar) and Matsuura Masaya (LocoRoco), another high-profile speaker expected to visit the event is CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Petursson. MMORPG gamers will recognize CCP as the developer/publisher behind EVE Online. As for the rest of the new faces this time around:

• Michael Khaimzon (Crytek)
• Maurice Suckling (Mustard Corporation)
• Kevin Bruner (Telltale Games)
• Dan Paladin (The Behemoth)
• Matias Myllyrinne (Remedy Entertainment, Alan Wake)
• Christian Seger and Niklas Westberg (Massive Entertainment)
• Ben Cousins (DICE)

DICE's Cousins is expected to give a presentation on how videogames are losing out to digital entertainment, while Mustard's Suckling is expected to give a talk on script-writing for MMOs. Those are the details for the moment, though we advise the readers to keep updated in case more information shows up.

Nordic Game 2007 is expected to take place this May 15 to 16, at the Malmo Exhibition & Convention Center in Malmo, Sweden. Early registrants may also want to hurry, as early-bird registrations are expected to end this March 31.