Square Enix announced its proposal last week to acquire a controlling stake in Tecmo. While the bid was set to expire later today, Tecmo formally rejected the offer this morning, as they believe a merge with Koei would be more fitting.
From the released statement, translated by Reuters:
Through a merger, we expect we can grow further by respecting both companies’ identities and having an environment in which employees can fully exhibit their skills.
Koei, eh? Makes sense. Tecmo is popular here in the West with titles like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, while Koei is well-known for its Dynasty Warriors series, which is a huge hit in Japan.
So a merge would give them significant market share in both countries. Given the current state of the company, it’s rather surprising that Tecmo passed up on Square’s offer indeed.
Yesterday's session featured some strange exchanging of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) shares, just one day before the company is set to release earnings.
There was no news released, though Barron's later said that the price decline was due to rumors about Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) walking away from merger talks. ERTS had an executive speak at a conference right around noon.
Below is a graph of TTWO's trades between about 11:15 and 12:05, when shares declined sharply, rebounded sharply, and then settled roughly 5% lower than where they opened.
As the stock crossed $24 about eight minutes into the graph, the first pickup in volume can be seen, possibly by stop-limit orders being triggered. The price continued to slide on light volume until shares broke through $23, when volume accelerated to over 50,000 shares per minute.
As the shares dropped below $22, volume topped 150,000 shares per minute, which is impressive, consid... More »
The Internet is atwitter with Google Chrome's innovative new features, but there was no clear winner in our speed test comparing Firefox and Chrome—which means your choice of browser may depend solely on features.
Apart from a few specific issues (namely process management), many of Chrome's best features are already available in Firefox 3, proving yet again the power of extensibility. From incognito browsing and the streamlined download manager to URL highlighting and improved search, let's take a look at how you can bring some of Google Chrome's best features to Firefox.
Stealther Turns On Incognito Browsing
Chrome's Incognito browsing allows you to shop for your significant other without keeping any history of that browsing session anywhere on your computer. In Firefox, the Stealther extension does the same thing.
The main difference: In Chrome, a single wind... More »
Accoding to GameViper, Spore has already been cracked and leaked onto the Web. One Web site is reporting that over 10,000 people are downloading the leak on just one public tracker. This all comes just days before the Official release date in North America.
For those unfamiliar with Spore: Maxis, makers of The Sims, present the next big bang - Spore. Create your unique creature and guide it on an epic journey through a universe of your own creations.
To quote: After news of Spore breaking the street date in Australia, we hear that Spore has already been cracked by a group called “RELOADED” despite it’s use of SecuROM, the anti-pirating software. (the same one used in BioShock) There are currently over 10,000 people downloading the game on just one public torrent tracker. All this 4 days before the game even comes out in North America.
Unlike most of what we read about GTA being a bad influence, GTA is actually being portrayed in a positive light for helping to save the life of a family in this article.
An 11 year old girl knew from playing GTA the dangers of a potential vehicle rollover. With a bit of quick-thinking, she helped pull out her family members to safety and her Mom commented:
"She just knew, from playing 'Grand Theft Auto.' She saw on there that when a car rolls over, it can blow up. She knew that could happen to us."
To quote: Many disparage the value of video games and their effect on today's youths.
Karen Norris, of Streator, will say no such thing. Not after her quick-witted 11-year-old daughter, Audrey Plique, sprung to the rescue of their family because a popular video game showed a potential danger of a vehicle rollover.
"She just knew, from playing 'Grand Theft Auto.' She saw on there that when a car rolls over, it ... More »
According to the Pokemon game translator himself, Nob Ogasawara, Nintendo has told him that his services are no longer needed. Ogasawara will no longer be in charge of translating the Pokemon games.
Instead, Nintendo plans on doing any translation work internally. Said Ogasawara, “So, after nearly a dozen years and nineteen Pokemon games later, I am out. I was told that my services were no longer needed because translation work will be handled internally hereafter.
They assured me it’s not a quality issue, but because of some bureaucratic thing. OK, cool, whatever. As a career-long-and-not-about-to-change freelancer, I always expected this day to come, but not for this reason. But such is life...”
The main reason why I’m marking this as a rumor is because I can’t say with 100% certainty (although it’s highly likely) that Mr. Ogasawara is indeed the poster of the news and we haven’t heard anything official from Nintendo.
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Electrograph has recently announced the first ever stand-alone 3D gaming system, with the company stating they will show off the system at the Philips 3D 42 inch LCD display at this week's CEDIA show.
In addition, the system can play many of today's PC games using its proprietary software drivers.
To quote: It’s time to chuck those goofy 3-D glasses. Electrograph just announced the first stand-alone 3-D gaming system. The company says they will show off the system with the Philips 3D WOWvx 42-inch LCD display, at this week’s CEDIA show.
Using the 1920x1080 LCD display and Electrograph’s unnamed, proprietary software drivers, the system can play many of today’s PC games. Ready to accommodate multiple players, the system can show off a wide range of viewing angles with “out-of-screen” effects.
Ryan Payton, self-described game hobo, fresh off working on Metal Gear Solid 4 and a cross-country move from Japan back to Seattle, took some time to sit down with me this weekend to talk development, Japan and life.
Payton's move back from Japan to the U.S. couldn't come at a better time for a game developer, as the focus on game development seems to be shifting from former dev powerhouse Japan to the U.S. Japan may still be the center of the gaming universe when it comes to cold hard cash, but when it comes to development it no longer seems to be, Payton said.
"The Japanese public seems to be disinterested in next-gen and high definition gaming," he said, pointing to the 360 and its apparent uphill battle in Japan as proof of that. "There is a stigma still attached to western technology there."
"There have been a lot of good mainstream games built for the Japanese Xbox 360," he said. "But they only sold a small number of copies. I think t... More »
The latest Sony Bravia dares to go where no other LCD television has been able to go before; beyond the prototype realm of wireless high-definition connectivity and into your living room.
It seems that the latest and greatest in quality televisions have entered a stage where technology moves sideways and not forwards in leaps and bounds. The jump from analog to digital television was a huge step in quality, but now that the Blu-ray, 1080p, world of tomorrow is in fact here today the focus in performance enhancements has shifted from a goal of ‘more real than life’ sensory quality to refining the peripherals of existing television technology.
Enter the Sony Bravia EX1. At the Berlin hosted IFA 2008, Sony announced the latest addition to the Bravia family that has the pioneering feature of integrated high-definition wireless connectivity. Given the advancements in wireless transfer rates, it is easy to see the EX1 as a logical move towards the right, wirele... More »
TimeSplitters 4 details have been few and far between since its official reveal, but the folks at PSM3 (PlayStation 3 Magazine) have snagged a few details on the upcoming shooter.
According to Derek Littlewood of Free Radical, TimeSplitters 4 won't utilize the heavily-criticized Haze graphics engine. Instead, Free Radical opted for some "new and double shiny tech."
While this all sounds good, the game is still early on in the development cycle, and won't see the light of day for a while. What may come a bit sooner, if PSM3 is to be believed, is a TimeSplitters 2 remake in HD, which would most likely be released on the PlayStation Network.
It would certainly get folks excited about the new TimeSplitters, that's for sure.
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