max-payne-3 posts

The new year has barely begun but there are already accusations of poor working conditions at two of the development studios own by Rockstar Games (itself owned by Take Two Interactive). One is Rockstar's San Diego studio which is mostly a console-only dev company. The other is Rockstar Vancouver which is currently making the upcoming third person shooter Max Payne 3 for the PC and other platforms.

Our sister site Joystiq received word from anonymous sources that the studio has put in "enforced crunch mode through to the end of the project". That crunch mode gives employees "14 - 16 hour work days, six or seven days a week." The sources also say Rockstar Games eliminated a two week vacation for employees over the holidays. So far Rockstar has yet to officially comment on the allegations.

Yesterday we started our multi-part 2010 PC game preview with the first part of our two part action-first person shooter overview. Today we conclude our look at that genre with a number of games that we think might actually be released this year, including one or two that have yet to be officially announced (but we know they are being made).

Once again, release dates can and usually do change so if some of these titles don't make a 2010 release, please don't blame us. We are just the messenger.

Click on the image above to continue reading 2010 PC Game Preview - Action-FPS Games Part 2

Fans that have been awaiting the release of Max Payne 3 are going to have to wait a little bit longer. Publisher Take Two Interactive announced today that the long awaited third game in the third person shooter franchise, originally scheduled for a "winter" release date, has now been pushed back to the fourth quarter of the publisher's 2010 fiscal year (which begins on August 1, 2010 and ends October 31, 2010).

Take Two Interactive also announced that its financial outlook for the current fiscal year will be lower than previously predicted. The biggest reason for a lower outlook was "the performance of its Major League Baseball titles in the fourth quarter". While Take Two said it had a "successful" game launch in Borderlands it was not enough to offset the company's other losses and it does not expect the company to be profitable for its current fiscal year.

Other PC titles from the publisher are still on track for their previous release dates. Take Two still plans to release BioShock 2 on February 9, 2010. In addition the long-in-development Mafia II is still expected to be released sometime in the first half of 2010.

While we wait and wait and wait some more for Rockstar Games to give us more info about Max Payne 3, we have to just twiddle our thumb just a bit before more is revealed about the action shooter sequel. Thankfully a 30 second clip that looks and sounds just like an official Max Payne 3 trailer has popped up on YouTube and, well, it's just cool to watch.

No, there's no real gameplay in this clip (that would just make our heads explode at this stage) but the skill in this teaser has made many think its an attempt by Rockstar to release a viral video. On the other hand, the now incorrect "Winter 2009" release date at the end also makes us think this was just made by a fan with a lot of skill. Either way, we all win in the end.

[Via Joystiq]

Between the end of E3 and the end of the summer is what we like to call the "silly season". At E3, all of the game publishers at the show put on their best faces and let the media, retail reps and other business folks about all the cool games they will have in the fall/holiday time frame. It's for a good reason as nearly 50 percent of all game sales come in the last quarter of the year.

And then reality sets in. Some games shown at E3 this year are not ready for the fall. Other companies moved some games out of the fall for competitive reasons. The end result is that the first quarter of 2010 is looking like it will have as many high profile titles as the fall quarter (and there's no guarantee that one or two more major 2009 games will get pushed back).

While the fall of 2009 looks like it will have quite a few major releases (Champions Online, Aion, Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2) the first quarter, and indeed the first half of 2010, is looking to be a tad top heavy at the moment. Today Big Download takes a look at several games that were recently delayed from fall 2009 to 2010 as well as several games that were already set for a 2010 release. Which games will succeed in this new time frame? Which will fail? Which games could be delayed until late 2010?

Click on the image above to continue reading Delayed to 2010: The Upcoming PC Game Backlog

Today's news of the delay of BioShock 2 to sometime in 2010 (along with other games like Max Payne 3 and Mafia II) might sound like it's bad news for the game's publisher Take Two Interactive. After all the game is missing the lucrative fall/holiday shopping season where over 50 percent of all game purchases are made.

Not so fast, says Jesse Divinich. According to Destructoid, the analyst at Electronic Entertainment Design and Research says Take Two's move to push back BioShock 2 and other games could be the best thing possible for the publisher. Divinich is quoted as saying, "I originally anticipated that Take-Two would outperform the industry in fiscal 2010. Now, I expect them to dominate fiscal 2010." He basis this move on the belief that the release of BioShock 2, Mafia II, Max Payne 3 and other Take Two games in this period "should make fiscal 2010 the year of Take-Two."

During Take Two Interactive's conference call to financial analysts today, company execs confirmed that three of their biggest upcoming games won't be released in the calendar year of 2009. Those games are the 2K Games-branded titled of BioShock 2 and Mafia 2 and the Rockstar Games-branded title Max Payne 3. All three of these games will now be released sometime in the first half of the calendar year of 2010.

This is a huge blow to Take Two Interactive, particularly for the release of BioShock 2, which was one of the most anticipated games in the industry and one that was originally planned for release in the fall of 2009. Take Two's new release schedule still contains Gearbox Software's Borderlands as coming out in their current fiscal year for 2009 (which ends Oct. 31) but it looks like with BioShock 2's delay Borderlands will be 2K Games' big holiday title this year. Take Two execs stated they do feel that the holiday period is getting crowded with titles and that BioShock 2's delay will actually benefit the game.

While these visuals were first seen in the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, today Rockstar Games released the first true screenshots for Max Payne 3. These shots show off the 10 years older Max as the now bald and pot-bellied former cop is doing what he does best in the hot setting of Brazil.

As we have mentioned before, Max Payne 3 is being developed by Rockstar Vancouver, taking over from Remedy who created the franchise and developed the first two games in the series. We will have to wait a little longer to check out the game in action; it's not due out until winter 2009.

Details on Game Informer's new print magazine preview of Max Payne 3 are coming to light. Among the interesting features is that the game takes place 12 years after the previous title, the game is set in Sao Paolo, Brazil as opposed to New York City and that there is some kind of multiplayer support (although publisher Rockstar Games isn't saying what form it will take).

For fans of the first two games (developed by Remedy) perhaps the most interesting thing is that well known character actor James McCaffrey won't be returning to voice Max Payne in the third installment. According to Eurogamer, the developers at Rockstar Vancouver plan to cast someone older but it won't be a well known name actor this time. Hey, as long as it's not Mark Wahlberg.

Ouch. Someone needs some Nutrisystem and an exercise machine.Oh sure, Max Payne still has some guns on his side (and some pistols too) but he definitely needs some work on his abs. Perhaps Game Informer magazine can help them out with their new exclusive preview article in their latest print issue.

Apparently the cover story will show that the recently revealed Max Payne 3 will take place (story wise) 10 years after the previous game. Looks like a life of cupcakes is over for our favorite tragedy-stricken former cop. We should know more about the Rockstar Games-created title soon. It's currently set for a "winter 2009" release.