wolfenstein posts

Original Story: Big Download has learned via unnamed but reliable sources that Pi Studios, the Houston-Texas based game development studio, closed its doors a few weeks ago. The sources did not tell us why the studio has shut down. Attempts to call a contact number for the studio resulted in hearing a message saying the number has been disconnected.

Pi Studios was founded in 2002 and has worked on a number of console and PC game projects, mostly in collaboration with other developers. For the PC, the company helped with the development of the first Call of Duty game's expansion pack United Offensive and also helped to port Halo 2 to the PC.

While Pi Studios may be closed, some members of the company have already helped to form a new game development team, Category 6 Studios that's also based in Houston. When contacted by Big Download the studio's president Kenn Hoekstra would not comment about Pi Studios' shutdown. We have emailed Pi Studios to get an official response.

Update: Additional investigation by Big Download and our sister site Joystiq has uncovered conflicting reports as to the operational status of the Pi Studios business. Pi Studios may still be partially operational but the extent of its operations remains unclear. Big Download and Joystiq have once again reached out to Pi Studios for an official response.

id Software made headlines three years ago when it announced Rage, its first game that wasn't based on a previous id property since the original Quake was released in 1996. But it looks like id is going to be sticking to its franchises for a while and not branching out in all new territory anytime soon.

Computer and Video Games quotes Carmack as saying, "We do already have more IPs than we can exploit. " id launched the Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake shooter brands, all of which are among the most well known PC gaming franchises in history." Carmack says don't look for id to add to that line up beyond Rage, saying " It's scary to say it, but maybe not in the next decade even, because we want to support Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake - and hopefully we can add Rage onto that."

Two weeks ago was "Black Friday" for GoGamer.com and last week it was "Green Friday" for the retail game web site. Today it's apparently "White Friday" at the site as GoGamer.com continues to cut prices to the bone on a number of PC games (and a few PC hardware products too).

Among the games you can get at rock bottom prices are Dungeon Siege for $3.90, F.E.A.R. 2 for $14.90, Mercenaries 2 for $3.90, and Heroes of Might and Magic V for $7.90. Newer games with sales deals include Order of War for $24.90, Wolfenstein for $22.90 and Prototype for $19.90.

So we've been told that the recession is ending. Some pundits are even saying it's all over. Well, no matter if the economy is down in the dumps or roaring at top speed, you still like to save money. GoGamer.com's latest misnamed "48 Hour Madness" sale hits you up with some PC game sales until 3 am Eastern Time on Tuesday.

Among the PC games and ports on sale this time are Frontlines: Fuel of War for just $5:90, Mercenaries 2 for a mere $3.90, the new Wolfenstein for $24.90, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for $5.90, and Two Worlds for the tiny price of $2.90.

GoGamer.com always has a ton of PC games ready to unload at sale prices during their 48 Hour Madness periods. This one is no exception and ends at 3 am Eastern Time on Friday. For example you can get the boxed PC copy of Wolfenstein for just $24.90 (compare that price to getting game via download for its full $49.99 price).

Other sales include the PC port of X-Men Origins Wolverine for just $14.90, Wanted: Weapons of Fate for $19.90, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood for $24.90 and the recently released PC game adaptation of Terminator: Salvation for a mere $9.90. Ouch.

This playable demo for Wolfenstein includes the first first levels from the full game. System requirements are shown after the jump.

"Wolfenstein takes players deep into the heart of the Reich, where experiments with a dark force known as the Black Sun threaten to embolden the Nazis with unimaginable powers. There's only one man for a job of this magnitude: special agent B.J. Blazkowicz! But first he must harness the power of the Veil and hope to use the Nazi's nefarious technology against them!"

Download Wolfenstein Demo (685 MB)
Check out all Wolfenstein downloads

Last August, Raven Software, id Software and Activision released Wolfenstein, the latest game in the first person shooter series that started the genre. The game got some mixed reviews (good single player but poor in multiplayer) but sales were bad enough that Raven was forced to let got of a number of its team members.

However, we were scratching our heads at the time that Wolfenstein wasn't made available for a download purchase. Might the game have gotten some extra revenue via a downloadable version if it had been released at the same time the retail version shipped to stores? Well in any case Activision is now finally offering Wolfenstein via download from Steam and Direct2Drive for $49.95, nearly two months after the retail version shipped to stores.

Oh, and that PC single player Wolfenstein demo? The one that was FULLY PLAYABLE over two months ago at QuakeCon? The same one that was released for the Xbox 360? Well there's still no word on when, or even if, that demo will ever be released to the public.

Update: Just a few hours after this post went live, Activision finally released the Wolfenstein PC demo.

The writer of 2006's Silent Hill movie adaptation will be spending the next year behind bars. Variety reports that Academy Award-winning screenwriter Roger Avary was sentenced to a one year jail term today for a 2008 car crash in California that took the life of a passenger in his car while Avary was driving in 2008.

Avary pleaded guilty last month for gross vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving in the incident. In addition to his year in jail he will have a five year probation period. Just before the car crash Avary was set to both write and direct a movie version of id Software's Wolfenstein. He's also attached to write a sequel to the Silent Hill movie.