Thank you for your loyalty, support, and participation in the GamePro.com community. At noon on December 5, 2011, the U.S. version of GamePro online will shut down as an independent site. GamePro will become part of PCWorld.com (http://www.pcworld.com/gamepro) offering gaming news, reviews, and how-tos from the PCWorld team. Thank you to the entire GamePro staff for their hard work and dedication.

GamePro’s probably best known for the colorful pseudonyms its writers used and the cartoon-face icons that accompanied game reviews. The magazine helped established the voice of video game culture, giving players a place to read about the individuals and creative process that remained mysteries even as the games industry rose to pop culture prominence. Many talented critics and journalists have contributed to GamePro’s pages through the years and its death silences a significant outlet for those of us who care about video games and how they’re thought about.

World of Warcraft has been perched high atop the massively-multiplayer throne for seven years now, but is about to get its first serious dose of competition when the Electronic Arts-published Star Wars: The Old Republic launches. While it’s not really a shock to learn that some folks have already indicated that they’ll be leaving Azeroth for a galaxy far, far away, a new survey indicates that WoW could shed anywhere between 900,000 and 1.6M players when the lightsabers start swinging.

According to Develop, a survey of nearly 400 online WoW customers indicated about 50% of them planned to purchase The Old Republic. In light of those results, Lazard Capital Markets downgraded Activision Blizzard’s stock from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral.’

However, it’s worth noting that the very same survey indicated that 33% of WoW players said they’d re-subscribe to the game upon the release of the upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. People love pandas.

The stock rating downgrade also follows the news that Wow’s subscriber base is down about 800,000 users in recent months, as well as news that majority shareholder Vivendi “shed thirty million of its shares in Activision Blizzard, reducing its stake to 60 per cent,” last week.

All this aside, World of WarCraft still has more than 10 million current subscribers.

Source: Shack News 

I’ve already posted about why the video games industry should do away with review scores and now I’m here to talk about why we should keep them. The industry as a whole has always been about providing gamers the best game possible on the platform of their choice. In this generation and economy we find ourselves giving a more critical eye to games then ever before. Games have increased in retail prices at $60 a pop and have bigger budgets then anyone would ever imagine 20 years ago. They are also turning into a more cinematic age and we find ourselves turning to our media and so called “games journalist” to sit back, play the game and rate the game to see if it is worth our hard earned money. If we got rid of review scores all together, the industry probably wouldn’t know what to do with itself if all there was is a wall of text as a review.

What we see is only a handful of sites (including yours truly) that do not use review scores. We all believe that the current ratings scale is hurting the industry and the industry places too much emphasis on the individual scores from each outlet. However, how can the video games industry benefit from the use of a review score? Video games can certainly benefit from using the entirety of the review scale. These days it looks like review scores aren’t going below a 6.0/10. If publications were to consistently use their grading scale, and the entire scale mind you, there wouldn’t be so much controversy or backlash among Internet folks. Nothing hits this point home then when Gamespot awards a 7.5 to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Although no matter how you slice it, there will always be someone waiting to complain or dissect why your review sucks and why your score should be higher or lower. It shouldn’t deter you from moving on to the next to review and experience more that the video games industry has to offer. “There is something for everyone” as the saying goes.

Grading a game should not feel like hard work. If you build a proper case and present your facts and findings in a professional manner, the score should reflect that. Review scores can work on paper. You don’t have to eliminate them completely to prove a point, otherwise as a publication you’ll find yourself trying to gain success in readership and only one blog has shown to be successful at that is that of Kotaku. While some readers will be lazy and simply scroll over your review just to read the score, they’ll at least still be taking into consideration the points and issues you raise to back up your score. They may not agree with it, but you are making your case and can argue their points if they find something they disagree with. When you have smaller blogs such as ours, it becomes imperative to gain any sort of advantage you can in the industry to make your voice heard and recognized.

In order to gain success you will have to conform to what’s been in place since the video games industry has exploded. This can be achieved in many ways whether its by being different and grading your reviews on a harsher scale or modifying what’s already there and making it your own to stand out. You could add in a “pros” and “cons” section to add into your review thus lessening the impact of what would just be a score. You shouldn’t just remove review scores all together; because then you make it harder on writers to make their case if all you have is a summary at the end of your review as well as making public relations companies confused. Having a score makes it easier for PR companies to present this to publishers and developers alike, so they will be in contact with you more frequently. If you’re looking to gain trust and consistent contact, using scores may be the only way you could do that if you’re a rising blog looking to make it or break it especially on the Internet where everyone thinks their a critic. In essence, you could use the 1 – 10 rating scale in a variety of ways. You could add in a description and do away with the point increments, and just keep a whole value.

Point increments just simply make things a bit to complicated since you’ll have your review judged just as harshly. Assigning whole values makes things easier for everyone and makes the discussion afterwards more interesting. Clinging to an idea thinking it will catch will most likely not be effective in the long run. If you open yourself up to what’s there and make it your own, you can get your message across and find yourself having more success.  You don’t have to change overnight, but if you work at it you can be successful. Review scores can be used as a starting point for any up and coming publication to make it their own and allow your fellow staff to feel comfortable where they are writing and enjoy their work without shooting themselves in the foot by sticking to one end all be all philosophy.

Blizzard’s World of Warcraft MMO has shed 1.1 million subscribers in the past six months, the developer has announced. As revealed in an investor call earlier today and reported by Massively, player numbers have fallen 10 per cent to 10.3 million compared to 11.4 million in May this year. CEO Mike Morhaime explained that most of that decline was seen in the East.

It’s been a year since the last major expansion, 2010′s Cataclysm, helped boost numbers. The next add-on, Mists of Pandaria, is yet to be dated.

It was good news on a company-wide level, though. Activision Blizzard saw profits for the quarter nearly triple from $51 million this time last year to $148 million.

Source: Eurogamer 

Publisher THQ has announced today they have re-launched their official website with new features and functionality. The site features a new global digital e-commerce destination (shopTHQ) powered by Digital River.  The site’s design better reflects the company’s branding and provides news about upcoming THQ properties. The site opens up with a “Fresh 5″ list featuring the company’s top current and future games, and provides a single landing page with links to THQ’s social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

“This is a significant shift in both the form and functionality for THQ.com,” said Ryan Okum, vice president of interactive marketing, THQ. “While we’ve already reconstructed the site from the ground up to improve the user experience, over the coming months we will be rolling new features to build out a robust community experience by extending our player’s experience from the game to the web and vice versa.”

Some other random site features added were a better search function, consumer feedback options, and improved global e-commerce throughout the site. The site is now outfitted for many languages throughout the world and more will be coming online soon.

The creators of Splosion Man have joined the Microsoft Studios family as announced by Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Spencer today. The studio has been making titles exclusively for the Xbox Live Arcade platform since its beginnings in 2006.

“Twisted Pixel has an incredible track record of innovative, critically acclaimed, and most importantly, fun, games,” said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president, Microsoft Studios. “Microsoft Studios is home to cutting-edge entertainment experiences, and the incredible creativity of the Twisted Pixel team will help drive further innovation around Kinect and Xbox LIVE.”

“It is really exciting for us to solidify our long-standing relationship with Microsoft Studios, who we consider to be the leader in digital distribution and creating new innovations in gaming like Xbox LIVE and Kinect,” said Michael Wilford, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twisted Pixel. “As part of the family of Microsoft Studios we look forward to bringing even bigger and richer experiences to Xbox and Twisted Pixel fans around the world.”

The studio joins other development studios like Lionhead Studios and RARE.

Via Major Nelson

Valve has announced today the addition of new modes for Counterstrike Global Offensive (Counterstrike: GO).

Targeted for release via Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam (for PC and Mac) in early 2012, CS: GO will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched 12 years ago.

Arsenal Mode is based on the popular Counter-Strike: Source mod Gun Game. “Arsenal: Arms Race” and “Arsenal: Demolition” add eight new maps and expand on the classic Counter-Strike gameplay.

Valve is working directly with creators of Gun Game to create  Arsenal Mode. “We are excited that Valve reached out and is working with us to ensure Arsenal Mode is the best version of  Gun Game.”, Michael Barr project lead of Gun Game.

Namco Bandai Games announced today that Dark Souls will be available in North America on October 4th and October 7th in the UK.

With tense dungeon crawling and fearsome enemy encounters, the seamlessly intertwined world of Dark Souls is full of extreme battles, rewarding challenges, nuanced weaponry and magic, and the flexibility to customize each character to suit any desired play style.  The innovative online component allows gamers to draw from the collective experience of the Dark Souls community as they either help or sabotage each other on the journey through the Northern Realms to save the land from darkness.  With a massive, seamless open world design, Dark Souls encourages deep exploration and an adaptable gameplay experience.

Gamers can pre-order the Dark Souls Collector’s Edition for $59.99, the same price as the standard edition, which will include a limited edition art book containing premium illustrations of characters and environments from the game. The package will also include a mini-strategy guide, original game soundtrack and behind-the-scenes videos provided for digital download via a uniquely redeemable online code printed on a specially marked card inside each Collector Edition box. All of this will come packaged with the standard edition game in a custom-designed metal case.

Square Enix, Inc finally announced the finalized release date for Final Fantasy XIII-2 in North America today.The game will launch on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles on January 31st, 2012 in North America.

FINAL FANTASY XIII–2 is the sequel to  FINAL FANTASY XIII, which was released in North America in March 2010 and has shipped 6.2 million units worldwide. The sequel has evolved beyond its predecessor, with an extraordinary level design encouraging exploration, a new battle system allowing players to command monsters and a variety of options that support multiple playthroughs.

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 PROLOGUE

She defied her destiny. She set out to vanquish the false gods enslaving mankind.
After the war, the world was no longer the same. Humans reigned victorious and their gods were no more. Their utopia fell from the sky and became one with Pulse, the underworld crawling with beasts and fiends. It marked the beginning of a new era.
However, she was nowhere to be seen. Everyone believed she was gone—with the exception of one, her sister, Serah.
Three years later—
A meteorite disrupts the serenity of a peaceful village. Time is distorted; bloodthirsty monsters are released within the confines of the secluded town.
Amidst the chaos, Serah is saved by a stranger who goes by the name of Noel. A hunter from the future, he bears an important message.
“She is waiting for you,” he says. “Come with me if you want to see her again.”
She is Lightning—protector of the goddess who rules the realm of death and chaos, the one–and–only sister of Serah.
“I need to see her. I need to see my sister.” Her heart brimming with hope, a determined Serah sets off on an adventure to reunite with her sister, her family, her world.

Netflix has been making a bit of a change recently and especially made one with their recent price hike. As they start to separate their two DVD and Internet Streaming services, Netflix has decided to add another; Qwikster.

After a rather poor display and formal apology in explaining the changes, Netflix will be adding a video game upgrade option much like their Blu-ray option for you to choose. You’ll be able to rent Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 games. It was not revealed when the service will be launched, according to the services own website it will be “launching soon”.

It looks like the option will be counted as a separate and hopefully cheap bill on your account. It’ll be interesting to see how this will affect other services like Gamefly and if Netflix is able to keep up with the competition.

They’ve got the iconic classic Half-Life under their belt. Their recent titles FPS zombie multiplayer Left4Dead 2 and comedic puzzler Portal 2 delight critics and fans alike. And now the long-awaited DotA (Defense of the Ancients) is on it’s way. The Valve Corporation’s unflagging success makes gamers wonder what they’ll do next. Will Valve set their sights on the growing handheld market?

For those hoping for Valve on the go, there’s disappointment ahead.

“We haven’t forayed into [portable gaming],” Chet Faliszek, a Valve writer, told Kotaku. “It’s just not a space our engine has been looked at or optimized for.”

It looks like there’s no portable Counter Strike in the cards for us, yet. Don’t worry; we still have Half-Life 2: Episode 3 to dream of..

• As stated in my previous article, the Vita is launching on December 17th in Japan. Apparently it’ll boast 26 launch titles.
• A Final Fantasy remake? You bet! Final Fantasy X will be remade for the Vita (and the PS3). Sorry, no FFVII. Square Enix will be releasing two other titles for the handheld- Amy Corps of Hell and Lord of the Apocalypse (yikes, how dark of you, Square Enix).
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will be released for the PS Vita with multiplayer over Wi-Fi and 3G.
• Metal Gear Solid HD for the PS Vita and PS3 was revealed. There will be tranferable save game support from the PS3 to the Vita.
• Zone of the Enders HD Collection, which will be comprised of Zone of the Enders 1 and 2, can be expected for both the PS3 and the Vita.
• A 3G data plan for the PS VIta in Japan will be 980 yen (approx $13.00 USD) for 20 hours, and 4980 yen (approx $65.00 USD) for 100 hours.
• The Playstation Network will be available through the PS Vita.
• For the social networking fiends- Facebook, Twitter, Skype and FourSquare support will be available for the PS Vita. Now you can shut yourself in with your video games AND keep stay connected.

Sony’s TGS 2011 Launch Calendar:

• Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP) October 27
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD (PS3, PS Vita) November 2011
• PlayStation Vita — December 17th, Japan
• II-2 (PS3, X360) December 2011
• Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom (PS Vita) — December 2011
• Metal Gear Solid HD Edition (PS3, PS Vita) TBA 2012
• Zone of the Enders HD (PS3, PS Vita) TBA 2012
• Street Fighter X Tekken (PS Vita) TBA

You read that headline right folks. Announced at the Call of Duty XP this past weekend, Microsoft will be bringing us yet another expensive, Xbox 360 bundle.

The new bundle will be completely designed and themed inspired by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 complete with authentic sounds from the game on the console for the power button and disc eject button. You can check out pictures of the console below. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 console will retail in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia,  New Zealand and EMEA  for $399.99 (US MSRP).

Read more about the other announcements below…

[Major Nelson]

In addition to this, Microsoft will also be releasing on October 11, 2001, a Call of Duty Bluetooth wireless headset and a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 wireless controller. The bluetooth headset will retail for $69.99 and includes a charging cradle, ear loop, ear gels, and an Xbox LIVE token for an exclusive download as well as matching artwork to match the console design. The wireless controller on the other hand will retail for $59.99 and also includes exclusive artwork and a transforming D-pad that can be rotated to adapt to the user’s game play, as well as an Xbox LIVE token for an exclusive download.

It looks like the Xbox 360 is gearing up for a big launch for Modern Warfare 3, especially considering how Modern Warfare 2 was huge in itself. We’ll have to wait and see how Modern Warfare 3 handles this when the console and the game will ship too stores on November 8, 2011.

It was announced from HaloFest this weekend in the Penny Arcade Expo that the upcoming new warthog in Halo 4 will be playable, at least in an interactive museum experience kind of way, in Forza Motorsport 4.

In this new Autovista experience players get to see a first hand look at the Warthog. When players pick up Forza Motorsport 4 you’ll be able to interact with this Warthog in the Autovista experience and listen to the narration by none other then Cortana herself. Forza Motorsport 4 releases in the UK 14 October.

It certainly wouldn’t be a fighting game if there wasn’t an arcade stick with relevant art on it to go along with it. Mad Catz has recently entered into a multi year agreement with Capcom to bring in Street Fighter X Tekken arcade sticks and accessories. The agreement covers both North America and European territories.

The arcade stick will launch based on the upcoming Street Fighter X Tekken title coming in September. You can you pre order one now if you so desire.

In a move this morning that has surely been the discussion of many gamers today, the overlords of Gamestop corporate have sent in mass an email to all stores stating to pull the PC version of the recently released Deus Ex: Human Revolution. These copies are apparently to be returned eventually to publisher Square Enix. This now coming after an earlier report telling Gamestop employees to take out OnLive coupons, which were packaged with the PC version.

The retailer decided not to participate in the promotion as it stated that OnLive was considered competition and seems to confirm the fact that Gamestop is developing some sort of service to compete with OnLive when it acquired Spawn Labs. Gamestop sent out a statement to this development.

Regarding the Deus Ex: Human Revolution OnLive Codes: We don’t make a habit of promoting competitive services without a formal partnership. Square Enix packed the competitor’s coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull these coupons. While the new products may be opened, we fully guarantee the condition of the discs to be new. If you find this to not be the case, please contact the store where the game was purchased and they will further assist.

Update: OnLive does not have a comment at this time.

[Joystiq]

So, Fable: The Journey is thankfully not going to be considered Fable 4 by any means. It looks like Lionhead Studios is reportedly working Fable IV for a 2013 release. This coming from an article in the Official Xbox Magazine; “Look for the Fable cycle to continue with a proper, controller-based Fable IV in 2013 , says The Ball…”.

[LoudMouthedGamers]

MadCatz, the company behind some of the best gaming peripherals has opened up their offices in Tokyo, Japan today. The new office will focus on sales, marketing and product development.

“Since opening our first international sales office in 2002 we have built teams of sales and marketing professionals working directly with most key retailers across North America, Europe and Asia. Our international market expansion remains a key driver of our success, with over 40% of our fiscal 2011 sales generated outside the United States and double digit sales growth in all territories,” said Darren Richardson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz Interactive, Inc.  “Over the last few years Japan has been a growth market for Mad Catz products and the establishment of a permanent office staffed with industry veterans marks another milestone in the company’s expanding distribution footprint.”

According to industry analysts, it appears that the Japanese market represents between 8% and 10% of total global sales in the video game industry.

Today Traveler’s Tales Games and Warner Bros Interactive have announced the development of Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7.  If you’re wondering, yes this will be the follow up to the previously released Lego Harry Potter years 1-4. The game looks to have a target release window of Q4 2011.

Based on the last three Harry Potter books and final four films, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 takes players through Harry Potter’s heroic adventures in the Muggle and wizarding worlds.  From Privet Drive in Little Whinging to Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and Hogwarts – plus new locations including Grimmauld Place, the Ministry of Magic, and Godric’s Hollow – players will encounter new faces, new challenges and new magic, preparing them for the ultimate face-off against Lord Voldemort™.

Lego Harry Potter will see release on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, NGP (Playstation Portable 2) and Nintendo Wii, DS and 3Ds.

Revealed with just a teaser trailer and unfortunately no gameplay footage; IO Interactive has announced Hitman: Absolution. Looks like more info will be revealed as we get closer to E3 next month.