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Round Up: Infogrames Debt, PS3 Patch, Cheyenne Hire
by Jason Dobson
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November 15, 2006
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Today's round-up includes news of Infogrames' debt restructuring plan being approved by shareholders, PlayStation 3 backwards compatibility patches, and Rod Nakamoto joining Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, as well as the latest Game Career Guide updates, Serious Games Source posts, GameSetWatch posts and Gamasutra job postings.
- Following the posting of Atari's European parent Infogrames' financial results covering the first half of the 2006/2007 fiscal year, major news hub Reuters announced that Infogrames shareholders have approved the company's long anticipated debt restructuring plan. The approval came after previous shareholder meetings to address the plan were delayed twice before due to certain “quorum requirements” not being met. Formally announced on September 12, the new plan, if successful, “will permit the Company to have a new industrial investment capacity to cope with interactive leisure challenges,” according to an Infogrames statement issued at that time.
- A report from Reuters UK indicates that Sony plans to release downloadable upgrades for its new PlayStation 3 console, which launches on November 17 in North America and has already shipped in Japan. According to the report, the upgrades will amount to patches to address issues found in the console's inability to properly play nearly 200 identified older PlayStation and PlayStation 2 titles. Sony Computer Entertainment America's president and chief executive Kaz Hirai also commented on this as well, noting that the company is aiming for “perfect compatibility” between the PlayStation 3 and existing software titles from both PlayStation branded platforms, and that "We are trying to get there as quickly as possible.” The lion's share of issues experienced with the 200 identified titles come in the form of audio and visual glitches, as well as controller issues wherein a button does not perform the on-screen action to which it is normally assigned.
- Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, which is currently developing an MMOG based on the popular Stargate film and television franchise, announced it has appointed Rod Nakamoto as the company's vice president and studio head. An entrepreneur, Nakamoto founded his first company, Sweet Micro Systems, Inc., in 1979. He went on to create Interactive Designs, a game development company, which was later acquired by Sega of America. His recent work includes executive positions at leading game companies such as Sega of America, Electronic Arts, GT Interactive, Hasbro Interactive, Vivendi Universal Games, Namco and Kayak Interactive. “This is an exciting time for the games industry as new gaming platforms enter the marketplace, it offers us all new venues to apply our creativity and product development expertise,” said Nakamoto. “I’m looking forward to creating new games that set the standard for future developers and publishers.”
- The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog GameSetWatch include a CD-i and Zelda charity auction, a look at the XBLArcade.com weekly Xbox Live Arcade points leaderboard, and Gregg Tavares' custom wedding video game.
- The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Serious Games Source include a new feature looking at the stereotyping and sexist connotations found in Nintendo's portable title, Super Princess Peach.
- The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Game Career Guide include the release of the second edition of 3D Game Programming All in One.
- Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Centerscore, Day 1 Studios, Radical Entertainment, Sierra Online, Turbine, and Wideload Games.
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