It happens all the time - a developmet house completes a major project, and then a substantial portion of the ‘creative’ picks up and leaves shop. This is usually a good thing for gamers — in most cases the creative folks continue to call the shots in their new companies instead of wallowing in mediocrity under the reign of the publisher’s marketing guys at their old ones.

www.thinkwild.net has a blog entry from Red 5 Studios‘ founder Mark Kern which details his personal history of game development. Here is his inspirational part while relfecting on the formation of R5S:

When I decided to leave Blizzard last April, it was one of the hardest things I ever did. I left pretty quietly, and avoided speaking with teammates and friends for a long time while I just…decompressed.

I did some soul searching then, and almost left the industry. But after awhile I realized that I still wanted to make great games, and build great teams. The WoW team was the best team I had ever worked with, but we made some mistakes, and I wanted to do better. I wanted to create a dynamic, team-oriented environment where creative people could thrive. For certain reasons, this was not possible at Blizzard in quite the way I wanted, so I decided it was time to build my own company to work on the games in my head and in the creative manner I envisioned.

A few months later I founded Red 5 Studios with some amazingly talented former colleagues from Bliz, and off we went. You can follow our exploits at Red 5 Studios’ website. This story is just beginning…

So keep an eye on Red 5 Studios. We’ll probably hear some sweet MMORPG news from their way in a few years. And after what they’ve done for WoW, how could we not get excited?

Word is spreading that Nintendo has already sent out its E3 2006 invitations.

The Revolution will debut in LA in May. Is it unexpected? No.. but it’s the first concrete information Nintendo has released about the Revolution since we got a glimpse of the controller a few months ago. Also - the fact that they’re inviting people this early in the year (6 months before the show) hints that they have: their act together, confidence in their schedule, and they’re ready for prime time next year. Up until now we’ve only assumed that this was true.

Viva la Revolution!

Save the Date for Nintendo

You’re probably just starting to plan your time for 2006. With a mere 165 days to go (give or take), it’s time to start thinking about next year’s E3. Nintendo is most certainly thinking about it. So pencil us in. You’ll hear all the incredible details about Nintendo’s upcoming games and hardware, including our next home console, code-named Revolution. You won’t want to miss it. See you there.

WHAT: Nintendo’s E3 Media Briefing

WHEN: Briefing begins at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 2006.

WHERE: Kodak Theatre (home of the Academy Awards), Hollywood & Highland Center, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028

WHY: You know why.

kotaku.com has the full story.

Slashdot | Xbox 360 Very Unstable

So.. couldnt get your 360 on launch day? Maybe thats a good thing. Slashdot is reporting that the machine is not without some faults.

From Boing Boing, comes word of an awesome group of kids from Francis Howell High School’s talent show doing Mario on the mariba.

Music: A
Stage Presense: A+

Marimba!

Also added to the boing boing post are some other Mario performances:
an 11 string Bass — they come in 11 string varieties??
piano — we’ve seen this one
a capella — geeky squared
two trumpets — cool
And the London Symphony Orchestra — Mario never sounded so respectable.

p.s. Google Video ROCKS!

We all knew the launch day feeding frenzy was inevitable, but some of these bids are a bit outta control. 1,300 bucks for the console without games?! Come on guys - put your little egos to rest.

You don’t HAVE to have the console that badly, do you? Have you seen the launch lineup??

Note to self: preorder 15 PS3s to sell on EBay.

I found this on ARS last night. If you can make it through the first few minutes of dialogue you are in for a treat.
Here is Ken vs Raiden as well. Enjoy.

Today I received a cool little email from Alias (makers of Maya 3D tools) about their 3December Seminar.
This year it will be held just outside of Boston at BU’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts. This quote from the Alias Site Says it all:

“Fun will be the backdrop for presentations from a star-studded cast of industry experts. See how some of the most significant work in the entertainment and design industries was done. Take away new insights on your art and your career while you mingle with friends—old and new. It’s a valuable experience and a great way to network.

Whether you’re just launching your career or are a seasoned pro’, join us. “

Over the years I have become a big fan of the Maya Tools, if you’re interested in attending the links in this post can point you to registration. Hope to see you there.

Boston Registration

The French know where its at!
France has issued a 10 piece collection of videogame icons in a set of stamps.
This series includes: Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Prince of Persia, Rayman, Lara Croft, The Sims, and Spyro the Dragon.
Vive La France!

Today on AnandTech, there is an amazing article with
lots of information (wow!) about what makes the Xbox 360 tick.
If you’re interested in anything from how to: completely disassemble the 360 or what specs the xPU’s have it’s all here!
It’s a good read when you have the time.

Gamespot today has a post that could make the “What console should I get” question a bit easier to answer.
During this generation of consoles, the PS2 has been the RPG’ers platform of choice. The 300lb Gorilla that is Square-Enix has kept a majority of their RPG’s on the PS2.
Now there is speculation that future installments of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series’ could be coming out on both the PS3 and 360.

“TOKYO–In an interview with Reuters, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada disclosed that his company is considering releasing new installments of its Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest role-playing series on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. “We will decide by E3 in May [2006] as to whether to release them on both the PS3 and Xbox, or just one platform,” Wada told Reuters.

For the most part, both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have been exclusive to a single platform. Both series made their debut on Nintendo’s NES in the 1980s, and they continued to be hits on the SNES. However, Square defected to Sony Computer Entertainment’s camp in the late 1990s, and the primary Final Fantasy series became exclusive to the PlayStation and later the PlayStation 2. Enix also shifted its Dragon Quest series to the PlayStation in 2001 before merging with Square in 2003. The series then shifted to the PS2 with the 2004 remake of Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VIII, which just shipped in North America”

If this “rumor” turns out to be true, it would hurt the Ps3 a lot. However the way Sony has been behaving lately perhaps that not such a bad thing.