EA apologise for Northern Ireland mix up
- Error was brought to EA’s attention in late April
Publishing giant Electronic Arts have apologised for using the wrong national anthem for Northern Ireland in the Euro 2008 computer game. The mistake was brought to the games publisher’s attention over two months ago in April. A Northern Ireland fan wrote on publisher’s online message boards of his “shock” and how he was “disgusted” by the game.
The fan pointed out that ‘Danny Boy’ is used in the game for the national anthem of Northern Ireland, rather than official anthem ‘God Save The Queen’. But his main point of controversy is due to ‘Amhran na bhFiann’ or ‘The Soldier’s Song’ – the national anthem of the Republic of Ireland – being played as victory music.
“I just bought Uefa Euro 2008. I’m from Northern Ireland and was shocked at some of the discoveries in your game. First of all Northern Ireland’s national anthem is not ‘Danny Boy’. Now for the worst part. when I was playing with NI and finished match at the end of match screen it started playing ‘the soldiers song’ which is the Republic of Ireland’s national anthem” said a user on EA’s message boards who described himself as a “very disappointed gamer” and signed off as Ian Kerr.
He continued: “Just to let you know Northern Ireland is still British and not all Ireland. The national anthem is ‘God Save the Queen’. where do u [sic] get your information on football from because whoever it is has never been to a Northern Ireland match, God Save the Queen is always played as our national anthem. As for the soldier song being played at end of match menu I was left disgusted. So, northern Ireland has no identity now I suppose”.
With many in the North having different cultural views, anger at the mix-up is unlikely to be even across political lines. An EA UK staff member followed the fan’s post with “There’s some excellent feedback here, keep it coming”, followed by a smiley face.
However, since then, EA’s Shaun White was quoted by media outlets as saying: “At EA Sports, we pride ourselves on delivering rich and authentic videogame experiences. We sincerely apologise for this error”.
Irish blog to cover computer games
An Irish blog, the Irish Games, is set to have video games news, features and reviews.
The site, jokingly described as “the illegitimate brain child of two native Limerick dwellers with a
passion for video games”, was launched late last week and can be found at theirishgamers.wordpress.com.
The blog is to cover both console and PC gaming, as well as the odd post about films. A post on the site says one of the reasons it was set up was “the belief that the Irish games scene is in need of a serious boost”.
It added: “We’re just getting started, but we hope to start specifically covering what’s going on in Ireland when it comes to games, as well as talking about the regular plethora of daily international industry happenings too”.
The use of the name the Irish Gamers follows two similarly named but unrelated sites – the now redundant Irishgamer.ie, and one of Game Toaster’s past names, the Irish Gamer.
Irish video games podcast launched
Citizengame.co.uk, although it has a UK web address, is a newly launched Irish games podcast. The first edition, a ‘pilotcast’, was released on March 3 and has been so-far followed by three more shows.
In the podcasts presenters cover computer games news and talk about the latest games. The podcasts in MP3 - which vary from an hour to an hour and 25mins - can be downloaded in from citizengame.co.uk.
GamesStop Ireland up for industry award
GameStop Ireland, a branch of the international retailer, has been nominated for an MCV Industry Excellence Awards organised by the UK computer and video games trade magazine MCV.
The retailer is one of five in the “Specialist Retailer” category of the awards are set to be held in London in two weeks time on April 10. They are up against Game who also operates in Ireland as well as UK stores Gamestation, CHIPS, and Gameseek.
The Irish section of GameStop controls 51 stores mainly across the Republic and the North, as well as a number in Britain.
The company is still in a process of expanding the number of outlets in Ireland which started when game GamesStop bough Irish retail GamesWorld in 2003.
“GameStop is very proud to be nominated for a MCV award in the Specialist Games Retailer category. MCV magazine and website is the leading information resource for games retailers, media, publishers, distributors and anyone working in the games industry” commented Michael Finucane, commercial director at GameStop.
Havok in court over brand firm dispute
Telekinesys Research Limited, the Dublin-based games middleware firm known as Havok, is being sued by a design agency that helped created their brand. According to the Sunday Business Post, the branding work for Havok by Dublin design company, Creative Inc, had appeared in a marketing magazine article as a case study.
Emmy-winning Havok then wrote to Creative Inc requesting them to cease linking it self to the games firm. But Creative are now taking action claiming they had an agreement to use work in case studies. The case was mentioned as a motion for entry in the commercial section of the High Court at the Four Courts in Dublin last week.
Havok, based in the Digital Hub in Dublin’s Liberties, was bought by chipmaker Intel late last year. It is best known for its physics software that helps games developers concentrate on other aspects of games creation, but has expanded to areas such as animation.
As result of the Intel buyout, Havok are to release a free non-commercial version of their Havok Complete product for PC from this May. The move is aimed at independent games developers and enthusiasts, as well as academic institutions with games courses.
According to the company its products are used in over 200 “AAA games” and as well as being used in well over 90 titles which are due to be released this year. There include Halo 3, Assassin’s Creed, and Guitar Hero
III, as well as the upcoming Alan Wake, Indiana Jones, and Starcraft II. The middleware maker lists many more on its website, Havok.com.
A deal with Sony before the PlayStation 3 release also saw a version of the Havok product bundled with development hardware kits for the console.
MORE: Legal dispute between Havok and design agency (the Sunday Business Post, March 16, 2008)
REVIEW: The Orange Box
Developer: Valve | Publisher: EA/Steam | For: 360, PS3, PC
Reviewer: Cian Ginty Ok, so the Orange Box was released at the end of last year on
consoles, but we think it’s worth a mention for anybody who has
recently bought an PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
The Orange Box isn’t a game, it’s five games boxed as one — Half-Life
2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and the
multiplayer Team Fortress 2. If you’re not a PC gamer, you might have played Half-Life when it got
off to a poor console start on PlayStation 2, the game was just about
playable compared to the award-winning PC version, but things have
changed since then.
Half-Life has been a standard setter since its first PC release in
1998. Half-Life 2 was long delayed but well worth the wait, again
getting critical acclaimed. Then, since its launch, games developer
Valve switched to a ‘episode’ based releases using their Steam download
system — the Orange Box partly acts as catch up for console users.
Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two are your standard-setting
first person shooters. Think highly developed storyline, impressive
graphics, and never-ending action mixed in with a range of weapons and
enemies, and you’re just about there.
Portal is puzzle game like you never. As with the original Half-Life,
you’re our stuck in a weapons research and development. But there’s a
twist. It looks like a first person shooter, but the game does not have
any guns you can pick up.
Instead you have a portal shooter, getting place-to-place or
disabling
automatic guns requires a bit of thinking. Did we mention the computer
which controls the compound has gone crazy and is trying to kill you?
If you could call Orange Box a game it would be game of the year 2007,
but, since it’s not a game, it is the best every value the games
industry has ever seen.
This article first appeared in the Ballyfermot Post in print and online at ballyer.net.
REVIEW: Burnout Paradise
Developer: Criterion | Publisher: EA | Format: Xbox 360, PS3
Reviewer: Cian Ginty Burnout does for racing games what Grand Theft Auto does for action
games, that is, makes them completely political incorrect — but great
fun.
Burnout Paradise adds another GTA feature: free roaming environments.
It does this in a completely imaginary city where there are no police
and traffic lights are a good thing.
Paradise is apparently a world where finding traffic lights means you can start a race or stunt challenge.
With the next generation consoles, the graphs have improved for the
early games, but game is focussed on senseless fun. The city is made
for stunts and general free roaming. There’s little in the way to
impede, and you see other racers passing while free roaming, you can
even take them down and their vehicle will be accessible back at your
garage.
The city is made for stunts and general free roaming. There’s little in
the way to impede, and you see other racers passing while free roaming,
you can even take them down and get access to their vehicles.
Like real life, the cars are weapons. But this is great fun and there’s
no danger or consequences. It’s a pity some idiot drivers wouldn’t stay
at home.
This article first appeared in the Ballyfermot Post in print and online at ballyer.net.
Xbox 360 price drop from Friday in Ireland
Microsoft have revealed an expected Xbox 360 price drop for Europe today, in Ireland the entry-level console will have an estimated retail price €199.99 from this Friday, March 14.
The standard Xbox 360 with a 20GB harddrive and wireless controller is expected to retail for €279.99, while the 120GB ‘Elite’ console will €379.99.
According to the company, these will see the prices come down €100 for the entry-level console, the Xbox 360 Arcade, and €80 for both other packages.
“History shows that €199 is the price point where a consoles audience begins to expand, and with these new estimated retail prices in place we’re ready to bring more consumers into the Xbox 360 world,” said Chris Lewis, vice president, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business Europe.
Xbox 360: Low impact on GameStop chart
- Nintendo DS appears the most on retail’s chart
- Follows Xbox low ranking on Chart-Track game chart
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console only appears once across two weeks of top-10 charts from retailer GameStop Ireland.
So-far this year the games retailer has sent out two ‘GameStop Top Ten Bestsellers’ for the weeks ending Saturday, 12 and 26 January (both viewable below).
The Xbox 360 only appears once in the two weeks, at number six for Burnout Paradise, while the PlayStation 3 version of the same game topped the chart and the PS3 has four places across the two weeks. The hand-held Nintendo DS holds the largest amount with eight places in the two weeks, the Nintendo Wii has three, and the PS2 has another two for Sony.
GameStop’s chart can only be viewed as a snapshot of the retailers top sellers within the two named weeks. However, it mirrors the Xbox 360’s low ranking on the Chart-Track Irish games charts. The chart includes a large selection of retailers in Ireland, but not Gamestop, Xtravision, or Smyth’s Toys.
Microsoft had complained that GameStop - in Microsoft’s words, “the largest video games retailer in Ireland” - was not included in the Chart-Track data, but GameStop’s own charts back the picture of low games sales.
The console maker has said it does not release country-by-country numbers and told Games Toaster it
is unlikely to comment on the GameStop charts. The only independent numbers available helps draw a picture of large media coverage and advertising but small shear of the games sales market.
New data provided by Chart-Track to this publication shows that the PlayStation 3 gained a larger percentage 5.8 percent from March to the end of last year then the 5 percent Xbox 360 obtained in 2006, its first full year. Chart-Track’s data is complied at the point-of-sale from a large selection of retailers including Game, Tesco, Argos, PC World, HMV, Play.com, Currys, Golden Discs, and others.
GameStop Top Ten Bestsellers
- Week ending Saturday January 26, 2008
- Burnout Paradise | PS3
- Mario Sonic at the Olympics | WII
- New Super Mario Bros. | NDS
- Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training | NDS
- More Brain Training | NDS
- Burnout Paradise | Xbox 360
- Super Mario Galaxy | WII
- The Simpsons | NDS
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | PS3
- WOW 60 day pre paid card | PCR
GameStop Top Ten Bestsellers
- Week ending Saturday, 12 January 2008
- Uncharted: Drakes Fortune IRL | PS3
- Super Mario Galaxy | WII
- Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training | NDS
- More Brain Training | NDS
- Fifa 08 | PS3
- Bee Movie | NDS
- WOW 60 day pre paid card | PCR
- Need For Speed ProStreet | PS2
- The Simpsons | NDS
- Fifa 08 | PS2
GameStop expands with new shops in Finglas, Gorey, Castlebar, and Limerick
Games retailer GameStop is continuing to expand on its Irish locations with new stores recently opened in Finglas, Gorey, and Castlebar, while Limerick is to get a third store.
GameStop Ireland will have 50 shops under its control by the end of the month, including two in the UK.
The retailer has massively expanded since the US games giant bought up and re-branded independent Irish retailer GamesWorld in 2003. In the last two years alone, it has nearly doubled the number of locations in the Republic and the North.
Its parent company runs 5,000 stores across Europe, the US, and South America.