Game Against Kate Upton… For a Good Cause

As gamers, we live for that moment of triumph: edging an opponent in a close online match, scoring the winning goal, passing the competition seconds from the finish line. But how much better would that feel if your win also helped to save lives? Gamers will get a chance to find out June 1st, when the first-ever (RED)RUSH Games tournament kicks off, and they can join in the fight against AIDS by doing what comes naturally: competing to win.

“Gaming is a passion for millions of people around the world, and (RED) is going to tap into that passion to get people focused and engaged in our efforts to help deliver an AIDS Free Generation by 2015,” said Deborah Dugan, (RED) CEO.  “We’re giving gamers an incredibly fun way to compete in a world-class tournament while doing good at the same time."

Not only will gamers get the opportunity to help (RED)RUSH TO ZERO (going on June 1-10) build on the staggering $190 million the organization has already raised, but participants will have the opportunity to win prizes, including tickets to the upcoming MTV Movie Awards  and the opportunity to game against celebrities like Kate Upton, Jorge Garcia, Michelle Rodriguez and Kris Allen.

IGN is the official media sponsor of the (RED)RUSH Games, and will be bringing you full coverage of the event from E3, where the tournament will have a huge presence. The (RED)RUSH Games are being powered by STiKS GAMING, a new platform that allows gamers to register their Gamer IDs, sign up for teams, and game for charity to "battle for a better world."

“(RED) is one of the most respected, and innovative causes in the world, and we are honored to launch the STiKSGAMING platform with The (RED)RUSH Games,” stated STiKS GAMING partner Brett Claywell.  “We are excited to unite gamers in support of a global cause, and look forward to building a strong community in an effort to better the world while having some fun.”

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We’re giving gamers an incredibly fun way to compete in a world-class tournament while doing good at the same time. --Deborah Dugan. (RED) CEO

Gamers can get involved immediately in the (RED)RUSH Games effort by visiting STIKSGAMING.com. The tournament will pit two teams against one another: TEAM INSPI(RED) and TEAM POWE(RED). After signing up on STIKSGAMING.com, gamers will get to choose which team they'd like to represent, and after making a small donation (as little as $10 USD), they will get to select a platform (PS3 or Xbox 360), and choose from a variety of games to compete in. Games in the tournament include EA Sports FIFA Soccer 12, EA Sports NHL 12, 2K Sports' NBA 2K12, KINECT SPORTS Season 2, and Forza Motorsport 4.

STiKS GAMING partner Michael Wasserman explains. "Once you make the donation and enter the system, that $10 is turned into a certain amount of points… As you accumulate points, you can then use those points to have the opportunity to play against your favorite celebrity who is part of the campaign."

After playing in a match against another (RED)RUSH gamer, wins and losses will be recorded on the STiKS GAMING website, each player's accomplishments will count toward the team score, and their donations will count toward the team's efforts to raise money for the cause.

"We narrowed the issue from just AIDS in general to one Millennium Goal which is quantifiable," said Dugan. The virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is the ultimate goal, and will be instrumental in halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by the target date of 2015.

During E3, the (RED)RUSH Games will be in full swing, and celebrities will be in attendance to play their games against each other and online against contest winners. Show goers will get the opportunity to visit the (RED)RUSH booth on the E3 floor and get a taste of the Games live. The booth will feature huge video screens to capture the celebrity gaming action, a live DJ and private gaming rooms.

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We are excited to unite gamers in support of a global cause --Brett Claywell, STiKS GAMING partner

"The booth is designed for two main purposes. It's designed to give celebrities the opportunity to play from our booth against donors around the world, and for us to put on big exhibitions to create awareness at E3, with a huge jumbotron screen where people can watch celebrities battle each other," said Wasserman.

In addition to those already mentioned, celebrities involved include Wayne Brady,  Chingy , Samantha Ronson, Michael B. Jordan, Scott Porter, Ryan Cabrera, DJ Colleen Shannon, Aldis Hodge, Al Shearer, Kerli, Brian White, Cobi Jones, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, iLuminate, Chad "Madd Chadd" Smith and Fatal1ty. And the list keeps growing. "Every day, we're getting more and more people in," said Dugan.

Gamers can track who will be at E3 gaming at various times. Donors to (RED) who register through the STIKSGAMING.com site can have the opportunity to play celebrities two ways: by gaining points or by entering into a sweepstakes where they will enter a code to play a particular celebrity.

Players who participate will have a stake in a global effort to halt the spread of HIV. Once the goal is met, Dugan says, "There's culturally a victory lap at the end. You can actually check a box and say, 'We did this.' All these gamers came together for the first time in such a huge way, and we'd like to do it every year."

Stay tuned to IGN throughout E3 for updates on the (RED)RUSH Games, including celebrity gaming interviews and more.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/30/game-against-kate-upton-for-a-good-cause

Best Games Quotes of the Week - May 19

This week, Diablo III's launch happened, and so we've cordoned off a special area to hold the howls of outrage and the humble apologies for that particular moment of historic unfortunateness.

Meanwhile, it's been a good week for games news with our old friend the Infinity Ward-Activision row exploding onto the scene, always a busy corner for those who enjoy vehemence and back-biting among industry types.

And then there's just a bunch of cool and crazy, including Tera's sexual censorship, first looks at Unreal Engine 4, The Last of Us just being great, how Batman breaks legs, the greatest living-room console-set-up ever and, of course Peter Molyneux.

You can look back at recent Quotes features by Googling 'Best Quotes IGN' but a good place to start is last week's column. I am, as always, at your service. Join me on Twitter to discuss the games business, or just weigh in on Comments. Best one gets posted in next week's column.

I’m Pedobear

Credit: Eurogamer

“If you look at the forums and how users usually react to this race [the Elin], it's either people offended by the way they look, or it's people trolling, saying, hey, I'm "pedobear". This is the kind of behaviour we want to avoid at all costs.”

Frogster's Lucile Le Merle on how the Elin were censored for the West, in Tera.

Eurogamer

Sculpt the Lighting

“[Previously] you would have to manually sculpt the lighting in every section of every level. The number of man-years that required was astounding.”

Cliff Bleszinski talks about Unreal Engine 4

Wired

Show me the Cables

“If you're going to impress me show me the cables and switch box!”

Top Reddit comment on a photo of an awesome historic console set-up, doing the rounds this week.

The Smiling Catfish

Game Physically

“It’s a very demanding game physically. Some of the top players are playing at 300, 400 actions per minute.”

Kevin Knocke, e-sports broadcaster on IPL on StarCraft 2’s superstars.

IGN START

The Last of Us

"It’s a game about the human condition. 20 years after a plague has decimated our society, how does man survive? When all moral and ethical codes have been stripped, who do you trust? After watching your friends and loved ones pass, do you think you could still love? What is life without hope? We’re trying to make you feel these dilemmas while you’re playing The Last of Us."

The Last of Us game director Bruce Straley.

IGN

Fake Fumigation

“[Thomas] Fenady testified that he expressed concern about the project but was told, "Don't worry about the repercussions." Fenady found an outside company, InGuardians, who also balked at the task because of "legal hurdles." Stymied, Fenady approached the company's Facilities Department and talked about staging a "fake fumigation" and a "mock fire drill" in order to get West and Zampella away from their computers long enough to copy files on their computers.”

Inside scoop on Activision’s clandestine attempts to fire Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vincent Zampella.

LA Times

A Small Portion

"Although it is a meaningful payment, it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation. It is outrageous that they made us wait, they obviously knew they owed the money and this just shows that they breached the contract."

Bruce Isaacs, attorney for the Infinity Ward Employee Group on Activision’s decision to stump up some back-payments on royalties.

The Verge

Rivals Resident Evil

"We got to that million-dollar figure by cutting as much as we could, because we're small. We would love to be able to make this game for $250,000, but that's not a reality. If you're making a puzzle platformer with two or three guys in a room, that's a different story. We're trying to make a game that rivals Resident Evil or the original Metal Gear Solid. We're trying to do that in half the time, with a small team, and a fraction of those budgets."

Former Halo producer Ryan Payton on iOS stealth game Republique's Kickstarter success.

Edge

Opposed to Blocked Used Games

“For the record, I'm totally opposed to blocking used games. I think it's great for the consumer that they can buy those. We have a customer that buys our console late in the cycle, pays less, is looking for value priced games, and I think it would be anti-consumer for us to do that.”

Sony’s Jack Tretton, quoted by analyst Michael Pachter.

GameTrailers

Here and Elsewhere

“We've been getting several questions, here and elsewhere about the future of on-disc DLC. We would like to assure you that we have been listening to your comments and as such have begun the process of re-evaluating how such additional game content is delivered in the future.”

Capcom’s Christian Svensson is looking at new places to stick his DLC.

Capcom Unity

New Consoles

“The new consoles from Microsoft and Sony will allow more integration of item-based transactions within games, including a free-to-play option similar to the model used in social and mobile games. We believe the F2P model on consoles...could drive a higher level of profitability per franchise.”

Analyst Colin Sebastian is ready for console free-to-play.

VG247

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/19/best-games-quotes-of-the-week-may-19