Viva l’indipendenza, Viva FUEL OVERDOSE

Sarà che quando sento parlare di sviluppatori indipendenti inizio ad emozionarmi come un bambino, quest’oggi preferisco sottrarre un po’ di spazio ai sottocosto ed ai paladini del day-one braker per inoltrarvi questo simpatico press kit oltre ad un paio di informazioni su I-FRIQIYA ed il loro imminente FUEL OVERDOSE, gioco in digital delivery per PC e PS3.

TOKYO (February 24^th, 2012), I-Friqiya is today proud and happy to announce the upcoming release of its first game, Fuel Overdose, on Playstation3 (SEN/PSN) and PC (digital distribution). In development for 18 months the game is expected to debut on PlaystationNetwork by the spring of 2012.

What is Fuel Overdose?

Fans of action racing games for ages, we have played a lot of them over the last 15 years and we started our journey wanting to bring back a certain idea of the genre but also to propose something completely new and fresh. We focused our efforts on trying to provide innovative and fun action/combat game mechanics and bring in a tactical touch to the genre.

Put simply, we like to think of Fuel Overdose as a “Tactical- Action-Racing” game:

Action: From the large array of upgradable weapons one can expect for such a game, Fuel Overdose also features innovative and fun weapons and game mechanics such as a grapple that can be used both offensively and defensively, bomb detonators along the road, and a whole fighting system that offers unique skills moves and attacks to each character of the game.

Tactical: With Fuel Overdose, the choices made before and during the race have a real impact on your chances of success. The game leaves no room for luck and features a resource management system for the vehicles and weaponry, a super/ultra attack gauge inherited from the versus fighting genre as well as auction events than can bring a decisive edge to win races.

Racing: Fuel Overdose is not a combat-arena game, it is, as its core, a racing game that requires driving skills and that allows and values different racing styles and a diverse garage of vehicles, themselves all customizable to improve their driving and performance.

Who is I-Friqiya?

Created in 2010 I-Friqiya was born from the desire to develop independent games for the digital market.

Having all worked in large video game companies and big studios, we believed that a small and focused development team could bring something more to the table, namely a very focused production and an editorial line that could be held without compromise or concessions.

The project and studio developed around a multicultural team of European and Japanese talents:

Jérôme took on the tasks of game design, level design, programming, and also crafted the full scenario and universe of the game.

Ryo is the graphic design and artist behind all the graphics and animations in the game, from tracks to vehicles and all the way down to the HUD.

Hideyuki is the second artist on the game and he specifically focused his time and talent on all the character designs than can be seen in the game.

Skander and Aroun are both co-founders of I-Friqiya and are the producers of Fuel Overdose.

SCREENSHOTS

Make it a Blockbuster Night

BLOCKBUSTER to close 500 stores
24 February 2012

US-based Blockbuster has announced its results for the year to 31 December 2011, confirming it plans to close 500 underperforming rental stores during the first half of 2012. This number accounts for approximately one-third of the company’s US store portfolio.

Blockbuster’s new parent company Dish Network reported an 11% increase in net sales for its full year 2011 to USD14.05 billion. Consolidated from 26 April, Blockbuster contributed USD975 million in revenue and USD4 million in net income during the period. The company ended the year with USD196.8 million in inventory.

Dish Network said that the store closures would have little impact on Blockbuster’s business as they related to outlets with favourable termination rights. The company said it would continue to view Blockbuster as a separate business and evaluate its performance going forward. Dish Executive Vice President of Corporate Development Tom Cullen told investors: “It’s a work in progress. We have a low tolerance for losses.”

Fonte: Planet Retail

Butto dentro anche questa, già che ci sono.

GAME to close Gameplay website and 35 UK stores
23 February 2012

UK entertainment retailer GAME is to close down its Gameplay e-commerce site and will shut a further 35 stores in its domestic market, MCV reports. Gameplay was acquired in 2004 but is said to have become a forgotten brand by the games specialist, which will redirect customers to its Gamestation site following the closure. Meanwhile, the company has revealed another 35 UK units will be closed as part of its cost-saving programme, which aims to reduce GAME’s store count from 610 to 550 by Christmas 2013.

Fonte: Planet Retail