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BizSpots: Pixel Mine, Namco, GDC Austin, Nibris

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Aug 23, 2007 5:59 pm PT

Industry vets form new studio,;Japanese publisher appoints American veep; keynotes revealed for online-oriented conference; Polish developer gets representation.

Pixel Mines out small-scale development house
Perhaps stated most eloquently by David Jaffe, "I CAN tell you that man, SHORTER, LESS EXPENSIVE GAMES...wow! What a BLAST to be working on these things." Such is the mentality of Pixel Mine, a new studio announced today headed up by industry veterans who have worked on titles such as Ultima Online, Stubbs the Zombie, and Deus Ex. Eschewing the standard developer/publisher relationship, Pixel Mine plans to develop "short play titles" that offer high production values and an emphasis on community involvement. The startup plans to unveil its first project at this year's Austin Game Developers Conference, which takes place September 5-7.

Roger Hector named brain of Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai of America announced today it had appointed Roger Hector to the position of vice president of product development. In his new role, Hector will oversee all product-related development activities for the Japan-based publishing giant. Hector has previously worked for Atari, Electronic Arts, and Disney, and most recently he served as chief operating officer with the Enterprise Broadcasting Corporation. Hector is the second recent addition to Namco Bandai's management team. In June, Namco Bandai's American branch appointed Andrew Lelchuk as executive vice president of sales and marketing.

Perry, Kim, Schmidt, Sheldon keynote Austin GDC
The Austin Game Developers Conference kicks off in two weeks, and the CMP Games Group today announced the events keynote speakers. Dave Perry, former president and founder of Shiny Entertainment, will cover the topic of how to grow a career in the interactive entertainment industry. Minho Kim, director of game operations at Nexon Amercia, will share his insights on microtransactions and how to make the alternative business model work in online games for Western markets. Xbox Audio and Media program manager Brian Schmidt will speak on creating audio within the confines of current limitations. Finally, Lee Sheldon, assistant professor at Indiana University, will speak on writing for games.

Nibris finds Sadness in the Fog
Fog Studios' clientele expands today, as Polish developer Nibris announced it had signed with the entertainment industry representation firm. Nibris currently has the gothic-themed Sadness in development for the Nintendo Wii. Announced last April, Sadness is a historic action adventure set in the 1930s and presented entirely in black and white. Of the deal, FOG chairman and CEO Ed Dille stated, "When we evaluated Nibris and their highly anticipated Wii title Sadness, we saw a [high] level of creativity, passion and devotion to innovation."

28 Comments

  • Jak_Napier

    Posted Oct 25, 2009 4:04 pm PT

    interesting title and theme to the game, havent seen anything like it for the Wii especially.

  • QtrArt

    Posted Sep 6, 2009 6:40 am PT

    this story talk about old Days is very nice

  • Max_Hydrogen

    Posted May 23, 2009 5:16 pm PT

    This game was announced back the Wii was called the Revolution and it still hasn't come out. Apparently it is scheduled for Dec 31st 2009. Great, it only took 3 and a half years. Maybe they'll release the next Duke Nukem game along with it.

    I hope the time it takes to make this game means it will be of a high quality because I am still looking very forward to this game. Entirely in black and white. I've never heard of a game like that and talking place at the turn of the 20th century.

    Man, I can't wait for this one!

  • Smithers2286

    Posted Dec 21, 2008 8:04 pm PT

    I can't wait for Sadness to make some sort of appearance. This game was announced awhile ago, and still seems to be in development. It looks like it could potentially be a truly innovative experience on the Wii.

  • BoxingTheStars

    Posted Jan 12, 2008 3:02 pm PT

    i really hope they dont cancle this game it is the one game im looking foward to more than any other

    and to the comment below me:
    no it is nothing like resident evil other than then fact that it is a horror genre game

  • DaJJ

    Posted Jan 7, 2008 9:45 pm PT

    wow. looks interesting. Is it like a Resident Evil-e thing?
    the screens suggest it.

  • dynomitemasta

    Posted Nov 15, 2007 8:39 pm PT

    I have heard nothing about this game in months, I hope it's still on track

  • jeffroscc

    Posted Oct 14, 2007 7:51 am PT

    This game was pretty much the selling point for me getting a Wii....hopefully it lives up to my expectations

  • BradBurns

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 3:48 am PT

    Thank goodness. If they evaluated Nibris and liked them, then that can only mean that the game is actually in development and must look pretty good to boot.

  • Toysoldier34

    Posted Aug 26, 2007 5:11 pm PT

    Yes, I thought that Sadness was abandoned long ago cuz I thought it looked cool.

  • link631

    Posted Aug 26, 2007 7:38 am PT

    nice

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Aug 25, 2007 10:11 am PT

    Looking forward for the coverage on AGDC!

  • DJSMITH007

    Posted Aug 24, 2007 11:31 am PT

    Sadness looks interesting...Too bad its only for Wii

  • creamcloud

    Posted Aug 24, 2007 8:40 am PT

    AWESOME! good news. I've been keeping an eye on Sadness. hope to make it a lovely addition to my growing wii collection hehe.

  • 7arek

    Posted Aug 23, 2007 10:47 pm PT

    Great news for those of us who had almost lost hope in Sadness.

  • A7Xfan

    Posted Aug 23, 2007 10:06 pm PT

    NIBRIS THIS IS AWESOME!!!!

  • nintendorocks

    Posted Aug 23, 2007 10:03 pm PT

    Pixel Mines sounds basically like a casual gaming studio. Sure to make some medicore games but make money anyway.

  • cluelesspunk

    Posted Aug 23, 2007 9:09 pm PT

    Hey, Sadness might actually be coming out! I can't wait.

  • LINKloco

    Posted Aug 23, 2007 9:07 pm PT

    Sadness.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Aug 23, 2007 8:57 pm PT

    hmm sadness

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