Lucasfilm registers multiple Star Wars domain names - Report

Lucasfilm has registered a group of Star Wars-related domain names, Fusible has reported.

Earlier this week, Electronic Arts and the Walt Disney Company announced a new multi-year exclusive agreement to develop and publish new games based on Star Wars characters and stories.

Several of the new domains reference Star Wars themes, including the following:

- Star Wars Alliance
- Star Wars Rebels
- Star Wars Wolf Pack
- Wolf Pack Adventures
- Order 67
- Bothan Spies
- Gungan Frontier 2
- Gungan Frontier 3
- Gungan Frontier 4
- Wookie Hunters

No further information was available about whether the domains are tied to current or future projects, and none of the domains match currently announced games.

EA also confirmed earlier this week in a post-earnings financial call that it will not publish any new Star Wars games during its 2014 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2013, through to March 31, 2014.

EA's deal with Disney makes it the exclusive developer of core Star Wars games. These titles will be delivered on all platforms. Battlefield studio DICE and Dead Space outfit Visceral Games are currently making new Star Wars games, which will run on the Frostbite 3 engine.

Disney acquired LucasArts alongside Lucasfilm in October last year for $4.05 billion.

The fates of Star Wars: 1313 and Star Wars: First Assault remain unclear.

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Possible next-gen game from Naughty Dog spotted - Report

Fan spots unusual art in The Last of Us developer video.

Naughty Dog has yet to announce a game for the PS4, but a fan has discovered a possible link to a next-gen PlayStation game from the Uncharted developer, according to a report from IGN.

A fan captured a still of a Naughty Dog developer video that may contain a glimpse of previously unseen art.

The still, which can be found at the 2:43 mark in the video (embedded below), displays two figures dressed in clothing that does not appear to fit into The Last of Us' present-day universe.

The captured still has led to speculation ranging from new multiplayer components of the upcoming The Last of Us or Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, to art for an unannounced next-gen title.

The Last of Us is set in a post-apocalyptic world and is exclusive to the PlayStation 3. The game was originally slated for a May 7 release, but was delayed to June 14. At the time, Naughty Dog explained that due to the "massive" nature of the title's story, extra development time was needed to "ensure every detail" was up to the developer's standards.

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MechWarrior Online update to feature Misery mech

Update 15 includes four additional trial mechs and color customization for Hero mechs.

MechWarrior Online will be bringing a new death machine into the fold in its latest update.

Update 15 introduces the "Misery" STK-M mech, an 85-ton machine that comes equipped with medium and large lasers, a gauss rifle, and an SRM-6 missile launcher. The update also introduces four new trial mechs: a Jenner JR7-F, a Hunchback HBK-4G, a JagerMech JM6-S, and a Highlander HGN-732.

Other additions of the patch include a new Buccaneer premium skin, three new cockpit items, and improvements when calling down airstrikes. Players can also change the colors of their Hero mechs.

The update is live now. For more information, check out the official forum post.

By Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor

Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.

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Just Cause 2 developer's Wii U dev kits are "collecting dust"

Avalanche Studios may not focus on Nintendo's new console until it gets a higher user base.

Avalanche Studios, the team behind the Just Cause games, said that they may not focus on developing games for the Wii U.

Avalanche founder Christofer Sundberg said on Pressfire (via Escapist) that the Wii U's user base wasn't big enough to justify investing the company's time on Nintendo's console. "We actually had some development kits that just collected dust. It's a bit sad, because we wanted to do something. I think it is a cool platform, but right now it's not just up to us. We want the game to reach as many as possible."

He also added that he and his team had trouble communicating with Nintendo, saying that the company had always been difficult to reach. "You never quite know who to contact."

Avalanche Studios isn't the only developer expressing concerns for the console. DICE said that its Frostbite 3 engine did not produce promising results on the Wii U.

By Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor

Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.

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Sony rules out always-online for PS4 - Report

Sony has ruled out making always-online functionality a core part of its next home console, according to an interview in the latest issue of Game Informer magazine.

Sony president of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, said that a constant Internet connection would not be required from users, given the differences in web services available across the globe.

"Did we consider it? No, we didn't consider it," said Yoshida. "The main reason being that many countries don't have robust Internet connections. It makes sense for people to have Internet connections to play online games, but for offline games there are many countries that we saw [that] do not really have robust Internet."

Microsoft is believed to be preparing to lift the veil on its own next-generation hardware offering on May 21. Months of rumour and speculation originally suggested that the next Xbox may require users to be connected to the internet at all times. However, a recently-uncovered, leaked internal memo reportedly sent to the Xbox development team suggests that the company's next device will not require users to be online to watch live TV, view movies, or play single-player games.

By Dan Chiappini, Editor of GameSpot AU

Raised by the warm glow of arcade machine monitors and TV screens, Dan's lifelong passion has always been games. PC, console, mobile, handheld, you name it, he'll play it. He also enjoys photography, long walks on the beach, and clichés.

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House of Horrors - Lumber Island

I'll post this before I watch the episode. I've never played a horror game that scared me. So, I'm assuming by the head phone warning, and previous comments, there will be some screaming, presumably generated by reaction to the game. Let's see if I find any of it scary.

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Hohokum exploring PS3, PS4, and PS Vita in 2014

Sony has announced a new multiplatform franchise, Hohokum, which will make its way to the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita next year.

Announced on the PlayStation Blog, it is being developed by the team at Sony Santa Monica in partnership with artist Richard Hogg and London-based studio, Honeyslug. The game hopes to emphasise "playful exploration and creativity" by downplaying traditional game objectives, such as avoiding failure, hassling the player with instructions, or the need to progress. The game was previously an IGF finalist before being included as part of the IndieCade independent games festival.

The free-form nature of the gameplay revolves around navigating the environment as "a technicolour, calligraphic, worm-like, kite-like being", and will offer secrets to discover and trophies to be won.

More on the game will be shown at E3 in June. Developer Honeyslug previously developed Vita-exclusive mini-game compilation Frobisher Says!.

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FIFA 14 will not include female players

Female football players will not be making an appearance in EA Sports' upcoming FIFA 14.

Speaking to Kotaku, EA Canada executive producer David Rutter said, "As a team, we have discussed at length the inclusion of female characters in FIFA, and whilst it's something that remains on our list of features for consideration as part of our mission statement above, we do not have plans to put female characters into the game this year."

The comment follows on from a God is a Geek interview with FIFA producer Sebastian Enrique, who said "there are no plans at the moment" to include female players. Enrique went on to explain that including women would require a new physics model, player modelling, and hairstyles.

EA Sports' NHL 13 was the first professional league simulation sports game to introduce female playable characters. Former Team USA defensive player Angela Ruggiero and Team Canada forward Hayley Wickenheiser are playable characters in the hockey simulation game.

FIFA 14 was announced for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC earlier this year.

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Avatar Star in open beta

Free-to-play third-person shooter produced by former Tomb Raider producer; new version of game to feature cash shop.

Game microtransaction company Cherry Credits has announced that its free-to-play third-person shooter Avatar Star is now in open beta for Southeast Asia

The open beta will have an in-game cash shop that allows users to buy cosmetic items for their avatars. Cherry Credits also mentioned that it managed to fix two major bugs during the game's closed beta period.

Avatar Star is a third-person shooter featuring online team deathmatch modes, three classes with different playstyles and loadouts, and the ability to customize a player's avatar with different cosmetic items. The game is produced by former Tomb Raider producer Troy Horton.

Players who wish to check the game out can download the game client on Cherry Credits' website.

By Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor

Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.

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Funding for Project Awakened on hold

The private funding plan for open-world superhero action title Project Awakened has been put on hold due to a combination of insufficient contributors and upcoming projects for alternate revenue sources. Previously, developer Phosphor Games held a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game, but it didn't meet its target.

According to an e-mail sent to Polygon from Phosphor Games CEO Justin Corcoran, the private funding campaign was the company's backup plan should the Kickstarter fail. "We said at the start that we only had until the beginning of May to decide to either put a team on Project Awakened if it was funded, or something else that would provide revenue for the studio."

"We were winding down on the private campaign and not looking close to making it, the decision had to be made to get people working on other stuff that was waiting, and the alternative funding discussions were going to need a long time to see through. So, with all that combined, we decided to close down the campaign and get everyone back their money."

On the upside, Corcoran said that the game now has thousands of supporters and possible investors willing to fund development. The team also received feedback concerning additions to the action game.

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