Activision is a publisher that knows, and has come to love, peripherals. After all, they've helped drive the "Guitar Hero" franchise to well over $1 billion in revenue. (Unlike MTV, Activision typically makes money on its music hardware, though it did have some hiccups with "World Tour" drums over the holidays.)

Which is why it makes some sense it's going that route with the next "Tony Hawk" skateboarding game, coming this fall. Rumors that the as-yet-untitled game would use some kind of peripheral started last summer. But two sources who have seen the game first hand have confirmed that it will indeed eschew controllers and rely on a board-like peripheral. I'm told it won't be about precise balance (if you want to do that, just get a real skateboard). Instead it'll be about grabbing and manipulating the board to pull of all the tricks for which "Tony Hawk" games are known. Because the peripheral does a lot more than just measure where players are standing, I'm told it'll be available for the Wii version as well -- it won't just rely on the board that came with "Wii Fit," as EA's "Skate It" did.

In addition, my sources confirmed the wide speculation that developer Robomodo, formed primarily by former EA Chicago employees, is making the game.

Skateboarding games have always relied on complex button combos, Switching the interface to be based entirely (or primarily?) on a peripheral is a pretty radical shift. But after poor sales for 2007's Tony Hawk game, it makes sense that Activision is ready to take that risk. And helps explain why it was willing to put its annual franchise on hold last year.

If it's successful, Activision will have a revitalized new franchise that could stand beside its currently dominant trio of "Guitar Hero," "Call of Duty," and "Warcraft." Just as Activision has done with "Guitar Hero," you can be sure it will release numerous "Tony Hawk" sequels, spin-offs, etc. that all take advantage of the skateboard peripheral. Because if gamers love the board as much as they love plastic guitar controllers, they'll want lots more content to take advantage of it after they make the investment.

Activision is probably uniquely positioned to take this jump, since it has already invested so much in the logistics to get plastic guitar and drum peripherals manufactured in China and shipped around the world. Adding skateboards to that system will give it economies of scale that no other publisher could enjoy --  resulting in the kind of big margins that Activision management demands.

Midway's decision to have Ubisoft publish "Wheelman" domestically and in most major foreign territories makes pretty clear that, unless and until it can get out of its bankruptcy mess, it's no longer a fully functioning publisher.

Not that it doesn't literally have the capability to sell "Wheelman." It does. It's still servicing the many games it has on the market. But Midway concluded, probably rationally, that it doesn't have the cash flow to properly support a major launch, or the cushion to take on all the risk in case the game is a major flop.

So it's safer to make a deal with Ubisoft, which I'm told is a standard publishing deal in which Midway pays Ubi an advance against royalties (a percentage of sales revenue). It's tough to know exactly how much Ubisoft is risking without knowing what the advance is and how much the French publisher will be spending on "Wheelman." But any differential is risk off Midway's back, probably a good thing given the hundreds of millions it currently owes creditors, thanks to years of losses and, most recently, Sumner Redstone's financial machinations.

Looking ahead, Midway's only announced game for the rest of this year is "This is Vegas." There's also a new "Mortal Kombat" game in development, though who knows when it'll come. If either of those games come out before Midway is either acquired or (unlikely but possible) reorganized itself into a stable company, it will almost certainly have to make a similar deal. Because right now it's simply can't function as a complete publisher, with the ability to take risks and launch AAA titles.

So what is it? An IP owner (it still owns the "Wheelman" franchise, in case solid sales warrant a sequel), a servicer of catalog titles, and, perhaps most importantly, a receptacle for Sumner Redstone's debt problems that's struggling not to be crushed under the burden.

(On a related note, Midway's investor website is now called the "reorganization home.)

 For those of you holding out hope that "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" might turn out to be good, here's a not-too-promising development: Fox won't be screening the movie for critics before it's released next Friday, the 27th.

Which means those who want to see it opening night will have to brave those treacherous waters review-free. Of course, in 95% of cases, not screening a movie is the studio's way of admitting critics are sure to hate it -- usually because it's bad, occassionally because it's a genre, like horror, that critics rarely appreciate.

(Full disclosure: I have seen "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li," at a private screening. But because the writer is a good friend, I can't objectively write about the actual content. I will write about the box office performance and reviews as soon as the film is released, though.

Update: On a related note, Leigh Alexander has an interesting column at Kotaku about why video game movies never quite work. I'm not sure if I agree 100%, but she makes a really good case.

One more Brash game has found a new home.

The Wii version of "Six Flags Fun Park," the mini-game collection from 7 Studios that got a Six Flags license slapped on at the last minute, will be published by Ubisoft next month, as this website and this Amazon page indicate.

The DS version was the very last game that Brash shipped before its demise in November..

When you play a game for dozens of hours, little quirks can really annoy you. I know I'm not the only one annoyed by the mission re-start mechanism in "Grand Theft Auto IV." Specifically, when you fail a mission, you re-start at the point where you technically begin the mission, not where the actual action starts. In the case of "GTA IV," that means you have to drive somewhere, sometimes all the way across Liberty City. That can take two, three, even five minutes.

If you're like me, not the most consistently awesome gamer in the world, there are some missions that might fail 10 or 15 times. Which means you have to go on the same drive over and over and over. So many times that you have the route memorized. So many times that you've heard all the alternate dialogue Rockstar provided and while you're glad the character you're driving with has the good sense to just suggest you listen to the radio rather than repeat yourself, you're still annoyed. Can't I just re-start where the action begins? After all, while the realism of driving somewhere is appreciated and the use of car rides for conversations, rather than putting it all in cut scenes, is clever, we don't need it over and over and over. Once we accept that Niko can come back to life in a hospital every time he dies and re-start a mission via a text on his cell phone, I'm willing to accept the he magically teleports to where the action begins.

Clearly the developers at Rockstar North heard fans complaining about this. And/or experienced the problem itself. Which is why it's so satisfying to discover in "The Lost and Damned" that, when you die, you can re-start a mission exactly where you want to, at the moment the action begins. Smart move, Rockstar. I'm honestly grateful. And not only because there's that one goddamned mission that took me 18 tries to pass.

(When you saw the title I bet you thought I was going to talk about the full frontal male nudity, didn't you? You disgust me, pervert.)

Is it possible to admire a game tremendously and still be disappointed by it?

It seems to me that's starting to be the question about “Grand Theft Auto.” I wasn’t on board with that view for “GTA IV” -- It made my top ten list for 2008. And that was, to be honest, before I had fully finished the story. I did a few weeks ago, and while I think it drags early in the third act and the final scene is really hokey, the penultimate mission, where players have to make a major moral choice, was incredibly compelling and brought together many underlying strands of the game nicely.

But three writers I respect, Variety’s three freelance videogame critics – Leigh Alexander, Tom Chick and Chris Dahlen – listed it as one of their most “overrated” or “disappointing” games of the year. Tom described it succinctly as, “One of the most amazing realizations of a real-world-ish place and one of my favorite games this year. Also the setting for a poorly told story and uninspired gameplay…” Leigh added that it’s “In many ways… the wildest and most poignant video game ever made -- but in most ways, it's over-weighted, illogical and emotionally manipulative…”

I thought they were all off base on “GTA IV.” But I find their viewpoint making more sense to me on “The Lost and Damned,” the new downloadable “GTA IV” episode, which I just reviewed for Variety.

As far as DLC goes, Rockstar has taken it to a new level. This isn’t extra content – it’s an entirely new game, complete with characters, a story, vehicles, challenges, and multi-player modes. It even fixes one of the most annoying parts about “GTA IV” (more on that in my next post) and adds some dead on new music (“Highway Star” in a game about a motorcycle gang? Hell yes.) And it’s not just quantity. Much of it is quality. The characters are well written, the cut scene animation is significantly better than in “GTA IV,” and some of the multi-player modes are really clever. All that for a $20 digital download? I’ve seen less for $60 on a disc. Rockstar, you have officially impressed me.

BUT… “The Lost and Damned” also has major problems, as I noted in my review. In particular, it’s a structural mess. Not only because the story is poorly paced and has a hugely unsatisfying finale, though it is and it does. Even more because the missions, most of which are remarkably similar to the ones in “GTA IV,” don’t fit this game.

Or rather, they don’t fit this character. Niko Bellic is, let’s be blunt, a sociopath. His ability to emphathise is minimal and his willingness to kill anyone and everyone is practically limitless. But that was the point of the character and the game actually addresses the consequences of his action at the end. So it works.

Johnny Klebitz, vice president of motorcycle gang “The Lost” is not a sociopath. He is specifically set up as a rational guy, in contrast to hothead gang president Billy Grey, recently out of jail, who’s eager to start turf wars, steal drugs, and other nasty stuff. Which is why, by the second act of the game, when Johnny is engaging is very Niko-esque missions that involve gratuitous mass murder, sometimes of police, just to make some money or help a friend or avoid blackmail, it made me cringe. It’s the wrong character for the missions. Or the wrong missions for the character.

It’s all summed up, really, in the finale. (I won’t reveal the exact details since the game has only been out for two days <sorry, Brainy Gamer>, but those of you who want to be totally surprised should consider this a spoiler warning). The game has blatantly been building toward a final confrontation. And because it’s heavily influenced by Western movies (not just in themes; even the fonts have a Western motif), I was expecting a dramatic showdown. The “GTA” equivalent of ten paces at sundown.

Instead, it’s an over-the-top, gratuitous orgy of violence that involves killing dozens (maybe hundreds?) of innocent security officers who are just doing their job. It’s unrealistic, doesn’t fit the character, and isn’t a satisfying end to the story, structurally or thematically. Everything that’s mature and sophisticated and interesting about “GTA” thrown out the window in favor of everything that moralistic critics unfairly say defines the series.

As always, I’m glad I don’t have to actually give a recommendation in my Variety reviews. Because if you like “GTA IV” gameplay, it’s an amazing value. If you want proof that DLC can be much more than a mere expansion pack, this is it. But if you’re looking for a well designed merging of story and gameplay, “The Lost and Damned” doesn’t deliver.

Full review: “Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned"

Sorry for the lack of posts today, folks, but after some technical snafus over the weekend that necessitated a very long night last night finishing "Grand Theft Auto IV: the Lost and Damned," I'm a little too loopy today to post anything I trust.

In the meantime, here's my review of "The Lost and Damned." I'll have more to say about the game, and what it represents for DLC, in the next couple of days on the blog I hope.

G4 is the latest layoff victims. A rep for the network has confirmed that it's cutting back its two daily programs, "X-Play" and "Attack of the Show" to three and four original episodes per week, respectively, starting March 2nd (two weeks from yesterday). While they declined to specify the number of layoffs, sources have indicated that a number of staffers on those two programs have gotten the axe, though the figures for the total network are in the single digit percentage-wise.

"X-Play" is G4's daily news show about videogames, while "Attack of the Show" focuses more on general tech and pop culture as it relates to the network's core demo of young guys.

G4 has apparently decided it wants to re-arrange spending and invest more in other series beyond its two big daily shows. A network rep insisted that today's moves are not part of an overall budget cut, but a decision to shift spending away from the two big daily shows and toward other series. "Savings resulting from this move will go directly towards producing more original programming in 2009," she stated.

It's perhaps no surprise G4 wants to make changes, though, since nearly three years of ratings growth came to a halt in the second of of 2008 and the network has, like many of its counterparts, had trouble monetizing its substantial on-demand and online video views. Combine that with a recession that's causing worries about advertising spending and G4 had to be rethinking its strategy a bit.

It wasn't long ago, in fact, that there was talk of expanding "X-Play" to an hour daily. Then ratings and economic concerns caused G4 to stick with half an hour. And now it's cut back to three half hours per week. That's a blow for the show and for fans of videogame journalism in general.

Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb will continue to host X-Play in its reduced format.

This post has been updated (twice).

In the past week I've been to two events surrounding a big month for "Street Fighter." Sunday was a low key screening of the "Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li" movie that was co-financed by Capcom and Hyde Park and will be released by Fox next Friday. (It's not getting the red carpet premiere treatment in the U.S.)

But last Thursday was a blow-out party by Capcom for the release of "Street Fighter IV." Fans were lined up around the block to get in, where there were dozens (maybe over 100?) stations with the game, along with lots of cool "Street Fighter" inspired art. I could describe it, but better yet, awesome photographer and friend of the Cut Scene Charlie Chu was on hand and took some great pictures.

If you like his work, check out Charlie's full portfolio and get in touch with him via flickr.

The scene when you walk in the door.

 
Yes, this game looks this photorealistic

Some of the Street Fighter-inspired art on display

And more of it

Unlike lazy patriotic types like myself who didn't update our blogs over President's Day Weekend, GamePolitics did yeoman's work going through Midway's bankruptcy filing and found some interesting tidbits.

In particular, it listed every one of the severely troubled "Mortal Kombat" publisher's creditors and how much they're owed. Amongst the most interesting:

In addition, GamePolitics noted that some Midway creditors are asking whether the mysterious Mark Thomas got some kind of sweetheart deal when Sumner Redstone sold him the company for $100,000. At the time, it didn't seem like much of a deal given MIdway's massive debts. But as these creditors have noted, there are all sorts of mechanisms in place for Thomas to get paid back the $30 million "secured" debt he assumed and make a handsome 30,000% return on this investment. Not to mention the $40 million "unsecured" debt he holds, which would get paid back (if there's any money left over) along with all the rest of the debtors.

Quite a deal, And the debtors who filed that claim think it's Redstone's purposeful way to make out like a bandit. After all early last year Midway replaced a $15 million loan from Wells fargo with a line of credit for $90 million to National Amusements, Redstone's investment company, and quickly drew on all that cash. Which means the CBS/Viacom mogul now controlled a huge chunk of the debt. Then he sold control of the company to Thomas, a completely mysterious guy whom the debtors say is probably an associate of Redstone's (the Chicago Tribune has a piece about the guessing game as to his identity). Redstone got a big tax benefit from the deal which helped National Amusements' debt issues. Thomas got a secured loan from a company on its way to bankruptcy, meaning he's almost certain to get paid.

Pretty nice arrangement, if all is at is seems. Except for Midway's other debtors. And the remaining employees.