Newsbriefs: ESRB Campaign, Green Monster Grows, PS3s Gone Missing

Author: by Staff

Today's newsbriefs include an impending ESRB awareness campaign, a Wii version of SSX, a new VP of creative development at Green Monster Games, and an $82,000 case of missing PS3s in Japan. - According to a report from political game action site GamePolitics, well known video game critics Joseph Lieberman and Hillary Clinton will join ESA president Doug Lowenstein and ESRB president Patricia Vance in announcing a new nationwide television campaign designed to promote awareness of the ESRB video game rating system. The announcement is to take place as part of a press conference scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. According to the report, the advertisements will feature Best Buy president Brian Dunn and GameStop president Steve Morgan, both of whom are expected to be present at the announcement as well. Gamasutra expects to have more information on this tomorrow. - Following Electronic Arts' previous confirmation regarding its plans to bring the EA Sports Big branded SSX franchise to the Wii, the company has now revealed that the game, titled SSX Blur, will ship for the console in both North America and Europe in March 2007. While obviously the game will feature a new control scheme designed to take advantage of the Wii remote, no information concerning just how these controls will work have been announced. “We wanted to take the soul of the franchise—the air, the speed, the tricks, the fun—and Wii-ify it,” commented the game's producer, Alex Hyder. “You’re going to see that reflected in the On-the-Ground & In-the-Air controls, the characters, the user interface, and every other aspect of this game.” - Boston's Green Monster Games, LLC, founded in September of this year by baseball legend and avid MMO enthusiast Curt Schilling has announced the hiring of Scott Cuthbertson as VP of creative development. Cuthbertson's career has included roles at companies such as Disney, Warner Bros, Vivendi, and Nintendo, working with high profile properties like The Lord of the Rings, Ridge Racer, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. According to Green Monster, Cuthbertson will "oversee GMG's internal creative design process, working closely with creative visionaries Todd McFarlane and R.A. Salvatore to bring their unique and unprecedented vision to life" in his new role. Green Monster Games is now in pre-production on its premiere title. - Representatives from Austrian publisher and developer JoWooD Productions have announced G-Stars, a new branding for European-distributed casual titles to be released on PC, PS2 and the Nintendo DS. Priced at a discount €9.99 to €29.99 ($13-40 USD), the first titles announced in the G-Stars line include a PC tie-in for the movie Flyboys, submarine shooter Aquanox, and Genius Cards Lifesigns - Hospital Affairs, both for the DS. Said JoWood CEO Albert Seidl, "G-Stars is JoWooD Productions step on a new way of publishing, covering not only products of a strong brand, but also potential 'Stars' of the future", explains Albert Seidl. - Japan's Mainichi Daily News is reporting the theft of 180 PlayStation 3 consoles from a local have been stolen from the Ibaraki office of Meitetsu Golden Aircargo Co. The units stolen were part of a shipment of 1560 PS3's meant to be shipped to retail, but a spot-check of the supply turned up 180 short, estimated at a 9.5 million yen ($82,260) loss. - Independent game studio business management company Interactive Studio Management (ISM) has announced that it has added Belgian developer Larian Studios to its client roster. Based in Oudenaarde, Belgium, Larian Studios is the developer behind fantasy RPGs Divine Divinity and Beyond Divinity, and is currently at work on a new next-gen fantasy RPG for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Swen Vincke, president of Larian, remarked, “We are delighted to be working with ISM. We believe ISM provides us with the business and negotiation skills necessary to compete in today’s interactive market. They understand our business and challenges, and we strongly believe this new partnership will position our company for dramatic growth and expansion throughout the world.” - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog GameSetWatch include a collection of links covering topics such as a headcrab hat, a Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave review, and a Japanese DS recipe collection; an interesting map of the new GDC floor layout; and hands-on impressions of the recently released Platypus and Luxor for the PSP. - The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Serious Games Source include a new interview with MediaSpark's Mathew Georghiou from the recent SGS D.C., and a new serious game development studio opened by BioLucid Productions. - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Amaze Entertainment, Blue Fang Games, Datascope Recruitment, Edge of Reality, Gameloft, Iron Lore Entertainment, Jack of All Games, Relic Entertainment, THQ, and TimeGate Studios.