Newsbriefs: Virtua Fighter Goes 360, Crackdown Demo, Mad Catz Gets CFO

Author: by Staff

[UPDATED: 2:14pm PST] Today's regularly updated newsbriefs include news of the PS3 losing its Virtua Fighter 5 exclusivity as the game heads to Xbox 360, a single and multiplayer demo for Crackdown heading to the Xbox Live Marketplace in January, and Mad Catz hiring former Rockstar head of finance Stewart Halpern as its new CFO. - Though long touted as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, Sega of America and Sega Europe have announced that Virtua Fighter 5, the latest in their popular long-running fighter series, will indeed be coming to Microsoft's Xbox 360 in 2007. The game, which will see its debut on Sony's console on February 20th in the U.S., and as a European launch title for the PlayStation 3 in March, will be brought to the 360 in both regions in 'late summer' of next year. Sega Europe creative director Matt Woodley said, “Bringing Virtua Fighter 5 to the Xbox 360 offers us a platform with power to handle the astonishing visuals, the complex and varied fighting styles of all the customisable characters and will undoubtedly put Virtua Fighter 5 into the hands of a gaming audience craving for a highly polished and credible fighting game.” - Microsoft has revealed that it will release a single and multiplayer demo for the upcoming Xbox 360 title Crackdown over Xbox Live Marketplace on January 18, 2007. In addition, the company also noted that the full version will ship to retail in North America on February 20. The M-rated action sandbox title is in development by Realtime Worlds (All Points Bulletin), which was founded in 2002 by managing director, Dave Jones, the creator of popular franchises such as Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings. Hailed as “GTA killer”, Crackdown will allow players to fully explore the hoodlum filled streets of Pacific City as they play as a genetically enhanced agent and combat crime either alone or cooperatively throughout a free-form campaign. - Representatives from Mad Catz Interactive have revealed that the video game peripheral, game and accessories manufacturer has named Stewart Halpern as the company's new chief financial officer, a position which had been vacant since September 1, 2006 following the resignation of Cyril Talbot III. Halpern will start with the company on January 15, 2007. As CFO, Halpern will be responsible for managing all financial and treasury functions, SEC reporting and compliance, bank and financial community relationships and conducting internal and industry analysis to support the Company’s strategy and goals for growth and profitability. Prior to joining Mad Catz, Halpern worked as the head of finance for Rockstar Games, where he was involved in the oversight of financial, business and legal affairs including annual budgets, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, analysis and negotiation of acquisitions, and publishing and licensing transactions. Halpern has also worked as the chief financial officer of Rush Communications, as well as a sell-side video game and entertainment industry analyst with the firms of RBC Capital Markets, Banc of America Securities and Furman Selz. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog GameSetWatch include a look at Russian-authored PC game Diver: Deep Water Adventures, a new fan made flash video featuring Nintendo's Mario and Luigi, and an overview of Hudsonsoft’s turn based strategy game Military Madness. - The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Game Career Guide include a new feature covering tips when interviewing for a game industry job, and Course PTR's release of Beginning C++ through Game Programming, Second Edition. - A new project listing by casual game publisher Gogii Games has been posted, detailing three possible Nintendo DS and Wii projects that the company is looking to have quoted based on a design concept. The company notes that these will be “PC ports of casual titles that were sucessful online or at retail.” - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Datascope Recruitment, Infinity Ward / Activision, Radical Entertainment, Rocksteady Studios, Spark Unlimited, and THQ.