Bobby Kotick earns $64.9m in 2012

Call of Duty maker Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick saw an 800 percent pay raise in 2012, as his total cash-and-prizes compensation leapt to $64.9 million. In 2011 his total pay was $8.1 million.

Kotick is now the second highest paid public-company CEO in the US, Bloomberg reports, behind Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

The vast majority of Kotick's pay increase came from $55.9 million in stock awards, which will vest over the next five years. His total cash salary for 2012 was inline with his previous earnings: $8.33 million.

Activision's report states that Kotick exceeded his performance goals goals on operating income, diluted earnings per share, and free cash flow. Kotick did not meet his target in the expansion of profit margins, however.

Kotick will receive another $16 million if he steers Activision towards its highest performance targets in 2013.

"We don't like any element of this pay package," said GMI Ratings corporate-governance consultant Nell Minow to Bloomberg. "In the past we have expressed concern about this company and its compensation practices."

"The lack of information provided by the compensation committee is a red flag," continued Minow. "It's very difficult to discern how they determined this compensation package from the information that's been provided."

Activision states that it now has a market value of $16.5 billion, and posted a net income of $1.15 billion for the financial year.

The publisher is rumoured to be unveiling its next Call of Duty title on May 1.

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Arkham City's voice of Batman not returning for Arkham Origins

Longtime Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy will not be reprising his role as the Caped Crusader in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins.

South Africa's NAG magazine (via Batman News) reports that developer Warner Bros. Montreal wants "to use a new younger actor because the game features Batman in his early years," whereas Conroy's gravelly tones have always voiced a veteran Dark Knight.

Batman Arkham: Origins tells the story of Batman's early years in the Arkham series. It is the first game in the universe not to be developed by UK developer Rocksteady.

Conroy was the voice of Batman in Arkham Asylum and its sequel Arkham City, MMO DC Universe Online, and the recently released DC brawler Injustice: Gods Among Us.

He was also the voice of Batman for the '90s animated series, and many of the DC Universe animated series that followed.

Mark Hamill, voice of Batman nemesis the Joker, has also said he will not be returning to the role.

Batman Arkham: Origins will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U on October 25.

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Bungie: 'Still a lot of work' to do on Destiny

Bungie's first post-Halo project is not closed to being finished. As part of its latest Mail Sack feature, the developer was asked if the graphics, character models, and the world for Destiny had been finished, to which the company said no to all questions.

"No, no, and no. And, no," Bungie wrote. "Everything you've seen so far is work in progress. There is still a lot of work to be done. This is why you are made to wait, friends. Not because we like to tease you. Not because we know that you can take it. It's because we're still working."

The only gameplay shown for Destiny thus far was a brief clip displayed in February during the PlayStation 4 announcement. PS4 gamers will receive unspecified "exclusive" content for Destiny.

Last month during the Game Developers Conference, Bungie design director Joseph Staten and art director Christopher Barrett showed off a series of concept art images from Destiny and discussed the game's development.

Check out GameSpot's interview with Staten and Barrett for more.

Bungie has teased that more information on Destiny will be shared during the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo in early June. Activision has told investors not to expect Destiny in 2013.

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Metro: Last Light - Redemption Trailer

Metro: Last Light Game Channel - Videos

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Metro: Last Light

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X360, PC, PS3

Publisher:

Deep Silver

Category:

Action

Release:

May 14, 2013

ESRB:

M

Check out the Redemption trailer for Metro: Last Light.

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No Tiger Woods game next year - Report

The Tiger Woods PGA Tour series is staying in the clubhouse next year. That's according to Kotaku sources, who told the site that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 15 is not in the works for any platform.

Electronic Arts reportedly planned to outsource Tiger Woods PGA Tour 15 and give the in-house team at EA Tiburon two years to make Tiger Woods PGA Tour 16 for the PlayStation 4 and next Xbox. However, when CEO John Riccitiello resigned last month, this plan was dropped to save costs, the sources said.

The fate of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise is unknown. An EA Sports representative told GameSpot, "We have no comment regarding Tiger Woods PGA Tour 15 and we are focused on delivering a great Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 experience."

EA will report earnings for its fourth quarter fiscal year 2013 next week, where the company is expected to comment on the recent waves of layoffs at the outfit.

If there is no Tiger Woods PGA Tour game next year, it will be the first time since 1999 that EA has not launched a new entry in the series.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 shipped last month for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It includes a number of franchise-firsts, including night golf, LPGA support, and a Legends of the Majors mode that allows players to travel back in virtual time to compete against icons like Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus.

For more, check out GameSpot's review.

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New Grand Theft Auto V trailers April 30

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Rockstar Games confirmed it will release new Grand Theft Auto V trailers tomorrow, April 30, at 11 a.m. EDT.

The original story follows below

Rockstar Games will introduce gamers to Grand Theft Auto V protagonists Michael, Trevor, and Franklin next week through a trio of trailers, the developer suggested today in an update to its website.

No further information was divulged.

GTAV is the first entry in the open-world series to feature multiple playable protagonists for its main storyline. Players can switch between them at "nearly any time." Sometimes the three will work together, with players able to swap back and forth in a similar way to the Lego series of games.

Michael, Trevor, and Franklin each have a distinct personality, skill set, and posse of friends. When players are controlling one of the characters, the other two will leave and do something else on their own.

To date, Rockstar has released two GTAV trailers. The first was released on November 2, 2011 and provided the first look inside the gameworld, believed to be larger than Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and GTA IV combined.

The second trailer launched November 14, 2012 and focused on protagonists Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. It highlighted the stories of the three characters, as well as new areas of the game's fictional setting of Los Santos.

Earlier this week, Rockstar teased GTAV in a religious cult video showing off the fictional Kifflom religion and Epsilon Program viral marketing campaign.

GTAV launches September 17 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Wii U and PC versions are "up for consideration."

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UK Chart: Injustice knocks BioShock Infinite into second place

DC fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us has dethroned BioShock Infinite's three-week stint as king of the UK charts.

NetherRealm's Injustice is the first fighting game to claim top billing in the UK charts since UFC Undisputed 3 last year. It's also publisher Warner Bros.' first chart topper since LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

BioShock Infinite drops to second place, with 3DS RPG Fire Emblem: Awakening launching in third. The RPG helped boost hardware sales, too, with a 49 percent week-on-week increase in 3DS sales thanks to the launch of the Fire Emblem limited edition blue 3DS XL.

Tomb Raider drops two places to fourth, with Defiance dropping one spot to fifth.

The regular crop of familiar titles fill out the rest of the top 10: FIFA 13 is sixth, Call of Duty: Black Ops II seventh, Luigi's Mansion 2 eighth, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 ninth, and Far Cry 3 tenth.

The Top 20 UK chart for the week ending April 20:

1. Injustice: Gods Among Us
2. BioShock Infinite
3. Fire Emblem: Awakening
4. Tomb Raider
5. Defiance
6. FIFA 13
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
8. Luigi's Mansion 2
9. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
10. Far Cry 3
11. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
12. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
13. Assassin's Creed III
14. Skylanders Giants
15. Gears of War: Judgment
16. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2
17. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
18. God of War: Ascension
19. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
20. Sleeping Dogs

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The Sly Collection spotted for Vita in ESRB listing

April 22, 2013 3:05AM PDT

But Sony hasn't officially announced the title.

The ESRB (via CVG) has rated a version of The Sly Collection for PlayStation Vita.

Sony hasn't formally announced the title for PlayStation Vita, but released The Sly Collection (known as The Sly Trilogy in Europe) for PlayStation 3 in 2010. The compilation contained HD remasters of PS2 platformers Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

The ESRB rates the PlayStation Vita version of The Sly Collection as E10+, pointing out instances of crude humour in the game's dialogue and citing quotes "you've got some fuzzy dice to come round here" and "back in my day we had enforcers that would make people pee their pants just as soon as look at 'em."

A new title in the series, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita earlier this year.

By Martin Gaston, News Editor

Martin Gaston has absolutely never at all had the song from Beauty and the Beast sung to him at any point during his life, ever.

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Just Cause dev: Story-driven AAA games make no business sense

Story-driven AAA games generally make no business sense, according to Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios founder Christofer Sundberg. An overall narrative is important, he argued, but providing player autonomy for the experience trumps.

Writing on Twitter, the designer offered up the question: "Why should a game have an end? Why bother about story when all data proves that players don't care?"

"6-12hrs story-driven AAA games makes no sense commercially any more," he said.

Some exceptions do exist, he said, like Naughty Dog's The Last of Us. But overall, he claimed that data has proven that players don't care.

"Story missions are not important," Sundberg added.

One example he provided was that of player engagement for his studio's 2010 open-ended sandbox game Just Cause 2. He said Avalanche Studios spent 3-5 months creating the game's story missions, but just 18 percent of players completed these.

One Twitter user posed a question to Sundberg asking if he thinks a game could get stale if there is no end; that is, if a player never reaches the conclusion, will they feel satisfied?

"Depends on what game you are making," Sundberg said. "Never underestimate the player's urge to grind."

Sundberg ended his comments by saying though he enjoys story in games, he doesn't see it being a part of successful games moving forward.

"For the record: I love a good game story. I just don't believe in it for the future," he said.

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Rayman Legends Challenge Mode coming to Wii U this week

The Challenge Mode for Rayman Legends will be coming to Wii U this week, Nintendo has announced.

Designed by Ubisoft as an apology to Wii U owners for delaying the game, the Rayman Legends Challenges App will be released on the eShop for free on Thursday April 25.

The Challenges App will offer a series of daily and weekly challenges for between one and five players, and records will be stored on global leaderboards. Four levels will be featured, including the exclusive Wii U level "Murfy's Dungeon."

Rayman Legends will launch for Wii U this September alongside the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game.

Ubisoft said earlier this month that the seven-month delay for Rayman Legends has allowed for the creation of 30 new levels for the game.

"We just wanted to reach out and let you know how truly humbled we were by the outpouring of support from the community and the fans about the announcement of the delay of Rayman Legends, and let you know that it definitely hurt us to see you guys so upset about the delay," said senior game manager Michael Micholic back in February.

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