It’s Thursday. Not only does that mean it’s ladies night at Zoo Station in downtown Syracuse, it also means that it’s time for Jetsetter here in downtown Digital Trends! We’re unhooking the shackles of local flavor and reaching out for the strange and wonderful video games played on the international stage. It’s a big world out there. We already know what people are playing physically thanks to the London Olympics, so let’s find out what they’re playing electronically.
For the uninitiated, this is Jetsetter, Digital Trends’ weekly look at the international video game scene. The United States is the biggest games market on Earth, but many people in many countries make and play games, so we take a look at what they’re doing. From our nearby neighbors, to the other side of the world, Jetsetter covers it.
Like what you see? Follow yours truly on Twitter at @ajohnagnello.
* David Braben brings Frontier Developments to Nova Scotia, Canada.
WiiWare was a wash for independent developers. Nintendo’s digital marketplace was not promoted nor user-friendly enough to find success on, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t great games there. Frontier Developments, the studio headed by Elite creator David Braben, made WiiWare’s best games, LostWinds and LostWinds 2: Winter of the Melodias. Those breezy adventures are appropriately themed considering Frontier’s new studio is in the coastal city of Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. The British studio announced its new studio via its website on Tuesday. “We are excited about opening an office in Halifax, our first outside of the UK,” said Braben, “The studio will be up and running during August, collaborating with our teams in the UK.” No word on when he’ll finish Elite 4 though.
* EA drops Indian FIFA 13 prices back down.
In our last Jetsetter, we reported that EA had hiked the price of FIFA 13 for PlayStation 3 and PC by 80 percent in India, up to 1,799 rupees ($32) and 3,499 ($62). Redington, Electronic Arts’ Xbox Indian distributor, finally announced a 2,999 ($54) price of the Xbox 360 edition of the game on Aug. 2. To further confuse matters but also reassure some fans, EA’s PC/PlayStation distributor Milestone Interactive dropped the price of its editions down to match the Xbox version. FIFA 13 on PS3 will now retail for 2,999 ($54) and the PC version will run 1,499 ($27).
* Diablo III declining in Korea according to cultural professer.
Blizzard’s StarCraft may still be the greatest thing in Korean history, eclipsing even sliced bread, but that doesn’t mean all its games receive the same respect. Despite a record-breaking debut in May, Diablo III is now struggling to retain its Korean audience. Just 13 percent of players at Internet cafes in the country are playing the game according to Gametrics. “Diablo 3’s place is shaky,” Ajou University cultural content professor Kim Min-kyu told The Korea Times, “It is hard to believe that it was made by the people who created World of Warcraft and the StarCraft series. The poor content is unexpected.”
